Grilled chicken fast-ish food joint.
What we had:
I had a chicken bowl thing with rice, black beans, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. My DH had a chicken wrap and a side of mashed potatoes. The chicken was well grilled, the available side sauces were really good. The wrap was quite tasty. The mashed potatoes were really good.
Décor:
Not much. It was clean, though.
Service:
Nuveau fast food.
Overall impressions:
We'd go back. The guy behind the counter was really nice and helped out when we were confused by the menu. He even threw in a couple of plantains since it was our first visit. (They were really really good). There is a lot more to explore on that menu.
No company website; Google can't even find it. The restaurant is on 186th in Sky Lake right across from Skylofts in the Publix plaza.
Rating:
3 out of 5 salamanders
Chuck's Grill
Moe's Southwest Grill
Huge burritos, tex-mex style. Fresh ingredients.
What we had:
Big-ass burritos with chips. A Homewrecker (rice, black beans, chicken, lettuce, pico, cheese, guac, sour cream & cilantro) and a Joey Bag of Donuts (the same, minus sour cream & guacamole). All of the ingredients are fresh and there are 6 varieties of salsa to choose from.
Décor:
"fun" and bright.
Service:
Nuveau fast food.
Overall impressions:
Moe's is one of those places we go to over and over. We love Moe's. Moe's makes us happy. To us, it's the best of the crop. Chipotle is nice, but Moe's just has more selection. Not as many meat selections, but it's just.... better.
Welcome to Moe's! ; what Google says.
Rating:
4 out of 5 salamanders
***We have subsequently gone to the Sunrise location. We still love Moe's, and this one is closer to our place, but the guys behind the counter were terrible. The burritos were wrapped waaayyy too loose, the chicken was too wet and at least 2 out of 3 of the counter guys were standing around with vacant looks on their faces. Not the best experience.
I also tried something new; the Chicken Club Burrito. Ick. The bacon was undercooked, low-quality and too salty. The ranch sauce really didn't add anything to the equation.
I would skip it. Hopefully they'll bring the fish taco back!
Cheen-Huaye
Southern Mexican cuisine, with a smattering of Yucatanean dishes.
What we had:
I had the Sea Bass special. The sea bass was breaded and fried and came with rice and plantains. The breading was a little oppressive. The waitress said lightly breaded; lightly breaded this was not. Other than breading issues, the meal was pretty good. Not lay down and die good, but definitely eat there again good. My DH had some sort of steak tacos. The steak was tasty, the tacos light but satisfying. The salsa was fresh and featured grilled tomatoes.
Décor:
Trying to be elegant in a strip mall style. Dim lighting, candles. The place was tiny, though.
Service:
Not bad. The chef (or at least one of the cooks) came out himself to ask if the special was good.
Overall impressions:
Not bad. We'd go back. The menu is huge, with a large variety of tacos, dinner plates, soups and appetizers. It wasn't quite the trip back to the Yucatan we were hoping for, but that just gives us another reason to hurry up and book a vacation.
No company website. ; what Google says.
Rating:
3 out of 5 salamanders
Twenty-One Toppings
Gourmet burger joint.
What we had:
Sirloin burgers. I had goat cheese, avocado, applewood smoked bacon, grilled portabello mushrooms, mixed greens and the house remoulade on mine. My DH had bacon, avocado, provalone and garlic mayo. Both cooked mid-rare. We both had fries. The burgers were pretty good. The patties weren't huge, but with the toppings added I was a bit frightened of my burger. The fries were cooked nicely in fresh grease.
Décor:
Minimalist vaguely "street" decor with a grafitti-style mural.
Service:
It's a nuveau fast-food joint.
Overall impressions:
Not bad at all. I liked the variety of toppings. You can really build any kind of burger you would like from egg or ham-topped to portabello and eggplant topped. The "fixins" were fresh. The burgers themselves aren't bad in price ($7.95 for a build-your-own), but the fries are extra. Keep that in mind. We ended up paying $25 for two burgers, two fries and two drinks. Had we realized, we would have split the fries.
They have a website, but I can't find it. ; what Google says.
Rating:
3 out of 5 salamanders
Pasha's
What we had:
Omelets. We went during brunch, but nothing on the brunch menu looked good enough to justify the almost double price as a regular menu item. The spinach/feta omelet was pretty good. I'm not a huge fan of omelets, but this was pretty decent. I didn't even need hot sauce. I did, however, put sour cream on every bite. The side pita was fresh, whole wheat and delicious. As was the fresh lemonade. I did like that after eating a 3-egg omelet, I didn't feel drowned in cheese and grease.
Décor:
We sat outside.
Service:
Decent.
Overall impressions:
I'm just not sure on this one. I'm wary of anywhere that proudly serves Starbuck's coffee and bandies about their Zagat rating. That just smacks of pretentiousness. The menu was really large, though the brunch selection was disappointing. If you don't like omelets, don't want eggs with a pita (no bacon, it's a kosher restaurant), you're pretty much out of luck. I'm not sure what I expected/wanted, and to be fair my opinion might be slightly biased because my DH and I were having an argument while trying to decide what to eat, but I just wasn't that impressed. There were a few things on the menu I wanted to come back to try, but I'm in no intense hurry to do so.
Company website ; what Google says.
Rating:
3 out of 5 salamanders
Fuji Hana
What we had:
Sushi. The rolls we had were decent. Not top of the line, but entirely serviceable. The sushi chef was at medium skill; most of the rolls didn't fall apart, but they didn't have the grade-A tight roll either. Prices were decent, $5-13. Sushi selections are a tad pedestrian, but it's nice to see something other than the same 10 "specialty" rolls offered by every chain that does sushi. I'm interested to see if the lack of roe offered is typical of Miami. The hot tea came by the glass.
Décor:
Decent. Quiet, dim lighting, nice patio seating area.
Service:
Decent. The waitress was confused when we asked for a sushi sheet. I'm not sure if that was just this restaurant or indicative of area trend.
Overall impressions:
I won't run back, but if I'm at Loehmann's plaza and want sushi, I'd go back.
Company website ; what Google says.
Rating:
3 out of 5 salamanders
Dave & Buster's
Adult-style arcade with something for everyone from Trivia games to Skeeball to zombie shooters and racing games.
What we had:
The Monterray burger, horrible cocktails and a steak and cheese sandwich. The burger was surprisingly good; beef cooked medium-rare, decent cheese, mushrooms and a nicely-flavored bun. The steak and cheese was good as well. The fries were ho-hum, but not terrible. The apple-tini tasted like cough medicine. I've had an apple-tini at other locations, and it was pretty good. The replacement drink, a Tom Collins, was marginally better.
Décor:
Loud, raucous and yet fun. The arcade games are where it's at.
Service:
Abominable. I went with a large party and half of the table got terrible service but appetizers and the other half got abominable service with no appetizers. The server was truly inept. I don't know if she had a bunch of other tables or what, but she was less than attentive and the food took half-way to forever to come out.
Overall impressions:
I'd willingly go back for the games, but I wouldn't expect a great dining experience. Think Friday's on crack. With zombie-hunting.
Company website ; what Google says.
Rating:
2 out of 5 salamanders