La Estancia Argentina

On Saturday, Team Gambarina decided to take a trip to BrandSmart to finally buy the over-the-range over I've been salivating over, uhm, I mean badly needed. First, I wouldn't recommend taking a 2 year old there. If it weren't for the help of my mother in law and (thankfully) the loop video clip of Michael Jackson's songs I may have gone insane at trying to keep my hurricane's little hands off of EVERYTHING.

After this, we decided to reward ourselves with something to eat. With Mia passed out in the car, we contemplated different restaurants. Ice cream? Father in Law didn't want any, Cuban pastelitos? I wasn't feeling it. All Mother in Law wanted was coffee, and the Husband is easy to please, so we pondered. I remembered La Estancia Argentina, on Miramar and a bit past Dykes. In the same shopping plaza as (ugh) Chili's.

I've been here before, but it was the Hubby's first time, so I hoped it impressed him. It did. I ordered a Chicken/Avocado/Bacon sandwich, he got a Choripan. MIL got an Empanada and shared FIL's Choripan as well as my chocolate cake dessert, which was moist, and not too sweet. Everything was really good. The sandwiches are served on baguette bread, which is crusty and soft at the same time, and is able to suck up all the juices from the chicken or Chorizo sausage. I call it juice, but yeah, I know its fat. Whatever.

This is a little quaint store, they have empanadas, all kinds of desserts and wine. They also have a bit of specialty items from South America such as Mate, spices and such. The hubby also purchased some Argentinean Salt for BBQ, because as you all know, American salt is so inferior... actually, I have no idea what the difference is, but when he bbqs it saves me from cooking (plus he's real good at it) so if he wanted to buy a golden grill, I think I'd let him.

La Estancia also sells special cuts of meat, sausages, cheeses and other butcher items. As an added bonus, on Monday and Tuesdays, they have a 20% off deal.

Upon leaving, we noticed that they have Happy Hour everyday from 5 to 8pm (our bedtime :)) where you get 12 empanadas and a bottle of wine for 25$, which given that its close to home and so good, we've penciled it in for next week.

Pros: A family owned place in suburbia, clean, friendly, excellent sandwiches, Illy coffee
Cons: A 10$ corkage fee seems too high for this kind of establishment!

El Fogon - Miramar

During the week, out of sheer exhaustion and not having an iota of desire to even think about cooking, I decided to go El Fogon, located in Miramar Parkway (2930 SW 160 Ave, Miramar FL) in the Home Depot Shopping center. This is a family owned Peruvian Restaurant whose specialty is Pollos a la Brasa or Rotisserie Chicken but Peruvian style. Different herbs and spices = delish flavor!

Now, my family likes this restaurant, I really think that it is mainly because of convenience since they are the closest Pollo a la Brasa restaurant to our house. Don’t get me wrong, I like it too, I’ve just had better. But better = further and on a weekday, this is just simply impossible sometimes.

The service is friendly, but not the fastest, so if you want to get in and out, call and place your order ahead. They even had an advertised special that stated that you get some % off your meal if you order on line, so problem solved for you impatient types.

I placed my order, waited around a bit and was able to get out. Now, for all you newbies to this kind of food, the sauces that are available are definitely part of the meal experience. They have a green, red and white sauce, try them all. I would describe and/or name them, but they are available on all the tables so there’s no need to. My favorite is the white one, it’s a mayo based sauce that goes very well, with the salad, and the chicken, and the fries and … well, you get the point.

This time though, I thought the chicken was salty, and, as my husband would quickly point out, that is a tough task, since I love salt. The salad was ok, nothing extraordinary can be expected from onions, lettuce and tomatoes, but the freshness goes well with the chicken so it’s a plus. The fries were also good, golden and hot, but there is very little you can do to mess up fries right?

All in all it got me out of thinking “what’s for lunch/dinner” , but it was not an impressive "OMG I want to go back and eat there tomorrow", or next week … or even next month for that matter. I guess we’ll be back when, once again, I lack the desire to cook.

Graziano's Meat Market

Ok, so we are in the process of moving back home. Fun Times. Crazy times. But I’m not complaining, I am glad to be back, even if means I have to live in a house full of boxes and clutter… not complaining, not complaini… oh who am I kidding, I AM complaining! I want to get my house back in working order, PRONTO!

But, this is not a home remodeling blog, so back to what really matters… FOOD!
This is not a restaurant, (although there is one next door ran by the same establishment, but we didn’t visit it) so this review will be short and different (just like me!). We were invited over for a BBQ at a dear friends house, where they bought the meats and other yummy treats from a Argentinean butcher shop, Grazianos. I’ve been in this store/shop before, but it had been a while since I had gone back, and I don’t really ever recall specifically buying meat there, so when we hosted our Labor Day BBQ we decided to get our grilling items here.

Graziano’s is located on 5993 W 16th Ave in Hialeah, tucked in a corner in an old shopping center.

The market is not big, but it is stocked with items from many countries from South America. Being an Argentinean market, they make pretty good empanadas. Not the best I’ve had, but good enough to satisfy a craving. But the topic here is meat, so let’s get back to the cow.
The husband was actually on meat purchasing duty, again the whole male-food-gatherer role from the cave years rears its head. But I gotta give it to the Hubby, he is exceptionally good with a grill and he knows about meat like nobody’s business. So I am confident to send him to this meat Mecca to make the final choices.

Their meats are very good, I don’t think it’s the meat as much as it is their cuts of meat, which are different than say Publix or Winn Dixie. But it is their other items that I personally love! Next time you are out grilling, try some Sweetbread on the grill, it goes by “Molleja” to Argentineans (an I believe to all Spanish speaking people) it’s delish! It has a chicken-y taste, but the texture is so soft, truly a treat! Don’t be scared by the looks of it, the flavor will more than make up for this! It takes a while to grill, I would say almost the same time, if not a bit more than a bone in chicken thigh. Then, you must try the blood sausage, I know, I know…BLOOD sausage??? Yes, I said blood. The red stuff that circulates the veins of the delicious cow you probably savored last night. If the animal is dead, might as well make the most of it right?? Yeah, don’t get all PETA on me now…

This sausage is almost black in color, and goes by the name of Morcilla or Relleno. Again, a slow cooker, but the taste is like an explosion of flavor in your tongue.
All in all, Graziano’s is a great place to get some grilling items for your next BBQ, plus the butchers know so much about meat, that they will make you look like a pro, even if it is your first time firing up a grill.

I’m happy to say that I will continue to shop there for specialty items and even happier to know that the Hubby’s culinary dreams are lived in our backyard! Truly, the best BBQs I’ve eaten have been at the hands of my hubby…I know, I know sappy…but I gotta make sure my chef is happy!!