Art Basel ’11 – Photo Selection

Just a brief selection of some of my favorite shots from this year’s Art Basel in Miami.  A full album can be seen on my facebook page at http://facebook.com/codisincphoto

Thomas Kramer’s Labor Day Pool Party

Just an average weekend in South Beach, at a home Robin Leach called “The Most Expensive Party House in the world.”  The day was complete with a visit from a guy with A FREAKIN JETPACK!

Hogzilla’s Inspired BBQ – South Beach

This new restaurant was so damn delicious I don’t even know where to begin.  I was first invited to the restaurant for a family style dinner sampling on opening night.  I didn’t know what to expect and I was blown away with what was to come.  Our first starter was Maple Syrup Marinated Bacon w/ a side of vermont syrup….  it was sacrilicious! After came Fried Green Tomatoes w/ Texas Pete Aioli & Mac and Cheese Croquetas, which were both as good as they sound.  Next came the Pièce de résistance, an entire suckling pig!  This thing is marinated whole and slow roasted/smoked for almost 3 days!  After presenting it, and after one of our guests ripped a leg off and started gnawing on it, they took it back to the kitchen to slice it up before bringing it back.  I couldn’t believe how juicy and tender the pork came out. Add to that one of their BBQ sauces and it was an unbeatable dinner.  The meal was topped off with a bacon infused chocolate cupcaked topped with a chocolate ganache and candied bacon…..   its even better than it sounds.

I was impressed enough that I wanted to go back and try a few more dishes, so I did a couple days later.  I started with a Frito Pie; frito chips, crumbled chorizo, smoked okra dip, sharp cheddar and scallions.  This reminded me of something I might’ve thrown together in college, only a bit fancier.  I loved the presentation; serving it in a Frito bag.  For dinner I had a BLT, made with their maple marinated thick cut bacon, fried green tomatoes and romaine lettuce on texas toast w/ texas pete aioli.  As I’m not a fan of raw tomatoes, this was probably the best BLT I have ever tasted.  It wasn’t enough though and I also ordered a Spam Sandwich.  It was a homemade molasses glazed spam, seared and topped with cheddar and a sunny side up egg on texas toast.  I have never actually had canned spam, so I cannot compare it to the real thing, but this sandwich was pretty damn delicious.  It was a unique flavor and one of the best and most unique sandwiches I’ve ever had.  I think I’ve rambled on enough, so here are the photos!

Pubbelly Sushi

A couple of months ago I tried for the first time a new gastropub in South Beach called Pubbelly.  It blew me away and is hands down one of my favorite places I have ever eaten at in my 7 years in miami.  The owner has just opened up two new restaurants next door, Pubbelly Sushi and Barceloneta, the latter of which I look forward to tasting.  Pubbelly Sushi I finally tried and was quite impressed.  I’ll let the dishes below speak for themselves.

The first starter is a Snow Crab handroll wrapped in goma soy paper w/ a ponzu clarified butter.

The next starter is the Rock Shrimp Tempura w/ buffalo aioli, bleu cheese, burdock & celery leaf.  It was a surprising combination of flavors.  Like traditional buffalo chicken but with this melt-in-your-mouth tempura shrimp instead.

This dish is a cool take on traditional sushi called a New England style roll.  I ordered mine with a spicy raw tuna topped with a potato frite & scallion aioli.  I could easily take down four or five of these without a second thought!

The last dish is hands down my favorite of the night.  A fried clam sushi roll topped with bbq pork belly (amazing) and a kimchee slaw.  I first separated all the components and each piece was delicious on its own.  Together was just an explosion of flavor with each ingredient complimenting the next.

South Beach Tow – Premier Party on Hibiscus Island

TruTV just premiered a new show about Tremont Towing in South Beach.  If you live in here then you have probably been towed or know someone who has been towed by them.  They’re clearly not the most liked people in SoBe, but the reality is, if you’ve been towed its your own damn fault and I was surprised by how nice these people were!

The show was quite hilarious and entertaining and I’m looking forward to watching the season.  As far as the party itself, a bbq actually, I had a blast!  There was an interesting mix of people.  Big tattooed tow truck guys intermixed with tall model-esque girls in their SoBe best, who probably thought that a Hibiscus Island party must mean a fancy mansion and not a laid back casual BBQ.  There was even an appearance from Miami Beach mayoral candidate Dave Crystal.  The party continued after at The Duece where I interacted briefly with Christie Ashenoff and her Brother Robert Jr.  These two are absurdly nice and sweet, it’s hard to imagine people hate them that have never truly met them!  I have a strong feeling that this show will place them in a new light with fans all across the country (I heard 1.6million viewers for the premier) and greatly outweigh the few haters that were dumb enough to park somewhere they shouldn’t have!

4th of July Fireworks on Biscayne Bay

I was lucky to get any shots at all.  I visited a friend at 900 Biscayne, who told me we could access the roof of this 64 floor building to watch the fireworks.  The only catch, we had to take the stairs from hi 19th floor because every floor had private key card access.  So we began the trek up 45 flights of stairs, finally reached the top, and the damn door was locked!  We hustled down the elevator to the pool deck and I setup quick just in time to catch the beginning of the show.

Natural Beauty

I’m a big fan of no makeup.  Beauty should always come naturally.

“A face without freckles is like the night sky without stars”

Nowhere, FL

Some see life as a broken promise

Big Sur Coastline, California

This is a shot I took last summer while traveling from Sacramento to Los Angeles, along one of the most beautiful coastal highways in the world!

This photo is a composite of 6 images, each shot at 24mm on a full frame camera

Kabobji Middle Eastern Restaurant in North Bay Village

I’ve lived in Miami for 6 years now and I have yet to find a great middle eastern restaurant (obviously until now).  I find that typically, restaurants here just aren’t using fresh ingredients and preparing foods fresh.  Not the case with Kabobji, the food is delicious, well seasoned and is clearly being prepared and cooked fresh to order with fresh, never frozen ingredients.  Their Turkish coffee is also the best I’ve had since actually being in the middle east and if you’ve never had it, you MUST try it.  I typically get the Beef Shawarma with rice and I always leave happy.   The owner is always in the restaurant as well, very friendly, and ensuring everything is great with your meal.

http://www.eatkabobji.com/