Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Reading Material (Pt II) - James Beard Foundation 2010 Journalism Award Finalists

In my last post, I listed the books that have been selected as finalists for the 2010 James Beard Foundation awards, with links to them on Amazon. Here I've listed the finalists for the journalism awards. I find these lists make for some great reading material, and there's certainly no reason to limit your review to only those that are ultimately selected for the award. I'm not sure why it's so hard to find a convenient source with links to all the nominated articles, so I've given all the links I've been able to find:

Category: Craig Claiborne Distinguished Restaurant Reviews

Jonathan Gold (LA Weekly)
"Sauced", "Hot Birria, Cold Cerveza", "Hare Today"

Patric Kuh (Los Angeles)
"Border Crossing", "Peru Calling" (this can't possibly be the entire review worthy of a nomination), "The Classic"

Jason Sheehan (Westord)
"White on White" (this is a guess, I see nothing with this title), "Wonderland", "Mourning"

Category: Food Blog

Grub Street New York
Serious Eats
Hunter Angler Gardener Cook

Category: Food-related Columns

Colman Andrews (Gourmet)
Column: Good Living Restaurants
"Veni Vidi Vetri", "It's Up to You, New York, New York", "Smoke and Miracles"

Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl (Minnesota Monthly)
"The Doughnut Gatherer", "Capital Grills", "Pizza Perfect"

Rachel Wharton (Edible Brooklyn)
Column: Back of the House
"Egg", "Roberta's", "Franny's and Bklyn Larder"

Category: Magazine Feature Writing About Restaurants and/or Chefs

Alan Richman (GQ) "American Pie"
Anya von Bremzen (Saveur) "Soul of a City"
Francis Lam (Gourmet) "The Last Chinese BBQ" (republished in Salon)

Category: Magazine Feature Writing With Recipes

Dana Bowen (Saveur) "The Wonders of Ham"
Francine Maroukian, Jon Reiner, Staff of Esquire (Esquire) "How Men Eat"
Matt Goulding (Men's Health) "The Beauty of the Beast"

Category: Magazine Feature Writing Without Recipes

Alan Richman (GQ) "Hillbilly Truffle"
Barry Estabrook (Gourmet) "The Price of Tomatoes"
Raffi Khatchadourian (New Yorker) "The Taste Makers"

Category: M.F.K. Fisher Distinguished Writing Award

John T. Edge (The Oxford American) "In Through the Back Door"
Alan Richman (GQ) "Le Petit Gourmet"
Francine Prose (Saveur) "Faith and Bacon"

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Monday, March 29, 2010

Reading Material - James Beard 2010 Finalists

For your edification and cooking inspiration, here are links to all the finalists for the 2010 James Beard Foundation awards in the book and journalism categories. The entire list of finalists can be found here.

Category: American Cooking



Category: Baking and Dessert



Category: Beverage



Category: Cooking from a Professional Point of View



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stirring dull roots with spring rain - updated

Maybe April isn't the cruelest month after all. Here are several things going on next month that you may want to put on your calendar.

April 4: Michy's will be doing an Easter brunch from 11am - 3pm, with a buffet of tapas and salads followed by your choice from among a dozen entrees. $48 ($24 for kids 12 and under), which includes a Mimosa or Bellini. 6927 Biscayne Blvd. Miami, 305.759.2001

Area 31 will also be celebrating Easter with a brunch running from 12-3pm and offering unlimited food, Mimosas, Bellinis, Bloody Marys, Prosecco and juices. Buffet service includes classics like eggs benedict, waffles, pancakes, steak frites, plus some more typical Area 31 stuff like grilled corvina with salsa verde. $65 ($22 for kids 6-12, free for kids under 6). 270 Biscayne Boulevard Way (Epic Hotel), Miami, 16th Floor, 305.424.5234

[updated with a few more Easter eggs!]

The Cape Cod Room in the Bath Club on Miami Beach is doing what they call their monthy "hybrid" brunch buffet on Easter Sunday, offering a buffet selection of appetizers plus a choice of entrée, including cream-cheese-stuffed French Toast, Crab Cake, or their "JFK Style" Lobster Stew, as well as a brunch cocktail. (11am - 3pm, $33 per person, $16 for kids 12 and under). 5937 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, 305.864.1262

Gibraltar restaurant in Grove Isle is also offering an Easter brunch from 11am - 3pm, with a full-blown buffet for $75 ($35 for children 5-12). Reservations are required. Four Grove Isle Drive, Miami (Grove Isle Hotel & Spa), 305.857.5007

Neomi's Grill at the Trump Resort in Sunny Isles is also getting into the Easter spirit with a brunch selection ranging from Eggs Benedict to Greek leg of lamb to pineapple-cola glazed Virginia ham. 11am - 3pm, $60 per person ($20 for kids 6-12, free for 5 and under). 18001 Collins Avenue (Trump International Beach Resort), Sunny Isles Beach, 305.692.5770

Talula on South Beach, where the regular Sunday brunch is always a good choice, is doing a $35 Easter brunch, plus $16 for unlimited mimosas, champagne and vodka cocktails; half off for children under 13, kids under 5 eat free. 10:30am - 3pm. 210 23rd St., Miami Beach, 305.672.0778

[one more to add]:

Eos, Chef Michael Psilakis' restaurant in the Viceroy Hotel, is doing an Easter brunch from 11am-3pm featuring a selection of breakfast items, roasted whole lamb and carved baby pig, Mediterranean specialties and more; $55 for adults, $30 for children under 13. 485 Brickell Avenue, Miami, 305.503.0373

April 7: Dedication ceremony for the new Roots in the City Farmers Market which started up in Overtown this week. The market, spearheaded by the Wholesame Wave Foundation (founded by Chef Michel Nischan of the Dressing Room in Westport, Connecticut), with a big assist locally from Chef Michael Schwartz of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, will be both the only growers-only farmers' market I'm aware of in Miami, and also the first to bring healthful local foods to underserved communities by taking advantage of the double-value program available to users of the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). There's more info on the Market, which will be open at the corner of NW 2nd Ave. and 10th St. on Wednesdays from 12-4pm through April and then resume in the fall, at The Genuine Kitchen, and some impressions on opening day earlier this week at Redland Rambles and Mango & Lime. NW 2nd Ave. & 10th St., Miami

April 15: BLT Steak is having "Tax Day at BLT," during which "BLT restaurants across the nation take the stress out of Tax Day with half off all alcoholic beverages." 1440 Ocean Drive (Betsy Hotel), Miami Beach, 305.673.0044

April 24-25: Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden will be having its second annual Food and Garden Festival from 9:30am - 4:30pm Saturday and Sunday, featuring culinary demonstrations, a farmers market, programs on community gardens, edible schoolyards, edible gardens, composting and the like, and vendors selling plants adapted to South Florida's unusual growing conditions. 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, 305.667.1651

Shantih shantih shantih


Thursday, March 25, 2010

Cobaya Experiment #4 - Altamare with Chef Simon Stojanovic

The latest of our "underground dining" experiments brought us to the newly opened Altamare restaurant in South Beach. Well, sort of new, anyway. Actually, its predecessor, Altamar, quietly tucked away on the west end of Lincoln Road, was a long-standing locals' favorite for fresh seafood with an Italian bent. Altamar owner Claudio Giordano decided to move a few doors down to a bigger space, buy a vowel, and bring in Chef Simon Stojanovic (a Michael's Genuine Food & Drink alumnus) to take over the kitchen and update the menu. We gave Chef Simon free rein to craft a menu, and Claudio gave the 20 of us a cozy little semi-private corner in the back of the room behind the bar, plus a run of wine pairings to go with the dishes.


Unfortunately, I missed nearly half the meal, for reasons that are somewhat embarassing (it was Little Miss F's birthday - the date of which I had overlooked when planning the dinner - and so I joined in late, after B-Day dinner with the family). As a result, I didn't get to sample a sheepshead carpaccio, served with cara cara oranges and fresh hearts of palm (for those thinking we've gone overboard, please note: sheepshead here is a fish, not - well - a sheep's head), nor a triggerfish tempura.


Pictures: Jackie Sayet

I did get there in time for an octopus dish, the fat tentacles "confited" low and slow and then grilled, served with farro that had been spiked with local green tomato, grilled lemon and chorizo, along with a generous dollop of aioli. It's a great prep method for the octopus, rendering it tender with a nice crusty char on the exterior from the grilling (it's the same method used on the octopus dish that is a menu stalwart at MGF&D).

Picture: Jackie Sayet

Plus I always support the pairing of seafood and pork products, and the chorizo was just right here, balancing well with the rich chewy texture of the farro and the bright tartnesss of the green tomato and lemon. That combination also is one which has made appearances on the MGF&D menu, as a commenter here previously noted. Claudio took an interesting approach on matching a wine to this dish, going with a Cannonau, a red wine (grenache) from Sardinia which I thought worked well with the heartier flavors of the farro and chorizo in particular.

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