Chispa
Date III: Best Restaurant to Take Out-of-Towners
This time around, it was my turn to choose a restaurant, and since my wife is not from Miami, why not go with the Miami New Times selection for the Best Restaurant to Take Out-of-Towners, the Spanish, Chispa Restaurant.
Of all our dates so far, Chispa has the most creative interior design. Very modern, lots of usage of reds and blacks, comfortable luxorious leather seats and wooden tables, buffalo-skin lamp shades, but a couple of corny art pieces that incorporate Chispa's logo (sparks).
Anyhow, everyone we mentioned that we were headed to Chispa said make sure to bring money, as it is expensive, but we planned ahead of time to purchase a bottle of wine, and so we did with the assistance of our wine experts, Chad James and Tito Quinones. We settled upon an Argentinian Malbec, Louis Bosca. Chispa mentioned that they would not assign a corkage fee. And so, we were in business.
Once inside, it was gorgeous, but sort've wished I would have asked for a more romantic spot other than near the front door. However, the seats had plenty of room to sit comfortably side-by-side, and so we opened our bottle of wine, and ordered. I was immediately drawn to the "Classic Grilled 20 oz. Skirt Steak" with Mashed Potatoes. I think I'm just a sucker for anything "classic" in the title. Sounds like they know what they're doing. Perla ordered the Organic Chicken a la Plancha. Typical Perla plate.
My plate was absolutely delicious. Imagine a skirt steak rolled up and pinned with a generous serving of mashed potatoes; the meat delicately cooked, soft and bloody on the inside, yet crispy and crunchy on the exterior. It was almost perfect (the end tasted a little too much like oil/grease). Perla enjoyed her plate as well, but my skirt steak here is now my favorite all-time plate. Absolutely what I have been wanting since my bachelor party churrasco...
Interesting story: the bill comes after some Cuban Coffee, and there is a $10 corkage fee. I mention to the waitress that we were told we would not be charged a corkage fee. She says she'll speak to the Manager. She returns, says there is always a corkage fee, the best we can do is half it. I respond, now knowing retail after my 3 years at On the Run, "that is bad business. We could have chosen to go elsewhere." She returns with the corkage fee removed, but obviously did not want to. Cost actually was very decent. $25 less than Caffe da Vinci. ***.5/***** stars. Their only weakness was that since they are a Spanish restaurant, they did not have any respectable desserts. But that was fine with me, as my mom had cooked some of her infamously delicious brownies back home..
Until next time, Chispa did not disappoint, my meal was great, our date was great, we sang Matisyahu on the way home and talked like teenagers again. Very nice date. Who knows where next...
This time around, it was my turn to choose a restaurant, and since my wife is not from Miami, why not go with the Miami New Times selection for the Best Restaurant to Take Out-of-Towners, the Spanish, Chispa Restaurant.
Of all our dates so far, Chispa has the most creative interior design. Very modern, lots of usage of reds and blacks, comfortable luxorious leather seats and wooden tables, buffalo-skin lamp shades, but a couple of corny art pieces that incorporate Chispa's logo (sparks).
Anyhow, everyone we mentioned that we were headed to Chispa said make sure to bring money, as it is expensive, but we planned ahead of time to purchase a bottle of wine, and so we did with the assistance of our wine experts, Chad James and Tito Quinones. We settled upon an Argentinian Malbec, Louis Bosca. Chispa mentioned that they would not assign a corkage fee. And so, we were in business.
Once inside, it was gorgeous, but sort've wished I would have asked for a more romantic spot other than near the front door. However, the seats had plenty of room to sit comfortably side-by-side, and so we opened our bottle of wine, and ordered. I was immediately drawn to the "Classic Grilled 20 oz. Skirt Steak" with Mashed Potatoes. I think I'm just a sucker for anything "classic" in the title. Sounds like they know what they're doing. Perla ordered the Organic Chicken a la Plancha. Typical Perla plate.
My plate was absolutely delicious. Imagine a skirt steak rolled up and pinned with a generous serving of mashed potatoes; the meat delicately cooked, soft and bloody on the inside, yet crispy and crunchy on the exterior. It was almost perfect (the end tasted a little too much like oil/grease). Perla enjoyed her plate as well, but my skirt steak here is now my favorite all-time plate. Absolutely what I have been wanting since my bachelor party churrasco...
Interesting story: the bill comes after some Cuban Coffee, and there is a $10 corkage fee. I mention to the waitress that we were told we would not be charged a corkage fee. She says she'll speak to the Manager. She returns, says there is always a corkage fee, the best we can do is half it. I respond, now knowing retail after my 3 years at On the Run, "that is bad business. We could have chosen to go elsewhere." She returns with the corkage fee removed, but obviously did not want to. Cost actually was very decent. $25 less than Caffe da Vinci. ***.5/***** stars. Their only weakness was that since they are a Spanish restaurant, they did not have any respectable desserts. But that was fine with me, as my mom had cooked some of her infamously delicious brownies back home..
Until next time, Chispa did not disappoint, my meal was great, our date was great, we sang Matisyahu on the way home and talked like teenagers again. Very nice date. Who knows where next...
posted by Gabriel Rodriguez at 9:53 PM
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