Weekly Nibble: Barceloneta Dinner, Rock n Baga, Prix Fixe at Prime Fish, National Sangria Day and more
Weekly Nibble: Barceloneta Dinner, Rock n Baga, Prix Fixe at Prime Fish, National Sangria Day and more

As we get closer to the holidays, new Miami food happenings seem to pop up daily!  Next week's Weekly Nibble will feature Christmas and New Year's options, which are many as you can imagine.  Make sure you check it out next Wednesday 12/ 16 on MIAbites.com

So, here is this week's MIAbites Weekly Nibble: 

Tuesday December 15th-  Chef Guillermo Concha from PB Station and Chef Juliana Gonzalez from Barceloneta will be collaborating on to host “The New Urban Dinner” at Barceloneta. There will be two seatings available: 7:00 pm and again at 9:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased for $70 at www.barcelonetarestaurant.com. Barceloneta 1400 20th St. Miami Beach 305 538 9299. 

Tuesday, December 15th- Bagatelle Miami Beach debuts its new weekly themed dinner party, Rock n’ Baga. The French Bistro will transform into rock n’ roll heaven with a fully decorated restaurant and decked our wait staff. Guests will be transported to the 80’s and progress to the 90’s with classic favorites. Guests are encouraged to dress in their best themed garbs. Bagatelle 2000 Collins Ave. Miami Beach FL 305-763-8330.

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MIAbites TeamMiami Beach, MiamiComment
New Opening: Beaker & Gray comes to Wynwood
New Opening: Beaker & Gray comes to Wynwood

Even thru the pouring rain, the buzz was apparent in Wynwood with the successful preview during Art Basel of Beaker & Gray. The official opening is today, Thursday, December 10, 2015.

Named after key culinary tools – the Beaker, used to concoct libations, and a Gray Kunz spoon, used to execute dishes – Beaker & Gray will be the neighborhood’s new hotspot for globally-inspired cuisine and a vibrant bar scene. Offering refined, elegant dining with a menu rooted in inventiveness and approachability, Beaker & Gray comes to the artsy neighborhood courtesy of Chef/Owner Brian Nasajon and Bar Manager/Owner Ben Potts.

A veteran of Lure Fishbar in Manhattan, Wish in Miami Beach, and former executive chef at SUSHISAMBA,  Nasajon assumes his first role as chef/restaurateur, utilizing worldly ingredients and blending them with the freshest crops of the season.

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MIAbites TeamWynwood, MiamiComment
What I ATE: Best dishes from MIAbites Contributors
What I ATE: Best dishes from MIAbites Contributors

As the holiday season shifts into high gear, our MiamiBites/MIAbites contributors report on some of their favorite dishes from a busy Fall of food, events and dinners at home.

If you follow any of our MIAbites Contributors on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, you are constantly bombarded with some pretty amazing pictures of food and drink that has been consumed, it seems almost endlessly. 

How can anyone eat and drink ALL that food and go to ALL those places?  

Well Our Contributors do, from evenings out with friends, to lunches at favorite classic spots, to events hosted by restaurants, fellow bloggers and spirit purveyors.  It is hard to keep up and so as a special MIAbites feature we bring you.... 

What i ATE...

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MIAbites TeamMiami Beach, MiamiComment
Holiday Gift Idea: Cook with Wok Star
Holiday Gift Idea: Cook with Wok Star

Wok Star cooking teacher and entrepreneur Eleanor Hoh says anyone can Cook Like a Wok Star.  This holiday season, gift one of her cooking classes to a loved one or friend. And for a limited time, MIAbites readers can purchase a cooking class gift certificate for 30% off the regular $85 price! DEADLINE for purchases is Sunday  December 20th.  

They will become a "rock star" in the kitchen, even if they have never cooked in their entire life!  Her easy approach to cooking makes it fun, creative and relaxing, three words not usually associated with cooking. 
Some of the  things they will learn in Eleanor's 3 hour interactive and engaging class include the 4 essential components for successful wok cooking:  lightweight cast iron wok, gas store for efficient heat, the right technique and quality ingredients. 

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MIAbites TeamMiamiComment
Gastropod and Liquorette pop up with Cha-Chunker for Art Basel
Gastropod and Liquorette pop up with Cha-Chunker for Art Basel

'Tis the season of the Art Basel Pop-up.  Michy's Pop-up at Miami Beach Botanical Garden, Dominique Ansel's Soft Serve Pop-up at The Setai and NOW, Chef Jeremiah Bullfrog's GastroPod in Wynwood is hosting a special food and beverage pop-up that Art Basel attendees are welcome to check out - no tickets required. 

What's new for this year is that he will be featuring the father of the modern mixology movement, Eben Freeman, and his latest and greatest cocktails from NYC's recently-opened hotspot GENUINE Liquorette  - home of the Cha-Chunker cocktail.  It will be called Mini Liquorette at Art Basel.

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MIAbites TeamWynwood, MiamiComment
Dominique Ansel brings Soft Serve to Art Basel
Dominique Ansel brings Soft Serve to Art Basel

Santa Claus is coming to town.  Well, not quite, but James Beard Award winning pastry chef, Dominique Ansel is arriving for a two day stint at The Setai for an Art Basel Soft Ice Cream pop up on Wednesday 12/2 and Thursday 12/3.

Just in In case you don’t know, Dominique Ansel is the chef and owner of Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York City. Since its opening in November of 2011, the chef’s eponymous bakery was awarded Time Out New York’s “Best New Bakery of 2012” and Metromix’s “Best Bakery of 2012”, all within four months of opening its doors. Today, it is also Zagat 2013’s highest ranked bakery and listed as one of the Best Bakeries in the U.S. by Daily Meal.

In 2014, Chef Ansel won the James Beard Award for “Outstanding Pastry Chef” of the nation and was one of Crain’s “40 Under 40″. In 2013, he was named one of Business Insider’s “Most Innovative people Under 40”. 

BUT, perhaps what has most widely been reported is Chef’s creation of the Cronut™, a croissant and doughnut hybrid that has been reported on throughout the world.

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Ellen BowenMiami BeachComment
Michy's PopUp returns for Art Basel/Miami Art Week
Michy's PopUp returns for Art Basel/Miami Art Week

As Art Basel Miami and Miami Art Week kick off this week, we have “nicknamed’ the popular Miami and Miami Beach event “Ate Basel”, in honor of the many creative and innovative dining options offered to the over 70,000 expected artists, gallery owners, collectors and attendees.

James Beard Award winning and one of Miami’s favorite chefs,  Michelle Bernstein will once again offer Michy’s Pop Up for its 3rd year during Art Basel in Miami Beach 2015 at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden, across the street from the Miami Beach Convention Center.  The pop-ups – consisting of the Garden Café by Michelle Bernstein, serving breakfast and lunch, and the Michy’s Pop Up restaurant in the evening – will give Art Basel devotees, foodies, locals and visitors a delicious destination for a morning bite, mid-afternoon refreshment or sophisticated dinner while indulging in one of the region’s most glamorous, annual cultural events.

And a very welcome calm and peaceful spot among the craziness of Basel.

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MIAbites TeamMiami BeachComment
RECIPE: Chef Cindy Hutson's Leftover Turkey Shepherds Pie
RECIPE: Chef Cindy Hutson's Leftover Turkey Shepherds Pie

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, but the challenge of leftovers is always a part of the annual feast.  There are only so many ways you can make a creative turkey sandwich or turkey soup.

Chef Cindy Hutson of Ortanique shares with MIAbites a simple recipe from her new cookbook “From the Tip of My Tongue”, using leftover turkey and some of the fixin's that is sure to please and provide an alternative meal option.  

"Like everyone else, I’ve become tired of using yesterday’s bird as tomorrow’s soup. I needed to find another way to use up the second-day turkey. After all, turkey soup is great, but sometimes the poultry can become stringy. Since a Thanksgiving-type meal usually involves not just a big bird but leftover potatoes and veggies as well, I figured it would be terrific to combine them all in one dish. And it is, especially when preceded by a crisp green salad and partnered with a nice dry rose wine."   Chef Cindy Hutson of Ortanique

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MIAbites TeamCoral Gables, MiamiComment
25 Restaurants open for Thanksgiving in Miami
25 Restaurants open for Thanksgiving in Miami

One of the advantages of living in a city means you have options for Holiday cooking and entertaining, and thankfully Miami is no exception. 

As a matter of fact, based on this list, NO ONE needs to shop, cook or entertain as so many of Miami's top restaurants have created both traditional and not-so-traditional menus for the "Feast of Tryptophan".  So if you haven't already secured that 24-30 lb bird, consider these options:

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MIAbites TeamMiami BeachComment
Five New Fall Dishes to Try at Uvaggio
Five New Fall Dishes to Try at Uvaggio

With trendy restaurants bringing in mixologists and their fancy concoctions on board all around town, Miami’s restaurant and bar scene has no shortage of fancy, elaborate drinks. But let’s face it - sometimes all you want is just a simple glass of wine, and of course, that perfect dish to go along with it. In my case, when that craving hits, Uvaggio is always there to satisfy it.

Known for its motto of offering five star wine, food and service for only a three star value, this Coral Gables wine bar has come to build a name for itself among Miami’s top culinary gems, becoming a favorite of wine and food aficionados alike. 

Proud owners Heath Porter and Craig Dewald recently celebrated their one and a half year anniversary with a new fall-inspired food menu crafted with their signature “tasting backwards” technique, which consists of coming up with the dishes based on the aromas and flavors in the wines that they would serve them with. 

The result: five fabulous new dishes to be paired along with the wines that inspired them, all worth trying the next time the food and wine craving hits.  

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MIAbites TeamCoral Gables, MiamiComment
WeeklyNibble: SEED, Poplife @PAMM, Fooqs & Friends, $1 oysters at dbBistro, Holiday cooking with Chef Aaron Brooks and more
WeeklyNibble: SEED, Poplife @PAMM, Fooqs & Friends, $1 oysters at dbBistro, Holiday cooking with Chef Aaron Brooks and more

Each week, MIAbites features upcoming food happening and events in Miami. All listings are subject to change so always check ahead to confirm details.  

November 18-22nd-  SEED Food & Wine Festival, presented by Whole Foods Market and held in Wynwood and Miami Beach is the first plant-based food and wine festival in the country. SFWF celebrates delicious plant-based foods, fine wines, craft beers, spirits, and lifestyle products and companies, while raising health awareness. Five days of events include upscale dinners, film screening, garden parties, and a Southern brunch, all leading up to a large-scale outdoor festival featuring food, wine, juices, music, gifts, organic body care, clothing, yoga, and everything that celebrates conscious plant-based living. Individual tickets for all events including for 5K,  Farm to Table dinner and Miami Botanical Garden brunch and Saturday November 21 all day Tasting Village are priced accordingly and on Eventbrite http://www.eventbrite.com/e/seed-plant-based-food-and-wine-festival-tickets-18407085087?aff=eac2

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Ellen BowenMiamiComment
'Tis Truffle Season: Alba White Truffles in Miami
'Tis Truffle Season: Alba White Truffles in Miami

Delicious truffle photos provided by MC Kitchen. Quattro and La Veinte Deli & Cafe

Gotta love Miami this time of year!  Not only is the weather cooler and less humid, but Stone Crab season is in full swing and as is Truffle Season.  True food experts, think “white truffle” when they hear “the white stuff”…and yes…white truffle season is upon us.

A subterranean fungi, truffles are round, warty, and irregular in shape and vary from the size of a walnut to that of a man's fist. 

The jewel of Italian gastronomy, the "white truffle" or "trifola d'Alba" comes from the Piedmont region in northern Italy and, most famously, in the countryside around the cities of Alba and Asti. It can also be found in Molise, Abruzzo, and in the hills around San Miniato, in Tuscany.

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Ellen BowenDesign District, Miami Beach, MiamiComment
PREVIEW: Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar
PREVIEW: Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar

Last night I had the pleasure of attending the soft opening of a new restaurant in the Kendall area , Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar. Officially set to open later this week, Pisco Y Nazca offers traditional and not so traditional Peruvian cuisine.  Yes, it has your typical Peruvian ingredients but they have been taken up a notch. 

Executive Chef Miguel Antonio Gomez Fernandez has created a delicious menu that is not the traditional Peruvian cuisine that we are accustomed here in Miami. Chef Fernandez comes by way of San Francisco, where he was Chef de Cuisine at La Mar Cebicheria Peruana, celebrity chef Gastón Acurio’s world-class Peruvian restaurant.
I believe you will be pleasantly surprised and impressed.  The restaurant has found its home in the Palms at Town & Country shopping center, next to Blue Martini.

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MiamiComment
Weekly Nibble : Lucky Rice, SEED Fest, P.I.G.6, Taquiza and Boxelder, Sugarcane and Bocce and more
Weekly Nibble : Lucky Rice, SEED Fest, P.I.G.6, Taquiza and Boxelder, Sugarcane and Bocce and more

Each week, MIAbites features upcoming food happening and events in Miami.

And November in Miami kicks off the season with a ton of upcoming food-centric events for any discerning palate or enthusiast.  Please check ahead to confirm times, prices and other details.

Friday November 13th- In their 6th year, The Lucky Rice Festival captures their obsession with Asian food culture through feats, festive dinners and gastronomic gatherings in six cities across the US. Lucky Rice Miami will transform the Raleigh Hotel Pool and Oasis on Miami Beach into an international bazaar where Asian-meets-Latino bites and globally spirited Bombay Sapphire® East cocktails will spill out onto the beachfront oasis.  Featured restaurants include La Mar by Gaston Acurio,SUGARCANE Raw bar grill, SUSHISAMBA, Ortanique on the Mile, Alter, Michael's Genuine Food & Drink and Phuc Yea. Tickets are $150 VIP and $88 GA and available online at http://luckyrice.com/event/miami-feast/

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MIAbites TeamWynwood, Miami Beach, MiamiComment
Miami Chefs: #TNTShowdown Chef Profiles and Winners Circle
Miami Chefs: #TNTShowdown Chef Profiles and Winners Circle

On Sunday 11/8, The Liquid Projects and MIAbites presented the SOLD OUT Taco & Tequila Showdown #TNTShowdown at The Vagabond Restaurant and Bar to benefit non-profit, Urban Oasis Project.  

Some of Miami's most creative and innovative chefs came together along with their bartenders, and created "signature" tacos and tequila and mezcal cocktails. 

Our esteemed Judges; Evan Benn, Gabe Orta,  and Nidal Barak selected Best in Show, while attendees were given two TNT tokens to vote for People's Choice!

The Winners Circle:  The Judges choice for Best Taco went to Chef Aaron Brooks and Chef Jose Gamez of EDGE Steak and Bar for their kangaroo ( yes...kangaroo! ) taco, and Best Tequila cocktail went to Dustin Dinter of Taquiza for his pineapple cactus juice Fidencio mezcal cocktail.  Peoples Choice for Best Taco went to Chef Bee of Oishi Thai for his spicy salmon and truffle oil taco, and Best Tequila cocktail to Ricky Rodriguez for his watermelon Maestro Doble tequila cocktail. 

The 12 chefs represent a new and exciting direction for Miami...creative ingredients, innovative dishes, beautiful presentation, and all with delicious results.  This new community of chefs are not afraid the take chances and test the food boundaries for Miami locals and visitors alike. They like using local ingredients from the farms in Homestead, locally caught fish, and organic and grass fed meats and poultry from local South Florida purveyors. 

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MIAbites TeamMiamiComment
Weekly Nibble: Uncle Luke, TALDE opens, DASH benefit, P.I.G 6 and more
Weekly Nibble: Uncle Luke, TALDE opens, DASH benefit, P.I.G 6 and more

Each week, MIAbites features upcoming food happening and events in Miami. Please check ahead to confirm times, prices and other details.

SOLDOUT- Sunday November 8th-  MIAbites and The Liquid Projects will be presenting Taco & Tequila Showdown at the Vagabond Restaurant from 6- 9 pm   A benefit for non-profit Urban Oasis Project and Verde Garden and Farm, the event features 12 top chefs and bartenders creating and competing for Best Taco and Best Tequila cocktail. You get to VOTE for Peoples Choice along with a panel of judges led by Evan Benn, Gabe Orta, Adri Garcia and Nidal Barake @YoCulinario. AdvanceTickets $65 /At door $70 and available on Eventbrite link.  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taco-tequila-showdown-tntshowdown-tickets-18300424061  

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MIAbites TeamCoral Gables, Wynwood, MiamiComment
Chef Alex Chang of The Vagabond: #TNTShowdown Chef Profile
Chef Alex Chang of The Vagabond: #TNTShowdown Chef Profile

The Taco & Tequila Showdown #TNTShowdown presented by MIAbites and The Liquid Projects is locked in for Sunday November 8th 6-9 pm at the Vagabond Restaurant and Bar.

Benefitting local non-profit, Urban Oasis Project, 12 chefs and bartenders will battle it out to be selected for best taco and tequila drink, and to further whet your appetite and give you a little back story, MIAbites will be profiling each of the chefs leading up to the event.Tickets to #TNTShowdown are $65 in advance and available on Eventbrite link here.

Our final #TNTShowdown Chef Profile features Chef Alex Chang, Taco & Tequila Showdown host chef at The Vagabond.  Thank you to Chef Alex and the Vagabond team for hosting and being so supportive of our event!  

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MIAbites TeamMiMo/Upper East Side, Miami Comment