Save the Doggos Fundraiser at Batch and Blue Collar is Better Than Ever
Plus, Fairchild's Mango Festival Returns, Zak the Baker Continues the Mango Trade, and Lady Gaga Will Sing for You
Pups & Pints for Doggos to Benefit Saving Grace at Batch FTL
Want to spend an evening enjoying great cocktails and having fun while helping doggos?
This Thursday, July 11, Batch New Southern Kitchen is hosting a fundraiser to benefit Saving Grace and Her Furry Friends Rescue. This local, small rescue’s mission is to rehabilitate and find loving homes for abused and neglected dogs.
If you haven’t been following the news, public animal shelters across the nation are full, with dogs sleeping in temporary cages set up in hallways. Small rescues, run by good samaritans usually take the more dire cases of abuse. That’s amazing and life saving, but it also means gigantic vet bills (as an example, let me tell you that I’ve racked up $4,300 in vet bills this past month).
You can help simply by coming out this Thursday and enjoying drinks, food, and fun. From 6 to 8 p.m., join me and my friends for Pints and Paws 2.0 to benefit Saving Grace. It’s free to attend, but make a $10 donation and you’ll get a free drink. Plus, you'll enjoy a barrel release of Batch Whistlepig 10 Year. There will be raffles of incredible prizes including rare bottles and amazing artwork by Nicole Danna (including a bespoke painting of your pet).
This is a way to connect with friends and help out some local doggos. Plus, I’ll be there and we can celebrate my birthday a few days early. Win/win. Paws Up!
See you Thursday, July 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Batch New Southern Kitchen; 525 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale; batchsouthernkitchen.com.
Blue Collar 2.0
When Danny Serfer opened Blue Collar in 2012, a star was born. This little restaurant, serving comfort food inside a no tell-motel became an instant hit with Miamians who looked for real food without pretenses.
Serfer moved his beloved restaurant across the street, which allows for more room. The new dining room, in the former La Placita (and before that, Balan’s) space, is a shade of slate blue with brass MidCentury lighting fixtures. And, although it’s a step up from the original dining room, it still has a warm, comfortable vibe.
The main upgrade is the full cocktail menu (with an outdoor bar that I will utilize when it’s not one thousand degrees out). Martinis are offered at an outrageous price of $9 (not a typo) and come with a sidecar — a shaker filled with more liquid. I pulled one and a half extra dirty martinis from my shaker, although my friend only got a second pour. Still, this is a value and a half.
The food is as good as it’s ever been. Blue Collar has been one of my absolute favorite restaurants when I lived in the neighborhood and everything from the chicken parm to the latkes to my absolute favorite veggie plate are fantastic. I didn’t have dessert — the portions are still humongous — but I did manage room for an espresso martini.
Danny Serfer, in my opinion, is one of my favorite chefs and restaurateurs in Miami because he makes food we want to eat. Nothing is precious or twee. You don’t have to have someone come to your table to tell you how to eat a dish or give you a backstory to your entree. His food is the food you enjoy with friends on a Thursday evening. It’s food meant for sharing. It’s food that’s delicious, yes, but it’s also easy — it allows you to relax and enjoy instead of being on guard as to which fork to use or whether to dip or pour or….whatever. There is no pretense. This is joyous food, which makes sense because Serfer is a warm, joyous person. In a city that’s catering more and more to tech bros and C-list celebrities, Blue Collar caters to local Miamians who just want to have a fantastic meal. And, with rents and mortgages going up and up, it’s so good to have a place where the food is wonderful, the prices are reasonable, and you’ve got leftovers for lunch! Blue Heaven!
Get to Blue Collar immediately, if not sooner. 6789 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; bluecollarmiami.com.
Zak the Baker’s Mango Trade
It’s been a tough year for mango trees in Miami. Although the trees in my neighborhood were looking great at first, plenty of rain and wind hurt the fruit.
If you do have a fruitful tree, Zak the Baker is willing to make a trade. Bring him five mangos and you’ll get a loaf of bread. The offer stands through July 31. Each mango must be larger than a fist and the mangos can’t show signs of rot, disease, gashes, bites, or overripeness. There’s also one trade per person daily, and you can choose any bread except for braided challah. Barter System!
Bring your mangoes to 295 NW 26th St., Miami; zakthebaker.com.
Fairchild Mango Festival Returns
There’s one place to find mangoes in Miami — Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s annual Mango Festival. The festival takes place this weekend, Saturday and Sunday, July 13-14, 2024, offering more mango-related food and activities than ever.
Guests will enjoy tastings, mango-related foods for purchase, educational lectures, and mango crafts. You can even purchase your own mango tree.
If you prefer to drink your mango, the Mango Mania Bar will offer mango smoothies (with or without booze), a mini mango cocktail flight, and mango beer tastings.
And, what’s the Mango Festival without the annual mango brunch on Sunday, July 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ($110 for Fairchild members, $125 for non-members)? Chef Allen Susser will be joined by chefs Cindy Hutson, Malcolm Prude, Hugh Sinclair, Cesar Zapata, and Adrian Colameco for this special brunch. Mangoreffic!
Get your mango fix July 14-14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 10901 Old Cutler Rd., Coral Gables; Adult tickets are $24.95, Senior Citizens are $17.95, and Child (6-17) tickets are $11.95. Fairchild members and children under 6 enjoy free admission. Purchase tickets at https://ftbg.ticketapp.org/portal/product/67.
Lady Gaga Will Sing For You
In honor of the Saving Grace fundraiser, I’d like to present Lady Gaga.
Well, not the singer, but maybe better. Lady Gaga is a 7-year-old, 5-pound chihuahua that’s a cuddle bug to her one and only (like all chihuahuas). She needs a little time to get to know you — as all divas do. She would be best as an only dog or maybe one other that is not alpha. Adopter must be experienced with chihuahuas and their behavior and needs. In other words if you’ve had a chihuahua or you were once J. Lo’s assistant you’re perfect for your next gig of being a servant to a tiny fur being.
Lady Gaga is currently available for adoption at Saving Grace. Her $300 Adoption fee includes vaccines, spay, dental, heartworm test, deworming, and microchip. For more info email info@savinggracefl.org. If you are interested in adopting please submit an adoption application at savinggracefl.org. Diva!
Batch Gastropub is the sponsor of our dog adoption section. If you adopt one of these guys (or any dog because of the Miami Checklist), Batch will supply you with a gift card for the amount of the adoption fee. So get a dog, get a burger…or something like that. Contact me for details.
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