I was at Sawgrass this weekend, and since it's sweltering already, in the mood for seafood. I had planned on eating at
Legal seafood for lunch--I had even started my post in it--but sometime over the last 2 months, legal seafood shut down. So, we ate at the next closest place--Cocoa Beach Tiki Bar and Grill.
Here was my opener for Legal Seafood:
It's definitely better than illegal seafood. Every time I See that name, I think of large fishermen in dirty tan trenchcosts hoiking punk-rock barroom brawler fish with missing eye patches, gnarled fins and peg legs out the back onto a steamer. It makes me giggle inside.
Closed!
What we had:
I had the Argentinean steak sandwich--flat steak, cooked to a perfect rare with good seasoning on a crusty baguette with tomato and lettuce. I was quite impressed. It's hard to get rare steak on a sandwich, and this was well-trimmed and delightful. I had thought a little chimmichurri would be nice, but the steak was plenty juicy on it's own.
The fries were under-cooked and greasy.
My DH had the chicken quesadilla, which he said was bland, typical bar food. He had hoped for Applebees level, but this didn't make that cut.
Décor:
Outdoor bar-style.
Service:
Not bad. A lot of 'sweetie's.'
Overall impressions:
I'd go back, and next time, I'm bringing my I.D. This place has 13 varieties of frozen cocktails, and 1 with no rum or tequilla. Fair prices,too--$10 for sandwiches, $6.50 for frozen drinks and $7.50 & $8.00 cocktails.
Rating:
3.5 out of 5 salamanders
Pizza Rustica
|
We ate at the Lincoln Road location.
What we had:
4 slices--a potato/prosciutto, eggplant veggie, pepperoni, and sausage.
All 4 were really good. The crust is pillowy and delicious.
If you're going for lunch, or even possibly dinner, start with 1 slice apiece. I ate both of mine, but probably shouldn't have. Each slice was Sicilian-style and approximately 6x8. Pretty damn big.
Décor:
Great people-watching.
Service:
Not horrible.
Overall impressions:
Really good. I really liked the freshness and the menu variety.
Rating:
4 out of 5 salamanders
What we had:
4 slices--a potato/prosciutto, eggplant veggie, pepperoni, and sausage.
All 4 were really good. The crust is pillowy and delicious.
If you're going for lunch, or even possibly dinner, start with 1 slice apiece. I ate both of mine, but probably shouldn't have. Each slice was Sicilian-style and approximately 6x8. Pretty damn big.
Décor:
Great people-watching.
Service:
Not horrible.
Overall impressions:
Really good. I really liked the freshness and the menu variety.
Rating:
4 out of 5 salamanders
Teal Bistro Americano
|
Bistro-style American dishes on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale.
What we had:
We did an appetizer night: pan-seared diver scallops with cauliflower purée, lump crab cake with southwest corn salad and tuna tartare with citrus cucumber and seaweed salad.
The scallop was perhaps the most beautifully-cooked piece of seafood I've ever had. Freaking amazing. I could have eaten a bowl of the velvety, buttery purée, too.
The crab cake was good quality--no real discernable filler--but was bland. The raw fresh corn salad was a real treat.
I could have done without the mayo drizzle on the tuna. Some more of the really light citrus from the salad would have gone nicely.
The tea was horrible.
Décor:
The inside smelled funny, and sat maybe 20, so we ate outside, which was nice.
Service:
Not bad. Our server was obsessed with giving us bev naps.
Overall impressions:
Those scallops were worth going back for alone. Maybe we'll try entrees next time.
Rating:
4 out of 5 salamanders
What we had:
We did an appetizer night: pan-seared diver scallops with cauliflower purée, lump crab cake with southwest corn salad and tuna tartare with citrus cucumber and seaweed salad.
The scallop was perhaps the most beautifully-cooked piece of seafood I've ever had. Freaking amazing. I could have eaten a bowl of the velvety, buttery purée, too.
The crab cake was good quality--no real discernable filler--but was bland. The raw fresh corn salad was a real treat.
I could have done without the mayo drizzle on the tuna. Some more of the really light citrus from the salad would have gone nicely.
The tea was horrible.
Décor:
The inside smelled funny, and sat maybe 20, so we ate outside, which was nice.
Service:
Not bad. Our server was obsessed with giving us bev naps.
Overall impressions:
Those scallops were worth going back for alone. Maybe we'll try entrees next time.
Rating:
4 out of 5 salamanders
Mo's Diner
|
This place was described to me as god's waiting room. Old people did, indeed, abound, but in my experience, sometimes the aged know where it's at.
Everything is made fresh, anx the menu is huge.
What we had:
Burgers. Big, juicy, good-quality burgers cooked to order. They also ply you with free sides (slaw, fresh pickles and rolls).
Décor:
Nothing exciting.
Service:
Waiters in white dress shirts with black bowties. The service wasn't the best.
Overall impressions:
Huge portions, good quality, good value for money. I want to try the Friday night chicken soup on the Sabbath menu--it's served in a glass casserole.
Rating:
3.5 out of 5 salamanders
Everything is made fresh, anx the menu is huge.
What we had:
Burgers. Big, juicy, good-quality burgers cooked to order. They also ply you with free sides (slaw, fresh pickles and rolls).
Décor:
Nothing exciting.
Service:
Waiters in white dress shirts with black bowties. The service wasn't the best.
Overall impressions:
Huge portions, good quality, good value for money. I want to try the Friday night chicken soup on the Sabbath menu--it's served in a glass casserole.
Rating:
3.5 out of 5 salamanders
Iron Sushi
|
Take out and delivery sushi in North Miami Beach.
What we had:
I got 2 rolls to go: some sort of dragon variety roll and another, which I suddenly can't remember.
I do remember that both were fresh, and the quality was surprisingly good. I was expecting quality on par with the grocery store, and was pleasantly surprised. Not four-star gourmet, but entirely serviceable. And available via delivery.
Décor:
Nothing special with an obsession for labeled reading material.
Service:
Ok.
Overall impressions:
Worth going to for a quick sushi fix.
Rating:
3 out of 5 salamanders
What we had:
I got 2 rolls to go: some sort of dragon variety roll and another, which I suddenly can't remember.
I do remember that both were fresh, and the quality was surprisingly good. I was expecting quality on par with the grocery store, and was pleasantly surprised. Not four-star gourmet, but entirely serviceable. And available via delivery.
Décor:
Nothing special with an obsession for labeled reading material.
Service:
Ok.
Overall impressions:
Worth going to for a quick sushi fix.
Rating:
3 out of 5 salamanders
Big Squeeze
|
Fresh juice/smoothie/sandwich/chill spot in North Miami Beach
What we had:
I had the snapper wrap with a fresh lemonaide. The snapper was plentiful, well cooked and fresh. The lemonaide was really good as well.
My DH had an open-faced southwest chicken pita, which was also really tasty.
Be sure to get the sauce array as well--a chipotle mayo, jalapeño purée and light tahini sauce--each is fresh and has good depth of flavor.
Décor:
Bright, open and fun with free Wi-Fi.
Service:
Confused and disorganized. The employees seemed more interested in placing their karaoke orders than taking responsibility for our table.
Overall impressions:
Despite the service, we will definitely be back. There are a multitude of fresh, light sandwiches and salads I'm excited about trying, and it would take a year or so to get through all of the beverage options.
Overall, a great place to spend the early afternoon-after.
Rating:
3.5 out of 5 salamanders
What we had:
I had the snapper wrap with a fresh lemonaide. The snapper was plentiful, well cooked and fresh. The lemonaide was really good as well.
My DH had an open-faced southwest chicken pita, which was also really tasty.
Be sure to get the sauce array as well--a chipotle mayo, jalapeño purée and light tahini sauce--each is fresh and has good depth of flavor.
Décor:
Bright, open and fun with free Wi-Fi.
Service:
Confused and disorganized. The employees seemed more interested in placing their karaoke orders than taking responsibility for our table.
Overall impressions:
Despite the service, we will definitely be back. There are a multitude of fresh, light sandwiches and salads I'm excited about trying, and it would take a year or so to get through all of the beverage options.
Overall, a great place to spend the early afternoon-after.
Rating:
3.5 out of 5 salamanders
Michael's Genuine Food & Drink
|
New American cuisine prepared simply & well with no fussiness and no pretensions. Emphasis on local and organic ingredients.
What we had:
Snacks: Crispy hominy & thick-cut potato chips with pan-fried onion dip.
The hominy's texture was a perfect balance between crunchy and slightly chewy. well-spiced and thoroughly satisfying.
The onion dip was great. Caramelized onions lend a hint of sophistication to this old classic, elevating simple chips & dip above mere bar food.
Medium Plates: Crispy beef cheek with whipped parsnip, pickled pearl onions frisse & mustard sauce and duck confit with cauliflower mash, wilted greens & a pear raisin chutney.
The confit was nice. I'd eat it again--and the skin was amazing--but it was just nice. Kind of like a decent date with someone you just aren't that into. Ok, maybe that's a bit strong. It was a good dish, a solid dish. A dish I would eat again--the duck was cooked perfectly, the slightly peppery greens counterbalanced the richness that is duck fat perfectly & the chutney gave a great sweet note to it all. Maybe the beef cheeks had something to do with why I was so unmoved.
The beef cheeks. Holy crap. What's beefier tasting than a steak? or a great beef stock? Beef cheeks. The beef cheeks represented one of those aha moments in food for my DH and I. Now we get it. We know now know why beef cheeks are almost everywhere in food media, and why Tony Bourdain drools over them. They're that good. The mustard sauce..blah, blah.. balance.. crispiness.. texture.. blah, blah. All you really need to know is: holy crap this was good. This was stand in line for an hour and punch out an old lady for the last slice good. *homer drool*
Décor:
Low-key, not too fussy. We went on a Saturday night (at 6:30) and ended up sitting at the chef's bar. Every (nice) restaurant should have a chef's bar. We watched the chefs make all of the wood-fired dishes. It was kind of like food porn. The most popular dishes of the night were the whole roasted "poulet rouge" chicken, whole roasted local snapper with fennel & the wood fired pizza. If you have a group of over 2 or have some desire to sit at a regular table, i'd make a reservation. Even at 6; even though they open at 6. It was packed the whole time we were there, and we had cocktails and took our time.
Service:
Our waiter was good. Attentive without being obnoxious about it. The other waiters seemed to be pretty good, too--we only saw 1 dish left to die in the pass all night--a lonely side of asparagus that was in all likelihood done too early.
Overall impressions:
What Google says; Company website.
Rating:
5 out of 5 salamanders
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)