Miami's Nice

Last weekend, I spent a busy 60 hours in Miami. My expectations were not high, but I had an open mind; anywhere with palm trees is instantly impressive to a Canadian.  Turns out, I really liked it!

We were there on a mission, but we carved out time to drive to South Beach Sunday morning, and go for a few walks; the only other thing we did was eat.  I am, after all, me.

We stayed at a place called Sonesta Coconut Grove, to be out of the main tourist area.  The lobby is extremely boutique hotel chic; my room was, well, meh.  Small, with no refrigerator or terrace, though it looked like most other rooms had them.  The furniture was hotel standard, and a bit beat up, but I am really not complaining, since the bed was comfortable and the pillows were great!  It's so rare for a side/stomach sleeper like me to find suitable pillows in hotels.  So often, all you get are the big fat ones where I wake up feeling like I have a broken neck.  Despite the lack of terrace, the view was lovely. 

Key Biscayne in the distance.

The hotel has a pool on the restaurant deck.  I didn't have time to use it, but it looked inviting. I did have some time to lounge on the deck in the evenings, with a glass of wine, before going to dinner.  It was insanely humid, but watching the lightning in the distance was entrancing.

The hotel restaurant, Panorama, served up a surprisingly good meal.  I had a fish called corvina, which, to be honest, I had never heard of.  I had to ask what the dish was, when I saw it on the menu- for all I knew, corvina was a shape of pasta!  Turns out, it is a firm-fleshed white fish, and it was absolutely delicious.  It came on a rice and bean pancake, with a red onion salsa and a cilantro sauce. (I don't usually like cilantro, but it was subtle in this form, and quite nice.)

Our other dinner, at Jaguar in Coconut Grove, was amazing.  I had (a few) tangy mojitos, a wonderful crabcake and corn appetizer, and my entrée, a Peruvian dish called Lomo Saltado- beef tenderloin, potatoes, onions, and a quail egg, on rice- was a pleasant surprise.  I wasn't nearly able to finish it, but it was absolutely delicious.  I am going to hunt for a recipe and try this one at home.  

Lomo Saltado

There was a Starbucks about one minute away (God, I am such a white girl) at Cocowalk, a little mall nearby, which also contained the GAP and Cheesecake Factory that I think are required by zoning laws to be on every 3rd block in the USA.  Around the corner was a cute street with local shops, and more restaurants.  

On the drive back to the airport on Monday, we stopped for dinner at the Grill at Bal Harbour. We started with the Heavenly Biscuits, which are aptly named.  Straight from the oven, and served with butter and honey.  Mmmmm.  Next, I had the Shrimp Louie, which was a perfect iceberg wedge and huge shrimp in a tart, slightly bacony dressing.  I adored it.  Despite being stuffed, we split a slice of Key Lime Pie. There's just no way I could spend any time in Florida and not have some.  This one was perfect, and tasted home made.  The whole meal was to die for, really.

Heavenly Biscuits.  Indeed.

Shrimp Louie.  I could eat this every day.

As I have pretty much aged out of the South Beach demographic, Bal Harbour Shops was my new retail happy place.  Or it least it will be if I ever win a lottery.  The high end store collection was like Rodeo Drive or Madison Avenue, but without an Ann Taylor and J Crew for us poor people.  In the end, I didn't get a chance to buy any clothes.  This is a first!  The only thing I bought was a bottle of perfume at the Santa Maria Novella store in Bal Harbour.  I didn't know they had outposts in the US; I've only ever been to the Florence flagship mentioned in the previous post.

It was such a treat to find them, that I splurged on a bottle of Angeli di Firenze.  It was tough to choose between this one, and the original scent made for Catherine de' Medici, but this one was a bit more delicate, and I figure I probably shouldn't smell like a ruthless, murderous monarch at work.

Ocean Drive.

The worst things about a trip to Miami:  being in a state with a horrible governor (and a horrible ex-governor who will never be president!) and having this stuck in my head for the past few days (what can I say, I'm old; well, not THIS old!)