Miami Halloween Restaurants

It's Halloween! @_@

BUT it's pouring outside.
NO outdoor events this year :( ??!
NO worries.
TIPS for Miami Halloween Restaurants.

Chef Ivo Mazzon and his costumed staff will be serving delectable Halloween specials at Joey’s Italian Café 
-Antipasti of burrata with pumpkin and balsamic onion for $16. 
-Specialty tenderloin with porcini and pumpkin sauce served with potato puree for $34. 
-Pumpkin bavarese with strawberry sauce and pistachio ice cream for dessert. 
-Local neo-folk act Raffa and Rainer for a live musical performance at 8pm. 

After Twilight, Chef Miguel Aguilar offers his Latino-inspired small plates like him famed chicken ropa vieja empanandas or his signature pork tenderloin with apple jicama slaw and shallot gravy at Wynwood Kitchen & Bar for the day.

Jump to Lincoln Road for Meat Market’s spook-tacular three-course prix fixe menu! Courtesy of Chef Sean Brasel, you’ll enjoy appetizers
-pumpkin lobster bisque
-fresh tart apple salad 
-10-ounce basted Kobe filet mignon with Gruyere roesti. 
- delicious trio of cupcakes: pumpkin with pumpkin cream cheese frosting, red velvet with white butter cream and double chocolate 
-DON'Tforget Meat Market’s Black Sangria made with Malbec wine and Stolichnaya blended with black fruits, citrus and agave or their Witches Brew, a cocktail concoction of Appleton rum, fresh lemon, agave nectar and topped off with root beer.
 

FINALLY, a scrumptious four-course prix fixe menu awaits you at Quattro Gastronomia Italiana just a short walk away. 

-An amuse-bouche of mini arancini with ham and porcini served with marinara, fresh wild mushrooms and truffle Robiola cheese crostini, sample antipasti like carpaccio di manzo with mustard dressing, lemon dressed mache, cherry tomatoes and Parmesan flakes. Do not fear, little monsters, for Quattro would never forget dessert! Guests can enjoy an assortment of seasonal inspired treats like pumpkin and pecan pies or their famous homemade classic tiramisu to satisfy their sweet tooth.

Joey's Italian Cafe

 2506 Northwest 2nd Avenue

Miami, FL 33127

(305) 438-0488

www.joeyswynwood.com

Wynwood Kitchen and Bar

2550 Northwest 2nd Avenue

Miami, FL 33127

(305) 722-8959

www.wynwoodkitchenandbar.com

Meat Market

915 Lincoln Road

Miami Beach, FL 33139

(305) 532-0088

www.meatmarketmiami.com

Quattro Gastronomia Italian

1014 Lincoln Road

Miami Beach, FL 33139

(305) 531-4833

www.quattromiami.com

Don't be dissappointed for a rainy Halloween!
Food can make you happy! :)


Work Cited: http://joonbug.com/miami/firstcourse/Halloween-Restaurant-Events/py4800BxsxK



-------Di

Creating an Atmosphere for Your Bar or Restaurant

I read a article called "Creating an Atmosphere for Your Bar or Restaurant"  by Rieva Lesonsky. in the article, i learned the ways to create a good atmosphere.

Colors – Different colors have been shown to affect appetite. Warm colors generally enhance appetite (which is why many fast food establishments use red or orange) while cool colors suppress it. Your color scheme should tie into your brand and marketing materials.

Lighting – Table lamps, candles and fairy lights can set a romantic mood; bright lights are great for hip, casual or trendy locations. Consider dimmer switch options that let you adjust lighting for different times of day. Also consider how window treatments can block unpleasantly bright light from a setting or rising sun.

Music – Should it be loud, soft, classical or trendy? Louder, faster music makes your establishment feel hip and exciting, while unobtrusive music is better for a romantic establishment or one targeting older customers. Live music can be a great way to draw customers to a bar. Faster-paced music makes people eat faster, so if you want to turn tables quickly, speed up the beats per minute!

Menu design – Casual restaurants often feature photos of food and colorful menus with specials called out. Upscale menus are generally clean and simple, in neutral colors. Also consider what kinds of signage and table toppers fit with your overall look, and whether you need a kids’ menu.

Seating – Your tables and chairs should be inviting, durable and easy to keep clean so your bar or restaurant doesn’t start looking shabby. Restaurateurs, consider how often you want your tables to turn—if your seating is too comfortable, customers may camp out longer than you’d like.

Uniforms – Employees should be clearly recognizable and customers should be able to tell a waiter from a busboy. Your color palette should tie in with your overall décor. In general, upscale locations will use neutral colors such as black or gray, while lower-priced establishments often use primary colors. If your restaurant has an ethnic theme, you might consider incorporating ethnic touches into the uniforms.

Dishware and linens – Plates, glasses, silverware and linens should all tie into your overall theme. For instance, big, chunky, handmade-looking glasses and colorful plates could be great for a Mexican restaurant, while a French café or funky coffeehouse might want mismatched, vintage-looking china.


--yuqing

History of Sushi!

We can trace sushi's origin back to the 4th century BC in Southeast Asia. As a preserved food, the salted fish, fermented with rice, was an important source of protein. The cleaned and gutted fish were kept in rice so that the natural fermentation of the rice helped preserve the fish. This type of sushi is called nare-zushi, and was taken out of storage after a couple of months of fermentation, and then only the fish was consumed while the rice was discarded.
Over time, it spread throughout China, and later, around the 8th century AD, in the Heian period, it was introduced into Japan. Since Japanese preferred to eat rice together with fish, the sushi, called seisei-zushi, became popular at the end of Muromachi period. This type of sushi was consumed while the fish was still partly raw and the rice had not lost its flavor. In this way, sushi became more of a cuisine rather than a way to preserve food.
Later in Edo era, Japanese began making haya-zushi, which was created as a way to eat both rice and fish; this dish was unique to Japanese culture. Instead of being only used for fermentation, rice was mixed with vinegar and combined not only with fish but also with various vegetables and dried preserved foods. Today, each region of Japan still preserves its own unique taste by utilizing local products in making different kinds of sushi that have been passed on for generations.
At the beginning of the19th century, when Tokyo was still called Edo, the food service industry was mostly dominated by mobile food stalls, from which nigiri-zushi originated. Edomae, which literally means "in front of Tokyo bay," was where the fresh fish and tasty seaweed for the nigiri-zushi were obtained. As a result, it was also called edomae-zushi, and it became popular among the people in Edo after Yohei Hanaya, a creative sushi chief, improved it to a simple but delicious food. Then, after the Great Kanto earthquake in 1923, nigiri sushi spread throughout Japan as the skilled edomae-zushi chefs from Edo, who had lost their jobs, were diffused all over Japan.
In the 1980s, in the wake of increased health consciousness, sushi, one of the healthiest meals around, has gotten much more attention; consequently, sushi bars have increased in the United States. With the introduction of sushi machines, which combines the mass production of sushi with the delicate skills used by sushi chefs, making and selling sushi has become more accessible to countries all over the world.

Bar Lighting

Bar lighting is critical for creating the right ambiance in a bar. This true for the pub on the corner or the one you have in your basement. But you need to understand the different lighting schemes used to create the right mood at home. The first step is to understand what type of atmosphere you want to invoke. Are you looking for a pub environment? Do you want more of a sports bar theme? Do you want a dance space for your friends your friends to enjoy? All of these have different schemes you will need to consider.
Bar lighting can be used to create a fun environment for watching sports. When you get with friends to watch the big game, part of the fun is talking and joking around. A dark moody lighting scheme may not be what you want. You need a bit brighter light to help view the game and see your friends’ faces. Add comfortable seating, good beer and a large screen television, and you are set. If you are near the kitchen and bathroom, you won’t need to leave it at all. You will be the most popular person on your street or in your city within hours.

---Yuqing

Hot Pot

I went to Atlanta this weekend and I was very satisfied because of a great meal---HOT POT!!!!

Hot pot is very popular among Chinese people, it has a history of more than 1000 years in China. It consists of a simmering metal pot of stock at the center of the dinning table. While the hot pot is kept simmering,ingredients are placed in the pot and cooked at the table. Typical hot pot dishes include thinly sliced meat, leafy vegetables, mushrooms, wontons, egg dumplings, and seafood. The cooked food is usually eaten with a dipping sauce. In many areas, hot pot meals are often eaten in the winter because it makes you warm. It is something like a chocolate fondue.

The hot pot place in Atlanta is called Mini Hot Pot. It's at 4897 Buford Hwy, Atlanta, GA 30341. It's a small place but it has a wide range of selections. The bubble tea they offer there is excellent and has multiple favors. The combination of bubble tea and hot pot is the best choice. Everytime I travel to a new place, I definately look for a hot pot place.

It's a pity that there's no Chinese hot pot in Miami, except that there is one called the Melting Pot which is American style. By the way, Japanese people like hot pot as well, but their style is slightly different from the Chinese one. Chinese people share one metal pot, so it is fun to grab food from the pot. The Japanese hot pot is called shabu shabu, which everybody has their own pot. It is less fun but more sanitary.


----Di

Wine for starters

"One out of every ten bottles of table wine opened in America is white zinfandel." -- Sutter Home

White zinfandel is a pale-rose wine colored that's very sweet. It has gained immensely in popularity since the 1980s, and sadly it is often looked down on by "real wine drinkers" because of its youth and sweetness. This is sad because every wine has its place in the grand palate of flavors. Yes, white zinfandel is light and sweet. But this is perfect in some situations - say a hot summer day with a crisp fruit salad. It's also a great way for non-wine-drinkers to get used to the flavors in wine, without being put off by a heavily tannic monster wine.

Beringer Vineyards is the most popular producer of white zinfandel. White zinfandel is often a wine that new wine drinkers will "enter into wine drinking" with. A society that trains people to love super-sweet soda and Hi-C creates adults that have very sweet taste buds. White zinfandel is a way to slowly retrain those palates to appreciate the dryer flavors.

White zinfandel is delicious with cream-based-sauce with pasta, with fish, pork, and other "lighter" meals. It tends to have citrusy and light flavors - orange, vanilla, strawberry, raspberry, cherry. In addition, new white zinfandels have fruit juices added to them right before bottling to create new flavored versions.

White zinfandel should be drunk at around 54F which is much warmer than fridge temperature (around 35F). A too-cold wine hides all of its flavors. It's like eating a frozen pizza in its frozen state vs nice and warm. Let your white zinfandel warm up a bit if you keep it in the fridge before drinking it, so you can appreciate those gentle flavors it has in it. White zinfandel is NOT an aging wine and should be drunk within 6 months.

http://wineintro.com/types/whitezin.html

--Yuqing

Chinese alcohol and Chinese Culture

Jiu - Chinese wine or alcohol The Chinese the word  "jiu" is used to mean all types of alcoholic beverages.
In China, "jiu" could also be called the "Water of History" because stories about "jiu" can be found in almost every period of China's long story. The origins of the alcoholic beverage from fermented grain in China cannot be traced definitively. It is believed to have 4,000 years history. A legend said that Yidi, the wife of the first dynasty's king Yu invented the method. At that time millet was the main grain, the so-called "yellow wine", then rice became more popular. It was not until the 19th century that distilled drinks become more popular. Traditionally, Chinese distilled liquors are consumed together with food rather than drunk on their own. Although China has a 6,000 year history in grape growing, and a 4,000 year history in wine making, it was not until this century that Chinese wine was recognized in the West. 

Wine culture in China today Ordinary Chinese people today have always used alcohol to help them celebrate the happiness in their lives. In China, a banquet known as "Jiu Xi" means an alcohol banquet. the life of every person, from birth to death, should have pauses for drinking banquets starting a month or 100 days after a baby's birth when the parents invite people in for a drink. When someone builds a new house, marries, starts a business, makes a fortune or lives a long life, he should invite people in for a drinking session. In modern times it is a pity that the games that go with drinking are not the elegant ones of the past that involved poetry or music. Today, drinkers just play simple finger-guessing games along with a lot of heavy drinking. It also seems today that friendship depends only on the volume of drink being consumed. "If we are good friends, then bottoms up; if not, then just take a sip" is a common phrased exchanged during gatherings. 

--Yuqing Zhong