The Hungry Photographer
Supporting Local food to satisfy my stomach.
From Rusty to Renovated
Yep were talking about the Rusty Pelican; we came here for lunch today even though I checked in for dinner, oh well. The changes have been done all the way from the entrance of Rickenbacker Causeway to their back patio area, from the walkways to the ceiling, they even changed the brown shingles to yellow paint. The last time we were there was for a bridal show with the now wife and it was dark. Fast forward at least 4-5 months and they have made this historic restaurant a work of art inside and out. Best part was their entrance, from the reception area you can see into the dinning room but you first have to walk through a wine cooler containing more than 1,500 bottles from floor to ceiling. It's totally Awesome and makes you want to add it to your next man cave!
So lets talk about their menu a bit; they have made it completely modern with small plates and big sandwiches. At least that's what we have seen today. Menu items that would be big & oversize in most other places here were simple & elegant. Their presentation is exceptional.
We were 9 at this table but sadly I only photographed a few items, most of everything else was eaten instantly and rightfully so, it looked exquisite, every dish melted my mouth but still I have to satisfy you (my readers) & your stomachs with photos.
For an appetizer I ordered "Lobster Crudo"; 2oz lobster, Cucumber, Piquillo Peppers, & Key Lime Dressing. 2 words: Mouth-watering. The Florida Lobster is sweet and tender, surrounded with cucumber and topped with Piquillo Peppers (basically roasted Spanish peppers) which are a bit sweet and spicy, a and dizzle of key lime dressing bringing all the flavors of Florida together in one plate. If you can stack these in your imagination it was like this on my fork: on the bottom I tried to soak up the Key lime dressing with the Cucumber then stack the Lobster then the Piquillo Peppers on top.
"Lobster Crudo"
My sis & cuz shared the "Duck Confit, Foie Gras, & Goat Cheese Empanadas" (no photo) & "Baby Octopus Greek" Salad; Grilled Baby Octopus, Feta Cheese, Cucumber, Plum Tomatoes, Red Onions, Kalamata Olives, Oregano, Red Wine Vinaigrette. They both enjoyed the empanadas & agreeing in that they were creamy. I can just imagine (I love me some goat cheese). The salad looked amazing, luckily I was able to snap a photo before they both devoured it. Be it that the photo is a close up the chunks of veggies were still large.
"Baby Octopus Greek" Salad
For my entrée a simple Burger, not the sliders I initially was going to order until I found out it was a single mini slider. :( *Note: I wasn't expecting to eat a burger at a seafood joint, but didn't want fried grouper either.. So back to my burger, I ordered the "Miami Spice Burger"; Buffalo Mozzarella, Grilled Jalapenos, Arugula, * Roasted Pepper Aioli. The burger is on the sandwich list of course and from the looks at it its the better bang for you buck at a 5 star joint, all of their sandwiches were on the big size but not super filling, which is a good thing. A Chuck-Sirloin blend of beef ordered medium, the patty is juicy & has a bite every time you bite into the grilled jalapenos, the arugula provides a subtle balance to the jalapeno. The buffalo mozzarella cheese is creamy on top along with the roasted pepper aioli dripping from the bottom. All together another mouth watering dish.
"Miami Spice Burger"
If you haven't made your way over to Rickenbacker lately, you should stop by the Pelican and see whats cooking.
Sundays on the Green Photos
I know I have been missing in action lately with the photography blog, but you can check out the busy side over at the food blog. (Where I have been hiding so to say)
Here are a few photos from a festival this past Sunday.
Sundays on the Green Photos
Sorry for the delay, Here are the photos from Sundays on the Green at Wynwood Green!
Sundays on the Green
If you joined us yesterday at Wynwood Green you would have known how great this event was for everyone there. Educating the public about healthier lifestyles, healthy eating, & better fuel from Marathon Biodiesel just to name a few. On top of everything there were a few Organic/Vegan Food trucks; Mac'n Food Truck, Coolhaus, GastroPod, & Bocaditos (a relatively new truck to the scene).
While I documented the event and the vendors my wife held down the our own Osocarras Photography tent. Good news is I did get a chance to eat a bit while she ate most of it. Our first stop was at Mac'n for a Black Bean Burger & side of Sweet Potato Fries. The black bean burger is just that; black beans, rice, carrots, vegenaise, coleslaw and a warm bun. There might be a few other ingredients I'm missing but none the less my first try at vegan food. I always welcome black beans and rice being that I'm Cuban & now in burger form, I'm down for that. I opened my mind yesterday to a whole new way of eating and doing so I didn't see a thick vegan patty with coleslaw between a bun. I ate one of the best non-beef filled burgers I have ever came across. I have had veggie burgers before but the black bean burger was very good & very tasty. The beans, rice, & carrots are put together and made into a patty. You can taste every ingredient, the slaw was crunchy and the bun soft, I would have to say that vegenaise has to be better tasting that reg mayo & probably is better for you in the long run. I would have taken more for dipping the homemade sweet potato fries.
"Black Bean Burger"
The Sweet Potato Fries were nice and thick, but it seemed to me that they were a bit on the greasy side yet still yummy. All around for my first time I can say like this sort of food (vegan).
"Sweet Potato Fries"
We couldn't decide what to order at Gastropod but we did get to see their special of the day (no photo, sorry) of Bacon + potato hash + fried egg + crispy onions. It looked awesome and mouth watering but I was one person late. Oh well until next time.
For lunch we had Bocaditos Food truck & their special of 3 micro sandwiches, side of Shoestring Fries, & Kiwi Soda (they have other flavors). The Micro we had were 2 Chikichurri's & 1 Micro-Cuban. The Chikichurri; a juicy, flank steak smothered with caramelized onions & organic chimichurri aioli served on artisan french bread. Basically Sandy said "this is the best Steak Sandwich" only in micro size. The flank steak is juicy and the chimichurri aioli soaks into the french bread giving everything a great flavor.
The Micro-Cuban has baby-swiss melted over roasted, pork sirloin & maple brined ham served on a medinoche roll with crisp, all natural kosher pickles covered in smoky dill sauce.
"El Pavo Micro Sandwich"
Of course we can't leave without having Coolhaus IC. I had the Dirty Mint IC in a cup, I prefer the sammie with those cookies (who doesn't) but we changed it around yesterday. The dirty mint chip is vanilla ice cream, chocolate chips, and mint (the dirty comes from the mint leave pieces). The first time I had it was in a cup of Panther Coffee as the afogato style & It was an odd blend, this time it was different, you can really taste the vanilla and mint. I don't think I'm a big fan of the mint pieces, they were a bit stringy this time but still this treat was refreshing.
Sundays on the Green will be every last Sunday of the Month, if you missed it hopefully we will see you in February!
I'm still working on the vendor photos, that will be in the next post.
Check out the links below for more info!
Like Wynwood Green on facebook & Follow @wynwoodgreen
Like Mac'n Food Truck on faceboook & Follow @macnfoodtruck
Like GastroPod Miami on facebook & Follow @gastropodmiami
Like Coolhaus on facebook & Follow @CoolhausMIA
Like Bocaditos Food on facebook & follow @bocaditostruck
Tropical Park & Awesome*Sauce
Last night we checked out the lineup at Tropical Park for Bikes & Bites by Food Truck Invasion, lets just say its a mix of motorcycles, classic cars, street customs, & food trucks. Lots of different kinds of people and foods to keep the eye moving and the stomach growling!
We started at the end closest to Bird Rd. & the classic cars, then worked our way towards the cycles. We picked up some "Fried Mac & Cheese Balls" from Papa's Tapas to start off our trek around the park. Good thing about these were consistency, we had these before at another event & they looked the same but tonight they tasted better. the mac and cheese was seen more chunky than before. I didn't do a full review tonight because we already had. You can see the full review of the Fried Mac & Cheese balls here.
We continued over to Ms. Cheezious Their special of the night was "Poppin Jalapeño Cheese Melt"; jalapeño, goat cheese, apricot preserves, bacon, & sourdough bread. The bacon & toast is crunchy & the apricot preservatives are sweet. There's a mild bite from the jalapeño. All together it has a smoky taste from the bacon and sweet apricot; and it reminds you of a country setting. Overall not as hot and spicy as I thought, I think the goat cheese mutes the heat from it but ultimately keeps the peace among all the other ingredients.
"Poppin Jalapeno Cheese Melt"
One truck that caught my eye was Monster Burgers, they have the full monster theme going on and they know how to get your attention. With either Monsters Inc. playing on a a screen for the kids (big or small), the green laser catching your eye or abuela passing out the menus. It was a trip and and I mean that in the best way possible with the laser (I couldn't stop staring at it). Sadly we didn't eat any Monster burgers but we will return.
We went on to "Dim Ssäm à gogo" I heard raves about this truck and their restaurants "Sakaya Kitchen", this was a great opportunity for us to try it tonight. I looked over the menu and the first thing to catch my eye was the Kimchi! Awesome! (love this stuff). Of course the first thing to catch Sandy's eye was Tator Tots! Ha! Immediately we ordered the "Crispy Shrimp Soft Tacos" & "Short Rib Chunk'o Cheesey spicy Tator Tots".
First up were the tacos; presentation is key with Dim Ssam, and they have the full theme going on here. The tacos are served up in a jumbo size Chinese box and comes served with Kimchi Slaw, Cilantro, Shrimp, Awesome*Sauce, (I made that up, 'cause I have no idea what kind of spicy sauce it was but it was awesome), & flour tortillas, 2 tacos per order as seen below. These were insanely awesome, the spicy heat sticks with you at first then tapers off slowly. The cilantro is fresh , kimchi crunchy, & I think the shrimp was breaded but not really sure. Either way all together it was awesome, I would order these again in a heartbeat.
"Crispy Shrimp Soft Tacos"
Onward to tator tots, Not your usual tots served in the boring elementary cafeteria. Dim Ssam set the bar high with these! They come out served in the jumbo box as well as as being steaming hot, with all the colors popping I just cant wait to dig in. The "Short Rib Chunk'o Cheesey spicy Tator Tots" are great; with Sandy adding that "the heat is here and it makes you want to eat more" The Tator Tots are cheesy and crunchy, If you can grab a tator tot, soft short rib meat and crisp green onion with your chop sticks; you will taste all the flavors in one bite. The spicy sauce is the same used for the tacos. These have to be the best tater tots I have ever had.
"Short Rib Chunk'o Cheesey spicy Tator Tots"
Special Thanks to Julio & Mack for their great service and information while being able to handle the incoming crowd at the truck, I look forward to sitting down at one of the Sakaya Kitchen restaurants.
Check out the links and follow these trucks!
Like Papa's Tapas on facebook & Follow @Papastapasmia
Like Ms. Cheezious on facebook & Follow @MsCheezious
Like Monster Burger on facebook & follow @Monsterburgers
Like Dim Ssäm à gogo on facebook & follow @Sakayakitchen
© 2011 OSOCARRAS Photography