Miami Food Blog

Paula Niño

​About 6,500 food buyers and distributors showed up at the 12th Annual Americas Food & Beverage Show in Miami Beach yesterday to check out food and drink products from close to 300 exhibitors from the U.S. to Algiers.

Walking around the huge marketplace at the Miami Beach Convention Center, we saw everything from Buddha's hands, Florida alligator meat, margaritas in a bag and what seemed like a plethora of energy drinks, vitamin waters and caffeinated energy bars -- guess we're one tired society.

Companies attend the show hoping to enter new markets across the U.S. and in Central and South America. Linsey Manning, owner of NecessiTeas, a fine tea company from Utah, was hoping to find a distributor for her products, which are currently only sold online. Like several other exhibitors we spoke to, this was her first time at the show.

The expo also featured chef demos and competitions. We caught Red, the Steakhouse chef de cuisine, Peter Vauthy, touting the qualities of certified Angus beef as he prepared what he called the "ultimate surf and turf" - king crab and Angus Beef Prime - to an audience of buyers. Both are ingredients that he uses in his restaurant. In fact, Vauthy said he uses nothing but certified Angus Beef Prime at his South Beach locale.

Judges walked the floor of the competition kitchens checking everything from plate temperature to how the teams of two chefs that competed throughout the day broke down their stations after service. The teams were judged on: presentation and serving method; nutrition and portion size; taste, texture and flavor; and creativity, menu and ingredient compatibility.

So who took the title of Best Chef of the Americas? We won't know until today. In the meantime, take a look at some more pictures...

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.

Photo by Jacob Katel

Chef Mark Militello

​Chef Mark Militello has left 1 Bleu at the One Resort and Spa (formerly The Regent Bal Harbour) to join The Office, a gastropub in Delray said to be opening in late November.

Last December Militello took the reigns as executive chef of culinary operations at The Regent Bal Harbour. That was only six months after the last of his four namesake restaurants, Mark's in Boca Raton's Mizner Park, closed. The Regent Bal Harbour was sold in June.

The Office is the concept of restaurant impresario David Manero, owner of Vic and Angelo's restaurants in Delray and Palm Beach. The menu will feature burgers, seafood and brews.

As for 1 Bleu, there is no word yet on who will take Militello's place. Director of food and beverage Oscar Morales said they have a couple of candidates but a final decision hasn't been reached.

We wonder if Militello's new title will be Chief Culinary Officer...and where he'll be next year.

Our own Francisco Alvarado was one of the first to write about Joshua Woodward's arrest for suspicion of murder of his unborn child in Los Angeles, but new and even stranger details from the case have begun to emerge.

Here's a quick recap thus far. Joshua Woodward is a Los Angeles restaurateur with business ties to Chicago and Miami. He partnered with Chef Govind Armstrong to bring Table 8 to South Beach. That company is now bankrupt. He is also partner in a company that licenses the 8 oz. Burger Bar location in Miami. He has nothing to with day-to-day operations at the Miami location.) 

Woodward was arrested on suspicion of purposely causing the death of his unborn 13 week old child, a fetus. He was not formally charged, meaning he can only be held 48 hours. His bail was set at $2 million.

The L.A. Times writes, "Sources familiar with the case, who did not want to be identified because of the ongoing investigation, said Woodward was suspected of placing an unspecified powder in the vaginal area of his girlfriend. The sources said police are in the process of testing the powder."

We will keep you updated as new information emerges.

8 oz. Burger

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The fire occurred at 400 NE 67 Street in Miami's Upper Eastside neighborhood and reportedly sent up millions of dollars worth of Barton G's goods like linens, furniture, and a commercial washer in flames.

Barton G's new restaurant, Prelude, opens to the public Friday at the Arsht. The restaurateur, famous for creating visual spectacle, told a Herald reporter ``There may be a giraffe or two at the party Thursday. I just have to convince the Arsht it's OK for them to eat these trees."

So, when is a fire just a fire, and when is it a publicity stunt?

​Miami New Times' culinary super event is officially sold out. You should not have slow danced on these tickets folks cause now they're gone, gone, gone.

Best of luck sneaking in; we're guessing it's not that difficult. Maybe you could get a job slinging drinks.

See ya next year.

• Steve Martorano from his namesake cafe in Lauderdale didn't win Meatball Madness up in NYC, but it looks like the festival went off pretty well anyway. [NewYorkTimes]
• Crispin Porter & Bogusky hired four new employees. Get ready for more craptastic ads. Maybe even for Burger King. [NewYorkTimes]
• Burger King's new "20/20" initiative sees a mass interior redesign for their restaurants to compete in the fast-casual market. [GlobeAndMail]
• Lourdes Mederos moved from Miami to Colorado. Now former drug lords regale her with ceviche recipes while they sit locked up in super maximum security prison. [DenverPost]
• About.com blogger says that the Miami Herald says that services and food are not yet up to par for a massive tourist influx in Cuba. [About]
• Lakewood Ranch chef on his way to Miami to compete in Fifth Annual Chef for the Americas Cup competition. [Herald-Tribune]
• Radio personalities from Miami and around the country travel to Haiti to help feed the poor. [ReliefWeb]
• Former finance minister of Cuba, now a professor at FIU, thinks negatively of a plan to get rid of food ration books. [KMPH]

via arshtcenter.org

Celebrichefs Ingrid Hoffman & Daisy Martinez

​Guess what? Dade County does promote the arts, and if you're a student, you can find out for yourself through our County's amazing Culture Shock program.

All you have to do is be a student aged 13 to 22. You can purchase up to two tickets and the person you go with can be any age.

The Celebrity Chef Series performance/appearance by Ingrid Hoffman and Daisy Martinez is a featured Culture Shock program. That means $5 tickets to a show that costs anywhere from five to 50 times more than that.

Log on to cultureshockmiami.com, go to the event calendar, then click to purchase ticket from Ticketmaster. Print out your confirmation, take it to the box office on the day of the performance, and trade it for your ticket.

You can also make the purchase at any physical Ticketmaster outlet as long as you have proof of age.

Enjoy!

• Man wants tacos so bad he's willing to kill for them.....maybe he'll like the ones in prison...if they find him. [Herald]
• Mayor Daley from Chicago says "I'm moving to Miami, where there are no taxes on food and no state income tax." [ChicagoTribune]
• Lee Schrager talks about getting asked to unclog toilets at early South Beach Wine and Food Fest. [NYPost]
• Top Chef renewed for 2010 by Bravo, season 7 casting calls coming to Miami soon. [Variety]
• Bill Marriott talks about "see-through condos in South Florida" and the guest experience that includes organic food in Marriott hotels. [Sun Sentinel]
• How To Leave Hialeah, book by Miami author Jennine Capó Crucet, has chapter on Noche Buena feast that features "two hundred pounds" of food. [AllHeadlines]
• Texas city makes fun of Miami for beating them at America's fattest city 2009 as determined by  Men's Fitness Magazine. [HoustonChronicle]
• Muscle Maker Grill, a New Jersey-born concept that places health-core food establishments around gyms and fitness centers, is coming to Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale. [CoStar]
• Burger King to continue enticing folks with value options and value advertising in the Great Recession's Burger Wars. [Nation'sRestaurantNews]
• Haitian American Top Chef contestant Ron Duprat talks about getting kicked off the show by Michelle Bernstein. [CleanPlateCharlie]
• Bacon Camp has events in Miami. [DigitalCity]

Shock is sweeping the food world this morning along with the news that the November issue of Gourmet Magazine will be its last. It has been rumored for some time that Condé Nast was suffering a decline in ad pages and would be shutting down one of its food titles -- but most assumed Bon Appétit, not Gourmet, would be the one to go. The latter, after all, has been around since 1940, is the grand dame of food mags, and is helmed by the prominent and popular Ruth Reichl -- who is generally credited for having brought the magazine back to the top of its class.

Followers of the national food scene will mourn this major loss, although it doesn't affect specific coverage of South Florida very much -- Gourmet Magazine, like other national food publications, didn't really pay much attention to Miami, although it did recently run an interesting piece on our street food vendors. Still, losing Gourmet is gonna hurt.

image via striatic's flickr

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• Did Short Order beat a Jewish paper to the Kosher Subway story. Yes. Yes we did. [ShortOrder] [JewishWeek]
• Teacher puts tabasco in her soda, let's special needs students try it, may get tossed in the slammer. [NBCmiami]
• Suites at Land Shark Stadium to offer technological advances, like phones you can use to order food. [SunSentinel]
• Good news for the Port of Miami, WIL Lines secures contract for shipping 80 to 90 large containers of food and beverages a year from New York and Miami to Rotterdam. [BusinessWire]
• Betsy Klein, a registered dietitian based in Miami, teaches Chi Town fatties how to take it easy on dessert calories. [ChicagoTribune]
• Culinary trend mapping report finds "a new wave of ingredients, flavors and cuisines from Latin America is surging through Miami and New York, LA and San Francisco." [PRnewswire]
• Future food prices, in addition to many, many other factors, may affect future earnings results, but Carnival Corporation still cleared over a billi in $$$ as reported in 3Q earnings. [MarketWatch]
• W2 Energy had a meeting in Miami earlier this month. They will use their NT Plasmatron non thermal reactor to process coal "in a closed loops system, producing Synthetic Fuel, Electricity and sequestering the greenhouse gasses to produce algae. The algae then can be used as a source of oil for biodiesel producers, or as a protein source in the pet food industry." [PRnewswire]

Dalé.

Sazon Goya is to everyday cooking in Miami as water is to the ocean. Give thanks and Rest In Peace to Jose Antonio Ortega Bonet for teaming up with the Unanues family, founders of the Goya food company, for bringing the world a line of products that find daily use in mostly Hispanic home-kitchens all over the U.S. and Puerto Rico, the Sazón Goya line of seasoning products.

"Pepe," or "El Gallego" as he was known to friends, lived and died in Coral Gables at the age of 79 of lung cancer. He was born in Havana, Cuba on October 27, 1929. He got married and had two kids there. The family later lived in Colombia and Puerto Rico where Pepe founded Sazon Goya in the 1960's before moving to Miami in 1976.

Pepe will be remembered as a philanthropist thanks to his donations to the the League Against Cancer, Jose Marti scholarships, Centro Mater Foundation, and Mercy Hospital.

via vocellipizza.com

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We're hungry.

Photo by Dorothea Lange via Library of Congress

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via wikimedia commons

This horse is so sad it went and got an emo haircut.

​Another horse killed and stripped of meat in similar manner to the 20 or so others so far this year was found murdered Wednesday morning in the ranch where it lived in Miami Gardens. Its throat was slit and two legs were removed. According to ABC it was the back legs, and according to the Herald it was the front legs.

An article in the Thoroughbred Times quotes Miami Gardens Police Sergeant Bill Bamford as saying that "the perpetrator slit Kin Kisi's throat and removed his front legs and intestines."

The South Florida SPCA adds a more graphic description to the mix. "Front legs severed and removed at the shoulders, his throat slit, his chest cut open with his intestines piled on top of his body.  Deep puncture wounds in his rump disabled him further before the kill."

An ABC News article posted yesterday on their website quotes source Richard Couto from the SPCA saying that "some nationalities" believe horse meat works as a cure for AIDS and cancer. This Palm Beach Post article references the same rumor. The AP stays middle of the road and goes the 'animal rights advocates think the meat is being sold to folks from other countries where it's a delicacy' route.

Short Order finds it no more morally wrong to eat horse meat than say cow, pig, chicken, or fish. However, the illegal, unregulated manner in which these horses are being slaughtered, not to mention that legally they are someone else's property, and the fact that foods and medicines they are fed or injected with make their meat dangerous for human consumption, plus the whole heinous backyard murder routine, and the monthly regularity, ought to place the black market horse meat story not only at epidemic levels, but in the national spotlight.

• Kosher Subway in North Miami JCC? Short Order beat NBC on this one by almost 3 weeks. [ShortOrder] [NBCmiami]
• Food Drive starting for Partnership For Hunger Relief, runs through September 10th. [CBS4]
• Bookings for hostels up 27% in Miami. [APviaABC]
• Miami based Benihana losing money out the ying yang, guess that's why they're ramping up their brand experience. [ShortOrder] [BizJournals]
• Examiner "reporter" talks about her great experience at Sra. Martinez "tucked between NE 2nd Avenue and 39th Street in Miami Beach." [Examiner]
• IRS to target "food" in new sector within Large and Mid Size Business Division especially as related to auditing companies with UBS AG Swiss bank accounts. [Bloomberg]
• "There is no food or water onboard and no sanitary facilities in which to wash up" on air cargo operator Amerijet's Boeing 727's. [TravelDailyNews]
• A "first look" at Miami chef Michelle Bernstein's new restaurant at the Omphoy in Palm Beach County. [PBpulse]

lee klein

The black and white of corned beef

​Thou shalt not eat at any establishment calling itself a "New York deli" where the following is also served: sushi, Thai food, pizza, pasta, lobster.

This is one of the Ten Commandments of Jewish Deli according to journalist David Sax, author of the forthcoming Save the Deli: In Search of Perfect Pastrami, Crusty Rye, and the Heart of Jewish Delicatessen (due October 19th from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Alarmed by the state of Jewish delis, Sax set out on a mostly nationwide search for the best purveyors of corned beef, kishkas, the whole kit 'n kaboodle, going from New York to L.A., Salt Lake City to St. Louis, from "Coast to Coast With Latkes To Boast" to "Travels in the Deli Diaspora". Pastramiphiles will love going along for the ride behind the scenes, where the heroes are small, family-run delis that care -- and the villains are large, corporate deli chains that don't (such as Jerry's Famous Deli, Inc.):

"The death of America's Jewish delicatessens isn't unique. The problems that affect (them) continue to be harbingers of what will eventually happen to everyone else. When it comes to where Americans eat, corporations have leveraged your appetite into stock options."

Sax sings praises and throws punches when weighing in on some of our local delicatessens, in a chapter called Florida, Where Deli Goes To Die:

On Jerry's Famous Deli in South Beach: "The vast menu, with everything from Cajun pitas to lobster tails, lost much in the mix. The blintzes my waiter brought, which were two small, lukewarm blond squares, arrived long after I'd ordered, during which time a fistfight broke out in the kitchen."

"The original Epicure Market, in South Beach, grew from a small Jewish grocery into a place where celebrities now shop for extravagant foods and wines."

"One of the best delis I visited in Florida was Ben's Kosher Deli in Boca Raton, an outlet of the Long Island chain...Ben's corned beef and tongues are pickled in barrels in each location's kitchen.

On 3G's Gourmet Deli in Delray Beach: "The lines of grandparents in white pants are so long outside, 3G's has a loudspeaker in the parking lot that shouts the names of waiting parties. But the matzo ball soup and the roast turkey sandwiches, served on double-baked rye, are well worth the wait."

On TooJay's: "Most of the food served at TooJay's is made in a large central commissary, where it is frozen, shipped to various outlets, and then prepared for service. Rarely does the word 'cooking' enter into it. Instead, food is 'reheated,' baked goods are 'finished off,' and meals are 'assembled.'

On his last visit to Rascal House: "Jeffrey took a bite (of chicken matzo ball soup) and put his spoon down, pushing the bowl toward me.
'What, no good?' I asked.
He shook his head. It was weak. Real weak. Watery broth had soaked into the matzo ball, rendering it a sponge of nothingness."

David Sax will be appearing at Books & Books in October; Short Order will remind you of this in a few weeks via an interview with the deli-obsessive author.

• Burger King continues its quest for world domination, 4th quarter numbers are in, profits are up, revenues down. [Forbes] [BizJournals] [BKCorp]
• Miami Dade Water & Sewer Department launching advertising campaign to promote the benefits of tap water for your drinking pleasure. [Bnet] [FoodWaterWatch]
• Lime Fresh Mexican Grill names a former Starbucks exec as new VP of Development. [ChainLeader]
• Dole Food goes to federal court in Miami September 1st for litigation regarding banana farms the company once ran in Nicaragua. [MSNBC]
• A University of Miami student talks about losing 50 pounds with a smartphone diet app. [PCworld]
• Chef Allen Susser featured in new online, downloadable cookbook to celebrate California's Mirassou Winery 155th year of winemaking. [PRnewswire]
• U.S. recession means less money for immigrants to send back home where families spend that money on food. [TCPalm]
• Neville Brothers will headline 2nd Annual Sunny Isles Beach Jazz Fest which according to a press release promotes "great food, and fine dining." [PRlog]
• University of Florida professor and expert on Cuban agriculture says "they think that we are stupid." [McClatchy]

• 8 year old Miami Beach kid Joshua Williams tackles world hunger, starts in Dade. [Herald]
• Sometime Miamian, the pregnant Kourtney Kardashian, craves fruit smoothies, eats twizzlers and Mexican food in bed, runs around naked all day. [USMagazine]
• Ford Motor Company and Newman's Own donate a refrigerated truck to Miami's Daily Bread Food Bank as part of the "Partnership For Hunger Relief." [PRNewswire]
• UM study finds that "first-generation Hispanics in Florida are much more likely to develop cancer than people in their home countries which could result from unhealthy habits adopted in America such as overeating." [PRWeb]
• South Florida's Dr. Sanford Siegal continues to lure in celebrity patients (Jessica Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Denise Richards) with his "Cookie Diet." [Examiner]
• Farmers talk beekeeping at a Miami tradeshow. [Kelowna]
• Every single piece of paper currency in Miami has food and cocaine residue on it. [NWCN]

image via farmshare.org

Don't take food out of their mouths.

​What happens when a government starves its people? Dade County will find out the hard way if it axes Farm Share from its budget as proposals suggest.

Farm Share is a 501(c)(3) non profit organization that provides food directly to at least 6,500 Miami-Dade families a month.

They also supply 250 agencies using volunteer and inmate labor to distribute food donations from local farms, USDA commodities and other sources.

Their mission's focus is the distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables, as opposed to the canned offerings of most other organizations. Furthermore, these items move through a sophisticated distribution network that operates locally, and statewide. The county will literally take food out of the mouths of working class families, kids, and the elderly all over Florida if they decide to eliminate funding for Farm Share.

Demand a conscientious local government. Call Commissioner Joe Martinez, who has vowed to fight for the program, at 305-575-5511 and tell him it's important to you. Or email his office at district11@miamidade.gov

Log on to http://www.farmshare.org for more info

• Rotten food donations leave Haitians hungry. [SunJournal]
• Wal Mart Stores experiments with latin themed super store Mas Club, while Winn Dixie adds signs in Spanish and stocks ethnic merchandise. [WallStreetJournal]
• Florida Chef Ron Duprat represents for Miami Haitians on upcoming season of Bravo's Top Chef [Bradenton Herald]
• World recession means less food for Cubans. [CubaHeadlines]
• Free nachos when you buy a pitcher at Flannigan's on Mondays. [NBCMiami]
• On July 23rd Prive' and the Living Room Las Vegas - an offshoot of the Miami brands owned by the Opium Group were denied a liquor license renewal after allegations of prostitution, drug use, underage drinking and assault. [Fox5Vegas]
• Opium Group's appeal of that decision will take place August 18th thanks to a two week extension for the owners to prepare. [LVRJ]

The dead horse with missing legs and a slit throat on the side of the road in Miami-Dade phenomenon has every pony, stud and stallion, ducking for cover. Apparently there's enough of a market in underground horse meat that people have turned to a ruthless theft and slaughter combo to meet demand. Here's a roundup of recent articles written on the subject.

• With illegal horse slaughter toll rising health professionals should look for severe food poisoning cases, horse meat may be toxic in cases where it's not raised for consumption. [Chattahbox]
• 18th victim was stabbed in the neck at least twice and was most likely still alive when its legs and chest were butchered. [FirstCoastNews]
• Horse Poaching press hits the horse web community. [TheHorse]
• The killings started January 11th and have been discovered in Miramar, and Northwest and Southwest Dade, article includes video. [MiamiHerald]
• Local virtual horse community reports on expanded investigation, encourages tips to crimestoppers. [TheHorse]
• An owner speaks out against the killing and says no punishment is strong enough. [CBS4]

• Food and Wine calendar: Thursday through Sunday. [Herald]
• Miami based Benihana sales slightly up first quarter. BNHNA shares closed at a 52-week high of $8 on Tuesday. [BizJournals]
• Least creative top-ten brunch spots in Miami list ever, but probably still good, if you're into that sort of thing. [Blackbook]
• Jamaican finance minister goes to Kendall and urges diaspora to invest in overseas markets and bring more of the island's food products to the USA. [Jamaica-Gleaner]
• The Sherry Council of America enlists Seattle ad agency to make Sherry cool. They make a website and bring her to Miami. [Adage]
• Fine living network calls mojito a "southern drink" and encourages you to fix it up "Miami-style." [BusinessWire]
• A Joy Wallace Catering Production and Design Team to launch picnic division in the coming weeks. [SpecialEvents]

Disney

Louis the Chef from The Little Mermaid... Disney is evil!

Ok, well maybe they didn't barbecue out back or light up the city in fireworks on the Fourth of July...  But the people who brought you such culinary classics as Jacques Pépin, Le Cordon Bleu, les poissons, les poissons, he-he-he-ho-ho-ho and les croissants have been celebrating their independence for several hours now, when we were fast asleep.  Now it's our turn to do like the Frenchmen do.  In case you missed the Alliance Francais gig in Little Havana, we've taken the liberty to suggest ten more ways to celebrate the best and worst of France. Bonne chance!

10. BEST: Pay Pascal's on Ponce a visit. You know it's been a while, but they're still rocking it without need for trendiness or fuss.

9. WORST: S'il vous plait... merci... voila! Speak to your server in French.

• Dunkin Donuts breakfast deals. [MiamiCheap]
• Canned potatoes leave Alicia Ross naked. [DesperationDinners]
• 4th of July specials at Red The Steakhouse. [Kavetchnik]
• Regent Bal Harbour bankrupt, 1 Bleu may stay, or everything may change. [ChowHound]
• Basil in the Grove is no longer open, meaning they are closed, for good. [Yelp]
• The Edgy Veggie talks fiber in all its new and exciting flavors. [Herald]
• Guy Fieri visits Cuban seafood restaurant in Miami. [SeattleTimes]
• Miami Subs Pizza and Grill implements new delivery system, reports sales increase [QSR]
• Nikki Beach celebrates their designation by Travel Channel as the Most Sexy Bar in the Universe. Have a drink. [Examiner]

image via Pet Postcard Project

HELP SHELTER PETS!!!

image via NathansFamous.com

what's on your wiener?