The Cheese Course

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French cheese and wine shop/gourmet market/bistro in Midtown. We stopped in Saturday for an early light lunch.


What we had:




I had the Peppered Roast Beef sandwich on a wheat baguette with a thick slice of creamy Bleu Cheese, light and fresh raspberry cranberry relish, and greens. Although I couldn't taste the pepper, this was a well-rounded sandwich. The bleu cheese was well-marbled and creamy, the beef was of good quality, and the relish brought a nice elevating level of brightness to the whole affair. A bite of pepper would have put this sandwich over the edge, but it was certainly satisfying without it. The baguete was also dense, chewy and fresh.




My DH had the Southwest Chicken Breast Sandwich--Non-fried chicken breast with melted Monterey Jack, roasted red peppers, basil pesto, mayonnaise, and greens on a baguette. This was a deceptively light sandwich, with a lot of flavors mixing well to provide a satisfying light lunch.


Décor:

We ate outside at one of the long weathered wooden tables with glass lantern-style hurricane lights. The French gourmand country chic style is carried through inside with a few more timeless communal tables and little pops of eclectic French wine country touches among the trappings of a working gourmet cheese, wine and sundry shop.

Sitting out front early on a Saturday was nice--a light breeze, the air holding only a promise of the mid-day heat, and plenty of people from the surrounding buildings walking their dogs or taking a run.


Service:

Friendly enough for just after opening time (10:30 a.m.)


Overall impressions:

A nice little place to pop in for a sandwich or party setup where cheese is king.


Rating:

3.5 out of 5 salamanders





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Oh! Mexico

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Mexican on Espanola in South Beach.


What we had:



I had the Shrimp Molcajete - A, you guessed it, Molcajete, filled with a light tomato sauce, half a green bell pepper, plump shrimp, pretty decent chorizo patties, cheese and onions. Not a bad mix. The shrimp were over cooked, but not to death; the tomato sauce was nice; and the accompanying veggies made for a nice, filling but not overly so dinner.



My DH had the Carne Asada Tacos - Not bad. Looked small on the plate, but he said they were flavorful and decent and neither of us left hungry.


Décor:

We ate outside on a padded wooden bench, so enjoyed the backdrop of Espanola as our decor.


Service:

Friendly.


Overall impressions:

Not bad for a blind pick in South Beach.


Rating:

3 out of 5 salamanders






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Rosa Mexicano

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Upscale chain Mexican restaurant that is soon-to-be a trendy hangout spot on Lincoln Road in South Beach.


What we had:







I had the Fish Tacos--flavorful if a bit on the dry side fish served with pickled onions, an interesting sweet ranch creamed grilled corn side I used as a taco topping, phenomenal and deeply complex beans and salsa with corn tortillas.







My DH had well seasoned and soft Steak Tacos with chihuahua cheese and roasted peppers instead of the onions and the same sides.

At first glance the servings looked small, but our proteins just kept going and we each ended up getting more than four small tacos.

No table chips or salsa.


Décor:







High style with stunning orange, pinks and purples on a foil of pure white with blue and black anchors.


Service:

The service was a bit lacking from our actual server, but they just opened and we managed to eat lunch for $29 on Lincoln Road so no complaints.


Overall impressions:

With it's gorgeous decor, prime location and tableside guacamole, this place is primed to become a hot spot.

As gourmet Mexican goes, the food was miles better than Cantina Laredo, but not quite as good as Talavera (those beans were close, though).

Cantina Laredo Review:

http://foodieinmiami.blogspot.com/2010/05/cantina-laredo.html

Talavera Cocina Mexicana Review:

http://foodieinmiami.blogspot.com/2010/07/talavera-cocina-mexicana.html


Rating:

3.75 out of 5 salamanders, mostly for service.





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Ginza Japanese Buffet & Hibachi

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Mediocre at best Japanese buffet in Aventura. We were thinking buffet/Japanese steak house or buffet/Mongolian BBQ. We were wrong.


What we had:




Not the best ever. The nigiri and sashimi were pretty good--standouts of the meal for sure. You might want to veer clear I'd the pepper-encrusted salmon nigiri (in the picture, it's on the far left right above the sushi gap) it blew the crap out of my palette.

The maki rolls were a bit "spicy" (read: mayo-laden and not at all spicy) and fatty.

The Chinese dishes were uninspired and greasy at best; downright gross at worst.

The raw seafood was mostly tasteless with icky shrimp.

The fried snacks were not great--the rangoons and calamari were a special level of 'dear god what have I put in my mouth?'. Of note: the exception to all this greasy, weird-tasting mess were the sesame balls with red bean paste, which are always a favorite of mine.

My DH was excited to have ice cream for dessert. Aside from his favorite cookie flavor, they had a rum something, green tea and red bean. I had another sesame ball and fresh fruit for dessert.


Décor:

Tourist Japanese.


Service:

Buffet-style in kimonos.


Overall impressions:

Ummm.... no. We were hoping for Japanese steakhouse-style Hibachi; we knew better than to even get a quarter hope up for Mongolian BBQ--SoFla seems to have never heard of the goodness that is picking a bowl of your desired ingredients, adding sauces and spices to taste, and handing the whole shebang over to the Hibachi cook who expertly cooks your selection and scoops it into a bowl for your happy consumption.

What is up with Japanese buffets serving Chinese food? Japan has a rich and varied culinary tradition. I think people are ready. Let's just do away with insipid, gloppy fake Chinese food geared toward fat Americans. Actual Japanese food FTW!


Rating:

2.25 out of 5 salamanders

If you wind up here, stick to the sashimi and dessert.




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