Sunday Jazz Brunch at The Setai - Miami Beach

When our Uber driver dropped us off at the entrance to The Setai, the first thing we noticed was the "Leading Hotels of the World" plaque. From that moment, we knew we were in for a special experience.

The Courtyard at The Setai

Although we are not staying at The Setai on this trip to South Beach, we were invited to enjoy the famed Sunday Jazz Brunch. Upon arrival, we were greeted by the Maitre 'd who showed us to a beautiful table at one end of The Courtyard. The Courtyard is an outdoor space protected from the elements by a semi-opaque retractable awning. Jazz music is already playing when we arrive, transforming the otherwise peaceful garden atmosphere into an entertaining venue perfect for Sunday Brunch.

Soon after we are seated, a waiter arrives with a bottle of Roederer Champagne and two glasses are poured. Mimosas and Bloody Marys are also available. Our waiter then invited us to accompany him on a quick tour of what has to be one of the most comprehensive brunch buffets in the country. The Jaya Restaurant has been completely transformed into a series of serving stations with an international flair. For those interested in a late breakfast, a pan of Eggs Benedict stands at the ready along with every other breakfast item you can imagine, including blueberry pancakes. Of course, eggs are prepared to order, if you wish.

Eggs Benedict

Nobody can walk by the "raw tower" without trying the oysters, shrimp or clams.

Being more of a lunch-person than a breakfast-person, I was more interested in the Dim Sum station featuring beautiful, delicate shrimp dumplings. But, I soon learned that the ethnic cuisine does not end with Chinese. An array of Thai and Indian dishes are presented in exotic copper braziers. Selections included a Thai coconut soup, Thai chicken wings, fish curry, pork and fried rice, among others.

Thai serving station

From India, there were just as many, if not more choices. I was stunned to see they actually had two Tandoor ovens where fresh Naan bread is baked!

Those with more American tastes are not forgotten. Offerings included a carving station featuring a beautiful roast beef, leg of lamb, baked chicken, and much, much more.

It is safe to say that there is something for everyone on the buffet. This description does not even cover half of the items offered. We begin filling our plates, or should I say, our first plates. While Rickee goes for the Eggs Benedict and pancakes, I head directly for the Thai and Indian selections. As we begin to enjoy our meal, photographers are preparing to shoot an upcoming fashion show that will take place at the other end of the Courtyard.

Return visits to the buffet found me trying a wide variety of Thai, Chinese, and Indian specialties. All were delicious, but the Butter Chicken was my favorite. Each time we returned from the buffet line, we found that our previous plates had been removed and clean utensils placed on the table. The linen napkins were even replaced. Our champagne glasses were refilled whenever they got below half full.

The dessert table was something to behold, with a few items adorned with gold accents. The cinnamon sugar doughnut holes fit in nicely with the peach cobbler. They even had Thai sticky rice with mango! But my favorite was the liquid-nitrogen ice cream station.

The fresh ice cream mix is poured into a mixer along with liquid nitrogen and voilá, instant ice cream! It was creamy and delicious and the perfect ending to a delicious brunch.

Whether you are in South Beach for a weekend trip, or as part of a pre-/post-cruise stay, the Sunday Brunch at The Setai is a culinary experience you will not soon forget. At $80 per person, it is not cheap, but with free-flowing champagne, seemingly limitless choices, and one of the most beautiful venues in Miami, it is well worth the splurge. Just don't eat breakfast before you show up!

For more information, or to make reservations, visit www.thesetaihotel.com/culinary-offers-events.php

Bulla Gastrobar - Doral (Miami)

Whenever we cruise out of an interesting destination like Miami or Ft. Lauderdale, we like to spend a few days before or after the cruise to enjoy the local flavor. Finding and revealing interesting local attractions and restaurants to our followers is a primary objective of CruiseReport.com.

It was exactly one year ago that we had the opportunity to try Bulla Gastrobar in Coral Gables, prior to a cruise embarking out of Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale). A year later, we have the opportunity to visit their new sister location in Doral, FL, just about a mile from our Trump National Doral resort.

We arrived at Bulla around 6:30pm on a Sunday evening. The restaurant was nearly empty, so we had no problem being seated immediately.

As soon as we were seated, we were greeted by our waiter, Xavier, who took our order and delivered everything promptly throughout our meal.

Xavier, our waiter

The tapas-style menu really suits us well. Rickee and I ordered a variety of "small plates" to share. We decided to each order a white wine Sangria to enjoy with our meal. The drink was filled with strawberries and blueberries and was delicious and refreshing! Bulla has an extensive bar menu, and in fact, would be a great place to meet friends for a drink.

White wine Sangria

Our first small plate to arrive was the Albóndigas, veal and pork meatballs in a spicy tomato frito. The meatballs were juicy and tender and the sauce was spicy and flavorful, but not hot. They were delicious!

Albóndigas

Next to arrive at the table were the Pimientos De Padrón, blistered Shishito peppers in olive oil and sea salt. We first enjoyed this dish in Barcelona last year and they instantly became our favorite. The peppers are typically mild, but every now and then you will come across a really spicy one, which is considered good luck! Unfortunately, we did not find the spicy one this time. Rickee's Tortilla Española was a thick, traditional Spanish omelette filled with potato chunks and served with a delicious roasted garlic aioli.

Pimientos de Padrón and Tortilla Española

No visit to Bulla is complete without an order of Pan de Cristal Con Tomate, toasted crispy bread topped with delicious tomatoes. It was so good that I forgot to take a picture!

Paul DeMeza, Managing Partner

But that's not all, Paul DeMeza, the restaurant's Managing Partner, suggested we try their special dessert, Cremoso de Chocolate. The three layers of chocolate genois with vanilla ice cream, olive oil and Maldon salt was sublime. We are glad we saved a little room for dessert.

Cremoso de Chocolate

Our final verdict of Bulla Gastrobar, Doral is the same as for the Coral Gables location...wonderful. When you are in Miami for a cruise, make sure to spend a few days before or after the cruise to explore the local cuisine and area attractions. And, make sure to visit Bulla Gastrobar while you are here.

For more information, go to their website

5335 NW 87th Ave. #C102
Doral, Florida 33166
t: 305 260 6543
c: 786 202 1201

Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar in Miami

Whenever we spend a few extra days in Miami before a cruise, we try to explore new and different places to eat. Miami is one of the great food cities in the world with heavy influences from Latin America. On a recent stay in Doral, FL, we learned of a new Peruvian ceviche gastrobar that sounded very interesting: Pisco y Nazca located in downtown Doral.

"Interesting" would be an understatement to describe Pisco y Nazca. The first thing you notice upon arrival is that it is a really cool, hip restaurant and bar. On our visit, the bar was humming and it was early enough that the restaurant was not crowded yet. As soon as we were seated, we were greeted by our smiling waitress, Sandra.

Our waitress, Sandra

We arrived at the end of Happy Hour, so we ordered two pisco sours, which were delicious. We had Pisco Sours a few years back in Santiago, Chile. It is sort of like a Peruvian Margarita. A pisco sour is a cocktail typical of the cuisines from Peru and Chile. The drink's name comes from pisco, which is its base liquor, and term sourrefers to sour citrus juice and sweet components. The Peruvian pisco sour uses Peruvian pisco as the base liquor and adds Key lime (or lemon) juice, syrup, ice, egg white, and Angostura bitters. Sweet, tart and delicious.

Our waitress recommended that we start with the Ceviche Sampler. The sampler consists of three ceviches, each large enough for two people to share. The first is a sweet Passion FruitCeviche with mahi, shrimp, leche de Tigre (milk of the Tiger?) and a few other ingredients that I cannot pronounce nor describe. The chunks of fish and shrimp were floating in a sweet, but slightly tangy citrus sauce that was delicious.

Ceviche sampler

The second ceviche was Tradicionalewith mahi, sweet potato, leche de Tigre (again) and cancha. This ceviche was very tart with a heavy citrus flavor, but still delicious. Lastly, the Cremosowas similar to Traditionale, but with the addition of habañero pepper. This was the spiciest of the three, but not quite as tart as the Traditionale. I think our favorite was the Passion Fruit, followed by the Cremosoas a close second. This was Rickee's first time trying Ceviche and she is now a fan!

After our Ceviche Sampler, we ordered one of the Anticuchos(Peruvian Skewers). The first to arrive was the Pollo, four skewers with delicious, tender marinated chicken thigh meat in a tasty, rich aji pancasauce. The skewers were accompanied by some roasted potatoes.

Pollo Anticucho

Our next Anticucho to arrive was the Camarones (shrimp), four skewers of shrimp (2 per skewer) served atop delicious whipped potatoes and, of all things, hominy. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and the sauce was amazing.

Camarones Anticucho

These small plates (tapas) really fit the way we like to eat. We love to try a little of several items when visiting a restaurant. We could have easily devoured many more Anticuchoson this visit. But, we knew that there was a serious dessert waiting, so we held off. Soon, it arrived: a dark chocolate dome about eight inches in diameter. But, the secret is in the little jar of warm ganache.

Chocolate Dome

When Sandra began to slowly pour the warm ganache over the dome, the chocolate began to melt away, revealing a mound of sweet potato puree topped with vanilla ice cream and now surrounded by warm ganache and melted chocolate. Actually, it looks a mess, but the taste.... Oh, the taste. There is nothing like it on earth. They even sprinkled in some caramel popcorn for some crunch. It was unquestionably the best dessert we have ever had. We would go back to Pisco y Nazca just for the Chocolate Dome.

See the Pisco y Nazca Dinner Menu here

We were so impressed with our first visit to Pisco y Nazca that we put it at the top of our recommended places to dine when in Miami. Doral is actually a very logical location for a pre-/post-cruise stay (see our review of Trump National Doral) and a visit to Pisco y Nazca is a must when staying in Doral.

For more information, visit their website