i8tonite

Category: Food Destinations & Neighborhood Eats

Looking for a quick tip on where to eat in a destination? How about what’s good on the menu too? We have you covered.

i8tonite: A Cheat Sheet for Eating in South Beach, Miami
When i8tonite came up with the idea of a dining out series highlighting neighborhood eateries, we were a little surprised by some of the suggestions which included South Beach. My partner, Nick, lived there for 20 years and the perception of South Beach – at least mine – is through a Hollywood camera. Beautiful but violent, with really pretty people in muted pinks and blues (“Miami Vice”) or hot crimson, emerald greens and bright yellows (“CSA: Miami”). It’s colorful, lively and murderous. (Let’s not forget “Scarface”).

Our cultural viewing of these shows cloud the real goodness of South Beach which is its very much an American city, a melting pot of cultures and cuisines. Smack dab in the South Beach’s presumed debauchery is a charming enclave of young families, vintage buildings and elementary schools. This is the area of South Beach that Nick hearts and that I know. Truth be told, South Beach is a neighborhood with superb, laid-back eating where the old and the young sit languishing with Cuban coffee in the tropical heat.

Photo by Taki Lau.

Animated with Cuban, Puerto Rican and Haitian music throughout the day, provided by street performers, the sun-drenched neighborhood is a showcase for the Caribbean culture, with a smattering of New York City’s Jewish retirees who defected from the harsh winters. Once visitors push past the paparazzi, the Latin and Hollywood stars and the world-weariness of the second-home owning Europeans, South Beach is a charming mix of American values and delicious foods which is really what gives it bragging rights — finding a new and exciting culture without having to drag out your passport or get on that plane – which is just a big expensive bus with wings.

Breakfast: Big Pink which was been opened for almost 20 years is a mainstay in the South Beach neighborhood. Serving breakfast to late night dinner – soaking up the alcohol, this diner is the place where people stroll or roll in (on skates). Big Pink is spotted by the pink VW “bugs” parked outside. Delivery is a popular way for tourists to order late night snacks if wobbling out your hotel is out of the question. The restaurant menu is not inventive as much as comforting and tasty. That’s okay because it’s guaranteed that serving up big burgers, hand-cut fries, waffles, breakfast burritos and of course, matzo brei, will satiate that American appetite. Swimming in the clear waters of South Beach will help burn those excess calories.
- My suggestion: Big Pink’s Pancakes served with fresh strawberries.
- Price: $12.50
- Hours: Monday – Wednesday, 8am – 12am. Thursday – Saturday, 8am – 5:30am (Why even bother closing?). Sunday 8am – 2am.
- Address: 157 Collins, Miami Beach, FLA. 33139
- Phone Number: (305) 531 -0888
- Website: www.bigpinkstakeout.com
Lunch: Las Olas Café has been featured in “Travel + Leisure”, Miami “New Times” and by Anthony Bourdain, who seems to have become a barometer for all things culinary. Take away all the fluffiness, and what you have is a Cuban-American family owned and operated neighborhood loncheria (luncheonette) serving up the best of Cuba. The best part about it, it’s good. Sometimes, the hype strips a business of its authenticity but that’s not the case for Las Olas. Nothing is over $10 and it’s a cash only affair which makes me feel I’m getting old world treatment and not something that’s been branded waiting for an IPO.

My suggestion: The Cuban. The bread, the roasted pork-loin, the ham, the cheese, the pickle and the pressing make mighty fine eating. Supposedly, the real test of a great Cubano is the bread which is made with lard – making it richer – and the “la Plancha”, the grill or the sandwich press. The combination essentially steams the inside without the use of extra moisture such as mustard or mayonnaise. One of the top ten dishes in the world…right up there with cassoulet and Filipino adobe. Only in Miami or Cuba. Luckily the borders are opening.
- Price: $8. You will come back the next day.
- Hours: Open seven day a week, 6am – 8pm.
- Address: 644 6^th Street, Miami Beach, Fla., 33139.
- Phone Number: (305) 534 – 9333
- Website: None. Refreshing, huh?
Snack Time: Okay, I know – Sushi Samba is a chain. Albeit, an interesting chain that started in New York City and now has five outposts including London. Sushi Samba celebrates South American culture that we don’t see very often, which is a triumvirate of Japanese, Peruvian and Brazilian cuisine. The United States doesn’t have a hold on the patent of melting pots. At one time, I was in Seattle on a food-related marketing event and my colleague from Miami kept talking about Sushi Samba and their happy hour. Nick does the same. It sort of cements it in this South Beach listing.

My suggestion: Caipirinha. Sushi Samba has a happy called “Samba Hour”. Cute. It offers up some excellent sushi and food along with Brazil’s greatest export besides Gisele.
- Price: $5.00 for the Caipirinha. Everything else is extra.
- Hours: Monday, Noon – Midnight; Tuesday – Thursday, Noon – 1am; Saturday, 11:30am – 2:00pm and Sunday 11:30 am – Midnight.
- Address: 600 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, Fla, 33139
- Phone Number: (305) 673 – 5337
- Website: www.sushisamba.com
Dinner: You would think a steakhouse is a just a steakhouse but it really doesn’t work that way. Steakhouses are a reflection of the city where they were created such as Brooklyn’s Peter Luger’s (working man’s dinner with big cuts of beef), Wolfgang Puck’s Cut in Beverly Hills (star sighting and pristine, untouchable vibe) and George & Georgetti in Chicago with big, oversized martinis. In South Beach, it’s Meat Market, a sexy, sleek eatery with a blush-centric atmosphere. Most diners are dressed like its a fashion runway strutting between tables in Hérve Leger and Tom Ford. (I’m not really sure where that rich food is going.) An excursion to Meat Market – which sounds like retro gay men’s leather bar in Manhattan – will set someone back easily $150 to $200 per person but it’s excellent and you won’t find this everywhere – only in Miami. (They are also in San Juan and Coral Cables — so it doesn’t count.)

My suggestion: Mixed Grill. This is a trio of two cuts of meat and seafood. It rotates daily and is never the same each day. It’s a good way to try different items. Call ahead.
- Price: $55 – $65, depending upon the chef selections.
- Hours: Sunday – Thursday, Noon to Midnight; Friday – Saturday, Noon to 1:00am. Kitchen is closed 4pm – 6pm daily. (That’s okay. You’re at Sushi Samba. See above.)
- Address: 915 Lincoln Road, Miami, FLA 33139
- Phone: (305) 532 -0088
- Website: www.meatmarket.net
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The End. Go Eat.
September 25, 2015
i8tonite: A Cheat Sheet for Dining in Los Angeles’ PicFair Village
Pic Fair (Pico-Fairfax) Village is a demographically rich neighborhood, one of Los Angeles’ true and last assemblies of people with different cultural backgrounds — African-American, Latino, Asian, and Caucasian, middle-class and poor – some very wealthy. It’s not one of the communities that LA decided to christen by its ethnic majority, such as Koreatown, Little Ethiopia, Thai Town, Historic Filipino-town, or Little Armenia. It’s a quiet microcosm of the United States and is a showcase of classic Southern California architecture along its wide, tree-lined streets with stunning Spanish duplexes and red-shingled single family homes built in the 1920s. At one time, the area was home to many upper-class African American families.

Extending from Hauser Boulevard on the east, Crescent Heights to the west, Olympic Boulevard on the north, and to the south, Venice; I lived the longest in this area – meaning that for seven years of my life, I lived in one building, one spot – so I hold this place very dear to my heart.

Bloom

In the early to mid-aughts, the region started to become youth-oriented and a small coffee shop opened — Paper or Plastik — along with a restaurant called Bloom. Both of these places focused on local residents for support. Neither had a public relations campaign or had the local papers tout how good they were, although it did happen eventually. They became a part of the community’s multi-cultural quilt by just being there.

Pic Fair is a great neighborhood for an afternoon stroll or a quiet place to get away from the rest of City of Angels. You won’t find the paparazzi hiding behind bushes. This is the real L.A…young families with their strollers, same-sex couples walking their dogs (and strollers), a diverse mix of people in a quiet urban enclave getting along with the rest of the world….peacefully.

CJs Cafe
- Breakfast: CJ’s Café. This is an institution. I can’t be for certain but at one time it was an African-American owned diner, much like its highly-touted neighbor Roscoe’s Chicken & Waffles down the street. There are two locations, Pico and Baldwin Park…but this is the rock-star. They make up fresh juice smoothies. Saturday and Sunday the place is packed until after 3pm; during the week it’s easier to get a table.
- My suggestion: Huevos Rancheros or Chicken Wings (with honey) and Eggs.
- Price: Varies. Nothing over $12.95
- Hours: 7:00am – 4:00pm
- Address: 5501 West Pico Boulevard
- Phone Number: (323) 936 – 3216
- Website: http://www.cjscafe.net/
- Lunch: Olson’s Swedish Restaurant. Opened since 1948, it was recently purchased by Christian Kneedler, the former maître‘ d of Dan Tana’s, a famous Hollywood, checkered table-cloth eatery. A Swede by birth, he took over the place and has transformed it into a Southern California outpost of Swedish tastes. Along one wall is a bulk bin of Swedish
  Olson’s Deli
  
  candies and the menu offers better than Ikea Swedish meatballs and, of course, house-cured gravlax. They also have a large menu of cheeses and deli meats such as the dense and meaty goteborgskorv, a form of Swedish pate.
- My suggestion: Their Swedish pancakes – which are more like a thicker crepe or a thinner pancake – are stunningly delicious. Served warm with preserves such as lingonberry on the side just like in Sweden.
- Price: $8.00
- Hours: 10:00am – 5:00pm, Monday – Sunday
- Address: 5660 West Pico Boulevard
- Phone Number: (323) 938 – 0742
- Website: www.olsonsdeli.com
- Snack Time: A family-owned neighborhood place, Paper or Plastik is the coffee joint that started it all. Like the song goes, “my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard”…so it is with coffee and hipsters. Each time I go in here, the eatery has small changes – such as the pastries have gotten better, a little flakier and more butter; although they don’t make them here. The iced-coffee is heavy and will put hair on your chest…just the way I like it. With great Wi-Fi, it’s easy to do research and write your next screenplay, to meet a
  Paper or Plastik
  
  friend for a mid-afternoon snack, get a caffeine fix or an afternoon glass of wine. At one time, the menu had been created by Chef Jeremy Fox, a one-time chef of Napa Valley’s Ubuntu and winner of Food & Wine’s “Best New Chef”.
- My suggestion: The iced coffee. Although, they now have a beer and wine license.
- Price: Expensive, clocking in at around $3.50 for a 12 ounce cup. But really black and really caffeinated. It will make you the Energizer bunny.
- Hours: 7:00am – 10:00pm
- Address: 5772 Pico Boulevard, LA, CA 90019
- Phone Number: (323) 935 – 0268
- Website: http://paperorplastikcafe.com/
My Two Cents
- Dinner: My Two Cents. Healthy soul food.
- My suggestion: Soul food normally conjures up images of heavy-battered fried chicken, grits and collards with bacon. Here, Chef Alisa Reynolds removes some of the butter and lard by using a lot of vegetable stock. It’s quite good and doesn’t have the heavy richness that you expect of a soul food restaurant – but make no mistake, this is soul food. My Two Cents serves up gluten-free fried chicken, small tender shrimp and grits…and my favorite, the grit fries. There is nothing like these grit fries….I know they can’t be that healthy…but they are sooo delicious.
- Price: $5.00 Grit Fries
- Hours: 12pm – 10pm. Closed on Mondays.
- Address: 5583 West Pico Boulevard, LA, CA 90019
- Phone: (323) 938 – 1012
- Website: www.mytwocentsla.com
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The End. Go Eat.
September 11, 2015