Family Ties

Photos by Eduardo Schneider Amanda Atallah laughs at her father, Naji, as he stops his work to take a bite of hummus and pita chips, displayed as free samples at the food counter of Yalla Market. “It’s like a pit stop—a pita stop,” Atallah says. The housemade pita chips and hummus are customer favorites at

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Comfort Zone

When it comes to changing its menu each summer and winter, American Social remains a shining example of democracy in action. Executive chef Christopher Palmer calls on his chefs at the restaurant’s two South Florida locations—Fort Lauderdale (721 E. Las Olas Blvd.) and Brickell (690 SW First Court)—for a culinary brainstorming session. Ideas are pitched.

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Passage to India

Locally sourced ingredients are the foundation of Ghee Indian Kitchen’s ever changing menu In the Miami neighborhood of Kendall, the new Indian restaurant, Ghee Indian Kitchen, brings a taste of home for its owner and executive chef, Niven Patel. Created by the Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink alumnus and his wife, Shivani, the restaurant modernizes

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Bowled Over

Seminole Coconut Creek’s newest restaurant gives diners the best of two cultures Eric Douglas has something in common with Seminole Casino Coconut Creek’s newest restaurant, The Bol. The restaurant is a mixture of two cultures, serving both Vietnamese and Chinese fare. While the operating manager speaks about how he came to work for the Seminole

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A Slice of Italy

Coral Gables’ newest Italian restaurant, zucca, brings spice to Hotel St. Michel Hidden on a central but quiet side street in Coral Gables, you can find Hotel St. Michel, a small, European-style boutique inn dating to the 1920s. Blanketed in ivy-colored décor, much has stayed the same inside the vintage hotel, from its antique brass

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Master Craftsman

When you’ve put your culinary reputation on the line as often as Douglas Rodriguez has during his nearly three decades as a restaurateur, your career is bound to have its share of highs and lows from a business standpoint. But as anyone can attest who’s sampled the fare at one of his critically acclaimed establishments,

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A Pirate’s Life

Roberto Guerios has created a menu that encourages diners to leave their comfort zones. But, as he can attest, some culinary habits die hard. When he opened Pirate Republic Seafood & Grill with his wife and chef, Claudia, in 2010—after a year as a bar—they put fish and chips on the menu among the global

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Good Vibrations

When Rhythm & Vine attached a hashtag to its laid-back philosophy, it wasn’t just borrowing a marketing page from the South Florida playbook of Jimmy Buffett. The Fort Lauderdale-based indoor/outdoor venue wanted to establish an identity separate from the urban bars and restaurants on Las Olas—an ego-free neighborhood hang where young professionals could loosen their

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Swirl It Up

Growing up in Jamaica, Judith Able watched her mother constantly think about food. With six children to feed, Able’s mother always was either cooking or planning to cook. For Able, it was a glimpse of a future she wanted no part of. In her high school home economics class, she felt the unwelcome expectation that

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Don’t Call it Vegan

Charlie Grippo understands the reluctance of diners who wouldn’t dream of stepping foot in a vegan restaurant. And he appreciates the concern from the steak-and-potato crowd that restaurants such as his serve nothing but “twigs and dirt, and celery and carrots.” “I get it from a guy’s perspective,” says the co-owner of Green Bar &

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Filling Station

Inside a Chevron convenience store on the northwest corner of State Road 7 and Hillsboro Boulevard, there’s a line of people waiting to order tacos. Executive chef Anthony Hoff of Boca Raton’s City Fish Market and longtime friend and local chef Robby Bushman are challenging the less-than-stellar reputation of gas station food at Los Bocados,

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In it for the Dough

Last year, hundreds gathered at The Wynwood Yard to pay homage to (i.e., devour) our favorite morning treats at Miami’s first “Donuts!” festival. The event proved to be a South Florida sensation, paralleling the success of several local gourmet doughnut shops, and it looks like the craze is far from fading. On March 30, Vine

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