King's Palace...I Would be a Serf

Recommended by a Chinese friend of Benny's for its excellent roast duck, we went in one evening to give it a shot-word to the wise-there is no duck after 3 pm! We opted for a combination platter of roast pork & bar-b-q. On the positive, they have excellent bubble tea. However, the usually not-so-finicky Benny left feeling like he cannibalized some unsuspecting diner (the other OTHER white meat)...I don't recommend this restaurant for an evening jaunt, but for early birds, it could work. Plus, the staff are very attentive & the clientele are Chinese (eaters).

Bela Lugosi's Dead...But Vlad Dracul is Alive & Kicking (A**)

You won't get your neck bitten & no there aren't any simpering goth kids trolling this restaurant (which appears to be family owned by REAL Romanians). As you enter the restaurant, you are acutely aware that the owners are banking on the fame & kitsch associated with all-things Vlad (there is a ginormous statue of a seated Vlad Dracul to the right of the front door, complete with gold inlay). The decor is simple & yet reminiscent of family-owned restaurants. Folksy Romanian art decorates the walls & the staff are real ROMANIANS...on weekends Transylvania boasts a husband/wife duo who play instruments & sing respectively. The food is out of this world & the Romanian beer refreshing but STOUT. I had the "Gipsy Chicken Schnitzel" & BFF Benny the "Romanian Steak". Let me say, I secretly think any restaurant worth its salt mashes their own potatoes & I was not disappointed! Much to my dismay, we were unable to enjoy the Romanian Crepes (with NUTELLA filling)!!!! So, you could always speed read Bram Stoker's Dracula or meet him in person. Restaurant Transylvania: Downtown Hollywood, FL.

Pho 78: Eat it or Else

Extremely excited that the singular Pembroke Pines location of Pho 78 has branched out into a 2nd location & vamped up their website (which threatens you to try & eat something else with the "Eat Pho or Else" logo). Pho 78 has all of the best details of a truly spectacular pho shop & for those that don't know your pho, it's a staple of Vietnamese quisine. From "small-large" bowls, you can't really appreciate how filling this hearty (but also somehow light) soup is. Just a word to the wise, Benny finds the Medium a challenge. Pho comes with a lovely dish of savory/refreshing herbs from Thai basil to culantro & bean sprouts. Top it off with Sirachi chili sauce & Voila!

Dim Sum= Yum Yum

If you like the idea of endless food surprises but have read earlier posts about the Buffet of Horror (and concur) then Dim Sum is an excellent alternative. Pink Buddha, a local joint in Cooper city/Davie, FL is almost a dive, but worth the venture inside. Your clue to the volume of clientele that know about the awesome fare in store is the giant enameled Buddha statue whose painted belly is worn down to the quick (from the vigorous rubs of hopeful wishes, one would imagine). From the Singapoe noodles to the steam buns, Pink Buddha is no Montreal Harmonie bubble tea shop, but it's good enough for SOFL.

CHILI CON BENNY (& CARNE, TOO)

I have to brag on Benny a bit, because although he's a SpoiledFace, he is a great chef. I am normally persnickity about the mysteries that go into a pot of chili & YES, I have been to the (Broward County) Chili Cook-Off (the year my sister's fave band at the time Diamond Rio played). Let's just say I was willing to try line-dancing as an alternative, this is how uninterested I am in chili.

HOWEVER, Benny's chili is a whole other enchilada (yes, Benny can probably makes these too, & yes I would try them even though fake Mexican food has spoiled me for wanting to try the real deal). It's frozen in the freezer, at work, with co-workers, all over the place. I could start a catering business that just supplies this chili.....

I'm not Bursting Your Bubble, Tea!

Benny & were driving around over Memorial weekend & his eagle eyes spotted this cute shop:

M & H Cafe
2875 S. University Drive
(954) 530-0168

I will admit to a fair amount of moping around about Bubble Tea since I found that shop in Montreal's Chinatown (Harmonie). Now, M & H Cafe lacks the kawaii style buns from Harmonie, but they hit hard with their varieties of Bubble Tea (Chai, Honeydew, etc.).

For all y'all that don't know, Bubble Tea varieties are as vast as the universe is infinite, but each includes this key ingredient: black tapioca "bubbles" (pearls). Each glass is also equipped with Gynormous slurpie-style straws (Duh-for the "bubbles" of course).

This is hands down the best Bubble tea around since my fave shop closed in Wilton Manors (thank you Francesca for turning me on to Bubble Tea).

Just like Mikey, try it, you'll like it.

Buffet of Horror

Remember when you first discovered buffets & thought they were too good to be true? It seemed at the time that you were a Stranger in a Strange Land-& that Land was full of never-ending fried chicken & pancakes! This past week, because Benny & I were too lazy to take a leap of Foodie faith, we settled on Home Town Buffet (Davie, FL). Now, I'm not sure if some sort of Buffet Armageddon happened, but our usually reliable gourge spot was like a Midwestern town the Rapture hit-no one in sight. We joined a dejected looking crowd of food Wraiths hopelessly circling the stale food bars, only to return to our tables wondering what we just spent $28 for. Well, thanks to Benny for the date-night, but we agreed on this: If we are going to be disappointed in our dining out experience, we're takin' some chances on new dives (that way we can later blame, if necessary, the whole experience on Foodie Naivite)...

Much Ado About Arepas!

I was just thinking as I was eating a tasty arepa made by Alba Maria that soon I better get on the ball with making these seemingly easy-to-prepare corn cake paddies. For all y'all who don't know, it's all in the temperature of the water (lukewarm) mixed with the corn flour. Also, there is some dexterity required to make them flat (mine are thick & lumpy). As they say, practice makes perfect.

Another comment: yellow corn meal is better tasting, unless it tastes bitter (which means it's past its shelf life)!

Bogota Bee-Bop

Here are some of my picks & they aren't those mentioned in the guidebooks (sorry Lonely Planet & Fodor's):

1) Crepes & Muffins (Chapinero & Septima/7th)
2) Crepes & Waffles (any location)
3) Frida's (Super *****)
4) Oma (better than the Juan Valdez coffee shops which are somewhat reminiscent of Starbuck's). This is in La Zona Rosa.
5) Al Wadi (in La Macarena??) I just know that it's an awesome Middle Eastern restaurant in the bohemian section of Bogota & up what feels like 130, 000 stairs....

So, forget Andres Carne de Res, unless you've got the brass for it ($$$) & L'Jaim in La Candelaria is under new ownership (& neither the food nor the service is all that attractive). Don't let your friends trick you into drinking chicha either, this is a really potent & thoroughly disgusting drink!

If you are traveling to Villa de Leyva, walk around until you find an older gentlemen wearing a jaunty little cap & a cane who is the owner of Rincon de Bachue Restaurante Cra. 9 No. 15A-15. Don't worry, he can spot a foreign traveler from a mile away & will seek you out & chat you up. For the best Colombian B&B, stay @ Casa/Hotel Villa Cristina Calle 10 No. 3-78: (03) 313 3901833- 300 5686528 (Don Elirio).

I've been to Bogota 3x & still love it more each time. I have a lot of travel spot tips, but HEY, this is a blog for Foodie's!

Montreal & Fist-Pumping Cigarettes

On our Montreal paseo, Benny & I encountered several Foodie Finds. Now, there is a lot to recommend Montreal in scenery alone. This city is literally humming with activity & if you are a people watcher like me, you need to travel with a Foodie like Benny. Otherwise, you'll be so distracted by the visual stimulation, you're likely to starve!

Foodie Finds:
1) Basha's (Lebanese): This is a chain, but opt for the Sherbrooke & McGill location. Benny ate their almost every day of our trip & he's a selective eater. He didn't even try to pour ketchup or Ranch dressing on their food!
2) Harmonie (Vietnamese): In the heart of Chinatown, this shop is everything that is Kawaii cute. From it bubble tea varieties to the cute cakes & steam buns, you will need to walk the length of a street block over to Vieux Montreal to drop the carbohydrates. Don't waste time eating at the "Chinese Buffet" next door (avoid Tonkin).
3) Pho Cali (Vietnamese): Chinatown, on the main drag & it's all things noodle soup. The best pho shop in Montreal.
4) Tim Horton's: Also a chain, but it would put Dunkin' Donuts our of business today if one of these chains opened in Florida. Their hashbrowns alone make a body wish Passover passed more often. Not to mention the mocha cafe; a signature drink.
5) Jean-Talon Market: I saved this for last & for a reason. There is just too much to say about this place. It is a Foodie's delight & visually stunning. I'm hungry just thinking about it. From halal shops to bison-on-a-stick, this is a stop that makes the whole Montreal travel worthwhile. The vendors are friendly & the atmosphere cheerful. Just jump off the metro & follow the folks with their canvas bags...

Foodie Find: Too Jays Deli

Now, I have lived in Broward County longer than I care to say & I NEVER noticed this deli before. Leave it to BFF Benny's peepers to find this gem. When we were ordering & I told the server we were there as first-timers, he naturally assumed we had just moved to the area. I wish I would have captured for all time what followed: the server's mixed expression of shock/conufusion/dismay at my utter ignorance for not having heard of Too Jays sooner. Benny can be fogriven this one; he's only been a Florida resident for 2+ years! The food is perfection & the presentation delightful. If I were a food critic, I would give this Deli the highest star-rating (Huzzah, Deli Den).

Ropa Vieja: It Tastes Better than it Sounds...

I made ropa vieja this weekend & somehow it didn't taste as great as it did when I was a kid. I may have missed this crucial ingredient: (dry) white wine. As a kid, it wasn't easy to convince to me to eat something translated into English (from Spanish) as "old clothes" but then again, my sister wouldn't eat yucca because of its phonetic pronounciation! To this day, she holds fast to her opinions on "YUCKA"!!

Late Bloomer to Blogging

As I am encouraged to become a more seasoned traveler, I selfishly decided (along with my partner in crime/BFF), to blog my chronicles. Even if we are the only ones who read it!