Quick Football Snacks for the Clueless Cook

If you weren't so clueless you would have looked up fun easy recipes and bought the ingredients for Super Bowl Sunday snacks by now.  But since you're reading this, you didn't, did ya?

Quickies: Chickpea Salad with a Fresh Herb Vinaigrette and Last Minute Deviled Eggs with Last Minute Toppings.

Run out and get two large cans of cooked chickpeas. While you're at the marketplace pick up a dozen eggs, mayo, five or six bags of chips, nachos, etc. (depends on how many people you've invited), a jar of green or black olives or both, some fresh herbs such as cilantro and parsley, a couple of lemons, garlic and a few red onions. Chop up the (pitted) olives, two onions, a good handful of cilantro and parsley and a few cloves of garlic. Throw the drained chickpeas in an attractive bowl and whisk mostly everything together with about five tablespoons of olive oil, two tablespoons of vinegar, salt and pepper. Squeeze some lemon juice on top of the salad. Refrigerate your chickpea salad until ready to eat. Serve with nachos and chips.
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​It's good to see restaurants take food holidays seriously, especially fast food chains like Pollo Tropical when they offer $1 cups of soup all day to celebrate National Soup Day.

To take advantage of this deal, a customer has to say, "Happy Soup Day!" to the cashier and you pay only one buck for a cup of either Caribbean chicken or split pea soup.
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Pucci's Pizza via Facebook

You know you want it.

​Tommy Pooch is hell-bent on digging Miami out from its economic woes -- one slice at a time.

The pizza mogul/restaurateur has announced a new recession-busting menu at his Pucci's Pizza South Beach location. From 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, Cheese slices, spinach rolls, sausage rolls, and even a can of Pabst Blue Ribbon will sell for just under a buck. The price rollback will remain in effect until further notice. So far, the offer isn't valid at the new downtown Miami location.

It all started when Pooch saw a phenomenon happening in New York pizza shops. "Eight months ago one pizza shop on MacDougal Street in the Village started charging a dollar for their slices. Then every other pizzeria did it -- not because they wanted to, but because they had to."
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​Laszlo and Anna Boros came up with a good idea. Why not introduce one of their favorite pastries from Hungary to South Floridians?

Kurtos kalacs are sometimes called cinnamon horns or chimney cakes ("kurto" in Hungarian means chimney). This ancient Transylvanian treat dates back to the 15th century. Traditionally the cakes were made and cooked on an open fire. Today, they are roasted in modern stainless steel rotisseries in both Romania and Hungary.

"Four years ago we moved from N.Y. to Florida," Anna explained. "Our intentions were to open a cafeteria or an ice cream shop or a breakfast place. A Hungarian friend told us that she had been successful in Hungary selling kurtos kalacs. She said that rather than taking a chance on opening a place in this economy, we should think about just selling the chimney cakes at different festivals. We decided to try it and thankfully it has worked for us."
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​Miami isn't immune from cold snaps like the one hanging out for the past three days, but folks aren't falling out of palm trees, stunned by the arctic blast.

Instead, people rolling in from the frozen tropical tundra on a cold day gather and socialize at La Palma restaurant on Calle Ocho to warm their cores with hot chocolate and churros.
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Pizza Rustica

Pino Piroso, the very "hands on" owner of Pizza Rustica.

​It's Pizza Rustica's 15th anniversary and these pie purveyors want you to party like it's 1996. What does that mean? Well, you'll pay like it's 1996. Partying is actually optional.

For 19 hours starting today, December 15 at 11 a.m., slice prices will flash back to 1996. You know, when Prince was a hit maker as well as an unpronounceable symbol, and a cheese slice at Pizza Rustica cost $2.50. Other varieties were a buck more.

And will be again. But only on the anniversary and only at the Washington and 9th location.

Anyone seeking 15 minutes-- or more likely, seconds-- of fame would be wise to show up in the afternoon when a videographer will be recording customer's fond memories of the place.

In the spirit of things that make you go "awww," Pizza Rustica's Melissa Mokha explained, "A lot of customers have been coming in since we first opened, and they have a lot of great stories to tell." The clips will then be streamed on Facebook.
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Laine Doss

Sure it looks good...

​Burger King recently announced its new Chef's Choice burger to much hype. The official press release describes the meat sandwich in flowery and loving terminology.

"Superior from every angle, this 5.5 ounce flame-grilled burger is made with seasoned ground chuck and is topped with thick-cut bacon, American cheese, crisp red onions, sliced tomatoes, Romaine leaf lettuce and savory Griller sauce, all on an artisan-style bun that will surprise and delight taste buds."

I purchased the Chef's Choice Burger, which is $4.99 for the burger, $6.99 for a value meal with small fries and a small soda. When I opened the box, I was pleasantly surprised. Wrapped in paper, the burger was thick and juicy looking. Unlike most fast food burgers, the sandwich wasn't squished and all components were easily identified and the correct color. Tomatoes were orange, onions were purple, meat was brown, and bacon was a deep umber.
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Lesley Elliott

​Banana & Leaf is a no-frills sushi place offering basic rolls at insanely cheap prices. This is a great new spot for downtowners in need of a quick raw fish fix, and it's by the same crew behind Little Lotus, experts at making a restaurant something out of nothing (if you haven't been to Little Lotus, go, and you'll see what we mean).

It's clean and cute, with plenty of seating packed into a small space, giving you the choice to sit down or to grab a to-go box of spicy tuna or snow crab rolls; right now they are having an opening special -- two for $5, can't beat that. The sushi bar menu is limited, with offerings ranging from a "Honeymoon" combo of barbecue eel with radish and lotus root over rice ($7.99) to the simple "Nobita" box, including an eight-piece tuna and avocado roll with four pieces of tuna nigiri ($8.99). The fish is fresh and although the crab is all imitation, there's no strangely discolored tuna or sad examples of brown avocado in sight.

Now, this is (in our humble opinion) more of a lunch pit-stop, not exactly the right ambiance for date night. And, it's in a strange area (234 NE 3rd St.), located on a street plagued by construction, but you can pay to park in the public lots on Biscayne and walk on over.
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Photo by Anais Alexandre

Move over baby-backs, it's all about Spare Ribs now!

​Short Order is on a barbecue rampage. A couple days ago, we gave you Shiver's in Homestead. Today it's Shorty's BBQ where they recently showed us smoked meaty delights including the thickest ribs we've ever tasted. These ain't baby backs, they're Shorty's own hickory smoked spare ribs ($11.50). These guys are the big brother version to the thinner, smaller baby-backs. In short, they're caveman ribs, for manly men.
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By Anais Alexandre

Go. You need to get to Ernestos now. Run fast.

​The crunch of freshly made tacos mix with the sounds of a Spanish telenovela as you take in the scents of charred meat and sweet onions. But my friends, we're not in Mexico, we're dining at Ernesto's Taco Shop.

Ernesto's has always held close to its Mexican roots. In fact, the passionate manager of the Kendall location, Rainer Bierdeste, boasts of his family's rich heritage.

This is his father-in-law's establishment, after all. It teems  with vibrant colors from the lightly waving Mexican flags on the ceiling to the vivid crimson of the fresh tomato salsa adorning a plate.
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