Island Grill
Hungry Tarpon
Bob's Bunz
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Sunday, November 29, 2009
Islamorada 2009
Just got back from spending a great Thanksgiving down in Islamorada. Enjoyed outstanding stone crabs and lobsters from the nearby Mr. Lobster (take home) for most meals but ventured out to a couple of local spots and had enjoyable meals. If you are down that way I would recommend breakfast at Bob's Bunz, the tuna nachos and fresh fish sandwiches at Island Grill for lunch and doing dinner at the Hungry Tarpon. We stopped off at Hungry Tarpon for lunch on a prior trip home from Key West and really enjoyed their fresh fish sandwiches. They have a new chef and started serving dinner about a year or so ago. Our Mahi and yellowtail snapper dishes were delicious. If you are in the area, I would recommend trying all three spots plus grabbing stone crabs and lobsters at Mr. Lobster.
Island Grill
Hungry Tarpon
Bob's Bunz
Island Grill
Hungry Tarpon
Bob's Bunz
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
2009 NFL Suicide Pick Week 12
How 'bout them Cowboys!!!
Baltimore, Washington, Minnesota, Indy, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New England, San Diego, New Orleans, Miami and Dallas are off the board.
Green Bay heads to Detroit for the traditional thanksgiving day game. Green Bay should prevail but they are on the road against a division rival on turkey day. I'm passing.
Cincinnati returns home to face Cleveland and should rebound. Holding them for a home game.
Atlanta is home against Tampa Bay. The Dirty Birds should get well against TB and keep us alive.
HAPPY TURKEY DAY and GOOD LUCK!!!!!
Official pick
Baltimore, Washington, Minnesota, Indy, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New England, San Diego, New Orleans, Miami and Dallas are off the board.
Green Bay heads to Detroit for the traditional thanksgiving day game. Green Bay should prevail but they are on the road against a division rival on turkey day. I'm passing.
Cincinnati returns home to face Cleveland and should rebound. Holding them for a home game.
Atlanta is home against Tampa Bay. The Dirty Birds should get well against TB and keep us alive.
HAPPY TURKEY DAY and GOOD LUCK!!!!!
Official pick
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Chef of The Year- José Andrés
Jose Andres is GQ's chef of the year. Alan Richman wrote a nice article on him in this months magazine (on newsstands now)
Linked below is Alan Richman on his five favorite dishes by Andres
José Andrés: Small Plates, Big Talent
Linked below is Alan Richman on his five favorite dishes by Andres
José Andrés: Small Plates, Big Talent
Turkey Day Wine Deals @ Hollywood Vine
SMART BUY ALERT:
What’s better for Turkey:
Pinot Noir vs. Beaujolais
Hello everyone and welcome to a special “Turkey Day” themed installment of Smart Buy. Thanksgiving is perhaps our favorite time of year in South Florida. It usually signifies the beginning of “bearable” weather, is a great excuse to eat voraciously and generally a time when friends from out of town will be returning home for a long weekend of get-togethers. We’ll help you stock. This year’s festivities happen to come during a time when Americans are suddenly drinking up Pinot Noirs “like it’s going out of style”. It’s not likely…unless someone makes a movie about Merlot ;) But we’ve awakened our palates to the subtlety of this softer style of red wine and today it sits right at the top of our list for T-Day faves. No less popular around turkey-time is Beaujolais. We know many of you have probably had to choke down an awful bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau every year because you thought: “(sigh) it’s a tradition.” Guess what, the real stuff, We mean real Beaujolais, blows the stuff from the supermarkets away. As such we’ve got a deal of a duo of wonderful wines that are also economy friendly choices under $15.
Pinot Noir :
Villa Mt. Eden “Bien Nacido Vineyard” 2005
Retail: $24.99
Discounted Price: $14.99
Founded in 1881 as Napa Valley's 11th bonded winery, the Villa Mt. Eden winery has been producing high quality varietal wines from grapes sourced from the regions best suited for each varietal for over a century. In a consumer market where Pinot Noir is in high demand, many wineries have been forced to take shortcuts to meet the demand, resulting in generally innocuously light, flavorless Pinots. Not here my friends. This Pinot is oozing with aromas of bright cherry, pomegranate, and cola mingle with dried spice and earthy notes. Sweet cherry fruit and cranberry flavors are wrapped in a blanket of soft tannins with a lingering touch of sweet caramel. The acidity remains fresh and as this bottle is an ’05, this wine is right at its peak and ready to be served with your holiday feasts; honey baked hams, turkey, etc….
Beaujolais :
Jean-Paul Brun “Terres Dorees L’Ancien” 2008
Retail: $19.99
Discounted Price: $14.99
Robert Parker 90 points!!!
High-toned cherry, kirsch distillate and cherry pit all typical of Gamay on Southern Beaujolais’s chalk-clay soils mark the nose of Brun’s 2008 Beaujolais L’Ancien Vieilles Vignes. A pure, bright, refreshing palate suffused with suggestions of chalk and salt and with its cyanic bitterness invigoratingly woven into its carpet of bright fruit, this finishes with riveting purity and rapier intensity, if not complexity. This will be worth following for at least 2-3 years.
Hollywood Vine
2035 Harrison Street
Hollywood, FL 33020
954-922-2910
954-922-7660 fax
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Notorious P.I.G.
Swine is fine this Sunday thanks to Chef Jeremiah Bullfrog
piggie piggie piggie can't you see sometimes your meat just hypnotizes me
piggie piggie piggie can't you see sometimes your meat just hypnotizes me
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
2009 NFL Suicide Pick Week 11
Stayin Alive!!!! and I will leave it at that.
Baltimore, Washington, Minnesota, Indy, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New England, San Diego, New Orleans and Miami are off the board. Things are going to get even tougher now. That said, there are a few good options this week.
Jacksonville returns home after stealing a win on the road against the Jets. They face a Bills team that just fired their coach. Jacksonville should win this one.
As you know, I don't like taking road teams but Pittsburgh should leave Kansas City with a W. We already used them so it's a moot point.
New Orleans losing at Tampa would be a huge upset and I don't see it happening. They are going to lose at some point though. Not our problem since they are off the board.
Cincy heads to Oakland and should get to 8-2. Road team on a long trip West so we will hold them for a home game.
I normally shy away from division rivalries but Washington is not good and I expect the Cowboys to win this one easily.
Official Pick
Baltimore, Washington, Minnesota, Indy, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New England, San Diego, New Orleans and Miami are off the board. Things are going to get even tougher now. That said, there are a few good options this week.
Jacksonville returns home after stealing a win on the road against the Jets. They face a Bills team that just fired their coach. Jacksonville should win this one.
As you know, I don't like taking road teams but Pittsburgh should leave Kansas City with a W. We already used them so it's a moot point.
New Orleans losing at Tampa would be a huge upset and I don't see it happening. They are going to lose at some point though. Not our problem since they are off the board.
Cincy heads to Oakland and should get to 8-2. Road team on a long trip West so we will hold them for a home game.
I normally shy away from division rivalries but Washington is not good and I expect the Cowboys to win this one easily.
Official Pick
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Gourmet "Old Yeller" Diner (North Miami)
Gourmet Diner is one of those spots that you never plan on going to but always leave happy when you do.
On a recent Saturday night, my wife and I ventured out to eat with no reservations or plans. We were looking for something casual so most of our favorites were eliminated off the bat. I suggested the bar area of one of my favorite spots, Timo, but she thought it would be too much of a scene for a casual stop so we passed. We had been to Neomi's recently so that was also eliminated. Calafate Grill (tapas) in Sunny Isles was high on my must try list so we decided to give it a shot. It started to rain as we pulled into the busy shopping center where it's located sooo being the gentleman that I am, I dropped her off at the entrance armed with an umbrella. She was back in the car in a flash. Too crowded?? No, the place is empty and it's brighter than McDonald's. PASS. Oyyy!!!!, on to plan B and we didn't have a plan A plus we're in Sunny freakin Isles (not that there is anything wrong with that...)
Welllll, we can do pizza at Racks- ehhhh, neither of us were feeling it. We both heard great things about Asia Bay in Bal Harbour but we weren't in the mood for sushi. As we crossed the causeway, I recalled that there was a new Italian restaurant on 123rd St. that served inexpensive homemade pasta (Bocca) SOLD.
It's now around 8:30 when we pull up at Bocca and we notice from the car that there is NO one in the restaurant. Zero, Zilch, Nada, Empty. Normally this would be okayyy but we just weren't feeling it so we drove on.
Ahhhh we are in Petit Rouge land!!! Perfect. Unfortunately, the small lot was packed and there was no way I was waiting around at this point. Plan D????? Yakko San with a capital B Babyyyyyyyyyyy- "fine, I'm starving now, let's go" WAHOOOOOO.
We're speeding North up Biscayne listening to Even Flow on 93.1 when we see the light, the Gourmet Diner light. A quick glance, eyebrows raise, two smiles,(possibly a dorky thumbs up from me) and a sharp right turn...... Oh yeahhhhh, it's the underrated, often overlooked, trusted and reliable "old yeller" a/k/a the Gourmet Diner.
From the outside (and inside) Gourmet D looks like your standard diner. (not many down here though) Nevertheless, they serve top notch classic French bistro fare. You'll find escargot, onion soup. steak au poivre etc etc.
Some of my favorites include the grilled asparagus, one of the best caesar salads in the area (w/ great chicken), great vegetable souffles, tenderloin tips, beef burgundy (wasn't on menu most recent visit) roasted duck plus numerous daily specials presented on a table side blackboard.
Prices are on the expensive side for lunch but very reasonable for dinner. I always leave happy and stuffed. My only complaint would be the VERY limited wine list. It's also very cold inside. If you are in the area and haven't been yet, check it out. Great spot pre/post a movie or holiday shopping at the Aventura mall. It's one of Miami's most underrated and reliable restaurants.
13951 Biscayne Blvd
North Miami Beach, FL 33181
On a recent Saturday night, my wife and I ventured out to eat with no reservations or plans. We were looking for something casual so most of our favorites were eliminated off the bat. I suggested the bar area of one of my favorite spots, Timo, but she thought it would be too much of a scene for a casual stop so we passed. We had been to Neomi's recently so that was also eliminated. Calafate Grill (tapas) in Sunny Isles was high on my must try list so we decided to give it a shot. It started to rain as we pulled into the busy shopping center where it's located sooo being the gentleman that I am, I dropped her off at the entrance armed with an umbrella. She was back in the car in a flash. Too crowded?? No, the place is empty and it's brighter than McDonald's. PASS. Oyyy!!!!, on to plan B and we didn't have a plan A plus we're in Sunny freakin Isles (not that there is anything wrong with that...)
Welllll, we can do pizza at Racks- ehhhh, neither of us were feeling it. We both heard great things about Asia Bay in Bal Harbour but we weren't in the mood for sushi. As we crossed the causeway, I recalled that there was a new Italian restaurant on 123rd St. that served inexpensive homemade pasta (Bocca) SOLD.
It's now around 8:30 when we pull up at Bocca and we notice from the car that there is NO one in the restaurant. Zero, Zilch, Nada, Empty. Normally this would be okayyy but we just weren't feeling it so we drove on.
Ahhhh we are in Petit Rouge land!!! Perfect. Unfortunately, the small lot was packed and there was no way I was waiting around at this point. Plan D????? Yakko San with a capital B Babyyyyyyyyyyy- "fine, I'm starving now, let's go" WAHOOOOOO.
We're speeding North up Biscayne listening to Even Flow on 93.1 when we see the light, the Gourmet Diner light. A quick glance, eyebrows raise, two smiles,(possibly a dorky thumbs up from me) and a sharp right turn...... Oh yeahhhhh, it's the underrated, often overlooked, trusted and reliable "old yeller" a/k/a the Gourmet Diner.
From the outside (and inside) Gourmet D looks like your standard diner. (not many down here though) Nevertheless, they serve top notch classic French bistro fare. You'll find escargot, onion soup. steak au poivre etc etc.
Some of my favorites include the grilled asparagus, one of the best caesar salads in the area (w/ great chicken), great vegetable souffles, tenderloin tips, beef burgundy (wasn't on menu most recent visit) roasted duck plus numerous daily specials presented on a table side blackboard.
Prices are on the expensive side for lunch but very reasonable for dinner. I always leave happy and stuffed. My only complaint would be the VERY limited wine list. It's also very cold inside. If you are in the area and haven't been yet, check it out. Great spot pre/post a movie or holiday shopping at the Aventura mall. It's one of Miami's most underrated and reliable restaurants.
13951 Biscayne Blvd
North Miami Beach, FL 33181
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