Mike Hampton and his wife, Christy Samoy, meld New Orleans and Filipino favorites at Hot & Soul, a funky spot with a tiled bar and communal table in a Fort Lauderdale strip mall.

There is pizza, and then there is Lucali. And while some are griping about the prices, even carbo-phobes should make an exception for this much-ballyhooed Brooklyn pie.

Wild East may not be the Chinese restaurant of our dreams, but it serves faithful versions of everyone’s favorites. Best of all, it does so without as much fat and salt as other restaurants use.

Mike Hampton and his wife, Christy Samoy, meld New Orleans and Filipino favorites at Hot & Soul, a funky spot with a tiled bar and communal table in a Fort Lauderdale strip mall.

Islas Canarias is one of the few restaurants in Miami where you can still enjoy authentic, from-scratch Cuban cooking

WD 555 might sound like the name of a Star Wars robot, but it’s actually a welcoming wine shop and bistro off the beaten track on South Beach.

Temaris or ball sushi — warm mounds of rice with thin-sliced toppings drizzled in spicy sauces — was almost impossible to find in South Florida until Temaris opened on Brickell.

You may have been advised to dine out less often if you want to weigh less. That’s like telling people to leave their cars in the garage if they want to avoid getting into an automobile accident.

A gunshot to the head is the state’s recommended method for disposing of invasive Burmese pythons, whose swelling population threatens the Everglades. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission offers no guidance, however, on how to cook the slithery creatures.

What you put on a hot dog reflects where you come from, and for Colombians, it is lots of sauces and potato chips.

When Frances Alfonso was a little girl in Miami’s Little Havana she loved going with her parents to eat a Cuban’s version of the American hamburger, known as a frita.

The cuisine of Uzbekistan reflects the cultures that passed through Central Asia in caravans on the transcontinental Silk Road, and you can sample it at Chayhana Oasis in Sunny Isles Beach.

Sushi master Nobu Matsuhisa operates 31 restaurants on five continents — in Beijing, Budapest, Cape Town, London, Melbourne, Moscow and more. He has published five cookbooks and acted in movies such as 1995’s Casino, 2002’s Austin Powers in Goldmember and 2005’s Memoirs of a Geisha.

When you pry a piece of corn silk out of your teeth, you’re yanking out a fallopian tube. Good sake should never, ever be served hot. And though you might shudder to hear it, some brewers in Brussels are quite happy when bugs fall into open vats of yeast, because they churn it up, thus becoming “unwitting accomplices in the dance between sugar and yeast.”

Just when we’ve grown accustomed to sharing small plates and accepting the willy-nilly randomness of food hitting our tables whenever it’s ready, leave it to Design District dynamo Michael Schwartz to throw a white tablecloth on it all and remind us of the pleasures of fine dining.

South Beach has a new go-to spot for locals who want fresh food at prices not meant for tourists. Charles St. is so laid back and easy that you nearly forget that it is on one of Collins Avenue’s most upscale blocks. And although it’s situated in a hotel, its storefront entrance doesn’t plunk you down in the middle of a lobby.

It still looks like a majestic Mediterranean mansion at the corner of Ponce and Andalusia, but it’s a whole new juego de pelota inside the former Por Fin. The white tablecloths have been stripped, the chandeliers traded for filament bulbs and the main bar moved downstairs to the center of the action.

Latin American cafeteria grub gets globalized at Albert Cabrera’s new Bread + Butter in Coral Gables. Some in the rice-and-beans crowd may find it too precious, but if you’re open to trendy homages to classic Miami dishes, you’ll be tickled by what this native son conjures up.

Though Brazilian, the charming chef-owner of Tutto’s Mare extends his love of seafood across borders and continents, from spaghetti alla vongole to Creole shrimp in mashed yuca, with mostly good results.

When I visited Paris, my girlfriend spent the whole flight chattering about Coquilles St. Jacques and goat-cheese tarts and escargot. Except to annoy her by interjecting “You mean snails?” every time she mentioned the escargot, I mostly kept quiet. My first meal was going to be at the McDonald’s on the Champs-Elysees, where I wanted to check out a report that Le Big Mac was stuffed with foie gras. (It wasn’t. Damn Internet.) I like gourmet food, but nothing beats eating a cow. At heart, I’m a burger guy.

Giorgio Rapicavoli, the first Miamian to take the top spot on Food Network’s Chopped, used some of his prize money to launch a pop-up with childhood friend Alex Cassanova last winter. That temporary gig has taken permanent root in a place that really needs its.

Vine-covered Hotel St. Michel, built in 1926 as the Sevilla, oozes Old World charm in the middle of Coral Gables, with ornately tiled floors, Belgium rugs, vaulted ceilings, a brass elevator and even the original telephone switchboard behind the front desk.

Catch and South Beach make a perfect pair. They’re both hip, stylish, quirky, a bit garish and extremely expensive. Plus, they’re sprinkled with celebrity dust.

A longtime Jamaican favorite in Wynwood, Clive’s Cafe, has closed after 38 years. A new restaurant is planned for the location.

It’s rare that I review a chain restaurant, and rarer still that I get to Kendall, where there are so many of them, but with the buzz about Devon Seafood + Steak resonating 25 miles away in South Beach, I had to check it out. I was prepared for a Cheesecake Factory experience, but found something entirely different.

"There’s Mexican food, and there’s the food of Mexico."

Soon after opening Stout Irish Bar & Grill 13 months ago, the owners changed its name Stout Sports Bar & Grill. Owner Ed D'Ottavio and his three partners — all of them Irish — realized that customers were looking for much more than shepherd's pie and corned beef and cabbage.

It took nine years, but Jeremy "Jay" Armstead has found the perfect spot for his Texas Hold ’Em BBQ. He opened the doors last month of the quirky A-framed cottage on Federal Highway just south of Oakland Park Boulevard that has housed everything from Green Fish to Shuck’s on the Water. It backs up on the Middle River, and dockside seating is in the works.

I get why some folks love Smashburger. The restaurant chain uses never-frozen Certified Angus Beef, which is literally “smashed” into the shape of a burger on a 400-degree flat grill to “sear in the juicy flavor.” The beef is tasty. But after two visits, I’m just not impressed.

Located in downtown Hollywood, Kussifay is an extension of a restaurant that opened six years ago a mile west. Both are owned by Yanina Arias, a transplant from Argentina whose family has operated pizza restaurants here and abroad.

Inside a hangar on the edge of the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport sits one of the best lunch spots in Fort Lauderdale.

If you’ve lived in South Florida for any length of time, you already know that Chez Porky’s is famous for its wings. But owner Tom Douglas says only one quarter of all guests order them. The rest choose from what may be the biggest menu in town. Douglas figures there are more than 60 items. Along with wings, the menu devotes sections to barbecue, chicken, seafood, steaks and sandwiches. A menu board lists daily specials, and a different menu is available at lunchtime.

It’s always a good sign to see new restaurants opening and entrepreneurs willing to invest in an opportunity for growth. Here are three new faces in Broward that cover a wide-range of cuisines and dining territory.

Some wines taste better outdoors, and pinot grigio is one. Made well, it’s crisp, light, lively and tart, just right for hot-weather sipping. It’s a picnic wine. A pop-in-the-cooler wine, although you should take it off the ice for 20 minutes or so before drinking.

Six reds worth seeking out

Long before the 2003 movie Under the Tuscan Sun, Americans had a love affair with Tuscany, the Italian region that is home to Florence, Siena and a hundred charming less-famous hill towns.

Observe the care with which the American backyard grill jockey shifts and turns that New York strip over a 2,000-degree gas flame to give it the perfect crosshatch of grill marks, and you’ll sense there’s something primal going on.

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”

California’s 2011 chardonnay is in the market now, and — despite some weather challenges — it’s an excellent vintage.

America’s love affair with wine continues. We’re pulling further ahead of Europe in consumption, but are seeing increased competition from China.

If there’s an official wine of today’s 21-something generation, it’s the Italian bubbly prosecco. U.S. sippers buy a million cases a year, up 35 percent since 2011, according to a Wine Spectator magazine website.

A French winemaker once told me his dearly departed grandmother had lived under four different governments without ever moving from the house in which she was born. She was from Alsace, of course.

Mike Hampton and his wife, Christy Samoy, meld New Orleans and Filipino favorites at Hot & Soul, a funky spot with a tiled bar and communal table in a Fort Lauderdale strip mall.

WD 555 might sound like the name of a Star Wars robot, but it’s actually a welcoming wine shop and bistro off the beaten track on South Beach.

The Riverside Hotel in Fort Lauderdale turned 75 this year, and as part of the celebration debuted Wild Sea Oyster Bar & Grill in an elegant space that retains Old Florida charm. All the seafood is wild caught except the oysters and Sunburst trout, and much of the produce is locally grown.

Temaris or ball sushi — warm mounds of rice with thin-sliced toppings drizzled in spicy sauces — was almost impossible to find in South Florida until Temaris opened on Brickell.

What you put on a hot dog reflects where you come from, and for Colombians, it is lots of sauces and potato chips.

The cuisine of Uzbekistan reflects the cultures that passed through Central Asia in caravans on the transcontinental Silk Road, and you can sample it at Chayhana Oasis in Sunny Isles Beach.

The logo at Cecci Italian Peruvian Kitchen is a fish eating a slice of pizza, symbolizing the union of sea and land here. There are pies, pastas and tiraditos, ceviches and saltados (stir-fries) plus creations like pizza a lo macho topped with seafood cream, octopus, shrimp and calamari, and fettuccine in ají amarillo-spiked huancaina cheese sauce served with steak.

There is no sign for Sacha’s Café, but financial district fans are finding it for morning coffee and quick lunches.

A French ice skater and an Israeli developer joined forces to open Montefiore Café & Restaurant in a former Miami Beach bakery. There are still cakes and croissants, but the place is now a kosher-dairy restaurant offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner for locals. The menu includes omelets, salads, panini, fish, pastas, pizza with a chewy crust and crisp bottom and both savory and sweet crepes set in a cozy space with sidewalk dining under an awning.

Chef previews his menu for James Beard House

Talavera, 2299 Ponce de Leon Blvd., Coral Gables, hosts Enchilada Madness from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday with chef Oscar del Rivero’s enchilada trio — mole poblano, crab with guajillo sauce and suiza — for $22; 305-444-2955.

There is pizza, and then there is Lucali. And while some are griping about the prices, even carbo-phobes should make an exception for this much-ballyhooed Brooklyn pie.

Just when we’ve grown accustomed to sharing small plates and accepting the willy-nilly randomness of food hitting our tables whenever it’s ready, leave it to Design District dynamo Michael Schwartz to throw a white tablecloth on it all and remind us of the pleasures of fine dining.

South Beach has a new go-to spot for locals who want fresh food at prices not meant for tourists. Charles St. is so laid back and easy that you nearly forget that it is on one of Collins Avenue’s most upscale blocks. And although it’s situated in a hotel, its storefront entrance doesn’t plunk you down in the middle of a lobby.

Wild East may not be the Chinese restaurant of our dreams, but it serves faithful versions of everyone’s favorites. Best of all, it does so without as much fat and salt as other restaurants use.

"There’s Mexican food, and there’s the food of Mexico."

Soon after opening Stout Irish Bar & Grill 13 months ago, the owners changed its name Stout Sports Bar & Grill. Owner Ed D'Ottavio and his three partners — all of them Irish — realized that customers were looking for much more than shepherd's pie and corned beef and cabbage.

Recipes, meal ideas and more