Tag Archives: restaurant

1826 is a gift to Miami

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For whatever reason Chef Danny Grant decided to open a restaurant in Miami (Lebron, le ladies etc) I am thankful. His 1826 restaurant in South Beach is a show stopper. I would usually share pics of what I ate but the flash was so obnoxious I figured I could explain with my words.

FOOD

Sensational. Each dish was a surprise of flavor and had us asking “What the hell was in that?” From the bread to the dessert, there was no detail overlooked. The burrata dish is a must and was so divine I’m going to try to recreate it – anyone got a dehydrator I can borrow? My husband had the lamb shank which was cooked to perfection and nestled in a soft lovely sauce that had subtleties of cardamom and other spices. I got the seafood stew in which the waiter poured the hot creamy broth over the mix of fish, shrimp and vidalia onions so the wafts of curry could slap me right in the face. Nicely done.

SPACE

Lovely design. Beautiful wine cellar. You can also select your beer/wine/cocktail off of a convenient and informative iPad. There is also a third floor that has a lounge but we’re saving that rendevous for a weekend evening.

STAFF

Attentive. Knowledgeable. Unpretentious. My fav.

 

Hopefully, this gift from Grant will be appreciated by the Miami critics and continue as a South Beach treasure.

 

http://www.1826collins.com/

 

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Miami Spiced: Hakkasan

After narrowing down our Miami Spice list, hubs and I landed on Hakkasan, Makoto, Gotham Steak and Catch. I really love this article posted on Thrillist on the top best values. This past weekend we went to Hakkasan for lunch. Not many restaurants offer lunch, let alone offer it on a Saturday.

What I love about this restaurant’s spice deal is that they give you multiple apps and entrees, no need to pick just one. Where I think we went wrong was choosing lunch over dinner. Frankly, the dinner menu sounds much better. As well, the restaurant is lined with gorgeous floor to ceiling intricate wood paneling. This eliminates any view or terrace option, so we really weren’t able to take advantage of the gorgeous day and scenery.

Oh and the food, well, here is the rundown:

HAKKA SIGNATURE COCKTAIL – A delightful lychee cocktail that’s velvety texture had me taking this one down like I was partying at LIV.

DIM SUM COMBO  – Really unique dim sum. I was particularly impressed with the steamed mini char siew bun (precious white pillow in the picture).

BARBEQUED COMBO – Great BBQ items, nothing really else to say here.

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CRISPY SEABASS IN ORANGE SAUCE – Orange sauce tasted more like a mango sorbet, I felt it didn’t really compliment the battered Seabass either.

STIR-FRIED SHANGHAI BAK CHOI WITH GINGER OIL – Nothing fancy.

NOODLES (Spicy sesame bean curd skin cheung fun) – You gotta be open-minded for this one, which I wasn’t really feeling that day.

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MANGO CUSTARD – The coconut sorbet made this dish!

WHITE CHOCOLATE PANNA COTTA – I thought the white chocolate was a brilliant panna cotta idea – great combination of flavors.

Restauraudit: M.E.A.T

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Traveling to or from Big Pine Key is a 3 hour car ride so me and my beau always make a point to break it up with a great lunch. I’ve made it my goal to try every well rated place in the upper Keys. We more often than not end up at a seafood place but in this instance we were craving something meaty. And then we found M.E.A.T Eatery and Taproom. It’s a cozy quick service restaurant that offers savory and creative burgers which a great selection of beer.

I had the standard burger which was salty and delicious, the bun was also airy and flavorful. I was pleasantly surprised by the homemade ketchup. Generally I don’t like homemade ketchups but this spicy mango version was great for dipping the duck fat fries. – YUM!

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Restauraudit: Wok Town

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Decided to try Wok Town, a noodle bar near Lincoln road, after a movie the other night. Service is quick and the food is served hot. Good flavors but nothing to write home about. They do deliver so I may be hitting them up again, the salads looked quite appetizing so next time I’ll likely try one of those. My husband and I ordered the following:

Chicken lettuce wraps – a little different from what I was expecting, it was more of a ground meat concoction

Crispy brussels sprouts – these were very fried so much so that they weren’t green anymore. quite tasty but I wouldn’t call this a healthy side

Gyoza – we ordered the steam pork gyoza, lacked some flavor in the meat filling

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