The biggest opening of the summer is undoubtedly the arrival of Jose Andres Beverly Hills' import The Bazaar at the SLS Hotel on South Beach. Slated for a June 14 opening, SLS is putting the final touches on the resort and the surreal design of the restaurant. Iconic designer Philippe Starck described the Bazaar's dining room to USA Today as an "out-of-focus memory of the charming dining room of your grandmother who loved art. Art was everything and everywhere. She loved only one color: acid yellow". Bar Centro, located next door to the lobby, is designed for a more casual meal, with "French bistro tables amid light gray walls, vivid Cuban paintings and columns that Starck is having covered with handwriting".
Update: Reservations were available earlier today but the Bazaar is in the midst of testing the system and will launch officially on opentable at a later date. Stay tuned.
· First Look at the SLS South Beach [USAToday]
· All Coverage of The Bazaar [~EMIA~]
[Photo via USA Today]
SOUTH BEACH - Just in time to celebrate their one year anniversary, Haven Lounge is changing the menu with a confusing combination of influences from Texas, South Korea and New Orleans. New additions to the eclectic menu will fit in with the summer season, including "squid fries" - a graham cracker crusted squid steak fry. [ShortOrder]
DOWNTOWN - Amuse, the intimate restaurant inside the Casa Moderna hotel, has tapped former chef of Fisher Island Club, Kenneth Williams, to lead the kitchen. Williams will fit in with the crowd and design the menu with a locally sourced, farm-to-table approach. [Miami.com]
GOING BACK TO CALI - An earlier false rumor today had Joel Huff taking the reigns at Tudor House, but instead he's heading back to California to recharge. [Miami.com]
June 4th kicks off the fifth annual Coral Gables Restaurant Week offering up to 20% off on three course lunch or dinner menus at over 30 restaurants, including Ortanique on the Mile, Mesa and Local Craft Food & Drink. This year's Coral Gables restaurant week will run for two weeks ending on June 17.
The preview party, Taste of the Gables at the Westin Colonnade, has just released tickets - priced at $25 for advanced purchase and $35 at the door.
After making headlines for embezzlement and money laundering allegations, South Florida restaurateur David Mainiero is fighting back with his own claim. One of the men behind the restaurant concept BurgerFI and South Beach's Devito, Mainiero is suing his former partners saying the allegations against him were devised to end Mainiero's ties with the restaurant group after they attained their liquor license using Mainiero's clean record.
Along with claiming that the previous allegations were part of a bigger scheme, Mainiero's counterclaim states that one of his other partners was involved in the same money laundering scheme that netted him $67,500 and that he accepted half a million dollars worth of gifts from one associate as well. Furthermore, Mainiero says that since the partners fired him one of the BurgerFI franchises has been allowed by management to sell marijuana in the restaurant. Stay tuned for more entertaining allegations.
· Restaurateur Mainiero Files Counterclaim Against Ex-Partners [PBP]
· South Florida restaurateur David Manero accused of embezzlement [PBP]
· Business partners sue DeVito’s restaurant mogul David Manero [MH]
[Photo courtesy of PBP]
BISCAYNE CORRIDOR - The international neighborhood gem, Anise Taverna, closed their doors last week after four years. Filling in for Anise will be River Shack, the product of former Anise co-owner/chef David Long, opening this Saturday. [ShortOrder]
MIAMI BEACH - The first impressions on Estiatorio Milos are beginning to trickle out with Sara Liss's sizing up the greek goddess. Liss highlights the Milos specialty, "a tower of battered and fried thinly-sliced zucchini and eggplant stacked around tzatziki, and the mezze platter of skordalia, tzatziki, taramosalata and other Hellenic delicacies. [Miami.com]
FT. LAUDERDALE - Tap 42 has named David Peck as their executive chef, taking over the reigns from Chris Palmer. [CleanPlateCharlie]
[Photo via MNT]
Looking for a little more chi, SushiSamba on Lincoln Road just completed their shake up, launching some new items to their dromo menu and revealing the restaurant's new urbanized decor. The new dishes, in keeping with the culinary direction of combining the cuisines of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian on one menu, include a sake-steamed mussels tobanyaki served with palillo, basil and a shichimi cracker, a small plate of pulp a la plancha with chorizo puree, pickled daikon and nori crostini, and tempura pork cheek with gala apple escabeche, pickled watermelon rind and tobanjan chile glaze. Outside of the few new additions, the SushiSamba faithful will notice the majority of the old menu remains intact.
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Another food festival is coming to South Florida with the addition of the Flavors of Ft. Lauderdale to the docket. The four day event will run from November 8 to 11 with Shula's on the Beach, Steak 954 and Via Luna the early confirmed participants. To top it all off, Miami's beloved Chef Allen Susser has been knighted "Ambassador of Flavor" for the event. Stay tuned for more details. [CPC]
If there is something the people of Mexico know, it's French cuisine. Next Wednesday marks the opening of Gloutonnerie, the Mexico City import that specializes in Parisian fare. Gloutonnerie is taking over the space that was vacated by Au Pied de Cochon back in December of 2009. Blending an incredible combination of 
South Beach favorite Yardbird Southern Table & Bar is bringing in a bunch of local chefs for the launch of their new "Midnight Chef's Table" series. Starting May 18 at midnight, chef Jeff McInnis will host a chef, sommelier or mixologist for a ten seat, $40 prix fixe dinner in front of the Yardbird Kitchen. The first chef on deck is Dean Max of 3030 Ocean on June 15 and will be followed by chef Paula DaSilva of 1500 degrees on June 22. Also committed for future dates are Sugarcane's Timon Balloo and Bulldog Barbecue's Howie Kleinberg. [EaterWire]
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