Free Dessert @ Essensia

Essensia at the Palms won't be doing a traditional Valentine's prix-fixe menu. Instead you can order off the regular menu and score a free dessert platter for you and your honey.
During the Month of February, all dinners for two booked with the “Sweet Love” reference will receive Pastry Chef Gail Goetsch’s complimentary “Sweetheart Sampler” dessert for two.

Wyclef Jean @ The Florida Room

Gibraltar: Solid as a Rock

The old Baleen space at the Grove Isle Hotel is now Gibraltar. Go there. The food is beautiful, creative and good. It's a bit on the pricey side - starters average about $12 and mains in the high $20's - but you don't have to go all the time. Just go at least once, if only to experience the snapper crudo (above), a dazzling arrangement of fish, mango puree, pink radish and crisp cassava chips. Another standout dish is the smoked salmon loin that comes with sweet corn beignets, what you'd get if you crossed cornbread with a doughnut and then patted yourself on the back for being a genius.
See photos of the redone interiors here.
Grove Isle Hotel & Spa, 4 Grove Isle Dr, Coconut Grove; 305.857.5007.

Free Champagne @ The Four Seasons

Here's something for the ladies on game day: Acqua at Four Seasons will cater to SuperBowl "widows" by offering complimentary champagne with dinner for ladies on SuperBowl evening. In addition to free champagne with dinner, the restaurant offers a 3 course set menu at $42.

Nobu Weekend @ One Bal Harbour

Nobu will be opening a pop up restaurant at One Bal Harbour this weekend, serving a select menu for lunch and dinner and pool-side Bento Boxes and cocktails. The pre-fixe lunch will include items like Shitake Salad with Spicy Lemon, Yellowtail Jalapeno, Tempura Vegetable and Shrimp, Black Cod, Jidori Chicken Skewers “Anticucho” and desserts like Chai Tea and Dulce De Leche Crème with Banana and Crisp Meringue.

The pre-fixe dinner menu includes Hawaiian Hearts of Palm with Octopus Carpaccio and Jalapeno Dressing, ‘Tiiradito’ Nobu Style, King Crab Ama-su Ponzu, Squid Pasta, Arctic Char with Crispy Spinach and Yuzu Soy, Wagyu Beef A5, daily selections of Nigiri and Maki and desserts like the Maple Pecan Ice Cream ‘Sandwich’, Molasses and Lucama Foam.

Valentine's Day @ Atrio

Goodbye, Upper East Side Garden

The MiMo District’s beloved hipster mini-golf course and outdoor screening room will be closing up shop come February 29. But until then you still have time for a few rounds of golf and some al fresco beers. Swing by this party on Friday to reminisce about the good times while sipping free Grolsch.
Jan 30, 6-10pm, Upper Eastside Garden, 7244 Biscayne Blvd, 305-984-3231.

MELT @ the Miracle Theater

Borekas in Sunny Isles

I was never a huge fan of the Israeli spot Bissaleh in Sunny Isles but I'd stop in there whenever I had a hankering for borekas, flaky pastries stuffed with savory fillings like potato and feta cheese. They managed to approximate the sesame-covered snacks that reminded me of the hot, buttery delights I've had in Israel (though they were ten times the price at $8 each). So imagine my delight when I found that the old Bissaleh space -now the H Restaurant, a jazzy French bistro with a roaring wood-burning oven and live Parisian singers on Saturday nights - still offers those Middle Eastern delicacies on the menu, as well as Gallic dishes like escargots in butter and Shrimp and Scallops Provencal. And they serve them the traditional way - with a hard boiled egg and cabbage slaw on the side (though this slaw needed a serious dose of vinegar because it was tasteless). The boreka itself - top notch.
The H Restaurant, 17608 Collins Ave, 305-931-9106

Tapas @ RA Sushi

The South Miami sushi loft has revamped their menu of funky rolls (mango, smoked salmon and cashews, anyone?) to include a restrained list of raw fish-inspired tapas. The best of the bunch is the yellowtail bathed in a garlic citrus ponzu sauce topped with organic greens and the salmon carpaccio with wasabi infused oil. Skip the RA "lollipops," the kind of gimmicky dish that probably pleases the UM students that swarm the place. They're all mostly priced around $7 which is a nice touch.

5829 SW 73rd St, 305-341-0092.

Haiti Fundraiser @ Smith and Wollensky

Tweetup @ SushiSamba Tonight

Perhaps you’ve embraced the new-fangled social media tool Twitter and live in a world populated by tweets and hashtags. Or maybe you’re just curious as to what all the fuss is about. Either way you’ll want to make your way to SushiSamba for this party with $5 caipirnhas and mojitos and cheap tapas like $6 lobster taquitos and $4 salt and pepper squid. And, thankfully, no “twitter-tinis.”

January 20, 8-10pm,600 Lincoln Road, 305-673-5337.

Wagyu Sushi @ Blue Sea

The sleek marble sushi bar in the lobby of the Delano celebrates its tenth anniversary this month with a new lower-priced menu of small plates and rolls available as half or full portions. The best rolls I tasted off this new menu included the Wagyu Tartare Roll (above) made with American wagyu and French pickles over wasabi crunchy rice and the Mexican Roll composed of scallop, shrimp ceviche, avocado, red onion and jalapeño. I also really enjoyed the Kinoko Roll, a vegan option of Japanese mushrooms wrapped in white soy topped with crispy enoki mushrooms and truffle oil. Less exciting was the Smokey Roll (below) made with smoked salmon, smoked tuna, bbq eel and cream cheese because I will never understand nor condone the use of cream cheese in a sushi roll. It's just. Not. Right.
See the menu and prices here.
1685 Collins Ave, 305-672-2000.

STK Miami Grand Opening

Memo to everyone in Miami: it was great seeing you last night at the STK opening.

The place was packed to the gills which proves one of two things: the opening of a steakhouse is really exciting, or a thousand people had nothing better to do on a Tuesday night than sip free drinks and rub up against strangers.

Last night was quite significant as STK is probably the last steakhouse to open in Miami for a long time. That may just be wishful thinking but it's obvious that this glitzy mega-resto is a holdover from the boom era. It was hard to take in the space as it was teeming with random socialites, reality show stars, hipsters like Alexis Mincolla and stocky body builder David Barton (sporting more jewelry than me, btw) but suffice to say, the two-story space looked sexy and loungey, perfect for tucking into slabs of meat. We didn't get to taste much of the food save for a few skewers of coconut chicken and a cold mini-burger snagged from a silver platter perched on a banquette next to some models wrapped in scarves.

Good thing we pre-partied at the one-year anniversary for Red the Steakhouse where the ample buffet included crab legs, shrimp cocktail, roasted artichokes and smoked salmon.

Mushroom Foraging in the Judean Hills

Two days into 2010 and I found myself headed out into the forests surrounding Jerusalem on a cool, crisp morning with a couple of mushroom-obsessed Russians on the hunt for wild fungi. Our guide was Boris, forest ranger, Sea of Galilee fisherman and a St. Petersburg botanist in his former Soviet life. He moved to Israel 25 years ago and quickly set about getting to know every inch of the country's national park system.

Our mission: to hunt bucketfuls of wild mushrooms.


We learned some fun facts about Israel's green canopy that morning. Israel is the only country in the world with more trees today then when it was established 60 years ago. That's because it had practically no trees back in the day (if left alone, the land is essentially a desert). Almost all the greenery has been planted by JNF (some of you out there may even have a few Bar and Bat Mitzvah trees named in your honor!). The soil is rocky and laced with lava (good for grape growing) and the best time to search for mushrooms is after a spell of rain, which in Israel means the winter as it never rains in the summer.

So what does mushroom hunting entail? A morning swig of vodka. Kidding! Although I think Boris had something special in his canteen. Those wacky Russians. Seriously, mushrooms are ticky little suckers to find since they look almost like rocks - pale, sand-colored, camoflauged. And the middle-aged couple who joined us on this excurision were super competitive at this game, popping up from the brush every few minutes with a "found one" and proudly brandishing the rust-colored caps. On this patch of land we found mostly "gingies" named for the Hebrew word for redheads due to their gorgeous orange hue. After about an hour our eyes adjusted to the terrain and we were able to suss out a few thick-stemmed beauties. Our haul for the day was probably around 5 kilos, not too bad for a few amateur foragers.

Iceberg Ice Cream, Tel Aviv

There's a tangy yogurt rennaissance going on in Tel Aviv these days.

Places like Yogo and other Pinkberry copycats are satisfying the hordes on Rothschild and Allenby. So it takes a creative ice cream place to have a line out the door on a warm December afternoon and Iceberg was it. We were impressed with the interesting flavor combinations - wild berries with taragon, mandarin orange with basil and a silky chocolate. The fruity flavors had a sorbet-like texture while the chocolate was straight up gelato-like. Next time I'm going for the espresso cardamom.

At 31 Rothschild Blvd, 03-566-1588.

Christmas in Tel Aviv

There's something very special about being in Israel on Christmas. Last year we were in Jerusalem around this time and while the Christian vibe is a lot stronger in the holiest city, Tel Aviv was still sporting some Christmas cheer all its own.

We spent the day walking around Old Jaffa, watched pilgrims make their way to the Anglican Church and bought a gorgeous cutting board made from repurposed wood from a young artist whose shop was ridiculously charming (hope to post on that soon). At around two in the afternoon we got hungry and opted for the Business Lunch at Nana Bar, a meticulously scuffed romantic spot in Neve Tzedek. The food was lovely with no big surprises - an appetizer of eggplant "baladi" whereby a small eggplant is roasted, it's insides cooked to a smoky, creamy consistency, then topped with home made techina and tangy tomatoes. A main course of lightly fried chicken shnitzel. A half pint of beer. All for about $12. This is why I am obsessed with the business lunch phenomenon in Israel. More to come...

Mandolin Aegean Bistro

I lived in Istanbul for a short stint a few years ago and Mandolin reminds me of the restaurant where we found ourselves on New Year's eve that year. It was on the first floor of an old house off Istiklal, a busy pedestrian thoroughfare. The chef was a friendly mom in the kitchen and her eight year-old son the lone server. (I think he wore a bow-tie or something like that. He was adorable and actually did a great job.) It didn't seem legal and it probably wasn't but we didn't care, it was New Year's and all the usual restaurants were pushing pricey set menus and mandatory champagne toasts. We were looking for something quiet and low key. And man, it didn't get any more bare bones than this. She had a couple pots of food to choose from (we went to the kitchen to point to what we wanted) and then the usual parade of salads and dips. It was straightforward home cooking and it was the most delicious food we'd ever tasted.

Mandolin is a lot more polished of an operation (there are no eight year-old servers running around) but it still possesses a similar charm. The place has barely been open a week and already they've endeared themselves to the neighborhood. Set in a restored 1940's house on the northern edge of the Design District it's the kind of place you always hope to find when traveling to a new city - an off-the-beaten path restaurant with good, simple, affordable food. We feasted on Greek/Turkish mezzes in the lantern-lit courtyard reliving the warm, deep flavors of the Mediterranean.

Highlights include:

- addictive home made pide bread (like pita but fluffier and addictive-er)

- Greek salad with a slab of creamy feta, plump kalamata olives and ripe tomatoes

- lightly battered and fried calamari served with an almond aioli

- lamb kefte meatballs spiced with mint and parsely

- tender grilled octopus marinated in red wine vinegar and olive oil

- smoky eggplant dip

and my favorite dish of the night - the "kopoglu" salad which is Turkish for son of a dog, made with fried eggplant and zucchini topped with garlic yogurt and tomato sauce.

The menu is here. 4312 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL 33137. 305-576-6066

Carbonell Chefs Fest

As part of some sort of Spanish olive oil marketing bonanza ten restaurants in the city are collaborating on prix-fixe menus showcasing the liquid gold. If you’re in the Gables hit Por Fin with dishes like white gazpacho and shrimp confit while over on the beach Meat Market’s representing with beef cheeks slow-cooked in olive oil and bittersweet chocolate and olive oil caviar for dessert.
The 4 or 5 course menus are $35-$45, now until December 19, various locations throughout the city.

Half-Off Sushi @ China Grill

Finally, a happy hour late enough to coincide with dinner time, perfect for working your way through the restaurant’s sushi list, which is half-off along with cocktails, wine and beer. Meaning you can chase that $4.50 Kirin Ichiban with a $6.50 Havana roll (yellowtail, rum, coconut and avocado) for less than the regular price of a saketini at the bar.
6pm-9pm daily,China Grill, 404 Washington Ave, 305-534-2211.

Scarpetta One Year Prix-Fixe (Unlimited Wine!)

Ever since Scarpetta opened a year ago it’s been my go-to for elegant carb-loading (yes, certain occasions call for elegant carb-loading). So when I got this notice about their special 1-year anniversary menu - 4 course for $50, plus complimentary wine - I was super excited. We said goodbye to Basel Sunday night with this amazing deal.

The menu is here. As you can see it's got all of Chef Scott Conant’s big hitters - the legendary homemade spaghetti pomodoro, the ridiculously smooth creamy polenta and mushrooms and the Amedei chocolate cake. First things first: be prepared for lots of food. Four courses is a lot, and they're not skimping on the portions here. With the exception of the spaghetti, which was a half bowl-size, everything else was full on - the polenta with it's separate little pot of mushroom fricasse brimming with oyster, portobello and morrel 'shrooms in a beefy gravy and the fish, which on Sunday was the branzino in a lobster sauce with potato gnochhi. Even the short rib appetizer was a hefty size with a side of farro risotto. Beasts that we are, we finished every last drop, pulling a scarpetta at Scarpetta, meaning, sopping up the sauces with the heel of the delicious ciabatta bread. All the while we kept saying through full mouths, "this is the best deal ever!" And it truly is. Better than Miami Spice, which the restaurant also represented quite admirably.

Oh, and the wines were free-flowing.

They give one option in red or white. That night it was the 2007 Planeta La Segreta Rosso and a Bottega Vinaia Pinot Grigio both of which went well with the strong tomato, mushroom and seafood flavors on the menu. The free wine is nice, but took a backseat to the amazing food. And after that first spoon of polenta I was already drunk on life.

Prix-fixe available December 6-10, 4441 Collins Ave, 305-674-4660.

Your Daily Art

Shot at the Carlos and Rosa de la Cruz Collection.

Red Carter Basel Party @ Barneys CO-OP

Donuts=Art

Breakfast at the Rubell Family Collection this morning - a wall of donuts. Some coffee, too. Over at the Rosa de la Cruz collection you could get fresh-brewed cappuccinos and butter cookies. The art was better there too. Rosa's a generous hostess.

Irreversible @ Metropole South Beach

Chuao Chocolatier Closing

Art Tent City

The tents are up in Midtown with Red Dot and Art Miami facing off across from each other on NE 1st Ave and Design Miami's ziggurat is in full effect.



The Design District is now home to a new Christian Louboutin store, complete with a fancy orchid installation out front. Wonder why the French designer chose to go to the DD instead of Bal Harbour Shops. The nabe doesn't seem to be working as a high-end fashion destination (we're looking at you Marni and Y3 and your tragic lack of customers). Ah well. What do I know? Perhaps people hanging in the DD are interested in buying $600 stilettos.

Danger Mouse and David Lynch @ O.H.W.O.W.

In one of the more intriguing art world collaborations occurring at this year’s fest, musical wizard Danger Mouse and cult filmmaker David Lynch team up for a mixed-media exhibit dubbed Dark Night of the Soul. Expect photographs by Lynch and a soundtrack featuring the Flaming Lips, Julian Casablancas of The Strokes and Iggy Pop, who you’ll probably bump into at this opening.
7pm, December 2, 3100 NW 7 Ave, 305-633-9345.

Pecha Kucha @ Art Salon

Basel Shwag

Well, it's not really shwag so much as the opportunity to buy cool stuff. In honor of Art Basel Interview mag is commandeering the high-tech vending machine at the Mondrian and stuffing it with collectibles like Dolce & Gabanna's "We Love Madonna" tank, canvas kicks from Vena Cava, and Scott Campbell knuckle tattoo sets. Oh, and a lifetime supply of Ben & Jerry’s in case you get hungry.
starts December 1, 1100 West Ave, 305-514-1500.

Monday: Nektar de Stagni Jewelry Salon

Borsht Film Fest, Saturday Night

Catch the next Brett Ratner (pre-Rush Hour franchise) at this indie fest with screenings of short films that each take place in a specific Miami neighborhood including Downtown Surfside, Liberty City, Key Biscayne, and the Design District. Admission is pay what you wish and there will be complimentary cocktails.
7pm, November 28, 174 E Flagler St, 305-372-0925.

Basel Tidbits

File under Basel 2009 miscellany:

• This year's Art Loves Music free concert on the beach Wednesday night features the aural stylings of the lovely Ebony Bones.
• There will be no Art Positions aka "the container show" on the beach this year. Instead the galleries involved in Art Positions will be featured inside the convention hall and the space on the beach will called Oceanfront Cafe. The container show was always more of a hassle when it got crowded but on the plus side, it was nice to see free art. Now you have to buy a ticket to the main fair if you want to check out those edgy galleries.
• Local artistic duo and makers of happy art Friends With You will be opening their first boutique in the Design District Tuesday night. I am particuarly jazzed about this as my little one loves his plush Rainbow TTT purchased by a friend at the MAM store. Their stuff is wildly fun.

Surface Lounge

For those of you who prefer liquid lunches to actually getting through the day sober (during Basel week, that is highly discouraged) will want to mosey on over to Plunge at the Gansevoort where Surface mag will be pouring free drinks from 11am-1pm from December 3-5. RSVP here.

Basel Buzz

It's that time of year again, folks. Let the wild rumpus start.

Some of the things we've been hearing about here at APD headquarters:

The W South Beach will be the epicenter of art-world scalawags, carpetbaggers and legit celebs. Vito Schnabel (son of superstar Julian) will be hosting something called the Happy Endings art installation opening party there Wednesday night. That same night Art Nexus is throwing their megabash in the backyard while dealer Larry Gagosian hosts his annual dinner at Mr. Chow.

Friday night developers David Edelstein and Aby Rosen host a shindig featuring performance by Glen Matlock of THE SEX PISTOLS, Jesse Yusef Murphy of the Brazilian Girls and HykCast at WET at while artist Francesco Clemente gets jiggy at an after party at WALL.
So basically, if you want to hobnob with the sexy crowd you'll want to park yourself at the W's lobby bar and see if you can charm your way into one of these invite-only events. Or just pretend you're friends with Vito.

(photo of Mr. Chow via Greg Clark)

Happy Hour @ Caviar Kaspia

The pricey French caviar restaurant at the Webster just introduced a wallet-friendly post-work ritual: $8 cocktails including lychee martnis and mojitos along with Russian-inspired bites for $10 like mini smoked salmon blinis and a baked potato “Vladivostok” topped with salmon caviar. Yes, it's still a bit steep for "happy hour" but it's a nice way to snack on what the restaurant does well - the baked potato and the fluffy, spongy blinis.

These delicate toast rounds topped with a not-too-salty tarama are presented as gratis cocktail snacks which is a nice touch. They're also indicative of the overall vibe of the place - precise, fastidious, even a bit precious. The Webster house cocktail, made with champagne and lavender pearls is a fragrant way to take the edge off.

4pm-7pm, Tuesdays-Saturdays, 1220 Collins Ave, 305- 674-7899.

Key Lime My, Oh My

What business does The Oceanaire Seafood Room have serving such a damn good key lime pie? As if having dozens of fresh fish, roughly a bajillion types of oysters and every kind of crustacean known to man wasn't enough, they go and churn out a kick ass slab of pie. Damn you, retro supper club, damn you. Now I'll never fit into my skinny jeans.

Free Concert Courtesy of Diesel, Tuesday Night

All Diesel fans will have a chance to witness this private event with a limited amount of invitations to be given away starting at 4pm on Saturday, November 14th through Tuesday, November 17th, at Diesel stores as well as Bloomingdale’s located at the Aventura Mall.

Diesel Lincoln Road – 933 Lincoln Road
Diesel Avenutra – 19501 Biscayne Boulevard
Diesel Miami Beach – 801 Washington Avenue
Bloomingdale’s Aventura (men’s and women’s Diesel Departments)-19555 Biscayne Boulevard

In addition, Diesel’s Lincoln Road will kick-off the festivities with a nightly Happy Hour including cocktails, DJ’s and shopping. Happy Hour commences on Saturday the 14th and continues for an additional three nights.

Cookie Monkey Cookies Are Effing Delicious

The Keebler Elves got nothing on Miami resident Marisa Scime. Armed with grandmother's cookie recipe and a willingness to explore uncharted baking waters, the cookie goddess will bake any kind of cookie you desire, incorporating the candy, liquor or food craving of choice. So far she's been commissioned to make bacon cookies but she's open to anything. She dropped off a few of her chocolate chip classics for me to try and they are great - chewy, moist and flecked with both milk chocolate and semi-sweet chips along with macadamia nuts. More info on how to order and how the cookie maven got started here.

Anthony Bourdain: Saucy Outtakes

Rabble rouser and epicurean adventurer Anthony Bourdain will be in town hosting a Celebrity Chef event at the Arsht Center Friday night with Eric Ripert and Jacques Pepin. I learned quite a few things from our short conversation, namely fatherhood has tamed the churlish chef, that pig should be a condiment and that he really dislikes Mr. Chow.

Here's a bit of Q & A for you to digest.

Has becoming a father affected the badass side of your personality?
I think any notions of being a badass evaporated immediately upon seeing my gorgous daughter appear on this planet. It’s all a hollow joke, the idea of being cool, immediately upon having a child.

What’s your favorite drink?
I’m a big fan of the negroni. If I’m sitting in Italy, late afternoon, a negroni on the rocks with a hunk of orange in it is a nice way to usher in the evening.

Any locations for your show that are off-limits for safety or security reasons?
We’re trying to shoot in the Democratic Republic of Congo because I’m fascinated by Conrad and the history of colonialism. I’d love to shoot in Iran, where I understand the people are very friendly but the government doesn’t make it very conducive to an American shooting something there.

What is the one place everyone should see before they die?
Tokyo. Or Shanghai or Beijing. At least to see the future to know what the world will look like when they’re gone. If you want to see who our futre master will be and what the world will look like in twenty years Beijing is a good start.

Because China is going to rule the world.
At least we’ll be eating better.

What’s the best music to cook to?
During the prep period Curtis Mayfield’s soundtrack to Superfly works for me.

If you could only pick three condiments/spices to have for the rest of your life what would they be?
Salt, pepper and a pig.

Pig as a condiment?
It would be in my world.

So…Mr. Chow. I take it you’re not a fan?
Mr. Chow is like the Cipriani of Chinese food. It’s for alleged douchebags who are allegedly not paying enough for their alleged food. It’s for people with small penises. It’s the worst place on earth. When you find yourself at Mr. Chow you need to take a long hard look in the mirror and ask, what has my life come to? Because you have to be in desperate fucking straits to find yourself paying that much money for food you can get better six blocks away.

About Last Night @ Pacific Time

Complimentary cocktails and bar bites (sweet and sour shrimp, crab wontons) from 8-9pm, and the party goes until midnight.

35 NE 40th St. 305-722-7369.