Eat My Florida

Recently, Todd English (celeb chef and owner of about 1 metric bazillion restaurants) called Peruvian cuisine “the next big thing.” Bon Appetit’s new food blog quickly weighed in, declaring it a trend that needs an ambassador, and pointing to Peruvian celeb chef Gaston Acurio as — possibly — the face that could launch a thousand tiraditos.

I hate to say I told you so, but Sarasota chef Darwin Santa Maria of oft-lauded Selva Grill made the same prediction about Peruvian food almost a year ago. Sarasota is home to no less than four decent Peruvian joints. Only question is: what about the Bay area? Know any great places to grab some ceviche, causa and sauces laced with glorious aji pepper?

(Thanks to Grub Street.)

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Read over on Serious Eats that Starbucks will introduce a new line of “Vivannos” starting tomorrow. Don’t know what a Vivanno is? Time to add a word to your Starbucks lexicon of pseudo-Mediterranean new-speak: Vivanno = smoothie.

After years of not trying, those Seattle-ish coffee merchants are really scrambling, aren’t they? Heck, I’m all for it. Anything beats that left-in-the-oven-for-days flavor of the corporate giant’s burnt coffee.

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Thanks to reader Erica comes news of this local “natural” wonder from Tate Brothers Pizza on Davis Island. No word yet if it will be included in alongside modern monuments like the Eiffel Tower or the Golden Gate Bridge, but we’ll see. Better yet, you can own it for approximately pocket change.

Best part of the description -

“This continent is flavored with a mild wing sauce and has been frozen in carbonite to protect its value.”

Second best part -

“We DO NOT Reccomend eating this. It’s for display purposes only.”

Yeah, I don’t recommend eating these things even when they aren’t shaped like Africa and shipped cross-country.

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This can only make the King Of Beers better, I imagine.

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I’ve waxed mildly poetic about Tampa’s raw/vegan restaurant Grass Roots (the miso soup is worth a visit all by itself). I was less enthusiastic about Veggie Magic, a Sarasota raw food shop involving raw ambassador and amateur filmmaker Jenna Norwood. Hey, I support amping up everyone’s consumption of raw fruits and veggies, but on the whole I find this particular dietary fetish — no food cooked over 105-115 degrees, no flesh, no dairy — to be philosophically and scientifically flawed. More importantly, most of the “cuisine” created by raw chefs runs the gamut from blah to blecch.

That’s not stopping raw food impressario and culinary hottie Matthew Kenney from transplanting himself from progressive New York City to the most dreadful city in Florida. Yep, he’s opening a raw restaurant in Orlando called Cafe 118 (referring to the max temperature it’s food will reach). The place isn’t open yet, but the website already features a link for anyone interested in franchise opportunities. Before you jump on the burgeoning raw food bandwagon and start shelling out your uncooked dough, be forewarned that one of the reasons Kenney may be expanding out of his home base in NYC involves litigation and bankruptcy relating to some of his previous businesses. Whatever, Florida is all about second chances, right?

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Local blogger TampaIAm visited Smoke (901 Platt Street, Tampa, 813-254-7070), the brand new barbecue joint on opened by Gordon Davis. From his report, it sounds promising.

Now that South Tampa icon Davis has been bought out at Ceviche, this humble barbecue joint is your only opportunity to get a bite of his vision. Thanks to permitting issues (which caused this rant about the City of Tampa), it took Davis about 2 years to open the doors on this converted gas station. Expect a wide variety of que styles, including some Hawaiian styles that make my mouth water.

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In a move towards increasing rents and building more green houses and red hotels, Parkshore Grill (300 Beach Dr.) owner Steve Westphal has just signed a lease at the (almost) location of Robert Irvine’s Ooze and Schmooze (400 Beach Dr.). He and Parkshore chef Tyson Grant plan on opening a restaurant, opting more for the bland 400 Beach than the grotesque moniker created by liar, liar Irvine.

“If only we could manage to land at 500 Beach,” explained Westphal, “we’d have all the green properties and could start charging an arm and a leg to anyone who happens to stop on one of our squares.” Westphal is in a tight race with Craig Chapman and Zack Gross to collect the most money from diners, free parking and beauty contest entries in downtown St. Pete, while avoiding the dreaded curse of jail.

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If you remember, DeSanto Latin American Bistro was reviewed negatively by both me and Laura over at the Times after they opened, so owner Doug Illman made the surprisingly smart move of closing the restaurant and hiring local super-chef Jeannie Pierola to come in and re-do the menu and train the staff to improve quality. Early returns I received from friends and readers were overwhelmingly positive. Not surprising, considering Jeannie’s talents and Latin food skills.

But wait. This weekend I received an email from a reader who has been frequenting DeSanto of late. Here’s what he said:
“Ate at DeSanto last night, my 3^rd meal there since JP’s arrival, blown away the first 2 times, last night – Awful. I asked what was up, they told me Jeannie was gone. Sounded like it happened all-of-a-sudden. Perhaps the owners couldn’t stand the heat (expensive ingredients) in the kitchen?”

I called over to the restaurant and they confirmed that Jeannie was gone from day-to-day operations, although she’s still consulting. That’s a bit sooner than the three months she was originally scheduled for, but the manager indicated that “she’s got a lot of her own things going on right now.” Maybe her own project is ramping up. Early rumors had her negotiating for space at downtown Tampa’s Skypoint, but that hasn’t been confirmed, and Jeannie’s been tight-lipped about it.

As for DeSanto, we’ll see if that one reader’s experience was an aberration or a sign of things to come. I’ll be checking it out soon.

Anyone else have a similar experience at DeSanto in the past week? Or any gossip about Jeannie’s new project? Inquiring minds want to know.

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Which do you want first, the good news or the bad news? Bad news? I thought so.

Tedesco’s Grillside on Central Ave. in downtown St. Pete has shuttered it’s doors. Rumor has that there is paper covering the windows and the phones are already disconnected. I haven’t been able to reach anyone for comment, but I’d really like to know who the next owners will be and what former chef Daniel Womack is up to, if he’s out of a job. Anyone? Fill me in?

Now, the good news: The Table, one of my favorite restaurants in Sarasota (winner of CL’s Best Restaurant of the Suncoast in 2006), is finally opening it’s second location, right down the street from the defunct Tedesco’s. Chef/owners Rafael Manzano and Pedro Flores will be peddling the same incredible Carribbean/Latin/Med fusion that I’ve grown to love down south, along with a mojito-heavy lounge area. And, since there are two of them, they can split their attention and still keep the quality up.

The Table will have a soft opening tomorrow night, then regular seating beginning Thursday, or Friday at the latest. 727-823-3700, 535 Central Ave, St. Petersburg

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A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the James Beard Awards’ leaked ballot, which featured doth Bern’s and Jeannie Pierola on the short list for a couple awards. Well, ballots must be in because that short list has become even shorter, and guess who’s been left out of the finals?

Bern’s, which was up for Outstanding Restaurant, fell to the likes of restaurants in SF and NY (surprise), and local chef-at-large Jeannie Pierola was dropped from the Best Chef: South category in favor of a few mooks from the Miami area. The Beard Awards are often described as the Oscars for food and, like the Oscars, nobody ever votes for restaurants and chefs they know nothing about. More importantly, the judges must only vote for food they’ve actually eaten. No surprise, Tampa isn’t a prime destination for a lot of those folks.

It was just an honor to be nominated, I guess. Or pre-nominated.

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Downtown St. Pete’s Cafe Alma, which opened in 2002 and quickly became a popular spot known for a kick-ass bloody mary brunch, has been sold! Original owners Dwight and Catherine Watkins have decided to pursue other ventures, with new owners Scott Vogel and Tony Harahan taking over immediately.

Dan Soronen and Sarah Potter (that’s them in the pic), who opened the Old Northeast Tavern (which I’ll be profiling in next week’s issue of CL) in 2006, will also be moving on. They built the place into a one-of a kind local joint, smack dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood, the kind of pub that’s more community living room than bar/restaurant. They didn’t really want to sell, but needed to help out ailing parents up North. Soronen told me that he and Potter are thinking about getting back into the business, perhaps later this year with a place on Coquina Key.

New owners Mark Brindle and Bob Wareham (he used to own Sea Critters on St. Pete Beach) promise no serious changes when they take over April 1st.

“We bought it because it’s working,” Wareham says. “We’ve got a good thing going here.” I think the neighbors will be happy to hear that.

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Over the last couple of years Norman Van Aiken — Florida’s only celebrity chef and creator of real Florribean cuisine — closed his eponymous restaurants in both Coral Gables and Los Angeles. When he shuttered his place down near Miami in June of last year, he said that he’d be spending time in the Keys on a new place at the Beachside Resort, as well as his joint at the Ritz in Orlando. Looks like he’s been booted by the powers that be at Beachside:

Tavern N Town, the restaurant at Key West’s Beachside Resort & Conference Center, which opened October 2007, has been repositioned, according to Beachside developer Robert Spottswood. The concept has been changed, and James Beard Award winning chef Norman Van Aken is no longer at the helm.

“I have the utmost respect and admiration for Norman; however, his creative vision doesn’t coincide with what we feel Beachside Resort needs at this time. Our parting is amicable, and Norman is remaining on as a consulting corporate chef for Spottswood Hotels. In that position, he will be exploring our participation in high end food and wine events and other culinary projects we have slated for the Florida Keys,” Spottswood said.

“We’ve created a simple steak and fish house menu for Beachside that adheres to the high standards of quality that Van Aken instilled in the project. The new menu at Tavern N Town focuses on wood-grilled local fish, prime steaks, poultry and savory daily specials, along with steakhouse-style side dishes and a menu of small plates, served in a beautiful but laid back atmosphere,” according to Spottswood.

Van Aken continues to oversee his acclaimed restaurant, Norman’s at the Ritz-Carlton, Orlando, while also conducting culinary demos and seminars across the country, finalizing his memoir, and launching his own line of signature cookware on QVC.

Both of his cookbooks are out of print and he seems to be on the downward spiral of success, despite his appearance as guest judge on last season’s Top Chef. Still, the man’s too young to be closing up his life in anticipation of his memoirs, and that QVC deal doesn’t sound like it’ll be very fulfilling. I’ve been to Norman’s at the Ritz and it was spectacular. We can’t lose Norman Van Aiken. Help us Norman, you’re Florida’s only hope!

Maybe somebody should call him up and introduce him to the fine waterfront restaurant location abandoned by Robert Irvine.

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