Dinner with a Top Chef While Watching Top Chef

I don't watch much reality TV but there are two shows that I enjoy* and watch regularly when they are on.  One is Survivor, a challenge of mind and body for a million dollars that seems to get better every year.  The other is Top Chef, where chefs compete in various cooking competitions to determine who is the best.  This year Top Chef got a little more interesting for us South Florida folks as we learned that Andrea Curto-Randazzo of Miami Beach's Talula would be a contestant (or "cheftestant" as they would say) that would be competing for the title of Top Chef.  I'd dined at Talula many times and had some fantastic meals there so I was looking forward to seeing how well Andrea would fare.

After watching the first two episodes of the show while on business trips, I was able to finally make it into Talula on a the night the show airs (Wednesday, 9pm, Bravo) where I understood that they would be showing the episode at the bar.  It was fun to watch Andrea compete on the show while eating at the bar and then see Andrea watching along too.  I can't imagine how weird it feels to see yourself on TV, especially when it's reality TV where only bits and pieces of clips are tied together to make a show.  I'm sure wine helps.

Admittedly, it had been awhile since my last meal at Talula and I had forgotten how much I love the food.  Braised tripe on two out of three Top Chef visits was phenomenal.  Then there's the shortrib that I have ordered almost every time I've dined there because it's that damn good.  A smoked trout with potato, malt, and creme fraiche was also extremely good pn my last visit.  With each meal, I thought about why I hadn't came in more often and decided that it was the South Beach location that I usually dismiss as "out of the way" when in reality it's really not.  Parking at the meters on the streets nearby is also easy to come by which is nice.

With all that said, as I have sat at the bar for the past three weeks I've been surprised at the lack of support from the locals here.  You would think that a local chef on a show as popular as Top Chef would bring in some diners to watch the show and have some dinner but the bar has never been full for the show.  With the amount of people in South Florida that love to call themselves "foodies" and dine out a lot, why doesn't anyone come down to show some support and love for a local chef that's been cooking great food on Miami Beach for years?  I talked to a guy this past week who was on vacation from New York and had never been to Miami.  He was here 10 days and ended up eating at Talula three times because he liked the food so much.  He's right too.  The food is superb and the chef couldn't be a nicer gal even when she talks smack about me being a Red Sox fan and her a Yankee fan.  She's just lucky I love her cooking...  Actually, now that I think about it, I am glad no one comes down to show support on Wednesday nights.  The bar is small and I don't want competition for a seat. 



*This season of Top Chef, outside of seeing a local contestant on it, has been less than stellar and less enjoyable than usual. 

A New Club In North Miami Beach

Miami Beach is no stranger to clubs but most are classified as dance clubs or country clubs.  Enter The Water Club, a new player on the club scene providing edible beats to those arriving by land, sea, or maybe even air (there was actually a helicopter taking flight from a patch of grass at the Intercoastal Mall when I arrived to visit).

After a multi-million dollar renovation to the old "Miami Shooters" location, Chefs Frank Randazzo and Andrea Curto-Randazzo of Miami Beach's Talula were brought in to renovate the menu with flavor.  I've had some fantastic, more-than-memorable meals at Talula, so I was excited to see what the chefs had in store for The Water Club.  I sampled a few things on my visit, most notably a pulled pork slider topped with pickled onion and sliced chili peppers.  Savory with a nice spicy kick.  I also tried some steak skewers and a bit of roasted chicken salad on a crostini that was studded with dried cranberry.  The chicken salad was very light on the mayo and had nice flavor.  All that said, the winner of the night for me came in the form of a bite-sized potato croquette.  Well, I'm not sure if that's what it's called but that's what I'm calling it, dammit.  A little disc with a fried-slightly-crisp exterior gave way to a creamy explosion of potato flavor with a hint of salt that reminded me of the orignal flavor Pringles.  I managed to eat two and then gave the server specific instructions to stay away from me to ensure more than just I would sample their awesomeness.  I'm not sure if these items will be on the regular menu as this was a preview night but hopefully those potato croquettes and pork sliders will be there.

The space itself is massive.  That's probably the only word to describe it.  Two separate dining areas indoors and an enormous outdoor space fully covered by an awning, making it perfect for staying dry during our rainy season.  There are two large bars, one inside and one outside, both with a team of flatscreen TVs hanging above them.  I especially enjoyed this as my Celtics were battling the Magic that night (the C's got their asses handed to them in this game but then rebounded and destroyed the Magic in the following game to head to the NBA Finals).

The Water Club also features a dock for boaters to tie up to and head in for a bite and some drinks.  The dock space can accommodate up to 50 boats with a full time dockmaster so bring your friends.  They also have a nice sundeck and a swimming pool!  Check it out sometime for yourself.  Methinks it'll be hard not to enjoy.

The Water Club
3969 NE 163 St.
North Miami Beach, FL 33160

An Offal Meal

After an afternoon of wandering from tent to tent, booth to booth, at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival, I felt like I accomplished something.  It had nothing to do with anything I did at any of the booths, rather it was what I didn't do - over eat and/or get bombed from boozin' like a madman.  Why?  I had a reservation for dinner with friends at Talula where they were offering a special 7-course offal-themed tasting menu.

 

After getting off to a rough start with wine, vodka, bourbon, and beer at the Festival, I reminded myself that I needed to stay sober so I could drive home to Coconut Grove and back to the beach before dinner.  I had just heard about this menu and was interested in giving it a shot.   At Cobaya Dinner #1, I got a taste of what the team at Talula can do when given the chance to be creative and it ended up being my favorite meal of the year.  

I was a little late arriving but I already knew what I'd be ordering so we were able to get going pretty quickly.  Three out of 5 of us got the offal tasting menu while the others ordered the ceviche, tomato soup w/ lobster, grouper, and the aged spinalis which was one of my favorite dishes from last year.  The tasting menu started off with a confit of beef heart salad that I really enjoyed.  The heart was sliced very thin which kept the dish light.  It was a nice start to the meal.  The sweetbreads that followed were a tad heavier and had a fantastic contrast of flavors and textures.  

The ceviche and soup apps for the others arrived during the third course, the braised pig ear risotto.  I had really only had pig ear in crispy fried form before so this one was interesting.  I liked the somewhat gelatinous texture of the pig ear along with the slight chew of its' cartilage but I thought the risotto was a little dense.  The sauteed duck hearts that followed were my second favorite dish of the night.  The hearts were tender with a nice meaty flavor and the smoked grapes were delicious.  The flavor of the grapes triggered some sort of memory for me but I ran out of grapes before I could place what it was.  I had been looking forward to the tripe cassoulet but it fell a little short for me because my portion was lacking in the tripe department.  I also thought it was a bit heavy for the 5th course of a seven course meal.  

 

photo by @djkmia

Our final dinner course was absolutely phenomenal.  A combo of chicken liver pate and house cured pastrami along with some pickled onions and honey mustard had a multitude of flavors singing in harmony.  The textures and sweetness of the mustard reminded me of a bbq pulled pork sandwich with an added earthiness provided by the livers.  A great final savory flavor to the meal.

 

photo by @djkmia

Dessert came in the form of foie gras doughnuts with a blackberry-chile jam.  I really don't have much of a sweet tooth but I practically licked the plate clean.  The doughnut was light, airy, and fresh.  When I put my knife to it, the foie gras filling oozed out onto the plate.  I used slices of doughnut to sop up this sugary rich gob of awesomeness.  The tartness of the blackberry-chile jam was a nice contrast of flavor.

We finished up the meal right around closing time and Talula's Sous Chef, Kyle Foster, came out and chatted with us for awhile.  One of the servers had mentioned that Kyle had put a lot of thought into creating the offal tasting menu and it showed.  I appreciated the skill involved in making some delicious dishes out of things that usually elicit a "Ewww, gross!" response from people.  There are few chefs who dare to do so in Miami and Talula has executed it well on two out of two occasions for me.  I need to make a solid effort to hit up Talula more often when I'm on Miami Beach and I encourage all to do the same.  Great food and friendly, attentive service make for a great dining experience. 

Check out Talula's dinner menu here.