Not long ago I called Ruth’s Chris Steak House and asked for directions to its new location in Coral Gables. It was a Tuesday evening, South Florida hadn’t yet been overwhelmed by high-season tourists, and I assumed dinner reservations would not be necessary. So I was not prepared when the…
Okay, enough with the griping about the dearth of Asian restaurants in this town. Without a significant Asian migration, it’s unlikely we’ll get a cheap Vietnamese noodle shop on every corner, enough Korean barbecue to really make a choice, a taste of southern Indian Tamil cooking, or spicy Malaysian curries…
Pastis is an anise-flavor liqueur popular throughout the south of France, particularly on the Côte d’Azur in Provence. Locals there have even worked the word pastis into their dialect, using it to mean “confused,” or “mixed,” a definition that is derived from the cloudy appearance of the drink when water…
There’s a lot of Italian out there: the new and old, the good, the bad, and the ugly; the great, unfortunately, seem to be rare. I do think there are a few restaurants in town turning out exquisite cuisine from Europe’s boot. And there are plenty of decent places for…
I’ve never been a dim sum enthusiast: Peppery octopus, steamed shrimp balls, and other such delicacies are not my cup of tea come weekend brunch. Neither, for that matter, is a cup of tea. So it was with some trepidation that I recently trekked along with friends for dim sum,…
(The story thus far: Efrain Veiga, of Yuca renown, announces plans for Mayya restaurant in Albion Hotel; partners include former big-league baseball player Billy Bean and Latin TV star Cristina Saralegui. Minimalist décor costs maximumist dollars — more than two million. Mexican-born Guillermo Tellez, having honed skills with illustrious Charlie…
When Beatlenut first opened last winter, neither I nor any of my foodie friends were tempted to try it, for one main reason: the nauseatingly cutesy misspelling of the name. The betel nut, the natural mood stimulant that Bloody Mary (the amply fed Hawaiian earth mama to all singing sailors)…
The stone crab “has a shell harder than a landlord’s heart,” wrote Damon Runyon, back in the days when Joe’s Stone Crabs was the only place on the Beach to get them. Many would say Joe’s is still the only place for stone crabs, but they’re speaking figuratively. Monty’s has…
The fat cows have new neighbors: Tango Beef Café has settled in across the street from the popular Normandy Isles parillada, Las Vacas Gordas. Tango Café is a parillada as well. Loosely translated it means “place where meats are grilled” Argentine style, which refers not only to the side of…
Franz & Josephs opened last December with little fanfare: no stars, no multimedia PR campaign, no famous chefs or fanciful themes. Seems they’re intent on succeeding with a comforting ambiance, reliable service, and good (though not exceptional), moderately priced food. Sounds a little far-fetched, I know, but supposedly millions of…
To label Barroco Restaurant simply Brazilian would be like calling Caffe Abbracci a pasta joint. Unlike the churrasco houses that are sprouting up from New York to Los Angeles, here you won’t find any strolling meat carvers wielding sharp knives and hunks of flesh. No skewers of chicken hearts. Not…
Many pale people will soon flee their frigid habitats to visit friends and relatives here in the Sunshine State. That means they are coming to our houses. Now I don’t know about your out-of-town guests, but as soon as mine unpack their bags, they begin to pester me with predictable…
People come and go quickly in the food biz, so it’s no big deal that Pepe Freixas, Victor Passalacqua, and chef José Charles left La Dorada, the wonderful Spanish seafood house in the Gables, to try the same recipe again at a new Spanish restaurant called Navarra. Two things do…
After closing for more than two months, the charming and cozy Escopazzo on South Beach has reopened with a brand-new dining room, doubling its capacity from about 35 to more than 70 seats. To introduce this new “wine room,” Escopazzo has announced it will host monthly winemaker dinners, beginning October…
While dining the other night at Toscana 2000, I couldn’t help but think of the Stanley Tucci film Big Night, a favorite on all foodies’ must-see lists. When it came out a few years ago I asked my friend, a local film critic, what he thought of it. He learned…
As a rule I avoid any restaurant which has an appellation that ends with the word palace or hut: The former are never palatial, the latter usually just cramped snack-food places with graceless décor. Rather than shun the Original Pita Hut, though, I seek it out on Arthur Godfrey’s unofficial…
Steep steps in the kitchen of the French restaurant Prunelle led up to a plush plum-color dining room. Actually it was down those steps that Wolfgang Puck and Jeremiah Tower came to thank us, the chefs and culinary staff, for a job well done. It was in New York City,…
In finer restaurants the prevailing procedure for dining is this: You make a reservation, leave your phone number, and then it’s usually customary for the eatery to call back and confirm the date and time of your meal; sometimes they even reconfirm your intentions on the day of your visit…
A good way to measure the health of our economy is by the number of high-end restaurants that have opened or are scheduled to open around town. We’re not slumping. Already here are Baleen, Soyka, Ortanique, Coco Pazzo, Beatlenut, the News Room, and a second Grillfish; on the way should…
When I heard Norma’s on the Beach was planning a sequel in Coral Gables, I wasn’t excited about the prospect of two solid Caribbean restaurants in town; I was upset. Let me explain. I’ve been a huge fan of the funky Lincoln Road eatery since it opened. Even when I’m…
The waitstaff at By Sarah Cafe & Catering, located on Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami, stiffens visibly when the light contemporary jazz (think Chuck Mangione) playing on the radio is interrupted by commercials. One particular advertisement clearly bugged the hell out of ’em. “Run by chefs. That explains our food,”…
Lovers of Las Vegas and habitués of the Bahamas will instantly recognize the lobby of the two-month-old Miccosukee Resort & Convention Center: Clanging bells, security guards, and row after row of video gaming machines announce the Miccosukees’ intent to make their new gambling complex state of the art. Denizens of…
