Jose Balido's Blog Posts Tagged 'Miami' (6)

Back in 1972 when I was in grade school, out across the causeway in Rickenbacker Marina on the way to Key Biscayne, the Rusty Pelican opened, a seafood joint that became a Miami institution. But to paraphrase the old Groucho Marx saw, who wants to eat at an institution? Over…

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Dining in Miami just keeps getting better. Just this morning, on the way back from an appointment, we were looking for a place to have a quick, simple lunch, and settled on a French café that opened not too long ago on Miracle Mile, in the heart of chichi Coral Gables…

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Gelato. For some, it's an obsession. For me, the word "cult" comes to mind. Now, before you go thinking I'm nuttier than pistachio, let me explain. It all started with my first trip to Italy back in 1987, where I learned that all I thought I knew about ice cream had been a lie. I still remember the moment of epiphany: standing at dusk outside a small gelateria artigianale in the town of Mariano Comense north of Milan, near Lake Como, with a local friend who…

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Every fall, tourists converge on New England for the opportunity to witness one of nature's most dazzling spectacles, when leaves explode with color in one triumphant grand finale to a summer of photosynthesis. Few realize that "fall" colors may also be found as far south as South Florida... in the spring. Shortly after the vernal equinox (this year on March 20th), certain species of subtropical deciduous trees put on a show that, while admittedly not of the magnitude of New England's, is…

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The writer Sinclair Lewis famously observed, “Travel is so broadening,” but I’ll bet he never imagined it could teach you to walk with a book on your head. On November 27 and again on December 29, the Ritz-Carlton, South Beach will reprise its successful “Charm Camp,” a one-day immersion program for teenage guests of the female persuasion modeled on finishing schools of days gone by, but smartly updated for the 21st century. Held for the first time this past June, it also attracted local girls… Continue

Mexican cuisine may be one of America's favorite "ethnics," and Miami may be the single most Latino city in the United States (not to mention an increasingly foodie town in many ways) -- but until recently, Miami has sucked soggy jalapeños when it came to high-quality, authentic fare from the land of tacos and tequila.



Instead, we had to make do with the same chains the rest of the country does: Baja Fresh, Chipotle Grill, Qdoba, On the Border, yada yada, along with an also… Continue