MunkeeCIAO's Profile
Fort Lauderdale - 1 person business trip...Cuban?
Bump....need some help...please. calling all foodies
Fort Lauderdale - 1 person business trip...Cuban?
Staying near Las Olas and 1A. I am happy to cab it for the right meal.
Thanks for the help.
Oh, wlll also need lunch on Saturday, as well as one group business dinner Tuesday that I have to arrange.
Thanks!
M
Fort Lauderdale - 1 person business trip...Cuban?
Looking for some great single person recommendations for an upcoming business trip to Fort Lauderdale.
Any strong Cuban recommendations? Or just some must have foodie places?
This is for this Saturday night.
Thank!
M
Hamburger Patty Shape
What is your preference for a hamburger patty shape? I like a thick, even hocky puck, but my wife prefers more of a mound shape.
Spasso Ventura [moved from California board]
Just had dinner last night at Spasso in Ventura. It's been open over a year, but we just found out about it and tried it out. We were pleasantly surprised.
We started off with eggplant parmigiano, then shared a carpaccio, then shared the carbonara. Each were delicous!
The owner is a young guy from Rome, greeted us as in Italian when we walked in, walks around and makes sure everyone is happy. We also chatted it up a bit in Italian with him so we appreciated that. It was good to see him involved with every table.
The wine list can use some work. We ordered the 2008 Barbera. It was good, not great. There are really only 6-8 more to choose from (by the glass or bottle). When we go back (we'll be back) we will probably bring something and let them charge us corkage.
Ambience could also use a little work. The place has music/speakers, but you couldnt really hear anything but the other diners talking. They can turn up the music. Could also soften the place up with a few more plants.
We've been to Italy a lot (all over Italy) and this passes our test for sure. Ventura needed something like this (sorry, Cafe Fiori doesnt cut it) and by the looks of the traffic while we were there, it should be around for a while.
Dinner with wine, shared plates, and two bottle waters, $95 before tip. When we declined dessert they brought out a tast of their tiramisu. It was really good. I wasn't a fan of the chocolate sauce (appeard to be store bought) but the cake was outstanding.
M
Javier's in Laguna Beach?
What happened? Just a move up the coast or something else going on?
M
Dinner in Santa Barbara
Ca'Dario is a looooooooooong time favorite. I would get the rack of lamb or ribeye with the white beans cooked wiht garlic and sage. Pancetta wrapped white asparagus and balzamic reduction...ravioli with brown butter sage sauce, pappardelli, and a great wine list...just to name a few more.
Also, we recently tried Julienne on Canon Perdid and Santa Barbara. The location has flopped a few times, but we were very impressed. Wine list is not extensive, but good.
Decent Places To Eat Inside Disneyland or California Adventure Park?
Slice of pizza and a salad next to the entrance to Space Mountain
M
Paso Robles Sangiovese?
We belong to Fratelli & Perata and love everything they do. Greay sangio and I completely agree it is hard to find a good CA sangio.
I also agree with the Eberle.
M
Need Cab/Merlot help in the next hour please
Which Heitz is it? Standard grocery store Heitz or something a little more exciting (like a Martha's Vineyard?
Assuming standard Heitz (sorry, dont know what else to call it), I would choose the Shafer merlot.
Moqueca Capixaba-the traditional dish of Espiritu Santo, Brasil- "Moqueca" raises the bar for LA regional cuisine
Going tonight and can't wait.
BTW...the phone number above is incorrect. Their number is: (805) 204.0970
M
Moqueca Brazilian, Oxnard
I am so glad you reported. We saw this place the other day while on a bike ride and it looked great.
We just made a reservation for this evening and can't wait!
Thanks aagain
M
Pizzeria Mozza - kid friendly?
So, I take it you would say it is not kid friendly? Sorry, never been so I really just dont know.
"Pizzeria" would lead me to beleive it could be more kid friendly than "osteria", but again, I just dont know.
Thanks!
M
Pizzeria Mozza - kid friendly?
We want to go there with some friends and they have kids. One baby and one 4 year old. I am wondering if this is a kid friendly place.
Thanks
M
Wine in AZ gone bad?
For the first return, I had a relative just take it back and I wasnt there. The second return (tonight) they poppped the cork and smelled it, but said nothing. I have to assume they "tasted" it tonight after work.
The first time I chalked it up to a palette issue and moved on. The second time, popped one bottle...bad. Immediately popped a second one....same. Thats when I started to wonder about what the problem could be and that maybe it wasnt my palette after all. Thats when my relative took the two bottles back and got a refund. I am now back visiting PHX again this week so I used my store credit to buy two more bottles. This was the experience I had tonight where I took them back and went to Safeway.
BTW...I have never been alone during these experiences and have always been with other vino-snobs. Tonight we invited a neighbor over who we all agree is a total world traveler vino snob/oenophile. Not even mentioning prior experiences, he arrived at the same conclusion.
These are all bottles I have at home and have previously enjoyed .All different bottles, all different people (except me) all on three different occasions. Same experience. I feel very confident these are just off.
Not sure what email I would send to a winery since all wines were different wineries. Thats why I thought maybe a storage/distribution problem. I know some wineries won't even ship to AZ in the summer so I wonder if maybe there is something to the whole "wine on the shelves in AZ at the tail end of summer being bad" thing (yes, a generalization).
M
Wine in AZ gone bad?
I have now had apx 8 bottles of red wine on 3 seperate occasions from AJ's in Scottsdale. I really like their selection.
The problem...each and every bottle tastes and smells exactly the same....LIKE NOTHING! They aren't "bad" in that they have turned, just completely flavorless and without smell. Lifeless! The first thing that struck me was maybe they sat in a warehouse somewhere hot and all the character boiled out. I am not sure how to describe this other than there is no character (smell or taste). Is this possible?
On each occassion, it was a bottle I am familiar with and would consider something I know is a good bottle. Examples of some of the red wines I have purchased:
1. Darioush
2. Twomey
3. Frank Family
4. Neal
5. Cain Concept
6. ....similar types and price ranges
I inquired with the wine buyer at AJ's and he said they store everytihng in a cool environment and that turnover is not a problem. The last two times I actually returned partially drank bottles and they were kind enough to refund my purchases. The last occassion was tonight and after I was refunded I went right across the street to Safeway and bought a Heitz cab and Whitehall Lane cab. So far, the Heitz tastes great. It actually has character. Whitehall Lane tomorrow.
Question - is it possible that there is something that AJ's does in their purchasing/distribution process that might do soemthing to the character of the wine, not leaving it "turned" but just lifeless?
M
Peach fest in Budapest
no, barack means peach. Peach (spelled differently but pronounced like peach) is another derogitory term, also beginning with the letter p. Use your imagination from there.
M
Peach fest in Budapest
Very true, just pronounced very differently. Kinda like budd-utsk
What they fail to mention is what "peach" means in Hungarian.
Striphouse prices?
We went to the striphouse and had an awesome meal. We all had filet. They have a 10 ounce and a 14 ounce.
No starters for us.
For sides we had creamed spinach, green beans, whipped potatoes, and the duck fat potatoes. All were incredibly delicious!
We shared on profiterol dessert and that was decadant and delicious. Pretty rich, but good for a couple of bites.
With 4 cocktails and a bottle of wine, the bill was about $344 before tip.
Service was perfect. We initially sat next to a loud f-bomb dropping table so we asked to be moved. Without hesitation, they moved us to a perfect corner booth. It was handled as it should be.
I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a great NYC steakhouse experience. I will be back!
Thanks for all the feedback!
M
PS. Prices in below link are not current. They have gone up $2-3 per entree. Not a big deal but thought I would give that feedback to anyone looking.
Food at the Jazz Fest
Thanks everyone for the input. We ended up scoring some tickets to the Cubs game instead of Jazz Fest.
So, as far as food goes, instead of food at Jazz Fest, we opted for Mr Beef instead. MMMMMMM, that was good!
M
Andres Hungarian for dinner, or just pastries
We would like to go to Andres but not sure if this place is best for dinner or pastries after dinner. My initial thoughts are have dinner elsewhere and then to Andres for a pastry and tokaji.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
M
Food at the Jazz Fest
Just checked the jazz fest website FAQ and they mention the following food vendors:
BJ's Market, Lagniappe-Creole Cajun Joynt, Las Tablas, Robinson's Ribs, Star of Siam
Not being from Chicago and visiting for the first time from California, does anyone have anything to say about any of these vendors?
Are they good? Are the bad? Do we need to eat lunch before we go?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
M
Food at the Jazz Fest
Just checked the jazz fest website FAQ and they mention the following food vendors:
BJ's Market, Lagniappe-Creole Cajun Joynt, Las Tablas, Robinson's Ribs, Star of Siam
Not being from Chicago and visiting for the first time from California, does anyone have anything to say about any of these vendors?
Are they good? Are the bad? Do we need to eat lunch before we go?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
M
Striphouse prices?
I went online and looked at the menu. Sounds pretty good!
Does anyone know the prices for any of the steaks at Striphouse?
Does anyone recommend anything better? At first we looked at going to Sparks, but the menu does no thrill me at all.
We are looking for a quintessential Manhattan steakhouse experience, and hopefully not too much of a chain.
I really like the menu at Peter Luger, but I dont think that is Manhatan, is it?
Thanks
M
Breakfast in Walnut Creek
Ya, sorry about the short notice. The plan to go to breakfast kinda hatched outta nowhere so the need to find something happened quickly. I was glad to have found some options (albeit slim) on this board.
We went to the Sunrise Bistro. It was actually really good. Service was OK, but the food was really good. Everyone was happy. Coffee was great.
Thanks everyone!
M
Breakfast in Walnut Creek
Meeting some people for breakfast in a couple of hours and nobody has any good chow worthy recommendations.
Anyone know any good WC breakfast spots?
Thanks in advance.
M
Staying at the Scottsdale Princess, looking for good eats
Thanks for the shout out for Mastros. I too love Mastros. We are just looking for something we cant get back home in So Cal.
M
Staying at the Scottsdale Princess, looking for good eats
We are set to go to Elements and La Hacienda (2 dinners). Not sure about lunches yet. I will be sure to report back next week.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
M
Staying at the Scottsdale Princess, looking for good eats
3star. Thanks for the feedback.
Yes, we will have a car, but since its supposed to be a relaxing spa weekend, not really looking forward to driving too far, maybe within a 10 minute radius.
Elements looks great. So does Binkleys, is that far from the Princess?
Oregano's...I forgot about that place. I have been there. Thx for the reminder. Might consider that for a lunch.
Does anyone know if the restaurants at the Princess are good?
M
Staying at the Scottsdale Princess, looking for good eats
We are arriving Friday afternoon and staying until Sunday evening.
We would like to get some good receommendations for nice restaurants in the area, even at the resort or surrounding resorts.
We do not necessarily need to break the bank, but dont mind breaking the bank if it is really worth it.
We do not want anything that is a chain that can be had elsewhere (no Ruth's Chris or Flemings please).
We are doing spa on Saturday at the Princess so we would likely eat lunch there. But dinner is open.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
M
