Eating out makes me happy – And when I discover restaurants like Mandolin Aegean Bistro…

the world for some reason becomes a much better place. Restaurants inspire me, not that I go home and start creating a master piece using that inspiration plus in reality the only thing I get when I leave a restaurant is a few more pounds to my collection (I hate that), but in my hectic day, going out for dinner is like a new adventure, I think I can compare it to pretty much what people probably feel when they go to an airport to fly to an amazing new place, yes, that’s exactly what I feel when I go out to eat. It’s the time for me to relax, or perhaps is just that the wine relaxes me – okay, not sure what it is, I just LOVE going out to eat.

And Mandolin Bistro in the Miami design district was a place that when I walked in it was like walking into food heaven (I would think very much like for nudists when they finally arrive to a retreat to join in the fellow-naked citizens). Oh, and I have teenage tendencies when it comes to obsessions. When I find a restaurant that I like, I go there obsessively for a period of time until I move to the next one, is like a teenager who plays the same record over and over and over, I think that I actually should not have said that, it’s kind of embarrassing, but that’s me and it’s not that I am talking about crack cocaine over here, is food people so relax.

Marinated grilled octopus

There are no words to describe this dish because as a serious octopus eater (another obsession but I’ll spare you the details), this creature is rare to find well prepared, and when I had the first bite of this tender, crusty outside and buttery inside, it was very much like a sign from god; I am here on earth to eat. Period.

Things that annoyed me about Mandolin is their petit bread servings. Okay, I love that they bring their focaccia in a little brown bag, but please we are more than one person at the table (yes, because even thought I have food obsessions you’ll rarely find me eating alone, that’s just too alcoholic-ish hanging out at a bar alone). Back to the bread, I always have to keep asking for more, I don’t like that, it makes me feel I’m desperate (and I am not, yet). Just bring some decent amount of bread so that I do not have to fly you for more and make everyone think that I lack manners, that’s just not cool Mister Mandolin.

Hand-cut fries with garlic-yogurt

Yogurt you would say? … yep, and they were so good that they should actually be illegal.

Seafood stew with shrimp, mussel, calamari

Mandolin this dish is nothing out of the ordinary.

Greek sampler – tzatziki, smoked eggplant purée, tarama

Cheers started to come out when I tried this. The eggplant thingy – I am big on eggplant while my husband hates them (Good. more for me), this was absolutely divine because it had a smokey flavor that you could close your eyes and imagine seeing Greek people roasting them in rocks near the ocean (not sure why this thought but I hope you get the picture). Oh! authentic is what I tried to say! Gee, I am getting complicated.

The other two were good, but not worth more than one sentence of my time. Oh, the pink one was salty, maybe too salty, but trust me, I would have licked the plate if it weren’t because I live in a civilized world.

Watch the video (not a masterpiece) – one side note though about the it; I remember one time I stopped to ask the owner if I could shoot the restaurant because I really like the place, and he either was confused by my request or he did not know what a camera is, whatever the reason the video below is not good, but I think that he deserves it. Look if a food blogger is asking you to shoot your place, just say yes, or aren’t you in the hospitality industry? I mean come on- if he would have been nice, the video would have been much better (gosh I can’t let it go) – here, watch it!

Mandolin crappy video – but at least you get a sense of what to expect.