By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

Miami’s Who’s Who with an affinity for fried chicken and all of its accompanying comfort foods gathered on the beautiful bayside terrace of the Pérez Art Museum Miami on Tuesday, May 27 for the celebration of South Beach Wine and Food Festival founder, Lee Brian Schrager’s second cookbook, Fried & True: More Than 50 Recipes for America’s Best Fried Chicken and Sides.  The scene was set for a gorgeous evening of family style indulgence with oversized wooden tables and benches, covered with all the fixins, including gourmet corn on the cob, collard greens, carrots, coleslaw, biscuits and decadent mac and cheese; catered by Stephen Starr Events, which incorporated the recipes from Schrager’s book.  Food stations offering every variety of fried chicken imaginable were set up throughout the terrace, including offerings from Michelle Bernstein, Paula Dean, and our favorites:  Asha Gomez’s Keralan fried chicken and cardamom waffles and Yotam Ottolenghi’s seeded chicken schnitzel with parsley-caper mayonnaise.  All of the recipes from the evening appear in the book, copies of which were signed by Schrager – personalized for each guest.   Read the rest of this entry »

By: Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

FedEx/St. Jude Angels & Stars Gala 

More than 600 guests, including celebrities, attended the 12th annual FedEx/St. Jude Angels & Stars Gala, co-founded by Daisy Fuentes, at the JW Marriott Marquis in Miami on May 17.  Guests enjoyed a cocktail reception, feasted on a four-course dinner and bid on auction items such as the Miami Heat Experience – autographed Shane Battier shoes along with 4, suite tickets in the FedEx Suite (center court) during a 2014-2015 regular season game. Celebrities in attendance included well-known television and radio personalities and musicians:  Ana Maria Canseco, Raul Gonzalez, Alberto Sardiñas, Pamela Silva Conde, Jon Secada, Charytin Goyco, among others.  Read the rest of this entry »

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

“Beautiful things don’t ask for attention,” was one of our favorite quotes from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.  The quote was whispered by Sean Penn’s character in the movie, with reference to an elusive snow leopard which he had been waiting to photograph for days. As it turns out, the snow leopard was one of 45 wild creatures who gathered at the Feast of Species on Saturday night at Primary Projects, for a dinner designed to bring attention to the needs of animals. The wild event was hosted by Nicole Davis, founder and senior editor of Red Flag magazine, who was disguised as her favorite bird, the hummingbird and artist, Christina Pettersson in celebration of the eighth edition of Red Flag, which is centered on the theme of animals. The five-year old, nonprofit publication, seeks to “raise awareness about important environmental and social issues as well as gathering a community together around activism both locally and globally.”  Read the rest of this entry »

By: Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

Miami’s elite gathered at the gorgeous Juvia, in the critically acclaimed Herzog & De Meuron-designed 1111 Building on Lincoln Road on Saturday, April 26, for the Miami Symphony Orchestra’s (MISO) first annual Blues & Brunch. The beauty of the restaurant, with sweeping views of the city and ocean was rivaled only by the chic crowd, who dressed to the nines in hats, fascinators, bow ties, pin stripes and spring finery- as per the invitation.  Yet the most spectacular sensory inspiration came courtesy of MISO’s musicians, who performed throughout the beautiful afternoon, as Champagne and cocktails flowed freely. Guests feasted on a four-course brunch, served family-style. 

The dashing Rafael Diaz-Balart, who serves as MISO’s Chairman of the Board, lauded the efforts of MISO’s Conductor, Eduardo Marturet, praising his extraordinary charisma, vision and talent. “There is no one like him- what he has done for this orchestra and for this city is beyond words.”  Read the rest of this entry »

By:  Mary Jo Almeida-Shore 

Light it Up Blue 

On Friday, April 11, South Florida Ford and Autism Speaks Miami’s “Light it Up Blue” event at the 1111 Building on Lincoln Road gave guests a glimpse into Autism Spectrum Disorder through a captivating video mapping installation by world-renowned digital artists Tecné Collective. Cocktails and hors d’oeuvres were provided by A Joy Wallace Catering with cool sounds by Latin Grammy-nominated Mr. Pauer. 

Read the rest of this entry »

By:  Mary Jo Almeida Shore 

Chef/restaurateur Oscar Manresa hosted the official launch of Brickell’s newest hotspot, Perfecto Gastro-bar, his first U.S. restaurant location on Tuesday, April 8, with an over- the-top party filled with A-listers music and unforgettable food and drinks. 

From small plates with huge flavors, to larger dishes, guests experienced a Barcelona-inspired feast that included Catalonian hard sausage and grilled bread with rubbed tomato, marinated tomato tartare, roasted chicken croquettes, grilled octopus, fried calamari and angel hair seafood paella.  Rounding out the evening was a decadent dessert of Catalan cream.  We couldn’t help but return the following night to try other signature dishes such as the crab-avocado cannelloni, signature shrimp and wild mushroom ravioli, the perfect fillet with truffle fries and the chocolate ganache- prepared with olive oil and sea salt- there is truly nothing like it!  Read the rest of this entry »