Pan Con Podcast

06/19/2024

There's a bunch of new dishes at Eva in CocoWalk. Here's what they wrote about it at Infatuation Miami.

Proof that useful things don’t have to be boring, Eva is a Mediterranean restaurant in CocoWalk that's a destination in its own right.

06/06/2024

Robeisy "El Tren" Ramírez is an elite boxer by any measure. He has two Olympic gold medals (which he won with the Cuban national team) and was the WBO featherweight champion between April and December 2023.

But it wasn’t until his title defense in July 2023 (in Japan against Satoshi Shimizu) that he became known even to casual fans, especially Cubans in exile. He’d been outspoken a long time about his opposition to Cuba’s dictatorship, but when that government intervened halfway around the world to silence him during the event, they only made his message louder.

Robeisy and his manager José Izquierdo (who was kind enough to play translator for our listeners here, although he’s kind of a big deal in his own right) joined us at Chug’s Diner in Miami to talk about boxing, Cuba, Robeisy’s hunt to regain the WBO title, and how he has used his success in his sport to tell the world about the struggles of those in his native country.

Robeisy’s next fight will be June 29 in Miami against Brandon Leon Benitez.

Robeisy “El Tren” Remírez is an elite boxer by any measure. He has two Olympic gold medals (which he won with the Cuban national team) and was the WBO featherweight champion between April and December 2023. But it wasn’t until his title defense in July 2023 (in Japan against Satoshi Shimizu) ...

06/05/2024

"But he also has a soft spot for an entirely different pairing: a Peaty’s Pepino paired with 20 Acre Farm by Drew Estate.

The cigar is a polar opposite from a maduro, wrapped in a 'Connecticut Shade,' typically the lightest in any humidor.

'That particular to***co varietal is light and delicate, in part because it’s grown under shade, either from natural cloud cover or cheese cloth,' Jiménez explained. 'The result is a milder flavor and lower ni****ne content.'

The cocktail is made with a cucumber liqueur (thus, “pepino”) and Islay Scotch (thus, “peaty”). Peaty is also the name of Jiménez’s old but virile dog.

'He is always at the bar when I’m there. When I saw a cocktail with cucumber in it – you know, ‘pepino’ is Spanish for ‘cucumber’ – I told these guys, if you’re gonna let me do this at all, then you have to let me make a joke about my dog on the menu,” Jiménez laughed. “It’s actually an oddly smoky and refreshing drink at the same time.'"

Peaty the dog and El Vecino Miami get a shout outs in this piece about ci**rs and cocktails in Biscayne Times.

To***co was not originally a vice. Whether or not it was a “sacred” thing depends on which anthropologists, historians, ethnobotanists and Native American traditionalists you ask, but one thing they all agree on is that it was culturally significant.

04/13/2024

Shari Bayer is the author of “Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World” (Phaidon Press), a book in which she’s compiled insights, quotes and anecdotes from exchanges with world class chefs like Massimo Bottura, Jeremy Chan, Tom Colicchio, Chef Nina Compton, Wylie Dufresne, Suzanne Goin, Enrique Olvera, Eric Ripert, Clare Smyth, Alice Waters, and past Pan Con podcast guests Chef Jean-Georges and José Mendín.

She’s also a hospitality industry publicist and the host of the All In The Industry podcast.

In this late-night conversation with chef Michael Beltrán, recorded on the terrace behind Ariete, Shari talks about her book, the state of food media, food festivals, and what she learned from her own career in restaurants, including the time she worked at Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago.

Shari Bayer is the author of “ Chefwise: Life Lessons from Leading Chefs Around the World ” (Phaidon Press), a book in which she’s compiled insights, quotes and anecdotes from exchanges with world class chefs like Massimo Bottura, Jeremy Chan, Tom Colicchio, Nina Compton, Wylie Dufresne, Suzan...

03/09/2024

Adrian López is the wine director at Ariete Hospitality and is a partner at the Miami restaurant group’s Coconut Grove bar/retail concept, The Allocation Room. In 2023, with Adrian at the helm, the wine program at the company’s Michelin-starred flagship restaurant Ariete won an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator.

In this conversation, Mike Beltrán talks with Adrian about his development as a sommelier in South Florida, how he’s put his own personal stamp on wine offerings at AHG, how he approaches leading the company’s wine team, trends in the wine world, and how Ariete’s two years with a Michelin Star have affected the way the beverage industry approaches him and the broader restaurant group.

Adrian López is the wine director at Ariete Hospitality and is a partner at the Miami restaurant group’s Coconut Grove bar/retail concept, The Allocation Room. In 2023, with Adrian at the helm, the wine program at the company’s Michelin-starred flagship restaurant Ariete won an Award of Excelle...

02/24/2024

We last had Lucy López on Pan Con Podcast in 2021. Since then, the former Power 96 radio personality has refashioned her career with (among many other things) roles hosting two podcasts — Slate’s Care and Feeding podcast and her own Mamacita Rica podcast. She also had a role in , a play written by past podcast guest Vanessa García and co-directed by past guest Victoria Collado.

In this episode, Lucy and Mike open up about their experiences helping care for each of their mothers in the wake of cancer diagnoses. The conversation is about some of the ways that cancer impacts families and how it imbues volunteer work, charitable giving and other efforts to combat cancer with deep personal meaning.

Mike’s second Cars & Croquetas car show to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society will be held March 10, 2024 in Coconut Grove, with Lucy stepping in to emcee.

We last had Lucy López on Pan Con Podcast in 2021 . Since then, the former Power 96 radio personality has refashioned her career with (among many other things) roles hosting two podcasts — Slate’s Care and Feeding podcast and her own Mamacita Rica podcast. She also had a role in , a

01/23/2024

We recently had Andrew Friedman on Pan Con Podcast. On his own podcast, Andrew Talks To Chefs, he ran a portion of his conversation with Michael Beltran.

Miami's acclaimed Michael Beltran discusses the questions of self-expression, commerce, and ego that every chef-owner must navigate.

01/19/2024

“I would literally spend all day, from open to close,” he said, referring to a shop near Miami’s Westchester neighborhood. “Those were the guys that I hung

01/19/2024

Not all BBQ chips are created equal. Chef Mel Rodríguez is the man behind La Traila BBQ in Miami and his next concept, Tejano Barbecue . In this video, Mel blind tasted four brands of heat-and-serve BBQ pulled pork that you might find in your local grocery store. In this BBQ pulled pork line

01/17/2024

Not all BBQ chips are created equal. Chef Mel Rodríguez is the man behind La Traila BBQ in Miami and his next concept, Tejano Barbecue . In this video, Mel blind tasted 5 BBQ chips you might find at your local grocery store, then names winners, losers, and his own favorite. In this BBQ chip l

01/13/2024

Chef Mel Rodríguez is the man behind La Traila BBQ in Miami and his next concept, Tejano Barbecue . In this video, Mel blind tastes nine BBQ sauces you might find at your local grocery store, then names winners, losers, and his own favorite [Hint: he goes with a brand he hadn't heard of before].

12/31/2023

Brenda Popritkin’s blog, The Whet Palette (which turned 10 this year), has become Miami’s premier fine dining review source, respected by chefs and trusted by her audience. In this video, Brenda runs through her list of the top 23 restaurants in Miami for 2023. Visit The Whet Palette for the

11/27/2023

Our most recent guest, Brenda Popritkin of The Whet Palette, just released her rankings of Miami's top 23 Miami restaurants. Check it out at this link:

IMPORTANT: I know you want to scroll down quickly and see the results. And you can. But please read the following intro now or later to understand the “why” behind this list. What is it…

11/21/2023

Now in its second year with Michelin-Starred restaurants, Miami’s fine dining scene is well into maturity, participating fully on the global restaurant stage. Miami food media, on the other hand, has some catching up to do.

Among those doing the work of filling the void is Brenda Popritkin, whose blog, The Whet Palette and podcast by the same name — along with her serious approach to restaurant reviews that are written for diners rather than publicists — have made her Miami’s premier food blogger, respected by chefs and trusted by her audience.

In this episode of Pan Con Podcast, Mike talks with Brenda about how being the parent of a special-needs child led her and her husband Larry (who has a recurring role on their podcast, contributing most heavily on the subject of restaurants’ wine programs) to the fine dining date night hobby that became a year-round media project, what it was like seeing a restaurant industry she’d championed for so long recognized at Florida’s first ever MICHELIN Guide ceremony, and her plans to go on a burger expedition with past Pan Con Podcast guest Sef González (better known as Burger Beast).

Now in its second year with Michelin-Starred restaurants, Miami’s fine dining scene is well into maturity, participating fully on the global restaurant stage. Miami food media, on the other hand, has some catching up to do. Among those doing the work of filling the void is Brenda Popritkin, whose ...

11/11/2023

It's . 🇳🇮 This time, we ate too much at Rakachaka Grill Y Mas, which is a contender for best restaurant name in Miami. Cerdo, gallopinto, maduros, queso frito for Mike. Carne pinchada, gallopinto, tostones for Nick.

Tune in to the next episode of Pan Con Podcast for some fritanga talk.

10/31/2023

Andrew Friedman's “big break” came in 1997, when he collaborated with chef Alfred Portale on the “Gotham Bar and Grille Cookbook. It won the IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award for “Best Chef or Restaurant Cookbook,” and got a James Beard Foundation Award nomination for “Best General Cookbook.”

Though he’s worked on loads of cookbooks since, it’s been a while since Andrew last wrote a recipe. Instead, his attention has been focused on his work as a chef writer (a phrase he thinks more aptly describes the subject matter he deals with than “food writer”). He’s the author of “Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll” and “Knives at Dawn: America's Quest for Culinary Glory at the Bocuse d'Or, the World's Most Prestigious Cooking Competition” to name just two titles.

In his latest book, “The Dish: The Lives and Labor Behind One Plate of Food,” Andrew Friedman takes you on a ride to follow all the work that goes into just one restaurant menu item at a Chicago restaurant.

Andrew met Mike Beltrán at Chug's in Coconut Grove for a conversation about the restaurant industry, how Andrew ended up in his unexpected career around chefs and restaurants, changes in the culture of professional kitchens, and Andrew’s experiences growing up in Miami.

In the Patreon-only extended cut, Mike asks Andrew about burgers, breakfast, PB&Js, and other important stuff.

Andrew Friedman ’s “big break” came in 1997, when he collaborated with chef Alfred Portale on the “ Gotham Bar and Grille Cookbook . It won the IACP/Julia Child Cookbook Award for “Best Chef or Restaurant Cookbook,” and got a James Beard Award nomination for “Best General Cookbook.” ...

10/11/2023

Kush Hospitality founder Matt Kuscher joined Mike Beltrán at El Vecino Ci**rs & Cocktails in downtown Miami for a smoke and a discussion about his restaurant business, burger toppings, urinal ice, and his work with the Pace Center for Girls.

Kush Hospitality founder Matt Kuscher joined Mike Beltrán at El Vecino Ci**rs & Cocktails in downtown Miami for a smoke and a discussion about his restaurant business, burger toppings, urinal ice, and his work with the Pace Center for Girls .

09/24/2023

lamb pot pie [braised lamb neck, pommes aligot] by Brasserie Laurel at El Vecino Ci**rs & Cocktails.