Dine In Miami

Ranking System

posted by acasas04 on February 14, 2010 12:33 pm

one fork up, one fork down

Together, John and I will rank each of our plates and the following categories:

five slices of bread

four slices of bread

three slices of bread

two slices of bread

One slice of bread

two forks up

two forks down

Finally, John, who is a huge fan of bread, will be critiquing restaurant's bread using the following rating system:

We will also have a rating price with the dollar symbol ($)

$=    $10-$15 per person

$$=    $20-$35 per person

$$$=    $25-$ 40 per person

$$$$= $45-$60 per person

$$$$$= $65-$100 per person

This system will be used to rate:

1) service
2) menu
3) overall quality of food
4) overall experience

Pending Reviews

posted by acasas04 on August 16, 2010 12:04 pm

Hey everyone!

Here is a list of our pending reviews. Look for them very soon!

Gusto Fino Deli
Gotham Steak
Moon Thai and Japanese
Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza
Deli Lane
1909
Miss Saigon
Big Pink
Joe's Stone Crabs
Irish Times
Rendez- Vous French Café

Chocolate Fashion

posted by acasas04 on April 17, 2010 5:22 pm

Overall quality of food

Service

Menu

The bread is almost guaranteed to be perfectly fresh. The crust is usually just right and the same goes for the dough on the inside. Once in a while, though, it can be a bit stiff...but that's rare.

You can also grab a baguette for the way home. Perfect for subs or just to dip with some good olive oil.

What about the bread

* cakes come in individual sizes for dessert- delicious!

Maracuja- Dark cacao glaze on top, real passion fruit mousse, dark chocolate truffle mousse, dark chocolate cake soaked with simple syrup, chocolate decor around

Chocolate Truffle Cake- Chocolate ganache covered, rich dark chocolate mousse, layers of dark chocolate cake soaked with rum syrup

pastries

Roast Beef on French Baguette (roast beef, watercress, shoe-string fries, Chef Georges dressing)

Prosciutto & Fresh Mozzarella on French Baguette (Italian prosciutto, fresh mozarrella, tomatoes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar)

Chicken Salad (poached Chicken breast, Celery, Apple, Walnuts, Tarragon, Black Olives, Red Bell Pepper, Mayonnaise over a bed of mesclum salad and tomatoes)

what we recommend:

This cute little place is located close to Miracle Mile in Coral Gables. It is famly owned and set up like a bakery. Don't let the delicious desserts grab your full attention, though; They're breakfast, lunch & brunch menus are just as amazing!

$$

248 Andalusia Ave.

Coral Gables, FL 33134

305-461-3200

www.chocolatefashiononline.com

Chocolate Fashion

Tropical Chinese Restaurant & Dim Sum

posted by acasas04 on March 22, 2010 4:39 pm

*not quite two forks up

Overall quality of food

Menu

Service

* Dim sum is served daily, but gets packed quickly, especially on weekends! Most severs speak a decent amount of English and Spanish.

* The place is neat, but dark, like most Asian restaurants.

* They offer quick and convenient take-out

Additional Notes

Appetizer: Shrimp Wonton Soup (serves 2)

Main course: Special Fried Rice, Honey Garlic Chicken, Peppered Steak, Peking Duck...

Dessert: it is fixed. They bring you one peeled orange per person and a fortune cookie

Dim Sum: be bold, try things you usually wouldn't. Don;t be afraid to ask questions. it is an experience!

What we recommend

Tropical Chinese used to be a local secret, but the word has gotten out! They have especially become famous for their Dim Sum, and for good reason.

Their service is fast, and their food quality is well above other Chinese restaurants in Miami. Don't let the shopping-plaza location fool you, this is a great place to dine!

$$

7991 Bird Road
Miami, FL 33155
305-262-1552

Tropical Chinese

Lan Pan Asian Cafe

posted by acasas04 on March 17, 2010 5:13 pm

Rolls are a bit too large to eat in one bite and fall apart easily.

Overall quality of food

Menu

Service

Addtional thoughts

The strawberry lemonade is awesome! They are also famous for their bubble teas. Personally, they are not my taste, but if you like bubble teas, they are supposed to be the best in town!

Service was short of great. I had to ask the waitress to come by for anything. Also, when it was time to pay, she disappeared, and we had to ask a random waitress to ring us up. Pretty disappointing. Oh, and the sushi chefs did not even say hello (we were sitting at the bar.)

Appetizer: Chicken Katsu (deliciously crispy!) and Edamame

Main Coure: Miami Heat Roll (Conch fritter, cream cheese, mango, lettuce, cucumber, and spicy mayo rolled in rice and sesame; mango sauce)

Dessert: Thai Donuts...delicious!!

What we ate

Lan is a cute little restaurant located on the floor level of Dadeland Station. For the location, it is a bit over-priced, but the food is pretty good.

They serve all sorts of Asian food, but for some reason, the Japanese items tend to be more abundant. Service is not great, but the fresh food makes up (a little) for it. Still, though, when picking Asian food, Lan is never my first option, but a good back-up.

8332 South Dixie Highway
Miami, FL 33143-7714
(305) 661-8141
www.lanpanasian.com

$-$$

Lan Pan

Archie's Pizza - Coral Gables

posted by acasas04 on March 11, 2010 5:09 pm

*note- second fork is a bit crooked, because the quality itself wasn't quite two forks down, but by the time the food arrived, the experience was ruined. Goes to show you the difference service makes

Overall quality of food

Service

Menu

What about the bread?

The bread was mediocre, at best. It was way too doughy on the inside and stale on the outside. The waiter did not pour or crack pepper as he should have. Although the bread is freshly made and nicely marinated, it had all the wrong qualities.

Appetizer: Tomato and basil soup with mozzarella

Main Course: Archie's Pizza (Prosciutto and Peperoni oven roasted pizza)
Caprese Salad

Juices: Typically, all of their juices are not only extremely fresh, but deliciously refreshing, this time, however, the only one the had (lucky for me) was passion fruit.

What we ate

Archie's Pizza has several locations around the world, as I came to find out as I visited their website, and yet, most reviews seem to always say the same thing: 1) food is great, 2) it's a bit price-y, 3) service is nothing short of horrible.

Although we have visited Archie's a hand-full of times, all three of the general statements remain true when applied to our experience. We decided to give it another try last weekend with some friends, and weren't very surprised. In fact, one person at the table ordered three different juices, for the waiter to tell her that none were available, and then attempt to charge her for it. Not to mention that we had to edit the bill ourselves, practically everything was wrong. Oh, and John had to hunt him down because he left the table without taking his order. In short: extremely unpleasant experience for a high price.

166 Giralda Ave
Coral Gables, FL 33134
305-444-1557
www.archiespizza.com/

$$

Archie's

Fritz & Franz Bierhaus

posted by acasas04 on March 6, 2010 12:12 pm

305-774-1883
http://www.bierhaus.cc

60 Merrick Way
Coral Gables, FL 33134

* If you're a brave soul, try their boot of beer (I believe it's 3 liters)

* Oktoberfest is super busy, but very fun for large groups

* You may not feel comfortable bringing children at night

* dessert isn't the greatest

Additional Notes

Overall quality of food

Menu

Service

Beer: They have a great variety of on tap as well as 12oz and 16oz domestic and imported beers. John loves dark beer and I prefer a lighter beer and we were both satisfied.

As you probably noticed, there are 5 pretzels in the overview box instead of bread slice. This is frankly because their Bavarian beer pretzel was so amazing that it deserved its own special recognition. Not to mention that the mustard at every table is beyond amazing. It was hard for John to order just one pretzel, but we knew what was to follow was just as good.

What about the bread?

Appetizer: Bavarian beer pretzel

Main Course: Topless burger (1/2 lb. of Angus beef)
Grilled chicken breast, garlic butter and roasted potatoes

Dessert:Apple strudel with cream and vanilla ice cream
Austrian chocolate cake with fruit sauce and vanilla ice cream

It had been a while since John adn I went back, so last weekend we decided to give it a try to make sure it was all remembered it to be....it was better!

What we recommend

Fritz & Franz is a great place! It is definitely different from anything else you will find in the Gables, and promises to be a great time. Everything from the wood-paneling to the rustic bench seating is unique and lots of fun. The fact that it has screens and TVs is also a big draw for sports fans.

It also has a great service reputationn among locals because often times the waiter/waitress, manager, or even owner will sit down and have a drink (or 2...or 3) with you! The food is also delicious...seriously.

$$

Fritz & Franz

Akashi Japanese Restaurant

posted by acasas04 on February 27, 2010 10:40 pm

** No bread section for this one...for obvious reasons**

Menu

Overall quality of food

Additional notes

Last year Akashi a second location in the Grove. They also remodeled their original location. They both look great! The Grove location even has some outdoor seating.

Both locations offer convenient carry-out service. But be warned, you must hunt someone down when you get there and let them know you are there to pick up, not be seated (this can get a bit hectic during weekends.) Also, add about 10 minutes to the wait time they give you on the phone for carry-out.

Service

What we recommend

By far, the most popular roll of the restaurant is the Alex #2, which consists of shrimp tempura, crab salad, masago,cream cheese, topped with, avocado, spicy mayo, eel sauce
and crunch.I have yet to meet someone who tried this roll and did not like it!

The menu, however, has something for everyone (even those who do not like to consume raw food.) Recently, I tried their fried rice, and it is amazing. John also loves the Caliente roll, which is made up of fried white fillet, spicy mayo and lettuce with seaweed outside.

Their apetizers, ginger salad, and soups are typical of Japanese restaurants, and very fresh.

Finally, I would have to recommend their desserts. They are delicious!

For over 4 years now, this has been one of our favorite places to eat. In fact, we go so often, that the owner spoils us by adding special hot sauce for John's Caliente roll.

One of the nicest things about this family-owned restaurant is that it has the non-chain feel to it. It is guaranteed to be packed starting Thrusday night through Sunday, but the bar is a good bet for these kind of places because the service is more personal; This is how we have gotten to know the owner and some of the chefs.

$$

5830 S. Dixie Highway
South Miami, FL 33143-3688

305-665-6261

http://akashisushi.com

Akashi

Gables Diner

posted by acasas04 on February 19, 2010 10:12 pm

Overall quality of food

Service

Menu

They also have a lengthy breakfast menu which I have heard is just as great!

Although they do not serve bread, their tortilla chips are homemade and served warm and crispy. They are delicious even on their own. Likewise, their potato chips and fries are homemade and delicious.

What about the bread?

Appetizers: The Spinach Artichoke Dip is out of this world good and the homemade chips are unbeatable. Also, the Mozzarella sticks are great.

Main Course: We both love the Sesame Chicken Salad. Their chicken from the Chicken Basket is extra crunchy. Their daily specials are always great. The other day I had seafood stuffed avocados and they were extremely fresh. You pretty much can't go wrong...at least we haven't so far. Every time we go, we say we're going to have the salad and 2 out of 3 times, we try something new and love it just as much!

Dessert: If you make it to dessert without exploding, be prepared for some generous portions of anything from cheesecake to Bailey's

What we recommend

Let me begin by saying that this is "our spot." We love the fact that it is usually quiet, the portions are generous, and the people are polite. If you like homemade food with a touch of gourmet, then this is the place for you! It is really conveniently placed right in the heart of Coral Gables and is just overall a nice place to eat for the price.

$$

2320 Galiano Street
Miami, FL 33134
(305) 567-0330

Gables Diner

Atrio at the Conrad Hotel

posted by acasas04 on February 17, 2010 8:45 pm

$$$$

Atrio

except for the dessert; glad we didn't pay for that

overall quality of food

menu

Service

The bread was served in a bamboo tray with two portions of chilled butter and one small bowl of olive oil. Originally, they brought out 3 slices of bread, but our waiter didn't hesitate to offer more when he noticed we had run out.

The bread itself was a bit undercooked on the inside, and the outside seemed a bit hard. Overall though, the texture was just OK.

We ate it all, so it couldn't have been that bad...but would I dream of it?....Nope

What about the bread?

Last Friday was John's birthday, so I decided to make reservations at the Atrio, a chic, modern American and World food restaurant located on the 25th floor of the Conrad Hotel in Brickell.

It goes without saying that the hotel itself is beautiful, and the decorations of the 25th floor did not disappoint.

The service, overall, was pretty good and they did not take too long with our plates. They did, however confuse John’s French beans side order of French fries. The manager later came to apologize and did not charge us for the beans. He also offered us our choice of complimentary desserts.

What we ordered:

Appetizer: Fish Cakes

Soup: Cream of Broccoli

Main Course: Hot Smoked Salmon, Cucumber Salad, Rosti Potato, Hazelnut Reduction
Pork Roast wrapped in Presschuto , Corn Fritters

Complimentary dessert: Poached Peach Chocolate Crème Brulle
Lemon Syllabub with Chocolate Bisotti

1395 Brickell Avenue
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 503-6529

Atrio website

Dine In Miami

Restaurant critiques made by a young couple who loves great food, not some stuffy food critics!

Ranking System

Pending Reviews

Chocolate Fashion

Tropical Chinese Restaurant & Dim Sum

Lan Pan Asian Cafe

Archie's Pizza - Coral Gables

$$

Fritz & Franz Bierhaus

Akashi Japanese Restaurant

Gables Diner

Atrio at the Conrad Hotel

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