Playing Ketchup

Sorry for the corny title, couldn't resist.

It's been a long time since I've sat down to post...  So goes the story of this blog.  A lot has gone on since my 30 day alcohol challenge that was definitely worthy of posting about, I just never got around to it.  It's a combo platter of being really busy and being lazy when it comes to posting on the blog.  Here's what's been going on since the last post...

In June, I kept the 30 Day Challenge thing going and attempted to rid my diet of fried food for an entire month.  It's pretty funny because just now I realized that I wrote about this exact same topic about a year ago.  I'm happy to say that I made it the entire 30 days this time!  Though it wasn't nearly as hard as quitting alcohol for 30 days, it was an eye opening experience.  Depriving yourself of things you enjoy is hard!!!  But I made it and now try to focus a little better on eating vegetables instead of fried sides.

July was action packed!  In early July, I found myself really enjoying two newcomer restaurants starting to hit their groove - The Local and Blue Piano, the latter really being more of a bar than a restaurant.  Both spots have great bites with The Local being a better spot for a meal but that's not to say Blue Piano doesn't hit any culinary high notes.  Both spots also have incredibly good craft beer selections with The Local having about 25 on tap to choose from.  The Local also has a decent spirits selection that I'm hearing is set to expand in the near future.  Wine is a specialty of Blue Piano and the live music there can't be beat, especially Tuesday nights when Big Poppa E is there to play the blues.

Next up was my annual trip to Long Beach in Rockport, MA for some R&R on the beach as well as all the fried clams, lobsters, and steamers I could find.  This year, I took good friends Paula, David, and Jackie with me so they could get a taste of New England summer eatin'.  It was a great time and we lucked out with the best weather I've ever had up there for four consecutive beach days.  More details coming soon...

 Long Beach, Rockport, MA

A day after returning from Rockport I had back to back dinner events starting with Cobaya at Market 17 and then moving on to a charity dinner supporting Common Threads at Area 31.  My friend Mr. Frodnesor did his usual kickass job of summarizing the Market 17 dinner so I invite you to check out his recap.  I thought the dinner was fantastic and really appreciated all of the thought Chef Daniel Ramos put into the menu, a menu that included kangaroo(!) which was a first for yours truly.  They also have an insane happy hour that offers 1/2 priced drinks and apps until 7pm daily and it's not limited to "well drinks" or beers only!!  If you are up in the Fort Lauderdale area, Market 17 is a strong recommendation.

I have supported Common Threads via their charity dinner events on a few occasions this year and this one in particular was a phenomenal experience.  Chef E. Michael Reidt (who replaced my good buddy Chef John Critchley at Area 31 when John left for Urbana in D.C.) orchestrated a well-thought-out menu with help from Chef Sean Brasel of Meat Market (one of my favorite spots on Miami Beach) and Chef Kris Wessel of Red Light (another chef with an insane amount of talent and doing things his way to great success).  An all-star lineup led to a home run of a meal.

Before I could get my bearings again, it was time to head to Vegas for my annual 7-night business trip.  Boy was that a doozy.  Business was very good and I enjoyed an incredible meal at one of my favorite spots in Vegas - Michael Mina's Stripsteak at Mandalay Bay.  The food there is phenomenal but the staff and service are what sets this spot apart from other great restaurants in Las Vegas.  Quite possibly the best service and staff in any restaurant I've ever been to.  The wagyu filet I had on my 3rd night in town was extraordinary.  I definitely recommend checking this place out when you're in Sin City.

I returned in time for one more "farewell" dinner with David and Paula at Michael's Genuine, aka "Cheers".  We have had so many fantastic meals there over the years that it was only fitting that it be the location of our final meal together before David and Paula left for Houston.  As usual, everything was on point and we ate, drank, and laughed for hours.  I will miss my friends a lot.

That dinner was held a mere 5 hours after I returned from Vegas and after 4 hours of sleep that night, I was off again.  This time the destination was Paradise Island in the Bahamas to spend a few days with my cousin, his wife, daughter, and my godson.  Seeing those kids run themselves ragged all over the water park at Atlantis was a lot of fun, albeit a bit draining haha.

I'm now back in Miami once again, enjoying some nice quiet time at home.  It won't be long before it's "wheels up" time again, Boston and Rockport being on the agenda first then a little time in New Hampshire and Maine for business.  Hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things with this blog and start posting a little bit more regularly.  I hope all of my readers are having a kickass summer enjoying the beautiful weather, spending time with family, and eating well.  Until next time...

Fried From Being Un-Fried

For the month of June, I set out on a quest to remove fried food from my diet.  Why?  Well, I don't really have any health related issues as a result of my diet.  Last checkup said my cholesterol levels were normal, as was blood pressure and virtually everything else.  Part of it was to see what kind of effect it would have on me.  Would I lose weight?  Would I not get heartburn as frequently as I do?  The main reason, however, was due to the fact that I have what one might call, "a french fry problem". 

Simply put, I love french fries.  Steak fries, skinny fries, crinkle cut, truffled fries, duck fat fries, pommes frites, Belgian fries, "chips", curly fries, frrrrrrriiiiasdklfj;alsdjf...  Excuse me, I just had to wipe drool off of my keyboard.  According to Wikipedia, Belgium, France, and Spain are possible origins of the french fry, with history stating that fries were made as early as 1680 in a region known as the "Spanish Netherlands" which was controlled by Spain, Austria, and annexed by France before eventually becoming modern day Belgium.  I'll just thank all 3 regions for inventing this glorious item for consumption, you know, to prevent war and stuff. 

I like my fries extra crispy, even well done.  You know those fries that become somewhat translucent because they've been chillin' out in hot oil for awhile?  Then they crunch when you bite into them?  Yeah, those are awesome fries.  Those are the treasures of a fry batch though.  To eat a whole batch like that would be a little much.  Add some salt too.  You gotta have salt.  Condiments for dipping aren't 100% necessary as sometimes they just get in the way, kinda like clothing during sex.  Occasionally I will dip in some ketchup and/or mayo, or add a little malt if I'm doing the fish n' chips thing.  Just don't give me soggy fries.  It seriously ruins my day.  I get really depressed about soggy fries because I often won't eat them and then have to stare at the little buggers on a plate, watching them cry little oily tears because they realized they weren't good enough for me.  That's a main reason why I don't do cheese fries or "loaded" fries or any of those other silly concoctions.  All that crap makes the fries soggy and ruins the whole experience.

Wow, I've managed to ramble on about french fries for 3 paragraphs now and this was supposed to be about fried food in general.  Can you see what I mean by "french fry problem"?  It's not that loving fries is a problem.  This is America after all.  The problem is that I find myself ordering food just because it comes with fries.  On business trips, I'll pass up a sub for lunch and head to a TGIFriday's or something like that just to get something that comes with fries.  It also causes McDonald's runs, strictly because they have awesome fries.  McDonald's is not what I associate with healthy.

Knowing I didn't have any health problems from eating fries or other fried food was good news but I think I started to take it for granted and decided to curb my fried intake for a month.  No fried oysters, no fried clams, no crispy chicken sandwiches, no fried calamari, no french fries.  That was the plan.  Was it successful for the full 30 days?  Sadly, no. 

I gave into temptation four times, two of those being unavoidable and one that was influenced by alcohol.  The first was at Podzilla, where Chef Mike was rockin' his fried chicken again.  Chef Mike has, pound for pound, the best fried chicken in the country.  I can say that because I've been to a lot of the "best" spots around the country in my travels.  Some come close but none can match the flavor, crisp outer texture, and moist flesh of Chef Mike's chickenlaksjdfl;kajs;d.  Sorry, there's that drool again.  The second was on the road in Buffalo, NY where I ordered a burger WITHOUT fries and got them anyways.  They sat there looking so good that I had to eat them.  My third breakdown came in Chicago where I sat with friends at Castaways on the North Beach of Lake Michigan drinking beers all day and just had to indulge in a shrimp po' boy (fried shrimp) with fries.  I didn't break down because I was drunk, I broke down to avoid becoming drunk.  I needed the base and it worked.  The final breakdown was at Shake Shack, the new burger joint on Lincoln Road that everyone and their grandmother hyped like crazy the day it arrived.  I'd had their burger before but never tried the fries.  The fries were incredibly awesome, quite possibly the best in Miami. 

All that said, 26-4 is a pretty good record in any sport.  I was surprised that I was able to make it through June with that high of a record, actually.  There were lots of temptations, most notably a happy hour at Area 31 where I had to resist croquetas AND a killer fritto misto.  It was a hard challenge and I missed eating fries a lot.  But, I made it without giving in too much.  I noticed that my heartburn was decreased, especially when sleeping on my right side which I normally can't do without getting heartburn.  That was pretty cool.  I also lost a few pounds, three to be exact.  Not exactly stellar for a month but, then again, I was still eating everything but fried food and didn't change any exercise habits.  Hey, with beach trips increasing now that we're in the midst of a hot summer, I'll take what I can get.

A Taste of Area 31

A few weeks ago, I heard from Chef Critchley, head chef at Area 31 at Brickell's Epic Hotel, that he was revamping the Sustainable Seafood Tasting Menu.  So, I gave a call to my good friend Jackie (@ktchntrvwr) and foodie power couple David (@djkmia) and Paula (@mango_lime) and suggested we check it out.  It had been quite some time since we all got together and I was looking forward to catching up over a good meal.

I've dined at Area 31 a few times and have always liked what the kitchen puts out.  Fresh seafood enhanced with flavorful components and sauces is what they do best though they recently have added some new dishes for the landlubbers out there.  We all decided to stick with the aforementioned seafood tasting menu ($55) and also decided to go with the wine pairing for an additional $35, choosing the sommelier's option to "step outside the box" with pairing selections.

We started out with a refreshing tuna and escolar dish, the fish served raw with citrus that had a bit of a spicy kick to it.  It was a great way to start the meal and also allowed me to share my funny fact about escolar.  This dish was paired with a Japanese Tozai Junmai Daiginjo Sake* which was a perfect compliment to the clean tastes of the dish.

Next up were some clams sourced from our state of Florida (I forget exactly what kind they were and didn't make note of it either) that were fried crisp and served with fresh tomatoes and a Tabasco crunch.  At first I was worried that the small clams would lack flavor after being fried or that they would get tough but I came around after my first bite.  The chef did a great job showcasing the flavor of the whole clam even if it wasn't like the big belly fried clams I'm used to in New England.  The Tabasco crunch was a nice element, starting off sweet and then finishing spicy.  We enjoyed a 2005 Schramsberg Brut Rose, a sparkling wine that was ok but I say that because I'm not really a sparkling wine fan.

A pasta mirepox dish was placed before us as the third dish, it's flavor and nose reminding me of a chicken soup or a Thanksgiving dinner.  I thought this was very light for a pasta dish and appreciated that with the understanding that we had three dishes to go.  The sommelier paired this dish with a wonderful 2006 Bodegas Mauro Crianza, Tudela del Duero (Tempranillo, Syrah.  I love tempranillo and this one was big and bold but smooth without being overly fruity or acidic.

Our fourth course of the sustainable seafood dinner was a seared cobia with chestnut puree, roasted chestnut, and caperberries.  This was my favorite dish of the night.  Simply incredible flavor in this dish.  The fish was cooked perfectly and I liked the crunch of the roasted chestnuts countering the moist flesh of the fish.  The chestnut puree was a huge hit at the table as well, so much so that Jackie asked for some extra on the side.  This dish was paired with a 2003 Jacques Puffeney Melon Queue Rogue, a variety of chardonnay that I loved.  It was my second favorite wine of the night, even better than the tempranillo we had tasted with the previous dish and I'm not really a chardonnay fan.


Our final dish before dessert came in the form of a dorade plated with lentils.  The dish seemed to have an anise flavor to it along with a little pepper zest which helped offset it's fishiness a bit.  While this dish was not my favorite, the wine certainly was.  A 2008 Flowers Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast proved to be a stellar finish to the meal and the sommelier left us to have our way with the rest of the bottle because we all enjoyed it so much.

Dessert was a similar dish to the one Chef Critchley prepared at the Dinner In Paradise that I attended earlier in the year.  A flexible chocolate sprinkled with a little sea salt and paired with a mango sorbet.  It was a nice way to end a fantastic meal.

I'm glad I finally made it over to Area 31 to try the tasting menu and I'm happy to report my streak of good-to-great meals at the restaurant is still alive.  It was nice to see the restaurant fairly busy, with service attentive and knowledgeable without being intrusive.  Between their happy hour offerings, the view of the bay from their outdoor terrace, and their incredible seafood dishes (I'll have to return for some of the new landlubber fare but that will be tough because I really like their seafood dishes), Area 31 really is a terrfic spot.


*I'm not sure about this as I couldn't find any listing online for "Tozai Junmai Daiginjo".  This might've been incorrectly transcribed by the sommelier when he wrote down our winelist as a favor post-dinner as I'd like to think the internet has all the answers...

Dinner In Paradise

My mother is a vegetable eater.  If she didn't like the occasional protein, I'm quite sure she would eat nothing but vegetables.  As a result, I grew up hearing, "eat your veggies" quite a bit.  So, when I first experienced Dinner In Paradise as part of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival in 2009, I knew it would be a perfect gift to fly her down and take her to one.

On April 11th, my Mum and I made the drive from Coconut Grove down to Paradise Farms, an organic farm located in Homestead, Florida, far removed from the bright lights of the city.  The weather was not cooperative at first, with blinding rain pouring down on us as we drove South.  A recorded voicemail message let us know that the dinner area was under shelter and that the show would go on.  Luckily, the rain ceased just as we pulled in to park outside Paradise Farms.  A simple sign greets each visitor - Welcome to Paradise Farms - No Meat - No Cigarettes.

The concept of Dinner In Paradise is simple.  Chefs from the Miami area are called upon to create a six-course meal using local organic products.  Each course is paired with wine, courtesy of Shari Gherman, President of American Fine Wine Competiton & Gold Medal Wine Tour.  This dinner featured Jeff McInnis of The Dilido at Ritz Carlton South Beach, Marco Ferraro of Wish at The Hotel, and John Critchley of Area 31 at the Epic Hotel.  After a cocktail hour with passed hors d' ouevres, guests are treated to a tour of the farm.  Mum loved the tour and was happy to hear that all but one of the flowers that bloomed all over the farm were edible and could be plucked and tasted as we walked the grounds.

Oyster mushrooms growing @ Paradise Farms

The grounds @ Paradise Farms

At the end of the tour we were seated at communal tables of ten for dinner.  After exchanging hellos with the rest of our table, we sat silent as Gabrielle gave an introduction to the dinner and the first course made its way to the table.  Chef McInnis had prepared fried green tomatoes with local goat cheese cherry tomato jam, seared sheep's milk cheese with chilled watermelon, and farm cheese with roasted beets and honeycomb.  Chef McInnis talked of being raised in Florida and gave a shoutout to his brother who was in attendance and also sporting a kickass handlebar 'stache.  I love a good cheese course and this one was a great way to start a meal.  My favorite was the seared sheep's milk cheese with watermelon.  It was incredibly refreshing.

Chef McInnis introduces his first dish

C

Chef Ferraro's chilled corn soup being plated

Chef Ferraro provided the second dish, a chilled corn soup with corn hash, toasted pine nuts, corn shoots, basil oil, and lemongrass foam.  He explained that no cream was added to the soup.  Instead, the soup relied on the natural "milk" from the corn along with a minimal amount of butter.  The result was absolutely fantastic.  I could have devoured an entire swimming pool of this soup.  I loved how the textures of the corn and pine nuts worked in this dish.  A truly awesome soup.

Course three brought Chef McInnis back to provide us with a coconut crab salad with avocado, grapefruit ginger, and cashew oil (pictured at the beginning of this post).  I liked the flavor of this dish when I was able to get a bit of the grapefruit on my fork along with the crab.  Chef Critchley came out with the fourth course which was meant as a palate cleanser.  A lychee "sponge" with lychee, curry leaf, a farro crisp, and some bee pollen was plated before us.  The most interesting thing was the use of the curry leaf, something I'd never had before.  This dish was also paired with a 2009 Il Poggio Sangiovese that was my favorite wine of the night.

I think we were all a bit puzzled looking at the menu and not seeing any proteins listed.  That was a minor gaffe.  The fifth course wasn't just cherry tomato, easter egg radishes, charred green beans, baby carrots, and mixed herbs with tomato dressing.  Chef Ferraro informed us that there was also a nice piece of skate involved that somehow got left off of the menu description.  The skate was light and flaky and soaked up the flavor of the veggies and dressing nicely.  My favorite part of this dish, however, was the cherry tomato.  These tiny tomatoes grow on the farm and are so incredibly flavorful.  I remembered them from my last Dinner In Paradise and I hope to find out how I can obtain some for home use.

 Gabrielle presents the chefs with hats and knives

Chef Critchley finished the meal with a dessert consisting of a rich bittersweet chocolate seasoned with flecks of sea salt and local mango.  Wine flowed freely as things began to wind down and Gabrielle thanked everyone for attending and supporting the farm.  She also presented the chefs with a Paradise Farms hat and a knife that I forget what the brand was.  One lucky guest also won a knife.  Though the night got off to a rough start with some rain that had me shaking my fist towards the sky in frustration, it ended up being just perfect.  The skies ceased their crying and we got to experience all of what Paradise Farms' Dinner In Paradise has to offer.  The dishes were incredibly fresh and filling and the company was great too.  Best of all was that I got to spend some nice quality time with my Mum which is something I don't get to do too often (and kudos to her for all of the great pics!).  I recommend that anyone who is looking for a different kind of dinner experience to check out next year's Dinner In Paradise series.