Chéen-Huaye

Absolute win! From the impeccable service to the tasteful decor to the amazing food, this place is so worth the eternal drive from Kendall. Situated in a strip mall off of Biscayne, this tiny spot offers authentic, fresh, made to order Southern Mexican dishes. Don't come over here expecting burritos and nachos, no señor, this place is the real deal.


We started with the sopa de aguacate and the sopa de tortilla. The aguacate soup was brothy and very light with fresh avocado, tomatoes, and shredded chicken.





The tortilla was creamy tomato based with strips of tortilla, delicious chunks of Mexican cheese, avocado and cream. The tortilla was our favorite.






Next up, the Salbutes which are corn tortillas topped with cochinita pibil (baby pig, so wrong and so sad) with lettuce, pickled onions and cucumbers.


Loved the pork, it was tender and flavorful, and the tortilla was awesome. Crispy but soft inside, loved it.




We shared tacos al pastor which we loved - the pork was sweet and spicy and the pineapple added the perfect sweetness.


This came with a side of refried beans which were ultra creamy and delicious, and some tasty guacamole. Forgot to mention they give you lots of yummy chips and freshly made salsa as soon as you sit, this was a plus.



Lastly and most importantly, we sealed the deal with their banana-cheesecake chimichangas.


Seriously one of the best desserts I've had. Picture the crispest egg roll stuffed with the sweetest, ripest bananas and creamy chunks of cheesecake... But wait, there's more.... with Nutella. Dusted with cinnamon sugar. And a side of dulce de leche ice cream. The bomb.

Out server was super attentive, sweet, and made great recommendations. The food came out super fast and portions were adequate. We will definitely be back.


Chéen-Huaye
15400 Biscayne Blvd, Aventura, FL
(305) 956-2808

The Primal Diet Plan

If you follow my blog you know I am all about indulgence and fatassness. Fried, gooey, overpoweringly sweet, delicious fatassness. However, I do have to keep with my blog's namesake and somehow stay fit and fab amidst the delicious temptation that is life, especially post baby. I recently went back to work after an amazing 5 month maternity leave. Working full time and being a mommy is a lot work... Cooking? Ain't nobody got time fo' dat!

I discovered The Primal Diet Plan as I visited my neighbor and saw a dude pull up to her house and swap out a red cooler like some sort of Cocaine Cowboy drug deal. Paleo meal delivery? No cooking? Nightly delivery? I was sold.

The Primal Diet Plan is a paleo cantina service delivering all natural, locally sourced paleo meals to your door Sunday through Thursday. Meals arrive in a red cooler which you leave at the door for a nightly swap. Packages are reusable and recyclable...delicious and environmentally responsible, gotta love it! They offer a breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks option or a modified plan based on your specific needs. We order dinner, lunch and a snack for hubby, I get breakfast, dinner and a snack. I have the dinner for lunch since I find their dinner selections heartier and I much rather have something light for dinner. I sometimes swap for the lunch option since some of their lunch selections are really good - chicken stuffed zucchini boats are one of my favorites.

The program is awesome! Customer service is in point. Jeanette, chef/creator/owner, is quick to answer emails and works quickly to ensure your needs are met. Their meals vary weekly so you do not get bored with their selection. Delicious substitution options are available in the event there is something you don't particularly love on the menu that day (I have grown quite fond of their turkey patty and cauliflower mash.)

The food is amazing! You probably think paleo and think sticks, leaves, and some bland ass chicken. No sir, this stuff is seriously hearty, filling, and packed with flavor.

Because I am still a fatass and tend to become overly excited over food, I haven't been able to take pics of all my Primal Diet Plan meals to share with my blog. Shameful but I make no apologies. Here's a couple of pics.


Their spaghetti squash and meatballs is a favorite! The meatballs and super juicy, flavorful, and chunky. The squash is cooked perfectly. Their tomato sauce is to die for! Another amazing "pasta" dish is their Pasta Carbonara. Spaghetti squash "pasta" with chunks of ham and a creamy bacon sauce that totally fools your taste buds.

Another favorite is their lechon. Super moist, flavorful, delicious! Onions are tender and saturated with the taste of delicious pork. This dish is served with a pumkin "tamal" which was also very good. In fact, my apologies to the spaghetti squash but the lechon wins the favorite award in my book.

Their skirt steak and squash medley was also very good. The steak was seasoned well and very tender, even after nuking. The colorful squash on the side was beautiful and yummy.

 

 

Their nuts crusted chicken nuggets and parsnip "fries" was a nice surprise. I had never had parsnip and this funny little root veggie won me over with it's potato like texture and sweet flavor. The nuggets were juicy and the crust was awesome. The moisture from the nuts (tee-hee!) made it feel indulgent, almost like eating some deep fried nuggest from a heart-clogging dining establishment.

Bacon wrapped fish... Perfect little savory snack.

Shredded chicken and "primal hummus." Not sure what this was made of but it was incredibly flavorful, fresh, and delicious.

Mexican chicken salad. So fresh and so flavorful. The chicken was juicy and plenty. The salsa was fresh and tangy.

My absolute favorite snack is the pecan stuffed bacon wrapped dates. To die for. Sweet and savory and creamy from the pecans. So delicious you can't beleive it's good for you.

 

 

 

Another favorite is their sweet treats. Their almond cookies are awesome. They are so yummy you don't even feel like you're eating paleo. Another favorite - the coconut macaroons. These were too good to photograph because I inhaled my portion like it was my last meal on earth. I also love their pumpkin blondie, devil's food cake (to die for!) and their peach cobbler.

 

almond cookies

I also love their breakfast treats... pumpkin pecan pancakes (not pictured because those were inhaled fast!), steak wrap, kilbasa and egg muffins, spanish tortilla with cantimpalo & ham, continental style berry muffins (yes, they are paleo but they will make you question life because they are so damn good), Scottish Eggs... everything is awesome.




kilbasa and egg muffins

 

 

spanish tortilla with cantimpalo & ham

Scottish Eggs


I must admit that I have not adhered to a complete Paleo diet because although I am one vain bitch who takes pride in staying slim and fabulous I am also a fat girl inside and must have my nightly Nutella and weekend indulgences. I have, however, managed to be as paleo as possible during the week (Nutella is paleo in my house!) and have not gained any weight in the 8 weeks I have been with the program even without setting a foot in the gym.

For more info on the Paleo diet and to check out their plans and options, visit their website http://theprimaldietplan.com/

IG: ThePrimalDiet
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePrimalDietPlan
305-333-4789



Barley & Swine

I really wanted to love this place after checking out their menu and reading the reviews on Yelp. Sadly, Barley & Swine fell below my expectations. It pains me to write a not so stellar review for a new spot but hopefully my criticism will be taken constructively and lead them to improve what I feel are amateur mistakes. First, the positives: nice spot, beautifully decorated, open kitchen, nice bar, cute details like the piggy salt & pepper shakers. They were also quite accomodating since we had our baby with us and found us a spot to park our stroller.

 

Amen!

Pic stolen from Barley & Swine's website - nice crowd, chill vibe.



The food wasn't all terrible - the fried oysters were amazing. The batter was tasty and the side of pimento aioli was delish. This was our favorite dish and being the first thing we tried we got ahead of ourselves with excitement.

Fried Oysters

The black truffle patatas weren't terrible either. They were bathed in a thick (a little too thick) parmesan cream sauce that went quite well with the truffle. I enjoyed them. My husband wasn't a fan.

Black Truffle Patatas

The serrano ham & manchego cheese croquettes were also quite good. The guava sauce was phenomenal and paired deliciously with the saltiness of the ham & cheese. I found the batter to be a little crusty for croquettes but overall they were pretty tasty.

Croquettes

 

My entree was the pork rib tips with a fried egg, sriracha, sweet potato bacon hash and bourbon maple sauce. My pork was dry and flavorless. The hash wasn't seasoned (thick chunks of bacon were good though) and seemed like an afterthought. I don't remember tasting the maple since the sriracha (which I normally love) was way too freaking spicy and stole all the thunder in the dish. This dish sounds nice on paper but once you taste it it doesn't make any sense.

Pork Rib Tips

  

Although I tried to convince him to order their Latin Burger (I had it once at the owners' now defunct old spot, The Joint, and it was ridiculously good), he refused to honor and obey thy sacred wife and ordered their catch of the day -  yellow tail on top of a fried green tomato. We took one bite and summoned our very sweet waitress to send it back. It was inedibly salty. The thought makes me pucker my face in an unttractive fashion that reminds me I should be due for some Botox soon. Serves him right for ordering fish at a pig joint. Since we sent that sucker back we opted out of trying dessert. Damn.

Catch of the Day

We also ordered their daily mac and cheese (pic is missing, nothing to cry about.) Saturday's special is lobster and mascarpone. Apparently they have a mac of the day, which is a pretty cool concept for mac and cheese lovers like myself. This mac and cheese left a lot to be desired. The pasta was a little under cooked, and the lobster was MIA. The cheese sauce was tasty and creamy, it had the actual flavor of lobster but very tiny bits. I guess they spruce up their stuff with lobster stock to boost the flavor. I was expecting the delicious chunks I saw on their Deco Drive segments. When I order lobster mac I expect chunks, you do not toy with my emotions when it comes to mac n cheese. I guess I was spoiled by the best lobster mac I ever had last year in the Keys. By this point I was too aggravated to complain so I just ate a few bites and gave up on life.

Overall our meal was just OK. Service was excellent. Beer selection looks interesting as do other items on the menu. I will probably go back in a few weeks and hope to have a better experience. Kendall really needs a spot like this in the area. We truly do not have a gastropub type of place 'round these parts. The place definitely has potential and I hope they stick around long enough to prove it.


Barley & Swine
9059 Southwest 73rd Court
South Miami, FL 33156
(305) 397-8678

Sweet Times Cupcakes & Coffee

Dear Kendall cupcake shops - there's a new kid in town and this kid is a force to be reckoned with!  Sweet Times Cupcakes & Coffee has landed itself in my #1 slot for cupcakes and coffee. Hands down. I was first introduced to Sweet Times' delicious cupcakes when a friend brought some over for a play date. I fell in love with the frosting, my friend tried to explain what was so special about them but I was too busy stuffing my face to pay any attention. The cupcakes were moist but not greasy, flavorful, and fresh. After sharing Carrot, Campfire, Red Velvet, Vanilla, & a berry cupcake of sorts I knew I had to investigate further.

The same friend and I treated ourselves to a visit to the shop after our weekly "workout" with our babies at Gymboree in the same shopping center. Sweet Times is located in a hidden two story shopping center next to the hotel behind the Barnes & Noble on Kendall. The place is clean, sleek, and inviting. There's a couple of comfy couches and an L shaped bar/counter with plenty of seating.





Words to live by



The young lady behind the counter was friendly and welcoming. She answered all of my questions and seemed to know her stuff well. She explained that everything is baked in small batches through the day, their ingredients are top notch (Madagascar vanilla, Italian buttercreams, Belgian chocolate, the works) and the owners are in daily to bake themselves. Nice. She also sold us on coffee frappes which I'm not a huge fan of (I can't deal with brain freeze and I'm too gluttonous to sip my drinks) but I am now addicted to after having them at Sweet Times. Their frappes are a perfect creamy & frothy consistency that makes even a fatty like me sip it slow and savor every drop. But I digress... Cupcakes.



Wednesday's assortment

On this visit my friend ordered the Aunt Babette (described on their website as marble cake, chocolate & vanilla buttercream) and a Vanilla Vanilla (vanilla cake, Madagascar Bourbon vanilla bean buttercream) cupcake. She reports to have enjoyed them both.



Coffee frappe, Vanilla Vanilla & Aunt Babette

I ordered a Nutella (chocolate cake filled with Hazelnut ganache, Nutella buttercream, hazelnuts), 4 Leches (tres leches cake, dulce de leche buttercream) and a White Chocolate Raspberry (vanilla raspberry cake, raspberry buttercream dipped in white chocolate) which we shared. I also ordered a 4 Leches, Vanilla Vanilla, Red Velvet (red velvet cake, white chocolate buttercream, red rock sugar) and Lights Out (chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, chocolate ganache, chocolate sprinkles) to go (for hubby... to share with me. I am never going to lose these last 8 lbs of baby weight.) I can honestly say that I loved every single flavor. Seriously. My favorite being the 4 leches with the White Chocolate Raspberry coming in a close second. The Lights Out is a dream for a chocoholic, their ganache is pure silky chocolate perfection, and the chocolate buttercream is so subtle and perfectly delicious.)



Coffee frappe, 4 leches, White Chocolate Raspberry & Nutella.
In the box, 4 Leches, Vanilla Vanilla, Red Velvet and Lights Out

This little place has a lot of potential and is definitely giving the rest of the Kendall cupcakeries a run for their money. With their uber moist cake, dreamy buttercreams, innovative flavors (menu changes daily) and refreshing coffee drinks they are making their presence known in the cupcake scene. Check them out!

Sweet Times Cupcakes & Coffee
8530 Sw 124 Ave
Ste 101
Miami, FL 33183
(305) 270-0300

Eating House (Brunch)

I've had dinner at Eating House a couple of times and loved it. Read about it here. A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to have experienced their shamelessly delicious and overly indulgent Wakin' & Bacon Brunch and don't regret a single caloric morsel. The meal was perfect from start to finish, definitely another win for the Eating House peeps in my book. We also had some of their yummy Tang Mimosas but were too distracted to take a pic. My bad. These pictures are absolutely hideous (almost too ugly to post) and do not do their amazing food any justice. You are just going to have to go see (eat!) for yourself. And take me with you.

 



 

 

Candied Applewood Smoked Bacon:
Plain and simple. Thick delicious bacon dolled up in a sweet candy crust of diabetic deliciousness.



Cuban Bread Torrejas:
Thick, soft, lardy slices of cuban bread drenched in guava sauce and whipped cream cheese with the thick and gooey consistency of leche condensada. In your face.





Cap'n Crunch Pancakes:
Bathed in condensed milk syrup and garnished with none other than Cap'n Crunch bits. A little too rich and definitely too sweet. Amazing.



Maiz Asado:
Corn of the cob, a bit charred (yum!), covered in crema and Fritos. FRITOS. Flavor central.



Chicken and Waffles:
I can't say enough about their perfectly fried fried chicken. Add maple syrup and some spicy ranch and let the heavens sing.





Carbonara Eggs Benedict:
Perfectly cooked eggs on toast with bacon and truffle. So delicious. Almost as good as their pasta carbonara.



Gusto Fino Italian Deli

So I've been a bad, bad blogger. Not one entry in the past (almost) 7 months. I have dined out, but since I was pregnant for the majority of that time period I didn't really care about documenting my meals as much as I cared about stuffing my face. Shameful. (Memorable dining experiences were documented on my Yelp page if you care to check them out.)

My beautiful daughter Sara was born on March 19, 2013. Needless to say, being a new mommy (and a germophobe) hasn't really allowed for many (or any!) eating adventures over the past 16 wks. It's been tough to get out of the house and even tougher to document a meal when toting a tiny baby around. Last week hubby, baby and I ventured out to coral gables to check out Gusto Fino Italian Deli. The meal was so flipping good it inspired me to resurrect my comatose blog. Hallelujah! Here we go.

Gusto Fino is a tiny hole in the wall right off of Le Jeune. It's dark, cozy, and a bit cramped. The staff was super friendly and accommodating. We sat at a comfy high top with a good spot to park our Cadillac aka massive stroller. We checked out the menu to find a plethora of sandwiches, pasta dishes, pizzas and salads.

We started out with a pasta salad side which has herbs, capers, sundried tomato sauce, feta cheese and kalamata olives. This litte side dish packed a mean punch of flavor. The sundried tomato sauce was tangy, kinda spicy, sweet... all sorts of kicks and jabs to the tongue. In the words of the annoying Rachel Ray: yum-o! Amazing. I wasn't crazy about the feta and I am not a fan of olives, so next time I will do without both. Either way, this little dish set the bar high for the rest of the meal.

 

 

Hubby ordered the Chicken Marco Polo (although he swears he ordered the Louie Louie and they brought the wrong one... Lies! And if that's the case then I'm glad they messed up) which is served hot. This big (BIG!) bad boy comes with chicken Milanese, crispy pancetta, fresh mozzarella, and spicy BBQ sauce. You really can't go wrong with any of the above items, especially when grouped together in a fresh baguette. The chicken was juicy, the pancetta was crispy and savory, and the mozzarella was melty and delicious. Total win.

 

Chicken Marco Polo

 

 

I ordered the Mario's Ultimate on a multigrain baguette. This cold sub comes packed with Parma prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, pesto sauce, arugula salad mix, balsamic glaze and olive oil. I loved my sandwich. I was chock full of flavor from the pesto, balsamic and prosciutto. The arugula added it's special signature kick and mozzarella added creaminess, it was a great combo of subtle and strong flavors. The ingredients felt and tasted fresh, the salad mix was crispy, the prosciutto was thin, the mozzarella was moist. This was also pretty massive so I took 1/2 home and had it for dinner with a fried egg... fatassness to the max but oh so yum.

 

Mario's Ultimate, no tomatoes

 

 

We asked for cannolis but sadly they were out of them (they must be really good) so we went for the Italian Bread Pudding which was delish. It was warm and drenched in caramel and fudge... a girl can't really ask for more.

 

 

 Our dining experience was pleasant and we definitely plan to return. I am interested in trying their pizzas, pastas and hopefully to get my hands on a cannoli.

 

Gusto Fino Italian Deli

2103 S LeJeune Rd
Coral Gables, FL 33134
(305) 444-0504

 

Apizza Brooklyn Resto + Vino Bar

Finally! A perfect meal from start to finish. I found this place while walking off another meal I had at the same shopping center. This little shopping center is full of awesome little food spots, but let's get to the point. Apizza Brooklyn rocked. Plain and simple. The decor is on point - cozy, dim, but still casual. A massive oven in the corner says "we know what we're doing so get in here and order a pizza!... Now!" We came on a Wednesday night and the place was pretty packed. We had to wait about 15 minutes outside which wasn't terrible. The owner came out to greet us and offer us wine. Sadly I am with child and unable to enjoy. Sadness. Once we sat we received amazing service from start to finish. Our waiter was incredibly attentive and friendly. He explained the menu well, including the difference between Brooklyn style and Neapolitan pizza. The Neapolitan pizza is made from imported ingredients from the motherland, so we were sold. We ordered calamari, minestrone, and a Margherita Neapolitan style pizza.



Minestrone

The minestrone was amazing. Hearty, chunky, full of flavor. Plenty of beans, hearty veggies... amazingness. We fell in love with this soup. It was so good I was pissed with myself for not ordering a bowl. We actually went back the following week hoping for minestrone again but had carrot soup instead which was almost as amazing.




Calamari

Calamari was also pretty perfect. Thick meaty rings breaded in light but crispy batter with some marinara that had a little kick to it. We also ordered this on our second visit and loved it.



Neapolitan Margherita

Pizza. Oh, the pizza. As soon as I took a bite I was taken back to my first pizza in Rome last year. There really must be something about imported ingredients. The cheese, the tomatoes, the basil, the dough... everything transported me back to Italy. The dough was super thin, crispy and soft in all the right combinations. The cheese melted beautifully and played so well with the tart tomato sauce and punch of the basil. I am about to break into song...

My husband's absolute favorite thing on the plantet (besides me!) is Tiramisu. He's quite the critic (or so he thinks) when it comes to this dessert. As you can see from the pic, the SOB broke my #1 rule for dining out (don't touch til I get a pic!) and dove right in like a PMS'ing 15 year old girl with eating issues. This thing was seriously good. Every layer was perfection. The creaminess, the chocolate - everything was awesome. Truly a perfect ending to a perfect meal.



Tiramisu

They offer a good variety of pizzas, pastas, appetizers, the works! They also have a nice wine list which I cannot wait to enjoy post-baby. The owner remembered us from our first visit and swung by to say hi, which was so nice. Places like this make you want to keep coming back and spreading the word about their awesome food and service. We will definitely be back. Maybe tonight. I'm craving some Tiramisu STAT!

Apizza Brooklyn Resto + Vino Bar
9515 S Dixie Hwy
Pinecrest, FL 33156
(305) 669-1761