The building where Iris Restaurant is located could easily be mistaken for an apartments but the menu posted outside the window makes its presence known. The interior, while painted the same colors as the outside of the building, is a classy upscale but not stuffy atmosphere. Whether you're looking to wine and dine, cozy up on a first date or celebrate a romantic special occasion this restaurant is the place.
Our waitperson was a true professional and my trusted advisor throughout the evening. He interjected his opinion and made suggestions which is something a lot of waiters don't do but that I find welcoming. His suggested cocktail for the evening was either the Prickle or The Count. I ended up choosing The Count and I couldn't be happier with the choice. It wasn't what I would typically order but it was a exemplary choice and a well crafted cocktail.
I was so please with my first cocktail and curious about what our waitperson said was his favorite cocktail that I ordered the Prickle. This is a gin based drink and I don't drink gin. You could obviously taste the gin in the drink but its subtle sweetness and refreshing coolness made me like it. Iris's menu is small with about 10 main choices but most of the dishes sounded so good I was having trouble choosing just one. I offered up my choice and out of my picks, our waitperson recommend the Duck Confit. The skin was perfectly crispy and the meat was moist beyond belief. Combine that with the corn and the sweetness of the peaches and you have a delectable dish.
My boyfriend ordered his usual steak in the form their Steak Frites. It was very tender and tasty. The foie gras-marrow butter was a brilliant touch and put this dish it over the top. The fries were incredible too, I reckon a Belgium would eat these fries and give them his/her stamp of approval.
We finished off the meal with the Chocolate Soufflé Pistachio Cake. It was rich, chocolaty yumminess but if I am not mistaken, this was not a soufflé (unless it was a fallen one) and more like a flourless cake. I liked it anyways and the nuts added some texture to the dessert.
Iris was flawless, I can't wait to come again!
Iris Restaurant
321 N Peters St New Orleans, LA 70130(504) 299-3944www.irisneworleans.com
Having only a day in Miami and the opportunity to visit only one restaurant, I knew I had to have Cuban food at Puerto Sagua.
The restaurant isn't fancy and although the location caters to tourist, they have really great Cuban food and for South Beach just great food in general. Beyond the food though, the people and casual atmosphere makes you feel right at home. It is the type of restaurant that locals frequent too.
On this visit I ordered the Chuletas De Cerdo Frita (fried pork chops). This is one of my favorite dishes at this restaurant and words can't describe how much I love it. The outside has a thin crust yet it is moist on the inside. Cuban food doesn't have strong flavors (like the Jamaican and Cajun food i am used to), but the marinated onions and lime juice make your taste buds think otherwise.
My boyfriend ordered the Churrasco (skirt steak). The steak is a strip of tender delicious meat that satisfies any appetite and the Chimichurri sauce contributes to that.
The rice and beans were pretty standard. The rice was well-prepared. The beans had some flavor and praise Jesus weren't salty.
I was stuffed after eating all that food, but being the glutton I am, I still had to order dessert but I smartly took my Quatro Leches to go. The dessert was good (sweet as hell), but I found the cake to be a little over soaked and mushy. I usually ordered the Dulce de Leche cookies which are amazing, so I probably wouldn't order the cake again, but it was worth the try.
Puerto Sagua is one of the better and more affordable restaurants on the beach and a SoBe experience not to be missed.
Puerto Sagua Restaurant700 Collins Ave Miami Beach, FL 33139(305) 673-1115
We planned to have a nice dinner our last night. We did lots of research, found some nice places but fine dining and small kids don't work and the few the met the criteria were fully booked and gave the impression over the phone that they didn't take walk-ins. Currently living in New Orleans, Huey's on the River that specializes in Cajun cuisine spiked my curiosity and I figured the mostly positive reviews would hold true.
They didn't take reservations so we showed up and were given a 30 minute wait. They are located by the river so we walked around to killed time. When we were finally called, we were squeezed into a four top (our group was five with the kids) which wasn't too much of an issue. What was an issue is that it took forever for our server to even take our drink order. In fact, the entire dining service was slow. It's wasn't just us either, I saw other table constantly looking around to try and get some attention. Our server just looked like she didn't care or was overwhelmed; everyone that worked there did. The restaurant was so cramped we had to hand off our own plates (I can't imagine what happen when the plates are super hot).
The food didn't improve the experience. I ordered the Pasta Jambalaya. This was not that, this was spaghetti sauce with hot dog masked as andouille sausage. I didn't like it at all, I ate barely any and unfortunately didn't take home the rest.
My mom had the Crab Cakes with red beans and rice. She said the red beans and rice were okay but a little too salty. The crab cakes were crap. They tasted super sour, and were flat as a pancakes fillers. Crab, where are you?
The rest of my family had chicken wings and chicken tenders and had no complaints so I guess that is the way to go at a self proclaimed authentic New Orleans restaurant.
Huey's On the River115 E River St Savannah, GA 31401(912) 234-7385www.hueysontheriver.net
Located about 30 minutes outside of Savannah, we ventured outside of the city to Tybee Island to spend the day.
Our first stop on the outing was a visit to the Fort Pulaski National Monument. The park itself was fairly large but the Fort only covered a small portion. Even though we only visited the fort, there are many other things you can experience here. This was one of the more interesting and interactive forts I have been too.
After that, we were hungry and headed to Tybee Island Social Club for lunch. It was a fun, laid back and beachy atmosphere complete with a live Bluegrass band playing. Our server was a sweet girl who made efforts to interact with us. For lunch I ordered the Zissou Taco (Marinated seared tuna, horseradish aioli, arugula, cucumber pico on a warm pita). All the ingredients were notable fresh and overall it had a light and refreshing taste.
My mom had has The Club's Shrimp and Grits. It was cheesy, flavorsome deliciousness.
My sister had the Crab Cakes. It wasn't lump crab meat but was all crab and not that filler crap restaurants are always trying to serve people. It was truly lightly bread and fried as stated on the menu. It had a nice crispy outer crust.
After lunch we headed straight to beach which was just a walk across the street. As someone from the islands, I wasn't impressed. The water was black and my niece got stung by a jellyfish but we did enjoy some fun in the sun and other must have too beach the beach was packed with people.
Tybee Island Social Club
1311 Butler Ave Tybee Island, GA 31328
(912) 472-4044
tybeeislandsocialclub.com
