This week we had our Miami food blogger year end dinner at Blue Collar where we were treated to an amazing special item, I ate inside two of the most laid back but great grocery stores in town and I was treated to the best Curry in a while.

There is nothing like getting together with people that share your same passion and gorge over that passion, and that is how a group of fellow bloggers from Miami and I had our year end dinner at none other than Blue Collar the other night. Why Blue Collar? Simple, it was the most named restaurant when I asked the question “what is your favorite local restaurant?”

Yalltastethis, MiamiDish, Fatgirlhedonist , GreatFoodlist and I met there and kicked off the night with some bubbles courtesy of ERgagit, who unfortunately couldn’t join us. Burgers, Corbens, Veggies and of course Bread Pudding where devoured but the highlight was a crispy sweet chicken breast inside the now famous portuguese muffin, with added red onions and tomato. It was amazing, and it puts to shame the Mama’s Chicken Buiscuits from Yardbird. Not sure if this item will end up on the menu but hopefully it will. Kudos to Logan, BC’s man in charge of the stoves when Serfer is away for creating this. They made the night. And thanks also to Yalltastethis for the chocolate treats!

That night of course we talked about nothing else and when the topic of Coconut Grove came up, Yalltastethis mentioned Jaguar and Bombay Darbar as her favorites. I love Indian food and my experience at Mint Leaf had been sub par, so I jumped to this suggestion the same week. It was solid good and I can safely say I believe there is no better curry place in town. The naans where soft and chewy and the lamb pasanda was creamy with juicy cubes of lamb inside. The spiciness of the shrimp tandoori was also special, served on a hot grill table side, sizzling.

Also this week I ate inside two very special small local grocery shops. Funny how probably the best middle eastern food and certainly one of the best japanese are inside these tiny, low profile shops but that is the case with Oriental Bakery and Grocery on Coral Way and Japanese Market in North Bay Village.

I love lebanese/syrian food and so far hadn’t found something up to the standards of the Lebanese Club in Caracas. Maroush in the Gables and Layali in Doral had been just OK. This tiny grocery, with an unpretentious counter manned by the owners packs some really flavorful grub, and even has its own lamb gyro. The pita comes out fresh at noon, tons of it, along with the spinach and cheese filled pastries. The tabule, hoummus and rice/meat stuffed grape leaves where all delicious, and the falafel wasn’t greasy, as often is. This is where I will go for my middle eastern fix from now on.

The Sushi Deli inside Japanese Market is another wonderful place to eat inside a low profile grocery shop. Too much has been written and too many locals are trying to soften this place’s popularity! So I’ll just leave it there. It is simply one of the best places to eat sushi in town, probably the best where it not for NAOE. Best to try off regular hours to avoid long waiting and serving times.

See you next week!

Gj