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!!

Silver Spoon Japanese and Thai - Miramar

Silver Spoon is located in the Home Depot shopping plaza off Miramar Pkwy and I75, next to Coldstone.

Mom, Mia and I found ourselves hungry in the middle of the new Miramar Park playground the other day (did I mention that playground rocks? Just one thing, why are the benches outside the gated area? Are parents not allowed to sit down? Whatever, I digress), actually, to be completely honest, it was almost 6pm and Mia came up to me and stated "Mia numy numy peeeze" which translates to "I want food oh sweet, caring and fair mother of mine" or something ...

Mom said that there was a real good sushi restaurant nearby, and since I love sushi, we headed over. This is a fairly new place, at least it seems to be, the whole area is I think. After a quick look at the menu I decided that Mia would have some shrimp dumplings and I the Alaskan and Dynamite roll (I was also starved). Mom got the ginger duck with rice.

While we were ordering, hurricane Mia decided to unleash her wrath onto the poor and unsuspecting bottle of soy sauce, so by the time we looked over, she had poured almost the entire bottle onto a small saucer. I was the one who knocked it over. "No, no, no mami... no play food" Yeeeeeeahhhh, obviously MY mistake. I continued to apologize for making a mess (it was all over the floor) but the waitress was really nice and sweet and cleaned it all up in a second.

Mia peeled the wrappers off her chopsticks and proceeded to have a drumming session on the table. "Look bongos", "Mami, cool bongos", "Mia bongos"... I didn't have the heart to tell her that bongos were not played with drum sticks, much less sushi ones. Really, who am I to ruin my child's possible future career in music?

Our drink order came out alongside some fresh and delish ginger salad. The veggies were crispy and juicy and the dressing was to die for. Mia loved it as well, she ate all the cucumber and tomatoes in both (My mom's and I) salads. Just as and FYI they have a pretty good children menu, with shrimp and fish as options, alongside either rice or fries.

Just before the usual "more tomatoes" breakdown, our food arrived and it looked and smelled great. My mom's duck was juicy and crispy at the same time and my sushi was also very good. Mia's appetizer was ok, steamed dumplings filled with shrimp...which is exactly what I ordered, but I guess I was expecting something else... two out of 3 ain't bad. And the two that were good were really good.

I hate to be the one to say this, but whenever I go into an Asian restaurant (be it Chinese, Thai, Japanese etc...) I don't expect good service, I actually expect mediocre service at best. But I love this kind of cuisine so much that I am willing to put up with this low point (in my opinion). This restaurant was the opposite. From Mia's spilled soy sauce fiasco to how attentive our waitress was during our meal, I was pleasantly surprised. I will definitely return, and, since its in our neck of the woods, I expect to return soon and often.


Pros: Not too pricey for the quality of food, big portions, clean, great service.
Cons: Don't order the steamed dumplings for a kid, without the chili sauce, they are kind of bland.

Miami Metro Zoo

We were zoo members in Memphis, so when we moved, we decided to make ourselves members of the Miami zoo as well. When you have kids, these things are sometimes necessary in order to keep a busy schedule (i.e. exhaust the kids and reward yourself with some much needed alone time).

So, this weekend we headed to the Zoo. What made it different is that we were joined by the Archbolds. These are old high school friends of mine (by old, I am referencing to the past, not their age...)who were also crazy enough to create an offspring and even crazier...seem to have the most educated tiny hurricane I've seen.

We snuck in both hurricanes as our kids in order to save up some cash for the Archbolds, Lord knows the zoo can add up, but they graciously made it up by their awesome company and a much needed frozen lemonade and hot arepa. Bonus points for them!

We walked for what seemed like FOREVER, but most possibly only discovered 1/4 of the zoo. But the areas that we did visit were amazing.

For all of you (4 readers) that have not been to the zoo in a while, let me tell you that much has changed...at least in the area where we were at this weekend. It is made up of all the rain forests in South and Central America and is anchored by a pavilion (food court sounds so....1990's no?) called Fiesta. They have a water play zone for kids to get soaked in, so bring the bathing suits or an extra change of clothes because they WILL get wet, hell, with this kind of heat I was thinking about joining my tiny hurricane as well.

They have an area for parents to sit around in and supervise their kids from, plus they have pretty decent food. At least it is by far, the healthiest food to be found at the zoo. They have fruit cups, turkey legs, hamburgers with the fixings and humongous hot dogs. Prices are pretty high, but considering its the zoo, this is somewhat expected.

The hubby ordered a turkey leg for Mia and I proceeded to chase my hurricane around the entire area in order to get some food in her mouth. Repeat 100 times. I did this until I felt somewhat reassured that she had gotten some kind of nourishment for the day. After the kids were good and tired, the adults decided to get some food too. The hubby ordered what seemed to be a juicy burger and I went halfsies on my hot dog with the Archbold's queen bee. It was THAT big. Oh, FYI, they even sell beer in this area, actually the whole zoo does, (I love So Fla) so maybe next time I will try to get my buzz on at noon, just kidding, but really a beer with friends would have been a nice option. There's always next time.

We proceeded to direct our hurricanes out of the area to the sound of "noooo's" and "just one minute"... but really they were plenty sunburned and we wanted to explore some more. I can't say enough about this new construction, most of the displays are interactive (in English and Spanish!) and have really cool tidbits of information that even make the parents go ooooh and ahhh (admit it Archbold daddy, you were pretty stoked about that heat sensor!!! And the hubby was playing it waaaay too cool at that cougar display, he knew that cougar phone was awesome!)

There was an aquarium area with huge piranhas and some other fish whose name I can't remember. But all were equally cool, plus they were inside so the AC was a huge bonus. A rain forest cloud area (where the misters make you feel like you're walking on clouds), a rain cloud with actual rain, a working damn, and many many more hands on stuff for our kids. Truly a great place for kids to run around and discover.

Completely soaked from the water, and quite possibly sweat, we made it out of the park ready to head home. Dinner plans were postponed to a later date due to all of us being extremely tired, and again, quite possibly, stinky. Some Cheetos were shared and goodbyes were said, but not for long, as the two grown ups in the Archbold clan seem to be right up our alley. Hurray to parenthood and to zonked out kids right out of the zoo parking lot!


Pros: Clean restrooms (all the ones we visited, which were quite a few), fun for the kids, they sell beer!, decent food.

Cons: May be too hot in the summer, food is pricey, did I mention the heat??

El Gran Inka - North Miami Beach

This past Sunday, we packed ourselves with the strong intentions to head on out to the Children's Museum. For one reason or another, time flew by and we realized that it was already lunch time by the time when we finally made it out of the house.

Now, we (the Hubby and I) are both Peruvian and love this kind of food. So when many of our friends and family members kept talking up El Gran Inka we took note. Too bad at that time we were still living in Memphis...but that's another story.

So after our usual "what do you want to do, I dunno what do YOU want to do" game, and a call to one of our trusty friends for directions, we settled on El Gran Inka in North Miami Beach and were soon on our way.

The restaurant is in a pretty nondescript shopping center almost in front of the Oleta State park entrance. You would definitely drive by it if you didn't have some inside info...you know the 411 us cool people have...or a handy GPS mounted inside your very cool Nissan Quest MiniVan, but again, another story....

Walking up to the restaurant, we saw how nicely decorated it was, the Lineas de Nazca painted in the outdoor seating area, the relaxing patio furniture, bright table settings. The inside looked nice too, but it looked like a place that Mia could very EASILY get into trouble, with just too many breakable looking items, so we decided on outdoor seating. Although the fans were on, it was still South Florida Hot but we were looking forward to the meal and decided to overlook this small inconvenience.

As soon as we arrived, we were warmly greeted by our waiter, I want to say his name was Jorge (but I am horrible with names so it could have been anything else), a high chair was immediately brought out and all breakable items were quickly taken away from our hurricane's path.

We ordered a Pisco Passion drink for the adults and a Chicha Morada, a Peruvian purple corn based drink, for Mia which she immediately drank up. Poor baby was thirsty. Our drinks were divine, the right combination of Passion fruit tartness and sweetness add to that the Pisco taste combination and it was a winner in my book. Plus it was cold, so that alone was great.

We ordered some Chicharron de Calamares - Fried Calamari for starters and Mia dove right in, they come with a side of Yucca fries which were nice and crispy on the outside and deliciously cream like on the inside.

I was torn as to what to order as a main course, but the Hubby was quick to make his decision, so I felt the pressure. What to get, what to get....the waiter came back to take our order.....indecision sucks....I jumped to the Conchitas a la Parmesana wich are simply prepared scallops with melted parmesan cheese on top...yuuuummm. The Hubby opted for Seco de Cabrito a la Nortena, which is a lamb stew-like concoction made with a cilantro base served with potatoes, rice and beans...yes, carb overload, but who cares?

The food was all super, the scallops were extremely fresh and Mia enjoyed them very much as well. Hubby didn't share a bite of his food, which makes me come to the conclusion that it was extremely good, plus he kept making grunting noises every time he ate a bite of his plate...our primitive way of saying: Daaaaamn this is good!!

We were thisclose to getting dessert, but were too stuffed to even try, so now we have an excuse to come back. Plus, I asked if they had any specials and they said that on Fridays they have a ceviche happy hour in, which you get a free beer with an order of any ceviche and then can stay for their 5$ pisco drinks all night long. So, now we HAVE to go back.

All in all, this was a great place with great staff, the outdoor seating area could use more fans in order to make it more bearable in the summer, as it was a great area for the tiny hurricane to eat at and even dance a bit after she ate all her yummy food.

Can't wait to go back

Oh, by the way, Mia and I made a quick visit to the restrooms and they were very clean, I didn't notice if they had a baby changing station...but since I haven't used one of those in ages I wasn't really on the look out for one.

Pros: Great food, great atmosphere, friendly service, nice outdoor seating area.
Cons: Hot outdoor area needs more ventilation