"Miami" news and stories

Tired of not being in the know?

Everyone knows that every night, somewhere, people are drinking for free. Various bars have promotions from liquor companies, nights when they want to pack the house, and special events that result in totally free drinks, and often free food, as well!

Whether you're visiting or a resident, visit My Open Bar for free drinks in:

• New York City
• Los Angeles
• San Francisco
• Chicago
• Honolulu
• Miami

My Open Bar lets you know what time, what's free, and where it is. All you have to do is show up! They even have mobile and RSS feeds.

Special thanks to my friend Brandon A. for the tip.

Source

No matter how you feel about El Barbudo (the bearded one), who resigned from the Cuban presidency today after nearly 50 years in power, you can probably agree with this: Cuban sandwiches are awesome.

Also known as the Cubano or medianoche, the sandwich is layered affair of ham, sliced roast pork, cheese pickles and mustard on sweet, submarine-like rolls. Cuban sandwiches were likely invented not in Havana, but by immigrants in South Florida, where many Cubans settled after the Revolution. They're basically a jazzed-up version of the ham and cheese sandwiches eaten by Cuban workers across the island for centuries.

These sandwiches can be served hot and gooey from a sandwich press (my fave), or cold like an ordinary sub. Try one of these for lunch with a mango batido (thin fruit milkshake) and dream of palm trees and vintage Cadillacs.

Source

We already rounded up the highlights of the food world from 2006 in a comprehensive a to z list and highlighted a couple of trends that we see coming up in 2007, but the Miami Herald has their own list of predictions for the top food trends of 2007. The list runs from A, for "Anti-aging products for boomers," to U, "Upscale salts" (v-z are left out) and highlights include:

• Downsized desserts -- small sizes appeal to health-conscious eaters, but also mean that people will be tempted to take more "bites" than they would o a single dessert, especially if the pastry chef goes for big, creative flavors in spite of the dessert's small size.
• Hamburgers and hot dogs go haute -- More chefs tackle these favorites, from Thomas Keller and Joe Bastianich (Mario Batali's partner) to Rachael Ray, who is rumored to be planning her own burger joint.
• Mad science meets fine dining -- Molecular gastronomy meets the mainstream, as more chefs gain access to the ideas and tools needed to create some of the unusual presentations made popular by Ferran Adria. Like foam.
• Salt backlash -- Contrasting with the trend for gourmet salts, food watchdogs looking for their next fight could move on to salt from trans fats in a matter of months.

Source

The 2006 Miami Book Fair is coming up in just a few short weeks and it is a great place to get up close and personal of hundreds of celebrated authors from around the world. Of course, we have a particular interest in the food writers and cookbook authors who will be there and after seeing the list of attendees, we were not disappointed. Food lovers will see:

• Wine writer Jay McInerney
• Jennifer Rubell, author of Real Life Entertaining
• Fit and fast food writer Linda Gassenheimer
• Caterer, cook and author Diane Goodman
• Havana Salsa author Viviana Carballo
• And the "it" chef/writer of the moment, Anthony Bourdain

Slashfood readers can expect to see the works of these authors, as well as several others, featured here leading up to the Fair. Others in attendance will be authors of the non-food persuasion and include Isabel Allende, Nora Ephron and Thomas Cahill.

On top of the opportunity to interact with the authors and attend wonderful seminars, there is also a huge street fair that goes along with the event, where visitors will find everything from books and art to food and drinks from around the world. Since it's Miami, expect to see lots of Cuban and Caribbean offerings.

The Book Fair will be Florida Center for the Literary Arts at Miami Dade College's Wolfson Campus from November 12 – 19, 2006.

Source

Today's Miami Herald features a story about what may soon be the peak of the mojito's popularity. The muddled mix of lime, mint, rum, sugar and soda was recently added to the menus at TGI Friday's and it'll soon show up in the new Miami Vice, the Herald reports. A huge marketing push from Bacardi is partially to thank. Sadly, another sign of the mojito's rise to stardom is the increase in pre-made mojito mixes. It seems to me that these sort of defeat the purpose of the drink, as the on-the-spot blending of its fresh ingredients are really what makes it so refreshing. Those of you already passing up mojitos for caipirinhas can give yourselves a pat on the back though, as the Herald reports that the similar Brazilian cocktail will be the next big thing. Somewhere, at a TGI Friday's, someone is probably ordering a mo-gee-to right now...