Miami in Pictures: The Food, Part Two

Saturday + Sunday

For lunch on Saturday, I ate at Life Food Gourmet, a raw restaurant in downtown Miami. I had the burger, which consisted of nut and seed patty, ketchup, mustard, nacho "cheese" and veggies on a flax bun. I also had a cacao shake on the side. It was all wonderful, but the service left little to be desired.



Dinner, as stated in the last post, was also at TiramesU.

On Sunday after waking up hungover late, I decided I wanted a traditional Sunday brunch. I made reservations at Blue Door at the Delano Hotel and ended up having a lovely experience at a breathtaking hotel.



Brunch started out with this:


A blueberry bellini that, though delicious, was probably not worth $15. I also had an unpictured mimosa.


Slow cooked steel cut oats (cooked in water) with candied walnuts and cranberries and the most delicious grapefruit I've had, bruleed with raw sugar.

Dinner was spent at Sushi Samba, a Japanese, Peruvian and Brazlian fusion restaurant. The waitress said they were tapas style, but the dishes were definitely bigger than traditional tapas. I went a little overboard with ordering and ended up with more than I expected, but it was all fantastic. My meal there was probably the most flavorful that I had in my entire stay.


Started with a recommendation by the waitress, watermelon mojitos. These were the second best mojitos I've ever had.


Edamame with sea salt and lime.


Tofu with Japanese eggplant, daikon and crispy asparagus.


The stickiest, most flavorful coconut rice I've ever eaten.


Creamy, sweet plantains.


Avocado roll, vegetable samba roll, cucumber roll. The vegetable samba was my favorite; it was filled with an array of veggies and came with a peanut dipping sauce.

I know this seems like A LOT of food, but rest assured it was all shared.

Well folks, this about wraps up my Miami adventures. To say I had fun is an understatement, and to say I want to go back is the 100% truth.

Ethos

I've been hearing about Ethos Vegan Kitchen since before I even arrived to Orlando; it was recommended by everyone I asked. So, I finally got my chance to go yesterday for their Sunday brunch. On Sundays they only serve their brunch menu, which limits choices, but there are still plenty of options. I went with the biscuits and gravy. I still don't know why because I've never had them before and it isn't really something commonly made or eaten in Massachusetts, but it sounded so good. Homemade biscuits? Oh yes.




This dish is completely unappealing to look at, I know, but it was really tasty. The gravy was peppery, thick, and hearty, which contrasted nicely with the buttery biscuits. I was surprised that the biscuits didn't turn completely to mush; they held up nicely even though they were smothered with the gravy. Even though this was super good it was also super filling and my tummy didn't feel so good most of the afternoon. My body isn't used to rich foods like this, I guess. This just proves that vegan food doesn't necessarily always mean healthy food! It was a nice treat, though.


I also had a side of fruit and fresh squeezed OJ, you know, to keep somewhat healthy. The OJ was awesome.

Overall, Ethos lived up to the hype. The restaurant itself has a cool vibe, they sell fresh baked cookies (I bought a snickerdoodle and a chocolate chip) and good music playing in the background. Their regular menu is very comfort food based and includes items that anyone can recognize and enjoy. I'm looking forward to going another day so I can check out their regular menu items.


This morning's breakfast featured nothing new - except my bowl and spoon! After brunch I hit up Crate & Barrel and treated myself to some new goodies. Buying cute dinnerware could in fact become a new addiction.