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Eating News November

Luke's Lobster Miami
Luke’s Lobster

 

This month’s Eating News brings the scoop on serious new competition for the best lobster roll in town, a fun festival with leading chefs sponsored by Chipotle, and juicy scoops on new openings including Michael Schwartz’s fi’lia, entertainment and new menus from some of the best in town.

The competition for a top lobster roll is heating up with the  opening of Luke’s Lobster at Brickell City Center, its 22nd shack. It’s the pride and joy of Maine native and one time lobsterman Luke Holden. It’s cozy and casual and all about simple dishes like seafood rolls of all kinds plus clam chowder, lobster bisque, salads and slaws. Their advertised point of difference besides sustainability is their superior ingredients, as they buy their lobster directly from the lobsterman at the dock and their sister company immediately cleans and steams it to preserve freshness. They have been named the “best lobster roll” in the country and New York City by The Wall Steet Journal, CBS and Time Out.

At press time, it hadn’t opened yet (most likely mid-November) so I couldn’t check out the roll. What caught my attention is that they don’t put any mayo or bearnaise sauce on the lobster or a lot of fillers in the bun. It’s a quarter of a pound of lobster and is served on a New England split top  bun that’s been toasted and given the tiniest swipe of mayo, with a dash of their secret seasoning and butter drizzled on top. Served with one of their craft beers, sounds yummy. The roll is $17, less than many comparable ones around town.

Cultivate Festival Miami

 

The Cultivate Festival will take center stage at  Bayfront Park on November 12 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. to celebrate music, food and ideas. Chipotle Mexican Grill’s annual event series across the country brings together chefs (locally and nationally renowned), brewers, wine makers and musicians for a fun festival (check out this video.)

Celebrity Chefs on Hand – Amanda Freitag (Co-host of Food Network’s “American Diner Revival,” judge on “Chopped” and author of “The Chef Next Door”); Richard Blais (Chef, Restauranteur, James Beard nominated cookbook author and TV personality); Michelle Bernstein (James Beard Award-winning chef overseeing food & beverage program at Thompson Miami Beach): Michael Schwartz (James Beard Award-winning chef and owner of The Genuine Hospitality Group); and Adrianne Calvo (Author, TV personality and Owner of Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine bar).

Eat – Chipotle will serve freshly-made burritos and tacos, including the brand new Chorizo!

Drink – Chipotle has partnered with Boulevard Brewing Company of Kansas City, Mo.; Arizona Wilderness Brewing Company of Gilbert, Ariz.; and Cigar City Brewing from Tampa, Fla., to brew an original Mexican Lager that will be served exclusively at each of the Cultivate Festivals.

Fi'lia
Fi’lia

Eating shorts

    • Best of Britain menu, a two night pop up (Nov.11 and 12)  by UK Food Network star Chef Andrew Bates will be delicious eating based on my sampling earlier this year. The four course menu and a vegetarian option include his yummy Pie and Mash (didn’t think I’d like it but I ended up asking for seconds), Scotch eggs and  Welsh rarebit . It’s $42.50. For tickets and more information, click here.
andrew bates
Pie & Mash
  • Miami Beach favorite Osteria del Teatro has moved and improved. It’s now at The Marlin Hotel, 1443 Washington Avenue, T.3 05-538-7850 and sports a full bar along with a lounge playing black and white films.
  • Missed La Feria by Mercado de San Miguel from Spain last year? Fortunately it’s back again at Bayfront Park serving up everyone’s favorite tapas and paella, 301 N Biscayne Blvd, 786-443-7129, It’s open Thursday through Sunday until the end of January.
  • Michael Schwartz continues to expand his growing empire, this time with a new Italian eatery, Fi’lia, in the new SLS Brickell., 1300 S. Miami Avenue (T. 305-912-1729). The casual design is by famed Philippe Starck and the food is quintessential Michael. In a first foray, went for lunch and had charred eggplant spread with bottarga,  his signature wood oven roast chicken and roasted swiss chard with toasted pine nuts, garlic and pickled plumped raisins which were uniformly excellent. Delicious, yes, though not for the budget watcher–  a glass of wine each, eggplant starter, shared chicken and vegetable, turned out to be about $50 each with gratuity (parking is $10 extra).
Fi'lia
Fi’lia
  • New entertainment offering to put on your list, the landmark Art Deco The National Hotel in South Beach, has launched “Live! at the National,” live musical performances, in a range of styles, at their iconic Blues Bar. Music lovers can enjoy the talent of South Florida singers and piano players every Thursday through Sunday, from 8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.,  while sipping  handcrafted cocktails and savoring tapas at the Blues Bar, or dining on French American cuisine from Tamara’s Bistro.

national-hotel-live

  • And last but certainly not least, November 15 sees the opening of DÔA, 2000 Collins Avenue, the latest venture from Arjun Waney, the global restaurateur with a golden touch (of Zuma and Coya fame). The restaurant is called an Asian Cantina concept. “We are not Japanese; we are not Chinese, we are strictly Nikkei and Chifa, “he explained. ” The flavors are unique to the Asian influenced cuisine born in Latin America” .
    DÔA Miami Beach will be open seven days of the week for  dinner, weekend brunch and late-night dining. The menu will consist of shared raw, steamed and robata grilled signature dishes. Expect Ceviches, makis, skewers, steamed buns, dim sum, hot pots and several signatures from the charcoal robata. Well worth checking out.
Karen Escalera

Karen Escalera

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