drosendorf
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Posts posted by drosendorf
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My thoughts and comments on Dos Palillos are finally up on my blog. We had a very nice meal with a few really pleasing items, and it's a place that I could happily recommend as a fun, satisfying and fairly reasonably priced meal, but on a certain level, I was somewhat disappointed given the expectations that may (unfairly) come about when eating at the restaurant of someone who was the chef de cuisine at El Bulli for nearly a decade.
I enjoyed the food and am a huge fan of Asian flavors, but - at least as someone who is pretty familiar with those flavors already - there just wasn't much in the prep methods or the flavor combinations that struck me as all that adventurous. A few items were standouts - the ankimo, the navajas, the tempura'd cherry tomatoes - and at least one other was close, a dashi-infused chawan mushi topped with trout roe (disappointing only b/c the crunchy trout roe texture was not a good pairing to my tastes against the super-creamy and tender custard) - but I suppose I expected something more cutting edge in light of the chef's resume.
It's a place I could happily return to as a regular dining destination, particularly if items are offered a la carte rather than just as a tasting menu (as I believe they are in the more casual front bar) - but it was largely missing the "wow" factor I anticipated.
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For Japanese the place to go is Hiro's Yakko-San in North Miami Beach. Izakaya style, no nigiri or maki but they do have sashimi and onigiri, though the real draw is the many different small dishes. My favorite sushi place - and this is one of those closely guarded secrets I'm almost reluctant to part with - is at a little Japanese market on the 79th Street Causeway to Miami Beach called "Sushi Deli", a/k/a "Japanese Market."
Yes, the "cream of the crop" of Miami restaurants would include Michael's Genuine, Michy's and Sra. Martinez, but that's not the entire universe. At a lower price point and with a somewhat funkier vibe (though the execution is not quite as reliable and the service is certainly not at the same level, I like Red Light. Good focus on local ingredients, a bit of New Orleans flair (excellent bbq shrimp), neat place in a slightly dodgy section of Biscayne Blvd, good value. I also like Pacific Time in the Design District.
For some local flavor, if you're a carnivore you might enjoy an Argentine parrillada, the high-end version can be had at Graziano's (nicest location is in Coral Gables, original is in Hialeah), lower-end at Las Vacas Gordas on Normandy Island (a/k/a North Beach, which is north of South Beach and north of North Miami Beach around 71st Street) or several other places. This little pocket of Miami Beach, stretching back over to the mainland, has a number of interesting, lower-budget dining options, and I've made a Google Map with locations and descriptions of many of them.
Or if you're more of a seafood person, go Peruvian. Francesco in Coral Gables is generally regarded as the best (though I don't think as highly of it as some do). They also do very good ceviches at Jaguar in Coconut Grove.
You mention South Beach in your title but the reality is that South Beach is not where the best food is to be found in Miami these days. However, if that's where you're headed, I think the best and most interesting food on South Beach is at Talula, which is one of my favorite local restaurants. It's a bit pricy but certainly not the most expensive place on the Beach. I also like Sardinia for good regional Sardinian dishes and also very nice antipasti. For somewhat lower budget, Indomania does interesting and good Dutch-Indonesian food.
If your home base is Hollywood, you're also pretty close to Timo in Sunny Isles, which is another of my favorites. Also, perhaps not responsive to the somewhat down-market focus of your thread, but they do a very interesting restaurant-within-a-restaurant thing at the Trump hotel in Sunny Isles called "Paradigm - The Test Kitchen," a once-a-week set menu with a focus on current cutting edge cooking techniques and concepts.
And at risk of breaching etiquette by mentioning another site, I think you'll find that the chowhound Florida board is often a good bit more active than this particular eG forum.
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Since I had recent meals at both Arzak and Akelare, this thread seemed as likely a place as any to post them. First, Arzak. A more detailed description of our meal is here on my blog.
The tasting menu offered two options for all but one of the courses, so we got to try 13 dishes plus apertivos and post-desserts. There was a good dose of modern technique (spherification, fat powders, etc.) but for the most part it was integrated into the dishes rather than standing out as gimmickry for the sake of it. Here's the quick rundown.
apertivos - "puding de kabrarroka con fideos fritos" (scorpionfish mouuse w/ a crispy coating, apparently a take-off on a traditional Basque dish); lotus root chips w/ a mousse of "arraitxiki", some local fish; spherified wild mushroom topped with crunchy corn dust; crispy rice crackers with a mushroom filling; and a soup of black alubia beans topped with a frothy liquified white cheese, this in particular being the real standout.
manzana con aceite de foie - really nice, slices of apple topped with an "oil of foie" and then spinkled with sugar that gets bruleed.
ostras vegetales - two plump oysters bathing in a tartly citric sauce, with briny sea beans and capers.
bogavante con aceite de olive "extra blanco" - perfectly tender lobster tail with a powdered olive oil which gets re-emulsified tableside with a pour of a broth.
cigalas - langoustine tails, also wonderfully fresh and tender, with a yellow sauce with a whiff of vanilla.
"del huevo a la gallina" - another twist on the classic "Arzak egg", this one wrapped first in a translucent sheet of yellow egg yolk standing up like a cylindrical tent, over which is poured a chicken broth which melts the sheet and turns it into a sauce; the egg also generously flecked with flesh black truffle shavings.
rape bonceado - monkfish "bronzed" with a sauce that gives the fish's exterior a reddish twang, plated with a medium-brown jus over which another sauce is spooned tableside which produces beautiful iridescent bronze pools. Edible abstract-origami paper, also a brilliant bronze, accompanied.
lenguado con aceite de jengibre y pan de coco - sole filets with a ginger-y sauce plated with little discs of melon and a scatter of tiny sprouts. Pretty and elegant.
pato azulon con perdigones dulces - seared duck (not partiuclarly blue to my eyes) with shiny pink and silver spheres; the pink seemed flavored with sherry vinegar, the silver somewhat indistinct.
foie con tejote - seared foie gras, with a great combination of a corn sauce, little crispy chocolate bits, and little round pools of jelled raspberry sauce.
sopa y chocolate "entre vinedos" - chocolate spheres arranged in a triangle shape, with a red wine soup and a scoop of delicious, bright green basil ice cream.
esmeraldas de chocolate con laminas de rosquillas - another treat for the eyes, little hockey pucks with a dark green iridescent coating (made using spinach, we were advised), chocolate within, and powdered sweet crumbs in a ring around them. Thought the chocolate flavor was a little too muted.
bizcocho esponjoso de yogur - a fluffy sponge cake (probably using the Adria microwave method) with pools of coconut pudding, thin shards of dried pineapple, and little branches of chocolate, arranged to look like a coral reef. Beautiful and tasty.
dulce lunatico - little nuggets that looked like caramel turtle candies, but just a fragile caramel shell and gushing tart citrus liquid inside.
When they had heard that this was something of an anniversary dinner for us, they brought out a beautiful chocolate box encapsulating a little cake, a really generous and unbidden gesture.
Color was, as the notes above indicate, a recurring theme in the meal, and some of the presentations really were quite remarkable. Flavorwise, though a couple things were somewhat muted to my tastes, several were real standouts - the black bean soup, the apple with foie oil, the egg, the foie, the sponge cake.
The Arzaks, Juan Mari and daughter Elena, were tremendously gracious and charming, coming by all the tables multiple times to check on the diners, answer questions on the dishes and so on. The whole experience had a really pleasantly unstuffy vibe.
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Doc (and others that attended the MF):
Last but not least, how could one summarize Elena
Arzak's presentation on colour?
Did I understand correctly that in some dishes the colour of, say,
a broth can be changed tableside, as the diner watches,
without altering the flavour of
the dish? Can someone please clarify this?
thanks!
I would summarize the presentation as one focusing on the value of color in enhancing a diner's response to a meal. In doing so, she presented several techniques used at Arzak to achieve color while either enhancing or not affecting flavor. I'm sorry, but I don't specifically recall what she may have said about color changing.
Just stumbled back across this post after having enjoyed a dinner at Arzak a couple weeks ago (about which I'll post more later). Color clearly was a recurring and prominent theme in our menu, and there was indeed at least one dish where a color-changing effect was produced tableside - a "rape bronceado" that had been plated with a light-brown translucent jus, which then had another sauce spooned over tableside, producing iridescent bronze "pools" in the sauce. Also accompanying the dish were "crackers" of origami-like folded paper also colored a bright shiny bronze, which I think Elena Arzak explained were made primarily with onion and colored using a product typically used in baking.
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On a trip back from Grand Cayman, we have a 6 hour layover in Miami next Friday. Yeah, I know that's a crazy schedule. We're traveling with a one year old, and we figured two quick flights and a super-long layover were better than several long flights.
So where can we go for food? I'd like to get out of the airport. It has to be low-key, because we have the kid.
My first thought, knowing absolutely nothing about Miami, was Calle 8. Is that doable from the airport and where should we go?
I'd greatly appreciate it, as well, if someone would PM me advice on how to get there (I'm assuming a cab is the best option, but I don't know).
With a 6-hour layover, Calle Ocho is certainly doable. Versailles is a good recommendation for some local Cuban flavor. However, I should note it's not what most would call "low-key" - like its namesake, the restaurant is covered in mirrors and chandeliers - gaudy is the word more often used. Here's info on Versailles location, etc.:
http://southflorida.menupages.com/restaura...taurantid=33290
You're also within easy range of Coral Gables, which has lots of dining options, depending on what you're looking for. There's Ortanique for Nuevo-Caribbean, Su Shin Izakaya for sushi and Japanese small dishes, Graziano's for Argentine, Francesco for Peruvian, Bugatti for decent Italian, Por Fin for Mediterranean-inflected Spanish ... and plenty more. None of these are exactly "hushed dining rooms," but some are fancier than others and I'm not sure where you feel comfortable taking the 1-yr old with you (certainly none would frown at you for doing so).
A cab is definitely the way to go. Public transport in Miami is very weak.
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Pintxos, except at a handful of places, are way too overrated. The experience is great, but the food not that much. The exceptions, to me, are Ganbara, Bergara, Aloña Berri and Cuchara de San Telmo. The latter is the more 'cuisine oriented', that is, there's real cooking in what they serve you. Of course, probably others will have more recs.
I'd say "way too overrated" is a bit strong. Though not everything you'll eat will be revelatory, there's plenty that's quite good - though I'd certainly agree that some places are more interesting, culinarily, than others. From our recent visit, I thought Aloña Berri was really almost in a league of its own. Absolutely stunning presentations, excellent flavors, really exceptional. On the other hand, I thought La Cuchara de San Telmo was somewhat disappointing (perhaps we ordered poorly). I also thought Gandarias and Casa Senra were very good. More info here ->
http://www.foodforthoughtmiami.com/2009/03...-sebastian.html
In answer to the original question, we weren't out at midnight to be able to tell you, sorry.
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I'm revisiting this old thread on account of a recent visit to Goizeko Wellington, part of the Goizeko Gaztelupe group, earlier this month. Even though we were headed to Basque country the next day, the restaurant had been recommended by someone whose judgment I trust, and we were in the mood for seafood and something a little more traditional before doing more of the alta cocina thing in San Sebastian. It was a very pleasant meal rooted in Basque traditions but with some contemporary flair.
We started with percebes (goose barnacles), something I'd never tried before. Despite the price, I was glad we did. Our server didn't even smirk when we stared at them slightly baffled after they were delivered to our table, instead he quickly deduced that we'd never had them before and (1) fetched bibs; and (2) showed us how to eat them. Bending the tube part from both sides like you're trying to break a pencil ("abajo!" our waiter cautioned me before spraying myself with its juices) yielded a little nubbin of meat that was just slightly springy and resilient (less than a clam, more like a cooked mushroom) and tasted just like the essence of the sea. These were a real revelation and the highlight of the meal for us.
I followed the percebes with an app that was a variation on an ensaladilla rusa, turned into croquetas and spiked with some herring roe which added a light seafood note and interesting texture. I have an unexplainable fondness for salad rusa, so this hit the spot for me. Mrs. F had a lobster salad which brought a whole claw, extracted from the shell, over a bed of nice greens, with the dressing in part in the form of a lightly gelled sherry vinaigrette on the bottom of the plate.
For a main I had pochas y almejas, a classic combination of clams and white beans, which was absolutely delicious. The seafood brine of the clams had completely permeated the beans and their thick stew. This was simple, hearty and satisfying, my only gripe being the dearth of clams (less than a half-dozen to a big bowl of beans). Mrs. F had grilled calamares that were wonderfully fresh and perfectly grilled.
We had a Txakoli with dinner that was recommended by the sommelier when I told him my fondness for these Basque whites, and unfortunately I can't recall the producer. The wine, which had a few years bottle age on it (I had never even considered Txakoli as remotely age-worthy) traded the spritzy freshness of a new Txakoli for an intruiging salinity, while still having that bracingly palate-refreshing acidity. The wine list (the whites, anyway, where I was looking given our seafood-centric ordering) happily was chock full of options in the € 30-40 range.
For dessert we split "chocolate y naranja en texturas" which satisfied a long-standing food memory for me of Baskin-Robbins Mandarin Chocolate Sherbert. The gelato in this dish (which was balanced on a sheet of dark chocolate flavored with orange, which itself was balanced over a lighter chocolate mousse ringed with crunchy bits, along with some candied orange peel, etc.) was, flavor-wise, a dead ringer for this childhood favorite.
More info on our visit here.
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By the way, there's a gimmick in the Las Bravas 'patent' - what this bar did, back in 1960, is register its name, so that no other Spanish bar may call itself 'Las Bravas'. But it certainly didn't obtain a patent for its recipe.
I was curious about that - in the U.S., a recipe is generally not something which can be patented.
Five liters mayonnaise, 100 grams garlic cloves, 100 grams hot 'pimentón' (paprika power), 0.2 liters tomato ketchup, two liters water. Blend together for two minutes.That will indeed make an industrial size batch. Is tomato ketchup customary?
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Though mentioned often I didn't see any thread or extended discussion here of Viridiana, Chef Abraham García's Madrid restaurant, so ...
This was our second visit to Viridiana. The first was about 3-4 years ago and was one of our favorite restaurant experiences on that trip to Spain. This time, still on American time, we showed up several minutes before 9pm and were the first to arrive at the restaurant (the host looked to still be putting on his tie), but we were graciously received and seated. It's a small, intimate place, no more than a dozen tables total, and a few more groups of diners filtered in shortly after us. Service was very friendly and helpful, though todos en español. We were started with a couple apertivos before our orders arrived. The first was a soup of curried lentil supplemented with king crab meat - warming and nicely (not overpoweringly) spiced, though the crab was mostly lost. That was followed by an interesting salad of fresh leaves (radicchio, a beautiful and bracingly bitter red-leaf lettuce, several different brightly flavored sprouts), various pickled things (a slab of herring, a pickled onion, a cube of some sort of pickled vegetable), an olive-oil soaked sun-dried tomato, a few slices of very nice chorizo, and a slab of luscious fresh melon. Very refreshing and a nice wake-up for the appetite.
Dinner took something of a detour from there. For an app, I had a dish described as "arroz meloso con costillas de cerdo, senderuelas, y langostinos del sur." The dish was a nice spin on a mar y montaña and the senderuelas - which I believe were translated on an English menu as "fairy ring mushrooms" - gave a nice flavor to the creamy, rich rice. The shrimp (not langoustines - Spanish names for many seafood items differ from here in the U.S. and I'm still sorting out the many different genres) were separately grilled and laid over the top to avoid overcooking. But the pork ribs unfortunately were chipping off little bone shards everywhere, making their way into just about every bite. Now unlike some people, I have no issue whatsoever with eating food from the bone (as my main course will attest) but this was a very unpleasant distraction.
Mrs. F meanwhile started with the dish that had made us go all goggle-eyed from our first visit - "huevos de corral sobre mousse de hongos ("boletas edulis") y trufas negras ("tuber melanosporum")". This is a farm-fresh fried egg, served in an iron skillet with a mushroom (specifically, porcini) mousse, topped with a generous shaving of fresh black truffles. The first time we had this dish at Viridiana, it would have easily made a list of Top 10 Things I've Eaten. Yet somehow this time it didn't quite hold up to the memory. The egg was just as delicious (why are the eggs in Spain so much better than our eggs? And why do the yolks glow with that beautiful sunset orange color?), but the mousse seemed somewhat flat, whereas last time it was light and frothy and simultaneously more redolent with mushroom flavor. And the truffle, despite the generous dusting, did little to share its magical perfume with the dish (perhaps just a result of it being later in the truffle season than our last visit and the truffles not being as fresh). Still good, just not on the same level as our memory of the dish.
For a main, I had the tuétanos de ternera, the most shockingly abundant order of marrow bones I have ever seen. There were at least 8 big fat marrow bones crowded onto the plate, with nothing else other than a pile of toasted slices of pan integral and a small salad of baby arugula and pomegranate seeds (which was unfortunately literally bathing in way too much dressing). For those of us who love marrow, this is all we need for a happy meal. The bones were roasted perfectly, the marrow pulling out of them hot and quivering but still intact, ready to be shmeared onto a toast and quickly steered to the mouth. García is clearly a big fan of the oft-neglected "fifth quarter" or offal, indeed has devoted a whole cookbook to offal recipes, "De Tripas Corazón."
Mrs. F went in another direction for a main, having the "skrei (bacalao fresco) a la parilla con mojo de chile chipotle." Skrei (I learned post-dinner through the magic of Google) is a Norwegian (not Basque, as I'd assumed) word for fresh Arctic cod, and in particular is a designation used only when it is caught in the months from January through March as the fish return to the Norwegian coast for spawning. The fish, supposedly "in its prime, full of energy and fertility" is in perfect condition for eating. Even better, it seems that because of strong Norwegian regulation, the skrei, unlike many other cod populations, is sustainably fished. I'm usually not a big fan of the flaky white fish varieties, but this was quite lushly textured and good eating. In fact, on tasting it Mrs. F and I both assumed it had been oil-poached in some manner, yet the menu's description indicates only a simple grilling. Given Chef García's fondness for offal, I'm surprised, having read how the Norwegians also treasure the liver and roe of the skrei, that these did not make their way into the dish. The sauce which accompanied was an interesting cross-cultural amalgam, somewhere between a Mexican mole and a Catalan romescu. Some soft-cooked raf tomatoes and garlic-laden slices of eggplant accompanied. We saw these sweet raf tomatoes in restaurants and markets throughout our trip, a green-and-red striped, somewhat knobby thing for which the Spaniards apparently happily pay about 3x more than a regular tomato.
Instead of dessert we opted for cheeses, which brought an interesting assortment - an Idiazabal, a Torta del Casar, a Cabrales, a Marcellin, and an Epoisses. Little bowls of a sweet tomato jam and membrillo accompanied. The Torta del Casar was probably my favorite, the Marcellin still being a little too firm and the Epoisses also not quite fully ripe. Our waiter confessed to us that he hates the stuff, but "the chef loves it."
Though we overall had a fine meal, there were a couple really glaring off-notes (the bony rice, the side salad with the marrow bones swimming in dressing) that surprised me, even aside from the egg and mushroom dish not quite living up to our memory of it. An off-night? Perhaps even literally so. We were there on a Monday night, which is often "chef's night off" here in the U.S. Perhaps it was true at Viridiana as well.
Some more comments on our visit here on my blog
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In trying to find the appropiate place to post some of my comments from my recent Spain trip I came across this post. I didn't realize that Las Bravas in Madrid were not only specialists in bravas but the supposed inventors of the sauce. I did indeed like their sauce quite a bit, though I prefer my potatoes a bit crispier than theirs were. I did also quite like this painting on the wall there.
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Thanks to all for the generous advice, just returned yesterday. The final itinerary ended up including Casa Lucas, Vinoteca Barberecha, Las Bravas, Viridiana, and Goizeko in Madrid, Arzak, Akelare, and too many tapas places to count in San Sebastian and Bilbao; Dos Palillos, Paco Meralgo, and Cuines Santa Caterina in Barcelona.
Highlights - percebes at Goizeko Wellington; the bizarre picture on the wall at Las Bravas in Madrid; tapas in Barrio Gros in San Sebastian; the whole experience at Arzak; the view and the cochinillo at Akelare; navajas at Dos Palillos; calcots at Cuines Sta. Caterina.
I will update later with more info here and on my blog (link below) but wanted to thank everyone for their helpful input.
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I agree with PhilD. I've been to Mugaritz and Arzak and loved both, but for me the overall experience at Mugaritz was a step above. It remains one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.
My wife only has limited patience for these kinds of meals and so I had to make some choices, and she was more excited about Arzak than Mugaritz, so ... there you have it.
By the way, if you are eating in Arzak and wandering around some of the tapas places in the Gros district, you might like the Villa Soro as a base. We stayed there a few years ago and it was very convenient for Arzak, Bar Bergara etc.We are staying at Villa Soro. Glad to hear your recommendation, many people tried to steer me to the Maria Cristina.
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We don't get up to Fort Lauderdale for dinner often, but we were meeting family this weekend and had a nice dinner at 3030 Ocean in the Marriott Harbor Beach. Chef Dean James Max was recently nominated for a regional James Beard Award, and the restaurant features lots of fresh seafood, produce and other artisanal products, with a focus on local purveyors. The menu when we visited had local red snapper, pompano, wahoo and cobia, as well as exotic items like wild striped bass, walu and monchong. Interesting preps, and many good non-seafood items like a great salad topped with thin slices of Benton's smoked ham. The setting is typical hotel dining but the food was anything but.
More info on our meal here.
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I'll throw out a few more places I found:
Plat Bleu at the Delano
Sandwich-Wise
Maison D'Azure at the Astor
Hed Kandi Lounge (features molecular gastro menu)
Apple Restaurant & Lounge (Miami outpost of Los Angeles restaurant)
BLT Steak at the Betsy
If anyone has been, please post your review/thoughts.
BTW: I'm from Jersey, home of Italian restaurants, so the last thing I want on vacation is more Italian food!
Of the places you've mentioned, I've only been to Maison d'Azur and that was at the prior location at the Angler's Resort before they moved to the Astor Hotel. The concept is a seafood brasserie, French style with a fish & seafood focus. I thought it was pretty good, somewhat expensive for what it was, with some hits and some misses. The location at the Angler's was pretty nice, particularly the outdoor seating, but the Astor has always been a nice space too.
I'm not sure that either Apple or BLT Steak are open yet. Also not entirely sure that Hed Kandi is a real sit-down dinner type place, more of a lounge that has some food.
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Some near-final questions before we leave:
MADRID:
- Casa Lucio and Zalacain have been recommended to me in Madrid. Casa Lucio seems one of those "venerable institution" type places. How's the food? Zalacain?
- Any further insights on Tasquita de Enfrente?
SAN SEBASTIAN:
- I am at a crossroads and believe I have to make a choice between Akelare and Etxebarri for a lunch (unless we were to do one of them for lunch prior to a dinner at Arzak, which just seems like complete overkill which even I may not be up for). ??? Another possibility is to try to switch Akelare to a dinner Wed night when we arrive in S.S., though I thought it would be nicer to visit during the daytime to enjoy the views. Any words of wisdom?
Finally - any particular seasonal products we should be looking out for in early March?
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It seems much of the action has moved over to the downtown design district. I will only be on the beach for three days and two nights and prefer to find dining within walking distance of the south beach area. What new restaurants are worthy of a visit? I see OLA just received a Golden Spoon award, 8 oz Burger and Meat Market got good reviews, and Loftin's 1116 Ocean gets you access into the Versace home. How are older places, such as Prime One Twelve (ate there in '05), Barton G (ate there in '05), Blue Door (ate there in '05), Nemo, and Sushi Samba (ate there in '05) doing? I've never been to Big Pink and feel as though I should. I think I also saw a good review for the bar food at The Setai. Any suggestions?
Just to clarify, the Design District is not downtown Miami. It's actually about 30 blocks north.
Best place on South Beach IMO, hands down, is Talula. Husband-wife chef team (Andrea Curto and Frank Randazzo), both well-established individually before opening the restaurant together. Many of the dishes have some creative ingredient pairings (I really enjoyed the scallops w/ curried cashews, bacon-corn emulsion & root beer gastrique), while Frank does great steaks (some say the Tomahawk Chop is the best steak on the Beach). For higher end dining, this is my one "don't miss" in South Beach.
Sardinia is also very good, Italian but with a focus on Sardinian regional foods. Lots of dishes with seafood, fregola, roasted meats, also very good selection of antipasti.
For somewhat lower budget, I like the Dutch-Indonesian food at Indomania.
http://www.indomaniarestaurant.com
Of the places you've mentioned -
OLA - haven't been since they've been in the new location. Thought it was excellent when I used to go a couple years ago to a prior location on Biscayne Blvd., but it seemed like something got lost when they moved to the beach. But I haven't been in some time.
8 Oz Burger Bar - very new, haven't tried yet. Early reports seem to be that it has promise but is not quite firing on all cylinders yet.
Meat Market - only been once, somewhat hit-or-miss but overall pretty good.
Loftin's - haven't been. The location is special.
P112 - never been. No desire. Even those who like it say the steaks are nothing special, though they like the sides.
Barton G - much more about the presentation than the food. Went once, will not go back.
Blue Door - haven't been.
Nemo - has been treading water for years since Chef Michael Schwartz left. Has gone through a couple chefs since then but they haven't really updated the menu. Most recent chef, Larry Lavalley, is a former chef de cuisine for Mark Militello and I liked his food at the now-closed Mark's South Beach, but from what I've read, his hands remain tied and the menu still hasn't changed. Coasting on reputation these days.
Sushi Samba - I've always been underwhelmed by the quality of the sushi, particularly compared to the price. Have never tried much of the Brazilian fusion menu.
Big Pink - mediocre. Sometimes good for breakfast but quality is very hit-or-miss.
Setai - there are two restaurants at the Setai, the "Restaurant" and the "Grill". The Restaurant has a very interesting, very pricy menu that traverses much of the far east. <s>The Grill has a simple, almost steak-house style menu with a focus on simple, high-quality ingredients, and also pretty pricy though I think they have a nice $55 prix fixe dinner with several different choices</s>. Strike that, according to the website, which I just checked, the Grill is available for private events, must be closed. I've long been curious about the Setai but have never been.
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Steve R - that's great to hear about Talula. Alas, I debated over whether I should visit Talula or sardinia enoteca and ended up at the latter. I can't say I regret my decision. But I will have to put Talula on my list for next time.
UE - Talula is one of my favorites. It was a regular rotation place for us for quite some time, and only fell out b/c their wine list got too steep (which on my last visit they were starting to remedy). Andrea Curto has a knack for flavor combinations, hubby Frank Randazzo does good, gutsier meat-and-potatoes type stuff, and the kitchen executes it all very well. The chef de cuisine, Kyle (?), is hip to the bleeding edge of things - last time I was there, they were playing with marrow bones and banana, inspired by a thread from "Ideas in Food" that I'd read the week prior (the roasted marrow bones were delicious - smoked salt an excellent addition - the salad w/ pickled bananas, I'm still undecided on). Worth a visit.
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Final thoughts: They've just opened a new tapas type place in Miami (block west of Biscayne and 40th) and are getting ready to open a fish restaurant in Palm Beach. Will be interesting to see how all this goes. I think if anyone can expand and maintain quality, theses guys probably can, but a tall order for anyone.
Here's scoop on her new tapas place, Sra. Martinez:
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=120406
I've now been 3 times and they're absolutely firing on all cylinders. Our first visit was just their 2nd night open and you'd never have known it. MB was in-house the first couple times but not the most recent, curious if she's pulled back more and returned to Michy's and is letting Chef Berenice de Arujo run the show at Sra. M.
MB has had multiple outlets before, but previously it's been more of the "design the menu and leave" style (i.e., Social Miami, now closed).
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I was anxiously waiting at the exit of the Ferran-Heston debate (I had to conduct a wine tasting in an other room and couldn't attend), and then I saw docsconz and he gave me the terrible news: "They are still at a loss trying to find a name for their cuisine. But the 'techno...' word hasn't been uttered by anyone."
I was flabbergasted.
No. I was crushed.
Has anyone discussed whether the idea of coining one name for all the various permutations of what different chefs are currently doing is a fool's errand? While many chefs may share *some* techniques and perhaps *some* philosophical approaches to food, it's unclear to me that they are all so closely aligned that one name could be applied to them all that everyone would agree upon - or that such a designation would serve much purpose. Maybe Adria likes "tehno-emotional," maybe someone else thinks that sounds too Kraftwerk-y for them.
The mainstream media seems to have latched onto "molecular gastronomy," and I understand and share the frustrations many have with that phrase. But if the world needs some label, what's wrong with a broad, general term like "alta cocina"? It makes me think of the early 20th century, when you had a quick succession of many different artistic "movements" - fauvism, cubism, expressionism, surrealism, dada ... but ultimately what is remembered and appreciated most is not the particular techniques or manifestos, but the skill and talent of particular artists.
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if cost isnt an issue, definitely ask them to add the angulas onto the menu (elvers or baby eels, a once in a lifetime dish)
We will be there in mid-March and I believe the season for angulas will have already past. Any other particular recommendations if we are not doing a full tasting menu at Etxebarri?
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Don't mistake Cinco Jotas, the ham brand from jabugo (Huelva) or the taberna 5J from the same owner, with good ham but not that good cooking with Jota 5 the restaurant speciallized codfish and Joselito iberic porc products from Guijuelo (Salamanca).
I rather go to the latter.
I certainly would have made that mistake if you hadn't said something, thanks. I've found a Jota 5 @ Alcala 423, is that what you're referring to?
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I like the hams of Cinco Jotas. There is a shop just off the Puerta del Sol.Jota 5 in Madrid is my favourite spot for ham serving some of the best Joselito pieces.
Excellent - there are 5J's close to my hotel in both Madrid and Barcelona. All is well.
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I had an amazing dinner at Senzone in Madrid last night. The chef, Paco Morales, worked at Mugaritz and is a disciple of Andoni Luis Aduriz, who happened to be dining there last night as well along with Harold McGee on the last night of Madrid Fusion. The food was beautiful and delicious, very refined and elegant. The restaurant, like Diverxo, is very small, only twenty covers. Morales is truly a rising star.
Thanks for the report back from MF. We still have Tuesday open in Madrid.
Though I don't think it will fit with your schedule, another great and original meal was had at Kabuki Wellington. It was a great combination of Spanish and Japanese cuisines, though I wouldn't label it as a "fusion" restaurant.The Spanish/Japanese thing seems to be becoming something of a trend. Interesting.
If you are going to take a day trip from Madrid for food, may I suggest Meson candido in Segovia for cochinillo or roast suckling pig. Another option just a bit north of Madrid is Mannix for lechazo or roast baby lamb. There is nothing quite like either of these dishes available in the US. Segovia is an interesting destination in its own right.We went to Meson Candido on our last visit, it is definitely an experience. The parade of roasted animals coming out of the kitchen is pretty remarkable. I also had a really memorable stew with judion beans and pigs' ears and trotters there which was one of the best things I ate on our last trip.
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Much thanks to all for the good suggestions and insights. The TodosPintxos site is fantastic. Here is how the itinerary is shaping up:
Madrid
Sun - tapas in Cava Baja (La Camarilla, Casa Lucas, Casa Lucio, El Tempranillo ...) and/or around Pl. Santa Ana (La Trucha, El Lacon, Las Bravas, Vinoteca Barbechera ...)
Mon - dinner @ Viridiana
Tue - ???
SS
Wed - tapas in Barrio Gros (Alona Berri, Bar Bergara, Casa Senra, El Lagar Bodega, Hidalgo 56 ...)
Thu - dinner @ Arzak
Fri - lunch @ Akelarre, tapas dinner in Parte Vieja (La Cuchara de San Telmo, La Cepa, Tamboril, Bar Ganbara, Meson Martin ...)
Still trying to figure out how to squeeze Etxebarri in. I don't want to try to find it in the dark, but we get in too late for lunch on Wed, and I sure can't see doing it for lunch and Arzak for dinner on Thu. Let me ask this - is Etxebarri still worth doing if you do NOT do a tasting menu?
Barcelona
Sat - Alkimia / Cinc Sentits / Dos Palillos are all in the mix for dinner
Sun - La Dama / Paco Meralgo
Mon - Gresca / Semproniana / Rias de Galicia ?
Grab some breakfasts & lunches at Boqueria, Tapac 24 ...
Let me throw a few additional questions out there:
- Quimet y Quimet - worth a visit?
- May do a day-trip to Toledo - Adolfo (Munoz)?
- May do a day-trip to Cuenca - Meson Casa Calgadas?
- I love tripe - where can I find the best callos?
- jamon iberico de bellota - the platonic ideal of porkiness. Are there qualitative differences from one to another once you're talking about bellota, and if so, where can I find the best?
Reccs. in Miami, South Beach, Hollywood, PSL?
in Florida: Dining
Posted
I like Red Light and go often, but you need to be a patient person. Service is hit-or-miss and it often takes a good bit of time for food to get out of the kitchen. But it's good, it's got a solid local focus, and the price is right.
Parrillada and churrascuria are the Argentine and Brazilian takes on grilled meats, and there are similarities and differences. I'm not an expert on either, but the cuts of beef used vary, and while many of the Brazilian churrascurias I've been to make a production of bringing the meats about on gigantic skewers and carving at the table, Argentines make no such fuss. I've also seen more sausage and offal in the typical parrillada than I'm accustomed to seeing at Brazilian places - a typical parrillada may consist of a few different cuts of steak, a chorizo, a morcilla (blood sausage), mollejas (sweetbreads) and chinchulines (pig intestines). The Argentines also have the ubiquitous chimichurri (a sauce predominantly of garlic, parsley and oil) while I'm not sure what the Brazilian equivalent is. Many Argentine places also often have a number of Italian style dishes on the menu (in fact, there are many "Italian" restaurants in Miami run by Argentines) and I'm not sure you see the same Italian influence in Brazilian places.