away for the holidays

so holiday meals can sometimes be a challenge on the road- I remember one meal we had on Christmas Day in Cincinnati at Steak N Shake...why? because it was the only place open on Christmas Day... so we were pretty thrilled that we seemed to have a decent amount of choice in Miami for this holiday.  The only thing we really missed was Phil's favorite La Cameronera... we ended up at Garcia's which has the disadvantage of not as good food but has the advantage of outdoor dining.

We got to see brother Larry's new digs on Miami Beach - having left the Grove after three decades! And we basically just hung out and relaxed one bar or another LOL-

On Friday night after our arrival we went to Pascal's on Ponce - an old favorite which is still and excellent choice for continental food!  Saturday we ended up at Garcia's for lunch more out of habit than anything and because we didn't have massive numbers of options that weren't located in hotels which had to remain open for their clientele... Then Saturday night we headed back to Toscano Divino and again had a terrific meal (way better than you would think given their location!) Sunday brought our real find in Bellmont Spanish Restaurant for lunch which lasted nearly three and a half hours! and for dinner that night we did La Mar (a Gaston Arcurio place where the menu mimics our fave  Peru in Chicago at Tanta)

On the way out of town we stopped for Cuban "burgers"- fritas with shoe string potatoes and a fried egg on top of a beef chorizo patty or two...at El Mago de las Fritas- good but not "to-die-for" but since we hadn't ever had them it was worth the small detour...

my favorite shot of the weekend

the weekend in order-

Pascal's with the wines we brought- starting with the amuse

 

then on to Saturday afternoon- Garcia's and Monty's-

Sunday afternoon and our long long long lunch!

Sunday dinner LOL sorry not much in the way of photos

then Monday rolled around and we rolled out of town after the fritas stop -

so back at winter home and planing for a quiet new year's eve- Dom, caviar, foie and some other goodies to tide us over to 2017 and I have to say I have not looked so forward to the end of a year since 2010 - the year my mother and sister died.... so on we go- live as much in the present as we can and count our blessings of which there are many more than the challenges.... may not be another post for 2016 but stay tuned the new year has much in store for us ----