Traymore by COMO

Remember that amazing little holiday we took to Turks and Caicos? Well the hotel chain COMO decided to be kind to us and open the Metropolitan Hotel in Miami. Half of the Caicos Crew went for a stay-cation when it opened, and totally recommended it. This week was a quiet week in the office for Doug and I so we decided to head over to South beach for lunch and we thought COMO was the place to go. 

The Traymore Restaurant

This place is nestled in-between two bigger buildings and is easy to miss if you don't realize the building still has the Traymore sign on it. This is due to it being a historical building so they cannot change it to the Metropolitan. Anyway, once you stumble upon this gloriously white haven you know you have arrived. It was a Wednesday afternoon so the restaurant was empty. We told our server of our amazing experience in Parrot Cay and we reminisced at its wonders. 

COMO hotels are big on their Shambhala menu which is a totally natural and organic menu with a selection of smoothies to choose from. Doug and I chose the Muscle Milk.

 Muscle Milk: Banana, young coconut water, coconut meat, cinnamon, almond milk, flax seed, dates and cacao beans.

They took a while to come out but that is because they literally make it all to order. No pre mixed saches to stick in a blender. They are not even that cold because its so natural that adding ice would alter it. Doug drank his in literally 2 minutes!!!

Fried Fish

 Roasted New Potatos

Doug said it was as good as any Gordon Ramsay meal he's had! and he LOVES Ramsey.

"Ceaser Salad"

We wanted a lighter lunch so we didn't eat much. However what we ate was SO delicious. On top of good it was good for you. When you leave a restaurant satisfied yet not uncomfortable it is a plus. 

I totally recommend this as a lunch place on a nice day because it is such a fresh place to relax in the shade and enjoy the breeze. I will definitely go back and try it our for dinner though. I love love love this place.

We got a little tour of the hotel. Check out this view!

 The top pool deck was under construction still so the bed is a little naked =) 

This Hotel hits the spot. COMO keeps its zen vibe amongst the crazy Miami.

Eating London Part 2

If you could have dinner with a celebrity, who would it be?

Mine would be Gordon Ramsay.

In the states he has the worst reputation and It really makes me sad when I mention him and people are like "Oh that asshole from Hells Kitchen". I don't personally know him but the amount of shows I have seen him on and his books I have read, I have truly grown to respect him so much. He is passionate beyond words. His love for food is so special and he is a perfectionist. Considering how much I love food and eating out at yummy restaurants I feel I have enough in common with him to spend an evening chatting over dinner.....that would probably be cooked by him!!!

Doug has been to all of his London restaurants and a few in other cities in the world. He too has a high love for this guy. We have a bucket list and one of the tasks was to eat the The Restaurant. Ramsays flagship restaurant in London. It has around 45 covers, making it hard to get a reservation unless you plan far in advance. Luckily we knew months before our visit that we would be going to we were sure to book in a long lunch.

My Bearded Man

We went for the 7 courses.

 Starting off with some bubbles

Overwhelmed by the Wine List

Our Amuse Bouche

Foi Gras

Lobster, Salmon and Crab ravioli

Halibut over a Cauliflower couscous

Table selfies

Lamb...Like 4 different pieces hiding under the veg!

(best lamb I have ever had)

Our Cheese man hehe

 some biscuits (crackers)

We had him give us a spontaneous selection. My fav was obviously the Goat cheese.

My mango, passionfruit "soup" that was served in a champagne glass with a glass straw!

This was to clean our palate. Different freeze dried herbs that you crush your self in a frozen pestle and mortar. You then added your cucumber sorbet into it and it gathered all the flavors of the herbs. Very strange but so refreshing and could only be described as a spa in your mouth!

Claire Smith is the head chef and this is her specialty dessert. 

This was their last dessert that they give to everyone. a mini cauldron with pink sorbet balls covered in white chocolate. Along side chocolate squares and turkish delight type squares.

This is where the day gets even better! We bragged to our Maitre D' of our love for Gordon and of the Restaurants we have been to. He saw the twinkle in my eye and asked us if we wanted to come to the kitchen to have a look around. I was like 'YES!'...ok maybe not so excitable, I played it cool hehe.

As we left they kindly gave us a signed Menu by Claire Smith. We left there on a high!

Let me tell you, what an experience it was. It was my second Three Michelin Star restaurant and I loved every second of it. 

We spent the rest of our day walking through touristy London followed by watching the show Book of Mormon. It was a perfect day with my love.

Eating London Part 1

A few weeks ago Doug and I set off back to England. We knew it was time to go back and see the family and friends that we have not seen in the nearly year we have been gone. I asked one thing of Doug for this trip......for us to spend at least two days in Central London. My darling agreed and booked us two nights in a hotel for us to do our own thing and catch up with my fav city.

There were two restaurants we had been dying too visit....Sushi Samba and Gordon Ramsays flagship restaurant on Royal Hospital road. 

Boy oh boy....let me tell you.....what an experience!!!!  You remember Duck and Waffle? one of my earlier blog posts. Well Sushi Samba is right underneath it. Lucky for us Doug met one of its investors here in Miami so he hooked us up with a table with a view! We invited Eddie along for a catch up. That evening we were having a London reunion, but we wanted him all to ourselves for a little while.

On our journey into London Town 

So.......Doug so kindly made a call ahead and asked if they could bring some bacon wrapped dates for me from Duck and Waffle as a surprise!!! He really knows the way to my heart. They are the best thing in the world. Hands down.

 Tuna Tartar

Wagyu Gyoza

When we arrived we went to the bar for a drink before our meal and the bartender told us they didn't have sparkling water. We thought this strange....so Ed ordered a beer. When we sat down we told the waiter and he as well thought that was very strange because they indeed have sparkling water (obviously). So the manager came and brought Dough this amazing rum and apologized for the bar tender. He told him to serve himself a couple  drinks. It was so smooth! Doug was in heaven. (how does he get so lucky?)

not bad eh?

Our steak came on hot stones that kept cooking it!

Sticky Pork Ribs

 Black Cod with big corn

 Spicy Tuna roll and another roll I cannot remember

Everything was phenomenal. The price was right, the vibe was great and the company was exceptional. We had such a great lunch that Ed booked a table for the following day to take his wife. I highly recommend Sushi Samba to anyone that visits London.

PS: The Sushi Samba here in Miami has a reputation for being very average so do not compare these two! they are worlds apart.