Fans of the former Old Siam and Pom’s Thai Bistro take note: Chef Pom Souvannasoth’s new restaurant is now open at Tapestry Park.

After opening quietly a couple of weeks ago, Pom’s Signature Restaurant added weekday lunch service this week.

Souvannasoth’s name is synonymous with Thai food in Jacksonville, dating back to the openings of Old Siam in Jacksonville Beach in 1996 and Pom’s Thai Bistro in San Marco in 2001. (He closed Old Siam and left the San Marco restaurant in late 2008.)

read more

Your Evening Sift
01/03/2012

Wow. The SoFla blogosphere was buzzing today. I have a lot of ground to cover and it's later than usual so off we go with your evening Sift.

A- Brickell Life's condo balcony garden is coming along fine.

We're learning as we go, but proving that you can grow sustainable and organic produce more than 100 feet in the air on a balcony. It just takes some planning and dedication. We're looking forward to the first harvest in a few weeks and some fun cooking with our own veggies in the kitchen.

The killings at Bee Heaven Farm started a few years ago, and increased in the past several months. In an earlier attack back in October, feral dogs tried to get at chickens that live inside a mobile coop called a chicken tractor, but the dogs didn’t succeed. Farmer Margie lost dozens of chickens in similar previous incidents this year and last, and as a result egg production is way down. Animal deaths on the farm are not only heartbreaking but also have an economic impact.

The real Ronald Reagan was replaced, almost from the day he left the White House, with "Ronald Reagan", who never raised taxes, never compromised, never signed an abortion bill in California, and never knocked back a Scotch with Tip O'Neill. It didn't hurt that Mr. Reagan himself was incapable of correcting the record, and the GOP has always had the amazing ability to rehabilitate people who at one time singlehandedly destroyed the party and turn them into frontrunners without missing a step; vide Richard Nixon and Newt Gingrich.

The Dolphins will hire John Gruden as coach, and still go 7-9. It’s called lipstick on a pig, Mr. Ross.

Next in my favorite ranks was the Pumpkin Swordfish Tataki. The sear was perfect and the fish was sliced perfectly so that it remained tender. Some people made a comment that the pumpkin gelee on the plate set too firm and I had the same problem.

But will we see ice?

Along the coast, probably not, but I'll put out a bowl of water just in case. Further inland and up peninsula they are buckling down for a hard freeze. That means that the farmers will be spraying down their crops with water.

- Traditional Anti Gun groups will become more strident in their advertising on their way to their much deserved grave. Slowly but surely they are realizing irrelevancy is swallowing them. They cannot claim they are mainstream and they look really silly saying gun ownership is down when we had the two biggest sale days in history within the last 2 months (Black Friday & December 23) plus more and more news outlets are reporting defensive uses of firearms without the demeaning cliches of old. It was bound to happen, specially when women are finding out that guns are more relaxing and less taxing than Yoga plus the added benefit of defending themselves. No means No is properly reinforced with the visual of the muzzle of a gun aimed at the face of the rapist/killer.

Miami Beach's Sleepless Night - They don't always have it (it is usually held in November), I hope they do this year, everything -- all night -- is free! You can't do better than that. In 2011 I went to see a free concert at the Colony Theater featuring the choral group, Seraphic Fire. I also went to a free mini-concert at the New World Symphony's $160 million dollar home. What a treat. It is an intimate concert hall and the sound is terrific. The only thing you pay for during Sleepless Night is food. Even the transportation is free.

.

I apologize for being a little late on this one, readers. So this Post of the Week covers the week of December 18th and the one that appears in the next day or two will be for last week of December. Then we'll be caught up and ready for the December Post of the Month and the granddaddy of them all, the SFDB Post of the Year for 2011. First things first...

Runners-Up: Food for Thought did their usual good job of describing the latest Cobaya dining experience with great narrative and a nice array of images. The Burmese python's migration south into the Upper Keys was given some special attention in a well-composed post from Sex and the Beach. It's not every day that legendary Miami Herald crime reporter Edna Buchanan gives an interview which makes Miami Beach 411's chat and accompanying video with Ms. Buchanan so special.


Winner: Most of the time you'll find Transit Miami venting their frustrations about all things transit in South Florida but every now and then they find something that gives us all hope that the government transportation bureaucrats are finally starting to get it. Such was the case when they recently stumbled upon a couple bike racks that had been installed in a Metrorail car.  I have always maintained that a good blogger has their camera readily available at all times and it appears that Transmit Miami did as they were able to take a nice series of photos that they included in the post. To top things off, Transit Miami commenters loved what they saw and responded enthusiastically in the comment section. Metrorail ‘Bike and Ride’ Gets a Boost With New Hanging Bike Racks is a solid post that may document the beginnings of a bike and ride program involving Metrorail and for that it gets SFDB Post of the Week recognition.


'Til next time, people, keep on blogging!

.

A- Your Only in Hialeah moment of the day at Sweet Home Hialeah.

B- The Reid Report examines Mitt Romney's lame attempt to cast President Obama as some kind of person of entitlement and wealth.

But...well...Mitt Romney comparing Obama — the guy who was raised by a single mother and then by his grandparents, whose mom died haggling with health insurers and who experienced having his family live on food stamps when he was a kid and went to college on scholarship — he compared that guy, to Marie Antoinette, who inherited her wealth from the Austrian royal family and then married the king of France.

C- The Chowfather lists his Best Meals of 2011 which is different from his Best Dishes of 2011 in that it takes into account "every facet of the meal" versus just "the dish"...I guess.

D- Eye on Miami thanks their readers.

I want to especially thank the "insiders" of local and county politics who sometimes post comments and sometimes give us information and insights -- albeit anonymously-- that helps to fill out the true picture of our community.

E- Random Pixels looks back into Miami Hurricane history of the mid-'80's.


.

01/03/2012

Diana Krall, New Year's Eve



.

Patrick Murphy who is running against Tea Party hack Allen West in 2012. Making these right wing extremists own their bigoted vitriol is always an effective campaign tool, in my opinion.





.

01/03/2012

Hazziez

It's a good thing that Jabir Hazziez Jr. wasn't kicked off his flight because he's a Muslim.

A man foaming at the mouth lunged for the airliner’s cabin door, attempting to open it as flight attendants struggled to hold him at bay.

Most of the post-Thanksgiving travelers cruising at some 30,000 feet toward Kansas City that day were unaware of the potential disaster looming at the front of the plane.

But when a crew member came on the intercom asking if anyone had medical training, passenger Jabir Hazziez Jr. heard the sense of concern in her voice.

What happened next came as no surprise to those who know and work with Hazziez, a Kansas City firefighter, reserve Jackson County deputy and member of the U.S. Naval Reserve.

As Hazziez walked toward the front of the plane, he saw a man pacing and holding his head in his hands. The man appeared to be in an “altered mental state” and clearly appeared agitated.

“He was trying to get to the door of the plane,” Hazziez recalled recently. “I grabbed ahold of him and tried to calm him down.”

But the man only became more combative and knocked Hazziez into the cockpit door.

Using his law enforcement training, Hazziez put the man in a neck restraint and took him to the floor. The man continued kicking and trying to reach the door with his feet. Another passenger grabbed the man’s legs.

Together they held him for about 15 or 20 minutes until the plane, which had taken off in Atlanta, made an emergency landing in Memphis and authorities came on board to deal with the man. Later, Hazziez learned the man had been suffering from an adverse reaction to a vaccine.

Wow. This is really going to mess up the thought patterns of those Little Limbaughs who sit in front of their TV all day and listen to Fox news hosts explain how Muslims are out to destroy America.

On second thought, no it won't. Reality and facts are secondary to these kind of people. They'll continue their Islamophobia and sarcastically refer to Islam as "the religion of peace" every time a Muslim extremist is arrested.


- Story via Little Green Footballs


.

01/03/2012

It's that time of the year again...

As South Florida readies to welcome another New Year, police and public safety officials, along with grieving relatives, again warn of the dangers of a tradition that in some communities is as entrenched as it is reckless. Along with sound of firecrackers and rockets expected Saturday night, there will be gunfire.

"As much as you tell people not to do it, it continues," said Broward Sheriff Al Lamberti. "People may think that it's a way to celebrate, but that bullet has to come down and if you shoot it, you own it. You are liable criminally and civilly."

The two best reasons for staying at home on New Year's Eve are the proliferation of stupid people in this world. I refuse to put my future health and welfare at risk because of DUI drivers and morons exercising their 2nd Amendment rights and actively participating in a well regulated militia. Most importantly, I will not expose my loved ones to such nonsense.

So call me a killjoy or a spoilsport but I'm sitting New Year's out again this year in my own home. That offers me some protection from my fellow South Floridians who haven't been endowed with the simple common sense and intellect that keeps many from enjoying or even attending New Years Day brunch the next day.


.

A- I'm not sure what the point of Coconut Grove Grapevine's latest story from the Grove really is other than to point out that the Grove may not be for everyone.

They wanted to know where Bayside was. When I told them it was a few miles away downtown, they got exasperated and said, forget it. I pointed to our waterfront, such as it is and they were not interested. She asked, "Is this all there is here?" and she swept her hand around the area.

I said, "We'll we are a small village, this is all we've got." Her husband seemed to like that, he said, "Thank God for that."

B- Justice Building Blog looks back at his predictions from last year and composes a new list for 2012.

C- New Year's Weekend is the perfect time for some theater as South Florida Theatre Scene shows us in their weekly wrap up.

D- Sex and the Beach files their year end social media review.

E- Transit Miami's review of all things bicycle for 2011.

F- Artlurker checks out Dogan Arslanoglu's “Investigations” at 6th Street Container Gallery in Little Havana.

Stills rendered from various iconic clips including a 1940's atomic bomb test over Bikini Atoll and the Max Headroom Broadcast Signal Intrusion of 1987 are paired with vintage commercials advertising Coca-Cola, cereal, dental hygiene and cosmetics. Cropped into abstraction, many images are difficult to identify without a hint.

G- The year in precipitation is graphically presented by Go Hydrology!

H- Dining world headline predictions at Eater Miami who is apparently putting out year end lists for virtually every post from now until 2012.

I- Carlos Miller continues to confirm that not all TSA employees know that screening checkpoints can be filmed.

J- The Burger Beast's reveals his Top Ten Burgers of 2011.

K- Joining in what seems to have become a favorite pastime of many a SoFla blogger, Discourse critiques the Miami Herald.

That said, I might mention two other somewhat bright spots: The Local section has degraded much less than front. There’s still real news there, just not enough of it. And as the news staff of the Herald shrinks, it is running more content from Bloomberg and from the political reporters at its partner newspapers in the state, some of whom are quite good.

L- Republicans need to take a few lessons on principles from Democrats like State Senator Gwen Margolis....at Eye on Miami.

M- The Chowfather tastes truffles at The Tudor House and urges us to do the same...as if.



.

I made some resolutions this year. Go back to work: we need the money. Less time on teh internets. More sunscreen (sorry, Tanya) — those last few surgeries were plain nasty and there’s more in store if that painful sh*t [Ed.] on my forehead is what I think it is. Start thinning the landscaping: it’s futile to maintain a rain forest in the back yard. Play more music. Make sure Guido is happy because if she isn’t, nothing else is worth worrying about.

D- Things are drying out in the 'Glades and Go Hydrology! has the photo to prove it.

E- Mike LaMonica is discovering that time moves too fast as you get older.

F- Eye on Miami questions whether retired basketball legend Michael Jordan really lives in Kendall.

.

01/03/2012

As you might imagine, not a lot going on in the South Florida blogosphere this New Year's Day morning. Take a couple aspirins with your coffee this morning and enjoy your first Sift of 2012.

A- Happy New Year sentiments from Some Blogging Guy, 305, and The Reid Blog.

B- Is the Miami Heat ripping off Miami-Dade residents, Eye on Miami wonders.

The Miami Heat basketball team, in a 1997 agreement with the County, agreed to pay 40% of their profit above $14 million to the County. Well guess what, the Miami Heat since 1997 has NEVER paid the County a penny, claiming they never made over $14 million.

.

01/03/2012

The last night of 2011 is upon us. Whatever you're doing, stay safe so that you'll be able to spend 2012 with the rest of us. Here's your New Year's Eve evening Sift.

A- New Year's sentiments from South Florida Lawyers, Go Hydrology!, Justice Building Blog, and Wide Lawns and Narrow Minds.

B- Bark Bark Woof Woof makes a personal assessment of 2011 and mentions SFDB so...you know.

C- Coconut Grove Grapevine posts some photos from today's King Mango Strut.

After the Strut, people hung out around the Grove and enjoyed themselves. I stuck around the end of Commodore Plaza with my friends at LoKal, the new burger place, and The Loft, next door, where Yvonne and Michael always treat us like family. I was exhausted and I didn't even march or strut. I hung out there for a long time enjoying seeing all the people who were enjoying the Grove. If only it could be like that all the time around here! Restaurants and bars were packed from one end of the village to the other.

D- Valentine's Day paraphernalia is already dominating the store shelves, according to Some Blogging Guy.

E- The305.Com continues with his 2011 Best Of selections including Beached Miami as "Website of the Year."

Either way, BeachedMiami is a mix of local music, local politics, funny “Jay Leno styled Jay Walking” type videos and tons of original content and original commentary. You can truly see quality in their content and the hard work they put into creating it. You have to be blind to not see that they’ve gone the extra mile to give a good reporting of South Florida current events.

F- Oh boy. The Reid Blog tells us about another Republican getting weepy on camera. These guys cry more than a roomful of 2-year-olds whose toys have been taken away from them.

.

~ Repair Your Credit Today! ~
Don't let false reporting
lower your score!