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.)

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

During the South Beach Food and Wine Festival a few weeks back, garrulous food entertainer Anthony Bourdain and enviable food writer Michael Ruhlman debuted the first annual Golden Clog Awards. Some of the awards — like “best achievement in offal” or “chef’s chef award” — were designed to recognize the duo’s favorite guys in the industry. But nobody cared because the other awards were juicy, inside-baseball slams of the biggest names in food.

One of the victims was GQ Food Critic Alan Richman, who won the coveted Douchebag Award “for the best example of twisted, repressed, or compromised “I’d rather be making lemon bundt cake with My Cat, Mr. Mufflesworth” journalist who actually HATES food and hates the people who make food even more.”

As if to prove the point, Richman penned a revenge review of Bourdain’s restaurant Les Halles. He hated it — perhaps rightly, most folks recognize that Les Halles is nothing to get excited about — and spent an inordinate number of words on Bourdain’s “Chef-At-Large” status at the restaurant. Bourdain doesn’t make any bones about the fact that he rarely works a line anymore (just check out the episode where he sweats through a night in the kitchen at Les halles with Eric Ripert), but Richman was gunning for Bourdain, no matter what. The thing is, Bourdain has a sense of humor about his distance from the kitchen and is largely unfazed by the attack. He told Grub Street: “It was like being mauled by Gumby. Afterwards, you’re not sure it even happened.”

Maybe Richman’s lobbying for back-to-back Douchebag awards. Way to hog the glory, dude.

Joey Redner (no relation), local beer columnist for the St. Pete Times, just hired a head brewer for his new craft brewery.

According to Beer Advocate, Wayne Wambles will be brewing Cigar City Brewing’s first batches of beer, slated to be released in September of this year. Wambles recently worked for Foothill’s Brewing in  North Carolina.  According to the press release, Wambles makes a mean  strong scotch ale and is a fan of Belgians, while Redner loves him some stout and porter, so look for those to be in Cigar City’s early line-up. If they can find some hops.

Since he’s a writer as much as a beer entrepeneur, Redner has a blog chronicling his path towards craft brew success. You may also want to check out last year’s CL Beer Issue for the rags to brews success story of Bob Sylvester and Saint Somewhere.

All Starbucks, every last one, will be closing tonight from 5:30-9 p.m. to “perfect the art of espresso”. Sure, that’s the reason.

USA Today reported yesterday that global warming could spell the end of the black French truffle industry. The big problem is drought; scientists predict that rainfall around the Mediterranean basin could drop by more than a quarter in the next couple of decades. For a fungus that relies on damp weather to grow, that’s devastating.

But the situation is not quite as bad as this article makes it out to be. When I interviewed Charles Lefevre — former president of the North American Truffling Society and truffle entrepreneur — a few months ago, he told a different story. Lefevre said that 80-90% of French truffles are grown on farms, where irrigation and modernization can stave off drought and other problems. He also noted the culture of mystery fostered by the truffle industry.

“Part of the story of truffles is that producers are very secretive of how and where they grow,” explained Lefevre. “They are also secretive about how much they harvest. Most farmers will say they don’t harvest any.” With prices at record levels, some farmers may be boo-hooing for effect.

In any case, problems in the French truffle industry open up opportunities for US truffle production, especially for the new wave of truffle cultivators mentioned in my article. Although prices will likely stay at the extortionist levels reached this past year, hopefully other nations cultivating this black gold will up the quality and provide another option for people who need a little luxury in their lives.

This flew under the radar last week, but Dave at Eating Tampa snagged it.

The James Beard Foundation sent out ballots for its annual chef and restaurant awards to the judging committee, and New York Magazine leaked the list. Here’s the shocker: Tampa has a couple of names on the list. And they’re related. Guess who?

Jeannie Pierola is up for Best Chef in the South Region, with a lot of stiff competition from the Miami area and someone, egads!, from Punta Gorda. Bern’s is up for the national Outstanding Restaurant award, a category filled with restaurants just as staid and tired as our local favorite. I wonder if Jeannie’s departure from the old brothel will help or hurt either of their chances? It’s probably bad news for Bern’s, and good news for Jeannie.

Let’s place bets: I’ll give Bern’s 2000 to 1 against and Jeannie 70 to 1 against victory.
Here are my predictions: Michael Schwartz of Michael’s Genuine takes the South chef award and Magnolia Grill in NC takes Outstanding Restaurant. New Yorkers love that Southern food.

Winners will be announced in June.

I’ve been pounding on this muscle-bound mook ever since he announced the name of his “future” restaurant in St. Petersburg. Something about his unrelenting tight-assed demeanor, pseudo-military appearance, pointy head, bad teeth and, well, let’s face it, the fact that he works for the Food Network really rubs me the wrong way. Or it might be the name of the restaurants. Ooze and Schmooze? For fuck’s sake.

I blasted the name (here and here), I questioned whether the restaurant would ever be built, I did everything but launch a full-fledged investigation into Robert Irvine’s character as a businessman. That’s why we have the St. Pete Times.

According to an article in the Times on Sunday, Irvine owes a bunch of people money, lied or exaggerated repeatedly in person, on his Food Network resume and in his book Mission: Cook!, and is sort of little and sad when cornered. And he impersonated a knight, which means the queen will be sending some beefeaters after Irvine’s hide when she gets around to it.

Maybe I should feel bad for him, but why waste the glorious schadenfreude! And with Ooze and Schmooze still in the works, we might have Robert Irvine to kick around for months or years to come.

Gordon Davis — one of the “creators” of SoHo and a pioneer of Tampa’s restaurant scene– is out at Ceviche. According to Andrew Wilkins (one of Ceviche’s manager/partners) the Canadian investment group that Davis brought in last year to help fund Ceviche’s big expansion into Orlando and Sarasota bought Davis out three weeks ago.

“That was always the plan,” said Davis from his second home in Colorado. “We’ve been working on that for a long time, I just didn’t know how soon it would happen.” According to Davis, he’ll be involved with Ceviche as a consultant for the next three years.

Davis is not leaving the Bay area restaurant scene entirely, however. Separate from the Ceviche sale is a barbecue joint on Platt Street he’s been trying to open for the past two years, long-delayed by permitting and change of use problems. “It looks like we’re probably four weeks away from opening,” he said. He’ll return to Tampa this week to gear up for Platt Street Smokehouse’s debut.

Meanwhile, Ceviche is continuing to grow. Last week, the restaurant moved it’s Tampa restaurant into Davis’ old St. Bart’s spot on South Howard, after getting into a conflict with the condominium that housed the former location. The mammoth, 29,000 square foot Orlando Ceviche that opened last September in the venerable Church Street Station entertainment complex has been hampered by nearby construction that closed roads leading to the restaurant. A brand new Ceviche outpost will open in the next two weeks in an historic building in Sarasota.

I think Davis is glad to be out of the fray. “I love the Ceviche project,” he said, “but [my wife and I] are still healthy and we’d like to retire while we can still do some high adventure.” He plans to spend a lot more time in Colorado.

I was outed this week at a restaurant, thanks to a server that I worked with down in Sarasota way back in the day. She pegged me from the get go and I decided to stick out the meal and feed the restaurant some rope. You can read about the results a week from Wednesday.

I do go to some minor extremes to maintain anonymity when reviewing places: I usually use an alias credit card, I call on other people’s phones when making reservations and, of course, I don’t make the ressies in my name. There have been a few times when I thought the restaurant might suspect, usually because of questions I ask, but it’s usually after the fact. I did run into some trouble last week, however.

I paid with a new alias card which, apparently, I had forgotten to sign. Who checks that, anyway? This server did and asked for ID. Mind whirring, I decided to go ballsy and said “I don’t have it with me,” although my wallet sitting on the tabletop gave lie to that statement. When he asked me for something, anything that might confirm my identity, I just stared him down and said “Nope, nothing.”

Thankfully, he was unwilling to force the issue and just shrugged and handed the card and receipt over. Phew.