JAMES BEARD AWARDS 2018
LOCAL CHEFS & RESTAURANTS GO FOR THE GOLD
SPRING ISSUE 2018
ROSÉ Rising
Eating & Drinking Thru the
Gables
Food 4 Thought with Evan Benn
You’ll never want to sleep late on Sundays again.
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Brunch is one of the highlights of a Sunday. But the highlight of our brunch? That’s up to you. Enjoy unique chef creations like Shakshuka or Brick Oven Brioche French Toast. Or celebrate with cocktails from our Brunch Sips menu - a la carte or endless for $14.9. 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM 321 MIRACLE MILE ▪ 305.442.8552 SEASONS52.COM
Today’s Menu SPRING 2018 Morsels from the Editor-in-Chief Food 4 Thought with Evan Benn, Editor-in-Chief, INDULGE Spring Into Sparkling RosÊ, by Jacqueline Coleman, Sommelier Dining from Dusk to Dawn - Morning to Nightfall, by Georgeana Pacheco
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MORSELS
FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
SCENES FROM NEW YEAR’S NETWORKER ‘18
Calling all culinary geniuses, local foodies and novice eaters. This issue is for you! This past February, the nominees for the James Beard Awards were announced and a few local favorites made it to the top of the list, including our very own Palm d’Or at the historic Biltmore Hotel. For those of you who may not know, James Beard was an American chef, author, teacher and television personality. From his earliest days in the kitchen, Beard championed American cuisine, an up-and-coming gastronomy at the time that needed an evangelist to help raise its profile. Beard also served as a mentor to generations of professional chefs and food enthusiasts. His legacy lives on through his students and his more than twenty books. Today, Beard is best known for his foundation's eponymous annual awards in a number of categories and genres. They are, in essence, the Oscars of the culinary world. And, in this issue, we explore not only the roots of this program – now locally curated by Evan Benn of our sister publication INDULGE – but its impact on the culinary landscape here at home, now and into the future. Speaking of Evan Benn, the Editor-In-Chief of INDULGE joins us for an inspiring “Food 4 Thought” that only re-affiirms both my man-crush and adoration of his incredible passion for our local community. He may have grown up in Pennsylvania, but he is a fully vested Miami boy now. As this issue goes to bed, we are eagerly planning for the Miracle Mile Streetscape dedication in mid-April. After nearly two years of remodeling and reimagining our main street, it is time to celebrate and get “back to beautiful.” Our retailers and restauranteurs have struggled through this process and have been the ultimate team-players for which we are eternally grateful. Now it is time to rebuild our consumer base and bring back the customers who have long loved The City Beautiful and Miracle Mile. Sommelier Jacqueline Coleman returns with a deep dive into the blushing bride of Spring spirits, the sparkling Rose. Jacqueline has been an integral part of our “Let’s Eat” family since day one and she continues to inspire with her thoughtful articles and exquisite taste. Thank you, dear friend. Our advertisers continue to be vital to the success of each issue, ensuring that this publication continues to be home-grown, thoughtfully curated and dedicated to our foodies and restaurants alike. We have been most fortunate that since we launched “Let’s Eat” three years ago, we have found a way to keep it local and fresh. Thank you to those who have been advertising with us since day one, including Seasons 52 and The Biltmore Hotel. Finally, Happy Anniversary to Zucca in Hotel St. Michel who celebrated their one-year anniversary this past month and to Café Grumpy and Doc B’s on their grand openings in the Gables. It is always a great joy to welcome so many wonderful eateries to our community, where dining is as critical to our daily routine as oxygen is to our mere existence. In closing, the next issue of “Let’s Eat” will feature Coral Gables Restaurant Week, a wonderful tradition in The City Beautiful that kicks off with the Taste of The Gables every year. You will want to mark your calendars to dine out every lunch and dinner during the three week event just to try all of the amazing participants this year.
Now, Let’s Eat!
MARK A. TROWBRIDGE, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF PRESIDENT & CEO, CORAL GABLES CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Photos provided by SnapHappy Photos
Enjoy the start to Spring as we celebrate Back to Beautiful in our community.
JESSICA WILCOX, OWNER J. WILCOX CONSULTING & PUBLISHER, LETʼS EAT MAGAZINE | sales@letseatmiami.com | (305) 962.9313
New Mexican Restaurant in Coral Gables
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TUESDAY
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From By Georgeana Pacheco
to
The time is always right for great food and a beautiful atmosphere in the city of Coral Gables. I spent a day exploring all the possibilities and discovered a few of my favorites.
Threefold Cafe is bringing back the gourmet breakfast culture straight from Australia to the Heart of the Gables. I decided to start my day with a Lemon Ginger & Echinacea juice. It was hard to avoid their selections of multiple mimosa flavors, but no one will judge you for having one or two on a Wednesday here. The Pope Benedict includes 2 poached eggs on hash browns, prosciutto (which I chose to substitute for smoked salmon), hollandaise sauce and served with a side of greens.
Tarpon Bend’s inviting atmosphere makes it an excellent lunch spot and now with new menu items including sushi rolls. Try the Szechuan Calamari tossed with a garlic chili sauce and drizzled with a miso aioli to get your taste buds rolling. Follow it up with the Trow Knows Fried Chicken, brined for 36 hours and fried to perfection. Served up with coleslaw, truffle mac’n cheese and roasted garlic mash. You don’t have to wait for a holiday to have comfort food at it best.
If you slept in no worries mate, they are open until 4pm. A Peanut Butter Power smoothie at Crema is just right for an afternoon delight! Made with peanut butter, bananas, skim milk (or you can substitute for Almond milk) chocolate protein & mountain honey for silky treat. You can also enjoy pastries and crepes if you’re feeling extra sweet.
Ortanique on The Mile, is a tropical oasis full of Caribbean flare and flavor. Start out with a warm west Indian pumpkin bisque to soothe your soul. The Jerked Pork Chop is just as much of a staple as the restaurant itself. The sweet and tangy dish is served with Jamaican rice “n” peas.
If milkshakes had a heaven, they would be found at Bocas House. On top of their creative presentation, the options are everyone’s favorite. I love the classic Cookies n’ Cream. There is also Nutellla, Tres Leches and a Birthday Shake (complimentary on your birthday and topped with a slice of cake)! Don’t ever say I didn’t give you anything.
The “Cuisine of the Sun” is a must have dining experience.
To wet my whistle after a long day, I stepped into Copper 29. The “speakeasy” vibes and lively music will turn anyone into a mover and a shaker. You gotta love a place where cocktails are taken this seriously, including the Moscow Mule which is appropriately served in a “copper” mug... Ohhh so refreshing. Not to mention there’s also a daily Happy Hour 4-8pm... that’s right... Daily! From breakfast with a friend, to business meetings with clients, to lunch on the run, to first dates, to family dinners or a night out on the town; there is something for everyone to love from sun up to sundown.
OntheGowithGeo GeorgeanaPacheco@gmail.com
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FOOD 4 THOUGHT Our Food 4 Thought feature returns this issue with a profile of a local foodie fave – Evan Benn, Editor-in-Chief of the highly regarded, award-winning INDULGE Magazine. One need only spend a few moments with Evan to quickly assess his passion for all things food and drink, as well as his warm embrace of Miami, his adopted hometown. A fellow Gableite, lover of sunflowers and craft beers, as well as a brand new dad, his energy is palpable and his creativity is off the charts. Yes, I am owning up to my mega man-crush, couching it in phrases like “I love your cologne – it is so woodsy.” Alas, Evan is now diving head-first into raising our community’s profile with the James Beard Foundation Awards by serving on the committee that helps vet nominees and determine honorees. He was kind enough to chat about his own vision for Miami’s culinary scene and offered up his own fresh take on all things food below: Your foodie issue of INDULGE Magazine kills it each year and is one we wait for with baited breath - who are FOUR people you have interviewed or featured in the past that continue to inspire you as an editor and culinary fan? That’s so nice of you - thank you! We publish seven issues of INDULGE a year, each with a different theme. I love them all, but of course our annual Food & Wine issue in February is especially near and dear to my heart. Incredibly difficult question here, but FOUR of the *many* people we’ve featured in INDULGE who continue to inspire me: Shannon Allen, Abe Ng, Della Heiman and Lee Schrager. Shannon’s passion for making healthful, sustainable food accessible to more people through Grown makes me so happy that I want to support her. Abe is the epitome of a South Florida success story -- son of immigrants, he pretty much single-handedly brought sushi to Miami’s masses, to its supermarkets, to its bar mitzvahs and to its Sunday hotel brunches through his Sushi Maki. Della keeps making Miami a better, more delicious place to live -- first with her Wynwood Yard and now with her two latest projects: Jackson Hall in the Miami Health District and North Beach Yard in Miami Beach. Lee (a Coral Gables resident!) is a Miami food legend, a rainmaker, and yet he doesn’t rest on his laurels, always striving to make the South Beach and New York City Wine and Food Festivals better and better. I make it a point to include him somehow in each of
our Food & Wine issues.
What are FOUR food trends that are garnering great attention in Miami right now? Why are they making an impact on our restaurant scene? What excites me most about Miami’s food scene right now is how many people are making such exceptional, artisanal products. I’m going to hold off on highlighting craft beer, which is definitely trending here, but has been for a few years. Here’s what I’m seeing at the moment: • Coffee & Tea: We have some outstanding local roasters that have cropped up in recent years, like Per’La Specialty Roasters, and signing up for the JoJo Tea mail-order club was the best decision I made in the past year. • Bread: Naomi Harris is milling her own flour at Madruga Bakery (in Coral Gables!), where the onion-poppy rolls are to die for; and bread from the new Sullivan Street Bakery is popping up on more restaurant menus every day. • Kombucha: It’s everywhere now! I emceed a Slow Food Miami event the other day, and there were five different kombucha brewers. I love it. • Chocolate: Miami’s artisan chocolate makers are some of the best in the country at the moment. Check out Cacao Art, Cao Chocolates (helmed by your Chamber’s own Ricardo Trillos) and Exquisito Chocolates, if you haven’t already.
Couples seem to be inhabiting the food landscape in South Florida these days what do you think are FOUR
keys to running a restaurant with a partner or spouse or BFF? That’s definitely great to see. You really know a couple’s commitment to their restaurant - and to each other - if they’re working side-by-side all day and then going home together every night (for a few hours at least). I’m not sure I’m qualified to say what the keys to success are in this realm, so let me highlight four couples behind great Miami restaurants. Cindy Hutson and Delius Shirley of Ortanique (Gables legends) are royalty of restaurant couplehood. Katie Sullivan and Andrew Gilbert of The Seven Dials make it work with her running the front of the house and him in the kitchen. Jen Chaefsky and Mike Pirolo of Macchialina are hospitality veterans who make every guest feel like an old friend. Janine Booth and Jeff McInnis of Stiltsville Fish Bar were recently on the cover of INDULGE love them.
If I were to unleash you in a local farmers market say in Coral Gables with $100, what are FOUR must buys (protein, veggie, cheese, etc.) that you would want to end up on your plate for dinner? The whole point of farmers markets is to buy local, so I’m probably heading first to the Rare Fruit Council’s tent to pick up some backyard avocados or carambolas or sapotes and a container of PG Tropicals’ Redland Guava Marmalade. Then I’ll go to Mr. Green Dean’s stand for a piece of his sorrel pesto toast and a bunch of whatever greens he’s growing
at the moment; I love his spicy breakfast radishes when they’re available. If it’s stone crab season (and since you’re paying), I’ll go to Steve’s Stone Crabs for some fresh claws; his Key West pink shrimp are also terrific. I like having fresh flowers around, too, so on my way out I’ll pick up an orchid or some sunflowers.
BONUS - Your leadership and vision for the James Beard Awards is critical to our region - so, if you could have dinner with FOUR culinary giants (living or not, local or not), who might they be and why? Auguste Escoffier. Julia Child. M.F.K. Fisher. And I’d like to have a beer with whoever it was who first decided it was a good idea to open up an oyster and eat it. Who did that? We owe that person our thanks.
DOUBLE BONUS: I somehow convince you to break bread with me again in the next year and you say YES – who are FOUR chefs looking to splash into the Miami market that we might run into at our lunch? Joel Robuchon, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Thomas Keller and Marcus Samuelsson are all opening restaurants here in the next year or two. That’s huuuuuuuuge. To reach Evan Benn, you can e-mail him at EBenn@MiamiHerald.com. To learn more about the James Beard Foundation Awards, visit them at jamesbeard.org.
Spring
into
Sparkling
Rosé Wine
Spring is a time of colorful rebirth and the ceremonial shaking off of the dull winter blues. All around the world during springtime, flowers begin to bloom, and people emerge from winter hibernation in search of sunshine and a lighter wardrobe. Luckily for us in South Florida, we have the luxury of just continuing what we’ve been doing--enjoying our beautiful weather outside with a little less humidity.
There are a few things we can do to celebrate spring with the rest of the country here in Coral Gables, aside from lounging at one of our charming street-side restaurants with outdoor seating (Looking at you, Giralda!). One of those things is to pop open bottles of bubbly… pink bubbly, that is. What could be more refreshing than indulging in a bottle of refreshingly crisp rosé while enjoying one of the best times of the year to dine alfresco in South Florida? How about adding some bubbles to your wine? Sparkling wine is one of the most alluring types of wine, and one that rarely disappoints in a crowd. Often a style of wine that is associated with celebrations, sparkling wine has become increasingly more popular as an everyday drink as more and more producers are incorporating economical approaches to bubbly production. Champagne still reigns, but you can easily find pink bubbly from other regions that is just as crisp and delightful for any springtime rooftop party or outdoor picnic. As you enjoy the bright vibrant colors and social activities in our City Beautiful and surrounding area this time of year, I hope you will take a moment to support our local restaurants, and spring into a sparkling rosé! Here are a few suggestions to get you started. Our friends over at Uvaggio on Miracle Mile and No Name Chinese in South Miami offer a couple of sparkling rosés from non-traditional locations on their wine list, and sommeliers Heath Porter and Daniel Rosenstrauch, can help guide you through which one will pair best with your spicy Asian brunch. Look for the Los Bermejos, Rosado Brut Nature from Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, found at both restaurants, or the Hush Heath Estate, 'Balfour 1503' Dry Rosé from Kent, England at No Name. Ask for a glass of the Jansz sparkling rosé from Tasmania next time you’re in Uvaggio, made in the exclusive Méthode Tasmanoise, which is actually just the traditional method with a Tasmania twist! For something more traditional from one of the few family-owned Champagne houses left in the Reims region of Champagne, France, look for the Champagne Taittinger Prestige Rosé on the menu next time you’re dining at The Biltmore Hotel or Zucca restaurant in Hotel St. Michel. This lively pink Champagne offers a full-bodied bubbly with a refreshingly crisp red raspberry and cherry flavor palate. Enjoy with caviar, or simply with good company. If you’re looking for a sparkling rosé to sip at home with friends, consider picking up a bottle of Domaine Bousquet Rosé Brut for about $13 from our local Coral Gables Whole Foods. This bottle of bubbles from Argentina is a 75/25 blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and has a slightly fuller body than the more predominantly Chardonnay Brut from the same winery. Light aromas of red berries give way to a crisp fruit-forward bubbly delight on your tongue. I recommend this wine for any Springtime backyard bash. Hope you pop some pink bottles this spring! Cheers!
.........
Jacqueline Coleman is a certified Sommelier and 4th generation Miamian, born and raised in Coral Gables. You can find her musings about the “wine lifestyle” on her blog, History & Wine (historyandwine.com), or follow her on Twitter @HistoryandWine.
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Come explore your new CORAL GABLES With the completion of the Miracle Mile and Giralda Streetscape project, Downtown Coral Gables has been transformed. Expanded sidewalks for a more pleasant pedestrian experience, additional outdoor dining and gathering spaces, improved lighting and more beautiful additions can be found throughout the district. Stroll through a lively epicenter infused with international flair, and one-of-akind offerings and experiences, where locals and visitors can take advantage of a tastefully cultivated community and effortless lifestyle. ShopCoralGables.com @ShopCoralGables
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Whether you are seeking the warmth of a traditional restaurant interior, the bliss of dining al fresco, either formal or casual, or an educational challenge, The Biltmore Hotel takes you on an exceptional culinary journey in a stunning historic setting offering a myriad of award-winning options.
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