La Mar, Bogota Throwdown Ceviche105, Miami

Posted on May 19, 2012 by admin

Location-Calle 119-No-6-01, Bogota.

Cuisine-Cebicheria

Gagit has tried La Mar once before  in Sao Paulo  Brazil and it was a disaster  and embarrasing with some important guests.However, I have heard good things about La Mar , New York City from my virtual friend @docsconz  and so must try again in Bogota. La Mar is a chain developed by Gaston Accura of Peru  , self proclaimed God of Ceviche ,I look forward to comparing to Juan Chipoco ,winner of the SFLFoodies Ceviche throwdown.

Tonight, I am the guest of the Hefe from Panama,along with Miss Columbia , and her court,and joined of course by San Diego and the head of Casa  Sanchez, Fernando .We toast the night , salud with Club Columbia show above, as the food starts to arrive,and are all shown above.We  start with Causas, a dish featuring the Yellow Potato of Peru stuffed in this case with fresh seafood and spices ,these are what I expected fr0m Gaston in flavor and texture.Next, the Tiradito’s ,both Hamachi and  Tuna,both smothered in spices that completely drowned the taste of the fish,yuck. Gaston come to Miami and Ceviche 105 and taste Juan’s Tiradito where the sauce enhances the flavor of the fish.

One more starter , Sushi Rolls , the one featuring Salmon featured above and a Gaston winner. I just remembered San Diego hates fish so we  order and are served both Lomo Saltado and Pollo Especiale  , dishes for the non fish eaters and even though good just ordinary by Gaston standards.I also now order the dish I travel to Ceviche 105 for Chaufah de  Mariscos, Rice with Seafood in this case but also served with meat or  chicken, simply Chinese Fried Rice Peruvian style . It was good at La Mar but Ceviche 105 has that special smoky flavor that turns a good dish to a great dish.

We all pass on dessert except of course San Diego who orders the house specialty Lucumya Cacao, Queso Helado on top of Crushed Alfajores ,no picture but San Diego ate it all :)

La Mar Bogota was clearly much better in food quality and flavor to La Mar, Sao Paulo but  in this Throwdown Ceviche 105 is the clear winner. The Tiraditos  and  the Chaufah both clear winners at Ceviche 105, the Sushi Roll  at La Mar a real winner, the Causas , and main dishes a draw. I  might be prejudice toward Ceviche 105 but I challenge my virtual friend @docsconz to come to Miami and be the judge against La Mar ,New York and Let the truth be Told.

 

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estiatorio Milos

Posted on May 7, 2012 by admin

Location- 730 First Street , Miami Beach, Florida

Cuisine- Greek  Seafood Supreme

Gagit has written before about Milos , New York ,  the supreme Seafood  restaurant in the Big Apple, now Milos is opening in Miami and the Gagit’s are there along with 2 of our  foodie friends,@ildivomiami and Danny.This is not  a review but a thank you to @LexLovesFood , Costas, and the whole staff for another great dining experience at Milos.

We enter this new restaurant, reminding me of New York with the familiar Milos signature logo above the main door,see above. We are invited to the bar for a welcome drink before we sit down ,a Rye Manhatten of course , in honor of the many meals we have had in New York.

We are now seated and greeted by one of our servers, Kurt,shown above who will be joined by Rory and others in serving us tonight.We start the night by going over to the Fresh Fish Display,shown, a Milos trademark to check out the nights fish selection.We come back and order starters while we decide on our mains.Rory now comes over with fresh homemade bread , fresh local Rosemary  and there own special Olive Oil,shown ,and this alone  brings Foodiechic to a foodgasm. I pass on bread and just sip on a wonderful glass of Malagousia,above also.

Our starters arrive and are  all shown , Tomato Salad, vine -ripe tomatoes and feta like only Milos serves. Mediterranean  Octopus ,broiled served with revythada , a wow dish and I am not a  Octopus fan and the last my Milos favorite, Paper -thin Zucchini,eggplant,and saganaki cheese, lightly fried ,yogurt dressing.This is a not to be missed treat even for those of us not into eating our vegetables:)

The mains now start arriving and explained in detail by our team of servers,again all shown .My selection, Softshell Crab so fresh you can alnost feel the Bay,served with side of  light mustard sauce,along with  Beet Salad Supreme, Greek style. A grilled  turbot filet , served with olive oil and lemon sauce, perfection from the sea ,Milos style, and also Fried Barbounia, so juicy and flavorful with lemon.

We are almost  full but with desserts waiting we take a few deep  breaths and only order 4:),all shown above. Karidopita, walnut based cake served with ice cream,along with Yogurt,Greek goats’s milk with  thyme Honey from Kythera with Strawberries , the least fattening dessert. Second round, Chocolate Mousse from Montreal, eaten so fast no picture taken and finally Baklava ,layered phyllo with almonds, honey,and cinnamon,and ice cream. As I drink my Macciatto ,I could still use one me bite of the all gone Baklava, no problem,it arrives and the meal is now complete.

Let the Truth be Told,Milos in New york is a Gagit favorite,now Milos  in Miami will be a Gagit favorite. At the end of the meal , I had the pleasure to meet Costas Spiliadis, the owner who prides himself on quality  both of  his product and his service, in both areas unsurpassed We thank him for the preview and wish him Epitiheea and thank you also @LexLovesFood

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Royal China

Posted on March 17, 2012 by admin

Location-13 Queensway , London , England

Cuisine- Dim Sum Extradonaire

Gagit has had Dim Sum many times at Royal China but on this visit Royal China has added a new menu of both unique and creative delights for Dim Sum junkies.Unfortunately Foodiechic was not here to join so I could not try all the new creations, but we will be back in August on  our Olympic Trip.

As I read the new menu which showed the pictures of each dish ,I wanted everything but knew I had to be selective so I chose carefully and all dishes are shown above in all their splendor.The first dish ,Lobster Soup with Prawn Dumplings ,wow the richness of the broth and the delicateness of the dumpling were a perfect starter for more Dim Sum. The next dish was just a breathtaking sight of Dim Sum , Pork and Shrimp dumplings with Quail Egg on top,I savored each bite because it was even better than it looks.

After the delicate flavor of the last dish, I went for some spiceness ,and the Chili Pork Dumplings were  just that and more.I now needed to savor my favorite Dim Sum,Xiao Long Bao or soup dumplings. The soup dumplings at Royal China are even better than those at Hakkasan, Miami and London  and maybe even Shanghai ,the lightness and flavor of the wrap is a perfect nest for the broth and meat.

I am getting full and only can eat one more dish,it is a tough choice between the Chueng Fun Noodle with Peanut Sauce and the Foie Gras Roll.The noodle dish is my choice since it is not only a main but also dessert with the rich Peanut flavor.

Let the Truth Be Told, the Dim Sum I have had in China  was great but the Dim Sum in London is not far behind and at Royal China with its new menu it will be tough to find much better and I know when I come back for the Foie Gras roll I will only confirm that.

{rating:4.0}

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Takashi

Posted on January 16, 2012 by admin

Location-456 Hudson Street , N.Y.C.

Cuisine- Japanese Korean BBQ

After watching A. Bourdain on his New York Layover, the restaurant that intrigued me the most was Takashi,a Japanese  Korean BBQ to experience. I go to Takashi with none other than Juan Mendoza who is willing to try anything to keep his job. We enter the restaurant at a early 6:30pm ,and are told by the hostess only an hour wait

. We are here so put our name on the list and head over few blocks to EN , Japanese Brassiere with the largest Sake collection I have ever seen in U.S. We order the sampler including my favorite , Nama Sake,Naruto Dai,unpasturized Ginjo, along with Daku, lightly milky, and Azure  with water from deep ocean. A great trio to get ready for Korean ,wish @sushipro was here to experience.It is now an hour ,head over Takashi and our table is ready at the kitchen bar,as shown above.

We are served by our waitress Omieagi,who starts us with cabbage with miso sauce, ordered another one sauce so good, bean sprouts and traditional Kimchee , shown .I wash this down with Tusker Import ,shown, as Juan continues with Sake. We start the night with Yooke,  Chuck  Eye Tartare special sauce and quail  egg ,shown served and ready to eat. Next, mini Shabu Shabu on the grill ,the broth was so good on this cold night and the meat so tender ,all shown.

We now start the BBQ,all shown,not that risky tonight so we start with Shibire , sweetbreads ,most tender I have ever tasted on our personal stove.We then get a little  brave, Shio-tan, tasty tongue of course ,followed by Kaibi, shortribs marinated in Takashi’s  sauce. A starch we try the Bakudan, rice-bomb with Korean Seaweed and pickled sesame leaf, great taste.One last dish still not daring Ribeye, seasoned with sea salt, garlic and olive oil ,wow this is the way to eat meat.

Let the Truth Be Told, I followed the Bourdain trail to Takashi but left out his favorite dishes,cow balls escargot style with garlic  shiso ,Beef Schmaltz Crostini with Truffle Oil, and third  stomach with miso sauce.  I now know I will be back for this a restaurant to go back and try, and try ,and try , but maybe not the Testicargot.

[rating:3.5]

 

 

 

 

Posted in New York | Leave a comment

Chou

Posted on November 14, 2011 by admin

Location-Rua Mateus Grou,545,Pinheros,Sao Paulo, Brazil

Cuisine-ABC Kitchen of  Brazil

A trip to Sao Paulo,and where does Gagit eat? ask @aleforbes on Twitter ,the answer is Chou.Fernando of Casa Shanchez fame joins Gagit tonight  for this tasting experience.We arrive at the restaurant and find out that it has a wonderful outside dining area for nights like tonight . We walk out to the outside  area by the open kitchen,by the Black Foot, out into the area and greeted by our smiling server May,all shown. May is wearing her ABC Kitchen outfit and looking at the menu I felt it was the Brazilian version, only missing the Pizza.

We start the night with a Salud and a  great tasting and looking  Caiperoska ,see it above.We are also brought home made Bread, with a house herb blend to spread Olive Oil over to enhance the flavor of the Bread,all shown.A few vegetable  starters sounded both interesting and perfect matches for our main starter all shown, aromatic pepper cambuci burned in the fire with Manchego cheese, unfortunately the cheese taste overpowered the peppers, roasted sweet onions,with Saint Agur, wow in this dish the cheese blended perfect with the onions letting their flavor come through,and our  main starter   Jamon Iberico cured 18 months, pata negra , our Black Foot friend that we passed on our way in and we salute him for not only portion size but deliciousness.Along with the pata negra,we were served pickles,salad marinated olives and fresh herbs so perfect to enhance the Iberico not overpower it.Our server May, explained the details of each dish and really showed her interest in our enjoying the food.

We order a Brahma  beer  with our mains ,the first  pork ribs with mustard sauce , very ordinary even though wood fired grilled ,missing flavor and taste,should have ordered the grilled fish.The second main was tagliatellini Italian with lemon zest,fresh cream,bacon and fragrant pennyroyal. After the first bite, I thought of eating this at ABC Kitchen but more significantly it was pasta heaven, from perfect  al dente to the flavors of the bacon,lemon, and the mint,worth the trip and when I go back will also try the pappardelle.

We are now full but must try one dessert:passion sundae,vanilla true,whipped cream ,curd and passion fruit crispy sesame ,the flavors of Brazil  in every bite especially washed down with a glass of Cachasa, not as good as The Parrot from the night before but good enough with my usual macchiato.

Let the Truth be Told,do not go a restaurant in Sao Paulo without tweeting @aleforbes,my visit to Chou sealed this fact.Chou as I have mentioned  is the Brazilian version of ABC Kitchen with the Brazilian fresh produce and ingredients  the stars rather than those of New York.The outfit of our server May also brought out that feeling as well as her  good service .The only complaint I have as I am now home in Miami and cannot find a restaurant that can make pasta like Chou ,a good reason to look forward to my next trip.:)

[rating:3.5]

 

 

 

 

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Dining Room Miami

Posted on October 17, 2011 by admin

Location-413 Washington St, Miami ,Fl

Cuisine-Eclectic Bistro

A restaurant that opens and tweets to introduce themselves is a restaurant the Gagit’s must try,and of course a 3 star review by VPE in the Miami Herald ,also helps.:) The Gagit’s are joined at Dining Room by our SFLFoodie friends, @4theloveoffood,@ildivomiami, and Danny.

We enter the restaurant through the outside tables and into the cozy space with of course an open kitchen with the three busy chefs waiting to cook for us,they did know we were coming.We were greeted as family by our hostess and our chef/server for the night,Jose , or maybe not  Jose.We were then brought French bread rounds,whipped truffle butter and a jar of spicy home made pickles ,which I could have eaten all by myself. I order a beer,ok no Magic Hat so I will have a Heineken.The group who are drinking order a reasonably priced Malbec,cheers to sharing another  Foodie experience.

We are sharing most plates tonight so our starters arrive and all are shown above.I order the littleneck clams,steamed in a tomato based broth with just the kick I  like from the Peruvian Pepper. My only comment  here is I really find littlenecks too small to really enjoy the flavors, topnecks are more to my liking.@4theloveofood, ordered the Cobia ceviche , the fish was tender but the taste for me was to citrus from the grapefruit and did not not let any of the spice out.

We are still sharing starters and  @foodiechic orders the Scallops,wrapped in Serrano ham,foie-gras sherry sauce and herb crostini,two orders are gone in flash,the dish cooked and flavored to perfection.Also, the Duck salad,not shown, with duck confit ,argula,grilled apricots,lima beans and kumquat vinaigrette was a perfect palette cleanser while we wait for our mains.

We have three orders of the Crispy Braised Pork  as shown above and described in a tweet by VPE as “crispy,slippery, sour mmmm”. The Pork served with green mustard,white bean puree, and pickle red radish was the star of the night as the meat falls on our forks into our mouths.@ildivomiami orders the Branzino,shown,lemon mash potatoes,artichoke escabeche ,oregano oil,was enough of a portion and goodness for him to bring home after tasting the rest of the dishes. I order the little  plate grilled Lamb chops with romesco sauce as shown also, since I did get many  bites of the three Pork dishes. The romesco was a perfect flavor with the perfectly cooked chops.

We were now too full to share the signature dessert of Baked Patagonia so Jose brings my macchiato and the rest enjoy their coffees.

Let the Truth be Told, it is with much expectation I go to a  restaurant that gets a 3 star review  and we can tweet our arrival, in this  case the Dining Room Miami lived up to all I had expected;great food,friendly and professional servers, cozy atmosphere and then even a  tweet thanking us for coming.I can now respond to the tweet of thank you by saying thank you and you can expect the Gagit’s to be back soon

[rating:3.5]

4

 

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Harry’s Pizzeria

Posted on September 27, 2011 by admin

Location-3918 North Miami Avenue , Miami, Florida

Cuisine- Pizza

This is not a review but a thank you to Michael, and staff for a great way to spend a Sunday night in Miami.We enter the newly renovated space into a a light cheery room, bar in the front and tables all around,say hello to many old friends and even some new ones since this is a night to just enjoy the Pizza. Michael is at the Pizza oven of course as shown above, waves and goes right back to the Pizza as we are seated. Jackie comes over to say hello and introduces to our new but very friendly server for the night.

We order our starters , meatballs for both Foodiechic and I and a Arugula salad for Foodie. I also order a Vanilla-Allspice infused homemade soda as shown and great flavor as Foodie enjoys a glass of Grenache. The meatballs arrive as shown and lives up to the flavor and quality ,I always expect and receive at a  Michaels restaurant.

The Pizza  now arrives,as shown  and wow , they are spectacular and certainly  not DiGiorno. Foodie has the Rock Shrimp Pizza,,grilled lemon,manchego ,scallion,and cilantro ,shown along with my Pizza, MGFD Bacon,fingerling,carmelized onions,cave aged gruyere ,arugula,bottom line ,there was no Pizza to take home,all gone with much satisfaction.With my Pizza, I also enjoyed the Espresso Soda shown above.

Now, desserts ,shown above, from our favorite Pastry Chef and friend Hedy Goldsmith, Chocolate Panna Cotta  Balsamic cherries and both our favorite,Zeppole , honey whipped ricotta,the dough fresh fried and coated to yumminess,and the honey ricotta was so perfect to dip them into.

Let the Truth be Told, the Sunday night at Harry’s was like a family affair, Michael, Jackie, Robyn ,and all,and the food so perfect for our Sunday dinner,nothing else to say but Thank You Guys

 

 

 

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Red Rooster

Posted on September 16, 2011 by admin

Location-310 Lenox Avenue, New York, New York

Cuisine- Soul Food

New York for the U.S. Open, but a chance also to eat well, tonight the Red Rooster,new home of  Top Chef Master Marcus Samuelsson.We grab a cab too the Rooster after having a few drivers refuse us  but we arrive safe and sound. The place is rocking ,inside and out, see pics above. We are seated right away with our res and our server Cat was right on us to get us a drink,perfect. I find Brooklyn Local 2, a super great Belguim Dark Ale brewed by Brooklyn Brewery.see above.Foodie a nice glass of Syrah.

We are enjoying our drinks and a starter we ordered is served and shown by the lovely Cat.It is taste sensation, Country Ham, Gouda Sandwich with Olives ,Currant Mustard with Sesame and Onion Marmalade .We are ready for the mains when the restaurant comes to a standstill,Rep. Charles Rangel and his party are seated next to us and are given the Royal Treatment fit for a King or Tax Cheat.

Our mains arrive that are shown above and shared by the both of us.Foodie is served Fried Yardbird Chicken,hot Mace Gravy,Hot Sauce and over Collard Greens,wow, the  dark meat chicken moist,the gravy flavorful, and the portion enough to share . Foodie also gets a side of Greens,Mustard and Kale, I passed on this to protect my health:) . My main to share as shown,was a great  fill me up ,Mac & Greens,Gouda, N.Y. Cheddar, and Comte ,a great cheese combination for only $14.00.

We are now full from all our healthly food and only have Macchiato’s before we leave the restaurant.

Let the Truth be Told, we had real high expectations to get to Red Rooster especially with the  almost impossible  to get reservation. In the case of the restaurant, it not only beat these expectations but exceeded them in everyway, food, service ,and price. And, we also arrived back to our hotel safely, thanks to Rep. Rangel having his  driver  get us there.:)

[rating:3.5]

 

 

Posted in New York | Leave a comment

Park Kitchen

Posted on September 13, 2011 by admin

location-422 W.8th Avenue,Portland ,Oregon

Cuisine-New American

We had a reservation at Le Beast for our last night in Portland but we listened to our Foodie Friends at Le Pigeon who insisted we try Park Kitchen,and we changed our plans.We enter the cool space into an open kitchen ,which seems to be Portland Standard,shown.We are greeted and shown to our table by two charming ladies ,Elizabeth and Mary as happy to serve us tonight.

I start the night with a local Oregon  Vodka,Organic Nation shown  ,but  not up to my Russian Vodka standard.Foodie has a nice glass California  Merlot ,Pino’d out:)We order from the Small Plate/Large Plate tasting menu $50pp and enjoyed everything served in  the selection,all shown.The first starter a real highlight,healthy maybe not but damn good, Fried Green  Beans and Bacon,Tarragon Aioli . Along with that  starter ,we were served another cold small plate,watermelon , Tuna sashimi,and greens.

The next two starters  were served,Crispy Duck Blini,lavender ,bacon bits.,yum,and the last starter , Pork Belly and green beans, crispy  and crunchy.The mains are now served, Pork shoulder,cooked to perfection,served with salsa and the ever present green beans,a little over served tonight Chef.As a second main, a healthy plate of Cauliflower, Broccoli,with Humus and Lavash,perfect with the Pork main.

We are now still served two desserts ,which were both full portions and really  almost up to Hedy Goldsmith standards. Juniper Grove “Dutchman’s Flan”pickled cherries ,check out the Sesame Chips and Summer berry brioche pudding,rose chantilly ,the berries in Oregon are spectacular and this dish was a perfect example of how good they really taste.On the side, we were served a scoop of Basil Ice Cream which really surprised me or texture and flavor.Macciatos at the end to cap off the last meal in Portland, and another one to remember.

Let the Truth be Told, the restaurants in Portland not only have great variety ,reasonable prices and quality but also great warmth.We felt like we were  enjoying gourmet food at home with our friends. Park Kitchen and staff just added to that experience and after we finished our last meal, we vowed we would be back Portland.

[rating:3.0]

Posted in West Coast | Leave a comment

SakeOne

Posted on September 7, 2011 by admin

location-820 Elm Street , Forrest Grove, Oregon

Cuisine-Sake Tasting and Festival

The Gagit’s have looked forward to their Portland trip , and one side trip to  the SakeOne Sake facility for a Sake Tasting . The Saturday we were there was the Annual Sake festival and there were upwards of 1000 Sake lovers on the grounds that day.SakeOne founded by an American who evolved into a Sake Visionary after experiencing the best Sakes in Japan and realizing that the best  pure water ,one of the key ingredient in Sake is offered in Oregon.He founded  SakeOne  in 1992, in conjunction with Momokawa Brewing Company in Japan.

In 1996,SakeOne became the only American Kura(brewery). With strong ties to its Japanese  roots, SakeOne is a  leading producer of “Ginjo”(premium)grade sake in the U. S. A.Let the tasting begin, after of course ,I had a Misubi ,yum, a Spam Sushi,shown above what better way to start the Sake tasting.

The friendly and knoweledgable servers could not have been more helpful in taking us through the 9 course tasting menu,all shown, and thanks to the help of Dewey  Weddington, V. P  Marketing . My favorite Sakes the unpasturized  Namasake and the G ,with Carmel and Butterscotch flavors, and I had both sent home to remember what a great experience we had at SakeOne.Let the Truth be Told,I was looking forward to get to SakeOne on this trip, now after experiencing such a special place ,I would recommend it on any trip to the Portland area ,and try all the Sakes ,as long as you have a driver ,like we did :)

 

Posted in West Coast | Leave a comment