Sol Kitchen - Sol Sundays Menu - NFL Week 11

Hut...hut-hut...blue forty-two...hut-HIKE!!!


Sol Kitchen 'back to pass' on some Sol for your NFL Sundays!  Now get all 3 Designed Plays for one great price!  Each game day package includes utensils and paperware and is designed to feed 6 hungry fans for $150.  Check out this week's menu and send your order inquiries to solkitchenmiami@hotmail.com.

Pre-game

Mulled Sangria Blanco ‘Gell-O’ Shot – grapes, pear, shaved smoked pecans

Cane Sugar Kettle Korn – corn nuts, toasted cocoa

‘1^st & 10’ Charred Scallion Dip (aka crack dip), kettle chips

Designed Plays

‘Tom Turkey‘ Quesadillas – grilled corn~poblano salsa, queso Oxacan

Sol Biscuits & Gravy – cherry~bock braised shortrib, buttermilk biscuits

‘Grid-Iron Wings’ – pastrami  brined, kraut dip

Sidelines

smothered green beans, smoked bacon, caramelized onions

stuffin’ bell peppers, sage~chorizo, cornbread

2-minute warning

Wild Turkey  Pumpkin Newtons – ‘drunken’ bourbon raisins

Sol Kitchen - Sol Sundays Menu - NFL Week 10

The kick is up...AND IT'S GOOD!  Week 1 of Sol Sundays kicked off this past weekend and boy was it exciting.  Feedback was extremely positive and food comas were reported in the greater Miami area.  We are working on an official Sol Kitchen website but until then, stay tuned here and on Chadzilla's site for weekly menu postings and updates.  We also encourage you to follow us on Twitter (@SolKitchen) to keep up with the latest news.

Check out the menu Chef K & Chadzilla put together for NFL Week 10 and write us at solkitchenmiami@hotmail.com to get in the game!  Each 'gameplan' is designed to feed 6 players.

Kickoff

Dark n’ Stormy Gel-O Shot

“Charred Scallion Dip” with Kettle Chips

Homefield “Cracka’jax” – kettle korn, wasabi peas, ginger, soy caramel

1^st & 10

Deep South Brisket ‘Po-Boys’

Peruvian Wings – inca cola-miso brine, tossed in aji panca bbq sauce

Crawfish ‘Griddled’ Cheese Sandwich – sourdough, fontina, Louisiana crawfish

Sidelines

Huancaina Country Potato Salad

Brussel Sprouts with Grilled Chorizo

2-Minute Warning!

Smoked Cranberry White Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

Contracts!

$150 includes all Kickoff, Sidelines, and 2-Minute Warning items plus choice of 2 '1st & 10' items or MAN UP! for $180 and get all 3 '1st & 10' items!

Put some Sol into your NFL Sundays!

Let's face it, there are some things that just pair well together - peanut butter and jelly, wine and cheese, lobstah and buttah.  On my weekends it's football, beer, and good food.  Unfortunately, meeting up with buddies at the local watering hole to catch a day of NFL action can be quite costly at times.  I mean, most of the time I can head to the liquor store and buy a 12-pack for what will get me 2 beers at a bar.  That and bar food never really provides much flavor and is more relied on for sustenance and it's sopping-up-the-beer qualities.

Enter Sol Kitchen, a new way to enjoy great food in the friendly confines of your own home field without having to do much more than turn on your oven.  Chefs Chad Galiano & Kurtis Jantz (of Paradigm & Cobaya fame) have crafted a gameday packages with food that focuses on flavor while allowing you to focus on the game.  This isn't tail-gating the way you did back in the day... this is Sol food delivered to your door before the first kick on Game Day.  Supplies will be limited the first week, so jump in early.


This is how it will work... email solkitchenmiami@hotmail.com to place an order.  Be sure to include your address with your order.  All orders must be in by Thursday at 5pm.  Payment will be through PayPal (details will be given via email).  Sol Kitchen is currently only offering a 6-man package but more choices may be possible in the upcoming weeks.  You will receive the food packed up on Sunday late morning (Miami and surrounding area only at Sol Kitchen's discretion) along with a Play Book (just a set of instructions on how to set your oven and hold the grub throughout the game).

The 1st menu (NFL Week 9)
'Jock'tail- Bloody "Hail Mary" gello shots

Cracka-Jax- our home-made version with brown sugar kettle corn, Mexican japones, and pumpkin spice
Chips & Dip- charred scallion & kettle chips

Touchdown!!! (or some more substantial grub)
Grid-Iron Wings- root beer marinated, grilled with onions and poblanos
Sol Roll- chilled shrimp salad, buttered potato roll, Maine-influence (that means lobstah roll-style)
Korean BBQ Pork- on a bun, kimchee slaw

2 Minute Warning ~ 1 Timeout Remaining...
Bourbon Brownies- smoked pecans, dulce de leche 

Sign the 1 Day contract today!   $150 feeds 6 with a choice of 2 touchdowns (wings, sol roll, or pork)... or Man Up! and get all 3 touchdowns for $180 (again for 6, but more chance of having left-overs for the Monday night game at home after work).

Follow Sol Kitchen on Twitter (@solkitchen).

Better Late Than Never: My Thoughts on This Year's Iron Fork Event

Ok, so Iron Fork took place a little less than a week ago and I attended with good friends Paula, David, and their buddy Mike.  As Paula would say, the event is our "Fork-iversary".  I met Paula and David at the inaugural Iron Fork event in 2008 and we have been good friends ever since.  Awww...

I thought the Iron Fork event last year was fantastic and a HUGE improvement on the failure that was the 2008 event.  Unfortunately, the 2010 Iron Fork did not measure up to its predecessor.  In my opinion, it sucked.

The event this year was held at a different site which had me skeptical already.  I thought a huge reason for the success of the 2009 event was the location at the Bank of America building downtown.  It allowed plenty of room, easy access to tables, and even an outdoor area with great views of the city.  For 2010, the event was held at Grand Central, a club space that occupies an old rail terminal (or so the story goes) in a gritty section of downtown.  The venue was much smaller than the BoA building and everything felt crammed.  They did have a tented area outdoors with booths and music but the music was way too loud and you had to yell to have a conversation. 

We got there early with passes that let us in at 6pm, an hour before the main crowd was let in.  We met up with our good friend Chef John Critchley, Executive Chef at Area 31 who was defending his title as Iron Fork Champion against Jose Luis Flores, Sous Chef for De Rodriguez Cuba.  Chef Critchley joined us as we picked up a few beers and inspected the tables for some good eats.  Unfortunately, there weren't many to be found.  The only standouts for me were a mango barbecued pork offered by Chef Allen's, a tuna tartar by Gibraltar, and a short rib offered by The Grill on the Alley.  Whisk Gourmet also did a great pulled pork w/ southern slaw and cornbread and laughed when I called them out for repeating last year's dish.  Hey, if it works, it works.  Most other offerings were pretty weak.  If you wanted sushi you had about 8 freakin options.  Cupcakes?  About 5 or 6 options (at least it seemed like that many).  Indoors got crazy crowded once the majority of the rumored 1200 attendees arrived.  It was impossible to get to certain areas at that point.  The outdoor tent was basically all bar food - wings, sandwiches, and an inferior frita from El Rey de las Fritas.  Let me repeat, when it comes to fritas - El Mago es El Rey!!

It was hot as hell inside the venue too.  Some sushi restaurant passed out little fans that some appreciated.  I stayed cool with Famosa beer until they ran out at about 8:30pm, a mere 1.5 hours after the main crowd arrived.  I guess bribing the beer girl for whole bottles rather than little cups paid off in the short term but cut the supply short in the long run.  Oh well, just an excuse to have the smokin' hot chicks from Bombay Sapphire saunter over with some refreshments, one of the few highlights of the night.

The battle for the title of Iron Fork Champ finally got underway and was interesting.  Chef Allen was a pretty good MC and Chef Critchley even busted out some liquid nitrogen for a dish but the panel unfortunately chose Chef Flores as champ.  Kudos to Chef Flores.  Both chefs produced dishes that sounded very tasty.  Honestly, I would've been surprised if they picked Chef Critchley as champ two years in a row.  Just doesn't seem like they would want the same dude winning year after year.  Either way, it looked like the chefs had fun competing and both put on a good show for the crowd.

We bailed on the event after the competition.  Honestly, had it not been that my friend was competing on stage I'd have exited at 7pm, a mere hour after arriving.  There just wasn't much to see, taste, or learn about and the offerings were very weak.  Hopefully the 2011 Iron Fork is a much better event. 

Local Love: Coral Bagels - A Rare Find in Miami - Coconut Grove, FL

Growing up in MA I always liked the feel of a good diner, a place where you could have a simple breakfast or lunch for a couple-a-bucks.  Something about those places always had a good vibe.  Down in Miami there really aren't many diners that capture that feel.  One that does, however, is Coral Bagels in Coconut Grove.

I've been going to Coral Bagels for years now.  I love that I can walk in at any time of day and get a quick, hearty breakfast and be on my way.  The staff there is really friendly, even when the place is mobbed and there are a line of diners waiting to scoop up the next available clean table.  People of all different ages, shapes, and sizes come in and out and actually show courtesy to one another, holding the door, helping to move a table.  I've even offered a lone stranger a seat across from me at the table when the diner was crowded and they looked like they wanted a quick meal.  Something about the place just makes people feel good. 

I get the same thing every time I go to Coral Bagels - two eggs scrambled w/ cheese, bacon, homefries, wheat toast, and an iced tea.  Service is fast and the food is good.  I especially enjoy getting some slightly charred homefries from time to time.  I'll sit and read the paper or some blogs and websites on my phone and work away at my plate.  I always save a slice of bacon for last before slapping some grape jelly on my toast for "dessert".  It's the same meal, every time.  Today I went crazy and used orange marmalade on half of my toast.  That's right, I'm a rebel.  But sorry orange marmalade, grape jelly is the one for me.  This meal sets me back $8 and that includes tax and a $2.10 tip.  Awesome.

Being inside Coral Bagels is a nice break from the hustle-bustle of Miami.  I once talked to the owners of the place and told them it was a great spot and that I'd been coming for years and years.  They were appreciative and said they love having all of their customers in to get a simple meal.  I told them I hope they never change the place and I'm quite certain they never will. 

Coral Bagels

2750 SW 26 Avenue

Coral Gables, Fl. 33133

Phone: (305) 854-0336

Fax: (305) 858-5759

Local Love - El Mago de la Frita, Miami, FL

 There's magic inside...

I think it was about a year ago that I received an email from the Burger Beast inviting me to join up with him and a few other people for lunch at El Mago de la Frita.  I work further North and don't really have much of a lunch break, so I had to decline.  Well, it just so happened that the night before that day, I came down with a 24-hour cold that was bad enough to keep me home from work feeling like crap the following morning.  As a kid, sometimes when I stayed home sick from school my Dad would come home on his lunch break with a burger and fries from McDonald's.  I'm not sure if it was the grease from the food or just the spiritual boost a kid gets from Dad bringing home some McD's but it always made me feel better.  So, I decided that a burger would get me back on track and went out to meet the Burger Beast and his band of merry men and women at El Mago.

I'd never been to El Mago before.  Actually, I'd never even heard of it.  I certainly didn't know what the hell a "frita" was either but I remembered "Best Frita" being a category at last year's "Burgie Awards" so I figured it was something I'd have to try.  El Mago de la Frita is located just West of Red Road on Calle Ocho.  I arrived on that first visit to find a counter lined with friends: Paula, Jackie, Gagit, and The Beast himself were ready to scarf down some fritas.  An older Cuban gentleman dressed in a white shirt and apron paced behind the counter cooking fritas to order.  This was El Mago "the magician" himself and he was in the zone, flipping patties with his magical spatula.  A frita, I learned, is a Cuban burger where the patty contains some ground beef, a little onion, and a bit of ground chorizo.  Sounds kinda awesome, right?  It is topped with crispy shoestring potatoes, some magical sauce which I believe is ketchup, and you can add can add a slice of cheese too which I'm told is "for the gringos".  Using Paula as my translator, I placed my order gringo style and added a fried egg for good measure.  Yeah, this gringo came to party.  Once the patty has been grilled on the flat top, it is placed on top of a bun made from Cuban bread and then the toppings are added.  The frita then heads to the panini press for a few minutes to toast the bun and warm the awesomeness inside it. 

My frita arrived and I quickly dug in.  To my surprise, I really liked the Cuban bread bun.  Normally I am not a fan of Cuban bread but this worked and held the frita together without getting soggy.  The flavor of the patty was awesome.  The chorizo adds a nice savory flavor with a little spice.  The fried egg was also a winner of a decision, it's yolk adding a creamy texture to each bite.  I think my favorite part was the shoestring potatoes though.  They were so tiny and crispy and added nice crunch to each bite.  I think my frita lasted about four minutes on my plate.  It was so good that I immediately forgot about my cold and started feeling better.

There was a frita from El Mago here but it magically disappeared

into my belly faster than my iPhone's shutter speed could capture it

I sat at the counter and chatted for a bit before saying "adios" and heading back to my place to veg out on the couch and get some rest.  Since then, I've been back to El Mago a few times and even visited El Rey de la Frita for a comparison.  What I learned is that El Mago es El Rey!! 

See footage of the Burger Beast annihilating some fritas at multiple locations but declaring El Mago the best here.

Check it out:

El Mago de la Frita
5828 Southwest 8th Street
West Miami, FL 33144
 (305) 266-8486 ()

On the Road: Lobsters, Steamers & Bourbon, Oh My! - Beach Blast 2010 - Long Beach, Rockport, MA

Wow, you know you've lost some focus when you get called out for not updating your blog.  That's exactly what my Dad did a few days ago.  "What's up with Blind Tastes?  I can tell you must be focused on something if you haven't posted about the lobsters yet!", he said.  He was right.  Time to refocus!

 View as the tide heads out on Long Beach, Rockport, MA

Every summer for the past I-don't-know-how-many years my folks have rented a beach house in Rockport, MA on Long Beach.  Well, they actually started on Pebble Beach and eventually scored a spot next to our best family friends, the Flynn's.  Heck, I consider the Flynn's part of our family.  That's how many great times we've had together over the years.  I've been going to Long Beach since I was a wee lad and, for me, it's the best beach in the world.  Sure, there are no palm trees, no exotic drinks, no scantily clad women (besides the one we saw walking the beach whom Dad and I agreed should never wear a two-piece again), and no blue-green warm water seething with sea life.  Nope, just a long arching beach with soft sand and chilled waters backed by an elevated boardwalk overlooking it all.  I'm not sure whether it's the sand, decent surf, or all of the great family memories that make this beach my favorite of all.  It certainly isn't the cold water, that's for damn sure!  Talk about shrinkage!  Maybe it's the good beach folk, falling asleep in the bed on the front porch, or the fact that the beach quadruples in size at low tide, providing ample room for whiffle ball, bocce, and all sorts of fun.  Wait a minute, who am I kidding?  It's the beers, bourbon, lobsters and steamers!

Can't beat sleeping on the porch bed listening to the waves come crashing in

This year the annual lobster beach blast was extra special.  It was Dad's 60th and Mum had conspired for a surprise party and invited friends to "roast" Dad.  This was great for two reasons.  The first was because it guaranteed we would have a great turnout and an even better time.  The second was pure selfishness for me.  You see, I've been grooming Dad into a bourbon connoisseur for a few years now - a trip to Kentucky for distillery tours, a subscription to The Bourbon Review, alerting him when I find a new bourbon, etc - and I knew that he had passed on enough education to his buddies for there to be some nice bourbon gifts as a result.  These gifts would have to be shared, of course.  Poor me!  Wow, some of my favorites just happened to pop up - Eagle Rare, Wathen's, Pappy Van Winkle 23yr(!!), and the new Makers 46.  Dad's only mistake was leaving the Makers 46 out on the table and not tucked away inside.  It was gonzo within a few hours!

Big Ol' Bucket O' Bugs!

Dad's been sourcing our lobsters from Ken Porter at Roy Moore Lobster Co. in Rockport for years.  This year we ended up with over 50 two pounders and about 18 pounds of steamers which were both a few more than we ordered without the charge for the overage.  Great customer service, pricing, and flavor of the lobsters from Roy Moore's ensure repeat business each and every year.  It also explains why they move over 100,000 pounds of ocean-fresh lobster each year (probably more since this was written in 2004 - a good read for more info on Roy Moore Lobster Co.).  I must admit that this year's lobsters were the best I can ever remember them being.  I started my methodical destruction of lobster with my favorite part, the claws, before working my way to the tail, a few legs, a few fins, and even a little lobster roe.  The sweet meat dipped in butter tasted better and better with each bite.  I was more than willing to polish off my cousin Sarah's claws too when she couldn't handle more than the tail.  I still think it's funny when people in Miami try to tell me that spiny lobster found in Florida waters with no claws is better than New England lobster.  That's just plain crazy talk.

Lobstah, lobstah bib, lobstah shirt! ~ Photo by cousin Ben Hodson

The steamers this year weren't up to par with years past.  Their bellies were sandy and smaller than usual and kept coming separated from the rest of the clam, making a mess.  No matter, lobsters and steamers are a dirty sport best enjoyed on a picnic bench with good friends and family.  As usual, we had a few leftover lobsters that were chilled and then shelled the following morning by Dad who didn't leave much left in the shell.  That promptly turned into a nice batch of lobster rolls that my Mum put together with butter-toasted flat-bottom buns, a minimal amount of mayo, and a touch of lemon juice to perk up the flavors.  I like to add some dill flake onto mine too and managed to take down two of these bad boys shown below before leaving for the airport.  Dad's suggestion to take one on the plane was considered but ultimately rejected because I knew I'd have inhaled that roll in the car.

Lobster leftovers = lobster rolls for lunch!

It was another awesome year at our annual Beach Blast, packed with a lot of flavor.  This truly is my favorite vacation every year because I get to fully relax and just spend time with family and friends without a care in the world.  I'm already looking forward to next year!

Navigating the Atlantic on my friend Ryan's SUP ~ photo by cousin Ben Hodson

 

 Sunrise on Long Beach, Rockport, MA - July 2007