Guests for Sundial on Wednesday, March 28, 2018:
The city of Miami Beach has been accommodating mass amounts of people for decades. However, this year's St. Patrick's Day celebrations coupled with hordes of spring breakers who saturated the streets to the point that eastbound traffic on the MacArthur Causeway was shut down to prevent people from entering the city.
Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber estimated between 5,000 and 6,000 people were on Ocean Drive March 17. He said he received calls from law enforcement saying their resources were spread thin among the large crowds and made the decision to close the eastbound lanes to avoid a situation the city was not prepared to handle. Mayor Gelber said he approached the situation "the way a restaurant would if they had reached capacity."
He joined the program to speak on how the city plans to handle large crowds moving forward and answered questions from callers as well.
The Evolution of American Restaurant Culture
Author Andrew Friedman has been writing about food and chefs for more than a decade. His latest book, "Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll," is about the evolution of American cuisine. He joined the program with James Beard Award-winning chef Norman Van Aken, who also recently published the book, "Norman Van Aken's Florida Kitchen." The two talked about the roots of American food and restaurants and how the industry has become as glitzy as Hollywood. Van Aken also discussed his modern cooking school, which he debuted in Wynwood Wednesday night. Find information on the event here.
Both Friedman and Van Aken will be making an appearance at the Coral Gables Books & Books location Thursday, March 29 at 8 p.m. to discuss their books.
The two stayed in the studio for an extended conversation about celebrity chefs and fundamentals they find that are lacking in today's high-speed, glamorous American restaurant industry via FaceBook Live.