If you’re unaware, Miami Spice occurs for two months- August and September- when South Florida restaurants offer Pre-Fixe 3-course meals. For some restaurants, especially very pricey ones, Miami Spice is a great deal. For others, like my friend says: It’s just like getting a free dessert.

After several false starts (True Food Kitchen, Michael’s Genuine) I finally experienced Miami Spice in 2022 at TUR Kitchen in Coral Gables. If you want to go get lunch at TUR Kitchen NOW, here are my Miami Spice recommendations.

• Appetizer: Egyptian Fava Bean Spread
• Main: Pork Loin with Carrot Puree and Roasted Okra
• Dessert: Phyllo Napoleon (add $7)

Now, this is not necessarily what I ordered. I pretty much never order an item for an up charge, because in my mind, it defeats the purpose of Miami Spice. The normal Miami Spice at TUR Kitchen is $28. If I had ordered all the up charges our waiter recommended, it would have been $31 more. A $60 lunch is not a deal.

TUK Kitchen serves Mediterranean Food in a serene and elegant interior (if you don’t count the giant T.V.s featuring rotating travel scenes), with beautifully presented plates of food. There’s a Public parking lot across the street from TUR, on Giralda Street, but also nearby parking, next to the Coral Gables Art Cinema.

Our waiter wasn’t the friendliest, to say the least and service was a bit sporatic.

Perhaps he doesn’t like Miami Spicers.

my friend, who was also the Birthday Girl at lunch, commented.

Sorry, but any restaurant offering Miami Spice should welcome Miami Spicers with open arms and TUR Kitchen, was by no means packed on a Thursday afternoon. I asked the waiter for recommendations for Miami Spice and he offered them. The Roasted Squid appetizer he recommended was a $9 up charge, the Bucatini di Mare a $15 up charge.

This immediately put me into a frame of skepticism (more expensive dishes= higher tips), but, on top of that, he had an attitude. Ice Teas got one free refill, which is acceptable, but unfortunately, there was no sweetener at our table. One of our diners had to go to another table to borrow some, since the waiter had made himself scarce.

The complimentary bread arrived, all apuff and served with two spreads, on black slate tiles. It was paper-thin, hollow inside, hot and delicious, especially when spread with the softened butter and creme fraiche.

The Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho I ordered for an appetizer had a beautiful golden hue, with green olive oil drizzle, but a sour taste. Everyone else got the Fava Bean Spread, which looked like Hummus, was garnished with Jalapeno slices, sliced cherry tomatoes and came with grilled Pita Bread Wedges. They all enjoyed this appetizer.

The time between courses took quite a while, which was the same thing that happened the last time I ate at TUR Kitchen. Not a problem for a leisurely birthday lunch, but could be a problem for a quick work lunch.

The Pork Loin Main, was beautifully plated, with vibrant orange carrot spread underneath and golden orbs of mustard seed on top of the perfectly cooked pork (medium rare) slices. It wasn’t a huge serving, but quite enough and delicious. One person got the Baba Ganoush Bucantini Pasta dish, which was topped with Za’tar and microgreens. She enjoyed it.

For dessert, I asked our waiter which ice cream he recommended, between the avocado and the orange. He recommended the orange, which to my surprise, wasn’t orange in color or taste. It was Orange Water Ice Cream, very floral and Middle Eastern. It was a small quenelle, but I did get a bite of the Phyllo Napoleon, which was so beautiful, it was hard to dig in and destroy this work of art. The delicate crunchy phyllo crust contrasted wonderfully with the piped whipped cream cones and dulce de leche drizzle. It was divine and worth the up charge.

They also brought a dessert out for the Birthday Girl, which was appreciated. It was a honey cake with whipped cream and fruit. A light rain had started as our meal ended and we each ran out to retrieve our various cars.

I would recommend TUR Kitchen for Miami Spice, but I would hope you get a different waiter. A kind and caring waiter can make all the difference in making your meal a happy and memorable one. No one wants to feel as if they are putting a server out to do his/her job.

Up Next: Emmy Inspiration!

I liked it so much, I’ve made it two times since, but I did add my own spin to it. I created a base of Romaine lettuce (since it doesn’t seem like salad to me without lettuce) and also added some sweet cherry tomatoes and a couple Kalamata black olives. You could also add pepperoncini or sliced red bell pepper, if desired. It is a visually pretty salad with fresh flavors from the herbs, lemon juice and mixture of ingredients. It would make a perfect salad to take for a bagged lunch or on a flight.

I got the shelled pistachio nuts from Whole Foods. While Whole Foods is known for its high prices (one tour guide I had said it’s called Whole Foods because you’ll use your whole paycheck), I find the bulk area actually gives you a good bang for your buck. I got this recipe from Katie Couric’s daily newsletter, The Wake Up Call, but it supposedly originated from the New York Post. Enjoy!

The Jennifer Aniston Salad

Recipe by Jennifer AnistonCourse: SaladCuisine: MediterraneanDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

8

minutes

This salad will be “there for you” if you want it.

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups cooked bulgur wheat

• 2-3 chopped small cucumbers or about 1/2 cup

• 1/2 cup chopped parsley

• 1/2 cup chopped mint

• 1/3 cup chopped red onion

• 1/2 cup chopped pistachios

• 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta

• salt and pepper

Directions

• Toss all the ingredients together until they’re mixed to your liking and dig in.

Notes

• Prep time doesn’t include cooking the bulgur wheat.
• Squeeze lemon at room temp for the most juice.

Up Next: #bestdayever (on ‘Bout Time) and Father’s Day dinner.

Skip the cilantro if you’re a cilantro-hater (I’m not!) and while it advised serving it with Tortilla Chips, I love the crunchy corn kernels (canchita) Jaguar restaurant in the Grove serves with their ceviche, as it’s the perfect, salty foil for the cold and refreshing ceviche. You can order them online, but chopped Corn Kernels from Trader Joe’s work as well. I also added a starfruit garnish, from my tree, to make it look pretty.

Easy Shrimp Ceviche

Recipe by SergioCourse: Uncategorized

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Calories

150

kcal

Ingredients

• 1 lb shrimp, cooked, peeled and deveined

• 6 Tbl freshly squeezed lime juice

• 6 Tbl freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 6 Tbl freshly squeezed orange juice

• 1 small red onion, diced

• 4 oz cherry tomatoes, chopped

• 1 to 2 jalapeno or serrano peppers, seeded and minced

• 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste

• 2 avocados, pitted, peeled and diced (or 1 large mango, diced)

• 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped

Directions

• Chop shrimp into bite-size pieces.
• In a non-reactive bowl, combine juices, onion, tomatoes, pepper, salt and shrimp. Cover and let sit at least 1 hour in fridge to let flavors mingle.
• Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
• Serve with Tortilla Chips or Corn Nuts.

Notes

• Omit cilantro if cilantro averse.

Up Next: Travel Necessities and Emergency Kit Essentials.

So, when asked what he liked to eat on an airplane while traveling to Parts Unknown, Anthony Bourdain said he doesn’t eat on planes because he likes to arrive hungry. While I appreciate the sentiment, I have low blood sugar and if I waited till I arrived to eat (keeping in mind you have to be at the airport two hours early, there’s the flight itself and then getting your bags, transportation etc…) I would arrive D.O.A. Not just hungry, but hangry, dizzy and ready to kill someone, so that advice just doesn’t work for me.

I ALWAYS pack a snack, or meal when I travel because you never know what’s going to happen on your flight. You could be stuck on the runway for hours or, as recently happened to me, wait around the airport for eight hours only to find out your flight’s been cancelled. While there are restaurants in airports, they’re not always desirable (or you may not have time) and buying snacks at the airport shop is a very expensive (and hit or miss) way to go. Like a Girl Scout, I tried to be prepared when traveling.

My Go-To Snack is a Mediterranean Mezze Platter. Let’s start with olives, shall we? You know how you see olives in giant barrels at your local Mediterranean Market? These preserved fruits in the drupe group (related to mangoes, cherries and peaches) are filled with flavor and healthy fats. They are a rather indestructible carry-on food item; I recently got a bag at Trader Joe’s, but you could also pick and pack your own.

Next up, nuts. I love almonds and especially Trader Joe’s Truffle Marcona Almonds, but any type of nut- pistachios, cashews, walnuts- will do as a crunchy, healthy snack. They go perfectly with dried fruit such as apricots or dates, but I also like to take fresh fruit on my flights. My favorite go-to is an apple, as it travels well and doesn’t easily damage. I either cut it up ahead, or make sure to take a knife (plastic) to slice it.

If you plan ahead and pack a little cooler, your range of options increases. Cheese and crackers, sliced vegetables and hummus and even a preserved meat, like prosciutto or salami are welcome options to your Mezze platter. I bring a napkin, wet wipe, plate or little cutting board to arrange my charcuterie on, as well. Of course, what goes best with this arrangement of food is a nice glass of vino. Red or white will do.

However, on my recent American flight, when I asked for a glass of wine, they told me they’re not serving alchohol “yet”. And I had to wonder, what in the hell does the Pandemic and COVID-19 have to do with serving wine? They served us a plastic bag with water, pretzels and a Clorox disinfecting wipe (whoopee!), so we had to remove our mask to eat and drink anyway.

I feel the Pandemic has been used as a catch-all excuse for sheer laziness for many people. Now that workers have had a taste of working from home, with no getting made-up, dressed or being stuck in traffic for hours, they don’t want to go back to the old grind. And “I’m working from home”, instead of an embarrassing admission is now proclaimed as a badge of honor and considered a legitimate disclaimer for all things not delivered. (Sorry for the rant!)

Flight attendants duties on-board flights were drastically reduced post 9-11 and, post-Pandemic have been reduced even further. As a former flight attendant, I used to have to take drink orders, serve drinks, deliver a meal, pour coffee and tea and then pick it all up for 137 people, on a three hour flight to New York. We were sometimes still picking up as we landed! Now, you’re lucky if you see a flight attendant at all during your flight. I realize flight attendants are there primarily for our health and well being, but a little venture into the service side of the job, now and then, would be greatly appreciated.

At any rate, if you’re traveling on a plane this summer, I hope I’ve given you some ideas on an easy snack to pack. Now, if I could just get a glass of wine to go with my moveable feast…