Michelin-star Italian…Miami…mmhhmmm!

We made it…HECK YEAH, BLOODY ‘ELL, WOW…let’s gobble some good grub!

Kanpachi crudo…extremely delightful…fabulous start–jaaaa!

Baked clams…we wanna eat dozens more–mmhhmmm!

Chicken liver/foie gras pate, strawberry jam, chicken jus, perfect crispy toast. . .AMAZING!

Saffron tagliatelle vongole…totally delectable–GOBBLE!

Veal sweetbreads…ridiculously good…YES!

Pappardelle with Florida rabbit. . .soothing and wonderful–WOWEEWOWOW!

Gelatos and a chocolate budino…lovely dolce ending.

Michelin-star chef loves appreciative gringos…saluti!

This joint ROCKS…Boia De! in the Little Haiti section of Miami…”upper east side” if you will. . .let’s check it out–jaaaa!!

Boia De! is, we are told, an expression used in the Tuscany region of Italy that means, ‘heck yeah!’, ‘bloody hell!’, ‘WOW!’, etc.. . .an expression of exuberance. Perfect name because this restaurant makes us quite exuberant…and it made all the Michelin inspectors who visited here exuberant as well…so much so that they awarded this place with one Michelin star. . .quite an accomplishment for a small dining spot way up in northeast Miami.

So, let’s get busy…

…this place is supposedly a tough reservation because it is so small and so good…we got in on our first try by just turning on the ‘notify’ button on Resy…I got a message a couple days later saying a table was available for us, and we snagged a reservation…on a Friday night even…you just gotta work it on Resy–and BOOM! you get in.

Upon arrival we are offered a table amongst other diners…we resist and choose two comfy stools at the far end of the bar right next to the chef…perfect. We get to watch her examine the food as it comes out of the kitchen and do some occasional chatting as she personally delivers dishes to us–fun!

For this din-din we do kanpachi crudo–wonderful, loads of flavor, great starter for us…baked clams–delicious, delectable, we want dozens more…chicken liver/foie gras pate–AMAZINGLY flavorful, we love this, perfect crispy toast, GREAT DISH…saffron tagliatelle vongole–soothing and gobble-worthy…veal sweetbreads–delicately crispy, wonderful presentation, LOVELOVELOVE…pappardelle with Florida rabbit ragu–extremely good, flavorful, magic. . .and then a chocolate budino with sides of ginger gelato and passionfruit gelato–solid dolce ending.

We wash everything down with cocktails called Sunset in Sevilla and a Bergroni–both uplifting and scintillating…and a bottle of white called Vermentino ‘Fosso di Corsano’–crisp, dry, tasty–goes really well with our grub.

WOW! Outstanding!!

This…place…is…solid.

A Michelin-star Italian joint here in Miami is quite something…cuz all of the Italian joints in Miami are delicious. But this one really stands out…makes me want to yell out “Boia De!”…so I do, all the time now.

Great people/staff–EVERYONE is welcoming, efficient and helpful. . .the food is extremely good, really good. . .the beverages are spot-on and complementary to the food. . .the space is chill and cozy and relaxing–we love it. . .you cannot go wrong here…

…work your Resy, book a spot here, and enjoy. . .you will love dining at Boia De!–I gar-ron-taaaayy!!

On to our next meal…

…it’s lovely out there.

#1 lunch spot…Paris–

WOW!  We are finally lunching at La Tour d’Argent here in Paris, and it is MAGNIFICENT!  Cannot imagine a lovelier urban restaurant on planet Earth to lunch in. . .let’s check it out and see why.

First, this is the restaurant that inspires the setting for the wonderful movie called ‘Ratatouilles’…you know, the one with the little rat that is a fine chef and ends up turning the entire Parisian culinary world upside down by making and serving the best ratatouilles that some hardened restaurant critic has ever had.  Fun movie. . .but the real place is much more enjoyable.

The restaurant claims that it was founded back in 1582, but it more likely has been in existence since the mid-19th century. . .you can Google it to learn more.  But who cares how long it has existed…it exists NOW, and that is all that matters to us hungry travelers.

La Tour d’Argent means ‘The Silver Tower’ in English. . .the building certainly glistens as the sun bounces off of it on the left bank of the River Seine. . .light bouncing off of the river…light bouncing off of the building…soon there will be light bouncing off of wine bottles and food and cutlery and glasses as we lunch the afternoon away.

La Tour currently holds one Michelin star…though it used to hold three, then two for many years.  It has one star now simply because they are not innovating or trying to be original…they are just cooking their classic dishes like pressed duck, quenelle, and fish in the fine simple ways that they have done for many years.  In fact, the restaurant has its own duck farm, and everyone flocks here (wink) for the pressed duck which is fun and exciting and delicious to eat.

Even though the restaurant has only one star it still maintains five red forks and knives in its rating–this means the service and setting are as stupendous as ever…jaaaa!!…we love stupendous service!!

We have 6 or 7 people attending to us as we peruse the menu, determine our wine selection, take in the views, and generally settle in…niiiice.

There are a lot of sensory experiences that have to be managed here: announcing our arrival to the greeter, waiting for our elevator ride up to the dining room, being escorted to our table, meeting our service team, checking out the decor–it’s spectacular!–and taking in the views of the Seine, Notre Dame, and all of the right bank of Paris–TRES TRES SUPER!

This place is a fairly tale restaurant.  The staff are all extremely sweet and helpful to us. . .we order a la carte to just dip our beaks into the wonders that they cook here…we have duckling, quenelle, sweetbreads, cheese, strawberries, and other seemingly endless items that keep arriving–all magical and delicious. . .mmm, aaaah!

And we wash everything down with a Meursault from 1986–my wife’s first year spent in Paris. . .most wonderful to see the old bottle with its fading label falling apart as it is taken out of and returned to our ice bucket–and so delicious to drink, too.

The wine list is gigantic and extremely fun to peruse. . .supposedly the restaurant currently has between 300,000 and 400,000 bottles in its cellar–wrap your heads around this wine lovers and enjoy.

Anyway, I could go on and on here, but I won’t.  All you gotta know is that this place is extremely worthy of your attention–please eat here some time if you get the chance…this is the height of what civilized and lovely humans are capable of in the urban dining world. . .why not enjoy it before you return to stardust?

It’s lovely out there.

Fun joint…Paris–

As we stroll around the Ecole Militaire section of Paris we see a glowing sign for a restaurant called Auberge Bressane…it feels welcoming and possibly tasty so we book a table.

We pop in for dinner at our appointed time and BOOM! this place feels good, smells good, and tastes good, too. . .jaaaaa!!

Bressane fashions itself as a cross between a bistro and a Lyonnais bouchon…great regular grub served in a casual lively atmosphere.

Our server woman approaches us and says right away, “I am sorry but the frog legs are all gone”…I say, ” damn”…she says, “yes, I know, everyone eats the frog legs when we have them.”  To sooth our souls we order two glasses of champagne…she brings them right away…ah, all better, we are home.

So, with no frog legs available we avail ourselves of the following: snails in garlic and butter, foie gras terrine, coq au vin, sweetbread fricassee, and a red berry souffle. . .all washed down with a crisp Macon.  This place is good!  All of the food is cooked wonderfully…the service is warm and easygoing…and the overall ambience is homey and soothing.

We love Auberge Bressane and want to eat here again and again and again.  Check it out the next time you are in Paris. . .you will like it–I gar-ron-taaaayy!

To see more delectable images from around planet Earth simply click on a location of your choice in the category menu on the ‘About’ page of this blog. . .do it. . .you deserve a virtual trip NOW.

It’s lovely out there.