La Maison du Macaron (New York, NY)

132 W 23rd St.
New York, NY
(212) 243-2757

http://www.maisondumacaron.net/

Macarons are a study in contradictions. There are only four ingredients in the basic recipe for the "cookie": ground almonds, egg whites, confectioner's sugar and granulated sugar. But there are so many things that can go wrong on their way to becoming a full-fledged macaron. When things do go right, the resulting confection can be transcendent, complex and far greater than the sum of their humble parts. A good macaron is crisp on the outside, moist, dense and chewy on the inside. It is light and etherial, yet the ground almonds give it weight and bring it back down to earth.

I once tried to make macarons to somewhat disastrous effect. Macarons chez Michelle were flat, cracked and ugly, oozing filling like an old stuffed sofa losing its innards. La Maison du Macaron's, on the other hand, are everything mine were not. They are aesthetically and texturally perfect, with a nice "foot" on the cookie and a good amount of rise, combined with the perfect proportion of filling. Flavors are clean, clear and intense. These are, in short, some of the best macarons I've ever eaten.

Caliu Revisited -- CLOSED (New York, NY)

557 Hudson Street
Between W. 11th. & Perry St.
New York, NY 10014
(212) 206–6444

http://caliutapas.com/

Mural defining "CaLiu" as "what's left
from a feeling passion or affection" (sic)

So, I went back. It was an accident of fate. We were actually aiming for a new Italian restaurant, Spasso, which opened up on Hudson Street in late December 2010. At the door, Justin oh so hilariously noted that they'd named the restaurant after me and scampered out of the way before I could punch him in the gut.

But, sadly, Spasso was full, so we redirected to Caliu, a few doors north on Hudson. There, the hostess reluctantly told us we could sit down (in what appeared to be a mostly empty restaurant), but only if we left within an hour and a half, when she said all the tables would be fully reserved. She wouldn't let us sit in the back because there was allegedly a party sitting there at 8 p.m. (which incidentally hadn't materialized by the time we left at 8:20). She tried to seat us at a table wedged tightly next to another couple, who were clearly trying to have a romantic date, though there were plenty of other tables open. After some pouting and grimacing, she finally allowed us to sit one table away from the other couple.

Thankfully, the food took away a bit of the bad taste this unpleasant initial encounter left in our mouths.

Tortilla Espanola

There were a few slight differences from my last visit. First of all, the Tortilla Española (classic egg and potato Spanish omelette with garlic "ali o li") is now served in smaller vessel than before and cut into two stacked wedges, so it looks much more substantial. Where alioli (a.k.a. aïoli) was served on the side in the first iteration, this time, it was drizzled over top (thankfully with a relatively moderate hand) and therefore unavoidable. The tortilla was also thicker than it was before. By nature, tortilla española is a simple, rustic dish and this version is no different. It includes only the very basics: potato, egg, onions, salt and pepper. But the execution is nearly perfect, with soft potatoes and tender, airy eggs. Eating this cheered me up considerably. (4.25/5)

AltaMare (Miami Beach, Florida)

1233 Lincoln Road

Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 532-3061

http://www.altamarerestaurant.com/

Grilled Grouper with Risotto

I have my reservations. Not the kind that are supposed to guarantee you a seat at a restaurant, since we're not coordinated enough to make those most of the time, but the kind you have when you don't entirely know if you like a place. AltaMare (which is often listed without an "e" at the end) is a restaurant that seemed to show a lot of promise during our recent dinner, there, but in many ways faltered in the actual execution.

The restaurant sits at the western end of Lincoln Road, a touristy strip of restaurants, clothing stores and a few stray art galleries, otherwise known as 16th St. This western end is an estuary where the flow of tourists from Collins Ave. begins to dwindle and locals begin to appear more prominently in the mix.

At dinnertime, AltaMare is swamped. Tables are crowded close together and the noise level is vigorous to say the least. The sports bar to the right when you walk in is swarming with people -- a lot of older men with young, thin, bleached blond women -- waiting for a table.

Versailles (Miami, Florida)

3555 SW 8th St
Miami, FL 33135
(305) 444-0240

Versailles is an unlikely name, of course, for a Cuban restaurant. According to local lore, it began its life as a French restaurant, but didn't win much of a following as such on Calle Ocho, in Little Havana, the heart of Miami's Cuban-American expat community. In 1971, Felipe Valls, Sr. converted Versailles into a Cuban restaurant, and under his management, it became a highly visible locus for anti-Castro protesters. Today, many still consider Versailles to be one of the best Cuban restaurants in town, despite its tourist-heavy clientele.

The space is an odd juxtaposition of glitz and New Jersey diner. Etched mirrors backlit by fluorescent lights line the walls and dangling glass light fixtures grace the ceilings. The tables are typical 1950s-style formica diner tables and sometimes slightly sticky, giving the place an authentic New Jersey diner touch.

The Classic

As soon as you're seated -- fairly quickly even on a bustling weekend morning, since the place is huge and the turnover rate fairly high -- a waiter drops a basket of toasted bread, drenched with melted butter, down in front of you, along with menus. These menus are as long and wide-ranging as a diner's, but there are two options that make things easier for indecisive tourists: the "Classic" and "Criolo" Cuban sampler plates, which offer a selection of standards. The Classic comes with white rice, black beans, picadillo, roast pork, sweet plantains, ham croquette, yuca and tamale. The Criollo comes with yellow rice, black beans, shredded beef in creole sauce, fried pork chunks, ham croquette, sweet plantains and yuca. Both were a jaw-droppingly inexpensive $11.95 considering that each plate was large enough to feed a small family for a week.

Hiro's Yakko-San (Miami Beach, Florida)

17040-46 West Dixie Highway
North Miami Beach, FL 33160
305.947.0064

http://yakko-san.com/

Grilled Whole Squid

Hiro's Yakko-San is shielded from the worst of the tourist traffic by virtue of its semi-remote location in North Beach. It takes about half an hour to an hour by car from the most tourist-infested parts of South Beach, and unless you're a hardier cycler than I am, able to brave highway traffic, cycling there is not an option.

That's not to say the restaurant isn't full of tourists, though most seem to be the sort who spend a portion of the year in Miami. You won't find too many ostentatiously Prada-logoed Russian princesses, here, thank goodness. For one thing, they wouldn't want to have their clothes infused with the robata grill smells that perfume the air at Hiro's Yakko-San. You will, however, find "foodies" of every stripe: from Yiddish-speaking locals and French-speaking families with young children, to snowbirds from Connecticut.

Hamachi Sashimi

We fixated pretty heavily on the grilled portion of the menu, though to my surprise, everything we tried was either very good or excellent. I wasn't expecting much from the hamachi sashimi (left) we ordered, since I don't think the restaurant is known for its sashimi. But the hamachi was sweet, very fresh and served at a good temperature -- certainly in a different league than the fish we'd had at Sushi Doraku and Sushi Siam on Lincoln Road, earlier in the week. (Sushi Doraku did have pretty decent uni, for the record.) The hamachi was served with the type of tinned wasabi paste you get at most run-of-the-mill sushi restaurants and not the freshly grated stuff, but the fish didn't need any wasabi, anyway.

Soleá (Miami Beach, Florida)

W South Hotel
2201 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 938-3111

http://www.wsouthbeach.com/solea

It was raining, the lush smell of moist plants heavy on the cool evening air. We'd just shivered through a round of cocktails on the outdoor patio of the hotel lounge (while feeding the mosquitos a round of cocktails, in turn) and we were tired after wandering around Miami Beach on foot all day. So by dint of inertia, we ended up in Soleá for dinner, a Spanish restaurant tucked away on the first floor of the W South Hotel.

The restaurant, which was nominated for the James Beard Best New Restaurant award this past year (when Marc Vidal was still there; he is no longer), is resplendent in gold light, airy white curtains and buttery leather. The soaring ceilings and lighting remind me a bit of Del Posto in New York, but there's an element of casual, here, that there isn't, there. During our recent dinner, a little girl played with her toy car on the smooth, slate floor, while her mother dined nearby with a friend. The vibe aims to be elegant, but not stiff.

Vandaag (New York, NY)

103 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(212) 253-0470

Subway: N/R to 8th St. or 4/6 to Astor Place

Spanish mackerel

Think of Dutch food and chances are, you won't think sexy. Waffles come to mind, as well as smoked herring, boiled potatoes, split pea soup and Indonesian rijstaffel. It is a cuisine of hearty nourishment, not one of artistry. Enter Vandaag to turn all these assumptions on their head. 

Vandaag, in a word, is sexy. It isn't just the decor, which I won't get as googly eyed about as Sam Sifton of the New York Times did in his review. Suffice it to say that the space is open, sleek, fashionable and yet comfortable. It is a little bit CB2, which the restaurant wryly acknowledges: One cocktail on its long and delicious list is named CB3.