I recently spent a weekend in DC to attend my friend Ritu’s gorgeous wedding in Potomac, but also to visit another friend, Anum, and her hubby in their new digs (which HAPPENS to be only a mile away from Georgetown). I’ve passed by the area before by car (doesn’t count), but never really wandered around. On a pretty scorching Sunday, we decided to make a day of it. And also because Anum still doesn’t have a couch. First stop: Zenobia Lounge for lunch.

Zenobia Lounge

It’s so refreshing to get out of NYC sometimes, because the restaurants EVERYWHERE else have so much more room. This Middle Eastern restaurant is interesting because it calls itself a “multicultural cafe and bookshop.” It has loads of literature on all the different Arab countries, and even a small gift shop by the entrance. They also host Arabic classes and other workshops year round.

Inside Zenobia

We made our way to the back garden, where people were already smoking hookah in the afternoon. We ordered the mint lemonade which is the “mintiest” you’ll probably find on this side of town — so much so, it’s actually GREEN.

Mint Lemonade

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A family-style dinner

If my first dinner in Toronto with Mickey Contractor and co. was any indication of how the rest of my stay would be, then I should have known it would be fantastic. We kicked off the week in style by dining at Nota Bene, a David Lee restaurant. The restaurant name is Latin used to indicate that special attention should be paid to something (or Italian for “note well”). And that you can taste — with a mix of flavors and focus on “farm-to-fork” locally-sourced ingredients, every mouthful was fresh and inviting.

Cavatelli pasta

Ok let’s be real: the cavatelli pasta kinda resemble, well, little maggots. But if you can get over that, the truffle oil and mushroom fusion was a perfect starter.

Hamachi Ceviche

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Faraz's Orangina-slash-contribution to my Buena Vista post

My trip to Miami a few weeks ago was a whirlwind, but I still managed to squeeze in brunch at Buena Vista Bistro before I left with my friends Shahla and Faraz. I think Paris was still on their minds (they came back from there just the evening before!), because Buena is a pocket-sized French bistro on a street that doesn’t have much else in the immediate vicinity.

Buena Vista Bistro - Miami

Buena Vista inside

The inside has a very 50s aesthetic — black tables and chairs, mirrors making up half the wall and the entire menu written on a chalkboard behind the counter. But on that warm day, we decided to take it outside under the shade of bright yellow umbrellas.

Eggs Benedict

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As much as I was craving the vaca frita at Havana Harry’s, when I went back to Miami this past weekend, my friend Shahla and I decided to try something new. We first thought we’d go to Taverna Opa (a Greek restaurant where I hear there are a lot of waving napkins and smashing plates happening), but the line at the door was out of control. We decided on another Mexican tapas place, but on the way there, we came across Sustain. The decor inside was alluring enough for us to change our minds and eat here instead.

Sustain restaurant in Miami

Sustain is all about locally grown, organic food so the menu changes seasonally and sometimes even more often than that. Shahla had never been, but we decided might as well be a little adventurous with our food. Yeah. Sometimes that can work out for you, and sometimes it doesn’t. This time, not so much. I think our meal started well and ended well, but everything in between wasn’t anything to rave about. We started with the squash blossoms:

Fried Squash Blossoms, $16

This is one of those seasonal menu items. It was filled with cheese and kind of tasted like Indian pakoras (fried fritters)…I don’t know if they use cumin or coriander in it to make it taste that way to me and it was a little unexpected. This was the good beginning.

Swank Farms watercress salad, $7

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Hi everyone! So psyched to be back in South Beach (so soon). This time, it’s more work than pleasure…but then again, it’s Miami…and the weather is gorgeous so I’m not really calling it work . I’m speaking on a panel tomorrow about food/dining blogging for the SheCon Media Expo taking place at Miami’s Convention Center. The conference is free, so if you’re around, join me at 2:30pm tomorrow . I’ll be tweeting too, so follow me on @BeautyNDFeast if you have any questions/comments.

Until then..

A virgin mint mojito on Ocean Drive from my Miami Trip Part 1

On my recent trip to Miami, we made a little dinner stop at Havana Harry’s in Coral Gables, an authentic Cuban restaurant that happily keeps a very unpretentious, family-friendly vibe.

Havana Harry's in Coral Gables

Havana Harry's inside

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