Quote: (02-12-2013 04:30 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:
Quote: (01-29-2013 11:56 AM)Merenguero Wrote:
Quote: (11-05-2012 12:41 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:
Quote: (11-04-2012 02:38 PM)Merenguero Wrote:
G:
I'm not sure this belongs in this thread, but we are talking about South Florida here, so here goes. There is a restaurant by the beach in Broward County which is called Cafe Martorano. It's located in the Fort Lauderdale area in a town called Oakland Park. There are two other Cafe Martoranos, one is in the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida and one is in the Rio in Las Vegas. The owner of these places used to be a D.J. in my neighborhood at the Jersey Shore. I went to the place in Las Vegas a few weeks back right after the Martinez-Chavez, Jr. fight. It had the best Italian-American food I have ever had outside of New Jersey. It is also better than many, or even most, Italian places in New Jersey. It's as good as I could get in my mom's kitchen at the Jersey Shore. The meatballs are actually better than what my mom makes. The Oakland Park location is the original. I haven't been to the Oakland Park or Hollywood locations, but family members of mine who know Italian food have been to both of those locations and say that they are as good as they could be.
I have heard of Cafe Martorano but never been. Thanks for the tip.
Curious if you have ever been to Macaluso's in South Beach? Real hidden joint.
Even most locals don't know about it. Real low pro tip.
I heard there is no menu.
I have had it on my radar for a long while. But haven't had the chance to make it yet. I have plans to lock it down.
I ate at Macaluso's two nights ago with a model. I can say with great authority that it is that same food that I grew up eating in New Jersey. It's true that there is no menu. The servers come to the table and recite the entire menu. The service there is excellent, which is a real rarity in Miami. The place is pretty expensive. For two salads, a pasta dish, a seafood dish, a meatball appetizer, five glasses of champange, and five diet cokes, it was $250.00 including the tip. The only thing that was less than first-class about the place is that the I'm pretty sure the macaroni came from a box and is not homemade. I complemented them on everything about the place, but said the obvious that they could improve by serving homemade pasta. The said that the pasta was homemade. I responded by saying that I used to crank that stuff out and that that was my first job (entirely true). That conversation quickly ended.
Ha. Love the "with a model" part. Now that is G.
I still haven't been, glad you liked it.
Do you recommend the spot?
Which night did you go?
I highly recommend it and I know Italian-American food better than almost anyone. I went on a Sunday without a reservation. We waited maybe five to ten minutes at the bar before we were seated. It's a pretty small place. I believe they take reservations and I highly recommend making a reservation.