Cobaya for a Cause: November 18th @ The Dutch, Miami Beach, FL

THE DUTCH AT W SOUTH BEACH TO HOST HURRICANE SANDY RELIEF DINNER

Local Miami Chefs to Join Andrew Carmellini for Dinner & Silent Auction November 18, 2012

COBAYAS FOR A CAUSE

Miami is no stranger to hurricanes, and when Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast last week, thousands of businesses and residents were left struggling for survival.  In an effort to provide relief for the victims of ‘Sandy’, chef Andrew Carmellini and his team at The Dutch at W South Beach Hotel & Residences have teamed up with Cobaya – Gourmet Guinea Pigs, the organizers of Miami’s premier underground dining events, to gather renowned Miami chefs and businesses to join them in a five-course dinner and silent auction taking place Sunday, November 18, 2012.

“We got rocked up in New York, some much worse than others. Many people like myself have roots in both the tri-state and South Florida, so I knew I could count on the culinary talent of Miami for help. Cobaya has been instrumental in this rally,” says Carmellini.

Priced at $250 per person all-inclusive, the special evening will bring together some of our region’s most notable chefs including Antonio Bachour (J&G Grill), Michelle Bernstein (Michy’s), Aaron Brooks (Edge Steak), Jeremiah Bullfrog (gastroPod and the upcoming Freehand), Richard Gras (J&G Grill), Brad Kilgore (Exit 1) and Andrew Zimmern’s AZ Canteen joined by The Dutch’s stellar culinary team, chef de cuisine Conor Hanlon, pastry chef Josh Gripper and head bartender Rob Ferrara. Guests can expect signature dishes and chef favorites for each course, expertly paired with wine and cocktails and Michael Schwartz of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink will be on hand to pour his Michael's Genuine Home Brew and help out in the kitchen. . The evening starts at 7:00 p.m. with cocktails by BarLab and canapés in the lush Grove at W South Beach followed by dinner on The Terrace at The Dutch.

All of the participating chefs are Cobaya alumni in one way or another, and we are thrilled by the incredibly generous and unhesitating response by local chefs to the call for help. We hope that our group of guinea pigs responds in the same fashion. We have a block of tickets that we are taking requests for and will conduct a lottery this Friday November 9, 2012 to fill available spots. Though this is pricier than our usual Cobaya events, it is a stellar lineup and a worthwhile cause, and we hope you feel the same.

We also encourage you to come ready to bid on some fantastic items for the silent auction, which will feature an array of items from hotel stays (W corner suite!!)  and spa days to autographed cookbooks (Schwartz's "Michael's Genuine Food", Hedy Goldsmith's "Baking Out Loud") and dinner certificates (The Dutch, Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, Harry's Pizzeria, Edge Steak & Bar, Bourbon Steak, The Bazaar, and more!). Cobaya also will be contributing four guaranteed seats for a future Cobaya dinner to the auction.

ALL PROCEEDS from the dinner and silent auction will go directly to NYC Food Flood, a fund started in concert by Carmellini and fellow New York chefs, Marco Canora, Seamus Mullen and George Mendes, joining efforts to generate funds directed to relief efforts in their own backyard. You can follow NYC Food Flood on twitter @NYCFoodFlood.

To request seats, please email your request to cobayamiami@gmail.com and specify how many spots you would like. We will be conducting a lottery to fill our available spots on Friday November 9, 2012. You will then need to book your seats via PayPal by Monday November 12 (a link will be made availably on the Cobaya website). So please respond quickly if you're interested.

Please help Cobaya support this worthy cause.

The Dutch is located inside W South Beach Hotel & Residences, 2201 Collins Avenue, in Miami Beach, Florida, 33139.

Bits and Bites

Man....it's been a real busy start to the year.  I've been on the road a ton and been occupying my weekend time shooting clays at the range and shooting pars (or attempting to anyways) on the golf course.  As usual, I have managed to have some good bites over the past few months.

BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich from Maurice BBQ, Columbia, SC

About twice a year I make my swing through the Carolinas, working my way from Charlotte, NC on down to Charleston, SC and then swinging through Columbia, SC on my way to Greenville, SC.  Lemme tell ya, it's a lot of windshield time.  Or, as my sales rep likes to call it, "chasin' white dash-ed lines".  The best part about this run is getting to eat at some of my favorite spots in the country.  One of these spots happens to be Maurice BBQ which has a chain of BBQ joints all over South Carolina.  We usually hit the one in Columbia for lunch and this little number - a sandwich made up of tender pulled pork basted with my favorite SC mustard based BBQ sauce - really hits the spot.  I picked up a bottle of sauce this time and hope to get after using that soon.

Foie gras mousse, maple whisky jelly, rabbit rillette, granny smith apple, pine nut praline, truffle aioli from Edge Steak & Bar, Miami, FL

Soon after I returned from my run through the Carolinas, I found out that Edge Steak & Bar at the Four Seasons in Brickell was hosting a Macallan dinner.  I knew from past visits that Chef Aaron Brooks would be sure to put out a badass meal so I had to check this out.  This dish, composed of a rabbit rilliette round flanked by a pine nut praline and slivers of granny smith apple, resting upon a foie gras mousse with whisky jelly and studs of truffle aioli was phenomenal.  Edge has got some great steaks (I recommend the Butcher Cut Filet) but my favorites on the menu include a lot of the seafood items - littleneck clams, tiradito sampler, and the turbot.  Their bartenders also make a great Sazerac.  The outdoor patio is now open and offers great views.  Definitely make it a point to visit this hidden gem.

Gimme some head!  Half goat's head w/ fried brains, braised tongue & cheek from Cobaya Sustain

I returned from my next lengthy road trip to a gluttonous week of eating.  First up was our latest Cobaya Experiment (#23!) at Sustain in Midtown Miami.  Chef Alejandro Pinero had let us know he would be putting together a Southern Italian-inspired meal and the consensus was that he killed it.  This dish, a goat's head split down the middle, was definitely the most aggressive dish we've had at a Cobaya dinner and really hit the mark in terms of flavor and playing-with-your-food fun.  The dish was served with inside facing up with the brains fried and laying in a pool of francaise or caper butter sauce.  Once those were finished diners were instructed to flip the head over and play surgeon, using fork and a sharp knife to dig out the tongue and cheek meat that lay within.  Great dish.

"The Instagram" from Chef Jeremiah's Harding Series Popup Dinner

Beet composition from Chef Jeremiah's Harding Series Popup Dinner

Duck pastrami from Chef Jeremiah's Harding Series Popup Dinner

"Arepa" from Chef Jeremiah's Harding Series Popup Dinner

A few nights after Cobaya Sustain a new dinner series "popped up".  Chef Jeremiah Bullfrog, one of my favorite chefs, put together a dinner at the Harding Ave location formerly known as Chow Down Grill (and soon to become Josh's Deli by day).  To me, this was Chef Jeremiah's best stuff.  The guy is just insanely creative without getting overly clever and losing focus on flavor.  So, I've included four pics from that dinner.  The "Instagram" showcased Bullfrog's creativity by which diners were instructed to combine a little gram baggie of Miami's finest...baking powder...with a concoction of gin and citrus and begin whipping up their own Gin Fizz.  From there we moved on to a composition of beets that had an awesome earthy flavor.  After that it was duck pastrami, my favorite dish of the night.  This was just some awesome stuff.  We had 5 people at our table and 11 slices of duck pastrami.  I was glad that the other four diners took the diplomatic, "somebody finish off that last piece", approach.  I was ready to stab one of them for it.  Another one of my favorite ingredients - corn - was prominently featured in my second favorite dish of the night, a modern take on an arepa.  I was surprised at how much the corn shoots here were loaded with flavor.  I just love corn.  Phenomenal dinner.

This little piggy went to market...got some tattoos and then off with his head!

My gluttonous week of eating ended with a great event at the Four Seasons in Brickell.  Cochon 555 is a culinary competition that pairs 5 winemakers, 5 chefs, and 5 heritage pig breeds in order to raise awareness for high quality, humanely raised pork products raised by small and medium sized independent farmers.  It's also an awesome opportunity to taste what makes pork that damn good!  The Miami stop on the tour featured Chef Michael Schwartz of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink paired with Ossabaw pork, Chef Aaron Brooks of Edge Steak & Bar with Berkshire pork, Chef Michelle Bernstein of Michy's paired with Hereford pork, Chef James Petrakis of the Ravenous Pig (Orlando) paired with Swabian Hall pork, and Chef James Strine of Cafe Boulud (Palm Beach) with Large Black pork.  Each chef receives a whole pig and from there they break it down and make use of the whole hog when creating dishes.  It was a pig out event, that's for sure!  Added bonus was a bourbon bar serving up cocktails (giddyup!) and then the mother of all bacon products - Allan Benton's Bacon - overflowing from jars used as centerpieces on tables for dining.  If you've never tried Benton's bacon or ham products before, I strongly encourage you to do so.  This is the best stuff I've ever had and nothing else even comes close.  It's so awesome that I ate 4 pieces that night and when I spotted one lonely piece in a jar at the end of the night I folded it into a napkin and stuffed it in my pocket for a take home treat.  Later that night at my place I was sipping some bourbon and heard that bacon calling me.  At first the plan was to save it for the morning and eat it before my 6:00am flight to Atlanta but I thought it would be ok to take one bite.  Ok, two bites.  Ok, I ate almost the whole damn thing.  But I did save this little nugget as a welcome home present for when I returned.  It's that damn good.

Bacon of the gods

Luv dem bones!

No trip that I take to Atlanta goes without a visit to one of my favorite restaurants in the country, Holeman & Finch Public House.  From their locally-sourced ingredients to their house-cured meats to their "parts" menu to their acclaimed burger to their bourbon menu, this place has everything I could want in a restaurant.  I always tell myself I'm going to write about it yet I never do.  I guess that's a good thing because I'm wordy enough as it is and that post would be a small novel.  Anyhow, Holeman & Finch has the best marrow bones I've ever had.  These bones are colossal and loaded with savory marrow that gets spread on some housemade sourdough and then you chomp it all down.  Delicious!

It's been nice to have been home in Miami for the past two weeks.  This week marks the return of NAOE, opening up at its new location on Brickell Key.  I can't wait to dive into a bento box and get some of Chef Kevin Cory's sushi.  Then it's off to San Jose, San Fran, and Seattle for more work and great eats.  Until next time...

Playing Ketchup

Sorry for the corny title, couldn't resist.

It's been a long time since I've sat down to post...  So goes the story of this blog.  A lot has gone on since my 30 day alcohol challenge that was definitely worthy of posting about, I just never got around to it.  It's a combo platter of being really busy and being lazy when it comes to posting on the blog.  Here's what's been going on since the last post...

In June, I kept the 30 Day Challenge thing going and attempted to rid my diet of fried food for an entire month.  It's pretty funny because just now I realized that I wrote about this exact same topic about a year ago.  I'm happy to say that I made it the entire 30 days this time!  Though it wasn't nearly as hard as quitting alcohol for 30 days, it was an eye opening experience.  Depriving yourself of things you enjoy is hard!!!  But I made it and now try to focus a little better on eating vegetables instead of fried sides.

July was action packed!  In early July, I found myself really enjoying two newcomer restaurants starting to hit their groove - The Local and Blue Piano, the latter really being more of a bar than a restaurant.  Both spots have great bites with The Local being a better spot for a meal but that's not to say Blue Piano doesn't hit any culinary high notes.  Both spots also have incredibly good craft beer selections with The Local having about 25 on tap to choose from.  The Local also has a decent spirits selection that I'm hearing is set to expand in the near future.  Wine is a specialty of Blue Piano and the live music there can't be beat, especially Tuesday nights when Big Poppa E is there to play the blues.

Next up was my annual trip to Long Beach in Rockport, MA for some R&R on the beach as well as all the fried clams, lobsters, and steamers I could find.  This year, I took good friends Paula, David, and Jackie with me so they could get a taste of New England summer eatin'.  It was a great time and we lucked out with the best weather I've ever had up there for four consecutive beach days.  More details coming soon...

 Long Beach, Rockport, MA

A day after returning from Rockport I had back to back dinner events starting with Cobaya at Market 17 and then moving on to a charity dinner supporting Common Threads at Area 31.  My friend Mr. Frodnesor did his usual kickass job of summarizing the Market 17 dinner so I invite you to check out his recap.  I thought the dinner was fantastic and really appreciated all of the thought Chef Daniel Ramos put into the menu, a menu that included kangaroo(!) which was a first for yours truly.  They also have an insane happy hour that offers 1/2 priced drinks and apps until 7pm daily and it's not limited to "well drinks" or beers only!!  If you are up in the Fort Lauderdale area, Market 17 is a strong recommendation.

I have supported Common Threads via their charity dinner events on a few occasions this year and this one in particular was a phenomenal experience.  Chef E. Michael Reidt (who replaced my good buddy Chef John Critchley at Area 31 when John left for Urbana in D.C.) orchestrated a well-thought-out menu with help from Chef Sean Brasel of Meat Market (one of my favorite spots on Miami Beach) and Chef Kris Wessel of Red Light (another chef with an insane amount of talent and doing things his way to great success).  An all-star lineup led to a home run of a meal.

Before I could get my bearings again, it was time to head to Vegas for my annual 7-night business trip.  Boy was that a doozy.  Business was very good and I enjoyed an incredible meal at one of my favorite spots in Vegas - Michael Mina's Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay.  The food there is phenomenal but the staff and service are what sets this spot apart from other great restaurants in Las Vegas.  Quite possibly the best service and staff in any restaurant I've ever been to.  The wagyu filet I had on my 3rd night in town was extraordinary.  I definitely recommend checking this place out when you're in Sin City.

I returned in time for one more "farewell" dinner with David and Paula at Michael's Genuine, aka "Cheers".  We have had so many fantastic meals there over the years that it was only fitting that it be the location of our final meal together before David and Paula left for Houston.  As usual, everything was on point and we ate, drank, and laughed for hours.  I will miss my friends a lot.

That dinner was held a mere 5 hours after I returned from Vegas and after 4 hours of sleep that night, I was off again.  This time the destination was Paradise Island in the Bahamas to spend a few days with my cousin, his wife, daughter, and my godson.  Seeing those kids run themselves ragged all over the water park at Atlantis was a lot of fun, albeit a bit draining haha.

I'm now back in Miami once again, enjoying some nice quiet time at home.  It won't be long before it's "wheels up" time again, Boston and Rockport being on the agenda first then a little time in New Hampshire and Maine for business.  Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things with this blog and start posting a little bit more regularly.  I hope all of my readers are having a kickass summer enjoying the beautiful weather, spending time with family, and eating well.  Until next time...

Returning to Michael's Genuine Food & Drink

I have a confession to make...

Ive been cheating on MGFD with various restaurants in the Greater Miami area. At first it was innocent - checking out a new spot here, popping in for an app and a cocktail there. But then things got out of control. Multiple visits to the same location, more apps here, more cocktails there. I was spiraling out of control and it had gotten to the point where I actually thought that it was a good thing that I hadnt ingested a double yolk farm egg in about a month. Considering health? What?!?!

Id gone culinarily impotent.

Luckily, I came to my senses and made a return visit to MGFD. Had the snapper/grouper (I think that was the fish... My memory sucks sometimes) ceviche which was exploding in flavor. Really enjoyed the grapefruit here. The burrata is still the best in Miami, period. There was a new menu item that was creative and quite good. It was called Yellowfin Conserva. Its basically yellowfin cooked and marinated and served in an airtight jar of olive oil with a slice of lemon. Accoutrement of meyer lemon, sliced radish, capers, and mayo are presented with grilled bread. You take a hunk of yellowfin and combine with everything else as you see fit. My date and I really enjoyed it because it was different, allowed us to share easily and carry conversation while we ate, and tasted good. Pretty simple. We also had some other oldies but goodies that are often discussed.

The place was packed as usual, including the bar. My date noted the kickass music playing all night and really liked that it wasnt so loud and intrusive. Thats one of my favorite things about MGFD. The music is great, adds to the vibe of the place, and is just the right volume to fill in any silence but not too loud where you have to yell to talk the people at your table.

Im glad I went back and I think things could progress. We're taking it slow, no double yolk farm egg yet, but the culinary boner is back. Im even keeping an open mind about a possible lunch in the future, you know, to spice things up a little bit.

Restaurant Review: Michael's Genuine Food & Drink

On Sunday, I headed down to South Beach to meet up with some friends and soak in the sun on the beach. On my drive over the causeway to the beach I noticed it was actually kind of chilly and that was when my friends called and said that the wind and lack of sun had killed our beach day. So, after drinking a few bottles of wine on their deck overlooking the bay and city of Miami, we decided to head over to Michael's Genuine Food & Drink for a bite to eat.

I had heard rave reviews about Michael's from various posters on Chowhound, to the point where it was almost overkill. I mean, a simple mention of this place sparked a message board humpfest about the various dishes there. So, I have to admit, I had high expectations walking in and that is usually not a good sign. The three of us arrived and were seated outside on the patio immediately. I think we were lucky that we went early (around 630p) because I had heard it was tough to get a table and had tried to get reservations last minute on a previous occasion and couldnt get anything before 930p. The decor of the place was dark but it had a cool vibe to it and I really liked the outdoor area because the buildings blocked out the wind and the chairs were really comfy. I also liked that the tables werent too close to eachother.

Our waiter came over and took a drink order while we began reviewing the menu. I was excited to see Left Hand Brewery's Milk Stout on the menu and went for that. Foodwise, I didnt know where to begin, so I asked him for recommendations, letting him know that we would likely do a couple of small & medium plates for each of us. It was kinda funny when he recommended almost everything on the menu! We settled on some food to share and off he went.

For my first item, I went with the Woodgrilled Prawn and it was very good. The prawn was a nice large one (which reminded me of the lobster-like prawns I had seen at Casablanca Fish Market days earlier) that was seasoned with a little bit of spice and garnished with a slice of lime. I actually enjoyed this so much that I even ate the guts and the head of the prawn! One of my friends went with the Chicken Wings that came with a killer cucumber sauce and my other friend went with the Roasted Onion Stuffed with Lamb which was awesome. Im not an onion fan at all but thanks to a visit to Whisk Gourmet in the Gables, Ive learned to at least give onions a try and since this one was a sweet onion it made the leap a lot easier to make. This onion was great, but I really liked the lamb stuffing the best. I think the onion was the hit of round one with my prawn a close second.

For the next round, I had the Grouper Cheek while my friends had the Pork Cheek and Persimmon Salad. Now, first let me remark that one of the things I loved about all of the dishes at Michael's was that if they were supposed to be a hot dish, they came hot and most likely fresh off of the line. I loved that. When I slightly burned my tongue on the first bite of grouper cheek, I was actually happy haha. The grouper cheek was awesome - nice crispy outside with a warm, moist inside. But the part of the dish that stole the show for me was the meyer lemon accompaniment. It was comprised of (what I believe are) little beads of pasta in a meyer lemon sauce and boy did that shock the taste buds! The persimmon salad was a very different yet tasty salad that all of us really enjoyed. I thought the variety of items in the salad was nice without overshadowing the taste of each bite of persimmon. The winner for round two though was definitely the pork cheek. Much like the grouper cheek, the pork cheek was nice and crispy, warm, and tender. And much like the grouper cheek, the sauce - in this case an incredible bbq sauce - stole the show. This is probably the best bbq sauce I have ever had and my friend said the same. I think they couldve brought out charcoal with this bbq sauce on it and we'd have devoured it toot sweet.

Now, normally Im not a desert person, but in this case we were on a high and almost reordered another pork cheek but instead opted for some deserts. Desert at Michael's is a tad pricey but well worth it. We opted to share the Pot de Creme and the Banana Split. Both were awesome. The banana split came with a nice chunk of peanut brittle and some dulce de leche on top that was a tad too sweet for my liking but when it mixed up with the rest of the dish it was tamed and tasty. My favorite was the Pot de Creme though. One cup of creamy goodness with a piece of baklava and a slice of candied tangerine on the side. The tangerine tasted incredible, especially when mixed up in a fat spoonful of the creme. Mmmm...

Still on a high from dinner and dessert, one of my friends went with an orange dessert wine and I asked the waiter if he drank grappa, and if so, if he could recommend one from the list. Oddly enough, his grandfather makes his own grappa in Romania! He suggested the Grappa Jacobo and although it was the most expensive on the menu, it really hit the spot.

The waiter fetched our check while we finished off our drinks. The bill came to $150 and we left 20% for tip, bringing the total to $180 or $60 each. Not bad at all! Also, considering we had 2 $9 desserts and 2 dessert beverages that came to $23 total I knew I could easily get out of there for less money next time since Im not really a dessert person. Thats and extra $41 right there.

Overall, my experience at Michael's Genuine definitely lived up to the hype. I must say that at first I was a little concerned with the size of the plates, that they wouldnt be large enough to satisfy our appetites, but in the end we all left very content in terms of "fullness" and very satisfied with the quality and the adventure our taste buds had just went on. Im looking forward to my next visit!