To celebrate the end of her single days and the beginning of a wonderful married life, Bruin Bear and I planned a kick ass trip to Miami for our dearest friend Care Bear. Miami was Care Bear’s choice, but the food picks were pretty much all mine. No surprise there right? It was a challenge to narrow down all the amazing dining options in Miami to just 3 square meals. But, I sort of thrive on solving tough first world problems. Our first meal was intended to be our fanciest meal for the weekend. All the gals, Care Bear especially, were dressed to kill for our first night out on this town, busting at the seams with beautiful people, or maybe just smokin’ hot Latin men. Muy caliente! OW!
I would describe OLA as a modern Latin American take on the Miami food scene. The ceviches and empanadas seem to be obligatory choices, but really you could go anywhere from there and do no wrong. I will admit, my memory of this meal is a bit foggy because I was pre-gaming like Prohibition was making a comeback. So, the pictures and descriptors could certainly use some polish, but as Jamie Foxx said…”Blame it on the a a a a a a alcohol.”
Short Rib Empanada black beer braised short rib, creamy habanero sauce, smoked orange rosemary marmalade
Tender beef, stuffed inside a flaky dough. The sauces definitely brought the needed moisture I find is always lacking in empanadas.
Corn Empanada mushroom salad, huitlacoche and sweet corn sauce

Snapper Tiradito meyer lemon, chives, togarashi, marcona almonds, micro basil
No memory of this one. Sorry! Or rather, lo siento!

I was so stuffed at this point. How does liquor, being just liquid, take up so much space in one’s stomach? I’ll never understand it. Anyways, I was just picking at my dish and forcing myself to eat. It was good, not the best branzino, since I expect only the crispiest of crispy skins which this was not. But, there was definitely some good latin accompaniments going on here. The mash was sweet, the stew underneath the fish was earthy. Now looking back, I should have squeezed that lime over everything. That would have added a nice brightness.
Lamb hazelnut crusted rack of lamb, roasted beet salad, goat cheese, black truffle soufflé, lamb demi
Wish I could have tasted that black truffle soufflé. It is possible I did and I don’t remember though…