Cheap Wine That Doesn’t Suck: Casa Lapostolle’s Merlot

This is one in a series of shameless plugs for New Times’ Pairings event this Thursday, but luckily this shameless plug includes alcohol. Namely it’s the Casa Lapostolle’s 2006 merlot, one of the wines that will be paired with food from about 30 restaurants at the event and one of…

Stealing from the Restaurant: Morton’s Medallions Al Forno

I never claimed to be an awesome cook. I’ve got two knock-em-dead recipes in my repertoire — meatloaf and chicken marsala — but otherwise it’s a crapshoot as to whether anything that comes out of my kitchen is even edible. But, alas, my new beau has wined and dined me…

Want Free Tickets to New Times Pairings?

In a cheap and totally transparent grab at a few more clicks on Clean Plate Charlie, we’re offering a pair of free tickets to the second-annual Pairings event taking place September 17. If you don’t know what Pairings is, click the link and fill your head with shame. Now that…

Doggie Bag: This Week in Charlie

Here’s what you missed this week on Clean Plate Charlie:Bill Citara highlighted one of our favorite cheap wines: Robert Mondavi Syrah.A brand new restaurant opened in downtown Hollywood, and Eric Barton wrote up a quick take on Satoro’s tapas plates.Love Bites this week takes on a Transylvanian restaurant in Hollywood.Charlie…

It’s Football Season, So Time for Full-Contact Chili

Meat isn’t always about the gourmet, you know. I mean, dry-aged prime steaks, grilled perfectly and served with a hearty beverage of your choice may be as close to a perfect way to spend some quality eating-time as I can think of, but it’s not the only way to achieve…

Weekend Blog Watch: Football Sundays Edition

Although Clean Plate Charlie is the only food blog you need to read every day, some people just can’t get enough. Since football season is officially underway, Clean Plate Charlie decided to pull out some tailgating related blog sites. Tailgating Ideas is all about… well ideas for tailgating, reviews of…

Ron Duprat’s Top Chef Recap, Episode Four

Welcome once again to the Ron Duprat Top Chef Las Vegas recap. If you’d like to catch up, read the first, second, and third recaps while we wait here. Back? Great! Here’s what the fourth episode had in store for Hollywood’s favorite cooking show reality contestant.This week’s episode was clearly…

First Bites: Italian Oven Café

Mall fast food is a pretty goddamned dismal mouthful, but this little joint in CityPlace has gotten enough foodie buzz for Charlie to put his intestinal tract on the line and check it out.  Italian Oven Café is the sole and way-slimmed-down survivor of the Pittsburgh-based Italian Oven chain that…

Side Dish: Saigon Cuisine

Saigon Cuisine has come a long way from its roots as a humble deli — no, not the knish and bagel kind. The kind that turns out banh mi: Vietnam’s take on the submarine sandwich that shoehorns a fluffy baguette full of roasted pork, pâté, pickled vegetables, and spicy jalapeños…

Stealing From the Restaurant: Canyon’s Stuffed Poblano

Find me someone who doesn’t like fried cheese and I’ll show you an awful, unpatriotic, humorless, demon spawn who shouldn’t be drawing breath. That or I’ll show you someone who is lactose-intolerant (just a step above humorless demon spawn, in case you’re keeping track). Lactose intolerance is no longer an…

Michelle Bernstein’s at the Omphoy First Impressions

Last weekend, perhaps Miami’s best-known restaurateur, Michelle Bernstein, made the trip up north to Palm Beach and debuted her new restaurant, MB at the Omphoy. From her days at Tantra and Azul to the opening of her flagship restaurant, Michy’s, in 2005, Bernstein has long captivated Miami with simple, elegant…

It’s (Shit)Hammer Time

The shithammer continues to fall on local restaurants.   At CityPlace, the revolving door keeps spinning with the departure of Bar Louie, a somewhat unwieldy blend of pub, sports bar, and midscale café with a menu that offered something for everyone but hardly anyone bothered to sample. That leaves the BL…

Order Up: Basilic Vietnamese Grill

Vietnamese is fun food. Playing with the various condiments available — fish sauce (nuoc cham), chili paste, soy, lemongrass and garlic spread, hoisin, sriracha, and more — requires a bit of lightheartedness coupled with a willingness to experiment. But the results are very exciting, especially at Basilic Vietnamese Grill, a…

Dish Deconstructed: Breakfast Burritos

Pictured: Scrambled egg breakfast burrito with pico de gallo.Pico de Gallo: Tomato. Onion. Jalapeno. Dice. Cilantro. Lime juice. Olive Oil. Salt. Pepper.Eggs: Milk. Butter. Wisk. Scramble.Plate: Flour tortilla. Refried beans. Sour Cream. Eggs. Cheddar Cheese. Pico de gallo. Enjoy…

Cheap Wine That Doesn’t Suck

The story of Robert Mondavi is as depressing as it is inspirational. Probably no single person did more to put California on the world wine map, not only as a vintner who produced wines that rivaled some of the best of Europe but as an evangelist of New World wines,…

Satoro Serves Affordable Tapas

If you’re not a subscriber to our weekly Café Bites dining newsletter for Broward and Palm Beach counties, here’s a taste of what you missed this week. Click here to subscribe. At a lot of tapas places, you can fill your table with pretty little plates only to wind up…

Doggie Bag: This Week in Charlie

Here’s what you missed this week on Charlie:Check it out: Brett Gillin delights in finding out what beverage bartenders hate to make, then masochistically tortures them by having them make it. Turns out, suffering tastes delightful.Local chef Ron Duprat barely escapes the boot on Top Chef Las Vegas. Next week:…

Weekend Blog Watch

Although Clean Plate Charlie is the only food blog you need to read every day, some people just can’t get enough. Here are some highlights of other food blogs.Fancy Fast Food takes everyday chain food and makes it beautiful to look at. No word if it can improve the taste,…

Bar-Room Blitz: SAS Martini Lounge

Walking into SAS Martini Lounge (formerly known as Sauer Apple Saloon), I thought asking a bartender to make their favorite drink would result in an exotic martini. I sat at the end of the bar and asked the bartender what her favorite drink to make was. Celiana (probably grossly misspelled)…