Chic-a Bites: Rincon Escondido

Located on 27th and Biscayne Blvd.



Written by JG

Still on foodie withdrawals from our trip to Spain over Thanksgiving week, we decided we needed a little bit of gastronomía Española back in our life. The past few months, on our commute home from work, we noticed a new Spanish restaurant pop up with a large flag of Spain outside, on 27th and Biscayne, and decided to give it a try. Boy, am I thrilled we went to Rincon Escondido Café aka Hidden Corner Cafe.

We went for lunch on a Sunday and walked on over from our apartment. We opted to sit outside because the weather was perfect but what you'll find inside, is a cozy, super-cute dining room that transforms you from a busy street in Miami to a lovely, quaint, mom and pop-foodie spot in Madrid.

The menu was only a page long and pretty easy to digest. They have a deal that consists of 3 tapas for $14.95 that was fantastic and filling. We opted for the Tortilla De Patatas (Spanish potato omelette), fried calamari and ham croquettes. Midtown Chica doesn’t usually do ham croquettes because they usually taste processed but these had delicious and fresh pork filling and she actually loved them! In addition to the tapas deal, we ordered a sandwich to share called Pan Tumaca Con Jamon Serrano which consisted of toasted country bread (imported from Spain) with fresh tomato, greens, Serrano ham and manchego cheese. The sandwich reminded us of one we had at the Museo del Jamon (Museum of Ham) in Madrid and it was delicious! After stuffing ourselves with authentic Spanish delicacies, the owner, Emilio brought us two divine chocolate truffles on the house. A bite-sized rich ball of chocolate to take the salty taste away was just what we needed.

We will definitely be returning for dinner as the place is transformed to a romantic little restaurant with dim lights and quaint ambiance. The owner , Emilio shared with us that although 100 Montaditos and Tapas y Tintos are Spanish restaurants that have seen recent success in Midtown, he wants to remain authentic to his madrileño roots and offer his guests a real Spanish dining experience. Vale? Vale!

This cozy, gem of a restaurant is well-reviewed on Yelp! and has a Facebook page.

Inside the restaurant

Before we attacked our food...

Free Passes to see Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Tomorrow Night!!!

We're offering free movies passes once again to TWO lucky winners to see a special screening of the new film featuring Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock! All you have to do is be one of the first two people to email me at midtownchica@gmail.com and you will receive passes (good for two) for tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 7:30pm in West Miami (location will be sent to you via email).

The film is based on the acclaimed novel by Jonathan Safran Foer and follows the story of eleven-year-old, Oskar Schell. Oskar is a New Yorker with an inventive mind who loses his father during the 9/11 tragedy, soon thereafter, Oskar discovers a key in his father’s belongings and embarks on a search across the city for the lock it will open. The film is a powerful inspirational story of loss, grief and healing from Academy Award winning actors.

Good luck!!

Free Coffee this Friday from 7:30am-9:30am @ New Coffee Shop in Midtown Miami

New Midtown Miami spot, Moloko, will specialize in the art of crepes and coffee. Among their selections, they will feature sweet and savory crepes, as well as international and local coffee favorites. Located across from the signature fountain at the Shops at Midtown Miami, Moloko will celebrate their grand opening with some free coffee this Friday (13th) from 7:30am-9:30am! Enjoy and welcome to the "hood"!

On the West Side of Florida...

Hope everyone’s 2012 is off to an amazing start!

I am feeling reenergized and ready to conquer the new year… Luckily, over the break JG and I had some time to relax and unwind from the craziness of 2011. We spent plenty of time in our sweet little apartment and wearing pajamas past noon… hehe. However, we did manage to take a quick 2-day trip over to the West Coast (enter Ice Cube mix here…) and no, we’re not talking California. (Although I threw you off with the West Coast thing didn’t I?) I meant the West Coast of Florida – Naples and Marco Island.

Growing up, my parents used to take regular weekend trips to Naples and Marco Island. I have fond memories of staying at the Marriott in Marco Island and playing on the beach with my cousins. So for my dad’s birthday, which falls on the day after Christmas, we decided to take a quick trip to Naples with my parents and Lola.

Being that it was our first road trip with the puppy (she’s not really a puppy, going on 4-years in April), we had to find a hotel that would allow dogs. Luckily, the Hilton in Naples allows dogs under 50lbs and only charges you a $50 pet fee and a $200 refundable deposit.

Lola loving the road trip

We set off in the early morning and made our way across Alligator Alley for the 1.5hr long trip to Naples. Along the way, I read up on some reviews for lunch spots in Naples because our plan was to arrive just in time for lunch and then check-in to our hotel. I came across a very well-reviewed French bistro called Café Normandie off of Tamiami Trail North that was near the hotel. We stopped in and sat outside and enjoyed a fantastic little lunch. Dad and I both had the Jambon de Paris which is a delicious ham sandwich on a French baguette, while mom enjoyed her Salade Niçoise and JG devoured his Crêpe stuffed with brie cheese, ham and mushrooms.

After lunch and checking-in, we headed off Hibiscus Golf Club to drop off the boys at the golf course and then mom, Lola and I headed off to the Miromar Outlets off of exit 123. These outlets are awesome – they have everything from Neiman Marcus Last Call to the Bloomingdales outlet and more. We even managed to score our NYE outfits!!

@ Hibiscus Golf Club

Dinner that night was at a spectacular spot off of 3rd St S called Sea Salt next to Tommy Bahamas. JG and I had been there before with some of our best friends who live in Naples. It’s definitely one of my favorite spots! Their cuisine is inspired by their location near the ocean and every dish is a winner. The hostess who seated us gave us a nice quiet table outside (so Lola could join us) and we had an awesome birthday dinner for dad! Mom and I had two of their pasta dishes and dad and JG had fresh fish!

The following day we headed south to Marco Island for lunch. Again, we took to Yelp for the best reviewed spots and came across a place called Little Bar Restaurant in Goodland (right next to Marco Island). Turns out this spot is a hidden gem! It’s an oceanfront, whole-in-the-wall spot with funky décor and fresh seafood.

@ Little Bar Restaurant

Afterwards we did some sightseeing and then headed back to South Florida… all in all it was an awesome 2-day getaway and folks from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale really need to take advantage of our quiet, yet fun neighbors on the west coast. It only takes about an hour and a half and you already feel like you’re in some other destination!

Taking pics with my new camera!

Our Wedding Story

As most newlyweds will tell you, your wedding day flies by in the blink of an eye.

Hmmm, wait, not even.

Better yet, it flashes before you like a lighting bolt in a whirlwind of faces, tears, laughter and joy that boils down to a fuzzy blur of happiness. An amazing blur, but a blur nonetheless.

Luckily, JG and I decided early on we wanted to capture our special day on video for this very reason. We wanted to have someone there to capture everything we had missed or perhaps wanted to relive after that fact. That and the fact we want to have a momento to share with our future children…

But who could capture something so special and do the wedding justice??

Enter ---> Belvedere Stories.

These. Guys. ROCK!

A boutique film company from Miami, this husband and wife team truly love what they do and it shows in their work! The talent and creativity is what makes Belvedere Stories so unique and special.

The video they created for our wedding is an absolute masterpiece and we're in love with it! Somehow they managed to capture so many special moments from our wedding and we're so grateful for the time, creativity and passion they put behind our wedding story. It's simply the most beautiful momento we'll ever have of our very special day. Juan and I find ourselves in tears watching it and every time the movie ends, we stand up and cheer as if our favorite college football team just won the BCS National Championship!

If you’re looking to capture your special day, there’s simply no other way to go than with Belvedere Stories!

So without further ado, here’s a quick glimpse of our beautiful wedding story…

(PS. Check out Lola's cameo appearance!)

stephanie + juan from Belvedere Stories on Vimeo.

Chic-a Drink of the Week

New Year's Eve is probably the most exciting night of the year so to help you celebrate and ring in the new year, here's a champagne cocktail you may want to try out at midnight! 

Toast of Times Square

Ingredients:

1 ounce Ketel One Citroen Vodka

1/4 ounce Elderflower cordial

Champagne


Preparation:
Combine Ketel One Citroen Vodka and elderflower cordial into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well.
Strain contents into chilled glass.
Top with champagne.

Cheers and may 2012 bring you and your loved ones much love + happiness!

Love, Midtown Chica!

Dove Hair = Stress Free! GIVEAWAY!!!

It had been a very long day. I’d been at work all day, and then decided to brave the mall to try and make a dent in my x-mas shopping list. Parking was a disaster, people were seemingly rude and not in the holiday spirit and all I wanted was to get home and crawl under the sheets. Just as JG was reminding me that the holidays is all about family, friends, sharing, etc. my doorman called me to tell me I had a package. (Yes! I love packages!)

Fast-forward 5 minutes, and I was opening a beautiful holiday gift basket from the folks @ Dove Hair. Inside, they had included a ‘Christmas at the Beach’ candle (the smell is intoxicating) from Yankee Candle, 4 products from their new Dove Nourishing Oil Care collection and a gift certificate to a local spa for a massage! All of this in the name of stress-relief and beautiful hair… I thought to myself, “how did they know!?”

Gift from Folks @ Dove Hair

On one hand, the scented candle and spa certificate were sure ways of putting me in the holiday spirit, and on the other, my number one pet peeve is having frizzy hair which the new Dove Nourishing Oil Care is suppose to address. Sure, frizzy hair is a way of life for those of us with curly hair, but with a good leave-in conditioner/cream, your mane will be looking shine and frizz-free. Trust me on this one! For that reason alone, my favorite product I’ve used from the line is the Leave-in Smoothing Cream. I can use it instead of my usual mousse and hair spray and get a nice natural curly look with fewer products.

So now for the good news – not one but TWO LUCKY READERS will win their very own Dove Hair gift basket just in time for the holidays! All you have to do is send me an email to midtownchica@gmail.com letting me know what kind of holiday stress you’re dealing with and why you should win the Dove Hair gift basket!

Two winners will be chosen on Wednesday by 5pm! Please send me your name and mailing address just in case you are the winner! The winners will be posted on the blog! It’s the simple!

Good Luck and Happy Holidays!

UPDATE: Congrats to Margie, Chelsea, Amanda and Rachel for winning the Dove Hair Giveaway!! Hope you enjoy the gifts and spa certificates! =)

Get Sofia's Glam Look for NYE!

Look like Sofia Vergara on New Year's Eve? Why, yes please! You too can look like the stunning Colombian actress for just under $100! Well, maybe not exactly like her, but you can rock the same sexy Catherine Malandrino off-the-shoulder gown Sofia wears in her latest film - "New Year's Eve." The Catherine Malandrino 'Modern Queen Elizabeth' dress regularly retails for $525, but you can rent for just $75.00 on Rent The Runway. Now that's a deal worth toasting to. For details CLICK HERE.

Here's to looking GLAM on NYE!