A New Beginning...

Dear Friends and Followers ---

I write today to invite you over to my NEW Blog:  Savoring South Beach.  It was a bit silly to keep a URL called Twin Cities Eats when I am all about South Beach in Miami Beach nowadays.  And let me tell you, it is a heck of a lot different than living in Minnesota.  Follow me while I discover the Latin vibe, learn how to avoid sunburn, date more crazy men than ever and travel all over Latin America for my new job...

More good food, more good reads, more good times and, coming soon, the South Beach Food & Wine Festival. 

I hope to see you over at Savoring South Beach (http://www.savoringsouthbeach.blogspot.com/).  This blog will be deleted on December 1.

Ciao til you link over....
Red Pepper

The Setai

I miss Bali on a daily basis. It was a heavenly place that smelled like flowers, tasted like fruit and was full of calm. I only wish I was able to return as often as I might like but realistically it may never happen again. So what a treat to discover a little bit of Bali in South Beach.

My brother and his family are a dream come true. They give me a beautiful niece to play with, a crashpad in NYC and wonderful over-the-top gifts, like a spa gift certificate to the Setai.

I ventured through the cool silent lobby and out back to the freestanding spa. Greeted on the first floor by a gorgeous fresh scent and I was then led to the women's locker room. I immediately knew I was in for a spa-ing treat when I saw how clean and perfect everything looked. I quickly pulled my robe around me and headed upstairs to my treatment room. I had a little moment of annoyance that my treatment room was obviously made for a couples treatment, with two beds and a huge soaking tub overlooking the pools. Way to make a girl feel as single as ever. But, then again, this was the case in all the treatment rooms in Bali too so I guess they were just doing an even better job returning me to my place of heaven.

My treatment was a massage followed by a scrub then bath. Every product they rubbed onto my body smelled heavenly. The massage unfortunately didn't live up to the best massage I had in Bali but let's just say that I am grateful for any massage I can get. After the massage, I was scoured with a sand scrub which took away a good bit of my new Florida tan but with the promise of more even tanning post-treatment. Beaten silly, I then showered off and tumbled over to the huge soaking tub filled with salts, oils and gorgeous flowers. I was then left on my own to lounge, soak, stare at the candles, eat my fruit plate and drink my cool spa drink and bottle of Evian. I basically felt like a million dollars. I was trying to push all the "what couples must do in this tub" thoughts to the back of my mind and instead focus on relaxing. Sadly, my brain never stops spinning but at least I think the wheels slowed down a bit.

Rubbed, scrubbed and soaked, I left my treatment and went out to the pools (three different temperatures in each of the three pools). My pool chair was approximately the size of a twin bed and outfitted with the best pool chair cushion I have felt to date. Once I was seated I was given a glass of citrus-ed water (constantly refilled) and a bottle of Evian mister to spray when I felt too warm. It is amazing what $500+ a night can get you (along with the annoying New York girls cattily chatting next to me and ruining my spa zen.)

I eagerly asked for the lunch menu hoping for some Asian and Indian deliciousness but basically finding a pretty typical pool-side menu. My caprese wrap filled with avocados, tomatoes and mozzarella was quite good but not living up to the expectations that had been set given the high class atmosphere. It just didn't scream to me to come back and try the Setai's full blown restaurant.

All in all, let's talk about a perfect South Beach day and this day I spent at the Setai might just be how I would ideally spend them all if I could (no work, no stress, lots of attention). It's really too bad that I can't afford to live at the Setai and pretend I am in Bali all the time. I would if I could...

ST: Chicago, IL

It was time to marry VG off and make her into a VK. Their whirlwind 6 month engagement came to a conclusion with a four day party in the Windy City. I can't believe all that they pulled together so quickly!

Wedding activities were overflowing starting with a rehearsal dinner of Italian comfort food at Vinci's quickly followed by karaoke in Lincoln Park at the Four Farthings. It was a flashback to years gone by when the pitchers came out for a bit of flipcup action. Tipping over the 30-year-old mark, this seems to be happening a lot less often but it never becomes less fun. Let's just say there are a lot more babies being born in my circle nowadays than flip cup tournaments initiated.

Friday morning, a little worse for wear thanks to that darn flip cup, I started out with breakfast at the restaurant at the Hotel Palomar where we were all staying. For such a well-regardd new hotel (with a highly appreciated free wine happy hour), the breakfast was sadly mediocre with possibly the worst bagel I have had in years. At the very least, it was something to fill my stomach with before heading to the bridesmaid luncheon where we drank again (some champagne), made our nails shine so pretty and ate some needed sushi rolls. We tasted Sprinkles cupcakes and champane truffles for dessert, once again me disagreeing with everyone - why am I the only person in the world that likes the cake better than the frosting?

Friday night it was a huge Greek dinner at Parthenon, a huge banquet hall straight out of My Big Fat Greek Wedding. I didn't even know that Chicago had a Greektown! Opa!!! Lots of saganaki, which of course can't be denied a place in my heart. It is cheese, on fire, with alcohol. Does it get any better than that? Their vegetarian moussaka was also sinfully good. I gave my speech... then drank plenty of wine to recover. Back out to another bar followed by ending the night with amazing cocktails at the bar at the Palomar, where facial-haired mixologists made gin taste like heavenly flowers. (On a side note, why do fancy bartenders have the tendency to have crazy facial hair? Why this odd corrolation that seems to put women at the disadvantage behind the bar?).

Despite a solid week of gorgeous weather prior, the wedding day dawned cold and windy. All I could think about before heading out to get my hair done was hot chocolate. Huh, you ask? Weird. Yes, except that you would be too if you were staying at our hotel. Every time you walk out the door, you were hit in the face with the smell of warm melting chocolate. Why? Because Rick Bayless's xoco was just two blocks away, grounding its own cacao beans and pretty much making chocolate in the front window. I HAD to have some. So here I was braving the rain, running to catch a little Rick Bayless. Just my luck! Because I was alone, the host basically cut me to the front of the line, where I ordered an open-faced breakdast torta and a cherry scone... and a hot chocolate with almond milk. My gin soaked mind turned instead to happy thoughts of chocolate goodness. My energy lquickly evels returning, I burst the soft cooked egg and crunched through crisped torta bread. Now. Now, it was time to marry off my friend.

And with that, it became a whirlwind - hair, makeup, dresses, shoes, smile, smile again, hold the flowers, dance, dance, dance. Mmmmm.... lovely mushroom crepe and awesome brownies rather than cake. Wow. Then the after party. THEN the Weiner Circle. Best cheese fries of my life. Hands down. Best tasting? Maybe, maybe not. They win because I have never seen anything like the Weiner Circle in my life - dirty, filled with drunk people, yelling workers, yelling drunk people, and everyone having the time of their lives. You don't just come for the food, you come to end your night in a way you will never foget. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Mmmm.... cheese fries.

Congrats to V & A. Your wedding and the Weiner Circle, unforgetable.

ST: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buenos Aires is quickly becoming one of my favorite cities in the world. And there was no denying that the four days I spent there at the end of September charmed me yet again. After attempting to adjust to the sultry days of summer in Miami, it was immense relief to instead be amidst the first days of Spring in Argentina. Like the first days of Spring in any country, the Portenos were grabbing at every second of it: the parks were full, patio tables crowded and the ice cream shop lines ten deep. It was a perfect season for a visit to Buenos Aires.

I arrived late on Friday night off the plane from Brazil, startled because I landed at a different airport than I had imagined. But what a nice surprise to have been dropped at a city airport only ten minutes from the Ultra Hotel in Polanco Soho. Exhausted, I simply dropped off to sleep, letting the night air and the pulsating music lull me to sleep in my garden (ie smoking terrace)-view room.

Saturday awakened gorgeous and I revived with coffee and medialunas at the hotel. I headed out to the MALBA - The Latin America art museum of Buenos Aires. It was a gorgeous long walk from my hotel but, like several other Americans, I arrived at the museum prior to its opening at Noon, my guidebook clearly stating the wrong hours. After a brief "sunning" on the steps for 15 minutes, I ventured inside to enjoy the beautiful space and varied collection. Best museum in the world? No. But the permanent collection was excellent and worth seeing.

My next goal was ice cream, however I decided that the only way I would allow myself the glory of some Argentinian gelato was if I actually ate some real food too. Under the assumption that if Argentinians do such a fine job with Italian gelato, then they MUST do the same with pizza, I ducked into an Almacen de Pizzas. It is a pizza chain but the pizzas I saw through the window looked quite delicious and the Naples style I prefer. It really was delicious, that pizzeta of mine, covered with real cheese, fresh basil and cherry tomatoes. Much better than anything I have had in Miami thus far!

A bit full from pizza, which is all the better for ice cream as I didn't need the temptation to try MORE than two flavors, I marched on to Persicco. Persicco is perhaps the most famous of the gelato shops in Buenos Aires, and for good reason. This stuff is swoon-worthy. On Saturday I ate a cone with two scoops: one of Dulce de Leche con Brownies and the other of Sabayon. And then, yes, I went back on Sunday for more - simple Dulce de Leche and Bacciola (chocolate hazlenut). It was just that good. And if you live in Buenos Aires, one of their dozens of scooters is ready to deliver it to your home until the wee hours of the night. From 5,000 miles away, I sit here craving this gelato, with its creamy texture and super high quality ingredients. Thank goodness it is 5,000 miles away.

Saturday night, I headed over to a wine-tasting with Anuva Wines, where I tasted my way through a half dozen Argentinian wines paired with food in the lobby of another fancy Palermo hotel. It was great fun and I learned quite a bit about the wines of Argentina, like for example, they make more than just Malbec and Torrentes. In addition, the pairings included more gelato from Persicco (complaining? not me) and some excellent Argentinian cheeses. One doesn't automatically think cheese from Argentina but I tried around four varieties and they were each unique and high quality. With fast turnaround, the case of wines I ordered has already arrived in Miami!

Sunday was supposed to be a work day, holed up in my hotel room writing presentations but around 2pm my stomach was screaming so I wandered a few blocks away to Quimbombo, a natural foods restaurant I read about on Happy Cow and recommended by the hotel. I am so glad I went because it was simply an excellent meal in a beautiful space, thankfully a modern oasis and not a hippy den. I started with an excellent corn soup, which came with even more delicious Argentinian cheese to sprinkle on top. It was a gorgeous presentation. I followed with one of their signature salads. I was being soooo healthy.... and then I went to Persicco for dessert.... oops.

With Sunday fading away, the week really did turn to work. One pleasant surprise with work was a lunch at a restaurant along the El Tigre river north of the city. The wide walks, rowing clubs and suburban atmosphere filled my head with memories of England. I only wish I had had my camera!! I also had a lovely outdoor meal outside at a restaurant in Martinez. Try as I might, I couldn't find the name of the restaurant anywhere on it... hmmmm....

ST: Sao Paulo, Brazil

It's dificult explain the excitement I feel when I am about to land in a new country. What will it be like? What will it remind me of? How will it be different from anywhere ? Now that I have been to so many countries, I also sit with this small fear that it just won't feel special anymore. Thank goodness that has yet to be the case.

Brazil. Brazil is set to become one of the top five economies in the world in the next few years and it is simply hot, hot, hot. World Cup and Olympic selection committees think so too. When you step off the airplane and out into the city of Sao Paulo, you can feel it. There is money, lots of it, and there is development, just look at the sprouting buildings in the picture above! But don't get me wrong, while there is money, there are also shantytowns. And where there are buildings going up, there is also incredible amounts of security. While one colleague said, of course, walk the three blocks to the office from the Grand Hyatt, another was astounded at the thought and said I should only take a taxi. This is how you know it is a city, and perhaps country, undergoing a lot of change and growth - even its citizens can't decide whether it is safe to walk the streets or not.

I only wish I had had more than two nights in Sao Paulo. I can hardly say that I have touched Brazil at all but I had some initial thoughts. The wealthier parts of the city reminded me of Mexico City, where you glimpse beautiful homes behind thick walls; where shops have security guards waiting outside to watch your car while you shop inside, you being unlikely to simply wander down the street to the next store, always in the car instead. But the wealth seemed even more ostentatious here, and, yes, this is apparently supported by the high Gini coefficient of Brazil. The overhang of pollution in the air reminded me of Mumbai, where the scent isn't sweet but after a day you just get used to it the best you can. The traffic was like Egypt, where cars fill the roads and the trip to the airport takes hours. My final comparison is to Dubai. Rather odd, yes, but I found that my colleagues in Sao Paulo and others of the mid to high economic classes do much of their socializing and dining at malls. While in Dubai, I think that is to escape the heat, in Sao Paolo perhaps it is because of the security it affords to be off the streets? Most people I know dislike Sao Paulo and rush off to Rio but I didn't feel that same urgency to escape, and apparently 12 million plus people who live in the city don't either.

The food of Brazil. So little time to learn much of anything! I fell from the airplane into my office and an ordered-in lunch of sandwiches no different than anywhere else in the world. I even think the restaurant was called something English, like Hamburger Plus. After our meetings, we stopped around town doing the business I do, jumping in and out of malls and then down to the famous shopping street of Oscar Freire. I attempted to keep my mind on the business, while my eyes drifted to the spring collections in the global luxury shops that line the infamous road. Duly dropped at the hotel later in the evening, all I could really do was order some room service before passing out in a bed after a full day and a night before sleeping upright in an airplane seat.

Room service, though, proved to be exciting because I had a fresh hearts of palm salad with winter squash and some type of nut I had never tried before, all with a mustard dressing to dip into.The hearts of palm were huge slices the size of my palm, unlike anything I had tried before. They were fresh and more like jicama than the jarred hearts of palm of my past. The squash was puckery and different, not exactly pleasant but edible. Finally, the nuts were strangely delicious. As I said, no clue what they were, but it was good! At least I got to have a little flavor of Brazil before my head hit the pillow.

After another long day of work, the next night, my team in Brazil took me to dinner at Brasil A Gosto, a restaurant, which while tourist focused, is clearly focused on the foods and food traditions of Brazil. What a treat! My team insisted that I begin with a traditional Caipirinha, the national drink of Brazil. You can have these aplenty in Miami, but it definitely felt more real drinking it in Brazil. Tasty, yes, but I am definitely more of a rum girl than cachaca, which reminds me too much of tequila and its associated memories (or lack thereof).

We then started with a large platter of assorted appetizers, including cheese empanadas, rice croquettes, grilled cheese that reminded me of houlumi but was dipped in molasses (delicious!) and little balls of fish that I didn't try. There were sauces to try with them, including one that was incredibly spicy. For some reason, I had never associated spicy foods with Brazil! For my main course, there were two vegetarian options and I selected the most unique sounding, the Mixed Vegetables "Moqueca". It is described on the menu as prepared with palm oil, coconut milk and spices, with coconut rice, manioc flower and hibiscus pirao. I am thinking that manioc "flower" is actually supposed to be flour and I just learned through Google that it is actually the same thing as yuca and cassava. The dish was a bit like a curry but the manioc component added a definite baseness (versus acidity or sweetness) that clearly distinguished it from the sweet lime-y Thai curries I am used to. The other interesting components were the "sides" to the dish, one of which was this hibiscus pirao or basically stewed hibiscus flowers, a tart comparison to the sweet coconut rice. Here again in yet another country this year I have run into Hibiscus. You can go back and read me talking about this widespread flower in Mexico, Egypt and Indonesia posts. It is amazing we don't use it more in the United States!

Was this dish or this meal in particilar the best of my life? No, but the flavors were interesting and I feel like I learned a lot about the roots of Brazilian cuisine. Besides my own dish, the menu itself was pages and pages of cultural and historical notes on Brazil cuisine. What a great early education into a country I anticipate visiting quite a lot.

The next day, a quick lunch at a fruit restaurant brought me face to face with many unfamiliar fruits. The menu of juices listed so many unfamilar items. My host was quite surprised by my curiousity and stumped at many of the translations into English from Portuguese. I asked her to pick out something classically Brazilian for me to try... I found myself with a pineapple and mint juice. It was delicious although not as crazy as a fruit choice as I might have wanted to try on my own.

But as I said before, I foretell lots of Brazil in my future...

Tapas y Tintos

Everyone in Miami who has lived here more than three months (and is thus a "local") usually likes to appear repulsed when they hear that I live on South Beach. Then, when I tell them I like food, they immediately tell me there is no good food on the Beach. Way to be negative and uninformed. Thanks! Especially because I have been slowly but surely discovering some quite good food on the Beach, most of which I have yet to even mention on this blog due to new job overload. So, yes, they add gratuity regardless of the level of service and, yes, sometimes the prices are inflated and, yes, you might get groped by Eastern European women trying to push you in the doors on Ocean Ave. But, that doesn't mean there aren't some thing to like about South Beach dining...

Over on Espanola Way, suspicious since my overhyped visit to Hosteria Romana a couple of months ago and due to all of the above mentioned nonsense about South Beach, I ventured into Tapas y Tintos with low expectations. BB and I sat at a table outside on the patio and despite the humidity and sunshine, we were saved by blowing fans and large umbrellas. BB conversed in Spanish with our waitress while I simply gave up, sat back, and stared at the rose wine on the table next to us. A few more Spanish lessons and I can class up my life but until then I will get by with my grungy English: "Hook me up with some of that rose, wouldya?"

Alcohol in hand, next up, tapas. The list is long, the vegetarian options plenty. Apparently Spaniards outside of Spain don't feel the need to cover every vegetable (except pimientos) with ham like they do in Spain. I bet it is just too expensive here... Assuming small tapas and with only a small amount of hunger, I ordered just two: fried chickpeas with spinach and eggplant with tomato sauce and cheese (ie Spanish eggplant parm?). When they arrived, they were both HUGE portions. Welcome to America!!

Despite the rugby team quantities, they were both quite good, especially the chickpeas, which were rich in flavor and perfectly cooked. The eggplant was crisp with cheese, although a bit oily by the end of the meal. This was a happy affordable find on South Beach, especially with these portion sizes giving me two meals for the price of one. My companion had the cheese plate (also huge) and the tortilla espanol, which was normal sized. I forgive it for not being gargantuan, though, as it was quite delicious.

Service was decidedly only okay but expectations were low in the first place, so it was fitting the situation of a slow Sunday afternoon, the noise of football only a rumble in the distance from the Irish bar across the street. Is Tapas y Tintos my new favorite restaurant in Miami? Not even close. But would it be a great place to sit and watch the tourists and action on Espanola Way while drinking decent wine and eating tasty food? You bet.

Thumbs Up: Good people watching, large tapas selection, excellent chickpeas
Thumbs Down: Huge portions (although this could be a thumbs up depending on whether you have a refrigerator to take it home to or not while on South Beach)

Tapas y Tintos 448 Espanola Way Miami Beach www.tapasytintos.com

Mercadito

Sometimes meals are simply a nightmare. My dinner at Mercadito fits the bill.

We arrived for a 9pm reservation and were immediately sent to the bar. Three minutes later, they came to find us for our table. I hate that restaurants do this, almost forcing you to have a drink then, as soon as you order the drink, you have to rush and attempt to close your tab and move. In this instance, thank goodness we got those drinks, though, because our server never actually managed to ask us if we wanted any during dinner. If that isn't the sign of a disastrous meal, then what is?

The menu at Mercadito is upscale Mexican with a variety of creative tacos, guacamoles, ceviches and salads. The server informed us that all was meant for sharing so right off the bat we ordered a set of three guacamoles. You can order in ones, twos or threes. I kind of laughed when they arrived because it was not exactly a quantity meant for six people, a dollop of each guac and then a tiny basket of chips. Twice we had to literally wave people down to attempt to get more chips. The guacs weren't anything to write home about. I had been excited for the apple variation with almonds but I could barely distinguish it from the traditional recipe.

After the guac, we went around the table and each ordered dishes for the next course, like we would in a normal restaurant. However, when the food started arriving, way more food than we ordered was coming to the table. For example, an order of tacos says it came with four tacos, yet six came out of each type. Uh oh. We waved and waved and finally someone went up to the manager to tell them we didn't want one of everything for everyone at the table! It was way too much food and we didn't want to pay for it. Our server basically was off hiding at this point and then avoided our table. I mean, this is no huge sin, but it would have been better to have been asked if we wanted to share like this - I, for example, am a vegetarian and wasn't planning to eat 80% of the food ordered!

Speaking of the food, when it did come out, it came out at different times and was then just placed on the table. It is all kind of sloppy and a dream for a restaurant management and a nightmare for guests like me. The server doesn't have to worry about remembering who ordered what and then doesn't have to fret to make sure that the kitchen delivers it all on time. But it is annoying as all heck. Mercadito is so loud that we couldn't even hear what the server was saying as they placed the food down at the table and then ran away. And then, for me, I ordered some Rajas tacos and they were the very last thing delivered to the table, a good 30 minutes after food started arriving. This meant that I, as the vegetarian, was kind of just sitting there waiting for my food, picking at other people's items as I could and attempting to be patient. And no one asked me if I wanted anymore wine. Big, big mistake.

The food itself was underwhelming. I liked the mushroom tacos better than the black bean rajas. The corn with cheese and spices was quite yummy. But the atmosphere was so crazy, crowded and unpleasant in the back room we were in that I couldn't truly even enjoy anything. As we left the restaurant, it was full of large tables basically there to snack and party, not to have a culinary experience. Ah, makes sense now. Party place.

Thumbs Up: Very pretty space, multiple vegetarian tacos options
Thumbs Down: Service, noise, just too hectic! My personal nightmare...

Mercadito 3252 NE 1st Ave Miami www.mercaditorestaurants.com

Michy's

There are a lot of star chef restaurants in Miami but many of them are simply outposts of chefs who barely step their foot into town. Thank goodness this isn't always the case! Here in Miami, I have been most keenly excited to find and try the chefs that have built their acclaimed restaurants starting from Miami, and one of these chefs is Michelle Bernstein. I had already graced Sra. Martinez with my presence multiple times and I had been holding my breath waiting for the perfect opportunity to head up the road to her original restaurant, Michy's.

Michy's is like a bright girly boudoir. You wouldn't see too many groups of guys just coming to chill out. In fact, the bar is tight. This place is really all about the food instead. We were quickly seated at the front window, in full view of the Miami summer evening rain to ponder. The only complaint I had with this location was that the servers used the windowsill right next to us as a counter, so they kept stopping by and leaning around us to grab silverware and coffee sugars. Still, this was minor. The room itself had an excellent vibe, was playing hipstery music and it wasn't so loud that we couldn't hear each other mmmm over the food. I was feeling pretty good.

And I felt even better once my appetizer was served. It was amazing! My choice was the full size portion of the White Gazpacho with marcona almonds, grapes and cucumber. It was absolutely the perfect foil to the Miami humidity in that it was smooth, cool and refreshing. The seemingly odd combination of flavors also worked perfectly together. I sighed in happiness. VG's watermelon Greek salad was similarly refreshing and we reveled in the fact that you could order so much on the menu in half or full sizes.

While the appetizer was perfection, I will say that my entree was the mediocre part of the meal. I chose the Crispy Chickpea Panisse with mushrooms, kale, piquillo peppers and heirloom tomato stew. I had no idea what to expect from a "panisse" but it ended up being basically croquetas of hot hummus over the aforementioned stew. Unfortunately, the stew was a bit of a mess. The flavors were indistinct and overall the combination wasn't noteworthy. I had high expectations and was disappointed. I wanted more oomph, especially after the lovely cool soup. VG had a softshell crab special, which she claimed was good but nowhere near the best softshell she has had. Interesting that the middle of the meal was the low point for both of us.

Michy's redemption was to be had, though, because we were literally blown away by dessert. Our plum upside-down cake with honey ice cream and creme fraiche was the first time I have ever seen my dining companion so into a dessert. Typically, she isn't so much of a sweet dessert girl (think cheese plate instead). And it was sweet, it was rich and it was memorable. The honey ice cream melted slowly into one side of the cake and on the other a rich creme fraiche stood firm with a slightly tangy flavor. The combination allowed for the dessert to be sampled in multiple ways. Wow, I want this cake again. Now.

Service was excellent, we had some wow moments and I definitely enjoyed the girly dining room. All in all, this was one happy Miami meal.

Thumbs Up: Great starters, fun atmosphere, amazing dessert

Thumbs Down: Middling mains, why is there valet parking in a parking lot?

Michy's 6927 Biscayne Blvd Miami www.michysmiami.com