Your Morning Sift

Good morning.

And off we go with another week. Welcome to Monday, readers. Here's your morning Sift.

A- Fatgirl Hedonist presents Part Two of review of restaurants she visited while traveling in Washington, DC.

Lots (and I mean LOTS) of people in Miami tried to tell me where I NEED to eat in DC but the truth is, nobody knows where to eat like a local. So every chance I had, I asked DC residents what their favorite restaurants were. Three different people in three different parts of town mentioned Oohhs & Aahhs as their favorite soul food restaurant. I wanted those little unknown places, those places off the beaten path, not those celebrity chef places everyone goes to just because.

B- The craziness that abounds when Republicans are allowed to proliferate is quite evident at Bark Bark Woof Woof.

C- Eye on Miami knows who the real Manny Diaz is while he contemplates a run at Florida's governor.

Like many other politicians of the 2000's, Diaz coasted on the fuel then the fumes of the building boom. He was like a Marlin's hitter who raced to third base, celebrating a triple when he hit a pop fly. To the extent that the city of Miami contributed to massive -- multi-billion dollar! -- infrastructure deficits that are now plaguing the county, Diaz was right in the middle of the mess. Taxpayers and voters will have something to say about a Diaz primary campaign.

D- Obalesque thinks that changing Broward County's name to Lauderdale County is as stupid as certain newspaper types who think it's actually a wonderful idea.

E- The Chowfather gives us the 411 on Macchialina Taverna Rustica on Miami Beach.

Chef Pirolo's food registered with me in a big time way. And that's because he's serving Italian "soul" food. But don't confuse that with comfort food. That would be a lazy disservice to the talented chef. Chef Pirolo has successfully put a gourmet spin on rustic dishes without sacrificing its soul. This skillful balancing act is not an easy thing to do. But he clearly knows his way around classic Italian flavors and ingredients and that permeates through each bite of every dish.

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