Celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Miami and Miami Beach

Cinco de Mayo is primarily a holiday celebrated in the United States. It is said that Cinco de Mayo originated when Mexican-American communities wanted to commemorate freedom during the first years of the American Civil War. Popular as an eating and drinking holiday, we wanted to give MIAbites readers a fiery taste of some of the fiesta specials planned around town.

If you like to Margarita with a crowd then this is for you:

Cinco de Mayo BRICKELL FIESTA WEEKEND

Sunday, May 4th & Monday, May 5th from 2pm - 11pm

For the third year in a row, South Miami Avenue will be transformed into a festive wonderland; the jubilant street festival of Cinco De Mayo Brickell FIESTA holds nothing back as it honors the holiday. Packs of partygoers take to the streets to enjoy an array of entertainment that only escalates as the sun goes down. Authentic Mexican food served up by numerous street vendors, accompanied by plenty of seasonal libations, keeps guests fueled for dancing to a non-stop lineup of music. Mariachis salute Mexican heritage with traditional tunes plucked on instruments the size of an average child, and live rock, pop, and DJ sets keep the party going late into the night.

For tickets go to: www.BrickellFiesta.com

For a more civilized celebration and better food and drinks for sure, the options abound…and this is only a partial list! Please feel free to add other favorite places in Comments below!

MIAbites TeamApril 29, 2014South Beach, Wynwood, Miami Comments

KidsBites: The Kid Food Critic on a Carnival Victory Cruise

My name is Wyatt. I'm twelve years old, in 6th grade and I like food. I like it so much, that I decided to be a food critic. With parental supervision, I started my own awesome blog to give you my honest opinion on food. I am excited to be contributing to KidsBites!

I went on the Carnival Victory for a five day cruise to Jamaica and the Cayman Islands on March 8 - 13, 2014. We left out of the Port of Miami. The ship was very big, fourteen floors. I think the ship could use an update, it looked a little bit old. I was in cabin 8240, it had a nice balcony. When I walked into the room, I realized that it was very small at first, but we got used to it. There were five of us total in the room. It had one king size bed, a fold down bed, a fold out couch bed and a roll away cot. I was on the fold out couch. There was a small bathroom with a shower, too. On the little counter was a basket of fruit and a bottle of champagne, for my parents, of course. I liked the towel animals that our room steward left for us every night. My mom bought us the towel animal making book, so we could do it at home too.

My family and I got to go on a galley tour (galley means kitchen on a ship) which was led by the Chef de Cuisine Michael Wisdom. He was really nice and informative about everything. At first, I thought that it would be a pretty small kitchen, but I was hugely mistaken. The kitchen was bigger than my house! It was all stainless steel, with so many different stations like the dessert station, the soup / sauce station and the salad station, etc. Chef Wisdom taught us how to make my favorite dessert, warm chocolate melting cake and gave us the recipe. I can't wait to try and make it at home. We also got to go on a tour of the bridge, where they pilot the ship. It reminded me a lot of the bridge in the movie Captain Philips, but without the pirates. There were so many consoles with so many buttons, but I only saw a few guys working everything!

MIAbites TeamApril 25, 2014Comment

Michy's Hosts Billecart- Salmon Champagne Dinner

I love Champagne and don’t profess to be an expert…settling many times for a well-known brand or even a glass of lowly Prosecco.

But, I do love Michy’s, Chef Michelle Bernstein’s flagship restaurant in the MiMo (or Upper East Side ) area of Miami, so when I saw the opportunity to attend one of their wonderful dinners...a special Champagne pairing dinner hosted by small French champagne house, Billecart-Salmon at Michy’s, I jumped at the chance.

Arriving early to take pictures and meet with both Nick Paton, General Manager, and Chef Jason Schaan, I was greeted with my first glass of bubbly… Billecart- Salmon, Brut Reserve, NV. Slightly effervescent and refreshing, I strolled around the restaurant enjoying the casually elegant environs. It is rare to be in such a popular place before the diners arrive and it offered an unique and quite lovely experience.

Ellen BowenApril 24, 2014MiMo/Upper East Side Comment

My Ceviche: Choose Local...Go Fish Go Fresh!

It was on a rare rainy day in sunny Miami, that I arranged to meet Chef/Owner Sam Gorenstein of My Ceviche at his barely one year old location at 1250 South Miami Ave in Brickell.

Splashing my way into the casual and relaxed spot that is My Ceviche, I forgot immediately the rain and wind just outside and was transported to a rustic beach shack, complete with natural stained and white washed wood , the whimsical bright green My Ceviche fish logo, “ Go Fish Go Fresh ”, and high top picnic style tables.

A small seating area outside was protected by the elements with an overhang, and inside the counter and tables and chairs were filled with regulars and business types on lunch…not a tourist to be found.

My Ceviche, with two locations, the one here in Brickell and the other in South Beach, at 235 Washington Ave in SoFi caters to a wide range of customers, all in search of fresh ceviche, local fish and healthy eating.

Chef/Owner Sam Gorenstein, smiled when I arrived, offering me a spot at one of the high top tables and with pride and passion shared with me his story of growing up in Colombia, where ceviche was considered “street food”. He described the local cevicherias where the ceviche was kept in coolers along the beaches or strapped to bicycles.

Sam, whose cooking pedigree includes heading up the kitchen of BLT Fish in New York City, and opening BLT Steak at The Betsy on Ocean Drive,( where he was a James Beard Award semi-finalist for Best Rising Chef in both 2010 and 2011! ) embarked on this new venture after meeting partner, Roger Duarte, finance entrepreneur and founder/owner of George Stone Crab in 2009.

Ellen BowenApril 18, 2014South Beach, BrickellComment

ErGagit heads West…to Austin and Franklin BBQ!

For his first MIAbites contribution, local food blogger, ErGagit, chose to feature a place NOT in Miami but on every foodies bucket list! Enjoy his mouthwatering and humorous account of his "Trip to Bountiful...BBQ".

Austin, Texas....is the capital of Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas it is the 11th-largest city in the USA and the fourth-largest city in the state of Texas. It is also home to The University of Texas, South by Southwest Interactive, Film and Music Festival, and Franklin BBQ!

So, The Gagit’s headed on a Foodie trip to Austin, Texas. This trip had been in the plans before but, something had always come up…BUT not this time.

Joining us on this trip to BBQ Mecca was our special Foodie friends, @foodcave, Harold, Lady Laura and her brother Texas Dennis. Although the trip included other restaurants, the main event was the Temple of BBQ...Franklins!

Franklin BBQ debuted in late 2009 as a trailer in an East Austin parking lot staffed by husband and wife, Aaron and Stacy Franklin. As the lines grew…snaking around the block, so did the press. The Washington Post, Texas Monthly and The Cooking Channel offered glowing reports. Bon Appetit magazine named Franklin BBQ as Best BBQ in America 2010. By March of 2011, Franklin had moved from the trailer to a storefront at 900 E 11th St.

And, the lines continued to grow!

Franklins BBQ is Black Friday every day. No door busters here, just get in line early or be sold out. They run out of BBQ every day, sometimes within an hour of opening.

TravelBitesMIAbites TeamApril 17, 2014Comment

BlackBrick- Unique Chinese in MidTown

Melissa Ginsberg is an Italian teacher with a passion for food of all cuisines. Besides her passion for cooking and food she enjoys singing, traveling any chance she can get, and the Miami nightlife!

Before even entering Blackbrick Chinese you can detect the unmistakable fragrance of Chinese food wafting down the street. Once inside, the comforting flavors hit you like a brick (pun intended) and instantly you know you’re in for a gustatory treat. Located in the chic Midtown Miami area, Blackbrick serves refreshingly good Chinese food that lures customers from all parts of Miami. Chef/owner Richard Hales, of Sakaya Kitchen fame, has had an “overall goal, for decades, to bring Asian food to Florida” and with dishes like Yueng Chow duck fried rice and Gung Bao rabbit, Miami can finally indulge in elevated, modern Chinese fare. I had the opportunity to sit down with Hales and his chef, Ivan, to discuss how Blackbrick came to be and what he hopes to achieve with this new restaurant.

“Growing up I was exposed to the same flavors in Chinese food (soy sauce and various vinegars) since I was a baby so I think it was normal for me and it’s always been something that’s been in my plate.” As a child, Hales was introduced to Filipino food through his Filipino grandmother and recounts that his time spent living in Thailand and Hong Kong and traveling extensively around Asia helped to shape his menu into what it is now. His time spent working at Jean-Georges’ Vong in New York City revealed to him new ingredients and pungent flavors that put the wheels in motion for Richard’s long time love affair with Asian food.

MIAbites TeamApril 12, 2014MidtownComment

Miami’s Culinary Casual Classics – The “CCC” Tour

Javier Ramirez is a Miami based finance professional passionate about chef-driven cuisine, culinary tourism and food photography. He writes about his tour of Casual Culinary Classics with outsider impressions by top Venezuelan food blogger Nidal Barake of yoculinario.com.

Being a culinary enthusiast and living in a popularly attractive city as is Miami means that you must be prepared to entertain relatives, friends and and friends of friends at local restaurants and also have a short list for the regular “where should we eat” prompt.

After years of experience and as someone that is truly passionate about helping people eat great food, I’ve come to the conclusion that the most effective strategy has to do with tailoring any recommendation. The more you understand the party who you are recommending to and their expectations, the better (assuming you have also done your homework in terms of understanding the objective of each restaurant’s offering). I usually deal with the latter by asking a few questions, like how many in your party, what is the purpose of the meal, do you have a particular cuisine you prefer, etc. The former I deal with through the obvious route: visiting as many restaurants as possible and making sure I never recommend a restaurant I’ve never been to.

When I’m approached by people from out of town, their homebase is also a key factor. It’s not the same to make a recommendation to someone visiting from New York than someone from Caracas. Miami has experienced over the last 4 years a Vegas-like explosion of clone restaurants from existing ones in big cities like London, Los Angeles, Milan and New York, so it would be foolish to send someone from the Big Apple to, for instance, db Bistro Moderne or The Dutch, despite the fact that they are two of Miami’s best restaurants.

MIAbites TeamApril 11, 2014Little HavanaComment

Welcome to MIAbites!

MIAbites TeamApril 8, 2014 Comment