If the Glove Fits...

Wynwood at midnight is a pretty scary place on its own, but the folks at Cafeina are turning things up a notch with their “Nightmare on 23rd St” party. Cocktail servers dressed like the cinematic slasher will pass out gratis shots of Southern Comfort every time the Nightmare on Elm Street theme song “1, 2, Freddy’s Coming for You” is played, party girl Miss Elaine Lancaster will DJ, and the outdoor courtyard will be a spooky haze of fog and bottle service.

8p-3a, October 30.
297 NW 23rd St, 305-438-0047.

Creek 28 Up the Creek?

Sad news to report. Creek 28, the quaint, mostly-outdoors spot at the Indian Creek hotel, has closed. This from a former manager who explained that the restaurant took a break for the summer and was scheduled to reopen October 1. "But as the summer went on it became clear the owners of the hotel had no intention of reopening the restaurant." As for chef Kira Volz, whose farm-to-table food we had grown to love? Apparently she's looking for other opportunities....

A Gatsby-ish Halloween

I've always felt the Raleigh would be the perfect setting for a haunted 1920’s mansion party, and so did the hipsters behind this bash. The entire deco gem–including the restaurant, ballroom and penthouse–will transform into a burlesque-strewn flapper-fest with gratis Heineken from 9-10p. Downstairs in the ballroom Toronto-based synth-pop group Parallels will make their Miami debut alongside Panic Bomber while upstairs in the 8th floor penthouse DJs Ess & Emm, Troy Kurtz and Mister Drake will curate the prohibition-era beats. Finally, an excuse to break in that gramophone-shaped flask.

October 30, 9p-2a, $20-$35. Raleigh Hotel, 1775 Collins Ave, 305-534-630

Tickets here.

il Mercato: German Tapas in Hallandale

Don’t be alarmed: I'm sending you to a strip mall in Hallandale. The good news: the chef’s background includes stints at New York’s Eleven Madison Park and Miami’s Table 8. The better news: German and Scandinavian dishes available in half portions like Knödel (potato dumplings), house-smoked salmon, confit chicken wings and artichoke ravioli. Il Mercato opened about two months ago and has one of the most interesting wine lists in the city with rare bottles like a Quattro Mani Tocai from Slovenia for $6 a glass and an Ametzoi Txakolina, a Spanish white for $42 a bottle. Prices are low (starters average $8, mains are less than $20 and all can be had in half-portions for $7-$9), the space is modest, the eating is good. Afterwards you can go to Wal-Mart. Someone out there considers that paradise.

1454 East Hallandale Beach Blvd, 954-457-3700.

Tokyo Blue: The Maki Daddy

A Nobu veteran has hightailed it to the north and opened a neon blue raw fish temple on Ft. Lauderdale beach. I was invited to a food press/blogger dinner a little while ago and tasted half the menu in a feast of Asian-inspired dishes. There were plenty of Nobu homages in the mix - the rock shrimp tempura, jalapeno hamachi - and some Thai staples like coconut curry and pad thai. All of it was tasty, though nothing really blew my mind. Yet it's a fine addition to the dining scene up there.
Next time you’re in Broward and craving classics like Miso Black Cod and Bali Lobster make your way to this clubby spot where the bartenders wear black corsets and a giant aquarium greets you at the front. It doesn't get much classier in Lauderdale.

4040 Galt Ocean Mile, 954-566-7500.

Obligatory Vampire Weekend Post

"It was like Urban Outfitters vomited out a catalog into the Fillmore."
-commenter on this New Times Review of Vampire Weekend's show last night.

I missed the show, sadly. No live preppy rock for me. Here's an appropriately fun video from them with an appropriately smug Jake Gyllenhaal hamming it up.
Sigh.
Can't help but fall in love with sweat bands and tennis shorts all over again...

Fin is fin?

I'm not sure what the deal is with Jonathan Eismann's seafood spot Fin. It's sold. It's closed. It's on hold? Whatever the case, it's a shame because I enjoyed my meal there a little while ago. I should have posted these pics sooner, but alas, I am a lazy lass. Herewith some sea-oriented food porn to get you through the weekend.
PS - the banana shrimp curry was insanely good. RIP Fin.

Hot Cheeca...Lodge

We recently took a jaunt down to the Keys and parked ourselves on the salty grandeur that is Cheeca Lodge. We felt the sand under our toes…and took a baths outside. Facing the ocean. At sunset.
The boutique sleepery reopened last year after a year-long renovation with oceanfront villas that have outdoor tubs facing the sea and a restaurant run by South Florida celeb-chef Dean Max. The 27-acre resort sits on a sliver of land halfway between Miami and Key West and has been the go-to getaway for political royalty since it opened in the 60’s (President Bush senior stayed there on a fishing trip or two).

There’s an old-school charm to the place, with rooms outfitted like Caribbean estates – large mahogany beds, plush ottomans and polished teak chairs on the balcony where you can spy seagulls flying low over the beach. The resort’s classic 525’ wooden fishing pier is still intact, with fishing rods available for hotel guests, and there’s a saltwater snorkeling lagoon nearby, should you want to get up close and personal with the area’s oceanic bounty.

All that is exciting enough but we directed our attention to one of the 62 newly constructed suites with oversized tubs on outdoor patios with views of the Atlantic at sunset. For an extra dose of drama you fill that tub via an overhead cascading water spout, sort of like your own private waterfall.

I so needed my own waterfall.