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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Weekend Cooking- Good Eating in Miami

My husband and I  made a trip to Miami Beach over Mother's Day weekend, and we stayed at the beautiful Fontainebleau Hotel. It is a famous hotel, recently remodeled and it reminded me of a hotel you'd find in Vegas.

Gotham Steak is located in the hotel, and it was a great start. We took the server's recommendation to try the appetizer special to share, grilled shrimp and tenderloin on vertical skewers over a bed of greens. It was served with three sauces- lemongrass aioli, sweet and sour and manchego cheese. The shrimp was delightful, and the beef was so tender.
Gotham appetizer




















The next food highlight was breakfast at Vida. The buffet was included in our room rate, and normally I am not a big fan of buffets, but this one was top-notch. They had everything from oatmeal to pancakes, waffles, a large variety of fresh fruit (the pineapple was so sweet), ham, bacon, chicken sausage (another big hit), scrambled eggs, eggs Benedict and omelettes to order. I looked forward to breakfast every morning.

The highlight of lunch poolside was the turkey wrap, which was made with freshly sliced turkey. We also enjoyed the Wild Berry Blast beverage, with the just the right amount of rum.
Cheers!

Our next dinner was at a Miami institution, Joe's Stone Crab, where most of us had the Mahi Mahi in a corn tortilla broth, which had a zesty spicy taste to it.

We made reservation at The Forge, another Miami institution, for night three. The ambience there is so spectacular, with high ceilings, and eclectic chairs at each table. The table next to us had a chair that would have looked at home at the Mad Hatter's table.

Our server was extremely knowledgeable, and he and my husband discussed their extensive wine list. We started with a LycheeSpumante, and I liked the juxtaposition of the lychee with the champagne, topped with lychee foam.

I took our server's advice and had their famous Lobster Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich snack. It had chopped lobster, chopped peanuts and sweet onion marmalade on a toasted brioche. It tasted just like peanut butter and jelly,with lobster. It was interesting, but I'm not sure I would order it again.
Lobster Peanut Butter & Jelly


My entree was much better. Again taking the server's suggestion, I had the Grilled Shrimp Waffle. It was small, but oh so tasty. Two grilled jumbo shrimp on top of a waffle, with a basil butter sauce and caviar on top. This ranks as one of my top ten entrees ever, I just wish there were more. I had never had caviar before, and I enjoyed it.
Grilled Shrimp Waffle
Our last night's dinner was at Smith & Wollensky, which is located right on the water. We have eaten at other Smith & Wollensky, but this is worth it for the view alone. We sat at an outside table, and it was very romantic. The highlight was my prime rib, which may have been the best I have ever tasted. Cooked to perfection, it melted like butter in my mouth. I don't usually eat my entire entree, but I devoured that and left practically nothing.

Our funny waiter
The server was wonderful, and we asked him to take our photo. He took several shots from different angles, then took one of himself. It was a funny schtick, and I am certain it gets him better tips.

At Smith & Wollensky's
We had a champagne toast for my birthday (this is the LAST of the birthday celebrations, I promise), and when the waiter found out it was my birthday, he brought us a chocolate molten cake with ice cream on the house.
The birthday cake
We took a stroll along the beautiful walkway, and it was the perfect end to a romantic vacation.

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food!




26 comments:

  1. Your vacation sounds absolutely lovely - and you had amazing culinary adventures along the way! Happy birthday!

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  2. Sounds like a fabulous vacation! Not sure I could wrap my taste buds around a PBJ and lobster but everything looks so good, especially at the Gotham.

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    1. I would say that I am not a very adventuresome eater, and I probably wouldn't order it again, but I am glad I tried the Lobster PB&J.

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  3. I feel boring for commenting on the Lobster PB&J when everyone else is too - but, I still can't wrap my brain around it - LOL!

    I LOVE Miami :) Sounds like you guys had a perfect time. So glad you got to go, and you did a great job of recording the adventure in this post.

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    1. We had never been to Miami, and we had such a wonderful time, we hope to return soon. Any recommendation from you would be great!

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  4. What a wonderful trip! That appetizer looks like a sculpture. And, oh my, that birthday cake -- I love that they wrote happy birthday on the plate for you.

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  5. Happy Birthday-it looks like you had some incredible food. What a perfect way to spend a birthday-I liked all the food choices in Miami.

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  6. Yum, I was drooling all through this post. I've visited Miami once, not nearly enough time to try the great food it has to offer. Yes, the lobster seems strange but everything else looks delicious. Glad you enjoyed yourselves.

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    1. Thanks , they do have some fabulous restaurants. I hope you get to try them next time you are there.

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  7. Nice post. Have a great week.

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  8. Hope you enjoy the corned beef. Thanks for the comment. And have a great week.

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    1. My son is moving home from college tomorrow and I'm going to make it as a surprise. He'll love it!

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  9. wow, that cake...my knees are weak!
    I am not usually a fan of buffets, but I do like them for breakfast. a bit of this..a bit of that...

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    1. It's funny, we were debating whether to get the cake to share for dessert and the waiter brought it out!

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  10. Well, I don't know what else you did in Miami, but it appears you did manage to eat quite well! Such yummy things. It does amaze me though, how appetizers now are the price of what a meal used to cost, and sometimes as filling as an entree. I do think I would have passed on the lobster and peanuts concoction--lobster is so expensive where I live and such a rarity on my plate, that when I do have it, just give me the lobster and some butter!
    Oh, and Happy Birthday!
    *smiles*

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    1. i agree with you on the lobster; it's much better on its own.

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  11. This sounds like the perfect food-lovers weekend. All of it sounds so yummy.

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  12. What a fantastic trip! I have good food memories from my one trip to Miami -- mostly about a yummy Cuban dinner we had, although it was washed down with a gallon of tequila, so my memories may not be accurate.

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    1. My only regret is that I did not get to try any Cuban food- next trip!

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  13. What a fantastic food adventure! I want one of those berry drinks, and Mr. BFR would kill for good prime rib.

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  14. Wow, what a fabulous way to celebrate your birthday! I can see why you said it was worth dining there for the view alone - it looks spectacular!

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  15. Wonderful trip! I can see it now a food tasting show on the food network for you! I enjoyed your post!

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