City Hall Restaurant - Edgewater - Miami, FL

 

After a long week at work, Friday was finally here and I needed happy hour in my life. City Hall happened to be the right choice because they were offering a Miami spice menu and happy hour.
 

Walking into city hall was a welcoming experience. The hostess there is awesome and makes sure you feel good from the start to the finish of the meal. Since my fiancé was joining me, we both ordered off the Miami spice menu and shared. The first appetizer was the Steak Carpaccio. I am not really a huge fan of steak and I'm scared to eat it rare so this was a huge leap for me. I actually loved it and it made me want to eat steak. Guess raw is the way to go.

 

The other appetizer was the Shrimp Tempura. In comparison it was blah, well in itself it was blah.

 

My entrée was the Mediterranean Seafood Pasta. It was a big plate of food and a decent amount of seafood. The sauce was nice; creamy, but not thick and milky.

 

My fiancé had the 12oz New York Strip. They overcooked it so he had to sent it back, but they gladly obliged and made it how he had requested without issue.

 

First up for desserts was the Chocolate Crunch Cake. Chocolicious!

 

Then was City Hall's Famous Chocolate Chip Croissant Bread Pudding which was delish.

 

While it was not an extraordinary experience, I had a good time and a good meal.

 

 

City Hall Restaurant

2004 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33137
(305) 764-3130

www.cityhalltherestaurant.com

Soyka Restaurant Bar & Lounge - Little Haiti - Miami, FL

Live music and a chill, laid back and cozy atmosphere is what drew me into Soyka.

 

It was a very late dinner and I was starving so it was right down to business; meaning no cocktails, no appetizers. I decided to go with one of the specials for the night, Tilapia Stuffed with Blue Crab. The idea of Tilapia turned me off, but I figured if it was stuffed with crab, it wouldn't be so bad. When the dish arrive it was crab (which was tasty) with a piece of bland tilapia on top. It had potential (was cooked right), but was disappointing due to lack of flavor.
 

My fiancé on the other hand, really enjoyed his Steak meal. He loved his. 
 

Dessert, an Almond Apple Tartlet was good as well. I wish it was warmer, but the crumble on top was great. The ice cream was creamy!
 

Overall it was a great experience, I think I just picked the wrong dish so I am definitely interested in coming back, trying something different, and dining to soothing live music.

 

 

Soyka Restaurant Bar & Lounge

5556 NE 4th Ct, Miami, FL 33137
(305) 759-3117

www.soykarestaurant.com

Commemorate Julia Child’s 100th Birthday: August 14 – 18th

What: Julia Child’s 100th Birthday

Where: The Federal Food, Drink & Provisions located at 5132 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, FL 33137

When: Tuesday - Saturday, August 14 – 18, 2012

Why: August 15th marks Julia Child’s 100th birthday. The 6 foot 2 inch, Californian dame was responsible for bringing the luscious French cuisine stateside to the forefront of the culinary world. Whether by television or cookbook, Julia celebrated the joys of cooking, eating and BUTTER with all Americans. Julia Child single-handedly revolutionized America’s relationship with food. Join Chef Cesar Zapata as he fires up his stove this week to honor her culinary legacy à la Federal.

How: With the Miami Spice menu approachably priced at $33, add an additional $2 per person and it will be donated to The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and Culinary Arts.

Resturant Review: Lo De Lea Argentinean Grill - Little Haiti/Upper Eas Side - Miami, FL

It was a long, hot day. I had been running errands with a friend in the Mimo area and we were starving. I hadn't eaten since morning and it was now close to 4, so we decided to go to my favorite sushi place close by. So excited and ready to chow down on some rolls, we get there and apparently they are not open and won't be until much later. Bummer! I did a quick search for good eats in the area on my iPhone and found three choices that were open, one being Lo De Lea. We decided that we were both really hungry and should just grab an early dinner, so we went there.

Lo De Lea Argentinean Grill is an extreme small stand alone restaurant on the corner of Biscayne Blvd and NE 70th Street with its own small lot (I love convenience). We caught them right after opening (they open at 4pm) so we were the only customers there, but considering the small size of the restaurant, I am glad we came at this time, for a more personal and comfortable dining experience. Our server who may have been the chef and/or owner wasn't too friendly but when we had questions, he answered them with no problems. After placing our order, we were brought bread with ali-oli; what a great introduction of what was to come!

Yes, I know this is an Argentinean restaurant and meat should probably be your first and only choice but I was just drawn to the Salmon Fresco. I started to second guess my choice and think maybe I should have just ordered a steak, but once my food came, boy was I glad with my choice. Putting all steaks asides, the grilling of this salmon was perfect. It was crispy on the edges, fully cooked but still moist as ever on the inside; probably one of the best cooked salmon dishes I have ever had. It was served with rosemary roasted potatoes which was also really good and also perfectly roasted. My friend got the Bife De Chorizo and really loved it (like really really loved it) and espically loved the chimmicurri sauce it came with (we both put it on our potatoes).

Salmon Fresco

Bife De Chorizo

After reaching almost starvation and searching high and low for some food (yes I know that is quite not what happened), Lo De Lea Argentinean Grill was the prefect fix and will have to deal with seeing me again.


Lo De Lea Argentinean Grill
7001 Biscayne Boulevard Miami, FL 33138
(305) 456-3218
www.lodeleaargentinean.com