Stick a Fork In It...

¡Bienvenido a Miami!

So you guys might have heard about a little snow action that's been going on up in the DC area... you know, about three or so feet of it?! Anyway, we're all tired of talking/hearing/thinking about it. Lucky for me, I missed just about the whole thing!

How you ask? Fate. A pre-planned visit to Boca Raton to visit the parents of S. took us out of the path of the Abominable Snowstorm, or as many called it, Snowmaggedon. Our weekend visit turned into a week as we watched DC get pounded by snow over and over again- but who's complaining? I should send US Airways a thank you letter for postponing our flight so many times. We basked in the sun, visited with the family and were fed many delicious meals. So as we rescheduled our flight once again, the airlines gave us the option to stay through the weekend, rather than cram ourselves onto their desperately overbooked flights. Our answer? We're going to Miami, bitches.

(ps this is not where we stayed, but isn't it a gorgeous picture? That is an amazing mint condition 50's Porsche...fabulous!)

So we made our way down to Miami for some more feasting and a little more sun (although it was cold by Miami standards- 65 degrees!). I LOVED Miami! Even though I don't quite fit into the status quo down there (think luxury cars, models, christian louboutin, tiny designer dogs) I loved the vibe. Art, music, good food, passionate people and let's not forget THE BEACH. I'm DYING to go back for another little vacay, and perhaps do some more cultural exploration, like visit the Vizcaya House. For this little spontaneous trip we mostly just walked around, ate and chilled out. Here I will give you a brief synopsis of a few things we ate and did. Unfortunately, the only camera I had was an iPhone!! Shame, Shame!

Maiko Sushi

Rolled up in here for some super tasty sushi and sake bombs...we also happened to catch the opening ceremony of the winter olympics. This sashimi included tuna, white fish and salmon nestled into a ceramic conch shell. We also had a plethora of other rolls that were quite tasty. 

Van Dyke Cafe

We stopped into this cute café for some mid-afternoon, mid-windowshopping snacks. Looking at things you can't have makes you hungry! To satisfy our hunger, we ordered this interesting looking calamari and a caprese salad. Somehow the tomatoes in Miami were great! Or at least way, way better than anything we're eating up in the frigid North... The calamari was grilled, and came with two really tasty, spicy sauces. Again, bonus points for cartoon squid presentation. I also had a fresh daquiri here- to my chagrin it showed up as a frozen drink (I had been anticipating the original style, shaken) but quickly redeemed itself by being super minty and fabulous tasting. It was gone too quickly to photograph, alas. 

Michael's Genuine Food and Drink

Um. This place is the happiest place on earth, get outta here Disney World! Seriously, the food here was exquisite. I might have cried a little after the first few bites. We ate there for brunch and had the following:

• Kimchi Mary (spicy bloody mary with kimchi and rock shrimp garnish)
• wild salmon-fennel hash with fresh tumeric and an organic fried egg
• wood oven roasted moulard duck egg in local heirloom tomato and chickpea stew, ricotta and rosemary flat bread
• slow roasted fudge farms pork shoulder on cheese grits with a poached egg, parsely sauce and pickled onion
• lemon ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote
• almond french toast stuffed with caramelized pears

Needless to say, everything was a "small plate" so S. and I shared everything. The service was fabulous, the space was entirely gorgeous and it was located in the Design District of Miami, across from the most wondeful Christian Louboutin store you've EVER SEEN. I LOVED IT SO SO SOSOSOSOSOSOSOSOMUCH. Next time (and there WILL be a next time), it's dinnertime.

Tapas y Tintos

Oh, this place was just perfect. Cute little restaurant on Espanola Way that served us so many of the favorites I enjoyed during my time in Spain. Chorizos a la sidra, patatas bravas, manchego, croquetas and more, all washed down with some crianza. While we were there, a couple got engaged which was extremely exciting! She was in the middle of a huge bite though, which made things kind of hilarious as she tried to chew through it to say yes. As we finished up our meal, men started squeezing through the tables to set up some music equipment on a little platform that had been previously unnoticed. We were sure that some horrid music would be played in our faces... and then the flamenco dancers arrived. I LOVE flamenco! We sat there, mesmerized for quite some time as these ladies stomped out their version of a soap opera in song and dance. The entire place was packed to the brim and filled with shouts of encouragement and claps as they reached Mach 5 with their feet. ¡Que perfecto!

All in all, a fantastic gift of a weekend. I couldn't have asked for a better companion, or a better place to spend Valentine's (sans pink, red, hearts or chocolate, thank god!).

¡Besos!

Fork It Over: Momofuku Noodle Bar

 

For the past few years I've had my eye on David Chang (who hasn't?), beginning with this article about him in the New Yorker. He's got one sassy attitude, but it seems to me, a good one. And when I read that he pals around with Alice Waters, I developed a bit more of an interest. After all, I have admired Ms. Waters since childhood, when I began cooking the recipes out of her children's book Fanny at Chez Panisse. If she has befriended this guy, then he surely has something going on.

Since the aforementioned article was published (2008), Chang has continued to rocket to chef celeb status and opened several more enterprises. This past weekend I had the pleasure of dining at his first restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar. There are so many places in NYC that need to be crossed off the damn list already, and this one has been lurking around forever. After a week full of turkey and all that jazz, I needed something to excite the t-buds.

When we arrived, Momofuku Noodle Bar (MNB) was hustling and bustling. Yet while everyone in there was loudly consuming noodles and the staff was darting about to accommodate them, nothing felt chaotic or out of control. My dining companion and I waited a few minutes and were seated at the noodle bar. Deciding against the lunchtime prixe fixe (which looked delicious) we decided to order a handful of items a la carte. While we perused, S. ordered a Lagunitas IPA and I ordered the Apple Cider Shoju SLUSHIE. It was so refreshing- I ordered the small, which is a huge mistake. Only order the large, or you will live to regret it.

First we had a soy-poached egg. Um, hi. I'm going to need like 9 of these next time. It was the perfect texture, perfect saltiness, topped with scallions and some kind of crunchy onion garnish. My half was gone in two bites. Then we shared an order of steamed shiitake mushroom buns, smoked chicken wings and the Momofuku Ramen.

Everything was savory, and had several layers of flavor. The shiitake buns were plump and soft, filled with salty, shriveled mushrooms and god knows what. I just wanted to get it in my mouthal region as fast as possible. Then came the smoked chicken wings with pickled chili, garlic and scallions. These little guys were blazingly hot when they arrived, their crispy skin sizzling in a dark soy glaze. I snarfed these up in a timely fashion, scraping up the scallions and pickled chili with the wings themselves. Then I scraped up the sauce with my fingers. That I licked. They were finger-licking good, alright?!

Finally (and all of this was happening relatively swiftly, mind you), the ramen arrived. What a steamy bowl of goodness. And good lookin' as all get out. The pictures we snapped with the iPhone don't do it justice, but you get the general idea- awesome.The ramen had noodles, pork belly, pork shoulder, fish cakes, and a poached egg...oh the egg. It was just snuggled there in the ramen noodles like a diamond in the rough. Unfortunately I was forced to stab it with my chopsticks to release the creamy yolk into the broth, but it was quite lovely while it lasted. 

I had a great time. I wasn't expecting David Chang to be there performing acts of culinary magic or anything, but I did expect the orderly, positive experience I had there- oh, and the amazing food. The service was friendly and helpful and what little I spied of it, the kitchen seemed to be whirring along pleasantly. So, now that I've checked MNB off the list, Ko is on deck. CHOMP!