Survivor week 4

I'm sure a lot of people in your pool went down last week thanks to the Patriots. Shocking but The Chowfather advised against taking the Patriots. Buffalo just barely pulled out the win for us but they don't call this survivor for nothing. On to week 4's slate.

There are several good plays on the slate this week. Denver should beat KC easily and San Diego should win at Oakland BUT both are on the road and facing division rivals. Experience tells me to pass on both. There are two better home team plays this week. Carolina is home against Atlanta and Pittsburgh is home on Monday night against Baltimore. Both are division rivals but there are no other stronger non-division matchups so we are forced to go with one of the these two. Let's go with Carolina this week.

Sunset Fridays @ China Grill

SUNSET FRIDAYS AT CHINA GRILL FORT LAUDERDALE
Beginning Friday, September 19th from 6:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m., Sunset Fridays at China Grill Fort Lauderdale offers complimentary Ketel One Cosmopolitans for ladies with the music of DJ Anthony Pisano and Joey Martorano (son of Steve Martorano), theme parties, fashion shows and much more, along the Ft. Lauderdale waterway. China Grill Fort Lauderdale at the Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel, is open daily for dinner from 6 to 10 p.m. 1881 SE 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale (954-759-9950)

China Grill Ft Lauderdale tasting Menu

'CLASSICS TASTING MENU' FOR $69.00 AT CHINA GRILL FORT LAUDERDALE
China Grill Ft. Lauderdale is offering a six-course ‘classics tasting menu’ for dinner nightly – except Saturday nights - priced at $69.00 per person (excluding tax and gratuity) with specials such as Confucius Chicken salads; Spicy Beef & Scallion Dumplings in a soy ginger sauce and Lobster Pancakes stir-fried with wild mushrooms, red chili, scallions and coconut milk, Grilled Szechuan Beef with sake, soy, spicy shallots and cilantro and Grilled Garlic Shrimp with black fettuccini and red curry coconut sauce, and Duck Two Ways, with chocolate-orange sauce and ‘Moo Shu’ style confit of leg with spicy hoisin sauce. Dinner is available from 6:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. China Grill Fort Lauderdale, 1881 SE 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale 954-759-9950

Survivor Week 3

Well my official pick last week was Houston and they didn't go. However, my tow other recommendations both won Giants and Tampa.

This week there are 3 strong plays. Giants at home against Cincy, New England at home against Miami and Buffalo at home against Oakland. Giants are a lock but you may want to stash them for later. NE should win easily but it is a division rival so I hold.
Go with Buffalo. Stout defense and improving young QB face a below average team making the long trip with an early start time. This will probably be the best time to use Buffalo.

Wine Down Wednesday @Chef Allen's

Wine Down Wednesday Returns!
Featuring Torres Wines
September 24, 2008
6:30pm

MENU

Pan Roasted Jumbo Wild Florida Shrimp White Bean and Chick Pea Ragu, Pistachio Pesto Torres Vina Esmeralda Wood Grilled Local Swordfish Grilled Zucchini, Shiitakes, Kimchee Slaw Torres Gran Sangre de Toro Tamarind Braised Pork Short Ribs Green Pea Risotto Torres Salmost Priorat Chocolate Raspberry Paradise Chocolate and Espresso Mousses, Raspberry Sacher, Valrhona Cocoa Dust $59 per guest

Miami Spice Lunch Winner

I was in the Brickell area today around lunch time and figured it was a good
opportunity to finally try Abokado. They are one of the few restaurants that are open for lunch on the weekend AND offering a spice menu. I was hesitant to do the spice menu at first because I really wanted to try some of their interesting rolls. However, after reviewing the menu it became obvious that their spice menu was a great deal based on their regular prices. My meal would have easily been 2x more. (whether the normal prices are too high can be the topic of another post and irrelevant to this one)

In a nutshell, the meal was very good and much better than I anticipated. I did go in with low expectations despite being a big fan of the sushi chef from his prior stint at Bond St. I have no idea if he is still affiliated with Abokado but I assume so since I have not seen anything to the contrary.

I started with the Crispy Cheese which is a combination of roasted tomato, gorgonzola, cilantro, queso blanco and wrapped in a spring roll. It comes with a chili based dipping sauce. The spring roll portion was light and did not interfere with the cheese and roasted tomato. Portion size was small (2) but that was fine for a four course lunch. Probably not somethimg I would normally order but it worked and I enjoyed it.

Next up was the Himachi Tiradito. This combination was serrano pepper, cilantro, guacamole and a chil ponzu sauce. This was a good size portion with I think 6 pieces of Himachi. (Tiradito is similar to sashimi.) Flavor combinations worked well and the Himachi was fresh. I would order again.

For the next course I opted for the Revolucion roll. (2 other roll options were available) The roll was a good size and the individual pieces were sized perfectly. Oh yeah, the roll was spicy tuna with asparagus topped with albacore tuna and a ginger ponzu sauce. Great roll. Fresh and a tasty combination. Rice played a small roll and did not get in the way.
I also had the opportunity to try the spicy snow crab roll which I haven't seen outside of New Orleans and was very good. For dessert I opted for the yuzu cheesecake. Not a dessert person but this was a nice end to the meal.

I would definitely recommend trying their spice menu if you are in the area and I look forward to going back for dinner and trying more of their rolls and sushi.

Survivor week 2

Ok Ok, I knew I should have gone with Pittsburgh or Philly. I told you this was harder than it looked. Please explain how Indy lost at home in a new stadium on opening night??
On to week two- Giants @ St Louis is a solid pick but goes against my strategy to avoid road teams.
I also really like Tampa v. Atlanta but they are division rivals.
Tampa is the best play but if you want to avoid a division matchup
Take Houston at home over Balt