The calamari and escarole soup has made its return to the menu.

​
Earlier this week, Melissa McCart reported on the seasonal revamp at D'Angelo in Fort Lauderdale. While it's hard for those of us who live in South Florida to chart it at times, yes, indeed the seasons are shifting. Many restaurants will take it as an opportunity to shake things up a bit with their offerings. In the case of D'Angelo, this was less about subtraction and more about addition. They've introduced a few new items -- a build-your-own charcuterie board, for one -- and added a few items that were previously available but only as "off-menu" orders.   More >>

Sean Iglehart prepares a cocktail at Sweetwater.

More >>

jumponmarkslist.com

​The outside of Dapur is smoker-friendly. Retro-chrome and vinyl bar tables frame one side of the entrance, a fountain with greenery on the other. Papery chandeliers light the mood: all this before a diner even opens the door. More >>

​Change is afoot at M Bar on Las Olas Boulevard -- already.
M bar, which opened just over a month ago as a sibling to longtime Las Olas staple Mancini's, began serving lunch yesterday.

But that's not the big news.

More notably, the brother/sister team of chefs --
More >>

Nicole Danna

​Do you love wine but don't know enough about it?More >>

Quinn Popcorn

​When Coulter and Kristy Lewis decided to start their own business making a new kind of microwave popcorn, they had no idea it would take just a few weeks to raise enough money to get their idea off the ground. Turns out, all they needed was a kickstart. More >>

​Cook, restaurateur, cookbook author, businessman, buddy to the stars. . . now Steve Martorano has one more title to add to his resume: cooking teacher. 

In a series of nine videos entitled Yo Cuz: The Italian-American Cook, Martorano mixes a bit of Oprah-esque self-esteem building with his patented South Philly tough guy with toque persona--you gotta problem wit dat?--and unleashes it on the dishes he grew up eating and has since parlayed into a mini-empire of three restaurants, a cookbook, a line of pasta sauces and multiple media appearances. 

The first lesson, which premiered on his website yesterday, is making your own mozzarella, or "mootzerella" in Philly-ese. It's well-shot and easy to follow, though it does leave out the hardest part--making the curds that eventually Martorano brings together to make the cheese. Drizzled with a little good olive oil, the end result looks. . . well, good enough to eat. And add it to chicken or veal Parmigiana?  

"Fuggetaboutit!" 

More >>

Chrissy Benoit, owner of Havana Hideout and the Production Kitchen.

More >>

Bar Italia in Lantana

​This should be interesting: Mark Militello, chef/restaurateur and, most recently, consultant, announced he's now a partner in the former Apicius Ristorante in Lantana -- now called Bar Italia. Apicius' former bigwig, Leo Balestrieri, is also involved in the restaurant.

"I'll be there full time starting Monday," Militello said. He's working on the menu and will be executive chef, he said in a phone call today.


More >>

Broward Truck

Food truck - ready to roll!

​Wanted: Person or persons with food-service experience, drive, and ambition to purchase their own food truck.

For the past year, food-truck mania has hit South Florida. What started as a small blip on the food radar of South Florida this past summer has hit critical mass.

More than 40 food trucks are currently rolling in South Florida (mostly in Miami), and at least one new food truck debuts each week. Food-truck roundups can get as many as 10,000 patrons during the course of one night.

With those numbers and the fact that a food truck is easier to purchase than a "brick and mortar" restaurant these days, food trucks are a trend that doesn't seem in the least bit ready to die off.

More >>