NickV

Le Tub on Hollywood Beach has a great burger (number one in the country according to GQ) and lots of people like it for the "old Florida" atmosphere. Be warned, it is a massive burger and usually a long wait. Cash only. Lots of fun. Downtown Hollywood has a couple of good spots. I'm fond of Beefeater steakhouse, a reasonably priced Argentinian place. Right next door is PRL, a Polish bar with a great beer list. Next door to that is Mauro's, which has great pizza. Across the street is Chocolada, a very good Russian pastry shop. It's worth taking a walk around Main Street and Harrison Street and seeing if anything else catches your eye. Hollywood Vine is a nice wine bar on Harrison near Dixie Highway. I believe you said you weren't into Asian, but I have to recommend Hiro's Yakko San, an izakaya (Japanese tapas) restaurant in North Miami (probably about a 10-15 minute drive from Hollywood). Since I moved here last year it has become my favorite place. Plus they're usually open until around 2 or 3 in the morning. Also, if you're looking for a very casual and very friendly seafood place, try Tark's, which is on US1, north of Hollywood in Dania. The first time we went there, we saw a few people get dropped off there straight from the airport with all of their luggage. I think that's a good sign. There's also a French-Canadian place up in Dania called Dairy Belle, which serves poutine, if you're into that.

Waterfront Market is definitely your best bet for produce and seafood. Publix is useful for more run of the mill essentials that will likely be more expensive at places like Waterfront and Fausto's.

The results... So, I made my two chickens tonight. I wound up going with the disposable aluminum pan. It actually worked just fine. The roasting took about at least 50% longer than my recipe usually takes. That's just a guess on the time though, as toward the end I just kept checking the temps and giving it a few more minutes each time. I did have to tent the birds with foil for a little while. The veg did not burn at all. And, while the chickens were resting, I drained some of the fat from the veg and broiled them to make up for the browning they lost from not having a heavy roasting pan. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Hmm, I have a pyrex lasagna pan, but I think that might crowd the birds too much. I would use my two cast iron skillets, but I worry that they'll put the chickens too close to the outer edges of the oven. There are also two 9" square, 2" deep brownie pans that might work. I could put a good layer of veg in each one and then rest the chickens on top. Actually, looking at the cast iron pans in the oven, each bird would sit pretty much directly below one of the heating coils, so that might actually work. Maybe the two cast iron skillets with root veg and one bird each are the way to go.

I have a GE electric oven, 2' wide x about 18" deep and 18" tall. Since I only have one skillet suitable for roasting and no really big roasting pan, I was going to use a disposable aluminum pan (lined with chopped root veg). I figure this should give me enough room to separate the birds pretty well.

I find that some slices of potato below the chicken do a good job of keeping the smoke to a minimum.

I'm pretty happy with the way my roast chicken has been coming out lately. I go with the method from The Best Recipe, which involves starting the chicken on its side at 375, rotating it a few times and then finishing it breast side up at 450. I'm having a few people over and I'd like to do two chickens with some root vegetables (cut fairly small so that they'll roast through in the hour-hour and a half it usually takes me to do a chicken). I'm wondering if anyone can advise regarding changing oven temperatures and times to accomodate two birds. Thanks.

I definitely agree with Derek's and Southgate Gourmet. Also, Pho Cali on Main for Vietnamese and Red on Hillview for Peruvian.

We went to Hiro's Yakko-San tonight and also had a great experience. Vegetable tempura, grilled pork belly, miso soup, udon, soba and red bean ice cream were all great. Sitting at the bar gave us a good view of things to order next time as well. We'll surely go back. Anybody know what the guys working the line say to people as the walk in?

Oh, and I went to Gino's and got some great sweet sausage for a pasta sauce tonight. I'll definitely be going back to that place. I tried to hit the Colombian place on the way back but they were parked two cars deep out front and I didn't see anywhere else to pull in. I guess I'll have to make it there another time when it isn't lunch hour.

We wento Try My Thai the other night, but left after only a minute because the place smelled of fish and cleaning products and our napkins smelled, as my girlfriend keenly noted, "like a wet dog."

Thanks, I'll be sure to check it out when I'm near there.

Thanks, those are all great suggestions. Feel free to post about the colombian places as well. Any good, cheap takeout ideas would be great, too.

I just recently moved to downtown Hollywood and I'm trying to get situated as far as eating and shopping for food is concerned. The publix on young circle was a bit of a let down, so I'd like to find a few alternatives. If anyone can suggest places for meat, produce (farmers market or other open-air fruit/veg shopping anywhere?) and fresh seafood in the area, that would be great. Walkable is ideal, but even if I have to drive, it's no big deal. As for restaurants, in the few days I've been here, I've had good luck with Exotic Bites, Mauro's and Goyo El Poyo. The latter had a great roast chicken. I'm eating out on a budget for the moment, so if anyone can suggest other relatively inexpensive places in the downtown Hollywood area (is that silly?) I'd appreciate it. Any good places for a con leche/medianoche? Also, I think I saw an Italian bakery on Hollywood Blvd. Any reports on that? I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get around more. I look forward to posting reccomendations and not just questions soon.

So, while I was out the other night, my roommate used my red Le Creuset dutch oven to make some fesenjoon. The dish actually came out pretty well, considering he'd never made it before. That's beside the point. The point is that he wasn't aware of how well LC pots conduct heat, so I guess he left it to simmer for a while and... Long story short, after a few days of scrubbing and soaking, there's still a big layer of coal-black stuff burnt onto the bottom of my dutch oven. He's tried making a paste of baking soda and dish soap and scrubbing with that, soaking in rubbing alcohol and of course plenty of regular old scrubbing with Dawn. I initially found him going at it with a steel wool pad, which I quickly put a stop to. Luckily the cake of black on the bottom was so thick that the steel pad didn't get anywhere near the enamel. At any rate, if anyone has any advice on other methods of getting this crud off my pan, please advise. Thanks.