The hot dog-eating champ is now also the corned beef-eating champ.
Joey Chestnut took first place in the TooJay’s sponsored corned-beef chow down, held this afternoon at Downtown at the Gardens. The world’s number-one competitive eater devoured 15 sandwiches in 10 minutes, easily besting 15 other contestants and taking home the $5,000 top prize.
Chestnut is best known for his three consecutive victories, starting in 2007, in the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest, held on the Fourth of July in New York’s Coney Island.
Last year, he beat his own record in the event, eating 68 hot dogs in 10 minutes.
Hog Snappers Shack cook Brandon Doyle prepares a dish. (Brandon Kruse / The Post)
Does Palm Beach County have a cuisine it can claim as its own?
I’ve pondered this question over the years. By nature, ours is a transient culture, which means a certain lack of "place" when it comes to food. We’re a little bit Cuban, a little bit Jewish, a little bit Old Florida. In short, we’re a big tasty pot of gumbo — or we’re a muddled stew of one too many ingredients.
Certainly, I’ve had plenty of the latter, courtesy of restaurants that try to play up the various strains of our tropical paradise without really blending them into a cohesive culinary statement. But I’ve also had that aforementioned gumbo — and not merely in the metaphorical sense.
I’m referring to the hearty gumbo that’s served at Hog Snappers Shack & Sushi, a recently opened, bustling gem of a moderately priced restaurant that’s poised to become Palm Beach County’s latest and greatest. It’s got all the things you want in gumbo — seafood and sausage, plenty of rice, a nice thick base. But the flavor is almost more tropical or Caribbean in style than Cajun, as evidenced by the fact that if you order the big-enough-to-call-a-meal bowl version (for $8), the soup/stew comes with avocado salad and tostones (mashed, double-fried plantains).
If there’s a day that’s made for enjoying a little corned beef, it’s St. Patrick’s Day.
But a dozen corned beef sandwiches? All devoured in a mere 10 minutes?
That’s the scene that’s likely to unfold at Downtown at the Gardens in Palm Beach Gardens Wednesday afternoon. The occasion is the first-ever TooJay’s World Class Corned Beef Eating Competition.
The prime burger at The Office in Delray Beach. (Allen Eyestone / The Post)
There’s a tendency to equate timelessness to greatness in the restaurant biz. We think eateries that have survived for years and years, offering the same culinary experience ad infinitum, are paradigms of success by that mere fact alone. Call it the triumph of frozen food — as in frozen in time.
But I’d argue that cuisine is very much about the here and now and that a smart restaurateur tries to capture the spirit of today on a plate. And that makes David Manero perhaps the smartest restaurateur in South Florida.
Consider Manero’s latest venture, The Office in Delray Beach. At a time when local restaurateurs are increasingly emphasizing a certain big-city vibe at the places they open, Manero has fashioned the most urban (and urbane) eatery to establish itself in these parts in years, smartly situated in a downtown strip — Atlantic Avenue — that itself has come to represent true city slickness in our part of the world.
The scene: Leila is very much a real restaurant — and a fine one at that. So the bar scene at this downtown West Palm Beach Middle Eastern favorite is really about the patio, where you can smoke the hookah (an Arabic water pipe) and sip on a cocktail in the open air. It’s a one-of-a-kind exotic experience that’s like stepping into another country — and another culture — for a night.
Signature cocktail: The Leilini ($12), a chocolate-mint martini, with a nice hint of coffee. It’s also a drink designed to pair with one of the hookah varieties, a mint tobacco ($20) that’s a subtle joy of a smoke.
Kimberly Zeidner's appearance on 'Ultimate Recipe Showdown' will be on Food Network on Sunday. (Bruce R. Bennett / The Post)
The first thing a visitor to Kimberly Zeidner’s kitchen notices is the sheer organization behind it.
Not a dirty plate or cup in the sink. Not a cabinet that’s overflowing with one too many forgotten jars of spices. About the only item that "crowds" the counter is a tray of dips and crudités that Zeidner has laid out for her guests.
But such organization is necessary if you’re a hard-working young woman who’s trying to become the next Food Network celebrity chef in her spare time.
"I want to be Giada!" says the naturally effusive 25-year-old Zeidner, who was once dubbed the "hot cookie girl" by her college pals for her combination of good looks and baking savvy. And, indeed, she exudes much the same passion for a well-prepared meal as her idol, the Italian-American culinary doyenne Giada De Laurentiis.
But the difference between Zeidner, a native of the New York suburbs who now calls Boca Raton home, and so many wannabe glamour-girl foodies is that she’s actually appeared on the Food Network. After perfecting her recipes for a couple of comfort-food favorites, including a "triple threat" chili that Zeidner’s friends insist is the best, she won a coveted spot on the cable network’s Ultimate Recipe Showdown series, where she competed against three other talented home cooks from throughout the country. The episode airs for the first time this Sunday at 9 p.m.
Pastrami Queen's namesake sandwich. (Bruce R. Bennett / The Post)
Is there anything more perfect in life than a nicely spiced slice of pastrami?
Well, maybe I can count a few other exemplars of excellence — say, the 1969 Miracle Mets. But truthfully, pastrami is what matters most to anyone who grew up in a city where curing meat is considered an art form and who came of age in an era when cholesterol levels were yet to be routinely measured.
Certainly, as a child of New York from a few decades ago, I fit that bill. And Pastrami Queen, a Boca Raton reincarnation of a New York deli of long ago, speaks to my very roots. But here’s the thing: Even a newcomer to true New York pastrami — heck, even a newcomer to meat itself — would appreciate what this establishment serves.
South Beach Wine & Food Festival organizer Lee Schrager, along with chefs Todd English and Emeril Lagasse. (Seth Browarnik / courtesy South Beach Wine & Food Festival)
Such is my short take on the just-concluded 2010 South Beach Wine & Food Festival, the ninth annual edition of what’s become the Super Bowl of the gourmet set.
This year’s event, held this past Wednesday through Sunday on the sands of Miami Beach (and nearby venues), followed the same format of festivals past.
That means a lot of celebrity chefs, a lot of seminars and one huuuuge tasting village (the Grand Tasting Village, it’s called).
I caught plenty of the weekend’s action. Here are some highlights — in no particular order. Read the full story
Normally, a restaurant is judged by its food, service and overall atmosphere. But when it comes to Milan’s, a year-old Italian eatery in Boynton Beach, there’s a whole other set of criteria that comes into play.
What can you say about a restaurant menu that promises “ultra-fresh, authentic classical and modern Italian cuisine,” but lists the same standard dishes — veal Parmesan, sausage and peppers, baked ziti — you can find in any neighborhood red-sauce joint? Or about a gruff bartender who serves your drink promptly and efficiently but overdoes it with the attitude?
You see, these aren’t just matters of food or service, though I’ve got criticisms aplenty regarding those areas at Milan’s, too. Instead, we’re talking about larger issues of management, customer service and the basic desire to get things right.
Seriously, it’s been a while since I’ve visited a restaurant that seems so out of step with its customers — as if either, A) they don’t matter or B) they’ll keep coming back for more in any case. Read the full story
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If there’s a day that’s made for enjoying a little corned beef, it’s St. Patrick’s Day. 
Normally, a restaurant is judged by its food, service and overall atmosphere. But when it comes to Milan’s, a year-old Italian eatery in Boynton Beach, there’s a whole other set of criteria that comes into play.
