For everyone looking forward to the New Times' Iron Fork event next week at the Miami Science Museum, it pains us to say that it has been postponed to October 30. Yes, we played a game of chicken with Hurricane Ike and we lost.

But no worries, hold on to your ticket because it will still be honored for the rescheduled date. And the extra two months means we have even more time to plan some extra special surprises. Most of the scheduled chefs and restaurants will be attending the new date, but stay tuned for additional announcements and possible new additions.

Remember, you can get your tickets to Iron Fork by going to www.newtimesironfork.com.

-- Jose D. Duran

A stopover for lunch in New York; three days on a houseboat in Belgrade, Serbia; a week with friends in Skopje, Macedonia; eight days in a house, with many many kids, right upon Lake Ohrid, also in Macedonia; four days in Budapest, Hungary; an overnight stopover in Paris. Twenty-two days of blissful vacation, and about a hundred meals -- or so it felt. What follows in the days ahead will be photos of the gastronomic highlights. But allow me to start with the low point, which would be the meal Continental Airlines tried to pass off as chicken with pasta:

Lee Klein

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Something Fishy: Sysco has been selling "grouper" to Florida restaurants. Only problem? It isn't.

Eat Your Spinach. People are starving in Africa.
Eight million Ethiopians need urgent food relief.

Hey, asshole, I ordered the Fiesta Platter!
Woman aims at her niece's boyfriend in fight over fast food, shoots her niece instead.

And here's an old one, but it's hilarious. "Joanna," a MickyD's employee, posts a Customer Don't list that's sure to make you rethink your next trip through the drive through.

--Gail Shepherd

Photo via Flickr

The future home of Maison d'Azur?

Last month, we reported the sudden closing of Maison d'Azur at the Angler Resort on South Beach. Some comments were left saying Maison d'Azur isn't closing but instead moving to the Sagamore.

Is the rumor true? Well, yes and no. The short-lived restaurant is looking for a new space and was/is (it's unclear at this point) in talks with the Sagamore to move into Social Miami's old space, but nothing has been decided as of yet. The hotel's media contact Jessica Pfeffer confirms that the hotel has been weighing its options and looking to find a suitable replacement that will appeal both to its guests and the South Beach set.

When asked if Maison d'Azur is still in contention to move into the hotel, Pfeffer said the hotel will decide in the coming weeks which restaurant will occupy the space, making it known that the hotel hasn't reached a decision.

-- Jose D. Duran

Feeling the beat with Ronin Taiko

A few years ago the Cornell Cafe at the Morikami Museum & Japanese Garden got a big boost when the Food Network declared it one of the three best museum eateries in the country. So I went, and lemme tell you: The award does not bode well for the quality of museum food generally. Nevertheless, Cornell is a pleasing place -- the food, especially the small sushi selection, is light and vivifying (very important after a two-hour trek around the warm gardens), and you'd have to travel many hundreds of miles to find a more aesthetically pleasing setting than Morikami. On Friday September 12th, for the last time this summer, Morikami will bring in renowned Taiko drum troupe Ronin Taiko to perform in the auditorium from 5:30 - 8:30 p.m. while guests are invited to walk the expansive, trans-historic Japanese gardens at their own pace and dine on the special Sushi & Stroll Menu ($14.95, pre fixe). Tix for the taiko are only $2 above ordinary admission, which itself is only $5.

The Morikami Museum & Japanese Gardens
4000 Morikami Park Road
Delray Beach, FL 33446
(561) 495-0233

To hear more about this week's food happenings in Broward and Palm Beach (blue-collar coffee; a stronger, sassier Galanga; the cheapest half-dozen oysters in town) Subscribe to our weekly DINING NEWSLETTER, Cafe Bites, by clicking here.

-- Brandon Thorp

Simon Hare

We were more than surprised when Michael's Genuine Food & Drink (130 NE 40th Street, Miami; 305-573-5550), located in Miami's Design District, was noticeably absent from the Miami Spice participating restaurants list. We wondered if all the accolades, including a mention in the New York Times' "Coast to Coast, Restaurants That Count," had gone to its head.

But little did we know Michael's would be "spicing" up Miami alone with its own prix fixe lunch and dinner menus. We already think the place is well priced considered the quality of food, but it's always nice to save a bit of money, especially in the middle of a recession. The lunch is priced at $22 Monday through Thursday, while dinner is $35 Sunday through Thursday; both exclude tax and gratuity. The deal ends September 30.

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Naturally, we here at Short Order are consummate foodies; lovers of both the most nuanced of dishes and the homiest of comfort foods. Yet, for some reason, that foodie categorization can be tricky. For some, being a foodie is a contest -- a pissing match where your stream is lengthened by the price tag on the ultra-chic meals you eat nightly and widened by the breadth of your internal gustatory lexicon.

I think it's a natural progression that folks get sort of competitive about all things they sink so much time into, but among the casualties of this line of thought is the love for those homier dishes. More pointedly, as you delve further into the world of the foodie, the dishes that you once coveted as a child become dishes that you grow to be ashamed of. For example, how much foodie cred would you lose if you revealed to all that your favorite pick-me-up when you're feeling low is a Wendy's Spicy Chicken Sandwich? Or what if your food snob friends saw you wrist deep in a pot of freshly made Kraft Macaroni and Cheese (with extra American cheese and a bit of cayenne added, of course)? What would people think of your taste then?

The palate is a strange animal, connected in various ways to memories and emotions that, in other ways, remain neatly hidden. For whatever reason, the way a particular item tastes can remain attractive to you indefinitely, no matter how "refined" your tastes become. I suspect we all have these guilty pleasures -- foods which we would be horribly embarrassed to let on that we secretly crave. Let us know what your guilty pleasures are with a comment. Or are you scared? :-P

-- John Linn

Just a reminder that Flavor Palm Beach begins today, with one or two new additions since last we looked.

The deal is a choice of three appetizers, three entrees, and three desserts at $20 for lunch and $30 for dinner. Flavor menues are available on the site. There are two restaurants on the bill worth making a drive for, Forte di Asprinio in West Palm and Solu at Singer Island. In addition we recommend:

Capri Blu (Charming, family-run Italian) Dinner
251 Sunrise Avenue
Palm Beach, FL 33480
561-832-4300

Café Joley (Luxe French bisto) Lunch & Dinner
187 S.E Mizner Blvd
Boca Raton, FL 33432
561-361-4224

Pistache (casual French bistro) Lunch & Dinner
101 N. Clematis Street
West Palm Beach FL 33401
561-833-5090

Strip House (Fab steak house) Lunch & Dinner
Ste 2105
11701 Lake Victoria Garden
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
(561) 296-4900

And any of the Sushi Jo's for sushi, although they're just participating for lunch.

Here's Forte's Flavor Menu:

1st course

housemade ricotta terrine, japanese eggplant caponata, olive oil crostini

local corn “zuppa”, crispy pancetta, brioche gnocchi

heirloom tomato “caprese”, watermelon, housemade mozzarella

2nd course

murray’s farm free-range chicken breast “al mattone”, stone fruit panzanella, madeira

housemade farfalle, braised short rib, english peas, mint

wood burning oven-roasted local grouper “livornese”, marscapone polenta, asparagus

3rd course

butterscotch budino, salted peanut brittle, caramel crema

tahitian vanilla bean panna cotta, bing cherry, aged saba

seasonal selection of sorbetti

--Gail Shepherd

Julie Thomson

Halo Lounge on Lincoln Road.

Perhaps you didn’t notice, but last Friday Booze Hound was M.I.A. -- or more specifically, was in MIA, checking a $15 bag (damn you, American Airlines!), getting bumped up to first class (thank you, American Airlines!), receiving a 6 a.m. buzz courtesy of complimentary mimosas (lovve yooou, ‘merican… Airways?) and heading to Puerto Rico for four fabulous days of sun, Spanglish, and stupendous tropical drinks.

Yet, aside from one of the best milkshakes I’ve ever had within the depths of the lushly green El Yunque rainforest, San Juan failed in the cocktail department -- sliding sub-par drinks across barhops that were constantly piggy-backed by arbitrary, desperate, and exploitative prices. And okay, so I had some decent Madras in Old San Juan, but I’m sorry, a $10 mojito absent of any kind of sugar in a country where one of their main exports is sugar is inexcusable.

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Jose D. Duran

Soyka's grilled petit filet mignon au jus.

I must admit that I've gone to Soyka countless times before, never considering it too expensive that a Miami Spice prix fixe menu is needed. But my friends decided to have dinner there Wednesday night and I took it as a perfect opportunity to try it out.

Soyka's food is contemporary American with plenty of Italian influences. I've always considered it the Cheesecake Factory of Miami restaurants, not because its a chain -- it's not -- but because the portions are generous and the menu is an inexplicable mish-mash of different items. Don't get me wrong, I like the restaurant; the food is good, the sweet potato fries are super crispy (crispiest in Miami, if I may say so myself), but it's not a place where the food leaves a lasting impression on me. And after previewing the Spice menu online, I didn't expect my Spice experience to change that.

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"Hmmm, I seem to have developed amnesia. Who am I? And where did this egg come from?"

Since people haven't been able to properly name our WTF is it?!? item for a few weeks now, I thought we would go with a food item nearly guaranteed to be identified. I mean, this one is easy. Too easy.

So for clarity's sake, the egg is in the pic for scale. And here's an additional hint: It's in season now. The object in question is bright yellow, as you can see, and resembles a melon or gourd. Which is it? I dunno. You tell me.

Good luck!

-- John Linn

Perhaps I have a smidge of room left for the brunost.

In yesterday's blog watch we linked to a piece on Tinkering with Dinner that discussed the Omnivore's Hundred, a kind of foodie scavenger hunt that allows you to gauge the types of foods you've eaten or would never eat. The Hundred, originally created by the British food blog Very Good Taste has exploded - just look at those comments on the original post! I decided yesterday that I would fill out and submit my Omnivore's Hundred here on Short Order, and here are my results, as promised.

The list is interesting in that what starts off fairly easy gets difficult towards the end. Brown cheese from Norway? Rank grain alcohol from China? There’s some intriguing entries on here, including some things I’m not ashamed to say I had to Google. There's also nothing I wouldn't eat here, although roadkill gave me some pause. Try it out yourself, and see what you come up with. If you send us a link to your own OH list, we'll post it here. And away we go...

Here’s what I want you to do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.
5) From TWD: Italicize any dish you've cooked yourself.

1. Venison - My girlfriend's father hunts at his farm in upstate New York each year, and brings back his catch already processed neatly into pepperoni, sausage, tenderloins, stewing cuts, and steaks. We usually lightly grill the tenderloin - so that it's still a brilliant, ruby color inside - and lavish in its gamey, pungent flavor.
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros - My favorite local version came from El Torito, a now defunct Pompano eatery. I make it at home quite often, usually with last night's leftover Mexican food. I'll toss in pico de gallo, beans, fried chorizo, guacamole, anything.
4. Steak tartare - I like the Japanese version, yuke.
5. Crocodile - Alligator escapes the list... does that count here? Probably not. Here's two places to get some great gator in these parts.
6. Black pudding - Blood pudding, blood sausage, and cheesy '80s movies all prove one thing: Blood is fucking delicious.
7. Cheese fondue - My queso recipe, different than fondue but better imo:
1 TBS butter
1 TBS flour
1.5 Cup Milk
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 ts. cayanne
1 Cup shredded pepper jack cheese
pinch of saffron, bloomed in warm water
salt and pepper
- Sweat the garlic in the butter. Add flour to make a roux. Add cayanne. Turn heat down, add milk. Bring to a simmer. Add bloomed saffron. Remove from heat, stir in cheese. Season to taste. Eat with chips. Yum.
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush - Try the baba at Falafel Bistro in Coral Springs. Beautiful, bubela.

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Above: And ten reasons to love Publix

Yes, you too can be a wine connoisseur on your minimalist 30K a year salary. I've just finished reading The Wine Trials by Robin Goldstein, a scrappy little tome about the 6,000 wines he arranged to have blind tasted over the course of a year.

Want to guess what he found? The 507 tasters preferred 100 cheap wines under $15 to bottles priced at $50 to $150.

There are a gazillion reasons for this, detailed at length in the book, but one of the more obvious ones is that expensive wine just doesn't always taste better.

Take, for example, the blind face-off between Dom Perignon champagne ($150) and Domaine St. Michel Brut Sparkling Wine ($13.29 at Publix). Two thirds of the tasters preferred the cheapie Brut. Goldstein posits that big names like DP are spending a fortune on advertising, marketing, and "positioning" their products as luxury items, and not much money at all on actually producing a great wine. Isn't the world a topsy turvy place?

I went to Publix and found 10 bottles from Goldstein's list. I was looking mostly for the category winners and editor's picks, so I'm sure they sell others. But to get you started, here they are. And once the extra Publix wine discounts were factored in, boy were they cheeeeap!

Reds:
George Duboeuf Beaujolais-Villages, $9.99
Bogle Zinfandel, $12.49
Rosemount Shiraz, ($10.49 - $2.15 discount = $8.34)
Barefoot Merlot ($7.49 - .37 discount = $7.12)
**Campo Viejo Rioja Crianza ($9.49 - .95 discount = $8.54)

Whites:
**Marques de Cacares Rioja ($10.49 - .53 discount = $9.96)
**Alice White Chardonnay (on sale for $4.99)
Fat Bastard Chardonnay (10.99 - $1.10 discount = $9.89)

Sparkling:
**Domaine St. Michel Brut ($13.99 - .70 = $13.29)
**Freixenet Cordon Negro Brut ($11.99 - $4.99 discount = $7)

** indicates category winners or editor's picks.
Anybody tried any of these? Care to comment on them? Or do you have your own faves under $15 you'd care to share?

--Gail Shepherd

My soul mate, the great J. Wellington Wimpy.

This week, on the (dun dun dun!!!!) BLOG WATCH:

All Purpose Dark skips town. Hey, it sounds like a good idea. Labor day weekend is upon us, and I know I'm definitely due for a road trip. Naples sounds nice, but I get the feeling the West Coast as well as the Keys could experience some of those bands everyone is talking about. Maybe Gustav won't affect Florida at all, but do you really trust forecasters?

Seems like everyone is trying to shed some weight these days, even Paula at Mango & Lime. Shrinking economy and shrinking stomachs... it makes sense, right? There's always that one food item that draws you back into gluttony though. For me it would be hamburgers. I'm like my boy J. Wellington Wimpy -- anyone want to spot me till after Labor Day?

How's Miami Dish keeping cool? With the sangre de verano, naturally. Both of these blood red jugos look mighty refreshing... I wonder if you can make a cocktail with them? If you know, holler back.

Is it just me, or is the photography at I Shot the Chef amazing or what? I made fried rice myself this week, and it didn't look close to this good, and I was the one eating it. Helps to have a hubby that's an amazing photographer, I guess. Oh, and happy blogday, IStC!

More after the jump...

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photo courtesy of kimicontrol.com

Oklahoma Food Poisoning Outbreak Growing, Cause Unconfirmed
38 people confirmed sick in the Oklahoma e.coli outbreak, but that's not even the worst of the news. Now we're hearing this strain of e.coli is spreading around the country and is antibiotic resistant. To top it off, scientists are speculating that once infected, the effects can show up YEARS LATER, like a decade or two from the time you ate the raunchy burger, in the form of kidney failure or high blood pressure. Truly, this feels like the end of times....

And if you're pregnant, for god's sake, lay off the deli meat:
Food-borne illnesses erupt with sickening regularity

...because the listeria bacteria that killed all those Canadians has adapted around best practice sanitation...

And food inflation is here to stay, says the Associated Press.

But there are occasional reasons for optimism, too. At last there's something good coming out of all the food grocery stores usually throw away, and it's right in our back yard:

From Florida Trend:
POMPANO BEACH:
Recycler Gives Food Waste Second Life
One South Florida company is attempting to turn food trash into treasure through a partnership with Publix Super Markets Inc. How? Organic Recovery of Pompano Beach is converting the grocer's food waste into a liquid plant food for farmland, crops and golf courses. The company expects to divert about 17,000 tons of food scraps a year from local landfills. Launched this month, Organic Recovery collects about 166 tons of food scraps weekly from 56 Publix supermarkets in Broward County. By mid-2009, it expects to work with all the Publix stores in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. [Source: Sun-Sentinel]

-- Gail Shepherd