Category Archives: Away Game

[UPDATED] From Naples, Eric Larkee Conjures What to Watch in Wine in 2012

Posted on January 27, 2012 | 1 Comment

What will Eric pull out of his hat next?

Update: See Ellie’s documentation of the magical meal – including a live magic act performance – here!

The Genuine Hospitality Group Wine Director and Sommelier Eric Larkee is joining Michael and Hedy on the west coast of Florida this weekend for the Naples Winter Wine Festival.  The most successful charity wine auction in the nation since 2004 according to the Wine Spectator, it brings together the world’s finest vintners, chefs, wine collectors and philanthropists for a three-day gala hosted by the Naples Children & Education Foundation with proceeds benefiting local charities that assist underprivileged and at risk children.

With Larkee on pour patrol for a larger-than-life crowd at tonight’s vintner dinner for 30 featuring the wines of Shea Wine Cellars and Vega Sicilia with the genuine foods of chef Schwartz and pastry chef Goldsmith, we took the liberty of culling the essentials that you need to know from his noggin as we head into a brave new year of wine.  Below please find his four things to watch in wine in 2012, which you will find reflected in our restaurant group wine programs, and click here for tonight’s menu and here for background on the vintners. Continue reading →

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Posted in Away Game, MGFD_MIA, Special Event, Uncorked

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Harry’s Chef Pop No. 2: Barbuto Pizzeria with Jonathan Waxman

Posted on January 2, 2012 | Leave a comment

Waxy and Schwartzy traded shirts in July for Genuine Barbuto, a celebration of Michael's Genuine Food: Down-to-Earth Cooking for People Who Love to eat at Barbuto in NYC.

After an away game this summer for Genuine Barbuto, a dinner celebrating the launch of Michael’s cookbook in NYC, we’ve got home court advantage at Harry’s Pizzeria.  Join us in welcoming Obi-Wan himself, legendary chef Jonathan Waxman of Barbuto in New York City, to our new home in the Miami Design District for a menu celebrating HIS new cookbook, Italian My Way: More Than 150 Simple and Inspired Recipes That Breathe New Life into Italian Classics. Enjoy 4 courses, including a signed copy of the book, tax and gratuity.  For tickets, visit the Barbuto Pizzeria Brown Paper Tickets page.

We love us some JW time so much that the next day, we’ll all fly out to Grand Cayman for the weekend and its first annual Slow Food Day, including a collaborative, locally-sourced dinner at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Camana Bay. Come along?

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Posted in Away Game, Chef Pops, Harry's Pizzeria, MGFD_GCM, Special Event

The Name Game: Hedy’s Cookbook

Posted on December 6, 2011 | 1 Comment

Hedy, Hedy & more Hedy!

Aside from the fact that I can’t break into these boxes of Goldsmith goodies and most certainly will need a good massage to tease out the shoulder knots after this uniquely sweet leg of travel, I am in my happy place.   I’m here at Cafe Versailles in Miami International Airport’s D terminal thanks to not over-sleeping, which is always a worry but never an issue with 6:30 a.m. flights.  Of course I had ensconced myself at 4:55, iPad downloading some in-flight entertainment (The Debt,) counting down the minutes until I could order my usual pastelito de guayaba y cafe con leche sin azucar y oscuro. I’m meeting Hedy in New York City this morning to support her participation in Lemon:NYC, chef Jonathan Waxman’s inaugural event for Alex’s Lemonade Stand, with some media visits planned for today and tomorrow (hence the sweet stack to my left.)

All this, and today is an even bigger day for our executive pastry chef.  Her forthcoming debut cookbook finally has a release date (October 2, 2012) and a title!  With manuscript turned in and photos shot over the summer, she’s been working on the project for twice that long, the full 11 months of which a name evaded her.   How do you pack 40,000 words into a mere handful and sum it all up?  Even those of you that aren’t writers can probably grasp the enormity of this challenge.

But of course, inevitably it comes.  Whether waking in the middle of the night from a power outage to the hum of appliances coming back to life or in the shower or in a dream. Organically it reveals itself, and you just know!  Hedy’s cookbook and likewise her title embody her desserts, which scream and shout flavors and are bold in contrasts and in presentation.  Well, I have to hop on the plane now, but stay tuned to Eater Miami this morning for the title news.  What?  You can’t endure a little tease with me and these four boxes whispering “open open open” like a pack of soccer moms outside a Best Buy at midnight on Black Friday? Stay tuned!

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Posted in Away Game, Cookbook, Special Event, Sweet

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