Restaurants

Xixon: bigger, better

It might seem like some kind of miracle that an Italian restaurant is offering vegan fare. Wait…it is a miracle that any fine dining restaurant would want to do vegan cuisine. Nevertheless, it’s true, South Beach’s Escopazzo has a section on its menu entirely dedicated to raw, vegan specialties. Executive…

Sisters Elsa Burger and Josie Lacsina have been feeding the Filipino community, and others who like the cuisine, for 11 years through a business called Pampanguena Inc. This South Dade Asian grocery store also has fresh food made daily. And though it’s a small operation, the sisters keep it open…

Bourbon Steak has launched a new cigar menu, and tonight, starting at 6., the public is invited to come down for an extensive training in everything you ever wanted to know about cigars – the history, etiquette, selecting, cutting and handling of the stogies, to the lighting and smoking of…

Maybe foodies overlook Canton Palace because of its inconspicuous location way out west on SW Eighth Street. But the place is usually jammed with Asian-American diners. Apparently they got the memo. We are not being jerks, so please don’t write hate comments saying that we are racists/prejudice/ignorant etc.How many Asian-Americans…

Time again for our restaurant roll call. Here are notable openings and closings in October (or earlier and not included in our September roll call).Openings 1500 Degrees, 4525 Collins Ave., Miami BeachCecconi’s, Soho Beach House, 4385 Collins Ave., Miami Beach De Rodriguez Ocean, 101 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach…

​In early August, when Michael Bloise first talked to Paula Niño of Short Order about his upcoming American Noodle Bar, he tagged the potential opening date as “August 23”. Then word came that it would debut today, November 1. Now the date has been pushed up to this Wednesday. This…

That was quick. Three months after taking over the former Talula locale, the owners of Eden South Beach are ready to swing its doors open to the public tonight. Gone is the dark, rustic feel of the former place. The space now has a more airy feel with black tile…

A small bite of next week’s Cafe review:To the right of the entrance is the epicurean epicenter: a large dining area fronted by a 12-seat tapas bar. The crowd’s heady buzz provides a surging soundtrack to bumblebee-like flights of white porcelain plates held aloft by waiters as they weave through…

The dream of three brothers from Italy has turned into an international brand serving Italian food, namely pizzas, that only use fresh and natural ingredients, including cheeses, imported from the motherland. Because of FDA restrictions, the buffalo meat used cannot be imported and so a purveyor in Gainesville is called…

Didn’t read part one of the interview? Check it out here.What’s the most popular lunch dish?My barbecue sloppy Joe with ground turkey. It’s always a home run. [Editor’s note: For some reason, even the American Airlines Arena chef used a baseball reference when speaking of the Heat. Odd.]Don’t you mean…

Suburban strip mall locations in “La Souwesera” (Westchester) take on a second life at night, when the Latin House Grill sets up shop.   A tire business becomes the porch for the LHG crew, a family operation headed by Michel Sanchez.  A plastic card table and folding chairs are set up…

Who knew dining in the dark would be such a hit. The point to Ability Explosion’s Miami Lights Out on October 20, was to simply raise awareness for the blind and create an “unconventional culinary experience.” Some of the participating venues were BLT Steak at the Betsy Hotel, Catch 10,…

I recently asked chef Jeff McInnis a few questions related to his by-now well-publicized gig as head chef at the chichi gigi. A couple of quotes were to be culled for Miami New Times’ special upcoming issue on the people who make this city groove. I don’t think that’s the…

Short Order Award winners

Some of you may remember CheeseMe, the restaurant that opened last year on Washington Avenue hoping to satisfy the grilled cheese cravings of the masses. It was short lived, but almost one year after closing, it’s been reincarnated as a food truck. And it should be hitting the road this…

Truluck’s Seafood, Steak and Crabhouse, 777 Brickell is now open. Head over for the daily so called cocktail hour, which lasts from 4 until 7 p.m. and runs all day on Sunday. There are half-price cocktails and appetizers along with 25 percent off all bottles of wine. There’s also seafood,…

Check out Riki Altman’s interview with Eric Chopin, the executive chef at the American Airlines Arena.So the Heat lost last night. One person who can’t be blamed is Chef Michael Jacobs, the man who makes the team’s breakfasts and lunches when they practice and play in Miami.Chef Jacobs, whose father…

What’s better than a store full of cupcakes, pies and tarts? A truckful!The Sweetness Bake Shop & Cafe, now located at 9549 Sunset Drive. will send out a dessert truck, Sugar Rush, this November. “The reason we came up with the idea was pretty simple,” says one of the owners…

Twenty-five minutes before boarding I was just nearing my gate at Miami International Airport. This was the first time I had ventured near the single-digit gates of American Airlines Terminal D and I was hungry. After being told at the express window of a Mexican restaurant that tacos would take…

Kantauri Seafood Restaurant is a small tavern located on Biscayne Boulevard that opened last week. Unai Urtiberea, the owner originally from Spain says Kantauri is a mix of “Old World Basque cuisine” that also serves while also “serving Spanish tapas and wines.” This is the second restaurant Unai has owned…

​Downtown dining just got a little hipper and healthier with Soi Asian Bistro. The latest venture from the folks who brought you Mr. Yum, Soi provides a soothing green sanctuary behind large glass doors that open into a long hallway-like dining area. But don’t let the minimalist and seemingly small…