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Chewing Up South Beach: Food Network Fest Gets Freaky

Photo by BARRY FRANGIPANE

Debbie Frangipane, of Valrico, has her cookbook signed by chef Tom Colicchio during the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami Beach.

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By JEFF HOUCK

jhouck@tampatrib.com

Published: February 27, 2009

Updated: 02/27/2009 02:11 pm

Covering the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival in Miami's South Beach is one of the highlights of my year. Few food venues offer such a target-rich environment for stories, on top of the celebrity sightings and the high-octane freak show that Ocean Drive provides for four solid days. You never know when, say, Paula Deen's britches are going to fall down onstage. (Go see for yourself on YouTube. If you must.)

Alas, I couldn't go to this year's event, which was held this past weekend. But I enlisted reporting help from Valrico-based cooking instructor Debbie Frangipane, who attended for the first time this year with her husband, Barry. The couple's company, Savory Adventures, leads culinary tours to Italy in May and September.

The Frangipanes ponied up $275 each to attend Saturday's festivities, but they said it was well worth it for a chance to rub elbows with Food Network stars and other celebrity chefs.

"I was surprised at the lack of actual food," Frangipane told me Monday, noting that the grand tasting tent was packed with people.

Instead of forcing their way through the high-class food and wine trough, the couple sat in on culinary demonstrations.

"Iron Chef" star Cat Cora (below), did a crab cake demo in 10 minutes with avocado and mango purees that brought together sweet and savory flavors.

Rocco DiSpirito's session was focused less on cooking than on having a good time in the kitchen. DiSpirito's party on Friday night was the big topic Saturday.

"Any time you were in line to meet the chefs, that's what people were talking about," Frangipane says. "His demo was full of the females who had been to the party the night before. He was having fun commenting on how well-endowed everyone in Miami was and how little clothing they wore.

One tip Frangipane picked up: DiSpirito uses pastry flour for making gnocchi, making it much lighter than the usual pasta dough.

Frangipane also took in Tom Colicchio's demo, during which he used a dish with seared bay scallops dressed with vinaigrette to urge the audience to think like a chef instead of merely following recipes.

She says Colicchio advised cooks to "go to the grocery store and look at things" and to open their minds to things they wouldn't put together that might be sitting next to each other in the grocery store that day.

"I'd definitely pay the ticket price again," Frangipane says. "Next year, we want to go for two days."

PARTY IN THE PARK

Speaking of food fests - this time a little closer to home - I had the pleasure of judging the St. Petersburg Food and Wine Festival on Feb. 19. in Straub Park. The benefit for the American Lung Association attracted 300 festivalgoers and raised $23,000 for lung cancer research, education and prevention programs.

Best flavor of the night: the chai-cured salmon with ginger-plum jam by James Hendry, staff chef with Publix Apron's Cooking School in Sarasota. Expecting more of a savory flavor, I instead tasted the sweetness of the plum jam. The silky-soft salmon with the crispy wonton chip it was served on provided a great textural contrast.

Best overall presentation went to downtown St. Petersburg's Parkshore Grill, which served pulled-pork nachos with Napa slaw and queso fresco on blue corn chips. Chef Tyson Grant also served a cobia ceviche (above, right), with red onion, jalapeno, lime, cilantro, red pepper and honey with avocado wedges.

Grant told me he's working to open a second restaurant on Beach Drive down the block from Parkshore. The new eatery will feature a seafood and craft beer, with as many as 24 brews on tap. The ceviche and nachos he served at the food festival are likely to find their way onto the menu there.

The reason he's opening a seafood joint? Because there isn't a restaurant like it in that part of town. The new restaurant is slated to open in June.

OUTBACK TWEAKS MENU, TRIMS FAT

Restaurants continue to tweak their menus in order to lure price-conscious customers and keep them coming back. See: McDonald's Value Menu, Subway's $5 footlong, et. al

Outback Steakhouse, whose Tampa-based parent company OSI Restaurant Partners continues to reel from the recession along with other restaurant chains, is attempting to reinvigorate its brand with new marketing and menu items priced under $15.

The new 15-item menu, which debuted Feb. 18, includes:

•Savory Pepper Mill Steak: Sliced New York Strip Steak encrusted with cracked black pepper, topped with a brandy cream sauce and served over potato wedges.

•Sweet Glazed Roast Pork Tenderloin: Sliced pork tenderloin drizzled with a sweet-tangy glaze. Served with garlic mashed potatoes and fresh steamed French green beans.

•Ribs and Alice Spring Chicken; one-third rack of baby back ribs paired with a 5-ounce grilled chicken breast topped with bacon, honey mustard sauce, sauteed mushrooms, Monterey Jack and Cheddar. With Aussie Fries.

•Shrimp en Fuego: Crispy shrimp, sliced mushrooms and fresh tomatoes in a spicy, creamy sauce. Paired with fresh steamed French green beans.

The privately owned company has done similar tweaking at its other properties in recent months. Roy's Hawaiian-fusion restaurant started offering lunches for the first time late last year, with lunch-size portions of its dinner offerings. Bonefish Grill reduced prices and portions on some fresh fish dishes in November.

OSI reported a net loss of $739.4 million for 2008, compared with a net loss of $22.6 million for 2007, according to the Orlando Business Journal.

Dirk Montgomery, OSI chief financial officer, said during a recent conference call with analysts that the company aims to trim $100 million in costs during 2009 compared with 2008, the business journal said.

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