Young American makes $1,500 for all the balls he put in his mouth. Meatballs that is.
World champion professional competitive eater Joey Chestnut has just won the first ever Martorano's Masters Meatball Eating Competition in Las Vegas.
Steve Martorano is a South Florida restaurateur with a namesake joint, Cafe Martorano, in Ft. Lauderdale and Las Vegas. He started out making sandwiches in Philly. Click here to read a New Times Broward-Palm Beach feature on the goodfella.
According to a press release from Harrah's, Chestnut pointed to the qualty of the meatballs as key to his victory. He said "The great taste and high quality of the meatballs were evident in every bite."
Second and third place cash prizes went to Pat "Deep Dish" Bertoletti, and the 105 pound Sonya Thomas who each ate 49 and 42 of Martorano's meatballs.
The "Stir Fry Miso Beef Salad" ($8.95) is a fresh and crisp unexpected find at an Asian takeout place
​Forget everything you expect from and dislike about Chinese takeout. If you're having trouble, let us shed some light... Greasy, saucy, gloopy, wilted, and one-note flavor.
Now imagine a menu with light options like crisp salads, low oil stir fries, noodle soups, finger-licking edamame tossed in a creative selection of light sauces, and house-made -- I repeat -- house-made dumplings and spring rolls.
Add back the customary late night hours, Chinese cooks manning the kitchen, convenience, and fast service, and you have an unusually hard to find, though simple at its core, Asian fast food concept. Welcome to Wok Town, in downtown Miami.
​Congratulations to Michelle Bernstein for winning a spot on Food & Wine's top 25 cookbooks of 2009.
According to Publishers Weekly, "Every year, about 24,000 new cookbooks hit bookstore shelves."
Michelle Bernstein's book Cuisine à Latina is available at all major retailers and online.
Big ups to her for getting our city notice. Miami is full of fire and this will be a great help to the movement.
Food & Wine will include a Bernstein recipe in the book it releases featuring one from each of its winners, so as long as they're capitalizing off our talent, let's remember their audience's eyeballs are integral to our success as a food city. It is what it is.
Here is a list of the other books that made the list.
​If you've ever stepped in dog shit as you walked into a restaurant you might not like this list. Same goes for if you're allergic to K9s.
Food & Wine magazine has named Miami one of the top five dog friendliest cities in the United States, based on dining and lodging options.
They cite Lincoln Road's strategically placed water bowls, Pizza Volante and Sra. Martinez's allowing dogs at outdoor tables, and Michael's Genuine Food and Drinks' fresh baked dog treats by pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith.
The other four cities they chose are Boston, Chicago, San Diego, and San Francisco.
​El Mago de las Fritas is NOT El Rey de las Fritas' offbrand cousin, sidewalk knockoff, or bootleg copy. As a matter of fact, at last night's Burgie Awards, El Mago took home the prize for Best Frita in Miami.
El Mago has spent the last 25 years in business at 5828 SW 8th street. Here are some pictures from a Saturday party celebrating that anniversary.
A signed photo bought off the auction block of the Miami Playboy Club that was located on 77th and Biscayne from 1961 - 1984 sits in the back office at Churchill's Pub.
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Churchill's Pub aka Churchill's Hideaway is getting ready to celebrate 30 years in existence in Miami's Little Haiti. There are a lot of old bars/live music venues in Dade, but what sets Churchill's apart is that they'll let anybody play there, which along with it being Dade County's home of punk rock, is what makes it the CBGB of the South. Booking a show at Churchill's is as easy as making a call, sending an email, or showing up in person, and talking your way into it. That makes for a history so full of blood, sweat and beers, amped by its previous existence as a neighborhood beer and wine bar born in the 1940's, that the ghosts still hang out there.
Here's a behind the scenes look at the Churchill's office, where owner Dave Daniels and his crew run the place. Dave recently came back on the scene to daily operations after a hiatus saw one dead accountant and the end of the previous manager Mike's era.
The formula is simple. Draft and bottled beer, wine, liquor, a full restaurant menu, pool tables, music stage, and soccer/football matches from around the world. Here are some more pictures.
Old Spice sent us a press kit for its new deodorant. Residue is not manly.
​Asylum.com is running a poll to find America's most macho man caves, and we're weighing in -- not that they asked or anything.
Currently listed as Miami's entry (via foodforthought.com,) is Kingdom, which was recently nominated by a certain local female food critic for best burger. Let's do right by our local dens of testosterone, both serious and ridiculous, and lay them all out on the table. Which did we miss?
> Shula's Steak House in Miami Lakes -- Who's more manly that Shula?
> Fogo de Chao, Texas de Brazil, Porcao, The Knife -- Where the meats keep on coming on long, sharp swords > Wagon's West -- There's nothing like some prairie grub to put some hair on the chest > Jimbo's -- A visit to its website alone will have you pounding your chest > Mango's -- XY loves some T&A > Garcia's -- In a shack down by the river; need we say more?
Short Order recently walked up to Paula Hiebert and two friends cause we heard her laugh from a mile away. She's just a random lady I figured would have a funny story. Paula Hiebert wants her first and last name used in this blog so that when her friends from high school google her it'll come up. We asked her what her worst and best restaurant experiences ever were. She was more than happy to tell us. Here's what she had to say:
Worst: "I cut into a steak and it was green in the middle. Red and green. The waiter came over and apologized a million times. They gave me all kinds of free gift certificates to eat there, which, it's funny that they wanted me to come back and eat there after that. They did get me really drunk though, which was nice."
Second Worst: "It was a sushi restaurant. My tummy didn't feel so great. The tuna was a little slimy & I was three rolls in when I noticed. I went home and I was singing to the porcelain throne."
Second Best: "One of my most wonderful restaurant experiences was at the Waldorf on South Beach. The beef was tender, just like I like it. The best is when they just love you to death at the table. I flirt with every waiter I've ever had, girl or boy, I'm not prejudiced."
Best: "The best ever was at Blue Door at The Delano. This girl served me a cocktail and the strap of her shirt slid off her shoulder and her boob was served with the drink, it just popped right out in my face. It was quite nice. The pepperoni was perky. The mojito came with a breastito. By the way it was natural, I'm quite sure. I gave her a ten dollar tip immediately I might add. That whole night was very nice."
 It's not easy trying to find something new to tell you about Kingdom that hasn't already been said, typed or printed. But then we heard that Miami Herald food critic Victoria Pesce Elliott crowned its Queen Burger victorious when Epicurious, the online home of Gourmet and Bon Appetit magazines, asked local food critics to scout their cities for the best patty. So it was worth a deeper dive.Â
Here are some things you may not know about this MiMo "restaurant sports gallery" on the occasion of its royal commendation:
Chef Michio Kushi torches shrimp for an omakase, or "chef's choice," meal.
Chef Michio Kushi is from Katsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. The first restaurant he ever worked at was called Yagumo, back in his hometown, from 1977 to 1980. That restaurant is still there.
From 1980 to 1983, Michio worked at Su-Shin at 1085 NE 79th St. He claims it was the only restaurant in Miami at the time that was serving raw fish sushi. From '83 to '86, he was head chef and manager of Su-Shin Kendall.
Michio's brother owned the location for Sushi Deli & Japanese Market until 1999, when Michio and his wife took over. They opened the sushi bar November 1, 2002, with four seats, eventually adding two more and some tables.
Here are some pictures from Sushi Deli(1412 79th Street Cswy.) and quotes from dedicated customers Victor and Irene...
Bummed out that our 2009 "Best of" pick for Chinese may also come with a nose bleed? Or that Hakkasan, Lee's review this week, may be best reserved for a special occasion? Here's a wise pick for those further south that won't burn a hole in your wallet and proves one should never underestimate the little guy. It's Confucio Express Chinese Gourmet Cuisine, and don't let the "to go" concept fool you. For all intents and purposes, this takeout/delivery counter with a few tables on a deck overlooking a Farm Stores is a bonafide Chinese restaurant, just without the China tableware.
Growing up in NJ I had the most amazing pizza in a town called Neck Newark. The pizzeria was called Jerry's Dugout.They did a white pizza with shaved truffle that was to die for.Now living in Miami, good pizza is scarce if non existent to say the least. The best in my opinion is Miami's Best...their sauce is great, love the crust and all the fresh toppings, open up a great bottle of ice cold Peroni Beer and I am happy.(have to hold myself back from those late night stops on my way home from work)
There is nothing like picking a tomato still warm from the heat of the sun, cutting it in half, sprinkling a little sea salt on it and eating it on the spot. The sweet, salty and slightly acidic flavor along with the juices running down your chin is always amazing. Or how about the home-grown arugula that is so spicy with that garlicky-peppery pungency - simply dressed with a little olive oil, red wine vinegar and sea salt?
Taking something that is so fresh, locally grown and in season, and not messing with is very much is an idea that is so "old" yet so "new". It is how I like to eat at home, and how we treat the ingredients we use at the Grill. Our cuisine is bold but simple with "reach out and grab you" flavors that smack of the season.
Shantel Lounge, winner of ourBest Barbecue Chicken and Best Open Mic Night awards also deserves recognition for their fried fish. Find out why for yourself this and every Sunday as they host their Sunday Fish Fry featuring live blues and real R&B. This past Sunday featured the music of former Harlem South (a.k.a. Overtown before the 95), Sir John Nightbeat (a.k.a. the hottest club in town) house band guitarist Treetop. He was followed by "Honey, Honey" hitmaker David Hudson himself.
The music was great, and the food was on point, here are some more pictures.
Mark Militello, chef/owner Mark's and executive chef Regent Bal Harbor culinary operations, including 1 Bleu restaurant
Best pizza was in Eluthera playing pool with the family. We ordered a conch pie and the kids thought it sounded disgusting. It was so good we went back the next day for a second. Totally not a pizzas pizza. Best sweet was wandering them narrow streets of Seville in the early morning and having a whipped cream ice cream for breakfast. I keep dreaming about it and have not found any thing close. Probably the best three fish dishes were in St. Bart's. A simple grilled snapper and a fresh Caribbean lobster cooked and basted over hardwood with fresh herbs. They also served a raw tuna that was finished with fresh shaved coconut and scotch bonnet oil. I promise you that it had nothing to do with the topless girls poolside.
Peter Boulukos, chef/owner of YOLO Restaurant and Tarpon Bend restaurants
The best fried food I ever had wasn't from a restaurant. When I was a kid my uncle owned a marina that was about 10 minutes from our house. One night he showed up after work with a bucket overflowing with fresh flounder. My aunt filled the sink with water and dumped the fish in; I remember watching them swim around in that sink. My aunt cleaned them, filleted them, breaded them and fried them right there. Super fresh, crispy, delicious; served with fresh lemon. Nothing's ever come close to that.
I am not a huge BBQ fan but when Tom Jenkins was located in Boca Raton on the corner of Dixie and Glades it was phenomenal. I remember eating there and thinking "this is what all the fuss is about" from BBQ fanatics.
Barbecue... well, that's easy. I remember moving to Kansas City as a
boy, and everyone kept talking about Arthur Bryant's. It was located in a
poverty-stricken area in K.C. round 18th and Brooklyn. I had to try it!
I remember the small restaurant with cafeteria-style seating and a
walk-up counter... The sweet, smoky barbecue scents hit you as soon as you
pulled in the drive. As I sat with my plastic tray overflowing with
both beef ribs and pulled pork, I knew this would be a hot spot for me
and any of my family and friends who came to town. The tangy coleslaw,
slow-baked beans, and side of cornbread didn't hurt the whole experience
either! To this day, it's the best barbecue I have ever eaten. Can't wait to go
back!
Norman Van Aken, chef/owner of Norman's at the Ritz-Carlton, Orlando (and soon-to-be Norman's 180 in Coral Gables)
A war might break out in the family if I decided on one barbecue dish, but I feel safe recalling a fried treasure. Â We went up to Charleston, South Carolina, back in about '86 for a big symposium on American food. All manner of comestibles were on deck that weekend, but one of the most extraordinary was at a "field dinner" held on the grounds of a plantation where a crew of women in antebellum clothes cooked fried catfish and okra in big black cauldrons. The exteriors were as crisp and light as frying gets, with the true taste of the sealed-within food still ringing true and pure.
Giada, Guy, Bobby and friends are sounding off on the favorite things they've eaten -- EVER, EVER -- on a new Food Network special called "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." This week's episodes are about fried food and BBQ.
So it got us thinking... What unmatched edible memories made a lasting impression on our local cheffies? We asked, and they delivered! Here's the first in a plethora of gastranecdotes from our hometown kitchen heroes.
Michelle Bernstein, chef/owner Michy's and Sra. Martinez
I have always loved tempura, eating and preparing it equally, thinking I was actually consuming the "real thing." Imagine my surprise when my husband and I went to Tokyo last year and the true art of tempura smacked me in the face like a wet noodle. We were sent by a chef friend to Asagi in Ginza, a beautiful area filled with shopping and great eats. To this super popular and very hard to get into restaurant. There might have been as many as 8 seats at the Tempura "bar," which faced the chef. He was in front of an old but pristine small pot of hot oil, holding a small spider (a kitchen utensil used for picking up food delicately from hot oil); his dad was peeling the shrimp and handing it to his assistant to further perfect then handed it to the chef to fry. His grandfather's picture was hanging on the wall beside him; obviously this restaurant had been in the family for generations. They worked in unison, only frying 4 pieces of deliciousness at a time, never filling the pan with too much product, never looking up other than to make sure we were finished to move on to the next adventure. We ordered the degusation menu and started our journey. Taste after taste, the meal intensified. We ate fried fish filet, fried fish spines, fried shrimp and calamari. Then the vegetables, absolutely greaseless, oh so crunchy but delicate. Every bite made me hungrier. It was the most expensive tempura we have ever experienced but I would pay 5 times more for just another bit of that perfection.
In a recent interview with international superstar DJ Paul Van Dyk, Metromix Los Angeles asked the DJ where the best food in the world can be found.
His response; "I have to say, one of my favorite restaurants is in downtown Miami. It is, strangely enough, an Italian restaurant run by an Argentinean guy, but it's really, really good. It's called La Loggia and it's definitely some of the best food I've ever had: always fresh, very tasty, but it's not over-tasty--everything just works."
La Loggia's website claims that "Civic leaders believe La Loggia could be a turning point in efforts to attract more people to the downtown area." Looks like they're right.
La Loggia is located at 68 W Flagler St Miami, FL 33130. Call (305) 373-4800 for more info.
Congratulations to Kristen Hinman from our sister paper in St. Louis, The Riverfront Times, for her James Beard award for best Newspaper Feature Writing Without Recipes, for her article "The Pope of Pork."
Kristen's article about the pork farming co-op that provides the meat for Chipotle restaurant, and the visionary farmer behind it, makes an excellent case for the humane treatment of animals meant for slaughter.
With several branches in South Florida, it's good to know that Chipotle stands by its mission to provide food with integrity. At least the pork in their burritos comes from pigs that live happy, drug free lives in wide open spaces before they meet their fate at the slaughterhouse, although the way they're killed in gas chambers or by electric shock is still pretty disturbing after hearing how much their behaviors resemble that of humans.
The James Beard Awards for chefs and restaurants will be presented today and we congratulate Chef Douglas Rodriguez from OLA and Chef Michael Schwartz from Michael's Genuine Food and Drink in Miami for their nominations for Best Chef South and Chef Michelle Bernstein for Sra. Martinez's nomination for best new restaurant. We will keep you posted as to the winners tomorrow.
thanks to @MPChicago for live tweeting the awards and allowing us to give you this breaking news.
Not to say that New Times invented surveys, prizes, or calling stuff the best, but NBCmiami.com's "Golden Local" awards are obviously a blatant rip off of our legally trademarked annual "Best Of Miami" awards.
That being said, NBCmiami.com has done a nice job in taking their readers poll to web 2.0 (although it would be much cooler if their voting box were embeddable, and while we're on the subject, where's embeddable video?).
The race we're focused on is the mojito war between Tap Tap restaurant and The Florida Room at The Delano. The image above is a screenshot taken at 3:40 a.m. on Thursday, April 30th, the time this is being written. Hey, it's a bloggers life for me.
We've tried em at both locations and go for the Tap Tap one. Much more interesting.
According to Wikipedia, Barbancourt (pronounced Babakoo) Haitian rum "is made directly from sugar cane juice rather than the sugar cane by-product of molasses." Bacardi Superior Light on the other hand, according to Epinions.com is made using "distilled sugar cane molasses." In the video that accompanies the poll the Delano bartender makes it a point to emphasize the importance of the sugar taste to the mojito, so it seems their stepped on rum is inherently deficient, although it is the best selling rum in the world, and by all means a good one.
Barbancourt is just a better rum, one of the best in the world, and is very cognac-like thanks to the double distilling process. Forget the NBC poll, tell us here which you like better.
Norman Van Aken is a culinary legend. Check his stats in our archive.Including this blog post, his name has appeared 149 times in New Times since 1990, when the archives start.
Ever heard of New World Cuisine, "The Mango Gang," a Mano, or Norman's? Van Aken is that dude.
He left Dade to go do his thing elsewhere, but news of his triumphant return to our fair metropolis broke in February, He's opening a new joint in the Gables, and that should add heat to a Miami food scene that's set to take the world by storm.
Apparently Van Aken is a technology-minded chef, his personal website (which is not without glitches and was probably made by the chef himself) and twitter presence serve as a testament. His first tweet dates back to December 4, 2008, which is practically decades in meta-years, and most of his 140 or less character thoughts not surprisingly center on gastronomy. Most recently (April 27) he wrote "Just got the most delicate/shiny Mahi Mahi from a local guy in Key West. I think they will cook in less time than it takes to pull a cork!"
And here's some breaking news from an April 23rd tweet, "Just got invited to do South Beach Wine /Food Festival 2010 "Bubble Q" by "Brother" Emeril. Mind now wandering happily on what to "que".
Check out Norman Van Aken's thoughts on food and his textual interactions with fans, chefs, friends and others at twitter.com/normanvanaken
For the second straight year, Miami New Times food critic Lee Klein has taken top honors in a prestigious contest sponsored by the the International Association of Culinary Professionals.
His story, "Kick the Bottle," beat out work from the New York Times and others to take the Bert Greene Award as the best feature story in a newspaper on Saturday in Denver. It's the second straight year Klein has received the honor.
If you didn't read every post in Short Order last month, shame on you. Here are just a few of the highlights to ensure you'll come back every day this month and atone for your sins:
Lent is almost over, and here are some suggestions to help you through your last few guilt free meals.
Like food? Freeeeee Fooood? Well today is your lucky day. The American Society Of Professional Amateurs of Southern Florida are hosting a surf and turf dinner of epic proportions and everyone is invited. All interested guests should arrive in all black at the Miami River underpass at midnight. Pick up your free tickets for the event at the same location between the hours of 2 and 6 p.m. There is big money behind this event and sponsors will be donating a metric ton of lobster, steak, shrimp and whiskey. There will be free rowboat tours and a landscape artist network session. Do not miss this event. Click here for important info.
According to Charlie, a 13 year bartender at Tobacco Road, the oldest bar in Miami, the following special has been running for the past 20 or so years.
1 1/4 Main Lobster for $12.49 on Tuesday
All-U-Can-Eat BBQ Ribs for $10.99 on Wednesday
16-oz. T-Bone Steak for $10.99 on Thursdays
There's a two drink minimum and the cheapest beer is PBR at $2.50
"We're doing better this year than last year. People drink when they're happy, and they drink when they get depressed, so it works for us either way," Charlie says. I called the bar and spoke to him and co-worker Tony til they hung up on me for asking them to pass the phone to a regular. Here's what they had to say.
Nirala Sweets Restaurant, winner of Broward Palm Beach New Time's "Best Sticky Sweets" in 2006, creates a variety of authentic, homemade desserts straight from secret Indian/Pakistani recipes. Check out the selection they had available at the Asian Culture Festival at Homestead's Fruit & Spice Park.
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