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4 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

52<br />

66<br />

76<br />

ON THE COVER:<br />

Ralph Lauren classic camel high<br />

neck sweater and full leg camel<br />

trouser, available at Bloomingdale’s,<br />

Aventura Mall; Michael Kors classic<br />

camel fur vest, available at Saks<br />

Fifth Avenue, Bal Harbour Shops;<br />

Gold fringe necklace, available at<br />

Macy’s, Aventura Mall.<br />

Cover Photo by: Gio Alma<br />

Model: Emilia Jarvela • Mega Models<br />

ConTEnTS<br />

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2010<br />

72<br />

FEATURES<br />

52 CASIno CHIC:<br />

BET on GREAT<br />

FALL FASHIon<br />

66 CLASS ACT<br />

Fun ways to learn in and out<br />

of the classroom.<br />

72 BEST nIGHTS<br />

FoR BEST DEALS<br />

Drink & eat spots light on the<br />

wallet -- help to put happy in<br />

happy hour.<br />

by Elizabeth Newman<br />

76 REALITY CHECK<br />

Miami’s top chefs.<br />

by Vanessa Garcia


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Private Elevator entry to over<br />

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Denise Rubin is the winner of 22 “BEST” awards from the Builder’s<br />

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A dream home. $750,000


12 Crave<br />

Info on What’s Hot, What’s New &<br />

What’s Worth Knowing About<br />

20 People of Interest<br />

Interviews & Profiles of<br />

People Worth Knowing<br />

Poseidon of the Tropics:<br />

Bill Read 20<br />

by Vanessa Garcia<br />

Listen Up:<br />

Dan LeBatard 22<br />

by Stacy Scott<br />

24 off The Field<br />

Updates & Info On South Florida Sports<br />

2010/2011 Season Preview:<br />

Miami Dolphins<br />

by Andy Kent<br />

28 Ticket Please<br />

Details On Trips & Traveling<br />

Europe of The South: Curaçao<br />

by Jennifer Aranoff<br />

32 Local Flair<br />

An Area Worth Visiting<br />

All About Mary:<br />

A Fun Place To Live & Play<br />

by Marlene Sholod<br />

6 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

28<br />

88<br />

24<br />

DEPARTMEnTS<br />

34 F Y I<br />

Information For You<br />

Make Your Claim: Working With<br />

Your Insurance Company<br />

36 Feel Good<br />

A Look At What’s New and<br />

What To Know in Health,<br />

Beauty & Wellness<br />

What the Pros Know 39<br />

Answers to your health,<br />

beauty & wellness questions<br />

Beauty of The Season 40<br />

Uncover the Newest Trends<br />

& Products<br />

Beauty Goes High Tech<br />

by Courtney Markofsky<br />

50 Perimeter<br />

Info On Design & Décor<br />

Shanghai Surprise:<br />

A Chinese City Shares Miami<br />

Beach’s Art Deco Heritage<br />

by Marlene Sholod<br />

CORRECTION:<br />

In the June/July issue<br />

the cover model and agency<br />

were misidentified.<br />

The model on the cover is<br />

Fernanda Uesler • 301 Models<br />

301models.com<br />

ConTEnTS<br />

AUGUST / SEPTEMBER 2010<br />

75 At The Table<br />

Hot Plate 78<br />

What’s New & Newsworthy<br />

On The Food Scene<br />

Lunch Counters:<br />

A Taste Of History<br />

by Rebecca Kleinman<br />

Room Service 82<br />

Fine Dining Hotel Style<br />

by Jennifer Aranoff<br />

off the Menu 86<br />

Get Your Fixe<br />

by Vanessa Garcia<br />

Toque Talk 88<br />

Get To Know A Local Chef<br />

Barton G: Party Extraordinaire<br />

by Marlene Sholod<br />

Restaurant Listings 90<br />

on THE WATERFRonT<br />

96 Wishlist<br />

The Ultimate Item<br />

To Crave & Covet<br />

Membership definitely<br />

has its privileges<br />

In EVERY ISSUE<br />

8 Letter from the<br />

Editor-in-Chief<br />

42 Wish You Were Here<br />

Parties, Events & Festivities<br />

94 Mark The Date<br />

Highlights Of Events<br />

Not To Be Missed<br />

95 Fine Print<br />

In this Issue Details & Ad Index<br />

We crave to make every issue of Cravings<br />

SOuTH FlORida magazine a must read.<br />

We want to hear from you. Please send your<br />

comments, opinions and ideas to us. Feel free<br />

to contact the editor, Sara Fiedelholtz, at<br />

sara@cravingssouthflorida.com


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LETTER FROM THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF<br />

Photo by Joanna Gazzaneo<br />

Education of<br />

the Masses<br />

Warm temperatures, extended<br />

vacations, baseball, and barbecues<br />

tend to sway the masses to believe<br />

summer is their favorite time of year. Not I. I look<br />

forward to the end of summer and getting the kids<br />

back to school. It is why the August/September<br />

back-to-school issue of Cravings is dear to me.<br />

Unfortunately for teachers back-to-school means<br />

being grossly under-compensated for the amount<br />

of aggravation they endure.<br />

If only it were that simple. Teachers receive<br />

babysitter-type wages; and despite this, they are<br />

expected to educate and perform miracles. Sure,<br />

there are all sorts of contentions over education<br />

reform and the idea of paying for performance.<br />

We all know that there are very good teachers,<br />

but there are also very bad teachers. Yes, change<br />

needs to happen. But, as we have learned from our<br />

current Washington administration change strictly<br />

for the sake of change is not always good.<br />

I will admit, I hold a bias in favor of teachers. My<br />

mother was a teacher. My mother-in-law was a<br />

teacher, and her mother was a principal. However,<br />

I have to admit, that eventhough my mother was<br />

a great teacher; I was not a great student. By the<br />

8 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

fourth grade, I had managed to get into more than<br />

my fair share of trouble. I was caught climbing out<br />

of the window of a classroom onto the roof of an<br />

adjacent building. I was caught breaking into the<br />

school. On a field trip, I was caught throwing paper<br />

airplanes from the balcony of the Field Museum<br />

-- one of the planes got lodged in the bones of a<br />

dinosaur fossil.<br />

Aside from these extracurricular activities, I<br />

was not exactly a teacher’s favorite. I often<br />

tortured teachers with my misbehavior and lack<br />

of classroom etiquette. And teachers were not<br />

exactly my favorite people. At the teachers' union<br />

my mugshot is included in an FBI 10 Most Wanted<br />

poster hanging on the wall. You may ask, how I<br />

became such an advocate for the arch nemeses of<br />

my youth.<br />

My days as a student were many years behind<br />

me, but my years as a parent (at the time) only<br />

numbered 11. Like most parents of the modern<br />

era, my child could do no wrong. While my son<br />

was a good student, should there be a problem<br />

at school, it was surely the teacher’s fault. The<br />

teachers and I had an unspoken truce. I wouldn’t<br />

bother them, if they didn’t bother me. The truce<br />

came to an end when they crossed the line. I was<br />

asked by my son’s school to teach a weekly class<br />

for Junior Achievement. At first, I thought this<br />

was some kind of mistake. Didn’t these people<br />

know about my history as a student? Weren’t they<br />

aware of the Most Wanted poster? Don’t they do<br />

background checks?<br />

I was made to feel guilty if I didn’t sign up. So with<br />

another dad who had connections with Junior<br />

Achievement I agreed. I then received a short speech<br />

about what to do, a small plastic brief case with<br />

materials, and what seemed to me as an insincere<br />

wish of good luck. Then it was off to the trenches.<br />

Like most new recruits, I knew immediately that I<br />

was no match for the enemy. Before my first class, I<br />

studied the course outline, wrote out a lesson plan,<br />

and prepared my materials. Despite knowing the<br />

subject matter, business, I was extremely nervous.<br />

But why? I know business. I have a degree in finance<br />

and run my own business. Yet, I knew the enemy<br />

even better. I used to be one. I knew that all it took<br />

was one smart aleck in the back of the room and the<br />

whole class would be up for grabs.<br />

/Cravings-of-South-florida-magazine<br />

/cravingssouthfl<br />

My battle strategy was to use the always successful<br />

technique… bribery. And with Krispy Kremes in<br />

hand I would subdue the enemy.<br />

But as they say “the best laid plans…” due to the<br />

sugar rush caused by my battle strategy, my first<br />

class was a disaster. Fueled by a sugar high, the<br />

enemy became a pack of lions and I was their kill.<br />

Girls were talking, paper wads were flying, and<br />

nobody was paying attention to my frantic pleas<br />

for order.<br />

Somehow, despite my odds, I did manage to get<br />

through half of the material and then mercifully<br />

the bell rang. My son, who happened to be in the<br />

class, just shook his head in shame as he exited<br />

the classroom. I left the classroom dishevled and<br />

drenched with sweat. Teaching this class was<br />

one of the most mentally draining and physically<br />

exhausting hours of my life.<br />

Badly in need of rest, I returned to my office. My<br />

throat was sore from the endless screaming. Every<br />

bone in my body ached. There was no question<br />

that I was getting paid back tenfold for all of the<br />

teachers I tormented.<br />

Never again would I disparage a teacher. From that<br />

day on I had nothing but ultimate esteem for this<br />

noble profession. I did eventually get the hang of<br />

teaching and was able to gain control of the class<br />

-- with a little additional manpower, a.k.a. the<br />

school’s vice principal. There is absolutely no doubt<br />

that teaching is a much tougher profession than<br />

you could possibly ever imagine.<br />

So, with this back-to-school issue, I would like to<br />

honor our nation’s teachers and to wish them safe<br />

passage as they return to the classroom and continue<br />

the never ending fight we refer to as "education."<br />

andrew Stern<br />

Editor-in-Chief<br />

If you have a BaCK To SChooL experIenCe,<br />

you wouLd LIKe To Share, emaIL<br />

info@cravingssouthflorida.com<br />

or poST IT on our BLog<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com/magazine


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10 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

President / Editor-in-Chief:<br />

Andrew Stern<br />

Publisher:<br />

Benji Dayan<br />

Associate Publisher / Managing Director<br />

Todd A. Guthrie<br />

Editor:<br />

Sara Fiedelholtz<br />

art director/Photo Editor:<br />

Joanna Gazzaneo<br />

Contributing Writers:<br />

Jennifer Aranoff, Vanessa Garcia, Andy Kent, Rebecca Kleinman<br />

Elizabeth Newman, Stacy Scott, Marlene Sholod<br />

Fashion Photographer:<br />

Gio Alma<br />

Contributing Photographers:<br />

Irwin Cadenas, Lukas Seadi<br />

Editorial interns:<br />

Laurie Charles, Michael Fern<br />

director of Customer Relations:<br />

Michael Press<br />

Senior advertising Executives:<br />

Courtney Markofsky<br />

advertising account Executives:<br />

Nayeli Jaramillo, Aleks Krasner<br />

Circulation & distribution:<br />

Baron Express Inc.<br />

baronexpressinc@yahoo.com<br />

Printed by<br />

Angstrom Graphics<br />

© 2010 Cravings SOuTH FlORida is published six times per year. Periodicals postage paid<br />

at Aventura, FL and additional mailing offices. All rights reserved. The entire content of<br />

Cravings SOuTH FlORida may not be reproduced without the express written consent of<br />

the publisher. Cravings SOuTH FlORida accepts no responsibility for the return of unsolicited<br />

manuscripts and/or photographs and assumes no liability for products and services<br />

advertised herein. Cravings SOuTH FlORida reserves the right to edit, rewrite or refuse material.<br />

Postmaster: Send address changes to Cravings SOuTH FlORida magazine, 2999 NE 191 st Street,<br />

Suite 608A, Aventura, FL 33180.<br />

www.cravingssouthflorida.com<br />

/Cravings-of-South-Florida-Magazine /cravingssouthfl<br />

(305) 749.0340


CRAVE<br />

a look at what's hot, what's new<br />

& what's worth knowing about<br />

SO MUCH TO SAY<br />

They may be temporary but they can create a lasting impression.<br />

Think of them as personal (very personal) greeting cards.<br />

Ta•ta•toos are temporary tattoos worn on your “ta•tas” to relay<br />

a sentiment in an intimate way. The messages go from the nice<br />

“Happy Birthday” to the more risqué “Special Delivery” and “I’m<br />

Yours Be Mine.” It will never feel so good to get something off<br />

your chest. Ta•ta•toos are $9.95 per message and are available at<br />

gBS, The Beauty Store and ta-ta-toos.com<br />

12 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

CHIC CHILDREN<br />

Gone are the days when a dollhouse or a Justin<br />

Timberlake poster were the coveted girl’s bedroom<br />

decor. Nowadays, even the under 12 set want more style<br />

in their space. lucky for parents, Wink, an online store<br />

with the keenest of kid appealing decor, has opened a<br />

retail boutique. Offering a variety of unique children's<br />

and tween furniture and accessories, Wink specializes<br />

in one-of-a-kind design that your savvy spawn will<br />

flip over. wink located at 2570 ne miami gardens drive,<br />

305.793.0180, givewink.com<br />

SPECIALTY DRINK<br />

Sometimes you want something cool but you don’t want ice cream.<br />

Now you can quench your thirst with bubble tea. Originally developed<br />

in China as a children’s drink it is a mixture of green tea, fruit flavor<br />

and tapioca pearls at the bottom of the glass. at Bubbles ‘n Ice the<br />

hardest thing to decide is which fruit flavor to add. in the mood for<br />

something cool and light, try one of the 60 homemade fruit flavored<br />

italian-ice. The flavors range from pineapple and coconut to apple pie,<br />

peanut butter and jelly and pink lemonade.<br />

Bubble ‘n Ice is located at 3061 ne 163 rd Street, north miami Beach,<br />

305.940.5001, bubblesnice.com


2010 CONCERTS<br />

Sean “Diddy” Combs<br />

JULY 24<br />

AFTER A FIREWORKS SPECTACULAR!<br />

TICKETS START AT $12<br />

VS<br />

7:10 PM<br />

Marlins Rally Drum<br />

First 15,000 Fans courtesy of


CRAVE<br />

ARTS & CRAFT<br />

Master carpenter Michael Simon<br />

wanted to apply an artistic approach to<br />

his love of form. The result – sculpture<br />

furniture. With an understanding<br />

that function must dictate design,<br />

Simon has produced a series of chairs,<br />

couches, chaise and table-seats in a<br />

variety of materials including concrete,<br />

twigs and stainless steel mesh.<br />

But knowing Simon’s emphasis on<br />

practicality and importance of use, be<br />

rest assured that these artistic pieces<br />

are all comfortable places to park your<br />

behind. Commissioned pieces start<br />

at $500. for more information visit<br />

MichaelSimonSculptureFurniture.com<br />

PIZZA PLEASER<br />

Craving for a bit more than a traditional slice, then head to the recently opened<br />

American Pie Pizzeria located in The Village at Gulfstream and order up one<br />

of its new specialty pizzas ($18.95). The offering includes one for meat lovers,<br />

another for vegetarians and a pie for those who can never get enough cheese.<br />

if you want to try something different, take a bite of the Hawaiian pizza made<br />

with fresh chunks of pineapple, honey glazed ham smothered in mozzarella<br />

and pecorino romano cheese. american pie pizzeria is located in The village at<br />

gulfstream park, 801 Silks run, hallandale, 954.454.5205<br />

14 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

© Joanna Gazzaneo<br />

Sandra<br />

Solch<br />

FASHION THERAPY<br />

it is always tough to know what looks good on you, what to keep and<br />

what to toss and how to put outfits together with what is in your<br />

closet. There is no need to dread getting dressed. Fashion therapist<br />

Sandra Solch is ready to step in to help you develop your perfect<br />

wardrobe. Sessions with the Fashion Therapist (yourfashiontherapist.<br />

com) begin at $100 per hour with a two-hour minimum required. Here<br />

are some of the therapists quick tips for approaching the trends for<br />

fall based on your body type.<br />

FALL FASHION TREND BODY TYPE IT IS GOOD FOR<br />

• Fitted jackets with skinny pants All Body Types<br />

• Tights are still very much present and All Body Types<br />

are topped with satin, chiffon and<br />

brocade tunics as well as luxurious<br />

sweaters in lightweight knits.<br />

• Trousers that are full before the Tall/Average<br />

knee and then taper down<br />

• Lots and lots of belts in leather, fur and fabrics All Body Types<br />

• Military pants Tall/Average<br />

Solch’s best fashion tip: if there is any doubt…don’t do it.<br />

ENTER<br />

TO<br />

a Free<br />

two-hour private session<br />

WINWin<br />

with the Fashion Therapist,<br />

Sandra Solch<br />

Solch will come to your house<br />

and analyze your closet. She will<br />

determine how best to assist<br />

you and your attire. She will<br />

provide wardrobe insights and<br />

suggestions dependent on your<br />

everyday needs and lifestyle..<br />

TO ENTER: Send your name, address, email, phone<br />

and 50 words about why you are in need of a session with<br />

the Fashion Therapist.<br />

Email your Entry to: editor@cravingssouthflorida.com<br />

All entries MUST be submitted by August 23, 2010.


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bar, heated pool, summer kitchen, generator ready<br />

and 50’ boat slip included. $4,650,000<br />

Porto-Vita Waterfront, 3750 NE 199 Terrace<br />

3-story townhome with beautiful courtyard entry, 60’<br />

deeded boat dock, 4/4.5, impact windows, family room,<br />

day kitchen, pool, summer kitchen, large master suite<br />

w/sitting area, elevator & 2 car garage. $1,950,000<br />

One Island Place Condo<br />

3802 NE 207th Street #1901<br />

Exceptional Ocean & Intracoastal views, private elevator,<br />

Professionally decorated with finest exotic woodwork,<br />

white oak floors, custom lighting, granite counters in<br />

kitchen, sub-zero appliances, 2 wine coolers. Master<br />

suite & bath is virtually a spa retreat. $849,000<br />

Visit my Website & Blog:<br />

www.scottpattersonblog.com<br />

www.scottpatterson.com<br />

scott@scottpatterson.com<br />

305.466.3070 Miami-Dade<br />

954.661.8871 Broward<br />

efax: 305.960.5290<br />

2750 Miami Gardens Drive, Suite 101<br />

Aventura, Florida 33180<br />

Golden Isles, 318 Holiday Drive<br />

2-story, 6/6.5, 7,000+ sq.ft. on deep waterfront. 2<br />

masters, soaring ceilings, saturnia marblewood floors,<br />

gourmet kitchen, extensive landscaping, large terrace,<br />

heated pool, spa and boat dockage. $2,997,000<br />

Williams Island Penthouse<br />

2-story, 4,200+ sq.ft.of open, sun filled living space,<br />

pass through design takes advantage of beautiful<br />

views.4/5, trimmed with expansive terraces showcasing<br />

panoramic views of the ocean and city. $1,495,000<br />

Atlantic II At the Point #2402<br />

High floor residence, views of Ocean, Intracoastal &<br />

City. 2/2.5, living/dining, breakfast area, custom built-in<br />

closets, master suite w/private terrace, granite counters<br />

& Hunter Douglas shades. $624,000<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 15<br />

,


CRAVE<br />

oPEnHoUSe<br />

Many new home stores are<br />

putting out the welcome mat<br />

Is there a more design-conscious city than<br />

Miami? Residents who strive to decorate<br />

their homes would argue not. Now even<br />

the budget-conscious do not need to feel<br />

stymied: high-styled, modern home design<br />

can be found at very affordable prices in<br />

and around the city thanks to the recent<br />

opening of several home design stores.<br />

RETAIL MECCA: IT<br />

TAKES A VILLAGE<br />

it’s a sure bet that<br />

you’ll find the<br />

home furnishings<br />

or housewares you<br />

crave at The Village<br />

at Gulfstream<br />

pottery Barn<br />

Park. adjacent to<br />

Gulfstream Park<br />

Racetrack and <strong>Casino</strong> in Hallandale, this $200<br />

million dollar, outdoor, tree-lined, streetscape<br />

open-air mall has something for just about every<br />

homebody. Crate & Barrel showcases its full<br />

furniture and houseware collections here and<br />

is joined by other uber chains including Pottery<br />

Barn, West Elm, William Sonoma, and The<br />

Container Store. Weary shoppers can recharge<br />

at more than twenty-five restaurants, bars and<br />

The Container Store<br />

nightclubs. - Marlene Sholod<br />

16 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

EQ3 Core<br />

HIP SISTER STORE, HITS THE BEACH<br />

The sixth store in Crate and Barrel’s new CB2<br />

chain and the first in the Southeast, opened<br />

earlier this year in a newly-designed, loft-like<br />

showroom on Jefferson avenue, just off lincoln<br />

Road in Miami Beach. Like kids at a candy store,<br />

shoppers can peer through windows at enticing<br />

orange, green, and vanilla home furnishings.<br />

Their appetite for home design is further<br />

whetted by what’s inside, including the elegant<br />

darjeeling dining table made of rare saal wood<br />

reclaimed from old indian rail lines and the<br />

quirky lime green, hand-knit “pouf” to be used<br />

as a seat or ottoman. A $1,299 sofa is the most<br />

expensive piece in the store; most items are<br />

considerably less.<br />

FROM THE GREAT WHITE NORTH<br />

TO MIDTOWN MIAMI<br />

EQ3 promotes itself as Canada’s leading<br />

lifestyle concept for innovative and affordable<br />

furnishings, opened a mega-retail showroom<br />

in Miami’s Midtown shopping district in March.<br />

The colorful, 10,000 square foot space houses<br />

a huge selection of EQ3 furniture collections.<br />

Shoppers can mix and match from 20 distinctive,<br />

globally influenced design collections and more<br />

than 150 options consisting of sofas, loveseats,<br />

chairs, sleepers and ottomans. They can also<br />

customize frames from more than 130 fabric and<br />

leather choices as well as leg options. EQ3 Core,<br />

the company’s new a la carte casegood program<br />

offers three best-selling lines. Furnishings<br />

from this line include a four-post bed starting<br />

at $399; a low, modern Bento upholstered bed<br />

for $449; a mid century Byrd sofa starting at<br />

$899; and a classic, retro Lola sectional sofa<br />

at $1,899. Accessories include hand tufted,<br />

wool/cotton shag rugs, custom floor lamps and<br />

housewares. Gratification is immediate: because<br />

EQ3 manufactures its own products, there are no<br />

delays or back orders.<br />

eQ3<br />

FROM SWEDEN WITH LOVE<br />

if the afore-mentioned stores can be described<br />

as mega, then Ikea Sunrise, the third ikea in<br />

Florida, must be called a behemoth. The 293,000<br />

square foot store boasts a "natural path" leading<br />

shoppers past fifty room settings, three model<br />

homes, and an in-store restaurant. Young home<br />

decorators love that collections are named<br />

for their designers; their older counterparts<br />

appreciate the variety and value.<br />

Eclectic, local, boutique home design<br />

stores have their niches and devotees. Bigger<br />

may not always be better, but it does offer<br />

advantages. Whether they are fledgling<br />

home owners, snow birds, or empty nesters,<br />

South Florida shoppers of all ages can find<br />

plenty of pretty feathers for their nests at<br />

newly-opened, home design stores.


<strong>Chic</strong> & Contemporary Childhood<br />

it used to be when getting stuff for a baby, be it bedding, furniture or toys, your choice was either<br />

pink, blue or baby ducks. But now, thanks to contemporary and well-known designers everything<br />

from cribs to diaper bags are chic, sleek and contemporary.<br />

GO CATCH THE SANDMAN<br />

Moderne Crib $1,595<br />

PlaY dRESS uP<br />

Dresser with decorative panel $1,125<br />

TM<br />

CREaTE a STORY liBRaRY<br />

Metallic Leather Bookends $65 each<br />

FILLED WITH IMAGINATION<br />

Aviator Backpack $45<br />

JuST STROlliN' alONG<br />

Vista Stroller System $679<br />

HORTON WOuld BE PROud<br />

Red Eames Elephant $290<br />

personalized gifts bedding & baby gear<br />

furniture & room decor educational TM toys & games<br />

2570 NE Miami Gardens Drive, North Miami Beach, FL 33180 • 305.793.0180<br />

TM<br />

TM


CRAVE / SEW YOU SHOULD KNOW<br />

Christopher Lowell<br />

Man on a Mission:<br />

ChristopherLoWeLL<br />

Christopher Lowell’s passion<br />

for design is undeniable<br />

and, for his legions of fans,<br />

irresistible. One of America’s most<br />

recognized home improvement<br />

gurus, the effusive entrepreneur<br />

demonstrates how to live now<br />

and in the future. His awardwinning<br />

TV shows, bestselling<br />

books, and multi-media company<br />

disseminate his design gospel.<br />

His branded furnishings and<br />

accessories provide decorating<br />

acolytes with the tools and<br />

courage they need to create<br />

their dream environments.<br />

His signature Seven Layer<br />

organization and design system<br />

is Oprah-approved.<br />

Born in Anchorage, Alaska,<br />

Lowell has been a classical<br />

pianist, artist, and corporate<br />

executive, responsible for awardwinning<br />

television and print ad<br />

campaigns. In 1992, he opened<br />

his first home arts center in Ohio<br />

and followed it with ten years of<br />

18 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

programming for the Discovery<br />

Channel, including Interior<br />

Motives with Christopher Lowell,<br />

Wall to Wall, and the Emmywinning<br />

Christopher Lowell<br />

Show. His current show “Work that<br />

Room with Christopher Lowell”<br />

airs on the Fine Living Network.<br />

Christopher Lowell also has a<br />

company which designs, licenses<br />

and markets his consumer<br />

products. His retail partners<br />

include Jo-Ann Stores, Smith<br />

& Noble, Klausser, and Office<br />

Depot. Lowell’s first collection<br />

for the latter was the most<br />

successful branded design line<br />

of office furniture in the history<br />

of the retailer. His new collection<br />

for Office Depot boasts 10 pieces<br />

that can do the job of 700;<br />

storage bins, which he was the<br />

first to introduce on TV, include<br />

raw silk and leather coverings.<br />

Apparently, for both home and<br />

office, Lowell designs things to<br />

be, “Luxurious enough for her,<br />

tailored enough for him.”<br />

According to Lowell, “Your home<br />

is a reflection of you: your mental<br />

and physical interiors should<br />

always match…We are how we<br />

live.” Asked about South Florida<br />

Lowell's furniture at Office Depot<br />

living, Lowell, who has designed<br />

homes in Naples, still sees a lot<br />

of Tuscan European style but it is<br />

more streamlined and is texturedriven.<br />

Replacing overall prints<br />

and tropical colors are organic<br />

earth tones - deeper, saturated<br />

colors, such as putty gray and<br />

slate, reflecting the trend toward<br />

greater male participation in<br />

design.<br />

When Lowell introduced the use<br />

of bamboo in the ‘90s, he says,<br />

“People thought Gilligan’s Island.”<br />

Now he says home design is<br />

taking cues from day spas, resorts<br />

and other public spaces and that<br />

public spaces and homes are<br />

converging. For Lowell, it’s not<br />

how big the space is, but “…how<br />

we appropriate it.” His favorite<br />

local public space is the W Hotel<br />

on South Beach because “People<br />

can understand it.” Lowell sees<br />

a new global romantic aesthetic<br />

with outdoor fabrics and Asian<br />

influences but less hip and more<br />

adult and timeless.<br />

Lowell frequently uses “classic”<br />

to describe his design aesthetic;<br />

at the same time, he embraces<br />

the new mobility. He points to<br />

the media as another source of<br />

contemporary design inspiration.<br />

He highlights the use of minimal<br />

window treatments, uncluttered<br />

surfaces, the return of built ins<br />

and grouping of smaller, floating<br />

furniture, such as moveable club<br />

chairs, replacing large sofas.<br />

Lowell also sees the demise of<br />

living and dining rooms. Home<br />

design now starts with private<br />

spaces rather than public ones, the<br />

two most important spaces being<br />

the master bedroom suite and open<br />

kitchens because, “Men want to be<br />

rock star chefs,” says Lowell.<br />

Next on Lowell’s agenda is a<br />

lifestyle show for the internet, Ask<br />

Christopher. He believes that today’s<br />

designers are limited to using what’s<br />

available, not necessarily what they<br />

want. His new show won’t have<br />

those constraints.<br />

Lowell’s mantra, “You Can Do It.”<br />

And he definitely practices what<br />

he preaches.<br />

- Marlene Sholod


PEOPLE OF INTEREST<br />

Poseidon of the Tropics:<br />

BILLReAD<br />

Bill read research and even dealing with budgetary<br />

Bill Read grew up in Delaware,<br />

fascinated by snowstorms. In<br />

elementary school, he used to<br />

cut out the weather predictions<br />

from the newspaper everyday and paste<br />

them in his notebook. He’d then proceed<br />

to predict his own weather patterns.<br />

Today, he is the Director of the NOAA<br />

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric<br />

Administration) National Hurricane center,<br />

based in Miami. He’s responsible for the<br />

operational tropical weather forecasts for<br />

the Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and<br />

Eastern Pacific Ocean. In other words, he’s<br />

sort of like the Poseidon of the tropics.<br />

Read has come a long way since his cut out<br />

days. He earned his bachelors and masters<br />

degrees in meteorology from Texas A&M<br />

University. Later, he joined the Navy, where<br />

he was a Navy Hurricane Hunter and flew<br />

storms – following patterns and flying into<br />

the eyes of storms.<br />

20 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

Ask him what that was<br />

like and he’ll tell you,<br />

with a typical, quiet<br />

humility, “Have you<br />

ever had turbulence<br />

on an airplane? Well,<br />

it’s kind of like that. Like<br />

approaching for landing<br />

in a thunderstorm.”<br />

Somehow, it seems<br />

a little more dramatic<br />

than that. Ask him if he<br />

misses the adrenaline<br />

rush of the ride, and he’ll<br />

answer, “The way [he]<br />

sees it, when you are 23<br />

you’re too young to be a<br />

director, and when you<br />

are 60 you’re too old to<br />

fly a hurricane. Some do,<br />

don’t get me wrong, just<br />

not me.”<br />

“Plan for the<br />

worst, hope for<br />

the best,<br />

and always be<br />

ready.”<br />

When he retires, he says he’ll still be making<br />

his own forecasts. “In my free time, I can<br />

spend hours on the internet predicting<br />

weather patterns, even if I don’t have to.<br />

My wife looks at me like I’m crazy but I can’t<br />

help it; I love it,” says Read. He’s gotten<br />

better at it, no doubt, from his school days.<br />

On the day Read spoke to Cravings, he was<br />

getting ready a number of preparedness<br />

campaigns around the country. He’s in<br />

charge, among other things, of hurricane<br />

awareness. Read was also doing some<br />

issues. Fast forward to June, however, and<br />

things take on a whole new speed -- literally.<br />

“A day in August, I could be briefing elected<br />

officials on the most up to date information<br />

on a particular storm; I could also be giving<br />

a number of media briefings,” says Read.<br />

Meanwhile outside, hurricane winds might<br />

be building speed, getting ready to hit<br />

land, citizens rising to a pitch of hysteria.<br />

One of the greatest challenges of his job,<br />

says Read, is taking a relatively complex<br />

science and making it simple, making it so<br />

people can understand what is going on.<br />

And then there’s making sure people are<br />

ready for the storm. “Mostly there are<br />

simple things you can do to keep from<br />

getting overwhelmed,” says Read. He<br />

goes on to list some of these: Keep three<br />

days supply of food and water and make<br />

sure you understand what non-perishable<br />

means. “You’ll be surprised how little you<br />

have to add to the pantry to go without<br />

power and light,” he says.<br />

Another good idea: saving old jugs, filling<br />

them with water, and freezing them prestorm.<br />

Get your car checked and make sure<br />

your important papers are in a water- and<br />

fire-proof container. Make sure you know<br />

what you would take if you had to run<br />

out of your house in an instant. There’s<br />

also a new device Read calls a bathtub<br />

bladder, which allows you to safely fill your<br />

bathtub with water. The prevention tactics<br />

just continue to roll off his tongue.<br />

In short, Read says: “Plan for the worst,<br />

hope for the best, and always be ready.”<br />

Sounds like a life lesson. Goes to show how<br />

much you really can learn from the weather<br />

man.<br />

- Vanessa Garcia


PEOPLE OF INTEREST<br />

Listen Up:<br />

DAnLebATARD<br />

Bonds is the greatest player<br />

of our lifetime, with or without<br />

"Barry<br />

steroids. Fans don’t care. They<br />

want to see home runs,” shouts radio host Dan<br />

LeBatard on his daily show The Ticket 790 AM.<br />

He is unafraid of having his voice heard. He is<br />

always pushing the envelope. You either love<br />

him or hate him. Either way, you’re going to<br />

listen. It’s entertainment.<br />

Dan LeBatard, 41, relishes his role as the rebel<br />

rouser. He has been causing trouble since his<br />

days as a student at the University of Miami.<br />

As a reporter for the school newspaper he<br />

printed the coach of Notre Dame, Lou Holtz’s<br />

personal phone number; because, LeBatard<br />

wanted the fans to call and distract Holtz<br />

the week before the Hurricanes' big game<br />

against Notre Dame. Holtz received hundreds<br />

of annoying phone calls.<br />

And things haven’t changed. Weekdays from<br />

3pm - 7pm, LeBatard and his crew take to the<br />

airways to have at it with not only sports figures<br />

but anyone else who is willing to be engaged in<br />

a LeBatard-style conversation. Believe it or not,<br />

Lou Holtz can even be heard every so often.<br />

On a recent show, LeBatard gets things<br />

started by jumping into the fray over the<br />

controversy of singer/songwriter John Mayer<br />

using the “N” word in a song.<br />

22 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

LE BATARD'S<br />

FAVORITES:<br />

Restaurants:<br />

Café Martorano-<br />

Fort Lauderdale<br />

or Prime 112 in<br />

South Beach<br />

Bar:<br />

Anywhere on<br />

Lincoln Road<br />

Watching<br />

Sports:<br />

B & B (Burgers<br />

and Beer)<br />

on the Beach<br />

“John Mayer used the word and I was really<br />

disturbed by it,” said LeBatard. Callers were<br />

asked to phone in their opinions. Immediately<br />

the phone board lit up. But first LeBatard<br />

chose to speak with Marcellus Wiley, an<br />

athlete and sports analyst, to find out about<br />

the protocol for using the word.<br />

For 20 minutes, Wiley offered his opinion<br />

on the pros and cons of the word. LeBatard<br />

pushed and asked if it was ok for a white<br />

person to use this type of slang. LeBatard<br />

continued his probe, “You’re saying that a<br />

black person can use it and a white person<br />

can’t?” Despite the lights on the phone board<br />

indicating listeners wanted to get in on the<br />

conversation they didn’t have a chance.<br />

This serious segment is followed by Stump the<br />

Host. For this weekly game, callers are invited<br />

to ask inane and insanely difficult questions<br />

to baffle LeBatard. The producer’s booth was<br />

highly energized and laughing at LeBatard<br />

when he did not know an answer.<br />

“I don’t mind embarrassing myself especially<br />

in this medium as long as the audience is<br />

entertained,” LeBatard said with a mischievous<br />

grin. Executive Producer Marc Hochman<br />

egged him on while producer Mike Ryan<br />

furiously searched the internet to find the<br />

answer to how many Killer B’s were on the<br />

72 Dolphins Championship<br />

team? LeBatard’s selfdeprecating<br />

humor yielded<br />

bellylaughs. The audience<br />

loved that LeBatard couldn’t<br />

tell them who were the eight<br />

Killer B’s – what LeBatard<br />

won’t do for entertainment.<br />

According to the local<br />

Arbitron ratings, with South<br />

Florida men over 18 yearsof-age,<br />

LeBatard’s show has<br />

been number one since its<br />

inception in 2004.<br />

“We try to talk to all kinds of people, not just<br />

athletes. Hollywood, reality stars, authors and<br />

when we do talk to an athlete, we talk about<br />

subjects guys like to talk about: movies, video<br />

games, even life lessons,” said Hoffman.<br />

LeBatard won’t go out of his way to say the<br />

opposite of the popular opinion. However, if his<br />

opinion is something he believes in, you can<br />

bet he will stick to his guns. Recently, when the<br />

good ol’ boys network were ranting and raving<br />

about firing Heat Coach Eric Spoelstra because<br />

the team was on a downward spiral, LeBatard<br />

asked his audience if this is a valid reason to be<br />

fired. The phones went crazy. LeBatard excited<br />

his audience. Against popular opinion, he sticks<br />

with Spoelstra.<br />

When asked about his favorite guests, LeBatard<br />

said it is guys like Charles Barkley because they<br />

really tell it like it is. “The Holy Trinity for me on<br />

interviews is smart, honest and unafraid. Give<br />

me anyone with those three values and I’ll<br />

come up with a great interview,” he said.<br />

And when it comes to his dream guests<br />

LeBatard says, without hesitation, Fidel Castro<br />

and Jesus Christ. And his first question for<br />

Jesus, “Can you tell me all the secrets? But then<br />

he (Jesus) could just say, ‘No.’ This would make<br />

me feel really dumb and a bad interviewer.”<br />

- Stacy Scott<br />

dan and Stugotz<br />

talk sports at<br />

a broadcast


OFF THE FIELD<br />

2010/2011 Season Preview :<br />

Miami Dolphins<br />

Expectations for how good the Miami<br />

Dolphins can be haven’t been this<br />

high heading into a season since<br />

the Dan Marino era – and the fact<br />

that this is only year three of the trifecta<br />

regime (Bill Parcells, Jeff Ireland and Tony<br />

Sparano) adds to the intrigue.<br />

Ever since Wayne Huizenga successfully<br />

lured Parcells out of retirement a little over<br />

36 months ago and made him executive<br />

vice president of football operations, South<br />

Florida fans have been dreaming of a return to<br />

the glory days under Hall of Fame head coach<br />

Don Shula. The sting of a gut-wrenching 1-15<br />

season 2007 was quickly washed away by the<br />

record-setting turnaround in Sparano’s first<br />

year as an NFL head coach and Ireland’s first<br />

as a general manager during which Miami<br />

went 11-5 and won the AFC East for the first<br />

time since 2000.<br />

Chad henne<br />

Despite that success, Parcells, Ireland and<br />

Sparano preached patience and emphasized<br />

how they were rebuilding the Dolphins for<br />

the long haul in order to be competitive for<br />

years to come and make reaching the playoffs<br />

and vying for another Super Bowl the norm<br />

as opposed to the exception. That’s why<br />

24 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

Brandon marshall<br />

Parcells signed a four-year contract and kept<br />

his nose to the grindstone after Huizenga<br />

sold his majority stake in the team and Sun<br />

Life Stadium to multi-billionaire real estate<br />

mogul Stephen M. Ross in January of 2009.<br />

Fast forward to this past March and April, as<br />

Miami was coming off a rough 7-9 campaign<br />

that revealed some cracks in the armor and<br />

took a toll on the medical and training staff;<br />

and, fans got to see a bit of a new approach<br />

from the trifecta. In addition to going after<br />

big, solid and proven players in the NFL Draft,<br />

the Dolphins made a splash in free agency<br />

and the trade market on both sides of the<br />

ball. First they picked up one of the most<br />

attractive defensive players on the market,<br />

former Arizona Cardinals linebacker Karlos<br />

Dansby, and then set hearts racing a week<br />

before the draft by acquiring top-flight wide<br />

receiver Brandon Marshall from the Denver<br />

Broncos for two second-round picks.<br />

All of a sudden, Miami’s offense has the<br />

potential to be almost as explosive as when<br />

Marino was shattering passing records on<br />

his way to the Hall of Fame and connecting<br />

with the Marks Brothers (wide receivers Mark<br />

Clayton and Mark Duper). Chad Henne is just<br />

entering his third season in the league and<br />

first as a starting quarterback, but he showed<br />

off his cannon arm during 13 starts in relief of<br />

veteran Chad Pennington after Pennington<br />

suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. By<br />

season’s end Henne had gone 7-6 as a starter<br />

and completed 247-of-451 passes for 2,878<br />

yards, 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.<br />

Marshall has caught over 100 passes in each<br />

of the last three seasons.<br />

“I think it’s going to be exciting. You’re<br />

going to get a lot more double coverage on<br />

Brandon and that’ll give us some access to<br />

our other receivers and let them work,” said<br />

Henne, who got married on July 3rd to his<br />

fiancée of 10 years, Brittany. “So overall for<br />

our receiving corps I think a lot of guys are<br />

going to get some more balls because the<br />

attention is going to Brandon. In the run<br />

game he’s a great run blocker and is going to<br />

open up some holes and give us more Cover<br />

2 safeties so we can open it up and we’ll get<br />

fewer men in the box for the running game.”<br />

The only thing missing on the offense in the<br />

Marino years was a quality running game,<br />

and these Dolphins have that in Ronnie<br />

Brown and Ricky Williams, who is poised


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State-Of-The-Art Collision Center<br />

Biscayne Boulevard at Northeast 141 st Street<br />

1-866- 405-1289<br />

LexusofNorthMiami.com<br />

Elite of Lexus Award-Winning<br />

Service Department


26 Cravings | August / September 2010


OFF THE FIELD<br />

to become the franchise’s all-time leading<br />

rusher. Brown made his first Pro Bowl in 2008<br />

after revolutionizing the Wildcat offense, and<br />

Williams set an NFL record for the longest<br />

stretch between 1,000-yard seasons as he<br />

passed the mark last year for the first time<br />

since 2003. Young wide receivers Davone Bess,<br />

Greg Camarillo and Brian Hartline will be the<br />

beneficiaries of the attention being paid to<br />

Karlos dansby<br />

Break Down: The 2010/2011 Miami Dolphins<br />

Brandon marshall<br />

with Tony Sparano<br />

COACHING: Tony Sparano was runner-up<br />

for Associated Press Coach of the Year in<br />

2008 after leading Miami to the greatest<br />

single-season turnaround in NFL history as<br />

a rookie head coach and he won the honor<br />

from the NFL and from Pro Football Weekly/<br />

Professional Football Writers of America. He<br />

is 18-14 in his first two seasons and garnered<br />

the respect of his own players and those on<br />

opposing teams as well because of how he<br />

relates to players and his knowledge of the<br />

trenches having been an offensive line coach.<br />

KEY HOME GAMES: They don’t get much<br />

bigger than the first two on the slate at Sun<br />

Life Stadium – versus the New York Jets on<br />

NBC’s Sunday Night Football September 26 th<br />

and versus the New England Patriots the<br />

Marshall, as will tight ends Anthony Fasano<br />

and Joey Haynos, while Pro Bowl left tackle<br />

Jake Long will anchor a stout offensive line.<br />

Dansby brings his playmaking ability to a<br />

defense that will be put in position to make<br />

big plays under new defensive coordinator<br />

Mike Nolan. He and middle linebacker<br />

Channing Crowder, along with converted<br />

nose tackle Randy Starks and rookie firstround<br />

pick Jared Odrick hope to open up pass<br />

rushing lanes for rookie outside linebacker<br />

and second-round pick Koa Misi and secondyear<br />

outside linebacker Cameron Wake. Pro<br />

Bowl strong safety Yeremiah Bell anchors a<br />

young and talented secondary with secondyear<br />

cornerbacks Vontae Davis and Sean<br />

Smith and young safeties Chris Clemons,<br />

Tyrone Culver and rookie Reshad Jones.<br />

“They went out there and they got some<br />

players, with Karlos Dansby being the key on<br />

defense and Brandon Marshall on offense,”<br />

said Crowder. ‘We’re excited and this now<br />

being my sixth year knowing the game and<br />

seeing how Super Bowl and championship<br />

teams are built, I think that Jeff, Tony and Bill<br />

are starting to build a championship team.”<br />

- Andy Kent<br />

following Monday night on ESPN October<br />

4 th . There is an intense rivalry with both<br />

division opponents in the AFC East as Miami<br />

swept the Jets last year and split with the<br />

Patriots, and the national television audience<br />

combined with the game being played under<br />

the lights will make these a tough ticket.<br />

On October 24 th , Miami hosts the Pittsburgh<br />

Steelers, which always draws a large crowd,<br />

and six days before Christmas the Buffalo<br />

Bills come to town. That game could have<br />

playoff implications because it is within the<br />

division.<br />

KEY ROAD GAMES: The Dolphins open<br />

with back-to-back road games at Buffalo<br />

and Minnesota on September 12th and 19th with the trip to the Metrodome to likely<br />

face Brett Favre and the Vikings being the<br />

more intriguing of the two. A trip to historic<br />

Lambeau Field in Green Bay on October 17th is special in any season, but the last two<br />

road games will draw the most interest.<br />

Miami visits the brand new Meadowlands<br />

on December 12th and then ends the regular<br />

season at New England on January 2nd .<br />

- Andy Kent<br />

• Levels: Beginner - Advanced<br />

• Full & Mini Fitness Screenings:<br />

Reformer Safety Setup<br />

• Private Sessions:<br />

Pilates - Gyrotonic - Prenatal -<br />

Duets - Ballroom<br />

• Group Classes: Reformer - Mat -<br />

Jump Board Sport - Traditional<br />

Ballet - Core Fusion - Power Ball -<br />

Ballet Barre - Ballroom -<br />

Gyrokensis<br />

• Comprehensive Teacher Training<br />

Certification Programs<br />

• Continuing Educational Workshops<br />

• Gift Certificates<br />

• Pilates Clothing & Accessories<br />

18143 Biscayne Blvd • Aventura, FL 33160<br />

Tel: 305.466.6611 • Fax: 305.466.6612<br />

Email: rricca@bellsouth.net<br />

www.riccapilates.com<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 27


TICKET PLEASE<br />

Curaçao<br />

Europe of the South<br />

aerial view of Curaçao<br />

28 Cravings | August / September 2010


Curaçao Streets Crystal clear water<br />

and pristine beaches<br />

Each of the so-called ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire and<br />

Curaçao) has a wildly different flair and feel. In Aruba<br />

tourists are primarily American and the focus is fun in<br />

the sun. Bonaire is a Mecca for divers the world over.<br />

And Curaçao could easily be scooped up, dumped anywhere<br />

in Holland and be right at home. Curaçao may well be renamed<br />

“Netherlands South.” It’s Europe but with better weather and a<br />

lot closer to home – and of course with more iguanas.<br />

Curacao’s Europe-of-the-<br />

South feel is most commonly<br />

present in the historic area of<br />

Willemstad, the capital city. The<br />

historic architecture and the<br />

narrow streets are so Euro that<br />

it is only the brightly painted<br />

buildings (which are repainted<br />

annually due to the amount of<br />

salt in the air) and occasional<br />

cactuses that remind you that<br />

you aren’t in Europe.<br />

Indian marble<br />

garden at hotel<br />

Kura hulanda<br />

There’s a lot to take in while<br />

wandering the streets (and<br />

shopping); the floating market (more shopping), the oldest<br />

synagogue in the Western Hemisphere and the Governor’s<br />

Mansion all add to the old world charm. An absolute can’t miss<br />

is the Queen Emma Bridge, a permanent pontoon pedestrian<br />

bridge sitting on the St. Anna Bay. Also known as the Swinging<br />

Old Lady, this bridge swings open to allow for passing boats<br />

30-35 times a day. If you hear a bell while strolling across either<br />

start running or pull over, hold on and enjoy the (gentle) ride.<br />

Another bridge worth<br />

checking out may be visited<br />

easily by car. The top of the<br />

Juliana Bridge, what the locals<br />

call the High Bridge, offers a<br />

sweeping view of the massive<br />

port which frequently plays<br />

host to enormous cruise ships.<br />

Culture and sightseeing (and<br />

shopping), are integral parts<br />

of the Curaçao experience,<br />

but let’s face it, most of us<br />

go to the Caribbean for the<br />

crystal clear water and pristine<br />

Jaipur<br />

restaurant<br />

at hotel<br />

Kura hulanda<br />

beaches. Divers find their bliss at Mushroom Forest, which has<br />

an impressive grouping of star coral. Amazing snorkeling and<br />

swimming locations abound including the remarkable Blue<br />

Room, a sea cave only accessible by boat and then swimming<br />

inside. Most hotels have private beaches and pools to ensure<br />

maximum sun worship.<br />

Curaçao offers a staggering number of activities above and<br />

beyond sightseeing and snorkeling. Those still wishing to take<br />

advantage of the water can jetski, fish, swim with dolphins and<br />

ride in a glass-bottom boat. Landlubbers may prefer to rent<br />

ATV’s, go horseback riding, play golf and hit the casinos. For<br />

those getting exhausted just thinking about all of the possible<br />

activities, take a necessary day (or two, or three…) just to enjoy<br />

the sunshine where the most tiring action is ordering another<br />

beverage, ideally one containing Blue Curaçao and topped with<br />

a little paper umbrella.<br />

- Jennifer Aranoff<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 29


TICKET PLEASE / CURAÇAO<br />

Where To Stay<br />

AVILA HOTEL<br />

130 Penstraat<br />

PO Box 791<br />

Willemstad, Curaçao,<br />

Netherlands Antilles<br />

800.747.8162<br />

avilahotel.com<br />

Avila boasts two private beaches,<br />

three restaurants, tennis courts<br />

and a blues jazz club. Most of<br />

the guest rooms offer panoramic<br />

views of the water, some with a<br />

small window located at perfect<br />

eye level from the bed, just one<br />

of the many thoughtful touches.<br />

CHECK<br />

OUT<br />

ALOE VERA PLANTATION<br />

Curaçao Ecocity Projects<br />

Groot St. Joris West z/n<br />

Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles<br />

+599.9.767.5577<br />

aloecuracao.com<br />

See, touch, smell and even taste aloe.<br />

30 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

BAOASE LUxURY<br />

RESORT<br />

Winterswijkstraat 2<br />

Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles<br />

888.409.3506<br />

baoase.com<br />

The newest resort in Curaçao,<br />

Baoase has several private and<br />

semi-private pools and gardens,<br />

a private beach (complete with a<br />

small island accessible by bridge),<br />

villas with full and modern<br />

kitchens and all of the amenities<br />

expected from a five-star resort.<br />

pool at the avila hotel<br />

HOTEL KURA HULANDA SPA<br />

AND CASINO<br />

Langestraat 8<br />

Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands<br />

Antilles<br />

877.264.3106<br />

kurahulanda.com<br />

Made up of 65 restored structures,<br />

the Kura Hulanda Hotel is<br />

practically a small town unto<br />

itself. Winding pathways connect<br />

the different guest rooms (each<br />

thoughtfully appointed with<br />

unique antiques), courtyards,<br />

pools and restaurants. Shuttles to<br />

the beach are complimentary.<br />

CURAçAO LIqUEUR FACTORY<br />

Landhuis Chobolobo Salina<br />

Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles<br />

+599.9.461.3526<br />

curacaoliqueur.com<br />

Witness firsthand how the famous<br />

liqueurs are made.<br />

What To Do<br />

Beach bar dinner<br />

ANGELICA’S KITCHEN<br />

Hoogstraat 49 Otrobanda<br />

Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles<br />

+599.9.510.3699<br />

angelicas-kitchen.com<br />

Angelica’s Kitchen is less cooking class<br />

more Caribbean food experience. Start out<br />

a group of strangers taking notes around a<br />

large kitchen island and end up best friends,<br />

dancing and eating together as the wine<br />

flows and the music blares. Reservations are<br />

necessary to ensure proper class size.<br />

KURA HULANDA MUSEUM<br />

Langestraat 8<br />

Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles<br />

877.264.3106<br />

kurahulanda.com<br />

This museum is located inside the Kura<br />

Hulanda Hotel and contains the largest<br />

private collection of African art outside<br />

of Africa. Exhibit rooms take you across<br />

the continent and into the New World,<br />

graphically illustrating the difficult and<br />

painful lives of slaves. Don’t miss the<br />

reproduction of a cargo hold of a slave ship,<br />

both eerie and beautifully done.<br />

HATO CAVES<br />

Rooseveldweg z/n<br />

Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles<br />

+599.9.868.0379<br />

curacao-travelguide.com<br />

Take a guided tour through the caves<br />

that sheltered Arawak Indians and<br />

escaped slaves. Full of stalactites,<br />

stalagmites and bats, these caves are<br />

an impressive and quiet illustration of<br />

Mother Nature at her best.<br />

- Jennifer Aranoff


Curaçao<br />

Common Questions About<br />

• How do I get there?<br />

There are nonstop<br />

flights daily from Miami<br />

International Airport on<br />

American Airlines and<br />

Insel Air. Flight time is<br />

almost exactly three<br />

hours.<br />

American Airlines<br />

800.433.7300<br />

aa.com<br />

Insel Air<br />

800.386.4800<br />

fly-inselair.com<br />

• How do you<br />

pronounce Curaçao?<br />

There are two popular<br />

pronunciations. The<br />

Dutch pronounce it<br />

cure’-uh-sao (think<br />

“heal a pig”) and<br />

the Papiamento<br />

pronunciation is kure’uh-sao<br />

(also rhymes<br />

with cow).<br />

village square<br />

• What is<br />

Papiamento?<br />

It's the official and<br />

most common<br />

language of the<br />

ABC Islands - Aruba,<br />

Bonaire, Curaçao (along<br />

with Dutch, English and<br />

Spanish). Papiamento<br />

is commonly described<br />

as a mix of seven other<br />

languages: Dutch,<br />

Spanish, Portuguese,<br />

English, French, Arawak<br />

Indian and Guinea.<br />

• Why does Curaçao<br />

have similarities to<br />

Netherlands?<br />

Prior to Aruba<br />

becoming<br />

autonomous, the<br />

ABC Islands, along<br />

with the SSS Islands<br />

(Saba, St. Eustatius, St.<br />

Maarten), made up the<br />

Netherlands Antilles.<br />

• Is iguana really<br />

found on local menus?<br />

Yes, popularly found in<br />

soups. It’s also believed<br />

to be an aphrodisiac,<br />

likely because male<br />

iguanas are blessed with<br />

double genitalia. And<br />

yes, it really does taste<br />

like chicken.<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 31


LOCAL FLAIR<br />

Along Came Mary:<br />

A Fun Place to Live & Play<br />

Just behind downtown Miami’s<br />

financial district, is a dynamic,<br />

new neighborhood Mary<br />

Brickell Village. Young professionals,<br />

whose recreational venues had once<br />

been limited to Brickell Avenue, usually<br />

in the same buildings in which they<br />

worked, can now drink and dine in<br />

venues often located in buildings in<br />

which they live. In recent years, several<br />

new high rises along South Miami<br />

Avenue with street level retail plus<br />

The Shops at Mary Brickell Village<br />

have helped carve out a community<br />

where there once was none.<br />

In 1870, Mary and William Brickell<br />

opened a trading post on the banks of<br />

the South Miami River. When William<br />

died in 1908, Mary built “millionaire’s<br />

row” along the bay and developed<br />

Brickell Avenue three years later.<br />

Today, office buildings, luxury hotels,<br />

32 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

and upscale condos have replaced the<br />

mansions, and retail offerings are a lot<br />

more diverse than the ones frequented<br />

by Seminole Indians. But, the area<br />

behind Brickell did not gentrify as<br />

quickly.<br />

In 1996 when Steven Perricone opened<br />

his marketplace and restaurant on<br />

Southeast 10 th Street, he joined a small<br />

coterie of unique venues. Across the<br />

street on South Miami Avenue was<br />

Firehouse 4, a picturesque restaurant<br />

with live music and dancing housed in<br />

a historic firehouse. A few blocks north<br />

of the firehouse was Tobacco Road,<br />

a restaurant and sometimes raucus<br />

music venue (now celebrating its 97 th<br />

anniversary).<br />

Flash forward to 2010. Perricone’s<br />

Marketplace, has morphed beyond<br />

its rustic, farm-house style building<br />

crafted from an old Vermont barn.<br />

There’s now a bar on the front porch,<br />

beyond the marketplace and indoor<br />

dining room there is a treetop dining<br />

deck, and more al fresco dining is<br />

available in an adjacent vest-pocket<br />

park. Another tree-draped rusticlooking<br />

restaurant, now known as Baru<br />

urbano is right across the street and<br />

features a Caribbean flavor, wooden<br />

deck, and busy outdoor bar. Firehouse<br />

4 now houses two restaurants,<br />

Dolores But You Can Call Me Lolita<br />

has both indoor dining, a romantic<br />

Delano-esque 2 nd floor terrace, and<br />

classic Mediterranean decor. Sushi<br />

Maki, distinguished by its bright color<br />

palette, is now renting 1,200 square<br />

feet of the space, which includes<br />

alfresco sidewalk dining. Just down<br />

from the firehouse is a cluster of small<br />

Italian venues including Rosinella’s,<br />

the original one a long-time fixture on<br />

South Beach’s Lincoln Road.<br />

rosa mexicano<br />

And, across from these restaurants,<br />

on Southeast 1 st Avenue is la lupita,<br />

featuring real Mexican tacos, and soonto-open<br />

Mint Leaf Indian Brasserie,<br />

already a highly-reviewed restaurant in<br />

Coral Gables.<br />

The Shops at Mary Brickell Village<br />

are east and west of South Miami<br />

Avenue, just north of the firehouse and<br />

Perricone’s. They consist of 195,000<br />

square feet of retail space anchored<br />

by a 2,900 square foot Publix and<br />

a 31,000 square foot l.a. Fitness<br />

Signature Club. An 800 space garage<br />

supplements on-the-street parking.<br />

The “village-like”setting has two public<br />

plazas with fountains and mature oak<br />

and mahogany trees. National chains<br />

on the west side include sophisticated<br />

Oceanaire Seafood Room; Rosa<br />

Mexicano with its Acapulco waterfall<br />

wall dotted with numerous tiny<br />

divers; Blue Martini, boasting three


dolores But you<br />

Can Call me Lolita<br />

bars; and the anticipated Fado<br />

irish Pub. Smaller restaurants<br />

include abokado Sushi with its<br />

pan-Latino cuisine, which will<br />

soon be neighbored by a Beer<br />

& Burger Joint, which debuted<br />

recently on Miami Beach. There are<br />

a wide variety of jewelry, accessory,<br />

apparel, art galleries, home décor,<br />

and gift shops, including the quirky<br />

Frida Kahlo-Pasion por la Vida.<br />

Joining Publix and Starbucks<br />

across the street are Balans, an<br />

international chain with an eclectic<br />

menu, which first opened on South<br />

Beach’s Lincoln Road, and Roma<br />

Organic Gelato. Bi-level Grimpa<br />

Steakhouse’s menu includes<br />

Brazilian Rodizio and a salad bar/<br />

hot buffet. Its sleek, contemporary<br />

décor has spice colors, crisp white<br />

linens, and wood floors. P.F.<br />

Chang’s Chinese Bistro is another<br />

huge space, big enough to display<br />

twin life-size statues of horses.<br />

Some smaller restaurants have<br />

cropped up around The Shops<br />

at Mary Brickell. These include<br />

SuViche, a loftlike black, white and<br />

stainless steel Peruvian/Japanese<br />

restaurant at 49 SW 11 th Street. At<br />

50 SW 10 th St., is SuViche's gourmet<br />

Grimpa<br />

pizza place. A South American chain<br />

has opened Brix 46, a neighborhood<br />

burger/bar/lounge with DJs,<br />

dancing, and Salsa lessons.<br />

The retail growth jumpstarted by<br />

Mary Brickell Village now extends<br />

down South Miami Avenue, housed<br />

in various newly-built condos.<br />

Within 1250 is an eclectic clutch of<br />

restaurants including JB Kitchen<br />

& Bar, formerly a Swiss restaurant<br />

but now serving dishes like Peruvian<br />

lobster mac and cheese, Piola,<br />

and soon-to-open le Kabob, Zen<br />

Sushi, and Kosta Seafood offering<br />

make your own ceviche. At 1450<br />

are the wildly popular Segafredo<br />

and Brickell irish Pub. These<br />

two, large, lofty restaurants are a<br />

Segafredo<br />

study in contrasts. Segafredo, a hip<br />

restaurant/lounge, is modern with<br />

lots of glass windows, concrete<br />

floors, and a huge terrace that<br />

seats about 350. Walking past beer<br />

barrel tables, and through big,<br />

dark wood double doors at Brickell<br />

Irish Pub, patrons are greeted by<br />

servers wearing unisex kilts and a<br />

décor that boasts a Cheers-style bar,<br />

colorfully upholstered banquettes,<br />

and distressed mirrors; a stage<br />

for DJs and live music (offered<br />

Wednesday through Saturday) is<br />

framed by bookshelves with real<br />

books. Another spacious venue,<br />

the 9,500 square foot Argentine<br />

Puerto Madero, will be opening at<br />

Southwest 15 th Road.<br />

Commenting on how his business<br />

has been affected by the recent<br />

development, Perricone says that<br />

he had a destination restaurant but<br />

now he's in a destination area.<br />

-- Marlene Sholod<br />

Perricone’s Marketplace<br />

305.374.9449<br />

perricones.com<br />

Dolores But You<br />

Can Call Me Lolita<br />

305.403.3101<br />

doloreslolita.com<br />

Sushi Maki<br />

305.415.9779<br />

sushimakirestaurant.com<br />

Rosinella Downtown<br />

305.372.5756<br />

rosinella.net<br />

La Lupita<br />

305.373.5406<br />

lalupita.mx<br />

Oceanaire Seafood Room<br />

305.372.8862<br />

theoceanaire.com<br />

Rosa Mexicano<br />

786.425.1001<br />

rosamexicano.com<br />

Blue Martini<br />

305.481.2583<br />

bluemartini.com<br />

Abokado Sushi<br />

305.347.3700<br />

abocadosushi.com<br />

Frida Kahlo<br />

fridkahlonaturals.com<br />

Balans<br />

305.534.9196<br />

balans.co.uk<br />

Roma Organic Gelato<br />

786.252.5276<br />

romagelato.com<br />

Grimpa<br />

305.455.4757<br />

grimpa.com<br />

P.F. Chang’s Chinese Bistro<br />

305.358.0732<br />

pfchangs.com<br />

SuViche<br />

305.960.7097<br />

suviche.com<br />

Brix 46<br />

305.715.9596<br />

brix46.com<br />

JB Kitchen & Bar<br />

305.415.0070<br />

jbkitchenandbar.com<br />

Piola<br />

305.674.1660<br />

piola.it<br />

Segafredo<br />

305.577.9809<br />

segafredo-brickell.com<br />

Brickell Irish Pub<br />

305.381.6651<br />

brickellirishpub.com<br />

FOR MORE INFORMATION:<br />

marybrickellvillage.com<br />

downtownmiami.com<br />

dda.com<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 33


F Y I<br />

Make Your Claim<br />

Working With Your Insurance Company<br />

It is expected that after a hurricane, law firms would<br />

be inundated with people who are unhappy with their<br />

insurance companies. Most likely these people put in a<br />

claim to collect for the damages sustained to their homes;<br />

but the amount they received was not a satisfactory amount<br />

to cover their losses.<br />

But, the difficulty with insurance companies is not only<br />

related to claims associated with natural disasters. “The<br />

bottom line is insurance companies like to save money, and<br />

the less they pay out, the more can go to the bottom line,”<br />

said Todd Stabinski, a managing partner in the Miami-based<br />

law firm Stabinski & Funt PA.<br />

For Ziva Allen, it was extremely difficult to get her insurance<br />

company to pay for the damages to her home. In Allen’s<br />

master bathroom, there was a leak; but she couldn’t figure<br />

out where the water damage was coming from. All she<br />

knew was that the leak caused the hardwood floors in her<br />

living room to get discolored from water damage. When<br />

she contacted her insurance company to put in a claim, an<br />

adjuster was sent out to evaluate the situation. But when<br />

he couldn’t find the cause of the problem, Allen’s claim was<br />

denied.<br />

Even after a plumber uncovered that it was a failed shower<br />

pan; and Allen immediately contacted her insurance<br />

company, the claim was again denied. Not knowing where<br />

Florida law allows a policy-holder to file a lawsuit against its insurance company for up to five years<br />

after the date of loss. In the case of Hurricane Wilma, the deadline to file suit is October 24, 2010. If<br />

the damage sustained is from Hurricane Katrina, the deadline to file suit is August 23, 2010.<br />

34 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

to turn, Allen hired a public adjuster to assess the situation<br />

and to speak to the insurance company about her claim.<br />

But when the public adjuster found the insurance company<br />

uncooperative, he suggested Allen get an attorney.<br />

Allen contacted Dan Caine an attorney in the law firm<br />

Stabinski & Funt, P.A. The first thing he told her was that<br />

the insurance company shouldn’t have left her hanging<br />

when it couldn’t figure out where the leak was coming from.<br />

According to Caine, it is the insurance company’s job to find<br />

out the cause of the problem.<br />

The process of getting the insurance company to settle took<br />

a lot of time through depositions, mediation and ultimately<br />

securing a trial date. But right before the trial was to begin,<br />

the insurance company agreed to a settlement.<br />

“With the help of my attorney, I got more than double what I<br />

would have taken as a settlement,” said Allen.<br />

In addition, Allen did not have to pay any of the attorney’s<br />

fees as Caine negotiated that settlement directly with the<br />

insurance company.<br />

“The only way to get the insurance company to do the right<br />

thing and pay for my damages was to litigate, and you need<br />

an attorney to do this on your behalf,” said Allen. “The truth<br />

is if I didn’t file the suit, I would have been left with the<br />

insurance company denying my claim and me having to pay<br />

for all of the repairs which would have been very expensive.”


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FEEL GOOD<br />

FANCY FOOT WORK<br />

When it comes to picking out a pair of athletic<br />

shoes, you can’t just go by the color and style<br />

you like best.<br />

According to Corey Sokolow, manager of the New<br />

Balance store in the Aventura Mall and a certified<br />

pedorthist, you must consider the size and width<br />

of your feet as well as the type of arch you have<br />

and the activity you are going to do.<br />

“Besides selecting a shoe on looks, the biggest<br />

mistake people make is having the wrong size,”<br />

said Sokolow. “Most adults haven’t had their feet<br />

measured in a very long time; despite the fact<br />

that feet change as we age.<br />

PILATES:<br />

YOGA:<br />

STRENGTH<br />

TRAINING:<br />

HIT<br />

Leaves you<br />

feeling light<br />

toned, and<br />

strong all at the<br />

same time.<br />

36 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

People also don’t realize that everyone has a foot<br />

that is bigger than the other, and it is important<br />

to size shoes to correctly fit the bigger foot.”<br />

Sokolow also points out that it is critical to think<br />

about the activity you are going to do when<br />

selecting a shoe. “You really do need different<br />

shoes for different activities,” he said. “The only<br />

shoe that is built for a variety of activities is<br />

the cross trainer; it allows you to move side<br />

to side when doing aerobics or playing tennis<br />

and has enough cushion to allow you to run<br />

short distances and is stiff enough for walking.”<br />

However, if you know your sport of choice, you<br />

may want to consider getting a specific type<br />

of shoe.<br />

For instance in a tennis shoe there is<br />

extra durability at the toe of the shoe<br />

to handle toe drag caused when a player<br />

serves. A running shoe must be flexible, provide<br />

cushion and have a higher heel; but, because<br />

this shoe is designed to move you forward, it is<br />

not good to wear for a sport that requires you to<br />

move sideways, i.e. tennis.<br />

“It really is not good to wear the wrong shoe<br />

for a sport. Wearing a walking shoe to run a<br />

marathon will cause a tremendous amount of<br />

pain, because the shoe isn’t built with enough<br />

cushion. If you do aerobics in a running shoe you<br />

will move too easily side-to-side which will likely<br />

cause your ankle to twist,” said Sokolow.<br />

ExERCISE PERSONALITY<br />

Trying to figure out which exercise is for you – yoga, Pilates or strength training, the owners<br />

of the Pilates room Liza Carmona and Michele LaVire have put together a cheat sheet.<br />

Feel Good<br />

Factor<br />

HIT<br />

Leaves you<br />

feeling<br />

centered.<br />

FALLS SHORT<br />

Upside: Endorphin<br />

rush. Downside:<br />

increases muscle<br />

tension.<br />

Six Pack<br />

Savvy<br />

HIT<br />

Works on all<br />

4 layers of abs<br />

and gives a<br />

super sleek<br />

midrift.<br />

MISS<br />

Core<br />

contraction<br />

is not the<br />

focus.<br />

FALLS<br />

SHORT<br />

Mostly works<br />

the outer layers<br />

of abdomen.<br />

Enhances<br />

Sex Life<br />

HIT<br />

Strengthens<br />

pelvic floor<br />

muscles increasing<br />

intensity of<br />

orgasm.<br />

HIT<br />

Some techniques<br />

have been<br />

known to make<br />

men last longer.<br />

FALLS SHORT<br />

Increases testosterone.<br />

But if over do it will<br />

have opposite effect.<br />

Improves<br />

Posture<br />

HIT<br />

Aligns spine<br />

giving a taller<br />

and more elegant<br />

presentation.<br />

HIT<br />

Opens the<br />

tightness in<br />

shoulders and<br />

chest giving a less<br />

tense appearance.<br />

MISS<br />

Easy to overwork<br />

upper trapezius<br />

and chest giving<br />

a rounded look.<br />

Easily<br />

Accessible<br />

HIT<br />

Can be done<br />

anywhere, even<br />

in small corner<br />

of a studio<br />

apartment!<br />

HIT<br />

All you need<br />

is a mat<br />

and a great<br />

mindset.<br />

MISS<br />

Really can't be<br />

done without<br />

finding a gym.<br />

Injury<br />

Prevention<br />

HIT<br />

Provides body<br />

awareness to<br />

isolate specific<br />

muscles.<br />

FALLS<br />

SHORT<br />

Easy to<br />

overstress<br />

joints.<br />

FALLS<br />

SHORT<br />

Can cause muscle<br />

strain to joints if<br />

not careful.<br />

All Age<br />

Appropriate<br />

HIT<br />

Kids as young<br />

as 4 and adults<br />

in their 90s can<br />

do Pilates.<br />

HIT<br />

Develops<br />

balance.<br />

Easy to find<br />

classes.<br />

FALLS<br />

SHORT<br />

Great for<br />

avoiding<br />

osteoporosis.


PICK YOUR PRODUCE<br />

If you choose to buy conventional produce, stick<br />

to the fruits and vegetables with the lowest<br />

amounts of pesticide residue. This group,<br />

dubbed “the clean 15” by the Environmental<br />

Working Group (EWG) includes: onions •<br />

avocados • corn • pineapples • mangoes •<br />

eggplants • papayas • asparagus • sweet peas •<br />

kiwi fruits • cabbages • watermelons • broccoli •<br />

tomatoes • sweet potatoes.


FEEL GOOD / WHAT THE PROS KNOW<br />

Why are hormones important?<br />

Q. What are bio-identical hormones?<br />

MICHELLE BARNES, M.D.<br />

If I do cardiovascular workouts on a regular basis,<br />

Q. why do I need to worry about flexibility and exercises<br />

to strengthen my abdominal core?<br />

RENEE RICCA<br />

Hormones determine everything<br />

A. in the body from turning on and<br />

off its thermostat to inducing sexual<br />

desire to establishing the firmness of<br />

the skin. “As we age we lose the natural<br />

hormone levels we had when we were<br />

younger. We want to test for hormonal<br />

deficiencies and restore hormones to<br />

optimal levels to improve health, provide<br />

disease prevention and increase general<br />

quality of life,” said Dr. Michelle Barnes, medical director at AgeMedix.<br />

“Once the hormone levels are measured and analyzed, we work with<br />

the patient to create a proper treatment plan.” Although no medical<br />

treatment is completely risk free, it has been found that natural hormone<br />

replacement is safe. Agemedix only uses bio-identical hormones in its<br />

therapy treatments. Bio-identical hormones mean it is an exact duplicate<br />

to the ones found naturally in the body. “We can naturally replenish and<br />

restore what has been lost in the aging process and return hormones to<br />

their optimal levels,” said Dr. Barnes.<br />

As a professional dancer,<br />

A. Renee Ricca understands<br />

the importance of moving. With<br />

her studio just celebrating its first<br />

anniversary, Ricca teaches Pilates as<br />

a way to increase flexibility, elongate<br />

and strengthen muscles and improve<br />

posture. Ricca emphasizes the use of<br />

proper mechanics, pelvic stabilization,<br />

coordinated breathing and muscle<br />

contraction to strengthen the<br />

abdominal core. It is crucial to have a<br />

strong core because it is actually these muscles that effect posture. “With<br />

a strong core you are able to correct your posture and protect your body<br />

against future injury,” says Renee Ricca, founder of Renee Ricca Pilates<br />

Center. In her belief that movement is the key to a healthy body, Ricca<br />

recently introduced Gyrotonics to her studio. “It gets the body moving in<br />

a new way,” she said. With a specially created workout bench and pulley<br />

tower with rotating wheels, the body is able to do circular movements<br />

as opposed to the more traditional linear exercises. As the first studio in<br />

Aventura to offer Gyrotonics, Ricca understands the importance of having<br />

joint mobility and how circular movements are essential to strengthening<br />

joints. “Gyrotonics is able to improve the hips range of motion in a golf<br />

swing and to increase the shoulder rotation necessary for playing tennis,”<br />

she explained. “Gyrotonics can also do incredible things to improve back<br />

and knee injuries.” Ricca works to provide her students with a program<br />

that ensures they will get the best out of their bodies.<br />

Have health, beauty & wellness questions you would like our team<br />

of experts to answer, send them to the editor of Cravings South<br />

Florida magazine: sara@cravingssouthflorida.com.<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 39


BEAUTY OF THE SEASON<br />

Beauty knows no bounds. The latest technologies of infrared lights, lasers, sonic waves and thermal<br />

energy have come to beauty gadgets and gizmos. These technologically advanced tools work to clear your<br />

skin, make your teeth whiter and give your hair damage-free heat. So don’t be afraid to bring your beauty<br />

regimen into the 21 st century; you are sure to see that technology really is beautiful.<br />

BLOW SOME HOT AIR<br />

Don't let your wet hair slow you down.<br />

The SuperSolano 3700 Moda Dryer<br />

($220) will get your hair out-thedoor<br />

ready in no time. Its heating<br />

mechanisms won't hurt your hair,<br />

helping to keep it healthy and shiny.<br />

solanopower.com<br />

LOCK OF LOVE<br />

The Sleekheat 450<br />

Flat iron ($199) heats<br />

up in just 60 seconds.<br />

The ceramic beveled<br />

plates easily glide<br />

through hair causing<br />

less damage -- doing<br />

its jobs while keeping<br />

your locks healthy<br />

and shiny.<br />

solanopower.com<br />

40 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

TOOLS OF THE TRADE<br />

Beauty Gadgets Go High Tech<br />

By Courtney Markofsky<br />

SPOT ON<br />

Try the Zeno Hot<br />

Spot ($39.99) to clear<br />

blemishes. The heated<br />

tip is placed directly on<br />

the problem area killing<br />

acne causing bacteria.<br />

myZENO.com<br />

PORE IT OUT<br />

Give your skin a spa-like treatment<br />

at home with the Clarisonic Plus<br />

($195). The moving head is able to<br />

get out the deepest of dirt from<br />

your pores. Any esthetician would<br />

be proud of your clean afterglow.<br />

clarisonic.com


PROS KNOW BEST <br />

Do what the pros do and<br />

use the iwata Silver Jet<br />

Compressor ($341) for<br />

the perfect application<br />

of foundation and<br />

self-tanners. This<br />

airbrushing machine has<br />

a compact compressor<br />

making it easy to take<br />

anywhere. Never again<br />

will you have to face<br />

caked on foundation or<br />

an uneven tan.<br />

iwata-medea.com<br />

SHINE A LITTLE LIGHT<br />

Photo rejuvenation fights the<br />

aging skin battle by reducing<br />

fine lines and wrinkles, building<br />

collagen, increasing circulation<br />

and restoring the skin. Turn on<br />

the light and treat your skin to a<br />

therapeutic session with the Baby<br />

Quasar ($349).<br />

babyquasar.com<br />

SHOW YOUR PEARLY WHITES<br />

Give yourself a one hour professional whitening and<br />

brightening treatment with Luster 1 Hour White ($39.99)<br />

while wearing your pajamas and fuzzy slippers.<br />

lusterPremiumWhite.com<br />

HAIR TODAY GONE TOMORROW<br />

With its thermicon technology,<br />

the No!No!8800 ($250) eliminates<br />

unwanted hair, reducing re-growth<br />

by up to 94%.<br />

my-no-no.com<br />

THE EYES HAVE IT<br />

See an immediate<br />

reduction of fine lines<br />

and wrinkles around<br />

the eye area with the<br />

use of the Clarisonic<br />

Opal Sonic infusion<br />

($245). Its circular<br />

motion works to make<br />

the eye appear brighter,<br />

firmer and more<br />

hydrated.<br />

clarisonic.com<br />

HairTalkStudio@Gmail.com<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 41


WISH YOU WERE HERE<br />

MIAMI dOlPHINs FInSWEEKEnD ToURnAMenT<br />

When it comes to hosting a fundraiser the Miami Dolphins Foundation knew how to do it up. For three days, current players and alumni, fans<br />

and distinguished guests gathered for FinsWeekend. With no football insight, the days and nights were filled with golf, fishing and partying.<br />

All proceeds from the weekend go to the foundation’s initiatives of supporting South Florida’s youth.<br />

1. Donald Thomas, Pat White. 2. 2010 Members of the Dolphins Honor Roll: Bill Stanfill, Owner Stephen Ross, Jake Scott. 3. Lousaka Polite.<br />

4. Jake Grove. 5. Rick Horrow, Tony Segreto, Eddie Carbone. 6. Mayor of Aventura Susan Gottlieb, Chad Henne.<br />

7. Brandon & Katie Fields. 8. Lousaka Polite. 9. O.J. McDuffie. 10. Jake Long. 11. Drew Wickstrom, Channing Crowder.<br />

12. Dick Boever (Golf Trick Shot Artist), Mike Dee, Jorge Perez.<br />

42 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

1<br />

6<br />

7<br />

2<br />

4<br />

3<br />

5<br />

8


9<br />

10<br />

11<br />

12<br />

305 933•1151<br />

2999 NE 191st Street • Penthouse One<br />

Aventura Florida • 33180<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 43


WISH YOU WERE HERE<br />

An EVENING oF ElITE ELEGAnCE<br />

Although the attire was black-tie and fancy dresses and the locale a waterfront Fort Lauderdale mansion, the annual fundraiser for the Elite<br />

Women’s Foundation was seriously working to address the needs of women. Established by Elite Obstetrics & Gynecology director Dr. Lanalee<br />

Araba Sam, the foundation strives to assist women experience optimal physical health, emotional wellness and personal success. The more than<br />

350 guests were entertained with an exotic Bollywood dance performance and a swimwear fashion show. With the funds raised, the foundation<br />

works with well-established charitable institutions that address the needs of women.<br />

44 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

1<br />

4<br />

1. Zack Schiffman and wife Lona Smith. 2. Active Doctors Consult team: David Jones, Marie Arnoux & CEO Florent Monssoh.<br />

3. Dr. Lanalee Araba Sam and her brother Garth Sam. 4. Dr. Sam with Drs. Justin & Sarah Yovino. 5. Hybrid Rhythms Bollywood<br />

Dance Company. 6. Dr. Sam with TV anchor Neki Mohan. 7. Christopher White, Vernell Roberts. 8. Model Shea McMayo.<br />

9. Dr. Sam & VIP pregnant patient Lona Smith.<br />

2<br />

5<br />

6 7 8 9<br />

3


WISH YOU WERE HERE<br />

dINING DRIVES THE CAusE<br />

The evening is about friends and first-class dinners. After one of South<br />

Florida’s great restaurants is randomly selected, guests load up in limos<br />

and are driven to their dining destinations. But the evening isn’t only<br />

about fine wines and fabulous food, this annual fundraiser for the<br />

Florida Heart Research Institute helps to allow the institute continue to<br />

pursue its mission to stop heart disease through cardiovascular research,<br />

education and prevention programs.<br />

1. At Creek 28 with Chef Kira Volz. Standing: Lynda Gordon, Terri Rosa & Steve Rosa,<br />

Taryn Bulino, Mary Young. Seated: Dr. Michael Gordon, Janet Khamsl, Frank Young.<br />

2. At Aqualina Resort & Spa on The Beach. Standing: Michael Weintraub,<br />

Sue Nichols, Barbara Weintraub, Chef Marc Debas, Carol Russo.<br />

Seated: Alan Nichols, Jackie Simkin, Henry Mangels.<br />

3. At Escopazzo with Chef Giancarla Bodoni. Standing: Bob, Jeff Smith, Andrew<br />

Jackson, Tony Robledo. Seated: Jen, Ceci Smith of BNY Mellon Wealth Management,<br />

Dr. Ana Calderon and Sandy Robledo.<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 47


F Y I<br />

People in Your<br />

Neighborhood<br />

When looking for a new place to live it isn’t only important to find a property you love, but also an area you<br />

would enjoy living. Who would know better about the ins and outs of an area than a real estate agent? So we<br />

asked. agents share their insights about an area that they feel not only has beautiful residences, but also is a<br />

great place to live.<br />

RANDY ROSE • Rose and Rose Realty, P.A.<br />

eAsteRn sHoRes<br />

q. WHY DO YOU LIKE EASTERN SHORES?<br />

A. It is convenient. It is less than one mile to the beach.<br />

It has restaurants, a grocery store and movie theater all<br />

in walking distance. Oleta State Park is just across the<br />

street; and the drive to either the Aventura Mall or the<br />

Bal Harbour Shops is just 10 minutes.<br />

q. WHAT TYPE OF PROPERTY CAN BE FOUND IN<br />

EASTERN SHORES?<br />

A. The area is known for its waterfront property with<br />

direct ocean access for boats. The houses and condos<br />

offer enough back space so it is easy to dock a large boat<br />

or yacht. There is a wide selection of condos, waterfront<br />

townhouses, single-family homes and larger estates.<br />

q. DO YOU THINK THE RESIDENCES IN EASTERN<br />

SHORES HOLD THEIR VALUE?<br />

A. They absolutely hold their values. First, the area<br />

has top-rated schools. Second, there are roughly 335<br />

homes in Eastern Shores and only three are not on the<br />

water. Being a waterfront community helps to hold the<br />

value. In the last 10 years, people have started to buy<br />

the older homes and knock them down to build larger<br />

estate homes, which easily increase the values of all the<br />

properties.<br />

48 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

SCOTT PATTERSON • EWM Realtors, P.A.<br />

HARboR isLAnD, HoLLywooD<br />

q. WHY DO YOU LIKE HARBOR ISLAND?<br />

A. Within this gated community there are eight subcommunities<br />

offering a great deal of diversity. All the streets<br />

are private, unlike say, Golden Beach where it is private but<br />

the streets are owned by the city not the community. Harbor<br />

Island also has its own private boat marina. It has a country<br />

club feel and includes all of the amenities expected at a club<br />

– clubhouse, tennis courts, running/biking trails, swimming<br />

pool.<br />

q. WHAT TYPE OF PROPERTY CAN BE FOUND<br />

IN HARBOR ISLAND?<br />

A. There are mostly homes and townhouses. There are no<br />

condos in Harbor Island. The residential property offerings<br />

include single-family zero lot homes, townhouses and large<br />

estate homes with up to seven bedrooms.<br />

q. DO YOU THINK THE RESIDENCES IN HARBOR ISLAND<br />

HOLD THEIR VALUE?<br />

A. There is not another gated waterfront community from<br />

Las Olas to Miami Beach. The private marina allows even<br />

those who don’t live on the water to keep their boat easily<br />

accessible. Obviously the closer you get to the water the more<br />

expensive it gets. In the last six months, a second-home buyer<br />

purchased a house on Hatter’s Lane for $3.2 million.


DENISE RUBIN • Prudential<br />

Florida Realty<br />

AVentuRA<br />

q. WHY DO YOU LIKE AVENTURA?<br />

A. Aventura is the City of Excellence. It is very<br />

beautiful. There is an emphasis on maintaining<br />

the city. There are parks, children’s parks, a<br />

community center and a new cultural arts<br />

center. The three-mile Don Soffer exercise path<br />

outlines the Turnberry golf course. The path is<br />

currently being renovated with resurfacing and<br />

the addition of water fountains and emergency<br />

call buttons. The area’s schools are excellent<br />

and fairly new. The biggest seller for the area is<br />

its location. It is 11 minutes to Fort Lauderdale<br />

International Airport, 20 minutes to downtown<br />

Fort Lauderdale and 20 minutes to South Beach.<br />

q. WHAT TYPE OF PROPERTY CAN BE FOUND<br />

IN AVENTURA?<br />

A. Although Aventura is mostly condos, there are<br />

a few gated communities of single family homes.<br />

Most of the residential buildings are designed<br />

with families in mind; they offer the same square<br />

footage as a house but with all the amenities of<br />

a condo.<br />

q. DO YOU THINK THE RESIDENCES IN<br />

AVENTURA HOLD THEIR VALUE?<br />

A. Aventura is holding its property values<br />

better than other areas. This is because the<br />

three-square mile area has as extremely dense<br />

wealthy population. It is also very save. Aventura<br />

has more police per-square-foot than any other<br />

city in South Florida. There have been a lot less<br />

short sales and foreclosures in Aventura, which<br />

definitely helps the real estate to hold its value.<br />

DAVID RESTAINER •<br />

Fortune International Realty,<br />

sunny isLes<br />

q. WHY DO YOU LIKE SUNNY ISLES?<br />

A. Sunny Isles has the best beaches. It is one<br />

of the best places to have a second home or<br />

vacation getaway. The condos are literally right<br />

up against the beach. There is very easy ocean<br />

access through the redeveloped Sampson<br />

Park. Sunny Isles is a small community; it only<br />

became a city in 1997. Since that time it has<br />

used the influx of property tax revenue from<br />

the new condo developments to improve<br />

the city – everything from an enhanced<br />

library, improved parks, larger police force, a<br />

community center and a newly rebuilt pier.<br />

q. WHAT TYPE OF PROPERTY CAN BE<br />

FOUND IN SUNNY ISLES?<br />

A. Sunny Isles is mostly made up of<br />

condominiums.<br />

q. DO YOU THINK THE RESIDENCES IN<br />

SUNNY ISLES HOLD THEIR VALUE?<br />

A. The residences in Sunny Isles keep their<br />

value because they are ocean front property.<br />

There is no question that these condos have<br />

a hire value than the condos located on the<br />

intercoastal.<br />

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cravingssouthflorida.com 49


PERIMETER<br />

sHANGHAI<br />

suRPRIsE:<br />

A Chinese<br />

City Shares Miami Beach’s<br />

Art Deco Heritage<br />

50 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

ART DECO IN SHANGHAI<br />

AND MIAMI BEACH<br />

By deke erh<br />

Available at: Books and Books<br />

• 927 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach<br />

• 9700 Collins Ave., Bal Harbour Shops<br />

• 265 Aragon Ave, Coral Gables<br />

booksandbooks.com


Many people associate Art Deco with Miami<br />

– more specifically with South Beach. The<br />

tropical-colored, neon-lit hotels along Ocean Drive<br />

with their “come hither” curves, thrusting spires,<br />

and flirty “eyebrows” are famous the world over.<br />

But, in fact, Art Deco, a design movement originating<br />

in Europe and inspired by the technological and<br />

industrial advances of the ‘20s, can be seen as far away<br />

as Melbourne, Australia; Napier, New Zealand; Asmara,<br />

Ethiopia, and the harbor cities of China. Christened<br />

in the ‘60s, the name, Art Decocomes from a 1925<br />

decorative arts exhibition in Paris that drew attention<br />

to the distinctive, richly detailed style.<br />

Shanghai, with more Art Deco buildings than any<br />

other city in Asia, is considered a capital of Art<br />

Deco. However, the edifices aren’t clustered as in<br />

South Beach; instead, they are scattered all over the<br />

city. This, combined with the rapid and large scale<br />

urban redevelopment that accompanied Shanghai’s<br />

economic surge, has made it exceptionally difficult<br />

for preservationists to save and maintain them.<br />

Many of the buildings have survived only because<br />

so few buildings were built in the period from<br />

the Communist takeover in 1949 to the ‘90s.<br />

Interestingly, Shanghai has looked to Miami as an<br />

inspiration for preserving its Deco heritage.<br />

BUILDING BRIDGES<br />

Don and Nina Worth, who have lived in the Art Deco<br />

historic district on Ocean Drive since 1993 are ardent<br />

preservationists involved with the successful efforts<br />

to create historic designations for the MiMo (Miami<br />

Modern) district and, more recently, for the Miami<br />

Marine Stadium (www.marinestadium.org). In 2005,<br />

they were among twelve participants in a United<br />

States - China Friendship Association trip to China.<br />

A requirement was that they develop a cultural<br />

exchange program; Art Deco in Shanghai was a<br />

natural match. A meeting was arranged with the<br />

architect Xing Tong He.<br />

Perhaps because of Asian humility, it wasn’t<br />

made clear to them that Mr. Xing is, in fact, the<br />

Chief Architect of the Shanghai Xien Dai, one of<br />

the five largest architectural firms in the world.<br />

They discussed the similarities between Miami<br />

and Shanghai – both energetic, multicultural,<br />

cosmopolitan cities with a strong design sensibility<br />

and a rapidly growing population; cities where<br />

smaller, historic buildings are often sacrificed for<br />

modern, high density ones.<br />

Miami Beach’s annual Art Deco Weekend 2007 was<br />

themed “East Meets West: Art Deco from Shanghai to<br />

Miami.” A Shanghainese delegation of government<br />

officials, urban planners, and preservationists made<br />

the cultural exchange complete, witnessing first hand<br />

how preservation of the Art Deco district has served as<br />

an economic engine attracting global tourists.<br />

Developer and preservationist Tony Goldman funded<br />

and hosted an exhibition of one hundred Art Deco<br />

photographs by Deke Erh. Half were taken in Miami<br />

Beach and half in Shanghai. In 2008, the Worths<br />

created the book Art Deco in Shanghai and Miami<br />

Beach, which features Erh’s photographs. The book<br />

was in part financed by Hutchison Whampoa, a Hong<br />

Kong-based conglomerate developing a 1,000 unit<br />

Art Deco styled condominium complex in Shanghai<br />

designed by Xing Tong He’s firm. The photography<br />

exhibition was recently reprised at the University of<br />

Miami School of Architecture.<br />

DECO-RATED<br />

In the ‘20s and ‘30s, Shanghai was a city enthralled<br />

by fashion, glamour and modernity, a Paris of the<br />

East, where an international crowd of celebrities and<br />

wannabees partied together in jazzy venues. Art<br />

Deco suited the time and the place.<br />

Shanghai’s fabulous Art Deco hotels were developed<br />

and designed by a polyglot of people. In 1929, Sir<br />

Victor Sassoon, a noted hotelier and British subject<br />

of Iraqi Jewish ancestry, opened the magnificent<br />

Cathay Hotel. Not far away, gracing an intersection,<br />

are Sassoon’s Metropole Hotel, with its family<br />

emblems featuring greyhounds and Hamilton<br />

House, its twin and originally a combination office<br />

building and apartment house. The twenty-two<br />

story Park Hotel, the tallest building in China when it<br />

opened in 1934, was designed by Hungarian Laszlo<br />

Hudec. Home-grown and European-educated Li Fan<br />

designed the famous Yangtze Hotel.<br />

The former French concession is a beautiful,<br />

residential area where plane trees, imported from<br />

France, line the streets. Along the wider boulevards<br />

are Art Deco apartment buildings with glamorous<br />

facades and high-ceilinged, terrazzo-floored lobbies<br />

inlaid with deco designs. As one might expect, some<br />

buildings are named the Gascogne, Dauphine, and<br />

Normandie. Others have British names, such as the<br />

Savoy, Grosvenor, and Cavendish. You can still find<br />

Art Deco row houses down narrow lanes and little<br />

deco villas behind walls and gardens.<br />

Farther east, in the busy, old International<br />

Settlement, are the majestic deco commercial<br />

buildings, including many of its hotels. South of<br />

the Sassoon House is the starkly white Art Moderne<br />

Bank. To the north, the aptly-named Embankment<br />

Building extends along the Suzhou Creek for a<br />

quarter of a mile.<br />

Recently, preservation has, gained ground. The<br />

Yangtze Hotel, now the five star Langham Yangtse<br />

Boutique Shanghai, completed a thirty million<br />

dollar renovation. Urged by Shanghai city officials,<br />

the state-run company that owns the Peace Hotel,<br />

formerly The Cathay, is investing millions of dollars to<br />

renovate it. When it reopens, it will be managed by<br />

Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. The Park Hotel still stands<br />

tall, but the horse-racing track it once overlooked is<br />

now People’s Square. Next door, the Art Deco Grand<br />

Theater, with its dramatic lobby and staircase, has<br />

also been renovated.<br />

Deke Erh explains in Art Deco in Shanghai and Miami<br />

Beach that he intended his photographs “…to afford<br />

the residents of these two cities an opportunity<br />

to appreciate the architectural wonders of each<br />

other’s cityscape…” If Miamians find themselves<br />

homesick in Shanghai, they can find the familiar in<br />

its beautiful Art Deco buildings.<br />

-- Marlene Sholod<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 51


Dealer: damian Wieza, Hard<br />

Rock Hotel & <strong>Casino</strong>.<br />

On her (blonde): Navy with<br />

sheer cutout Masiguare<br />

trench coat, available at<br />

Sylvia Tcherassi, Merrick<br />

Park; Navy sequin and<br />

lace Liza Motte leggings,<br />

available nationwide at<br />

Custo Barcelona; Black<br />

strappy sandals, available<br />

at Charles david, aventura<br />

Mall.<br />

On him: Giorgio armani<br />

black pinstripe sport coat,<br />

available at Bloomingdale’s,<br />

Aventura Mall; Emporio<br />

armani navy stripe sweater,<br />

available at Bloomingdale’s<br />

aventura; Grey dress slacks,<br />

available at Ted Baker,<br />

Aventura Mall; Black and<br />

whit beaded dress shoe,<br />

available at donald J. Pliner,<br />

Aventura Mall.<br />

On her (brunette):<br />

Michael Kors black lace and<br />

beaded leopard pencil skirt<br />

and black lace sequin tank,<br />

available at Bloomingdale’s,<br />

Aventura Mall; Black sheer<br />

bolero with ruffle trim,<br />

available at Betsey Johnson,<br />

Aventura Mall; Ralph<br />

lauren black leather belt,<br />

Bloomingdale’s, aventura<br />

Mall; Juicy couture gold with<br />

crystal ring, available at<br />

Shooz, Seminole Paradise at<br />

Hard Rock Hotel and <strong>Casino</strong>;<br />

Sergio Zelcer bronze pumps,<br />

available at Maccimo,<br />

Seminole Paradise at Hard<br />

Rock Hotel and <strong>Casino</strong>.<br />

<strong>Casino</strong> <strong>Chic</strong><br />

PHOTOS BY Gio Alma, gioalma.com<br />

FASHION STYLIST: Lisa Cera/Ford; MAKE UP & HAIR: J.Patrick for Ford Artist using Dior Cosmetics; MAKE UP & HAIR ARTIST ASSISTANT: Cynthia Dalagelis;<br />

PHOTOGRAPHER’S PRODUCER: Marce Gaviria; PHOTOGRAPHER’S ASSISTANT: Ricky Louis; FASHION STYLIST INTERNS: Arriel Ginter and Abriel Bolton;<br />

MODELS: Brunette: Ivana Korab/Next Models, Blonde: Emilia Jarvela/Mega Models, Man: Nelson R/301 Model Management<br />

LOCATION: Seminole Paradise: Hard Rock Hotel and <strong>Casino</strong>, Hollywood, FL<br />

52 Cravings | August / September 2010


cravingssouthflorida.com<br />

53


Winner's<br />

Circle<br />

54 Cravings | August / September 2010


On her (brunette):<br />

Yogal azrouel hounds tooth<br />

dress, available at Saks Fifth<br />

avenue, Bal Harbour shops;<br />

Black sheer stockings,<br />

available nationwide at<br />

Wolford boutiques; Black<br />

leather boots, available at<br />

Charles david, aventura<br />

Mall; Red vintage gloves,<br />

available at Pure inspiration<br />

(by appointment only),<br />

786.586.8794.<br />

On him: Roberto Cavalli<br />

brown tie dye print<br />

dress shirt, available at<br />

Bloomingdale’s, aventura<br />

Mall; Grey slacks, available<br />

at Reiss, Aventura Mall;<br />

Black suede belt, available<br />

at Sebastian James,<br />

Aventura Mall; Brown<br />

leather dress shoes,<br />

available at Ted Baker,<br />

Aventura Mall.<br />

On her (blonde):<br />

Jean-Paul Gaultier red<br />

and black print dress with<br />

knit trim, available at Saks<br />

Fifth avenue, Bal Harbour<br />

Shops; Black leather ankle<br />

booties, available at Charles<br />

David, Aventura Mall; Fossil<br />

sunglasses, available<br />

at Resort Wear,<br />

Seminole Paradise at Hard<br />

Rock Hotel and <strong>Casino</strong>.<br />

On him (far back):<br />

Black sport coat, available<br />

at Ted Baker, aventura<br />

Mall; Tom Ford aviator<br />

sunglasses, available<br />

at Resort Wear,<br />

Seminole Paradise at Hard<br />

Rock Hotel and <strong>Casino</strong>.<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com<br />

55


High<br />

Rollers<br />

56 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

On him: Eggplant<br />

dark plum dress<br />

shirt, available at<br />

Ted Baker, aventura<br />

Mall; Versace black<br />

cotton pant, available<br />

at Bloomingdale’s,<br />

Aventura Mall;<br />

Brown leather belt,<br />

available at Reiss,<br />

Aventura Mall.<br />

On her: Roberto<br />

Cavalli print dress<br />

with ruching,<br />

available at<br />

Saks Fifth avenue,<br />

Bal Harbour Shops;<br />

Black sheer stockings,<br />

available nationwide<br />

at Wolford boutiques;<br />

Gold metallic<br />

handbag with chain,<br />

available at Sebastian<br />

James, aventura<br />

Mall; Black strappy<br />

platforms, available<br />

at Charles david,<br />

Aventura Mall.


On her: Silver beaded dress by<br />

Naheem Kalin, available at Saks<br />

Fifth avenue, Bal Harbour Shops;<br />

Black satin rose clutch, available<br />

at Shooz, Seminole Paradise at<br />

Hard Rock Hotel and <strong>Casino</strong>; Black<br />

patent leather faux-crocodile<br />

bootie, available at Maccimo,<br />

Seminole Paradise at Hard Rock<br />

Hotel and <strong>Casino</strong>.<br />

On him: atelier blue dress shirt,<br />

available at Maccimo, Seminole<br />

Paradise at Hard Rock Hotel<br />

& <strong>Casino</strong>; Pinstripe trouser,<br />

available at Reiss, Aventura Mall;<br />

Navy blazer with fuschsia trim,<br />

available at Ted Baker, aventura<br />

Mall; Black patent leather belt<br />

and black patent leather dress<br />

shoes available at donald J. Pliner,<br />

Aventura Mall .<br />

Games<br />

People Play<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com<br />

57


Lady<br />

Luck<br />

58 Cravings | August / September 2010


On her (blonde):<br />

donna Karan sheer layered<br />

nude and grey gown, available<br />

at Saks Fifth avenue,<br />

Bal Harbour Shops;<br />

Grey fur ivy in lapin handbag<br />

by laura Buccellati, available at<br />

Jennifer Boin Personal Jeweler,<br />

Coral Gables; Silver metallic<br />

platform pumps, available at<br />

Charles David, Aventura Mall.<br />

On her (brunette):<br />

Multi-colored fringe dress<br />

and bolero, both available<br />

nationwide at Custo Barcelona;<br />

Bronze strappy sandals,<br />

available at Charles david,<br />

Aventura Mall.<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 59


On her (brunette): Silver<br />

metallic dress with jeweled<br />

neckline and cuffs by Kaisa<br />

de Gelaque, available at<br />

Maccimo, Seminole Paradise<br />

at Hard Rock Hotel and<br />

<strong>Casino</strong>.<br />

On her (blonde): Ralph<br />

lauren classic camel high<br />

neck sweater, available at<br />

Bloomingdale’s, aventura<br />

Mall; Michael Kors classic<br />

camel fur vest, available<br />

at Saks Fifth avenue, Bal<br />

Harbour Shops; Gold fringe<br />

necklace, available at<br />

Macy’s, Aventura Mall.<br />

Beautiful<br />

Bluff<br />

60 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

On him: Energie grey trousers,<br />

available at Reiss, aventura<br />

Mall; Black wool sweater,<br />

available at Miss Sixty,<br />

Aventura Mall; Versace black<br />

on black swirl print blazer,<br />

available at Saks Fifth avenue,<br />

Dadeland Mall.


Spend<br />

Time In<br />

Paradise<br />

At the Seminole Paradise: Hard Rock<br />

Hotel & <strong>Casino</strong> it won’t be hard to spend<br />

your winnings. Adjacent to the hotel<br />

and casino is an outdoor complex that<br />

includes 23 retail shops, 18 restaurants<br />

and 13 bars and lounges.<br />

SHOP<br />

The Paradise Shops offers a wide variety from the<br />

more established Brookstone and White House/<br />

Black Market to boutiques that are unique to<br />

Paradise including Rock Shop where it is easy to<br />

find everything from limited edition T-shirts to funky<br />

keychains. For those looking for a bit better bauble,<br />

Koosh Jewelers offers a wide selection of diamond<br />

jewelry and watches by Rolex, Cartier and Breitling.<br />

Not to forget that this is a casino, straight from the<br />

Forum Shops in Las Vegas is Brats offering children’s<br />

clothing with lots of attitude. If by chance when<br />

packing the little black dress or snazzy sandals<br />

somehow didn’t make it, boutiques like Cache,<br />

designer Outlet and Maccimo can step in with their<br />

selections of fashionable and designer offerings. On<br />

the shoe front, there is Styletto Shoes and Shooz<br />

which carry a wide range of designers from Donald<br />

Pliner to BCBG. But be careful, it is easily possible to<br />

exit the stores having purchased several pairs.<br />

For men, there is a wide selection of stores from<br />

the gadgets and gizmos offered at Brookstone to<br />

Havana Shirt Store with its wide selection of Cuban<br />

shirts, hats and linen pants.<br />

On the more serious side there are stores like:<br />

Seminole Store offering a wide range of<br />

handcrafted Native American merchandise and<br />

Gallerit offering fine arts and collectibles.<br />

EAT<br />

In between going in and out of the shops, an<br />

appetite can certainly build. Well no matter what<br />

the desire is -- be it Italian, Asian, Mexican, BBQ,<br />

burgers or just a scoop of ice cream it is all here. No<br />

craving will go unmet. Martorano’s is an offshoot<br />

of Steve Martorano’s Philadelphia-inspired Italian<br />

flavor restaurant. For authentic Florida oak-smoked<br />

BBQ head directly to Renegade BBQ. For a mixture<br />

of everything from Cantonese to Thai, Tatu is at<br />

the ready. It also has a sushi bar and private tatami<br />

rooms. Wanting to go all out and have a no-holdsbar<br />

night of fun head to Tequila Ranch. Here<br />

margaritas are served by the yard. A mechanical bull<br />

is ready to be challenged, when the tequila kicks in<br />

and the confidence builds to believing conquering<br />

the beast is possible.<br />

DO<br />

The options are so great it will be hard to decide.<br />

For those whose tequila buzz hasn’t worn off there<br />

is 88’s Dueling Pianos where sing alongs are<br />

required. For the more subdued, the options include<br />

Knightime Billards with nine holes of trick shot pool<br />

and an arcade. If sitting back and being entertained<br />

is on the agenda there is improv Comedy Club with<br />

both local and national comic headliners and don’t<br />

miss the magic bar. To do the nightclub/lounge thing<br />

there is a choice of Pangaea a spinoff of New York’s<br />

celebrity lounge or Opium, the relocated iconic<br />

South Beach nightclub.<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 61


cravingssouthflorida.com 63


64 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

AutumnAttire<br />

after the lazy days of summer, the crisp fall air brings excitement and<br />

energy for lots of fun -- visiting a pumpkin patch, jumping in a pile of<br />

leaves, or heading off to school.<br />

BOOK SMARTS<br />

SHIRT ($93)<br />

VEST ($77)<br />

JEANS ($109)<br />

catimini.com<br />

SPRING INTO FALL<br />

DRESS ($133)<br />

RAINCOAT ($101)<br />

LEGGINGS ($49)


FALLING INTO STEP<br />

T-SHIRT ($54)<br />

JEANS ($93)<br />

AUTUMN DAY ACTIVITY<br />

CARDIGAN ($101)<br />

JEANS ($93)<br />

LET THE SCHOOLING BEGIN<br />

CARDIGAN ($109)<br />

Present this<br />

coupon at the<br />

register and<br />

receive<br />

$20 OFF<br />

with a purchase<br />

of $100 or more.<br />

Aventura Mall, FL<br />

catimini.com<br />

(305) 705.0070<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 65


Class Act<br />

The start of a new school year gives a child<br />

the opportunity to strengthen his skills,<br />

explore new talents and get assistance in<br />

subject areas where he may be struggling.<br />

Regardless of his interests, there is a class or program<br />

that will engage and enrich and provide him with the<br />

opportunity to develop to his fullest potential.<br />

SPORTS<br />

AMERICAN TAE KWON DO<br />

ACADEMY<br />

2026 NE 155 th Street, NMB<br />

305.945.4445<br />

campkarate.com<br />

Although your kids may be more<br />

familiar with mixed martial arts<br />

than with traditional karate, the<br />

basic principles are the same.<br />

Students who participate in the<br />

after-school program are expected<br />

to complete homework tasks before<br />

beginning martial arts lessons. Tae<br />

Kwon Do is known to help children<br />

with responsibility and discipline.<br />

66 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

KIROVA BALLET<br />

ACADEMYOF MIAMI<br />

1955 E. Hallandale Beach Boulevard,<br />

Hallandale Beach<br />

305.720.2484<br />

kirovaballet.com<br />

With a distinguished faculty who<br />

teaches the Vaganova Syllabus of<br />

classical Russian ballet technique<br />

(the world’s most rigorous and<br />

thorough). This academy works with<br />

young dancers, from ages three<br />

and up, to learn great technique<br />

from the beginning. Class offerings<br />

include: ballet, pointe, jazz and<br />

modern dance.<br />

master Sang's<br />

MASTER SANG’S MARTIAL ARTS<br />

ACADEMY<br />

1420 Alton Road, Miami Beach<br />

305.785.2286<br />

sangsacademy.com<br />

For the past 20 years at his five Tae<br />

Kwon Do centers throughout the<br />

area, Master Sang has developed an<br />

exclusive Black Belt Success System.<br />

The system is based on a structured<br />

curriculum that focuses on the core<br />

elements of martial arts: respect,<br />

discipline, perseverance and selfcontrol.<br />

Participating in Tae Kwon Do<br />

is known to enhance concentration<br />

and the ability to focus.<br />

KLa Schools<br />

Fun ways to<br />

learn in & out of<br />

the classroom<br />

miami gymnastic &<br />

dance academy<br />

MIAMI GYMNASTIC & DANCE<br />

ACADEMY<br />

2281 NE 164 th Street, NMB<br />

305.944.2727<br />

miamigymnasticanddance.com<br />

Through flips, tumbles and dance<br />

moves children are sure to build<br />

both their coordination and<br />

self-confidence. Classes include:<br />

tumbling, acrobatics, circus arts and<br />

trampoline. For the more advanced<br />

students, there is an intense<br />

X-Sports program that combines<br />

all of the above activities into one<br />

class. Hip-hop, ballet, jazz and break<br />

dance lessons are also available.


PENNY SUGARMAN TENNIS<br />

CENTER AT SANS SOUCI<br />

1795 Sans Souci Boulevard,<br />

North Miami<br />

305.893.7130<br />

northmiamifl.gov<br />

Even the youngest can practice<br />

their backhand with the guidance<br />

of expert coaches at the Penny<br />

Sugarman Tennis Center. Lessons<br />

for players of all levels are available,<br />

as well as private classes and free<br />

clinics. Remember, Serena Williams<br />

and Rafael Nadal had to start<br />

somewhere.<br />

red Berry's<br />

RED BERRY’S BASEBALL WORLD<br />

7455 SW 125 th Avenue, Miami<br />

305.279.2668<br />

redberry.net<br />

Making sure every youth can<br />

enjoy the great American<br />

pastime, legendary coach Red<br />

Berry continues to provide a fun<br />

opportunity for children to learn<br />

the fundamentals of baseball at his<br />

world-class training facility. With<br />

nearly half a century and counting<br />

under his belt there’s a chance for<br />

every child, from T-ball to varsity, to<br />

knock one out of the park.<br />

SWIM GYM<br />

DAVE & MARY ALPER JCC<br />

11155 SW 112 th Avenue, Kendall<br />

305.271.9000<br />

swimgym.net<br />

Ever since Michael Phelps won eight<br />

gold medals at the 2008 Summer<br />

Olympics, many more children are<br />

diving into the pool. Swim Gym<br />

has year round water sports and<br />

activities including: sailing, fishing,<br />

swimming, water polo, canoeing<br />

and snorkeling. Private swim lessons<br />

are also available.<br />

ARTS & CULTURE<br />

ART ATELIER<br />

14101 S. Dixie Highway,<br />

Palmetto Bay<br />

305.432.4034<br />

artclassesmiami.com<br />

This art studio is one of the<br />

few places in Miami to offer art<br />

instruction by locally recognized<br />

artists. There are classes available for<br />

every type of painting style including<br />

oil, acrylic and watercolor. Classes in<br />

drawing, jewelry making, sculpture<br />

and photography are also available.<br />

avenue productions<br />

AVENUE PRODUCTIONS<br />

2810 E. Oakland Park Boulevard,<br />

Fort Lauderdale<br />

954.561.1226<br />

avemodels.com<br />

This full-service model and talent<br />

agency offers upcoming stars the<br />

place to start their modeling and<br />

acting careers. With extensive<br />

experience in show business,<br />

students are offered a variety of<br />

opportunities to participate in<br />

print ads, television commercials/<br />

programs, music videos and fashion<br />

shows. Clients have found their way<br />

into well-known television shows<br />

and movies including: Burn Notice,<br />

The O.C., C.S.I. Miami, Up in the<br />

Air, Marley & Me, Daddy Day Care,<br />

Analyze This, Up Close and Personal<br />

and Confessions of a Shopaholic.<br />

BOCA RATON MUSEUM OF ART-<br />

THE ART SCHOOL<br />

801 W. Palmetto Park Road,<br />

Boca Raton<br />

561.392.2503<br />

bocamuseum.org<br />

The museum’s art school encourages<br />

creativity. In addition to offering<br />

numerous art classes, lectures and<br />

workshops for all levels, the school<br />

also has photography, fashion and<br />

caricature arts classes.<br />

KENDALL CONSERVATORY<br />

OF MUSIC<br />

7153 SW 117 th Avenue, Kendall<br />

305.274.9207<br />

kendallmusic.com<br />

With the intention of inviting<br />

students of all ages to explore the<br />

wonderful world of making music,<br />

children as young as four can begin<br />

to learn to play the piano, violin<br />

and guitar. Instructors focus on<br />

proper technique and theory. The<br />

conservatory also offers private<br />

vocal and instrument lessons.<br />

miami Children's museum<br />

MIAMI CHILDREN’S MUSEUM<br />

980 MacArthur Causeway,<br />

Miami Beach<br />

305.373.5437<br />

miamichildrensmuseum.org<br />

An ideal learning experience, the<br />

Miami Children’s Museum offers a<br />

plethora of classes and activities<br />

designed to teach kids through play<br />

and exploration with its interactive<br />

exhibits about art, science and even<br />

economics. Don’t think the kids have<br />

all the fun there are many classes<br />

that include parent and caretaker<br />

participation.<br />

THE ROxY THEATER GROUP<br />

The Roxy Performing Arts Center<br />

1645 SW 107 th Avenue, Miami<br />

305.226.0030<br />

roxyperformingartscenter.com<br />

This non-profit organization<br />

provides affordable performing<br />

arts, musical theater, improv and<br />

tap dancing classes. It is the perfect<br />

place for a child who has a desire<br />

to be in the spotlight to begin her<br />

training.<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 67


CLASS ACT<br />

morikami museum<br />

MORIKAMI MUSEUM AND<br />

JAPANESE GARDENS<br />

4000 Morikami Park Road,<br />

Delray Beach<br />

561.495.0233<br />

morikami.org<br />

Designed to create an appreciation<br />

for other cultures, the Morikami<br />

Museum produces exhibits that<br />

offer insight into Japan and its<br />

people. Its current exhibition<br />

Japan Through the Eyes of a Child<br />

transports young visitors to a<br />

distant land. From history to anime<br />

to Godzilla, youngsters will expand<br />

their horizons and gain a global<br />

perspective.<br />

ACADEMICS<br />

BABY STARS<br />

The Shops at the Waterways<br />

3565 NE 207 th Street, Aventura<br />

305.466.1886<br />

Toddlers and infants will get<br />

excited about learning, discovering<br />

and exploring. With its six unique<br />

environments: discovery room,<br />

fine motor skills, sensory and<br />

art room, gym and theater. The<br />

thematic curriculum offers agespecific<br />

activities for children from<br />

3 months to 3 years. Classes are<br />

taught in English, Spanish and<br />

bilingual formats.<br />

green Children's house<br />

68 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

GREEN CHILDREN’S HOUSE<br />

307 NE 1 st Street, Pompano Beach<br />

954.946.7215<br />

greenchildrenshouse.com<br />

This eco-friendly Montessori school<br />

strives to sustain the planet with its<br />

business practices and classroom<br />

teaching techniques. The school<br />

strives to protect and preserve the<br />

environment as well as teaching<br />

the importance of taking care of<br />

our world.<br />

THE DEBBIE SCHOOL- UNIVERSITY<br />

OF MIAMI<br />

1601 NW 12 th Avenue, Miami<br />

305.243.6961<br />

debbieschool.med.miami.edu<br />

Under the direction of the<br />

Department of Pediatrics at the<br />

UM Miller School of Medicine,<br />

The Debbie School serves the<br />

developmental needs of children<br />

with disabilities from birth to<br />

eight years of age. Therapeutic<br />

and academic programs are<br />

individualized for each child<br />

encouraging personal and<br />

intellectual growth.<br />

INSTITUTE FOR MATHEMATICS<br />

AND COMPUTER SCIENCE<br />

20445 Biscayne Boulevard, Aventura<br />

305.933.8992<br />

imacs.org<br />

This is the place for those<br />

who not only want to play with<br />

their Playstation, iPad or iPod<br />

but also want to learn how the<br />

technology works. With such<br />

courses as math enrichment and<br />

virtual robotics, young minds will<br />

definitely be challenged.<br />

KLa Schools<br />

KLA SCHOOLS<br />

20301 Biscayne Boulevard, Aventura<br />

786.422.6262<br />

klaschools.com<br />

Based on the education philosophy<br />

inspired by the Reggio Emilia<br />

approach, KLA Schools provide<br />

and exciting, enriching and childfocus<br />

programs for infants to<br />

5-year-olds. Schools based on the<br />

Reggio Emilia approach have been<br />

hailed as the best early childhood<br />

education programs. Through<br />

innovative activities, unique<br />

combinations of resources and<br />

materials and a variety of learning<br />

situations, children are encouraged<br />

to acquire critical thinking and<br />

collaboration skills.<br />

SPACE OF MIND<br />

110 SE 2 nd Street, Delray Beach<br />

877.407.1122<br />

findspaceofmind.com<br />

For parents who are tired of being<br />

the homework police, this program<br />

is designed to give parents a break.<br />

By offering innovative coaching and<br />

creative programming, students are<br />

taught how to simplify, maximize,<br />

organize the schoolwork to get it<br />

done in easy and fun ways.<br />

SYLVAN LEARNING CENTER<br />

18155 Biscayne Boulevard, Aventura<br />

888 EDUCATE (338.2283)<br />

tutoring.sylvanlearning.com<br />

Sylvan provides specialized tutoring<br />

programs in a large variety of<br />

subject matters for every grade<br />

level. Remedial tutoring and SAT<br />

preparation are also available.<br />

deering estate - richmond Cottage<br />

NATURE & SCIENCE<br />

DEERING ESTATE<br />

16701 SW 72 nd Avenue, Palmetto Bay<br />

305.235.1668<br />

deeringestate.com<br />

With its 444 acres of beautiful<br />

landscape, the historic Deering<br />

Estate is the perfect place for nature<br />

loving teens to get an introduction<br />

to photography.<br />

MIAMI SCIENCE MUSEUM<br />

3280 South Miami Avenue, Miami<br />

305.646.4200<br />

miamisci.org<br />

With an exciting line-up of<br />

exhibitions throughout the year<br />

ranging from rainforests to energy<br />

conservation, the museum is one of<br />

Miami’s most interactive places for<br />

children to discover the wonderful<br />

world of science. Different hands-on<br />

educational workshops and classes<br />

are offered to get visitors to engage<br />

in scientific activities.<br />

- additional research by michael fern<br />

Sylvan<br />

Learning<br />

Center


Birthday Wishes<br />

70 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

Do Come True<br />

Imagine if your birthday wish could come true before you even blew out the<br />

candles. When it comes to little girls, Le Petite Spa can easily make this happen.<br />

Here, birthdays are celebrated<br />

by being pampered with spa<br />

services including makeup,<br />

hairdos, manicures and pedicures; and,<br />

once the primping is complete the girls<br />

head down the runway for a mini-fashion<br />

show. There is no doubt that Le Petite Spa<br />

is truly a little girl’s fantasy come true; and,<br />

the new themed party packages are just<br />

the icing on the cake.<br />

For the little princess who likes to dress up<br />

and enjoys fairytales there is The Magical<br />

Package. The two-hour party includes<br />

manicures, hair and makeup, fashion<br />

show, pink lemonade champagne toast<br />

and the choice for the girls to make a<br />

tiara or magic wand. This party is planned<br />

(personal invitations included) for 12 girls.<br />

For the more adventurous<br />

child there is the two-hour<br />

ooh La La Package. The<br />

girls get to pick four spa<br />

services. Once pampered<br />

and prepped there is<br />

the mini-fashion show<br />

with black tutus, a pink<br />

lemonade champagne<br />

toast, a special cake and<br />

the opportunity to make<br />

their own tiaras. This party is planned<br />

(personal invitations included) for 12 girls.<br />

For the girl who likes to be in the spotlight<br />

there is the three-hour Ultimate Package.<br />

The girls get all the spa services, the<br />

chance to walk the runway and the pink<br />

lemonade champagne toast. They will<br />

also decorate their own hairpieces and<br />

enjoy a special birthday cake; for the<br />

grown-ups there is a food platter. And<br />

each girl will go home with a special party<br />

favor. This party is planned (personal<br />

invitations included) for 10 girls.<br />

If you would rather not have a theme, there<br />

is a wide selection of basic packages of two<br />

and three hour parties. There is also the<br />

opportunity to create a custom party if there<br />

are less than 10 girls attending.<br />

To make the special day really complete,<br />

the girls can be picked up in a limo and a<br />

photographer can be at the ready to capture<br />

all the special moments and catering is also<br />

available.<br />

No matter what type of party is selected,<br />

it is almost guaranteed that the birthday<br />

girl will have a great time celebrating with<br />

her friends in an environment thoughtfully<br />

designed for little girls. Isn’t it nice knowing<br />

that for another year a little girl gets to<br />

believe that wishes can happen and dreams<br />

can come true?


Biltmore hotel<br />

In South Florida there is no lack of places to go to expunge the ills of your workaday life. Highlighted<br />

here are the details of locales that offer eat & drink specials on specific days of the week.<br />

These spots are all light on the wallet and will help to put the happy in happy hour.<br />

72 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

MONDAY:<br />

Get rid of your Monday back-to-work blues at<br />

the Biltmore Hotel’s weekly happy hour. From<br />

5pm-7pm all drinks on the menu, including the<br />

signature martinis are half off. Primarily filled with<br />

suits and ties looking to wind down after the start<br />

of the workweek, the famous Coral Gables hotel<br />

also offers live music and scrumptious bites at its<br />

four distinctive restaurants and two separate bars.<br />

Appreciate the legacy and embrace the atmosphere<br />

of this historic landmark.<br />

Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Avenue,<br />

Coral Gables, 305.445.8066<br />

TUESDAY:<br />

Opened for over 60 years, Fox’s Sherron inn is<br />

reminiscent of the 1950s with its vintage vinyl<br />

booths. The laid-back spot is known for its Shuffle<br />

Tuesdays, where anyone from the college crowd<br />

to local hipsters drop in to take advantage of the<br />

all-night two for one specials on domestic beers,<br />

vodkas, gins, rums and wines.<br />

Fox’s Sherron Inn, 6030 South Dixie Highway,<br />

South Miami, 305.666.2230<br />

Best<br />

Nights<br />

FOR BEST DEALS<br />

WEDNESDAY:<br />

Here is a way to raise your spirits in high style.<br />

Bourbon Steak is all too happy to help you<br />

chase the blues away with its Wednesday night<br />

Bourbon and Blues. Located in the Fairmont/<br />

Turnberry Isle Resort. From 5pm – 8pm this<br />

classy joint will raise your spirits with specials<br />

including half-off signature cocktails as well as<br />

select beers and wines.<br />

Bourbon Steak, 19999 West Country Club Drive,<br />

Aventura, 786.279.6600<br />

Amongst the glistening high rises of Miami’s<br />

downtown is Waxy O’Connor’s irish Pub. It’s warm<br />

atmosphere makes it easy for you to enjoy its Happy<br />

Hump Day celebration from 7pm – 12am. With<br />

the sound of live reggae getting you to relax, the<br />

pub’s riverfront patio transforms into a backyard<br />

barbecue with hot dogs, burgers and steaks with all<br />

the trimmings. Ladies take note, from 7pm-10pm<br />

the champagne is complementary.<br />

Waxy O’Connor’s on the River, Brickell,<br />

690 SW 1 st Court, Miami, 786.871.7660


THURSDAY:<br />

For those with sophisticated tastes Caviar Kaspia<br />

is sure to satisfy on a multiple of levels. This<br />

modern and elegant locale is in the uber-chic store<br />

Webster. Here, from 7pm-9pm, the usually pricey<br />

drinks are cut down to size with its offering of $8<br />

mojitos, martinis, signature cocktails, beers, house<br />

wines and champagnes. Satisfy your stomach with<br />

its plates of delectable nibbles all under $10. If you<br />

desire to keep the specials of the evening coming<br />

head up to the rooftop where the live DJ spins and<br />

the specials continue to flow until 11pm.<br />

Caviar Kaspia, 1220 Collins Avenue,<br />

Miami Beach, 305.674.7899<br />

FRIDAY:<br />

Tobacco Road is the keeper of the oldest liquor<br />

license in Miami. Knowing how its done, every<br />

night offers specials during happy hour, but<br />

Fridays are definitely the night to indulge. From<br />

6pm - 7:38pm drinks are a penny for every year<br />

the bar has been open. This year it is 98 cents<br />

-- you really can give someone your two cents.<br />

Tobacco Road, 626 South Miami Avenue,<br />

Brickell, 305.374.1198<br />

From Las Olas to downtown Fort Lauderdale,<br />

there are a wide selection of drinking haunts<br />

but for those who need to lick a few wounds<br />

from the workweek head to Tarpon Bend.<br />

With its two for one drinks from 4pm – 9pm, you<br />

are sure to get a friend or two to listen to your<br />

tales of woe. Tarpon Bend, 200 SW 2 nd Street,<br />

Fort Lauderdale, 954.523.3233<br />

SATURDAY:<br />

For a little dim sum (and then some!), pair<br />

authentic hand-rolled sushi with your cocktails<br />

at doraku. Happy hour runs from 5pm - 7pm<br />

and offers a nice selection of $3 to $7 appetizers<br />

including salmon carpaccio, rock shrimp, edamame<br />

and classic rolls. Additionally several drink<br />

offerings, margaritas and lychee martinis included,<br />

are within this price range.<br />

Doraku, 1104 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach,<br />

305.695.8383<br />

SUNDAY:<br />

For those trying to make the weekend last as long<br />

as possible, head to the Yardhouse. Here happy<br />

hour gets started at 10pm and goes until the<br />

wee hours of the morning; this is sure to give you<br />

plenty of time to try a variety of its 130 distinct<br />

brews at half price.<br />

Yardhouse, Village of Merrick Park,<br />

320 San Lorenzo Ave., Coral Gables, 305.447.9273<br />

- Elizabeth Newman<br />

Bourbon Steak<br />

Caviar Kaspia<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 73


74 Cravings | August / September 2010


at the<br />

TABLE<br />

Café abbracci<br />

HOT PLATE<br />

<br />

What’s New & Newsworthy On The Food Scene<br />

ROOM SERViCE<br />

<br />

Fine Dining Hotel Style<br />

TOQuE TALK<br />

<br />

Barton G: Party Extraordinaire<br />

RESTauRaNT LISTINGS<br />

On The Waterfront<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 75


Reality<br />

There are a lot of great things about Miami. The sea. The<br />

sunshine. The Latin vibe. The Art Basel buzz. “But it’s not<br />

what it’s all about,” says Michael Schwartz, chef/owner of<br />

the Design District’s Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink. It’s<br />

also about the foodie-fun wave that Miami is riding high on, he<br />

explains, thanks in part, to reality television and the huge success<br />

of culinary shows on channels like the Food Network.<br />

Every time you turn on the tube, it seems there’s one Miami<br />

chef or another, warming up a skillet, dishing out a new wave<br />

of cuisine, or judging top chefs on a star-studded panel. Heck,<br />

sometimes Miami chefs even show up on non-culinary reality<br />

shows. Just ask Sean Brasel chef/co-owner of Meat Market<br />

(previously of Touch Restaurant) whose adrenaline-loving self<br />

made a special appearance on The Playboy Channel’s Sex Lives<br />

and another one on Miami Ink, where he traded a tattoo with the<br />

infamous inkstress Kat for cooking lessons.<br />

There is a long list of others who are on the culinary reality show<br />

track. In 2008, Michael Jacobs, of the Miami Beach-based Strategic<br />

Hospitality Group, was filmed for the Food Network’s Big Bash<br />

Caterers Challenge. Michael Schwartz appear as a judge on<br />

Season 3 of Top Chef. Also making an appearance on Season 3 as a<br />

contestant was Howie Kleinberg from Bulldog BBQ. Most recently,<br />

on the just-started-to-air Season 7 of Top Chef, Andrea Curto-<br />

Randazzo takes up the baton in representing Miami’s cuisine. Curto-Randazzo was perhaps the most reluctant<br />

contestant of the above mentioned. She runs food<br />

operations at the recently opened Water Club in North<br />

Miami Beach; she also co-owns a catering company<br />

andrea Curto-randazzo<br />

called Creative Tastes Catering with her husband, Frank<br />

Randazzo; runs the kitchen at the Garden Café at Fairchild<br />

Tropical Gardens; and plates up savory favs at Talula<br />

restaurant in South Beach. So, it’s not as if she doesn’t<br />

have enough on her plate. “These days working hard and<br />

doing great food is not enough,” says Curto-Randazzo.<br />

“You have to be in the spotlight… the television spotlight.”<br />

76 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

Check<br />

Miami's Top Chefs<br />

howie Kleinberg<br />

Despite the initial reluctance; the fear of losing her<br />

privacy and becoming a celebrity, she has already seen<br />

a massive influx of support and emails from new fans<br />

and old schoolmates on Facebook and other social<br />

media outlet. She says, “Her cast mates (well most of<br />

them) were awesome. I have made friendships with that<br />

will last a lifetime.”


Top Chef<br />

Although she can’t tell us, because she<br />

is under a signed contract, who won the<br />

competition, she can say that her hope is that<br />

the show will stimulate business and give her<br />

career a boost. Curto-Randazzo’s career was<br />

skyrocketing before she decided to slow it<br />

down and have three little girls. “They are<br />

the focus of what [my husband and I] work so<br />

hard for, so whatever happens is for them,”<br />

says Curto-Randazzo.<br />

Meanwhile, Miami’s got its fingers crossed that<br />

Curto-Randazzo’s characteristic American with<br />

a twist cuisine shines on the television screen<br />

as much as it does on the plate.<br />

Others who have gone through the full<br />

experience already, are able to reveal more.<br />

Michael Jacobs says his experience was<br />

fun, and that it brought him probably more<br />

credibility and recognition than he even<br />

thought he wanted or needed. Jacob says he<br />

might have some irons in the fire for future<br />

reality television gigs. But, he admits that the<br />

whole pre- and post-production thing can<br />

be time consuming. “They try to put you off<br />

your game with questions and comments<br />

from the other contestants; they love drama!”<br />

says Jacobs.<br />

Brasel agrees. “Reality TV,” he says, “takes<br />

a long time to film. Not a lot of reality in<br />

reality television. Basic scenes like coming<br />

into a store or opening a door to say hello to<br />

somebody can take 7-10 takes,” he says.<br />

But it’s not all tedious takes. Definitely, having<br />

the best in the business call your cooking the<br />

best, takes the cake, so to speak. And it did<br />

just that for pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith of<br />

Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink. This past<br />

June, her desserts were featured on the Food<br />

Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate.<br />

“Though I love what I do it’s the joy my<br />

cooking brings to others that makes it all<br />

worth it. Having folks in the industry I respect<br />

sound off like this means a lot to me,” says<br />

Goldsmith.<br />

It can even change your life. In Howie<br />

Kleinberg’s case, his experience on Top Chef<br />

made him realize that although he was<br />

classically trained, he wanted to cook food<br />

that everyone could afford, which is how his<br />

restaurant Bulldog BBQ came about and the<br />

recently opened Bulldog Café. And, in the fall,<br />

he will add Bulldog Burger.<br />

“The Miami food scene gets more and more<br />

exciting every day, thanks in part to the<br />

huge food focus of shows like Top Chef,”<br />

says Kleinberg. “When all is said and done<br />

we (Miami) get high marks compared to any<br />

city. I wouldn’t want to be working and living<br />

anywhere else. This is home.”<br />

- Vanessa Garcia<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 77


©dreams Studio<br />

AT THE TABLE / HOT PLATE<br />

78 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

wagons west<br />

CLIVE’S CAFE<br />

About as hole-in-the-wall as it gets, this colorful slice<br />

of Jamaica isn’t for wimpy diners. Even foodies who<br />

can get past the oxtail, escovitch fish and goat curry<br />

may have difficulty biting into a cow foot. For everyone<br />

else, there’s jerk chicken, brown stew and American<br />

mainstays from BLT’s to mac and cheese. At least be<br />

daring enough to try a sorrel beverage.<br />

818 North Miami Avenue, Wynwood, 305.576.0277,<br />

Clivescafe.com, Mon-Fri, 8:30am-6:30pm;<br />

Sat, 9am-3pm; Closed Sunday. Cash only.<br />

lunchCounters<br />

A Taste of History<br />

Before fast food, diners who needed<br />

meals in minutes depended on<br />

automats, luncheonettes or lunch<br />

counters. The latter, which multiplied<br />

throughout the U.S. via department stores,<br />

and five and dimes, took on a whole new<br />

entity as sit-in venues during the civil rights<br />

movement.<br />

Local historian Dr. Paul George reports<br />

downtown Miami’s numerous lunch counters<br />

at Burdines, Woolworth’s and McCrory’s,<br />

among others, are often overlooked for their<br />

role during this epic transition.<br />

“A year before the famous 1960 Greensboro,<br />

North Carolina sit-in, African-Americans and<br />

Jews joined forces to hold one in Miami,”<br />

he said.<br />

©dreams Studio<br />

DONUT GALLERY<br />

This circa late 1960’s donut shop turned diner had<br />

a steady stream of construction workers during Key<br />

Biscayne’s boom has given way to snowbirds and<br />

multigenerational local families. Evolving with healthier<br />

fare like oatmeal, mixed berries, and veggie and turkey<br />

burgers over the years, the menu still lists heartclogging<br />

classics like the Ted Special, an English muffin<br />

topped with ham, bacon, cheese, egg and tomato.<br />

83 Harbor Drive, Key Biscayne, 305.361.9985,<br />

Daily, 5:30am-3pm. Cash only.<br />

Arva Moore Parks, another Miami historian,<br />

who grew up dining at downtown<br />

establishments beginning in the 1950’s,<br />

witnessed the event. “I was there when<br />

Dr. John O. Brown led the first sit-in at<br />

Woolworth’s that summer,” she said,<br />

also recalling African-Americans being<br />

turned away from Juniors restaurant on<br />

Miami Beach. “I was embarrassed when<br />

my father stood up for them, but later<br />

realized how special he was, and how lucky<br />

I was to be raised in a family that opposed<br />

segregation.”<br />

Dr. Dorothy Jenkins Fields, founder of<br />

The Black Archives, History and Research<br />

Foundation of South Florida, was among<br />

the customers who weren’t allowed to sit.<br />

BURGER BOB’S<br />

Long before the gourmet burger trend swept<br />

Miami, Coral Gables claimed the ultimate,<br />

sizzling beef patty served old school style at<br />

Granada Golf Course’s onsite restaurant. But<br />

namesake Bob Maguire, who bought the joint<br />

nearly 20 years ago, reports neighborhood<br />

regulars far outnumber golfers for wolfing<br />

down burgers and the also popular homemade<br />

chili. 2001 Granada Boulevard, Coral Gables,<br />

305.567.3100, Daily, 6am-3pm. Cash only.<br />

ENRIqUETA’S<br />

Policemen, construction workers and artists alike<br />

pile it on at this family-owned Cuban restaurant that<br />

opened in 1967. No place for dieters, a meal here starts<br />

with crispy, buttered Cuban bread that’s demonically<br />

irresistible, followed by oversized platters of greasy,<br />

grilled meats with salad and/or fries and lots of lime.<br />

Carefree customers slurp mamey or mango milkshakes,<br />

while the slightly saner stick to a post-repast cafecito.<br />

186 NE 29 th Street, Wynwood, 305.573.4681,<br />

Mon-Fri, 6:30am-3:45pm; Sat, 6:30am-2pm.


cravingssouthflorida.com 79


AT THE TABLE / HOT PLATE<br />

©dreams Studio<br />

On Miami shopping trips with her mother,<br />

they could either awkwardly eat a hot<br />

dog and soda water outside when hungry<br />

enough, or plan shorter excursions to be<br />

home for mealtimes.<br />

As a college student in Atlanta, Fields<br />

picketed and sat at lunch counters without<br />

being served until the early 1960’s when<br />

some students were told they could order.<br />

“They were so startled, they ate their food,<br />

and then remembered they didn’t have<br />

any money to pay for it,” said Fields.<br />

The battle was no different on Miami<br />

Beach, where Wolfie’s and Pumpernik’s<br />

were other hotspots for a quick bite. As<br />

their Jewish clientele disappeared a little<br />

more each decade in conjunction with the<br />

island’s gentrification and influx of Latin<br />

Americans, their special niche in the city’s<br />

lunch counter heyday came to a close.<br />

GARCIA’S SEAFOOD GRILLE & FISH MARKET<br />

Legend has it that lawmen and drug dealers rub elbows<br />

while chowing down simply prepared local seafood<br />

at this lunch counter. (In respect to Mr. Garcia, arrests<br />

are conducted outside after the meal.) Esteban Garcia<br />

installed the retro counter upon opening the riverfront<br />

restaurant in 1991, based on his fond boyhood<br />

memories of serving boaters at one in Cuba, according<br />

to his son Luis.<br />

398 NW North River Drive, Miami, 305.375.0765,<br />

Garciasmiami.com, Daily, 11am-10pm.<br />

80 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

WAGONS WEST<br />

When brothers Steve and Wally Muench<br />

purchased this circa mid-1950’s luncheonette<br />

in 1981, they kept its terrazzo floor and round<br />

stools, but gave it a western flair. Patrons<br />

from Pembroke Pines to Homestead drive for<br />

buttermilk pancakes with blueberries or bananas,<br />

ranch dogs with ground beef, chili and onions,<br />

and the meatloaf madness, which adds melted<br />

Swiss cheese, barbecue sauce and a BLT atop a<br />

buttered, toasted hoagie.<br />

11311 South Dixie Highway, Pinecrest,<br />

305.238.9942, Mon-Sat, 6:30am-9pm;<br />

Sun, 6:30am-4pm.<br />

S&S diner<br />

Malls replacing main street and shoppers<br />

looking for deals at then-new discount<br />

retailers like Kmart dried up lunch counters’<br />

lifelines across America.<br />

Fast food was the final blow. According<br />

to Dr. George, Miami’s famed Royal<br />

Castle chain marked the link between<br />

luncheonettes and the era of the Big<br />

Mac. Frequenting their open-air counters,<br />

Parks would score two small hamburgers<br />

and a Birch beer for 25 cents. Its last two<br />

independently-owned franchises offer this<br />

glimpse into the past.<br />

Today few bona fide lunch counters remain,<br />

but we’ve dug up a batch along with a few<br />

ethnic versions. Enjoy them while they last,<br />

especially as the latest lunch fads invade<br />

Miami—gourmet food trucks, taco stands<br />

and fast-food hand rolls.<br />

-Rebecca Kleinman<br />

ROYAL PALM GRILL<br />

Grab a grillside stool to watch owner Frank Balchan<br />

perfectly execute comfort food at an Olympian pace.<br />

Two meal-a-day diehards start with banana pancakes<br />

or Greek omelettes, only to return come lunchtime<br />

for sell-out soups like cream of potato, the fajitainspired<br />

mexican salad, and daily specials, particularly<br />

Friday’s seafood theme offerings such as shrimp<br />

creole or the captain’s platter. No wonder it’s been<br />

around since 1953.<br />

806 North Krome Avenue, Homestead,<br />

305.246.5701, royalpalmgrillfl.com.<br />

Mon-Fri, 7am-4pm; Sat, 7am-3pm; Sun, 7am-2pm.<br />

©dreams Studio<br />

S&S DINER<br />

Since taking over a dozen years ago, Simon Elbaz<br />

has been a permanent fixture at this historicallydesignated,<br />

Art Deco gem’s horseshoe counter.<br />

As an eclectic crowd with the occasional, caloriecheating<br />

celeb tucking in for French toast, eggs<br />

Benedict, and daily specials—Tuesday’s roast<br />

turkey with all the trimmings flies out fast white-<br />

35-year veteran servers remind patrons to save<br />

room for the homemade apple pie.<br />

1757 NE 2 nd Avenue Wynwood, 305.373.4291,<br />

Mon-Fri, 5:30am-5pm; Sat-Sun, 5:30am-2:30pm.<br />

SUSHI DELI<br />

Chef Michio Kushi and his wife added a small sushi bar<br />

inside their Japanese market in 2002. Many followers<br />

hold standing reservations for his well-priced omakase<br />

(chef’s choice) extravaganzas featuring items like sashimi<br />

cut from seafood flown in from Japan, savory tuna<br />

tartares topped with gooey quail eggs, sea urchin and<br />

fried shrimp heads. For rolls, there’s the authentic battera<br />

with layers of mackerel, seaweed and rice, plus the usual<br />

American standbys.<br />

1412 79 th Street Causeway, North Bay Village,<br />

305.861.0143, Sushi-market.com,<br />

Tue-Sat, 11:30am-7pm; Sun, 12-6pm; Closed Monday.


essensia<br />

Room sERVICE<br />

Hotels that house fabulous restaurants<br />

Living in a popular tourist destination has obvious drawbacks. The traffic, crowds and overabundance<br />

of tschotkes for sale can make anyone long for a plane ticket to Helena, Montana (which is actually<br />

quite lovely). However, tourism has its benefits other than just boosting the local economy and<br />

reinforcing the awesomeness of your hometown. Without tourists there would be many fewer high-end<br />

hotels in South Florida. And with high-end hotels come high-end restaurants.<br />

The result is a perfect symbiotic relationship with mass appeal to hipsters and foodies everywhere.<br />

See and be seen in the swankiest of eateries in South Florida housed in equally stunning hotels. These<br />

restaurants serve up only the best fare by the best chefs. And if you indulge a bit too much, you can<br />

always get a room for the night.<br />

82 Cravings | August / September 2010


Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center<br />

20400 NE 30th Avenue<br />

Aventura, FL 33180<br />

Tel. 305.937.1880<br />

Fax. 305.792.6072<br />

www.atjc.org<br />

rsvp@atjc.org<br />

We look forward to welcoming you and your family into our ATJC<br />

community. We hope you will share in the celebrations of our Fall<br />

festivals in our warm and inviting synagogue.<br />

List of Fall Programs<br />

and Services<br />

Please contact our office for<br />

Membership information or to reserve<br />

your spots for our upcoming holiday<br />

programs!<br />

You Belong Here<br />

August 27<br />

Friday Night Live Kick-Off 6:30pm - 8:30pm<br />

Services & Complimentary<br />

Shabbat Dinner<br />

September 4<br />

Slichot Movie & Dessert 9:00pm<br />

Choir Services<br />

11:00pm<br />

September 8<br />

Erev Rosh Hashana Services 7:00pm<br />

September 9<br />

Rosh Hashana Services 8:30am - 12:00pm<br />

Family Services<br />

10:30am<br />

September 10<br />

Rosh Hashana Services 8:30am<br />

Tashlich & Friday Night Live 5:00pm<br />

Services<br />

September 17<br />

Kol Nidre Services 6:45pm<br />

September 18<br />

Yom Kippur Services 9:00am - 2:30pm<br />

Family Services<br />

10:30am - 11:30am<br />

Ne’ilah<br />

6:00pm - 6:45pm<br />

September 19<br />

Extreme Sukkah Makeover 9:00pm - 12:00pm<br />

September 24<br />

Friday Night Live Services 6:00pm<br />

and Supper in the Sukkah<br />

September 25<br />

Shabbat Sukkah Stroll at the 12:00pm<br />

home of Rabbis Berkun<br />

September 28<br />

ATJC Brotherhood & Ya Ya 7:00pm<br />

Sisterhood’s Sushi & Sake in the<br />

Sukkah at the home of Rabbis<br />

Berkun<br />

September 30<br />

Shmini Atzeret Service 8:30am<br />

Simchat Torah Celebration 6:30pm


AT THE TABLE / ROOM SERVICE<br />

area 31 The restaurant BLT Steak<br />

The flavor of Essensia (The Palms Hotel & Spa)<br />

proves that environmentalists can still be foodies.<br />

Ingredients used are local, organic and seasonaleven<br />

the wine list is 100% sustainable, organic<br />

or biodynamic (decision-making is easier with a<br />

flight of three for an “interactive wine voyage”).<br />

The relaxing and natural vibe here whispers spa<br />

from the gardens visible from the dining room<br />

and terrace to the casual foliage accents inside.<br />

Speaking of spas, check out the menu’s spa<br />

selections for low calorie options.<br />

If views are what you crave, enjoy the sweeping<br />

overlook of the Miami River and Biscayne Bay<br />

from 16 floors up at Area 31 (EPIC Hotel), though<br />

your meal actually hails from Fishing Area 31, the<br />

Western Central Atlantic waters including the<br />

Florida coast (the name is no coincidence). Every<br />

table is afforded amazing sights, not just those<br />

seated by the 12-foot windows. The kitchen is<br />

central and open for those seated in the inside<br />

ESSENSIA<br />

The Palms Hotel & Spa<br />

3025 Collins Avenue<br />

Miami Beach<br />

305.534.0505<br />

thepalmshotel.com<br />

Chef Frank Jeannetti<br />

Cuisine: Natural Gourmet<br />

84 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

AREA 31<br />

EPIC Hotel<br />

270 Biscayne Boulevard<br />

Miami<br />

305.424.5226<br />

area31restaurant.com<br />

Chef John Critchley<br />

Cuisine: Seafood<br />

dining area, while terrace diners order poolside<br />

or in private cabanas. As the name implies, Area<br />

31’s focus is on seafood though landlubbers will<br />

find what they crave in the secondi and contorni<br />

sections of the menu.<br />

Offering similar panoramic views of the skyline<br />

and Bay but with a completely different feel, Eos<br />

(Greek for “new dawn”) (Viceroy Miami) cuisine is<br />

modern Greek with influences from Portugal, Spain<br />

and Morocco. The impressive 15 th floor views have<br />

nothing on the lavish décor, black and white glam<br />

with pops of color. Featuring a small plates menu,<br />

Eos is designed so each patron can experience,<br />

discover and share any desired flavor combination.<br />

Be sure not to skip the raw section of the menu for<br />

the perfect starter.<br />

For Mediterranean flavor in the quintessential<br />

South Florida setting, enter Wish (The Hotel). Dine<br />

al fresco in the tropic garden featuring a fountain<br />

EOS<br />

Viceroy Miami<br />

485 Brickell Avenue<br />

Miami<br />

305.503.4400<br />

viceroymiami.com<br />

Chef Michael Psilakis<br />

Cuisine: Mediterranean<br />

WISH<br />

The Hotel<br />

801 Collins Avenue<br />

Miami Beach<br />

305.531.2222<br />

wishrestaurant.com<br />

Chef Marco Ferraro<br />

Cuisine: Mediterranean<br />

or inside the dining room’s inner garden for a<br />

similar experience (complete with palm trees). The<br />

cuisine is fresh, seasonal and vibrant, as described<br />

by executive chef Marco Ferraro, who delivers<br />

the simplicity of good food combined with good<br />

technique. Fun perk: The menu itself lights up for<br />

easy reading. Double fun perk: The martini ice<br />

cubes also light up.<br />

Find a different kind of Mediterranean cuisine,<br />

one with a strong Asian influence, at azul<br />

(Mandarin Oriental). The folks here have thought<br />

of everything from the marble open kitchen with<br />

raw bar and the impressive lengthy wine table to<br />

the more personalized touches such as offering<br />

pashminas (in various colors) and reading glasses<br />

(in various strengths) for the comfort of the<br />

patrons. Waterfront views are to be admired from<br />

the terrace or through the floor-to-ceiling windows<br />

that surround three sides of the airy and chic dining<br />

area. Though most non-steak houses in the area<br />

AZUL<br />

Mandarin Oriental<br />

500 Brickell Key Drive<br />

Miami<br />

305.913.8288<br />

mandarinoriental.com<br />

Chef Clay Conley<br />

Cuisine: Mediterranean/Asian


Some hotels make it easy, playing host to multiple restaurants<br />

SOLEá MR. CHOW<br />

W South Beach<br />

2201 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach<br />

305.938.3000<br />

starwoodhotels.com<br />

wish<br />

focus on seafood, the sea and land<br />

options here are fairly balanced.<br />

The name BlT Steak (The Betsy)<br />

has nothing to do with the sandwich<br />

(which incidentally does not appear<br />

on the menu so please don’t ask);<br />

it’s simply short for Bistro Laurent<br />

Tourondel (the executive chef of BLT<br />

restaurants). The steakhouse takes<br />

steak very seriously, offering a myriad<br />

of sauces, temperatures and sides,<br />

with each of the latter in its own<br />

cast-iron pan. Enjoy these thoughtful<br />

touches while admiring the ocean<br />

from the terrace or from the vast<br />

number of windows. Those looking<br />

to recreate the evening may purchase<br />

BLT brand steaks or BBQ sauce.<br />

The more kitchen-talented patrons<br />

could be interested in one of Laurent<br />

Tourondel’s autographed cookbooks.<br />

BLT STEAK<br />

The Betsy<br />

1440 Ocean Drive,<br />

Miami Beach<br />

305.531.6100<br />

bltsteak.com<br />

Chef laurent Tourondel<br />

Chef de Cuisine<br />

Samuel Gorenstein<br />

Cuisine: Steakhouse<br />

STEAK 954<br />

W Fort Lauderdale<br />

401 North Fort<br />

lauderdale Beach Blvd.<br />

Fort lauderdale<br />

954.414.8200<br />

steak954.com<br />

Chef Jason Smith<br />

Cuisine: Steakhouse<br />

GOTHAM STEAK BLADE<br />

SCARPETTA HAKKASAN<br />

Fontainebleau Hotel<br />

4441 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach<br />

305.538.2000<br />

fontainebleau.com<br />

The menu and name of Steak 954<br />

(W Fort lauderdale) certainly leave<br />

no room for guessing about the<br />

focus here. (It’s steak for those of<br />

you playing along at home.) But the<br />

décor is much more boutique-sleek.<br />

Picture artistic patterns on the walls,<br />

vibrant colors and an aquarium<br />

featuring jellyfish instead of<br />

traditional steak-house-brown wood<br />

everywhere. Inside is hip, outside is<br />

quiet and candlelit. The raw bar and<br />

seafood selections are impressive,<br />

though carnivores will appreciate the<br />

variety of steak options (especially<br />

the signature Kobe Cheesesteak).<br />

Unlike many pan-Asian locations,<br />

The Restaurant (The Setai)<br />

recognizes Indian and Dim Sum in<br />

addition to the more popular fare.<br />

Food is prepared in an open kitchen<br />

so patrons may enjoy the sights in<br />

addition to the aromas of their meals,<br />

which are served family-style. Those<br />

preferring to dine outside can enjoy<br />

more peaceful courtyard seating.<br />

Each location is known for its high<br />

standards, offering the best of the<br />

best in both atmosphere and cuisine.<br />

Each offers an exciting experience<br />

in fine dining, celeb sightings aside.<br />

And each is part of a hotel.<br />

-Jennifer Aranoff<br />

THE RESTAURANT<br />

The Setai<br />

2001 Collins Avenue<br />

Miami Beach<br />

305.520.6000<br />

setai.com<br />

Chef Jonathan Wright<br />

Cuisine: asian<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 85


AT THE TABLE / OFF THE MENU<br />

Get Your<br />

Just because we’re recovering from<br />

a recession doesn’t mean we can’t<br />

go out to fine restaurants or gather<br />

around a cozy meal with friends.<br />

From the hipster to the chic and classic,<br />

restaurants all over South Florida are<br />

helping us straddle the effects of a volatile<br />

economy with pre-fixing menus to our<br />

pocket’s delight.<br />

We begin with<br />

Sunday brunch. 660<br />

at The Angler’s in<br />

South Beach knows<br />

exactly what Sunday<br />

morning breakfast<br />

means – it means<br />

the Angler-coined<br />

“grown up hangover brunch.” Instead of<br />

heading out to the local diner, think banana<br />

Nutella pancakes and steak & eggs (i.e. 10 oz.<br />

hanger steak and shallot herb home fries).<br />

Here at 660, though, it’s not the food that’s<br />

pre-fixed, it’s the drinks. The bottomless<br />

86 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

Fixe<br />

Bloody Mary bar ($14)– where guests design<br />

their own BM by choosing items from the<br />

cart that is brought to the table including<br />

Chianti cured salami, celery stalks and<br />

queen olives. There’s also a $14 bottomless<br />

champagne cart.<br />

For those who want<br />

more solids than<br />

liquids for their buck,<br />

there’s the more<br />

down to earth out<br />

of the Blue Café in<br />

Wynwood, where<br />

you can choose<br />

as many items from the brunch menu<br />

as you want for a fixed price of $19.95.<br />

Customized omelets, baguettes with egg<br />

or Swiss cheese or both; BLT’s, fruit and<br />

cereal; Belgian waffles; dulce de leche &<br />

caramelized walnut crepes; poached eggs,<br />

asparagus wrapped in prosciutto – these<br />

are just a few of the choices you’ve got.<br />

Pick one or all and the price stays the<br />

same – under twenty bucks (including one<br />

complimentary mimosa).<br />

While in Wynwood, take a turn into Joey’s<br />

for dinner, where the restaurant’s Venetian<br />

chef has created a Monday-Thursday prefixe<br />

summer dinner menu that brims with<br />

authentic Italian fare. For $14 per person,<br />

Joey’s serves a Monday night chicken and<br />

asparagus risotto with a glass of Falanghina<br />

wine. Jump to Wednesday and you have<br />

penne bolognese, radicchio and a glass of<br />

classic Chianti. Thursday it is spezzatino/beef<br />

stew over polenta with a glass of Malbec.<br />

Just a little further downtown, you have Mia<br />

at Biscayne, which also has daily executive<br />

lunch specials but kicks it to a more Latin<br />

flavor. Sit outside under the wide, shady<br />

umbrellas and enjoy arroz con pollo on<br />

Tuesday, made with confit chicken, chorizo,<br />

green peas, and creamy saffron rice; or, the<br />

Friday cochinillo: roasted suckling pig with<br />

buerre noisette potatoes. All set at $14.95<br />

per person.<br />

For the hungry execs, China Grill in South<br />

Beach now offers a $23 per guest fixed menu<br />

which allows for a choice of two appetizers;<br />

one to three entrees (depending on how<br />

many guests are at a table); your choice of<br />

accompaniments and the chef’s selection<br />

of house desserts. Appetizers range from<br />

lemongrass crusted tofu tots to spicy beef<br />

and scallion dumplings. Entrees range from<br />

sake-marinated drunken chicken to panseared<br />

spicy tuna. China Grill also offers a<br />

pre-fixe dinner menu for $36.<br />

Not too far away, on<br />

Lincoln Road, there is<br />

SushiSamba, with its<br />

bright orange décor<br />

that’s hard to miss.<br />

Also hard to miss:<br />

the Omakase menu,<br />

which translates into<br />

“chef’s menu,” through which guests can<br />

dive into the palettes and gustos of Japan,<br />

Brazil, and Peru. The menu itself is offered<br />

nightly but changes daily: five courses for<br />

$59 and seven courses for $69. What you<br />

can expect: heirloom tomato sunomono<br />

made with tomato, kyuri, white grape, and


mia at Biscayne<br />

watermelon sorbet; pulpo al oliva made<br />

with potato confit, red pepper miso, and<br />

botija olive. Or, how about SushiSamba<br />

taquitos with spicy aji panca sauce and<br />

fresh lime?<br />

For the best<br />

a m b i a n c e -<br />

meets-pre-fixe<br />

menu in Miami,<br />

try Gibraltar<br />

at Grove Isle<br />

Hotel & Spa.<br />

A view of the<br />

Miami skyline<br />

and a gentle<br />

breeze coming in from this waterfront<br />

spot makes the dining here ever romantic.<br />

In addition, for $40 per person, Monday-<br />

Thursday, you get a brasserie prix-fixe<br />

dinner menu that spans from oysters to<br />

swordfish steak nicoise to key lime pie for<br />

dessert (unless you’re more into chocolate<br />

and want to dip into the warm fudge<br />

660 AT THE ANGLER’S<br />

IN SOUTH BEACH<br />

660 Washington Ave., Miami Beach<br />

305.534.9600<br />

theanglersresort.com<br />

$$<br />

OUT OF THE BLUE CAFé<br />

2426 NE 2 nd Ave., Miami<br />

305.573.3800<br />

outofthebluecafe.net<br />

$<br />

JOEY’S<br />

2506 NW 2 nd Ave., Miami<br />

305.438.0488<br />

joeyswynwood.com<br />

$$<br />

MIA AT BISCAYNE<br />

20 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami<br />

305.642.0032<br />

miabiscayne.com<br />

$$<br />

CHINA GRILL<br />

404 Washington Ave., Miami Beach<br />

305.534.2211<br />

chinagrillmgt.com<br />

$$<br />

SUSHISAMBA<br />

600 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach<br />

305.673.5337<br />

sushisamba.com<br />

$$$<br />

brownies with frozen coconut milk and<br />

custard sauce).<br />

For higher end<br />

menus, move<br />

towards Coral<br />

Gables and join<br />

the French feast<br />

at Pascal’s. Here<br />

you’ll be met<br />

with an amuse<br />

bouche; a first course of country duck<br />

terrine, foie gras, pickled vegetables, and<br />

apricot chutney. A second course of diver<br />

sea scallops with beef braised short rib<br />

ravioli, and infused truffle fumet. A third<br />

course of milk fed veal tenderloin with<br />

parsnip puree, spring veggies and herb<br />

scented polenta. For dessert: bittersweet<br />

chocolate soufflé with chocolate ganache.<br />

$68 per person (add $50 per person for a<br />

wine pairing). For lunch, Pascal’s offers a<br />

bistro menu (two courses for $18.95 and<br />

three courses for $24.95).<br />

- Vanessa Garcia<br />

GIBRALTAR AT GROVE<br />

ISLE HOTEL & SPA<br />

4 Grove Isle Drive, Miami<br />

305.857.5007<br />

groveisle.com<br />

$$<br />

PASCAL’S<br />

2611 Ponce De Leon Blvd. Coral Gables<br />

305.444.2024<br />

pascalmiami.com<br />

$$$<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 87


AT THE TABLE / TOQUE TALK<br />

The Barton G<br />

Experience<br />

Blending Fantasy with Fine Dining<br />

When most Miamians think of giraffes, they<br />

think of Africa or more locally, Metrozoo.<br />

But, if you go to a Barton G event, you<br />

may have the opportunity to see a giraffe<br />

up close and personal. Nothing is too “over the top” for a<br />

Barton G production.<br />

Barton G. Weiss, a nationally known<br />

event concept designer, moved to<br />

Miami from New York in 1993 with<br />

vague thoughts of retirement. Those<br />

thoughts never became a reality.<br />

Instead, his business morphed into<br />

an internationally recognized, multimillion<br />

dollar event production,<br />

destination management, catering,<br />

and restaurant business. Weiss added<br />

“culinary visionary” to his accolades and, in the manner of<br />

contemporary celebrities, became known around town as<br />

Barton G.<br />

Weiss is a creative perfectionist who aims to delight, not<br />

just please, and his delighted clients include Fortune<br />

88 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

500 companies, international sporting events, socialites<br />

and philanthropists. With offices in Miami, New York and<br />

Atlanta, he has more than 450 employees.<br />

In October 2002, Weiss opened his eponymous, awardwinning<br />

restaurant, Barton G. Tucked into a residential<br />

neighborhood far from the clamor of Ocean Drive and<br />

Lincoln Road. His intimate, tree-shaded restaurant features<br />

a beautiful garden dining area. When Barton G opened,<br />

a critic declared it looked like a restaurant but ate like a<br />

show. Celebrities and locals alike flocked to experience<br />

such phantasmogorical fare as chocolate monkeys<br />

swinging from martini glasses, popcorn shrimp served<br />

in real popcorn boxes, liquid nitrogen cocktails, and the<br />

Chocolate Fun-Do, a mini chocolate dipping fountain<br />

serving four pounds of Belgian chocolate.<br />

October must be Weiss’ lucky month. In October 2009,<br />

he opened a second restaurant, Prelude by Barton G., a<br />

complete departure from his first. Prelude is a 220 seat,<br />

indoor/outdoor venue housed within the Ziff Ballet Opera<br />

House at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing<br />

Arts in Miami. Open to both art patrons and the public, it


is designed to appeal to locals and tourists<br />

with its simply elegant look and updated<br />

American classics. Its new-to-Miami fixed<br />

price menu concept, Diner’s Decision, offers<br />

a choice of three dinner menu items for<br />

$39 and two lunch items for $23; diners can<br />

also order a la carte. It also boasts Florida’s<br />

most comprehensive wine by the glass list.<br />

Despite its sophistication, it is unmistakably<br />

a Barton G production with features such<br />

as incandescent “jellyfish” chandeliers,<br />

handblown glass plates, and a dessert<br />

called PB & J consisting of grape jelly gelato<br />

within a peanut butter mousse pyramid<br />

topped off with macadamia-praline glaze<br />

and chocolate ganache.<br />

Commenting on the dire economic<br />

predictions and warehouse fire that<br />

preceded the opening of Prelude, Weiss<br />

says, “With every unexpected turn comes<br />

something good. We opened Prelude the<br />

Nothing is too<br />

“over the top”<br />

for a Barton G<br />

production<br />

week after the warehouse fire to a soldout<br />

crowd and received wonderful<br />

feedback from our diners…We don’t<br />

outsource, so economic downturns<br />

are easier to weather.”<br />

Just months after opening Prelude,<br />

Weiss leased the former Versace<br />

Mansion on Ocean Drive. After<br />

a multimillion dollar renovation,<br />

he reopened it in March 2010 as a<br />

boutique hotel called The Villa by<br />

Barton G. Weiss says, “I see the<br />

concept at the Villa as an extension<br />

of what Versace started in 1992.” The<br />

new look is very much in the spirit of<br />

Versace blended with Weiss’ unique<br />

sensibility. There are ten luxurious<br />

custom suites - Versace’s former<br />

bedroom has a nine-foot double<br />

king-size bed and seven closets -<br />

and amenities range from<br />

British-trained butlers to<br />

Kindle e-readers.<br />

Guests can meander<br />

past the opulent Rococo<br />

palazzo’s columns, frescoes,<br />

fountains, and stained<br />

glass and enjoy the Pool of<br />

1,000 Mosaics, inlaid with<br />

24 carat gold. The Villa’s<br />

charming 30-seat, pebble<br />

mosaic restaurant, the<br />

Dining Room, is open to<br />

the public by reservation and serves<br />

modern European food on Versace<br />

china. Barton G’s signature is apparent<br />

in menu items such as Colorado rack<br />

of lamb with Greek yogurt jelly cubes<br />

drizzled with Harissa, and, in a holler<br />

back to his first restaurant, The villa<br />

salad has a liquid nitrogen-frozen<br />

Caesar dressing.<br />

Asked about retirement from his<br />

nearly two-decade-old business,<br />

the busy entrepreneur’s response<br />

is, “What’s that?” Weiss couldn’t say<br />

what his next project will be but<br />

promises that it will be “surprising<br />

and creative…”<br />

It seems like a safe bet that it will also<br />

be fantastic!<br />

- Marlene Sholod<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 89


AT THE TABLE / RESTAURANT LISTINGS<br />

ON THE WATERFRONT<br />

One of the benefits of living in South Florida is that<br />

waterfront dining is easy to find. There is nothing<br />

better than sitting close to the beach, embracing the<br />

spectacular water vistas and eating a great meal.<br />

Below is a selection of restaurants from South Beach<br />

to Boca that offer waterfront dining; and, the offer is<br />

plentiful -- from casual to fine, Mediterranean to Asian<br />

food, pasta to seafood.<br />

BAHIA CABANA<br />

Days Inn<br />

3001 Harbor Drive, Fort Lauderdale<br />

954.524.1555<br />

bahiacabanaresort.com/restaurant<br />

Overlooking the Southside of the Bahia<br />

Yacht Basin is Bahia Cabana. With its laid<br />

back Key West atmosphere, this dockside<br />

bar and patio restaurant is one of the best<br />

places to watch the sun set. Find a wide<br />

variety from conch fritters to baby back<br />

ribs. Entrees: $6 - $10.<br />

CANTINA BEACH<br />

The Ritz-Carlton<br />

455 Grand Bay Drive, Key Biscayne<br />

305.365.4500<br />

ritzcarlton.com<br />

Experience Cancun without leaving the city<br />

limits. A well-versed bartender will help to<br />

decipher the over 85 tequilas available. Go<br />

for the guacamole made table side or try<br />

a flight of ceviche. The weekends offer a<br />

chance to sit in the outdoor lounge by the<br />

fire pit and enjoy live music from 6pm -<br />

10pm. Entrées: $18 - $35.<br />

COSTA GRILL<br />

Acqualina<br />

17875 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles<br />

305.918.6910<br />

acqualinaresort.com/dining<br />

Adorned with tiki torches and palm<br />

trees, this Mediterranean restaurant<br />

offers a dining area that is on the beach.<br />

Reservations are necessary because Costa<br />

Grill is only open to the public on Friday<br />

and Saturday. Entrées: $28 - $52.<br />

90 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

FLAMMA BRAZILIAN STEAKHOUSE<br />

3913 NE 163 rd Street, NMB<br />

305.957.9900<br />

flammasteakhouse.com<br />

A meat experience like no other, Flamma<br />

offers an all-you-can-eat selection of 16<br />

meats. Table servers known as Brazilian<br />

cowboys are at the ready to bring the meat<br />

of your choice. Entrées: $34 - $40.<br />

GIBRALTAR<br />

Grove Isle Hotel & Resort<br />

4 Grove Isle Drive, Coconut Grove<br />

305.857.5007<br />

groveisle.com/dining.html<br />

Named after the Rock of Gibraltar, this<br />

Mediterranean-inspired restaurant with<br />

its incredible views of Biscayne Bay make<br />

it the perfect location for a romantic<br />

celebration. Try the $40 dinner special,<br />

Sunday - Thursday from 6:30pm - 10pm,<br />

which includes an appetizer, entrée, and<br />

dessert. Entrees: $27 - $44.<br />

mondrian hotel<br />

Shula's on The Beach<br />

MONTY’S STONE CRAB SEAFOOD<br />

HOUSE & RAW BAR<br />

300 Alton Road, Miami Beach<br />

305.672.1148<br />

montyssouthbeach.com<br />

There is no better reason to head over to<br />

Monty’s than its offerings of stone crabs all<br />

year round. Both the indoor and outdoor<br />

bars are sure to be filled weeknights from<br />

4pm – 8pm with a crowd getting happy.<br />

Entrees: $9 - $29.<br />

NIKKI BEACH RESTAURANT<br />

1 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach<br />

305.538.1111<br />

nikkibeach.com<br />

Sitting directly on South Beach sand, this<br />

well-known lounge and party place offers<br />

a wide selection of food from sushi to<br />

salads to seafood. Entrées: $20 - $95.<br />

RACKS ITALIAN BISTRO<br />

Intercoastal Mall<br />

3933 NE 163 rd Street, NMB<br />

305.917.7225<br />

grrestaurant.com<br />

Situated dockside along the Intercoastal,<br />

Racks offers an extensive menu of Italian<br />

favorites. But, Wednesday nights are all<br />

about burgers; starting at 5pm a 10-ounce<br />

Angus brisket burger is $5. With its large<br />

dock, feel free to arrive via boat. (Free<br />

valet boat parking is available Thursday –<br />

Sunday.) Entrées: $15 - $20.<br />

RUSTY PELICAN<br />

3201 Rickenbacker Causeway, Key Biscayne<br />

305.361.3818<br />

miami.therustypelican.com<br />

This Miami classic sits on Key Biscayne<br />

Bay. Lunch is served Monday - Saturday<br />

from 11:30am - 4pm. Brunch is served<br />

Sunday from 10:30am - 4pm. Reservations<br />

required. Entrees: $18 - $40.<br />

SCOTTY’S LANDING RESTAURANT<br />

3381 Pan American Drive,<br />

Coconut Grove<br />

305.854.2626<br />

sailmiami.com/scottys.htm<br />

If by land or by sea, Scotty’s Landing is<br />

all about classic American fare. Saturday<br />

– Sunday meals are accompanied by live<br />

music from 6pm – 10pm. Entrees: $8 - $16.<br />

SERAFINA<br />

926 NE 20 th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale<br />

954.463.2566<br />

serabythewater.com<br />

This restaurant is all about romance with<br />

its on-the-water setting and candleonly<br />

lighting. Savor the evening with a<br />

selection from its extensive wine list.<br />

Reservations Friday – Sunday evening are<br />

required. Entrées: $17 - $37.<br />

SHULA’S ON THE BEACH<br />

321 Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard,<br />

Fort Lauderdale<br />

954.355.4000<br />

donshula.com<br />

Former Miami Dolphin’s coach Don<br />

Shula definitely knows how to woo his<br />

woman. The restaurant’s specialty is<br />

the Steak Mary Anne (named after<br />

Shula’s wife). Reservations recommended.<br />

Entrées: $29 - $45.


Cravings<br />

Satisfy Your Desire For Great Living<br />

SOuTH FlORida<br />

In The Next Issue: OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2010<br />

FALL ARTS & CULTURE PREVIEW<br />

A look at the shows, concerts & events<br />

you don't want to miss this season.<br />

STIR IT UP<br />

Cooking classes for adults.<br />

CRUISE CONTROL<br />

What's new for the 2010-2011<br />

cruising season.<br />

TOQUE TALK<br />

Cream puffs & chocolate cakes at many<br />

restaurants are being baked by a new<br />

collection of female pastry chefs.<br />

OFF THE MENU<br />

Dining establishments for the vegetarian.<br />

Contact Cravings today for great advertising<br />

opportunities at (305) 749.0340<br />

Courtesy Essensia © Simon Hare<br />

On-the-Street:<br />

Mid-September 2010


92 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

AT THE TABLE / RESTAURANT LISTINGS<br />

SMITH AND WOLLENSKY<br />

South Pointe Park<br />

1 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach<br />

305.673.2800<br />

smithandwollensky.com<br />

With perfect viewing for watching<br />

the cruise ships begin and end their<br />

journeys, Smith & Wollensky is the classic<br />

steakhouse. Reservations recommended.<br />

Entrées: $20 - $45.<br />

VALENTINO SUL MARE<br />

7330 Ocean Terrace, Miami Beach<br />

305.866.8444<br />

valentinorestaurantmiamibeach.com<br />

Sit by the ocean and get a taste of Sicily.<br />

Go with a large group so can share a little<br />

bit of everything from pastas, seafood<br />

and meats. Reservations recommended.<br />

Entrées: $6.95 - $ 21.95.<br />

AZZURRO ITALIAN<br />

RESTAURANT<br />

17901 Collins Ave.,<br />

Sunny Isles Beach,<br />

305.792.5300<br />

CHIMA BRAZILIAN<br />

STEAKHOUSE<br />

2400 E. Las Olas Blvd., Ft.<br />

Lauderdale, 954.712.0580<br />

JONAS PIZZA<br />

2030 NE Miami Gardens Drive,<br />

North Miami, 305.978.8998<br />

KITCHEN 305<br />

16501 Collins Avenue, Sunny<br />

Isles Beach, 305.749.2110<br />

LA PIAZZA PASTA<br />

1885 Hollywood Blvd.,<br />

Hollywood, 954.921.0088<br />

THE WATERCLUB<br />

Intercoastal Mall<br />

3969 NE 163 rd Street, NMB<br />

305.944.8411<br />

thewaterclubmiami.com<br />

The atmosphere here is casual enough<br />

that it is easy to stay for the entire<br />

day. Although the menu changes<br />

seasonally, steaks, salads and a full<br />

raw bar are always available. Be sure<br />

to save room for dessert so you don’t<br />

miss out on the warm doughnuts<br />

with cinammon sugar and espresso<br />

cream. Entrées: $14 - $29.<br />

WATERCOLORS<br />

Boca Raton Bridge Hotel<br />

999 East Camino Real, Boca Raton<br />

561.368.9500<br />

bocaratonbridgehotel.com<br />

Somehow sitting by the water<br />

guarantees a casual and laidback<br />

mood and Watercolors is no<br />

exception. Located on the pool<br />

deck, the menu is true American.<br />

Entrées: $15 - $29.<br />

The Cravings Card<br />

is accepted at these<br />

fine restaurants:<br />

MARIO THE BAKER<br />

13695 W. Dixie Hwy.,<br />

North Miami, 305.891.7641<br />

THE MELTING POT<br />

15700 Biscayne Blvd., NMB,<br />

305.947.2228<br />

MIAMI PRIME GRILL<br />

16395 Biscayne Blvd.,<br />

305.949.5101<br />

RACKS ITALIAN<br />

BISTRO & MARKET<br />

Intracoastal Mall, 163 rd St. & NE<br />

36 th Ave., NMB, 305.917.7225<br />

SUSHI HOUSE<br />

15911 Biscayne Blvd., NMB,<br />

305.947.6002<br />

Go to cravingssouthflorida.com<br />

to sign up for your CRAVINGS CARD


?<br />

s<br />

READER<br />

SuRvEy<br />

1. Gender<br />

Male<br />

Female<br />

2. Your Age<br />

7. How informative Under 18 and helpful did you find this<br />

publication? 19-24<br />

Very25-34<br />

Somewhat 35-44<br />

Not 45-54 Much<br />

Not over At All 55<br />

8. How 3. Where likely did are you get to pick-up this copy additional of CRAVINGS? copies<br />

of CRAVINGS? In the mail<br />

VeryAt<br />

a doctor/dentist’s office<br />

Somewhat At a store/spa/beauty salon<br />

Not At Much a restaurant<br />

None Other<br />

9. Your 4. Where household in South annual Florida income: do you live?<br />

Up to Aventura $30,000 a year<br />

$31,000 Boca to Raton $50,000 a year<br />

$51,000 Hollywood/Hallandale<br />

to $75,000 a year<br />

$76,000 Fort Lauderdale<br />

to $100,000 a year<br />

$100,000 Sunny to Isles $150,000 a year<br />

Over West $150,000 Palm Beach a year<br />

Miami<br />

10. When Miami buying Beach clothes, accessories and home<br />

accessories Other do you prefer to buy at:<br />

National chains<br />

5. Local Are stores you planning to visit any of the places<br />

mentioned Online storesin<br />

CRAVINGS?<br />

Yes<br />

11. How No often do you attend entertainments, such<br />

as concerts, plays and movies, outside your home?<br />

6. Never Your completed level of education:<br />

Twice Some a year High School<br />

Once High a month School<br />

Once College/University<br />

a week<br />

More Some than graduate once a week school<br />

Professional/Master’s Degree<br />

PhD<br />

Name:<br />

address:<br />

email:<br />

Please complete and return<br />

survey. All completed surveys<br />

will be entered in a random<br />

drawing to win dinner for two<br />

and a 1 hour powerboat ride.<br />

7. How informative and helpful did you find this<br />

publication?<br />

Very<br />

Somewhat<br />

Not Much<br />

12. Not How At All often do you go away for a long weekend?<br />

Never<br />

8. How 1-4 likely times are per you year to pick-up additional copies<br />

of CRAVINGS? 5-7 times per year<br />

Very 8 or more times per year<br />

Somewhat<br />

13. Not How Much often do you go out to eat?<br />

None Never<br />

Twice a year<br />

9. Your Once household a monthannual<br />

income:<br />

Up Once to $30,000 a weeka<br />

year<br />

$31,000 More than to $50,000 once a a week year<br />

$51,000 to $75,000 a year<br />

14. $76,000 How many to $100,000 times a year do you participate in a<br />

cultural $100,000 event, to $150,000 i.e., museum, a year symphony, theatre,<br />

etc? Over $150,000 a year<br />

Never<br />

10. Do 1-3 you times ... per year<br />

Own 4-7 your times home per year<br />

Own 8 or your more condo times per year<br />

Rent your home<br />

15. Rent Do you your own condo your own home?<br />

Yes<br />

11. How Nooften<br />

do you attend entertainments, such<br />

as concerts, plays and movies, outside your home?<br />

16. Never What is your family status?<br />

Twice Single a year<br />

Once Single a month with children<br />

Once Married a week<br />

More Married than with once children a week<br />

Other<br />

12. How often do you go out to eat?<br />

17. Never Do you belong to a gym?<br />

Twice Yes a year<br />

Once No a month<br />

Once a week<br />

More than once a week<br />

Please send completed survey to:<br />

CraViNGs south Florida<br />

2999 NE 191 st Street, Suite 608A, Aventura, Florida 33180<br />

All entries MUST be submitted by October 15, 2010.<br />

13. How many times a year do you participate<br />

in a cultural event, i.e., museum, symphony,<br />

theatre, etc?<br />

Never<br />

1-3 times per year<br />

4-7 times per year<br />

8 or more times per year<br />

15. What is your family status?<br />

Single<br />

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16. Are you interested in receiving a free<br />

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17. Are you interested in getting emails about<br />

Cravings’ special events and promotions?<br />

Yes, if yes email address:<br />

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18. Are you interested in getting a daily email<br />

about something new, different and exciting in<br />

South Florida?<br />

Yes<br />

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All completed surveys<br />

will be entered in a<br />

random drawing.<br />

Win a Dinner for two at<br />

racKs ItalIan KItcHen<br />

& one hour Powerboat Ride* with<br />

extreMe MarIne starting/<br />

ending from Racks’ private dock.<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 93<br />

You can also complete this survey online at cravingssouthflorida.com<br />

8/31/2009 9:20:05 AM<br />

ENTER<br />

TO<br />

WIN<br />

* You need to have a strong heart to withstand the thrill of riding in a<br />

powerboat at speeds over 100 mph. Must be 18 or older for ride. Racks<br />

Italian Kitchen is located in the Intracoastal Mall NE 163 rd Street.


MARK THE DATE<br />

NO CALORIE TREATS<br />

Go ahead and treat yourself. Indulge in<br />

Miami Spa Month. Through August 31 st ,<br />

you can get signature spa treatments at<br />

the area’s best spas for $99. For example,<br />

the Biltmore Spa at the Biltmore Hotel<br />

(1200 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables,<br />

305.913.3187, biltmorehotel.com) is<br />

offering a 70 minute regenerating facial<br />

that deeply cleans and rejuvenates all<br />

skin types. The Spa At Grove Isle (4 Grove<br />

Isle Drive, Coconut Grove, 305.860.4308,<br />

groveisle.com) is offering the royal body<br />

treatment, 80 minutes of a tropical<br />

body polish, aromatic massage and a<br />

soaking in a tub with rose petals.<br />

For more information and a complete<br />

list of participating spas visit<br />

miamispamonth.com.<br />

STANDING OVATION<br />

The aventura arts & Cultural Center is<br />

getting ready to kick off its debut season.<br />

As a warm-up to the opening night an<br />

Evening with Patti luPone (Oct. 23,<br />

tickets are already on sale), The arts<br />

Ballet theatre of Florida will perform on<br />

on July 30 th . As part of the programming,<br />

the center will offer the Family Fun<br />

Series, performances based on classic<br />

children’s literature. The four productions<br />

for the 2010/2011 season will include:<br />

Junie B Jones (Oct. 9), Giggle, Giggle,<br />

Quack (Nov.6), The Wizard of Oz (Feb.<br />

5) and Stuart little (May 14). Family Fun<br />

subscriptions are available. Individual<br />

tickets are $14 per person with $3 lap<br />

tickets available for infants 12 months<br />

and under. Aventura Arts & Cultural<br />

Center, 3385 NE 188 th Street, Aventura,<br />

954.462.0222, AventuraCenter.org.<br />

94 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

SPICY FLAVOR<br />

The 9th annual Miami Spice Restaurant Program<br />

takes place from August 1st – September 30th .<br />

Greater Miami’s finest restaurants will offer<br />

three-course prix fixe lunches at $22 per person<br />

and dinners at $35 per person (excluding taxes<br />

& gratuities). Each prix fixe meal will include<br />

an appetizer, entrée and dessert. Restaurants<br />

participating in Miami Spice include: Timo<br />

Restaurant & Bar, Bourbon Steak, Sugarcane,<br />

Wish and Asia de Cuba. For more information and<br />

a complete list of participating restaurants visit<br />

iLoveMiamiSpice.com<br />

Sugarcane Tears for fears<br />

SEVENTH DAY<br />

SOUNDS<br />

Bal Harbour and The<br />

Rhythm Foundation are<br />

joining forces to create<br />

Rhythm Sundays,<br />

an ongoing effort to<br />

promote local arts and<br />

culture. Each Sunday<br />

through Labor Day, One<br />

Bal Harbour Resort<br />

& Spa and Bal Harbour Shops will feature a<br />

weekly roster of music programming created<br />

by The Rhythm Foundation. The signature<br />

restaurant at One Bal Harbour will feature artists<br />

playing Latin and Brazilian music. The<br />

three-course brunch is $35 per person ($45<br />

for unlimited Bloody Marys, mimosas and<br />

poinsettias). Bal Harbour Shops’ restaurants will<br />

offer brunch specials along with duos, trios and<br />

quartets featuring acoustical music.<br />

One Bal Harbour Resort & Spa is located<br />

at 10295 Collins Avenue, 305.455.5460.<br />

The Bal Harbour Shops is located at 9700 Collins<br />

Avenue, balharbourflorida.com.<br />

BROADWAY BOUND<br />

The Broward Center for the Performing arts is focusing<br />

on concerts this August. Its monthly Sunday Jazz Brunch<br />

is August 1 from 10:30am - 1:45pm. The buffet isThe buffet<br />

is $19.95 per person ($5 extra add a Bloody Mary or mimosa<br />

to your meal). If you feel like harkening back to the days<br />

of 1960s Greenwich Village coffeehouses head to the<br />

intimate setting of the center’s Abdo New River Room on<br />

Monday, August 9 at 8pm for the Songwriter’s Showcase<br />

presented by Chrystal Hartigan. Cost is $10 per person at<br />

the door and a cash bar will be available.<br />

To keep the nostalgia going, Chris MacDonald will present<br />

a tribute marking the 33 rd anniversary of Elvis Presley’s<br />

death. MacDonald’s performance of Memories of Elvis is<br />

on Saturday, August 14, 8pm. The dynamic salute to the<br />

King is complete with costumes, dancers and a high-energy<br />

band in the center’s Au-Rene Theater. MacDonald actually<br />

appeared with Elvis Presley as part of his original back up<br />

band The Jordanaires. Tickets range from $19.50 - $47.50.<br />

nathalie merchant<br />

Other August concerts<br />

include: acclaimed singer/<br />

songwriter Natalie<br />

Merchant on Wednesday,<br />

August 25 at 8pm. She<br />

will perform a mix of old<br />

favorites and songs from<br />

her new album Leave Your<br />

Sleep. Tickets are $35, $50<br />

and $60.<br />

Really want to head back in time, try the 80s, with Tears<br />

For Fears on Tuesday, August 31 at 8pm. The English duo<br />

will perform a mix of old and new material highlighting the<br />

band’s blend of pop ad psychedelia. Tickets are $35, $45,<br />

$55, $65 and $75.<br />

Tickets to all performances are available through the Broward<br />

Center’s box office, 954.462.0222 or at BrowardCenter.org. The<br />

Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located at 201 SW<br />

Fifth Avenue, Fort Lauderdale.


FINE PRINT / In This Issue Details & Specifics<br />

ADVERTISER INDEx<br />

Dr. Abbo Advanced Dentistry .................. 11<br />

Activefit Sportwear .................. 37<br />

Agemedix .................. 23<br />

American Pie Pizzeria .................. 47<br />

Aventura Learning Center .................. 45<br />

Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center .................. 83<br />

Avenue Productions .................. 69<br />

Azzurro Italian Restaurant .................. 87<br />

Bay 6 Motorcycle Workshop .................. 91<br />

Bubbles ‘n Ice .................. 33<br />

Bulldog Café .................. 49<br />

Dr. Bo's Diet .................. 37<br />

Cardiovascular Consultants of South Florida 9<br />

Catimini .................. 64<br />

The Center for Medical Weight Loss .................. 19<br />

The Container Store .................. 1<br />

Dental Options .................. 35<br />

Elite Obstetrics and Gynecology .................. 21<br />

Florida Marlins .................. 13<br />

Fuji Hana .................. 10<br />

Give Wink .................. 17<br />

Hair Talk Studio .................. 41<br />

Horwitz Dermatology .................. 43<br />

Indo: Pilates & Spinning/Real Ryder .................. 35<br />

Julien & Hatch Nutrition Institute .................. 77<br />

Kirova Ballet .................. 35<br />

Kitchen 305/Newport Beachside .................. 85<br />

KLA Schools .................. 7<br />

KNR Restaurant Group .................. 2<br />

La Piazza Italian Restaurant .................. 71<br />

Le Petite Spa .................. 71<br />

Lexus of North Miami ................. 25<br />

Master Sang’s Martial Arts Academy .................. 39<br />

Mercedes Service Center .................. 91<br />

Miami Book Fair International .................. 81<br />

Miami Dolphins Inside Back Cover<br />

Miami Fashion Week Foundation .................. 74<br />

Miami Gymnastics & Dance Academy .................. 69<br />

Miami International Wine Fair .................. 46<br />

Nomi Pilates .................. 71<br />

Scott Patterson .................. 15<br />

The Pilates Room .................. 92<br />

Playwright Irish Pub .................. 31<br />

Psychic Horoscope Reading by Sarah .................. 79<br />

Quattro Gastronomia Italiana .................. 2<br />

Renne Ricca's Pilates Center .................. 27<br />

Rose and Rose Realty, P.A. .................. 45<br />

Denise Rubin, Real Estate .................. 5<br />

Siam Oishi .................. 39<br />

Solea .................. 2<br />

Sosta .................. 2<br />

Stabinski & Funt, Attorneys at Law .................. 63<br />

Silvia Stambler, D.D.S. .................. 38<br />

Village at Gulfstream Park Inside Front Cover<br />

Wall .................. 2<br />

The Water Club Back Cover<br />

DETAILS ABOUT FASHION SHOOT LOCATION:<br />

SEMINOLE PARADISE HaRd ROCK HOTEl aNd CaSiNO<br />

5804 Seminole Way, Hollywood, FL • 954.585.5112 • seminoleparadise.com<br />

It’s called the Seminole Paradise: Hard Rock Hotel<br />

and <strong>Casino</strong>, but it really should be called a resort.<br />

A resort is defined as a complete facility for rest<br />

and recreation – and easily defines this hotel.<br />

With its casino and gaming, live entertainment<br />

venue, shops and boutiques, spa, pool and seven<br />

restaurants, bars and lounges inside the Hard Rock<br />

Hotel and <strong>Casino</strong> – not including the additional<br />

18 restaurants and 13 bars and lounges found at<br />

the outdoor complex adjacent to the hotel. (For<br />

specific information about the outdoor venue,<br />

Seminole Paradise, check out page 61.) Serving as<br />

the central location for all things Hard Rock is the<br />

12-story Mediterranean-inspired 481 room hotel.<br />

Off the hotel’s lobby is where everything happens.<br />

As for gaming there are 2500 slots and games as<br />

well as 89 table games. If you’re a high roller the<br />

high limit table games and slots room is for you.<br />

The casino also features a non-smoking room. And<br />

if poker is more your game head to the stand-alone<br />

poker room.<br />

If you save your visit to the casino for your evening<br />

activity, your day can easily be filled with a visit<br />

to the spa. Or just hang out poolside. The lagoon<br />

style pool is heated year round and includes a<br />

waterslide and jacuzzi. There are cabanas, daybeds<br />

(with butler service) and traditional frond-covered<br />

Seminole <strong>Chic</strong>kee huts for rent. Each <strong>Chic</strong>kee hut<br />

comes with a television, refrigerator and phone.<br />

Wanting to expand your evening beyond the slots<br />

and tables, the Hard Rock Live entertainment<br />

venue has concerts, shows and performances.<br />

Upcoming events include: Comedian Kathy Griffin<br />

on August 11 th ; Donna Summer on August 18 th ;<br />

Meat Loaf on September 1 st .<br />

No resort would be complete without a wide<br />

selection of restaurants to satiate even the pickiest<br />

of eaters. Without having to leave the hotel you<br />

can find everything from a casual food court to<br />

more formal steak house. The hotel's eating and<br />

drinking establishments include:<br />

• The Beach Club: Poolside service of<br />

sandwiches, burgers and salads.<br />

• Bluepoint Ocean Grill: Seafood & shellfish.<br />

• Blue Plate: Serves breakfast, lunch<br />

and dinner.<br />

• Center Bar: The casino’s center bar is a<br />

perfect 360-degree view of the casino floor.<br />

• Council Oak: Prime steaks. The restaurant<br />

is named after the place the Seminole elders<br />

would gather… the council oak.<br />

• Food Court: <strong>Casino</strong>-side fast-food type fare.<br />

• Tuscany Italian Bistro & Lounge: A wide<br />

selection of pastas, pizzas, paninis, salads and<br />

homemade gelato, tiramisu and cannolis.<br />

cravingssouthflorida.com 95


WISH LIST<br />

96 Cravings | August / September 2010<br />

Membership has its privileges. Or in this case, membership gives you the<br />

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Quintessentially is a private club with 24-hour global concierge service.<br />

The goal of its dedicated lifestyle managers is to alleviate daily stresses,<br />

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course membership comes at a price ($5,500 per year for an individual; $7,500 per year<br />

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But, just because you’re a member doesn’t necessarily mean you are really in the club.<br />

Quintessentially offers an elite membership which is by invitation only. Here, your private<br />

account managers are ready to satisfy your every whim 24-hours-a-day, 365 days a year,<br />

no matter where you are in the world. The elite membership is $20,000 per year for an<br />

individual; $45,000 per year for a couple. Quintessentially.com.

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