When we got our tickets for the June 28th Kitchen Hop in Miami, we had no idea that we would be in the midst of World Cup fever.   Saturday evening we took the trolley down to Brickell and quickly realized that we had entered into World Cup central.  The Columbia v. Uruguay game was at the tail end with Columbia winning 2-0.  There were yellow jerseys everywhere you looked including all the restaurants in and around Mary Brickell Village.

Our first stop, La Mexicana, offered yummy beef or chicken tacos and $5 Margaritas or Modelos.  I opted for a Margarita and because it was so crowded in the restaurant by the time I finally got my order the Columbia team had won and the fans had begun to celebrate.

We made our way through the crowds to the next few stops:  OTC had no food samples left, we didn’t even make it to Batch, but Piola made up for it with delicious turkey pinwheels, bruschetta, and pizza.  La Gazzetta also ran out of food.

Continuing to push through the crowds that had now flooded into the streets closed off by police to continue their celebrations, we stopped by Dolores but you can call me Lolita. 

Their sole offering was their popular Serrano Ham Croquettes.  Unfortunately, we don’t eat pork, so that was a bust.

On to Oceanaire.  While their offering was small, it was quite yummy – Yellowfin Tuna Tataki! 

By this time, my margarita was gone and we were a bit worn out from fighting through the soccer fans.  Luckily for us Oceanaire was offering their regular happy hour priced cocktails, so we sat at the bar and enjoyed a few.  My favorites are the Camarita (Camarena Blue Agave Tequila, Cointreau, fresh lime juice, and simple syrup) and the Oceanaire Mojito Martini (Absolut Berry Acai, Bombay gin, fresh mint, simple syrup and fresh lemon and lime juices).

We didn’t make it to Toscano Divino or Blue Martini to collect our free cocktail.  Instead, we strolled over to Balans (which was not on the Kitchen Hop), sat outside, enjoyed a great dinner and some amazing cocktails, and watched the crazy Columbia fans continue their celebration until riot police came and cleared the streets.  What a night!

The World Cup definitely beat the Kitchen Hop in this match!

~I’ll Drink to That