So, needless to say, when friends wanted to have dinner there a couple of weeks ago I jumped at it. I almost wish I hadn’t. I almost wish I were busy that night.

From what I understand they have undergone some changes and reportedly have new owners and some say it’s not even close to the same restaurant as Jake’s originally was. But I kept my faith in it. 

We ordered some drinks, which took 30 minutes to make it to our table despite being right behind the bar. But that I can excuse, to an extent. 

Our waiter took about an hour to take our order and when reminded he gave the excuse that the table ordering before us must have thought “they [were] going to die soon” if they didn’t eat. That too I can excuse on the probability that he thought he was being witty.

What I cannot excuse are the 3 totally rare burgers brought to our table after an hour and a half of being there. I cannot excuse the plain turkey sandwich on unrecognizable bread brought instead of the turkey melt ordered. And I especially cannot excuse the one completely charred replacement burger and the other still completely rare one (although it were totally black on the outside), mine. 

I rarely ever complain at a restaurant and I never, ever refuse to pay for the food I ordered. In this case, I did it. 

The house picked up the incorrect orders and sent a round of drinks to the table. 

But when the bill was received everything’s price was bumped up by a dollar here, a dollar there, almost totally making up for the loss. Luckily someone at the table noticed. And the house took care of the entire thing after some arguing.

Let’s just say that it will take A LOT to get me to go back to Jake’s. And if I ever do, I will sit at the bar as waitresses and even a manager suggested. But for now even that seems unlikely. 

 I could have gotten better at McDonald’s. 

Delicious, right?

You can try Jake’s for yourself:

http://thegastropubatjakes.com/

6901 South Red Road
Coral Gables, FL 33146
(305) 662-8632

Reservations: not always necessary but it can get quite busy

Dress: casual

The good part about the holidays is being able to make things for holiday parties and get-togethers. 

Now that my finals are over for school and I just have a few projects to finish up I’m hoping to have much more time to cook/bake. Even if it’s just for myself. 

Today I found a new app for my iPhone from the Wine Spectator. It’s free and I suggest anyone who is interested at all in wine to download it. It gives you a type of wine and a few different recipes for Triscuit cracker hor dourves. I can’t wait to make them. And my brother is a huge wine fanatic since moving to Washington State so I plan on spoiling him while he’s here. 

I will definitely be keeping my eye out for good holiday recipes, and I could use some help. So please, spread the wealth and give me some suggestions. I promise to try them and post my successes and failures.

What are your favorite holiday food traditions?

I tried three pizzas, all of which had distinct flavors and were extremely different. The first was a white pie that had Ricotta, basil, fresh tomato, and Prosciutto De Parma. Unlike most places that don’t use a good prosciutto, Piolas was fantastic. The meat was thin and not too salty and you could see the marbling of fat. It was disticntively prosciutto as opposed to salty chunks of ham I so often find at pizza restaurants being passed off as prosciutto.

The second pie had Carpaccio, basil, and brie, my favorite cheese. For those of you who eat meat and have never had Carpaccio I seriously beg you to try it. It’s simply raw, thinly sliced meat. And it was so good on top of a hot pizza with oozing melted brie.

The third pie was just a simple Margherita pie with tomato sauce, mozzarella, and basil. But it too was delicious. In fact, I ate more pieces of that than anything. I like simplicity.

The pizzas are thin and the crust was a little blackened and pretty crispy, just the way I like it. One of our pies was burnt half way around the crust.

The wait was not long, about 30 minutes in total from sitting down and receiving our food. The staff was friendly and the waiter suggested that we get the Carpaccio pizza, a great choice.

We ordered 3 pies which I think is enough for about three or four people. (We were four and it served us perfectly.)

Each pie is an average of $12.

1625 Alton Road, between Lincoln and 16th st.

(305) 674-1660

Dinner is from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m.

It is casual and a very down-to-earth atmosphere. No reservations needed.

This morning I treated myself to some Eggs Benedict, which turned out really good. I just wish I had english muffins instead of the wheat bread I used. 

Then I made some badass buffalo wings for the boyfriend Michael and my father. I was too excited and therefore couldn’t eat but I giddily sat with them as they munched down on the wings. And I must admit, they turned out amazzzzzing. 

As for eating out this weekend, we ordered pizza from Pieducks last night in the Brickell area. We had been told it was the best pizza ever in Miami, it was REALLY delicious, but I wouldn’t say the best. I still hold out for that greasy pie from Pizza Kitchen. But hey, no complaints there.

Good weekend! Hope you all had a good thanksgiving. Mine was sure filled with a ton of good food courtesy of my grandmother. 

And if you have ANY suggestions about where to go or what to make, tell me about them!