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Recapping the SoBe Wine & Food Festival

A look back at the events, personalities, and bites that made up this year’s fest.

February 26, 2013

Another frenzied South Beach Wine & Food Festival has come and gone, leaving behind memories of crackling grills, world-class cocktails, and celebrity-fueled fêtes. The annual festival powered by Lee Brian Schrager and the Food Network kicked off last Thursday, with Moët Hennessy's The Q hosted by Paula Deen and sons, followed by The Q After Dark with special guest Curtis Stone. Today show hosts Natalie Morales and Savannah Guthrie stopped by the barbecue event to support participating cook and fellow host Al Roker before filming a segment for Today at Loews Miami Beach Hotel on Friday morning. And speaking of Friday, that’s when Rachael Ray hosted the Amstel Light Burger Bash, where Bobby Flay finally dethroned four-time consecutive winner Michael Symon as the People's Choice champion. For more highlights from the festival, browse through the slideshow above. 

—LIANA LOZADA

 

Take Your Closet Digital

Access your wardrobe overflow via a digital fashion archive with Garde Robe.

February 26, 2013


Store furs and other seasonal clothing with Garde Robe and get digital access to your closet archives

If you’re lucky enough to need your own fashion archive, turn to the closet keepers trusted by Ivanka Trump and Iman, Garde Robe. Based in New York City, the luxury wardrobe and valet service has outposts in California, Las Vegas, Tokyo, and thankfully, Coral Gables. Offering chic storage and itemized archiving, the company can make your lesser used pieces available around the clock via a digital closet catalogue. Items are kept in climate-controlled, air purified “lofts” and can be delivered to the owner anywhere, anytime, all around the world. It’s especially convenient if you travel regularly between houses. Rather than bother with luggage, you can select items from your digital closet and have them shipped (packaged with the utmost care) to your destination. And if you’re traveling to a city with a Garde Robe location, like New York, the company offers door-to-door butlering. At-home tailoring, personal shopping, image consulting, and couture garment care services are also available. In Coral Gables, Garde Robe has a partnership with the prestigious Rey Cleaners to keep your archives in tip-top shape. 305-455-0763

—LIANA LOZADA

 

Alvin Ailey Mesmerizes at Arsht

Exclusive candids from the company's rehearsal, and a chat with artistic director Robert Battle.

February 26, 2013

The prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater made a triumphant return to the Adrienne Arsht Center last weekend, performing a riveting collection of signature masterworks and new favorites. The weekend run was also a homecoming for the company’s artistic director, Miami native Robert Battle, who joined Ailey in 2011. Raised in Liberty City, Battle first beheld the company's graceful dancers through a school initiative, a memory that fuels his passion for community outreach and arts education to this day. After attending the New World School of the Arts, Battle moved on to New York’s Juilliard School and Parsons Dance, later founding his own Battleworks Dance Company. We spoke with the accomplished choreographer during a preview presentation in advance of last Thursday’s opening show, where professional dancers performed “Fix Me Jesus” from Revelations, and youngsters from Charles Drew Middle School got a chance to learn from the pros.

What are your most vivid memories of growing up in Miami?
ROBERT BATTLE: My world was Liberty City, Orchid Villa Elementary School. I remember always feeling that sense of community, family, and extended family . . .  I remember growing up in the church, singing in the choir, taking piano lessons, watching my mother recite Shakespeare during her 30 years as an English teacher. She had a group called The Afro Americans who did poems and songs related to the black experience. It's no accident that the arts was what I was drawn to.

Give us an example of how Miami has changed since you were coming up?
RB: This area, where the Arsht is, used to be desolate and sometimes dangerous. I remember coming home to visit my mother and watching them start to build the Arsht and the surrounding areas, never thinking that someday I would be with this company and we would be performing here.

You've come full circle.
RB: It's very full circle.

You’re only the third artistic director the company has had in its 50-year history. Do you feel a lot of pressure to continue to build its legacy, and at the same time, to keep it moving forward?
RB: There's pressure, but I think it's hard for people to understand. Young people ask me, ‘What is your day like, to wake up every morning and be the artistic director for Alvin Ailey?’ but there is something seamless about it. There's something about my upbringing that has prepared me for where I am now. In that way it's more of a natural pressure. It's like opening a door that isn't locked. You only need the amount of pressure it takes to open the door and walk through it.

Many of the company's dancers were introduced to Ailey through school initiatives. However, the arts are quickly fading from our schools’ curriculums. What are the consequences of that?
RB: Arts and education are important. I had singing classes, a music teacher, and I learned to write music in school. And to see that disappearing and young people being deprived of it leads to hopelessness. It's not just sentimentality—we know the arts make a difference in young peoples’ lives. The fact that the Ailey programs are able to make a difference in the community is very important to me, and the company. We step off the stage and into the communities we serve. Ailey said very distinctly that dance is for everybody, dance comes from the people and should always be delivered back to the people.

—LIANA LOZADA

 

Oscar Stars Put on Their Party Dresses

Stars like Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Lawrence slipped into something more comfortable post-Oscars.

February 25, 2013

Now that the verdict is mostly in on who was best-dressed at the 2013 Academy Awards, we can move on to afterparty fashions. Take a look at these red carpet wardrobe changes for the Governors Ball and the infamous Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty. 

—APRIL WALLOGA
photography by Pascal Le Segretain (Lawrence); Kevork Djansezian (ADELE); ALBERTO E. RODRIGUEZ (SEYFRIED, ADAMS, HATHAWAY, WATTS, SALDANA)

 

Lee Brian Schrager Curates Film Series

The three-film Culinary Cinema program kicks off with a Franco-Brazilian brunch at Juvia.

February 25, 2013


Lee Brian Schrager curates a film series for foodies kicking off this Sunday

Fresh off ring-leading this weekend’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Lee Brian Schrager brings his love of food to the big screen, debuting his inaugural Culinary Cinema selections as part of the 30th Annual Miami International Film Festival (MIFF). Curated entirely by Schrager, the program includes three films, the first of which, Why Did You Leave, will screen this Sunday at 3 p.m. at Regal Cinemas South Beach, with a pre-film brunch taking place at Juvia at noon. Tickets are $100 ($85 for Miami Film Society members) and include the screening, brunch, and a dizzying array of Brazilian wine pairings. The documentary film, shown in Miami for the first time ever in North America, follows five French chefs as they relocate to Brazil to recharge their cooking careers. A couple of the chefs in the film will be on hand in the kitchen with Juvia executive chef Laurent Cantineaux to craft the Franco-Brazilian rooftop brunch. The Culinary Cinema program will continue with a screening of Meat Hooked (on the rise and fall of the neighborhood butcher) on Monday, March 4, and Oma & Bella (about two Holocaust survivors and the foods of their childhoods) on Saturday, March 9. For dinner and a movie plans, you couldn’t ask for better film choices.  

—LIANA LOZADA

 

Panther Coffee Hits South Beach

Panther Coffee brings its made-in-Wynwood concept to South Beach.

February 25, 2013


Panther Coffee in Wynwood.

With an established reputation in Wynwood’s epicenter, Panther Coffee has set its sights on the new high-style Sunset Harbor parking garage to caffeinate hip coffee aficionados on both sides of the bay. Opening next month, the new Purdy Avenue outpost is expected to attract devotees with the aromatic wafts of artisanal roasting.

In 2009, Joel and Leticia Pollock relocated from Portland to bring the joy of rare, meticulously roasted coffees to Miami. While the Pollocks acknowledged a void of their type of small-batch roasting, they never dismissed Miami’s coffee potential and preference for strong, dark coffees. (Think café Cubano.)

Panther’s caffeinated concoctions are executed like science with digital thermometers and scales for accuracy. Meticulous about the final product, Joel and Leticia have scoured the planet from Ethiopia to Guatemala for coffee beans with distinguished flavors stemming from unique micro-climates, altitudes, and the “hands of the producer.” With coffees from many different countries, Panther only features a selection of five or six at a time. “They rotate seasonally and stay fresh,” the Pollocks say. “We are very focused on coffee quality—it is the heart of our business, as well as treating people well, from the grower to the customer. We want the customers to learn as much as they want as they enjoy their coffee.”

Panther first opened its Wynwood doors for Art Basel Miami Beach in late 2010, and while the Pollocks never expected to branch out so soon, they explain that the West End location, with like-minded businesses sprouting up and passionate patrons living in the area, “was too much fun to pass up.” “Sunset Harbor is really growing right now. A great group of quality-driven local businesses have been locating nearby. We are delighted about this and can’t wait to be a part of it,” the Pollocks say. “As for new locations, we’ll see. We will keep balancing the fun projects that come our way with keeping the high-quality standards we’ve set for ourselves.”

Coffee is roasted fresh each morning in the Wynwood headquarters with their 1927 German roaster and will be delivered daily to the Sunset Harbor café. Expect the same high standards and ritual weekly coffee tastings, called “cuppings,” every Saturday at 3 p.m. 1900 Bay Road, Miami Beach

—jess swanson

 

What We're Reading

The Today show hits Miami Beach, a new curator takes the reins at MOCA…

February 22, 2013


The Today show filmed in Miami this morning. Did you watch?

In case you missed it, NBC's Today show filmed live from the Loews Miami Beach Hotel today. In addition to hosting performances by Pitbull and Flo Rida, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker, and company made a stop at the South Beach Food & Wine Festival with none other than Paula Deen. [All Day Today]

Alex Gartenfeld, senior editor of Art in America and Interview online, has been named curator for the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami. The 26-year-old writer, historian, and critic has worked on more than 25 international exhibitions. [Art in America]

Real Housewives of Miami star Lisa Hochstein and her husband Dr. Lenny Hochstein have offered preservationists the chance to relocate the historic Star Island house they had originally planned to demolish in order to build their "dream home." The couple even offered to help cover the moving bill. [Curbed Miami]

Dreading parking at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival? Bookmark this event parking guide complete with street addresses and price ranges. [Short Order]

The Knight Arts Challenge—which has funded the exploration of more than 140 creative ideas in the past five years—is now accepting new submissions. You have through March 4 to apply to make your artistic dream a reality. [NBC Miami]

—LIANA LOZADA

 

The Cosmopolitan Pops Up in Miami

Vegas’ pillar of excess hosts an exclusive SoBe WFF soirée this Saturday night.

February 21, 2013


Las Vegas' hottest new hotel, The Cosmopolitan, is popping up in Miami this Saturday night 

This weekend, what happens in Vegas is not staying in Vegas. For one-night-only, this Saturday, the luxuriously sleek Cosmopolitan hotel is popping up in Miami for an invite-only affair in honor of the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. Invited guests and VIPs will join restaurateur Costas Spiliadis at Estiatorio Milos, the sister location to The Cosmopolitan's Milos haunt, for an evening of Mediterranean cuisine, music, and mingling. Guests can fill up on an impressive carving station, prime rib-eye, and the restaurant’s signature sea bass, while Cosmopolitan mixologist Christopher Hopkins slings his unique cocktails, including his famous East 75, made with Bombay Sapphire East, prosecco, grapefruit, and house-made lemongrass syrup. Meanwhile, Miami DJ duo Ess & Emm have been recruited to man the decks. A promising pop-up, indeed. 730 1st St., Miami, 305-604-6800

—LIANA LOZADA

 

Weekend Recommender: February 21-24

Alvin Ailey mesmerizes at Arsht, Calvin Harris headlines Story Nightclub, and more!

February 21, 2013


New York's acclaimed Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater glides through Miami this weekend 

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Thursday-Sunday, Feb. 21-24
The beloved dance company lands at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Miami leg of its 21-city tour. Ailey will perform several classic works under Robert Battle's artistic direction. Tickets begin at $25 and may be purchased online or at the Arsht Center box office. 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, 305-949-6722

El Ñosh Pop-Up
Thursday-Sunday, Feb. 21-24
Iron Chef pals Eric Greenspan and Roberto Treviño are serving up four nights of Jewish-Latin fusion eats at a pop-up scheduled in tandem with the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. The opening festivities take place Thursday night with cocktails, passed bites, and live music. Stop by for beachside servings of pastrami and dill pickle croquetas and molé braised brisket with sweet plantain kugel. 161 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach, 305-967-2465

Calvin Harris at Story
Friday, Feb. 22, 11 p.m.
If next month’s Ultra Music Festival can’t come soon enough, head to Story Nightclub this Friday night to catch a DJ set by international superstar Calvin Harris. Among his hits are collaborations with Ne-Yo, Florence Welch, and Rihanna. Presale tickets can be purchased here. 136 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, 305-538-2424

—LIANA LOZADA

 

Miami Racks Up James Beard Nods

Khong River, The Broken Shaker, and four local chefs made the awards semifinalist list.

February 20, 2013

Local haunts like Khong River House and The Broken Shaker scored spots on the James Beard Foundation’s 2013 awards semifinalist list, published this Tuesday afternoon. The list will be narrowed down again on March 18, and the winners get medaled in May. Here’s the full list of Miami chef and restaurant semifinalists, and a primer on their talent.  

—LIANA LOZADA

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