Blast From the Past: Baccone Dolce’s – Barbecued Cats

Baccone Dolce Barbecued Cats (Moon Ska Records) www.moonskaworld.com Aspeta un minuti … or don’t. It isn’t so much as the delicious Italian treat as it is a bygone era where the Floridian peninsula ruled the ska-airwaves. And (apparently re-emergent ska label) Moon Ska took note. The mid-90’s were a good…

Overrated Eats: Smith & Wollensky

There are good things to say about Smith & Wollensky, for sure, starting with its incredible location, location, location and the fact that its bartenders are known to be quite generous with a pour. And we think it’s cool they are offering wine enthusiasts the chance to swirl and spit…

Jersey Shore Damage Report: Watermelons and Pinholes

Last night’s Jersey Shore was full of cat fights, watermelons in pinholes, and tricky transgendered-identifying people. With the boring saga of Ronnie and Sam finally fading, and the ensuing fallout of “the guidette letter” taking center stage, it might have been the trashiest (read: best) episode since the hot mess…

Blogger’s Bout: Michael’s Genuine

Blogger Hannah Littman and New Times editor Chuck Strouse disagree about Design District pioneer and national powerhouse Michael’s Genuine. What follows are their disparate views:Walk into Michael’s Genuine, the much applauded, infrequently dissed Design District restaurant and you note it right away. There’s none of the pretense that so many…

MP3 of the Day: Plains – “Stuck in the Night”

Newer-ish outfit Plains is poised to release a brand new 7″ single this Friday at Bar and here at Crossfade we’re pleased to share with you the B-side to that effort, “Stuck in the Night.” This band comes with a pretty good pedigree. Technically the brainchild of Honor Roll’s Michael…

Blast From the Past: The Pink Lincolns – Suck & Bloat

The Pink Lincolns Suck & Bloat (Stiff Pole Records) www.stiffpolerecords.com In honor of Richard “Big Stiff” Konwinski, who passed this past July in Tampa, I’ll be juggling between the County Grind and Crossfade blogs doing my Blast From the Past thing on the record label that he founded, Stiff Pole…

Sean Penn Doesn’t Know Wyclef or What’s Good For Haiti

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness once made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke goes to bat for Wyclef Jean.Wyclef Jean should have the opportunity to become Haiti’s president. He should…

Gourmet Leftovers, Pierogi Trucks, My Challenge To LeBron

That’s Right Lebron, I’m Talkin’ To YouAs reported by Lesley Abravanel, LeBron James gave Barton G. some tweet love, writing that it “has the BEST presentation of food, drinks and dessert I’ve ever seen in my life”.Listen up, LeBron: I’ll go one-on-one against you in restaurant reviewing anytime, anywhere. I’m…

Sean Rowe: New Times Writer/Author/Poet Is Dead

Pretty much every word Sean Rowe ever spoke was poetry. Even after he was hit by a train and survived.  I don’t say that as praise. I’m not fawning. He just had a way about him.He arrived in Miami in 1989 to work at the Miami Herald, where I was…

Jersey Shore Damage Report: The Guidette Letter

Some people thought the second season of Jersey Shore wouldn’t work because the formerly anonymous guidos had become media superstars. Others thought the move to Miami Beach would take away some of the magic. So far, that hasn’t been the case. What’s really dragging down the second season is that…

Mixtape Of The Week: DJ EFX – Studio Session

DJ EFX has been heavy on the South Florida mixtape scene and definitely left a mark on creating highly demanded instrumental mixtapes – as well as “Best Of” mixtapes. And more recently over the past couple years, EFX has been driven in the “Music Video DVDs” market that not a…

MP3: Pool Party – “Spy Girl”

Regardless of which, these guys brought something to our little scene that bordered on the weird and we were so thankful for it. Before skinny jeans and plaid hoodies, before our local hipster glitterati found its inherent genre-blending, Pool Party concocted a seamless transition between punk rock pop, electro, techno,…