Dining Out: Zucchero

Can you tell I have been eating out a lot on this vacation?

Thursday night my parents and I met one of their couple friends for dinner at a place called Zucchero. Its owned by the same people that own another one of their favorite spots, Tutto Pasta. I apologize in advance for the dark photos; its the mood lighting.

Zucchero is an absolutely beautiful restaurant. When you walk in the first thing you see is the gorgeous wooden bar. It has almost a Japanese, serene feel.

The dining room has a hodge podge of art work, but individually, its all gorgeous. Here are a few examples of the paintings on the wall behind the tables:

In the dining room you can also see right into the kitchen which is always fun. The chefs seemed to be having a great time and often made eye contact with the diners.

We started the meal with one of their signature appetizers, the rosemary foccacia. To me, it tasted more like pita bread, but it was delicious and arrived warm.

For the next course we split two salads. The first was an antipasti that came in a beautiful, stacked presentation.

The second salad with arugula with pears, pecans and roquefort cheese topped with a balsamic vinaigrette.

For dinner we tried several entrees but I was only able to snap photos of two. I ordered the rigatoni caprese which was homemade rigatoni pasta (amazing!), fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil. It sounds simple but it tasted incredible!

My mother and one of her friends ordered the veal milanese which was a absolutely enormous portion! The veal chop came topped with an arugula salad.

Though they had a dessert menu we weren't enticed by any of the offerings (I know, a rarity).

Zucchero is a wonderful spot to celebrate a special occasion and definitely be sure to order at least one of the pasta dishes.

Dining Out: GreenStreet Cafe

Thursday afternoon I met my mother and two of her girlfriends for lunch at GreenStreet Cafe in Coconut Grove. This was one of the first places my parents discovered in Miami and continues to be a family favorite. Its not only our favorite, but its one of the most popular places in the Grove. Its always packed and has patrons of all ages.

GreenStreet has the winning mix of a prime location, a huge outdoor patio, a delicious menu and excellent service. We were seated at a table right on the edge of the patio with a great view for people watching.

My mother and one of her friends ordered the grilled chicken salad which came with a generous portion of chicken over a bed of lettuce, tomato and corn served with a dijon vinaigrette.

I ordered the veggie sandwich which came on multigrain toast with a side of french fries. These were McDonalds quality french fries. Delish!

Our fourth dining companion ordered the asparagus and goat cheese omlette which she raved she could eat every day of the week!

GreenStreet is a great spot for family brunch, lunch with your friends or even late night cocktails. See you on the patio!

Movie Musings: The Fighter

Wednesday night I went with my parents to see "The Fighter." When I first started reading about the movie several months ago I wasn't interested. I like Mark Wahlberg, but I wasn't sure I could handle two hours of just watching him box. Then I saw a promotional appearance he did on the Ellen Degeneres Show where he talked about the process of making the movie and I was intrigued.

Apparently Wahlberg had been trying to get this movie made for several years (in the end it took four years to complete) and he never gave up and getting it to the big screen. He built a boxing ring in his house so he could train. He invited the Ward brothers to come live in his house. He fully committed to bringing this story public. Watch his interview with Ellen here:
"The Fighter" is the story of two brothers, Dicky and Micky Ward (yes, their names rhyme), who grew up boxing in Lowell, MA. The story is as much about their quest for the title as it is about their dysfunctional relationship. Christian Bale plays older brother Dicky and Mark Wahlberg plays Micky.

Dicky was an accomplished boxer and the "pride of Lowell" until he became addicted to crack. His younger brother, Micky, idolized him and Dicky eventually became Micky's boxing trainer, even while he continued to abuse drugs. Christian Bale is phenomenal in this role. His physical transformation into a junkie is frighteningly realistic and his inability to pull his life together makes you cringe.

Actress Melissa Leo plays the mother of the Ward boys and I believe seven sisters. Bravo to the casting director who hired seven of the most hideous women I have ever seen to play these meddling couch potatoes. Ick. Leo is excellent as the mother/manager who tries to control young Micky's life, no matter the cost.

Also in Micky's corner is his girlfriend, Charlene, played by Amy Adams. I always think of Adams as playing very innocent, refined young ladies and in this movie she was quite the ball buster! She learned the Boston accent and attitude and served as Micky's ammo against his family. I loved her in this part, particularly during their first date scene. Hilarious.

The most sincere aspect of this movie is Micky's struggle between doing what's best for him and doing what pleases his family. You feel his anguish as he tries to unravel himself from his mother and older brother.

"The Fighter" is nominated for six Golden Globe awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards and six Critics Choice Awards. As we say in Boston, this movie is wicked awesome.

Dining Out: Suite 100

As part of my south Florida adventure this week I drove up to Fort Lauderdale to visit my cousin and see her new apartment. She took me on a tour of the whole city including lunch at a place right on the river called Suite 100.

The restaurant has a huge outdoor patio with a fantastic view. Here is the view from our table:

We were a bit on the early side and had the restaurant all to ourselves. Our waiter was extremely friendly and attentive and didn't seem to mind at all when it took us a full ten minutes to decide what we'd like to order.

We started by splitting the margherita flatbread which looked exactly liked the Ellio's pizza we used to eat as kids. This flatbread tasted much like the Ellio's of our youth only it was topped with fresh tomato slides which redeemed it a bit.

For the main course my cousin ordered the tomato soup which comes with grilled cheese wedges on the side. She said the soup was even better than the last time she ordered it there.

I ordered what they called the "new" Caesar salad which is basically a deconstructed Caesar salad with the added touch of lightly grilling the lettuce. I've had this kind of Caesar before and its a nice change from the usual formula.

Our waiter informed us that Suite 100 has a very popular jazz brunch on Sundays. I could definitely handle a veggie omlette, a mimosa and live jazz on the waterfront. You?

Live: WordSpeak

Last year during this same week in December I was in Miami visiting my parents and my mother took me to an event called WordSpeak. A local Miami arts organization called Tigertail runs a teen spoken word program and every year during the last week of December they have a slam and sell copies of their poetry book.

For those who are not familiar, spoken word is performed poetry. The artists write pieces and then perform them for a crowd. Last year's Tigertail WordSpeak event was the first time I had been to a spoken word performance since college. I was completely blown away by the content of the poetry, the way the artists used their voices and their bodies to bring their poetry to life, and most of all, their bravery. All of the poets are younger than twenty.

At last year's slam I was particularly moved by two young men, Diego and Wesley. Their poems stuck with me and just by closing my eyes I could get back there. Right back to the moment when I heard their words and watched them move their bodies as they delivered these personal poems.

When I learned the date of this year's WordSpeak event I made sure I would be in town and available to attend. The members of the WordSpeak team have changed a bit since last year, but their performance was still brilliant. I feel so lucky to get to come to this event every year and hear their stories. Its truly powerful.

The Tigertail WordSpeak team competes each summer in the Brave New Voices poetry festival. This year they made it to the semi-finals and one team member, Yarminiah Rosa, has been invited to Sundance in January to perform in Brave New Voices Speak Green, which is a project sponsored by Robert Redford. These young poets are an inspiration.

Please check out the WordSpeak team's webpage and show your support.

Dining Out: Spris

Spris is one of my absolute favorite restaurants in Miami. It has two locations - one in Coral Gables and one on Lincoln Road. Tuesday night my family and I had dinner at the Coral Gables location before attending an event around the corner.

The Spris menu is Italian with a Miami twist. It offers all the Italian usuals - pizza, calzones, pasta, antipasti, but it also offers a huge salad menu that takes advantage of all the local, fresh produce.

We started our meal with our favorite salad, the Tropicale. Its arugula topped with cherry tomatoes, avocado, hearts of palm, shaved parmesan cheese and dressed with a lemon vinaigrette. Its positively lip-smacking!

For dinner we ordered a bunch of different house specialties. First the prosciutto sandwich which came folded between pieces of grilled pizza dough!

A plate of spaghetti and meatballs (which my mother and sister griped only came with three meatballs):

And the vegetarian pizza which came topped with mushrooms, red onions, broccoli, eggplant, zucchini and cherry tomatoes. The crust had a slight wood oven burn on the bottom that was delicious!

In addition to food that never disappoints, Spris also offers amazing weekly specials. They include:

Monday & Tuesday - Any pizza and a glass of wine or beer for $10.95
Wednesday - Half off all bottles of wine
Thursday - Homemade risotto and a glass of wine for $17.95
Beat the Clock Special - between 5:00pm - 6:30pm the cost of your meal is the time that you place your order. For example, if you order at 5:45, your meal costs $5.45

If you're and Italian food lover, you've got to get to Spris.

Dining Out: Paul

This week I am in Miami, FL visiting my parents and little sister. To save some cash on my ticket I flew into Fort Lauderdale (35 minutes north) and after picking me up, my family drove to the Aventura Mall. For those that live in Boston, imagine the Natick Mall times two. This place is enormous! After a few hours shopping the post-Christmas sales, we collapsed into chairs at Paul's for lunch.

Paul's is inside the Aventura Mall as both a kiosk and a full restaurant. We sat at the larger location at a small table right out front. We had an excellent spot for people watching.

Paul's is a French restaurant that offers all the French classics, including fresh bread, pastries and other delicious goodies.

You place your order at the counter and they provide you with a number to place on your table. The wait staff delivers your food right to the table. I love the French country design on the number signs. So cute!

I ordered the tomato mozzarella sandwich on a baguette. Boy was that bread incredible!

My parents both ordered the Black Forest ham sandwich which came with cheese, tomato and arugula.

We ordered a side of what they called "potato wedges" to split which were disappointing. Though they were baked instead of fried (always a plus) they weren't quite crispy enough and needed both salt and pepper to have any kind of flavor.

Paul's is a nice alternative to the usual mall options like the Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs or heaven forbid, the food court. I shudder at the thought.

Miami natives - if you don't want to drive all the way to Aventura, Paul's also has a location at 450 Lincoln Road.

Rental Review: Eat Pray Love

As the blizzard in Boston continues, so does my movie marathon! Next up: "Eat Pray Love."

A few years ago when I lived in Inman Square in Cambridge, one of my of roommates was reading Elizabeth Gilbert's memoir "Eat Pray Love." She told me she was having trouble getting through the book because she found the author sickeningly self indulgent. That's not exactly a rave review. After hearing her feedback, I decided to skip the book.

When I learned the memoir would be turned into a feature film starring Julia Roberts, that piqued my interest. I have always been a huge Julia Roberts fan and the content of the memoir seemed perfect fodder for a movie.

The movie begins with Elizabeth's life in New York City, married to her first husband, Stephen, played by Billy Crudup (holy handsome). The scene where Elizabeth and Stephen meet to finalize their divorce broke my heart. Didn't you want to leap across the table and hug Stephen?

Post-divorce Elizabeth moves onto a new man, David, played by one of my all time favorites, James Franco. Yummy.

David is the lead in a play which Elizabeth wrote called "Permeable Membrane." Did anyone else notice that the script describes the lead character as "always changing to become like the man she is with," which was exactly the problem Julia Roberts' character faced in the movie "Runaway Bride"? Just thought that was interesting.

Elizabeth's relationship with David quickly spirals downward and ultimately leads to her decision to travel abroad.

On the first leg of her trip, Elizabeth sets up shop in Italy. I absolutely loved her elderly landlord! How funny was their first conversation? I also adored the group of friends she made in Italy and their genuine affection for one another. It didn't hurt that her Italian tutor was very easy on the eyes. During that segment I was also devoured every image of the food she allowed herself including fresh pasta, homemade pizza and fresh olive oil. Yes please!

The middle chunk of the story, Elizabeth's time in India, was my least favorite. Though I appreciated her relationship with the young Indian bride, the rest of the journey seemed a bit, stalled.

My favorite part of the movie was the final third, Elizabeth's time in Bali. I have never been to that part of the world and I am now convinced that I must see it in my lifetime. How crazy beautiful is that island? Wow.

The relationship between Elizabeth and her spiritual healer, Ketut, was adorable, as was her bond with the Wayan, the village doctor.

I died laughing in the scene where Elizabeth goes to the beach party and the young, Australian man tries to convince her to go skinny dipping.

Of course, the highlight of the whole film is Elizabeth's relationship with Felipe, who awakens her heart at last. Though I have never been attracted to Javier Bardem, he was great in this role. It was a treat to watch their honest, flawed relationship.

This movie was executive produced by Brad Pitt and adapted for screen and directed by Ryan Murphy, the creator of Nip/Tuck and Glee. Is there anything Ryan Murphy can't do?

I did not read the book, so I can't say if the movie is better (rarely is), but I truly enjoyed it. Now off to research flights to Bali!