A dose of fresh at Miami Juice.

When the pilot announces that we are making our final descent into Miami International, I can already taste the first few bites of my MJ salad and green tea with mint leaves soon TBD (to be devoured). My mind takes me right to Miami Juice... and my body soon follows. To know Miami Juice is to love it I think. But to the uninformed, Miami Juice looks like an everyday, run of the mill, strip mall lunch joint. You know the kind that dot Ocean Drive or Collins, from Hollywood to South Beach. It's non-descript, no frills, casual, and is in Sunny Isles, just a 10 minute drive north of Bal Harbor on Collins. But thanks to its super-fresh and healthy middle-eastern inspired cuisine, it's so much more than that. In fact, it looks like someone opened a grocery store and then tried to squeeze a restaurant into it. Some of the seating will actually nuzzle you right up (or in) to an aisle, where you can practically shop for granola bars and salad dressings while you eat.

From 11 to 3, the place is packed with produce and eager lunching customers, the soundtrack is the beat of whirring of blenders making juice & smoothies, and I'm always digging it. As I approach the door from the overcrowded parking lot, I walk by crates of oranges outside, and once inside I navigate around boxes of avocados, bananas, and other fruits to get to my seat. My mouth begins to water, the food being dropped at tables around me looks like the purest slice of the garden of eden. A look behind the counter reveals every variety of fresh vegetable and fruit, waiting to be transformed - but just barely changed from its off the tree natural state - into something special. The old school (slightly more heavy duty than mine) manual Orange-X juicers pump out fresh juice all day long. They seem to be standing the test of time. 

The (daily) eating experience at Miami Juice is reason enough for a springtime Florida getaway. The menu can seem long and complex at first. But it's basically the same 15 ingredients, creatively switched around to create big variety. The portions are huge, and great for sharing, I like to order as a team and sample a few things at the table in order not to miss out on something delicious. The ingredients are all ripened to absolute perfection. How many melt in your mouth ripe avocadoes can one place churn out every day? It's mad. Don't let your initial look through the notebook-style menu deter you, because anything you order will be delicious and fresh. Here are the specials of the house that rock my world:

Falafel platter with Tuna scoop and salad. The falafel balls are piping hot, little and crispy, and perfectly moist inside. Mix that up with some homemade hummus, house salad, and a scoop of tuna - and there you have it. delicious.

Fruit Salad- a variety of every fruit you can imagine (no melon bowl with soft grapes and sweet syrup here). These fruits taste like they were picked off the tree 30 seconds ago, but actually were cut 15 seconds before being delivered to your table. Topped with nuts, coconut & honey- it's too good to be called just fruit. It’s heaven.

MJ's salad. A chopped salad with purple cabbage, lettuce, avocado, tomato, carrot, and feta, with your choice of topping - grilled chicken, tuna, "Bonitas" (amazing) salmon, grilled snapper- and a few (hundred) more. All amazing and healthy choices, this salad was the first thing that brought me back to Miami Juice begging for more.

And finally, last but not least, my absolute favourite discovery, that I made only on my most recent trip to Florida (after a few years of eating the MJ goodness!). "Issac's Special". Named after one of the owners (as most of the specialty dishes are), Issac's special is essentially a greek salad with avocado, served over a flat bread spiced with za'atar, sumac and other mediterranean spices. I add rosemary grilled chicken on top. The taste of the chicken, feta, spices, avocado, olives, tomato, and onion... all spread over the spiced crispy toasted flatbread is an explosion for my senses. Tastes and textures too good to be true. Soft avocado, wet and juicy tomato, crunchy onion, salty feta- and then throw the thin and spicy crunch of the bread into the mix- You get it. I am in a state of euphoria every bite of the way. 

Who is responsible for this gift to mankind? Miami Juice was opened by Issac & Bonita, an Israeli couple who moved to Florida, and dreamt of providing the local residents with fresh and healthy foods. And do they ever. Issac (a big Israeli dude with salt and pepper hair) is one of the most hands on owners of any establishment I have ever seen. He's there everyday, walking around, wiping tables, moving chairs, tending to his army of staff who are working hard to pump out fresh and amazing plates and juices every moment of the day. The rush never seems to fully quiet down there. Issac sometimes works the blenders, carries the boxes of produce, and once in a while has a 30 second chat with a customer. He is welcoming and real, and gives off a calm and steady energy. I have never been there when the tall, muscular Issac isn't towering over the tables, keeping a watchful eye on every movement in the restaurant, and making sure the experience is consistent and right. 


After a physically tough week of cooking, I had arrived in Florida with my back feeling broken - and when I was catching up with Issac, telling him about my pain, he replied "you think it's easy what you do?", sympathizing with me. He directed me to get a pair of MBTs, the orthopedic-moon-shoe looking footwear he always wears in the restaurant. If you've never seen MBTs, let me tell you right now, they won't look good with your outfit. But I was desperate because my old school Connie All Stars were not doing the trick supporting my body over long hours in the kitchen. So Issac gave me directions to the nearest retailer and sent me on my way. As Jon, Eric and I were discussing this new footwear discovery and how it would help my back, a customer sitting right next to me whipped around and told me abut his physiotherapist. "The best in Florida" he said. Then he got on his cell phone and made me an appointment on the spot. He even made me take his number, to call him and tell him how good the therapy was afterwards. That's the kind of community vibe that is happening at Miami Juice, love it! 

The man behind the miracle, Issac

My new MBT's

The crowd at Miami Juice is all kinds of casual. If you're lucky to find a spot in the lot out front, it will likely be between a luxury SUV and convertible sports car. People are double parked and jockeying their cars around mid-way through lunch, and it's not rare to see someone come hollering that they are blocked in the lot. It's yoga moms, Florida blondes, business lunches, families, locals, tourists, lovers and haters - Miami Juice can be a very potent drama cocktail. Tables turning over, some are placed just inches next to one another, which can make for great eavesdropping (my specialty). 


My table was once 2 inches next to a couple working out the details of their messy divorce, dividing homes (share weeks at the home in Telluride, or just buy another one, toughie), working out custody schedules, him begging for her back - heartbreaking stuff  all happening as I had to lean in periodically to borrow their salt, and use their coffee condiments. After watching this guy spill his heart out all over his eggwhite omelette, I joked to my mom and aunt as he paid his bill- "someone's gotta tell this guy not to sweat it, he'll be getting laid by a super hot, young thing pretty soon"- and my aunt look up at me and said "do it". And in the true Miami Juice spirit of community, I popped out of my seat (heart slightly pounding out of my chest), followed the thirty something soon-to-be-divorcé into the parking lot, and told him straight up, that he's a cutie, and that I see hot sweethearts all over him in his horizon, and to forget about all this sh*t. Turned that frown right upside down, oh yeah. Awesome.

And about the physiotherapy recommendation... let me just say that it was the best physio experience I ever had anywhere. This guy rocks. I am a new person: Stretching the Dr. Yoav way, and wearing my new MBT's (that I ordered online and had shipped right to my hotel in Florida) and feeling better than ever. So thanks Miami Juice! 

Miami Juice 

16210 Collins Ave (Near Poinciana Dr)

(305) 945-0444

Open Monday through Saturday, 8am-8:30pm 

(great for a quick evening bite too)

Take-out available

**Stay tuned, Miami Juice is moving to a new location up the street in the coming months. I drove by the new spot last week, and it looks virtually ready to go, so MJ fans shouldn't have to miss out on their daily fix for more then a day or two when the move actually happens. Can't wait to see the new digs.

You're going to love these nuts, Ottolenghi, & other stuff at home.

Ventured out to Amira headquarters this weekend. The company that makes nuts, dried fruit, olives & spices has an open to the public "cash & carry" near L'acadie and chabanel.

We went there to buy an assortment of nuts to assemble some pretty jars for chanukka presents. Also because we really love going to the freaky place with fresher-than-average nuts, and getting to the cash with a basket full of stuff for $6. Makes me wanna say Boo-ya!

We loaded up on 2 kinds of pistachios (sea salt & lemon, and good old "REGULAR IRANIAN"), large (but not jumbo) cashews, some dark chocolate covered peanuts, and almonds RNS (roasted, no salt - who knew there was a whole nut lingo I had to learn?).

We kept this visit pretty focused, I tried not to get lost in the olives & cheese. We grabbed some hot bread that looked like a whole wheat helium balloon, right out of the oven and off the "poker", to eat as we browsed. The place is crazy - they have all kinds of obscure middle eastern foods and knick-knacks with classic foreign packaging. They sell syrian drums and morrocan trays, small furniture and really ornate shesh b'esh boards (I had to hold back from buying one), and weird figurines of Egyptian pharaohs and sphinx. It's a trip (...somewhere stinky).

I headed to the back to pick up some spices. I needed falafel flour mix (the real deal homemade stuff, I'm going to try to emulate Taim's falafel balls), Za'atar, and some tea that I love. Of course I ended up picking up an extra 8 spices, none of which are labeled, so that should be a fun mystery to solve now that they are all sitting in my pantry in plastic bags. I have been trying to find some good Za'atar, to make a chicken recipe out of the Ottolenghi Restaurant cookbook. I rarely follow a recipe exactly, but I like to flip through nice cook books for inspiration to keep things fresh and changing. We visited Ottelenghi in London when we were there in September and I loved it. Beautiful spot and great food. I picked up this book from Bon Apetit Cookbooks. The recipes are original, and some feature ingredients and spices that aren't very common (at least not around here). But it's fun because it gives you an opportunity to try some new flavors, and then understand them for future use. Or something.

Anyways, there were 5 types of Za'atar: Algerian, Banini, Palestinian and Jordanian and another I cannot remember but I'm guessing Syrian. The recipe in the Ottelenghi book never specified which type and here I was very confused (and hung over - bad combo). I went with the smell test and picked 2 varieties that smelled the best to me. (They both had hints of armpit... but I know that'll just make a better end product.)

I tried out one recipe tonight with some friends and a good bottle of wine. Unanimously delicious.

Menu:

Proscuito de Parma, endive, raddichio (tossed in a vinaigrette), parmesan & pear with tuscan bread.

Spicy Mediterranean soup with kale, cannelleni bean, vegetables and lemon.

Herb crusted Rack of lamb, mini cauliflower, roasted red potato.

Zaatar and Sumac chicken, with red onion & lemon.

The boys appreciated the carnivore's delight. The appetizer was excellent, the rack of lamb was perfectly done and the Chicken Za'atar recipe was delicious. It was tangy, juicy, and flavorful. I'm looking forward to having fun with this book. I will post the recipe tomorrow.

A lunch date with New York City

I visited my brother last weekend in New York, didn’t show up with my regular long list of restaurants I wanted to hit, decided to go with the flow, not an easy thing for me to do. I did however, manage to coax my brother into a cab (while he was on the phone and not sure what I was motioning to him, just shrugging and agreeing) and to my favorite lunch place. Lunch in NYC always means one of two things to me: A long leisurely way to forget the pressure and panic of "We are in New York!!!!! We have to do it all!!", to share a bottle of wine, take it slow, people watch, and enjoy good food & friends . The other, is to save my greenback for an addition to my wardrobe, or a cool pair of boots -and find something quick, easy but equally as delicious. I think it is important to take a time-out for lunch, but sometimes you just want to keep the momentum, not be served a menu, by a waiter, with water & ice, and have to power down midday... you catch my drift.

There are so many great places to eat while in New York that it's hard to not make this blog 180 pages... but there are two lunch spots I always crave around 11am while roaming the streets of the big apple.

The first is Taim. Over the years I have sent many friends there - every single one of them now hooked forever. Falafel, israeli salad, fried eggplant and tahini - all the most delicious of it’s kind in the world, I am sure of it.

There are three types of falafel balls - Harissa (my fave), Green (basil and spinach), and roasted red pepper. They are tiny, moist, crispy and delicious. The place is also tiny... just a little bar for about 5 people to sit facing the street, and benches outside in the summer. The neighborhood is beautiful, Waverly Place is one of my favorite streets to take a stroll, and sitting out on a bench with a platter of israeli deliciousness is a great way to spend lunchtime in NYC (even if it means a little tahini on my outfit for the day - par for the course - I don’t think even a proper table and chairs could save me from myself).

After grabbing a bite there earlier this summer, we walked off lunch in the rain & had a run in with Gisele Bundchen. Obviously I was a frizzy haired, falafel breathing monster, for my 2 minute chat with the most beautiful woman on the planet. I desperately wanted to tell her that I usually smell like peach gum, and take pride in my hair. Anyways... Taim must haves: platter of falafel balls with Israeli Salad,Hummus, & pita; fried eggplant & tahini app; and of course either the homemade lemonade or iced tea - both are amazing. It’s a can’t go wrong menu. Taim is at 222 Waverly Place between 11th and Perry.

Second great tiny lunchtime-hole-in-the-wall: Olive's in Soho (on Prince, between Wooster & Greene).

Another incredible spot - this one with no seats inside and a bench outside crammed full of all types of Soho locals inhaling Sandwiches, iced lattes & delicious cookies. There are days when I sit down and spread out my whole lunch on that red bench and others, when I can barely find a place to squeeze my tush in for a spot to refuel for shopping (another messy endeavor). Scrumptious, quality lunch - quick and cheap - so you can save time and money, and then spend both hitting Intermix just down the street. My favorites at Olive’s are the Smoked Turkey Sandwich, the soups (whatever it is that day)- and a hot or iced latte depending on the weather.