3 Different Restaurants in the Same Plaza, all good.

I have just been writing about the new restaurants that I go to, and I have been neglecting my normal go-to restaurants. These three different places are all in the same strip mall on Hollywood Blvd, and all three offer a really good, affordable meal.

The strip mall is on Hollywood Blvd and 36th Avenue, behind the Wendy's and flanking the Walgreen's. China Hollywood sits at the east most storefront, Sushi N Thai, and Capone's sit just towards the west.

China Hollywood: The restaurant has been there for ages, but has recently changed owners and they went from "OK, I don't want to cook tonight" Chinese to, "really good" Chinese. For the most part, Americanized Chinese is all about the same wherever you go. The owners at China Hollywood have tried to stick to their heritage, while offering food that Americans can relate to. The prices are reasonable, and the portions are large, you don't have to worry about being hungry in 30 minutes. All meals come with white, or brown rice, which is nice and a little different from the norm of just white. They also come with the obligatory egg roll, soup, fried noodles, and a desert. My favorite by far is the hot and sour soup, I get it everywhere, and they have the best. I didn't know that the place had changed hands when we first went back, I knew as soon as I tasted the soup.

Everything is good, and made fresh, the chicken dishes use only white meat, and is tender and juicy every time I have had it. The owners are also some of the nicest people you will ever encounter and take the time to go to every table and thank them for coming. Definitely a jewel for Hollywood.

Sushi N Thai: Their sushi is good, their Thai is better. Another place that is consistent, gives good size portions and is affordable enough for a weeknight when takeout sounds a lot better then cooking. If you order online for pickup or delivery there is a discount www.sushi-n-thai.com. Their Tom Ka Gai is good, I have had better, but no real complaints from me, and I get it every time. They don't have anything that jumps out as different or exciting. What really keeps us coming back is that we have never had a bad meal. The service sometimes is good, sometimes a little slow if they are busy, but the wait is never that long. Don't ask the busers for anything, they don't speak much English, if any. Everyone is very friendly, and it actually sounds pretty good for dinner tonight.

Capone's Italian Pizzeria: This is the same Capone's as in Flicker Lite on the beach. If you have tried the one east it is exactly the same, but looks newer and cleaner. The pizza is one of the best in the city. Make sure that you give yourself time, it takes about 45 min to make the deep dish but it is so worth it. Get the sauce on the top for the real Chicago flavor. Capone's Flicker Lite has been on the Hollywood Intracoastal since the 1960's, and they have a name, and a tradition. When they opened the Italian Pizzeria on Hollywood Blvd they brought this tradition with them. I always have the pizza, usually opt for the calamari or garlic rolls. The salads are always good, and they have some of the best meatballs in the world.

The Walgreen's plaza on Hollywood Blvd, and 36th Avenue really does offer 3 of the best, most consistent places. Don't go there hoping to have a world class meal, from a world class chef. Lose the tie, flip flops are fine. This is not the usual tourist hangout, no hipsters, just regular Hollywierdo's.

Enjoy my favorite haunts.

Hollywood on Dwellable

Bertoni Brick Oven Pizza & Lounge & Car Wash

Picture stolen from mborrero on www.urbanspoon.com

This place is on the corner of 151 and Biscayne. Throwing distance from my work and looked promising. I heard good things from some, and then after I went I heard a lot more bad. I should have talked to more people. I wish I took pictures, but my words are all that I have of this experience.

Yes, it is attached to a car wash, but so is Karma further south and that place is great, so you can't judge a restaurant by their side business. It is hard to decide what was worse about Bertoni, the food, the service, the price point, or the strange high-top tables with high top couches you share with the people behind you. Nothing good.

We always go to the same sandwich shop for lunch. New York Big Apple Deli, they are great, a little pricey, but the sandwiches are huge, so no complaints. We wanted to try something different so we went to Bertoni and we were really disappointed. Panini's are not hard to make. Make a good sandwich, on good bread, and then press it. The bread was wrong, the meet was cut too thick, the cheese wasn't melted... Not a Panini. Also at $10.00 plus drink, plus tax and tip it was a little on the high end for what it was. I can go to the Big Apple Deli and spend that and get 2 lunches out of it.

Besides the food being lousy, the server looked about as enthused to be working there as I was to be eating there. She seemed annoyed to have to wait on us, I never got a refill on my iced tea, and then finally I had to walk up to the counter and ask for the check. We get it, you hate your job, quit, find something else. Don't serve people!

If you are hungry and need your car washed, keep driving to Karma, or spray it with the hose and go to Taco Bell, you will have a better meal, and better service.

North Miami Beach on Dwellable

Corned Beef. It's whats for St. Patty's day dinner.

From reading my blog, it just looks like I am a glutton who knows his way around a menu, but ask me to stand in a kitchen and my eyes glass over and I lose all bodily function. This is not true my friends, not true at all. I would say I am better than average in the kitchen, good tools and good ingredients go a long way, and can definitely make someone seem a lot better than they really are. Why am I telling you this? I had a party this Saturday, for the greenest and happiest day of a leprechaun's year, and I figured I would go over the menu, and tell you what the offerings were.

St. Patrick's day, as every one knows, is a day of remembrance when a great man named Patrick first dyed his beer green, and served it in solo cups to hordes of coeds on spring break. This caused them to make very bad decisions but have a great time, and wake up with a wicked headache. So in honor of Patrick I did what I could to make bad decisions when it came to food, and beer so that I could remove life from my liver and cake my arteries with a thick coat of yellow plaque.

Food: I went for finger food type offerings, something that can be held in one had without the possibility of spilling your beer. Corned beef is an Irish staple, they say, and one cannot have corned beef without cabbage. I made corned beef sliders with a cabbage and green apple slaw with a very light dressing, mostly cider vinegar, oil, lemon juice and spice. They were served on small potato rolls, that were nice and soft, and soaked up all the different flavors. I was going put them in a chafing dish to keep them warm, but they went way too fast and I think I only got one.

I cooked up some bangers on the grill. I used a mahogany wood, it burns hot and lasts a while and gives a good flavor. Served up with a trio of mustards and there are some leftovers just not much.

Ireland has a long and famous tradition of smoking meat, being in the North Atlantic they have a huge variety of mackerel, herring, haddock, pollack and albacore tuna swimming in the cold water off their shores. Well I'm in Florida, and I will smoke what I can get fresh. I picked up a nice king fish from Jim's Seafood in North Miami, this is a great place that needs its own story one day, and I had them give me 2 very large fillets. I brined it overnight with salt, sugar, and other ingredients that Jim gave me and I cannot tell. Smoked just for 3 hours over apple wood. I have so much leftovers of this it isn't funny. It is in the freezer if anyone wants a slice.

More British then Irish, but I also made up a Welsh Rarebit, toast points with cheddar cheese sauce. This is the easiest sauce to make. The toast can be anything, I actually used a nice marble rye loaf that I cut up and I used Melba because it is cheap and stores well if I have leftovers, the sauce is Campbell's cheddar cheese soup, milk, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and salt and pepper till it tastes right. Really easy, but one of those things that I remember my grandfather making when I was a kid and I still love it.

Carole made a sticky toffee pudding, definitely some more British Fare, but people really loved it. Lots of dates, and sugar with a very sweet sauce. I can't imagine what the calorie count was on that alone, but it had to be dangerous.

Personally I didn't do dessert, not really in the mood for something sweet, just wanted salty and the most important staple to any St. Patrick's day event, Beer.



Beer: Cold, cheap, and yellow need not apply here, also I am not going to dye beer green, it doesn't add anything except sorrow and regret in the morning. I did a combination of the standard Irish Lagers and Stouts; Guinness, Smithwicks, Harp, and Magners Cider. These beers taste like Ireland, it is what you want to drink after you kiss the Blarney Stone, and you are sitting in a pub having the old locals laughing at you for kissing the Blarney Stone. While wanting to keep to my Irish roots, I also wanted to embrace this country's great contribution to malted hops and barley. I picked up a bunch of 6 packs of assorted American small batch beers; Magic Hat, Stones, Highland Brewing Company, and Cable Car were all represented. Beers from the east, west, and central. The night ended up disbanding the beer, and hitting the Michael Collins Irish Whiskey, so much for not having sorrow and regret in the morning.

I think that everyone who came had a good time. It was a long day but we had fun celebrating our Irish heritage, or lack there of. I will be going out to dinner and writing about it soon.

Finally I say unto you an old Irish Toast: 

May you have food and raiment, A soft pillow for your head, May you be forty years in heaven Before the devil knows you're dead!

Generally, in order to add the Urbanspoon.com link the story has to be about the restaurant. Captain Jim Hanson's is great. Take to go, or eat in, either way it is awesome! The place looks a little sketchy, but the prices are great and the freshness can't be beat.

Seafood World, Lighthouse Point. They have been there forever for a reason!

www.papahughie.com

"In 1976 Joy and Hugh Ganter opened Seafood World in Lighthouse Point, Florida. After many
years in the Bahamas, they had a clear ideal of the kind of restaurant they wanted and that
focus has never changed. They serve the freshest seafood in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere
where recipes are simple and tasteful. Sauces and spices enhance, but don't overpower the seafood."

I couldn't have said this better myself.  Papa Hughie and his staff at Seafood World have been turning out the best seafood meals, for longer than I have been alive. I only recently discovered this place, and I don't know where I have been this whole time. Walking in it looks more like a fish mongers shop then a restaurant, but turn the corner and there are tables and chairs that offer some of the best meals you could ask for.

It is unfortunate that in South Florida it is hard to find a good fish restaurant. There are a few, but they are far between. When company comes it is always hard because they think, "you live between Ft. Lauderdale, and Miami, you should have the best fish places" that is not always the case. Seafood World has to be the best fish place that I have come across, north of the Keys. The driftwood style walls, and the fish mounts makes this place look authentic, and gets you ready for a good chunk of seafood, to go along with an ice cold beer.
We started off this meal with the Mama's Conch Salad, which I thought could have a little more flavor, but the conch was tender and was tasty and lots of it. Every appetizer salad that I have had there has been good, the seaweed salad and the calamari salad have so much complexity with flavor, and are out of this world.

The last time I was there, I had the Hog fish, a god awful ugly creature, with the sweetest flavor. It is amazing that you are what you eat, the hog fish eat small crustaceans and you can tell it by the texture and flavor of its flesh.This time I had the swordfish Livornese, which had a large piece of fish covered in a caper, olive, tomato sauce and served with choice of potato or rice and salad or coleslaw. Carole went for the seared tuna, which was featured one time on Gordon Ramsay's Hells Kitchen (not in a bad way). It was seared perfectly, leaving the fish mostly rare, and it came with the seaweed salad. My mother-in-law had the seared scallops, huge diver scallops that had a nice caramelization on the meat, and left tender and slightly rare. Perfect. My father-in-law had the fried snapper, he is a man who is very particular about his food, and where he eats. It was a "Mikey likes it" moment.

Don't expect to walk out of Seafood World hungry, or with a lot of money left over. The portions are huge, but they charge market rate for their food. The quality, and the quantity makes up for it. A little pricy, but worth it.
I don't get up to Lighthouse Point that often, it is a little far, but for this place, the food makes up for the drive. If you go for lunch try the cracked conch sandwich. Reasonably priced, lots of conch, delish!

 

Lighthouse Point on Dwellable

La Vendetta, in Hollywood. Good not great!

Picture courtesy of vendettarestaurant.com

Friday night is all about trying something different and this week we hit up La Vendetta. Driving down Hollywood Blvd, you can't miss the big red and black sign, and the 1956ish T-Bird out front is also a good point of reference. Before I go into the restaurant, I need to have a little rant about the city of Hollywood. About 3 months ago the Mayor and city council decided to not charge for parking anymore in downtown, great idea and thank you. Unfortunately valet parkers have swooped in like vultures and picked up about 25% of these spots and charge even more for the parking then the price used to be. I don't have a problem with the valet in general, I have a problem with their parking practices. They do not need 5-6  spots per restaurant. They need 1, and then they should move the car. Parking is free, why should I pay you $10 to park the car myself and then have you watch it. Not cool, something needs to change!

Ok, back to the review. La Vendetta spent a ton of money renovating and refinishing the old Rainbo Cafe. Rainbo has been there since the 1930's without much more than a paint job every now and then. Rainbo, before closing was a diner but started out as a casino, and had one of the original liquor licenses in Broward County after Prohibition. La Vendetta went all out, new everything including the bathrooms, which are a huge improvement. Sitting down you are treated to two different menus, one an Italian American menu, and one a Romanian. I'm not too sure why they are going after two different markets, pick one and do it really well. Everyone who works there is Romanian, from the owners, to the cooks, to the servers. My thoughts, be a Romanian restaurant, and leave the lasagna and spaghetti to the people who can do it really well.

Warm, fresh bread came out with a saucer of oil and olive dip, very nice. We also ordered an eggplant appetizer that wasn't much more than a baba ghanoush with a roasted red pepper, good, but not what I expected.

We ordered our dinner from the Romanian menu, I had the mittitei, Carole went for the grilled pork chop. For those of you who are not familiar with Romanian food mittitei is a beef, non cased sausage, usually with lots of spices, and garlic, grilled, and served with mustard. So we waited for our meal, and waited, and waited. Now downtown Hollywood isn't a bad place to wait. You can definitely people watch and the view is priceless. Hollywood with its mix of Latin, European, Canadian, and the strange make for a great vibe and a lot of fun.


When the food finally arrived, 45 min later, it was good, nothing special though. The pork chop was ok, not a lot of flavor, but not dry. I have had better mittitei. Normally the spices and seasonings stick with you for hours after your last bite, these tasted more like a partly seasoned hamburger with some Frenches yellow mustard on the side. They were tasty, but completely unmemorable.

If you want to try something new in downtown Hollywood, that is completely redone and clean, with an above average lounge singer it isn't a bad Friday night. Upstairs offers a large banquette hall for parties of 75, the bar was well stocked, and while the meal wasn't anything exceptional, it wasn't bad at all. The service was a little slow, which for the fact it was half full was upsetting, but seeing a woman push a baby stroller with a cat in it made up for the wait. I will go back, I might try something different, but I will try it again. It was good, it just wasn't awesome.

Thanks Jesse Ziglar for taking this!

The night, like most for us in Downtown, eroded into going to PRL across the street for a pint, and then down to Hollywood Vine for a glass of something stronger. It was a good night, great conversations with friends we met up with, and great stories too. Seriously a baby stroller with a cat!

Hollywood on Dwellable

A taste of the Keys in North Miami: Blue Marlin Fish House Restaurant

Just about a mile away from work, right on the Oleta River one block east of US1 and 163 Street sits a little unassuming gem. If you like fresh smoked fish, and enjoy the breeze off the water this is the place to visit. Story to follow:

Followup: If you are not looking for  Blue Marlin Fish House as you drive east on 163rd St. be prepared to pass it on your way to the beach. If you do though, you have missed out on a taste of the keys right in your backyard. I have eaten here a few times, and it never dissapoints. The food is easy; fried, grilled, or smoked served in a plastic basket and is filling and inexpensive.

My recommendations are to start with the conch fritters, they are nothing too special, except to me all conch fritters are special. The smoked fish sandwich, or the fish tacos would be my follow up. The fish taco filling are mayonnaise biased, but not overpowering, or extra heavy. They have a good beer menu, mostly small batch breweries, but the cold, yellow, and cheap find a home on the board too.

It is hard to get out of here, not because of traffic or congestion, but because as soon as you sit down you forget where you are and have no desire to leave. Whether you are sitting on the patio under cover, or out on the dock looking at the boats pass by, and the fish jumping it feels like you are doing the same thing in Tavernier, or Largo

North Miami Beach on Dwellable

Lunch at FIU Kovens Center, Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management Advanced Food Production Management

Had a great lunch today at the Kovens Center. The students definitely outdid themselves. Full story to follow:

Followup: One of the many great things about working with FIU is the lunches and dinners that are put on by the very talented students here in the Kovens Center. Remember, that FIU, Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism is not a culinary program even though cooking classes are in the curriculum including a class that prepares, markets, and executes several lunches and dinners per semester.

These meals are open to the public, and reservations are available. Visit http://myhospitality.fiu.edu/mailings/DiningEvents.jpg for more information. Wednesday's lunch started with a Caprese salad, which was simple enough and got our taste buds ready for the main entree. A specialty drink, a blueberry-pomegranate iced tea, was served with the appetizer and wine was suggested with the main courses, that I declined. The two main course options were grilled lamb chops, or a pan seared sea bass that was substituted for the advertized mackerel. The fish was cooked perfectly and came with a couscous side that was bland, but OK, and a drizzle of chimichurri that overpowered the fish and was not necessary.

The people at my table found the lunch good, but the lamb was a little on the rare side for some of the guests. Desert was a chocolate mousse served with coffee. These are students, they are not formally trained professional chefs, or expert servers so there are some hiccups. All and all it was a great meal, partly because of the food, partly because of the view of the Biscayne Bay, and partly because of the company. I don't get to go to many of these events, work takes the priority over these things, but they are fun to do. Please, if you are in the area and want to try something for lunch or dinner, and to help out the university, please look at the days, make a reservation and try one out. Next fall the new restaurant and teaching kitchen will be complete, and the renderings are of the best looking restaurant I have ever seen.

North Miami Beach on Dwellable

Movies at O Cinema, dinner at Wynwood Kitchen & Bar

Friday night we had a great meal in South Beach, Saturday we went into the design district. This area of Miami has made huge changes in the past 10 years. What once was a blighted frightening area, has had a huge transformation and is trendy and a fun place to walk around.

First we went to O Cinema, a strange little movie theater that once was a warehouse. Indistinguishably from the front as a movie theater with the exception of the large art mural walking in, doesn't make you feel as though you are going to see the next great blockbuster. Well you aren't, O Cinema  is an independent theater playing artsy, foreign, and strange movies that don't get the normal attention or large ticket sales. We wanted to see Crazy Horse, we saw the live show in Las Vegas and this seamed like it would be fun to see the behind the scenes of the show. Ticket prices were reasonable, about $10.00 each, wine and beer were very inexpensive, just about $3.00 for a plastic cup full. After waiting for the movie ahead of us to finish we visited one of the little shops in the building and picked up a little trinket for mom. When we sat down we were treated to a live burlesque show before the movie, very unexpected, very cool. The movie was good, but the experience was great, I will keep my eyes open for something else to strike my fancy and we will go there again.

Courtesy Thomas Lowey Visuals

After the movie, we drove only .2 miles to Wynwood Kitchen and Bar where I had made reservations, glad I did. We sat outside and not only did we experience a great dinners of small plates, we had a beautiful surroundings of interesting wall art. The dinner was fabulous. We ordered 4 different dishes, the short ribs, the PEI mussels and clams, the flash fried bok choy, and the special of the night the duck prosciutto salad. With the exception of the salad everything was spectacular. The duck prosciutto was cut too thick and the dressing overpowered the flavor of the duck and the arugula. The other three dishes surely made up for the one flop (which we still ate, because while it wasn't great it wasn't terrible either).

The beer and specialty drink menu was a little intimidating, but I had the Aiko, a combination of tequila and Pimms with other flavors reminding me of a margarita but different. For desert we split the coconut upside down cake, which was so hot that it burned my mouth but I didn't care because it was so good. Dinner was very reasonable, only $90.00 and parking is free so it was a great deal.

We walked around afterwards, and looked at the wall art, a free movie was being shown behind the restaurant and it looked like people just bring their lawn chairs and sit outside and watch. The art was very well done, and the Peter Tunney art gallery has some amazing works in it. It was a great evening, even though Carole was feeling her cold acting up and wanted to go home. When she feels better, and we have a reason to take some people to try something new we are definitely going back down to Wynwood.

Yardbird Southern Table & Bar

We ventured down to South Beach this weekend, actually we hit Miami twice this week for two terrific date night dinners. Friday night we took a chance and hit Yardbird Southern Table and Bar without a reservation, but it paid off. Yardbird is a hometown, southern cuisine restaurant that has large servings and special cocktails.

Be prepared when you get there with a date, the tables are large and the chance of sharing it with one or two other couples is possible. Carole and I shared the fried chicken, with two sides; mac and cheese, and the grits. The fried chicken was great, but I have had better, just not much better. The grits and mac and cheese were thick, and heavy, full of flavor and a perfect companion to the chicken. The decor is very country, exposed wood and brick, natural finishes, very clean and inviting.

While the food is great, the drinks are awesome. The majority of the specialty drinks are bourbon based, but with lots of interesting flavors that people who don't like the taste of Kentucky nectar will still find something that they like. We finished off the dinner with the apple pie, obviously homemade crust, that came with a scoop of buttermilk ice cream and pickled raisins.

Walking out of any restaurant on South Beach with only paying $100.00 per couple is a major accomplishment, and I think we won. We will be back, I want to try the shrimp and grits.