Vesper American Brasserie, Shelburne Hotel, South Beach

Friday morning I read that Lebron James was going to celebrate his 28^th birthday at Vesper  American Brasserie at the Shelburne Hotel last night so we decided to go Friday night and check it out.

http://www.shelborne.com/dining-lounges/index.cfm

We really liked it. It reminded me of The Royal at The Raleigh Hotel in that the restaurant was outside by the pool. We were there early so the ‘scene’ had not as yet started but you could tell it was coming.

We had 4 different appetizers and all were great especially the spinach artichoke and cheese dip. My filet mignon was as tender as I’ve had and my son’s Shepard’s pie was great. Only one main course, the branzino was just OK.

The meal was $267 incl tip for 4 people and drinks.

I would go back

8/10

Egg and Dart Rustic Greek Cuisine, Design District, Revisted

Friday night I received a call from friends who went to Egg and Dart after I wrote my review.

They told me they had a great meal and disagreed with my comments totally and that likely the restaurant had a ‘bad night’.

As a result I have removed my previous review and I will go back and try it again.

If anyone else goes please let me know your thoughts.

Matteo's Italian, Hallendale

I had been there a few years ago and thought it was horrible. We were at our pool and friends told us that it was amazing and better than Valentino's so we decided to try it again.

Got there and with a reservation they said we had a 30 minute wait so we left. It still looked like a total dump. Can't believe it could be any good.

Won't go back.

0/10

La Goulue, Bal Harbour Shops

Went to La Goulue in Bal Harbour Shops last night.

http://www.lagouluebalharbour.com/#/home

Worst service I have ever encountered and the restaurant was full but not really busy.

Took 40 minutes to get someone to give us menus, take a drink order and give us bread and 1 hour before they even took our order. And it didn’t get better as the night wore on. 25 minutes just to get the bill.

We were told to order the rotisserie chicken and fries and endive salad so we did. It was just OK. Absolutely nothing special.  I’ll take the old Chalet Bar-B-Q for much less money.

Very disappointing based on what I was told.

$85 per couple with  no desserts and limited drinks.

Won’t go back.

5/10

Hogzilla's Inspired Barbeque, South Beach, 16th and Washington

Last week we went to Hogzilla’s Inspired Barbeque in South Beach at 16^th and Washington.

http://www.hogzillas.com/

We went early so it was mostly empty but the food was really different and good. The portions were huge for the price. I had a choice of 3 of their meats for $25 and I chose the spare ribs and fried chicken and couldn’t finish half of it. Mona-Lee had the grilled bear can chicken and liked it.

The salads and desserts were also very good.

It was really good for a burger/ribs/chicken place to take the family.

I’d go again.

Valet parking for $10.

7/10 as an overall restaurant.  9/10 as a burger/rib place.

La Perrada de Edgar, 69th and Collins

Why would anyone go to this ‘dive’ on 69^th and Collins? I’ve passed it 100+ times and never even saw it.

Well Anthony Bourdain led off his show, The Layover, on Miami with this hot dog joint so we tried it. It was voted the Best Hot Dog in Miami by the Miami New times in 2008.

Mona-Lee did not come with me because she felt that just thinking about clogged her arteries and I must say she was right.

It makes Schwartz’s look like fine dining with 21 different hot dogs combos with toppings that tripled the size of the bun.

We had the COLUMBIAN (mozzarella, potato sticks and lots of special sauce), the ROMAN (mozzarella, bacon, meatballs and sauce) and the CHORI DOG (chorizo, mozzarella, onion, mustard, ketchup, potato sticks) and really good fries.

I must say all 3 were good and the sauce made the difference.

They deliver all the way to Aventura or Sunny Isles but I guess the dog and toppings would be very soggy by the time it reached the house. Maybe Bal Harbour might cut it!

If you want a hot dog this place is different and I’d do it again---if I wanted a hot dog again.

$25 for the whole meal.

7/10

Pubbelly, Pubbelly Sushi and Barcelonete in South Beach

Last night we went back to Pubbelly Gastropub in South Beach as a result of a segment on Anthony Bourdain’s show on the Travel Channel called The Layover.

They now have 2 other restaurants next door to their main restaurant called Pubbelly Sushi and Barceloneta.

www.pubbelly.com

This is a small 40 seat pub that has a ‘Joe Beef’ feel to it. All tapas style dishes. Some weird sounding dishes but they were great! Mona-Lee says her second favorite restaurant behind Zuma. Desserts were amazing.

Barceloneta is a Spanish style tapas which we haven’t tried as yet and if you like sushi I’m sure the sushi restaurant next door will be amazing.

No reservations and mostly locals right now but that won’t last for long.

Sticking with my previous rating of 8.5/10.