SOBEWFF Podcasts: Marcus Samuelsson, Scott Conant, Quality Meats MB

One of the highlights of ‪this year's South Beach Wine and Food Festival for me was hosting the inaugural Miami.com podcast whereby we taped six (!) back-to-back interviews with accomplished chefs. The roster was impressive: Scott Conant, Marcus Samuelsson and Craig Koketsu of Quality Meats Miami Beach. You can catch them all the link below but I suggest you start with Marcus Samuelsson, simply because I loved his outfit the most and want to steal his cardigan.
Listen here.

Celebrity Reflection: Nitrogen Cocktails and Posh Bites

The culinary team in the main dining room.

It's obvious that Celebrity Cruises takes their culinary program seriously. Two years ago they tapped John Suley, a 2010 James Beard Foundation “Rising Star Chef” nominee and former Gotham Steak chef, to head up culinary operations. And their latest ship,The Reflection, is awash is "specialty dining" outlets. That's cruise-speak for smaller, more upscale restaurants where passengers dine for fee (usually $5-$40 per person) as an alternative to the usual buffet and mass dining rooms also available on the ship. We hopped on board to sample the goods at the "Taste of Modern Luxury Event" as part of the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. The event was a round-robin of venues whereby event goers visited six spots on the ship and got to sample a dish, a cocktail and chat with the chef.
In a sign that cocktail culture is gaining traction in mass-appeal circles, the culinary roster also featured Junior Merino who goes by the name "The Liquid Chef." He developed the cocktail program for the ship's Molecular Bar and gave a crash-course on how he uses liquid nitrogen, fresh squeezed juices, and specially created syrups to put together drinks for guests who prefer not to pound 32-ounce daiquiris (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Junior Merino aka "The Liquid Chef"

At Blu, the Mediterranean-influenced spot espousing lighter "spa cusiine," we sampled lump crab martinis and blackened ahi tuna on Forbidden Rice.

Blue and white tables set the tone at Blu.

Lump crab martini, anyone?

The entrance at Tuscan Grille has the cave-like feel of a wine cellar, and the focus is Italian. There are authentic meat slicers and a bevy of cured meats available. The carpaccio di manzo with sun-dried tapenade and arancini risotto balls with basil ailoi greeted us here.

Arancini at Tuscan Grille.

Qsine is more of a whimsical spot with funky place settings, iPad menus and playful food presentations. There we sampled grilled zahtar lamp chops and almond-crusted French toast.

Funky place settings and furniture at Qsine.

We were pretty full but saved room for a bit of ducle de leche crepes at Bistro on 5, a dainty creperie offering half a dozen sweet and savory stuffed pancakes. As the event wound down and everyone gathered in the main dining room, I felt a little bit of envy towards the passengers we saw filing in for their seven-day excursion. Based on what we tasted that day, it was clear they'd be going on a culinary journey as well.

Gnocchi-Making With Fabio Viviani

Fabio Viviani gives good gnocchi.

Probably the only thing that could get me out and at Casa Tua at 9am the morning after the Burger Bash was the boisterous Italian chef Fabio Viviani. Along with a dozen other groggy food writers I settled in at the rustic communal table framing the open kitchen at Casa Tua to catch the former Top Chef star (and now Bertolli endorser) share some culinary wisdom and make gnochhi.

The finished product: pillowy dumplings.

First, there was lots of Italiano chit-chat: "I don't want to be an Iron Chef, I want to be your Italian grandmother," which sums up his approach to celebrity chef stardom and his choice to push homestyle cooking via Bertolli and his restaurants rather than shoot for more TV fame.
Then, some cooking tips. The first rule of gnocchi-making: "Buy the cheapest, nastiest potatoes you can find." Second, let's the dough sit overnight. "You need to be patient. Making gnocchi is like foreplay."
And he's still planning on opening a Miami spot, though he wouldn't divulge where or when. "It will be like my Chicago place Sienna Tavern but we're going to Miami Vice it," he explained.

And an added bonus: olive-oil poached sea bass with pesto and mango.

Casa Tua -- keeping it classy.

Burger Bash 2013

I don't have many photos from the Burger Bash, the annual burger-off put on by the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. That's because I was too busy double-fisting glasses of rosé and sliders and trying not to get grease all over my phone as I live-tweeted the event (for late-breaking burger news). But I did manage to taste at least seven (or possibly 12) burgers before I lapsed into a beef-induced coma and could only be revived by caramel truffles at the Godiva tent.
But onto the hard news: It was all about the crunchy burgers as Bobby Flay broke Michael Symon's three-time winning streak by taking home the People's Choice award at the 2013 Sobe Burger Bash. Flay’s signature green chile cheeseburger topped with potato chips bested Symon’s entry from B Spot Burgers, dethroning the Cleveland chef.

Flay's "crunchify" team.

Amid predictably-long lines for popular spots like Burger and Beer Joint (I skipped that), The Forge (with a great truffle burger) and Shake Shack were TV personalities Iron Chef Morimoto and Guy Fieri churning out beefy goodness for the Amstel Light-swilling crowds that swarmed the tents on the beach.
New contenders in this year’s competition included Tampa-based Burger 21 headed by Chef Shane Schaibly with a Tex-Mex burger. Chef Paul Malvone, co-founder of Boston Burger Co., served up his "Hot Mess Burger," topped with bacon, jalapenos, sweet potato fries and dripping American cheese between two Thousand Island dressed buns.
But the buzz on the sand was for the double-patty on a toasted bun courtesy of Atlanta-based Holeman and Finch restaurant. Guy Fieri’s tent was doling out Jell-o shots (yes, I will admit I consumed one in the gluttonous frenzy) while Tim Love’s Fort Worth-based Love Shack topped their patties with crispy lamb bacon (loved it).
Best side dish goes to Ft. Lauderdale Rok Brgr for their mini-lobster corn dogs. New York chef Michael Whitel previewed a delectable burger from his soon-to-open The Butterfly, a Wisconsin-inspired cocktail bar and restaurant he's opening in Tribeca.
Local chef Hedy Goldsmith had an impressive pavilion piled high with her overstuffed “Nutter Butter” dessert sliders stuffed with peanut butter cream in a cookie sandwich.

Best Bite of SobeWFF (So Far)

Setai chef David Werly's hollowed-out egg filled with caramelized eel topped with a lychee and foie gras foam, black lava salt and jasmine flowers. Consumed at 12:30am at Dim Sum Disco at the Setai.

Let Them Eat Cake @ 1111 Lincoln

The name of the ice sculptor? Vanilla Ice. Yes, I made that up.

Cupcakes were the dominant cake form on display. No complaints here.

New York chef Geoffrey Zakarian and his lovely wife Margaret not saying anything about the restaurant he may or may not open in Miami. And not saying whether the aforementioned restaurant will or will not be located in South Beach.

Burger Bash 2011: It Was a Rare Occasion

Amstel Light's National Contest-winning burger in collaboration with Greenhouse Tavern: twenty per cent lamb, anchovies, fennel slaw on brioche bun. 

Burger recipe winner Danielle Williams and Greenhouse Tavern chef Jonathan Sawyer.

Morimoto, exuding Japanese cool. 

Best of the Best 2010

In some ways Best of the Best is to the food world was Art Basel is to the art world. Meaning, the same way you can breeze through the convention center during AB and see the work of every significant gallery in the country (and world) without leaving Miami, so too could you roam the Fountainbleau ballroom last night and experience a tasting odyssey of the finest restaurants in the country. I made mental notes to check out Beast should I ever make it out to Portland, Oregon since chef Naomi Pomeroy's foie gras bon bon with quince champagne gelee was one of the richest bites of the evening.

She may also have the best restaurant name ever, second only to Los Angeles attendee Animal, there last night pushing head cheese and fried cornbread to a skeptical crowd. ("Is it...cheese?" asked a tipsy taster. "No, it's made from the parts of the pigs head," explained the chef good naturedly.) Also, their menu has a lot in common with Michael's Genuine. Adding it to the list for the next LA jaunt.

And if I'm ever in Chicago I will head straight to Bill Kim's Urbanbelly to have an entire bowl of the kimchi stew with Korean BBQ kogi and tofu, since the two shot glasses I snagged were deliciously spicy and comforting. My favorite bites of the night belonged to Miami chefs (you know me, always rooting for the home team). The Setai's Jonathan Wright (below) was doling out Peking Duck in a viscous egg yolk broth along with little bamboo steamers of veal cheek buns.

Marco Ferrero from Wish was passing out hefty slices of roasted short rib over creamy polenta that party goers quickly gobbled and it was hard to get at Solea's table where Marc Vidal's veal cheeks were muy popular.
Best presentation of the night goes to David Burke's foie gras dumplings with dry-aged lacquered duck and mango chutney.



And when it comes to wine my heart belongs to Stag's Leap and their ridiculously smooth and balanced 2006 SLV. If I'm ever in Napa...

La Vie Grand Marnier

While others were busy Burger Bashing last night I made my way to the Temple House in South Beach for a Grand Marnier-drenched soiree. The building used to be a synagogue and was renovated by a wealthy entrepreneur who now throws parties there. So it felt slightly salacious downing French cocktails where folks used to say kadish on Yom Kippur but isn't that what makes South Beach so interesting? All that contrast. Or maybe it's just a lack of tact....

In any case, What I found most surprising about the event was how effctively people adhered to the red attire suggestion on the invite. Dang, women sure do like to wear red dresses. Also a revelation: Grand Marnier isn't such a bad cocktail base. Best drink of the night: The Grand Smash made with lemon juice and muddled mint. Best dish of the night was the sea bass with soy cashew sauce, though the roasted rack of lamb with shiitake gremolata was quite nice as well.

Mouton Cadet Wines @ Raleigh Penthouse

The wine festivities started early this year with Mouton Cadet's classy soiree at the Raleigh Penthouse Tuesday night. We got there a bit late (missed the Lee Schrager cameo) but with more than enough time to work through half a dozen different wines. The party was in honor of Mouton Cadet's 80th anniversary and that's all well and nice for them and their $10/bottles of Bordeauxs but what caught my eye was the text at the bottom of the invite mentioning that they'd be pouring a few select bottle from the Mouton Rothschild label. You know, the pricey stuff.

So we settled in and waited for the sweet, sweet nectar of the French gods. And after a few chocolate cupcakes, Carr's water crackers and manchego cheese croquettes our patience was rewarded as we flagged down one of the waiters carrying a double magnum of something red, smooth and tasty (the Chateau d'Armailhac, Grand Cru Classe Pauillac 1995). A great wine, splendid even. But not sublime. A few more snacks - trays of strawberries, pressed panini sandwiches and more chocolate cupcakes - and there it was with its playful sheep kicking up its heels on the label, almost like a carefree French schoolboy, a schoolboy who probably drinks this stuff from a thermos for lunch everyday - Chateau Mouton Rothschild Pauillac 1999, a bottle of wine that goes for upwards of $500. It's a glorious wine, fit for a glorious night, which it was. Standing out on 8th floor terrace of hotel we looked out on South Beach and toasted the festival.

Bring on the requisite wine necklaces, me so ready to get my sip on.

Dinner En Rouge Menu

According to the Sobe Fest website, Thursday night's Grand Marnier dinner will be a red-themed cocktail-soaked dînatoire (which is French for "dinner buffet" thankyouvermuch). Chef Claude Troisgros (consulting chef for Blue Door at the Delano) will be rolling out a shmorg that features a few of Blue Door's greatest hits along with some creative additions (scallops with dulce de leche sound compelling). See below for the menu and ensuing belly grumbling.

GRAND MARNIER DINER EN ROUGE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2010
MENU BY CHEF CLAUDE TROISGROS

Passed Hors d’ Oeuvres
Caprese Salad Skewer
Fresh buffalo Mozzarella,
Yellow and Red Tomatoes, Fresh Basil

Salmon Tartar
Crispy Cucumbers, Tapioca Caviar, Wasabe Vinaigrette

Thon Thon
Seared Rare Yellowfin Tuna with marinated Daikon, Soy, Ginger & Lime Juice

Crabavocat
Guacamole, Blue Crab & Crispy Shrimp with Spiced Tomato Couls

Saffron Lobster
Main Lobster with Saffron Mayonnaise,
Bacon Served on Toasted Brioche

Buffet Reception
Passed

Steak Tartare
Chopped Filet of Beef with Anchony, Capers, Boiled Egg,
Truffle Oil on a Baguette Crostini

Brazilian Chicken Skewers
Chicken Breast, Grilled Vegetables, Twelve Spices & Honey

Shitake & Duck Confit, Ginger and Cilantro

St. Jaques “Docedeleite”
Sauteed Scallops, Grilled hearts of Palm, Dulce de Leche & Wild rice Popcorn

Entrée Stations

Chilean Sea Bass
Pan Seared Chilean Sea Bass with Hearts of Palm
Soy glazed Cashew Nuts, Lime & Fresh Herbs

Steak a la Bordelaise
Strip Steak with Pencil Asparagus & Bordelaise Sauce

Lamb Morel
Roasted Baby Rack of Lamb with Morel Mushroom Crust, Sauteed Haricot Verts, Shitake Mushrooms, Red Wine & Thyme Sauce

Passed Dessert

Spicy Apple Tart
Baked Apple and Cashew Nut Tart with Caramel Drizzle

Molten Chocolate Cake
Melted Chocolate Cake, Drizzled with Grand Marnier Sauce

White Chocolate Crème Brulee
Chocolate Swirl, Whipped Cream served on a Chinese Spoon

Raspberry Napoleon
Caramelized Filo Dough, Raspberries, Navan Napoleon Cream

Dim Sum Disco: Q & A With Chef Jonathan Wright

It's no surprise that the Dim Sum Disco event at the Setai has already sold out. At $150/ticket it's one of the more affordable events at this year's South Beach Wine and Food Fest. The price of admission nets you three hours of cocktails, Gloria Gaynor's greatest hits and five serious chefs (including Ming Tsai, David Muñoz Rosillo of DiverXo in Madrid and Tim Cushman of o ya in Boston) whipping up loads of dumplings and Asian goodness. Curious as to what's on the menu? Here's a quick rundown via Setai Executive Chef Jonathan Wright.

What types of cocktails can we expect?

There will be a variety of cocktails, among them will be some of our most popular Asian flavored libations including the Asian Picnic (smoked pork belly-infused Jack Daniels Bourbon, chile syrup, compressed watermelon-citrus-shiso) and the Ipanema made with blueberries, basil, Pensato Balsamic Vinegar and Leblon Cachaca.

In terms of the food, will it be traditional dim sum or more of a contemporary take?

As far as the dim sum goes, we’ll be presenting refined modern dim sum where we use flavored stock instead of water to make the doughs – some are flavored with truffle, some with stock made from Serrano ham. The fillings include braised oxtail, duck confit, cured foie gras, truffles – we have one which is a scallop, layered with black truffle and wrapped in Iberico ham, wrapped in puff pastry and baked.

There are also slow cooked duck eggs served with a jellied Peking duck broth and envoi mushrooms, as well as sea urchin and caviar with pickled ginger, wrapped in thinly sliced salmon, shiso leaves and then deep fried in tempura batter. We are preparing a Malaysian Laksa with crab claws, noodles and poached quail eggs. The thing with dim sum is that there are so many options, they are so versatile – it’s the Asian version of tapas. We plan on offering at least 20 different dishes -- We have five chefs, each presenting dim sum that represents their own to style and restaurant.

Logistically how will it all work? Buffet? Stations? Dim sum carts?

The visiting chefs will all have stations that surround our open exhibition kitchen and we will also be preparing some our restaurants signature dishes. There will be a focus on some classic dim sum such as Har Gau, chive dumplings, steamed buns and siew mai. Some of these items will be served from passing bamboo dim sum carts. We will also be passing dishes in the courtyard and restaurant area. There will be two bars in the restaurant serving specialty cocktails.


Can you share some info on that dim sum master you’re bringing in for the event?

Philip Ho is my dim sum Chef and he prepares all the dim sum for the Setai Miami Beach. I’m lucky to work with a number of master Asian chefs here at the Setai. The Restaurant at the Setai is a very unique operation because we have specialty chefs form Thailand, China, India, Malaysia and they all work under the guidance of Charlie Chang our Chef de Cuisine from Singapore.

Event Report: Bobby Flay Oscar Party

Just a quick note on the Moet& Chandon Bobby Flay Oscar Party. (Last Sobe Food Fest post, I promise! Cut me some slack here, I'm just now emerging from my food coma).
Lots of great food - Bobby's menu of southwestern eats certainly satisfied with the standouts being the corn with chilis and creme fraiche, the smoked chicken and sauteed papaya and piquillos. The champagne was flowing thanks to Moet & Chandon and the Paris Theater was nicely outfitted in high-top tables with easy access to the bar and food buffet. Once the show got going they set up a table of Godiva goodness including the best snack ever created - chocolate-covered pretzels - a happy union of salty and sweet.

B-Flay was there, of course, but what's a SBWFF party without the ubiquitous Guy Fieri? Seriously, that is one over-exposed food celebrity.

Rocco vs. The Crazy Crowd

What a difference a few years makes. Last time we caught Rocco Dispirito at a cooking demo at the festival he was unsure how to handle the drunken chef groupies that slapped his ass and cat-called him from the audience. While we appreciated the aw-shucks routine back then, we found this new Rocco supremely entertaining. All swagger and sass, Rocco began his Sunday cooking lesson on how to make gnocchi by rousing the audience with an "Are you guys drunk enough?" He then singled out a voluptuous audience member and continued to make reference to her ample decolletage as the hour progressed.
"You know I'll sign anything, books, boobs, whatever. Just make sure you brought a big enough sharpie!"
And on it went.
His shtick was so refined we wondered if he any Tony Bourdain practice bits on each other back in the green room (though Tony was MIA this year, too bad).
At one point he heckled a woman who got up to leave forcing her to get on the mike and explain why she was walking out.
"I'm not drunk enough for this," she said.
"That's a completely legitimate reason," he conceded. "You may go."
Good thing the rest of the audience was plenty soused and oozing estrogen-fueled howling. If you could get past all the sloppiness you'd realize that Rocco is actually a pretty good teacher, mixing useful info with the banter. And his newfound charisma was refreshing.
Step aside, Bobby Flay.

It's Good to be King

So there we were on Sunday, traipsing through the tasting tents, dodging tequila swilling sunburned festival-goers and trying not to get pelted with biscotti when we spied a rather elegantly-appointed table serving up some very classy bites. We read the table sign announcing the restaurant - Bizkaia - and the sample as "Olive Oil Drunken Bread." Another tray held plastic cone cups of "Truffled Cream of Ibar Cheese." Who were the purveyors of such refined fare, we wondered. Three chefs outfitted in the crispest white chef jackets stood behind the table, sporting serious expressions methodically plating each of the olive-oil soaked pieces of cornbread.

"Where's your restaurant?" we asked.
"In Bilbao," came the reply.
"Oh. What are you doing here in South Beach?"
"We're here traveling with the King of Spain, representing the Basque region."
He then went back to pushing the artfully-arranged plates on the table, looking up momentarily as passersby swiped the plates, gulped down the contents and moved along.

What Price Fame, SBWFF?

Time Out New York's Feed blog pipes in with an insight about how Miami pimps itself out (either passively or proactively) to the annual food fest.

But for a visitor like me, it’s tough to tell how much the event has to do with Miami itself. I am guessing that the connection, much like NYCWFF’s to New York, is incidental. The Food Network/Food & Wine festival is primarily a showcase of its own talents, a traveling chef show that could be transplanted to any city, anywhere. Which is the beauty of it for organizers, should they wish to expand. But that very flexibility also adds to an untethered and somewhat hollow quality after all is said and done. How much better would the overall festival be if the celebrity- and sponsor-driven programming were more supported by events that were connected to the fabric of the hometown food scene? They are called the South Beach and New York Wine & Food Festivals, after all.

The truth is, almost all the restaurants represented at the Tasting Village are local spots so there is a bit of synergy there. Sure, these folks are not celebrated like the chef glitterati from the Food Network. Instead they slog it out in the hot tents, graciously serving food for 5+ hours to increasingly sloshed, sloppy festival goers. And the financial burden of participating must be getting less and less attractive for these restaurants. But they must benefit from it and from the exposure to affluent festival-goers. Otherwise, why would they do it?

Cocktails With Sandra Lee @ The Standard

Probably one of the calmest, nicest events of the festival. You can't really go wrong with sunset at the Standard. The hotel's spacious bayfront patio was practically designed for cocktails hours like these. Semi-homemade cooking star and sunny blonde Sandra Lee was in the house, addressing the crowd informally by getting up on a plastic ottoman and apologizing for the lack of music "Apparently it's not aloud here," she said. Must be a Venetian Islands thing. She didn't make reference to the event's puzzling design element - dozens of models decked out in metallic paint perched on plastic cubes, a strange choice for the homemaker-appealing, pink-loving host.
Good thing the cocktails were abundant. Lots of semi-homemade-inspired bites made the rounds like cherry tomatoes stuffed with blue cheese, raspberry chicken skewers, and platters of smoked ribs. The Standard's chef Mark Zeitouni was also on hand to provide some of his Mediterranean bites like flatbread with hummus and feta, cheese-filled phyllo batons and carrot juice with ginger tapioca balls. Best in show was the toasted baguette topped with cream cheese and poached (or canned pears), made with stuff you could probably find in your pantry in time for last-minute guests.

Whole Foods To The Rescue

So Publix bowed out of sponsorship this year and Whole Foods stepped in. And what an improvement it's been. The Whole Foods station was hands-down the nicest place to sit (but they could use more seating), the best-staffed and the most organized food distribution booth at the fair. Yesterday they were offering brie cheese with marcona almonds, fresh fruit salad, spinach and Parmesan scones, tomato tartlets, ubiquitous biscotti and specialty coffees made to order - you want a decaf skim vanilla latte? They got that, and organic ice teas. Loverly.

Alcohol on a Stick

Popsicles are the new cocktails. Or so the marketing wizards hope.
Of all the new-fangled products to be tested out on lush guinea pigs at Trade Day the LIQ frozen daiquiri and margarita pops were a standout. Cool, refreshing, tangy and tart. And with 6% alcohol content, packing quite a buzz.

Trade Day @ The Tasting Village

It was rilly, rilly crowded.
My heart sank as I walked up to the tents at about 1:15 (fifteen minutes after opening) and saw the line for the entrance snaking all the way from the sand dune to Ocean Drive and nearly stretching from 13th to 14th street. When we finally got inside things were a bit more spread out but there was plenty of jostling and involuntary bumping and grinding.
Lot's of Tommy Bahama shirts, too.
As it was trade day the ratio of wine and spirits tables to food tables was about 12:1. This effectively meant that the crowd was sloshed within 3 minutes of entering the tents. The food offerings were snack-like and provided by big corporate sponsors (Sysco, Barilla, Sargento, etc.) and smaller brands hoping to get some exposure. Biscotti seemed to be the culinary trend of the year with 4 booths offering the crispy treats. There was lots of cheese, both literally and figuratively on display, and long lines at the tables where actual food was being offered prompting folks to weigh the likelihood of being trampled while waiting for that one slice of filet mignon from the beef purveyor. Umm, pretty darn likely.
And what's up with no wine glass necklaces this year?