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Dining and Drinks

May 13th, 2010

by Patricia Letakis

Seared Columbia River salmon on English pea risotto

It seems like just yesterday that I was celebrating the 10^th anniversary of Disney World’s California Grill, the 15^th-floor restaurant in the Contemporary Resort where the entertainment giant’s climb up the gourmet ladder began. Today we gathered to toast the restaurant’s 15^th anniversary with a lunch prepared by chef Brian Piasecki and complemented with California wines selected by sommelier Bridget Sherren.

April 23rd, 2010

Tasty Bites at Table 42

by Susan Friedman

Table 42

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When the house-made thinny-thin foccacia arrived at the table with a beautiful saucy tomato-rich spread accompanied by sublime tasting olive oil, I knew I was in for a palate pleasing evening...

March 25th, 2010

Hotspot! Baru Urbano

by Susan Friedman

Hotspot! Baru Urbano

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Arriving at Miami's new Baru Urbano, a destination for Brickell-area hipsters, my first reaction was 'cool.' The bohemian interior is quasi-industrial and graffiti-filled with colorful compelling Latin-inspired street art. It works, especially with the rich dark-wood-filled décor set against gold-hued banquettes. Immersed in the scene, I imagined this was a café in Buenos Aires or perhaps Bogota!

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Tags: bar | food | Mary Brickell Village | Miami | music

March 4th, 2010

Pasta Party

by Patricia Letakis

Pasta Party

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I was among the rousing crowd of amateur cooks donning aprons and toques at the SoBe Wine & Food Festival’s FT+L-sponsored Barilla Interactive Luncheon last Saturday at the Biltmore Hotel. Leading the show was chef Scott Conant (scottconant.com) The American-Italian chef (remember him from Top Chef, Chopped and 24 Hour Restaurant Battle), whose Scarpetta restaurant recently opened at Miami Beach’s Fontainebleau Resort, teamed up with Barilla chef Lorenzo Boni.

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March 2nd, 2010

BubbleQ Fun at SoBe Wine & Food

by Susan Friedman

SoBe Wine Food

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I’m a Food Network junkie. I admit it; I love to watch chefs on TV. My senses go into overdrive when I’m glued to the tube, so imagine my joy at being in the thick of things at the foodie and star-sated hot ticket in town, the annual South Beach Wine & Food Festival. Despite attending year after year, I’m always excited at the prospect of who I’ll see, what I’ll taste and what I’ll imbibe (flowing Perrier Jouet, no less).

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March 1st, 2010

Chef vs. Beef

by Patricia Letakis

Vauthy, Popovic & Symon

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Last week at a kick-off dinner to the South Beach Wine & Food Festival I joined meat-loving foodies at Red, The Steakhouse. Rightly so, the star of the show was the beef and more specifically Certified Angus Beef (certifiedangusbeef.com); however there was some tough competition for the limelight.

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February 9th, 2010

Amazing Foodie Find

by Patricia Letakis

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One good thing about the down-in-the-dumps economy is that the price of wine-paired dinners has dropped. The last few years prices skyrocketed to way over $100 per person, closer to $200. Now the cost is so reasonable that there's really no excuse not to indulge. So I did just that at the Everglades Restaurant in the Rosen Centre hotel (rosencentre.com) on Orlando's International Drive, where $65 gets you a five-course menu with pairings.

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Tags: awards | orlando

January 22nd, 2010

Holy Hefeweizen!

by Shawn Bean

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A place that serves 500 beers? Is this some Homer Simpson dream sequence? Nope. It's World of Beer, the new brew-topia in Viera, a growing suburb just west of Melbourne (Exit 191 off I-95). Tucked into an airy indoor/outdoor space at The Avenue, World of Beer is decked out with high ceilings, red brick accents and flatscreens galore. But no one is coming for the interior design or high-def picture quality. World of Beer has over 500 beers (50 on tap and 450 by the bottle).

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December 2nd, 2009

Rah-rah for RA Sushi

by Susan Friedman

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The ambience lured me in at the seductive RA Sushi (rasushi.com) in Palm Beach Gardens. Located in Downtown at the Gardens, where numerous shops and restaurants have closed the past year, this dining venue remains vibrant. And that's a very good thing. Red permeates the interior, with cool Geisha Girl art, bamboo and lots of globe fixtures, which I found quite transfixing.

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November 10th, 2009

Gone Public

by Patricia Letakis

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Often I come upon great restaurants that I want to try, only to be told, "Sorry, members and guests only." So when I learned that the Reunion Resort (reunionresort.com) off I-4 at exit 58 was loosening its reins of exclusivity and opening its Eleven tapas lounge and Forte Grille to the public, I didn't hesitate to visit this meticulously landscaped golf community of luxury homes, condos and villas.

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