Out and About for 7 Meals in 7 Nights

Last week, I noticed early on that my motivation for cooking anything was way low. Epically low, as in no-way-do-I-feel-like-cooking-eating-cleaning-even-once-this-week-finances-be-damned low. I had just gotten off of back to back trips out of town, the first being a week in Vegas for work and the second being a long weekend up in Rockport, MA sitting on the beach. Both trips came with an 18 hour stint in Miami between them. Gotta love workin those airline miles... I also had already had such a great time on both trips that I wanted to keep the good times rollin and that meant no toiling away at home. With a few planned events for that week on the horizon, I decided that I was going to eat out every night, Monday thru Sunday, and thats exactly what I did.

Im going to do posts on each experience on their own but here is a rundown of my week:

Monday - The Taurus, Coconut Grove
Tuesday - Pizza Crawl - Round 4, Fratelli la Buffala & Casale, Miami Beach
Wednesday - Jaguar, Coconut Grove
Thursday - Calafate Grill & Naomi's Grill, Sunny Isles
Friday - Casale (AGAIN!), Miami Beach
Saturday - Palm Beach Grill, West Palm Beach
Sunday - The Breakers (lunch), West Palm Beach; Hakkasan (dinner), Miami Beach

Up next: The Taurus, Coconut Grove

Hitting the Links

Playing 18 this morning with Rick of SFDB. Updating on Twitter if u r a follower.

***UPDATED***

Well, Rick took a 5 shot lead after 9 thanks to an 8 by me on the par 4 5th hole and a 7 on the par 4 9th. Poor iron play and sloppiness around the green killed me on those two holes. On the back 9, I just couldn't hold it together. Plagued by inconsistency. After a chip in for birdie on the par 4 13th to pull me within 5 strokes of a tie, I proceeded to chunk a 4-iron into the drink an fell back to 7 shots out. Rick finally showed signs of fatigue on the 17th and 18th and I was able to capitalize and gain 4 strokes back, winning the back 9 by 2 strokes but losing the match by 3 overall.

We lucked out with the weather. It was a beautiful sunny day with a nice breeze to keep things from getting too hot and sticky. Unfortunately, Rick decided it would be wise to let a slow ass foursome in front of our fast playing twosome so it ended up being a 5 hour round. Good times though, and for the record, Rick was sporting a tattoo of Obama on his back left calf...

Hurricane Pool Update: WOW

Well, today is July 28th and everyone except me and David Lisznia has officially been eliminated. Not even one named tropical storm yet! That is unreal! I think there was just one little tropical depression in June but thats been it. This means one of two things... Either we are in for a light season or Ma Nature is just building up her energy to layeth the smacketh down on us in the middle to end of the hurricane season. It also means that David is most likely the big winner in the hurricane pool unless we get one in the next few days...

And once again I am reminded that I shouldve gone to school to become a weatherman and hurricane predictor. It remains the only job in existence where you can eff up year after year and still retain a job. Im convinced that meteorology classes consist of nothing but funneling beers and taking bong hits and then throwing darts at a board that has sections for different weather conditions based on the season.

Running with the Bulls (and possibly the devil too) at Por Fin

Friday night I met up with some new friends who had gathered at Por Fin in Coral Gables. They had the whole "running with the bulls" happy hour thingy going on with 2 for 1 on some drinks and lower priced tapas from what I gathered. I never looked at a menu though since I was with a group that fluctuated from 6 to 9 people throughout the night and a few of them knew the menu. Sometimes its nice not to have to make decisions, ya know? The upstairs was packed when I got there around 630pm and stayed that way pretty much until midnight. I did check out downstairs at one point around 9pm and it too was full.

The food...was really good! I thought the croquetas were incredibly tasty and I liked how they were plated with the choice of a garlic aioli or fig jam on opposite corners of the plate for dipping. There was some sort of bruschetta that appeared early in the night that I thought was just OK and seemed to be overly "olive-y" in flavor. Both a meat and a cheese plate made their way around too and everything seemed typical, none too exciting, with the exception of a blue cheese (cambozola?) that I really liked but cant remember its name. A bowl of potato chips with blue cheese all over them was also very tasty. Someone ordered some dish that looked like a potato skin with cheese and prosciutto on it but I didnt really get a good look at it nor a chance to take a bite. The one non-tapas-menu dish that I did get to try that I really, really enjoyed was the Huevos Por Fin. A bowl of potato chips, a fried egg, some melted cheese, some cured pork (serrano?), and some truffle oil really tasted like pure awesomeness once it was mixed together a little. I didnt notice any potato foam though which someone had mentioned was once on the dish.

Beer, sangria, and a crapload of wine flowed throughout the night. Apparently the Pinot Noir was good, let's just leave it at that. People also enjoyed the sangria but only when they asked that the simple syrup be removed as it was much too sweet. I had a sip of the white sangria sans syrup and still found it to be sweet but also refreshing. Beer selection was Bud Light, Grolsch, or a new organic beer from Michelob called Stone Mill. I went with the Stone Mill on a friend's recommendation and was surprised when it tasted really good! Unfortunately, they ran out before I could get another one so I switched to Grolsch and then later to Maker's Mark. The weak beer selection needs to be improved and running out kinda blew. With all the alcohol I've listed here, you can probably understand how we ended up at some whacky karaoke bar until 2am...yeah.

The food was great and everyone in the room seemed to have a great time. However, the biggest buzzkill was dealing with the check. Apparently their computers werent set up properly for the 2 for 1 or the cheap tapas because the bill was an absolute trainwreck. Luckily we had one guy on a mission to make sure that they got it right and he managed to do so in a completely calm and understanding manner which I think really helped the situation. I think this back n forth went on for about 45 minutes which was a tad absurd. Granted, we were a large party but I still think the bill at the end of the night was effed up. We did tip well though since the service was VERY good. I actually give the servers a lot of credit and the kitchen and bar as well because they really did a great job and were really polite and accommodating even though the place was packed and it was tough to move between the tables. Id definitely recommend Por Fin to friends and I'll have to make it back sometime myself. It was a fun place with a great vibe and the food was delicious.

Cheap beer and tapas = Im there! Calafate Grill, Sunny Isles

Popped into Calafate Grill up in Sunny Isles for a quick snack and a beer prior to a dinner meeting I was headed to elsewhere. I had heard about their happy hour with $3 beers, sangria, and tapas, so I was eager to give this joint a shot. Who doesnt like $3 beers and tapas?

The restaurant space is clean with a nice "L" shaped bar against the back wall, a "lounge" area with some fashionable chairs and couches in the middle of the room, and then some tables lined up in uniform throughout the rest of the room. I thought the bar area looked good and felt comfy, even though the chairs didnt really allow you to lean back at all. The lounge area was kinda cool, I guess, but the rest of the room kinda seemed like a cafeteria. Plenty of light let in by the window but not much to liven up the table area besides that. The few people who sat at tables just kinda seemed like they were on display. That didnt matter that much to me though as Im a bar guy anyways.

The selection of $3 beers is actually not bad. I opted for a Negro Modelo and a friend had the sangria. The $3 tapas menu was broken down into seafood, meats, and veggie sections. Since I was going to a dinner meeting and didnt want to ruin my appetite, I only tried one tapas plate. I went with the fried calamari served with lemon and their own bravas sauce which, at $3, was a much larger portion than I expected. The calamari was light and crisp, seasoned nicely, and served on a bed of lettuce. There was a good mixture of rings and tentacles too. The best part about the calamari dish, however, was the bravas sauce. This sauce had an awesome fire-y kick to it, just enough to give off some spicy heat and make you want to go back for more.

I wanted to try a few more dishes but we had to get going to chow elsewhere. I can definitely see myself taking advantage of this spot when Im up in the Sunny Isles area, especially for happy hour.

The time is NAOE!

I had heard about NAOE on the Florida Chowhound board quite some time ago. As a big fan of Japanese cuisine and an even bigger fan of the omakase menu, I was excited to give this place a shot. The only menu youll find here is a list of sake and other beverages. Other than that, its all omakase, or "chef's choice". The experience begins with a bento box ($26) and then moves on to pieces of nigirizushi ($4-$8ea) until you tap out. Yeah, its kinda awesome.

Well, after a 2nd trip to NAOE, my long overdue detailed report....

First the bento box components, separated into 4 quadrants:

Quadrant 1:
- madai (sea bream), portabella mushroom, mitsuba custard/soup served in a little clay cup
Quadrant 2:
- sake simmered Scottish salmon rolled with konbu seaweed on a toothpick-like skewer
- aji (horse mackerel) fried with a dusting of matcha tea
- yamaimo (mountain potato) fried with seaweed powder
- sake steamed ankimo, sake steamed sea bream milt, unfiltered soy sauce, miso, green beans, and cucumber
Quadrant 3:
- local king mackerel marinated in rice vinegar konbu topped with an okra, miso, soy, citrus, and wasabi "dressing"
Quadrant 4:
- parsnip rice with rice bran pickled daikon

And, of course, the soup component:
- soft poached organic chicken egg yolk, organic carrot, organic daikon, mitsuba, dashi (broth from dried skipjack tuna & konbu) soup

The madai/portabella custard intrigued me the most so I went after it first, using the little wooden spoon provided. The custard was very light yet held chunks of sea bream and portabella. Once the custard was broken up a bit, it turned into a nice little soup and the mitsuba broth really got a chance to shine. The custard was very hot, having just been removed from the steamer, so I moved on to the 2nd quadrant and went for 1 of the 2 bites of the sake simmered salmon wrapped in konbu. It had a very clean, sweet, and cool flavor that brought my mouth temp back down nicely so I could return to the custard again. The rice was similar to my last visit in shape only. This time I found the rice to be just ok on its own but much better when enhanced with some of the shoyu that Chef Cory serves. Last time I had a sardine rice that I liked straight up. Next I volleyed between the kingfish and the fried aji and potato. I dont recall a distinct flavor with the fried components but I love how Chef Cory incorporates the texture of a fried item into the bento box. Its like that guy who plays the triangle in an orchestra, you get just enough to know its there and realize the score wouldnt be complete without it. The kingfish was one of my favorite components though. It was layered with konbu and I really liked the okra/wasabi/miso dressing. A very fresh tasting dish. I saved the best for last though. The sake steamed ankimo was phenomenal. Its really hard to describe the flavor. It was just damn good.

After finishing off the bento box, I hit up the soup to wash it all down. I really liked the texture that the chicken egg provided and the dashi broth was very flavorful. The veggie ingredients provided a nice hearty component.

This bento box and soup combo was much more filling that the one I had on my first visit to NAOE, so I was torn between adding some nigirizushi or not. That lasted about 2 seconds. Next thing I knew, I was eating the following:

- Scottish salmon nigirizushi (belly side, but more towards the tail, so not the actual belly, even though fatty)
- aji nigirizushi with grated organic ginger on top
- aoriika (bigfin reef squid) nigirizushi brushed with orange soy sauce
- madai nigirizushi brused with orange soy sauce
- shiraebi (white shrimp) with grated organic ginger on top
- Hokkaido uni with grated wasabi on top
- aoyagi (orange/surf clam) with orange soy sauce
- fresh unagiyaki with sansho pepper

Though there was only enough uni to make 3 small nigirizushi for me and the 2 other patrons at the bar to share, it was still delicious. Besides, 1 is better than none! Chef Cory related that this type of uni is only available June and July (I hope I got that correct...). My preference for uni aside, I really liked the addition of the grated ginger on the aji and the shiraebi. It was a nice flavor enhancement. The unagi, flown in fresh with no additives or preservatives, was a sweet ending to a great meal. Well, I shouldnt say ending because Chef Cory served us some cantelope and donut peach with sweet rice vinegar fish sauce as he totaled up the bill for the 3 of us that remained at the bar. Yum.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - NAOE is not a restaurant. It is a dining experience. I've had the pleasure of sitting at the bar on both visits, watching Chef Cory slice, dice, slide, and glide while cooking the components for the bento box. He shows focus but at the same time he shows that he has a great personality, taking time to chit chat with diners when he gets a free second or if someone chimes in with a question. I have learned something new on each visit and I'm grateful for having that as part of the dining experience. You just dont get that everywhere. Another cool thing about NAOE, at least for the time being, is the personal attention. Sunday night I was the only 730p rez with 2 walking in a tad late but Chef Cory accommodating them anyways. Two more showed at 830p and that was it for the night for reservations. With only 5 people in the restaurant, everyone sat at the bar. I found it amusing when I noticed that all 5 of us were all watching closely as Chef Cory sliced up some cantaloupe for the first 2 diners who had finished their meal. A simple pleasure of a fully open kitchen and a chef at work. Add that to the element of surprise with the omakase menu, plus the friendliness of Chef Cory, Wendy, and their new dishwasher (I missed his name but he is a very nice guy and, much like Wendy, always makes sure your sake glass is full), and you really have something unique to enjoy rather than "just a meal".

Though I live a good 30 minutes away, I can tell I'll be making the pilgrimage to NAOE often. Its the type of restaurant that really hits the mark for "foodies", whether you like the term or not.

NAOE
175 Sunny Isles Blvd
Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160
305-947-NAOE (6263)

iPhone Apps: Current Favorites

I got the iPhone 3G back in December as a bday present to myself and I've been loving it ever since. The signal is great on the AT&T network and that was a major concern of mine. They also keep updating the iPhone software and, though its got my phone stuck in "recovery mode" twice now, the updates really do improve the phone and its functions. My favorite thing about the iPhone is the ability to download all sorts of applications, or "apps" as the hipsters would say. These games and gadgets keep me busy and entertained all day which means a lot considering Im constantly in an airport. With that said, I figured Id share a few of my current favorites.

Tweetdeck - This app got me into the whole Twitter thing again. I never really got Twitter and I still kinda dont. To me, its really no different than a Facebook status update except it's to a different list of people without all the personal info. Either way, its been a good source for catching up on new blog posts and interesting conversations. Its also a free app which is great.




Hero of Sparta - I thought this game looked pretty cool when it first came out on the iPhone but for $9.99, I passed. I knew eventually it would come down in price. Well, my patience paid off last week when I saw it for $0.99. Its a pretty sweet game and uses the touch screen interface to set up a virtual controller and buttons to mash on. Gotta love the Greek myth too. You play the role of a Spartan dude whose ship crashes somewhere, leaving him to hack and slash his way thru monsters and face the wrath of the gods in order to get back home. Its a blatant ripoff of the famous God of War series on the Playstation but it kicks a lot of ass for an iPhone app.

Flight Control - Understanding that I spend a ton of time at the airport, its only natural that I check out a game that puts you in the role of air traffic controller, right? Another one that weighs in at a whopping $0.99, Flight Control is addictive and fun game. The object is to guide aircraft to their respective landing pads and runways. Different aircraft travel at different speeds ranging from the super slow chopper to the lightning fast fighter jet. Keeping these things guided to their landing zones while trying to make sure none of them crash into each other really gets chaotic as you begin to land more and more. One crash and its time to start all over. Again, addictive and fun albeit frustratingly so haha.
Paper Toss - Its true. Im one of those guys that likes to try and shoot just about any object into any type of receptacle. Tossing crumpled up pieces of paper into the bin at the office has always been fun but these days we need to focus on recycling and not being wasteful so I've found a more eco-friendly alternative in Paper Toss. The object of the game is to flick the screen in order to toss your crumpled ball of paper into the bin. Seems easy but there is also a fan that blows from one side to the other at varying speeds for each toss, so you need to adjust for the wind. Another addictive, fun, and incredibly frustrating game. Has kept me entertained for hours so far, even got me to laugh at myself when I said, "oh that's bullshit!" after a shot rimmed out haha. Oh, did I mention its free too?

So, there you have it. If you have the iPhone, I recommend these apps for fun and function. I have a bunch more but I'll save those for another time. Enjoy!