Tuesday - September 29, 2010

Segafredo Brickell

305.577.9809

1421 South Miami Ave

Miami, Fl 33131

Check out the Menu!

Tonight is my first time blogging in a while (my apologies to any loyal followers) because I have been busy dealing with heartbreak for the past couple of days, which can be rather time consuming as it turns out. I had lots of Godiva truffles to eat, funny movies to watch, tissues to fill with tears, and several 3 am phone conversations with my parents but, just I thought I was heading the anti-depressant route, I found my inner peace and have begun returning to my normal happy self again. Of course, there were a couple of factors that facilitated my ability to move on: (1) a few great nights spent with my girlfriends, and (2) my meeting Sergio.

Under what circumstances did I meet Sergio, you ask? Obviously, while I was binge eating. Why do I love Sergio? Because he wasn't put off by my double fisting hot dogs, but rather intrigued and anxious to get to know the girl capable of such an act.

Allow me to describe the scene of our encounter:

A few of my girlfriends and I decided to go to the Dolphins v. Jets game last night, and ended up in the club box of LIV thanks to our friend Lauren. However, when we arrived, we realized that we were the only girls dressed in football apparel. We stood out in our oversized Dolphin's jerseys and jeans to say the least, considering all the other girls were in booty shorts, belly shirts, and 6 inch stilettos. (It was kind of like the scene from Mean Girls where Lindsey Lohan shows up to the Halloween party in a Zombie Bride outfit while all the other girls are dressed in skanky "cat" and "bunny" costumes--girls you get this reference!). Anyways, I was laughing at the ridiculousness of high heels at a football game, when a man passing out hors d'oeuvres was spotted in my peripheral. I decided right then and there that this whole event came down to one thing for me...eating as much of those hors d'oeuvres as I could possibly get my hands on. I watched him return his empty tray to the kitchen and then relocated myself so that I was posted up right outside the kitchen door for the arrival of the next full tray. First to come out were the Coconut Shrimp Skewers with Mango Drizzle, which were incredible and of course fun to eat because they came on long skewers. Next to come out were the Lobster Sliders—very good but too much bread and not enough lobster…there can never be enough lobster! By this point the bartender was starting to notice my hoarding of the food and for a brief second I contemplated taking a stroll, but thankfully I decided to be shameless and stay because the next tray contained the best appetizer yet…gourmet Hot Dogs with Broccoli Rabe and Crispy Onions. WOW! They were amazing. I decided to take one for me and one “for my friend” (yeah right) and stood there double fisting when a man came up and asked what I was drinking. I felt like saying, “forget drinks! Clearly I’m okay with just these hot dogs!” But I swallowed my oversized bite and mumbled, “vodka soda.” He then said (in a very Spanish accent) “okay, come with me and I buy you a bottle of vodka at my table.” I was shocked. I was wearing a jersey, flip flops, and double fisting hot dogs for goodness sake, and someone wanted to not only buy me a drink, but a bottle?!?! I may never wear a dress and heels again!

Long story short, we end up at his table and he continues to call me a princess (well mi princessa, actually) and tells me that I can have whatever I want because I’m a good person and I deserve the best and he wants to spoil me and my friends. Depression is out of sight now. I order my favorite bottle of red wine (Cakebread!) and enjoy the game with my girlfriends in his company.

At the end of the game he tells me that he wants to treat my friends and I to dinner. He takes us outside where a driver comes to pick us up, and then he whisks us off to Brickell for some late night grub….as if I didn’t already eat enough, right? We arrive at Segafredo and the pizzas start coming out one after the other. The only two I can even remember are the Cotto e Funghi, which had San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella, cooked ham, and mushrooms, and the Parma, which had sauce, mozzarella, prosciutto di Parma, and black olives. Both were amazing!!! The crust was super thin and crunchy, and the cheese was gooey and hot. I was having a relationship with my food. But, of course, I wasn’t done yet. Yes, I asked for dessert. The waiters brought three different types including Molten cake, Sorbet, and some other type of Pastry. I was in sheer bliss. I mean who knew that a cheesy pizza and warm molten cake could just lift me from a month’s depression? Sergio was like my little angel sent by God to cheer me up (aka feed me) and get me back on my feet. After 3 rounds of mojitos (Segafredo's has awesome mango mojitos) and all that delicious food, Sergio got up and told me that the driver and car was mine for the night and I could go wherever I wanted. He then kissed me on the cheek, told me I was beautiful and a great person, and left me to reflect on the night with my friends. I had the driver take us home, and when I woke up in the morning it was almost like a dream—then I noticed my bloated belly and reality kicked back in. Lets just say, I’m going to be eating salads for the next few days!

Wednesday - September 1, 2010

Vilaggio Ristorante

305.447.8144

358 San Lorenzo Ave

Coral Gables, Fl 33146

Check out the Menu!

On the way home from My Yogurt Bliss, I realized that although I was not actually still hungry, I was in the mood to taste more delicious food. I had just enjoyed something sweet, cold, and creamy and now I was in the mood for something warm, salty, and cheesy...aka a savory pasta dish from Villagio! I was genuinely hoping that one of my friends would axe the idea of eating another meal (as I clearly have no self control when it comes to food), but nobody spoke up as we walked past my apartment door, heading in the direction of the little Italian restaurant that is underneath my building. It was some sort of a non-verbalized unanimous decision and when we finally got to the restaurant we all looked at each other like "hmmm...this is funny. How did we get here?!" Obviously, none of us have self control when it comes to food! We took our seats at an outside table and began scarfing down the incredible Villagio Bruschetta, which is worthy of 5 stars and better yet...it's complimentary! Thats right, FREE! As you can imagine, my friends and I totally abuse the free tomato privilege. We used to all take turns politely asking the waiter, "excuse me sir, but is it possible to please get just a few more tomatoes?" We would speak really softly and acknowledge how busy he was, apologizing for our inconvenient request...you know what I'm talking about. And this would happen about 3 or 4 times before the entrees were brought out. Now, we just start off the meal by saying, "yeah, we are going to need like a bowl of those tomatoes." They are really the highlight of this restaurant in my opinion. They are macerated in balsamic vinegar and oil, seasoned with scallions, garlic, and basil and they come served over top a thin, warm, foccacia bread. One word--delicious!

The entrees are also tasty at Villagio, but they are basic and definitely not authentic. Its kind of like fast food Italian, in an elegant atmosphere, that is quick and cheap. But there is no doubt that this place is a bargain--you can get a full pasta dinner for just $6! It's cheaper to eat pasta at Villagio than it would be to make at home. My favorite pasta is the Linguini Selvaggio, which is linguini in a light white wine sauce with 3 types of mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, fresh mozzarella, and parmesan cheese. I also really like the pasta dish that I had with the girls tonight, which was the Agnolotti Del Magnifico. It was homemade rounded pasta (like raviolis) filled with ricotta cheese and spinach, served in a pink cream sauce (basically, the epitome of comfort food). However, when I'm looking for a protein, I usually order the Balsamic Chicken, which is boneless chicken breast served in a balsamic demi-glaze with mushrooms, asparagus, and golden yukon potatoes. Its a huge portion and it always comes out piping hot! If your in the mood for something lighter, the Zucchini Broccoli soup is very good. It is a clear broth soup with delicate noodles and vegetables that will be sure to please.

The only thing that I would not order at Villagio are the salads. The greens often tend to be bitter, and the chicken that they put on the salad is tough...inedible actually. I've never been happy with ordering a salad here, so I wouldn't recommend that you do. Should you have room for dessert though, the Tiramisu is fabulous. Oddly, it is probably the best tiramisu that I have ever had. I'm not really much of a dessert person, but I always try to save room for a piece of this cake.

Overall, Villagio is a great bang for your buck. Perfect portion sizes at a ridiculously low price. It has a beautiful atmosphere with outdoor seating in the middle of Merrick Park, and the inside is also very spacious and elegant. It gets four stars for the value factor, the fast service, and of course, the tomatoes, which bumped it up a star!!

Wednesday - September 1, 2010

My Yogurt Bliss

305.667.0244

1554 S Dixie Hwy

Coral Gables, Fl 33146

Check out the Menu!

Anyone who says that boys can eat more than girls, obviously hasn't met me and my girlfriends. We will literally eat ourselves to a stomachache because we love the taste of food so much. And when we are hung over (like today), we basically turn into human garbage disposals that spend the day consuming just about anything in our paths. After a late night out, you can find us recovering at Bagel Emporium with a multiple course breakfast. Yes, courses. You know...several plates of food brought out sequentially. By the time I'm done with these "breakfasts" (mine always includes French onion soup, an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, a vegetable omelet, home-fries, and some Italian layer cookies for the road), I've already fulfilled my daily recommended calorie intake. And sadly, lingering post-breakfast until lunchtime is also not an uncommon occurrence for us.

By now you're probably envisioning that my friends and I each take up two seats with our fat asses, but luckily our metabolisms are still accommodating our binge eating lifestyle, and so we each fit comfortably on one chair...for now at least! After tonight, my metabolism might take revenge on me for how badly I abused it. I always test its limits when I'm premenstrual, but tonight it was like watch out Kobayashi becasue you've got some serious competition. The night began with an appetizer of roasted red peppers and fresh mozzarella, followed by my main course of vegetarian lentil chili with corn tortillas. Still not feeling satisfied, I headed out to My Yogurt Bliss with my friends Kelsey and Sam. Eating is always a social thing for us--when one of us goes to get food, we all go, regardless of whether or not we are even hungry. And you can be sure that no one ever passes on a trip to My Yogurt Bliss, which is a little fro-yo place that opened up a couple of months ago near the UM campus. It is a brilliant business concept--serve yourself fro-yo that is charged according to weight. I think 1 ounce is like 49 cents. It is very very cheap, depending on the toppings you choose to add of course. But mine usually comes out to 3 dollars and change. Every day they have like 10 different fro-yo flavors to choose from. They always have the standard vanilla, chocolate, and original tart but the specialty flavors are the best. My personal favorites are the Cake Batter, Toasted Almond, Coconut, and Red Velvet but a few others include Nutella, Cookies and Cream, Cappuccino, and Pistachio. The cup you are given is one size so you can add as much and as many of the flavors as you want. And no worries, they are more than happy to provide sample cups so that you can try the yogurt before you commit to it! The toppings bar (which is also do-it-yourself) includes everything from fresh fruit to pieces of sugar cone, M&Ms, coconut flakes, brownie bites, and hot caramel syrup. You name it, they've got it. The place is great, and there are always a ton of people no matter the time of day or night...because it's open late! Till 11 pm on sunday - thursday and 12 am on friday and saturday.

Obviously, this was not the end of my indulgent night. I went on to have bruschetta and pasta at Villaggio on my way home--a decision which put me over the edge. But for the purposes of keeping my blog organized, I will make Villaggio a separate posting. See below....