Miami: Fontainbleau Hotel: Hakkasan

Location:

4441 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach

http://www.hakkasan.com/miami/

You know when you're sunburned and so relaxed, that even though you want to get dressed up and go out, you really don't want to go too far?

That's when dining in one of the hotel's restaurants is the best idea, ever.

Hakkasan fit the bill. Although they were fully booked, they were gracious and got us a table after a short wait.

The dumplings were the highlight for sure. Incredibly moist, and with abundant flavor and texture, we held that as the standard. Alas the fish dish was not up to par. Am not a fan of bland steamed fish with sauce poured over it. The eggplant didn't have too much oomph and the fried rice was forgettable.

Redemption came in the form of chocolate (naturally) and won us over again. If you're staying at the Fontainbleau Hotel, I highly recommend dining there. If you're not, I wouldn't bother with the trek.

Cambridge: REI Camp Cooking Challenge

On July 28, 3 local area chefs battled it out on a grassy hill-top using only 1 local (and secret) ingredient.

The 3rd annual Camp Cooking Challenge was sponsered by REI and the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, hosted by Dane Tullock, Outreach Specialist, REI Boston and videographed by Jeremy from Studio603films.

Using REI's camping gear and fresh produce from The Food Project the chefs were challenged to serve two dishes to the judges using the red fish as their master ingredient. The judges were DAR commissioner Greg Watson, Editor of Northeast Flavor Magazine, Jean Kerr (whose current issue features Julia Child), Founder and President of Chop-Chop Magazine, Sally Sampson and Director of Food Initiatives , Edith Murnane.

The winners were Chefs Chris Douglass and Nuno Alves from Tavalo for their seafood risotto (I tried it, it was delicious!)

Coming in second was Chef Jay Murray from Grill 23 with Chef Patricia Yeo (from tv's Top Chef Masters fame and Moksa) coming in third. (I'm a huge fan of Top Chef so it was a pleasure to meet Chef Patricia Yeo).

Here, some highlights (my interview by Dane made it to my Instagram feed!)

Happy Birthday Julia Child!

Miami: 5 Napkin Burger

Location:

455 Lincoln Road

Miami , FL 33139

http://5napkinburger.com/locations-menus/

Have you been to a 5 Napkin Burger? New York has the most number of them, and there's one in Boston's Back Bay, which I haven't visited, yet.

The one in Miami is stellar especially when you're looking for fish tacos in Miami and you'd think it would be easy to find. Not on Lincoln Road, it's not. So who woulda thought a joint with 'burger' in the title would serve fish tacos?

Well they do, and they do it well!

The only thing they don't do as well is their brownie sundae. Athough exceptional in size, the brownie bits were hard and not as moist and gooey as should be in a sundae.

Overall, a good meal. And next time I'll go for a burger!

Miami: Wynwood Kitchen & Bar

Location:

2550 N.W 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL

http://www.wynwoodkitchenandbar.com/home.html

When I first met Elizabeth, we discussed events and restaurants in Miami and she sent me a thorough list of her recommendations, one of which was Wynwood Kitchen & Bar.

It worked out really well that we were able to dine with Elizabeth here after taking a walk through the Art District.

Besides a rather absent-minded server, we had an incredible meal of a variety of tapas dishes.

Props to the medjool dates (bacon-wrapped) for making my night! The spicy shrimp skewers get a shout out for being mighty tasty, too.

All-in-all a wonderful place to dine.

San Diego: Chocolat

Location:

509 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92101

To me, there's nothing better than a warm croissant and coffee or tea with breakfast.

Nothing.

Except, maybe with bacon.

Chocolat in the Gaslamp District of San Diego, appears to be a gelato/dessert bar, but they have warm croissants and pastries as well, served right to your table if you wish to sit down to eat for breakfast.

Which I did, savouring the moment (like this stylish patron was).

Their gelato spread looked divine, and is definitely worthy of a second visit!

Cambridge: Helmand

Location:

143 1st Street Cambridge, MA

Finally! Something tasty in this city!

I've never tried Afghan cuisine, but it certainly has very distinct flavours. Mint to coriander to pumpkin to cardamom. Curries and rices but crispy pastries and soft breads.

We ordered Bowlawni, the pastries filled with veggies, the Qoremay Ma-He, sea bass that's pan fried and sauteed, and served with rice. Absolutely delicious! The vegetarian special which includes baked pumpkin (out of this world!) eggplant, spinach, okra, and rice.

The cardamom cake (called "our cake" on their menu) is a must try. I make a cardamom cake, too, although this was much more moist and soaked in the essence. Mine is more of a tea cake (also a must try!)

It was also fairly busy even on a weeknight, but the service was still attentive and beyond wonderful.

I can't recommend this place more!

Greece: Santorini, Sugar

Location:

Zoto's

It was the same place where we got the gelato. This time around it was for the magnificent and ENORMOUS sugared puff pastry.

YUM!

Boston: Union Oyster House

Location:

41 Union Street Boston, MA 02108

Yes, it's America's OLDEST restaurant (in terms of being open for continuous service), and was established in 1826.

1826!!

The recipes possibly date back as far as then, too. To a time when perhaps seasoning wasn't available, for the blandest of bland meals can be eaten here.

Good clam chowder, if the simple ingredients of cream, potatoes and bits of clam, could possibly be screwed up.

Potatoes tasted like dirt.

The asparagus and beans weren't cooked fully.

The biscuit barely saved my meal from being a total disaster. I even overheard someone complaining that his daughter ran out with an upset stomach from the scallops.

Shame on us for taking guests from out of town there.

Greece: Santorini, McDaniels

I don't recall the location of McDaniels, but boy was it packed (a good sign, no?)

Tasty gyros at a decent price. Although not really a sit down restaurant, we did manage to snag a couple of stools to sit on. It was mighty delicious and the fries were fresh - the bonus is the fries IN the gyro, like we had in Mykonos. #BESTTHINGEVER

Greece: Santorini, Perissa Beach, Taverna Korali

Location:

Perissa Beach, Santorini

The ocean combined with time in the sun never fails to cause the biggest rumbling stomach, wouldn't you agree?

Souvlakis and beers all around, I say!

And while it certainly wasn't the best souvlaki in town, being right by the beach having a cold beer is more than one could ask for.

Boston, Brookline: Fugakyu

Location:

1280 Beacon Street Brookline, MA

Sounds like you're swearing at me, but it's all good. REALLY GOOOOOOD!

Totally fresh and awesome sushi right there. I'll be back. (image via Instagram)

DIY: Create a 3-tier Stand

This is the best Martha Stewart idea I've ever implemented into my own parties. It's the DIY 3-tier stand for cupcakes or sandwiches!

It's ridiculously easy and looks fantastic in any table setting, especially when covered with pretty edibles. (This can also be done with paper plates, if you wish)

You will need:

3 plates of 3 sizes, large to small

2 bowls of the same size, but smaller than the plates

1. Take a large square plate, (can be square or round, I prefer square)

2. Place one bowl upside down on the 1st plate

3. Add a smaller sized plate on top of the upside down bowl

4. Repeat with remaining bowl and smallest plate, TA DA!

If that wasn't the easiest thing, ever, I don't know what is!

Add whatever fancy finger foods to each tier, and there you have a 3-tier stand!

Greece: Santorini, Tomatoes + Octopuses

Or Octopi, if you wish.

One of them is good in my books. The other, I can live without.

Greece: Santorini, Zoto's

We visited Zoto's Family Pastry TWICE in three days, first, for this.

Greece: Santorini, To Ouzeri

Location:

Famprika Shopping Center, Fira, Santorini, Greece

Many of the restaurants on the tourist-heavy Fira (in Santorini) were packed with diners trying to get a good "sea-view". We finally settled on "To Ouzeri" minus the view because it wasn't overly crowded. I've often said this is a bad sign but didn't heed my own advice here, as the menu looked interesting.

We wanted to try some of the unique items on the menu, Tomato Fritters, Stuffed Zuchini and the fried Calamari that was full of promise.

The service was really slow as it seemed that only a couple of people were running the whole show, and since we weren't in a rush, this wasn't an issue.

The worst part however, was the taste of the food. The stuffed zuchini looked appealing, however the zuchini itself was soft in the center and even had that spoiled taste. The tomato fritters were bland and greasy, as was the fried calamari (the biggest we'd ever seen). Everything was rather mediocre. They do have a blog with the recipe for the tomato fritters, so I'm going to try making them myself.

Our server even asked us how we enjoyed our meal, to which we had a lacklustre response. She was surprised. And with some rave reviews on TripAdvisor, I'm surprised too.