Jan Norris: Food and Florida

Fran Andrewlevich didn’t know what to expect or what he was getting into when he created the Jupiter Craft Brewers Festival six years ago.

“I didn’t know if anyone would come,” he said. He doubted it even more when Abacoa’s permit office clerk had to be told what a craft beer was. “They had come into their own, but we were behind the curve down here with brewpubs and breweries,” the brewmaster of Brewzzi said. Andrewlevich had already won medals for his own craft beers at the Great American Beer Festival in Colorado – the Mecca of beer-lovers.

When the crowds at the gate of the initial fest had to be quelled by police presence, and a few hundred turned away from sampling about 50 beers, the brewer decided craft beer had a footing in the area after all.

Saturday, the 2012 Craft Brewers Festival takes place at Abacoa next to the Roger Dean Stadium on Main Street. Andrewlevich has limited attendance to 3000, and created a family-friendly event Craftoberfest at the amphitheater next door to handle the kids and dogs and spillovers who can’t get in to the main event.

Friday night is the Field of Beers, the baseball-themed dine around held on the baseball field and in the dugouts with food and beer pairings. Chef John Carlino of ChefStart in Palm Beach Gardens teamed with Andrewlevich to match foods and brews. It’s sold out the day tickets are put out online.

There are still tickets available at the gate for those 18 and up. More than 150 beers will be on tap for sampling, many from Florida’s own brewers, like the Tequesta Brewing Co., or Cigar City Brewery from Tampa. Mead, pilsners, lagers, ales, IPAs and more are here for the tasting.

Tickets go quickly here – it’s still a popular event, with music, contests and more; food is sold separately. Get there early if you want a ticket.

To read more about it, see my story in this week’s Florida Weekly.

Jupiter Craft Brewers Festival

• When: Saturday, Jan. 28, 1 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
• Where: Held outdoors at Roger Dean Stadium, 4751 Main Street (Abacoa downtown), Jupiter.
• Cost: Tickets are $35 at the door (online tickets are sold out); fee covers all samples. Foods are sold separately. (Attendees must be 18 or over and have a photo ID for admission.)
• Craftoberfest, on the lawn at the amphitheater next door, is from 2-7 p.m.; admission is free. Beer and food are sold separately. Open to all ages; pets on a leash are welcome.
• For information: Email info@jupiterbrewfest.com, or go to the website, www.jupitercraftbrewersfestival.com

Grampa's Restaurant stuffed cabbage rolls /photo by Taimy Alvarez, Sun Sentinel

Chef Tommy Grimes of Grampa’s Bakery and Restaurant in Dania shared his own delicious recipe for stuffed cabbage rolls with my readers in the Sun Sentinel today. (Recipes are lined in the gray box on the left side of their web page.) Make extra and freeze them for a second meal. There’s also a recipe for Christy’s Caesar salad in the column; it’s a classic.

They come, they go, they come back, they leave again. Such is the chef game in Palm Beach County.

Lindsay Autry /photo courtesy BravoTV.com

Michelle Bernstein announced she’d be leaving the boutiquey Palm Beach hotel, The Omphoy at month’s end. The James Beard Award winner’s MB at the Omphoy was one of three restaurants (Michy’s, Sr. Martinez and Crumb on Parchment in Miami) she was operating with spouse-partner David Martinez. Chef Lindsay Autry, currently on Bravo TV’s Top Chef show as one of the final cheftestants, has allegedly already left. Official word from her publicist is: “she’s taking a little break.” But a gossip site has Twitter lit up with its report that Omphoy owner-billionaire and former Senate hopeful Jeff Greene, currently living at with his family at the hotel, caused the exodus. According to Jose Lambiet’s report, it was by treating the workers from the restaurant and spa – who are outside contractors – “like his own domestic staff.”

Dean Max announced earlier this month he’s severing ties with the Marriott on Singer Island at his 3800 Ocean. The chef from 3030 Ocean in Ft. Lauderdale says it didn’t work out with a hotel staff that’s running a breakfast and lunch service from the same kitchen where he’s trying to operate a high-end dinner restaurant. “I wish them well,” Max said. The oceanside location in the former Resort hotel on Singer Island is problematic – his upscale diners, many from Palm Beach, wouldn’t drive that far. “It’s a tough location,” he said, but he thought it could be overcome, saying at opening that it could be a success “once they get to know me and my food.” He leaves melancholy. “I’m sad it didn’t work out – this is where I grew up.”

Roy Villacrusis

Roy Villacrusis has dropped his partnership with Rodney Mayo’s group who brought him in to design Kapow! Noodle Bar’s menu. According to Villacrusis, former chef/owner of Kubo in North Palm Beach, his hands-on eclectic Asiatic menu didn’t fit with what they want to do at the Mizner Park restaurant in Boca. “The concept was too confusing,” he said. “I’m taking my name off the partnership and (will) move on.” Going forward, he said, “I have a couple of things on the back burner, but I am being a bit more cautious now, making sure it’s the concept/food I want to do and they (partners) are sincere and willing to back it up.”

Glen Manfra, of Palm Beach’s Amici and Bice fame – and once with Vic and Angelo’s, cheffed SpoonFed in Delray for only a few months before deciding it wasn’t working with the current owner, AMG Restaurants. He says he wished they had trusted his experience more; he liked his team and especially the concept of serving breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Atlantic Avenue spot.  Other opportunities have already come up, he said; he’s looking outside the area as well as locally.

Erin Flagherty, director of the Lake Park Community Garden in the garden /photo by Jan Norris

Parents and grandparents: Here’s a chance to let your kids get down and dirty in an educational setting that’s fun. It’s the Children’s Gardening Club, and it meets Saturday from 9 to 10:30 in Lake Park’s Community Garden.

The program will teach them all about dirt – why it’s important to have good dirt to grow in, how to compost, water, start seeds, transplant, and how to ID bugs.

Kids get to see food plants, harvest some that are fruiting, and help plant new vegetables.

It’s free and open to all. Families can buy a garden plot for planting their own garden for $20.

Lake Park Children’s Garden Club

• Saturday, 9 a.m. to 10:30 (or later)
• Lake Park Community Garden, 725 Foresteria Dr., Lake Park
• More info: 561-252-7179 or seedsofhopecommunitygarden.orgkidgarden

The women of St. Mark's Philoptohos roll koulouria, a treat at the Greek Festival, 2010

The 2012 Greek festival, “Passport to Greece” is slated for this weekend at St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church in Boca Raton. A celebration of all things Greek, visitors can look forward to eating Greek specialties such as spanakopita, moussaka, and pastries and cookies like koulouria, finikia and kourabeides.

I wrote about the volunteers who make the cookies last year – it was great fun to join these women who carry on their cultural traditions.

Also at the festival, dancers and musicians will perform, there are lectures about church history and culture, along with tours of the church, and activities for kids and adults alike. Over three nights, it’s one of the largest annual fests in the area.

St. Mark’s Greek Festival, “Passport to Greece”

• Where: St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church, 2100 N.E. 51st. St. (Yamato Road), Boca Raton
• When: Jan. 19-22; Thursday, 4-9 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; Sunday, noon-7 p.m.
• What: Traditional Greek dancers perform, church tours with culture lectures, food booths, activities for kids, merchandise sold.
• Tickets: $5, adults; children under 12 free; food sold separately.
• Parking: Available at Boca Corporate Center, Parking Lot K east of Military Trail, and Patch Reef Park at 2000 Yamato Road. The church runs shuttle buses to these parking areas. See the website for maps and directions.
• Information: Church phone 561-994-4722; online, www.saintmarkboca.net/festival/ – a discount coupon is available on site.