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Dining & Spirits
State Dining Update - Feb. 2009
» Jacksonville is digging into a second helping of hearty hand-crafted cooking from Jonathan Insetta; he first delivered artisanal sandwiches and suppers at Chew downtown, and now he’s running a full bistro menu at Orsay in Avondale, from pate and iced plateau of fruits de mer to steak frites.
 A serving of scallops at 660 Mediterranean Kitchen on South Beach |
» Jacksonville also gets more rustic servings of Old World cooking with a smoky Spanish accent at the new 13 Gypsies, opened by chef Howard Kirk, who put Andalusian flavor in the Sangria House.
» Mark Militello, who once hung out his name and Golden Spoons across south Florida, has a new kitchen and menu at 1 Bleu, the seafooder in the glam-slam Regent Bal Harbour in Miami.
» At The Angler’s, a boutique Miami Beach hotel, the 660 Mediterranean Kitchen is set with lamb, olives, dates and goat cheese in plates small and large.
» Ocean Prime, the latest from Ohio chain wizard Cameron Mitchell, opens
its third Florida location in Tampa, mixing seafood, steaks, retro chrome and martinis into a glossy supper club on the beefy Westshore strip.
» Z Grille adds “signature” dining with flash at St. Petersburg’s newest downtown tower — the Signature condo/office tower — with Zack and Jennifer Gross turning out such clever offerings as Dr Pepper-fried ribs.
» Also, Tampa’s 717 South takes over the sadly folded Table in downtown St. Pete.
» Datebook TV’s culinary stars light up Miami for the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival Feb. 19-22. Look for merlot match-ups, cocktail spinoffs, Mario Batali, Paula Deen, Colicchio and Tyler too (Florence, that is).
 Last year’s South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami |
