Archive for Westchester
Pincho Factory Adds 2 New Burgers & Delivery
Posted by: | CommentsPincho Factory owner Nedal (not Nebal as the Miami Herald named him) has a burger mind and he’s always thinking of new combinations. I don’t always agree with some of the stuff he creates but I do appreciate his never ending desire to invent something new and delicious. October sees not only 2 new burger creations but the introduction of delivery to the neighborhood of Westchester (my hometown!).
Back to October’s New Burgers:
Octoberfest Burger: 5 oz. Burger Patty cooked in Sam Adams Octoberfest beer topped with Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Onions Caramelized in Maple Syrup, Lettuce, Tomatoes & Pickles.
Octoberfest Burger
Double Decker Goober Burger: 2 Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches make Up the Buns of this Burger topped with Bacon & American Cheese.
Double Decker Goober Burger
Pincho Factory
Facebook: Pincho Factory
Twitter: @PinchoFactory
9860 Bird Road, Miami, FL
305-631-2038
Pincho Factory – Westchester – Miami, Florida
Posted by: | CommentsPincho Factory? Really? It may be named Pincho Factory but pinchos are not even under consideration for me when there’s a burger on the menu. My wife, that’s another story, she loves pinchos (please keep all jokes to yourself). The girl at the counter suggested we add fries to my wife’s order of a Beef Pita (she agreed). She made the same suggestion to add fries to my Pincho Burger order, I decided to go with a side of Hot Dog (Vienna All Beef Hot Dog). Before anyone tries to ask for a side of Hot Dog, it doesn’t exist.
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| Fries (fried in peanut oil) |
The fries do not appear to be fresh cut but they were fried in peanut oil. While I’m normally not a fan of frozen fries, these dudes were fried so perfectly in the peanut oil I couldn’t stop eating them. I considered taking a to go order of them (honestly).
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| Beef Pita |
The Beef Pita is a pincho with pita bread around it with your choice of toppings. She chose lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers as hers and she couldn’t stop raving about it. I tried it, liked the meat but I can’t get past cucumbers since they’re high on my list of dislikes.
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| The Hot Dog |
The Hot Dog is a Vienna dog. Just in case you live under a hot dog rock, this is the good stuff. The dude at the counter suggested I add banana peppers, onions…..and ketchup. Is he crazy? I didn’t add it but he assured me that it tasted great that way. If you try it that way let me know, I’d be interested in hearing what you think. I ended up adding mustard to it after the picture was taken and was very happy with it.
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| Pincho Burger w/Cheese |
The Pincho Burger upon arrival just looked delicious. I had mine with cheese, raw red onions (not sure if grilled onions are an option), potato sticks and their pink sauce. The meat has some nice seasoning on it and a great grilled taste. Great choice of buns too! I loved it. For an extra $1 you can upgrade to a double which I will definitely do next time I’m here. Next time I’ll also get a side of Pincho Dog (just kidding).
Pincho Factory
Facebook: Pincho Factory
Twitter: @PinchoFactory
9860 Bird Road, Miami, FL
305-631-2038
Latin House Grill – Miami Food Truck
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My wife Marcela and I had looked over the menu for Latin House Grill before heading to track them down in Westchester. She settled on getting a couple of Carne Asada Tacos. We’re also sharing some Sneaky Nachos. I had the Mad Love Burger (shocking I know).
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| Latin House Grill Menu (click to enlarge) |
Her tacos are topped with pico gallo, mexican crema, habanero mango sauce, avocado lime sauce, avocado and cilantro. I’m a fan of sauces and these sauces were right on point. Marcela asked and yes, plans are in the works to sell the sauces which I think is a good move. The yellow rice “estaba divino”, yes divine.
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| a couple of tacos with yellow rice |
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| taco topped with sauces from the heavens |
The Mad Love Burger is a fresh 80/20 grind of brisket, chuck and sirloin. As far as toppings go I had my Mad Love with grilled mushrooms, grilled onions, mexican crema, yellow crema, spicy mayo and a big helping of crispy julienne potatoes (looked very beautiful actually). You can also add avocado slices but I opted to go light on that and some pico de gallo.
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| Mad Love Burger |
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| the closeup |
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| an almost half way gone Mad Love Burger |
With my first bite I didn’t know what to make of it. It reminded me of when you hear an album by some band and you just can’t grasp whether you like it or not. After each successive listen, you begin to understand and love the album. It was a similar situation here. There were a whole bunch of flavors to appreciate but in the end I loved it. And I’m looking forward to another one.
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| Sneaky Nachos |
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| Sneaky Nachos |
The Sneaky Nachos (I don’t know why they’re sneaky) were round tortilla chips topped with swiss, mozzarella & provolone cheeses and topped with your choice of meats (we chose rib eye steak which closely resembles philly cheesesteak) as well as sauces etc.. We had them topped with pico de gallo and a good variety of the sauces, which were added at will while we grazed. I’m not a fan of round tortilla chips, they bother me for some reason. There is of course no difference in taste but the rib eye steak that topped them was so good it deserves its own sandwich (which exists, it’s called the Flatton) . The combination of the cheeses tasted awesome but the problem we found was that once the cheeses started cooling off, they became a two handed eating operation. There’s also a burrito on the menu as well as a “Puffy Taco” which looked interesting. For their inaugural month they’re giving away a free taco to each person, so search them out, get a Puffy Taco and let me know how it goes.
Latin House Grill
786-HOT-6567
Twitter: @LatinHouseGrill
Facebook: Latin House Grill
That Pizza Place on Coral Way – Miami, Florida
Posted by: | CommentsNo one wants the take up the horrible task of following in the footsteps of a failure. That Pizza Place On Coral Way (great name by the way) has taken up this challenge and even dared to use the same phone number as its predecessor. The previous pizza parlor at this same location failed miserably with their horribly bland pizza and just as bad service. So when one guy (with the help of his brother) felt that he could hit it out of the ballpark, he had one thing in mind: Quality Ingredients.
It's All About The Cheese!
I found out about That Pizza Place On Coral Way through a friend of mine who was raving about it. I did a search and found their website as well as their Facebook page. I decided I would have to stop in and give it a try. The pies are available in 14″, 16″ and 18″ sizes. There are also daily lunch specials. A couple of slices and a drink for $5 plus tax. I order a slice of their regular pie and I was blown away by the nice crispy crust, the slight parmesan flavor hidden in the pizza and the right amount of sauce.
Cheese Slice
I take a look over the menu and my cousin Fred and I order some of their garlic knots, lasagna, chicken parmesan sub and meatball subs. Great stuff but the meatball sub is definitely one of the best I’ve ever had (and I know my meat).
Garlic Knots
Lasagna
Chicken Parm Sub
Meatball Sub
A few days later I went back and had their pepperoni and meatball pizza. Wow, they use the small pepperoni, similar to the ones served at Frankie’s Pizza on Bird Road. Those pack a big flavor punch.
Pepperoni Slice
Meatball Slice
Fred went back just yesterday and had the Stromboli and loved it. There guys are doing it right and I suggest you check them out and honestly, get the meatball sub. Make sure you let them know Burger Beast sent you.
That Pizza Place On Coral Way
That Pizza Place Facebook Page
7401 SW 24th Street, Miami, FL
305-269-9554
A version of this review is up at WorstPizza.com
Rio Cristal – Westchester, Florida
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A few months back I wrote about my childhood love affair for the Supercheeseburger at Rio Cristal: If you want to go back and read the post, I mean, it was a really good post if you ask me, you can do it: aqui. Or I’ll save you the trip and post what I said below:
I know what you’re saying (maybe you’re not saying anything because you have no idea what this place is), this is a Cuban restaurant. Let me plead my case first before you write me off. As a bratty kid, all I would eat was cheeseburgers. I’m still bratty by the way, just not a kid anymore (I had to get this comment in before Marcela takes a pot shot at me). I eventually gave in and started eating other items on the menu like bistec (el steako) but when I would go to Rio Cristal, I had to have the Supercheeseburger. Not really the type of thing you would find at a Cuban restaurant (since they already had the inferior Cheeseburger). It was large, had lots of over processed American cheese melted on top of it and it tasted really good. Right now while thinking of it, my mouth started watering which means only one thing. Expect a Rio Cristal review real soon.
So the time is here at last. How do they say, better late than never. Yes, Yes. My parents were in the mood for something they haven’t had in a while (get your mind out of the gutter). I suggest Rio Cristal, I order and I pick up the stuff with my father. I had the Supercheeseburger with their julienne cut fries
, my mom had the grilled chicken with onions
while my father had the Pan con Bistec aka Steak Sandwich. If you do decide to eat here, remember that you will leave smelling as if cooked your own food. I don’t why but that’s a fact. My mother loves the chicken, my father, Mr. Sandwiche loves his Pan con Bistec
and then there’s me and my Supercheeseburger. It tastes just like I remember, it’s crazy.
A rush of memories come back to me, back when the whole fam would go to Rio Cristal to have dinner. Good memories. It’s still good and I’m so glad for that. I didn’t mention it earlier but definitely get their Flan, it’s the best in town, hands down. As for the picture of the burger unwrapped, you can’t have it, go order it and smell the magic.
Rio Cristal
9872 Bird Rd, Westchester, FL
305-223-2357
Hours: Mon-Sun 12PM-10PM
Arbetter’s Hot Dogs – Westchester – Miami, Florida
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Arbetter’s is a Miami institution, it’s been around around as long as I can remember (since 1959, but at the present location since 1972). It also looks like it’s been around forever (I’m not saying that’s a bad thing), which adds to its charm.
Food Network’s Ham On The Street filmed an episode here once. It’s also known locally because of the sign on the wall, “Free Boston Baked Beans The Day After The Red Sox Win The World Series”. It did eventually come to pass some years back and they of course kept their word.
Very True!
There’s also the “Free Refills this week When You Say You Love Larry Bird Or Bob Cousy” sign. This is true by the way (that you can get free refills not that you love Larry Bird, but then again maybe you do). The menu here is limited to hot dogs, corndogs, fries (chili or cheese) and soft drinks.
C.C.O.M. Hot Dogs
I always get my hot dogs C.C.O.M. (Chili, Cheese, Onion & Mustard). I’ve also heard the Sauerkraut dog is good but that’s not my thing. While I don’t care for the hot dog itself too much, the other flavors more than make up for it.
Chili Cheese Fries
The Chili Cheese Fries are second to none. The Chili here is amazing, yes I said it, AMAZING! It’s slightly spicy and even better is that it’s bean-less. This is a must order if you eat here.
Crispy Corn Dog w/ Side of Mustard
Last but not least, are the Corn Dogs. How are they? Probably the best tasting corn dogs I’ve ever had. So what am I saying? If you live in Miami and you’ve never been here, shame on you!
Consume:
Arbetter’s Hot Dogs
8747 SW 40 Street, Miami, Fl 33165
305-207-0555
Hours: Sun-Thu 11AM-8:30PM, Sat 10:30AM-9PM
Mao Colombian Fast Food – Westchester, Florida
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Mao is the first of the Colombian fast food places popping up all over Miami that I tried. I had a few friends tell me to try this place out and I kinda took my time to go there. I don’t know why but when I did I was surprised at how different it was. The burger aka Super Hamburguesa is a burger with melted Mozzarella Cheese, Potato Sticks , Ham , Pineapple sauce, and an Egg. You can add Bacon if you’d like and about 5 different sauces that vary from a Guacamole like sauce to a Curry to a Pink sauce (which I think is a ketchup-mayo combination).
The flavors can be a little overwhelming to the taste buds. I didn’t fully grasp everything the first time I ate here and I learned to pick and choose the toppings that made the best combination for me. I like the Curry and the Pink sauce but in all honesty the patty is the least flavorful part of the sandwich. It is actually pretty horrible and a frozen patty.
Super Perro
The Super Perro is a jumbo Hot Dog with all the toppings of the burger minus the Egg and Ham plus some Parmesan cheese topping. It might the safest bet for the first time you eat here. If you do end up at Mao order the Maicito which is a can of Corn with melted Mozzarella Cheese and Sauces plus optional Chicken and Bacon toppings. That dish will make you glad you made the trip.
Mao Colombian Fast Food:
8438 SW 40th St Miami, Fl33155
305-551-0506
Denny’s in Westchester – Miami, Florida
Posted by: | CommentsDenny’s….what can I say that you don’t already know about this place? Denny’s has never been for me anything more than an after hours type place. It’s not the spot I think of when I’m starving and looking for some good cuisine. Now, is there some ok food to be had here? Sure. Is it few and far between? It might be.
I always want to order an appetizer here although I always end up disappointed no matter what it is except one. I have the “I could have made this myself at home feeling” about their appetizers yet that does not stop me from getting their generic Chicken Strips (from their Pick It. Sauce It. Dip It. portion of appetizers) sloppily tossed and partially covered in buffalo sauce.
Cheese Fries
I like their Cheese Fries with Bacon and Ranch sauce, it fills a nice late night grease void. I’ve said in the past that I would have gotten a more flavorful burger if I had eaten my Chuck Taylor’s instead of a Denny’s patty. I happen to know a few people who believe that the burgers here are amazing here and I would take that with a grain of salt because those same people think Step It Up is a great movie. Denny’s changed their burgers not too long ago for the better. No more generic, frozen, perfectly round patties. There was a definite improvement with their new fresh Burgers (plus there’s not many other places where you can get a side of Hash Browns instead of Fries).
Double CheeseBurger w/Hash Browns
Mushroom Burger w/Seasoned Fries
And, as is custom not only here but at Keg South, my wife Marcela needs to make sure she loses everyone’s dollar bills and quarters at the claw machine on the way out. As bad as Marcela is at the claw machine, my cousin Fred is really good at it.
Claw Machine
One time at this same Denny’s, right after Fred won some crappy stuffed animal in the claw machine and before he had a chance to get it out of the little holding area where it drops into, some little kid ran up to the machine and took it out and ran away with it. Fred let the little thief keep it, I know I wouldn’t have.
Denny’s
8000 SW 8th St, Westchester, Fl
305-261-5944
