Super Arepa

Super Arepa Miami
14417 SW 42ns Street
Miami, FL 33175

Point Rating: 7.0/10

Where do I start with Super Arepa. Upon my first visit, I was pleasantly surprised with the atmosphere as compared to the former tenant of that space 'Wine It Down'. I ordered a Super Arepa de carne asada. It took practically no time at all for it to come out the kitchen and WOW. My meal didn't even look like an arepa! I sat there for at least 3 minutes, with a fork, poking my meat and moving things aside on a quest to find the actual arepa. Finally I realized that the arepa was forcefully opened and stuffed with meat to almost a 90° angle! So now for the flavor test. This mess of a meal is delicious. Stuff your face in your choice of chicken, pork or carne asada, with grated cheese and tons of their house sauce. So the real kicker in this arepa and the one thing that makes even bologna enjoyable is the great price. Arepas there are only $4.00 without taxes and such. So this fairytale has to come to an end at some point, right? I mean, why did I give these people only 7out of 10 points here? Let me explain. My first visit here was exceptional; no complaints. However, since then, each of my visits had two reoccurring problems. Their arepas which used to be served on 12" cheap paper plates (double stacked so they wouldn't break), are now being served on 6" cheaper paper plates (single stacked of course). Excuse me Super Arepa, I need space on my plate to make a mess and you're cutting back already?! Their disposable plating was never attractive but their choice to use smaller plates was absolutely appalling. Secondly, since my first visit, there a select number of employees (possibly only one person) who is extremely opposed to giving out cups of water with no charge. I've heard the false excuse of 'Our machines don't have water options' to 'We don't have cups. You need to purchase a beverage.'. If this company wants to stay afloat they need to remember that customer courtesy comes first. Even the over-priced coffee makers across th street (starb****) will gladly offer water, with ice, at no charge. So as you can see there are mixed feelings about this Venezuelan family owned business. I hope they stay around a while, but honestly it's going to come down to their service.

Otentic

Otentic Fresh Food Restaurant

710 Washington Avenue
Miami Beach FL 33139

Point Rating: 6.0/10

Located in the midst of Miami Beaches storefronts, is a hole in the wall authentic French restaurant. Have a seat inside where atmosphere is rather confusing with a repetitive pink checkerboard pattern that keeps popping up among a warm mustard and brown color palette. However, give the place a chance because your server will bring to the table a small glass of champagne and tapenade. Its a pleasant surprise as compared to the common "bread before your meal". Once you pick up your meal with a slight smile on your face from the champagne, prepare to glow because the prices of the entrees are incredibly reasonable. Authentic always tastes better when its easy on the wallet. The food is, as the name of the restaurant implies, authentic and fresh.  I had ordered the Provencal from the crepe selections. The chef is certainly talented in creating unexpected flavors that are delicious to eat. The highlight of my experience however was in delicate dessert I finished my meal with. I ordered the chocolate mousse which although was more expensive than expected, was ridiculously awesome. Its not overly sweet, had the texture of frosting but the smoothness whipped cream. Isn't that what a perfect mousse is supposed to be? And SURPRISE! It's made by the chef himself. It's nice to know that there are still small business restaurants that don't buy freezer packaged products. Anyways, all in all, this is a location that's worth trying at least once. It's authentic/Otentic and worth the extra calories when it's time for dessert.

Chef Adrianne's

Chef Adrianne's Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar

11510 SW 147th Avenue
Miami, FL 33196

Point Rating: 10/10

Do you love great quality food so much you would travel 500 miles to just see what everyone is talking about? Well good thing Chef Adrianne's is just around the corner. This restaurant is exactly what I was looking for when I started this blog. Chef Adrianne has been publicized in South Florida quite a bit through advertisement and media segments and was a finalist on the show Chopped recently. Her restaurant is hidden in the heart of the hammocks but packs a powerful punch is culinary architecture. Her restaurant is calm, soothing, and quaint. Each of her dishes flavors are unique in respect to its context. That is what is so magical about her restaurant. Her plates are delicious but unlike anything you've tasted here in South Florida. I ordered the pork tenderloin and I could have sworn I took a bite of God's own food. The meat was as tender as chicken and moist throughout the whole loin. It was perfectly cooked from crust to center and resting in a delicious sauce that you have to go taste for yourself. Adrianne Calvo has definitely hit a bulls eye with her Maximum Flavour selection and this restaurant might just take your breath away as long as you give this little restaurant in the hammocks a chance to wow your taste buds.

Welcome to the Critical Flavor!

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Critical Flavor. I'm Daniel and I find myself far too often driving aimlessly through the streets of Miami looking for "hole in the wall", "mom and pop" restaurants that might be the undiscovered diamond in this city of fast food, impersonal chain restaurants that seem to lurk behind every corner close to home. Don't get me wrong though! There are tons of small restaurants, and sweet food joints around town! But which of these restaurants are worth going and tasting the flavor they offer? That's where I come in. I'm going to go to one new restaurant a week and document my experience on this website. So you no longer have to waste time looking for something new and hoping the quality of your food is substantial. Instead, let's share the food we find with the world and see what happens. This way, if undiscovered restaurants are worthy of the big times, they'll be recognized by the most influential advertisement of our time, WORD OF MOUTH. So follow me from here on out every week to see what new flavor is hidden in this city of diversity!

100 Montaditos Restaurant

100 Montaditos

3253 Buena Vista Avenue, Suite 104
Miami, FL 33137

Point Rating: 9.0/10

I've been to a good amount of food joints in my life time. I have had the pleasure of dining on the floor, eating with my hands, chopsticks, grilling and frying my own food at some locations and even catching my own fish to have served to me. All these styles of a dining experience make your meal entertaining and enjoyable as compared to fast food and sometimes home cooking. 100 Montaditos is one of those restaurants that you tell your friends about when everyone is broke, on a budget, and looking for a good time. And the best part is there are TWO locations in Miami! What is so amazing about this place is the variety of flavors they have to offer, all on their little, tasty, bread rolls that range from salmon and cream cheese, to pulled pork and chipotle to hummus with olives. You'll have fun in this restaurant picking and sharing food with whoever you go with and leave with your hunger TERMINATED! When I visited the location in Midtown, the restaurant was packed. It was so tight, i had to plot a route on the floor to how I would maneuver to the register to place an order. I'd then have to wait to find a table to open up. Can you imagine how aggressive people get over a table to sit down at? The menu is your manual to organizing your restaurant experience into one of the two following goals; "stuff my face till my belt buckle breaks" or a "try every flavor I can even f the mystery meat is throbbing". Either  way the best part is that each montadito ranges from $1.00-$3.00 and can fill you up after being only $7.00 into your meal. I ordered the salmon and cheese, grilled chicken with chipotle, goat cheese and sun-dried tomato pesto, duck mousse with olives, hummus with eggplant, and a cookies and cream to finish off. All these montaditos are PACKED with flavor, it just depends on your tolerance with certain flavors to decide what you order. I personally enjoyed the salmon and cheese and goat cheese with pesto montadito most, and both were made fresh and served with chips to much on as well. So if you want a change of pace and your wallet is as empty as mine, go to 100 Montaditos at either Midtown or Miami Beach, find your way through the crowd and get yourself a couple of bread rolls and see what the hype is all about.

Red

Red - Simply Quality Fast Food

13911 SW 42nd Street
Miami, FL 33175

Point Rating : 7.5/10

Red is an interesting restaurant and definitely caught my attention. First of all, the location is phenomenal. There is a large "RED" logo on the Southern Wall fully exposed to Bird Road which is how I even noticed the restaurant in the first place. Inside is very comfortable. The dining area is ery clean and the atmosphere is close resemblance of the ever so popular Colombian cuisine "Los Perros". The restaurant plays music at a medium level of the light electronic genre that becomes very pleasant the longer you stay inside.  I ordered a very well priced special which includes a portion of churrasco, and two sides which I chose as french fries, rice, and mashed potatoes. Red's BIGGEST downfall is after you order. Their motto is 'Simply, Quality, Fast, Food', but there is absolutely NOTHING fast about this place. Eating alone, my order took approximately 20 minutes before I received it. I twiddled my thumbs, watched tv, heck! I managed to finish a game of sodoku before my meal came out. BUT! Once my food arrived, I started eating. This small restaurant on Bird Road and 139th Avenue is capable of cooking up some DELICIOUS churrasco. I was impressed with how the meat was cooked and tasted. The meat had no raw areas and maintained a moist, flavorful taste that shocked me where I sat. The following sentence is not an exaggeration. I did not use a knife to cut the steak. The meat was tender enough to cut with my teeth, (and i don't mean ripping apart like stray dog). The fries, rice and mashed potatoes were all very good but seemed to be unimportant when you have an 8"x2"x0.5" steak dominating your plate. Their prices are very good and the dining area is entertaining enough to recommend this place to anyone who enjoys good food at a great price.

Pasapoga Restaurant

Pasapoga Restaurant

15725 SW 72nd Street
Miami, FL 33193

Point Rating : 4.5/10

Pasapoga is a rather mid size strip mall restaurant/bakery in the newly developed western area of West Kendall. The location is cute and has a surprisingly high Cuban feel to it which becomes more difficult to stumble upon the farther away from Hialeah you go. That being said, I ordered their "Pasapoga Special" which stood out to me to be their signature sandwich. I mean why else would you put your name on the sandwich? The service was kind and very speedy with my order. But let's talk about what really matter here; the food. I gotta say for being Cuban food, they lack no culture to their flavor. However, Pasapoga Restaurant does not dazzle your taste buds. I felt their quality of food matches that of other Cuban restaurants. Were looking for a place that stands out, and their "Pasapoga Special" is basically a Miami Sandwich you can find at any Cuban bakery in Miami-Dade with sliced chorizo ("sausage" for my non-spanish readers) added in the middle. I can't blame them for not standing out though. In Miami, where probably over 50% of residents only speak Spanish, Cuban food is as real as it gets. It's hard for a restaurant to surpass what's pretty much been perfected in Miami-Dade. Anyways, for dessert I ordered their "Flan de Leche", and unfortunately though the custard was delicious, the caramelized syrup was bitter. The bitter taste usually occurs when whoever is preparing the flan overcooks the caramel and in a sense burns it, so that being said I was not at all impressed with the cooking of this place; (plus it sucks driving home with a bad after taste). So if I lived in the area and starving with nothing to eat, sure, I'd consider grabbing a bite to eat at Pasapoga Restaurant. However, in the occasion that I'm driving around with friends or family and we are deciding what to eat, I'd think twice about mentioning Pasapoga to anyone unless they are prepared to not be dazzled.