Miami Dining: Versailles Restaurant

Worlds apart from South Beach’s glamour and beautiful people lies Little Havana – Miami’s famous Cuban neighborhood. One of the most celebrated restaurants in the neighborhood is Versailles – but for some reason, we were surprised to discover a line of customers waiting when we arrived there mid-afternoon on a Saturday.

Once we were seated, and saw everyone devouring the food around us, we began to understand the popularity of this place. Steaming bowls of soup, large platters with roasted meats, rice and beans, and plantains landing on every table around us made us filled us with envy – and so we began the challenge of ordering from the enormous menu. Of the dishes we sampled, the white bean soup and roast pork were the clear favorites, though the cassava, rice and beans and plantains were all delicious as well. Coffees were rich and delicious, as were the mojitos, loaded with mint and served with a strip of sugar cane.

What was most astonishing was the small price-tag for this delicious meal – less than $40 for two, with far too much food, two drinks, two coffees, tax and tip.

Versailles Restaurant
3555 SW Eighth St
Miami, Florida
(305) 444-0240

South Beach Dining: Tap Tap

Slightly off the beaten path of South Beach, Tap Tap serves up delicious Haitian cuisine, and if you're lucky, great live music. Live music begins at 9:30 p.m. on Thursdays and Saturdays, making Tap Tap especially popular on these evenings. Don't worry about the wait though -- you can have a seat at the bar and enjoy tasty mojitos($5.50), cocktails and beers while you let your appetite grow. The walls are brightly painted, and it was encouraging that we were seated next to an American Airlines employee from Haiti -- how's that for an endorsement?

Our server was friendly and happy to make suggestions -- which we appreciated since we were unfamiliar with Haitian cuisine. When Dan asked about a couple of the whole fish dishes, she recommended an off-the-menu favorite: the fried whole yellowtail($15). We saw another table with the spinach in coconut milk($4) and she confirmed that this was a good choice. The conch creole($15) was tender and flavorful and a nice contrast to the crispy yellowtail. All main courses were served with rice and beans and fried sweet plaintains and portions were very generous. It was too bad we had eagerly devoured some fried acras and conch fritters for appetizers -- while tasty, they left too little room for the more delicious food that arrived after. Despite having to take a lot of our food to go, we couldn't resist a piece of sweet potato pie($6), which had a delicious earthy flavor and firm texture clearly distinguishing it from instipid American versions we've tried.

The crowd is a bit older (and wearing more clothing) than the typical South Beach folks, but the restaurant is located only 2 blocks from the popular Washington Avenue, making it a good choice for a reasonably priced meal before a night out.

Tap Tap
819 5th Street
South Beach
Miami, Florida
305- 672-2898

South Beach Dining: Ice Box Cafe

I'm starting to discover that portions in South Beach are huge -- and while prices may not seem to be "bargains," many times you can easily share a dish between two people. This is certainly the case at Ice Box Cafe, where we were overwhelmed by the size of each course, and ended up eating embarrassingly little of our (delicious) main courses. Luckily, they were happy to wrap up our dessert to take with us.

This casual cafe has both indoor and outdoor seating, and is located just steps from the main pedestrian area of Lincoln Road. The menu changes frequently, featuring well prepared creative American dishes. They offer a 3-course prix-fixe dinner for $33, as well as an a la carte menu. (They also serve brunch and lunch.) All the dishes we sampled were loaded with flavor, from the coffee rubbed sea bass cheeks to the chicken milanese and the pan seared rainbow trout. The slice of cake we brought home with us and later tried consisted of layers of chocolate mousse, coffee flavored crumbs and cheesecake covered in a chocolate ganache -- too rich for my personal tastes, but Dan really loved it.

The restaurant has a wine/beer license, but no liquor license. For starters, they serve champagne cocktails with fresh juice -- the watermelon/champagne combination was especially nice and not overly sweet. The wine list was sufficient, and reasonable, with many bottles under $30. I throughly suggest checking out this restaurant and recommend that most diners should pony up the $3 sharing charge and share the prix-fixe menu between 2.

Ice Box Cafe
1657 Michigan Avenue (just north of Lincoln Road)
South Beach, Miami
305-538-8448

South Beach Sleeping: The National Hotel

The National Hotel is among the classic Art Deco hotels that mark the South Beach skyline. First opened in 1940, the National Hotel has been renovated to preserve both the style and luxury of the original hotel.

Guests can enjoy both pool and beach access, with comfortable padded chairs and beverage service available while taking in the Miami sunshine. The "infinity pool" is perhaps the most famous element of the hotel, spanning 205 feet from the rear of the hotel toward the beach. The hotel is conveniently located for exploring South Beach, as it is quite close to Lincoln Road, Espanola Way and the many clubs and restaurants that make this area of Miami so popular with visitors.

Of course, this location and the amenities of the hotel don't come cheap -- rooms often cost $300 per night and more during popular events. Visitors not staying at the hotel who want to see the pool and experience the ambiance should check out D'Lounge on Fridays during "Very Happy Hour" from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

The National Hotel
1677 Collins Avenue
800-327-8370
Miami Beach, Florida

St. Maartan Dining: Lee's Roadside Grill

Located along the main strip in Simpson Bay, Lee's Roadside Grill is sandwiched among a series of restaurants and bars that cater to the area's many tourists. Despite appearing to be nothing more than another tourist trap, Lee's is well worth a stop for top-notch fish and seafood dishes at reasonable prices.

We dined at Lee's on two separate occassions, once for lunch where we had incredibly fresh Wahoo and Mahi Mahi served with rice and beans and salad (we also ordered plantains, which were thoroughly mediocre). (The nice thing at lunch is that you can order "just fish" and share sides, which is probably a good idea, since the portions are huge.) Both fish were simply prepared and tasted pleasantly of the ocean. The texture of the wahoo was surprising, as we had never had it before, and it was very meaty, almost like chicken. We returned for dinner later in our trip, starting with conch fritters (which you can skip) and we had yellowfin tuna and a whole red snapper. Both were fresh-as-can-be and prepared with garlic and spices, but nothing that got in the way of the flavor of the fish.

Lee's operates a series of charter fishing trips, and they actually serve fish that is caught by their own boats -- which probably explains why they are able to serve such outstanding fish at reasonable prices. Many evenings there is loud live music, and service can be spotty (which is true many places on the island), but with $2 local beers, it's tough to complain.

Lee's Roadside Grill
Welfare Road #82, Simpsonbay
(599)-544-4233

Salzburg Tours: Fräulein Maria's Bicycle Tour

I'll be honest: I hate bus tours -- I prefer the intimacy of walking and bicycle tours when visiting a new city. Salzburg is famous for its kitchy The Sound of Music tours, but I couldn't bear the thought of climbing aboard a bus and singing songs from the movie. At the same time, we would only be in town for a couple of days, and I knew a tour would be a good way to get oriented and maximize our time in Salzburg.

Fräulein Maria's Bicycle Tour focused on the sights featured in the The Sound of Music, but was also an outstanding overview of Salzburg. Our tour guide, Ian, was friendly and knowledgeable, and shared much of the city's history with us. We biked about 14km total, covering most of Salzburg's major sights, but the most impressive part was the amazing views of the mountains throughout the tour.

Fräulein Maria's Bicycle Tour
Email: biketour@aon.at
The tour begins daily at 9:30 a.m. and costs 22Є.

Southbury, CT Dining: Laurel Diner

Southbury, CT may not be a popular destination on most people's travel itineraries, but it's my hometown, so it will get a little attention here. It's also located on I-84 in between exits 15 and 14, so it's an easy on-off spot if you're driving between New York and Boston and want to get a bite to eat.

The Laurel Diner is your typical greasy-spoon -- a stand alone diner along Southbury's Main Street that's open just for breakfast and lunch (it closes at 2 p.m. daily). It is popular with local residents looking for delicious, affordable breakfasts and lunches, but it is probably most famous for its homemade corned beef hash. Many people (including my husband) claim not to like corned beef hash, but the Laurel Diner's version just might make you a convert (as it did to Dan). The deliciously salty corned beef hash is cooked on the griddle forming a crisp exterior for the moist chopped corned beef mixed with tender potato chunks. I love having my over-easy eggs broken over it and sopping up the runny yolks with the hash.

As a kid, I thought my parents were always trying to trick me into going to some dumpy place for breakfast when they took me to the Laurel Diner. But my tastes have changed, and now nearly every time I am home in Southbury I try to make the trip to have some hash and eggs. My parents will be moving away this summer, but I'm sure any time I find myself along I-84 before 2 p.m. I'll make an excuse to swing by for some.

Laurel Diner
544 Main St. South
Southbury, CT 06488
203-264-8218