Miami Restaurants and Dining - Short Order

"Shame on Them" Says La Sandwicherie Owner Regarding Case of Deja Chew At La Baguette

By Jackie Sayet in Food Fights, Making The Call

Friday, Nov. 13 2009 @ 2:40PM

Jackie Sayet

Seeing Double: Can you tell the difference? We did when we tasted both. La Sandwicherie had the decency to shmear a bit of mayo on the bread, which actually made a huge difference. And they didn't forget the olives.

La Baguette, the sandwich counter that recently opened up shop at 427 SW Eighth Street on the outskirts of Brickell, may be new, but its concept isn't. So says Olivier Farrat, owner of South Beach's La Sandwicherie, a favorite of New Times restaurant critic Lee Klein. Farrat says the new restaurant is a ripoff of his business model, down to the vinaigrette.

"Shame on them. It's not really fair to copy like this. They have no decency," explained Farrat in a phone conversation this morning." They did not come to me, but I found out a couple months ago... They did it behind my back so they could get away with it."

It doesn't take a sandwich expert to notice the obvious overlaps. On the surface, both sandwich offerings consist of identical:

bread
topping selections
vinaigrette
sandwich-making stations (down to sandwich-filling technique using tongs!)
sandwich wrappers
late night service (La Baguette is 24 hours; La Sandwicherie, 22)
open-air counters
similar French names
logos (La Baguette employs the Arc d'Triomphe; La Sandwicherie, the Eiffel Tower)

Continue reading " "Shame on Them" Says La"...

Tags: La Baguette, La Sandwicherie

Publix Responds To CIW Protest Actions

By Jacob Katel in Food Fights, Food Industry

Wednesday, Nov. 11 2009 @ 8:33AM

Monday, we brought you protest images from a spot near a West Miami Publix, where the Coalition of Immokalee Workers staged a protest. The CIW is a farmworkers union seeking a contractual commitment from Publix to ensure fair wages and conditions for workers. So far Burger King, Taco Bell, McDonald's, Whole Foods, Bon Appetit, and others have joined the union's Campaign For Fair Food.

We reached out to Publix for comment on the CIW's Florida-wide protest of the company's policies. Media and community relations manager Kimberly Jaeger responded via email. We will write back to her with some questions. For now, here's what she had to say:

"Publix has made it a practice not to intervene in labor disputes between a supplier, its employees and their union. Publix does pay fair market value for tomatoes, it's just not our place to determine what that rate should be, which is why this is a labor dispute that should be settled between the workers and the growers. We urge them to come to an immediate resolution."

Tags: ciw, publix, slave tomatoes

Does Publix Support Slavery? Farm Workers Protest for Human Rights

By Jacob Katel in Food Fights, Food Industry, Food News, Food Politics

Monday, Nov. 9 2009 @ 11:23AM

Does your grocery store support modern slavery in the fields of Florida?

A Florida farmworkers union says that Lakeland, Florida based grocery chain Publix continues to buy produce from growers recently convicted of actual human slavery.

Heavy beatings, knife wounds, arms in chains, forced living in box trucks, these are the conditions under which some workers were discovered to be living. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers have aided prosecutors in 6 cases resulting in convictions where more than 1,000 tomato workers were held as slaves.

Yesterday the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, the farmworkers union whose stated goal it is to change the whole tomato industry, marched near Flagler and 83rd Ave, close to a Publix in the city of Sweetwater.

Members of the activist contingent hand-delivered a letter to the manager of the West Miami Publix stating their dissatisfaction with the company's policies.

Short Order has reached out to the Publix media relations department for comment. We will let you know how they respond to the recent round of CIW protest actions across the State of Florida.

Here are some more pictures....

Continue reading " Does Publix Support Slavery? Farm"...

Tags: ciw, immokalee, publix, slave tomatoes

Dole Won't Pay Nicaraguan Banana Workers $97 Million

By Jacob Katel in Food Fights, Food Industry, Food News, Food Politics

Wednesday, Oct. 21 2009 @ 11:00AM

image via nataliemaynor flickr

No plata for the platano workers.

A federal judge in Miami ruled that $97 million ordered paid by Dole Food Inc. to 150 Nicaraguan workers who claim to have suffered sterility and other injuries due to pesticide cannot be upheld in the U.S.

The injuries allegedly stem from use of dibromochloropropane (DBCP) pesticide on Dole banana farms in Nicaragua in the 1970s.

Wikipedia says that in 1979 the United States Environmental Protection Agency banned use of DBCP due to its harmful effects on humans, including sterility.

Nicaraguan courts tried the case under a 2001 statute designed to litigate "injury claims against foreign corporations by banana workers and presumes the pesticide dibromochloropropane causes sterility and other injuries," according to the LA Times.

Short Order could not reach Steven Marks, the Miami lawyer representing the Nicaraguan workers, for immediate comment. A secretary told us he was not in the office, and his assistant's line went straight to voicemail.

Tags: Dole

Tell Sodexo and Aramark to "End The Harvest of Shame" and SLAP Corporate Greed

By Jacob Katel in Food Fights, Food Industry

Thursday, Oct. 8 2009 @ 12:05PM

via unionvoice.org

If you've never heard of Sodexo or Aramark they are both super-corp food service providers with major college and university cafeteria contracts. They are also big time purchasers of Florida tomatoes.

They do not have an agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to protect farm laborers from inhumane treatment, sub standard wages, and in extreme cases human slavery.

In a business kind of way it must be nice to pay bottom dollar for the stuff you buy. But, damn, human slavery?

We know that probably most of the things we wear, eat, and buy are somehow tied to the mistreatment of a worker somewhere in the world, but the least we can do is sign a petition for the workers in our own backyard who pick one of the most popular vegetables in America.

Log on to unionvoice.org/campaign/harvestofshame to petition Aramark and Sodexo to reach a contractual, and legally binding agreement with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers.

Tags: Immokalee

A $30 Hamburger? If It Says Kobe, Don't Buy It

By Jackie Sayet in Food Fights

Friday, Oct. 2 2009 @ 1:49PM

Jackie Sayet

Where's the boeuf? Gordon Biersch's new "German Kobe Burger" is one tasty number, but it's neither from Germany nor Japan.

Twenty-five dollar hot dogs? $30 hamburgers? That's what Prime 112 charges for what it calls Kobe beef.

The problem is, the high buck meat isn't always what is advertised. It's not the product of cattle raised in the Hyogo Prefecture of Japan that in some cases drink beer and receive sake massages, but instead originates thousands of miles away, on an American or Australian ranch.

Several of Prime 112's Kobe beef menu items have American provenance that is not listed, an apparent violation of USDA guidelines and state law.

"We were not aware of the requirement for the specific labeling," owner Myles Chefetz says when informed of the problem. "Given this info, we will state this on the menu immediately."

Dozens of Miami restaurants include the same type of misleading information on their menus. And scores of customers every day pay top dollar thinking they are ingesting the world's most precious meat.

Continue reading " A $30 Hamburger? If It"...

Yam, Bam, Thank You Ma'am: Conley Cracks Hutson in Culinary Clash at Whole Foods Market

By Jackie Sayet in Food Fights

Thursday, Sep. 24 2009 @ 2:35PM

Jackie Sayet

Judgement Night: Chef Cindy Hutson's bread pudding with raisins, almonds, sweet potatoes and vanilla ice cream is rated by the panel. Smart move to integrate the secret ingredient to transform what can sometimes be a densely-textured dessert into something light and pillowy. The crunch of roasted almonds added a pleasant, nutty contrast in flavor and texture. Well done.

Last night this Short Order blogger had the privilege of sitting pretty with fellow judges Executive Chef Sean Bernal of Oceanaire Seafood Room and Florida Region Executive Marketing Coordinator Russ Benblatt of Whole Foods Market to judge a cooking competition between chefs Clay Conley of Azul at the Mandarin Oriental and Cindy Hutson of Ortanique.

The Coral Gables store is celebrating its second anniversary with a series of special events like this food spar, as part of its partnership with Chefs' Club. Five percent of store proceeds yesterday also benefited Junior League of Miami's Step Up to the Plate program.

Continue reading " Yam, Bam, Thank You Ma'am:"...

Miami Woman Petitions Whole Foods To Keep Selling Raw Milk, Unpasteurized

By Jacob Katel in Food Fights, Food Industry, News

Thursday, Sep. 24 2009 @ 1:00PM

image via striatic's flickr

Some people like raw, unpasteurized milk, but they can't afford a cow or don't have room for it in their apartment, so they buy the stuff off the shelf of Whole Foods, where it is sold under the label of a pet food.

You see, due to the risk of ecoli and other infectious buggers, it is illegal to sell raw milk in Florida for human consumption. Milk for humans must be pasteurized, a heating process that kills bacteria, so raw milkers slap a pet food label on it and get distribution that way.

Well, Whole Foods is done with it. On September 30th they will stop selling the stuff, and one Miami-Dade woman is mad as hell.

Her name is Wendy Mathias, she runs a Yahoo Newsgroup called Miami Real Food (click), and she's circulating an online petition (click) to keep raw milk on the shelves at Whole Foods.

Why drink raw milk? Wendy says "Clean, raw milk from grass-fed dairy cattle has sustained human populations for thousands of years and is a complete, balanced, and nutritious food. Raw milk contains lots of vitamins, amino acids, enzymes, and disease-fighting immunoglobulins, most all of which are destroyed by pasteurization."

At the time of writing, the petition has 1,365 electronic signatures. Ya hear that Whole Foods? Let the lady have her immunoglobulins, and if the Ecoli kill her, it's her own fault.

Check out this article on the subject from Food Safety News. [click]

Tags: milk, Whole Foods

Does Brooklyn H2O Make for a Better Bagel? Curious Cook Harold McGee Weighs in on The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co.

By Jackie Sayet in Food Fights

Friday, Aug. 28 2009 @ 9:00AM

Jackie Sayet

Now that's a bagel we can sink our teeth into... This one's from Roasters N' Toasters, who sources its boiled babies from Bagel Express. We can say it does some of the best nova in Miami. The best bagel? The jury's still out, although we're partial to The Bagel Emporium.

Is there something in Brooklyn water that makes a bagel great and authentically New York-tasting? Steve Fassberg thinks so, but others find a hole in this theory, particularly our local bagel shops and some consumers and food bloggers who have tasted the goods.

But in this edition of debunk-the-myth on Short Order, we'll ask the tough questions and have renowned food science author and New York Times columnist, Harold McGee, offer some invaluable insight into this bagel debacle. May the debate continue...

Continue reading " Does Brooklyn H2O Make for"...

Man Holey: If Asylum.com Had Asked, We Think the Manliest Miami Restaurants Are...

By Jackie Sayet in Best, Food Fights

Tuesday, Aug. 25 2009 @ 2:45PM

Jackie Sayet

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?

Hate Slave Tomatoes? Call Chipotle and Demand They Stand Up For Florida Farmworkers Rights

By Jacob Katel in Food Fights, Food Industry, Food Politics

Tuesday, Aug. 11 2009 @ 2:00PM

ciw-online.org

Slavery Sucks!

How's that Chipotle burrito taste? Is there enough possibility of slavery in it? Care for a side of exploitation? Need a little extra sub-poverty wages in that?

Strange that Chipotle, a company whose corporate persona is built on their slogan of "food with integrity," refuses to partner with the Florida farmworkers union whose mission it is to insure it. The Coalition Of Immokalee Workers are famous for exerting enough pressure on big business to get Taco Bell, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Whole Foods and Bon Appetit to work toward establishing and maintaining humane standards in farmwork.

The CIW's latest campaign encourages you to call Chipotle headquarters toll free at 1-888-899-0017 and tell whoever picks up that you want Chipotle to stand up for Florida farmworker's rights and deliver on their "food with integrity" slogan.

The CIW guarantees that if Chipotle partners with them that the workers who pick their tomatoes will be treated fairly and paid a living wage.

Tags: chipotle, ciw, slave tomatoes

Chipotle Refuses To Partner With Coalition Of Immokalee Workers. How Bout Them Slave Tomatoes?

By Jacob Katel in Food Fights, Food Industry

Thursday, Jul. 30 2009 @ 1:00PM

image via chipotle.com

Mmmmm....those tomatoes taste slavegrown

Back in April when we gave away free Chipotle burrito passes through Short Order we didn't know they supported slave tomatoes.

Chipotle is that company whose whole PR gimmick is "Food With Integrity." However, they have thus far refused to partner with our favorite Florida farmworkers union, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, or the CIW for short. This is the organization that has been successful in forcing other fast food giants into compliance with humane business practices through guerrilla public relations.

The CIW contends that by not joining up with them Chipotle are supporting "sub-poverty wages, back-breaking labor, and unimaginable exploitation." These assertions are backed up by Florida's vaunted recent history with modern slavery charges filed against, prosecuted, and won over Florida farmers.

Log on to www.ciw-online.org for more info and to see what you can do to help.

Tags: Chipotle

Organics May Not Be Healthier, But At Least They Don't Have Pesticide

By Jacob Katel in Food Fights, Food Industry

Thursday, Jul. 30 2009 @ 8:00AM

Jacob Katel

You say potato, we say dumbass.

A recent US News and World Report article examines a UK health assertion through a Miami connection.

British nutritionist Alan Dangour authored a study that suggests organic foods may not be any healthier than what his work terms "conventionally produced" foods. Dangour bases this on similar nutrient levels between the two groups of food.

First off, far as we're concerned the only "conventionally produced foods" are the ones that grow wild. There's nothing conventional about industrialized agribusiness, it's unnatural by definition.

Dangour's study reviewed 50 years worth of British health studies to come to its conclusion. Cause the British in the 60's are everybody's first choice for health advice.

Sheah Rarback, director of nutrition at the Mailman Center for Child Development at the University of Miami School of Medicine says that even if organics and inorganics share similar nutrient contents, there are other variables in determining healthfulness, like lack of pesticides. True indeed.

Dangour does make a good point in talking about the organic industry as big business, noting its 22% increase in market share in the UK from 2005 - 2007. Anytime big money is involved, there's bound to be dirt, and we don't mean the kind you grow tomatoes in.

Food Fight! Mr. Chow Sues Philippe Chow Over SoBe Gansevoort Restaurant

By Tim Elfrink in Food Fights

Thursday, Jul. 9 2009 @ 1:47PM

When the uber-expensive Chinese eatery Philippe opened in the Gansevoort Hotel last year, most reviews (including our own) pointed to chef Philippe Chow's time as head chef at the acclaimed Mr. Chow's in New York as evidence of his pedigree.

via miamism's flickr
Philippe's kitchen
But wait! A lawsuit filed in Miami's federal court this week by Mr. Chow's owner says that Philippe Chow made it all up. In fact, the suit says Philippe is a trademark-stealing, name-changing experience-exaggerating fraud.

Michael Chow says that Philippe Chow's real name is Chak Yam Chau, and that he started out in Mr. Chow's New York kitchen in 1980 as "a lowest level kitchen assistant." Here's the full allegation as to his lacking skillz:

Prior to that time, he had absolutely no kitchen experience, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere. During his 25 years with the Mr. Chow Restaurants, Chau was a chopping assistant, a chopper, an assistant chopper-expeditor and ultimately, for the three years before his resignation, leading expeditor. He never rose to the position of executive chef, as he falsely claims.

According to Chow's lawsuit, Chak Yam Chau only changed his name to Philippe Chow after meeting with Stratis Morfogen, a South Florida businessman who wanted to get into the upscale Chinese restaurant game.

The suit says that Morfogen and Chau "misappropriated" Mr. Chow's recipes for their first restaurant, the original Philippe in New York's Meatpacking District.

And when the pair opened a second restaurant in South Beach, Chow says it was no coincidence that they chose the Gansevoort -- just a few blocks from the new W Hotel, where Mr. Chow plans to open a new restaurant.

In case you haven't caught the gist of Michael Chow's feelings toward Philippe Chow, he summarizes:

Defendant Chau was never a food chef and only very occasionally actually cooked any of the food at Mr. Chow Restaurants.

Continue reading " Food Fight! Mr. Chow Sues"...

Tags: Philippe Chow

Short Order Puts the Kibbosh on a New Monty's in the City Beautiful

By Jackie Sayet in Food Fights

Friday, Jun. 19 2009 @ 7:14PM

Montyssouthbeach.com

A fish out of water?

The Coral Gables City Commission last week approved a lease at 2325 Galiano St. for a restaurant "doing business as Monty's Coral Gables." After Short Order contacted a few people, though, the name changed.

Continue reading " Short Order Puts the Kibbosh"...

Apple Restaurant and Kore Nightclub South Beach Named In Securities Fraud Lawsuit

By Jacob Katel in Food Fights

Tuesday, Jun. 2 2009 @ 2:19PM

Official Court Document

Apple Restaurant & Lounge and Kore nightclub may some day be the coolest places on South Beach. That is, if they ever get past the controversy with investor Bert Hurstfield.

On April 16, 2009, Husrtfield sued South Beach Restaurant Authority, Steve Marlton and Barron Kidd, the people behind Apple and Kore. The restaurant and club at Washington and 14th Street has been delayed; Marlton recently told New Times the cause was "all this bad weather."

But there may more to the story. The seven-count lawsuit alleges securities fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, constructive trust, accounting, breach of oral contract, and unjust enrichment.

Hurstfield contends he invested $500,000 for a stake in the Miami branch of the club, which is headquartered in Los Angeles. Then he invested $338,000 more. He claims Marlton and Kidd -- through what the suit terms a "manager" named Sean Saladino -- misrepresented their investment in the property -- allegedly $1.5 million.

Hurstfield says the agreement would have made him an equity shareholder in South Beach Restaurant Authority, entitled to 25% of profits from the Club.

Crystal Berry, a spokeswoman for the restaurant, declined comment.

Who is Bert Hurstfield and what's his story? Stay tuned as we continue to dig up the facts. For now, enjoy scans of the first 8 pages of the lawsuit....

Continue reading " Apple Restaurant and Kore Nightclub"...

Tags: Apple Restaurant, South Beach Restaurant Authority