Feasting in Florida 🌴
With visits to Zak the Baker, Joe's Stone Crab, and New York Prime.
Hey everyone,
Have you recovered from Thanksgiving yet? Last night, after landing at LaGuardia, getting back to Brooklyn, and reuniting with our beloved child/dog Winston, I zipped over to Union Market and stocked up on bananas, pears, radicchio, broccoli, and as many other fruits and vegetables as I could carry back in my mitten-less hands. Call it a cleanse, call it a reset, call it a hankering for things that grow on trees, but this body needs a break from butter, gravy, and pie not to mention stone crabs, steak, and key lime pie.
This Thanksgiving was one for the ages: Craig’s parents Steve and Julee, who were finishing up a six week cruise around South America (and Antarctica!), joined my family for Thanksgiving in Boca. This was a major event because, for the past seventeen years of our relationship, Craig and I have taken advantage of the Jewish loophole and spent Christmas with Craig’s family every year in Bellingham, WA (since my family doesn’t celebrate) and Thanksgiving with mine in South Florida. So for Craig’s family to join us felt like a break in the space-time continuum.
The fun part was that we got to tour Steve and Julee around Miami since they’d never been. We started that day at the Wynwood Walls, where I peeled off to check out Zak the Baker, a place I’d been dying to try since first hearing about it.
The place was mobbed, but I endured the line and came away with the best babka I’ve ever eaten: a double chocolate babka that was yeasty and rich and surprising, with some crumble on top and deep chocolate inside.
But we had to save room, because after that we journeyed to Joe’s Stone Crab for lunch.
I’d only been to Joe’s once or twice before, both times with my parents, so going at lunch was a real treat: (a) because it wasn’t nearly as crowded; and (b) because you didn’t have to “schmear” the host, as my dad likes to say. (Apparently it’s an insider fact that you give $20 to the host to get seated right away? And then give them another tip on the way out? I’d be too embarrassed to try.)
Joe’s was a blast, but wayyyyyyy expensive. Here’s a video I made of the experience:
It should be stated that Steve and Julee are something of crab experts, catching Dungeness crabs every summer from their cabin in the San Juan Islands. Their review of Stone Crabs vs. Dungeness crabs: they liked the meatiness and the ease of eating the stone crabs, but find Dungeness to be sweeter and more flavorful, especially when you cook it in sea water, like they do.
There’s no Washington State comparison, however, to Joe’s textbook perfect key lime pie.
The traditional graham cracker crust held a freezer cold, but not at all frozen-feeling, tart and zesty key lime filling. The waiter said it’s the best he’s ever had and it was hard to disagree.
In case you think all we did was eat, we also swam with my niece Ella and nephew Jordan, who loved spending time with their uncles (who else would drag them around the pool on a swan-shaped floatie?).
As for home-cooked food, there wasn’t any of that, seeing as this is my parents’ fridge and freezer:
Thankfully, they do know their way around restaurants and on our last night (Saturday night) we all went to their favorite spot in town: New York Prime. (See lead pic.)
There were martinis and Manhattans and wedge salads and a big bread basket, but the main event was the steak: I had the petit New York Strip and it was exemplary with onion rings and creamed spinach on the side. For dessert, we all split their massive chocolate cake while singing along to Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” performed live by a first-rate Boca Raton lounge singer.
And that was that! Here’s Ella after she beat me at air hockey.
Before we get to today’s links, you may have noticed that today’s newsletter is free….
That’s because it’s CYBER MONDAY and your last chance to get my newsletter in your inbox 2X a week for 25% off the normal price. Where else will you get scrumptious recipe ideas, pictures, videos, links, and funny stories about my wacky family? Plus subscribing gets you full access to my archives, which are chockful of recipe ideas and more. Click here now, before it’s too late:
And now for some links:
Dwight Garner on Ray Isle’s new wine book is an amusing read: “I would take his wine advice to the bank. What I would not do is take his new book out of the bookstore. It’s too heavy.” (NYT Book Review);
Tipping Culture in America: Public Sees a Changed Landscape (Pew Research Center);
That’s all for today, folks!
See you (well the one who subscribe!) back here on Thursday….
Your pal,
Adam