Welcome to Miami, Bienvenido a Miami

Miami South Beach is one of those places everyone should check out at some point in their lives.

but when you are there be AWARE of the places you choose to dine.

I was in South Beach a couple weeks ago with my good friend's Jimmy and Gina. We had walked 3 miles after a 10 hour day on our feet. We were starving and exhausted and finding a restaurant when you feel that way, is no easy task. They all look the same. It is hard to make a decision as to what cuisine you want. It is like going to the grocery store on an empty stomach. You just shouldn't do it.

We got down to the main strip of South Beach. Here, restaurants are a dime a dozen. In fact, I am not sure there is anything but restaurants for several blocks. Every restaurant has al fresco dining curbside for maximum people watching. They also have the notorious carnival barker.

No matter how many times this has happened to me in my life. I seem to fall every once in a while for the tricks of the barker. Tip #1 if there is somebody hawking you into their restaurant, RUN! Run as fast as you can to a place that isn't doing it. Granted in South Beach there is a restaurant every few feet so you think to yourself maybe these establishments feel that if you walk by, you won't come back? Don't fall for it! If a restaurant has a carnival barker out front, they have a trick up their sleeve. In Miami, this is the trick. Barkers tell you the prices are 50% of for food, or 20% off the entire check. As they tell you this, if you pause at all, they start showing you to your table. When you sit down you realize, everything has prices except the drink menu.

If something doesn't have a price on it, unless you're extremely wealthy, and in this economy you are one of the lucky ones, let this be a red flag. Anything that doesn't have a price on it is usually overpriced for the average American.

At the restaurant we went to they drew us in with 50% off the menu, but this did not include drinks, and the drinks were between $18 and $25 dollars, and we couldn't have known this unless we asked or upon the arrival of the check. We expected to pay above average, but this was really steep.

Tip #2, if the barker is successful in getting you into his restaurant, don' t get anything that is on "special" and not printed anywhere. If the server says an item is on special, beware! In our case the server was suggesting a Buffalo Mozzarella special. I noticed there was Buffalo Mozzarella listed on the menu. I said what is the difference? He said the special is much better. Not much to go on, so I said, "What is the price?" I did this knowing he was up to no good. He said $20, this was $8 more than what was listed on the menu. Lou and I fell for this once in Greece as well. The barker got us in, then he asked us if we would like to try the special cactus juice. We did at 15 euros or $20 a pop!

Tip #3 If the barker or server in a barker's restaurant offers you anything like bread, don't assume you won't be paying for it. This was another thing that happened to Lou and I in Greece. We ordered a Greek salad and our barker asked, "Would you like bread with that?" We said, "Sure", and for 3 pieces of bread we were charged 10 euros!

It is ashame we didn't get to check out eating establishments that weren't over priced in Miami. I am sure they are out there, and to be honest, our food was very good, but tourists, when it comes to the barker, consider yourself warned!

Beehive and first impressions

Beehive

541 Tremont Street

Boston, Ma 02116

Menu: Eclectic upscale American fare

Prices: Reasonable for the area

Kid Friendly: I know I know we never go to kid friendly places sorry!

Beehive in the South End is a place we have checked out before, but we have never made a conscious effort to eat there. Last week during a long period of not eating and wandering around, we found ourselves outside Beehive at 5 0'clock and thought, we would try it.

As we looked at the menu outside along with another couple, a gentleman approached us from inside and said, " We also have a prix fixe menu so keep that in mind, it is a great deal." Lou and I decided to try it.

This is the part of my story that anyone working for Beehive should pay close attention to. We walked into the, then completely empty restaurant, and said to the two hosts standing there. "Two for dinner." They asked if we had a reservation, which a lot of restaurants in the South End do, no problem there, but the next statement from them was, " Just so you know, we are VERY busy tonight with reservations" Really Beehive? Your completely EMPTY restaurant at 5 o'clock is that busy that you can't offer two people a table for dinner? or suggest a seat at the bar to eat? and do you realize there is a guy outside your door barking people in for the prix fixe menu? The tone of the two hosts was annoyance as they began to look through their list of empty tables to see if they could "fit us in". I immediately said, "No problem, we will go somewhere else." What I was thinking was, "You have got to be kidding me with this first impression." We started to walk out, and if we had made it out the door, I doubt I would have ever returned.

Lucky for Beehive they had a third hostess who realized what was going on, and as we went to exit said, "Wait, we can sit two now."

What do I think they should have done differently? How about looking to see if they could seat us first, then if they were in fact that busy with reservations, saying, " I know it sounds crazy because the restaurant is empty, but we have a lot of reservations at (insert time), so we have to put you on a (insert time frame) wait."

Ok, so obviously our first impression was not good, but as soon as we were sat, the atmosphere and our server completely changed my initial opinions.

Beehive is two floors, our server told us it used to be the boiler room of the Cyclorama, which is home to the Boston Center for the Arts, and located next door. The structure is completely unique. It is as if a large building was cut into sections, and Beehive was left with this section to create a dining experience with. They have done a great job. The top floor has a large seating area with a bar A balcony overlooks the bottom floor where seating faces a central stage for performances. The walls are exposed brick. Small crystal chandeliers light the dining area throughout, and a tapestry, artifully hides the host stand and stairs to the bottom floor from diners. We sat across from the railing of the balcony which overlooks the bottom floor. There is an interesting area across from this railing where Beehive continually broadcasts a reel of burlesque type movies from what looked like the 40's or 50's. The wall looks as if there may have been two windows to the outside at one point in the past, and now the windows have been removed. The area between these two windows is approximately a 10x5 foot brick area where the movies are shown. I was thoroughly amused at the movies and what was considered risque for the time.

After we were sat, our server, Corey, approached our table. Corey was laid back, friendly, accommodating and had a hospitality that was noticeably not a result of growing up in the NE. Lou being the inquisitive guy he is, asked, and we found out Corey was from TX.

I started off dinner with a glass of Two Worlds Pino Noir from Germany. The wine list was extensive and this glass was very good.

Despite the prix fixe menu, Lou and I opted to order ala carte. We couldn't resist the Sage and Garlic Frites for an appetizer. It was a generous portion of fresh cut fries smothered in sage and garlic. We ate them all in about 2 minutes, and although we were really hungry, I think we would have finished them just as quickly anyway. They were delicious.

For dinner Lou got the Chicken Piccata with sage gnocchi and asparagus. Sage must be a favorite flavor of the chef as it was in several dishes. I got the Sole with mashed potatoes over a bed of wilted spinach. Both dishes were just as good as the fries and we had no problem finishing them off.

After a delicious meal like that, we had to try to dessert. We opted for the Maple Walnut icecream atop of warm maple bread pudding. At this point, or server Corey was starting to wonder where we were putting all this food. I also got a cappuccino which was perfectly prepared.

In the end Beehive redeemed themselves from the first impression of making me want to walk away. The prices were reasonable. With an app, two dinners, one glass of wine, and dessert, our bill came to $73. The atmosphere was unique and fun. There was no band playing while we were there, but could see they were setting up for a show, and our server Cory was excellent.

I forgive you Beehive hosts, we'll be back:)

I've gotten behind....

Cheesecake at Finale

Writing a blog has been much harder than I anticipated when I started. (Case and point, I started this entry a week ago, and I am just getting around to finishing it.) I began gungho posting every couple days determined to be the best food blogger in the universe, but then I realized a few things. Not every restaurant I go to has a wow factor, or great story. Sometimes I forget my camera and think without out the pictures the post will be lame. Sometimes I am too busy to post, and sometimes I would just rather play Farmville. I admit it, I am a Farmville addict.

With all this in mind, I thought I would sum up a few places into one entry. As Abraham Lincoln once said, and I take poetic justice on this, forgive me if it gets too long, I don't have time to write a shorter entry.

Best pizza we have found in Southie, and friendliest staff and delivery guys. Alfredo's 243 Dorchester Street. Closest I have found to NYC pizza in Boston, and every time I call in an order the guy affectionately calls me sweetie.

Applebee's. I know NOT ANOTHER CHAIN, how dare I? but it is a great place to meet for a quick lunch and they have a damn good Oriental Chicken salad with a grilled teriyaki chicken on top.

City Feed- 672 Centre Street, Local, Fresh, Organic, in JP. This place is hipper than hip and oh so green. They try to buy only from local vendors and support free trade. You country folks living in the city, don't let the outside fool you. I totally thought it was some kind of garden store, animal feed store, or grain storage. I know that sounds ridiculous being it's in the middle of JP, but I can't be the only one! Anyway, try the vegetarian egg sandwich here. You meat eaters won't think those Vegan's are so nuts anymore. You may want to go across the street to JP Licks for your coffee though.

Douzo- Swankiesh sushi 121 Dartmouth street. This is the place I most wish I had my camera at as I ate mini Octopus topped with a sesame oil. Oh how I wish I had lined them up like little soldiers for my blog. Alas, I forgot the camera. Douzo is good, a little expensive and I think you can get just as good sushi somewhere else cheaper, but it is a nice setting, and we were with nice friends, so we had a good time. Service wasn't the best, but we had been there before and the same guy was much better. I think it was just a bad night.

Finale- In the Park Plaza hotel. Want to impress someone over dessert or have dessert for dinner? Bring them here. They have combination desserts that cost as much as $25 but are big enough to share. The dessert bar craze may be all the rage, but these guys were first in the game. They do have some dinner items on the menu, but don't go for those. Live a little! Have your dessert first! or skip dinner all together. The Valrona hot chocolate with butterscotch schnapp's is the perfect warmer after a day of shopping on Newbury street in the winter. The Molten Chocolate cake is a house special. They do it better than anyone. Also outstanding are their creme brulee, and fruit tarts.

JP Hanlon's- This place is in Ayer and outside the city, get out and explore! It's an Irish bar, with Irish type food, and the best damn dipping sauce for sweet potato fries you will ever come across. Honey mustard and horseradish mixed together make up this tasty concoction. Sure you can make it at home, but everything tastes better when someone else makes it.

So there you have it, I am caught up. It's been a tough March and speaking to friends, I think we are all about as busy, but I promise to keep up with the blogging going forward.

Sea to You Boston Sushi School

Thanks to my friend Maureen last night I got to take a beginner's class in making Sushi!!!

The place was Sea to You Boston on the Brookline/JP border. If you go to their site and click on Sushi School, you can get all the details. There are 3 different courses, the beginner course basic Maki Roll Making, and then a level 2 Making Nigiri and Tamaki and level 3 Making Designer Rolls.

http://seatoyou.ipower.com/store/page14.html

The instructor was soft spoken, so if you take the class sit up front, or listen closely. He is really funny, and thorough.

The first hour we talked about safety, the art of making rice and the best places and types of sushi to buy. The content is a little boring compared to the sushi making itself, but very important so listen up!

The second hour was filled with rolling sushi! You can roll as much as you want. You learn how to roll rice in, rice out, and jumbo rolls. The costs for classes are on their site, but we were lucky enough to have a groupon which gave us a discount. Costs include all the materials in your sushi making.

If you already know how to make sushi and are looking for a place to buy supplies check this place out.

And now for the main event....

My master pieces!!!!

If you like Uno's you will love this Uno's

Uno Chicago Grill

1230 Commonwealth Ave.

Allston, Ma 02134

I say this often but since I have been writing this blog, I have realized a lot of things about my eating habits. For example, I eat at a lot more chain restaurants than I would have guessed.

I don't always like writing about the food at these places because #1 I think most people have visited them and #2 a lot of them have similar menus, or approaches to their menus. Places like Fridays, Applebees, Unos or Ruby Tuesday's consistently add and remove items from their menus, and they seem to always go with some old time favorite's ie. nachos, boneless wings, and artichoke dip, and then they add what's "in" ie. sliders in all flavors and small desserts.

In a way, they are operating like the fashion industry. There are the classics, and then there are the trends.

Since all the menus in these places are the same, I started to think, why do I choose one over another? Last night for example, Lou and I drove to our favorite Pizzeria Uno on the corner of Commonwealth Ave, and Harvard Ave in Allston. We like this one because the service always seems a little bit better, and they have a really cool staircase in the middle which descends into a lower area with great booths and a bar.

This has always been our pick for the Unos to go to, but last night it seemed even a little bit better. When we walked in, there was a manager at the host stand who helped to greet us. Everyone seemed a bit more friendly than usual. The place seemed a bit more cleaner, the booths seemed to have been redone, and were there more televisions?

We got sat in our favorite place downstairs, and the hostess let us pick any booth. After we were sat she introduced herself and the manager, Jackie. When our server arrived he too introduced himself, Matt and then the bartender as well, saying they would both be taking care of our table. All these introductions and formality made me have to ask, was this place under new management?

Yes, the server said, and her name was Jackie ( manager at the host stand) Apparently Jackie had been managing their location in Harvard Square but had been transferred to this location, and this server loved working for her, so moved over as well. He may have just said that, but it seemed pretty genuine. I figured he was her spy. All good restaurant managers usually have one or too making it seem they have eyes in the back of their head.

Our meal was great that night, there is a 4-7 and after 10 pm menu where you can get apps for $2.99 a pop, saving a lot of money. They are paired down versions of the full plates, but still fairly generous. There are also some great new menu items, like the pork sliders, and the mushroom flatbread pizza. We even got drinks at the server's suggestion, which we never do, but in honor of the horrendous weather we've been having, we each got a dark and stormy. Ginger beer, with dark and light rums.

Lou and I go to this Uno's about 3 or 4 times a year. As I said at the beginning we have always liked it, the service it good, the food is consistent, but somehow this new manager Jackie has made it even better.

It's a Restaurant People, It's All About the Food!

The late 90's was a time of abundance for everyone. People were making millions in the stock market, all businesses were booming, and it was a hey day for the "theme" restaurant.

Anyone who knows me, knows I started my career in the restaurant business and did a 5 year stint at Jekyll and Hyde, in NYC, so I know a little bit about what I am talking about.

One of the first theme restaurants was The Hard Rock Cafe. Centered around Rock and Roll and with units throughout the world in tourist heavy areas. The Hard Rock is still going strong. One of the strongest players of the theme restaurant heyday was The Rainforest Cafe. The buzz around this place was insane. Sitting in a fake jungle with fake animals you could enjoy average food surrounded by other parents with screaming kids. Fun! Other theme restaurants of the time were The Motown Cafe, The Harley Davidson Cafe, Mars 2112, Jillian, Dave and Busters, WWF, ESPN Zone and Planet Hollywood. These places were 25000+ square foot properties with some type of additional entertainment. Whether it be games, or music, or bowling, hollywood memorabilia, or a trip to Mars, each restaurant had some form of additional

entertainment, but like the Rainforest Cafe, the food was usually average and never the primary focus. Today you can still see some of these restaurants but many of their properties have closed, and it begs the question.. Will people keep coming year after year when you are serving average food because you've got some added entertainment?

Enter the Cheesecake Factory. In the late 90's I would say the Cheesecake Factory was just like all the other mega-themed restaurants. It was huge, it was centered around Cheesecake, sure they didn't have entertainment, but it looked the same to me. We even used to go into Cheesecake Factory to see what they did differently, and who we could recruit from their staff. It seems obvious, but the big difference between Cheesecake Factory and all those others, is, they focus on the food, and not how they can wow their guests with a plastic elephant in the corner.

I was in a meeting at work once and after a 3 day long seminar on Customer Service on "What the Customer wants" I heard the leader of the seminar say, "When people call support, they want to be helped!" How mind shattering! Was he kidding me? but then I thought about my own career when I was younger and I realized sometimes my focus wasn't always on the basics either. When people go to a restaurant, they want to eat good food.

Lou and I went to the Cheesecake Factory last weekend at the Atrium in Chestnut Hill. This place is always hopping, and always has a wait, so when we saw two seats at the bar open, we snagged them.

Our bartender/server was Brian, and he was on top of the service. He greeted us right away and set out place settings. I love that they place a napkin down as a place mat when they know you are going to eat. They also have very comfortable chairs at the bar. Bars aren't always conducive to eating, but this one is.

I decided on the Luau Salad as my meal and Lou went for the Catfish special. The Luau Salad has an Asian inspired feel with julienne vegetables, and crispy wontons, macadamia nuts and sesame seeds topped with sliced chicken breast.The portions are always huge at the Cheesecake Factory, so if for some strange reason you haven't been there, keep that in mind when ordering.

The Catfish special came with a crispy pecan crust and mixed vegetables that similar to a hot corn salsa.

Both our meals were excellent. I get the Luau Salad often when I visit the Cheesecake Factory, and it hit me while I was there. Out of all the mega restaurants, this place is always extremely consistent with the food. It's not easy to do when you've got 150 locations nationwide, and 8 in the Boston area alone. What is interesting about the Cheesecake Factory, is they had humble beginnings. Originally it was a Cheesecake business run by the Evelyn and Oscar Overton. Their son David is who turned the family business into a restaurant. Intuitively he knew what was most important, good, fresh food.

Lou and I finished our meal that night with a slice of Red Velvet Cheesecake. It is one of the Cheesecake Factory's newest flavors and it is a keeper.

I don't really like writing reviews on chain restaurants. I feel like most people have been to the majority of them. Especially when it is a place like Cheesecake Factory, but it is nice to know this place had humble beginnings and for the most part stay true to those in their service and food preparation.

Also I mentioned our bartender earlier in my review, Brian. I need to give this guy a shout out on the service. He was on top of it, pleasant, and was working the service bar the entire time. He also totally up-sold us on the delicious red velvet cheesecake.

One of my favorites

Uni

Located in the bottom of Clio Restaurant in the Eliot Hotel Boston

Menu: The best sashimi bar you will ever visit, with a French influence

Atmosphere: Sophisticated but slightly more casual than Clio

Kid Friendly: If your kids are into sashimi and fine dining.

Prices: Uni is not inexpensive, you may want to save a visit for special occasion, but it is worth every penny.

Reservations: Yes they take them, and it yes you should make one to be safe.

If someone were to ask me my favorite restaurant, I don't think I could pick one. There are a lot of places I have been with outstanding food. Now if you ask where can I get a good steak, or sushi, or local fare, I might be able to narrow it down. I could probably even give you a list of several favorite's.

One thing I do know, is any restaurant that Ken Oringer has opened would fall into my favorite's list. Ken doesn't need my praise to help him out. He is an internationally known chef, and he's won many awards and recognition over the years for his outstanding cuisine. If you haven't heard of Ken please don't think celebrity chef. True, he has battled in kitchen stadium and won against Cat Cora, but he is no celebrity chef like Todd English. I have been to Olive's and it is a T.G.I.Friday's compared to any of Ken's restaurants.

Lou and I decided to beat the crowds this Valentine's Day by going out on Friday and heading to one of our favorite Ken Oringer restaurants, Uni. Uni is in the Elliot hotel. It is a Sashimi bar connected to Clio. Clio is the first restaurant Ken opened in Boston. It was named best Newcomer by Gourmet magazine the first year it opened and name one of America's best new restaurants for the first 4 years it was open by Esquire magazine. This would be a very long blog entry if I list all of Ken's accolades, so if you want to read more about him, you can go to www.cliorestaurant.com.

After that introduction you might not expect my next comment, but 0ur night at Uni started off a bit slow. We sat for almost 20 minutes after we were first greeted and eventually had to ask someone to take our order. I know, I know. I just went on and on about this place. Honestly the service was out of character. It was a busy night, and I could see the girl who greeted us running up and down the stairs from Clio to Uni, so it seemed she was waiting on tables in both areas and taking our order slipped her mind.

Once our order was taken, the service was great, and although I don't usually use such fancy words, the food can only be defined as exquisite. For all the years I spent working in the restaurant industry, I should probably be ashamed at how little technically I know about great food. Eating at Uni reminds me of this. Ken takes unique ingredients and turns them into extraordinary cuisine.

After that long wait, I ordered a Lichee Martini. It was made up of a lichee puree, stawberry vodka, a few floating strawberries and a sugared rim.

For our dinner we started off with Anago Tempura (Salt Water Eel) with green tea salt and a shirred egg. This is where my lack of food knowledge kicks in. I have no idea what a shirred egg is or how you shir an egg. The definition I found online says it is an egg cooked in an individual ramekin with cream and cheddar. This definition doesn't do justice to what came to our table(neither does my picture unfortunately). Our shirred egg was in an egg shell which was perfectly sliced off at the top. The egg and cheese were a creamy concoction which hardly induced thoughts of an egg. It was euphoria and the perfect topping for our Anago Tempura.

Our next course was the Spicy Tuna Tataki with foie gras, cumin cilantro, aji amarillo and pear. First of all this dish is beautiful. I hardly wanted to eat it. This is the type of dish that I go to a Ken Oringer restaurant to eat. I know I like spicy tuna, and foie gras and cilantro, but I don't know when put together with an aji amarillo and pear, they will be an incredible combination of flavor.

Our next dish we ordered was Bronzini which should have been sea bass, but the restaurant had substituted Fluke. It was served with jalapeno vinaigrette, blood orange and thai basil, and was another beautiful, delicious course.

We finished our dinner with the Steak Teriyaki of Kobe Beef, with Kabayaki glaze, Vidalia onion juice, seasoned salts and lime. This course sounds pretty mundane, but in taste it was one of the most amazing of the night. Kobe beef is an outstanding cut on it's own, but paired with the different salts and the Teriyaki glaze to dip it in, it was from another dimension. One of the salts was smoked. Dipping just a little bit onto the beef gave the flavor an unexpected hearty, smokey boost which can only be described as other worldly.

After this amazing dinner, we couldn't leave without dessert! We got the warm ginger bread biscuit with creme freche, and the white chocolate pudding with coffee cake crumbles. My descriptions on the desserts are lacking. As you can see they both had icecream/sorbet but I took the pictures below so enjoy with your eyes. The ginger bread biscuit takes 20 minutes to cook, but it has a molten center which oozes out into the creme freche and sorbet and it is worth every second it takes to cook.

Ken's other restaurants include Verdad, a unique taco experience by Fenway with handmade tortillas! Toro, a tapas restaurant in the South End, KO Prime a steakhouse off of Tremont, Copa, the newest of his places, (I haven't been there yet), and my absolute favorite Clio. When I ate at Clio I sat across from my mother and every bite we took we said, "This is the best food I have ever had in my life."