NYC Tastes

Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and hopped in a cab for one last vacation meal at Michael's Genuine. This bustling spot in Miami's Design District has been a regular on restaurant hit lists since its doors opened back in 2007.  Inside guests can watch all of the action from the open kitchen while outside the courtyard boats more of a comfy, serene atmosphere perfect for enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon. I was determined to close out this trip eating as much seafood as I possibly could beginning with the Yellowfin Tuna Crudo; a vibrant blend of pink peppercorn, basil and lime with spicy serrano chili and juicy blood orange slices. Second some Florida Stone Crab Claws served with a classic mustard creme sauce.  I absolutely adore Stone Crabs; they're much more mild than Snow Crabs (which I find too rich) or Blue Crabs (too sweet). The only problem with these perfect little beauties is the price.  It was about $38 for each one of these claws...maki...

Saturday morning we woke up and went straight to Wakefest at the Mana Wynwood.  It started out as an absolutely gorgeous day, about 75 degrees with some big fluffy clouds in the sky.  Mr. T and I had VIP passes which meant an hour early access to the festival and a pretty sweet tasting glass. This full hour was incredible.  There were absolutely zero lines at any station we visited.  We were able to walk the entire fest up and down at least three times getting everything we wanted before the crowds started to arrive at noon.   The VIP passes also meant a special VIP Tent where some of my favorite beers were being poured like the insanely delicious I Let My Tape Rock, a maple rye barrel aged stout made with Mostra JBM Coffee, coconut and vanilla beans and Trillium latest Bourbon Barrel Aged Affogato that reminds me of drinking a fudgy bourbon marshmallow. But the very best part of the VIP tent may have been the fanta...

After a quick pit stop at our hotel and a few tasty beverages at J Wakefield, we decided to head to Enriqueta's Sandwich Shop for some Cuban eats.  Unfortunately halfway there I remembered Enriqueta's closed at 7:00 PM each day.  Since it was almost 10:00 PM at this point I had to think fast.  Mr. T was starving and we didn't exactly know the neighborhood we were in...then like a gorgeous beacon of light the sign for Beaker & Gray was suddenly shining bright ahead of us.  Two minutes later we were sitting outside on their patio, cocktails in hand and ready for some food. I was actually still really full from our Kyu lunch and told Mr. T I didn't want anything.  Of course he ended up ordering a bunch of food, which really annoyed me, until I decided I was a little hungry and dove into the Red Shrimp & Uni Risotto. Rich, creamy layers of rice and uni melded together with cheese and green onions, this was every bit as...

Mr. T and I were in Florida last weekend, trading in our annual  Hunahpu  festival in Fort Lauderdale for Wakefest  in Miami.  Of course all of our beercations usually turn into foodcations and this one was no different; first stop Asian inspired Kyu Miami in the Wynwood District. The dining room happened to be closed when we arrived late afternoon (Kyu was celebrating their 2nd anniversary) so we grabbed a seat at the bar and dove into their happy hour menu of $5.00 "bites" like this amazing Roasted Cauliflower with goat cheese and shishito-herb vinaigrette... ....and this enormous Korean Fried Chicken breast served with butter braised chicory and a creamy chipotle sauce.  Both of these dishes were fantastic.  We mixed pungent goat cheese and herbaceous vinaigrette together which gave  a bright, rich flavor to the roasted cauliflower while the outer casing of the chicken was so crispy and well seasoned it could rival any NYC Korean fried...

It's New Brew Friday and today's beer comes from Angry Chair out in Florida, a fantastic brewery that always churns out amazing brews with pretty killer artwork on front. This Imperial Stout pours a thick jet black with a frothy brown head and strong aromas of coffee beans, mocha and cinnamon.  The flavor follows suite with big bold notes of coffee, chocolate and long lasting finish of red cinnamon candies.  I absolutely  love this beer.  It's smooth, roasted goodness and that cinnamon just takes it over the edge.  It also completely fits my somewhat angry mood right now about our country that surely need an Imperial Awakening of some sort itself.  Ugh- politics aside I hope everyone has a great New Brew Friday- Cheers!!! Angry Chair 6401 North Florida Avenue Tampa, Florida 33604

This rainy weather today has me thinking back to the sunny skies of Tampa two weeks ago and one of my favorite beers from this year's Hunaphu fest J Wakefield's DFPF. DFPD stands for Dragon Fruit Passion Fruit; a shockingly bright pink Berliner Weisse that turns heads whenever it's on tap.  The mouthfeel is light and bubbly with the sweet candied aromas of passionfruit taking over the nose.  The flavor is tons and tons of freshly peeled dragonfruit with a touch of lemon zest.   The passion fruit comes in on the end creating a nice balance which is much more tart and refreshing than sour. This 3.5% beer is just perfect for drinking in the Florida sunshine- Cheers! J Wakefield 120 NW 24th Street Miami, FL 33127

This is seriously late in posting but sometimes life just happens like that, so this is just a super quick recap of our Tampa trip.  We flew in and spent the first evening checking out Green Bench Brewing and Cycle if you  remember.   Then it was onto the main event Saturday morning- Hunahpu Day! We had such a horrible time last year I was really apprehensive about going back.  Luckily Cigar City made some serious changes and the event ended up being one of the best beer fests I've attended. So many of my favorite breweries were on hand like Funky Buddha, Toppling Goliath, hometown boy Kane and of course Cigar City.  In addition to those some new breweries I'd never had the opportunity to try before like Mazurt out of Atlanta, Georgia.  They brewed up a Vanilla Russian Imperial Stout aged inside coconuts...talk about an ingenious idea.  After multiple beers at Hunahpu Day we were in serious need of food so we headed to Datz for their amazing ...

It's New Brew Friday and I'm actually enjoying it some place warm!!! Mr. T and I are in Flordia and starting off our weekend with The Foeder for Thought Beer Festival at Green Bench Brewing.  I've had some of the funky saisons from Green Bench before but this is an opportunity to try a whole lot more along with some other great breweries from all over the United States like Jester King, Crooked Stave, Prarie and one of our favorites via Williamsburg Evil Twin.  It's a great way to kick off a Tampa Bay beercation- Cheers to the weekend! Green Bench

Mr. T and I just returned from a quick weekend trip down in Tampa so sorry if posts have been a bit more sporadic than usual.  I'll be honest we didn't do very much except sit in the sun and drink beer.  We started out at Cigar City  for a few drinks like their Lactobacillus Guava Grove. I absolute love the big citrus funk and crazy melon flavors in this beer.  It's something I could drink all summer long in the hot sun. Cigar City's Hunahphu's Day was supposed to be the highlight of the trip but it was 7venth Sun Brewery that won our hearts.  Their Strawberry Guava Berliner Weisse was absolutely amazing and the brewery itself was just a welcome and inviting place to chill. We had a couple good meals out but I would say the best was our stop at Eddie V's.  Yes I know it's a chain restaurant but there's not a ton in Tampa that's not a chain and when the menu lists Lobster and Steak Tartare as an appetizer I really have no choice but to go. ...

We are Home!!! Back from a great Thanksgiving in Jacksonville where food and family was the focus for the week. We actually had time to spend a whole day in St. Augustine this trip and we spent most of it doing what we like best- eating and drinking. We began our day with lunch at Opus 39. This restaurant specializes in tasting menus mostly but has quite a reasonable lunch menu. We began with an order of their Potato Spirals. These are basically super crispy potato chips with some fresh Parmigianna Regianno cheese and luscious truffle oil drizzled on top. They gave us huge portion that was perfect for three people to share. Since a big focus of this place is their wine I started off with an excellent glass of Chardonnay from Sonoma County. For my main I ordered the Grilled Shrimp, basil pesto, roasted pepper and goat cheese salad. This was absolutely delightful! They spread the goat cheese and basil pesto on top of some grilled flatbread that was a perfect side to the e...

So we went to Florida about a month ago and I took lots of pictures of our food and whatnot but never put them on my blog. I feel that since it's called Nyctastes it should only be about food from NY. Anyway, some of the friends I went with thought I should have used the photos since we went to some really great places! So to appease them I decided I would show a few in the form of a survey which also pretty much sums up our trip. So...Here goes. Let's say it's your last day in Florida and you started it off by drinking one of these: You decide to continue your day by consuming many of these: Until late into the night when you realize your multiple beverages just won't cut it and you need something to eat. Unfortunately the only thing open at this hour of night in Florida is the local gas station. Please tell me. Which one of these would you eat? Instant Ramen Noodles (chicken flavor), The Cattleman Sandwich (an enormous soy cheeseburger), a Ham & Cheese sub ...