A lot of things happened on my trip to Miami/Miramar. As mentioned in a previous post, for the most part, it was good despite some wacky things happened/mentioned. For today’s post, a somewhat random mix of other places I went to eat which I could have put into individual posts. So, why not? It is just that I wasn’t sure if there was enough material (not to mention the quality of that material) so, as a result, I thought it would be better to have a single large post. Hope it works!
One of the very few issues with traveling from Vancouver to somewhere on the east side of North America, sometimes even on Central time zone is that you leave somewhat early (before 8:00 a.m.) and you arrive already in late afternoon/early night. Despite Miami is on the far south-east of the United States, it was a good thing there was an easy connection path there. In my case, my connection was through Houston which allowed me to arrive at Miami at around 7:30 p.m. Compared that to my trip to Baltimore, where I arrived at 9:00 p.m., via Toronto, aka, Pearson.
Now, not that that matters that much other than you “lose” most of the day; however, I do have one personal problem: jet lag. I am really sensitive to it and every time I have travelled to the east, I simply can’t sleep well until my third night – more or less by then I have to prepare to fly back. I am sure most of you will have a solution, some of them involving drugs, but it is not something I want to use unless absolutely necessary. However, somebody told me of an odd alternative: to force your body to adapt to the destination time zone, change your eating times by skipping a meal. That way, when you arrive at your destination, you will most likely eat something and hit the bed. Of course, since I have to take Gravol, I would most likely be sleeping during most of the flight…
Anyway, after I arrived, I had to drive to the hotel. Let’s just say that I hate highways specially when I easily miss the exits and, as a result, I don’t know where I end up. That has happened to me… A LOT. On this trip… Yes, it happened but fortunately it wasn’t that bad. However, since I didn’t really plan for this trip and where to eat, on my first night I ended up going to that one place everybody “hates”… MickeyD’s. OK, don’t kill me! I think that MickeyD’s have a place in our society obsessed with large, fast, cheap and familiar east; and that is what they provide. However, people ought to deserve better. Once there, though, rather than get something I (think I) would be able to get here (hey, I haven’t been there in ages, how would I know!), I got this:
This is their Angus Third Pounder with Mushroom and Swiss (Cheese?). I won’t try to make any comparison to, say, Burger Heaven or even Burger Burger. As for the burger itself, despite the (uncooked) weight of the patty, it was dry. However there was a redeeming quality: the umami/savoury-ness that the mushroom gave to the sandwich was really good. Each bite had that unique bottom mushroom taste. But, despite that fact, $$$-wise in no way this meal was worth it, specially considering it was about the same, if not slightly more expensive than others meals I would have on this trip and they were better in a lot of ways…. But, wait, my adventures with MickeyD’s did not finish that night! Unfortunately, next morning, again, since I wasn’t sure where was what yet, I had two options: buffet breakfast at the hotel (for a charge) or going to MickeyD’s again. Out of sheer curiosity, I went to MickeyD’s again and, after looking at the menu, I went for broke and got this:
Just for the record, I did NOT finish this. I got it mainly for curiosity, i.e., how large servings would be – something that ended up being a constant on this trip. As for taste, if you choose to go to MickeyD’s next time for breakfast, skip this and go for a single Egg McMuffin instead. And, now, talking about other meals in fast food places…
That is Chick-Fil-A, a fast food chain that, as far as I know, there are no locations in Canada – or, at least, not in Vancouver. I have had previous chances to go there in other locations but for some reason decided not to. Before anybody start bashing me with going to yet another fast food chain, I must admit that while driving around, I missed the exits to the other restaurants I would end up going for lunch (La Carreta, Cancun Grill, et al). Did I mention something about driving fast? (On their defence, the road layout and signaling in the US is way better than what we have here).
As for the food itself, I got one of their combo sandwiches, here their chargrilled chicken club sandwich with waffle french fries as a side (there were other sides available like salads and coleslaw but, oh, well… The fries will have to admit disappointed a little bit. Given they were sliced this way, I would have hoped it would be on the crunchy side; however, it wasn’t either crunchy nor fluffy inside. Instead, it was almost a mush. The honey mustard sauce given for the sandwich helped but I think I should have gone for the salad or coleslaw instead… -_- The sandwich, on the other hand, was good, as it was a piece of “grilled” chicken breast rather than breaded and fried (KFC?). Furthermore, it was moist, something that is always a problem with this piece of meat. Had they added some more condiments in the sandwich, it would have been better. Oh, wait, I used the honey mustard on the fries…
On my way back to the I noticed one place that where my experience has been go so far: Panera Bread. I blogged about it once previously on my trip to Jefferson City – check it here. So, I though, do I want to go to MickeyD’s again for breakfast? Nah…
On the morning, they have several breakfast goodies, like bagels, pastries, breakfast yoghurt, and some breakfast sandwiches et al. However, while that is good, I wanted something different, in this case, I got:
That is a turkey sausage and potato egg souffle. While the serving isn’t really large (specially comparing to the mammoth size servings of some of the dishes), taste-wise, it was really good – not to mention filling without being bloating. It had some layers of savoury-ness in the turkey, sweetness in the crust and a blank palette of sorts in the egg. It was a nice balance of ingredients. And, to go along, I had a nice cup of Earl Grey.
Finally, to close this mix-match, I wrote previously about a place I went but won’t blog. To “tease” everybody, here is what I had on that restaurant visit, hehehehe…
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great looking trip; even if it was for work.
I’ve been meaning to try those new McD’s burgers when I hit the states next. Having worked there in high school, this is a far stretch from what we dished up in the 90′s.
I’ve also heard nothing but great things about Chick-Fil-A. Another must try for me, but I’m usually in Idaho/Montana and they haven’t set up shop there yet. Was the menu very big?
That last dish has a homemade vibe. Looks great!
The best McD’s breakfast is the breakfast happy meal. 3 little hotcakes, a hashbrown, coffee and a cool toy for like $3! The only one that has “refused” to sell me a breakfast happymeal is the one in Bentall Center by Burrard skytrain.
Raidar, I would skip the McD’s burger. No, really. Given you know how to make breads, just sautee some mushrooms in butter and you should be able to make something similar, if not better. The Chick-Fil-A’s menu is relatively small, though varied at the same time. If memory serves me right, they had 8 “combos” plus different sides. Unfortunately, no fried chicken…
Kate, Hmmmmmm… No Happy Meal for me… ^_^;;;
South Florida has so many fine restaurants, definitely check some out next time you travel that direction.
omg your pics are stunning! love your blog, can’t wait to read more!
come check out my blog!
jenna
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