Wednesday, February 27, 2013

You've Never Had Corn Kernels Like This...



Inka
947 Brickell Avenue
Miami, FL 33131

On the day that I was going to be leaving Miami, I had the pleasure of meeting one of my girlfriend’s cousins that I had never met before. We went out to lunch in downtown Miami at a Peruvian place called Inka. I was super excited about it because I enjoy Peruvian food very much. As soon as you are seated they drop off bowls full of these fried corn kernels that have been dusted in salt and some other spices. I would love to know how they make them without them popping like popcorn, because they are absolutely fantastic! I couldn’t stop eating them, and they just kept bring more!



Up next they brought out some chicken soup that they refer to as aguadito de pollo. It is a traditional Peruvian soup that is full of chicken, rice, potatoes, peas, and peppers. It was full of flavor, and had a really nice richness to it. I would definitely say miles ahead of its American counterpart, chicken noodle soup. 



After making my soup vanish rather quickly, my eyes widened when they brought out the churrasco steak that I had ordered. It was a piece of skirt steak, covered with some chimichurri sauce and accompanied by a pile of French fries. The steak was incredibly tender, and had tons of flavor on its own. The chimicurri only packed more flavor into every bite with each and every taste of garlic and cilantro that I got. 



Inka was a definitely hit in my book. It was definitely worthy of a three and a half pint rating. Really flavorful food, plus one of the most delicious snacks I have ever tasted were the keys to success here. Plus, Peruvian food always hits the right notes for me. I would go back for the corn kernels they serve alone. Definitely go when you are in Miami and give it a try! Cheers

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Fresh Fish on the River...



Garcias
398 Northwest North River Drive
Miami, FL 33128

I spent a weekend in Miami this summer with my girlfriend and her family to celebrate her parents’ birthdays. Her dad had been raving about a place on the Miami River that we simply had to try. He took us there on Saturday after his flight got in. The place was Garcias Seafood Grille.



As soon as we walked in I thought we were in for a treat. The outdoor seating area where we got a table was all wood tables and benches, and there were beautiful murals on the walls. They also had many of their specials on a blackboard, a feature that I simply love. After you are seated, your waiter brings everyone little cups with a smoked fish dip in it and provides you with saltine crackers to put the spread on. It was very simple, but extremely delicious. 




I decided to order a cup of the grouper chowder because I had never seen it on a menu before and I absolutely love all things grouper. It’s hard to get in this area, so when I see it on a menu I tend to gravitate towards it. I was really disappointed by the chowder though. When I hear chowder, I think thick, cream based soup with seafood in it. This soup wasn’t cream based, was not at all thick, and had minimal amounts of fish in it. It was pretty bland to be honest, and I was really hoping the rest of the meal didn’t turn out as poorly. 




I had the privilege of trying my girlfriend’s fried conch, and that was absolutely fantastic. Conch is another thing you don’t get much of outside of tropical regions, and I love to indulge in it when I am in those areas. It was crispy, and the meat was sweet, not unlike that of lobster. The aioli that it was served with was sweet as well, punctuating the flavor that much more.



I also got to try my first raw oyster. My girlfriend’s brother in law made me try it, even though he only had 6 on his plate, and in fact he made me eat two. It was unlike anything I had ever had. It tasted so much like the ocean, but not in a bad way. It just tasted so fresh and it was only enhanced by the horseradish sauce and lemon juice that accompanied it. 



My main course was what I was really excited about. I had ordered blackened mahi mahi with maduros, which are sweet plantains that are caramelized. The meal was very simple, but every aspect of it was executed to perfection. The blackening seasoning on the fish wasn’t overpowering, but simply used to bring out the delicate flavor of the mahi mahi. The fish was cooked magnificently, and the sweet plantains that accompanied the fish were outstanding. They were slightly crunchy on the outside, and sweet and fruity on the inside. Maduros are really one of my favorite things in the entire world. They are unbelievably delicious. 



I was really hoping that the key lime pie we ordered for dessert was going to be great because we weren’t too far away from Key West, but I was disappointed on that front. I prefer my key lime pie to be very tart, and this version was simply very sweet. It lacked that make-your-face-pucker-up punch that I like my key limes to have, so I was less than impressed with it.

Three pints for Garcias. Solid effort on their part. Delicious fresh fish served up in a variety of ways. Almost a perfect meal. Garcias was a pretty cool experience, and I would definitely go back again. The scenery alone was pretty amazing, but the food was a little inconsistent. The blackened fish with maduros was spot on, while the grouper chowder and key lime pie fell short in flavor and execution. Overall though I think the good points outweigh the bad, and Garcias is definitely worth a try if you are ever in the Miami area. Cheers!

Monday, February 18, 2013

A Touch of New England...



Maine Course
1301 Long Beach Boulevard
Beach Haven, NJ 08008

My cousin and his wife were pretty upset this summer when they went down to LBI for the first time and found out that their favorite place, Tiki Taco, had moved off the island. I have to admit I was pretty upset about it too, but a new place had emerged in its place and it looked right up my alley. My girlfriend and I decided to give the Maine Course a try one weekend on our way down to my house.

The Maine Course is like a seafood shack you would find on the shores of New England. They serve all the regional cuisine you would find up in that area. I knew that we had to get a lobster roll because 1. they are delicious, and 2. they are hard to get in this area. I decided to get a fried whole belly clam sandwich and my girlfriend and I shared both.

The lobster roll was a huge disappointment in terms of size and price. There wasn’t very much lobster meat, and it was incredibly expensive. The flavor however was fantastic. We got it hot with drawn butter, and it was rich as can be. The sweet lobster meat paired perfectly as it always does with the salty melted butter. However, it was about the size of a hot dog, maybe even smaller. I was really disappointed.



My fried clam sandwich was completely opposite. I thought for the price point and the size, it was really a great deal. The taste was also spot on with this sandwich. The clams were crispy as can be, and each bite brought an explosion of clammy, ocean flavor to our mouths. Honestly I felt like there were too many clams on the sandwich and it could have been made better by not putting as many on it.

I would only give the Maine Course a pint and half right now. I think I will go back to the Maine Course at the end of this summer or the beginning of next summer and give it another try. The food was good, but the prices and portion sizes need a little bit of improvement, which I am sure may happen with more time open. I wouldn't quite recommend it yet, but to anyone looking for some fresh seafood and delicious New England fare you might as well decide on it for yourself! Cheers!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Hangover Haven...



Crystal Lake Diner
572 West Cuthbert Boulevard
Collingswood, NJ 08108

My cousin and his wife recently bought a house in Haddon Township, and they invited us to go with them and their friends to the Haddon Township pub crawl on a Saturday afternoon. We stayed over that night and the next morning we were all hung over. We decided to go get some food at the Crystal Lake Diner to try and ease our hangovers.

I hadn’t ever been to the Crystal Lake Diner before, but I had heard many good things about it. I love diner food, so I was pretty excited to try another diner in the diner haven that New Jersey is. I ordered 2 eggs over easy, with pork roll, extra crispy hash browns and rye toast. I sipped on some coffee as I waited for my food to come out, but that really didn’t help the hungover sensation I was feeling. Haha


 
When the food came out I was in heaven. Pork roll is one of my favorite things in the entire world, and breakfast is always a righteous meal in my book, so this was a home run. There was tons of pork roll and hash browns. The hash browns were nice and crispy as I had requested, and the pork roll was tender and delicious, with tons of flavor in each and every grease filled bite. The eggs were delicious as well, cooked perfectly over easy, leaving me sopping up the running egg yolks with my hash browns and rye toast. After devouring the entire plate, I realized I felt immensely better, and I basked in the deliciousness of the food that I just ate.



Crystal Lake Diner is definitely worthy of a solid three pint rating. Excellent execution, paired with sticking to what they are and not trying to do to much, makes this a fantastic diner classic. I want to go back to Crystal Lake Diner as soon as possible. The food was phenomenal, and I love diners. I know you will love it too, so get over there and try it! Cheers!

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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
I am a food lover living in Philadelphia.

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