Tonight was the first pizza crawl organized by Frodnesor of Food for Thought blog. He proposed the crawl after some animated discussion on Chowhound about the best pizza in Miami. Tonight we focused on downtown. We tried Joey’s , Pizza Volante , and Andiamo .
It was refreshing to see a group of people execute something from idea to reality so quickly and efficiently. As Peter the bartender said, “These are experienced eaters.” There were fifteen people, including Chowhound Miami participants and random bloggers. The advantage of such a large group is that you get to taste a broad variety; in all we sampled 12 pizzas. Cash is ideal for this kind of event.
Joey’s * 2506 NW 2 nd Avenue * Miami * $14-$15 per pizza (8 slices)
I liked the crust at Joey’s (in Wynwood) best. It was thin, but with a crisp base, and a good flavor. At Joey’s, we tried the margherita, which was okay.
We also tried the Joey, their specialty, which was topped with tuna, spicy salami, gorgonzola, capers, and spinach. Since there were so many of us, we cut the pizza into really thin slices, so I’m not sure I got all of that on my slice, but what I tried was satisfying. Tuna is a bold topping for pizza, and this was something I would try again.
The carbonara pizza was my favorite pizza at Joey’s, although I have not tried the carbonara at Spris yet, which was highly recommended by another diner. It was topped with bacon, eggs, mozzarella, and asparagus.
I had a second favorite at Joey’s, which was the dolce e piccante pizza. This one is for folks with a sweet tooth: figs, gorgonzola cheese, honey and hot pepper. The strongest flavor was the honey, but I loved the strong, fresh taste; it was not cloying. This would be a good pizza or dessert to share with a group.
Pizza Volante * 3918 North Miami Avenue * Miami * $9-$12 per pizza (8 slices)
Pizza Volante had the best cheeses and my two favorite toppings out of all three restaurants. This Jonathan Eismann restaurant opened last week in the Design District. Mr. Eismann was there tonight.
I found the crust on their pizzas to be too thin and cracker-like for my taste. Actually, I felt like I couldn’t really taste it. Maybe that’s the point, because the toppings really stood out, without being salty or overpowering. However, they did just change their crust recipe today, and considering Pizza Volante just opened, it’s not fair to pass judgment yet.
My favorites at Pizza Volante were the Volante 100 and the Bianca. I love the idea of the Volante 100–a daily special topped with ingredients from a hundred mile radius. Dandelion greens, tomatoes, and arugula topped today’s pizza. Those dandelion greens were fresh and fabulous.
I don’t usually order pizza biancas, but the combination of both flavorful cheeses swayed me. It was topped with Chenel goat cheese, fontina, locally-made mozzarella , and arugula.
The margherita de bufala DOP was good, but not striking.
The cacciatorini (”little hunter”) was patterned with pepperoni and guanciale , giving it an earthy, smoky flavor. It was also made with tomato and local mozzarella. I probably didn’t pick it for one of my favorites because I usually prefer more-vegetable heavy pizzas. I would definitely try it again.
Andiamo * 5600 Biscayne Boulevard * Miami * $10-$17 per pizza (8 large slices)
After the second slice at Andiamo, my fortitude lagged. Also, after the more subtle and varied flavors of the two previous restaurants, I felt like the overriding flavor at Andiamo was saltiness. I found both the putanesca and the soprano pizzas to be very salty. I’ve eaten at Andiamo twice before and don’t remember it being so salty and greasy. Perhaps compared to the other two restaurants, those features stood out.
The putanesca was topped with black olives (as opposed to the kalamatas listed on the menu), capers, anchovies, red chile flakes, tomato sauce and mozzarella.
The soprano was heavy on the meats: hot and sweet Italian sausage, broccoli rabe, tomato sauce, parmesan, and mozzarella.
My favorite pizza at Andiamo was the Popeye, which was topped with a good helping of spinach, tasty sliced roma tomatoes, tomato sauce, ricotta, and basil. I did not notice the ricotta so much, and Paula of Mango & Lime mentioned that there is usually more spread about the pizza.
I also enjoyed the Genovese, which had rosemary potatoes, pancetta, caramelized onions, mozzarella and gorgonzola. The potatoes and thicker Andiamo crust were a heavy prospect before my withering appetite, so I didn’t really do that slice justice.
Of all of the pizza places we tried today, I would most likely return to Pizza Volante. Many items on the blackboard menu intrigued me, including the pasta dishes, braised short ribs with potato gnocchi, and the mozzarella bar. The foods in the display cases, including tomatoes and fried zucchini looked so bright and appealing. I’m also curious to check out future Volante 100 flavors. One diner wondered what might be on the pizza this summer-Papaya? Mango?
It looks like the next crawl will cover the north of Miami. I’m looking forward to it…
Friends will sometimes ask me how I accrue this random knowledge of interesting events and places about town. Besides the fact that I’m a speed reader and can skim a lot of information from a quick flip of the blogs, I have some sources.
If I’m in a pinch for what to do on the weekend, one of my go-to sites is Sara Liss’ All Purpose Dark blog. She posts flyers and invitations for upcoming events–mostly about arts, dining, and nightlife. Being a fellow food-lover, she often writes about her meals at the newest eateries. So, when it comes to tip-of-the-iceberg news about trendy new restaurants, Liss is a good source.
However, now she’s done one better and channeled her maven skills into Urban Daddy Miami , a daily e-mail service about events, entertainment, and dining in Miami. It all sounds very exclusive, but really anyone can join to get the daily e-mails and weekend event updates. A UD feature is that you can save your favorite spots/stories onto their website to refer to later. Now that you don’t have to slog through those old emails, you’ll have more time to build those networks and be a super-connector !
This Sunday, master storyteller and cook, Liliane Nerette Louis demonstrates how to cook traditional Haitian dishes at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida . She will also talk about Haitian food ways. Ms. Louis won a Florida Folk Heritage Award in 2006 for her storytelling. Good food and good stories is what it’s all about, isn’t it?
When: Sunday, May 24, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Where : Historical Museum of Southern Florida, 101 West Flagler Street, Miami. Call (305) 375-5356 for more information.
How much: Free
This is the first of a series of cooking competitions designed to showcase the regional culinary traditions of Italy. Chefs from local Italian restaurants will be pitted against each other throughout the summer. The first event is “Liguria vs. Umbria”
Chef Ivo Mazzon from Joey’s Italian Café will cook for Liguria. He will prepare omelette with tuna and string beans; sweet and sour cod; and ricotta, mascarpone, and basil mousse with pine nuts. Corporate Executive Chef Will Ratley from Sub-zero and Wolf will cook for Umbria: stuffed eggplant, braised lamb shank with chestnuts, and rum and rice fritters. ( Thanks to Coral Gables Blog for info on the dishes.) At the event, guests will be able to taste the dishes, along with wine pairings, and vote for their favorites. The audience will decide the winner.
That sounds promising because I have been to some of these cooking battles , and it’s such a tease to watch chefs prepare sumptuous dishes and then not get to taste any. However, that’s also why this event is not free. The cooking class costs $45. Also, it’s limited to 40 guests so you won’t have to (hopefully) elbow your way through a crowd. You must register and pay by Wednesday, May 20 to attend. Email info@miamidish.net to RSVP.
After the event, there will be a reception with wine and food samples, which costs $10 to attend.
When: Thursday, May 21. Cooking class/contest is from 6:30 pm to 8 pm, followed by reception until 9:30 pm. Contests will be held on the third Thursday of each month through September.
Where: Mia Cucina, 105 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables
How much : $45 for cooking show, $10 for wine and food reception
The event started with a reception and presentation by Hunter Reno, Slow Food Board Member, about school gardens. School gardens are Slow Food Miami’s pet project. Slow Food Miami has started school gardens at Alexander Montessori School, Nautilus Middle School , Fienberg Fisher K-8 Center, Bob Graham Educational Center, and Richmond Middle School.
Beautiful garden and herb installations were set up throughout the Sagamore lobby and restaurant. These installations were designed by Thi Squire of C & B Farms. Guests were invited to smell and taste the fragrant herbs.
For dinner, we chose our seats at the Whitehall Restaurant (formerly The Social). The tasting portions on the five-course tasting menu were created by Whitehall chefs Manuel Mattei and Ezequiel Zingoni, along with Slow Food members and chefs Rachel O’Kaine and Adri Garcia of Mise en Place Catering.
All of the ingredients were donated by mostly local producers, including Rock Garden , C & B Farms (herb growers/distributors), Green Railroad Organic Workshop (GROW), Redland Mediterranean Organics (goat milk ice cream), The Market Company (which organizes many of our local farmers’ markets), and the local distributor of Gaucho Ranch , a purveyor of grass-fed beef from Uruguay. The wines paired with each course were donated by Indigenous Selections, a distributor of Italian wine.
I have a sweet tooth, so my favorite wine was the La Spinetta Moscato Bricco Quaglia , which came with our dessert course. Thus it follows that I also enjoyed the strawberry goat milk ice cream tremendously. Redland Mediterranean Organics was selling their goat milk ice creams at the Pinecrest Farmer’s Market this year, and I hope to see them again next season.
Of the savory dishes, I had two absolute favorites: I loved the veal osso bucco with homemade fettuccine and crispy artichokes, as well as the grass-fed beef filet with Parmigiano-Reggiano fonduta and wild mushrooms. The fonduta was just what it sounds like-a rich cheese sauce. Both of these dishes were unctuous and hearty. Although the portions were small, they were also satisfying. For anyone who thinks Slow Food is all about picking at leaves and ending a dinner hungry, think again.
After dinner, Charles Coiner, who is the founder of Rock Garden Herbs , spoke about the Green Railroad Organic Workshop . This project that reclaimed an ugly dead zone located by airport warehouses and turned it into an herb garden replete with lemon verbena, bee balm, Thai basil, chocolate mint, and edible flowers.
I always meet interesting new people at these dinners, which live up to the Slow Food aim of “conviviality.” There aren’t usually assigned seats, which can be intimidating at first, but people are generally welcoming and friendly.
“Seen Eating” is a Miami Dish interview column that provides a brief glimpse into the food habits of pillars of our community. Of course, I am the subjective judge of who makes a pillar of our community. To me, they are the people who make living in Miami more interesting, sane, and worthwhile.
Nicole Chipi does promotions and marketing for The Vagabond , a downtown nightclub. This weekend, the Vagabond celebrates a year of existence as the club for the hipster everyman (Their slogan is “You are no one. You are everyone.”). This Saturday night, the perennial party Back Door Bamby celebrates with a guest appearance by DJ Jellybean Benitez (of discovering Madonna fame) and Sunday will feature a Rent Party with Spam Allstars . You will surely see Chipi dancing and taking pictures among the crowd; she studied photography at the University of Florida. When she’s not taking pictures or channeling Tim Gunn with honest yet diplomatic makeovers , Chipi can be found in her South Miami kitchen cooking some trademark “classic Chipi dishes.”
Breakfast this morning:
I had a pizza bagel that I make for myself and my girlfriend. She’s a pizza freak. I take a regular-sized bagel, cut it in half, spread it with a tomato paste that I make myself, shredded cheese, and pineapple.
You make your own tomato paste?
Yeah, basically it’s just crushed tomatoes and oregano. I keep it frozen.
Top three favorite places to eat in Miami :
If you’re looking for something in the Lincoln Road or South Beach area, Yuca is the greatest place-a nice fusion of Cuban and nouveau. Food-wise, they keep things pretty classic, but the arrangement and presentation keep it on the upscale tip.
Sushi Matsuri , on Bird Road, is the freshest sushi I’ve ever had in Miami. It’s amazing.
And then, for day in, day out, I have to say The Daily on Biscayne. It’s quick, it’s fresh. They have everything there, and the people are really nice. They remember you. A lot of industry people eat there so I always run into a lot of club/industry people there.
Favorite foods to cook?
These are some of the Classic Chipi dishes I make: One is crab rangoon . I buy the pastry sheets, flatten them out, put cream cheese, crab, chives, and fry those.
One of the things I also make that goes well with the crab rangoon is chive flowers . It’s a long stalk of a chive that’s flowering at the end. You can buy them at the Asian grocery store. You cut off the dry parts at the end. Then, you stir fry the chive flowers with a little bit of Srichacha hot sauce and shrimp, and serve it with rice or pasta. You can put snow peas in there. You can add onion. It’s got that chive taste, but it’s a little more subtle. People always love it, but I don’t know why that many people aren’t familiar with it. I spent a lot of time in Asian stores in Gainesville. There were three of them near my house there. I would investigate what people use for their daily cooking.
The other thing I do is a very labor-intensive seafood bisque . It’s an all day cooking situation. I use the same tomato paste, shrimp, and mussels. Depending on whether I’m feeling rich that week, I’ll throw in some lobster. I leave it simmering all day with a little white wine and garlic. Then, I serve it over rice or pasta. It’s something that my mom always made.
Where do you take all of your out-of-town guests ?
When we have visiting DJs, it usually works on a sliding scale of how long they have to eat after I pick them up at the airport. Typically, for dinner, I’ll bring people to Soyka on Biscayne and 55 th . Soyka is amazing. The service is premium. The ambience is relaxing. It’s not so fancy; people feel comfortable there. The food is amazing, home-style. There’s something for everyone there so if I have a vegetarian DJ, which a lot of them are, that’s a safe place. Or I’ll take them across the street to Andiamo , the pizza place.
Do you eat a late dinner?
I have to say no, because if I eat once it’s past a certain hour, I get the jitters right before the club opens and I’ll have an upset stomach the whole night.
I have to eat before 6 or 7. I was raised in a Cuban family and you don’t eat after 5:30. You know, if you’re a Cuban family, there’s family members that you have to pick up at the retirement home and they have to be back by a certain time. So you eat early and then you get on with the rest of your day.
Favorite thing to eat after a night at the Vagabond ?
I hate to say it, but my favorite thing to eat after staying out really late is to go through the drive through and get a hash brown. I hate McDonald’s, but if I need it to make it home, I’ll do it. If I’m still hungry when I get home, I’ll dig for some Ben and Jerry’s.
This past weekend, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden announced the winners of the “Green Cuisine” competition. A few weeks ago, I helped judge this contest, which was part of the Fairchild Challenge , an environmentally-based series of creative projects and contests for middle and high school students. The winners of “Green Cuisine” were Miami Central High School and Pembroke Pines Charter High School.
High school students had to convert one fast food menu item into a healthy, eco-friendly, vegetarian meal. The students dished out samples of their meal, passed out nutritional information, and gave a short talk about how their dish was made and how it was better for the environment.
I was most impressed by the schools that grew their own produce. Booker T. Washington High School has an amazing school garden program. The students and teachers have even written The Overtown Cookbook , which takes their families’ favorite recipes and modifies them for both health and flavor. You can download the cookbook for free here . Look for more on The Overtown Cookbook in Miami Dish soon.
Booker T. Washington’s students (Eddie Thomas, Crystal Curry, Brandon Tate, Jerry Clark, Danielle King) were articulate and knowledgeable in their explanations of their school’s program and their dish. While most schools brought food that was already prepared, these students demonstrated how they cooked collard greens during the contest. We gave them a Special Recognition for their project.
Miami Central High School’s students (Alberto Cermeno, Greg Pierre, Deandre Green, Hector Duran) grew the tomatoes, thyme, and basil for their vegetarian “paparoni” pizza with vegan cheese sauce. The “paparoni” was a mixture of sweet potato, oats, chopped pecans, and spices that was deemed both delicious and innovative by the judges who tasted it. The students used all unprocessed ingredients for their recipe .
The judges involved in the contest were mostly chefs and food professionals, with only volunteer involvement in schools, with the exceptions of one other person and me. However, we found out after the judging was over that Miami Central High has a captivating, underdog story of an “F-rated” school scrappily (and very publicly) fighting to improve itself and stay open. You can read about the school’s efforts in The Miami Herald , which was given open access to the school. In addition, Miami Central High principal Douglas Rodriguez spoke on the public radio show, The Story , last week .
Pembroke Pines Charter High School (Zachary Kaplan, Jared Moljo, Jonathan George, Christopher Massana) created “Spaghetti” Squash and Meatless “Meatballs” to replace the pasta meals on Pizza Hut’s menu. The meatballs were a combination of potato flakes, ricotta, onion, along with other ingredients, including, yet again, pecans! The meatballs sure fooled me. I especially enjoyed the full-flavored tomato sauce.
These students were particularly articulate about their nutritional and environmental information. They wrote: “The meat industry has a big impact on our environment because of all of the resources it takes to care and feed the animals, as well as the mistreatment of certain cows…more food can be produced by growing potatoes as opposed to raising cows per pound of fossil fuel.” Try their recipe here .
There were many other schools whose projects were notable in some way. We gave them honorable mentions:
CARROLLTON SCHOOL OF THE SACRED HEART: Michelle Loret de Mola (Risotto-style quinoa)
HIALEAH-MIAMI LAKES SENIOR HIGH: Haydee Borrero (Pizza with herbed, whole-wheat crust)
MIAMI COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL: Michaela Hori (Black bean burger)
MIAMI KILLIAN SENIOR HIGH: Laura Vasquez, Samantha Joseph, Naeemah Mckenzie (Veggie burger)
MIAMI PALMETTO SENIOR HIGH: Brett Hallen, Samantha Parrish (Vegan spring rolls and dipping sauce)
OUR LADY OF LOURDES ACADEMY: Stephanie Padron, Tiffany Ojea (Summer rolls with sweet chili dipping sauce)
ROBERT MORGAN EDUCATIONAL CENTER: Drita Dokic, Nicole Feliciano (Tofu Sliders with Portobello Mushrooms and Thai Green Curry)
SOUTH PLANTATION HIGH: Sigal Shemesh, Samantha Khandakji, Brittany Heffner, Laura Carlton (Tempeh-ting wrap)
I’m excited to be participating as a judge in this year’s Fairchild Challenge . The Fairchild Challenge is a showcase for the research projects of students of all ages, but this Saturday is the showcase for high school students. I will be one of the judges in the Green Cuisine contest.
High school students have to take one fast-food menu item, analyze the impact of this food choice on other countries and cultures (nutritional, environmental, agricultural, etc), and then reinvent the dish as a low-impact vegetarian main course. The students will be presenting their dishes and recipes Saturday.
The event is open to the public, and there will be lots of interesting things to see and talk about. You can also bring your old electronics to be recycled. Why not visit the Garden this Saturday? On top of the usual array of eye-catching plants, you’ll also get to see students doing some amazing things.
When: Saturday, April 18, 2009. The event is from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm, but the Garden is open from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.
Wher e : Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables
How much: $20 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $10 for children. Fairchild Challenge participants and their families get in free.
I celebrated “Spring Thanksgiving” this past Saturday. It’s a regular tradition of a certain friend to gather together her girl friends and celebrate the renewal (and as she says, the “recycling”) of the season. It was my first time attending, and I enjoyed meeting some fellow food lovers, as well as a bunch of smart, sassy ladies. We drank some delicious moscato and some tasty Nicaraguan beer.
The centerpiece of the meal was what I call the “spring chicken.” I am passing along the Thomas Keller recipe for chicken that my friend used. It was so juicy and tender, the skin perfectly crackling. She stuffed the chicken with a little garlic and rosemary, but other than that, seasoned it only with salt. No oil, no butter. It was perfect . We drizzled the juices over it and dabbed bites in Dijon mustard. If you think you are bored with chicken, try this recipe.
The Menu:
Creamy tomato soup with basil (I used a recipe from Moosewood Collective Daily Special )
Spring salad: Asparagus, peas, tomatoes, red onion slivers and radish
“Spring chicken” or Thomas Keller’s “ My Favorite Simple Roast Chicken “
Boca negra chocolate cake (with a touch of ancho chile), served with tomatillo sauce (I’m going to do my best to angle for the hostess’ specific recipe.)
Coconut bread with pineapple butter (Same goes here with Rachel O’Kaine’s recipe.)
Key Lime Pie
2008 Ca D’Gal Moscato d’Asti
Tona Nicaraguan beer
I hope all of you had a great spring weekend, whether you celebrated Easter, Passover, or just got together with your friends. Now, if I could just get used to Daylight Savings time, dagnabbit.
Spent my Friday evening at Ayesha D’Mello’s house , learning how to make “Butter Chicken and the Works” with a group of seven other people. I’ve tasted her amazing cooking before (when Brad Bryan and I filmed her Video Bite ), so I’d been looking forward to her Indian dinner all week.
We spent about two hours watching D’Mello demonstrate how to make murg makhani (Butter Chicken), bombay aloo (seasoned, sauteed potatoes), kachumbar (spiced cucumber, onion, and tomato salad), roti (flatbread), basmati pilaf with peas, seviyan kheer (vermicelli pudding dessert), and masala chai (spiced Indian tea).
D’Mello does several things simultaneously, as you would in your daily cooking. Her kitchen is not any kind of custom-made demonstration set up, but she arranges it so that the class can sit on chairs along one wall of her kitchen and watch her work.
She’s a natural teacher, and really conscientious about showing and explaining to everyone as she cooks. We helped her roll and cook the roti , and we all gasped like delighted kids when we saw the roti puffing up on the wire rack.
Afterward, we ate all of the aromatic dishes that had been tempting us for two hours, along with as much lassi as we wanted, under the chickee hut in D’Mello’s backyard. The butter chicken lived up to my expectations. We lingered long after the dessert, because all of the people in the class had a lot to talk about and D’Mello is a great hostess. D’Mello offers a variety of classes in Indian cooking and I want to “collect them all.” The next class is “Vegetarian Delights”, which D’Mello will teach on Saturday, April 25 from 11 am to 2 pm.
When: “Vegetarian Delights” - Saturday, April 25, 2009
Where : Ayesha’s Kitchen , 9105 SW 115th Terrace, Miami, 33176
How much: $75, advance payment required