Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Apizza Brooklyn (Pinecrest)

This is my favorite Italian restaurant in town.  I eat dinner here about once every two weeks with my family.  This restaurant opened up a few years ago in the same shopping center as Five Guys.  It was an instant success.  I recommend eating here on a weekday before 7 pm because this restaurant gets very busy.  The seating area isn't very big so at times the wait can be up to two hours.

My favorite meal on the menu is the Chicken Parmesan.  It is a big portion and comes with a side salad and spaghetti with tomato sauce.  Their tomato sauce is noticeably homemade and tastes amazing.  Their prices are a bit on the expensive side, so if you don't want to have a big bill I suggest ordering one of their large pizzas.  They serve a variety of specialty pizzas all cooked in their brick oven right in front of you.  The owner is usually there and will even stop by your table to ask how everything is.  You can tell that him and his family are very invested in the restaurant.  I suggest trying this local small business out for dinner with your family.

Tacos and Tattoos (Kendall)

This family owned and operated Mexican restaurant features a tattoo shop atmosphere.  The inside is very dark and mysterious and has a grunge theme.  The waiters are young and hip looking people wearing all black.  The walls of this restaurant were all decked out in paintings that imitated tattoos.  It is a very trendy place to eat, preferably for dinner.

My mom and I decided to eat here this past week after hearing so many people rave about this place. The menu offers Mexican classics such as chips and salsa, tacos, and burritos.  I decided to try something different.  I ordered the Crispy Patacon which is a large fried plantain topped with fried queso fresco, salsa, lettuce, and a choice of protein; I chose chicken.  As for my mom, she ordered their Classic Burrito.  We ended up splitting our meals and loved the taste of both.

An interesting thing Tacos and Tattoos has to offer is a cup of honey on every table.  My mom and I asked the waiter about the honey and he explained that it can be put on all of their meals to lighten the spicy flavor.  We mixed it in our salsa and it was delicious.  I thought this place was very unique and really strayed away from a "typical" Mexican restaurant.

Friday, April 1, 2016

Glass & Vine (Coconut Grove)

This new trendy American bistro is located in the middle of Peacock park. It has been open for about a month and features a very unique menu. Before Glass & Vine opened, the actual restaurant used to be a glasshouse. The new restaurant kept some aspects of the glasshouse into their design to give the place a very cool atmosphere. There is a large outside deck with high top tables and there is seating inside with a large bar too.

Not many people know about this place since it is so new. I can tell that they are still working on a few touch ups within the menu. The menu contains a lot of small plates and appetizers so I ordered a wide range of items from the menu. One of my favorites was the seasoned pork tenderloin. My moms favorites were the roasted almonds and the roasted chicken.

This restaurant is in a very convenient location. It is in walking distance to CocoWalk and in the middle of a nice park. The servers were all friendly and the owner of the restaurant walks around to check up on all the tables and to introduce himself. I recommend stopping by this restaurant in the evening for dinner.