wanderlustin': Shopping and Some Steak

Watching a movie... sort of.

Sunday morning Julie hit the spa for a massage whilst Owen and I caught up on the film Midnight in Paris that we missed during our snooze (see above). With Julie back we finished watching the movie and packed up to visit the shops at Bal Harbour, a short 10 minute drive South. Since the rain clouds were rolling in this seemed like a good option, particularly for people watching.

Indeed Bal Habour was good for people watching unless you plan on selling your house to buy something. The bustling on-site restaurant, Carpaccio, is a good meal option with reasonable prices and good service. It also provides ample entertainment for people watching. I had to opt for the carpaccio di carne with shaved parm and portobello and prosciutto stuff focaccia -- Julie was wise enough to only get the focaccia catania with sausage and spinach. All delicious.

Giving Owen some fresh air -- and drying my shirt.

Koi ponds run up the middle of the shops.

At around 6, closing time, we dragged Julie back to a store to buy a dress that she had tried on and been debating ever since. I (embarrassingly) grabbed a linen dress shirt, sans flowers, since it seemed to be the only shirts anyone was wearing -- probably due to the heat. I also grabbed a funky t-shirt from a shop owned by a Morrocan with whom I had a brief chat in French. 70% of Floridians aren't born in the state which makes it a great melting pot for all cultures.

Apparently we were in a French Riviera kind of mood.

I dropped the family back at the hotel and headed over to the nearby liquor store, aka Publix grocery store, to pick up a bottle of champs and back to the Aventura mall to grab some strawberries from Godivas. Getting back to the hotel just in time to shower and head down to the acclaimed on-site Michael Mina restaurant, Bourbon Steak. Not having reservations in advance meant Sunday was the only opening other than 10pm on Friday or Saturday -- typically a good sign. It also meant the restaurant should be relatively quiet. Handy for Owen.

The restaurant is worth the visit alone with some great design aspects. There are a handful of menus; one specifically for burgers with check boxes to select what you want; the full menu; and at the time the Miami Spice (think Summer/Winter-licious) menu. We opted to go with items from the full menu, me a 14oz New York and Julie with a 8oz filet and a side plate of truffled mac 'n cheese. Everything was great. The mac 'n cheese was interesting as expected but seemed to use gorgonzola which neither of us can tolerate for long. Steaks were cooked perfectly. Order also came out with fries done with three seasonings and dips. These were pretty rad as well as the popcorn. Overall a good experience. I'd probably try the burger menu but the steak were similar to a good steak anywhere.