Brace yourselves Miami; the foodie invasion is imminent! We’re pumped for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and know you are, too. Sous Chef Thomas Tennant even made a pork parts terrine, tasted here with Chef de Cuisine Bradley Herron. The verdict? It doesn’t suck. Hooray festival! Hooray pork parts!
Whether or not you are attending, there’s lots to soak up this week in the food community. Here’s what’s on our plates in and out of the restaurant. Look forward to seeing you one way or another.
Today, Tuesday, February 23: Check out the New York Post’s recommendations for dining out during the festival. Michael gives a shout to Mandolin, the Aegean bistro up the street, and Lesley Abravanel and Lee Schrager give us some love. Thanks guys! Also, the local and national media are covering the effects of January’s freeze on local farming and the food industry. Last Friday and this morning, farmer Margie Pikarsky of Bee Heaven in Homestead could be heard on NPR discussing how her farm is dealing with the aftermath, and Michael is on the front page of the Miami Herald. He was interviewed for the article, along with one of our producers in The Redland, Michael Borek of Teena’s Pride. Michael also appeared this morning on NBC 6′s South Florida Today demoing Thursday’s Burger Bash entry, the Michael’s Genuine Cheeseburger.
Thursday, February 25: Allen Brother’s chuck, check. White cheddar, check. Brioche buns, check. Local lettuce, check. Heirloom tomatoes, check. We’ll be at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach all day prepping these ingredients into 2,000+ portions of the Michael’s Genuine Cheeseburger. Crispy Hominy with Chile and Lime, too. If you have tickets for the event, please stop by and say hello at our booth! The event kicks off at 6:10 p.m.
Goats will eat almost everything... Here they're displaying a rare moment of good taste -- heirloom tomatoes. Can you tell who's preggers?
Saturday, February 27: Two of Miami’s loveliest ladies, our Executive Pastry Chef Hedy Goldsmith and starlet Chef Michelle Bernstein, head to the Delano for the Dolce Brunch presented by Tiffany’s at 11:00 a.m. If we’re lucky, they’ll bring us back some surprises in baby blue boxes!
The tub of Hani's cheese for Wine + Dine + Design, delivered fresh today
And at 7:00 p.m., the Festival throws its first progressive dining event in the Design District where guests will cycle through MGFD, Fratelli Lyon, Sra. Martinez, and Pacific Time, enjoying one course per restaurant. That’s where Hani Khouri’s pregnant goats come into the picture. There’s less milk this time of year, and it’s one of those rare times when the customer does not come first (the kids make major demands on mom, in and out of the belly!) Hani worked miracles and was able to deliver 10 pounds of fresh cheese today, which will land on crostinis for our first course of Heirloom Tomato-Bread Soup. For a preview of the event and our menu, visit the Sun-Sentinel’s Sup blog.
