I'm going to start off with my least favorite experience, which happens to be at a restaurant I normally love so I'm going to chalk it up to a bad day in the kitchen. I'm a big fan of Pub Belly Sushi- all the Pub Belly restaurants actually- so imagine my surprise (and my stomach's) when a recent lunch left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. I ordered my favorite rolls as usual and those didn't disappoint, but I was still feeling hungry. I decided to order the tuna tartare. I mean, everything else was great so why not the tartare? I should also mention that it was as cold as Siberia in that restaurant. I wasn't the only one shivering and I did detect a few blue fingers on my hand. I think that also contributed to the unpleasantness. Another thing I should mention is that I'm a huge fan of tartare. One of the best tartares I've ever had was by chef Edwin Bellanco- first at Morrell Wine Bar and then at his super-chic-I-can't-believe-it's-in-midtown restaurant, Vitae, in Manhattan. I mean, it's perfectly sliced with the right amount of acidity and doesn't over power the freshness of the tuna. I could eat it morning, afternoon and night, but then I would probably get mercury poisoning or turn different shades of blue. So back to Pubbelly. When my tuna dish arrived it LOOKED good but it was a whole different ballgame when I took a bite. It was slimy. like Ghostbusters slimy, way too salty and extra chewy. No bueno. I took some extra bites and put it on the crackers but that didn't help. I gave up. I waved my culinary white flag. Do you know that feeling when you eat something that grosses you out and you just can't get the taste of it or the thought of it out of your head no matter how much water you gulp? That was me with this tuna tartare. Now, I don't want to cross out Pubbelly Sushi off the list, because like I said, I am still a fan of their menu, but you can bet I will not be ordering that tartare again. Forgiven but not forgotten.
Fast forward a couple of days later and I FINALLY was able to erase any last trace of the bad tartare out of my memory box. And how did I do that? With another tartare! (gasp!) My father-in-law was in town (our first official house guest!) and we went out to celebrate Coco's exam results and decided to check out Buena Vista Bistro. I hadn't been there since my birthday 2009 and after that meal I thought, "where have I been the last 4 years?" I decided to go big or go home after spotting the "award winning tuna tartare" on the menu. I asked our waiter "Yep it's true. Named best tuna tartare in Miami four years in a row by the New Times." I was impressed-and bold- and ordered. Well, IT BLEW MY MIND. Pub Belly who? This tartare was epic. A nice dose of lemon gives it that extra kick and it has some seaweed in it that adds a saltier element to the dish. It was refreshing, filling, and the perfect meal to make me forget about that "whatchamacallit?" Yeah, exactly.
The "award winning" tuna tartare from Buena Vista Bistro.
Our other foodie "aha moment!" came courtesy of Oak Tavern in the design district. This time, Coco and I were continuing the celebration solo (we like to celebrate everything! Isn't that what life is about?) and I am so glad we got to experience this dining experience as a party of 2. Everything was absolutely delicious starting with the oxtail bone marrow as an appetizer. I never met a bone marrow I didn't like. Coco and I sucked every last drop out of that bone and drizzled it on these crispy crackers. Every bite was divine! For my main entree, I went for the seared scallops on a bed of capers. Now, scallops can be a tricky dish. If it's not done right, it's awful, inedible, and you will probably have a disagreeable experience later. But I was so glad I went for it because they were 110% perfectly cooked. They were juicy without being oily and crispy without being overdone or burnt. It was a slam dunk to my palette. And can you believe I even shared with Coco?! I hate sharing but I needed him to experience it with me. Now that's true love. But the tour de force of the meal awaited us at dessert. We ordered a French favorite, a pot de creme, with creme friache, caramel and sea salt. Coco and I became those obnoxious people that practically had a food orgasm, making awful noises that every table could hear. As Coco said, "this is like nothing I ever had before." It went so quickly, I couldn't even take a picture. It was that amazing. Coco and I are still talking about it two days later.
Seared scallops at Oak Tavern (picture is not edible).
That really concludes my must mentions. That's not to say that the other restaurants were bad. They weren't. Out of convenience and comfort of knowing that the food is always good, we hit up NoVe sushi bar one night. It doesn't hurt that it's in the lobby of our building. And last night, a big group of us and our chirren checked out Butcher Shop and Beer Garden in Wynwood. It was a great spot with good food- obviously great meat- and very kid friendly (as in they were super cool that our girls tagged up their counter with Disney Princess stickers and thought it was "art"). I'm not a beer drinker, but the consensus was the they had ample selection and everything recommended turned out to be "good stuff." But I can tell you that the burger was out of this world. I definitely recommend this spot for big groups and rowdy friends. Oh yeah, and the Butcher Shop Sundae. They should call it the Hunger Games dessert. If you think you're going to come out alive from sharing this amazingness, you may want to reconsider hiding the spoons. Did someone say ice cream and bacon?!
survival of the fittest.
Here's to you. Here's to me.
Kat
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