FOODTASTIC!

Dinner Tonight: Spicy Chicken Sliders

2011-08-13T21:38:00.001-04:00

I've been longing to write in this blog for a long time. Every time I cook or eat I think, at least briefly, damn, I want to write about this.

So, you know, I should.

I tried making chicken sliders tonight for the first time, and I loved how they came out. They were a great blend of sweet and spicy.

But before I get into sharing what I did and how I did it, I want to share my approach to cooking. Basically, I make it up as I go along. Unless it's something particularly complicated or something utterly foreign to me (and even then, I make some embellishments), I tend to use recipes as a guideline. I've never met a recipe I don't think I can improve upon.

Usually, I'll spend the day thinking on and off about what I'm cooking (namely, a protein), and I'll just let ideas float around until I think of something that sounds yummy. Sometimes I'm obsessing about a particular ingredient (capers is a common one), so I'll craft a meal around that. I'll look up recipes and read articles, too, if I feel I need a little inspiration.

So, for tonight's dish, I had these organic chicken sliders that I'd been wanting to use, and I thought it'd be fun to cook them up for my son. I'd been thinking since yesterday that I'd grill them and use King's Hawaiian sweet rolls (I wanted the honey wheat ones but couldn't find them, so I went with the original ones). But when I started cooking today, I realized I wanted a kick to counterbalance the bread's sweetness. I very quickly came up with the following:

The sliders are labeled "classic seasoning," whatever that is. I figure it might contain salt and decide not to add any more. With the chicken on the grill, I season both sides with cayenne pepper and oregano leaves, and nothing else. I let it cook through, get some brown on both sides, then add shredded mozzarella cheese on top of each one and let it melt. As it was melting, I poured on some hot sauce. After a couple of minutes, they were done and ready.

I was happy with how they came out. They had a good kick that complemented the bread's sweetness. The patties themselves were tasty and substantial (two sliders and I was full). We had them with a side of Terra chips, and all was good.

Now, I should have taken some pictures, but I didn't even think about it until I was done and the sliders were gone. Given that I once used to photograph everything I ate, this is inexcusable, but well, nothing I can do about it now.

Just take my word for it: they were yummy and you should totally try it yourself.

Looking at it this Way, We're Pigs

2009-10-28T01:37:00.001-04:00

I've been meaning to write here because lately, my boyfriend and I have been trying out a bunch of restaurants (some new to us, others new to one of us, others revisits to old favorites), and I wanted to run down the list of places and see if any of them are favorites of yours.

It all began the weekend that everything changed between us (if that story is what interests you, I vaguely discuss it here). Well, you know, not really. When we were still just friends, we ate out a lot and tried some places together, the standout from that time being Red Light (wow wow wow; we've been talking about going back soon). What can I say? We're both foodies.

Anyway. There was a Sunday morning where, at his suggestion, we headed out to Wagons West, because he liked it and I had never been. Great breakfast - it was pretty standard stuff - eggs, bacon, home fries; I tried cornbeef hash for the first time, and it was different, but tasty.

From there, in no particular order, we've had a steady diet of Sir Pizza, Taqueria El Mexicano, Casola's, Bella Italia, Randazzo's Little Italy, Shibui, Matsuri, La Moon, Einstein Bagels, Big Pink, Cheeseburger Baby, Swensen's, and Red Koi. Plus, of course, my own home cooking.

Keep in mind, we're together just every other weekend, when my son is with his father. And this list covers just the last couple of months. That's a whole lot of restaurants; I didn't realize till now we'd been dining out so much. (Note to self: save money and stop eating out so much).

Still, we've got some more places we've already made plans to check out, starting this Sunday with brunch at Michael's Genuine. Also on deck: Osteria del Teatro, a yet-to-be-picked Mexican joint in Homestead, Por Fin, and a Thai place near his house we're both very curious about.

All in all, I've had some really good, sometimes really, really great meals lately, and I'm excited about the places left to try.

Thoughts on any of these places? Please share!

These Mariquitas are Killing Me

2009-09-17T05:12:00.004-04:00

I haven't been this obsessed with a particular food in so long. I remember that I bought a pack of sweet plantain chips because I'd never seen those before (not to be confused with regular plantain chips, which are all over the place, made by a bunch of different brands, and made from green plantains) and I thought it'd b fun to try.

But not being much of a chip person, I left them in my cupboard for weeks before I busted them out for a little birthday gathering I recently had. I nibbled on one as I poured the bag into a bowl, and my life changed forever.

I should say that platanos maduros, or sweet plantains, are among my top 3 favorite foods ever. This is a staple in a Cuban home, and I can't ever get enough of them. So that the chip version of these would blow me away so completely is not much of a surprise, but I'm fascinated by how freakishly obsessed I've become with them.

How obsessed, you wonder? I eat about 3/4 of a bag every day. Seriously. Every single day for some weeks now. Thank g-d they're trans-fat free and that the bags are small. I can't believe it took me this long to discover them, though I'd swear they weren't in my local markets until recently.

People, they're so good. So, so, so good. They're sweet and crunchy and a perfect snack version of the traditional platano maduro. You have to try them. You have to keep an eye out for the word "sweet" on the bag (or maduros or maduritos), otherwise you'll just be getting the regular salty kind.

Seriously, go try these now.

Restaurant Review - Moonchine Asian Bistro

2009-08-19T19:26:00.004-04:00

A couple of weeks ago I received an e-mail from a girl I had never met asking me if I had ever been to Moonchine Asian Bistro in the MiMo district (MiMo refers to the Miami Modern style of architecture that became popular in the post-war era). When I replied that I hadn’t and that I hadn’t even heard of it, Kelley - their Marketing Coordinator - invited me to check it out. After a couple of messages back and forth we agreed that my husband and I would go the following Sunday for brunch.

So Sunday morning Hubby and I were there at 11:00 a.m. We parked in the attended parking lot behind the restaurant on the corner of Biscayne and 71st street and walked towards the back door. Well, the “back” is where the restaurant has their Garden 71 Lounge, which is really nice and open for the brunch - in fact except for August there’s live music for the brunch between 1 and 3 p.m. - but it was way too hot for eating outdoors so we made our way inside.

The space is small and a bit crowded, but not uncomfortable. It has a funky, quasi-industrial look with a sushi bar and a full liquor bar and both regular tables as well as table and couch combos. Service, while friendly, was spotty with staff not really knowledgeable about what was available and what was included with the brunch. Later, however, the Manager and Co-Owner who everyone calls Apple came by to introduce herself and explained the menu a bit more. I even got to meet the chef who everyone calls Chef Moo! They were both very nice and answered all my silly questions - that's them in the picture.

The price for the brunch, officially called “Brunch and Beats” (except for August which is “beatless”), is $15.95 and does not include any beverages. The food however is varied, unique and plentiful. We started with what can be considered appetizers. Between my husband and I we tried them all - tuna and salmon sushi which were good and fresh; Gyoza or dumplings - both steamed and fried - the fried were fine, but the steamed were fantastic; fried spring rolls which were good and Vietnamese spring rolls with all kinds of good stuff wrapped in rice paper which were amazing; and what they called Sushi Salad that tasted like a really good and tangy ceviche. They mentioned that soup was available, but it was too hot to even look for it. I’ll check it out next time.

There weren’t really any breakfast items, except maybe the omelet, but the entrée options were great. I tried them all - the sacrifices I make for you people! In order to get a taste of everything I placed a scoop of white rice in the center of the plate and proceeded to put a bit of each item around the rice making little rice barriers between them - a veritable feat of food engineering.

I started off with the Pad Prig Kingfish - the fish was perfectly tender with a slightly spicy sauce and a hint of citrus that I later found out was lime leaf. Then I had the Cashew Chicken which was very good, not too spicy. As soon as I saw the Vegetable Pad Thai I went for it - I love Pad Thai and I’ve eaten it everywhere I could - this may be the best I’ve had. The chopped peanuts contrasted beautifully with the slightly sweet flavor and the veggies were fresh and crisp. But then…I tried the Green Curry Chicken. OH. MY. GOD. I could eat a bucket of this stuff - seriously one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. The dish consists of tender pieces of chicken, not overdone at all, chunked Chinese eggplant, pieces of green bell pepper in coconut milk with a generous amount of fresh basil. The smell was amazing but that taste was sublime. For the brunch they only had chicken, but the menu indicates you can get the Green Curry with your choice of chicken, beef, pork, tofu and for an additional charge, shrimp. The Green Curry alone is worth the trip.

After I got over my green curry bliss I had to focus on dessert. There were only three options: fresh fruit, Greek-style yogurt to which you could add fresh fruit and cereal or a Thai dessert called Sakoo which is a tapioca and coconut milk pudding. The sakoo was good, but I had to deal with the consistency of the tapioca pearls - once I got over that I really liked it. I think I would have enjoyed it more if it had been chilled, but it is correct to serve it room temperature as well. Of course “room temperature” in Miami in August is probably warmer than what the recipe considers.

Apple joined us again after our meal and offered us their house-made Ginger liqueur served in chilled shot glasses. She explained that she takes ginger root and lets it sit in vodka for 45 days and then chills it. It was so smooth, no strong flavor just nice and refreshing. She explained that the ginger helps after dinner when you feel full and just helps digestion in general. She calls the liqueur Moonchine like the restaurant but pronounces it “moonshyne” - and it actually looks like moonshine - but it sure doesn’t hurt like moonshine! The bar makes a Moonchine Martini with it which sounds delicious…

We will definitely return to Moonchine to try the regular menu, but I’m going to wait till it gets cooler so we can sit outside. I must have more of that Green Curry!

It's that time again...

2009-07-30T19:51:00.003-04:00

Yes boys and girls, it's time for Miami Spice! Lunch is $22 and Dinner is $35.

Go to I Love Miami Spice.com to check out the participating restaurants. A lot of the old stand-bys are there, but there are some new additions - among them some of the brand new restaurants at the billion-dollared remodeled Fontainebleau Hotel.

Enjoy!

Restaurant Review - Ta-Zin Restaurant

2009-07-27T13:01:00.001-04:00

Last week, two friends and I had dinner at Ta-Zin Restaurant on Jefferson Avenue in Miami Beach. The place is beautiful inside - and outside there's fake camel at the door! Needless to say a picture had to be taken. When we arrived we were seated at a big, beautiful booth - decorated with pillows and fringe and candles and Moroccan knick-knacks.

Our server came right over with water and delicious Moroccan home-made bread with seasoned olive oil and a small bowl of amazing potato salad. For appetizers we followed our server’s recommendation and ordered the Salad Sampler which turned out to be a great idea! It was a beautiful tray with many small dishes containing all the salads and dips they make. It included hummus, tahini, baba ganoush, olives, more of the yummy potato salad, tomatoes with cilantro and peppers, a stewed tomato dish, and several other items - one of which we were warned was very hot, and it was. The salad/appetizer platter was accompanied by warm pita bread. We also ordered a Chicken Pastilla, which is phyllo pastry stuffed with chicken, spices, almonds and saffron and topped with sugar and cinnamon - delicious! Our server came by several times asking us if we wanted more bread - we got more Moroccan bread. We accompanied the meal with Moroccan wine, two of us had Rosé and the other had Red - perfect!

The Web site said they had a couple of price fixe options, but they weren’t offered and we didn’t ask, so we ordered a la carte. For entrees, the menu is basically divided into four sections: On the Grill which are primarily kebabs; Fish and Sea with a nice selection that can be grilled, fried or baked; Couscous which you can get with a variety of toppings: meats, vegetables and fish; and finally Ta-zins, which we all ordered.

The server explained that a ta-zin is the clay pot in which all the items of the dish are cooked together directly on the fire or the oven. The ta-zins are also offered with a variety of toppings - I had the Sweet Lamb which was amazing! It was juicy, fall off the bone tender and covered with dates, almonds and a delicious sauce combining the meat juices with honey. One of my friends had the Vegetarian ta-zin with squash, carrots, peppers, onions, spices…also delicious. And my other friend ordered the Chicken Lemon ta-zin - again, the chicken was juicy and tender with a subtle but flavorful sauce. We all ordered a side dish of Couscous which, to be honest, we could have done with just one order for the three of us. It was very good, and clearly home-made.

For dessert they had two options: what our server called Moroccan Cookies - which he strongly recommended and something involving crepes which he wasn’t wild about. He also gushed about the Moroccan Tea. So we followed his advice once again and ordered the cookie sampler and the tea. Once again he was right! The cookie sampler turned out to be different pastries including biscotti, a type of sesame brittle, date balls, coconut balls, as well as several types of cookies. The sesame brittle and date ball were my favorites, but we all tried everything. The tea turned out to be a fantastic mint tea with other spices which was served in a beautiful Moroccan pitcher and small colored glasses.

We went on an early Sunday evening and there were several groups enjoying their dinner. Apparently later on some evenings there is a show with belly dancers and on the weekends after the show, the place turns into a club. The place is pretty big, nicely distributed and has a full bar, so I can only imagine it’s a good party spot.

For dinner I can definitely say that the service was spot on and the food, all of it, was delicious - there were no problems or complaints. We will definitely be back!

Restaurant Review - Fleming's Prime Steak House

2009-07-13T12:14:00.007-04:00

Hubby and I went to Fleming's in Coral Gables last Saturday to celebrate my birthday (YAY me!). When we made the reservation, they asked and we advised them we were celebrating my birthday.

Because they have a Happy Hour special called 5 for $6 'til 7 we made our reservation for earlier than usual. It was worth it. We each ordered the appetizer we would have ordered anyway and paid less than half the price for each - and I had the cocktail I was planning to order - the deliciously refreshing Basil Lemon Drop - for only $6! Can you imagine? A cocktail made with a name brand vodka (Ciroc) in Coral Gables for $6 - unheard of!

For appetizers I had the Tenderloin Carpaccio which was beautifully presented, with a light horseradish drizzle, a fresh basil chiffonade and tiny chopped hard boiled egg and onions - perfect! My husband had the Seared Ahi Tuna served over a crunchy slaw with a spicy wasabi-mustard sauce, it was prepared perfectly - thick slices of tuna seared brown on the outside while cool and ruby-red on the inside.

I didn't order the wine from the 5-6-7 menu, instead I ordered a well priced, tasty Malbec to accompany my steak. Both my husband and I ordered the Main Filet Mignon, he had it with Madeira sauce on the side and I had it with the peppercorn sauce on the side. Sadly, my peppercorn sauce remained on the side, it just wasn't good, with nary a peppercorn to be seen. I tried the Madeira sauce and while my husband was OK with it, I was underwhelmed with it as well, though it was better than mine.

The steaks themselves were prepared perfectly as ordered, mine very rare with a cool center and Hubby's medium rare with a pink center. My piece, perhaps because it was so rare I noticed it where others may have missed it, had some gristle and a little fat neither of which I expect to find on a filet mignon at this caliber of restaurant and at their prices. Granted, it was a small piece of a generously sized portion, so I didn't comment on it to the waiter.

I had been advised by a friend to order the Creamed Spinach as a side dish - and he was right. It was to die for! Lots of melted cheese on a perfectly balanced mix of sauce and spinach. If you go you must order this! We also shared a side of Chipotle Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese which was also very good. Personally I am a straight-up mac and cheese fiend, so for me the less done to tamper with orange cheesiness the better - but the chipotle added a really good smoky quality to the dish.

For dessert we shared the Chocolate Lava Cake. Oh. My. God! Of all the chocolate lava cakes I've had (and needless to say,I've had lots of them) this was by far the best one. Despite being packed with hot liquid chocolate goodness, the cake itself didn't get soggy it was perfectly crunchy. It's served with vanilla-pistachio ice cream in a pastry cup and with a small bowl of chantilly cream which compliments the dark chocolate deliciously.

And then, because it was my birthday, our server presented me with a little box with four home-made dark chocolate truffles. A lovely touch and they were divine.

As for the ambiance, while the service was wonderful, efficient and friendly - it was a little too casual in my opinion for a restaurant of this caliber. I also found the restaurant to be too loud, mostly due to the open kitchen and I think there are too many tables in a relatively small space. However, when my friends went, they were seated on the bar's side of the restaurant and said it was nice and quiet.

All in all I'm glad I went but, despite the sublime spinach and the decadent lava cake, I don't need to go again.

Restaurant Review - 8 oz Burger Bar

2009-07-07T12:22:00.004-04:00

Summertime and the livin’ is easy...What could be easier than hamburgers cooked by someone else? So, a couple of weekends ago a group of friends and I went to Miami Beach’s 8 oz. Burger Bar on the corner of Alton Road and 11th street. We made reservations for 6:30 p.m. which turned out to be a good thing, because at around 7 p.m. it started getting crowded with a line at the door.

The place is very nice with an easy, casual vibe and the wait staff is for the most part South Beach young and pretty. Our server while very nice was a little flighty…but hey, she’s young and pretty and it was Sunday so we rolled with it.

A big plus with my friends was the beer selection, particularly the specialty beers - both on tap and by the bottle. I’m not a beer drinker so I was pleased to see that they had an Irish hard cider. They also offer wines by the glass for $8 - 8 reds and 8 whites - are you seeing a trend here? They also have a nice list of cocktails at $8 a pop, but none of us had one.

For appetizers we ordered from the Small Snacks menu, and we had a nice sampling of most of what was offered. There were seven of us and one order of each was enough for all to get a taste.

We had the Fried Olives Stuffed with Chorizo which were a delicious taste blend of smoky chorizo and tangy olive - this was the favorite among the appetizers. We also had Fried Green Tomatoes which I liked but everyone agreed were lacking flavor; next we had the Truffled Potato Skins with Parmesan Cheese, again I thought they were very good, but everyone else thought they weren’t truffled enough and found them rather plain - one of the guys actually said he could’ve gotten better potato skins at TGI Fridays (gasp!). The Deviled Eggs were good but they were deviled eggs…deviled eggs are always good.

For entrees there were salads (Yeah, right - like that’s gonna happen!) and other stuff, but we were there for burgers, so we really didn’t focus too much on the other choices. In addition to several pre-designed burgers there’s a “Build Your Own” option. All of us went with one of the menu burgers, sometimes adding or changing toppings a bit. There's also a good variety of side dishes.

Two of us had the Grass-Fed Beef burger which consists of an 8 oz. patty, heirloom tomatoes, garlic aioli sauce, grilled onions, pickles and charred spinach. I had mine with white cheddar cheese and my friend had it with American. I loved my burger - probably because they made the burger the way I like it: bloody rare! It is difficult to find restaurants that will do that anymore, so I was in red meat heaven! For my side dish I had the Fried Pickles with purple mustard which were fantastic! My friend ordered Sweet Potato Fries to split, but they were out of them so she ordered the Kennebec French Fries (fancy fries) - and they were good French fries.

Three others had the Melrose Burger which comes with baby arugula, garlic roasted tomatoes and a fantastic red onion marmalade. Two of them didn’t add cheese and the third had it with Bel Paese cheese which is mild and semi-soft. All three of them liked them very much. For their sides one of them shared half of the Kennebec fries, and the others ordered Stout Battered Onion Rings and Roasted Baby Broccoli. Both of them loved their sides, but of the two I liked the broccoli a lot, but frankly I found the onion rings to be regular old onion rings.

The two guys in the group decided to go old school and just ordered the 8 oz. Burger - straight up lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle with the restaurant’s special sauce, which is like a ketchupy, mayonnaisey thing which tastes much better than it sounds; neither of them added cheese. One of them had the fries and the other had the onion rings - they rated the burgers good to excellent. In fact in an unscientific poll - everyone rated their burgers good, very good or excellent. We also ordered a side of off-the-menu macaroni and cheese which was not of the yellow-orange variety, it was a lighter creamier version, very good but too mild for some.

Sadly, dessert was a bust. They offer a small variety to begin with and they were out of most of what they offer! So a couple of us (one of which was me) had to settle for splitting a Chocolate Malt. Of all the chocolate malts I've ever had, this was definitely one of them - there are much better chocolate malts out there.

All in all though, everyone was happy, the prices were reasonable for South Beach and most said they would return. That’s a good thing…

Those Cheetos Are Not For Me (wink, wink)

2009-07-01T13:45:00.001-04:00

I'd forgotten how damn tasty puff Cheetos are. Walking down the chips aisle at the grocery store the other day, I saw a bag and got this sudden, crazy craving.

The thing is, even though I try to keep the junk to a minimum, my house is not junk-free. Besides the fact that I have blood sugar issues and have to avoid refined products (and I'm not always good about that!), and I don't want my son to constantly be eating crap, I know it's not good to have cookies and such around. It's enough that my parents keep him well-fed on chocolate whenever he's over there.

But, I buy snack anyway. Pretzels, goldfish crackers, cereal bars. Guilty, guilty, guilty. I've become a sucker for those 100-calorie products, figuring that at least that way, it's a measured amount that controls intake. And Max, he's become quite the fan of "circle cookies" (fudge stripes, to you and me), which drives me crazy. I see those as special treats; he considers them his birthright and asks for them every single day.

So, the Cheetos. I hated that all of a sudden, I needed them. I stood there, looking at the big bags, willing myself to keep walking. You know how you try to talk yourself out of something you know is not good for you? "Maybe I can use these as a snack for school and not eat them all myself." "Well, maybe I can get one bag, and Max and I can share it over the next couple of weeks." "Come on, that bag is too big, you'll never finish it!" "You don't want Maxi hooked on Cheetos, do you?"

I finally walked away. And then, at the end of the aisle, I saw them: a box of 100-calorie Cheetos. Oh hell. How could I resist that? Here was yet another product conveniently packaged in small, managable doses that would assauge the guilt brought on by daring to want to eat neon puffy goodness coated in yellow dye no. 5.

I got them. I've shared them with Max. He loves them. I love them.

Sigh.

Bring on the cheesy goodness.

Homemade Fritas!

2009-07-01T09:30:00.000-04:00

Seriously, who doesn't love Cuban Fritas? Go check out how to make them yourself at Cuban Home Cooking.

Enjoy!

Goodbye to another favorite restaurant...

2009-06-25T11:23:00.004-04:00

One of our favorite Miami Beach restaurants Tuscan Steak has closed.

I will so miss their Gnocchi in Gorgonzola sauce. (sigh)

source

Nighttime Beach Picnic Deconstructed

2009-06-23T21:56:00.002-04:00

(Click on picture to enlarge.)

Perfect Breakfast Sandwich

2009-06-13T22:43:00.002-04:00

Had this beauty in a diner in Queens, NY recently: egg, bacon & cheddar on a croissant. It was the perfect blend of delicious and greasy. I mean, look at that bacon! It was so delicious that I'm still thinking of it.

Rabo Encendido Like Abuela Used To Make

2009-06-03T22:13:00.003-04:00

Do you have memories of hearty meals of Rabo Encendido? Ever wonder how to make it?

Well now you can find out - try the recipe for Lilian's Rabo Encendido at Cuban Home Cooking.

Coral Gables Restaurant Week(s) 2009

2009-05-27T09:55:00.002-04:00

YAY! More special deals from local restaurants - this time it's Coral Gables.

The prices differ slightly from restaurant to restaurant, but it's the usual Prix Fixe for 3 or 4 courses.

Enjoy!

Coral Gables Restaurant Week

Restaurant Review - Benny's Seafood Restaurant

2009-05-26T17:39:00.002-04:00

Last weekend six of us went to Benny’s Seafood Restaurant - on SW 107 avenue and 25 street - a popular Puerto Rican (PR) eatery. Three in the group were Puerto Rican, so we had “natives” to guide us on our culinary adventure. As it turns out it’s a good thing they were there, because a lot of the food we ordered was not prepared correctly according to our PR experts.

One of the girls and I arrived early because the restaurant doesn’t take reservations for parties smaller than 10. While I hate it when restaurants don’t take reservations, they were definitely not needed for early Sunday night. My friend ordered a traditional Puerto Rican drink called Mabi, which is described as a “root tea”. Neither of us liked it, but when two of the three PR girls arrived one of them promptly took it and liked it.

Once everyone arrived we ordered Sangria, while the new arrivals looked through the menu. And then the server seemingly got sucked into the Bermuda Triangle because he wasn’t seen for what seemed like an eternity. Clearly we were working on Caribbean time. Eventually he came back with a functional sangria - nothing great but it was cold and wet, so it met basic requirements.

Since we had him there we ordered our appetizers and entrees in case he disappeared into some great Caribbean vortex again. For appetizers – we shared a huge assorted appetizer platter (even though it was the Small order) which consisted of one meat and one crab alcapurria (long thin fritters), a huge pionono (breaded mashed plantain stuffed with ground beef and then deep fried), bacalaitos (very thin cod fritters) and sorullos de maiz (sweet corn fritters shaped like little sticks) and Guineitos (green bananas) en Escabeche (marinated in vinegar, onion and spices). Others got individual orders of alcapurrias or sorullos. That’s when the trouble started.

A unanimous and angry outcry among the three Puerto Rican ladies arose – according to them the alcapurrias were unequivocally terrible. To be honest, I thought they were OK if uneventful, but the ladies were adamant that they were awful, not crispy enough, and seemed like they had been…microwaved (GASP!). The pionono was deemed to be OK but not great and while I liked the bacalaitos – everyone else thought they were too salty. Then it turns out that while authentic Puerto Rican sorullos have cheese – either stuffed into them or mixed into the dough, Benny’s sorullos were cheeseless.

Next, the green banana escabeche caused great debate. My friend and I really liked it, but me not knowing what I was supposed to be eating announced that mixed in with the bananas and the onions there was some sort of organ meat (which is fine with me, I like organ meats). “Impossible!” “That can’t be!” the PR ladies cried. They looked at the mysterious substance, they tasted it and decided it must have been mushrooms which also don’t belong in the escabeche. So, I asked a roving employee – not our server as he had disappeared again – what the grayish, meaty looking thing was, and sure enough he responded it was sweetbreads. I thought one of the PR ladies was going to pass out, as one of the others literally dropped her head in her hands – what can I say, we’re a dramatic bunch!

By the time the entrees arrived everyone was a bit wary. We all ordered the house specialty – mofongo – a mash of green plantains with lots of garlic and topped by whatever you like. We got several toppings: fried pork chunks, fried chicken pieces, shrimp and two people had it served with a side of steak and onions. The mofongo is served in a wooden mortar with a cup of chicken consommé to keep it moist. Everyone was fairly happy with their mofongo, but a couple of people said they knew of several places that served better.

We also ordered a platter with roast pork, pastel de masa (boiled green banana dough stuffed with pork) and arroz con gandules – the traditional Puerto Rican rice dish with pigeon peas. The pork was OK, but only the PR girls said the stuffed banana dough was OK, the rest of us didn’t “get it”. However, I took issue with the rice and pigeon peas – because that’s a Puerto Rican dish with which I am familiar and love – and I didn’t find this one good at all. First of all I had always seen the dish where the color of the rice was brownish-gray not bright yellow the way this one was, but most importantly the rice didn’t taste like pigeon peas – it seemed like they had generic yellow rice already made and then mixed in some pigeon peas.

Disheartened we ordered dessert because, well, we have to order dessert! Of the five desserts (excluding chocolate and vanilla ice cream – couldn’t they have offered some tropical flavors?) they only had three. So we ordered all of them: Tembleque - coconut custard, Majarete de Maiz y Coco – corn meal and coconut custard, and Arroz con Dulce-Coco – rice pudding with, you guessed it, coconut. So pretty much, if you didn’t like coconut you were out of luck. They were all OK, but nothing to get excited about and certainly not enough to make up for the rest of the meal.

So, Benny’s Seafood Restaurant was a bust. I’m fairly certain they won’t be seeing any of us again.

Mmmmm...Vaca Frita

2009-05-02T12:55:00.003-04:00

Do you have company coming over and want to make an easy, yet traditional Cuban meal? Check out the recipe for Vaca Frita at Cuban Home Cooking.

Look around the rest of the site for appetizers, soups, dessert and even drinks!

¡Buen provecho!

Spring Miami Spice!

2009-05-01T16:05:00.003-04:00

Woo Hoo!

It seems like all our old favorites are participating in the first-ever Spring Miami Spice!

Enjoy...

Restaurant Review - Bulldog Barbecue

2009-04-29T15:43:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago ten of us got together for dinner at Bulldog Barbecue in North Miami. Thankfully they take reservations for groups over eight, because when we arrived there was a line outside and the place was full. Part of our group was already there so we worked our way to our table.

The place is small and not set up for large parties, but we made the best of it. The biggest problem was that the air conditioner wasn’t enough to cool the crowded restaurant due to the open kitchen. It was uncomfortably hot despite the fans dispersed throughout the room. The server explained that they had ordered industrial fans that were to be installed soon. That may help, but I don’t think it will be enough when our Miami summer arrives. If it was that bad in early April imagine the dog days of August! As for the service itself, it was good if a bit abrupt. Again it was very crowded and the servers were really busy, so I’ll give them a pass.

The wine list is small, as beer is the more traditional accompaniment to barbecue. I was the only one to order a California Cabernet and I didn’t finish it because it was so hot. I’m not a beer drinker, so I can’t judge from experience, but everyone seemed happy with the beer selection.

After the drinks were served we got a basket of Corn Bread, which was good but they didn’t give us butter! We also got Carolina Slaw which was very good.

Those of us who ordered appetizers were happy. One of the guys got the BBQ Lettuce Wraps with pulled pork – it was delicious and there was a lot of it. The Smokehouse Wings were good too, with a little kick but not overpowering. The White Chili was fantastic, loaded with white beans and very flavorful turkey. The Roast Corn was just that, it was pretty and tasty. I got the Cornmeal Crusted Oysters and loved them, they were out of avocado which is usually served with the oysters, but everything else was so good I didn’t even miss it. The BBQ Chicken Flatbread wasn’t liked by everyone – but I thought it was delicious. Those who didn’t like it complained that it was too sweet.

For entrees we all ordered either Baby Back Ribs (you can get a half rack or a full rack), the Beef Brisket or the Pulled Pork. As usual everyone tried everyone else’s food. Here’s the consensus: The Baby Back Ribs were good, not greasy, and fall-off-the-bone tender – however, not the best ribs we’ve ever had. Both the Beef Brisket and the Pulled Pork were very good, very lean and tender – perfectly done. For all of the entrees however, some of us found them lacking in barbecue sauce, with the brisket having practically none. They had two types of sauce that you could add yourself – a yellow honey-mustard like sauce that I was told was typical of the Carolinas, and a red, too-watery-for-my-taste sauce that was uneventful.

We ordered a variety of sides: the Sweet Fries - which are of course sweet potato fries, Cheese Grits, Chipotle Fries and Burnt End Beans. The sweet potato fries were good, but they were, well, sweet potato fries. The cheese grits were delicious, even those of us who don’t like grits (me being one of them) found them tasty to the point that I would order them; the chipotle fries were fine, not too spicy, but nothing special; the burnt ends beans were delicious, but we mistook the burnt ends for pieces of bacon – I don’t know if that night they were short on burnt ends and they added crispy bacon or if we were just wrong, but in any case the beans themselves were smoky and sweet and yummy.

As usual we ordered a bunch of desserts and everyone tried everything. There was Berry Cobbler which was huge, served warm with ice cream – very good, and perfect for sharing. The Fried Apple Turnover, also served warm, was good - crispy and not too sweet. The Milk and Cookies consisted of chocolate chip cookies, macadamia nut cookies and oatmeal raisin cookies with a big glass of milk – the cookies were good but nobody actually drank the milk. We were all excited about the S’more Pie but wound up a bit disappointed – the marshmallow topping was good, the layer of chocolate was good, but the bottom, which I guess was supposed to be the graham cracker, was too hard and dry and, at least to me, tasted more like gingerbread. Finally, my favorite, the Hot Chocolate Puddin’ Cake which was basically a hot chocolate lava cake served piping hot with ice cream on the side – delicious! The chocolate was dark and fabulous.

Of the ten of us, four said they would go back for specific dishes. As for me, I’m glad I went, but I don’t need to return.

Restaurant Review - Graziano's on Bird Road

2009-04-13T10:19:00.004-04:00

Hubby and I decided to celebrate Easter at one of our favorite steakhouses, Graziano's on Bird Road and SW 92 avenue. It was, as always, fantastic. We have been there several times and never had a bad meal.

My appetizer was amazing, four enormous sea scallops wrapped in speck over a light chive sauce with a bunch of watercress. Hubby has a four- mushroom bisque, but it wasn't the traditional cup, no this was a bowl of soup - he took half of it home and had it for dinner. We also shared the spicy chorizo which was indeed spicy, but not hot, just really good.

To accompany my dinner I asked for a "quartina" of Altos Las Hormigas malbec. The quartina was enough for four glasses of wine, was moderately priced and a perfect pairing to the steak.

My steak was a sirloin with three peppercorn sauce served with one of my favorite dishes of everything I've ever eaten - the Graziano's Portobello Risotto. Seriously this is hands down the best risotto I've ever had. The steak was done just right - I order it extra rare - and the peppercorn sauce was delicious. Hubby had a filet smothered with mushrooms and Madeira sauce - again fantastic. He also accompanied it with the portobello risotto.

For dessert I had the chocolate souffle - a chocolate lava cake they flambe with Gran Marnier! Divine! I didn't even want the vanilla ice cream that came with it - I had it on the side so as to not sully the chocolate deliciousness. Hubby had the creme brulee which he said was very good. We skipped coffee and were served complimentary limoncello - chilled of course - which was the perfect end to a lovely meal.

Graziano's is not inexpensive, but in my opinion, it's worth every penny. Not only is the food consistently good, the service is always wonderful. We will definitely be back...if nothing else, for the portobello risotto!

Restaurant Review - Table 8

2009-03-24T00:38:00.004-04:00

In early February, taking advantage of the Winter Miami Spice, five of us went to Table 8 in South Beach, located inside the Hotel De Soleil. The place is beautiful, very modern looking. When walking through the outdoor lobby to the restaurant look up and you’ll see water from a fountain streaming over the glass ceiling above you.

When three of us arrived, one of our friends was already at the beautiful bar and enjoying a Cilantro Margarita, which is exactly what it sounds like. Recognizing genius when we see it, we each ordered one. It was great! Then, when the last of us arrived – being ever the rebel – she ordered a Cool 8, which is made with watermelon, cucumber, vodka, lime juice and simple syrup – also delicious!

While we were enjoying our cocktails our cute waiter brought out a beautiful platter of flat bread and tapenade which was wonderful – the tapenade’s olive oil was amazing. We ordered an over-priced Chilean Cabernet, which was quite good but, sadly, could be purchased for a fraction of the price at Navarro Drug Store – we know this because one of us bought two bottles there a couple of weeks ago. Oh well – it *was* South Beach after all - you have to pay for the fabulosity!

As appetizers, two people ordered the Crispy Stuffed Olives which were stuffed with lamb sausage and deep fried - spectacular and beautifully presented. The other three ordered the Local Red and Green Oak Salad, which consisted of greens, feta cheese, 4 smallish cubes of roasted beets and walnut vinaigrette dressing – very good and very pretty but it could have used a bit more beets.

For the entrée four of us had the Duck Confit served over short rib hash. I thought the duck was delicious, but the hash needed some potatoes to contrast the meat with the duck. One renegade ordered the Grilled Skirt Steak with Yukon gold mash, garlic escarole and a red wine reduction – the steak was very good but the escarole received a mixed review (I liked it).

For dessert three of us had the Vanilla Panna Cotta – for the first time ever I liked panna cotta, it actually had flavor. The rest ordered the Churros with caramel dipping sauce and coconut sherbet – the churros were delicious, crispy and light.

Everyone liked the place and had a wonderful time with great food and company. I don’t know that I need to return, but I’m glad I went. I don't know if it's still valid, but when you go to the restaurant's Web site, the Winter Miami Spice menu still appears - maybe they're still offering it!

Mangoes, I Fear for You This Year

2009-03-12T05:30:00.000-04:00

Looking at my beautiful mango tree these last few days, I have a feeling that this year may not be a great year for the fruit, and I suspect the weather in January and February may have something to do with it.

I first had this feeling when I saw the tree choking in blooms in late December/early January, all of which were blown away by February winds. As the first tiny mangoes emerged, I remember thinking, "I think it's a little early for this."

The fruit survived the winds and cold, and tree is full of tiny-to-small mangoes. But there is something about the way they look that has me worried. It's just not right. It's almost as if they look atrophied, mature but very small. I don't think these babies are going to develop fully.

I so hope I'm wrong...

Mmmmm....Homemade Caldo Gallego

2009-02-05T08:47:00.002-05:00

What better way to warm up on a cold night than with a heaping bowl of chock-full-of-yumminess Caldo Gallego?

This recipe is really easy, but takes some prep time and cooking time - so get together with friends, share some wine and they'll be plenty to eat there and take some home!

¡Buen provecho!

YAY! Miami Spice in the Winter!

2009-01-07T23:03:00.002-05:00

Yes, it's true - the first ever Winter Miami Spice! Running from January 12th to February 12th, most of our favorites are offering 3 course menus for lunch at $23 per person and dinner at $36 per person.

It's a culinary winter wonderland...enjoy.

A Special Recipe, From Me to You

2008-12-09T22:06:00.003-05:00

It's no secret that I am a big fan of Carrabbas. So whenever they contact me with some news, I'm all over it, excited to share it with you here.

So, the latest thing is mini desserts, of which they offer six: Zabaglione, Dessert Rosa, Tiramisu, Cannoli, Chocolate Coconut Mousse and Chocolate Espresso Mousse. I haven't tried them yet, but I will soon (which one of you fine people wants to join me for dinner, my treat? Between now and the end of next month?), but they were nice enough to share one of the recipes with me. It's so easy and so perfect for a party, how can I not share it with you? And how can I not urge you to make it and then invite me over for some? Please? Pretty please!

Without further ado:

Carrabba's Mini Cannoli Recipe

Cannoli Mix

1½ cups ricotta cheese
½ cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup mini choc chips
1 cup Mascarpone cheese

Mix ricotta cheese and powdered sugar in a mixer with a wire whip until smooth (5 minutes)

Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add vanilla, cinnamon, and chocolate chips. Mix on low speed until blended

Stop the mixer and add the mascarpone. Mix by hand with a wire whip until blended.

Place mix into a piping bag to serve.

To serve mini cannoli:

Pipe cannoli mix into a tall shot glass about halfway full.

Layer a tablespoon of crumbled cannoli shells.

Pipe cannoli mix to the top of the glass.

Top the mix with a teaspoon of chopped pistachios.

Does that sound yummy, or what? Just please note, when you make this for me: you may skip the pistachios. KThanxBai.

For the Iron Deficient

2008-12-02T22:10:00.001-05:00

I am anemic. No, actually… I am SEVERELY anemic. Or so my doctor tells me. Luckily, I do like to eat meat (I can hear my vegan friends hitting the floor as they faint mid-“Meat Is Murder!”-chant). And I really do love a good cheeseburger. Fortunately, I’ve had some really good ones here in Miami, so I’d like to share a list of (IMHO) the best cheeseburgers I’ve had.

Five Guys – Located in Midtown and Kendall, and soon to open on South Beach and on US-1. Their burgers are double-stacked and juicy. You can choose from a long list of toppings, which include everything from tomato and grilled onions, to mushrooms and hot peppers. Their fresh-cut fries are really good also.
Cheeseburger Baby – Located on Washington Avenue in South Beach. This place is not for the easily offended. The staff is rude and crude, and the service is pretty slow, but the burgers are totally worth it. Thick, juicy and served with a side of attitude. Their onion rings are not bad either.
Dewey’s Tavern – Located on Alton Road in South Beach. The Dewey’s World Famous Burger is simply delicious. A huge, all-beef patty, grilled and topped with your choice of cheese, and mushrooms or onions, or both, sandwiched between a toasted kaiser roll. This burger is big enough for two meals!
21 Toppings – Located on Biscayne Boulevard. This is the burger for the burger gourmet. The burgers are grilled to perfection and can be topped with your choice of 21 different toppings (hence the name). If this is too much decision making for you, choose from one of their already existing burger creations.

Those are my nominees for best burgers in Miami. If you know of any others, please leave a comment.

Happy Holidays! Crème de Vie Recipe

2008-12-02T01:00:00.003-05:00

Check out the recipe for the traditional Cuban Christmas drink Crème de Vie.

Happy Holidays!

Bar-B-Que Beach Bar & Restaurant

2008-11-24T17:20:00.001-05:00

Fanless and I have been on a mission lately to visit local restaurants we haven’t been to before. Being that he lives on South Beach, an area known for its abundance of restaurants, we figured this would be a fairly simple thing to accomplish. This past weekend we decided to walk over to Bar-B-Que Beach Bar & Restaurant, located on Washington Avenue. When we arrived the place was pretty empty, so we were a little skeptical. We didn’t really know what to expect; I mean, a barbecue place smack dab in the center of South Beach? That’s pretty unusual.

Although the inside of the restaurant is extremely spacious, and features a separate “sports bar” area off to the side, we chose to sit outside and take advantage of the cool weather that is so scarce to Miami. Our server, Josh, was really friendly and took our drink and appetizer orders right away (as this is a “mom-and-pop” type place, I believe he was also either part-owner or one of the chefs, but I may have misunderstood).

For our appetizer we ordered the Chili-Cheese Fries. I wasn’t that stoked when Fanless ordered them, thinking they were going to be made with the usual ground beef type of chili. I’m not that much of a fan, to be honest. Well, thank goodness I didn’t argue that choice. The fries were served on a hot skillet and topped with generous amounts of shredded beef and red beans that had been cooked in a tangy-sweet barbecue sauce. That was topped with a ton of melted cheese. Artery-clogging for sure, but totally worth it! The serving size was huge; easily enough for four people.

Josh also scored big points when he managed to hunt down a Blue Moon for Fanless, a beer that they don’t normally serve.

My dinner choice was a half-rack of baby back ribs, with fried green tomatoes and homemade macaroni and cheese. My ribs were absolutely perfect. They were savory, but not overly saucy, and the meat literally fell right off the bone. The macaroni and cheese was really good; it was thick and cheddar-y, not at all like the KFC box variety. If my grandma were an old Southern woman, this is the mac and cheese she would have made. And I loved the fried green tomatoes! I’d been wanting to try them ever since I saw this movie. The tomato itself was a little tart, and the breading was perfectly crispy – not greasy – and seasoned without overpowering the flavor of the tomato.

Fanless ordered the Caroline Piggie Platter, a pulled pork dish mixed with a peppery-vinegar sauce and topped with a spicy coleslaw. The meat was really tender and the peppery-vinegar sauce had enough of a kick to make it flavorful, but didn’t burn. I didn’t like the spicy coleslaw myself but he seemed to like it quite a bit. For his sides he also had the macaroni and cheese, and baked beans. The baked beans were sweet, but not sugary, and had a thicker consistency rather than “soupy.” I thought they were perfect and I could have easily devoured an entire bowl of just beans.

One thing is for sure – you definitely get your money’s worth at Bar-B-Que Beach Bar. Our total (not including tax and tip) was only $40, and the servings were ginormous! We were expecting typical South Beach portions, and were really surprised at just how much food it was. We had leftovers for lunch AND dinner the following day. Obviously we didn’t have room for dessert.

Their menu is pretty varied and features a lot of items – including several sandwiches and burgers - aside from the platters. This is definitely not typical South Beach fare, but it is delicious, flavorful, stick-to-your-ribs barbecue at a very reasonable price (uh, Shorty’s who??). I would definitely give this place a thumbs-up and am looking forward to eating there again.

Bar-B-Que Beach Bar and Restaurant
1555 Washington Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 538-7274

Cuban Comfort Food...Carne con Papas

2008-11-12T23:31:00.006-05:00

Now that's it's allegedly cooling down, some good old Cuban comfort food hits the spot.

Check out the recipe for an easy and delicious Carne con Papas.

¡Buen provecho!

Restaurant Review - Hollywood Grill

2008-11-04T20:00:00.001-05:00

Last week four of us went to Hollywood Grill on the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk (yes, it’s “Broadwalk”, I checked!). Behind the generic name is a funky little beachfront restaurant serving Armenian and Georgian food.

I had never been to the Hollywood Broadwalk - it is really nice with lots of small restaurants lined up across from the beach. I don't know about the other ones, but Hollywood Grill was a hit!

After our waiter brought us a basket of the wrap bread Lavash, we ordered a Georgian wine called Mukuzani Red Dry Wine. It's supposedly the best of the Georgian red wines - ummm...OK. Actually, it got better as the night progressed. It wasn't great to sip alone, but it paired well enough with the food.

For appetizers we had a generously-sized portion of Armenian Cheese served with fresh tomato, radish and fresh cilantro - it's a delicious, slightly salty white cheese delicious with the tomato and cilantro, the four of us ate our fill and there was some left. We also had Russian Style Fried Eggplant with Cheese, which was basically a lightly battered and fried eggplant rolled around the Armenian cheese, this too was very good. The Eshlik Qufta wound up being a really good kibbeh, this version had a thinner coating than the usual Mediterranean kibbeh and more seasoned meat - with a squeeze of lemon over it, it was fantastic! The waiter brought us a free sampling of the Ekra, which he described as an eggplant spread - we thought it would be like baba ghanoush, but no, it was tomato based, very spicy and yummy, like an eggplant caviar. But the star of the appetizers was definitely the Hinkaly, which are Armenian dumplings stuffed with ground beef. When the waiter brought the order, consisting of five big round dumplings dusted with finely ground black pepper, we were ready to each stick our forks in one and go to town! But he cautioned us to wait a couple of minutes for them to cool off abit and then eat it "Armenian style" which involves picking it up with your hand, flipping it so the pointy end is down and biting into it carefully - it turns out that in addition to the spiced meatball, there is a delicious light beef broth in there, so if you stab it with a fork all that soupy yumminess runs out.

For entrees the appetizers filled us up so much, we wound up ordering two entrees to split between the four of us. Sadly, we were so unoriginal we ordered two of the same: Lamb Kebab with Home Fried Potatoes! (yawn) Frankly, the kebabs were good, but not great - they were, well, lamb kebabs. The potatoes were really good though.

We barely had room for dessert and wound up ordering three for the four of us. We of course ordered Baklava, because you have to order Baklava, unfortunately it wasn't good - it was too cold and it was soggy. We ordered a Napoleon about which the opinion was mixed - I thought it was quite good, bit some thought it too was soggy. The third dessert, however, was a definite winner: Armenian Walnut Preserves - absolutely delicious! This is a traditional Armenian dessert which is difficult to describe but totally worth the drive to Hollywood Beach!

The service was very good, our Israeli waiter made recommendations and answered all our questions explaining what all the dishes were, the ambiance was great and the prices were very reasonable.

Hollywood Grill is definitely worth the drive. I recommend going on a weekend evening - but make reservations, the place is tiny - forget about entrees and order a bunch of appetizers and then order the walnut preserves. And don't forget to take a walk afterwards to fully enjoy the beach view and ambiance of the beautiful Hollywood Broadwalk.

Lunch at FIU's School of Hospitality & Tourism Management

2008-10-31T01:39:00.000-04:00

When I was invited to try the lunch prepared by culinary students at FIU's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, I immediately accepted. A three-course gourmet meal for $15 is a bargain nowadays, and I just wanted to see what the experience would be like.

So recently, I went ahead and did just that. I called on someone I knew would appreciate the experience as much as I would, that troublemaker you all know as Carlos Miller. The fact that in taking him I'd get some awesome pictures out of it didn't hurt, either.

The day we went, the menu was what I call Southern Gourmet: an appetizer of frog legs, a choice of pecan-crusted catfish with succotash and crawfish sauce or roasted game hen with white beans and Kentucky bourbon glaze, and for dessert, an oatmeal cookie with caramelized apples and vanilla ice cream.

The frog legs, I'll admit, threw me off. I've never had them, never wanted to have them. The fact that they came breaded helped, but still. I was not sold on it. So I had Carlos try them first. Once he gave the o.k., I went for it. And surprise, surprise - I liked them! They taste like a mix of chicken and fish; it was interesting. The breading as light but added a great touch to them.

I picked the game hen, so Carlos picked the catfish so we could sample both entrees. Thumbs up on both of those. They were flavorful, and again, interesting recipes. The bourbon glaze on my hen was delicious, a great touch; and Carlos' crawfish sauce contained a bunch of nice, chunky crawfish.

And dessert - the ice cream rocked. It was perfect. I found the cookie a little hard, but I like mine really soft and chewy.

There were some bonus menu items, as well: a nice chardonnay and Arnold Palmer, which is a mix of iced tea and lemonade.

These lunch meals are part of the curriculum for students in the advanced food production management course. The dining room is run like a real restaurant: seating for about 60 (although they're expanding the dining room and will be able to accommodate more people in about a year), tables with lovely flower arrangements, the works. Students plan and prepare the menus and do everything from seating guests to serving them, as well as preparing the food. It gives them a good chance to play and understand all roles.

All in all, a great experience. I was impressed. So much so that I'll will happily eat there again.

And I say you should try it out! The lunch is offered Tuesdays and Thursdays each semester (this semester, last one is Nov. 20). Reservations are required, so call 305-919-4500.

The School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at located at the North Miami campus, 3000 NE 151st St.

Yummm...Potaje de Lentejas

2008-10-29T22:14:00.002-04:00

Cuban Home Cooking...Keeping the Tradition Alive has published a delicious and easy recipe for old school Cuban lentil soup.

Perfect for the cooler weather!

Buen provecho!

Mmmm...Carne Fria

2008-10-01T13:31:00.003-04:00

Learn how to make the delicious Cuban party food Carne Fria at Cuban Home Cooking.

Let them know if there are any traditional Cuban recipes you'd like to see.

Miami Spice 2008 Review - Sardinia Enoteca

2008-09-24T10:36:00.006-04:00

Sunday evening six of us got together for another Miami Spice adventure. This time we went to Sardinia Enoteca in Miami Beach. For the most part we were disappointed.

The location is nice, simple and elegant and the service was good. We were seated immediately upon arrival.

We started out with a Bisol Prosecco de Valdobbiadene to accompany the appetizers. It was light and crisp – delicious!

All but one of us ordered from the Miami Spice menu - which was entirely comprised of items from their regular menu, which is usually a good sign. For appetizers, from the regular menu my friend ordered the Beet Salad with Chestnut Honey which she didn’t like because the chestnut honey, which had a strong earthy flavor, was too overpowering. From the Miami Spice menu, three had the Veal Meatballs with Braised Fennel – they all agreed the meatballs were somewhat flavorless and that the tomatoe sauce overpowered both the meatballs and the fresh fennel; one had the Sardinian Couscous with Baby Clams in Saffron Broth which she liked, especially the couscous; I had the Crispy Sweetbreads with Brussels Sprouts and Cippoline Onions which were delicious – everyone who tasted them agreed, the sweetbreads were prepared perfectly and the Brussels sprouts and onions were great accompaniments.

To accompany the main course we wanted a light red wine, preferably Italian. We told the server to make a recommendation and gave her a price limit of $60. She returned with a bottle of Shardana Valli di Porto Pino Sardinian red wine, which was at exactly the price limit. The first bottle we tasted was vinegary, so we sent it back. She returned with a second bottle which was very good, but in no way could it be considered a “light” red wine. We kept it anyway.

As a main course from the regular menu, my friend selected the Rabbit Ragu with Porcini over Paccheri Pasta – the rabbit was flavorful with a light fresh tomato and mushroom sauce but she found two bones in the first three bites, however the pasta was airy and quite good. From the Miami Spice menu one person ordered the Oxtail Stew with Risotto Milanese - which was a saffron risotto – the ox tail was very good and tender, but the risotto was bland and a bit mushy; another person ordered the Mediterranean Sea Bass Baked in a Salt Crust: the presentation was beautiful as the whole fish served with potatoes and vegetables, came out encrusted in salt, the server then took it away, filleted it, and brought it back to the table – the fish tasted very fresh, it had a lovely texture with a very simple flavor; the remaining three of us had the Braised Baby Lamb Ragu with Sardinian Tear Drop Pasta – I found this to be a big disappointment, the lamb was cut into too small pieces and was so completely overpowered by a very robust, spicy tomato sauce that I couldn’t identify the bits of meat as lamb unless I ate a piece by itself. For those of us who had the lamb ragu, it turned out to be a good thing that the wine was a strong red.

For dessert, however, Sardinia Enoteca somewhat made up for its earlier transgressions! The non-Miami Spice dessert was a delicious Panna Cotta served with fresh fruit – now, I am not a panna cotta fan but I loved this one. The Miami Spice menu offered two “Chef’s Selections” and we tried both of them – one was a traditional Tiramisu that was absolutely delicious, with dark cocoa powder covering a light cake and mascarpone combination drenched in espresso; the other dessert was a beautiful Mousse Duo comprised of chocolate and vanilla mousses – the chocolate mousse was to die for! Unfortunately one of my friends was served what had to be the worst espresso I’ve ever had – so much so that she complained and the restaurant didn’t charge us for it.

All in all, although there were some “hits”, there seemed to be more “misses” – this is one Miami Spice participating restaurant to which we won’t be returning.

I've Been Eating Like a Pig

2008-09-24T02:30:00.002-04:00

And I want to share it all - all the delicious food I've been eating, all the great places I can recommend (start with the Taqueria on Calle Ocho, just west of 5th Ave.).

The thing is, I got into this hole where I was trying new things faster than I could write about it all. Now I'm like, what the hell? How do I cover more than two months' worth of food?

So! Off the top of my head, I give you this:

Best burger I've had in ages: Caribbean burger at Flannigan's.

Pizza you must try: Slice n' Ice on SW 27 Ave. and Bird.

Most surprisingly yummy dessert: Key lime cupcake from Whole Foods.

Most surprisingly disappointing meal lately: Randazzo's Little Italy in the Gables. I know. I'm shocked.

Restaurant that still rocks: Tuscan Steak.

And for the record, I adore Mexican food.

Palm Grill

2008-08-17T15:50:00.007-04:00

My boyfriend and I had the opportunity to enjoy an early dinner at the Palm Grill this past Saturday evening, while waiting for the 8:10PM showing of "The Dark Knight" at the IMAX theatre located a few blocks away.

The Palm Grill is a rather large and nicely appointed restaurant located on the lower level of the Los Olas Riverfront complex in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The restaurant is rather large, with both indoor and outdoor seating; the decor is simple and tasteful, and the ambiance is upscale casual. They even have a DJ spinnning 70s and 80s disco and dance music. While it is a fun touch, the music is just a bit too loud to allow for normal "restaurant volume" conversation.

It was pretty early in the evening (just after 6PM), so there were only a few scattered patrons in the restaurant. We were seated right away and our drink orders taken fairly quickly. There is a large bar and they have a pretty expansive drink menu, featuring 3-for-1 cocktails and $2 beers every day. I think their menu can best be described as an American/Asian Fusion, with a nice variety to choose from. We ordered two beers and the Mahogany Glazed "Lolli-Pop" Wings for an appetizer. For our entrées, we each ordered the Marinated Skirt Steak with Mashed Potatoes and House Vegetables.

The food came out fairly quickly, so it was nice and hot when it arrived at the table. The wings were... okay, I guess. They were chicken drumettes basted with a sweet Kabayaki sauce. While the wings were pretty meaty and tender, the problem is that they were pretty bland. Once you got past the initial sweetness of the eel sauce on the outside of the wing, the meat on the inside didn't have much flavor. I think they could benefit from a little marinade.

The skirt steak, on the other hand, was absolutely delicious! It was perfectly seasoned and very tender. The vegetables - sweet carrots, yellow squash and green beans - tasted very fresh, not frozen at all. And although steamed, they were not mushy and still had some "body" to them. The veggies were lightly sprinkled with just a touch of black pepper which brought out their flavor perfectly. The mashed potatoes were also very good, and I believe were made with real potatoes. They certainly had a nice consistency and fluffy texture to them, unlike "boxed" mashed potatoes. The slightly sweet cabernet sauce drizzled over the potatoes added just the right touch to the dish. The serving size was also very generous and I had more than half left over to take home.

They also had a nice selection of desserts, but we were too full to sample any of them.

We found Palm Grill to be a nice change of pace, and very reasonably priced, especially the $2 beers. They even offer a childrens' menu and a selection of "Sunset Special" entrées for only $8.99 each. While we wouldn't necessarily go out of our way to drive the 45 minutes north from Miami, if we happen to be in the downtown Fort Lauderdale area, we both agree that we would definitely eat there again.

Palm Grille Las Olas
300 SW 1St Avenue
Fort Lauderdale ,FL 33316
954-779-1800

Miami Spice 2008 Review - Chef Allen's Restaurant

2008-08-11T22:13:00.004-04:00

A group of eight friends inaugurated our 2008 Miami Spice adventure Sunday night at Chef Allen's Restaurant in Aventura. We had been looking forward to visiting the famous chef's restaurant and we weren't disappointed.

The restaurant itself is very nice - simple, elegant and inviting. We were seated immediately and waited as everyone arrived. For an additional $25 Chef Allen's offers a wine pairing flight for the Miami Spice menu which almost all of us ordered.

Usually the Miami Spice menu offers an appetizer, an entree and a dessert for $36. Chef Allen's, however, started us off with an amuse bouche comprised of some crudite and a delicious Romesco dip which was followed by some crusty bread and crispy bread sticks. Keep in mind, the restaurant changes the Miami Spice menu often.

For appetizers we sampled the three options. Three of us had the Duck Confit, served with home-made macaroni and a light cognac sauce; it was delicious, the shredded duck was tender and flavorful. Two of us had the Roast Beet Salad with feta cheese, baby arugula and a sour orange and thyme dressing - after tasting it I can officially say I have learned to love beets. The remaining three had the Conch Ceviche, which despite having scotch bonnet peppers wasn't too spicy at all. The wine for the appetizers was a Charles Krug Sauvignon Blanc from Napa; now I'm not a sauvignon blanc fan and even I liked it, however those among us who do enjoy sauvignon blanc said it was very good. The appetizer was followed by a watermelon sorbet intermezzo - very nice!

Sadly, for the entree we were less original, and wound up all ordering the same thing! DUH! But what we ordered was fantastic. We all had the Black Grouper with rock shrimp fricassee, leeks, mango and coconut rum sauce - everyone agreed it was delicious, with the fish prepared perfectly and the flavors blending beautifully. For the entree wine pairing we had a choice between a Cabernet Sauvignon by Heller Estates in Carmel Valley, California - or Argentina's Trumpeter Chardonnay, we tried both and everyone was very happy with their choice.

For dessert they had three options and we tried them all. Three of us enjoyed the Lavender Infused Panna Cotta with Honey - again, I don't usually like panna cotta, but this one was really good with a lot of flavor. Three ordered the Ricotta Cheesecake with an oatmeal cookie crust which was yummy! And two of us went with the Espresso and Chocolate Profiterole. Hello! Chocolate and espresso, what's not to love? And OHMYGOD - the dessert wine pairing was a fantastic Ferrari-Carano Eldorado Noir, which is a rich, sweet black muscat from California's Russian River Valley -everybody raved about it!

While we were enjoying our dessert, a very nice lady came to our table and started chatting with us. It turned out to be Judy Susser, Chef Allen's wife! She was absolutely delightful, chatting about wine, about the restaurant's exciting re-launch, and how Miami Spice seemed to be a success thus far.

Chef Allen's Miami Spice menu was a bona-fide success – providing a wonderful selection of quality dishes. Most importantly, it made us want to come back!

Puerto Sagua Restaurant

2008-08-04T21:58:00.004-04:00

Saturday night Fanless and I were hanging out at his place watching the X Games and after a while the hunger started kicking in. We considered all our delivery options (as I did not want to give up my much coveted, curbside, parking space), but finally decided to walk over to Puerto Sagua, just a short two blocks over.

Puerto Sagua doesn't look like much from the outside, and even seems a little out of place with all the chichi "nouveau cuisine" restaurants and designer shops neighboring it. The decor is simple; just wood-paneled walls and shellacked tables with wooden chairs in the dining room side, and a large diner-style counter on the other side. There is plenty of seating, albeit a little tight. We didn't have to wait at all to be seated, and we received water glasses, silverware, and bread and butter in record time.

The restaurant is totally casual and family-friendly. There were people that had obviously just come from a day at the beach, couples on dates, families with kids... And the fact that it's located directly across from the multi-level parking garage on 7th and Collins, makes the location very convenient for beach visitors.

Their menu is extensive, featuring all the traditional Cuban entrees you would expect - ropa vieja, vaca frita, bistec empanizado - in addition to the sandwiches (Cubano, Media Noche, pan con bistec), appetizers (croquetas, tostones), and desserts (natilla, flan, tres leches) Cubans are known for. They also feature a selection of daily specials to choose from. Fanless chose the fried pork with rice and black beans, and I had the picadillo a la criolla (creole-style ground beef) with rice, black beans and fried sweet plantains. Our food was served so quickly that for a second we thought they had brought us someone else's order!

My picadillo was really yummy; it was well-seasoned and had plenty of onions, peppers and olives. My only complaint is that it was a little too greasy and lacked the raisins that I'm used to in my mom's picadillo, which lend a perfect balance of sweetness to the salty beef. The rice was really soft and fluffy (most places tend to serve it a little dry), just like my sister's, and the black beans were really good. I tried a piece of Fanless' pork and it was delicious! It was perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and tender inside, and perfectly seasoned with mojo and onions. My fried, sweet plantains were really sweet - the way I like them - but a little tough.

The portions are HUGE at Puerto Sagua! Seriously, three people could have eaten off of my plate and been totally satisfied. We each had plenty of leftovers for the following day.

Puerto Sagua is also totally affordable. Our entire bill - including a $5 beer for him and a Materva soda for me - totaled $24.

Overall, we were pretty happy with our dining experience at Puerto Sagua. If you're looking for fancy, trendy and expensive, look elsewhere. However, if you're on South Beach and looking for well-prepared, reasonably priced, Cuban "comfort food", this is the spot!

Puerto Sagua
700 Collins Ave
Miami Beach, FL 33139
305-673-1115

YAY! It's Miami Spice Time!

2008-07-28T22:39:00.007-04:00

It's time for one of the many reasons I love living in Miami - Miami Spice. Check out the participating restaurants - there's over 100 of them! There are lots of returning favorites and a bunch of new ones.

They've been offering "sneak peeks" for the last couple of months, my friends and I tried, and I reviewed here, the Miami Spice offerings at Por Fin in Coral Gables. This year we plan to go to (at least) Chef Allen's, Pacific Time (yes, they're back - now in the Design District) and Tuscan Steak.

Are you going to partake of Miami Spice fabulousness this year? Where are you planning to go? I'll be writing about my adventures - tell us about yours and we'll compare notes!

Enjoy!

Restaurant Review - North One 10

2008-07-25T21:57:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday three of us went to North Miami-Dade’s North One 10 and it was fabulous! We got there just before it started to fill up and got a great table. The smallish space has a neighborhood restaurant feel to it with no snobbish airs or attitude. The waiter, who also made my delicious Manhattan, couldn’t have been nicer or more knowledgeable. We ordered a delicious California Merlot – “Sideways” silliness aside – it was perfect for our dinner.

For appetizers we shared an order of amazing Three Mushroom Risotto with truffle oil – OHMYGOD – to die for! We also got the restaurant favorite Smoked Salmon Croquettes with (as the menu reads) “Damn Hot” Guava Sauce – the croquettes were delicious and the not-really-that-hot-at-all guava sauce was a perfect accompaniment. For the third appetizer we had a fantastic Chopped Salad with salmonella-free tomatoes, yummy little lentils and all kinds of good stuff.

For the entrees we each ordered something different. One of my friends, who wasn’t really hungry, ordered a beautiful Fettuccini with Chicken and Vegetables – she ordered the “half” order and still had enough to take home. My other friend had Grilled Skirt Steak served on a bed of roast corn with mushroom vinaigrette, perfectly cooked, beautifully presented and really good! Finally I feasted on Crispy Roast Duck served with dried figs, gorgonzola cheese, greens and orange lavender sauce, now I’m on a major duck kick lately and have eaten a lot of it, this one was amazing! We shared a side dish of Roasted Yellow Beets with gorgonzola cheese and pumpkin seed oil – yum! OK so yes, I’m also on a gorgonzola cheese kick, it’s good, so sue me.

Now when dessert time rolled along my “so-called” friends turned on me and against my most fervent arguing we disregarded our long-held tradition of ordering at least one dessert per person. It’s true – we only ordered two desserts! Sacrilege, I know, but they out-voted me and we’re still a democracy (right?). Granted the two desserts we ordered were delicious: Mascarpone and Ricotta Cheesecake – much lighter than its traditional American counterpart; and a fantastic Pine Nut Tart. They liked the cheesecake better, I preferred the tart, but really both were excellent.

It wasn’t a thrifty dinner, but it was totally worth it. However, if you’re on a budget, take heart North One 10 is participating in this year’s Miami Spice fabulousness – a great opportunity to try it out if you’ve never been. Do it, you won’t regret it.

Yet Another Reason Why Islas Canarias Rules

2008-07-08T18:18:00.003-04:00

My family does Sunday breakfast at the original Islas Canarias Cuban restaurant (on NW 27 Ave. and 3 St.) on a semi-regular basis. This is, to me, one of the best Cuban restaurants in town, mainly because the food is cheap as close to home as it gets.

When we went this past Sunday, I noticed that the dish that includes the eggs, bacon, toast and cafe con leche also includes French fries. At first I was like, what? Because I'm used to home fries or hash browns or something. Still, I ordered it and thought I'd give it a try.

Oh man, now I can't imagine having my breakfast any other way! I usually cut up my fried eggs, crumble the bacon over it, mix, and devour. This time I added the fries to this mash of food and - holy hell - awesome!

I'm telling you, you have to try it. It's so friggin' delicious (and cheap!!). Seriously. I'm up for it right now. Who's with me?

Cuban Style Red Bean Soup

2008-07-01T23:36:00.003-04:00

Go learn how to make a yummy Potaje de Frijoles Colorados!

Check out other traditional Cuban recipes at Cuban Home Cooking.

¡Buen provecho!

Miami Spice 2008 - Preview

2008-06-14T00:14:00.004-04:00

It's true! This year we get a sneak peek of Miami Spice fabulousness!

Between June 16th and June 30th, some of the restaurants participating in 2008's Miami Spice are offering an opportunity to enjoy the special menus and prices early.

YAY!

Restaurant Review - Por Fin

2008-06-10T19:36:00.008-04:00

Last Sunday a group of friends took advantage of Coral Gables Restaurant Week and went to Por Fin Restaurant which offered a great three-course dinner menu for $38. Well it turns out Restaurant Week has been extended to June 15th! Run and check it out! Hurry!

When you walk into Por Fin the first thing you see is the bright and modern open kitchen. Our table was ready so we were seated immediately. We were quickly served a delicious crusty bread with three dipping options - Olive Oil, Romesco Sauce (consisting of a fantastic combination of tomatoes, hazelnut, garlic and spices) and Shaved Tomato with garlic. Lovely!

We ordered a bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir to accompany our meal choices. They not only offer a varied wine list with reasonably priced options, they have a great selection by the glass.

For appetizers we sampled the three options. Three of us had the ohmygod amazing Eggs at Por Fin which are two perfectly fried eggs (solid whites, runny yolks!) served with potato cream and Serrano ham over home-made potato chips with truffle oil - these aren't your abuela's Huevos Fritos! One friend had the Tuna Tartare which was a beautiful cube of tuna, mango and avocado chunks - the tartare was delicious but came with a dollop of cream on the side which wasn't that good and didn't really compliment the tuna. And finally the Por Fin Caprese Salad with mozzarella cheese and kalamata olives over a flat croissant - the croissant was unnecessary.

For the entree we also tried the three options. Two girls had the Seared Lamb which was three lamb chops with apple compote and chantrelle mushrooms - the lamb itself was delicious, the apple sauce was, well, apple sauce. Two others had the Porcini Risotto with shallots, truffle oil and Parmesan cheese - it was a good sized portion and delicious. I had the pan-seared Seabass served with more of the yummy potato chips, truffle oil, tomato confit and black olive drizzle - the seabass was like butter - smooth and rich.

For dessert they had two options, and of course, we tried them both. Four of us had the Caribbean Passion - a sensual name for a combination of passion fruit cream, shaved mint ice and coconut foam - it was refreshing and delicious, a perfect ending for the meal. Unfortunately the White Chocolate Mousse covered with caramelized pistachios and accompanied by a raspberry sorbet wasn't very good - the pistachios completely overwhelmed the mousse.

I plan to return for the *regular prices*, there's lots on the menu I want to try. Their participation in the program was successful in that it made me want to return. Every item on the Restaurant Week menu is on the regular menu and rather than give the smaller of the available portions (many items are offered in half or full portions) they gave us the larger.

I definitely recommend Por Fin and hope they're around for a long time!

Ice Box Café

2008-06-06T21:24:00.004-04:00

On Tuesday night, Tere and I joined the rest of the ladies from our book club for our monthly meeting. The planner for this month's meeting specifically chose the Ice Boz Café on Michigan Avenue (South Beach) as it went with the theme (we're all about the theme at Page Against the Machine!) of our current book club selection: "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" by first-time author, Sloane Crosley. Neither the book nor the café were particularly satisfying.

The Ice Box Café was featured on "Oprah" as being one of the "best cake shops" in the United States. I don't know if maybe Oprah was going through one of her fasting diets at the time, and perhaps had a little hypoglycemic moment or something, but I have to say she was waaay off, in my opinion.

We started the evening with a two-platter cake sampler, which featured ten different slices of cake (yes - dessert first), ranging from Strawberry Shortcake to Black Forest to some concoction with Oreos. Sadly, the first thing I noticed was that there was no Red Velvet (my favorite). Oh well. I cut off a bite-size piece of each of three cakes: a yellow cake with strawberry coconut frosting, some type of chocolate explosion (chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate sprinkles), and another one we determined to be pumpkin with cream cheese frosting.

The yellow cake was dry. Extremely dry. Like, "may I please have a gallon of milk in which to dunk this?" dry. The frosting was bland, tasting neither like strawberry nor coconut. I was disappointed, but moved on to the chocolate cake. This one had a little more flavor, but was also extremely dry. I also found the chocolate to be a little too rich and very strong. It was as if they took a perfectly fine chocolate cake, dipped it in extra dark chocolate and set it out in the sun to "jerky." One word: yuck! By this time I was so turned off that none of the cakes held any appeal for me any longer. I reluctantly tried the piece of pumpkin cake that was left on my plate. This one was actually good compared to the previous two. Still, I would honestly have preferred a perfectly moist and tasty cake from the local Publix bakery to any of the ones I sampled at the Ice Box.

My companions sampled all the remaining cakes and declared that the Raspberry was the best out of all of them. I don't like raspberries so I didn't even bother to try it. But the general concensus was that none of the cakes were anything to write home about.

While the rest of the group tried varying (overpriced, e.g. $22 and up) entrées, Tere and I each stuck with a cup of French Onion soup and one of the specialty breads. The cup of soup was generously sized, with a large baguette crouton in the center and perfectly melted gruyere cheese on top. The broth was delicious, full of perfectly sauteed onion pieces and just salty enough to have flavor without invoking thoughts of the Sahara. The only negative is that it was served so hot, we couldn't even start eating it until about 20 minutes after it was served. This was also the cheapest thing on the menu, at $5 for the cup.

The breads were absolutely delicious. Tere chose the brie and tomato bruschetta, and I had the pesto and gorgonzola baguette. Both breads were served toasty and hot. Hers was topped with a generous helping of tomato confit: mine held the melted gorgonzola and pesto spread inside, like a fancy little grilled cheese.

The service at the restaurant wasn't the greatest, but that is par for the course on South Beach. We didn't get any water at the table until we asked for it twice. The server took an exceedingly long time to come back and get our orders after we had finished the cakes. And although we had inquired about splitting the check before the start of our meal, and were assured it would not be a problem to do so, they still brought only one check for the table at the end of the meal.

Honestly, I was not impressed by the Ice Box Café at all and would hesitate to recommend it to anyone. However, if you happen to be on Lincoln Road and in the mood for French Onion soup, you could do worse. ;)

Ice Box Café
1657 Michigan Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139
305-538-8448

Restaurant Review - Aromas del Peru

2008-05-28T20:55:00.006-04:00

Last Sunday six of us went to the Kendall location of Aromas del Peru, they also have a restaurant on SW 8th street and 57 avenue. This is a small place in a strip mall on Kendall and 137 avenue. Since they don't take reservations we were there before 7 p.m. to avoid having to wait. It's a good thing - the place got packed quickly.

For appetizers we shared several dishes. We had the basic Fish Ceviche which is really a generously portioned entree and was absolutely delicious. You can get it spicy but we asked for it with no "picante" at all, it comes with a piece of boiled sweet potato and a piece of corn cob they call "choclo" - the kernels are white and big as pearls. We also had Conchitas a la Parmesana, which are scallops baked with Parmesan cheese and garlic over them, these too were wonderful. We had an order of the Choclo with Cheese and a traditional dish called Papas a la Huancaina which are boiled sliced potatoes covered with a creamy sauce made of white country cheese and a slightly spicy yellow pepperand garnished with black olives and hard boiled egg slice - the corn and cheese were good, but the potatoes were delicious . The waitress also bought us a little bowl of Cancha, which are roasted or fried dried corn kernels - this goes really well with the ceviche or just as a snack, like you would eat peanuts or sunflower seeds.

For wine we ordered a Tempranillo which was initially priced by the waitress at $40 a bottle, but actually wound up costing only $19.99 - YAY!

While the seafood seems to be the star of the show, they also have meat dishes - we had both beef and seafood. One of my friends ordered the Pescado al Ajo which is a good-sized fillet of white fish slathered with a creamy sauce that had lots of sliced roasted garlic. Our two non-seafood eaters ordered the Seco de Res which is beef chunks in a cilantro sauce and served with white beans - I tasted it and while the flavor was good I found the meat to be too dry for my taste, but the sauce was very good and fresh tasting. Two in the party ordered seafood and rice dishes, one had the Arroz con Mariscos which is seafood with yellow rice, and the other had Chaufa de Mariscos which is seafood over fried rice. Both of these dishes were amazing! They had an enormous amount of seafood - shrimp (head, legs, tail and all!), crab, squid, clams, scallops, etc. with the rice having a full seafood flavor. Needless to say - lots of leftovers there. Finally I had the Grilled Octopus - it was a whole little octopus, about 6 inches around, and it was seasoned simply with olive oil and garlic. The flavor was delicious, but sadly, it was really rubbery. I was able to eat the tentacles, but the center (which I took home so as to be better able to tackle it) was impossible to cut let alone chew. I've had whole grilled octopus many times before and it doesn't have to be tough.

Then came the deserts, at which point any earlier missteps were forgiven (at least by me). Everything we ordered was good. We ordered three Alfajores, so each of us could get half - they are the traditional Peruvian alfajores which are two biscuit-like cookies sandwiching a layer of dulce de leche - the only fault I found with them was that there was a bit too much cookie and not enough dulce de leche, but they were still good. We got two orders of Suspiro Limeño, which is a light dulce de leche topped with a delicious airy meringue. We ordered two bavarois (light whipping cream, light gelatin and egg white) the Bavarois de Maracuyá was mixed with passion fruit and the other, Bavarois de Guindón, had sweet prunes in it - both were excellent. But the revelation of the night was the Lúcuma ice cream. Lúcuma is a fruit indigenous to the Andean region which is part of the Mamey family. The taste is sweet, but not too sweet, with a very slight hint of coffee flavor - it's difficult to explain, but it was wonderful. The ice cream alone is worth a visit to the restaurant.

The service was friendly but "relaxed" - no one's in much of a hurry there. We all had a good time, and the food was for the most part very good with the standouts being the seafood rices and the desserts. The prices and portions were excellent. I'll definitely go back.

Smokey Bones Barbecue and Grill

2008-05-05T15:22:00.004-04:00

On Saturday, the boy and I took off to West Palm to visit friends and one of the things we wanted to do (and by "we" I totally mean me and Kim) was hit up the Wellington Mall. As we were driving into the mall parking lot we spotted Smokey Bones BBQ. Even from inside the car the aroma of slow-cooked barbecue was oh-so-tempting and we decided we'd be having dinner there after we shopped.

What a great choice! Their menu is quite varied and there's something for every palate. The boys ordered a bucket of Coors Light bottles, which was a great deal at $10 for six bottles. We also ordered the Blazing Shrimp and Skillet Cornbread appetizers. The shrimp was delicious, perfectly cooked in a tomato-based sauce and placed atop a bed of shredded lettuce. It did have a little kick to it, and I don't normally like spicy food, but this was more savory than spicy. The cornbread was HUGE, easily enough for six people to share, and it was served warm with a deliciously sweet, pecan-honey butter on the side.

Three of us had originally ordered different variations of pulled pork entrees, but the server came back to inform us that they were out of pulled pork and baby back ribs. I guess that's probably a good sign!

So instead we ordered St. Louis Style Ribs with beer-battered onion rings and coleslaw (me) and baked beans and a loaded baked potato (Kim), Beef Brisket Sandwich (Fanless) and the Bacon-Swiss Burger with Onion Rings (Brandon). The ribs were absolutely delicious; extremely tender, sweet and tangy, with just a tiny bit of spice to them. The onion rings were crispy and mildly sweet (I'm guessing they were Vidalia onion?), but the coleslaw was a bit bland. Fanless let me try some of his brisket sandwich - which was pretty large - and it was great. The brisket was very tender and tasty. And according to Brandon, his burger "was great! It was even good reheated the next day. I would give the credit to the wonderful, high quality, thick-sliced peppered bacon!" We had no complaints about the food at all. Everything was perfectly prepared and generously portioned.

Another thing I liked was the selections on the Kids' menu. Our friends have a two-year-old daughter and her meal consisted of grilled drumsticks with a barbecue glaze and a generous serving of steamed broccoli. A much healthier option than the typical Kids' fare of fried selections: chicken nuggets, french fries, etc.

The service at Smokey Bones is also great. We were seated right away, and drink orders taken within a few minutes. All the food was served piping hot and fresh. And our server was extremely courteous and friendly. The restaurant features plenty of roomy, comfortable booths that can easily accommodate large parties, plus there are TVs everywhere (so we didn't have to miss the Supercross Finals from Las Vegas).

All in all, I would recommend Smokey Bones as a fun, casual dining experience, offering good food and great service. If you're ever in Wellington, Florida, you might just want to check it out.

Smokey Bones Barbecue & Grill
10260 Forest Hill Blvd.
Wellington, FL 33414
(561) 383-8240

I Continue to Love Carrabba's, Only More

2008-05-01T22:03:00.000-04:00

I've previously written about my love of Carrabba's. When the lovely Balou informed me a new location had opened in South Miami, I made a mental note and vowed to go some day.

Well, some day came a lot sooner than I expected! Mainly, last Sunday. You know I don't have the patience (or time) to do long, thoughtful reviews. I know, I'm a slacker, denying you of my deep pearls of culinary wisdom. Perhaps one day you can forgive me.

The new Carrabba's in South Miami is lovely - comfy booths, dark wood, a fancier atmosphere than I expected, and which belies the fact that it's a very family-friendly restaurant that is reasonably priced. No, really, I was impressed with the prices (my dish was $10 without chicken, 'nuff said).

Service was competent and friendly - my guess is that they're all local college kids. They were very patient with my child, who as usual ended up throwing at least 5 items before I was able to scare him into submission. One server actually kept laughing, which just egged my boy on.

So, the food. Excellent. Flavorful. The kind of stuff you'd expect from a fancier place.

The bruschetta of the day was toasted bread with a buttery garlic spread served with a dish of warm goat cheese and sauce. Holy hell, I need some right now. See for yourself:

The rest of the pictures are as follows:

The kids' cheese ravioli:

The angel hair picchi pacchiu:

Chicken Bryan:

Of course, it's typical that I was too busy scarfing the cannoli to take its picture, so just trust me, it was delicious.

The new Carrabbas is located at 5829 SW 73rd Street.

Restaurant Review - Hakan Turkish Grill

2008-04-13T16:07:00.007-04:00

Last weekend four of us got together to have dinner at Hakan Turkish Grill in Miami Beach. The food was really good, and the service...well let's just say you shouldn't go there if you're in a rush!

The ambiance is nice and Hakan, the owner and waiter (at least he was our waiter) is a trip and quite the hottie. Maybe, not as much a hottie as he thinks he is, but he's handsome and, upon seeing a table of 4 middle-aged women, quite charming in a Tom Conti in Shirley Valentine sort of way, only without the moustache.

Anyway, we started off with the Ayhan's Taster Platter - a cold appetizer sampler that consisted of two-bean salad, hummus, stuffed grape leaves, yogurt dip, Turkish tabbouleh (slightly different than the usual tabbouleh - delicious!), and eggplant dip. We also had an order of Cigar Rolls, which are filo dough thinly rolled and stuffed with goat feta cheese and potato, and an order of Baked Kassar Cheese which is a Turkish cheese. One of my friends ordered the Red Lentil Soup - Hakan told us that people came from Boca Raton for this soup, after tasting it I can see why! We also had baskets of delicious pita bread. I liked all of it!

To drink we ordered a Turkish red wine, which was really good, very smooth (almost as smooth as Hakan!) named Kavaklidere Öküzgözü d'Elaziğ - say that three times after a couple of glasses! It accompanied the food beautifully.

Two of my friends had Lamb Shish-Kebab - one had it with rice and home-made french fries, which were really good - and the other had it with the rice and grilled veggies. The lamb was tasty and served in big juicy chunks.

I shared the Turkish Mixed Grill for Two and it was for the most part, great and looked beautiful. It consisted of Lamb Chops; Doner - which is seasoned ground lamb, similar to what you get in a gyro; Kofte - which are char-grilled beef patties; Chicken Kebabs; Lamb Kebabs; and Grilled Lamb Sausage; the mixed grill was served with rice and sauteed vegetables. I liked everything except the Kofte which was too well done, making it dry and without flavor.

For dessert we had Walnut Kadayif, which is a filo pastry stuffed with walnuts and good stuff; Pistachio Baklava which was delicious; and the Chocolate-Raspberry Cigar Roll which was rolled filo pastry filled with a rich chocolate cream and raspberry preserves. We accompanied it with Turkish coffee which was delicious and presented beautifully.

With the exception of the Kofte, the food was plentiful and good. The service was slow, as there was too much time between courses. But if you're out with a group of friends like we were, it wasn't a problem.

I definitely recommend it - and don't forget to try the wine!

My Post About Outback Makes Me Want To Visit... Outback

2008-04-07T21:24:00.001-04:00

When I entered my third trimester during my pregnancy, I developed a craving for Outback. Specifically, for their house salad with honey mustard dressing and their creamy onion soup. Their blessed, yummy creamy onion soup.

I would make Ben take me all the time. Coincidentally, there was an Outback near the birth center where we did our childbirth classes, so we would stop in before class. Oh, those were blissful weeks.

So when I wrote about Outback recently, I was left with the craving for soup and salad. And the bloomin' onion (love that sauce!). A new one just opened in South Miami (5829 SW 73 Street), so we headed over for a Monday-night meal.

And damn, that soup was good! It's peppery and just the right amount of creamy without being too thick or gloopy. And I don't know what it is about that salad - but my favorite is definitely those crumbly croutons. Ben had the Alice Springs chicken, which is one of his favorites. He actually wanted a French onion soup, but for some reason, this location doesn't have it. At all. THAT was really disappointing. It's going to be hard to go back to that one since they don't have Ben's favorite item. We'll just drive further out.

I know. We went to Outback and didn't even have steak or seafood. It's not that those items aren't great, but for me, it's about that salad and soup. I'm perfectly happy eating just that (right after I scarf some bread and half a Bloomin' Onion down).

They currently have some special menu items and are running a promotion with Coke Zero. Basically, if you order any one of those items with a Coke Zero, you can get a commemorative NCAA glass (while supplies last) (and a gift cert for a Bloomin' Onion). And then, if you visit this page, you can enter to win a trip to the 2009 NCAA Final Four. For you sports nuts, this might be right up your alley.

Why, Yes, Michael's Genuine Does In Fact Rock

2008-03-26T23:25:00.007-04:00

Hilda already did a great, thorough review of Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, so I'll keep this short:

It's effing wonderful. What a delicious, perfect meal. I'm going back. Soon.

Some pictures for your enjoyment:

Ben fell in love with this beer

I had the grilled 10oz harris ranch skirt steak

Jumbo asparagus

Blurry mashed potatoes

Ben's steak au poivre

I failed to get a picture of dessert because I was too busy scarfing it down.

And thanks to Gus for helping me get the reservation at the time I wanted!

Big Pink

2008-03-24T15:54:00.014-04:00

Big Pink, located on the southeast corner of Second Street and Collins Avenue in South Beach, offers really good food and a fun, lively atmosphere. I've been there three times recently and have yet to be disappointed.

The first thing that impressed me about Big Pink is how much seating they have, both indoors and al fresco. I've never had to wait more than a minute or two to be seated. Even yesterday (Easter Sunday), although they were filled to capacity, my friend and I were seated immediately and our drink order taken within two minutes. It took us a little longer to decide on our food order as their menu is HUGE! They offer a varied menu, with lots of unique and "fusion"-style cuisine, so there is sure to be something for even the pickiest eater. Aside from "Breakfast Anytime" selections, they also feature salads, pizza, sandwiches, pasta, burgers, and wraps.

Their menu is full of very creative selections. As a matter of fact, they describe their fare as "American familiar comfort food with a gourmet twist." And the portions can only be described in one word: GENEROUS! There is no way you can NOT have leftovers.

On my first visit I ordered the Myles High Salmon Club Sandwich, a double-decker piled high with tender, grilled salmon, applewood bacon, sliced avocado, cheese, lettuce and tomato. It was absolutely delicious! And it's served with a bucket - yes, a BUCKET - of hand-cut french fries (can be substituted with sweet potato fries). I literally ate only one quarter of my sandwich and had to bring the rest home. My friend ordered the salmon teriyaki wrap, which was NOT what you'd expect when you think "wrap"; this is an entire meal inside a wrap: grilled salmon, alfalfa sprouts, lettuce, tomato, basmati rice and grilled onion wrapped in a warm spinach tortilla with wasabi mayo and served with teriyaki dipping sauce and sesame seeds. All sandwiches and wraps are served with a bucket of fries.

Yesterday I was in the mood for "brunch" so I ordered the Sweet Corn Tortilla Omelette, which was an omelette stuffed with sauteed corn tortillas with sweet corn, caramelized onion, bacon, scallions and jack cheese topped with sour cream and served with fresh salsa, a side of french fries and toast. I'm not a big fan of eggs, so what I liked most was that the omelette had so much filling, that it was not very "egg-y." And it was so huge that I've had three servings of omelette since yesterday, and I still have a pretty generous piece in the refrigerator.

My friend ordered their signature "TV Dinner" - a six-compartment stainless steel tray loaded with food.

His included a chicken quesadilla, refried beans, basmati rice, salad, a side each of sour cream, guacamole and salsa, and a slice of cheesecake! (Note: the TV Dinner selections change daily, so you should ask before you order.)

Big Pink also has a great dessert menus, with everything from banana splits and sundaes, to my absolute favorite - Red Velvet Cake: a moist, four-layer deep-red cake, iced with sweet cream cheese frosting and crushed walnuts.

Big Pink is a genuinely fun place to eat, with really funky decor (love the pink lucite table tops and metallic chairs!), big tv screens all over, fairly decent service (South Beach is notorious for having bad restaurant service, so comparatively speaking Big Pink's service is amazing), and a fantastic menu.

One downside: there is no parking at the restaurant, so you either have to valet on Ocean Drive, or hunt for curbside meter parking. Regardless, this is still one place you should definitely try out.

Big Pink
157 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 531-0888
Delivery Available
Website

Restaurant Review - Poblano Cocina Mexicana

2008-03-16T22:20:00.003-04:00

A Mexican breeze must have crossed the Gulf...Balou went to Mexican restaurant "Guadalajara" and some friends and I went to South Miami's "Poblano Cocina Mexicana" this weekend. I had been wanting to go there for a while, so when our friends had Hubby and I pick where to go for dinner Saturday night, I picked Poblano.

The place is small, but nicely decorated and the service was prompt and courteous. They don't have a full liquor license (only beer and wine) yet they list Margaritas on the menu. When I asked how they made Margaritas without tequila, our server explained that they served a sort of "tequila light" with a lower alcohol content. I decided to pass on the Margarita-lite, and had a California Cab instead, but Hubby and our friends decided to try a "Michelada", which is beer with lime juice, Tabasco sauce and light tequila served in a salt-rimmed glass. You can get it with any beer, but the default is with Corona. I have to say, I don't like beer, but I liked this...it was really nice and refreshing. Apparently this drink is very popular not only in Mexico but throughout Central America and also in the U.S. but I had never heard of it.

As an appetizer we shared the "Guacamole", which was good but not as good as the one at Rosa Mexicano. I also had the "Tortilla Soup" which was delicious, and my friend had the "Gruyere and Tequila Soup" also very good, with a subtle elegant flavor.

For entrees Hubby had the "Chicken Fajitas in Homemade Adobo", which he said were OK, but not worth the price. One of our friends, a vegetarian, had the "Poblano's House Chile" with cheese (they also offer it with blue crab meat) and it was really interesting, rather than the traditional dish which is basically a stuffed poblano pepper, this was "en croute" - very nice with a beautiful presentation. My other friend ordered the "Sliced Tomato, Avocado and Nopal Salad", expecting all these items to be atop a bed of greens - but they weren't, instead they were decoratively arranged on a plate, in other words it was good but not a lot of food. I had the "Duck in Chocolate Mole Sauce" which came with white rice, and it was delicious, however I would order the sauce on the side because the mole sauce overwhelmed the duck (served in chunks rather than on the bone) a little bit, but it was still very good.

For dessert, Hubby had "Cinnamon Ice Cream" (self-explanatory); our friend had the "Mexican Espresso" which was an espresso with tequila-lite, and coconut cream mixed in; I had the "Coconut Soup" which despite looking like melted coconut ice cream isn't as sweet and comes with chunks of torreja (sort of like French Toast), caramelized slices of mango and pistachio ice cream (but I substituted the pistachio for cinnamon ice cream) - this was really, really good.

All in all I'm glad I went and the food - particularly *my* food - was very good, but in my opinion it was pricier than the food warranted. I don't need to return.

Home-made Sopa de Pollo

2008-03-16T22:12:00.004-04:00

The second Cuban Home Cooking lesson took place and we made Cuban-style Chicken Soup. It was so good and so easy!

Go check it out and give it a try.

Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant

2008-03-16T09:17:00.008-04:00

Guadalajara is an unassuming little restaurant tucked away in a tiny strip mall behind a Shell station on US1 North (South Dixie Highway) and 132nd Street. This was my first visit to this restaurant and I was very pleased with my experience.

Our rather large group consisted of eight adults and five children. As soon as we sat down, the server came over with baskets of fresh, crispy tortilla chips and fresh salsa. They also brought a small dish of spicy green salsa (which is basically ground jalapeno). Because the regular tomato-based salsa is mild, and even a little bit sweet, adding just a small dab of the green salsa to it is enough to give it a little kick.

One thing is irrefutable: their menu is extensive! We ordered a variety of dishes, from chimichangas to enchiladas, but the most popular dish at the table were the Tacos Al Pastor. They were absolutely delicious! Three fresh, corn tortillas, filled with tender pork marinated in pineapple, and topped with fresh, medium-spicy pico de gallo. They were accompanied with seasoned Mexican rice and - my favorite - refried beans. The Mexican Plate was also a good choice. It included one of each: a burrito, flauta, chimichanga, and tamal relleno, filled with your choice of seasoned ground or shredded beef or chicken, and the rice and refried beans.

Guadalajara also offers a variety of beverages including all flavors of Jarritos soda (tamarind!), all kinds of different Mexican beers, and delicious margaritas, either frozen or on the rocks.

On a sidenote: in my experience, eating out with children is sometimes difficult as they tend to be pretty picky about what they eat. Guadalajara did a great job with preparing food for the kids. Aside from the typical "Kid's Menu" fare of chicken fingers and fries, they also prepared food that was not on the menu. One of the kids specifically wanted nachos with only cheese and beans, and sour cream on the side. The server happily took his "custom" order and he had his very cheesy, very delicious, nachos within a few minutes.

And if you're wondering if the food is "authentic," let me put your mind at ease... The couple that hosted our lunch are from Mexico City and this is their favorite Mexican restaurant.

Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant
8461 SW 132nd St
Miami, FL 33156
(786) 242-4444

Outback is 20 Already??

2008-03-15T09:13:00.003-04:00

I saw a commercial on TV announcing that Outback Steakhouse is turning 20 years old - and I was like, seriously?? Why does it seem like it's younger than that? Or is it that I'm old and refuse to accept it?

Anyway, while it's not a restaurant I normally dine at, I have some fond memories of Outback because during my pregnancy, I constantly craved their creamy onion soup and garden salad with honey mustard dressing. Man, I had that at least once a week during my third trimester. It was awesome.

So anyway, I found out that the Bloomin' Onion (love the sauce that comes with, btw) was the very first menu item, which makes sense to me, since Outback is now synonymous with that dish (I was going to abbreviate to "BO" and then I thought - that might not sound so flattering!) - and who knew, but there's a bunch of trivia about it that I, as a lover of useless trivia, must share:

* Outback has sold more than 133.5 million Bloomin' Onions.
* 15 million Bloomin' Onions are sold each year.
* Before it is "bloomed," each onion is specially grown to weigh 16 ounces and measure 4 inches wide.
* The Bloomin' Onion remains true to its original recipe: 17 different spices to flavor the onion and an additional 37 spices in the dipping sauce.

Are you totally craving one now? I normally would, but it's 9 a.m. so, um, not right now, thanks.

I checked out their website, and it looks like they have some special dishes to commemorate their 20th anniversary.

Restaurant Review - Woodlands Vegetarian Indian Cuisine

2008-03-10T19:38:00.015-04:00

On Sunday night a group of us ventured out to the wilds of Broward County, all the way to Lauderhill! We went to an Indian vegetarian restaurant called Woodlands Vegetarian Indian Cuisine, or a variation thereof since I've seen different names in different places.

After getting lost, we finally made it. We were starving since we had purposely eaten little that day because we were really looking forward to the food. And the anticipation was merited. It was great!

NOTE: they do not sell or serve (no BYOB) any type of liquor - not even beer or wine! That in and of itself was an adventure for us!

Anyway, we ate a lot of food, so I'm just going to list it all without any pretense of literary "style"...ready?

For appetizers we had:

Gobi Manchurian - Cauliflower marinated with garlic, chili and other yummy spices.

Two Appetizer Samplers - they include vada, potato bonda, vegetable samosa, idli and pakora, along with a small cup of sambar and a couple of sauces.

My favorite appetizer: the Gobi Manchurian

The entrees - most accompanied by perfectly prepared basmati rice and varied chutneys - were:

Malabar Adai - a vegetable and lentil pancake

Malai Kofta - balls (as in meatballs but without meat) made of potato, cheese and dried fruits served with a creamy sauce

Chana Batura - a beautiful dish consisting of a puffy fried bread with a delicious chickpea stew

Bisi Bele Bhath - a sort of soupy rice made with lentils and vegetables

Palak Paneer - a fantastic creamy spinach and cheese dish

Baingan Bharta - my favorite Indian dish, made of roasted eggplant with tomatoes, onions and spices

Vegetable Makhani - vegetables in a creamy tomato based sauce

Woodland's Special Spring Dosai - rice crepe with vegetables

My favorite entree: the Malabar Adai

We also ordered onion, garlic and plain naans (the onion and garlic ones were amazing!) as well as a couple of orders of papadum.

I tasted a little bit of every entree and honestly, there wasn't anything I didn't like. There was plenty of food and some of us had leftovers for lunch today!

But wait...there's more.

If you've read my reviews of dinners with friends before, you know there must be numerous desserts. Well, Woodlands' menu lists seven desserts and we ordered five of them - which I think was rather restrained considering there were eight of us! We had:

Ras Malai; Gulab Jamoon; Badam Halwa which is ground almonds cooked in honey and butter; Carrot Halwa which is grated carrots cooked in honey and butter - trust me it tastes sooo much better than it sounds; and a lovely mango ice cream which was, well good mango ice cream.

My favorite dessert: Carrot Halwa

We finished dinner with Chai and what they call Mysore Coffee which is basically cafe con leche (latte) made with coffee from the Indian region of Mysore.

OK, so now you've read how much food we ate, and remembering that most of us had leftovers, the price per person including tax and tip was...wait for it...$21.00! Amazing! Of course, there was no liquor, but still - talk about bang for your buck!

It's a long way if you live in Kendall, but it was totally worth it! I heartily recommend it.

Contest at Carrabba's

2008-03-03T17:00:00.001-05:00

Did you know that I celebrated my 28th birthday at Carrabba's? I did! I was very pregnant and cute and hungry and glowy, and all I wanted was some Carrabba's, which had thankfully opened up in Miami Beach, so I didn't have to drive all the way to Davie for it.

So I've got a soft spot in my heart for Carrabba's - I love the food, service and atmosphere and am suddenly getting a massive craving for it. Please hold, I'll be back in a bit...

.....

So! I find it totally amusing that they're running a contest through the end of the month that invites consumers to submit a short “Love Note” to their favorite food or dish, expressing how it has made time with friends and family more special. Basically, my birthday's the perfect example, and I should totally enter and win me some prizes.

Because the grand prize is the “Ultimate Love Escape”, which includes:

Airfare for two to Las Vegas
Romantic dinner for two at Carrabba’s
Tickets to The Beatles LOVE Show by Cirque du Soleil
A two-night stay at The Venetian and private gondola ride

You know, that would be the perfect occasion to make that baby #2 the husband and I keep agonizing about.

Oh, and nine runners up will receive dinner for four at Carrabba’s, an apron and signed cookbook.

Submit your entry here by March 31.

Keeping that love theme going, Carrabba's is featuring a dish called Mr. and Mrs. C’s Favorites, which is the owner's mom and dad's favorite entrees together as one dish - in honor of their 50 years of marriage. How sweet!

Restaurant Review - Ruth's Chris Steak House in Coral Gables

2008-03-02T20:16:00.004-05:00

I know, I know, I know...it's a chain. I know and I don't care. Hubby and I had a late Valentine's Day/Hubby's Birthday dinner there a couple of weekends ago and it was awesome.

We made an early Saturday night reservation, so it wasn't packed but it was nicely populated. Our table was ready when we arrived and we were seated promptly and greeted by name by our waiter Cesar.

Hubby didn't drink any alcohol, as usual. I did, as usual. I started with a Sidecar, having been inspired by my friend Maria when we went to Michael's Genuine Food and Drink recently. For appetizers, Hubby had the Jumbo Scallops. They were three, big juicy sea scallops blackened and served with a pesto sauce - I tasted them and they were delicious, the "blackened" seasoning or the pesto didn't overwhelm the scallop flavor. I had the Mushrooms Stuffed with Crab meat and was shocked at what a large order it was. There were four big mushrooms stuffed with a peppery crab meat filling - more than enough to share.

I ordered a glass of wine for dinner and went with a Wente Cabernet, which was suggested on the menu as the pairing for my entree, and it was perfect! For my entree I had one of the specials the Buffalo Rib eye with a Blue Cheese Crust, very, very rare and they prepared it perfectly atop their signature sizzling butter sauce. Hubby had the Stuffed Chicken Breast which was a big, plump free-range chicken breast stuffed with garlic herb cheese and served with lemon butter. It looked beautiful, but I would never order chicken at a steak place, that's just me because he loved it, so all was right with the world. For sides we shared the Potatoes Lyonnaise, smothered in delicious sauteed onions and the Broiled Tomatoes - a huge beefsteak tomato cut in half and served with caramelized sugar - so simple yet so good!

We didn't really need dessert, but we needed something upon which to place Hubby's birthday candle, so I made the supreme sacrifice and ordered the Chocolate Sin Cake - a flourless dark chocolate and espresso concoction that was absolutely amazing. Much to Hubby's delight the waiters didn't parade out and sing "Happy Birthday", although it would have amused me.

The service was flawless - attentive without being overbearing - and the meal was fantastic. There was really nothing about which to complain. It wasn't cheap but not over-the-top expensive considering what we ate and drank.

If you want a nice evening out with good service, good food and no silly pretensions, Ruth's Chris - at least the one in Coral Gables - fills the bill.

Traditional Cuban Home Cooking - a new Blog

2008-02-18T11:55:00.002-05:00

My friend purplepassion and I have embarked on a new project, because we don't have enough to do!

We want to collect recipes for traditional Cuban home-cooking and be taught by the "experts" - our mothers, grandmothers, aunts, older friends, etc. and then we want to preserve them and share them - hence the inception of a new Blog: Cuban Home Cooking ...Keeping the Tradition Alive.

So Sunday 2/17 we met at the home of one of one of our best friend's mother - her name is Miriam, and she's fabulous. She taught us how to make Ham Croquettes - Cuban style. We had a blast! While we waited for the croqueta mixture to cool, we drank wine, looked at old photo albums, told and listened to stories, and basically just enjoyed ourselves.

At the end of the day we had croquetas to take home and the memory of an afternoon spent by women of different generations but with so much in common.

Anyway, please go check out the new Blog and tell me what you think!

Restaurant Review - Michael's Genuine Food and Drink

2008-02-11T21:47:00.000-05:00

Sunday night, four of us went to Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink in Miami’s Design District which is turning into a really nice dining area. Only one of us had been there before so she helped us navigate the Snacks, Small, Medium, Large and Extra Large groupings on the menu.

Basically the Small dishes are single serving appetizers, Snacks and Medium dishes are appetizers and salads that can serve 2 -4 people, Large dishes are a traditional entrée and the Extra Large dishes are entrees to be shared by two people. Rather than ordering entrees, we decided to go with Snacks, Small and Medium dishes.

We started with cocktails – 3 of us had Caipirinhas and the fourth had a Sidecar – basically a margarita but with brandy instead of tequila – very Roaring 20s! From the Snack menu we had the Pepper and Cambozola Cheese Crostini – the serving was four small but very tasty crostini with plenty of the Cambozola cheese which was flavorful and creamy topped by a piece of sweet red pepper.

The bulk of our dinner consisted of the Small and Medium dishes. We shared the following: Wood Roasted Sweet Onion stuffed with ground lamb and apricots – fantastic, we should have ordered two; Fettuccini and Roasted Rabbit with mushrooms and ricotta cheese – another winner; two orders of the Warm Roasted Kabocha Squash Salad which in addition to the yummy squash had bacon, pecans, ricotta cheese and a sherry vinaigrette dressing; three of us had Kumomoto Oysters – the oysters were small by our standards, but very fleshy and flavorful; Crispy Duck Confit with cauliflower mash which IMO was the hit of the night, it was served with a pear-raisin chutney TO-DIE-FOR!; Panzanella made with crusty garlicky bread, tomatoes, olive oil and spices; Chargrilled Octopus with gigande beans, olives and roasted peppers – OK this was ordered because of me and I thank them, but everyone except one non-seafooder tried it and didn’t hate it, however I have eaten a lot of octopus in my life and found this to be pretty good but I don’t need to have it again, there is better and less expensive octopus to be had in pretty much any Spanish restaurant in Miami; and because we didn’t have enough food on the table, we had an order of Roasted Brussels Sprouts with pancetta and lemon aioli.

All this was accompanied by a delicious Lange Eola 2005 Pinot Noir from Oregon which held up really well with the varied and strong flavors.

Since we hadn’t eaten enough (!), we ordered four desserts. Don’t judge us! At least this time there weren’t more desserts than people. We shared: Panna Cotta with warm winter fruits, biscotti and a square of honey jello – the panna cotta was good and the warm winter fruits were delicious, but the honey jello was vile! I’m sorry, but it was; Chocolate Cremoso with sea salt, olive oil, sourdough crostini and espresso parfait – IMO the best dessert of the night – was amazing!; Candied Granny Smith Apple Panini – I don’t know if the serving is really this big or our waiter gave us four pieces to be nice, but this was huge – it was good, but too much bread for me, however I brought Hubby one of the pieces and he deemed it “stupidly good”; and finally Tangerine Pot de Crème served with a piece of pistachio baklava deemed by one of the girls as “the best baklava she had ever had” and candied tangerine peel which not only looked good, but tasted great. To accompany dessert we shared a glass (moderation people!) of Mission Hill Ice Wine from Canada – YUM!

The restaurant's ambiance was great and the service quick, informed and very friendly. We all agreed it was definitely worth repeating. Call ahead and make reservations though, the space fills up quickly.

Bountiful Redland

2008-02-10T09:44:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning we went down to the Redland and Homestead - South Florida's agricultural area. We went straight to Knaus Berry Farm. If you've never been there, now is the time to go as the strawberries and tomatoes are at their peak. We also bought zucchini, squash, strawberry jam (strawberries, sugar and pectin - that's it!), cherry tomatoes that I've been popping like candy, and a dozen of their amazing cinnamon rolls, served so hot they can't put them in a plastic bag for you, so they give you an empty bag and a twist-tie so you can do it yourself later - the problem is by the time they're cool enough to put the in the bag, you've eaten half of them! Oh and the strawberry shake - YUM!

When we left there we headed home on Krome Avenue and stopped at one of the plethora of fruit and veggie stands. I got three mangoes (Peruvian - my bad!) that were delicious and a couple of limes to marinade my steak. At another stop, literally a car on the side of the road, I got a beautiful eggplant for ONE DOLLAR!

If you live in South Florida and haven't visited the Redland/Homestead area, do so now. If you're into physical activity and getting in touch with the land (!)...you can even pick your own fruit and veggies. It's a nice drive and the prices for produce are astonishingly cheap.

If you want to make a day of it, head out early to Knaus (the lines are long but move quickly), then stop at a couple of roadside stands, and have lunch at The White Lion Cafe, or one of many authentic Mexican restaurants. Then you can visit the beautiful Fruit and Spice Park.

Enjoy this area while you can. Building is encroaching on South Florida’s farmlands every day and soon it might be lost forever.

Bonsai Thai & Sushi Restaurant

2008-02-03T09:13:00.001-05:00

I finally ate at Bonsai Thai & Sushi recently and am glad I did! One of my favorite dishes ever is Pad Thai, and I enjoy tasting this same dish at every Thai restaurant I go to. It's how I measure how good or bad a place is: if your Pad Thai rocks, I'm willing to think that overall, you've got a good restaurant.

There are two reasons Bonsai scores an A+ with me: price and Pad Thai. The basic green salad with ginger dressing (they also substituted peanut dressing for my friend at no extra charge) is $2. Two friggin' bucks, exactly what a small plate of lettuce, carrot, cherry tomato and cucumber should cost. All the other dishes were reasonably priced as well. I don't like sushi, but most people close to me do, and so I'm familiar with it and how pricey it can be. Most of my dining companions that night had sushi and all were impressed with the prices and sizes of the portions: not to much or too little.

And as for the Pad Thai: I believe I have a new favorite (almost, not quite). What I liked Bonsai's version was that the sauce was sweeter than what I'm used to, but not overly so. There was just this nice hint of sweetness that made it different and delicious.

The only thing I didn't care for about the restaurant was the decor. Too 80's/disco for me.

Oh, and the service was excellent, too: friendly, flexible and efficient. What's more, we were a group of 12, and without even asking, our server split the bill for us. That ranks high with me too.

So yeah, I'll be back. That Pad Thai's just calling my name.

Bonsai
317 Miracle Mile
Coral Gables, FL 33134
305-441-0784

Restaurant Review - Oishi Thai

2008-01-29T18:07:00.000-05:00

I wanted to take my friend out for a nice dinner to celebrate his birthday this past weekend. We decided to go to Oishi Thai in North Miami, as it is close to his home and neither of us had eaten there before and wanted to try a new place. We were not disappointed with Oishi at all.

Located in a reasonably new strip mall on Biscayne Boulevard, Oishi Thai is unassuming from the outside. Inside, however, it is beautifully decorated with extremely high ceilings, soft lighting, dark red walls, chocolate-wood tables and woven bamboo chairs. The back of the restaurant features a long sushi bar where you can watch the sushi chefs skillfully prepare sushi rolls with such colorful names as "Beauty and the Beast" and "Toro Jalapeño." The mood is as equally relaxed and family-friendly as it is romantic.

Although the restaurant was filled to capacity, we were seated immediately and within two minutes our drink order had been taken. The service was excellent throughout the meal, with water glasses constantly filled and plates being cleared immediately. The only delay we encountered was in receiving the check at the end of the meal.

I started off with the green salad with peanut dressing, which was crisp and fresh. The peanut dressing was the perfect mix of sweet and crunchy, although applied a bit heavy-handed. My companion had the Tom Kha Gai soup, which was more sweet than spicy. Although he enjoyed it thoroughly, his only complaint was that at a medium level of spice the chili flavor should have been stronger. We decided to share the beef satay appetizer, which is perfectly portioned for four people, and was very generous for two. The beef was extremely tender, perfectly cooked, and accompanied with two dips - a peanut/ginger, and an onion and cucumber "vinaigrette." I'm not exaggerating when I say we practically licked the plate!

For our entrees, I ordered the Pad Thai with chicken, and he had the chicken Massaman Curry with rice. My Pad Thai was huge! It was easily enough for at least three people (I had my leftovers for lunch and dinner the following day). It was absolutely delicious; just sweet enough, steaming hot and packed with pieces of tender all-white chicken. The bean sprouts and chopped peanuts were served to the side of the plate so you can add them at your discretion. Of course, I mixed them all in. The vegetables were incredibly fresh and added just the right amount of crunch to the texture of the dish.

The massaman curry was also a generous portion, served in a large bowl with steamed rice on the side. Initially the curry was flavorful and light, with a good touch of heat, but by the time he was reaching the end of the bowl the sweetness was starting to overpower the chicken and cashews, and the chili flavor was a dim memory. This was only a minor concern, though, easily compensated by increasing the spiciness and well outweighed by the high quality and freshness of the ingredients.

We finished off our meal with the Thai Donuts. I expected there to be four donuts on the plate, but instead there were about TEN! It was clear these were freshly made, steaming hot and crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside. A small dish of sweetened condensed milk was provided for dipping, along with chopped roasted peanuts. One or two would have been a perfect complement to the meal, and we should have stopped there. But they were just so good we had to finish them all, then roll ourselves away.

Overall we enjoyed our first visit to Oishi Thai, and plan to make it a frequent dining destination. There is an extensive selection of "chef's specialities," and while we probably won't be sampling the Kobe beef dishes any time soon — we aren't the kind of people to order $80 Kobe beef satay appetizers — there is enough variety and originality to keep our interest for quite a while.

Oishi Thai
14841 Biscayne Blvd
North Miami Beach, Florida 33181
Tel: 305 947 4338

Restaurant Review - Rosa Mexicano

2008-01-14T23:32:00.000-05:00

A group of friends and I had dinner on Sunday at Rosa Mexicano located in the lovely Mary Brickell Village, we had loads of fun and there was a lot of good food and drink.

Upon arrival we were seated at our table for five within minutes. The excellent service began right away. We all ordered margaritas, two of us had the Traditional, two others had the Classic (the difference between the two is the quality of the tequilas) and one brave friend had their signature Pomegranate Margarita. Most of us had a second margarita with our meal. I had never thought to have a margarita with food, I always had it as a cocktail with appetizers. Guess what it’s just as good with an entree! All the margaritas were delicious.

For appetizers we had the star of the show – the “Guacamole en Molcajete” which is prepared table side and to your specifications. We had barely finished ordering before the guacamole guy was there squashing the avocados. It was phenomenal. Seriously, if nothing else go to this place and order margaritas and this guacamole, it will be worth the trip. We also had the Queso Fundido with Chorizo – also delicious, albeit less entertaining.

For entrees we had a nice variety. One person ordered the “Filete con Hongos” which is filet mignon covered with a wild mushroom and tequila sauce – awesome! Two ladies ordered the traditional “Cochinita Pibil”, which is spiced pork shoulder wrapped in banana leaves, also quite good. Another girl and I went with two different “Tacos al Asador”, which are served in a skillet and accompanied by red bean chorizo chili – too spicy for me – and an amazingly delicious thing called “corn esquite” which looks vaguely like coleslaw but it’s made with roasted corn, mayonnaise and white cheese: OHMYGOD, I could have eaten a bucket of the stuff! She had the “Carne Asada” which is grilled steak with spices and melted Chihuhua cheese. I had the “Cabrito” which is baked baby goat smothered with onions and poblano peppers. They also brought rice and refried black beans for the table. Maria and I had leftovers – YAY!

At this point one of the girls - *not* me – who enjoyed her margarita without the benefit of having eaten anything all day, announced that she really needed coffee, plain coffee with no alcohol. So we ordered plain coffee for her and in solidarity the rest of us shared a cup of their "Café de Olla" which consists of American coffee, Kahlua, orange peel, cinnamon, piloncillo (small blocks or bricks of unrefined solid cane sugar – Cubans call it "Raspadura") and whipped cream. Yummy!

The coffee accompanied our dessert. As is our tradition we ordered a lot of dessert. Ready? Here we go. We had their “Paraiso de Chocolate” which is a delicious dark warm chocolate soufflé served with sweet tomatillo sauce; a *controversial* “Tres Marias Sundae” which the menu describes as “Mexican chocolate, peanut crunch and raspberry-rose ice creams topped with roasted pineapples, sweet plantains and whipped cream. Served with spiced blackberry, bittersweet chocolate and cajeta sauces” – I thought it was just fine but there was much rumbling around the table about the “weird” texture of the roasted plantain in the ice cream – one of us has long-standing issues with gummy substances in her ice cream (it all started with a Filipino dessert named Halo-Halo, she hasn't been the same since!). We also had the “Tres Leches de la Casa” which they make with lime custard and serve with mango salsa, it was interesting enough but I don’t need to have it again. And we also had the Sorbet Trio – the flavors were Hard Pineapple Cider, Mango and Prickly Pear – served with fresh fruit sprinkled with lime juice, chile powder and sea salt, I thought the combination was delicious.

Then when we thought we were done, our wonderful waiter innocently asked me if we wanted tequila shots. I began to say no, but thought I should ask the others. Well one of the girls stopped her conversation in mid-sentence and her face lit up like a Christmas tree. So we had the waiter bring us the tequila shot list. He steered us toward a “flight” because for an extra couple of dollars we got three shots of tequila along with a “sangrita” shot. He recommended an añejo tequila named "Reserva de la Familia" – it was delicious, like sipping aged rum or scotch. “Sangrita” - which I had never tasted - is made with chiles, lime and orange juice and serves as a chaser. I had never had “good” tequila before, but I definitely will again.

I whole-heartedly recommend this place. Be sure to make reservations, as it gets packed. If I *have* to find a negative it’s that it is REALLY LOUD! But you know, with good friends, good food and enough tequila, it really doesn’t matter.

Steak, Quickly and Yummily

2008-01-06T01:34:00.000-05:00

Try this next time you've defrosted (or just bought) some steak and want to do a quick marinade before cooking.

All ingredients are to taste, depending on how many steaks you have and how much of each you want.

Sliced onion (yellow works well)
Garlic
Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Sour oranges (or lime)

Basically, you just coat both sides of each steak with the salt, pepper and garlic. Squeeze the oranges over the steaks, and lay the onions across the top. Cover with wet paper towel or whatever you normally use, and let sit for at least 15 minutes.

I like how my parents cook it, which is on a grill pan with some olive oil drizzled on it. Just slide the steaks on, onions and all, and pour whatever juice remains on the plate.

In less than an hour, you can prepare, cook and eat these babies.

Noche Buena's Coming - I'm Stuffed Already

2007-12-16T19:08:00.000-05:00

With Christmas Eve just around the corner, I'm getting more and more excited about the fabulous meal my family and I will be sharing that night.

(A brief explanation of how Cubans do Christmas can be found here.)

I've written before about the centerpiece of a Noche Buena meal, the pig. And while it's basically impossible to top the pig, there are other menu items that make the meal complete. It varies from family to family, of course, but in my home, this is what we usually eat on Christmas Eve:

White rice
Black beans
Boiled yuca
Salad

Those are the basic side dishes. On the years that there's a lot of people (more than 20), there's usually a ham, and guests may bring extra side dishes, like fried sweet plantains.

As you can see, it's a simple menu and is actually much like what you'd expect to find at any big Cuban party. We're pretty simple that way; and in addition, we don't typically have this menu at our other parties.

So now I want to know what you eat for your Noche Buena or Christmas Day dinner. Share in the comments!

Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant - An African Adventure

2007-12-04T23:51:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday a group of friends and I went to Sheba Ethiopian Restaurant in Miami’s Design District. Most of us had been there in December of 2005 and decided on a repeat visit. Like the first time, the food, service and ambiance were wonderful.

Upon arrival we were immediately seated and attended to by a very nice young lady who was not only friendly and professional, but very knowledgeable about the menu.

For the wine we ordered a lovely South African red blend - Diemersdal Matys 2004 which paired really well with the spicy cuisine. We started with three appetizers: Zaalouk, which is a delicious eggplant dish; Kefta which are spicy meatballs; and D'jaj Bi Basla which consists of pieces of spicy, oniony chicken. All were wonderful.

For entrees, we did as we had on our first visit and ordered mixed platters so we could get a taste of everything. The platters are supposed to be shared by two people, so we reasonably (we thought) ordered two Meat Samplers and one Seafood Sampler, you know, because there were six of us. Well, it wound up being a *ton* of food, some of which made for lovely leftovers for me YAY!

With the Samplers, you don't get to choose what specific dishes you want, but we did tell our waitress we didn't want anything too spicy. The Meat Sampler included two types of beef, one type of lamb, two types of chicken and one type of shrimp (I know it's a Meat sampler, but they throw the shrimp in for good measure I guess), in addition to four or five vegetables, including lentils, collard greens, fava beans, split peas, etc. The Seafood Sampler included two types of shrimp and two types of fish, along with a plethora of vegetables as well. Each dish in the Samplers came in a different type of delicious sauce and all served with Sheba's amazing Injera, which serves not only as bread, but as your utensils. Their injera is, IMO, perfect - a little bitter, spongy and soft with an intriguing grayish taupe color.

For dessert we ordered a bunch of stuff, because that's what we do: the Dark Chocolate Gateau which was super rich and good; the Bourbon Pecan Tart, which was good but not my favorite; something called White Passion which had white chocolate and some other stuff - everyone else liked it and even though I'm philosophically opposed to "white chocolate", I'll admit it tasted good, but still...; the Pineapple Sorbet was refreshing and delightfully “pineappley”; and finally, my favorite, the Mango-Guava Cheesecake, I mean seriously - how could that be bad? It has mango, guava and cheesecake - HELLO!

A couple of us had Ethiopian tea with our dessert, which is a black tea with cardamom, cloves and cinnamon - very aromatic and flavorful, a perfect accompaniment to the dessert.

A wonderful time was had by all! If you’ve never been to Sheba, I highly recommend it. As a bonus, adjacent to the restaurant is "Esohe's Gift Shop"an African art and gift gallery.

Dolores but You Can Call Me Lolita: Don't Feel the Name, but Like the Restaurant

2007-11-28T21:50:00.000-05:00

A last-minute change in my book club's plans last month led to us gathering at new restaurant, Dolores But You Can Call Me Lolita in the Brickell area (former Firehouse Four location).

So, let me either ruin it for some of you or solve the puzzle for some of you: the restaurant's name is a line from the novel Lolita by Nabokov. Clever, huh? I think so, but still, don't really feel the name.

The food and service, however, were superb. The menu's entrees are divided into two sections: those that cost $18, and those that cost $23. No matter what entree you order, you get an appetizer (there's a selection of about a dozen) included with it. So an appetizer and entree for $18 or $23 (or, two appetizers for $18) is not at all a bad deal. The best part? Desserts are $2.50 each!

I myself did not eat dinner, but all my book-club mates did and loved it. (So more on the actual food when I go back). However, I did have some croquetas and a tiramisu, and both were delicious. Dishes are beautifully plated and portions are well-sized (not tiny, not ridiculously huge).

The service, too, was a stand-out. You can tell they're still trying to get their footing, given that we had about four guys hovering us, but they were attentive and competent. Out glasses didn't have a chance to empty; they were regularly asking us if we needed anything; and both the owner and chef came out to talk to us.

All in all, we had a great time. The restaurant is lovely, with a beautiful decor made up mainly of white drapes and linens and candles that go perfectly with the wood floors. The outdoor lounge on the second floor has couches and cocktail tables for groups, and the overall vibe is simply very neat.

I'll be back for more!

Dolores But You Can Call Me Lolita
1000 South Miami Avenue
305-403-3104

Organic Macaroni

2007-11-14T21:49:00.001-05:00

So, organic macaroni? It sucks. Tastes awful. Cheese product is heinous. At least, this one is.

I may give the others a shot, but tonight? Worst. dinner. all. year.

Miami Spice Review of Social Miami at The Sagamore

2007-11-11T23:33:00.000-05:00

Well, Miami Spice is practically over! My final Miami Spice dinner for 2007 was at Social Miami at The Sagamore in South Beach. Three friends and I went on a recent Sunday evening. Frankly we were underwhelmed. We expected better from all the hype.

The way their Miami Spice menu works is that they give you a list of about 20 dishes, not including desserts, and for the Miami Spice price of $35, you can select any three dishes in any combination from that list, or you can swap out one dish for a dessert item. Personally, I liked that, and since I chose to not order dessert I was able to select three items from the list. Five or six items on the list had an "upcharge" which meant you had to pay a little bit more if you chose those items.

Now to the place itself - the hotel lobby and restaurant are very dramatic and striking, with lots of white and lots of art. When the hostess walked us into the restaurant, she attempted to seat us at a lovely table that consisted of banquettes where the actual seat part of the chair was almost shoulder level to me - that so wasn't going to happen! Luckily, this is not a place where the regular crowd shows up at 7:00 p.m., so we were able to get another, less dramatic table.

Our very nice, albeit somewhat distracted, waiter appeared shortly thereafter and explained the menu to us. When our fourth arrived, we ordered. We selected a ZD 2005 Pinot Noir from California, as we figured it would work with the variety of dishes we chose. Yummy!

One member of our party ordered a fantastic roasted beet salad, with roasted garlic and all sorts of good stuff - it turned out to be the hit of the night! She also ordered braised burgundy short rib with a blue cheese polenta that was good too. She reserved her third choice for dessert.

Another one of us ordered crab cakes on fried green tomatoes that were delicious, the duck salad with shitake mushrooms and matchstick potatoes - wonderful! She too opted for dessert.
A third ordered gnocchi with oxtail ragu which was good but not great, the Kobe sliders which had an additional $3 "up charge" and the Tandoori chicken lollipops. Unfortunately they forgot to bring the chicken, so she opted for her third item to be dessert as well.

I ordered the duck salad, the Kobe sliders - I ordered them rare and they were perfect - and the paella croquettes that were very good and something I had never tried or even heard of – what a good idea!

For dessert, we ordered the molten chocolate lava cake with pistachio ice cream - alas, the lava was cold and the whole thing was just *there*. Next we ordered the mixed berry cobbler which from what we were able to tell was made with frozen berries, as some were still cold in the center, and finally we ordered the duet of pots de crème, which were a pair of custards - a vanilla custard that was delicious and a key lime custard that was basically a somewhat tired key lime pie filling - not at all custardy. In short dessert was pretty much a dud.

Throughout the evening the service - while friendly - was uneven at best, poor at worst. They were skimpy with the water, confused the order - at one point bringing out something we didn't order, disappeared for extended periods of time, and as happened with the Tandoori chicken - forgot a part of the order.

Actually, except for the desserts, it's not that the food was bad, it's just that it wasn't spectacular, which for Miami Spice prices is OK, but for their real world prices is not worth it.

I'm glad I went, but I won't be returning.

Cefalo's in the Grove

2007-11-04T20:07:00.000-05:00

Once again, Hilda Alvarez-Strang, our friend from The Mind Wobbles, has shared a review with us. Here's her take on Cefalo's in the Grove.

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For our tenth wedding anniversary my husband and I went to Cefalo's Wine Cellar in Coconut Grove, where the old Taurus Steak House - a memorable part of my misspent (!) youth - used to be. I had read about it and was curious about the Italian food and the ambiance, etc. Jimmy Cefalo, beloved former Miami Dolphin and Sports guy for channel 10 is the owner.

What's left of the old Coconut Grove institution that was Taurus is now the bar. The restaurant is primarily outside in a beautiful, roomy area with a fountain and comfortable seating. Not knowing it was going to wind up being a beautiful, breezy night we ate inside which was nice, but not as nice as outside. The inside tables are in the same area as the deli, bakery and little market. Dress is casual, nothing stuffy about it at all.

We were greeted by a very effusive Italian waiter who told us the specials in broken, but colorful English. We immediately got a basket of warm crusty bread with an olive oil, red pepper flake mix - spicy and delicious.

As an appetizer, hubby had the wonderful Antipasto, consisting of several cheeses, Italian meats and a variety of delicious olives and roasted peppers - it was beautiful, bountiful and delicious! I had an equally wonderful Beef Carpaccio with incredibly fresh and peppery arugula and flakes of dry, tasty Parmigiano cheese.

For the entree, my husband had one of the specials: Gnocchi stuffed with Asiago cheese in the best Bolognese sauce I've ever had. The sauce made with beef, pork and veal had slivered garlic and a deep flavor that was wonderful. For my entree I had "Ralph's Famous Eggplant Parmigiana" with spaghetti in marinara sauce. I don't know if it's famous - but Ralph makes an awesome eggplant parm! What I liked best was that the eggplant wasn't breaded, it was thinly sliced and grilled! You can tell the eggplant had marinated in the sauce but you could still taste the eggplant. Again - delicious!

The wine list is enormous - that is the place's *thing* after all. I didn't feel like making wine decisions, so I asked the waiter for a recommendation. He suggested Pinot Noir or Chianti, so I went with one of the Pinot Noirs served by the glass - Rex Hill, out of Oregon - it was lovely and incredibly priced!

The dessert was a bit traumatic, they don't have a dessert menu or tray, you have to walk with the waiter or busboy to the bakery section of the market and pick out your dessert and then they plate it and bring it to the table. OK, that was different, but doable, and also inexpensive. I chose cannoli and what was supposed to be a chocolate cream filled profiterole. Unfortunately, the cream wound up not being chocolate - it was a lovely sweet cream, but not chocolate. The cannoli was made with mascarpone and quite good. So the dessert was fine, but not up to the standard set by the appetizers and entrees.

The service, while friendly, was uneven. They were stingy with the water, despite the fact that we chose good old fashioned tap versus fancy-schmancy bottled water - what can I say, I prefer Miami's Best Tap!

We got out of there for under $100 and had a wonderful dinner. I want to return, maybe explore the wine options a bit more, and sit outside. I definitely recommend it!

Also, check out the "Tasting Store" by the patio. It has these machines called "Enomatics" that allow you to, with a press of a button and varying but reasonable prices, get a 2.5 oz. taste of about 40 different wines. It's really cool and definitely worth checking out.

Nexxt Cafe on Lincoln Road Sucks

2007-10-30T16:18:00.000-04:00

It's simple, really: the Nexxt Cafe on Lincoln Road (in Miami Beach) sucks. So bad.

The husband and I used to go with some frequency back in the early 2000's, and we used to enjoy it (for what it was, since it has never been about fantastic cuisine). Then at some point, something happened in the kitchen, and the food turned to crap, or close to it. I remember one dish in particular - the Thai pasta dish - that was so unbelievably awful (much too thick and cloying) that I couldn't choke down more than 2 or 3 bites.

So, we began to avoid Nexxt Cafe. It seemed like the right thing to do.

But we recently found ourselves at this same restaurant when a friend of the husband's decided to celebrate his birthday there (whatever, this isn't about that). So, o.k., 7 pm on a Saturday is not the most brilliant time to go to dinner on Lincoln Rd., but we thought we were early enough to not get the bad crowds. We were wrong, of course. Nexxt Cafe was packed by that time; but, to their credit, they seated our party within 10 minutes, so you know, I'll give them 10 points for that.

So here's where it all goes to hell. The food was o.k., meaning, it wasn't awful. Edible. Mediocre. Fine. But I can be a cheap jerk, and paying $40 for two mediocre entrees hurts. What was really awful, though, was the service. Did you see our server? Neither did we. The guy showed up twice: to take our order and to bring the bill. That's it. All other times, it was a random assortment of servers and buspersons, none of whom had a clue what the other had done or what we'd requested from another. It was a mess.

I was particularly annoyed at the fact that we ordered an appetizer that never appeared. We complained, told them to forget it, and yet they brought it out about 10 minutes after we'd been served dinner. Are you kidding me? And then the random busperson looked annoyed when we said we didn't want it.

Between being ignored by our server, who on top of everything else had an attitude, and the clumsy, amateurish service (and the blah food), it sucked.

I won't be back, possibly ever, unless someone else simply has to celebrate their birthday there and I'd be a bad friend if I didn't go. So basically, I'll go back. Against my will.

The Next Food Network Star Search in Miami!

2007-10-26T14:33:00.000-04:00

The Food Network's The Next Food Network Star will be holding a casting call here in Miami!

Here are the details:

This is what we are looking for:

• Cooking know-how: You must have strong cooking skills. Cooks, Restaurant Chefs, Caterers, Personal Chefs, and Foodies are encouraged to apply!

• Personality that pops: Let yourself shine and show us who you really are. Don't be shy. We are all about personality-show us yours!

• Teaching skills: Bring the world of food and cooking to life in your very own passionate and unique way. Please be clear about your cooking point of view.

From a pool of finalists, one winner will receive their own six-episode show.

To Apply:

Please e-mail us your name, age, phone number, e-mail address, city, a brief summary of why you want to be on the show, occupation (if not cooking professionally how do you continue to keep your passion for cooking alive), and a picture of yourself to: CastingNFNS4@yahoo.com

Or Meet the casting team at our Miami, FL Open Call!

Date: 11/6/07
Time: 10am-3pm
Metropole
635 Collins Ave
Miami Beach, FL 33139

Guest Post: Miami Spice Review of Tuscan Steak

2007-10-15T21:34:00.000-04:00

We've got for your enjoyment someone else's take on Tuscan Steak (which, if you will remember, sent me into waves of ecstasy).

Once again, Hilda Alvarez-Strang, who writes over at The Mind Wobbles, has generously shared her take on a Miami Spice experience, this time at Tuscan Steak. Thanks, Hilda, and Enjoy!

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Sunday night, six of us, four women and two men, ventured out to South Beach to try Tuscan Steak's Miami Spice menu. Tuscan Steak, along with a handful of other restaurants is extending their Miami Spice menu into November and this was one Miami Spice menu that offered both quality and quantity!

For drinks, the *boys* had beer and the girls shared a bottle of delicious Red Zinfandel. The way Tuscan does it, everyone gets an antipasto salad to share family style, but our wonderful waiter brought us two enormous salad platters for the six of us. OK, now this salad was amazing, and I'm generally not a salad person! Atop the deliciously dressed mixed greens there were roasted red peppers, crunchy pickled green beans, antipasto meats and cheeses, kalamata olives, garbanzo beans, and a bunch of other stuff. We were also given a platter of antipasto meats, cheese and garlic crostini. Suffice it to say there was more than half of a salad platter left over.

For the entrees we got to choose one dish per two people. The options were steak, salmon and chicken. Although I'm sure the chicken would have been delicious, we decided to go with two orders of steak and one order of salmon.

The steak was sliced Skirt Steak with a Sun-Dried Tomato crust, truffled mushroom mix and a roast corn ragu - we ordered one medium and one medium rare - fantastic! The thin steak was tender and the accompaniments were incredibly delicious, especially the truffled mushrooms. If you've never eaten something with truffle oil - do so as soon as possible!

The salmon entree consisted of a Wild Salmon topped with sun-dried tomatoes over a bed of caramelized braised leeks - OHMYGOD! I would have been happy with just the braised leeks! The salmon was fresh and light and flaky and the accompaniments were perfect - not overpowering the salmon at all.

But wait - there's more!

The entrees are accompanied by TWO different pastas, served family style in big, deep platters: Gnocchi in Gorgonzola Cream sauce that was absolutely perfect and Angel Hair pasta with Tomato, Fresh Basil and Mozzarella, also wonderful. We ate, and ate, and ate - and there was still angel hair pasta and salmon left over! My husband sacrificed himself and ate the last gnocchi on the platter. Seriously - when have you heard of *left over* food at a trendy South Beach restaurant?

For dessert, again there were three options: Chocolate Mousse Cake, Cannoli and Cheesecake. Because there were six of us, we had the opportunity to try all three, but we passed on the cheesecake option - instead getting two orders of mousse cake and one order of cannoli. Technically the order of cannoli should have been one cannoli - but our wonderful waiter brought us three cannoli - so we were wound up with three cannoli, which we easily split in two pieces each and two enormous slices of chocolate mousse cake, each of which we divided into three enormous pieces!

OK, so the cannoli wasn't the traditional cannoli one gets in South Philly (my hubby is from Philadelphia, so I know these things!) instead of the traditional simple fried pastry dough and rich mascarpone filling, Tuscan's cannoli had a more complex, sweeter shell with a light, airy cream. Not technically a cannoli - but really, really good nonetheless. And oh dear goddess of all that is good - the chocolate mousse cake was amazing! Not too sweet, the dark chocolate mousse was rich, and creamy, and wonderful.

Once again - no second class citizen service because we were “Miami Spicers”. The staff could not have been nicer, and our handsome Peruvian waiter was himself a delight! Yet another Miami Spice dinner *done right* - I would return to Tuscan Steak at full price in a heart beat!

Guest Post: Miami Spice Review of Cacao

2007-09-28T07:39:00.000-04:00

This Miami Spice review of Cacao comes from FOODTASTIC! reader and commenter Hilda Alvarez-Strang, who writes over at The Mind Wobbles. Thanks, Hilda, and Enjoy!

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Six of us went to Coral Gables' Cacao Restaurant and it was definitely a success!

We were given a very nice table and received excellent service. When I made the reservation I told them we were most likely all going to order from the Miami Spice menu, honestly I can't imagine we would have been treated better than we were if I hadn't said anything.

Upon being seated, after reviewing the wine list - in addition to the Miami Spice wine offerings ranging from $7 - $10 per glass - we were presented with an amuse bouche consisting of a cherry tomato stuffed with pesto cream cheese. Happy surprise! We also had our choice of white or whole grain bread served with butter or olive oil sprinkled with a mild Peruvian red pepper.

We decided to get a bottle of the Miami Spice priced Rose Cava for the appetizers - the bottles are priced as four glasses, so the $8 per glass cava bottle cost $32. We tried all three appetizers: one of us had the Venezuelan Chicken Chupe with white cheese and asparagus was described by one of our servers as a New England chicken chowder and seemed to be a hit; three of us had the Spicy Seafood Napoleon which was a mildly spicy little tower of mashed potatoes, seafood mixture, topped by herbal infused guacamole - that's what I had and it was delicious; two of us had the Mesclun salad with goat cheese (it seemed a little light on the goat cheese, in my opinion) Peruvian olives and a delicious cilantro dressing - a wonderful melding of flavors.

After the appetizers we were served a palate cleansing dollop of raspberry sorbet - yummy!

With the entrees we went with a California Pinot Noir, again from the Miami Spice wine menu - usually $7 per glass, the bottle was priced at $28. We tried all three entrees as well. One of us had the Pan-seared Corvina (sea bass) with Lime Salt, lentils and arugula - it was wonderful, the corvina was prepared perfectly; two of us had the Grilled Veal Skirt Steak with Eggplant Cream and Goat Cheese - now I don't usually like veal and I thought it was really good and flavorful; and finally three of us had the Seared Moulard Duck Breast with Chaufa rice, which is basically a Peruvian style Chinese fried rice - it was absolutely delicious and plentiful.

And, so as to not break the trend, we had both dessert options - five of us had the traditional Venezuelan Chocolate Marquesa which was really light and chocolaty and one of us had the Coconut Sorbet - everyone enjoyed their desserts as well.

When we tallied up the bill, this wound up being the least expensive of the four Miami Spice meals this year, and several of us commented that it was the best Miami Spice restaurant we had enjoyed this year...so far!

Again - an ideal Miami Spice experience where everyone wins - none of us had ever been there, and most of us said we would return for the regular menu.

By the way some of us arrived early and had phenomenal caiparinhas and a mojito at the restaurant's bar.

Guest Post: Review of Whisk Gourmet Food & Catering

2007-09-22T17:19:00.000-04:00

Fellow foodie-type blogger Blind Mind visited Whisk Gourmet Food & Catering, a new restaurant in Coral Gables, and it was a hit:

One thing that I really find annoying when going out to eat is a boring menu. Items like "Steak & Potatoes", "Chicken & Rice", and "Seared Tuna & Salad" are way too safe and are also things I could easily make at home with minimal effort. I like food that combines different ingredients, sauces, and/or spices that make you think, "I like all of these things on their own, but can they really work together?", before you realize that they can and do very well. Its funny because when I was a kid I used to hate that my mom couldnt just make plain food. Her dishes would always have some spice, sauce, or twist to them and my unrefined palate wanted plain just like all the other kids had when I ate at their house. These days, when I dine out I want creativity, dammit. Luckily, I stumbled upon a restaurant that chants that same mantra. Its a little slice of heaven known as Whisk Gourmet Food & Catering and the food is anything but ordinary.

Whisk is located in a tiny strip mall on Le Jeune Road in Coral Gables, just off of US1. Owned and operated by the brother/sister tandem of Brandon and Kristin Connor, this tiny eatery really makes the best use of what little dining space it has. The layout of Whisk consists of 3 glass top tables with wicker chairs as seats along with a tiny stainless steel countertop with a few stools to sit on. The walls are creatively decorated with pictures of actual Whisk menu items, a chalkboard lists daily specials, and there are also shelves filled with supplies, though most are hidden from view by white curtains. Its cozy and inviting, and for those claustrophobic diners, orders can be called/faxed in for pickup.

The menu offers home style, gourmet dishes with ingredients obtained from local and organic purveyors. There are lots of healthy sandwiches, salads, and entrees, all of which sound delicious on paper. While looking over the daily specials last Friday, I found myself making the same sound in my head that Homer Simpson makes when he thinks about chocolate covered bacon. Its sort of an "Mmmmm..ahhhhhgggg" followed by some drooling. On my visit, I decided on one of the house specialties - Dry Marinated Skirt Steak with Caramelized Onions, Gorgonzola & Sliced Avocado Salad. I opted to have the meal without the onions since I have never really been an onion fan. This is where things got interesting. I got my entree and was told that the chef, Brandon, was going to give me some of the onions in a little cup on the side because they were so good that I HAD to at least try them. I chuckled and said, "Ok, I'll give it a shot." I figured if someone was that confident in his food that he would make a ballsy statement that a non-onion eater should try his caramelized onions, then the least I could do was give it a shot. I took the first bite without the onions and it was great. The steak was cooked to a spot on medium rare, which is a big deal to me. It was nicely marinated and the hefty portion of gorgonzola allowed me to take enough while ensuring I would have enough left for each remaining bite. After a few bites of the avocado salad, which had a killer mustard dressing, I decided it was time to try the onions. I piled a few on a bite of steak, added some gorgonzola, and took my first bite. The gorgonzola was the first thing I tasted, followed by the steak, but then there was this great flavor from the onions that was a perfect compliment. I sat there in disbelief as I chewed... I was eating caramelized onions! Up to this point, just looking at them made me shudder. Abandoning all of my inhibitions, I piled the rest on the steak and chowed down like it was my job to leave nothing but traces of steak juice on the plate.

Damn, that was good. The bill, including my iced tea, came to about $19 and I left a $6 tip because I was on a high from liking a vegetable that I had previously loathed. I will definitely be returning to try other menu items and I recommend this place to anyone looking for dynamite food made with fresh ingredients. Be sure to visit their website as well for catering and other services. Bon Apetite!

Whisk Gourmet Food & Catering
4702 S. Le Jeune Rd.
Coral Gables, FL 33146
786-268-8350

He's also recently visited Bacchus Wine Bar in South Miami and Baleen in Grove Isle.

Guest Post: Miami Spice Review of The Restaurant at the Setai

2007-09-17T13:07:00.000-04:00

This Miami Spice review of The Restaurant at the Setai was generously provided by FOODTASTIC! reader and commenter Hilda Alvarez-Strang, who writes over at The Mind Wobbles. Enjoy!

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Our Miami Spice dinner at The Restaurant at the Setai was absolutely lovely. There were six of us. For starters, the place itself is drop-dead gorgeous. The service was perfect, very well-informed yet courteously friendly – no sense of snootiness at all. We were given a beautiful table, no hiding us in a corner because we were *Miami Spicers*. And most strikingly, the food presentation was spectacular.

Now, let’s talk about the food. And the wines – all of us except one ordered the wine flight.

After we ordered we were presented with a surprise cold honeydew soup with a spicy chili swirl in a chilled shot glass. Pretty and delicious! We tried all the appetizers: one of us had the Five Spice Duck Consommé – I think this was the best of the appetizers. Three others had the Seared Maine Scallop (yes, that would be *one* scallop, but…whatever!) and two of us had Salad of Asian Pear with Young Organic Vegetables and Shoots – it had carrots, beets, green apple foam, and other yummy stuff. The appetizer was paired with a Sauvignon Blanc, which in the past I’ve never liked – but this one was quite good.

For the entrees we also tried all of the selections: Two of us had the Tandoori Chicken with a variety of sauces – since they both ordered the same thing it was served on a beautiful large silver tray. One of us bravely tried the Crisp Roasted Pork Belly in a very interesting flavorful broth. And three of us had the Gaeng Kheow Wan Gai, which is a green curry dish which the menu lists as coming with fried bean curd but we were given the option of having it with chicken, which we all chose to do. For the entrée we were given the choice between a Malbec and a Chardonnay, all of us but one had the Malbec… both were very good.

For dessert, again we tried all three options: three had the Kaffir Lime Sorbet – which was really good with a variety of flavors, two had the Panna Cotta, which as panna cotta is apt to be was mildly flavored, but it was served with lemon grass and a swirl of mango coulis – this was probably the weakest dish of the evening. I had the White Zen Chai which consisted of a white chocolate foam, a thin layer of airy cake and a chai flavored gelatin – delicious! And the dessert was accompanied by a delicious Muscat Asti.

Again – a great Miami Spice experience where we were left with the desire to return and pay full price for a meal – everyone wins! Also, if you go, take the time to walk around the outside and visit the pool area – absolutely breathtaking!

Michy's Red Velvet Cupcakes

2007-09-13T13:26:00.000-04:00

After reading this post, I was more than curious to try Michy's Red Velvet Cupcakes. My curiosity really piqued when I also heard about them from more than one friend. Much to my delight, I opened up the Miami Herald this morning, and found the recipe looking right at me. I love that it calls for sour cream. This must be the 'secret' ingredient.

I can't think of a better way to break in my new cupcake carrier.

I'll let you know how they turn out!

MICHY'S RED VELVET CUPCAKES
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 ounces red food coloring
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup buttermilk
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and blend well. Make a paste of the cocoa powder and the food coloring, add to the butter mixture. Sift the flour, salt and baking soda together and add to the mixture. Mixing throughout each addition, add the sour cream, vanilla, vinegar and buttermilk. Fold it into the cake batter. Mix until incorporated but do not over-mix.
Pour the batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn the cupcakes out of the tins and onto a rack to finish cooling completely. Frost when cooled (recipe follows). Makes 18 cupcakes.

VANILLA CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 block (8 ounces) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon milk
Combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla in large bowl and beat until well blended. Add powdered sugar and milk gradually, beating well to incorporate. Will frost 18 lavishly.

Lavishly? It sounds like I might want to cut the frosting recipe in half.

Kudos to the Cheesecake Factory

2007-09-12T10:08:00.001-04:00

I have to admit that the Cheesecake Factory is one of those restaurants that went from being (on my personal list) a cool place to eat to a place that I loathe. I don't quite know why; maybe the way it's always packed and you have to wait 10 years to be seated? The over-priced food? The portions that are really big (so I guess it justifies the prices) but so unhealthy? The long, long menu that gives me headaches and makes deciding impossible?

I don't know. At some point, Cheesecake Factory became too much for me.

But - I have to give them credit for something.

Every now and then, my husband gets a craving for the Cheesecake Factory. When he does, I'm always willing to oblige because I'm a fantastic wife and am agreeable like that. Last night was one of those nights, and we found ourselves in a blessedly empty-ish Cheesecake Factory at around 6:30 p.m. Our son, whose second birthday we were celebrating, was with us, naturally.

Once we sat down and settled in, our waiter brought us our bread, and for our son, a plate with slices of bread and banana. My son squealed in delight and scarfed it down. When it was all gone, he kept asking for "bana"s, at which point the husband and I exchanged worried glances.

(A quick aside: my husband and I have this Sysiphean predicament whenever we go out with our son. We pack every imaginable thing under the sun, yet we always forget something. So the next time we go out, we add in that last item we forgot. Except that then we find we've forgotten (or just failed to include) something else. On and on and on it goes, all the time. Last night, we were astute enough to pack fresh fruit, which my son loves more than anything in the world. But we forgot a banana, which to him is not fruit and is a separate food item unto itself. And since he'd had a taste of the bananas, he wanted more.)

So the huz and I decide to just suck it up and pay whatever ridiculous fee they are going to charge us and ask our waiter for a banana. He brought us one (sliced and everything), our son was happy, and we got to enjoy our meal with nary a tantrum.

At the end of the meal, we found that our waiter had not charged us for that banana. So I have to say, when it comes to serving families, the Cheesecake Factory has their s**t together. The complimentary bread and banana platter is a great courtesy (and when we ate at another CF a few months ago, they had also given us one for our son, so it's obviously a chain-wide thing). And not charging us for the magical banana that placated our son - well, that was pretty damn neat of them, too.

For this alone, I'm willing to dine there more often. Now that we have a small child, it's really become important to me to dine at places that welcome families and that provide small favors and treats (for free!) to help entertain and soothe the fussiest of patrons.

Red Velvet Cucakes

2007-09-05T14:02:00.000-04:00

Not long ago, I found this recipe for Paula Deen's Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing. When the opportunity came, to make a birthday cake for a friend, I decided to try this recipe out. Not only was it easy, but they turned out amazing. And I particularly loved the color of the bright red batter. The only change I made was to cut the icing recipe in half. This was definitely a good idea. Even after frosting the 24 cupcakes that the recipe made, there was still some left over. The icing was so delicious that I plan on using it the next time I make carrot cake.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

For the cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

For the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Miami Spice Review: Michy's

2007-08-22T18:23:00.000-04:00

Victoria and I went on a date to Michy's on a recent Sunday. We'd both been eager to try it out, and we thought, what better thing to do than ditch our husbands and indulge in girl talk? And so we did. And now you get to see what each of us has to say!

Tere:

Off the bat, I can tell you that getting in is a bit tricky, since Biscayne Blvd. is under constructions and it's all just an unholy mess. You need to turn right (if you're heading north; left if heading south) onto NE 69 St., and the parking lot is a few feet up on your left. There is some street parking, but to park in the lot, you need to pay a $5 valet fee, which sucks. When I got there, there was no street parking, so I had to valet, and when I left, my car was right there. I mean, I walked to it and got it myself. Paying valet here is crap.

The restaurant itself is very lovely. Low-key and adorably decorated. Seriously, when I have my big mansion on the beach, one of the rooms will look like Michy's. It's a mix of whimsical, French something or other, and shabby chic. I love how all the chairs are white, but they are not the same chairs. The wall pattern is very cool, as is the dark blue ceiling. Overall, an A+ on decor.

Perusing the Miami Spice menu and comparing it to the regular menu, I realized that the price of the menu was comparable to ordering an appetizer, entree and dessert. In other words, I could go off the menu and try something else and I'd still spend the same. So I did. While the Spice menu looked good, there were other items on the regular menu that seemed better.

Food at Michy's comes in two sizes: half and full. The half portions, really, are what a normal food portion should look like. I ordered half portions of a bib lettuce salad and the skirt steak with fries. Now, I'm not much of a salad person (yet I keep eating it lately!) but this one looked so good that I went for it. I was not disappointed. They were generous, but not overly so, with the dressing, and the crispy onions that topped it off were a great touch. I would have liked a bit more avocado, but maybe that's just me.

The skirt steak and fries was absolutely delicious. It came with two dipping sauces, neither one of which really worked with the fries but that did work with the steak.

For dessert, I had spied on the Spice menu a red velvet cupcake, which set my mouth watering from the get-go. However, it wasn't on the regular dessert menu, which included a bread pudding that's supposed to be Michy's specialty. When I asked the waitress if I could still have it, she happily complied. The cupcake came with a wee glass of milk, adorably placed on the same plate as the cupcake. All I can say is - wow. Yummy, yummy cupcake, with perfect frosting. The milk was a good touch, but I was way too full to really drink it.

Service at the restaurant was competent and efficient, if not exactly attentive. Nothing bad, though: it was a busy night and staff seemed to be all over the place.

When we got our bill, we noticed one nice thing: even though we each ate an appetizer, entree and dessert, we came in $3 under the Miami Spice price of $35. Good deal!

Overall: A. We agreed there were other menu items we'd like to try and will be taking our boys to enjoy some good food and a very pleasant dining experience.

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Victoria:

First of all, DO NOT under any circumstances attempt to MapQuest Michy’s. You will seriously regret it, because MapQuest will take you through one of the scariest areas you have ever seen. The area is so scary that you will feel as if you are about to be kidnapped and used in a VooDoo ritual involving headless chickens. Luckily, once you actually arrive at Michy’s you will feel as if it was all worth it. Once you get past the whole parking issue, that is.

I agree, don’t valet it. There’s plenty of street parking and I got to walk down a charming street where a lady who wears big hats had planted an entire garden of silk and plastic flowers in her front yard and I kinda like things like that.

Once inside I found the décor to be comfortable and whimsical – very retro 60s, which goes well with the updated comfort food on Michy’s menu. You could totally expect to see Jan Brady parading around the restaurant with all the red and blue psychedelic prints. They also have a cushy banquette, where Tere sat.

As Tere said above, we realized that by eating half portions we could try the food we really wanted and still come in at under the Miami Spice price. The Miami Spice sample menu on the website looked better than what was available the night we were there – root vegetable pappardelle, veal or a steamed snapper. When I saw the braised short ribs on the regular menu they were all I could think about. And yes, no one needs a full portion unless they are as big as Shaq. I’d rather save the calories for a dessert.

Tere and I each got the same salad. The butter lettuce with jalapeno ranch was a generous half portion, and I would have liked more avocado too. The crispy onion rings were delicious as was the dressing, which wasn’t too thick or too tangy. I really enjoyed the salad.

I felt that the dinner menu was a bit heavy. The entrees were definitely comfort/ bistro inspired dishes, but there were also a few unusual items like sweetbreads (eww). But while I felt the menu would have been better during the winter, I obviously didn’t care that much because I ordered short ribs with mashed potatoes. I was so glad I did.

Served in a small, oval bowl, Michy’s places about two boneless short ribs atop a buttery pillow of mashed potatoes. I tried not to think how much heavy cream was in them and I thanked Michelle Bernstein for offering half portions because I totally would have over-eaten. I couldn’t help it! It was so good. The ribs and potatoes were cloaked in a velvety brown sauce. My mom would have called it gravy, but it was too rich and fine to be insulted like that, and it contained crisp bits of carrot. I loved the carrots because they weren’t cooked to baby food consistency and still had their bright carrot flavor. I would have liked a lot more carrot actually. I wonder what they would have done if I’d have asked for some. We had a friendly server. I bet she would have brought me some carrots. My dish was speckled with breadcrumbs and they ended up being the most intriguing aspect of my meal. Tere and I couldn’t figure out what was in them, but there was an unusual and wonderful spice that neither of us could identify. It almost tasted like curry, but then, not exactly. Whatever it was balanced with the other flavors perfectly and added a lovely, unexpected element which elevated an ordinarily common, homey meal to something truly worthy of a fine dining experience.

Unfortunately, dessert wasn’t quite as special. Perhaps I ordered wrong, but I usually love a simple apple tart. Add caramel sauce and I’m usually in heaven. Michy’s apple tart aggravated me because everything else I had eaten that night was so spectacular that I wanted an equally spectacular ending. The tart lacked the decadence I craved and seemed prissy with it’s thyme infused caramel and overly strong ice cream. I forget what flavor the ice cream was supposed to be, but it was brown and tasted way too boozey to compliment a sour apple tart. Combine the strong liqueur with the thyme flavor, and the dessert was almost inedible, suffering from a case of over-ambition. What would have been wrong with plain caramel or a milder ice cream? In any event, next time I’m getting chocolate cake. Then I may have to try that bread pudding I saw on nearly every other table.

In all, I had a wonderful evening which left me looking forward to my next visit. I can’t wait to go back to Michy’s and I’d like to bring more people so I can try more dishes. I’ve already told at least ten people about how much I enjoyed it and I’m really glad to know that it is affordable even when it’s not Miami Spice time.

And lastly…how could you not go to Michelle Bernstein’s restaurant. I mean, come on. She beat Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America – Onion Battle. For this alone Michy will always have a special place in my heart.

Michy’s
6927 Biscayne Blvd.
Miami, FL 33138
Phone: 305-759-2001

Plum TV Running Miami Spice Contest

2007-08-17T08:20:00.000-04:00

Miami Beach TV station/website Plum TV is running a Miami Spice contest:

"We’re on the hunt for our first reader reviewer... Send us a brief write-up (300 words or less) of your favorite Beach restaurant by next Thursday (Aug 23). We’ll pick a winner Friday morning, run the winning review that day, and pass along two Miami Spice dining certificates (free steak!) by Monday. Send us your review of that meal and we’ll run it as well."

Pretty neat, huh? Read the post for some more info - and good luck!

p.s. If you win, drop us a note and let us know!

South Florida Menu Pages

2007-08-16T14:54:00.000-04:00

When I go out to dinner, I like to know what I'm going to order, in advance. I don't not why, but it's just one of my things. Now that South Florida Menu Pages is up and running, my life of dining out, just became a little bit easier. I utilize New York Menu Pages, whenever I go to New York (which is quite a bit, lately). Not only do I get to see the menu in advance, but I can also get directions, and read reviews from other diners.

Miami Spice Review: Tuscan Steak; Or, the Day I Died and Went to Heaven

2007-08-11T23:09:00.000-04:00

There are no words. I haven't had a dining experience this wonderful in ages. Between the service and the food itself, it was simply amazing.

We arrived at Tuscan Steak in Miami Beach at 7:30 p.m. last night to find it buzzing with activity. The place was practically full, and by the time we left, it was packed.

From the second we walked in, we were greeted by the hostess and immediately shown our table by another friendly hostess who chatted with us as we walked. When we sat down, she offered us the wine list and menu, and then opened a third menu and showed us the Miami Spice menu. Big score right there, as I've heard some places "hide" the fact that they're participating in MS and don't show you the menu unless you ask.

We considered ordering off the regular menu, but honestly, the Spice menu looked so yummy, we went for it. Tuscan Steak serves family style, and their Spice menu seemed to be a sampling of their best dishes. Or, if these are not their best dishes, there is a very real possibility that I will be sent to waves of ecstasy the next time we dine there. My husband will probably like that very much.

So, the appetizer was a salad with antipasti. I'm not much of a salad person, so the fact that I found it tasty must mean something good. It included greens, fresh tomatoes, garbanzo beans, olives, fresh mozzarella and roasted red peppers with a light dressing. The entree was - get this - angel hair pasta with fresh tomatoes and a light cream sauce, gnocchi in Gorgonzola cream sauce, and your choice of tomato-paste-crusted skirt steak, lemon and sage chicken or salmon. You get both pastas but have to pick one meat dish. We went with the steak.

Oh my God. I have had, without doubt, the best gnocchi ever. And believe me, I eat gnocchi everywhere I go that offers it. I'm very partial to Gorgonzola cream sauce, and this one was perfect: creamy but not heavy, with something in it to balance out the Gorgonzola. The best part though, was how light and fluffy the gnocchi was. Wow. Now I know what perfect gnocchi should taste like.

The angel hair pasta and steak were also fantastic. While it was a new experience to eat a plate piled with two types of pasta and steak (grilled perfectly, tender and juicy), it was all incredible. A wonderful, wonderful feast.

Dessert was a dense chocolate mousse cake that obviously contained "good" chocolate. It was rich and creamy and I probably would have scarfed my piece down, but I was so incredibly full that I just couldn't finish it.

We also had drinks with our meal. The husband had a wine (sorry, forgot which one) that was smooth (and sorry, that's the extent of my wine knowledge. The taste didn't gross me out, so that classifies it as "good"). I had their most popular drink, the peartini. Even though I'm not a pear fan, nor do I usually drink with dinner (preferring to do it on an empty stomach so I can get properly buzzed), I thought it'd be nice to do something different for a change. And I'm glad I did - it was delicious. Tasted just like a pear and there was no overpowering taste of alcohol.

Basically, Tuscan Steak rocked. Because I haven't told you the best part: the staff was so friendly and attentive that it was outright startling. It says something about dining in South Florida that the courteous staff here had us shaking our heads in amazement. It wasn't just the hostesses and our very nice waitress; it was everyone else, too. At least four times over dinner, someone (in addition to our waitress) came by to check on us: were we o.k.?; did we need anything?; how was the food? Man, it was unbelievable. What's more, the staff made eye contact and smiled. Such simple things, but you'd be surprised how many servers never acknowledge anyone around them as they're walking around, and how many talk to you without really even looking at you.

Final word: Perfect. We'll most definitely be back.

Tuscan Steak
433 Washington Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33139
Phone: 305-534-2233

Oh, and our BIG, BIG thanks to our friends over at Miami Beach 411 for their generosity with us!

Blind Mind on Table 8

2007-08-07T10:58:00.000-04:00

Fellow foodie Blind Mind recently dined at Table 8 and wrote a review about it.

Check it.

Miami Spice Month(s) in South Florida

2007-08-01T08:55:00.000-04:00

Every August (and recently, September) for the last few years, South Florida foodies get to enjoy Miami Spice. In this great marketing event, the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau teams up with area restaurants to offer lunch and dinner at lower prices. Many of South Florida's top (read: pricey) restaurants participate, which gives people a chance to experience (and hopefully enjoy) these places at about 30 to 50% the usual cost.

Restaurants participating in Miami Spice offer a fixed, three-course lunch and/or dinner menu. This year, the cost has gone up: lunch is now $22 (up from $20), and dinner is $35 (up from $30.06). These prices include an appetizer, entree and dessert, but drinks, tax, tip and anything else is extra. Most (but not all) restaurants do not offer the Miami Spice Menu on weekends, particularly on Saturdays, so be sure you check each restaurant's details before going (and reservations are highly recommended).

I haven't yet checked out all the menus, but I noticed that this year, The Restaurant at the Setai is participating. Considering that this is an extremely expensive place ($12 bottles of water, anyone?), that sounds like one not to be missed. Over the Gables blog, I listed all the Gables-area restaurants that are participating.

I really want to make an effort to go to as many places as possible - are you going to participate? Which ones are on your list?

Wherefore Art Thou, Food Network?

2007-07-30T14:28:00.000-04:00

I've had a post simmering in draft mode about the TV show Next Food Network Star. The fact that I couldn't finish the post was worrisome to me. More worrisome, though, is the fact that midway through the season, I just couldn't take the show anymore and abandoned it ("worrisome" from my perspective as a pop-culture foodie).

On the heels of my coming to grips with the fact that NFNS just sucked this season, my pal Joke wrote a post basically stating that the Food Network has jumped the shark. And his post got me thinking that maybe the disappointment I've felt with FN lately isn't just me, which, you know, helps.

While Joke's main problem is the pervasive use of canned, packaged foods, mine is that many shows have begun to take on a cheap, cheesy quality. As a busy mom, I'm o.k. with shows that show me quick ways to get food on the table. I hate to admit it, but Semi-Homemade has provided me with some quick, tasty meals. I may have an issue with Sandra Lee and her Stepford/desperate housewife/rich, white suburbanite demeanor (that "Cocktail Hour" bit beyond worn out), but the partially made-from-scratch, partially packaged-goods thing really does work when you're short on time but want to provide meals for your family.

But basically, I think I'm done with all these shows that take place in some boring-ass kitchen and the host/hostess is just blah, blah, blahing into the camera and really, either they are boring or the food is uninspiring or unappealing, because basically, I have no attention span for it. My prime example is Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger. Oh my hell. Ellie looks like a perfectly lovely woman, but that show is just so blah. The recipes vacillate between complicated and unappealing (which, I know, some may find appealing and challenging - but I don't). And Ellie is so calm and peaceful that frankly, I want to shake her a bit. Slap some life into her or something.
Then there's the fact that certain chefs/personalities have multiple shows. I mean, how many does Bobby Asshat have? 10? Rachel Ray and her corny-ass phrases are so damn ubiquitous it's already annoying; and Giada, however hot men may find her, does not have sufficient personality to carry two shows, let alone three. And why on earth do Guy Fieri and George Duran each have two shows? I actually like Guy (George I'm indifferent to), but it's overkill. Also, Jim O'Connor was great as host of The Secret Life Of, so why they replaced him is beyond me. Even Tyler Florence, whom I love, is pushing it with his shows, especially How to Boil Water (and co-host Jack Hourigan is very annoying).

Also, all the cook-offs and challenges, which used to be so fascinating to me, are wearing thin. Mainly because whereas before they were specials I had to eagerly wait for, now they're crammed down my throat every single day.

I can handle some of the traditional shows: I like Ina well enough (I enjoy her recipes), as well as Michael Chiarello (but am frustrated with his insistence that he's straight when he is so obviously gay), but Food Network works best for me when it steps outside the box. Good Eats is a fantastic show, even with its cheesy sketches, because it provides useful knowledge in an easy-to-digest manner. I like Ace of Cakes for my reality TV fix because the cast is interesting and the cakes are just amazing. And Iron Chef (the original) was about as sublime as cooking shows ever got for me. Note to the FN: bring back the real Iron Chef, stat! And prior to replacing Jim with George, The Secret Life Of was a great show - wry but informative.

So, for me, the Food Network needs to do a little soul searching and shake things up a bit. Seriously, the potential is there. They just need to get creative, get edgy, and stop with all the formulaic bullshit.

Shopping with Chefs Premieres on Fine Living

2007-07-22T14:08:00.000-04:00

Good word that a new show called Shopping with Chefs debuts tonight on the Fine Living Network.

The description of the show says that "hosts Jill Davie and David Myers, accomplished chefs and Food Network personalities, take you on a fun journey to find the best of everything you’ll need to prepare exceptional dishes."

I don't get that channel, but if you do and you see it, let me know what you think.

Tune in at 8 p.m.

Here's a sneak peek:

&amp;amp;lt;br&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;a href=”http://www.fineliving.com/fine/pac_ctnt_988/text/0,,FINE_26036_63118,00.html”&amp;amp;gt;Shopping with Chefs&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

Is It Ever Dinner:Impossible?

2007-07-19T09:03:00.000-04:00

O.k., I think I'm done with Dinner:Impossible. I like Chef Robert Irvine; he's like a Gordon Ramsay who doesn't have the balls to be Gordon Ramsay, but is still totally demanding and TV-friendly (accessible, as the suits say). But I'm pretty much over how he always completes the challenges successfully.

It'd be really cool to see dinner truly be impossible; not because I want the guy to fail, but because it would seem more credible. I mean, they've set this up like he's getting these impossible, crazy challenges, yet he always pulls it off. Everyone's always pleased with the food and thrilled by the quasi-scary chef. Which, come on. I'm bored already.

If every episode is going to be the same formula of him dramatically receiving some "hard" assignment, then him barking orders, then him stressing and insulting everyone, then things looking on the verge of falling apart, then him miraculously saving the day (with no proper transitions in story-telling), then count me out.

New York Black & White Cookies

2007-07-17T17:16:00.000-04:00

Diana's Desserts is one of my favorite baking sites. When I returned from New York last week, I saw that her recipe of the week was for New York Black and White Cookies. Since I needed to bake something for a party on Sunday, I thought I'd give this recipe a try. I'm glad I did. The cookies came out great, and received rave reviews. They were surprisingly moist and cake-like, which I think was due to the sour cream that the recipe called for. I doubled the recipe and it made 30 HUGE cookies.

Here is the recipe.

Raspberry Cheesecake Shake

2007-07-10T16:23:00.000-04:00

This is cheating I know but I had to share and this was the easiest way. LOL! Can I just say that I want to wolf these down right now?

[Found on the internet]

Quick and Easy BLT Pasta

2007-07-10T16:12:00.001-04:00

BLT PASTA
From the July 2006 issue of RealSimple Magazine

I love quick and easy recipes because I hate spending tons of time over a hot stove. Oh heck, I hate spending time in the kitchen period. So when I ran across this I thought it would be a great idea to try it and also to share with you!

Ingredients:
16 ounces rigatoni or penne pasta
12 slices bacon
1 7-ounce package arugula leaves (or spinach)
1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Transfer to a large bowl. In the meantime, fry the bacon over medium heat in a large skillet. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Spoon all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon drippings into a small bowl; set side. Return skillet to medium heat. Add the arugula and stir until it wilts, 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer the arugula to the pasta. Return skillet to medium heat, add the tomatoes and 1/2 tablespoon of the reserved drippings, and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer the tomatoes to the pasta and arugula and toss. If the pasta seems dry, add up to 1 1/2 tablespoons of the reserved drippings. Crumble the bacon over the top, season with the salt and pepper, and toss again.

Tip: Arugula's peppery flavor goes well with the sweetly acidic tomatoes and the salty bacon. If you prefer something milder, try spinach instead.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Per Serving:

CALORIES 633 (37% from fat); FAT 26g (sat 8g); SUGAR 30g; CHOLESTEROL 61 mg; SODIUM 1,543mg; FIBER 8g; CARBOHYDRATE 68g

French Kiss

2007-07-09T14:05:00.000-04:00

Fellow So Fla blogger Blind Mind has written up a review of French Kiss in Coconut Grove. Go check it out.

It was supposed to be a guest post here, but I took too long to get it up. Sorry all around, folks.

Read the review and enjoy!

Strawberry Bread

2007-07-03T12:04:00.000-04:00

It's strawberry season, and once again I've gone a little bit loco. I can't stop myself from buying strawberries, which of course leaves me with an abundance of berries, that I need to get rid of. Strawberry Bread is a great quick bread, that has pound-cake like consistency. Next time I make it, I'm going to use it for the base of a strawberry short-cake.

STRAWBERRY BREAD
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Add eggs, oil and strawberries. Mix just until moistened. Spoon into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool in the pans several minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 2 loaves.

Breakfast at the Gables Diner

2007-07-02T21:34:00.000-04:00

Is fucking expensive. Six fucking dollars for a kid's cup of fruit. (We ordered from the kids' menu, where it was listed as $2.99). Five bucks for a regular glass of OJ, no refills.

WTF?

I've been a regular at the Diner for 10 years now. I've watched the prices go up and up, so that we don't go as often as we used to. Still, I have a loyalty thing, and everyone is so incredibly nice to us, so I'm usually o.k. with it.

But breakfast on Saturday was just too much. The dish that brings everything (eggs, pancakes, bacon, toast, etc.) is $11, and we both got it. So we figured breakfast would be in the $30 range. But between the fruit and OJ, plus a side of bacon Ben asked for ($3, and he actually asked them to not give him grits or home fries and sub with bacon instead), with tip, we paid $50. Fifty fucking dollars.

The food was good, people, but not that good. For that, I would've spent double and gorged myself at the Biltmore Brunch. Nothing about the meal or service made me feel like, "Wow, $50, but so worth it." At all.

I'm still shell-shocked over that bill. The Gables Diner serves good food, but I really don't think it's ever good enough to merit the prices. And breakfast, for me anyway, is usually a cheap meal when I go out.

So yeah. No more breakfast at the Diner for me. Ever.

(cross-posted from the Coral Gables Blog)

Butterscotch Cheesecake Bars

2007-06-28T13:55:00.000-04:00

I found this recipe a few weeks ago on Cookie Madness, and couldn't wait to try it. The other night, I realized I actually had all of the ingredients to make this. The scary part is that I'm such a baking geek that I actually keep things such as spare bags of butterscotch chips in my pantry.

Not only was this recipe super easy, but it was a huge hit. I must say that the crust actually rocked my world.

Butterscotch Cheesecake Bars

1 cup butterscotch morsels
1/3 cup salted butter, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup chopped walnuts or walnut pieces, toasted
1 8 ounce brick cream cheese, softened
1 (14 oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 large egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In microwave or top of a double boiler, melt butterscotch morsels and butter. If using microwave, coat morsels with softened butter and microwave at 70% power for a minute. Stir. Repeat until melted. Stir in crumbs and nuts. Press a little over half of the crumb mixture into bottom of a 9x13 inch pan.

Prepare topping. Beat together cheese, condensed milk and vanilla. Add egg and stir until well mixed. Pour cheese mixture over base. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture over top and bake for 25-28 minutes. Let cool completely. Chill, then cut into bars.
Makes 20 big bars

Sheba Restaurant - Royally Delicious

2007-06-25T10:14:00.000-04:00

My husband and I consider ourselves Ethiopian food connoisseurs. We've been to about 11 or so restaurants in Berkeley, Oakland, SF, DC, NYC, Pittsburgh, and Chapel Hill. When we visit a new city, one of the first things we do is find out if there's an Ethiopian restaurant and, if there is, we high five each other like its Christmas morning and we just found a tree full of toys. We've even cooked it ourselves, with some amount of success.

Its very arguably our favorite food on the planet.

So, you can imagine how excited we were when we found out that Miami recently opened one up in the Design District. We were told it was a very "hot" new place, very chic. That, of course, worried us. Chic, cool, hot Ethiopian in Miami? We imagined a great-looking restaurant with impressive-looking food that tasted like very cool, very expensive crap.

But no. Oh no, no, no. It was good. It was damn good. It was (dare I say it?) the best Ethiopian food we've had yet. So we asked our very cute waiter about the chefs, who are from Ethiopia and then met the owner, a laid-back shorts-wearing Nigerian who moved down to Miami from New Jersey when he found out that an international city like ours lacked this East African cuisine.

Sheba restaurant, located at 4029 North Miami Ave, is hands-down the best-looking Ethiopian restaurant we've ever been to. This isn't a hard feat since they are often mom and pop type places with interior design a la owner's grandmother. At Sheba, the lights are low, the bar is awesome, the wine list impressive, the design sleek, the people nice. They even had a local jazz band playing.

We ordered a little of everything from their vegetarian menu and paired it with a bottle of South African shiraz. Our waiter asked if we wanted utensils, or planned to eat it traditional-style. That was the only annoying part of the night - the very idea that people can or would opt to eat Ethiopian with utensils. But, whatever, we said, "no utensils" and the rest of the night was splendid.

The beautiful food soon arrived and we dug in. Oh man, did we dig in. And we kept digging in until the food was gone, even though we were ready to pop about halfway through.

We then ordered coffee drinks, but declined a choice from their ample dessert menu. Dessert at an Ethiopian restaurants is rare, and so it made sense that their options were mainly Italian and American style desserts. We were just way too full and happy to ruin our tastebuds or our coma with more food.

Overall experience? A big, phat WOW. Everyone reading this is absolutely obligated to check this place out. Call them, make reservations, find a babysitter, and go, go, go: (305) 573-1819.

Atlanta Culinary Joy Part I - Watershed

2007-06-23T12:54:00.000-04:00

A few weeks ago my husband and I went to Atlanta for a wedding. I used to live in Atlanta and was anxious to get back there to eat at two of my favorite restaurants, not just in Atlanta, but in the entire world - Watershed and The Flying Biscuit.

We arrived in Atlanta Friday morning and spent the day sightseeing and getting refamiliarized with the city. I hadn't been in seven years and a lot had changed! That night we were anxious to eat Chef Scott Peacock's modern version of real, Southern home cooking, at Watershed. Watershed is located in Decatur in what used to be an old gas station. Now it looks like Martha Stewart decorated it all in airy glass and shades of celadon. We enjoyed this meal so much that we sounded like we were having wild sex right there at the table with all the ooohhs and ahhhs and mmmms. You should have heard us. We were completely shameless. We skipped appetizers because we had come from a picnic and wanted to save room for dessert, but now I wish I had tried the butter bean hummus or the pimento cheese. Tables around us were eating the pimento cheese and it looked really yummy.

For my entree I had the penne with asparagus, cream and country ham. My husband had the pork chop with collard greens and macaroni and cheese. We were switching plates and eating from one another's dishes and every bite was perfect. Even the iced tea was particulary delicious. The service was great too. I noticed the small details like sweet dishes of fresh gardenias in the ladies room. People in Atlanta are so noticably happy and nice. It makes me wonder why South Floridians always seem so pissed.

We had to order two desserts because we are just pigs like that and wanted to try everything. They had a dessert special - homemade angel food cake with heirloom, organic strawberries and whipped cream. Oh my Lord. It was so light and barely sweet, I could have cried. We also got a piece of their signature chocolate cake that is so chocolatey that it's literally black. It tasted like espresso and all things dark, rich and velvety. There is a picture of it on the website.

I ate one of the best and simplest meals at Watershed that I've had in years. Since I've been home I've noticed that many of the meals I've been cooking have been inspired by Chef Peacock's minimal, southern, and comforting yet light dishes. He has inspired me to get more creative with fresh, summery vegetables. I notice I've had the cast iron skillet out a lot more lately too.

Scott Peacock is known for making the best fried chicken in perhaps the entire world, but they only serve it on Tuesdays. I am going to have to come up with some kind of reason that I simply have to be in Atlanta on a Tuesday. Apparently the fried chicken takes 3 days to make and they start on Sunday. I know part of the secret. First they brine it and second they soak it in buttermilk. I have no idea what comes after that.

Since I don't live in Atlanta and I can't just fly up there whenever I want to eat this wonderful food, I think I'll put Chef Peacock's book on my wish list.

Lauderdale By The Sea Farmers Market

2007-06-23T12:20:00.001-04:00

I achieved one of my food goals for the summer and visited the Lauderdale by the Sea Farmer's Market a few weeks ago. It's very small and is only there every other Saturday morning. The next one will be next weekend and there are no further dates after that, although the woman running it said she hoped to continue throughout the summer, when most other farmer's markets around here disappear. Summer isn't our growing season like it is everywhere else.

As I said before, this one is really small, but small is better than nonexistent, so I was glad. It is literally located along an alley between two office buildings on the south side of Commercial Blvd. Considering how minute the market was I was pleased with the variety of produce they were able to offer and the prices were great. I got several, good quality tomatoes, peppers, zuchinni, squash, radishes and a container of some of the best homemade hummus I've ever tasted, for less than ten dollars. I bought large quantities of each of the vegetables. I had so much zuchinni that I made muffins with it. I was extremely pleased with the tomatoes. Lately I haven't been able to find red, flavorful ones like this in the grocery store.

I plan on visiting again next weekend to see if they have any new fruits and vegetables. I'm hoping for some locally grown, tropical fruits. Last time they had a few mangoes and I was disappointed that the strawberries and avocados weren't local, but probably came from the same supplier Publix uses. While I was there a woman with a prolific avocado tree offered to sell the Farmer's Market lady some from her tree and they looked to be striking up a deal. I really hope so because I visit markets like this for LOCAL produce. If it's the same stuff they sell at Publix I can just go there. Just because I buy the same fruit outside and it looks all rustic, doesn't make it any different if it's still shipped in from California or God knows where on gas guzzling tractor trailers. I'd rather not have strawberries and avocados when they aren't in season and try some native fruits that are.

In all, I liked my experience at the Lauderdale by the Sea Farmer's Market. I enjoyed my purchases immensely and was glad to see that someone was making an effort to provide fresh produce in Florida's off season.

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Bar-B-Que Beach Bar & Restaurant

Bar-B-Que Beach Bar and Restaurant 1555 Washington Ave. Miami Beach, FL 33139 (305) 538-7274

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Bar-B-Que Beach Bar and Restaurant
1555 Washington Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 538-7274