RACKS is not Italian for 'Boobs'...or is it?

All the action is in front of the pizza oven...




Or out on the waterfront patio...


All the agonizing lately about a code of ethics or some such nonsense for food bloggers/posters on the Internet, made me hungry; and then it made me realize just how much I love Racks (cough, the restaurant). This new Italian place with a great view on theIntracoastal in N. Miami Beach has great pizza It is baked in a domed brick/coal burning oven, and has the perfect crust-charred, a little ash-y, thin/crisp, but also a little chewy on top with that distinct dry coal finish. The oval-shaped pie I had was topped with artisanal sopressata secchi, goat cheese, aged provolone, and San Marzano tomatoes, and cooked just to the exact heat to separately bring out the best in all these high-quality ingredients, while also allowing them to mingle flavors for extra depth. When it is removed from the oven, the pie is then topped with a few hand-gratings of three-year-old Parmigiano-Reggiano, and some Olio Verde. The roof of my mouth is still ripped open the next day, as I could not stop consuming my two slices, right from the oven (which I was reverently standing in front of, naturally) before they cooled even slightly. I was offered one slice by the sweet-talking chef, but I 'mistakenly' ripped off two from the hot pie. I wanted to stay right at the counter, talking to the chef, Matthew, all evening, and just sample the pizzas as they came out of the oven. I mean I will talk to anyone about anything for perfect, free pizza, and his running commentary was pretty entertaining. He even explained that the dough spends three days rising in wooden boxes he had hand-made in New York. But there were 300 other people there, and they were all eating and drinking for free, like me, and I could endure the dirty/hungry looks no more.



Of course they also have the red Berkel hand-slicer (I loves you Berky-see below if you've never seen one in such sensuous, tantalizing action), and they were serving some beautiful prosciutto, speck, and some other imported salumi. But without a doubt, they have vaulted to the top of South Florida pizza-making. I guess that's easy, when, according to the chef, "You love what you do. You gotta love what you do." So yes, the secret ingredient, once again, as Marge Simpson once said, is salt. Sea salt.

Berky do your stuff...



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The perfect pie? Or is too dark to tell? Either way, owner Gary Rack has made his move...

Racks Italian Bistro and Market
Intracoastal Mall 163rd St and NE 36th Ave
N. Miami Beach, FL
305-917-7225
www.GRRestaurant.com

Miami (Five) Spice Recipe-Grouper Fillets and Pasta For Two Under $10

Back row-Baiana peppers, limes, capers, mango, banana sauce...
Front row (clockwise from left)-Lavender sea salt, ginger, mushrooms, Asian cilantro, fat scallions...


Grouper fillets-12 oz. $3.99 (six frozen fillets) at Food Giant on 79th St Causeway...
Start wrapping in aluminum foil...cover with other ingredients, then other 3 fillets...


Wrap tightly and cook at 350 for 25 minutes. Unwrap and slide onto big plate...



The fish stays very moist in the foil-but don't overcook it...



Serve with some thin spaghetti, which has been doused with olive oil, fried garlic, and sriracha sauce...

This is also an unusual sauce for the fish...use discreetly...

These peppers are extremely hot-have plenty of cold beer ready...

From Brazil...

Did I mention the five-spice powder? Always works with fish... didn't end up using the mango in the dish-I ate it while waiting for the fish to cook. Who knew mango went so well with Hoegaarden?

Summer Rolls-Miami when it's hot...

Asian cilantro, fat scallions, limes, cucumbers, ginger, mangoes...

First crack open a cold beer, or even better, some cold sake. Then try out these cool refreshing 'summer rolls', which just require one to quickly cook some shrimp, cutting down on the heat required in the kitchen. Or you can buy them pre-cooked if you like. Or vegetarians can just leave them out-firm tofu works. Get a pack of spring roll wrappers from the Asian grocery, they are about a buck and a half for about a hundred (try NE 163rd St-there are plenty of Asian markets on that strip). I pick up my groceries at LaGuardia market on NE 2nd ave and 34th St-all the items above for $3.50. Soak the wrappers in cold water for about 30 seconds, then carefully lift out and place on a plate. Have everything else at hand, and start wrapping, burrito-style. Don't fill too much or they will break. Put all your handiwork in the fridge, and let cool down for an hour. Crack open another beer.
Chinese secrets....I hate to give this one away, but five-spice powder is the best for making your dishes taste authentically Asian. Five spices, already mixed, sprinkle on the shrimp while you're cooking it. You get all the glory, almost no work. Works on everything. Also, aside from soy sauce, buy some oyster sauce-great for dipping. Make sure that 'oyster' is listed at the top of the ingredients. Buy the wasabi in the tube while you're there, too. Make sure the ingredients list 'wasabi'. Trust me.
Summer Rolls-the perfect cure for heat-stroke, and whining...


The assembly process is helped along by copious cans of cold beer...


Get the cat involved-they love shrimp, too, once they figure out what it is...


Sloppy, but pretty tasty. Dip in soy sauce, oyster sauce, or a combination of oyster, soy, and wasabi.

Miami's Choice Cafe Still Rules Wynwood...

{I've heard many rumors lately about Choice Cafe's imminent demise. However, CC is still here, at least for the moment. Do not delay your visit! Things do change fast here, and you do not want to miss this true Miami joint. In fact, I am 'repurposing' this post, which is almost a year old, to let everyone know that nothing has changed at Choice, and it is still one of a kind.}

The hole-in-the-wall joint that you heard about but weren't sure actually existed? On a street that, even when it's crowded, looks deserted? Because three's a crowd on NW 3rd Ave., in whatever the heck the Miami Chamber of Commerce is calling this 'district' this week (Fashion? Arts? Let's wait until the developers get their two cents in...). It's right around the corner from the Rubell Collection, and would be a perfect spot for the employees' cafeteria. In fact, it's also hard by MOCA at the Goldman, the Margulies, and the Bakehouse, and just a few blocks from most everybody else in the Wynwood crawl. You'd expect slumming art slags all over the place, slurping their Bibimbap, and watching the TV tuned to Japanese baseball. But there's just a few local workers, and a slow but steady crew of Koreans, with nary an asymmetrical haircut in sight.

A reader and fellow food-lover hipped me to this place, and I hope they don't get fired from their job for aiding and abetting. But I'm certainly not the first person to write about Choice Cafe, and I have a feeling I won't be the last. This is a place where the food is delicately yet firmly spiced, and even the panchan, the five or six little traditional side dish accompaniments, each have something special about them. The chef, the dude with the food-spattered t-shirt, is Go. He mans the over-sized wok, and will happily explain anything you don't understand to you, if he is not cooking. The front of the house is run by the delightful yet stern Kui, who pretends she doesn't speak English (or is pretending to pretend-maybe it's all an ironic performance piece), and prefers when you order by number. She will also ring you up, and roll out the cart to deliver your food.

In deference to taskmaster Kui...

#3..."Kimchi & Pork BBQ spicy marinated thin sliced" ($11.95)
#6..."Homemade noodle top cooked w/potato, pork & bean past[e] special sauce" ($7.95) #8..."Mixed seafood & vegetables with soft tofu in a heated stone pot ($8.95)
#15..."Steam rice, beef & vegetables in a heated stone pot w/house spicy sauce" ($9.95) #21..."Pan fried dumplings" ($7.95)

Everything was served promptly, fresh and hot, and each dish had its own distinctive textures and tastes. This isn't some cheapo joint throwing out lifeless, forgettable food. There is a mastery and love of Koren cuisine here, albeit on a short menu (and I am certainly no expert on Korean food), that comes through in each dish. And as you return, the frosty Kui and the likable Go will probably remember you, and make the extra effort to make sure everything is just right. As long as you order by number

Choice Cafe
2750 NW 3rd Ave
Miami, FL 33127
(305) 438-4224
Open M-F for breakfast and lunch (11AM-4PM, more or less)






Number 8....


I had to add a few rough videos so you could see how hot and bubbly the food was, and how much fun we had eating it...

Number 6
Number 6, Number 21, panchan
Number 21
radish, onion (panchan)
Number 8

Number 15, panchan, Number 3
Number 15, crunchy rice

Homey
They also have an English menu

Clean
Artsy
Number 15
Number 3
Panchan


Total Pigout... Someone please give that guy a napkin and tell him to slow down...

Choice Cafe

2750 NW 3rd Ave

Miami, FL 33127

(305) 438-4224

Open M-F for breakfast and lunch (closing around 4 or 5 PM)