Miami Food Blog

​If you thought it was too late to score tickets to the delicious South Beach Wine & Food Festival, think again. Several marquee events still have room for all the foodies out there. Most exciting is the fact that there are general admission tickets for the Perrier-Jouet BubbleQ for sale for $350 (the VIP reception is sold out, however). This annual gourmet barbecue will take place Friday, February 26, from 7:30 to 11 p.m. beachside at the Delano Hotel. It will be hosted by Emeril Lagasse, along with fellow toques Todd English, Cindy Hutson, Howard Kleinberg, Claude Troigrois, and Norman Van Aken. It's always a hit because there is plenty of champagne, amazing food, and the chance to say "Who Dat" to Emeril.

Or you can purchase a ticket for the Prelude Dinner, Best of the Best, Fun and Fit as a Family (Saturday and Sunday), Sweet Dreams Wine seminar, Midnight Amore, Uncorked, Grand Tasting (Sunday), Wines From Spain with Doug Frost, Guilty Pleasures, and Haute Holistic Dinner. With SBWFF only 16 days away, Short Order suggests buying the remaining tickets now, before it's too late. For more information, click here.

​It's not a good idea to drink and drive, Einstein, but heck -- it can be a freakin' blast drinking and bowling! Did you know you are awarded double points for getting a strike in your neighbor's lane? Yeah, we've never heard that one either, but try it out and get back to us.

In the meantime, here are two cocktails to enjoy between frames when you hit the lanes during Lucky Strike's Speed Bowling for Love event this Friday, February 12. (Click neptix.com/events/2240 or call 305-751-9641 before midnight tonight for a discount of $10 off the $55 ticket price.)

Superperro from Los Perros (left); Colombian perro from La Perrada de Edgar

​What makes a hot dog Colombian? These days, it seems like the more outrageous the toppings the better. Whipped cream and plum sauce, anyone?

A Colombian hot dog is typically topped with chopped onions, crushed potato chips, and generous squirts of ketchup, pink sauce (basically a mix of ketchup and mayo), mustard, and pineapple sauce. The combo of sauces varies from place to place. Some eateries also add melted cheese. From there, it seems, creativity rules. You might find your dog topped with chorizo and a quail egg, like at La Moon, which was featured in the recent live episode of Man v. Food, or with shrimp and crab, like at La Perrada de Edgar.

We took the Colombian hot dogs at two restaurants across the street from one another, La Perrada de Edgar and Los Perros, and put them to the test.

Photo by Lee Klein

Miso glazed sea bass, toasted pearl pasta, mushroom consommé; with Clos Uroulat Jurançon Sec, France 2006

​One of the things I liked about a media dinner attended last Friday at Bourbon Steak Miami is that nothing in particular was being plugged. Nothing, that is, other than delectable cuisine prepared by chef Michael Mina (in town for the Super Bowl) and executive chef Gabriel Fenton. The food was paired with divine wines selected by the restaurant's acclaimed sommelier, Matthew Turner. Since Bourbon Steak opened in December of 2007, Turner has expanded the wine list from 500 to more than 900 labels.

One of the things I like about Bourbon Steak is that everything I have eaten there over the years, be it steak and soufflé or burger and duck-fat fries, has been prepared just right. Bourbon Steak also prepares nonsteak items as deftly as any steak house around.

So it was only a mild surprise that four of the five savory courses were seafood-based. Mina prepared them, including his signature Maine lobster potpie with brandied truffle cream (paired with a 2007 Patz & Hall "Dutton Ranch" Chardonnay from California's Russian River Valley), and ahi tuna tartare with ancho chili, sesame oil, pine nuts, and mint (pictured above) matched with Albert Boxler "Brand" Riesling Grand Cru from Alsace, France. Both of these dishes are on Bourbon Steak's menu.

Jackie Sayet

Disappearing act: Sakaya's new steamed pork buns.

​This is wet-nap food. You know, the kind best consumed bent over so the juices don't Jackson Pollock your pants. You eat it with your hands, because it tastes better that way, and you relish licking every last drop of sauce from your fingers.

Midtown's Sakaya Kitchen provides wet naps next to the napkins and utensils on the counter. A good sign. You'll need them as you scarf down chef/owner Richard Hales's new steamed roast pork buns. They're the fold-over variety and a successful exercise in layering flavors, cooking techniques, and ingredients into a taste explosion. Nix on the fluffy white bread stuffed with overcooked and overly sweet pork chunks. 

Here's the method:

First, there's the bone-in pork butt that is cured overnight in a rub-down of brown sugar, toasted spices such as star anise, and sesame oil. Into a roasting pan the hulking slab goes for eight hours, low and slow.

Photo courtesy of 5W Public Relations

Don't worry, this man won't be behind the counter.

​You might not have been aware that February is National Soup Month or that the Original SoupMan soups are now available in frozen form at your favorite Publix -- assuming your favorite Publix isn't the brand-new, fancy-shmancy one on the corner of Alton Road and Sixth Street in South Beach. That branch doesn't have the SoupMan yet. The Publix at 1920 West Ave. carries four of the ten varieties (check out Aisle 12), as does the one at 1045 Dade Blvd. (seafood bisque for $4.49, and chicken vegetable, Italian wedding, and broccoli and cheese for $3.49). An employee at the Dade Boulevard store said she had tried the seafood bisque and "it was really delicious."

Photo by DOK

​What it is: Shrimp dumplings flavored with shittake, asparagus, scallion, grated ginger, sesame oil, soy, white pepper, and sea salt. Ponzu-style sauce has citrus juice, soy, sesame, and a little chili. These suckers are homemade and delectable.

But... where it at?

We haven't stumped anyone in a long time, but there are a lot of dumplings in town. Take your best guess in the comments section, and we'll let you know if you get it right.

"Why use oil if you're using Serrano ham?" asks chef Jonathan Wright. He's referring to taking advantage of the natural fat of what many foodies consider the finest ham in the world, and that philosophy extends to all the dishes at the Grill, where the best ingredients are flown in for use in a menu of "predominantly European with an emphasis on French and Mediterranean cooking."

Jacob Katel

Chef Jonathan Wright behind the line.

​The Grill is one of four restaurants at one of South Beach's swankest hotel properties, the Setai, and we were in the kitchen Friday night to document the staff's interaction with their ingredients from prep to plate.

Here's a look around the joint, from the front to the back of the house.

Photo by Jacquelynn D. Powers

B&B's Michael McDonald behind the bar.

You'll find women swooning at the bar at Burger & Beer Joint. It's not just the terrific burgers and duck-fat fries that have everyone gaga over this Miami Beach hot spot. It's also the good looks and humor of 31-year-old bartender Michael McDonald. He won't take his shirt off, but he'll definitely flirt and pour you a tasty cocktail. Maybe that's why "Handsome Mike" earns the big tips.

Jacob Katel

Sidewalk Chef in the Dean's office.

​You don't have to be a college kid to go to college, you don't have to be concerned with grades to get an education, and at MDC's School of Community Education, you can empower yourself with knowledge from a world of learning opportunities.

In downtown Miami, there are eight classes taught in Wolfson's Kitchen. Recurring Short Order character Sidewalk Chef Shashank Agtey teaches Cooking Under Fire, a four-week course on cost-effective gourmet home cooking. Feeling the recession? Invest in an alternative to eating out, and save money. We personally vouch for the Sidewalk Chef's charismatic personality, commitment to his craft, and desire to share it with the world.