Rein's Deli

Early lunch here today to introduce a 'misplaced Long Islander' to the best deli around.

Shared two sandwiches: Pastrami on rye and Chopped Liver with raw onions on rye. Both delectable but the chopped liver is and will always be my favorite. Pickles on the table had changed to little bitty ones with lots of chopped garlic in the dish.



bloginfo: website for more info

blognote: In my pocket I had three rugelach homemade by my guest. Didn't pull them out and eat them for dessert with the rest of my coffee [good decision].

Max's Oyster Bar

Between shopping [with a gift card from nephew and family] at Ten Thousand Villages in West Hartford and attending Christopher Shinn's 'Dying City' matinée at Hartford Stage, I popped in for a bite to eat at Max's Oyster Bar and was very successful.

From the brunch menu I ordered the Wonton Tacos [$10.95] four mini hard taco shells filled with sticky rice, pickled ginger and charred ahi tuna drizzled with wasabi aioli accompanied by a little pot of mango salsa. Great mini-meal. This and two cups of coffee[$2.50] got me through the play.

bloginfo: Max's Oyster Bar website here.
blognote: I found a great set of coasters and serving mat made from recycled newspapers in the Philippines at Ten Thousand Villages.

j. gilbert's

Ate here tonight early [6:15 reservation] and had a great meal!

Started with a sparkling water [small $3.25] and a glass of Pinot Gris [$7.50] Very sour sourdough bread; good.

apps: Shrimp Cocktails [$13.95 each] for two of us. J Gilbert's has the best shrimp cocktails ever; the five shrimp are colossal, fresh and chilled to perfection. They sit on a bed of shredded tortilla chips sprayed with a mysterious lime dressing. The sauce is perfect and there is plenty of it.

entrées: Caribbean Grill [$26.95] which has steak, chicken and shrimp skewers all done up with a spice rub. This includes the garlic mashed potatoes and sautéed vegetables, mango salsa and plantain chips.
Another shrimp cocktail [$13.95] for the third parties entrée with an order of the Wedge salad, iceberg with bleu cheese dressing.
My order of BBQ Salmon Salad [$17.95]; a delicious piece of salmon atop a huge salad of field greens, black beans and corn. The dressing is a lime cilantro vinaigrette. Especially special with its topping of fried and spiced onion rings.

dessert: Almond Cannoli [$7] over fruit and creme anglaise and my decaf cappuccino [$3.95]

bloginfo: menus and info here
blognote: We had a birthday discount card for $25

P.F. Changs [Miami]

Dinner for five; reservations this time!

Wanted to try out P.F. Changs as one just opened at WestFarms Mall near home. Guess I have saved myself the trouble. Not that the food was bad, it was quite good but the service sucked. The front of the house operation had no clue. We waited for 20 minutes before being seated. We were seated at a table for four and they tried to put a chair in the aisle. Then we had to then find an larger table; the trouble is that they seat a party when a table is empty, regardless of party size. So there were couples sitting at four-tops. This is a food factory; good food but no ambiance at all.

We ordered lots of food [and did a good job of eating it]!
Wine: Bertani Pino Grigio [$40]
Appetizers: Peking Dumplings and Shrimp Dumplings [$5.50/7.00] both bland but the Peking [pork] were better. Spring Rolls [$5.50] typical, served very hot
Entrees: Mu Shu Pork [$11], Mongolian Beef [$15] good review on this one, Changs Chicken [$13] good review on this one too, Lemongrass Prawns [$16] good but they overcooked the noodles to mush, and my Chendu Spiced Lamb [$14] good flavor sauce but nondescript lamb [was it even lamb?] with lots of sesame seeds.
Sides: Brown and white rice, Szechuan Asparagus [$5] very spicy, Asian Slaw [$5] good
Dessert: Great Wall of Chocolate [$8] a huge slab of good chocolate cake, six layers in a raspberry sauce; a barbain
Coffee: [$2.25] came lukewarm with 2% milk, reordered and got fresh hot coffee with cream.

bloginfo: We were at the Biscayne Blvd. site: Look at website here.
blognote: I might try the CT location to compare. Also in today's [1/22/09] Hartford Courant there was a review. Things look a lot better here; service is VERY important!

Caffé Milano

It was Art Deco weekend at South Beach, so we took a stroll. Ocean Drive was closed to traffic for the event. There were many tents and kiosks set up with clothes, jewelry, art and handicrafts. Didn't buy anything.

We were hungry [what's new about that] so stopped at Caffé Milano. Quite overpriced as in everything on Ocean Drive but the meal was good and the 50% deal was good.

Two Moretti beers [$7 each] and a glass of Pinot Grigio [$10].
Three sandwiches [$14.50] each]: my Panino de Pollo [juicy chicken breast], Turkey Club Wrap and a Panini de Prosciutto. All were served with salad [good dressing] and a little guacamole.

bloginfo: Caffé Milano is at 850 Ocean Drive
blognote: There are some very poor reviews of dinner here; prices being excessively high

Michael's Genuine

Michael's Genuine [Michael Schwartz, chef] was voted the 4th best new restaurant in the US for 2008 by the New York Times. Tonight's meal was true evidence of that. Luckily we were seated in the gallery and not the main room with bar which is very noisy. We were able to concentrate on our food which is always a good thing. But being in the Design District, the place is alive!

If I were to add this restaurant to my poetry blog, it would start:
'Torch ginger in the men's room, jazz at the bar....'

Opened with a bottle of Qupe Roussanne 2005 [$68] with the help of Mackenzie, Sommelier. It was a delightful full wine that complemented and did not overpower all the great food we ordered.

Marco, our server, was very helpful in steering us through the large menu. Unfortunately, everything sounded great so decisions were hard to come by. The food portions are divided into small, medium and large offerings [like tapa, porción and servicio] also sides, snacks, etc.

We ordered mainly from the medium, sides and snacks:
duck confit cauliflower mash, wilted greens, pear raisin chutney [$16]
wood roasted sweet onion stuffed with ground lamb and apricots [$15]
sautéed sweetbreads heirloom tomato & cippoline onion chutney, brown butter pan sauce, watercress [$16]
fudge farms bbq st louis ribs housemade bbq sauce [$15] made today in the parking lot
wood roasted brussels sprouts with pancetta and lemon aioli[$6]
homemade french fries [$6]
chicken liver crostini with caramelized onions [$5]
roasted pepper and cambazola cheese crostini [$6]

and for dessert [hedy goldsmith - pastry chef]:
chocolate cremoso with sea salt, olive oil, sourdough crostini & espresso parfait [$9]
banana caramel toffee panini with warm melted chocolate sauce [$9]
tangerine 'cremesicle' pot de creme with blackberry basil marmalade & hot doughnuts [$9]

and coffee [$2.50]

MY favorites were the cambazola cheese crostini [cheese is a great wedding of brie and gorgonzola], the brussels sprouts [the pancetta and aioli heightened the flavor] and the sweetbreads [the accompaniments made the dish]. My least favorite was the ribs [great flavor, too tough]
ALL the desserts were great but the banana panini [a flavor orgy] and the blackberry basil marmalade [cut the sweetness of the sweetness] were definitely memorable.
THE WINE was superb!

bloginfo: website

Fontainebleu Hotel

Well today was a day! The restaurant is closed on Mondays, so instead of resting we went out and did the town.

Walked through and got lost at the new Fontainebleu hotel. Saw three of the new restaurants: Gotham [Alfred Bertole is the chef], Fresh and Vida where my niece is doing her internship from Johnson and Wales, Miami. Tried to get a drink at the pool bar and walked for miles through underground passages, up and down stairs, down an elevator and found the elevator to be closed. So we again walked through underground splendor an exit. We had opted to park at a meter on the street to avoid the $18 valet charge and found that we had 47 minutes left!

Ended up getting the drink [Blue Moon, Mai Tai, Margaritas] at Shuckers after driving in and out of the Barchetta lot.

Chef Allen's

Dinner time! Now it is Monday night, a slow night; not in Miami. We arrived at PF Chang to find the parking lot full of people waiting for a table, 45 minute wait. Went to Houston's on the other side of the parking lot, same deal. Walked past Morton's [too expensive and I can go to the one in Hartford]. Tried the new Miami Prime which had lots of empty space but was a sport's bar and not what we were looking for.

Our finale is a success: Chef Allen's [celebrity chef Allen Susser] is in Aventura and we found it via the GPS in the cellphone. Only a five minute wait for table, so sat a the bar for a drink [Campari and Soda].

The wine for dinner was a Decoy Meritage [$65] and was perfect. The appetizers will be remembered forever: Lobster Mac and Cheese[$14] [like no other I have ever tasted; not creamy and gummy but simple perfection] and Shrimp Grits Brulée[$10] with manchego cheese, crumbled crunchy bacon and three large shrimp covered with parmesan cheese and put under the broiler. This was heaven [when Chef Allen came by the table I told him the grits were 'outrageous' and he laughed]!!!
Our entrées were wonderful too. Swordfish over Lobster Bisque[$26], Skirt Steak[$24] with chimichurri sauce and yucca fries and my Surf and Turf[$28]: two immense Divers Scallops and Beef Shortribs [off the bone] over mushrooms and winter vegetables.
Dessert was two individual Soufflé, one chocolate[$10] with whipped cream and Valronha chocolate sauce; the other a Grand Marnier[$13.50] strawberry soufflé with creme anglaise.

Badrutt's Place

Lunch at Badrutt's Place in Brickell. This was the first day that they opened for lunch which led to several quirky moments. With hookahs [not hookers] on the terrace, a huge DJ stand, private dining area suspended over the bar, this place was a hopping club by night. We ordered from the limited luncheon menu. Green Lasagna with salad, Orange/ginger Tilapia with fries and my Sweet pea soup [the vegetable not the legume] and Caesar salad with salmon. There were four huge pieces of salmon on this $9 lunch item. The salmon was very good and the soup was creamy and soothing. Wine was ordered, delicious white whose name I can't remember and the ticket just blew away on the back terrace here, and the young server had never opened a bottle of wine before. After watching him suffering for a few moments, my BiL stepped in to save this gorgeous $82 bottle of wine[Louis LaTour Montrachet].

Maya Tapas & Grill

Sunday afternoon on Lincoln Road outside on a balmy day; what could be better?


A pitcher of white Sangría and three [then one more] tapas: Provoleta [baked provolone with herbs and tomato ($7.95)], Garlic Shrimp [$8.95], Chorizo Argentina with chimichurri sauce [$5.95] and Beef Carpaccio [$11.95] with Manchego cheese and arugula salad. All served with great bread.

bloginfo: Maya is at 809 Lincoln Road
Miami Beach, FL 33139 - Telephone 305.538.0058

Shuckers

After my first 'restaurant shift' in a long time at the Tower House, we stopped in at one of my favorite places in Miami. This is Shucker's, the ultimate sports bar. It is right on the water with a beautiful view, informal and packed. We had an afternoon nosh of two orders of wings: one grilled and one Buffalo style. This and a pitcher of Bass Ale made for a very relaxing end of a 'work' day and the beginning of a great week with family.

Miami Beach

Off to Miami, will be restaurant blogging from there for a week. Hope to find some new places. Maybe I will get to eat at the newly remodeled Fontainbleu Hotel [I have connections there!].

Ruby Tuesday

It ain't gourmet but you can always get a good meal here at Ruby Tuesdays..
We started with the Asian Dumplings appetizer [$7.69] filled with chicken and accompanied with a peanut sauce.
I usually get the Mini Trio: "Our famous Ruby Mini, a savory Turkey Mini, and our Crab Cake Mini topped with lettuce, tomato, and a sweet and spicy chile sauce. Together they're one tasty trio! Served with a side of crisp, piping-hot fries".
But today we both opted for a Bacon Cheeseburger [$7.99]. That's what it was with the addition of lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion and a tasty sauce. The french fries were not as good as the last time but they were hot and crunchy.