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Month: May 2016

There's more to like this year in Coral Gables Restaurant Week. This year it's three weeks and many of your favorite restaurants are participating, offering everything from American and European to Caribbean and Asian cuisines. From June 6 to 26 twenty retaurants will feature special three course prix fixe menus for lunch and/or dinner offering savings of at least 20%.
The verdict is out…….Kaori by Walter Martino hosted an eye popping subscriber event last week in a setting with constantly changing digital art – from spring flowers and butterflies to framed fashion photos and chandeliers that could have been secreted from a grand hotel ballroom.
In a crowded space of Japanese restaurants in Miami, here's a winning new concept -- a restaurant inspired by Japanese style taverns, izakayas, and a fish market, a nod to the famous Tsukiji Fish Market and popular street vendors in Japan. It's Dragonfly Izakaya & Fish Market, the creation of Hirofumi P.Leung, a first generation Japanese-Chinese immigrant and Song Y.Kim, second generation Korean immigrant. The restaurant is the third in Florida for the team, located in the new Doral Center, 5241 N.W. 87th Avenue (T.305-222-7447).
Chef and Entrepreneur Michael Schwartz is a stickler on doing everything right. So when his Cypress Room opened in the Design District and it wasn’t the big success he had planned on (the figurative bar was very high), he decided to retool it into a more casual atmosphere in keeping with its name ‘tavern”, along with a lower priced menu, and brasserie type fare. We went there in the former iteration and, as you may remember, named its burger one of the top three in Miami, and decided to check out the “new” Cypress Tavern, 3620 N.E. 2nd Avenue (T.305-520-5197). His right hand and Brand Director, Jackie Sayet, calls it an “approachable, elevated dining experience” with which you’ll see I agree.
Since our last posts on happy hours, several great additions have come on the scene that are well worth noting. We’ve rounded up our picks, Part 3, for the best happy hour spots in Coral Gables, Key Biscayne and Downtown including a spa offering. See Part 1 here for Miami Beach and Part 2 here for Brickell, Coconut Grove and Doral. Since our last posts on happy hours, several great additions have come on the scene that are well worth noting. We’ve rounded up our picks, Part 3, for the best happy hour spots in Coral Gables, Key Biscayne and Downtown including a spa offering. See Part 1 here for Miami Beach and Part 2 here for Brickell, Coconut Grove and Doral.
Only three spots remain for the MiamiCurated exclusive subscriber events at Kaori by Walter Martino on May 24. But the deadline is TOMORROW for signing up, so take note! It's for a complimentary reception with champagne, wine and light bites followed by an optional 4 course tasting dinner for a very special price of $59. Here are the details:
Looking for something different to do this weekend? How about An Evening of Water Ballet courtesy of the Momentum Dance Company Miami at The National Hotel ,or an evening learning how to dance the 1940's swing (or watch others), burlesque, blues and rockabilly music in Wynwood? Here's the scoop:
Riviera Focacceria Miami is an unlikely find in Midtown. According to Fabio Domenichini, the owner who hails from Genoa, it's one of only a few restaurants serving Ligurian cuisine in the USA. If you've been to Genoa or the Amalfi Coast (Positano, Sorrento, Capri, etc), you've sampled the delicate cuisine which primarily revolves around fresh seafood, pesto (basil and olive oil), pastas, gnocchi, pine nuts, and tomato sauce made with the small, exquisite Taggiasca black olives. The olives are also used for oil which is among the priciest in the country. Riviera Focacceria is a trattoria that's welcoming, friendly, and authentic. You see a lot of Italians there, especially at lunch, which is the best sign. Plus, it's the kind of place you'll go back to and they'll remember you after one visit.
Since our last posts on happy hours, several great additions have come on the scene that are well worth noting. We’ve rounded up our picks, Part 2, for the best happy hour spots in Brickell, Coconut Grove and Doral. See Part 1 here for Miami Beach and stay tuned for Part 3 featuring other parts of town.
Raise your hand if you don’t like tomatoes. I’d like to hear from you. That being said, it’s doubtful there are many of you out there. But there are probably a lot of you who, like me, have mourned the passing of the juicy, flavorful, full size, meaty tomato with the right balance of sweetness and acidity. And that’s not just in the USA, but also in France, Italy, Spain, Latin America, and less so Greece and the Middle East . Tomatoes from all of those countries have crossed my palette. Here in South Florida, the best are the tomatoes at Pinecrest Gardens Farmer’s Market on Sunday from one farmer in particular (he has the biggest tomato display). But you have to go now when they're at their peak of ripeness. They’re not the gold standard, but pretty darn good. (Estiatorio by Milos also has very good tomatoes in their Greek salad). Cheer up, the gold standard is on its way back, hopefully soon to our tables (faster, if you plan to grow them from seed).