The Standard Spa Miami

As the cold weather is expected to hit the Hub again, Boston style maven Ricardo Rodriguez shares the secrets of warm Miami, as divulged by his friend, Southern Florida insider and style maven Louis Aguirre

Note: Fabulous videos that accompany this story can be accessed here.

By Ricardo Rodriguez

Forget what you think you know, these days Miami is much more than just a beachside resort town. The party still rages, but it’s the art and design scene that rage stronger and have transformed Miami into one of the most exciting and cosmopolitan cities in the world. Once known as the gateway to Latin America, now Miami is the gateway to the world, as people from all over the globe have rediscovered this tropical slice of paradise.

So I recruited the help of my dear friend Louis Aguirre to help us build the chicest, most amazing insider guide to this exciting new Miami. And he definitively knows best. Louis is the host of the popular South Florida entertainment TV show Deco Drive and an actor appearing on hit shows like Sex and the City, JAG, and Burn Notice. His newest project LouisList.com is a perfectly curated video insider guide to the city.

So now that the winter is in full force you might want to plan a little escape. Go ahead. This is his Miami.

With a few days to go before Thanksgiving there are a few great options for anyone looking to combine great food and philanthropy for the lgbt community. For those of you interested in the restaurant experience on Thanksgiving, Club Café (209 Columbus Ave. – on the corner of Columbus and Berkeley Streets) will be serving up a traditional Thanksgiving dinner (complete with turkey and roast prime rib carving stations) between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.. The cost for the dinner is $28.95 per person and 10% of all food sales will be donated to the Boston Living Center.

Great food, great friends, and donating to a great cause….sounds a pretty good way to spend Thanksgiving. More information and reservation information can be found on Club Café’s website.

If you plan on having a more traditional ‘in-home’ Thanksgiving dinner then you might want to check out Community Servings ‘Pie in the Sky’ option for your dessert. The pies are donated by 150 of Greater Boston's best chefs, bakers, and caterers. They cost $25 each and can be ordered ONLINE.

For the cost of one pie Community Servings is able to feed a critically ill person for an entire week. To recap…for a cost of $25 you and your family/friends get to enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving dessert AND feed a person in need for an entire week. Is there a better definition of Thanksgiving?

Here’s hoping you have a fun, safe and healthy ThanksGIVING.

Beach Blanket Perfection

The Summer Shack team shares its secret for the New England summer meal par excellence, including full recipes! Yum!

by John O’Connell

Editor’s Note: This story is adapted from a feature that ran in Boston Spirit magazine’s July/August 2012 issue.

The clambake. The epitome of the New England summer parties: elegant, casual, rustic, and romantic. We all think, at least once, “Wouldn’t it be great to throw a clambake?” and then reality settles in. With directions containing lines like “dig a two foot deep hole,” “cover each layer with seaweed,” or “keep the burlap bag moist with seawater” the project quickly becomes outside the scope of what most are willing to deal with on a given Saturday. How many in Boston own a plot of land that can spare that much square footage, let alone a shovel?

Jeff Dugan, the out Director of Operations and Partner at Jasper White’s Summer Shack, agreed to share the Summer Shack’s secrets for conquering the mighty clambake. In addition to the restaurant’s four locations throughout the greater Boston area, Summer Shack also runs the catering and snack options on Spectacle and Georges Islands in the Boston Harbor. “It’s the actual shack portion of the brand,” jokes Dugan.

The secret to a successful clambake is in the steaming. “Steaming is less messy and safer than boiling. It cooks the lobsters more gently, so the meat is more tender,” says Dugan. “If you’re near the ocean and can boil them in ocean water, by all means, do so. But boiling a lobster in tap water dilutes the flavor.” Another secret weapon is the use of an egg in the bake. If the egg is hard-boiled, the lobsters will be cooked through.