Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Distractions, Samoas cookies, and ice-cream

The stress levels in the faux foodie house are high, real high. The in-laws/my parents are arriving in a few short hours and the chef has decided to do a "few fast fixes" around the house. We are not talking about projects that have been on a list of things to get done, we are talking about projects that have never been mentioned before. The problem is the chef got busy with his real job and now "the projects" are unfinished and waiting..... until Christmas, when they come back again.

Me on the other hand, I am getting a good exercise by walking between the refrigerator and the pantry instead of doing the laundry, folding the said laundry, setting up the guest bedrooms, unpacking, etc. Current distraction - Samoas girl scout cookies and ice cream. This delicious piece of heaven is a vanilla cookie coated in caramel, sprinkled with toasted coconut and laced with chocolate stripes. Have you joined me in the cookie heaven yet?

So to get back to the ice-cream I mentioned...it's not the plain vanilla ice-cream that I usually prefer, but rather limited edition flavor of Samoas that Dreyer’s releases annually from January to April, paralleling the real Girl Scout cookie season. Thank God for only 4 months, because I am not sure that I could handle it for 12 months straight. My weekly menu would look something like this:

Monday: Samoas cookies
Tuesday: Samoas cookies with glass of milk
Wednesday: Samoas cookie ice-cream
Thursday: Samoas cookie ice-cream with chunks of cookies
Friday: Samoas cookie ice-cream with chunks of cookie with some milk
[
source]


So my latest obsession consists of a caramel vanilla ice cream with chunks of chopped up Samoas cookie with swirls of chocolate fudge. The ice cream is smooth and creamy and it's complemented with a subtle caramel flavor. I really shouldn't complain as it contains good amount of chunks of a cookie. But of course, it's not enough for me, so I break the pieces of the actual cookie that I keep in a freezer and add it to the ice cream as well as some shaved coconut. It's a marriage made in heaven.

I am down to one last cookie and two spoons of ice-cream, laundry will just have to wait tonight....Time to savour the moment....Until we meet again next year.

Monday, April 19, 2010

You Win Some, You Loose Some

Wow, what an incredible weekend this was. I had an EPIC win, an EPIC loss, and many EPIC moments in between. I shared delicious meals with good friends, won a silver medal in a 5K in my age group, gifted myself with only things a girl could appreciate - new clothes, a great haircut, lost a battle in a kitchen and most of all relaxed.

The weekend started off with a visit to Paulo. That man does magic with my hair...I feel like a new person every time I leave the salon. I could only wish when I move that I can take Paulo with me. A girl could dream. So not only do I have an incredible hairstylist, but amazing friends. They all knew chef was out of town, and made sure I had a hot meal every day.

It all started on Friday night with a Shabbat dinner at Jen's - sorry no pictures. I love Shabbat dinners - sharing a meal with those that you love, honoring the tradition and religion, absolutely beautiful. The curiosity of course always gets the better of me and I had 1 million questions about Shabbat....I will learn one day, I promise.

Next on the weekend schedule was an Earth Day 5K at the Snyder Park. I invited Ina to come along since we haven't seen each other in a long time and we needed to catch up on a lot of things...boys, dogs, anniversaries and more. I almost called her before the race to ask her to skip the race and just meet for breakfast, but commitment is a commitment so I sticked to it and boy am I glad I did. By some miracle, I won second place - SILVER MEDAL - in my age group. Sure there were only handful of us in this age group, but silver medal is still a silver medal. I was in an absolute shock when they announced winners. By the way, I am carrying my medal in my purse today... I touch it every once in awhile just to make sure I wasn't dreaming.





Since the race was in honor of the Earth Day, there were a lot of "Green" companies showcasing great innovative products and different charities, among many was the South Plantation High Animal Science and Horticulture Program showcasing all of their "pets": Baby Goat (the actual name for a 3 week old goat), snakes, possums, lizards and some other creatures. Obviously I felt in love with the Baby Goat. I have about 20+ pictures of this little goat. He was quite shy and wasn't a fan of my camera in his face, but I managed to get some good shots. There were many different ECO/GREEN/SUSTAINABLE vendors and my favorite was the Fetch Branding marketing company promoting "GREEN" messaging with a slogan "I am NOT thrasy".... so cool....wish I was that clever to come up with stuff like that...
Following the EPIC win, we headed to the beach to grab some breakfast at the Cafe del Mar. We celebrated with some mimosas, french toast, omelet, and as always a good chat. My omelet was tasty, and filling, but the best thing about it was flaky, warm and buttery croissant. I don't think I know how to control myself around croissants, one is just never enough.

Let's fast forward to Saturday evening...My colleague/friend Margaret just recently had her kitchen renovated, so she invited her friend Liz and me for the famous Cullen lamb. Delicious, delicious, delicious...if I remember correctly it was a Mario Batalli recipe. Lamb was roasted in prune and olive glaze and she served it with peas, mash potatoes and a refreshing salad. The dinner was great. Kudos to Margaret for preparing such a satisfying meal.
I was in charge of bringing wine and dessert....my friends know me well. You can't really make a mistake, right?!?! WRONG.....EPIC, epic fail. I asked a friend what I should take and he suggested "white chocolate pound cake bread pudding". Sounds delicious, but problem number one - the title of the dessert alone has one too many ingredients for the fauxfoodie girl. My first thought was "It ain't hapening....I don't even know what a pound cake is?". Perhaps it is simple, but I was not going to attempt it. So I headed to Sur la Table and bought chocolate baskets with intentions of making vanilla pudding and placing some fresh berries and kiwis on top.
As you can see, it looks delicious, but it tasted AWFUL. While making vanilla pudding, I forgot to add sugar to it. OK, go ahead, have a good laugh. I have seen my mom make a pudding a thousand times, I just somehow missed the part when she adds sugar to it.... I also didn't cool off the pudding enough so it kept melting the chocolate baskets. Needless to say, the intended dessert did not work out at all. So right before the dinner I headed to the Fresh Market and bought an assortment of desserts and some delicious shiraz (also my friends suggestion and that I could do). So lesson for the next time, just go ahead and buy a desert, it's OK. No one will know the difference after drinking couple of glasses of a delicious Shiraz.
So, the EPIC weekend is now behind me and I am getting ready for a really cool week of eating my way through Montreal. See ya from Canada, eh....

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Catch Me If You Can and Small Victories....

Perhaps you caught on, but the traveling season has begun in the Faux Foodie household. We are on a quest to get as many miles as possible in the shortest time frame. OK, not really, but it certainly seems that way. With the chef leaving for the fishing season and who knows where else, in the next six weeks I will be jetting off to Montreal, San Juan, Montego Bay, Chicago and last stop, Portland. The weekly menu will be put on hold until the craziness ends, but I will be certain to write about all the foodie adventures, so be sure to check-in.

In the mean time, let me share a little victory with you...I am officially an IRON GIRL and I have a medal to show for it. This past weekend, I went to Clearwater, FL to participate in the 15K Iron Girl Race Series Event. The Iron Girl race has been on my list for quite some time now and when I saw that it was this close to me (OK, not really, but still) I knew I had to do it.

The 15K course featured spectacular beach start and finish, all kinds of entertainment along the way, refreshment stations, but no clocks. Well into my drive to Clearwater, I was mentally going through all the stuff that I packed, when I realized I left my beloved GARMIN at home. The panic set in as I am not used to running without my Garmin. I figured a race like this would have clock(s) on the course and that should get me through my time obsession. Well, that never happened and the whole time I was stressing out about my time. I was so desperate that at one point I asked a woman who was running next to me if she can tell me the pace we were running, but she said she doesn't want to know. My only thought was why is she wearing a Garmin????

The good thing about running without the Garmin is that I listened to my body, pushed it and actually finished under the time I originally planned for. I guess there is always good and bad to everything.

The website described the course as flat and enjoyable, but for this Miami girl, that was not what I call flat. So on top of not having my Garmin, I was dealing with running up the hill the whole time. I think the only time going down the hill was when we got off the causeway. At the finish line I met Caitlin, who I know is the experienced runner and she shared the same thoughts, which really made me feel good as I thought it was just me.

I am incredibly happy that I ran the race and did well. Just to think that when I started running couple of years ago I was running 12:30/mile. I have come long ways. Running a 1/2 marathon was on my "TO DO LIST" of things to accomplish before I turned 30. I thought I would do it, be done with it, crossed it off my list, and move onto the next item, but it's something I really became passionate about.

On my "TO DO LIST" for the early part of this year was to run official races for 5K, 10K, 15K and 1/2 marathon, establish my time and than in 16-20 weeks do all those races again and see what results I can accomplish with proper training.

As of May 1st, I will begin the proper training with the help of the Gold Coast Runners, the chef and Ellen's Pilates/Yoga Studio. I will be sure to report on the training process and of course the outcome.

So as of today, here is what I have accomplished:
5K - 29:29
10K - Will be running on April 25th
15K - 1:35
1/2 marathon - 2:20

Don't think this girl forgot about the food while in Clearwater. I searched YELP for the natural foods/restaurant and choose two places I HAD to visit while there. On Friday, dinner included a visit to the Nature's Food Patch - breathtaking. I wish I had a store like that near my house. I picked up a vegetarian sandwich but I had them add chicken breast for some protein and cashews. I was 100% sure that I took picture of it, but neither my camera or iphone have any trace of it. So you will just have to imagine, a whole wheat roll with spinach, tomatoes, banana peppers, green peppers, slice of zucchini, shaved carrots, broccoli sprouts and grilled chicken drizzled with some olive oil and vinegar. Delicious. I went to bed full and happy.

During the race, all I could think of is ordering Lox and bagel when I got back to my room. But I got so distracted that I missed the cut of breakfast time. I was meeting couple of friend bloggers for lunch around noon, but I needed something to tie me over till than, so I looked deep in my backpack and found a banana, GREEN SuperFood chocolate whole food energy bar (who doesn't like chocolate for breakfast) and ZICO Coconut Water. It was a perfect post race breakfast enjoyed on the hotel room patio. Can I just say that my room, actually I was upgraded to a junior suite, was incredible.

In just a little while, I met-up my lunch mates and we enjoyed a lovely lunch at the WildFlower Cafe. As always, I asked our server what is the best sandwich on the menu and coincidentally, in my mind I picked the same - The Island Breeze Turkey Sandwich. It was served on a wheat bread with provolone, mango chutney pecans, golden raisins, shredded carrots, leaf lettuce and curry mayo. DIVINE!!! A bit sweet after a third bite, but still divine. I loved the atmosphere, fast service (Dorothy, you were no longer in Kansas), delicious foods and great company.
We chatted for some time and than I got on the road to drive back. My drive went by fairly quickly. I listened to some great music, running podcasts and books on CD and once home, I settled in and watched some hockey. I zonked out around 9pm and slept for 12 hours...I guess I really needed that beauty sleep.

I leave you with a great quote I heard on the podcast this weekend:

"We run because it makes us feel like winners, no matter how slow or fast we go. "

- Florence Griffith Joyner and John Hanc

* Iron Girl Photos Courtesy of Iron Girl Series Events

Monday, April 12, 2010

Weekly Menu

I am sad to report that the last week's menu felt apart on us some time around Tuesday. The chef mixed up the days and the menu, so we really didn't follow what was planned. Though we did manage to eat all the fresh stuff we bought, so I guess it wasn't a total loss.

This week shall be no different, but I am prepared. As of this week, the crazy travel schedule begins, first with the chef leaving on the boys trip for the opening of the fishing season. Don't be fooled, there is no fishing going on, or very little. But for the lack of a better word and a good camouflage of what really goes on, it's called "the fishing season"....

So be ready for a lot of take out, restaurant visits and vegetarian meals.....so here is what we shall be eating:

Sunday: Thai peanut noddles and chicken

Monday: Chicken pita pockets (if you see this on the menu, it's a poker night)
Tuesday: Grilled chicken with pesto wheat pasta and black bean salad (it never happened last week)

Wednesday: Pesto gnocchi (it never happened last week)

Thursday: Kitchen Wars - veggie something for sure

Friday: Shabbat with Jen

Saturday: Oh, I hope I am still alive....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zao mi je sto ovo moram reci ali jelovnik za prosli tjedan se skroz raspao vec u utorak. Moj sef kuhinje je pobrkao dane i jela, tako da nismo uspijeli sve napraviti sto sam planirala, ali smo bar iskoristili ono najsvjeze...povrce.

Ovaj tjedan nece biti puno bolji jer nasa putovanja pocinju u cetvrtak pa do kraja sestog mjeseca, ali bar sam spremna za sve. Posto sef (kuhar) odlazi na vikend sa deckima, koji se sluzbeno zove ribicija, a mi smo svi znamo da ribicije nema ili jako malo, ali smo tom vikendu morali dati neko ima da maskira ono sto se stvarno desava, ha ha ha;)... pa onda budite spremni na puno vegetrijanskih jela i posjeta restoranima.

Evo sto je za sada na jelovniku:

Nedjelja: Thailandska pasta od kikirikija sa piletinom

Pondjeljak: Piletina sa maslinovim uljem, ljutim paprikama, paradajzom u pita kruhu (ako je ovo na jelovniku, onda znate za sigurno da se to vecer igra poker)

Utorak: Grilana piletina sa pastom i umakom od bosiljka i hladnom grah salatom

Srijeda: Njoki sa umakom od bosiljka

Cetvrtak: Bitka u kuhinji (ja kuham)

Petak: Sabat vecera sa Jen

Subota: tko ziv, tko mrtav.....

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Let the Celebrations Begin!!!!!

Do you know what April means? No, not the April Fools Day or the Tax Day or the April showers, but MY birthday. Coincidentally, I share my birthday month with 13 other family members and friends, but somehow I still manage to make it my month. Yes, you read it correctly, my birthday month. Oh people, if you haven't figured out by now that this blog is about ME....you should probably stop reading about now....

Ever since I can remember I always loved celebrating my birthday and the older I get the more I enjoy it. Birth marks a new beginning, and so with every birthday I feel as though I have a chance of a new beginning. It's a new window to the chance of a lifetime. I guess, birthdays are for me what New Year and New Year Resolutions are for others.

The most magical moment of birthday celebration is when I close my eyes, make a wish and blow the candles. In that split second the future or at least the next year magically appears in front of me and all is good. My heart is warm. I know I will have another extraordinary year full of great experiences. The more candles I have to blow out, the longer I can feel what the future holds for me...or at least hope.

Birthdays are truly magical. My birthdays are all about ice-cream, joy, chocolate cakes, happiness, champagne, hope, colorful candles, birthday cards, and most of all love. But let's not forget presents...I love, love, love presents. Ah the more, the merrier, and the smaller the box, the better the gift. And yes, I am spoiled, and I can only thank the chef for that because he gives me a present every week of the birthday month though he complains that it is called a birthDAY for a reason and not a birthMONTH, ... oh well, I keep on celebrating.

On those milestone birthdays, like 25 and 30, I received a blue box and a red box, but this year started off with a a flash back to my teenage years - a black box - CONVERSE original sneakers...I felt like I am 16 again. What would a birthday celebration be without a little bit of chocolate. But this time, it was a lot of chocolate - a double fudge chocolate cupcake. This cupcake was so dense, even I couldn't finish it, but now I can savor it for the rest of the week. Tiny little pleasures - Yum!!!

I have no idea what he has planned for the rest of the month (considering we won't see each other until the wee end of the month), but even though this is no milestone birthday, it will be a big one. For the first time in 15 years, my mom and dad will be with me and of all places, we will be in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Being with la familia is really the best gift of all.

So what will I wish this year when I blow out the candles - it's simple - LOVE, LAUGHTER and HAPPINESS. I have everything I have ever wanted and more.....happy birthday MONTH to me....And now I am off to eat some more of that deliciously sweet cupcake!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Easter Brunch at Michael's Genuine

Ever since we moved to SFL, we started a tradition of going out for Easter Brunch. In the past we have always gone to the Front Porch, but it was time to change things a bit...or as I prefer to say it - add some spice to life;) I gave chef a choice of Area 31, Hakassan, and Michael's Genuine. I've been wanting to try all three of them for brunch, so it didn't really matter which one he chose. To my surprise, he chose Michael's Genuine. Yippee!!!!

We started off with deliciously refreshing and fizzy mimosas...They screamed summer!!!! I was so inspired with this mimosa, that immediately following our brunch I bought a bottle of orange juice and made some at home since we have three bottles of champagne sitting in the fridge...don't ask why or how they got there...no one knows.
As always I asked our waiter what he recommends, but since none of my choices were his recommendations, I went with my father's good old saying - "Always go with your first choice. You won't regret it". Wow - was I delighted by the flavor of lightly smoked bacon. It was quite heavy for brunch, but simply delicious. I think from now on, I always want to eat my breakfast as a pizza...

Breakfast Pizza - house smoked bacon, organic eggs, basil, onions and jack cheese
Since Sunday officially marked the end of chef's tortures diet, he had steak and eggs. The whole time he was eating it, he kept saying "What possessed me to order this?". He liked his meal, but after trying mine, he was convinced that I made the better choice. The best part of his meal was the multi-grain bread with whipped cream and sea salt. After taking a bite of it, I could have easily asked for the whole loaf and just had that for brunch. The steak looks a bit burned on the picture, but it was really done rare....It had just the perfect amount of fat on the edges and it was quite juicy.

Steak & Egg - grilled skirt steam and organic egg with
multi-grain bread and whipped butter with sea salts
Our brunch would have not been complete without a dessert. Since the chef's diet ended, I didn't feel guilty for ordering the biggest malted chocolate cupcake I have ever seen. This was a giant of cupcakes.

It's safe to say, we did not like this cupcake at all...Yeah right!!!!!! Don't you worry, I ate all the crumbs...there was nothing left on that plate but the paper. I absolutely loved this brunch...everything was so fresh and delicious.....

Of course, the outing would have not been complete if we didn't have another parking situation, this time with the parking meter. Since we were running late, and surprise, surprise it was not my fault, I ran into the restaurant so they wouldn't give our table away, the chef was left outside to take care of the parking. According to chef, the parking meter charged his credit card but did not give him the receipt to display in the window so he had to purchase it again and now he is disputing the charges with the City of Miami....Perhaps I should start a blog on parking, valeting, meters and such....it's always an adventure.

Weekly Menu - Cleaning the Pantry

Since I love food shopping almost as much as clothes shopping, but not as much as shoe shopping, lately our refrigerator and pantry have been bursting at seems. So in honor of the project "Cleaning out the refrigerator and pantry", this week's menu is inspired by the food that we already have. Bringing the creativity to the new levels;) The only thing that we are buying this week is the meat since the chef does not like to keep any meat except the chicken in the freezer. I was also forewarned that the chef may not be available for the whole week, so there is a good chance that things may change and breakfast menu or hummus will make the appearance.

Sunday: Tomato, asparagus and egg pizza on naan bread

Monday: Turkey/Beef (not sure what chef will pick) burgers with roasted peppers and sweet potato fries

Tuesday: Turkey/Beef (not sure what chef will pick) meat balls with wheat spaghetti and steamed broccoli

Wednesday: Grilled mojo chicken + pesto wheat pasta + black bean/red onion salad

Thursday: Pesto sauce gnocchi

Friday: I will be on my way to Clearwater for the Iron Girl 15K so something nutritious

Sunday, April 4, 2010

How did we do...A+

The weekly menu is always prepared with anticipation that by Wednesday our plans will change and modification to dinners will be necessary. Neither of us are really bothered by it, as it is the reality. But somehow, this week, we managed to stay on track and make almost everything on the menu or at least eat at home. It probably helps that the chef was in town.
So how did we do: A+
.....The favorite of the week: Seared scallops and spring veggies.

Sunday: The Red Light Benefit Soiree
Monday:
Kitchen Wars -Ravioli with Wilted Spinach and Sauteed Mushrooms
Tuesday: Tilapia with Quinoa, Feta and Cucumber (the chef never made it last week)
Wednesday: Mini Paella with Shrimp, Scallops, Chicken
Sausage, Saffron and Piquillo Peppers
Thursday: Meatballs and Pasta - the chef actually made
Seared Scallops and Spring Veggies

Friday: Seared Scallops and Spring Veggies - since this was prepared on Thursday, chef made a mish- mash of everything in the refrigerator that was leftover from the week - chicken, sausage, asparagus, peas, carrots, feta cheese and eggs. It was a great dinner to fuel me for the 8 mile run next morning.

The chef would like me to clarify the "we" in all of the cooking posts...I thought it was obvious - he cooks and I provide the entertainment!!!!! I am usually standing at the bar, taking numerous pictures or playing on twitter (not sure which bugs him more, photos or twitter), and than I set the table. After dinner, I do the clean-up of plates (tw0), since chef does the cleaning while he cooks, all else is pretty much done.

So, yes, I still say "we" as I am there cheering him on, or as he would say bugging the crap out of him with my photos. Each dinner is usually 20+ photos of food and another 10 or so of him making faces at me. On occasion, I will stand beside him and cut up some vegetables or stir something, but like I said, those are very rare occasions. Plus, we are better off if I am standing on the other side of the bar, the kitchen is too small for two of us....

Fundraising Soiree at the Red Light

Last Sunday, I was invited to join the South Florida Foodies (thank you for including me in this amazing group) for a late afternoon soiree at the RED LIGHT for a fundraiser for Haiti. I received an invite a long time ago and immediately RSVPed. Everything about the invitation was screaming YES - the company, the restaurant and the cause. I almost forgot about the whole event, until a reminder email came in on Thursday night.

When we arrived to the RED LIGHT, we were greeted by the lovely @4theloveoffood and @barefootcount. Since the SFL Foodies know each other by twitter or blog names, they decided to give the chef a twitter name so he wouldn't feel left out - meet @chefnada. Let's just be clear that chef is still not a fan of twitter and does not understand my obsession. But than again after 12 years he still doesn't understand my shoe obsession either, so this may take some time.
I was so happy that I attended the event as it gave me a chance to finally meet so many of the amazing foodies and chefs in person. No matter how much I love twitter, blogosphere, facebook, emails (aka the 21st century), there is nothing like meeting people in person.

The late afternoon soiree started off with a refreshing rum drink, but unfortunately, I have no idea what else was in it...you have to trust me, it was good, not too sweet, very refreshing - perfect for a muggy afternoon by the Little River. I've eaten at the Red Light on one other occasion, and loved it, and if the chef Wessel is recognizable for anything, it is his love of citrus. Everything was so refreshing and light. It oozed summer.
Pass Arounds:
Assorted Grill Cheese Finger Sandwiches
Oyster Pies
River Dining:
BBQ Shrimp (chef's choice)
Spring Salad, Fennel, Citrus, Goat Cheese & Almonds
(my choice, but I have no idea where my picture went)
Local Mutton Snapper, Lemon Pan Braised
with Pink Lentils and Baby Spinach (my choice)
Grilled New York Strip, White Cheddar Souffle
Potatoes & Green Veg Steam (chef's choice)
Sweet:
Bourbon Pecan Pie with Vanilla Ice-Cream

Written & Directed by: Kris Wessel
(I forgot to turn off my food setting, so you can
barely tell that is him...but you will just have to trust me...)

The evening wouldn't have been complete if the chef (my chef) did not get into an argument with the parking attendant....There is something about the parking garages and valeting that irks him every time we go out. Without the fail, this time was no different.... Nonetheless, it was a beautiful evening that I was glad to be part of.

Red Light Little River
7700 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL 33138-5132
305-757-7773

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Buena Vista Bistro

Lately my after-work social calendar has been insane, leaving me with very little ME time, so have decided to make some changes. Too many times I don't know how to say no, or can't resist the opportunity to see a friend or try out a new restaurant. So instead, I have designated one night to socializing and one lunch away from my desk.

So today was the first of many lunches to come. I met Jen (you many recognize the name from the Dinning Divas posts/recaps) at the newly opened restaurant - Buena Vista Bistro. There's been a lot of buzz about this place, so we figured it was a good place to meet up on Thursday afternoon and treat ourselves to a nice lunch. All I can say is getting away from my desk is a treat in itself. It makes the afternoon so much more pleasant no matter the task.

When I walked-in, for a moment I thought I was transported to Paris and I was flooded with memories of my Christmas vacation.... There was even french spoken by a couple sitting close by. The menu was written on a chalkboard in the back and specials were listed on the side, while the wine menu was scribbled on the mirrors. There was absolutely no need for the real menu - how green of them ;-). I really liked that the walls were decorated with old photos of the Buena Vista neighborhood. I felt as though I could have stayed there all afternoon and chatted while sipping some vino. What a relaxing atmosphere....

As per usual, I knew what I wanted to have for lunch before I even got there (thank you Internet). All I had on my mind were crab cakes on a bed of salad and some home made french fries. And that is exactly what I had. It would have been perfect lunch if I had a glass of wine, but since I still had to get back to the office, I decided water will have to do.

The crab cake was delicious - a really nice size and it had perfect amounts of lump crab and very little filling. What I really enjoyed was the lime that it was served with instead of a lemon, oh those little surprises. The french fries were awesome....I literary devoured them. There was really nothing special to them, crispy, crunchy and lightly coated with sea salt. I could have easily eaten the whole plate by myself, but I was sharing....(yes, a strange concept for me, but I am working on it).

Jen ordered lamb chops served on a vegetable medley.....they were so cute - tinny, but satisfying. I usually don't write about other people's food unless I try it, but I couldn't resist the cuteness of these baby lamb chops.

I loved that the restaurant was only 10 minutes away from my office, accessible parking, service was the usual Miami if you know what I mean, but better than the beach, and the prices were very wallet friendly...

I think I have found myself a new lunch spot....