brandon_w's Profile
Creative way to oil a grill?
Sponge will probably tear and rip - try a terrycloth bar towel.
Miami Spice 2010
You can indeed combine the spice menu with 1/2 price wine at chef allens.
Miami: Which Chinese restaurants are good on NE 163rd St?
I second Hong Kong Noodles. The lo mein, egg rolls, and sweet and sour chicken are excellent. Take note of the live tilapia tank...haven't seen that one before...I always thought tilapia filets were grown on sheet pans with hoses and cables and that the filets just grew with no skin/body. (not really, but it's just creepy how I can order tilapia from my purveyors and get 20# of filets that are each 5 oz to the gram.)
Anyway, Hong Kong Noodles is the closest i've come to finding "good american chinese" that I miss from where I grew up in New England.
Best Burger in the Davie/Hollywood/Ft. Lauderdale Area
Jack's, 5 Guys, SouthPort has a decent bacon cheeseburger, and I think it's only like $3.25
Rock Shrimp in south Florida
You can buy them direct from Wild Ocean Seafood up in Titusville. They also operate Dixie Crossroads. We get our shrimp for the restaurant from them, i'm not sure what the cost is for retail sales, but they are available shell on, or block frozen P/D which is much easier. They ship to your door I think.
Burger and Beer Joint Review
Beer selection is excellent, broken down my country (like a wine list). As a side note, I returned on Friday night with my co-worker, and the food wasn't as good; along with several screw ups on the service side. Obviously, they have some kinks to work out, but even with the slightly over-cooked burgers, being out of the buns we wanted, and forgetting toppings, it was STILL better than 8oz.
We compared the wagyu/kobe burger against the regular on Friday. No discernible difference.
As a delicious bit of extra review, we ordered a fried egg on one of them, and it was fried in butter, which was a nice surprise.
Burger and Beer Joint Review
To make a worthwhile Kobe or Wagyu burger it would have to be served raw, with a hard sear, otherwise all that precious fat would just melt out. The issue here is that even if served raw, with a hard sear, you are not going to get a "kobe experience" because the act of grinding the meat redistributes all the unsaturated fat into miniscule bits, plus about 25% of the fat will most likely end up on the grinder blades, tube, worm, and die, since those parts will heat up during grinding.
Since they claim to use kobe, of course they are not advertising a percentage of beef/fat. USDA grades do not apply to kobe/wagyu as even the lowest quality true wagyu is off the charts of USDA Prime.
Regardless of the beef issue and if they are telling the truth, it's a good burger. Sometimes we get too caught up in the subtle little details like the supplier, fat percentage, etc. While that stuff makes a difference (after-all, I AM a chef), sometimes I just like to sit down and eat a damn good burger!
Burger and Beer Joint Review
So last night my girlfriend and I made a second trip down in one day (lunch at Casale); and we were VERY impressed.
We started with "Diesel" chicken wings - the hottest sauce. Flavor was excellent, and the wings are braised before being fried, so the meat is very very tender, almost fall off the bone. The only downside to this process is it tends to make the skin less than crispy, but they were still good. They were served in a metal bucket, with a paper liner, ala Big Pink, and a side of really good, home made ranch dressing. Biggest complaint? They stick the celery in the bucket with the wings, which made the celery warm, bordering on hot. Kind of gross. Overall, really good wings, and there were 10 of them (8 drums, 2 flats) for $8. Not bad for South Beach.
My girlfriend had a Hefeweizen, to her delight, since she can't seem to find it anywhere in SFL. I ordered a Murphy's Irish Red, which they were unfortunately out of, however my second choice, Woodchuck Amber Cider, which I haven't had since culinary school in VT, was fantastic, if very over priced. On a side note, they have $3 cans of PBR, which is awesome. Woodchuck: $6, 16oz Hefeweizen: $8.
On to the burgers:
We both got the Thunder Road, which is the 10oz Kobe Burger (kobe beef in burgers is retarded IMO, but whatever), american cheese, a generous amount of bacon, house made BBQ sauce, LTO (the tomato was ripe, and looked great, even though I didn't eat it, or the lettuce), and a fantastic pickle on the side.
The burger is advertised as served medium rare, and we requested medium, as the texture of medium rare ground meat usually bothers me. The burgers came to the table steaming hot, and smelling fantastic. Since they are so large, my girlfriend felt compelled to cut hers in half, and discovered a textbook perfect medium-rare, not as ordered. She decided to eat it anyway, and since I didn't cut mine, I didn't discover the perfect medium rare in mine until I took a bite. My first bite was an amazing experience. There was a PERFECT sear on the burger, crispy, salty, black peppery, plus the sweetness of the bacon, and the onion I put on it with the BBQ sauce really all worked together. The sesame seed brioche bun was great, nicely browned in butter, with a nice chewy outer crust and a dense enough crumb to hold up to the juices from the burger, and not fall apart, while still being light and squishy.
The fries were shoestring, with a "batter" on them reminiscent of BK fries. They were crispy, perfectly salted, and great.
For dessert we shared a fried twinkie, with vanilla ice cream. I don't really need to describe this any further. It was good.
Total bill? Just over $64 with tax and tip. Not bad for a satisfying dinner in south beach, and you could easily spend that with similar items at a not so good place.
I recommend anyone who loves burgers to give it a try!
MIA: Current Favorite Dish/Item for Less than $10?
Five Guys:
Little Bacon Cheeseburger with mayo, mustard, ketchup, pickles, and sauteed onions, cajun fries, regular coke. About $9.
Cafes & Bakeries in Miami
Not to dredge this post up from the past, but a google search brought it up. At the restaurant we use La Parisienne Bakery, which is mentioned in this thread, and they have some great breads. Ciabatta, brioche, focaccia (a bit heavy on the oil for my taste), hamburger buns, rolls, walnut raisin breads, multi grain, etc. I was not aware that they have a retail shop since we get our breads delivered, but since someone else posted here, it might be worth a shot since what we get is fantastic.
Starving in Ft. Lauderdale
I also forgot to mention Il Mulino on Sunrise for good low priced italian food (entrees run $12-$20)
Starving in Ft. Lauderdale
Try Valentino's on US 1, about 2 blocks north of the Mercedes dealer. Also for something quick and bar-food like, try South Port Raw Bar on Cordova off 17th, also across the street is Quarterdeck, which is decent sometimes. Five Guys burgers and Fries is in the Plaza on Cordova south of 17th. On State Road 84 about a mile west of US 1 is a diner called Lester's thats not bad. Other places to try are Tom Jenkins BBQ, Shuck and Dive, and El Jibarito. Further south in Hollywood (about 10 minutes from Ft. Lauderdale) Chinatopia is pretty good, as is Beefeater.
I came down here from Boston too, and am mostly disappointed.
Red Light, Yellow Light
I had a similar experience, although no hookers or yelling from the strip club. We started with pulled pork sandwiches; which had a strange heat, almost tasted like they used cayenne for heat and nothing else. It was served with two ribs, which had about a teaspoon of sauce, way too much smoke taste, and were very tough. The braised rabbit leg was one the driest peices of meat i've ever had, which is remarkable since it was sitting in a pool of sauce. BBQ shrimp had a nice flavor, however the sauce was gritty and the shrimp were of poor quality - almost like frozer black tiger shrimp. The mac and cheese was overcooked, and greasy. All the dishes lacked salt, and were garnished with curly parsley. We also had "ginger" iced tea, which had no trace of ginger in it, and the tea was weak. There were also three cooks in the kitchen, for about 8 diners, and it took an unusually long amount of time to get our food.
I would not go back, however the space was nice, and has a lot of potential.
Tumeric vs. cumin
The aroma you most likely are associating with curry is fenugreek, so if you are trying to substitute one spice for the mix, use that. Your best bet is to use some other replies, get all the base ingredients to a curry, and experiment until you get an aroma you like!
Am I Going to Kill My Dinner Guests?
Don't boil the ham, keep it below a boil, around 180-190 degrees, otherwise the violence of the boiling water will cause the meat to toughen up, and be dry and inedible.
Timing Question
Set the oven at 400, put the risotto in, then 10 minutes later put the cod in. At the 30 minute mark, take the risotto out, and turn the broiler on to finish the crumb topping.
That is IF the cod is not done, but at those temperatures, the 50 degrees should not make a big difference. You could also start the risotto at 400, and then turn the oven up when you put the cod in. If you watch the food, nothing will burn.
Making stock from frozen chicken
You should have no problem, that's how we do it in restaurants all the time. Chickens get butchered over the course of the week, and the bodies are frozen for stock. The different between roasting and making stock from raw, is a raw stock will taste more "chickeny" where as a roasted stock is going to be milder, with more carmel and vegetable notes. A raw stock will also be a much lighter color than a roasted stock.
Refrigerator Pickles, Help!
Botulism thrives in an anerobic environment, like something you've canned or bottled, so pickles stuck in a jar will be fine. The acid content will also make it difficult for anything to grow, so you will be just fine. Enjoy the pickles!
I like poached eggs on toast, but...
Poached over grits, with bacon lardons and truffles...soooo good!
Leaf or sheet gelatin
When I lived in NH, Hannaford had it, and I remember the Whole Foods in the Fresh Pond Plaza carrying it as well. The powdered gelatin can be substituted for sheet...10 sheets is about 1 oz of powder, but the bloom count (how well it sets up) varies by brand so you may need to do some experimenting. You could also look at small gourmet markets for it, I believe there is a small grocery store/european market on Charles Street between Branch Street and Mt Vernon St. that should carry it.
Traveling w/ Bialys & Onion Rye Bread?
Never, ever, EVER refrigerate bread. You will exponentially accelerate the staling process. Bread is best kept in a paper bag on the counter, or wrapped tightly in plastic and frozen. I would suggest you get your bread whole (not sliced), freeze it, and then before it is eaten place it in the oven for about 5 - 10 minutes. It will be as close as you can get to fresh. The bialys are never going to taste right.
what tastes better with trans-fat?
You shouldn't notice a difference, since most things with transfat come from deep-fryer oil and solid shortening, both of which have non-transfat versions that taste identical, only slightly more expensive.
Recommendation for a Cut of Beef for a Carving Station
New York Strip is the name of a strip steak with the bone removed, KC steak is the strip steak with the bone in. Both cuts from from the loin sub-primal of a beef hindquarter, and neither are what you describe. The "New York Sirloin" does not exist, it may be a New York Strip whole, and then carved, in which case that is what I would suggest, however they would probably be giving the correct name. The top sirloin has less fat, and more connective tissue, which means it will be tougher. Find out what they mean by New York Sirloin and I can get back to you. Ask for the sub-primal name that comes on their packing slip from their distributor.
Handing the credit card receipt to the man at the table
When I took table service class during culinary school, it was explained that the traditional "order of service" is to present the check/receipt to the host at the table, regardless of who pays. This is determined by who orders the wine, or is perceived as "taking charge" during ordering. A professionally trained waiter will generally follow that guideline, especially in an ultra-fine dining establishment; however in my experiences dining out with my girlfriend, 75% of the time if she pays, the receipt is presented to her, with a "thank you (her name)"
panko in orlando?
Whole foods does indeed carry it, at least the ones in Aventura, and Boston MA. do. Other than that, try an asian market, or an "upscale gourmet" market, even though the product is certainly not upscale. If you want to approximate it, take some wonder bread, cut the crust off, let it sit out for about a week, then pulse it in a food processor until it is roughly ground.
Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries Tampa
Just had lunch at the one in Ft. Lauderdale, and man oh man, was that great! It ranks #2 on my list of great "fast food" burgers (In-N-Out is #1)
My fries were crispy, fluffy inside, and delicious. My only complaint is they forgot the bacon on my burger, but promptly gave me FOUR full slices to put on myself!
Butchers & Fishmarkets
Try The Boys farmers market in Delray beach, on Military Trail just north of Atlantic. Great fresh seafood and excellent produce as well.
Sardinia for the first time...
Try the antipasti, it is fantastic. Also the Carasatu Bread with goat cheese and sardinian honey, I ate an entire order myself. The orecchiette with wild boar and rapini pesto was amazing, and if you like intense, farm-yard like tasting pork, get the suckling pig. Be warned though, it is a strong taste, very much unlike most people are used to.
