Stephanie "Amateur Food Critic" G.'s Profile

Anyone who knows me is very well aware that I'm admittedly obsessed with my shih tzu (and extremely picky about her grooming). So much so, that she's long been getting groomed in South Miami even though I live on Brickell Avenue. Those who know me also knows that I have an aversion to leaving the Brickell area unless it's absolutely necessary. I hate driving. But, driving to South Miami was well worth it because the groomer there was the only one that left my little Lychee exactly the way I wanted her to look.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), I found out yesterday that our beloved groomer is no longer grooming. So, I was forced to scramble in an effort to find a viable alternative.  I'm sure that anyone reading this would think our situation was no big deal since there are dog groomers on every other block in Miami, but the few times I've attempted to try other groomers I've been disappointed and poor little Lychee has turned up looking not-so-pretty...for lack of a better term.

In my state of utter desperation, I of course turned to Yelp where I found that Barks & Tales Dog Spa had great reviews are was not too far from home. So, I called Barks & Tales Dog Spa yesterday afternoon and effortlessly made an appointment for Lychee with the Spa's owner who was very accommodating. We arranged that Lychee would be dropped off this morning between 8:30 and 9:00 am.

Since my Mom was doing me the favor of dropping Lychee off, I sent a list of dos and don'ts to the groomer in an effort to give her an idea of what I wanted the cut to look like. To my pleasant surprise, I received a call from her a short while later asking for clarification regarding one of the points.

A few hours after that, Lychee emerged from Barks & Tales Dog Spa with a smile on her furry face and a spring in her step. Lychee looks absolutely perfect and I couldn't be happier. As if that weren't enough, I got $5 off for being a new customer and Barks & Tales Dog Spa is cage FREE! Lychee is undoubtedly the Spa's newest loyal customer! This glowing review means a lot coming from a dog owner as picky as me, so if you're new in town or merely looking to try a new groomer, look no further!

Holy Bagels & Pizzeria is a kosher restaurant serving up bagels, pizza, salads, cookies, muffins, croissants, sandwiches and even sushi in Downtown Miami. The service at Holy Bagels is quite friendly and eager to please. I was there a few days ago and the man behind the counter who I think may be the owner offered me a sample of the daily soup. I'm not typically a soup person, but it was so good I ordered a cup. I then asked for the goat cheese salad that's on their menu, and was told "we don't have goat cheese." I then asked for the caprese salad instead and watched as one of the employees painstakingly cut pieces of mozzarella cheese and arranged those pieces on tomato slices. The process took well over 10 minutes and when he handed me the salad I asked where the basil was. He said to me "we don't have basil so I poured pesto over the salad instead." I'd never seen a caprese salad without basil on it so I took his word for it. When I got back to the office I polished off the delicious soup and barely touched the salad because the "pesto" wasn't to my liking. Due to the fact ta ht this place is so new I'm cutting them some slack and will be visiting them again. I think if I simplified my order they'd certainly get it right. On the bright side, there were two rabbis having lunch at Holy Bagels which certainly lent the place an air of authenticity. The pizza looked good too. So, if you're in the area and looking to try something new consider Holy Bagels & Pizzeria. Just made sure they have all the ingredients before you place your order, and don't have the pesto!

I visited Yardbird with a friend who was visiting from Geneva and her fiance last week while we were all on vacation. I think what I liked most about Yardbird was its location. Yardbird is conveniently located just steps from Lincoln Rd., but it's just far away enough so that it's removed from the Road's hustle and bustle. We sat on the restaurant's patio and the casual and quite vibe was almost therapeutic. Even my dog was relaxed.

Our waiter was very in the know, friendly, and very willing to help. The service at Yardbird is exceptional. As our server suggested, my friend had the Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade which she thoroughly enjoyed. I was having problems making decisions that day due to my relaxed state, so I settled on a glass of chardonnay.

To start we had the Deviled Eggs which were delicious. We then shared a salad that had butter lettuce, smoked pecans, grapes and pulled chicken. We loved all of the ingredients but weren't thrilled with the chicken's texture. Next we had Llewellyn's Fine Fried Chicken which was out-of-this-world amazing and a must try! The biscuits it comes with are so good. My friend's fiance then had the Slow Braised Short Rib Sandwich which he said was quite good.

As if all of that food weren't enough, we finished our meal with a DELICIOUS piece of chocolate cake covered in candy-coated hazelnuts. I truly believe that cake was the highlight of the holiday season for me and I can't wait to revisit Yardbird.

I paid El Vato a visit last Friday when I had a friend in town who was in the mood for Mexican. We were bar shopping on foot through Brickell and driving was just out of the question. Initially we were waited on by the manager who was friendly and helpful. My friend made sure it was clear that she's a vegetarian before she placed her order; I wasn't planning on eating because I wasn't hungry and hadn't had a great experience with El Vato's food in the past.

While my friend perused the menu I ordered a margarita which tasted much like a pina colada. it was good, not great. My friend then ordered the Chicharron De Queso (Crispy Cheese) to start as her appetizer. When it came, it looked like a piece of burnt cheese. When she sampled a small piece of it she said it also tasted like burnt cheese. When she asked to exchange the dish for another cheese dish, the waiter seemed upset that she wasn't happy with it and made sure to tell her that chicharron means the cheese is burnt. Although he may be right on some level, I don't think that "crispy" translates to "burnt" in any language,  and it wasn't what either of us pictured.

Anyway, so they took the dish back and she ordered another cheese dish (I don't remember what it's called and it's not on the on-line menu; it was not the chipotle cheese dip). On the physical menu the dish appeared to be vegetarian but one could add some sort of protein to it. Since she's vegetarian, she didn't elect the protein option. Unfortunately, the cheese arrived at the table completely covered in chorizo. Even though I wasn't eating, she asked me to try the cheese to make sure it was in fact meat and not some sort of vegetable. I tried it, and it was tasty, but definitely not vegetarian. We decided not to complain again since we were obviously getting on the server's nerves. But, he noticed on his own several minutes later and was nice enough to send over the same dish minus the chorizo and only charged us for one.

My friend also had the sopa de tortilla and the house salad. She said the soup was good, but that the salad was nothing out of this world.

Overall, I think I could go without trying El Vato's food again and frankly I could do without the attitude. If you're on Brickell and in desperate need for Mexican food, it won't kill you to stop here. But, it's definitely not the best Mexican in town.

I can't believe I hadn't reviewed Zuckerello's yet!  I think Zuckerello's is the perfect place to sit outside for a nice lunch or dinner any time of the week. The food is consistently good and the service is great. I even had one of the waiters wrap me in a table cloth one night when the temperature dipped lower than anticipated!

With respect to the food, I am IN LOVE with the Eggplant Tower appetizer. It's so good, and the portion is so generous, that I've had it on it's on as my lunch entree. Also noteworthy is their grilled skirt steak which is expertly cooked and an absolute steal for only $12.96 at lunch time. The only criticism I could possibly come up with is that the dinner specials are a little overpriced and just not as delicious as the main dishes on the menu. Aside from that,  I'd absolutely recommend Zuckerello's to anyone in the area looking for a good meal.

I went to George's in South Miami a couple of weeks ago where my friend Barbie L. graciously treated her bridesmaids to a lovely brunch before we went off to get fitted for our dresses. George's is situated across from the old Beverly Hills Cafe space, and has a very convenient metered lot behind it. As I walked into George's i was immediately greeted by several waiters and quickly found the back room where our brunch was taking place. I love that we were given a separate area for our special event, and would recommend George's for any festive gathering.

Our server was polite, efficient, friendly, and a great photographer. The service at George's is excellent! My brunch companions enjoyed their pancakes, waffles and other brunch staples while I fell in love with my Warm Crusted Pistachio Goat Cheese Salad. We all left George's wonderfully satisfied with smiles on our faces. I will definitely be visiting George's again soon!

I've had lunch at Lime a handful of times since it opened, always because someone else wants to go, and every time I leave there I always swear I'm not going back. The place is ridiculous. The music is so loud that it's impossible to hear the person next to you speak. In order to have a conversation you've basically got to shout at your companions. Today it was so cold in there that the steaming hot food was cold in less than five minutes and we had to rush out of there in an effort to prevent hypothermia. Even the guys in suits and ties were freezing!

Although the location is very convenient for those of us that work in the area, eating at the Downtown Lime has become increasingly unpleasant. After speaking to the manager on more than one occasion about the volume of the music, I was directed to contact the corporate office because they're supposedly in control of the volume setting.  I tried to contact them via their website more than once to no avail. So, if the folks at Lime are listening, please turn the music down as it's too loud for one to have any sort of audible conversation, and please adjust the temperature so that it is no longer necessary to bring a parka to dine inside the restaurant!

I went to Hakkasan for dinner on Saturday night, and I have to say I had high expectations. I'd heard several people compare the restaurant to the likes of China Grill and even Buddakan in NYC, which is one of my favorite restaurants of all time.

Although the restaurant itself is lovely and the service wonderful, the food was just underwhelming. Hakkasan is certainly NO Buddakan, or even China Grill for that matter. Before we placed our order we were told by our server that the dishes were served "family style," and we also took her advice regarding the dishes we ordered. Even though there were only two of us, we ordered several dishes to get a flavor for the restaurant. Besides, there's never any harm in taking home a doggie bag.

We first had the vegetable dim sum appetizer, which wasn't sufficiently flavorful, and at $24 a bit skimpy. We then had the Roasted Pi Pa duck which was the best thing we had there. The serving size wasn't minuscule, but I wouldn't call it "family sized," and at $34 also a meager portion. The flavor was good and the duck was perfectly crispy. If you end up at Hakkasan, have the duck.

We also ordered the black pepper beef tenderloin and the spring onion and egg friend rice. Although the steak was pretty good, it was nothing out of this world and the portion size was ridiculously small. The dish wasn't anything you can't get at PF Chang's where it would be less than a quarter of the price and the dish would be three times bigger than Hakkasan's. When the dish arrived at the table, I couldn't believe how small it was, seriously it was that small. The rice was bland at best, and served in a tiny dish. Hakkasan's fried rice has NOTHING on China Grill, or yes, even PF Chang's.

The food at Hakkasan is not bad, but it's also not all that, and at these prices it just doesn't cut it. When you take into account what they're charging for the stuff, it's highway robbery! Including the bottle of wine we had for dinner, the bill totalled over $250, and the food WAS NOT worth it! Again, we could have had an equally good meal (or a much much better one) any where else and we wouldn't have left hungry!

If you care about getting the bang for your buck, stay far away from Hakkasan.

I am officially a big fan of ABC Costume Shop. I went in a few weeks ago to look at and possibly rent a costume for the upcoming Vizcaya Sundowner party. I went into the shop on a Monday, chose a couple of costumes to try on, picked the one I liked and in less than 20 minutes I was out of the shop.

Although the prices to rent costumes at ABC aren't "cheap," the quality of their costumes is incomparable. Also, they make any necessary alternations to the costume to make sure if fits you perfectly when you come in to pick it up. In addition to rentals, ABC also sells costumes and accessories. I got a great wig to go with mine without having to worry about ordering one off the Internet, paying shipping and running the risk of it not getting here in time.

I picked up my costume on Saturday 10/29 and it was ready for me the minute I walked in, alterations made and all. The costume itself was gorgeous, I went as Cleopatra, and it got a lot of attention at the party. I didn't have to return the costume until Monday, 10/31 before 7PM. Again, when I went in to return the costume I was out of the shop in less than 10 minutes.

The customer service at ABC is great, the shop is easy to find, and the costumes are out of this world. I will definitely be renting from ABC again!

Anyone who knows me, knows that I've been a HUGE fan of the Vizcaya Sundowner for years. I can't even remember the last time I missed the event as I've thought it was Miami's "party of the year" since the very first time I had the opportunity to experience it for myself. Unfortunately, this year they dropped the ball in a very big way.

A few weeks ago I heard that the party was now being organized by a different set of people, and although I  assumed that's where the price hike came from I didn't expect much more of a difference...I was definitely misguided.

Before this weekend I would have told anyone who asked me that the party was definitely worth the $150 price tag. Sadly, my opinion today is very different as this year's event wouldn't even have been worth paying $50 for.

The party was VERY poorly planned. From the minute my friends and I approached the tent where you turn in your tickets, I realized something was very wrong. It had just begun to rain cats and dogs and there were about thirty five people huddled under the small tent in an attempt to save their costumes. There were another twenty something poor souls getting soaked because they didn't fit under the tent. Thankfully, I brought my umbrella with me so I was able to keep the upper part of my body semi-dry. The scene itself was normal enough since it's common knowledge that Miamians loose their minds the minute it starts to rain...you'd think we'd be used to it by now. However, the staff that was supposed to be scanning tickets and letting guests into the party weren't doing so. They kept saying their scanners weren't working. So, instead of letting people in who clearly had tickets, they let their guests stand around while their costumes got soaked. NEWSFLASH: if your scanners aren't working, it's YOUR problem! NOT the guests'! The staff was completely incompetent, unprepared and inconsiderate.

After twenty something minutes spent soaking in the rain waiting to get in, and after the bottom of my costume and my shoes were soaked through, my friends and I were FINALLY able to get inside. What we found was nothing like the party I once loved. To say this event was poorly planned is a gross understatement. Anyone who was paying attention to the news throughout the week was well aware that it was very likely it would rain on Saturday night, yet it was very clear that the tents weren't put up outside until the very last minute because the floor outside was so wet there were several puddles and one VERY large one in the very middle. So, if your shoes weren't ruined as you were trying to get into the place, they certainly were once you got inside. Soon after, we realized that the plethora of bars open in years passed were now absent. There was only one bar at the very back that served vodka and the line was impossibly long. To make matters worse, they ran out of vodka WAY too soon. I remember last year there were so many bars that it didn't take longer than two or three minutes to get a drink, this year you were lucky if you got a drink in a half hour.

Those of you that went to the party last year (yes, it was awesome), may remember the super cool photo booth that reflected the pictures taken on the outside of the building. That wasn't there on Saturday night, and if it was taken down because of the rain, they should have anticipated that it would rain and put the booth under a tent to begin with.

I'm not sure why they changed the party organizers this year, but I think it's a shame that the Vizcayans would take advantage of their loyal guests by upping the price of the tickets and offering so much less than they have in the past. I truly hope that the organizers of this year's event read these reviews and perhaps gets some tips from the party's previous organizers.  I would never have imagined that the party's 25th anniversary would be met with such disastrous preparation, and although I never ever thought I'd say this, I'll likely not go back.