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Good to Know: April 2013 Restaurant Openings and Closings in Miami

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Published on May 1, 2013, by in JB Life.

Original article can be found: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/shortorder/2013/05/april_2013_openings_and_closin.php

Openings

Closings

  • Acme Bakery & Coffee
  • Asia de Cuba
  • Icebox Cafe
  • Sosta
  • South Street
  • STK

Changes

Coming Attractions

  • Aoki Teppanyaki – Coming to Dadeland.
  • Aroma Espresso Bar – Coming to Dadeland.
  • Balan’s – Opening another location in Dadeland.
  • Barley & Swine – Opening in Dadeland.
  • Barnickel’s – Coconut Grove eatery opening soon.
  • Bar Lorenzo – Top Chef Tony Mantuano is opening an Italian restaurant soon.
  • Baru Urbano – Opening another location at the old Ricochet space.
  • Batch – Gastropub coming to Brickell.
  • Bobby Flay’s Burger Palace – Coming to Dadeland.
  • Bricktop’s – Chain restaurant coming to Coral Gables.
  • China Grill – Moving to Brickell.
  • Cibo Wine Bar – The second location, coming soon.
  • Cipriani Downtown Miami- New York icon due at the Icon Brickell.
  • Earl’s Kitchen & Bar – Coming to Dadeland.
  • Gravity Brewbar – Opening in Wynwood.
  • Harvey Wolf – Completes the trio of European pubs, along with Boxpark and The Hoxton.
  • HuaHua’s – Todd Erickson’s Lincoln Road tacqueria to open early 2013.
  • Icebox Cafe – Reopening a new location at Sunset Harbour.
  • Ikea – Coming 2014
  • Jefe’s Original Fish Taco & Burger – Food truck going brick and mortar.
  • L’Entrecote de Paris – Steak frites and only steak frites.
  • La Cantina 20 – Another Icon tenant getting set to move in.
  • Lure Fishbar – The New York seafood restaurant is coming to the Loews Miami Beach.
  • Milk Burger – New York burger joint teasing us with hints of a Miami location.
  • Ms. Cheezious – The food truck is opening a shop.
  • N Lounge – Kevin Cory to open a lounge next door to NAOE.
  • Panther Coffee – Opening second location in SoBe.
  • Perfecto Mediterranean Cafe – Opening in Brickell.
  • Pinkberry – Opening a shop on Lincoln Road.
  • Poor Man’s Lobster – From the folks at Mandolin.
  • Restaurant du Cap – Philippe Ruiz’ much anticipated venue coming to Brickell.
  • The Restaurant at The Raleigh – Michael Schwartz’ venture arriving winter 2013.
  • Spaghetto – One just opened, several more in the works.
  • STK – Reopening in the fall.
  • SushiSamba – Opening second Miami-area location in Coral Gables.
  • Sweetness Bake Shop – Another branch of the popular shop opening in Hialeah.
  • Trader Joe’s – Coming to Pinecrest in 2013.
  • Umami Burger – The California craze is opening in Miami Beach very soon.
  • Urban Oxy – Coffee house with affordable bites.
  • VooDoo BBQ and Grill – Bringing some mojo to Kendall.
  • Wood Tavern – Opening a pizzeria next door.
  • Wynwood Brewing Company – Opening soon.
  • Yard House – Chain grub with many many beers.

Projects in the Works

  • A fast-casual Asian concept by 50 Eggs is coming to South Beach, adjacent to the original Lime on Alton Road.
  • Giorgio Rapicavoli is planning a cocktail lounge adjacent to his Coral Gables restaurant, Eating House. He’s also working on a doughnut shop.

Original article can be found: http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/shortorder/2013/05/april_2013_openings_and_closin.php

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We’re Going to NYC!

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Published on April 29, 2013, by in JB Adventures.

Just a little update on our lives – We’re heading to NYC in less than 5 days! We’re extremely excited to be back in the big apple, especially with our crew!
Stay tuned for upcoming posts about our big trip! :)

 

DANDEE DONUTS

 

A Lunch Stop at OTC

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Published on April 27, 2013, by in Steak and Pickles.

Friday was our beloved intern, Frank’s last day. Although we’re sad to see him go (and he will be greatly missed) we’re so grateful for his kindness and helpfulness during his time with us.

As a little goodbye we thought we’d stop by the infamous OTC (Over the Counter) that EVERYONE has been RANTING and RAVING about.

So we gave it a try. It was as if all of the things I loved converged and made this small, but very trendy little hot spot in the heart of Brickell.

I was amazed with the decor, as it was deifintely my style. From the galvanized metal stools that I was about to walk out with, to the industrial lighting, the distressed wood paneling on the wall, the faux gears, EVERYTHING – AMAZING. I’ll definitely be heading back there soon!

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And the food……

Short Rib & Brie – Jasper Hill Brie dipping sauce

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Parmesan Truffle Fries (my FAV)

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Goat Cheese & Bacon Jam Grilled Cheesewith caramelized onions

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Tutto Mare

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Published on April 26, 2013, by in Steak and Pickles.

Last week was a bit of a whirlwind food wise. So many new places to go and try and somehow, I tried them all last weekend!

Let’s start with Tutto Mare! A true neighborhood gem, Tutto Mare located in the Roads was such a treat. I was fortunate enough to sample a variety of their very special dishes, and they did no disappoint! Brazilian Chef Juca (otherwise known as Chef-owner Joao Oliveria) really brings so many new flavors to the table mixing cuisines from all over South America and even Europe  But really, words aren’t enough to describe how delectable his dishes are. An affordable option in South Miami, Tutto Mare is great for families, groups, intimate dinners —you name it! (Forgive some of the bad pictures —technology is great when it works!)

[From left to right]

CEVICHE MIXTO fish, scallops, calamari, shrimp, with tiger milk, sweet potato, purple corn, and choclo.

CEVICHE HABANERO Traditional ceviche in a light celery cream sauce over a planain medallion, served with purple corn and fried yucca.

CRISPY CEVICHE fish marinated in aji amarillo, lemon juice, and fish stock topped with crispy calamari

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TUNA TARTARE red peppers, onions, cilantro arugula, long fish caviar, soy sauce, sesame seeds and miso glazed.

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CREAMY SEAFOOD RISOTTO

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BACALAO A LA PORTUGUESA cod fillet cooked in our wood-burning brick oven with potatoes, black olives, onions and fresh tomato served with jasmine rice

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SOFFIATTO DI GUAYABA Warm flourless “GUAYABA” cake served with guava ice cream

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4 LECHES Vanilla cake with condensed milk, evaporated milk, Whipped cream and Dulce de Leche

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TORTA DI LIMONE Light and creamy lemon meringue pie

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New Favorite Spot: Eating House

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Published on April 16, 2013, by in Steak and Pickles.

This past weekend Ben and I finally had a chance to go back to Eating House over in Coral Gables. We really love going there. The wait sometimes sucks, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re THAT awesome so we don’t mind too much. Every time we go we ALWAYS run into someone we know – this time was no different. The reason we love Eating House so much is because Chef Giorgio Rapicavolli really does an exceptional job with what the average joe would consider to be “simple flavors.” For example, this time we went for Brunch and got to try the Tang Mimosas. I know what you’re thinking…eww, tang? No. Not ew. Not even close! I want to have tang mimosas everyday of my life now! They were so light and fresh, even better than regular mimosas  I would’ve never thought to put the two together. Tang is so average; who would’ve though!? Giorgio did, and he really brings his A game with everything that comes out of Eating house.

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We also had the candied applewood bacon (made with dark brown sugar). Perfect balance of savory and sweet. A nice little appetizer to pair with the mimosas.

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Then (of course) my beloved husband had the chicken and waffles…here’s the description: fried chicken thighs, egg-o waffles, hot ranch, and smoked maple syrup.

…need I say more?

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And I was a little more adventurous and had the pork belly sandwich, which was so decadent (even for a sandwich)  filled with tangy flavors and just a delight to eat. Oh, and it came with a side of sesame fries, which are, quite possibly, the best invention ever!

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We always leave with happy tummies, that’s for sure. Cheers to Eating House for their always great service, and delicious food!

Xo,

J.

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A Quick Lunch Break at Reggae Tacos [finally!]

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Published on March 28, 2013, by in Steak and Pickles.

Since I found out that I was going to start working in Brickell, I was so excited for the chance to eat at ALL of these amazing foods places I discovered via Yelp. I have this crazy list of places that I have to try, and so little by little I’ve been crossing them off. Reggae Tacos was one of the first ones on my list.

I’m a HUGE fan of Jamaican food. Something about jerk and curry really resonates with my taste buds and it’s something I don’t even see myself ever weening off of. When I worked in Miami Gardens there was this awesome joint called Golden Krust – I’m sure you Jamaican food aficionados have heard of it, and if you haven’t, it’s fantastic. The food is affordable, plentiful, and leaves you full — all the things you want from a lunch joint, right?

Well when I found out I was moving downtown -literally- I was a little sad that I would miss out on Golden Krust’s lunch specials. So naturally, I googled, awesome Jamaican food in Downtown Miami. Then I stumble upon Reggae Tacos. I harassed my awesome cousins to join me because I hate trying new places by myself, and so they finally caved. Hooray!

It was a small, almost hidden little gem parked in the middle of a pretty busy, fast paced street. The parking situation was rough, but that grub made it worthwhile. We each ordered a taco, which to me was very reasonably priced considering the amazing ingredients in them and they were bangin’. We ordered: a fish taco [marinated and grilled white fish, tomato, red onions, pineapple slaw], a goat taco [curried goat, red onion, scallions, carrots and curry mayo], and of course a chicken taco [pulled smoked chicken, red cabbage, cheddar, tomato, and jerk bbq sauce] Here are our three tacos in all their glory…

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(from top to bottom: Chicken Taco, Goat Taco, Fish Taco)

That jerk bbq sauce is no joke! SUPER spicy…but SUPER delicious.

I thought my goat taco was going to be very spicy, but it wasn’t, so that was kind of cool, and it still had the awesome flavors of curry goat.

The fish tacos were really sweet, and light, which was a nice end to the meal (we split one between two of us, they’re pretty fat tacos lol)

We also had the appetizer sampler which came with fried corn puff, conch fritters, and fried sweet nanners – they were all great, not too greasy and full of flavor although they were bite sized (which is perfect for a sampler!) I wasn’t able to snap a picture thought because certain people, who shall remain nameless, got to them before I could take a good picture. They were that good lol

Needless to say, if you love the spiciness that Jamaican cuisine has to offer and love seafood, Reggae Tacos is great for a quick and tasty bite while you’re in downtown!

Xo,

J.

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Mini Food Road Trip Part 1 – Atlanta

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Published on February 3, 2013, by in Steak and Pickles.

So our trip to Georgia/North Carolina came and went…and where’s the blog post!? HERE IT IS. Part One.

I apologize for the delay, life likes to get in the way of the writing process sometimes. [keep your big butt outta this, life!]

So our trip was LOVELY. Although we had GREAT cold weather, we didn’t see snow [womp womp] but we did see ice [woo!] We tasted lost of DELICIOUS eateries, had a blast exploring the quaint little town of Waynesville, NC, and trekked our car through the Smoky Mountains. 

So let’s go through our food itinerary place by place.

Since this is part 1, we’ll start in “Hot-lanta.”

JCT Kitchen & Bar

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A picture is worth a thousand words right? They were all just as delisious as they look. Ben had the fried chicken — of course, because who doen’t get fried chicken at a restaurant know for it’s “southern style” grub!? 

Yup. Me. I got the grilled cheese. Naturally. I’m THAT girl. Anywho, I had to try it and it did not disappoint. The cheese was all velvety and melted, perfectly combined with fresh tomatoes….and here’s the kicker…on TEXAS TOAST – LOVE! And unbeknownst to me, grilled cheese sandwiches are usually served with delicious tomato soup on the side! Yeah, I grew up in Miami, I had no clue! It was amazing, truly left me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside, which helped me brave the cold 3 hour drive ahead. Ben really enjoyed his fried chicken, but the best part was the neat little soup-esque lentils underneath [lentils=heaven in a bean]. I didn’t want to try it because I didn’t want to alter my tastebuds, but I trust him — the boy knows his chicken.

And OMG THE TRUFFLE FRIES!!!!!!!!!!!!! GREATEST CREATION ON EARTH and these people really mastered it beautifully. Let’s just say we even took a bag for the road! […bye bye diet…] The fries were perfectly salted, crispy, warm, luscious, flavorful, everything you would want from a high class fry. It was my favorite part of the meal by far, although our main course were close contenders. 

The restaurant itself was beautiful. I ADORED the decor. It was very rustic, but in a way, luxurious, not to mention very warm and inviting. And the service at the restaurant was great also! Our server was so sweet and very attentive. She never once rushed us, and was patient with us even though we were SUPER indecisive [which is the norm for us unfortunately].

I would LOVE to go back and explore some more. 

Oh and of course on our way out we encountered these lemon heads. SCORE +100 for you JCT Kitchen and Bar!

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STAY TUNED FOR PART 2! 

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Let’s Start Here…

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Published on January 27, 2013, by in JB Life.

To begin I must confess that this is a bit of an experiment. I’ve been left alone for various hours with nothing but a giant iMac to soothe my loneliness.
Also, because I love to write!

Anyway, if you like it — YAY! But if you don’t — that’s cool too! There are tons of awesome blogs out there that I’m sure you will like.

This is more for the sake of my sanity than anything else.

Yay for remaining sane! I say yay a lot…

Welcome.

Here are three things you can expect from this blog:

1. Anything home related, so – decor, recipes, lifehacks, and the like (there will probably be a lot of these since my new boo and I just moved into a beautiful new apartment and we’re such newbs at this whole “living on our own” stuff)

2. Anything related to fashion (Can’t help it..)

3. Anything related to current events surrounding our lives

Oh yeah, we got hitched in July of this year, and boy was it sweet!
So let’s get ready to parrrrtaaayyyy! Yay! (Ok seriously, I’m done)

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The Date is Set!

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Published on December 26, 2012, by in JB Life, Steak and Pickles.

Today I finished planning the last piece of what I now like to call, “Our first mini food road trip.” 

Yeah, I know the name isn’t much, but the experience has been much anticipated.

Way back in the beginning of 2012, Ben and I were discussing potential vacation destinations for our upcoming honeymoon (if you’ve been around for a while you know we ended up going to Mexico…but more on that later). We kept talking and thinking, and talking some more about what would be the one place that would be the perfect culmination of our (then) 9 year long courtship. We knew New York City was out of the question, because although we ADORE the big apple, we figured why waste a honeymoon in a place we knew we’d eventually call home? The next option was California. We’re both big fans of the west coast and have been dying to fly over there for a while now. Unfortunately, due to budgetary limitations we would eventually rule Cali out as well. Finally we came up with the most genius idea of them all —- A FOOD ROAD TRIP! Let me explain….

Ben and I are huge fans of food. Yeah, what else is new. Well we’re also huge fans of traveling together, something we didn’t really have the luxury to do before we were married, BUT NOW THAT WE’RE MARRIED!!!!!!!!!! Yup, you guessed it, we’re going on a FOOD ROAD TRIP! 

Our genius idea encompassed going around to different places mentioned on the Food Network (which we happen to watch all the time) and take pictures, write about, and even do a taste test or five! Originally, it was going to be a transcontinental trip but since Ben decided he wanted to be a mountaineer to ring in the new year, we decided to do a mini food road trip in the great state of Georgia. We’re so excited to have been blessed with this opportunity, like I said, we LOVE trying new eateries and we can’t wait to come back and share with you all the things we see, taste and digest!

With that being said, our flights are booked for the end of January, our delicious little B&B is reserved, and our car rental is confirmed! Get ready Georgia, we’re comin’ for ya! 

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