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!

Things Seen in Miami Beach Before 8 am, Part 1

Recently, my fiance and I moved to Miami Beach. While we have been living here, we have seen an assortment of people, things, odd occurrences and happenings that can only be described as "only on the beach." One of these happenings happened this morning as my fiance was driving to work.

He called me to tell me about this immediately because we both would have busted out laughing and thought that it was really bizarre at the same time.

While driving north through Sunny Isles Beach, he sees a woman and her young daughter, maybe aged 4, running along side the road. The little girl is decked out in a head to toe pink running outfit and is not wearing a shirt. Both ladies are blond, in beach-speak means they are most likely German/European/not locals. Just a bit ahead of them, are the father and son running team, the son this time being about 8 years old, all blond and the boy isn't wearing a shirt. My fiance thinks that the little girl was emulating her older brother by running topless like him.

Now, there is definitely a huge running community in South Florida and especially on the beach. But taking your children running with you before 8 am is a little extreme and an only in Miami moment. First off, it's not normal for little kids to go running. They should be running around and playing with their other little friends, not training for the Iron Man. Second, it's almost child abuse as their little legs have to do double time to keep up with mom and dad's. And third, they were running along Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles, land of giant condominiums and traffic. Why wouldn't you take your small ones and run on the beach a block away?

So, if you see a family of blonds running in this year's ING, it was them. Training the whole family at the break of dawn.

Miami Beach Beer Boots

The other night I was watching a baseball game at Finnegan's on Lincoln Road with a friend and we started to get hungry and wander Lincoln for a bite to eat. It was REALLY busy for a Sunday night and we walked up and down and finally came back and settled on the wonderful Hofbräu Beerhall. I think it's on the corner of Lincoln and Jefferson - not exactly sure. This is a great place to go and people watch. The food is really good if you're into sausages, potatoes and sauerkraut. And they have a good selection of beers. Some of them come on the small side (a half liter) while others are on the larger side (enourmous mugs of frosty ale and boots filled to the brim! Someone told me they were two gallon boots? I'm not sure but they're huge!). Everytime I've been here it's been on the quiet side, but this past weekend it was loud and fantastic.

The group at the table next to us, after they had finished their boots, started to try them on. It was hilarious, although the server did not think putting the glass boots on their feet was all that funny. They were all encouraging me to try a boot but I had to decline. It was getting late and work beckoned the next day. There was an Englishman drinking a boot alone. He was wearing a Decendents shirt, which drew my attention to him, since I rarely see them in Miami and used to listen to them all the time back in the early days. Most of my photos from the evening came out a bit dark but I managed to get a couple:

The English Descendents man with boot.

Our neighbor avec le boot (you can see the glass if you look really closely).

Looking through my mug and the lights of Lincoln Road.

Miami Spa Month

I think that Miami Spa Month is possibly one of the greatest things the city has come up with. Is it because I get ridiculously stressed out over things because I have the tendency to take too much on? Probably. But that's not important. What is important is that Miami Spa Month is fantastic.

I posed about a week and a half ago that I am going to be taking a bit of a rest from blogging, simply because I am taking a rest from running around like crazy all weekend. But I wanted to write about this experience, in case anyone wanted to take advantage of the last few days of the month (Spa Month lasts from July 1-July 31.) So where did I go? The Palms Hotel, and I highly recommend it.

First of all, the Palms has one of the best deals, you get either a massage or a facial with a manicure/pedicure. Most places only offer a massage or a facial or some body treatment, which to me is not worth $100 on it's own. Secondly, the Palms is an Aveda spa. That's huge to me. Anyone who knows me well knows I am very brand loyal, and that I have been going to Aveda salons since I was young (for haircuts.) I just really like the product, their mission and the whole experience that comes with an Aveda salon. For example, they were environmentally oriented before it became cool a few years back.

Anyways, I digress. As you walk in, there's the unmistakable scent of an Aveda salon/spa, a very relaxing herbal essential oils scent. The service was impeccable, and the whole spa was just very chilled out, with low down-tempo lounge world music playing. Between the massage and my nails, they have you wait in the "relaxation room." Basically it's a room with lounge chairs inside and outside, water (laced with lemons) and fruit. I decided to lounge outside on a chaise. It's been raining all week, so it was overcast, warm and there was water flowing from a nearby fountain. The combination of all these factors kept me totally relaxed and not all hyped-up ADHD like I normally am when I have to wait around for something.

Overall, I highly recommend the spa. Going back to the service, just the fact that they had such phenomenal service on Miami Beach alone is worth it. But the whole air of the place doesn't help either.

South Point Park

I realize that I am late in the game with this post, as everyone else in the blogosphere posted about the opening of South Point Park in South Beach, but I just went for the first time since the grand opening and I'm throwing my $.02 in.
Since I moved off South Beach, almost three years ago, I haven't been back to that area, but before I used to go walking at least three times a week down to the southernmost tip of South Beach, sit on the rocks and relax. Only a few times did I ever wander up towards the park, and I remember it being picnic tables and grills, sort of a smaller version of Crandon Park in Key Biscayne.
On Sunday, El Hombre and I went on a mission to get me out of my irritable, cooped-up mood that I had been in all day, and on the spur of the moment, we elected to explore South Point Park.
I love it. I think it's so cool. I like the windy paths through the trees:
complete with benches to occasionally rest on.

I like the combination of tall buildings and the views of Fisher Island through the palms:



And I love that the path becomes elevated so you can catch a view of the water:


There's also a pretty cool playground for kids:


With funky benches for parents who want to relax and watch their kids play:


There's also the path that borders the water, with these things that light up at night:

and a view of downtown, through the port authority:


As we wandered down the hill, and towards the beach, I also caught some cool pictures:



We wandered out onto the rocks that jut out into the water where we saw many groups of friend camped out, enjoying the last few rays of the late afternoon sun, people fishing and taking pictures.


We also found a hidden cutey face!


South Point Park is awesome. The whole vibe was very laid back and fun, with kids running and shrieking the way they do when they are having the time of their lives, couples of all ages strolling, holding hands and laying on their backs in the grass, and families gathered around tables and benches. It's cool to find such a chilled out and happy environment in South Beach.

Mr. Clucky - Don't Go!

I'm not sure if you have been following the Mr. Clucky case in the Herald, but let's hope that he's allowed to stay where he is. He's been through enough already - give the guy a chance! If he goes to the Grove, that wouldn't be that bad, but he's a Miami Beach staple. You can't take him away from Mark and his bike! To read one of the Herald's articles, click here. The story has made the national news - I just saw a video on CNN.com.

Zeppito!

Football at the Playwright and Super Bowl Sunday = Zeppito!

The under-appreciated boardwalk

For a variety of reasons, my holidays were really rather stressful. I think they are stressful for most people, but this time was a little more than usual. So New Years Day, I finally convinced El Hombre to go with me walking on the upper part of the Miami Beach Boardwalk. When I lived on 23rd street, I used to walk this boardwalk all the time to relax, get some exercise and just enjoy the scenery.

In my opinion, this is an under-appreciated part of the beach. The boardwalk spans from 47th down to 5th street, where you can then transition to the beach and walk down to SouthPoint. But most people only walk from 15th street to 5th. In my opinion, the best part of the walk is from 23rd street (from 20th-22nd is closed off for construction) to 47th. It's a wooden boardwalk, where biking and rollerblading is restricted, and most of the people abide by this rule. You actually see the water and you get much more of a mix of locals who use the boardwalk to run, walk or just to get out and enjoy the scenery.

Here are a few pictures of our walk:


(ok, this wasn't on the boardwalk obviously, but right before we crossed Collins. Definitely an 'only in Miami' moment for me)


The kite surfers were all up-and-down the beach. You have to love an area where you can get in the ocean all year 'round! We actually sat on the beach and watched them for awhile.


There is much more foliage on the dunes, including large succulents and small trees. This was my favorite shot.

Sunday Sunset

On the Venetian:

The Reclamation Project - South Beach

The other night I was wandering around Lincoln Road and was amazed in a good way at the Reclamation Project. In all of the Starbuck's that line the Road and in some other storefronts such as the Lincoln Theatre, there were these little cups with mangrove seedlings which are part of the Reclamation Project to show what Miami Beach was like before all of the building and concrete took over. This project is really neat and it's good to see that someone is taking the initiative to take on a project of this magnitude. Hopefully this project will be successful and this will be the beginning of a real movement in Miami. The seedlings will be planted along Biscayne Bay once they're ready. Here are a few photos:

Bassnectar...

This past Saturday we went to go see Bassnectar, dj at 305 Lounge. I haven't been there before, but it's a really cool venue. It's behind Buck 15/Miss Yip between Lincoln Road and 17th Street on Miami Beach. It's a small dive bar with graffiti art on the walls:




a DJ booth towards the back, in the middle of the floor:




and a longish bar, with two flat-screen TVs. We got there a little early, and hung out on the couches (though after my brief stint working at Nikki Beach, I am hesitant to sit on any couches in bars or clubs... and that's all I will say about that.)

It was a good show, Bassnectar rocked. He played some Beats Antique remixes, some NIN, some Nirvana and a bunch of other really really cool stuff. I definitely recommend seeing him when he comes 'round again.



And as we were walking out, I snapped this picture, because it's so South Beach (and no, while Buck 15 is cool, I would never wait in line to get in.)

Car Art on the Beach

I've seen a handful of cars/trucks lately that got some amazing flair goin' on so I've decided to start a series entitled "Car Art." Enjoy!
On Alton Road - Car Saber, grrrr, look out!:

Skulls at the beach:

In the Political Spirit

I saw this pickup truck driving down Collins and saw the McCain sticker and thought, how typical.... But low and behold, when I got a bit closer, I saw the truth in its message and now see that not all pickups are the same:

Go Obama!
(subliminal message)

Nightcrawling on the Beach

Yesterday I went for a walk after work and ended up finding tons of cool shells that you usually don't see (at least I don't) and found myself suddenly in the glow of a serene sunset. Framed by cranes (how appropriate) it was beautiful.

Once the sun went down, the beach was even nicer - the stars were out, the dull lights from the tankers were out, the moon was rising...it was a nice night to be on the beach.

Monday - A Good Day for the Beach

Here are some more gratuitous beach photos (I just can't get enough) from North Beach:

Necessities in Miami

Ok so if you want to survive a Miami summer, you need all of the following
-Umbrella
-A coat or sweater so when you go inside anywhere you can deal with the fact that everyone keeps the AC at arctic levels
-Rainboots (key if you are in Miami Beach, North Miami, parts of Brickell, Coconut Grove, Kendall and Key Biscayne)
-Any and all rain gear you can get your hands on.
-A sense of humor and/or Xanex to deal with people driving in the monsoon and thunder
-Bugspray
-No desire to wash your car. It's just going to rain.
-No desire to go to the beach. It's just going to rain. Or it's just waaaay to hot.
-Surge protectors. South Florida sees more lightning strikes than pretty much anywhere in the world. We are actually the lighting capitol of the world
-the knowledge of what to do if you fear getting struck by lightning

Miami Beach Botanical Garden

A little-known park across from the Miami Beach Convention Center. It's a pretty spot and it's free.
















Skankarella Statue



She liked it





The Holocaust Memorial is right behind the botanical garden.

Dirty Bingo

So El Señor and I went to The Standard on Miami Beach for dirty bingo on Sunday Night (thanks to the email from my compadre, Lauren.)

Admittedly I wasn't sure what to expect but it was really really fun, even though we didn't win a damn thing. We camped out in the corner and took turns getting cards. The service was awesome and the bingo hostesses were awesome.

In general I like the Standard and think it's a hidden secret for most Miami Beach tourists because of the its location (on the Venetian Causeway and one of the prettiest little bridges to jog, bike or drive on.

Anyway, back to bingo. There was a definite younger, trendy crowd. And lots of regulars. My recommendation? Get there early and camp out on the cushions. And go with a group of people so you can claim a corner. Also, they pass around free shots and if you win regular bingo with the money box, your group gets a free pitcher of mojitos. And the prizes are pretty decent. I personally covet anything involving the spa, since it's been top rated.

Downside of it all? Parking. But thats all over Miami Beach.