Indomania
Back home in Washington, DC, it's hard (impossible!) to find rijsttafel. I don't think I've had a good one since I was in The Hague many years ago!
Rijsttafel, is a sort of Indonesian/Dutch tapas. The "rice table" is delight to the eye and the palette. So, I was quite excited to find in Miami Beach, Indomania. Tucked into the ground floor of the Lorraine Hotel off of Collins Ave., 15 blocks or so from the hubbub of South Beach, Indomania offers a cozy dining room (hint: make reservations!), a playful pan-Asian ambiance and a friendly multi-culti staff (led by owners Ineke and Pieter Both), and fabulous food.
Our table of four started with an order of Fricadel jagung (corn cakes with chili/lime dipping sauce) which were excellent. For entrees, we opted to get one rijsttafel for two (the Rijsttafel Sumatra) and Oblok Oblok (friend tofu and tempeh). The Rijsttafel Sumatra was a smorgasboard (is that an oxymoron?) of fourteen tasty small dishes. Highlights were the Smoor djawa (slow cooked beef in kecap sauce); Rendang padang (beef stew in thick, spiced coconut sauce); Terong oseng (eggplant stew); and Sambal g bungcis (crispy, spiced green beans). The Krupuk udang (shrimp cracker) was very helpful in scooping up the rice!
For dessert, an order of friend bananas and ice cream was a perfect closing.
Indomania also featured a modest, but good wine list.
Meal: dinner
Rating: ***** of 5
Date: 7 March 2008
Address: 2601 Collins Ave, Miami, FL 33140
Website: http://www.indomaniarestaurant.com/
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Creek 28, Miami Beach
Creek 28
I'm not usually a fan of hotel restaurant, but Creek 28 is more than your typical hotel restaurant. Tucked into the courtyard of the historic 1936 Indian Creek Hotel (well away from the noisy glamor of South Beach, Creek 28 offers a fabulous dining experience.
On my visit, our table had the Beef and Lamb Goulash, Moroccan Lamb and Chicken Tagine, and Grilled Sea Scallops. All the dishes were excellently prepared with just the right mix of flavors. The tagine was served with a side of Moroccan spice that made wasabi seem mild.
The extensive wine list will compliment any of your food selections. I'll also point out the frequently changing specialty drink menu. On my visit, a dining companion had the vodka, vanilla bean, and hibiscus flower drink that was highly praised!
Meal: dinner
Rating: ***** of 5
Date: 4 March 2008
Address: 2727 Indian Creek Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33140
Website: http://www.creek28.com/
I'm not usually a fan of hotel restaurant, but Creek 28 is more than your typical hotel restaurant. Tucked into the courtyard of the historic 1936 Indian Creek Hotel (well away from the noisy glamor of South Beach, Creek 28 offers a fabulous dining experience.
On my visit, our table had the Beef and Lamb Goulash, Moroccan Lamb and Chicken Tagine, and Grilled Sea Scallops. All the dishes were excellently prepared with just the right mix of flavors. The tagine was served with a side of Moroccan spice that made wasabi seem mild.
The extensive wine list will compliment any of your food selections. I'll also point out the frequently changing specialty drink menu. On my visit, a dining companion had the vodka, vanilla bean, and hibiscus flower drink that was highly praised!
Meal: dinner
Rating: ***** of 5
Date: 4 March 2008
Address: 2727 Indian Creek Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33140
Website: http://www.creek28.com/
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Quote of the Day: 2 March 2008
"There's nothing on Badru but the spaceport .... There's Mikhail's Qwiksnak, a multilingual cafeteria in pink, purple, red, blue, green, and yellow neon (with missing letters) where you can get Galakt k Miks, Spudnik Fry, Krasnaya k la, and indigestion or worse. Nearby is Mikhail's Bistro where you can get a better class of indigestion."- Russell Hoban. (1996). Fremder. London: Bloomsbury, 2003. p. 2.
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