This week I revisited my favorite two Thai places and confirmed how great they are, had my first Corned beef sandwich over at my friend Josh’s Deli, was probably the last person in Miami to visit Timo and finally made it to Eating House 2.0 for brunch.
Who doesn’t love a sweet, spicy, thick thai curry dish with some sticky white rice? What protein you choose is almost irrelevant, this week at Panya Thai and Oishi Thai, both in North Miami, I was able to reconfirm they are probably the best Thai restaurants in town. The curries at Oishi are slightly creamier, and the service probably slightly better but Panya feels more genuine and less Western. Oishi has a great lunch special for 11$ a curry, and their pad thai is less heavy on the fish sauce. I dont know their sushi and probably will never try it, as far as I’m concerned they should just delete it, but I guess the clientele in the area demands it. Panya is more aunthentic, not just in decor but in offer as well. Their thai style roll which I had never had is amazing, and overall it just feels more “thai”. Great places both of them, Miami can’t complain it lacks good thai.
By now if you haven’t been to or heard about or read about Josh’s Deli in Surfside you probably shouldn’t have arrived to this blog either! All the buzz is well deserved, what Josh is kicking out of that joint virtually on his own is some of the best stuff you can get your teeth into around town, and this week I finally managed to get into one of his staples: the corned beef sandwich. He cures the meat himself and it is unreal with every bite, few dishes with such few ingredients can claim such greatness in town (the beef, mustard, some rye). Kind of like the blue Collar burger. I love these “3 ingredients greats”; simplicity, flavour, punch, greatness. Go there and order it, you won’t regret it. Order everything for crying out loud, you will be happy.
Speaking of simplicity and greatness, and as I finally try to catch up on so many great Miami restaurants from the “pre-MGFD” era (you will have noticed we started a new section in the blog dedicated to “classics” or places that have been open for more than 10 years), I had dinner at Timo the other night. Not a classic yet! But soon to be (May 2013), I’m sure I’m the last food blogger to eat here given its popularity, at least with the Northern crowd. The service was as great as you would expect it to be from a place that has been going strong for almost 10 years and is still packed for dinner. Everything we ate was very nice, the duck confit crispy and nicely paired with creamy polenta and cherries, the pizza crispy and savory, but the highlight was their foie gras. You don’t need to play around with such an ingredient, mother nature created this delicacy for it to be enjoyed practically on its own, with the benefit of a brief sautee and a tiny compliment from sweetness. Timo does just this, with delicate caramelized apples and a tiny crust underneath. A must if you visit them.
Also this week I finally made it to “Eating House 2.0“, where Giorgio and his team have now formally set up shop and are back to their crazy but very flavorful offerings. I think one can comfortably say it seems Eating House has matured? Or so it seems now with the nicer tables and chairs, great new design inside the old Gables cafe, and even up and ready with reservations that include text messages to confirm, etc. The food also seems to have matured. I had, together with a couple of friends the entire Brunch menu (and then some), and there were no misses. I personally prefer much more his savory dishes over the sweet ones, but they were all very creative, filled with flavour and interesting. I don’t know what has changed in it but the now famous “tomato” dish that landed on the Miami magazine cover has gotten a lot better, maybe some new herbs in there I’m guessing. A must for anyone visiting. I will sure go back soon for the dinner menu. Well done to Girgio and his crew.
See you next year!
Gj
