Sunday Dinner at The H Restaurant Sunny Isles

We had a great dinner on Sunday. My folks were staying in Sunny Isles Sunday night so my dad could get to an early meeting Monday morning. We decided to join them for our normal Sunday dinner but this time we went out. They made reservations at The H Restaurant on 174^th and Collins Ave.

The H Restaurant is a small French place that has been open a short time but they hit a home run in food and service. The restaurant is roomy with an open kitchen. You can see bursts of flames leaping out of the skillets and men in chef’s coats busily plating food. The TV over the bar was tune to Americas Funniest Home Videos. It would have been nice to be off then tuned to something that distracted you when your eye caught a baby throwing up, or someone getting kicked in the crotch.

It was quite empty on a Sunday night so reservations were not necessary, but Open Table points are always nice to receive. We sat down to a basket of warm bread and individually wrapped pads of butter. It is a huge waste to put out ramekins of butter, but the presentation is so much better than the aluminum wrapped hard butter pucks. We ordered a bottle of their Italian Pinot Grigio and the French Platter as an appetizer. The French Platter was huge and delicious, filled with a large selection of cheeses, fruit, and charcuterie that made me hungry for what was soon to come. When the meal arrived 3 of the dishes came out while we waited for the 4^th. I do like it when all the dinners come out at the same time so that there is not that awkwardness of “do I wait, or can I start”, but we waited and the 4th came out quickly.

I ordered the braised duck that was slow cooked in a port orange sauce and was served with fresh mashed potatoes and 2 pieces of asparagus. The duck was perfectly cooked and the meat peeled right off the bone. It was flavored perfectly. The mashed potatoes had a little lump to them so you knew that they were not out of a box. They were flavored with and had a hint of garlic and herb but nothing overpowering.

My dad ordered the frogs legs that were “fresh from the everglades”. I have no idea if they actually procured the legs from the end of a gig stick but they were fresh. People who say the frogs legs “taste like chicken” have either never eaten frog’s legs, or never eaten chicken. Frogs legs have a little hint of chicken but remind me more of a good sea bass with a chicken bone going through it. The legs were sautéed in garlic, butter and white wine and were served with a potato salad that I did not get the chance to taste but looked good. Mom and Carole both ordered fish, mom went for the Grilled Ahi Tuna, medium. She went a little more well-done then I would like, but she said that it tasted great. I actually took the rest home with me and was supposed to give it to her but I forgot. Sorry mom!

Carole had the Snapper en Papillote. The presentation of the fish wrapped in parchment paper was impressive, and as she opened it, the steam that escaped smelled delicious. The fish was flaky, cooked perfectly and tasted as good as it smelled. Her dish came with sliced potatoes that I could have sworn were cooked in bacon or duck fat. They were salty and crispy and I would have bet that the flavor could have only come from animal grease. I asked the chef and he said that they were just cooked in peanut oil, salt, and pepper. Whatever his trick is, he wasn’t going to tell.

We knew we were going to walk over to Epicure and pick up pastries so we skipped dessert. The bill for the 4 of us was under $200 including tip. If yo are in Sunny Isles or looking for a great French restaurant I would highly recommend this place. Reservations are probably more necessary on Fridays and Saturdays but it never hurts to make one. Parking can be an issue; we scored a spot right up front out of luck so that was nice. If you are looking for an inexpensive romantic dinner for two, my suggestion would be a bottle of whatever wine you want, the French platter and then order one entree to split. Trust me, it is more than enough and you will be well under $100.

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Que Perros - Hollywood

When I decided to start this blog my idea was to try a bunch of new places that would give me an excuse to spend a little more money and eat at some really high quality places. So far I have eaten at some really good places, had some new experiences, and shared them with some great friends. For this dinner we decided to go outside of the box, actually we blew up the box.

We were watching Anthony Bourdain's new show The Layover the other night and he was in Miami eating at a Colombian hot dog joint. We both knew that there was a place like that in Hollywood but had never even thought about going to a place like it. Well last night we decided to give it a try.

We went to Que Perros! which is just west of 59th Ave on Johnson street. It has been there for 10 years serving the same thing: hot dogs, hamburgers, and some Colombian specialties. If you are one of those people who:
            A. Argue that New York hot dogs are better than Chicago style hot dog or "vice versa" or,
            B. You are 6 years old and think that a hot dog is simply a way to get more ketchup into your diet
Then this is not the place for you. If, however, you like to try something totally out of the norm, give a Colombian hot dog a chance. Que Perros! is a small place that mostly offers take-out even though there are a handful of tables inside. They stay open till 3:00am to cater to the people coming home late from the Hard Rock Casino or any number of late night bars and clubs. Why go to Taco Bell to try to soak up some of the poison you have been putting in your system all night when you can get a hot dog instead?

I went on the suggestion of the guy behind the counter who said if this was my first time I should try the El Perrito. This dog is topped with a pineapple sauce, a pink sauce (which I think is just a ketchup/mayonnaise sauce), and crushed potato chips. His second sugestion was the Scooby Doo, which is thesame as the El perrito but has quail eggs on top. I went for the Scooby. Carole went a little more normal an opted for the El ranchero, a hot dog with melted cheddar, refried beans, bacon, the same pink sauce and chips.

If that is not enough damage to our bodies we also ordered a minipicada, a side dish with enough choleserol that we thought about sprinkling Lipitor on top instead of salt. The minipicada consisted of french fries, country potatoes, chicharron, chorizo, morzilla (blood sausage), quail egg, and a grilled arepa. It also came with some different homemade sauces. My favorite was the garlic aioli. My thought is, if you are going to eat like this, cover it with mayonnaise and pray to God you wake up in the morning without a pain running from your chest down your left arm.

Because of the size of the place we decided to take it to go and catch up on some of our shows trapped on the DVR. The best thing to compliment this dinner was something cold, cheap, and yellow. Anything brewed in Denver, Milwaukee, St. Louis, or most of Mexico works well with this.

We were shocked at how good the food was, and we will probably go back, but first I am going to go for a run because I just feel guilty.

Hollywood on Dwellable

Mangia Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria in Lake Worth, FL

We traveled far outside of our comfort zone leaving the 305 and 954 and entered the heart of the 561. One of Carole's friends from work and his wife, Bill and Joanne, invited us to dinner at one of their favorite places, Mangia Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria in Lake Worth off Lantana Road. Personally I thought Lantana was just the place to get the ticket on the Turnpike driving up to Orlando, but people live there and have restaurants, great restaurants.

Mangia sits inside a strip mall, no distinguishing characteristics or landmark, but all the character is on the inside. From what I understand, the chef/owner, who is from Sicily,  ran another restaurant with his brother and then for whatever reason decided to split off and do his own thing. The food was terrific and the quality was superb. We were their Friday night which turned out to be very crowded and caused the kitchen to run a little slower than normal, but when the food came out we were glad we waited.

When we sat down there was a basket of hot garlicy focaccia bread on the table. They actually make a lot of the bread there and then use the leftover bread to make their own breadcrumbs that they use in their dishes. The specials that night included an appetizer of rice balls and fried cauliflower which had more cheese then rice or cauliflower but was excellent. Carole ordered pasta ala Mangia, a special with a pink sauce, prosciutto, and peas, I had the veal saltimbocca and our friends each ordered the chicken ala Sicilia.

My veal was tender and flavorful, the gravy was sweet with wine but not overpowering, and the fresh mushrooms gave it an earthy taste that was fantastic. I couldn't eat the whole thing and brought back almost half. Bill and Joanne's chicken was free range, you could tell because of the tenderness and the freshness. On top sliced eggplant tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Three of our meals came with broccoli rabe that was cooked in tons of olive oil and garlic. I was tasting it the rest of the night, but it was great.

Carole's special had wide pasta noodles and the sauce was fresh and creamy, not thick and viscous like you sometimes get at other Italian restaurants. The peas gave it a different level of flavor and texture that Carole was really happy with. Unfortunately because we got there a little late, and because they were so busy that night, all the cannolis were sold out so we opted out of dessert. We were not drinking so the total bill came to only $100.00. For the amount and quality of the food we got I think we made out pretty well.

We had a great time and a great meal, the drive was a little much for someone who works in Miami and lives in Hollywood but the food is worth making the trek up there again.

Open Plaza 1935, PRL, then Menchies

Last week Carole and I had made plans to go with two of our favorite people, Mallory and Jesse, to try a new restaurant in downtown Hollywood. We got to Open Plaza 1935 just after 7:00 and it was pretty quiet for a  Saturday night. I didn't have high hopes just by the name, taking ambiguous words and throwing them together does not make a name, but when you walk in the ambiguity starts to make sense. The restaurants web site describes themselves as "Cafe/Bar/Resto/Lounge/Show/Art & Gift Shop" and they have made this actually work. Very kitschy, very interesting, very cool. There is outdoor seating available, unfortunately next door is one of the half dozen Hootchie clothing stores downtown whose volume on their stereo is set to 11 and it would have made conversation impossible. Inside does not resemble a restuarant, it is a cross between a lounge, and grandma's living room. The table we sat at had upholstery wing-back chairs across was a wall of old Golf magazines, they had some neat, eclectic pieces of art and furniture, plus they sold clothing and used books both for $2 a piece.

We started off with some drinks, Mallory, Carole, and I each had a glass of wine, a Cabernet Sovenion, Temparnilo, and a Cariñena. Jesse ordered a Quilmes beer. We ordered an appetizer for the table, which came with 4 empanadas, 4 pieces of bruschetta, and a quesadilla. The empanadas were fresh, crispy and delicious, the fungi bruschetta had so much incredible flavor that we were all impressed by it, the quesadilla was unimpressive, not bad, just nothing special.

None of us were starving, especially after the appetizer. Carole, Mallory, and I each just ordered a sandwich. These are not just plain boring sandwiches. They are available hot or cold, and made on bread baked in house. Picking 4 different ingredients including meat, cheese, vegetables, imported olives and a host of other things only costs $5.00. Jesse went for the pesto pork chops. Normally when I order chops at a restaurant they are double sized and imposible to cook correctly and more then one person needs to eat. His pork chop was thin, cooked perfectly, and came with a very flavorful pesto sauce. The oven roasted potatos were seasoned simply with salt and pepper, and the salad that was on the side looked delicious. The total dinner was around $70, including the tip, but we had a $25 restaurant.com gift certificate so it made it a very inexpensive meal.

After dinner we walked around the shop and looked in the curios at all the interesting things for sale and spoke briefly with the owner, who was very friendly and thanked us for coming in that night. We really did have a terrific time and it will be a place that we visit frequently and take people from out of town too.

The night was still young and we only had one adult beverage a piece so we decided to walk across the street to PRL Euro Cafe. The menus say that PRL is the "sexy communist way to say Poland" I don't know if it is or not, all I can say is the place is really neat. It is small, it can be smokey, and if you are not a beer person this is not the place for you. They have about 7 or 8 beers on tap, the rest are in bottles. The best way to order is to forgo the menu and pick beers that are on the wall, those they have, what is listed in the menu is a crap shoot. They do have the mainstays, Bud Light, Miller Lite, and others, but their real niche is unusual, foreign, high gravity beers. I had a Dunkle, a Delirium Tremens, and a great IPA that I can't remember the name. The place can get a little crowded and loud, but it makes it even better. Also if you are in the mood for a little food, next door Mauro's Pizza has cheap, large slices that can soak up any amount of hoppy liquid you put in your stomach, and you can grab a slice and bring it back to your bar stool.

Before we left them for the night, we walked over to Menchies Frozen Yogurt. This store model is popping up all over the place. If you have been to a Pinkberry or Yogurtland it is the same thing. You get a bowl, fill it with yogurt and toppings and then pay based on weight. Not rocket science, but delicious, and if you stay away from all the fattening toppings it is low-cal.

We had a wonderful time with our friends and can't wait to try another place soon. We were very impressed with Open Plaza 1935 and hope that they continue to do well. It would be great if they could talk to their neighbors and see if the volume could be turned down to a level that won't interfere with the other people trying to enjoy themselves in downtown.

Every Monday night at Young Circle downtown is a food truck roundup. We are thinking about trying it tomorrow, we will see how the work day goes.

Hollywood on Dwellable

Organic Brewery a Bust

The blog has been quiet the past few weeks because there has been not much to talk about. Last weekend we spent fishing in the Keys and subsequently eating our catch. The weekend before we decided to take a break and not do much but go to "My Big Fat Greek Restaurant" a good, not great Greek place, then not much else.

Last night we ventured down to Hollywood Beach to check out the new Organic Brewery. I have heard mixed reviews about this place personally, as well as from Yelp but I thought I would try it out. Parking on Hollywood Beach in season is always a bear, unless you want to pay $7.00 for all day parking, which we did, but it was convenient so it made it okay. For those who don't know about this place, it is just north of the old Oceanwalk at 290 N. Broadwalk, right on the beach. Walking up to this place it looks really great, old world Bavarian decor, a large picture window filled with stainless steel tanks where they make their beer on site. It was cool and windy but we opted to sit outside, Carole, myself, and our friend Scott from down the street. While we were expecting to hear some Oom-Pah band or accordion music what we got was old school Reggae blasting from the outdoor speakers.

First thing you should know when you go there is that the menu is an idea of what they might have to serve. Don't get your heart set on one thing because you will probably be disappointed. The menu is quite limited to sausages and schnitzel, and even though they do have a $9.00 guacamole app, we did not take our chances and try it. 2 out of the 5 beers they offer on the menu were unavailable, one of the two soups was sold out, along with other things we tried to order. The beers come in 3 sizes: 10oz, 16oz, and a whopping 34oz. We tried a 10oz Pilzner, a 10oz Wheat Beer, and a 16oz Stout. All were fresh and clean tasting yet lacked any real flavor or distinctiveness.

While we waited for our food, one of the things that would be really nice would be something to munch on. Quick education for those who want to start a restaurant or bar, the peanuts, snack mix and other salty goodies that are out to eat are not there just to satisfy ones hunger for a meal, they are there because they are salty, and salty foods make you thirsty and make you drink more. A basket of stale, room temperature bread did come out for Carole's meal, but no butter and nothing for the rest of us. This is a German restaurant, it would not be hard to put out some good, hot, German bakery bread and heavily salted butter, or even better some fresh soft pretzels with spicy mustard (by the way they didn't even have pretzels on the menu). This would complement the beer and probably had me order a second, or even third.



The food, when it arrived, was not impressive at all. Carole did enjoy her goulash even though it was a huge bowl with only a small ladle of soup in it. My assorted sausage dinner was lousy. The sausages were homemade using real casing but they all tasted exactly the same, were overcooked and had more spice then meat. They came with a cabbage side dish that I was looking forward to, but had little to no taste and was soggy. Finally, Scott ordered the smoked game hen. He said the flavor was good, but it had obviously been reheated and only the outside was warm while the inside was still stone cold. He too was under-impressed by the cabbage side dish. We didn't stick around for dessert, the Reggae was getting louder and I really wanted another beer, just not one of theirs, so we decided to get the check and run. $60 for the 3 of us, tip included. I'm glad I caught that because our server almost got an additional $12 out of us, for not much work, and not much service.


After a discussion at the next bar we put wagers on how long it will last, the general consensus is if it can make it through tourist season, congratulations, but in 6 months time if you want some high end brewing gear get ready for the auction, because they won't last. I do appreciate that someone has taken a chance and done something different on Hollywood beach. It is not a dive bar, a pizza joint, or ice cream stand, but if they don't try harder they will fall victim to everyone else who has tried something on the beach and failed miserably. The concept is great, and I hope they prove me wrong.

Hollywood on Dwellable

Hollywood Vine & Cafe Volare

Trying to figure out dinner tonight. Carole stayed home from work, didn't feel well so I think the plan is to go out tonight. My plan was to take her to the Airport and have her cough on people and see how long it will take to start a global pandemic. She vetoed this so we decided to do something else.

It is Tuesday night so we decide to go to downtown Hollywood, yes we go here a lot. On Tuesday nights Hollywood Vine always has a free wine tasting. There are actually three wine bars in downtown Hollywood, all on Harrison Street. Harrison's Winebar, I have never been here. They wouldn't let me in one time because I was wearing shorts and flip flops in July in South Florida. Never tried it again. Vino, which happens to be next door to Winebar, this is one of those places that you put a card into a machine and it dispenses wine. I don't eat sandwiches out of an automat, so I don't drink wine out of one of these things either. Hollywood Vine is a great little wine bar that has a terrific selection of wines, beers, and spirits, plus cheese, olives, and other little tid-bits. This is one of those places that while Sam Malone isn't there and they don't actually know your name, you feel like they know who you are, and they know that you have visited their establishment on more than one occasion. The owner and bartender are very knowledgeable about wine, they know what they are pouring and can tell you about the grapes, the terroir, the vintage, whatever you want to know they have an answer.

Yes I look pretentious in the
bow-tie, but I like it.

The wine selection today was from the Napa region, the best was the Brassfield Eruption, a terrific meritage from the northern Napa area. After the tasting we grabbed a bottle of 2010 Predator Old Vine Zin from St. Helena and tried to figure out where to eat for dinner.

On recommendations from people drinking and working there we decided to go next door to Cafe Volare and order something and have them deliver it back to Hollywood Vine. Cafe Volare is a very small restaurant, only 4 or 5 tables inside. The owner, whose mother is Italian yet he hails from Ecuador, is warm and inviting. He tells me, "Don't look at the menu, tell me what you want to eat and I will make it for you." Carole orders an eggplant parm and he talks me into a bow-tie pasta with salmon in a pink sauce. He tells us to go and drink out wine and he will be over soon. I try to pay and he says no, pay later.

Within 15 or 20 minutes the owner and one employee walk in with plates, napkins, silverware, our dinner, and warm garlic mozzarella bread. I try to pay again and he tells me, "No you are now family, you pay when you are ready." Dinner was excellent and heavy, perfect for a cold Florida night. Mine was more food then I needed but I ate it, Carole brought half home. The eggplant parm came with a side of sauteed fennel and carrots that were amazing. When we were done, the server came and collected the plates and again I tried to pay, he hesitantly took my credit card still trying to sell a dessert or even another entree. Total was about $25.00 plus tip.

End of the night we paid for our bottle of wine and I stopped back into Cafe Volare just to thank the owner, and tell him how wonderful we found his food. He said again, "You are Family now, whatever you want I will make it for you. You need something catered I am your man."

I have no problems or complaints with any of tonight. Hollywood Vine is so consistent, I know what I am getting and I am always happy when I leave. Cafe Volare is now one of my favorite little Hollywood gems. Hope it sticks around!

Hollywood on Dwellable

My First Blog

This is my first blog posting, actually my first is title New Years 2011, but I figure I should do a little introduction of myself if I am going to pontificate on the web.

I was born in Connecticut but moved to Florida, Hollywood in particular, when I was 2 and I haven't left, I am 35 now. I have seen this city change a lot, and I have seen it stay exactly the same in a lot of ways. My wife, of almost 12 years, Carole and I go out to dinner a lot, and we also cook a lot. Cooking is one of my passions, second only to eating. These two get jumbled up frequently so first or second are actually different any day of the week. I have a masters degree in Hospitality Management so I should have some idea of what I am talking about when I say what restaurants/hotels/bars/etc do well or not so well. Hence the name, Educated Foodie, get it?

I don't travel as much as I like, but when we do, we eat at all sorts of places from expensive and chic to roadside stops along the highways. Carole and I hate the chain restaurants, we will do it occasionally in a pinch, but we love the one offs. The restaurants that someone had to struggle to make the menu and really care about what they are doing. When I go to a chain, I won't tell you about it, unless it was surprisingly good, or unsurprisingly bad. When I am going to a new place, give me a day and I will tell about my experience. This is not going to be a restaurant review blog, there are enough of those out there, and the newspapers do a much better job then I can.

I hope to tell my experiences and hope that people care, even just a little. If you like my suggestions, go to the places that I recommend, if you don't that is fine too. Most of the places I eat on a regular basis are in my backyard, Hollywood, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale. I get to the Keys, Palm Beaches, and the West Coast of Florida occasionally and this blog should give me a reason to experiment more, but South East Florida is home so that is what I will normally talk about. If I make something really out of this world for dinner I might post the recipe, I am making Vietnamese Pho tonight for dinner, Carole is sick and it sounded good.

I hope I stick with this, New Years resolutions and all are sometimes hard when January is over and plates become filled with life. Enjoy what I have to say.

New Years Eve 2011

It is New Years Eve 2011 and what do we do before we revel in the new year with friends? Go out and have a nice dinner just the two of us.

Where are we going, pretty typical question in the house. Neither one wants to make the decision in the event that where is chosen is no good and we have to endure criticism for the rest of the night for not picking a good place. After discussion I decide we should try the new place in downtown Hollywood, which neither of us can remember the name but we both know what I am talking about. Off we go.

You would expect downtown Hollywood on New Years Eve, a Saturday, at 7:00 to be a little more crowded then usual, but looks like people are staying home and resting up before the festivities. We get to Bistro 1902, parking is easy, thanks Mayor Bober for the free parking spaces, and are greeted by the host in a tux explaining to us the prix fixe menu. We stop him pretty quick tell him we don't do the whole "You decide what we want to do for dinner" but we will come in and eat off the menu.

Go in sit down, this used to be the old Beefeater restaurant before they moved across the street. New paint, new tables and chairs, odd frying pans hanging on the walls trying to do a French theme. We order a couple of glasses of wine and some water while looking at the menu and listening to the specials. My mouth starts watering as soon as the waiter talks about the New Years burger, Filet Mignon topped with Foie Gras and served with hand cut french fries. I'm in. Carole goes for the Diver scallops, pretty normal but the waiter says that is one of the most popular things on the menu.

Wine comes, in nice stemless glasses. For white I would prefer to have the stem, but oh well. The water comes in the green Coca-Cola glasses that you would expect at a diner. A little too mismatch, not too sure what their idea was there. Bread and olive butter come out, bread is stone cold and the butter is slathered onto the plate, it is softened but no presentation here. We are a little worried now of what we are going to expect with dinner.

Meals arrive, the burger is less of a burger and more of a steak sandwich. I was totally expecting ground filet mignon formed into a burger and grilled to perfection topped with the goose liver. While not what I expected, the taste was out of this world. The foie gras was perfectly seasoned, had great texture, and a really nice mineral and liver flavor. The scallops that Carole got were huge and they came with a mushroom and veggie side-dish that was not overcooked and each bite, while some flavors had melded, each vegetable still had their distinct flavor. Excellent.

For dessert we went for the chocolate mousse, they say that it is made there, and from the taste and freshness I believe it.

The price was just around 75.00 plus tip, not bad at all for the meal. While we really loved our dinner we were a little nervous at first with both the strange combination of glassware and the bread (WARM UP YOUR BREAD!!!).

Hollywood on Dwellable