CVI.CHE 105

As you know, my husband and I are Peruvian, therefore we have a passion (OK, more like obsession) for Peruvian food. I will argue with anyone that it has got to be one of the most varied and delicious cousines out there.

But I digress. We had heard about this CVI.CHE 105 place from some friends and it was always in the back of our minds to go there if we where ever in the downtown area. Coincidentally, my sister in law called me one day and raved and raved about this new Peruvian place by her house....uhmmmm? What was the name? Once we certified that it was indeed CVI.CHE we made instant plans to go that weekend, but that week one of our hurricanes was sick so we had to push it back, ah, the joys of parenthood...

Two weeks later and with an army of friends who we had convinced to go with us (by convinced I mean randomly mentioned and they pounced at the idea...our friends are all food lovers as well) we went. Downtown Miami bound, armed with our GPS, coloring books and crayons for the little one we were excited to finally try this place.

Upon arrival, we found parking which is not an easy task in Downtown, we hopped out of our super cool van and we were on our way.

The restaurant itself is located at 105 N.E. 3rd Ave. Miami, FL 33132. Just like the restaurants located in the area this one is a very urban and trendy restaurant which as far as Peruvian restaurants go is a breath of fresh air.

Since Rashida (my sister in law) and Guillermo (my brother) had been there before, they recommended what items to try from the amazing sounding menu. We ordered some Ceviche en Salsa de Rocoto (Ceviche in hot peppers sauce) which was out of this world. I am not a spicy kind of person, but this dish was so delicious that I didn't mind the burning sensation from the heat. The second dish I tried was Pulpo al olivo (Octopus in an olive based mayonnaise) which was so tender it literally melted in your mouth like cotton candy. Alfredo had his classic Lomo Saltado (Sauteed onions, tomatoes with beef and french fries)and I had some Arroz Chaufa de Mariscos (Seafood fried rice). Our friends ordered a list of different dishes and everyone was equally amazed with their choices.

Since my fist (second, third, fourth and so on) visit was while I was pregnant I could not partake in the drinking that our friends were doing. But in the last visit, when our little one was just 1 month and half I was finally able to try a cocktail of Pisco and Passion Fruit Juice and it was as heavenly as I had imagined it. What we did notice in the last visit is that they don't have a baby changing station in the bathroom! This is such a pet peeve of mine, do they think that parents of young babies don't want to go to a restaurant? Do they not care to have us as customers? Seriously, if it wasn't such a good restaurant I think that would have turned me off going back, but it is THAT good so I will just have to hope that a diaper change can wait until our return to the car.

Pros: Great food, fresh seafood, modern ambiance, clean restrooms

Cons: No changing table!!, it may be hard to maneuver a double stroller once the tiniest hurricane is big enough to tag along in the jogging stroller.

Ok, so I'm back

After taking a break from this blog I realized that I missed it and want to get back in the swing of things. You see, I've always been a frustrated author and this gives me an outlet to get some of my words out to the 3 cats that may read this.

During my down time, I managed to bring another hurricane into this crazy world, hoping that, alongside her big sister they could finally act out their plan for world domination.

Now, without further ado, more reviews of child friendly (and not so friendly) places around South Florida.

Bravo Gourmet Sandwich

You see, I have this friend,she makes up 50% of team Lluberes, and when she tells me "you HAVE to go to this restaurant (fill in name here)" I listen, and I listen good. Until now, she hasn't steered us wrong.
So when Silvia told us about a sandwich place in Dania, we didn't say "oh its too far" or "only sandwiches?" we just said WHEN.

BRAVO Gourmet Sandwich is located in a non-descript shopping strip in front of a Home Depot, or it could have been a K-Mart. I'm not too sure, I was too busy trying to keep Mia awake through the car ride. No nap hurricane...but that's another story. Its address is 2925 NE 6th Avenue Fort Lauderdale FL 33334, so google it before going.

A tiny place with about 10 tables TOPS, we walked in with a group of 10 adults and 2 kids...well one kid and one baby. I'm going to be honest here, when we walked in, this place was empty and I have a thing against empty restaurants...so I was skeptical. Two, the place was really cold inside, so cold that I told the hubby to please go and get a jacket for Mia out of the car. Three, as soon as we set foot in this restaurant Mia asks to go pee. REALLY? NOW?! So I take my tiny hurricane THROUGH the kitchen to the back area where they have the lonesome bathroom. As I am walking through the kitchen Mia said hi to the only cook about a thousand times and I had time to see that everything looked really clean. A thousand "byes" later (she's a very well mannered girl what can I say) and we were sitting down in a noticeably much warmer restaurant. The owner had turned up the AC upon our request. Nice.

We ask for a child seat and they inform us that they don't have any...poo. Hurricanes and regular chairs just don't mix. At all. They allow too much freedom too early in the game. But we shruged it off and plowed on ahead. Alfredo had already ordered us some Chicha (the corn based drink that I have previously explained) and I see that they have various other fresh juices to pick from. I ordered an additional Lucuma juice and as far as beverages go, Team Gambarina was set.

The waitress/owner/cashier took our orders and the conversation began. This is why I love to take Mia out with our friends. She understands that conversation is part of eating and we hope that by instilling this value in her she will want to share her daily stories with us around the table well into her much dreaded teenage years. Paquiao won? No, Cotto doesn't train as hard. Yeah, we can mount a TV in your wall. Who's going to Peru? Camping, when and where? They closed down Tootsies!? What is your favorite food? That potato looks pregnant! Where all part of the nightly headlines of the table today.

Mia entertained herself by coloring and playing with her God sent sticker books. Those books provide us with hours and hours of sanity at restaurants. We have come to rely so much on them that we break out in a cold sweat when we think about the chaos that would ensue if we were to *gasp* forget them...the terror...

Then the food came. Now, I'm not going to lie, the wait was long (hence the varied topics of conversation) but it's because we went half an hour before closing time and there was only 1 cook for all 10 of us. Plus everything was done right at the time we ordered it (we heard the wild chopping in the kitchen)so really, there is no room for complaining.

The food was really good and everyone around the table was raving about their plates. From stuffed potatoes to the fresh juices to the sandwiches, all was delish. I ordered a Pan con chicharron, which is a typical Peruvian breakfast staple.



Yeah, one look at that sandwich and you wonder how all Peruvians don't weight 700 pounds each.

The sandwich is made up of fried pork chunks sliced in manageable pieces, fried sweet potato slices and onion sauce between two slices of bread. Sounds weird? well, in this case, weird works.

Alfredo ordered a Pan con Lomo Saltado. Slices of meat, tomatoes and onions sauteed and paired with french fries and then stuffed into a sandwich. While this was a very good sandwich, my sandwich definitely kicks Alfredo's sandwich's butt. Alfredo even said so....after taking 2 huge bites out of my dinner.

There were 6 Peruvians and 4 non-Peruvians in the table and we either a)Were intimidating them into lying or b)The non-Peruvians enjoyed their meals as much as we did.

After finishing up and taking a second trip to the bathroom, Mia downed 2 big glasses of Chicha, I spoke to the owners and told them how good the food was. This is the part I love about tiny establishments, they live for these kind of comments, they work for these kind of comments, and usually they work really hard. This was no exception, I really only wish that it wasn't so far away from us.


Pros: Good food, family owned, clean bathroom and kitchen, friendly service.
Cons: Small place (but this could be a positive!), no high chairs or booster seats.

Texas de Brazil - Dolphin Mall

Early this month we decided that a nice evening was long overdue. Now, if you know us, you probably know that we tag along with our tiny hurricane everywhere we go. We believe that children need to be as involved in all social activities as possible, this is why we have taken Mia with us to bars, clubs and were contemplating on Vegas until we heard about the pesky 21 and over rule....I mean, what gives??!!

All kidding aside (I WAS kidding) we believe that Mia should be exposed to different dining experiences in order to learn how to properly behave in different situations. From relaxed dining to nice restaurants, our tiny hurricane has made her parents very proud.

On a previous get together Silvia and I had stamped Sunday as "Death by Meat" day, aka Texas de Brazil. We have been there plenty of times, and we always leave with the uneasy feeling that we may just have overdone it this time. But it is so good that we keep coming back for more.

This time we made a date with the Lluberes again and brought Danny as well in order to thoroughly thank him for his help in moving us to and from Memphis. Danny, YOU ROCK!. He moves us, we buy him half a cow, and suddenly its even, this is a true friend indeed.

We headed over in the early afternoon (around 4pm) for two reasons, shall Mia act up, we wouldn't disturb a crowded restaurant but most importantly, we needed time for digestion before heading off to sleep. We met with Carlos and Silvia at the door and were promptly seated and our drink orders were taken a few minutes later. The passion fruit Caipirinha is to die for, if you do go to TdB this is THE drink to get. Its refreshing, crisp and tangy all at the same time, the nice buzz is just an added plus.

Then, THEY SHOW UP...countless numbers of sword wielding servers armed with the most debilitating weapon for a hungry person, meat. And damn good meat at that. So many of them that it almost becomes a sea of...well, cow. The meat is so tender that a knife is not needed, the fillet Mignon can be cut with a spoon, the picanha juicy, and the short ribs tasty and greasy like they should be.



By this time, Mia is off in her own little world, coloring and/or covering Carlitos with every My Little Pony sticker she can get her hands on. And this is good, because I'm too busy stuffing my face to pay attention. She actually ate very well, she had two bowls of lobster bisque and a Parmesan crusted chicken as well as some of my meat. Children under 5 eat free so this is a great restaurant to take your kids to. They will be impressed with the swords and the grown ups will be rolling out with a full belly of food. Please take the rolling out part literally.

After an hour of eating, we decide we've had enough, so we go ahead and order dessert. What?? Nothing wrong with a little sugar. Danny orders the Brazilian Caramel cheesecake and Silvia a slice of chocolate cake a la mode. We all eat. Both were scrumptious. The perfect end to a great meal.

The service, as always, was excellent. Texas de Brazil must take great pride in this and train their waiters very well as we've yet to receive even mediocre service, its always been top notch.

So we walk out to peruse the adjacent Dolphin Mall, in full hopes that this will aid our digestion...and we leave thinking, we may have just overdone it this time...

Pros: Large quantities of meat, great service, great food and drinks, beautiful ambiance, clean bathrooms, kids eat free until 5 years old.
Cons: Large quantities of meat, a bit expensive (but if you sign up for the TdB e-club they will periodically send out 50% off coupons for up to 6 people!), obviously not recommended for vegetarians!

El Senorio Peruano

I've meaning to visit this restaurant for a while since there were several people who had recommended this place to us. So after a day of lounging at the beach we decided to check this place out. We asked a couple of good friends to join us and insta-plans were made for a lovely afternoon.

El Senorio Peruano is located in 1127 N.E. 163rd Street, North Miami Beach. When we arrived, our tiny hurricane Mia was sound asleep after an exhausting day at the beach. Unknown to us, this would turn out to be a huge blessing.

We met up with the Lluberes family and sat ourselves in an almost empty restaurant. Normally this can be a bad sign, but it was around 3pm, so the lunch rush could have gone and obviously it was too early for dinner. I saw they had a ceviche that I really liked in the menu, but since nobody was willing to share with me, we all decided to get the anticuchos, which is basically a kabob made out of meat which has been marinated in a chili paste overnight. So an order of anticuchos and a pitcher of chicha, a corn based drink, was made and we waited, and waited...and then waited some more. Now, I am not the impatient kind at all, my husband may disagree, I can understand an order taking long because its a busy day. But again, it was an almost empty restaurant! There must have been two other tables (TOPS) who were being serviced!

The food and drinks finally arrived and it was very good. The chicha was refreshing and sweet and the anticuchos were seasoned and grilled so that they were juicy and very tasty. Alfredo also ordered some fried yuccas with Huancaina sauce, which is a cheese based sauce, and also no complaints there. I appropriated the corn, claiming that it would be for Mia when she woke up. It was a blatant lie, I ate that up, shamelessly denying my poor hubby of any taste.

We put in our orders for the main course (we Peruvians eat ALOT) and I shared a Jalea, a plate of fried seafood, with Silvia, Alfredo got a Lomo Saltado and Carlitos a Fish and salad. Now, this is probably my own pet peeve, but I HATE it when restaurants bring the food separately. It puts everyone in a bad position, the person who got the plate first is hungry, but wants to be polite and wait for everyone to get their plate...but really who wants to wait and then eat a cold plate of food? Well, they brought in Carlitos' food first, we told him to eat while we...waited....

Finally our food arrived, and Mia woke up on cue. Had our tiny hurricane been awake the entire time, we would have had a horrible time with a hungry, bored and irritated toddler. But the food was there and she ate up, shrimp, scallops, fish, calamari all perfectly fried to golden perfection served with yucca fries and a onion/cilantro/lime sauce on top. YUM.



I asked for some tartar sauce, and our waitress actually looked at me blankly and asked Carlitos (to whom she had brought some tartar sauce earlier) "Was your tartar sauce OK?" why? was it supposed to be bad? whatever the reason of her question, it was just awkward. We also asked for another pitcher of chicha and she said that there was no more.

Gluttons for punishment that we are, we decided (actually, it was Silvia and I) to get dessert and got some Picarones which are basically Peruvian doughnuts. Again, very good. Somewhere between the food and dessert Mia needed to use the restroom, which was located in the back of the restaurant and was not very clean.

While we had a great time with Team Lluberes (we always do) it was just a shame that a restaurant with such good food had such poor customer service. I really wouldn't go back there because of this. I can cook Peruvian food at home, if I'm going out to a restaurant what I am expecting is a certain attention that I can't get at home, and unfortunately for us, this time such attention was not given to our table.

Regardless, the company rocked and we made plans to see the Lluberes again, over a plate of food of course!

Pros: Good food
Cons: Poor service, slow, bathrooms were not clean

Flanigans - West Pines

So, when I was young-er, Flanigans was our meet up spot, our "go to" place when we had no plans, or just a place to get some decent ribs and beer. This past weekend, hankering for the good ol' days I ventured back.

The hubby was working the night shift this specific day so it was just Mia and I, but not to fear, two additional parent re-enforcements were joining us with their tiny hurricane. We outnumbered the tiny hurricanes 3 to 2, not excellent numbers, but still a hand up.

Upon arriving I realized that poor Mia had not taken a nap due to her being overly exited and playing with her buddy all day long. I had a chance to take her home and nap, but decided a girl convo with the Archbold's main lady was a much better way to pass time. Will she be cranky and ruin dinner? Will she pass out and let me eat and drink to my heart's content? Its such a toss up in times like these. Its like Russian roulette...minus the bullets of course.

We were seated fairly quickly for it being a weekend game night, but its the location that makes the difference. Had we gone to the Flanigans in Hialeah, we would have waited at least 45 minutes, no doubt about it. That is "the" Flanigans, that was the hangout spot I spoke about earlier. All the young kids go there. Its like Mecca for college students and college drop-outs alike. Alas, we are not that cool anymore, waiting anywhere for 45 minutes with a hungry sleepy child is not highly recommended in any of the parenting for dummies books I've skimmed through.

Quickly seated, we knew what we wanted, an all out consensus of wings. I liked the Archbold's even more when the adult drink orders all contained some percentage of well earned alcohol. Kids will drive you to drink.

Drinks and wings at hand we dug in. Juicy and hot, freshly fried. Mia also loved the chicken and the fact that she got to dip it into blue cheese all by herself. Next up, Ribs. Now, I've lived in Memphis, who claims to be the BBQ capital of the USA. I'm probably going to get hell for this, but Flanigan's ribs totally rock. Maybe its the fact that they take me back to my college days, maybe its just that they really are plain ol' good, or maybe a combination of both. Fall of the bone, saucy, finger licking good. Mia seem to like them also, as after not paying any attention to her for a few minutes I found her sucking on a meatless bone.

There were no complaints from our table in regards to food. The Archbold's also seemed to enjoy their plates as all was quickly consumed and no to-go boxes were needed.

I know that Flanigans is a chain restaurant, but sometimes you just want to go somewhere where you know they have both crayons for the kids and a cold drink for you. On Saturday night, this was the place for us.

I'd like to take this time to say thanks Angelo for the tomato slice that Mia swiped from your fish sandwich, I hope the experience was still enjoyable without it.


Pros: Consistent food and service; good beers.
Cons: It is a restaurant/bar, so if you don't want your kids to hear the occasional sh!t or f@ck when the game is on, I suggest you stay away; no drink specials!; the bathrooms could have used a clean up.

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!