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3 knockout cracker choices
In this corner, three classic Nabisco crackers -- Premium saltines ($2.39, 8 ounces), Wheat Thins ($3.57, 10 ounces) and Triscuits ($3.57, 8.5 ounces). Entering the ring, three contenders vying to make healthier versions.
At the bell, Premium comes out fighting. A 15-gram serving (about 15 crackers) has 60 calories, 1.5 fat grams, 190 milligrams sodium, no sugar or fiber and 1 protein gram. The champ has one weakness, though -- iffy ingredients including partly hydrogenated cottonseed oil.
That's where Suzie's salted organic crackers ($3.99, 8.8 ounces) score. Made with only wheat flour, olive oil, sea salt and water, they're toastier, prettier, with rich olive oil flavor. A 25-gram serving (about 10 crackers) has 100 calories, 3 fat grams, 210 milligrams sodium, no sugar, 1 fiber gram and 2 protein grams.
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Get'cha red hots right here at Chicago's
EAT: I became aware of Chicago's love affair with hot dogs -- excuse me, red hots -- when I visited for a family member's 50th birthday eight years ago. All anybody talked about was going to Portillo's for a frankfurter. I didn't get it until I bit into the wiener, piled high with salad-like toppings, and felt the casing snap between my teeth.
I haven't dug a dog that much until last week, when I grabbed takeout for my family at Chicago's, a new bakery and deli in Coconut Grove that is as Windy City as it gets in Miami. Chicago's ``dog'' is a Vienna Beef classic, topped with pungent Dusseldorf mustard, onions, nuclear-green sweet relish, dill pickle, tomato wedges, pickled peppers and celery salt on a poppy seed bun. It comes alone for $5. (Who needs a side salad when there's a garden blooming on top of your bun?)
The hearty Al Capone Italian Beef, with piles of warm, thinly sliced roast beef and spicy peppers on a white baguette, is just as authentic. (Hurry home before the juices sog
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A star (fruit) spangled salute
Celebrate Independence Day in true South Florida style with a Samba Juice salute from SushiSamba Dromo. Chock-full of tropical fruit juices and garnished with a star-fruit slice, it's the perfect way to say ¡Felíz cuatro de julio! (Happy Fourth of July!)
D.I.Y.
Samba Juice : Pour 1 ounce raspberry-infused rum, ½ ounce melon-infused rum, 1 ounce acaí berry purée, ½ ounce passion fruit purée, ½ ounce crème de banana and 1 ounce guava juice into an ice-filled shaker. Shake vigorously. Strain into a wine glass and garnish with a star fruit slice.
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Oreo Mini Cakesters have a maxi price
This week's new Oreo item (there really seems to be one almost every week) is Oreo Mini Cakesters -- darling little versions of the soft-cake Oreo Cakester sandwich cookies. They come in 100-calorie packs.
You know what's coming, of course, but please allow Mr. Tidbit to spell it out (it's his only joy these days):
Regular Oreo Cakesters come in a box of six two-packs, 12 ounces total, so each Cakester weighs an ounce, and one Cakester clocks in at 125 calories. At one discount supermarket, the box sells for $3.25 -- 27 cents an ounce (or a Cakester).
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Michy's short ribs are worth the time
Q: Do you know what Michelle Bernstein puts in her short ribs at Michy's? Can you get her recipe?
Jillen
Lippincott,
Miami
A: The answer is anything but simple, but Chef Bernstein graciously agreed to share her recipe. To say that making this dish is ''very tedious'' but the results ''delicious,'' as she puts it, is an understatement.
Bernstein advised selecting bone-in ribs that are 1 ½ to 2 inches thick and 8 to 9 inches long. I had to order them a day ahead at a full-service butcher, but have since learned they are easier to find at markets that cater to Latin and Korean cooks.
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