North Miami's best kept secret for fresh fish is...

Captain Jim's.  We have heard about this place before from friends, but every time we tried to go it was closed.

Captain Jim's is a fish market and restaurant that serves fresh fish that they catch daily (and locally.)  It's a no-frills sort of place, but the food is serious.  You sit at tables sticky from being cleaned over and over again, get served by people who know the food and you eat some serious chow. 

Our service was a bit slow, but that's because there was one waitress. They immediately brought us water and a tasty amuse-bouche with crab meat and fresh fish.  When ordering, El Hombre almost ordered the yellowtail, but was told by the waitress that it came in small because "they aren't farmed fish, they are local so today the catch was all small."  That earned Captain Jim's a hundred extra points in my book!

I ordered the dolphin tacos on soft shells.  They were amazing. Made with juicy blacked dolphin with a cilantro cabbage topping and a bit of cheese, it was an explosion of fresh, crisp delicious flavor.  I got sweet potato fries as my side (because I love them and cannot resist) and they were perfectly crisp and delicious.

El Hombre ended up going on a combination plate with blackened grouper (highly recommended on Yelp!) and fried conch.  I didn't get a chance to try to grouper but the conch was delicious.  All the sauces and sides were also made in house.  Mine came with a salsa that I drizzled over the top of the tacos, which was fresh and delicious.  The only thing I wasn't crazy about was the slaw, but I'm not much of a fan anyways, so that comment should probably be scratched from the record.

So if you are in North Miami, definitely stop by Jim's for a tasty local spot!

Dolphin tacos with sweet potato fries, fresh salsa and homemade slaw

Combo plate 2 with blackened grouper, fried conch and black beans and rice

Thrifting Madness at Flamingo Plaza

I would like to preface this by telling you that I don't frequently go thrifting because it tends to overwhelm me.  I have plenty of friends who thrift all the time and find amazing things, and that rarely happens to me.  Maybe it's because I have gone on the wrong days, I hate crowds or I have no patience.

But today was different.  Today El Hombre and I made our annual pilgrimmage to Flamingo Plaza to find stuff for our Halloween costumes. El Hombre did find a pair of shoes and I found a potential shirt that I am going to attempt to alter down to my size.

But today Flamingo Plaza was a total treasure chest of finds.  I found two jackets (one of them is vintage Valentino, a salwar kameez, two frames, a hair fall and a jaipur beaded top - all for less than $100.

For those of you who aren't familiar, Flamingo Plaza is a collection of thrift stores in Hialeah.  I have two favorite stores - Red, White & Blue and Community Thrift.  They seem to have the best variety and as you are walking around you will see all sorts of people, including hipsters buying stuff to resell on ebay, etsy and trendy thrift stores.  After today I can totally understand why.  I am debating between tailoring my Valentino jacket down to my size (it's slightly big on me) or reselling it.  We will see...

Pics below (I should retake with my real camera and not my iPhone)

Friday Night Amusement

Another weekend is upon us guys! I don't know about you, but I am starting to feel a subtle change of season.  It's going from blisteringly, blazing hot to just blistering hot.  In all seriousness, we can stand outside grilling at night without feeling like melting.

Fall is my favorite season (when you live in a place with actual seasons that is) so I am excited about spooky nights and halloween.

Normally I come up with a collection of local links for Friday, but instead I am going to share my new favorite video.  Please note the following things:

1. This video got me through the day today

2. You must listen with headphones.

3. This is thanks to my friend Ady, who shared this gloriousness last night on Facebook.

Please note, the cat is ok, according to the internets

Long weekend roundup

There is nothing like ending a very stressful work week on a good note. Once I finally got some good news, I shut down my computer and ran out the door.  Now I am contemplating how is it possible to always destroy a mani/pedi within hours of getting it?  Arg.

Anyways, I am looking forward to some sun (After weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks of rain), biking and relaxing with El Hombre. Hopefully I will round up some fresh blogging material while we are at it! One can only hope.

Apparently tomorrow there's going to be a random act of culture on Lincoln Road. How have I just now heard of this?

After these last few weeks, this song is kind of my jam...

A sweet blog about my fabulous grandmother who just passed away.

It's a ways out, but this is going to be ridiculously awesome.

So cute for fall.

Rain, rain, stay away.

It's college football season y'all!

OmNoms Report - Scarpetta

It's no secret that I love Miami Spice, it's just a great way to get locals to try restaurants they would never normally try, and it brings business to a lot of places that otherwise would have depressed traffic patterns because summer is offseason here.

So my buddy, JoFi and I met up for dinner last night to take advantage of the Miami Spice Menu.  He had recommended Scarpetta, one of his favorites. I have been wanting to try it for awhile, so I was quick to agree.

People, this place is amazing. I am still thinking about my meal from yesterday, and I just want to relive that experience all over again.  It was so delicious, very balanced flavors, perfectly proportioned and great service.  The wait staff was polite and unobtrusive, knowledgable and attentive.

I am not super impressed with the decor (it's better looking when it's darker) but the restaurant does have a great view of the ocean. 

For my menu, I chose the following:

Swordfish Bresaola - This was sort of like a carpaccio, with thinly sliced swordfish over small cara cara oranges and black garlic.  The savory flavors, mixed with the bold sweet citrus was an absolutely phenomenal start. It had great flavor, but it wasn't so bold that it overpowered the palate. Instead it was fresh and delicious.

Spaghetti with Basil and Marinara - This was a strong recommendation from JoFi. It sounds simple, and you may wonder why I choose plain spaghetti at a high-end Italian restaurant, but good lord this dish is perfect. I've been to Italy several times and this is right out of any of the restaurants that I ate in.  The pasta was perfectly al dente and the sauce was bold, fresh and perfectly savory with the parmesan cooked into the sauce (how I prefer it).  I seriously did not want this plate to end. When I ran out of pasta, I mopped the rest of the sauce up with the freshly-baked bread.

Before I move on to desert, I need to sidebar to say that the bread was amazing. AMAZING.  They have bread with thin slices of ham cooked in.  Can things get any better?  They also brought out an appertif with watermelon and burrata between our appetizers and the main course. Very cute and delicious.

To end the meal, I ordered the coconut panna cotta with carmelized pineapple and guava soup. Like the appetizer, this was fresh, delicious and full of amazing flavors and textures. I am a HUGE panna cotta fan, and I loved how they pulled in local tropical fruits to give this traditional Italian desert a decidedly Miami twist.

Would I go back? Absolutely.  Scarpetta is probably my favorite Miami Spice restaurant I have ever been to (with Michy's a close second.)

The best part? The menu goes on until the end of September so go visit while you have the chance!

An Ode to Isaac

So like the rest of South Florida, I am stuck inside waiting out the bands of Isaac.  Thus far it appears to have fizzled out for us, with the exception of some bursts of wind and sideways rain.

So here's a song for your afternoon cabin fever:

My weekend rambling

It's Friday!  I've been a bit MIA lately.  Last weekend we flew back to NC because my amazing grandmother passed away. It's just another reminder that we only have so long on this planet. That, followed by yet another crazy busy week has left me spent.

Lately I have been feeling a little creatively drained, and I am trying to get back into writing, taking pictures, dancing, etc.  Unfortunately a little storm called Isaac is going to get in my way this weekend. So it looks like another weekend lounging and reading and cleaning.

If it's not horribly storming, I think I need to go see Suenalo this weekend.

This is right up my alley... If only it wasn't in Pompano.

This review of Inception cracked me up.

We had waaaaay too much fun with this yesterday

Speaking of dance, this is amazing.

The perfect tailgating shoes