Those of you back in DC know what happened yesterday weather-wise, so
we were truly blessed and grateful that we made it here to Florida to
begin our vacation.
We WERE scheduled to fly down to Ft. Lauderdale today to join our
cruise ship, the STATENDAM tomorrow, for an 18-day Panama Canal Cruise
ending in San Diego, When we woke Friday morning, we knew we were in
for TRAVEL TROUBLE, so I quickly rebooked us for ANYTHING I could find
to get us here as early as possible to beat the storm (which in the
end, dumped over 13 inches of snow on DC!). Nothing was available
Friday, so we settled for 10am Saturday, which ultimately got canceled
and I managed to get us onto an 830am. It was not easy and I was up
all Friday night, except for about 2 hours of solid sleep, checking
and rechecking the flights on my travel computer at home.
Needless to say when our family awoke at 5am Saturday to head out to
National Airport, I was beyond exhausted. We explained to Samuel that
it might be a long and difficult day, and to please try and be
understanding of ay delays and difficulties. It started at home when I
spent almost an hour on hold with taxi companies, so we eventually got
in our 4wheel drive and drove to the airport (add on $264 parking for
this trip!). We were shocked that one of the few flights still
scheduled out after 6-7 inches of snow was ours. We had rebooked in
coach (even though we paid for First class) and a super amazingly nice
guy at the gate put us back in First 5 seconds before boarding due to
the large number of no-shows; no surprise there.
After 2 hours delay on the plane getting fuel, baggage loaded, decided
twice and runways plowed, we were one of the last planes to leave DC
before they shut down National. We land less than two hours late and
in shock that we even made it as visibility was so bad all I saw out
the window for 10 minutes after takeoff was SNOW and clouds (we could
not even see the Potomac just yards away from the runway!). Applause
erupted from all of us on board; boy, were we lucky!
So that all said, when we arrived at the beautiful ACQUALINA RESORT
here in Sunny Isles Beach on the Atlantic just north of Miami Beach
and south of Hollywood & Lauderdale, we really did not want to go
anywhere for dinner other than in the hotel. The only option was IL
MULINO, a branch of the notorious and long-lived Italian tradition in
Greenwitch Village that had made its way as far as Tokyo and Vegas as
well as DC and here. I knew IL MULINO was pricey, but decided to give
it try. I must agree that Tom Sietsema's notes on the DC location are
correct when he says to enjoy all the complimentary antipasti they
bring to the table and the breads, order an appetizer and skip the
main courses because they do cost so much.
SPICY marinated ZUCCHINI was one of the superb antipasti along with
Italian Salami and Bruschetta with Mussels. The breads were Garlic
(which Samuel decided he did not like), plain breads and a tasty
crunchy slightly spicy "focaccia" which was more like flat crostini.
The wines tend to all be priced over $50, so we started with a 2004
CHIANTI CLASSICO Riserva from NOZZOLE that was smooth and tasty and
went on to a slightly spicy and great with food NEGROAMARO "Masseria
Maime" 2002 from TOMARESCA in Puglia for a slightly overpriced $90.
I must give IL Mulino credit for superb service. There were captains,
waiters, busboys and more always in attendance, friendly and
courteous.
There is no children's menu, but they will prepare a 1/2 order of
pasta, so Samuel went right for the SPAGHETTI BOLOGNESE (at $18+ for a
1/2 portion!!) and he finished off with a superb LEMON Sorbet
gorgeously presented in a frozen hollowed lemon.
We decided to split some of the pastas and our friends Michael &
Robert, whom I have known for over twenty years (Michael was the first
person Samuel met when he came to the USA and Michael met us at the
Miami Airport during our layover from Guatemala!), and we were drawn
to the specials (recited tableside without prices).
Michael & I opted to split of a HALF PORTION FETTUCINE with STONE CRAB
which was a super tasty and spicy dish due to a generous amount of Red
Chilis. A huge claw came on the side of each. It was delish, but The
claws are stil nothing to compare with our Maryland Crabs. Shock
arrived when bill arrived and the 1/2 portion price rang in at $27,50
(that's $55 for a full portion of fettucine with 4 crab claws!).
Will enjoyed the less expensive 1/2 portion of PORCINI RAVIOLI with
Black Truffles and Robert had a tasty CAPRESE with superb mozzarella
and tomato. Oddly, I tasted two of the huge fresh basil leaves on each
of the bites I took and one was flavorful, the other intensely bitter!
Veal seemed to be the popular choice for main courses and that makes
sense in an Italian restaurant where the Veal dishes outnumber all the
others. Will went for SALTIMBOCCA with sage and prosciutto, Michael
went simple with Picatta (lemon) and I went spicy with VITELLO alla
ZINGARA (gypsy-style) with mildly spicy white wine sauce, wild
mushrooms, tomato and capers. The portions WERE huge and more
reasonably priced than some dishes in the $28-zone. Robert chose the
special whole BRANZINO presented tableside and then filleted to
perfection. It was also huge, but at $55 should have been an aquarium
full of fish! Oddly, the fish was superb, but needed a bit more tan
the plain lemon offered to season.
The highlight of the main course was the side dish of PEAS with ONIONS
& PANCETTA.
We thought dessert would be nice and it got confusing with everything
being recited tableside. I heard something about berries with Grand
Marnier flambeed and when it came it was just Orange slice with Kiwi,
so they sent over a complimentary bowl of fresh berries with sabayon.
Poached Pear in White Wine with more Sabayon was a huge dessert, but
the Coconut Sorbet paled next to Samuel's lemon version.
Complimentary glasses of GREEN APPLE infused GRAPPA were like a super-
tart apply limoncello with even a bigger alcohol punch and ended a fun
and tasty meal that delivered a $500 bill (without tip) for the 4
adults and one child ($150 of which was wine) that still was steep,
but not insane.
Since breakfast here at the ACQUALINA is also at IL MULINO and the
plates all were priced at $20 or more, we headed across the street to
Denny's this morning where our bill totaled less than $30 and I know
after that I won't eat a meal until dinner....
From cloudy, windy and quite cool Florida.
ALAN
