Les Halles & Pacific Time Clock Out, Enrique Fernandez Needs To Tune In

Read My Lips”Pacific Time will remain open through the summer.” — Jonathan Eismann to Short Order, June 16, 2010 Pacific Time shut its doors two weeks ago.I Hear The War In Afghanistan Is Going Pretty WellLes Halles has also halted service, the ominous Temporarily closed for renovations sign posted in…

Courthouse Cuisine On Trial

I spent the better part of yesterday proudly serving my country and representing all of you, dear citizens. I’m talking about jury duty, which I seem to get roped into every couple of years — making me quite familiar with the routine at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building downtown:Subzero…

Barbara Carey-Shuler Admits She Ok’d $50,000 For Michelle Spence-Jones

Last November, Barbara Carey-Shuler was the reason the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office charged then-Miami City Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones with grand theft of $50,000 in county grants that went to a now defunct family business called Karym Ventures Inc. Nine months later, the former county commissioner is the reason Spence-Jones could…

Mixtape Of The Week: Phresh James, Just Practice

Phresh James comes through with another release representing his unique smooth cadence that his listeners love him so much for. Backed by his C-9 label and his Legacy Effect management team, the new mixtape is called Just Practice and its as true to a title as one can actually stay…

Indicted Builders Used Illegal Aliens To Build Classrooms

Earlier this month, the Miami-Dade School Board’s watchdog agency and federal immigration agents busted a family of south Miami-Dade builders using 20 undocumented immigrants to build new modular classrooms at Southside Elementary. According to a July 1 federal indictment, Luis Daniel, his son Ariel, and his wife Marta Duque hired…

Overrated Eats: Pizza Rustica

People seem to really like Pizza Rustica; seats at the three South Beach venues are almost always filled. Zagat readers praise its “fantastic selection of unusual pizzas” with “gourmet toppings” that yield a “stomach-filling and rewarding experience.” What can we say? Sometimes there is just no explaining popular taste…

Essencia’s Summer Kisses, Disses to Miss Yip and Miami Spice

*Essencia Restaurant & Lounge at The Palms Hotel & Spa has just introduced a new summer menu. Executive chef Frank Jeannetti, who refers to his restaurant food as “the pure essence of taste”, is including new items — for instance, miso-glazed black cod with celery root puree and shaved radish salad…

Miami Chefs Take Advantage of Free Agency

Chef Micah Edelstein left Grass Restaurant & Lounge. Then chef Brian Cantrell left A Fish Called Avalon. Then chef Brandon Benack left Emeril’s Miami Beach. Then chef Sean Bernal left Oceanaire Seafood Room. Then chef Justin Albertson left The Villa by Barton G. Then chef Jeff McInnis left the Ritz-Carton…

Uncle Luke Remembers a Neighborhood Legend

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke eulogizes one of Miami’s unseen black leaders.Miami’s black community recently lost a great person, a man who…

Eden Roc Steak House: Let’s Name It!

Come this fall, the Eden Roc Renaissance Miami Beach will premiere a “farm-friendly steak house” co-conceptualized by Seth Greenberg, my dentist. Wait — sorry, that’s just a coincidence. This Seth Greenberg is a hospitality impresario from the Northeast. “Earth, fire, water, air, and space” will be the classical elements brought…

Kevin Burns Bounces Check, Attacks Rival (Updated)

Former North Miami Mayor Kevin Burns abandoned his campaign for U.S. Senate to run for state Senate, but maybe he should concentrate on getting his financial house in order first. This past June 28, Florida’s division of elections notified Burns via letter that his bank did not honor a $1,781 check…

Miami-Dade Republicans Name Drop Ronald Reagan

Last night’s monthly meeting of Miami-Dade Republicans was an entertaining respite from the LeBronomania enveloping the county. As promised, congressional candidate Paul Crespo demanded that David Rivera, the Republican frontrunner in the U.S. congressional race to replace Mario Diaz-Balart, resign as the local GOP’s chairman. Contender Marili Cancio also demanded…