In my early 20s, one of my best friends decided to go vegan. She had been vegetarian for years, but this next step ended up being a struggle at parties. At many a barbecue, her only option was the green salad. If there was cheese on top, forget it. She…
“I may have gone a bit overboard,” I said as I arrived back at the table. I was carrying three massive plates of sandwiches and potatoes. Although, at 100 Montaditos, it’s not difficult to find yourself ordering an unreasonable amount of food. I knew a montadito was a small Spanish…
As a countdown to the Best Of Broward/Palm Beach 2012, coming in June, Clean Plate Charlie is serving up 100 of our favorite dishes in South Florida. Send your own nominations here. No. 28: Banh Mi From Basilic Vietnamese GrillNothing sums up Vietnamese food better than the banh mi. Here…
It’s Memorial Day weekend, the kids are restless, and you’ve singed your eyebrows off while attempting to start the backyard barbecue. We say get away from the open flames and let the food trucks handle your family’s hunger at these roundups.Saturday, May 26If your idea of a good time is…
There are only two things that San Diego has over South Florida. One is the surfing. The other is the fact that San Diego is the home of killer fish tacos. As in stuff-your-face-until-you-burst it’s-so-worth-the-six-hour-flight good. That’s why we’re welcoming the arrival of Tin Fish restaurant to Clematis Street in…
Happy Memorial Day weekend. Prepare to celebrate this three-day holiday with tons of barbecued and grilled meats and cold drinks. If you’re not into the DIY barbecue thing, there are — contrary to popular belief — places in South Florida where you can get some decent (or great) barbecue. In…
My mom remarried when I was a kid, and I was doing everything in my power to dislike her husband. The only problem: He was a great cook, and I was a food-lover. Those attributes are difficult to keep separate, especially when it comes to pasta carbonara. Pasta and bacon…
Picture it now. It’s a hot and humid. The sun is shining in the clear blue sky. The sounds of gently lapping waves roll in. The lingering aroma of lighter fluid, the forenote, atop the scent of burning charcoal. The grill is warming up. The barbecue is about to begin.With…
Chances are, you’ll be heading to a barbecue on Memorial Day, and unless the hosts are serious foodies, you will probably be served the same old Bubba Burgers and Hebrew National Hot Dogs that are standard at most American get-togethers. This year, take back the holiday and host your own…
La Barraca Tapas Bar & Cafe in downtown Hollywood often strays outside of the drinking-and-dining-only formula for restaurants. Its live flamenco shows on weekend nights are a big draw and tonight the restaurant will explore other forms of art with a cocktail hour held in honor of Venezuelan artist Carlos…
Cafe La Buca owner and chef Marco Spina is somewhat hesitant to talk about the news of his Pompano Beach restaurant’s expansion, with reason. The tiny, six-table restaurant already has more business than it can handle based on good reviews and word-of-mouth (check out the glowing review from New Times…
As a countdown to the Best Of Broward/Palm Beach 2012, coming in June, Clean Plate Charlie is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in South Florida. Send your own nominations here. No. 29: Oysters From G&B Oyster BarThere are several focal points in the beautiful-yet-minimalist design of the…
One of two lamb chops on my plate at Edge Steak & Bar was overcooked; it was supposed to be medium-rare but was served medium. A side order of haricots verts with mixed mushrooms was bland and made with too many crushed walnuts. Minor errors like those usually aren’t noteworthy…
If you missed last weekend’s Sunday Supper/Monday’s Leftovers pop-up at Chef Corp Cook’s Studio in Palm Beach Gardens, you missed some good food prepared by Roy Villacrusis and Lindsay Autry. Villacrusis told Clean Plate Charlie that the secret of the meals was teamwork and honest ingredients. “We had some great…
Those leprechauns are sure lucky fellows. With all those rainbows, pots of gold, and fun-to-impersonate Irish accents, who wouldn’t want to be one? However, you don’t have to be a leprechaun, or even Irish, for that matter, to check out the new Stout Irish Pub. On Andrews Avenue in Oakland Park,…
It’s not a requirement that you serve festive, thematically-appropriate cocktails at your Memorial Day bash this weekend, but in this Instagram- and Pinterest-obsessed culture of ours, giving your guests something more interesting to behold than a bottle of Corona may help give you the edge on all the other hosts…
It’s really no surprise that Florida restaurants fared so well in OpenTable’s listing of the top 100 restaurants for outdoor dining. We do, after all, have some of the best weather and the prettiest beaches in the U.S., not to mention some of the best dining. 30 Florida restaurants made…
There’s something about Krispy Kreme doughnuts that incites near riots at generally civilized offices, schools, and church groups. While many people treat their work friends to doughnuts (and we appreciate it, we do)… the mere sight of that green and white Krispy Kreme box is enough to set off a…
We’re counting down to New Times’ Best Of Broward/Palm Beach 2012 issue in June by serving up our top 100 favorite dishes. Click here for a full archive. If you have any nominations of your own, please add them to the comments or visit our Facebook page. 30. Freshly Baked…
OK — so the Dirty Dancing sequel, Havana Nights, didn’t measure up to the original awesome movie (even though Mad Men’s Roger Sterling was a pretty cool silver fox of a dad). We still love Havana Nights as a concept for throwing a really great party — and so does…
Fresh off the plane from his Colombia vacation, Chef Andres Marin is bringing some South American flair to his menu for this month’s Traveling Plate dinner on Wednesday at the Parker Playhouse. The Traveling Plate is a monthly dinner event hosted by the ARC Broward Culinary Institute featuring the kitchen…
Photo by Sara VentieraCurious pigs in one of the feeding pens on Palmetto Creek Farm.What am I getting myself into? I wondered to myself, as the main road disappeared into a long, oak-covered stretch of unpaved drive. A white cloud of dirt surrounded my love-bug-covered car. Finally, I saw a…
