La Ventanita

Banter Show: The Last Ventanita (maybe?) Oct 27, 2022

Hola, loyal listeners of La Ventanita, Carlos here. This is bittersweet to write.

After six amazing years at the Miami Herald, I’m leaving for a fantastic, unexpected opportunity. I’ll be the new host of Sundial, the daily mid-day show on WLRN 91.3 FM, our NPR station. My goal: to keep telling the stories that make Miami wonderful and weird.

But before we go, Amy and I say our goodbyes (figuratively, we're buds and will always be buds) and banter one last time. On tap:

"Junior" Biggers, who hand-sliced pastrami at Hialeah's Stephen's Deli for 65 years, is retiring
It's cinnamon roll season at Knaus Berry Farm — and one "fugazzi" way to skip the line
Who is the Key lime pie maker at Blue Collar and Mignonette that filmmaker Billy Corben volunteers as delivery boy?
Hear the "lost Ventanita," the episode with super-chef Massimo Bottura that launched six months worth of podcasts.

It's been real. Peace.

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Pedro Cao, Vicky Bakery turns 50 Oct 20, 2022

Vicky Bakery is synonymous with croquetas, pastelitos and Cuban bread in Miami.

And Pedro’s father, Antonio Cao, founded the Vicky Bakery that we know today 50 years ago. Antonio was a baker in Cuba. When he immigrated, he bought a small bakery in east Hialeah, kept the name and turned it into arguably the most famous Cuban bakery in South Florida. Pedro became a master baker and took over the business when his dad retired, franchising it to more than a dozen locations — with more on the way.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure: Carlos' mom was raised with the Cao family, back in the tiny country town of Cárdenas, Cuba. (There may even be video of him dancing with Pedro’s younger sister in a quinceañera. We'll look for it for the video version of the podcast on YouTube.)

Plus! Carlos joins Amy's fit life (almost), Philadelphia Inquirer joins Miami Herald in dropping starred reviews, James Beard awards are open for nominations for 2022.

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Stephen Sawitz, Joe's Stone Crab Oct 13, 2022

The man behind Joe’s Stone Crab is actually a Stephen.

Stephen Sawitz is the great-grandson of Joe Weiss, who founded the Miami Beach restaurant in 1913. Four generations of his family have steered it into icon status. Now it’s Stephen’s turn. He’s the latest steward of Joe’s Stone Crab.

He tells us crazy stories about his grandfather, Jesse, who the restaurant's own website describes thusly: "Jesse was a character. He was a scoundrel, a womanizer to the hundredth degree, a gambler. But everyone who came into Joe's wanted to see Jesse."

He tells us why stone crab claws are boiled the second they come off the boat, whether you can tell frozen from fresh, what his grandparents did to defend Joe's against development, and what it's like to take over a restaurant with $40 million in revenue that is a family legacy and a Miami Beach institution.

Plus: La Planchita's maiden voyage pressing sandwiches, a rom-com themed restaurant and how to help a Hurricane Ian ravaged restaurant in Sanibel Island.

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Antonio Bachour on Instagram desserts (plus La Planchita complete!) Oct 06, 2022

Antonio Bachour’s beautiful desserts became famous before he did.

Millions of followers on Instagram watch him make the glistening, colorful mirror-glazed desserts for which he has been named the best pastry chef in the world — twice! — at his Coral Gables shop. And Bachour (pronounced like a sneeze!) travels the world over giving away the secrets to his jewel-like treats.

Plus! The moment you've all been waiting for: La Planchita is revealed. Carlos gives us a tour of how his commercial sandwich press went from restaurant workhorse to blinged centerpiece of his kitchen. (Search YouTube for La Ventanita on Miami Herald to see the video and photos.)

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Vanessa Garcia, Amparo Experience playwright, author, writer Sep 29, 2022

Vanessa Garcia wrote the story of rum.

Her play, the Amparo Experience, told the true tale of the Cuban family behind the real Havana Club Rum — and it became the hottest theater ticket in Miami, selling out show after show for six months.

Vanessa manages to grab people’s attention with her varied work: plays, journalism, fiction, non-fiction and podcasts. Even the pandemic couldn’t stop her. She wrote a radio play and another performed virtually, “Jenna and the Whale,” with my buddy Jake Cline.

And she’s a voice for Cuban artists and dissidents on the island that the government tries to silence.

We talk to her about her newest work, “What the Bread Says,” a children’s book about how an entire country’s story can be told through its bread. Plus an upcoming play that also involves food with the poet Richard Blanco.

Plus! An update on Carlos' Planchita and Amy climbs her backyard tree like an avocado monkey.

Find all Vanessa's work on IG: @vanessagarciawriter

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Banter Show (Angry vegans, NyQuil chicken, Miami food halls) Sep 22, 2022

Angry vegan diners, Miami food halls and why the FDA had to tell people not to cook chicken in cough syrup required an all-banter episode of La Ventanita, the weekly Miami Herald food podcast.

Co-host Amy Reyes, Miami.com’s editor, had barely asked our guest last week, Ani Meinhold. who were the toughest diners to accommodate when she blurted out, “vegans.” Food editor and co-host Carlos Frías grabbed 26 seconds of her answer for a little tease on Instagram Reels, and, hoo boy, did the plant-eating internet get angry about it.

Today we got into it about why entitled diners — of any lifestyle — are the worst diners. Plus we discussed:

Why the FDA had to tell people not to cook chicken in cough medicine
A Mexican restaurant and Bahamian rooftop bar at the remodeled Mayfair in Coconut Grove
Why Vicky’s House milkshake bar in Coconut Grove was a viral hit but had to close

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Ani Meinhold, Miami's first pop-up (plus The Bear, olive bread, pan pizza) Sep 15, 2022

You can’t say the word “pop up” in Miami today without thinking of Ani Meinhold, who opened Miami’s first one 10 years ago.

That pop-up was Phuc Yea!, a Vietnamese concept that came alive every night, when she and co-founder Cesar Zapata took over a downtown diner every night and rewrote the menu. Now it’s a Michelin-recognized restaurant.

We also discuss:

Bon Appetit names three of their 50 best new restaurants in Miami, though one is closed indefinitely and the other is a wine bar
My colleague Connie Ogle hates that I put olives in my first post-pandemic sourdough bread experiment
I try to convince Amy to watch "The Bear"

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Banter Show! (Why Larios matters, sourdough starter) Sep 08, 2022

It's an all-banter show where Amy Reyes and Carlos Frías dig into all the juicy bits of food news to come out of the 305 in the last week. Among the topics:

Who is Larios, what does he have to do with Emilio and Gloria Estefan, and why does it matter that they are cooking Cuban food again
Does Timeout Market South Beach still hold up?
What Amy's trip to Cartagena, Colombia taught her about Miami dining culture
Did you catch Jeremy Ford talking about how he wrestled Anthony Bourdain in jiu jitsu in last week’s episode? We have to talk more about that.

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Jeremy Ford, "Top Chef" wrestled Anthony Bourdain Sep 01, 2022

Miami’s first and only “Top Chef” winner, Jeremy Ford, wrestled Anthony Bourdain.

He wrestled with demons as a Miami chef. And he wrestles with raising three daughters.

Ford has a Hollywood vibe, but he's a down-to-earth guy who gave up cooking for a stretch to look after his diabetic mother. It was her diabetes diagnosis when he was 8 that led him to grow his own food for the family and make "clean eating" a thing long before it was cool.

He talks about how his late mother, who was adopted, found her biological family and Ford learned he had an Italian grandmother — who taught him how to cook Italian food at 14.

It changed his life.

We get into all of it, plus his being awarded a Michelin star at his South Beach restaurant Stubborn Seed, his branching out with new restaurants.

PLUS! And update on La Planchita — sandwich days are coming soon, we hope.

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Jeff Houck, Cuban sandwich expert, food writer Aug 18, 2022

More than a year ago, Jeff Houck told us he was working on a book that would shock the world’s understanding of where the Cuban sandwich came from.

You always hear Tampa vs Miami. But Jeff and the lead author on this book went beyond the debate. To write “The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers,” they looked at primary sources — advertisements, restaurant menus and newspaper articles, dating back to the 1870s.

The result? Two new cities entered the chat: Havana and New York.

Jeff’s origin story is just as interesting, though. He’s a former food writer, editor and restaurant reviewer for the late Tampa Tribune (pour one out) whose work has been nominated for Pulitzer Prize. He now tells the food stories of Florida’s oldest restaurant, the Columbia.

Plus! Amy returns from a Detroit crab boil and we discuss Miami's version of Buddy's Detroit pizza, Vice City Pizza.

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Rane Roatta, Miami Fruit (Cuban sandwich debate, Miami Spice preview) Aug 11, 2022

Rane Roatta’s Homestead farm, Miami Fruit, figured out early on that if they posted videos of the phallic-looking rare exotic fruit they grow, those videos would go viral.

Imagine that — the internet likes phallic things!

Rane and his partner Edelle Schlegel have been growing ultra-rare exotic fruit in the Redland for more than 8 years. They also partner with hundreds of local farmers to sell this fruit strictly online to the tropical-fruit barren places across the country. He’s a talented musician, a competitive cyclist — He’s going to Italy for a championship race soon — and he’s devoted to living an environmentally friendly lifestyle.

PLUS! New fodder for the Cuban sandwich origin debate. Havana (duh!) and New York (yikes!) have entered the chat!

My guest co-host is Alex Harris, the Miami Herald environmental writer and host of the podcast "Smoked," which tells the story of Randy Lanier, who financed a racing team by dealing marijuana(!).

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Randy Alonso, Fox's Lounge co-owner (plus RIP Howie Kleinberg, sandwich talk, Cuban-Italian food) Aug 04, 2022

Randy Alonso took on a tough job recently — resurrecting South Miami's Fox’s Lounge.

He and his business partner, Chris Hudnall, spent the last three years renovating the bar that had been open for 69 years in South Miami, Florida until it closed in 2015. Rather than build a new place and just slap the old neon sign on it, Randy looked at preserving what made it popular — a dark old bar with lots of history and familiar food.

We start with a remembrance of the late "Top Chef" alum Howie Kleinberg, who died in July. And we finish with an update on Carlos' sandwich press obsession.

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Netflix Street Food: USA director Mariano Carranza (plus fruit influencer banter) Jul 28, 2022

Netflix recently launched a new season of their award-winning series, Street Food. The most recent season focuses on the street food in America and Mariano Carranza was the director of the Miami episode of Street Food: USA.

Mariano is a native of Lima, {eru. But he really did his homework when he tried to boil down what street food means in Miami and he had some interesting choices, from things you might expect, like Cuban sandwiches and fritas, the Cuban hamburgers, which finally get a national spotlight. To the unexpected, like the man from Miami Gardens who sells souse out of his house.

Plus we banter about the "fruit influencers" whose Redland tropical fruit went TikTok viral.

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Banter Show (Hanging out at Shoma Bazaar, Paradis Bread & Books bar) Jul 21, 2022

We had very different dining/hangout experiences that we discussed on this episode of La Ventanita.

We tried the high-end food hall in Doral, Shoma Bazaar, that wants to be a destination. Who is this food hall for, with $30 ramen, single-origin coffee roasted right at the food hall, and a clubby bar? Amy and Carlos had thoughts.

Then to the other extreme, Carlos hung out at Paradis Books & Bread, where good wine is cheap and the bread is excellent, with a college coffeeshop vibe.

Plus, what we're excited to try with Miami Spice and new locations for Kendall's FishCo fish market.

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José Mendín, Pubbelly chef, plus Google review scammers, Thomas Keller's new restaurant Jul 14, 2022

Our guest today is José Mendín.

What we love about José's Miami restaurants is that no two concepts are alike.

He’s opened a gastrobup, a sushi chain, a Sunset Harbour Italian restaurant and a Puerto Rican spot that tied back to his Boricua roots. His gift is mixing and matching flavors from outside a traditional cuisine to make something uniquely his.

He had a little controversy with his last restaurant, La Placita, when they painted the building like Puerto Rican flag. The Boricuas loved it but the city ultimately told him he had to paint it over.

He's a former college volleyball player, so he and Carlos nerded out about that.

We also talked about the scammers leaving one-star Google reviews for restaurants and extorting them for money to take them down. And we touch on Thomas Keller's new Coral Gables restaurant.

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Banter Show (Wood Tavern/Las Rosas close, Golden Rule fire, Burger Club) Jul 07, 2022

Boy, do we have a lot of food news to catch up on this episode of La Ventanita. Wagons West is being sold. A fire destroyed the popular tiki hut at Golden Rule seafood market and restaurant, which has been open since 1943. And Wood Tavern and Las Rosas bar in Allapattah have both closed as the area bends further toward tourism and away from locals.

Plus, will Amy defeat her White Girl Stomach long enough to attend a secret burger club?

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La Ventanita/The Sporkful: a collab Jun 30, 2022

La Ventanita is off this week. But we want to point you to a special Miami episode of another great food podcast: The Sporkful with Dan Pashman.

The Sporkful aired an episode this week about La Ventanita co-host and Herald food editor Carlos Frías losing his father to gun violence. And how he found solace in a search for Miami's first ventanita.

Check out The Sporkful and give ‘em a follow. We’ll have a new episode of La Ventanita for you July 7.

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Chef Luciana Giangrandi, Boia De co-owner, Miami native Jun 23, 2022

Luci Giangrandi is a Miami-raised kid whose star has risen. Specifically a Michelin star.

She co-owns Boia De, a restaurant she opened with her co-chef and partner Alex Meyer in a strip mall in Little Haiti three years ago. They were named co-nominees for the James Beard Award for best chef in the South. And now, their little spot has got a star from the Tire Man.

But she actually started out as an aspiring food writer before training in the Scarpetta kitchen of “Chopped!” judge Scott Conant.

Miami first found out about them when they moved to Miami together and opened a tiny taco trailer in the Design District, La Pollita, where they made a killer chicken sandwich.

She talks to us about eating Vicky's croquetas in Miami Lakes, sharing the helm of a heralded restaurant to her trips with family to Livorno, Italy that shaped her.

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Michael Schwartz, 15 years of Michael's Genuine, Michelin Jun 16, 2022

Michael did one of the hardest things a restaurant owner could do: He established a restaurant that everybody loved, that won every award — and then he totally changed it.

But Michael has done that for 25-plus years he’s been in Miami, always gone against the grain. Classic story of going into an unproven neighborhood and helping to make it cool.

Big Pink on South Beach in the mid 90s. Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink in the Design District in the mid 2000s. Harry’s Pizzeria at the edge of Midtown after that.

We talk to him about making it through COVID – which he got and he lost his sense of taste for time. We’ll talk to him about the role his kids play in his restaurants and his career. And Michelin's recognition of Miami and his restaurant.

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Banter Show (Michelin star predictions with Ryan Pfeffer of The Infatuation) Jun 09, 2022

It’s an all-banter show.

And to help us do that, we’ve invited a professional banter-er, Ryan Pfeffer, the main food reviewer for The Infatuation, the online restaurant guide that bought out the Zagat Guide. Ryan dines out for work more than anyone in Miami. He’s been to the fancy restaurants that could end up with Miami's first Michelin star. And he’s been to the hidden mom and pop restaurants all around Miami.

We talk about Miami's Michelin star possibilities and Carlos shares passionate food-nerd reactions to his list of predictions in the Miami Herald. Plus, we discuss our guide to new Miami restaurants in the Miami Herald.

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Harry Coleman, Smoke & Dough BBQ and Empanada Harry's founder Jun 02, 2022

Harry Coleman is making some of the best barbecue anywhere in South Florida at his Kendall – yes Kendall – restaurant Smoke & Dough.

And he’s making some of the most unique empanadas at his restaurant next door, Empanada Harry’s.

What makes both special is he tries to bring a multicultural element to his food that reflects Miami.

Although he’s Venezuelan, he bakes empanadas from all different Latin American styles, from crispy fried Colombian and Cuban to powder-coated Chilean. Same at Smoke & Dough where he barbecues dishes like a cafecito-rubbed brisket and timba guava and cheese sausage, and a smoked flan you would sell your children for.

He took a circuitous route to get here. He started out as a sportswriter and got into the family biz when no one was hiring.

And then just before opening Smoke & Dough, which was delayed by the pandemic, he had a heart attack that nearly killed him.

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Banter Show (Taco Bell pizza, Swensen's replacement, gun violence) May 26, 2022

Carlos opens the show with a brief comment on gun violence after the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which took him back to the senseless shooting death of his own father, Fernando Frías, two years earlier.

Somehow we segue into banter on the week's food news in Miami.

Amy Reyes, the editor of Miami.com, and Carlos Frias, the Miami Herald food editor, discuss how the stressful Miami Heat games forced Carlos to order Taco Bell Mexican pizza, Amy tried the Swensen's replacement in Coral Gables, The One on Sunset, and we pitch an idea for a Dandy Bear themed Kendall restaurant.

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Sef Gonzalez, "Burger Beast" food blogger, Crackers restaurant owner May 19, 2022

Sef is the original Miami food blogger.

As Burger Beast, he’s been reviewing burgers and comfort food restaurants inside and outside of Miami since 2008. He’s become Miami’s advocate for the every-man diner. His Burger Beast Approved stickers adorn many of Miami-Dade County’s beloved institutions — but no fancy places, by design.

He’s an author – surprise, a book about burgers. He’s started a dearly departed Burger Museum. He bottles his own burger sauces and recently he became a bona fide restaurant owner, of Crackers Southern Dining in Miami Springs.

He talks burgers, wrestling, food truck and horror movies with Miami Herald food editor Carlos Frías and Miami.com editor Amy Reyes.

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Mitchell Kaplan, Books & Books founder, cafe owner May 12, 2022

Mitchell Kaplan made Miami lit — well, literate.

He founded Books & Books, an independent bookstore in Coral Gables that has become a major gathering place for Miami-area writers and has grown into a major brand with seven bookstores. And it just turned 40.

The cafe at that Gables store is Miami’s original “third space” — where people who are not at home and not at work can stop in for coffee, a change of scenery to write their The Great American Novel — and a bite to eat from a James Beard Award-winning chef.

Books & Books is the one place a writer in Miami is always welcome. The food is always good. And where a copy of a local author's book (like host Carlos Frias' "Take Me With You") is always on the shelf even 10 years after it was published.

Mitchell also helped found the Miami Book Fair and he started a production company to turn books into major Hollywood films. I call him the patron saint of Miami writers. Hosted by James Beard Award winning host Carlos Frias and Miami.com editor Amy Reyes.

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Jenny Lorenzo, Cuban "Abuelita" actor, YouTube host May 05, 2022

Jenny Lorenzo became “Miami famous” when the actor put on a gray wig, turned on her grandmother’s Cuban accent and became everyone’s Abuela in YouTube videos. Viral fame ensued.

Lorenzo, born in Kendall, a graduate of the University of Miami’s theater and arts program, became an internet sensation. You’ve seen her hilarious skits, starring the opinionated gray-haired Abuela and a host of other characters, including your judgemental tía.

The characters she creates come from tapping into her Miami experience. She lovingly pokes fun at the inter-generational conflicts between Cuban immigrants and their Cuban-American progeny. She speaks about breaking out of the Miami mold — even about how she became vegan, but still eating her beloved Cuban food — with La Ventanita co-hosts Carlos Frias, the Miami Herald food editor, and Amy Reyes, editor of Miami.com.

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Michael Beltran, Ariete/Chug's Diner chef, Miami apostle Apr 28, 2022

Ask Michael Beltran about any topic, and he’ll have an opinion. The Little Havana born Cuban-American chef wears his Cubanness on his sleeve — literally, he has an arm sleeve of tattoos that includes art of a mamey and a Cuban coffee cafetera.

He’s the owner of Ariete and Chug’s Diner in Coconut Grove, and studied under some of Miami best chefs, James Beard Award winners like Michael Schwartz and Norman Van Aken. And he’s a two-time Beard nominee, himself.

Padmak Lakshmi, the host of Hulu’s Taste the Nation, picked him to be on a show about nochebuena last year and that episode is up for a Beard award too. He incorporates Miami flavors into exquisite fine dining. I call what he’s doing a sort of New Miami Cuisine. And that’s his thing: MIAMI AGAINST THE WORLD.

You can hear him go hard for Miami in his weekly industry podcast, Pan con Podcast.

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Adrian Castro, founder Panolo pan con bistec, Miami Beer Week Apr 21, 2022

Adrian Castro created a fantastic Little Havana steak sandwich pop-up Panolo’s. He goes by the nickname Manolo at the wrestling-themed Union craft beer in Miami, where he manages the bar and films hilarious videos for its social media where he plays a cubanaso like Manolo from "Scarface." During the pandemic, he started making Cuban pan con bistec on Thursdays, modeled after the ones at Mary’s Coin Laundry, a Miami locals’ favorite. So he named his pop-up Panolo’s. Got all that? He co-found the first Miami Beer Week. He got personal and talked to co-hosts Carlos Frias and Amy Reyes about mental health, his close relationship with his mom who raised him and his brother, and his blossoming relationship with a father who spent most of Castro's life in prison.

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Karla Hoyos, World Central Kitchen, Miami chef Apr 14, 2022

Karla Hoyos has spent six weeks in Poland, on the border with Ukraine, cooking 12,000 meals a day for evacuees of the Russian invasion with chef José Andrés’ nonprofit World Central Kitchen.

On the April 17 episode of La Ventanita, the Miami Herald food podcast, Hoyos, a Miami chef with two upcoming South Florida restaurants, shares a first-hand account of feeding families who are fleeing the Ukraine-Russian war, with Miami Herald food editor Carlos Frías and Miami.com editor Amy Reyes.

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Val Chang, Itamae chef and co-owner Apr 07, 2022

Val Chang was just 6 when her father left her and her older brother in their grandmother’s care in Peru and came to find work in Miami as a sushi chef. When the Changs reunited in Miami nine years later, it was the start of a long journey together that led to all three being named James Beard Award nominees in 2022 for the restaurant they started as a family, Itamae — which also brought them national acclaim. Val tells co-hosts Carlos Frias, the Miami Herald food editor, and Amy Reyes, editor of Miami.com, why Peruvian food is the best (all Peruvians will say this), why Inca Kola is the best Latin soda (another a Peruvian hot take) and how Japanese and Chinese cuisine influences her food and cooking.

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Matt Kuscher, owner Kush, Lokal, Stephen's restaurants Mar 31, 2022

Even though he’s not from Miami, Matt "Kush" Kuscher has this ability to grab Miami culture out of the air and inject it into his restaurants and hidden bars. Matt built a secret entrance through a Bill & Ted phone booth at his burger restaurant into a hidden milkshake bar that’s decorated like his moms house in the '70s. He's themed bathrooms for spiritualist Walter Mercado and the Hialeah Spider-Man. And he recreated Tobacco Road. Hosts Carlos Frias and Amy Reyes also ask about his connection to "superhero" Kaptain Kush.

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Zak Stern, Zak the Baker founder Mar 24, 2022

Zak Stern started baking bread out of his parents south Dade garage and now he is a finalist for a prestigious James Beard Award for the outstanding bread he bakes at his all-kosher bakery in Wynwood, Zak the Baker. Miami Herald food editor Carlos Frías and co-host Amy Reyes talk to Zak about baking for room and board on farms across Europe, Miami booty music, growing up in "la sawesera," why he shaved his trademark beard, and why he and his chef bros won't be doing reality television anytime soon. It's a fun episode.

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Cindy "Lou" Kruse, cookie queen, master pastry chef Mar 17, 2022

Cindy Kruse makes some of the most delicious cookies Miami has ever tested at her Cindy Lou’s Cookie shop in Little River. But these aren’t just any cookies — and Cindy isn’t just any baker.

She’d been working for more than 25 years as a pastry chef at fine restaurants, making the kind of desserts you want to take photos of for Instagram. But she decided one day she was tired of slaving for restaurant owners. And she started making the kinds of desserts she wanted to eat: Cookies.

They were an instant — and now they’re spreading to Cindy Lou's Cookies stores across the country. She talks about it with Carlos Frías and Amy Reyes on this episode of La Ventanita, the Miami Herald food podcast.

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Marc Hochman, radio host, food provocateur Mar 10, 2022

Marc is more than just South Florida’s funniest, most-prominent local sports radio host. He’s a food provocateur.

On his afternoon drivetime sports talk show with former Dolphin Channing Crowder, you hear all kinds of his food opinions. He declares ice cream cake the worst kind of cake. He despises the pickle spear that comes with sandwiches. Claims Cherry Coke is an “all-time banger.” And that Chicago deep dish is the best kind of pizza. Co-hosts Carlos Frias and Amy Reyes dig into Marc's Mount Rushmore of bad food takes.

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Pablo Zitzmann, dim sum master Mar 03, 2022

Pablo Zitzmann started making dim sum out of his Kendall, Florida condo when he got laid off during the pandemic, and the Coral Gables restaurant he opened since, the eponymous Zitz Sum, has been named one of the best in the country by the James Beard Foundation. He talked about fusing Latin American flavors into Chinese cuisine in a way that is “appreciation” not “appropriation,” and how it is the heart of the restaurant. He talked about having to walk out of the kitchen to shed tears upon learning of his James Beard nomination. And why a restaurant kitchen was a natural home for him after being a punk rocker and skateboarder in Colombia.

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Ryan Sentz, Funky Buddha Brewery founder Feb 24, 2022

Ryan Sentz, founder of Funky Buddha Brewery, quit a job as a South Florida newspaper ad salesman to brew beer out of a strip mall brew pub. Funky Buddha eventually grew into the fastest-growing craft beer in Florida by making beer that tasted like food, from maple-bacon coffee to blueberry cobbler and peanut butter and jelly. It was later acquired by Constellation Brands, owner of Corona, for eight figures. Ryan joined Miami Herald food editor Carlos Frías and Miami.com editor Amy Reyes to talk about how he built it, why he is a huge Miami Dolphins fan, and why an empanada is actually a sandwich.

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"Chef Teach" Derrick Turton, House of Mac Feb 17, 2022

Derrick Turton, known as Chef Teach, managed rappers and entertainers like Pitbull before giving up that life to create House of Mac, a legacy and business to leave his children. He talked to Miami Herald food editor Carlos Frías and co-host Amy Reyes about how his father's sudden passing made him give up a big salaried job to strike out on his own to open a mac and cheese restaurant that is the favorite of celebrities like Dwyane Wade, Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Fat Joe, Yo Gotti and more.

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Alex Lacamoire, "Hamilton" musical director Feb 10, 2022

Alex Lacamoire, the Miami, FL raised musician who helped create the music to “Hamilton," "Dear Evan Hansen," "Vivo," "Tick, Tick...Boom!" talks to us about growing up in Miami, Hurricane Andrew memories, his terrible food take, what he cooks at home and how celebrity helped him land restaurant reservations.

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La Ventanita: a Miami food podcast Feb 10, 2022

La Ventanita is a weekly live video podcast. Miami Herald food editor Carlos Frías, a James Beard award winner, and co-host Amy Reyes, editor of Miami.com, talk to interesting people in food about pop culture and all the things we love to eat. We focus on Miami and the people who make it special.

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Pitbull: Mr. Worldwide wants the world to fall in love with his culture, music and food Mar 12, 2019

Mr. Worldwide isn’t a chef. But Armando Christian Perez — known to the world as Pitbull — is a first time owner of a new South Beach restaurant. James Beard award winner, Carlos Frías, the Miami Herald food editor, talked to him about growing up in Miami. He blew our minds when he hacked a pastelito. And he revealed the true meaning behind his catch phrase, "Dale!" Watch this video interview and read his story at MiamiHerald.com/ventanita.

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Kiss, Marry, Kill with Ted Allen, Scott Conant, Robert Irvine, Nina Compton, Jeremy Ford, Michael Beltran Mar 07, 2019

On this bonus episode of La Ventanita, we caught up with six great chefs as they came to Miami for the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, the largest food festival in the world. James Beard award winner, Carlos Frías, the Miami Herald food editor, asked the chefs to play "Kiss, Marry, Kill" with Cuban coffee, pastelitos and croquetas. It was a gut-wrenching decision. Watch video interviews with other great chefs at MiamiHerald.com/ventanita.

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Norman Van Aken: A carney and field hand hitchhiked to chef stardom in Key West Jan 28, 2019

Key West was a huge influence on chef Norman Van Aken, who became one of the great innovators in American cuisine. James Beard award winner Carlos Frías, the Miami Herald food editor, discusses how Van Aken hitchhiked from the Midwest, working odd job alongside immigrant day laborers, over Cuban coffee, pastelitos and croquetas on this episode of La Ventanita. See video interviews and read more about this chef at our website, MiamiHerald.com/ventanita.

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José Andrés: He sees immigration, job creation, wage equity in this one dish Jan 28, 2019

Chef José Andrés, who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria, sees the United States and all it represents in every bite of a pastelito or croqueta. James Beard award winner Carlos Frías, the Miami Herald food editor, discusses social issues with Andrés over Cuban coffee, pastelitos and croquetas in this episode of La Ventanita. See video interviews and read more about this chef at our website, MiamiHerald.com/ventanita.

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Marcus Samuelsson: An adoptive family and connection to Ethiopia shaped his career Jan 28, 2019

Chef Marcus Samuelsson, who was adopted from Ethiopia by a Swedish family at age 3, discusses becoming a TV star over Cuban coffee, pastelitos and croquetas. James Beard award winner Carlos Frías, the Miami Herald food editor, interviews Samuelsson about the distinctive upbringing that shaped him on this episode of La Ventanita. See video interviews and read more about this chef at our website, MiamiHerald.com/ventanita.

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Michelle Bernstein: ‘Girls like me weren’t supposed to be chefs' Jan 28, 2019

Miami born chef Michelle Bernstein, winner of the James Beard award, discusses life as a woman chef years before the Me Too movement over Cuban coffee, pastelitos and croquetas. James Beard award winner Carlos Frías, the Miami Herald food editor, talks with Bernstein about how a 90-pound former ballerina went on to become one of the first women on the Food Network, on this episode of La Ventanita. See video interviews and read more about this chef at our website, MiamiHerald.com/ventanita.

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Daniel Boulud: How a dropout at 14 became one of the great French chefs Jan 28, 2019

French chef Daniel Boulud, owner of more than 15 restaurants, discusses his recent fascination with Cuban food over Cuban coffee, pastelitos and croquetas. James Beard award winner Carlos Frías, the Miami Herald food editor, discusses the upbringing that shaped Boulud and how his own's son is mirroring his childhood on this episode of La Ventanita. See video interviews and read more about this chef at our website, MiamiHerald.com/ventanita.

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Thomas Keller: How growing up with a single mom, four brothers influenced his career Jan 28, 2019

Chef Thomas Keller discussed how being the youngest of five brothers with a single mom influenced his life and helped him become one of America’s great chefs. James Beard award winner Carlos Frías, the Miami Herald food editor, discusses Keller's upbringing and his little known movie career over Cuban coffee, pastelitos and croquetas on this episode of La Ventanita. See video interviews and read more about this chef at our website, MiamiHerald.com/ventanita.

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