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. 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 fungi.


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. It never rains in the summer so the winter months are the best time to forage.

What does mushroom hunting entail? A morning swig of vodka. Kidding! But I think Boris had something special in his canteen. Those wacky Russians. Seriously, mushrooms are tricky little suckers to find since they look almost like rocks - pale, sand-colored, camoflauged.
And the 50-year-old 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 hunters.

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

Christmas in Israel has its own spooky, ancient charm. You really feel the Jesus. Way more than you ever could standing in the front of the tree at Rockerfeller Center. 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 (will 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 and typical - 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 business lunch deals 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 friendly but spoke no English. Her eight year-old son was the lone server. (I think he wore a bow-tie or something like that. He was adorable and 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 and pointed at 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 studded with sesame seeds)

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

- lightly battered 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