Food & Wine Best New Chefs 2009

I can't recall whether or not this is already old news, since by the time something is in print it's already been blogged and twittered for a month, but I just received my July Food & Wine magazine with the "Best New Chefs" of 2009. The list is:

• Naomi Pomeroy - Beast, Portland OR


• Vinny Dotolo and Jon Shook - Animal, Los Angeles, CA


• Christopher Kostow - Meadowood Napa Valley, St. Helena, CA


• Kelly English - Restaurant Iris, Memphis, TN


• Nate Appleman - A16 and SPQR, San Francisco, CA


• Mark Fuller - Spring Hill, Seattle, WA


• Brian Caswell - Reef, Houston, TX


• Linton Hopkins - Restaurant Eugene, Holeman & Finch Public House, Atlanta, GA


• Paul Liebrandt - Corton, New York, NY


• Barry Maiden - Hungry Mother, Cambridge, MA

I noted a few months ago how no South Floridians were nominated for the James Beard Awards' "Rising Star Chef of the Year Award." The shutout continues with the F&W Best New Chef awards. The complete list of Florida F&W Best New Chef winners is here. It's a pretty short list, and the only chefs who won for restaurants they actually ran in Florida are:

• Mark Militello (1990) - won at Mark's Place in North Miami, now at 1 Bleu in Bal Harbour


• Allen Susser (1991) - still plugging away at Chef Allen's in Aventura


• Hubert des Marais (1993) - won at Ocean Grand in Palm Beach, now supposedly at the Fairmont Turnberry Isle in Aventura (not Bourbon Steak)


• Robin Haas (1994) - won at Chispa in Coral Gables, now ?)


• Pascal Oudin (1995) - won at Grand Cafe in Coconut Grove, now at Pascal's on Ponce in Coral Gables


• Andrea Curto (2000) - won at Wish in Miami Beach, now at Talula in Miami Beach

So are we really approaching a 10-year drought of notable new culinary talent in South Florida? Consider, as possible candidates, the StarChefs list of 2008 South Florida Rising Stars.

In any event, congrats to all the winners.

You Got Food on Your T-Shirt There

A few months ago, Mr. Cod (Gurgling? I'm not sure we're on a first-name basis) inspired me to try to track down all of the food-related t-shirts available from the awesome website Threadless, a wonderful site with user-designed t-shirts (a few of which I already own). I'm sure I missed some, but here goes (Notes: hover over the picture to see the title; click to go to the shirt on the Threadless website; no, I'm not getting any commision if you buy one; and if none of these strike your fancy, maybe try these at StoveMonkeys, made by chefs for chefs):

Slàinte! Artisan Scotch Dinner @ Neomi's

In follow up to the "Great Whisk(e)y Debate" a couple months ago, Neomi's Grill in Sunny Isles will be doing an Artisan Scotch Dinner on June 25 in conjunction with Cellars Warehouse. The event features five courses of food pairings to go with selections from two independent bottlers of single malt Scotch whiskeys, Gordon & MacPhail and Signatory.

For more than a century, Gordon & MacPhail have been buying whiskeys directly from Scottish distilleries, aging them in cask and bottling them when determined to be at their best. Though they are only bringing four examples to the party, their inventory includes more than 450 of their own-bottled single malts, ranging from 5 to 60 years old. Signatory likewise is an independent bottler, producing what it calls "single, single, single malts" - bottlings from a single distillery, only particular distillations or batches from that distillery, and bottling only one cask at a time from those selections. There's a good rundown of a Signatory tasting on this Chowhound thread.

The menu, listed below, features several courses, each designed to pair with a particular whiskey (no doubt after much sampling in the kitchen).

‘warm ups’
foie gras, 85% chocolate, granola crunch
spinach pakora, curried raita
st. andre fondue, rye crisps
jamon iberico, sweet corn, almond

Benromach Traditional, Speyside, Gordon & Macphail

bbq’d copper salmon
ginger pickled daikon, toasted nori
honshemiji, wasabi froth, barley sushi rice, oyster emulsion

Laphroaig 7 year old, Islay, Signatory

malt duck
accents of fennel, drambuie, vanilla, citrus, soft herbs

Smith’s Glenlivet 21 year old, Speyside, Gordon & Macphail

arugula & watercress
‘brown butter’scotch, shropshire blue cheese
scotch quail eggs, grilled orange vinaigrette

Tullibardine Vintage 1993, Highlands, Signatory

wagyu & tatties^[*]
low smoked brisket, black garlic, sea salted Kennebec potatoes
25 yr. scotch + 25 yr. sherry vinegar = glace de viande

Strathisla 25 year old, Speyside, Gordon & Macphail

cocoa & oats
honey almond sable, coffee-vanilla toffee, chocolate cremoso
oatmeal caramel & streusel, scotch air

Dunkeld Atholl Brose, Speyside, Gordon & Macphail

Festivities start at 6:30 pm with dinner starting at 7:00 pm. The price is $85, tax and service included.



Trump International Beach Resort
18001 Collins Avenue
305.692.5770

^[*]What gives? Everyone knows those tatties should come with neeps.