For this weeks food blog, I am going to talk about the food in Miami! I was there Thursday through Sunday so I was unable to cook and blog about it. I figured it would be a good idea to talk about the food I ate while on my trip. You would assume that the food in Miami would be good, like BANGIN good, right? No, not at all. I actually hated almost every single thing I ate. I’ll take you through a little day by day!
Thursday we went to Lincoln Rd for the first time. It’s basically a strip with a bunch of stores and restaurants. We decided to eat at some Italian place that was 10.95. We figured, why not. First, there was a floater in our water so we ordered soda. Then when our food came and it was very tasteless. We figured since it wasn’t that good, we would try a different place for the next night.
On Friday, we went to Bice on Ocean Drive. And boy, let me tell you how horrible this experience was! First, we get to Ocean Drive and we were basically attacked by some pushy waiter trying to get us to sit down. Unfortunately, it’s a big thing in Miami for waiters/hostesses to stand on the sidewalk and try to get you to eat at their restaurant. We told the first waiter “We’re going to see what else there is” and he snapped at us “All 27 of these restaurants are owned by the same people, the menus aren’t going to change!” Well, in that case, let me just stay here.. NO WAY.
We succumbed to some waiter at a place called Bice, which is part of the Victor Hotel. This was by far my WORST restaurant horror story in a long time. First, we were brought free “champagne” which was the cheapest tasting thing ever. Then when we ordered, I ordered a beef sandwich cost $20. Yeah, talk about over priced. The sandwich comes with onions and mushrooms and I specifically asked for “NO mushrooms”. While we waited the 25 minutes for our food to come, we realized we were never offered water, or anything to drink, so we had to ask. That was my first big strike. Then, when the food came, there was mushrooms on it. I called a waiter over and told him the mistake and he took it back. My friend looked at me and said “You know they’re just going to scrape it off” and I said “Yeah, so I hope they just get it all off.” This is how it was brought back..
Yes, there are still mushrooms. Not only that, they took the onions with them. -___- That’s the second strike. When the waiter came back he asked what happened and I told him and he goes “Yeah, you asked for no tomatoes.” and I said “No I didn’t” and he goes “Onions?” – I was baffled. Did he think he was funny? I was fuming by this point. Please don’t mock your customers! I said “Please let me speak to the manager” and his response was “Why?” WHY?! And that’s where I went off. No water, no service, rude service, messed up order, etc. I told him “You are so lucky I’m not allergic to mushrooms or else I could sue you.”
I am really not one to complain to waiters, trust me I’m not. I’ve been working in retail and food for eight years, so I appreciate people and hate bothering people. But when I’m really pushed, I will say something.
The waiter came back (never bringing the manager) and said “I can give you 20% off.” In my mind, it should be free but I didn’t want to argue anymore so I just said “Ok.” He walks away then turns around and comes back and says, in the most sarcastic voice, “Do you WANT the 20% off?” Yes, of course I do. THIRD STRIKE.
I honestly don’t recommend this place to anyone. It is truly a zero. Pushy waiters who just want to make money off tourists.
Saturday we decided to make our way to Espanola Way!
We went to a restaurant called Oh! Mexico. This place, wasn’t that bad. I ordered Steak Fajitas. They LOOKED delicious! But the taste wasn’t really there.
But I will say, the service was awesome. The people there were very nice and it was extremely refreshing going somewhere and not being harassed by the waiters. We actually gave our waiter a tip (I’ll explain the tips later). So, I’d give this restaurant a 6 out of 10.
And Sunday, our last day there, we went to brunch at the Eden Roc Renaissance. The food was actually really good. The only reason I’m blogging about it is because there was a little table set up that gave me a good laugh. Take a look.
This table was set up with Middle Eastern foods. The salads, Tabouleh, Fattoush, and Israeli Salad and the sauces of Tahini, Baba Ganoush and Tahini. However, all the signs were mixed up. I sent this picture to my mom and she replied “OMG, where is this?!” and when I told her and pointed out the mixed up signs she said “It’s the principle that counts.” And I’ll credit them, it was actually pretty tasty. But for the high class hotel that it was it SHOULD be good.
My overall experience of Miami is, it’s not as cracked up as people say it is. The food isn’t that great, it’s a HUGE tourist site so you receive no respect and all the “locals” treat you like dirt. As far as the tips go, EVERYWHERE you go, they automatically add either 17% or 18%. And I honestly believe that waiters deserve tips on how they treat you, not just because they “rely” on it. The only place we added a tip was at Oh! Mexico because the waiter(s) were very nice.
Thank you for an ‘OK’ trip, Miami. I won’t be seeing you anytime soon! 🙂
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