Food Network

Food Network, Cooking Channel and now, Univision television chef, Ingrid Hoffmann, sat down with us to talk about her most recent endeavors. Her show, Delicioso, premiers tomorrow at 1 p.m. on Univision. It will be the first cooking show broadcast weekly on national television, regardless of the language.

Each of Hoffmann's Delicioso episodes share ideas for cooking (primarily Latin cuisine), entertaining and crafts.

Tomorrow is "Un Toque Mexicano" (A touch of Mexico). That's right, and hopefully there will be piñatas.

She's not what you would expect from a star. During our chat, Hoffmann was a hot mess. Decked out in comfy clothes and flip-flops, she sipped a cafecito. She admitted that she had actually wanted to cancel our meeting because her hair looked like she had just rolled out of bed. We found it all completely human and charming.
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Ritz-Carlton Key Biscayne

Come on, isn't this better than a sports bar?

​Watching the Super Bowl in Miami does not have to mean going to a sports bar and having your $700 Prada loafers stick to the floor. This is Miami, after all. The home of excess.

Sure you want to pay attention to the game (you may even have a hefty sum riding on the Giants ... or the Patriots), but you want something a little more than sliders and beer. Here are some places to watch the game -- Miami playa style.
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Bill Wisser

La Cigale's steak and fries. Tasty stuff!

T​hierry Bossa, from Marseilles, France, has stamina. He has had to deal with a difficult landlord, an un-helpful lawyer and a change of chefs. What else is new in the restaurant business? But, he hasn't given up yet and the future is looking brighter ... slightly. About seven months back, Thierry took over a space in a small but well visited mall in the Upper East Side that has morphed many times. The Chop Shop is still there, but Le Cafe, which seemingly thrived, bringing in fun bands, cheap eats, free Internet access and plenty of innovative art is now just a memory. Segafredo Mozzarella and Wine is taking over the space soon.

Bossa put in shiny new wood floors himself, painted the walls and fixed up the kitchen just like he always dreamed: clean, open and efficient. Then came the taxes, licenses and tons of other bills that he never knew existed. Still he forged on, relentless in his battle to bring a tiny bit of French nourishment to the Upper East Side.

His menu at La Cigale is reasonable and interesting. The leek soup as well as the oignon (onion) soup is priced at $6, and it's good. His salads are copious. The Niçoise salad is tasty, fresh and crispy, (Thierry hates wilted salads) and includes chopped lettuce, thick slices of fresh tomatoes, potatoes, French green beans, black olives, chunks of tuna, sliced hard boiled eggs, a drizzle of EVOO and thin slices of onions for $12.

"Even if I have to prepare four different salads for the same table, each salad gets my attention and is prepared individually for each client," said Bossa.
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Torres takes over 660.

​660 at The Angler's has announced that Carlos Torres will be replacing the recently departed Giorgio Rapicavoli as executive chef. The indoor/outdoor contemporary American restaurant will keep its signature dishes, but chef Torres will slowly integrate his own dishes into the menu. Look for a yuzu-marcerated scallop ceviche with avocado, red onion, crispy garlic and oregano oil; and octopus escabeche with roasted red peppers, onions, lemon aioli, caperberries, olives, and smoked paprika. That one sure sounds good.

Born and raised in Bogota, Colombia, Carlos Torres moved to New York City when in his early twenties in order to work at such restaurants as Lucy Latin Kichen and Pipa. He then moved to Miami and worked for chef Douglas Rodriguez at OLA, where he eventually became executive chef (and impressed locals with his cooking). Torres likewise helped to open De Rodriguez Cuba and De Rodriguez Ocean, where he was executive chef. Last but not least, Mr. Torres won the New Times Iron Fork Competition in 2010.

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Quick Football Snacks for the Clueless Cook

If you weren't so clueless you would have looked up fun easy recipes and bought the ingredients for Super Bowl Sunday snacks by now.  But since you're reading this, you didn't, did ya?

Quickies: Chickpea Salad with a Fresh Herb Vinaigrette and Last Minute Deviled Eggs with Last Minute Toppings.

Run out and get two large cans of cooked chickpeas. While you're at the marketplace pick up a dozen eggs, mayo, five or six bags of chips, nachos, etc. (depends on how many people you've invited), a jar of green or black olives or both, some fresh herbs such as cilantro and parsley, a couple of lemons, garlic and a few red onions. Chop up the (pitted) olives, two onions, a good handful of cilantro and parsley and a few cloves of garlic. Throw the drained chickpeas in an attractive bowl and whisk mostly everything together with about five tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of vinegar, salt and pepper. Squeeze some lemon juice on top of the salad. Refrigerate your chickpea salad until ready to eat. Serve with nachos and chips.
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Photo by Riki Altman

They've got a bone for you, lady.

"I want to have sex with this bone marrow," uttered the gal sitting on the barstool next to us as she closed her eyes and bit down on a tanned toast round topped with chimichurri and glistening globes of savory, meaty fat. "Seriously, if this was a man...."

Yeah, our first bites at Eating House were near damn orgasmic at times, too. That whipped ricotta tinged with lemon zest and olive oil in the shaved zucchini plate, the caramelized banana-miso blanket atop the charred Japanese eggplant (yes, you read that wacky combo right), the jar of whipped Nutella layered atop bananas foster puree and salted caramel... and don't even get us started on the fried chicken. Even the dishes we didn't have a chance to try looked simply sublime, such as the pork tenderloin in a Dr. Pepper reduction with raw and smoked apples and the Homestead tomato salad with nuoc cham, frozen coconut milk, and ginger.
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Lee Klein

Inside Roho, looking out.

​​A sign announcing the impending arrival of Kaña Cuban Coffee Roasters was in place at the downtown intersection of Flagler Street and Miami Avenue for many months (and is still noted on the company website). So it was a surprise when Roho Cuban Coffee opened in its place.

No matter. Roho is about as breezy and comfortable a spot to sit and sip joe that we know of. The indoor/outdoor space is designer Steven G.'s spin on Havana heyday decor, replete with cushioned chairs and couches and palm trees swaying on the sizable outside deck.
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Coca-Cola

The Coke bears are back in time for the big game.

​Can Super Bowl Sunday be the only day of the year in which we actually look forward to commercials?

Each year, advertisers fall all over themselves trying to top each other for ratings, consumer approval and a coveted Clio award.  Advertisers pay dearly for one of the 70 spots during the game. ABC reports that NBC is charging around $3.5 million dollars for 30 seconds of airtime. We did the math and figured that's $245 million dollars of ad revenue being generated by the game.

There are few surprises in the way of who's advertising -- car, food, and soft drink companies lead the way. Budweiser has the monopoly on beer, and GoDaddy will feature scantily dressed babes yet again. The biggest shock this year has been the leaking of commercials on the internet. Of the 70 spots, over a dozen have been released in advance, causing an insane amount of buzz. Leading the way are the Honda spot which sees Matthew Broderick recreating his role of boy wonder Ferris Bueller and a chorus of dogs barking the Empire Strikes Back theme for VW.

Quite a few food and beverage advertisers have also leaked their commercials. From goofy cops eating a healthy breakfast to animated polar bears cavorting, here's a preview of what you can expect to see on Sunday (oh, there's football too, right?):
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All photos by Laine Doss

Moloko: coffee and crepes in Midtown.

​Visiting the Shops at Midtown the other day, I felt sluggish. Suddenly, it hit me why: I hadn't had my caffeine fix yet.

Then I remembered that Moloko, a new coffee house, had opened up. Though its website touts crepe-making for children and a "coffee revolution" theme, the place is a small, narrow space with tall, wooden beamed ceilings. Dark red walls gave way to filled bookshelves. There was a chess board in the corner, along with some couches meant for lounging or chatting.

I sat down on one of the leather seats at the long coffee bar and ordered a nonfat latte ($2.65) with a shot of almond syrup (I needed a sugar fix, too). It was served in a tall blue mug, just strong enough, with a hint (not a douse) of almond flavoring. "Let me know if you want the coffee sweeter. I like to start with less and add more it someone wants it," the barista told me.
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​Over the next few weeks, Short Order will be pairing eight Miami-Dade neighborhoods in a "Snackdown." This is the first entry. Today pits Coconut Grove against South Beach. Which of these two is the better neighborhood for dining?

Read our arguments and VOTE! Tweet it. Facebook it. Google+ it. Comment if you don't like it. Comment if you love it. Do whatever it takes to rep your epicurean mecca.

For north of the county line, visit our sister blog, Clean Plate Charlie, and vote for your favorites during its Food Town Throwdown.
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