June 21 is almost here and that means one thing to your friendly neighborhood Sommelier.  Summer of Riesling!

This is an interesting time for the James Goatee Award winning Paul Grieco-led program. Last summer was Year 2 here in Florida, and we represented — well — we held a state-wide industry focused tasting with four stops including Orlando, Tampa, Palm Beach, and of course, Miami. Results from the tasting were great; we placed third in the nation (after New York and California) in the number of participating locations and the nationally the program reached a high water mark. Here in Florida the question has been, “Did we drink more Riesling?” Hard to tell, but I will say we drank better Riesling, which is far more important.

The past two years also saw Mr. Riesling himself, Paul, traverse down here for dinners where we expended much of our Summer of Riesling energy into one night. These dinners were great and we got to see the difference in Riesling priority Paul and I have. While he gets stoked to show the ying-yang balance of the sugar and acid and how awesome it works with food, I simply like to show people how delicious straight up dry Rieslings are.  See here for all the hoopla from 2011 and 2012.

This year our approach is a bit different. Home Base (Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink) is the only fully sanctioned 4 Riesling By-the-Glass pouring restaurant but you will find Riesling-centric programming at our other Design District locations. Here is a run-down of what you will find:

Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink
- Pouring a number of Rieslings BTB including sparkling, still and dessert styles.
- An available flight of the still Rieslings, sure, try them all!
- An expanded & rotating Riesling section, again, focused on some of my favorite dry-style single vineyard selections.

Harry’s Pizzeria
- Slipping a Riesling onto the wine list.
- Check out the chalk board, we’ll be opening something appropriate with the nightly dinner special. If you are lucky there might be a glass left the next day at lunch, little known fact (since it usually all gets drunk) but most Riesling is better the next day!

The Cypress Room
- Riesling Focus on the Tasting Menu.
- We’ll have a delicious Riesling open to pair with the Cheese Plate.

In addition to Editor in Chief Dana Cowen’s pick of recipes from each tome’s table of contents, one bonus, never-before-published recipe from each author is included, plus advice on wine pairings. Hedy’s featured desserts are Nutters, Raspberry Bars, Pots de Creme and Milk Chocolate Jellies with smoked sugar!

Me want to play : )

Since it’s just the way we feel about The Genuine Kitchen blog readers, we are giving away two pairs of signed Baking Out Loud and Best of the Best cookbooks. To enter to win, please snap the most drool-worthy photo of a Hedy Goldsmith sweet (dessert and brunch menus are both fair game) enjoyed at any The Genuine Hospitality Group restaurant, post on Instagram and/or Twitter, and tag @hedygoldsmith #sweetsnaps. Multiple entries are allowed, and you have until 12 midnight on Sunday, June 23. Hedy will choose two winners (one in Grand Cayman – where she is currently stationed! – and one in Miami) and announce them with #reposts on Monday the 24th!

Last year’s Best of the Best collection celebrated winning dishes from superstar authors such as Giada DeLaurentiis, Jamie Oliver, Alice Waters, Eric Ripert, and a certain chef Michael Schwartz! Let the show of pots begin!

For all you Harry’s fans out there, have no fear, new brunch items are here!  Chef de cuisine Manny Sulbaran is busting out six new dishes that are sure to quell even the most voracious of Sunday afternoon appetites.  Whether you want to amp up your morning toast game with some whipped homemade ricotta,  are craving some melt in your mouth meat with our osso bucco ragu, or are ready for a textural adventure with the crispy pancetta risotto cake,  these new goodies will hit all the right spots and then some.  Don’t worry though folks, for those of you who may want to forgo these brunch items for a breakfast pizza layered and spread with love along with a beautifully runny egg yolk we will be rolling out different pizzas on a weekly basis.  Below are the six new killer brunch items we are doing along with some photos that will have you counting down the days until Sunday brunch and most likely drooling all over your keyboard or phone.  Brunch goes from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm, so whenever you’re feeling right and ready, head on over with your friends and family for some weekend fun!

But for those of you who can’t make it to brunch, we have a little treat for you to bring the Harry’s vibe into your own kitchen.  Attached to this blog post is the recipe for our whipped homemade ricotta!  Now we know what you’re thinking, “Do these people actually expect me to make cheese from scratch?  That’s a laugh.”  Erase any hesitation you might have in mind though because this recipe is easy as pie.  Whip some up for some your own brunch extravaganza, top your homemade pizzas with it, or maybe even make some ricotta cheesecake if you’re feeling real adventurous, the choice is yours!

WHIPPED HOMEMADE RICOTTA wood oven roasted FL peaches, spiced cashews, local honey, brioche toast 9

CRISPY RISOTTO CAKE pancetta, arrabiata sauce, poached egg 8

OSSO BUCCO RAGU roasted squash, farm egg, piave 9

CHICKEN SAUSAGE CRESPELLE besciamella, parmesan 9

SEASONAL VEGETABLE FR ITATTA 6

CHOCOLATE HAZELNUT PANETTONE whipped mascarpone & candied orange zest 7

School has finally come to an end, the sun is out (or we trust it will be soon), and we are all eagerly awaiting the prospects that this time of year has in store for us.  Whether you are going on a spectacular vacation or spending your summer at home, one thing is for certain, nothing spells summer like a refreshing, vibrant cocktail.  For myself, there are two key elements for my perfect summer drink; rum and some type of fruity sweetness and tang.  The goal here is to feel as though each sip is transporting me to a tropical paradise where I am surrounded by a vast, crystal clear ocean, larger than life palm trees, and a pristine, cloudless sky.

Being a fresh voice at The Genuine Hospitality Group, one of my first assignments was to take a swing at writing this blog post.  The subject was set as summer cocktails and the man chosen to guide me into sweet, fruity bliss was none other than the very talented Ryan Goodspeed.   As he worked with his air of relaxed precision, I was already beginning to fade into this “tropical paradise” daze I spoke of above.  Out in front of him was a variety of rum choices, freshly squeezed fruit juices, and multiple glasses, shakers, and mixers to bring the party together.

The three cocktails he chose – a classic hurricane, a lychee fizz, and jungle bird – checked off all the marks for my definition of the perfect summer cocktail.  They were filled with rum that was perfectly offset by the tangy sweetness of a variety of fruit flavors, and as I sipped on these expertly crafted drinks I began to feel the urge to pop one of these into an empty coconut shell and head to the beach.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do this; however, getting to sit at the bar and have Mr. Goodspeed simultaneously concoct and explain every detail of his three offerings was an incredibly satisfying experience.

Below are the three recipes for these drinks that really can only be described as summertime in a glass.  Also, what is a food or drink related blog post without some eye candy?  To satiate your visual appetite we have some killer photos that might just have you running to your nearest grocery store to whip up these bad boys tonight for some friends and garner you an endless number of compliments.

Jungle Bird – Campari, Cruzan Blackstrap Rum, lime, pineapple $11
A tropically inspired 1970s sipper from the Aviary bar in Kuala Lumpur, this adaptation combines a delicious mix of dark rum, Campari and fruit juices.

1 1/2 oz. blackstrap rum
3/4 oz. Campari
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup (1:1)
1 1/2 oz. pineapple juice

Ice: Large Cube Ice
Glass: Old Fashioned
Method: Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice cubes and strain into an Old Fashioned glass filled with large cube.

Lychee Fizz –Rhum JM, Fresh Lychee, Lime, Sugar, Egg White, soda $11

1 ½ oz Rhum JM
2 ½ oz fresh lychee
½ oz lime
½ oz simple syrup
1 ½ oz egg white
4 oz soda water
Grated cinnamon

Glass: Highball
Ice: None
Method: Combine ingredients in shaker. Dry shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Add ice, shake again for 5 seconds. Add 4 oz soda water to highball and slowly double strain into glass.
Garnish: Shaved cinnamon

Hurricane – Abuelo Anejo rum, housemade hurricane mix, Zaya rum float $12

1 ½ oz Ron Abuelo Anejo
3 oz Hurricane mix (equal parts passionfruit, orange juice, agave, lime juice)
1 oz Zaya rum

Glass: Highball
Ice: Regular
Method: Combine Abuelo and hurricane mix in glass. Add ice. Float Zaya.
Garnish: Skewered thick orange slice

Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in Camana Bay is proud to partner with Slow Food South Sound for a third season of dinners celebrating local farmers and fisherman and their fresh, simple and pure bounty!  Saturday, June 15 at 7:00 p.m., Executive Chef Thomas Tennant rolls out a three course, family-style menu with summer written all over it!  It’s exciting to have accumulated and supported a great core group of farmers over the three years we’ve been on the island, and to see their operations branch out from backyard gardens and produce, to growing businesses with diversified products including meat, poultry and dairy.  We still relish the occasional freelancers through our back door with their home-grown specialities like amazing mangos, which are in full force right now on Grand Cayman like they are here in Miami!

“The mangos are a collection from Plantation House’s Joel Walton, a freelance gardner with whom we’ve become acquainted named Roger, and Harvey Stephenson,” Thomas explains. “I’m using East End Garden eggs from Patrick Panton’s chickens. Hamlin Stephenson’s goats…”

Book your reservation now by emailing reservationsgcm@michaelsgenuine.com or call 345.640.6433.  CI $55 (CI $50 for Slow Food members,) includes a welcome cocktail, passed snacks, and three courses served family-style including dessert, as well as gratuity. A beverage pairing option is available for an additional CI $40.

Farm-to-Table Dinner Series: Season 3: June Menu

-Welcome Cocktail-

Honeybee
spring 44 honey vodka, local mango

-Passed-

Smoked Mahi Tacos
sofrito, arugula

Compressed Watermelon
citrus, purslane

Spanish Tortilla
sweet potato, scallion

-First-

Grilled Mahi
wilted swiss chard, dried tomato tapenade

Wood Roasted Baby Carrots
arugula, Caybrew pretzel croutons, basil, sunflower seeds, spicy carrot vinaigrette

-Second-

Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder
Seven Fathoms rum mojo

Wood Oven Roasted Goat Leg
fennel & greek yogurt marinade

Sauteed Bok Choy
farro, roasted plantains, dried season pepper flakes

-Dessert-

Local Mango-Lime Semifredo
coconut cake, fruit salsa

Giving cocktail-making a shot.

It was a rainy early evening, the Saturday following America’s unofficial national holiday celebrating the spirits of the agave plant — known in Mexico as Cinco de Mayo, Independence Day, when I found myself in a friend’s kitchen making its official drink from scratch.  I was pleasantly, surprisingly, comfortable in my newfound role as novice mixologist, eager to flex my margarita-making muscles after a successful first attempt the weekend prior.  Why did it take me so long to attempt something this simple? Squeeze your desired combination of citrus, mix the juice with one part Cointreau and two parts tequila, a little agave for good measure, and shake over ice?  Perhaps it’s not so simple.

It’s a great question, with a not-so-great answer that can be found somewhere near the intersection of fear of failure and lack of confidence, with a dash of my own brand of bitters: the Virgo perfectionist kind. Turns out my hesitation isn’t so uncommon, and The Liquid Projects’ Jennifer Massolo is diving in head first to do something about it.

“I had been in the wine business for many years,” Massolo explained, my iPhone voice recorder capturing a soothing soundtrack of clinking cubes and delightful streams of citrus-laced Don Julio blanco splashing into our chili-salt rimmed shorties. “I was in Vancouver with Remy Cointreau out of college, and after four years, I had fallen in love and moved to Chile and got a job with a winery.”

When Massolo eventually moved to Miami in the early 2000s, the Miami International Wine Fair came calling.  She knew she wanted to get out there and do something on her own, and putting this event on, eventually directing it, gave her a great base of knowledge of the industry. She was meeting people that weren’t just in the wine business, but back to her original calling — spirits.

“I realized that this craft spirits movement was very appealing to me, the many stories I’d encounter of people making things by hand,” she continued.

The meaning of “craft” isn’t so black and white. In terms of spirits, it is used but not legislated and regulated like in the beer world.  According to Massolo, the vernacular craft is used, sometimes inappropriately co-opted for its trendy significance, when the following criteria are present in a spirit:

• Manual process, meaning at the most fundamental level, the use of copper pot stills on which you have to physically stop the distillation process by hand.
• Smaller volume of production.
• Usually there is a family or national history.[1]
• Distinctive ingredients in the recipe.

Copper pot stills at Suntori Whiskey’s Yamazaki Distillery, 20 minutes from Kyoto by train. Longtime MGFD customer, whiskey aficionado and friend of Massolo’s Steve Berry and I went on the property’s very thorough and enlightening tour (for the novice and the expert alike!) when we traveled to Japan in April.

Spirited Sirens is Massolo’s new series of educational seminars primarily geared towards - but not solely for – women and artisanal imbibing.

“Initially it was just a blog about women and spirits, bringing some of my knowledge through travels and dining whether down the block or in another country,” she explained. “In order to start the blog I knew I had to do something significant, so I flew to Atlanta, rented a car, and drove through Tennessee and Kentucky and visited all the distilleries I could by myself.  It took a week, and after 1,200 miles I visited Corsair, Buffalo Trace, Four Roses…  You learn so much just by getting out there, even if you are on the basic tour at Jim Beam.”

So that was the way it began, with Massolo taking 2013 by the horns and embarking on an adventure.  And journey she did, taking it all in, with plenty of pictures to catalogue the experience — beautifully — as you can see for yourself.  And there were plenty of cocktails along the way.  Tasting is the only way to develop your palate, learn what you like – and most importantly what you don’t. Like badly-made, sickeningly sweet margaritas.

“Sugar in cocktails is meant to do more what salt does for food than to make it sweet,” she noted. “It’s meant to temper the alcohol, to mellow it. It’s kind of a magical tool, in the right proportion. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the margarita.”

So it turns out that with a little encouragement, like a little furry friend once proved in Ratatouille, anyone can cocktail.  Properly even.  The taste of my margarita brought Massolo back with memories of her father’s hand-squeezed speciality. And the spiced rim? “Genius!”

On Monday, we dive in without hesitation again, welcoming Massolo and her Spirited Sirens tasting series to our private dining room at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in the Design District. Her two-hour sampling session is dedicated to tequila and mezcal, the roasted, smokier cousin spirit of tequila made from the fermented juices of the agave plant.  Amid tasting and talking, just like she and I did in her kitchen, you will have the opportunity to learn about the basic history of the tequila and mezcal making process; how to incorporate them into cocktails; the styles and nuances of both and how to pair them with different dishes. And we hope, get inspired.  $35 per person includes a welcome mezcal margarita cocktail, as well as two neat tequilas, two neat mezcals and one closing dessert cocktail, a Paloma with tequila, grapefruit, lime, agave, plus two dishes to share family-style from the genuine kitchen and a treat from Executive Pastry Chef, Hedy Goldsmith.

Click here to follow The Liquid Projects, including its Spirited Sirens series and upcoming Craft event in Miami November 8-10. Salute!

Do you know your wine’s better half?

When our intrepid Brand Director Jackie Sayet finds herself off-site and stumpified and flummoxed by either too many incredible wines or stymied by a dearth she will reach out to me via Instagram, Twitter or old-fashioned text message for assistance.  This number will remain private, however, as the can of social worms I have opened will inevitably squirm, to Jackie’s delight!  Recently while digging through a cooler at a South Miami retail shop she sent a picture of a fairly random selection of labels I didn’t know. My reply was simply for her to rotate all the bottles around and shoot the backs. After receiving the auxiliary information I picked her a bottle to suit her taste and the evening’s motivation.

I’m a bit hazy on the exact details of Jackie’s line of questioning in regard to my request for the back labels but I wanted to know who imported each wine. In classic Jackie vinoenthusiasm she loved the revelation that knowing or trusting an importer could make a wine buying decision easier.[1] In classic Sommelierthink it struck me as odd that this was not a common sense thought but I quickly checked myself and thought back to when and where I learned this technique. I was a server/bartender at Savoy in Manhattan’s SoHo about a decade ago and was starting to find wine more interesting. I asked our GM and wine buyer, Gil Avital, how I should go about learning more. His advice was essentially, “Drink more, but drink with focus.” We were able to purchase wine directly from the restaurant, and I had been making a solid habit of this. He told me to go look at the backs of the bottles I had liked and to buy more wine from those importers.

The first bottle of wine I grabbed had the name Neal Rosenthal on the back. The second also was Neal Rosenthal. The third, well, you get the picture. I drank a lot of Rosenthal wines before moving on to Louis/Dressner, Skurnik and Theise. These importers have long influenced by taste in wine and have strong representation on our wine lists. The style of these importers (traditional production, food-friendly, normal alcohol levels, and an absence of heavy new wood usage) isn’t the top choice for everyone, that’s cool; there is an importer for you.

I highly encourage anyone who is looking to explore a wine region to do it though the palates of a few importers. Want to explore Italy? Like to drink Sangiovese? Go buy five different Rosso di Montalcino from different importers (you might have to go to more than one wine shop!), get a sense of whose you like, at a price point you like and buy more wines from other regions the importer represents. As an added immersion buy an importer’s book if they’ve written one, Rosenthal has and another favorite Kermit Lynch penned a wine-geek must read.

In a counter to my own point, I don’t want you to fall into a false negative fallacy. Just because a wine isn’t with an importer you know you like doesn’t mean that the wine isn’t any good. The original argument is about risk aversion and/or knowledge acquisition. I guess as a recommending point I knew that I wasn’t going to give Jackie the green light if I knew I didn’t like the importers style or rather if I knew that the importer had such a range of style that I knew that I couldn’t trust what there would be in the bottle. With importers that have a focused raison d’être such a view point, I can buy with a much better expectation of bottle representation without further consultation.

I actually took this advice of my own the other night.  As I scanned the small list at a restaurant my wife said, “You don’t like the list, your face hasn’t lit up.” It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like the list but rather that there was only one wine I wanted to drink with the food we chose and while good, I knew it well and wanted to have a new experience. Well, the wine was 86’d but we were offered another selection, I asked to see the bottle and promptly spun the bottle around and saw a familiar name, Banville & Jones. In my experience their style has a large range but the wines are solid. The wine was delicious and will be appearing on a wine list somewhere soon.

A simple labor of love. This is la dolce vita of chef Jeffrey Michaud.  The decadence of custard-on-custard in his “Latte Fritto” (fried milk) is just one of the traditional Italian delights made his own inside the pages of Eating Italy: A Chef’s Culinary Adventure (Running Press,) his forthcoming cookbook now available for pre-sale and released nationwide this fall.  Lucky us. We are getting a preview of the recipes in dishes at Osteria Pizzeria at Harry’s on June 18.

Michael is in Bernalda on a culinary adventure of his own, teaching cooking classes and exploring the south of Italy with his wife Tamara and friends. Taken from his Instragram, here ruccoli is made, a pasta similar to cavatelli.

“I want to be Jeff Michaud. I knew this, and now I know why,” said Michael of Eating Italy. “This book captures Jeff’s spirit, passion and simple perspective to a complex and deep rooted cuisine and culture. It makes you want to cook. It makes you want to be Italian!”

Indeed. Luxurious but always humble and made with heart, Jeff’s food speaks of his love affair with Italy, its indelible influence on his life and his cooking, with an intensity that no words need be uttered to feel it.  His menu for Osteria Pizzeria, which he described on a conference call yesterday with TGHG executive chef Bradley Herron and Harry’s Pizzeria chef de cuisine Manny Sulbaran, is easily its purist expression.

In keeping with the Slow Food philosophy originated in the mother country, Beverage Director Ryan Goodspeed will soon start bottling Jeff’s mother-in-law Pina’s Limoncello.  A recipe also found in the cookbook, this sweet, bright beverage will mature for two weeks before it becomes your take-home gift.  We suggest savoring it sip by sip, perhaps on the beach in the heady days of summer, like Pina would have you enjoy it, and we imagine, just like Michael is enjoying it right now in the heel of the boot.

Although the south is the opposite end of the country from Bergamo, where Jeff met his future wife Claudia in 2004, on one of his early trips with chef godfather Marc Vetri, the lifestyle is the same. Sweet.  Piano Piano.

Jeff had me at “Latte Fritto,” but his menu is so much more that this sweet beginning to our tale.  We hope these zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta and tuna make an appearance. Our fingers are crossed we can find them locally by the time the dinner rolls around.  Like we always say, this chef pop-up dinner is going to be the best, so I’ll do it again! Here is the link to purchase tickets to be there, where you will also find the just finalized full menu. Buon appetito and see you there!

BIG THANK YOU’s to Margie Pikarsky of Bee Haven Farm who has donated her time, energy and seemingly endless knowledge to the 2013-14 Phillis Wheatley Edible School Garden, as well as Nicole who came from the farm to help, Harry’s chefs Manuel Sulbaran and Steve Martin, Harry Schwartz who came to play, Phillis Wheatley Elementary Science Coach Kelly Garcia and Math Coach Myriam Ordaz, and chef Bill Telepan who helped us raise the funds for next years garden!

Have a great summer everyone!

Filed under: Food Philanthropy, Harry's Pizzeria, In the Neighborhood Tagged: bee haven farm, Bill Telepan, edible school garden, Harry's Pizzeria, Margie Pikarsky, Phillis Wheatley Elementary ]]> http://thegenuinekitchen.com/2013/05/22/summertime-and-the-garden-is-solarized/feed/ 0 elliesara IMG_0532 IMG_0476 IMG_0487 http://thegenuinekitchen.com/2013/05/16/the-merrier-genuineland-wine-tequila-and-mezcal-martinis-more-at-our-mayjune-events/ http://thegenuinekitchen.com/2013/05/16/the-merrier-genuineland-wine-tequila-and-mezcal-martinis-more-at-our-mayjune-events/#comments Thu, 16 May 2013 15:37:51 +0000 Jackie Sayet http://thegenuinekitchen.com/?p=13775 Continue reading →]]> Wine… Tequila and Mezcal… Martinis… Who could ask for more? Apparently we can.  With new restaurants come more opportunities to get together, and our events page has been begging for an update on what’s most imminently down the pike.  That happened this morning, and we wanted to make sure you noticed!  Here are the fine occasions you can join us over the next month or so, with links to menus and how to secure your spot.  Cheers from all of us, to summer fun in good company!

MIAMI BEACH  Argyle Wine Dinner at The Raleigh Hotel May 22 at 6:00 p.m.
Restaurant Michael Schwartz is hosting a wine dinner on May 22 with Argyle Winery’s Rollin Soles.  Soles has been producing fine wines from Dundee, Oregon since 1987, ranked among the top 100 Wines of the World by the Wine Spectator. Seven times. He is the only Oregon winemaker to hold this distinction. In Miami, we pour his wines at Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, and even hosted a wine dinner in early 2012 in our private dining room which we wrote about here (condition your mustache?) For the menu, click here, and for reservations, please email RMS@sbe.com or call 305-612-1163

MIAMI DESIGN DISTRICT  Spirited Sirens: Mexican Maidens  Monday, June 3 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink welcomes Spirited Sirens to its private dining room, a series of educational seminars primarily geared towards women and artisanal imbibing.  Jennifer Massolo, founder of Spirited Sirens, pays homage to Mexico, with a two-hour sampling session dedicated to tequila and mezcal, the roasted, smokier cousin spirit of tequila made from the fermented juices of the agave plant. Amid tasting and talking, guests will have the opportunity to learn about the basic history of these spirits; the tequila and mezcal making process; how to incorporate them into making cocktails; the styles and nuances of both and how to pair them with different dishes.  $35 per person includes a welcome cocktail as well as two neat tequilas, two neat mezcals and one closing cocktail, plus two dishes to share family-style from the genuine kitchen and a treat from Executive Pastry Chef, Hedy Goldsmith.

MIAMI BEACH  Family Meal: Share Dinner Together on Mondays  Every Monday Night at 8:00 p.m. 
Restaurant Michael Schwartz will offer a new prix fixe dinner beginning at 8:00 p.m. on Monday evenings, with one seating available by reservation only. The menu includes passed hors d’oeuvres and three courses served family-style, with a special cocktail served from the outdoor White Bar. The first course goes down at the adjacent communal table at 8:30 p.m., with wines by the glass and bottle selected by The Genuine Hospitality Group wine director Eric Larkee also available. $50 per person exclusive of beverage, tax, and gratuity. Menus are updated weekly and available online on the restaurant’s webpage.  For restaurant reservations, please email RMS@sbe.com or call 305-612-1163

MIAMI BEACH  Martini Culture:  Curating Original Martinis on Tuesdays, Every Tuesday Night from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.Ranked by Details magazine as one of the Top 10 Bars in the World, The Martini Bar at the Raleigh Hotel reflects the spirit of the golden age of cocktails. With the launch of Restaurant Michael Schwartz, we have the opportunity to rekindle the magic of its storied past together. On Tuesday nights from 7:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m., The Martini Bar welcomes a new guest bartender each week to serve as host and introduce an original martini of their own design to its list.  We kicked off the series highlighting the Classic Gin Martini and the Lemongrass Gimlet from Robert Montero of The Cypress Room.  The upcoming schedule includes Hillary Choo of Bar Centro (5/21) and Robert Ferrara of Swine (5/28.)   Snacks from Restaurant Michael Schwartz are also available, served a la carte. Walk in, and take a seat. No reservations necessary.

MIAMI DESIGN DISTRICT  Osteria Pizzeria, Tuesday, June 18, 7:00 p.m.
Harry’s Pizzeria stakes its claim as a showcase for the Best of Philadelphia in Miami – first the grand poobah himself Marc Vetri and now another talented member of the family, Jeff Michaud who has carved his own path to greatness earning the 2010 James Beard Award for “Best Mid-Atlantic Chef.”  The Executive Chef and co-owner of Osteria Restaurant and Amis Restaurant, Jeff began his cooking career at the age of 13 in a pizza shop in New Hampshire, where he was raised and has since traveled from Aspen to Bergamo, Lombardia, Italy discovering his love for Italian cooking. We can’t wait to host one of our favorite talented chef friends and bring his smile and northern Italian cooking in Miami. We will have the menu next week!