Winners and Rumors
Written by Pamela Robin Brandt - BT Contributor
May 2012
Food news we hope you can use
There’s too much food news this month to print it all. Still, we want more! Signs of a restaurant
opening or closing in your neighborhood? Send your tips to [email protected].
I’ll check them out.
OPENINGS
Barrel Wine Cantine (3622 NE 2nd Ave., 305-576-7775). In the former W Wine Bar space, it’s
actually much like the original -- a wine market and wine bar with casual, French-influenced
food: imported cheeses, charcuterie (including homemade pâtés), quiches, salads, and
changing hot entrées. Difference: A real chef is in charge. That would be Victor Passalacqua,
trained in Michelin three-star kitchens before helming numerous Miami fine-dining spots.
Bella Beach Club (18001 Collins Ave., 305-692-5777). In the Trump International Resort, this
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Winners and Rumors
Written by Pamela Robin Brandt - BT Contributor
May 2012
informal restolounge couldn’t be more beachy. It is right on the sand. Fare ranges from light
bites (caviars elegant salads) to grilled seafood and steaks with varied sauces. There are also
day beds, a bocce court, and often a DJ.
Hoops Sports Bar & Grill (900 Biscayne Blvd., 786-472-3050). This Canadian import across
from the AA arena, which features more than 180 TVs and standard bar bites with occasional
Canadian accents, has been operating for three months, but the official opening is May 5. Drop
by the party, from noon to whenever, for poutine (identical to NJ “disco fries,” topped with
cheese and gravy).
Strip (801 Brickell Bay Dr., 305-364-5384). That’s strip as in steak. At this modern space in the
Four Ambassadors there are no exotic dancers -- but plenty of exotica on the menu, including
antelope and kangaroo. Other than that, the food is traditional steakhouse stuff, but all beef is
sourced, grass-fed, and raised without evil hormones.
CLOSINGS
Andalus, in the Design District. Majestic Properties’ Jeff Morr, owner of the building (which
previously housed Pacific Time), says a rumor that the eatery was sold to a French restaurant
group is untrue. So there’s a terrific indoor/outdoor space waiting for a tenant. Here’s one vote
for an Asian street food spot.
SIDE DISH
Speaking of rumors, Michelle Bernstein was sure floored to hear the one about Sra. Martinez
being sold. “Sra. has not been sold,” she says. “I’m in the midst of looking for a chef, and that’s
about it.”
Meanwhile, congrats to Bernstein for multiple culinary awards last month: To Sra. Martinez for
“Best Restaurant 2012” at Johnson & Wales’s first annual ZEST awards ceremony; to Señora’s
mixologist Julio Cabrera for first place in the regional Campari Best Aperitivo Cocktail
Competition; and to Bernstein herself, crowned “Princess of Porc” in South Florida’s regional
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Winners and Rumors
Written by Pamela Robin Brandt - BT Contributor
May 2012
Cochon 555, a national heirloom pig competition. Next stop: the Grand Cochon at Aspen’s Food
& Wine Classic to vie with nine other regional winners on June 17.
Congrats also to pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith (from Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink), this
year’s only James Beard Award finalist from Miami. Winners will be announced in NYC at a May
7 dinner of Beard-inspired recipes, where another Miami chef, Norman Van Aken from Tuyo,
will represent with his legendary creamy conch chowder. Van Aken says his dish originated
from Beard’s recipe for the cream of mussels soup known as Billi Bi.
And kudos to chef/owner Kris Wessel of Red Light, who became a Food Network Chopped
champion last month. The competition’s final deciding dish: a dessert crafted from strawberries,
walnuts, corn chips, and hollandaise sauce.
Remember last fall when the Tommy Pooch/Alan Roth restolounge Ricochet opened in Midtown
Miami, with much hype about its “menu of small bites dreamed up by Kris Wessel”? Flocking
foodies (including me) were, however, puzzled by the uninspired items actually offered.
The back story: Wessel, an old friend of South Beach pioneer Roth, was indeed originally
involved, but when I first questioned him in late November, he was delayed in implementing his
menu by “a setback with the permitting process” plus a tiny kitchen “with no hood system for
cooking. I won’t put my stamp on it until it is ready.”
When I ran into Wessel at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival in February, he was still
involved -- but still no stamp. And now, though the lounge’s website continues to tout Wessel,
he says, “I don’t think I’ll ever be involved in implementing a food concept at Ricochet.” No food
fights involved, just lack of time. At any rate, hit Ricochet for clubbing, not for Krisfood.
Please consult this month’s “BizBuzz” column for news and deals from BT restaurant
advertisers Anise Taverna (soon evolving into RiverShack), Bagels & Company, Jean Paul’s
House, Racks / Soprano Italian Café and Restaurant, Mario the Baker, and Royal Bavarian
Schnitzel Haus.
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Winners and Rumors
Written by Pamela Robin Brandt - BT Contributor
May 2012
Feedback: [email protected]
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