Chef Johnny Vinczencz made a name for himself during a star-making stint at the Hotel Astor from 1995 to 2000. He also made a nickname for himself, “the Caribbean Cowboy,” which he discarded after leaving town and riding off to other restaurants in Palm Beach (Sundy House) and Broward (Johnny…
Is there any animal more abused than the chicken? Most begin and live their brief existence in mammoth farm-factories under conditions so dire they make the black hole of Calcutta appear merely gray. Then it’s off to the poultry processing plants, Dante’s seventh circle of finger-lickin’-good hell, where they’re killed…
The most surprising thing about Martin Scorsese finally winning that long-elusive Oscar for best director is that he did it without the benefit of any soup scene in The Departed. What ignites the famously sensual eating orgy in Tom Jones (best picture, 1963)? Big, steaming pewter bowls of celery soup…
Since South Beach’s late-Eighties renaissance, when droves of fashion and film aficionados (plus other notably fitness-conscious people) descended, sushi has been one of Miami’s major food groups. By the mid-Nineties, Washington Avenue was lined with Japanese eateries comparable in quality to those in New York City. Unfortunately, like those in…
If you want to know why San Francisco is a great restaurant town, go to South Miami. Bear with me; it’s not really that big a stretch. San Francisco is a great restaurant town not because of its handful of uber-luxe, four-star establishments, but because just about every neighborhood in…
Chefs Clay Conley of Azul and Michael Bloise of Wish agree: Given the choice of being stuck on a desert island with either Martha Stewart or the Mondavi brothers, both would prefer Martha. Conley explains, “If anyone can make a deserted island feel like home, she could.” The same question…
David Bouley hails not from Paris or Provence, as his name, heritage, and repertoire of refined French cuisine might suggest. He grew up in Storrs, Connecticut. And while he trained under Michelin-starred chefs in France and Switzerland, and toiled away at landmark New York restaurants, he then served successfully as…
About three years ago, Miami’s midtown so-called “Arts District” was trumpeted, in a CNN real estate survey, as the most rapidly appreciating area in the country. National media hype that followed pictured Biscayne Boulevard as the gracious promenade it was to be, possibly within minutes — lined with cute cafes…
It’s all Starbucks’ fault. Coffee used to be the equivalent of regular leaded. It was cheap, strong, and uncomplicated; you poured it in your tank, revved up your motor, and were good to go. Then some boy genius got his fancy knickers in a twist and all of a sudden…
Rocky Aoki didn’t invent teppanyaki dining, but he did introduce the Japanese tabletop cooking concept to the States in 1964, when he opened his first Benihana in New York City. Rocky can also claim credit for revving up the crowd-pleasing antics of his hibachi chefs way before Emeril. Aoki so…
What’s the difference between a Valentine’s Day restaurant meal and the same dinner on a normal night? About $50 to $200. Something is clearly wrong with this discrepancy, yet the heart-shape box of Russell Stover candies doesn’t quite cut it as a romantic expression, either. Leave it to a French…
Chef Govind Armstrong is the Zelig of contemporary California cuisine. He started out spending summers working with Wolfgang Puck at L.A.’s legendary Spago, beginning in that restaurant’s inaugural year — when it was the seminal spot for modern American gastronomy. Govind was thirteen years old at the time. The prodigal…
Some words are just natural red flags. When a politician says, “Honestly,” it means he’s getting ready to spew a load of horse effluent. When an insurance company talks about its “good hands,” it means you’re about to get the big finger. When an actor whines about “exhaustion,” it means…
Chéen-huyae is the sort of feel-good, fail-safe restaurant that timid American tourists visiting the Yucatan might approach with enthusiasm. A glass storefront façade lends an airy ambiance to the neat and petite 30-seater, even if it offers only the lackluster vista of a parking lot. Beige walls bedecked with sepia-tone…
The lentils are chilled, bits of red bell pepper flecked within, baby greens beneath. Aged sherry vinaigrette joins the cool salad tangle, plus three warm, tiny discs of octopus, all served in a white bowl with a high back — which it seems everyone is using these days. Nobody, though,…
Considering Miami’s predominance of Cuban immigrants, it’s astonishing that truly wonderful, home-style, traditional Cuban meals are rare here. One theory as to why this is so: These days the chefs in the kitchens are mostly from other Latin American countries. To an experienced food professional, this statement is not objective…
In 1984, Rudy “Butch” Stanko was sentenced to six years in prison for violating the Federal Meat Inspection Act. Court papers show that his Cattle King Packing Company was not only riddled with rats and cockroaches, but also workers at the facility routinely processed animals that were dead before arrival,…
Karma is the Buddhist principle that says what a person does in this life will determine his destiny in the next. If that’s the case, then the folks behind Karma, a très moderne pan-Asian restaurant just off the eatin’ path in downtown Coral Gables, should be raking in some serious…
Tommy Pooch, Alan Roth, and Eric Levin are seasoned party promoters and entrepreneurs, and as such boast more of a background in bouncers, booze, bimbos, and blasting music than in proffering fine cuisine. Excepting Rumi, which started out with excellent fare, Pucci’s Pizza (since sold) and SoBe Wraps are about…
When Deco Sandwiches, originally advertised as a 24-hour gourmet deli, opened just more than a year ago, the first thought that came to mind was the management must have a death wish. What other explanation could there be for opening another sandwich joint barely a block from La Sandwicherie? The…
Many years ago I found myself sitting on the outdoor patio at Joe’s Seafood Restaurant — a photogenic vista of the Miami River on the horizon, a piece of depressingly overdressed fish on the plate. It was agonizing to think, as I slowly poked at the sorry specimen with my…
Boring old hot dog — mustard, relish, maybe a little chopped onion. Trendy new haute dog — wasabi mayo, banana chips, avocado. That’s the idea behind Franktitude, a way-slick eatery that appears intent on doing to the wiener what eateries like Lindburger and Oneburger have done to the hamburger, essentially…
