Mrs. Mac's Kitchen

A drive through the upper Florida Keys, and lunch at Mrs. Mac's on a brisk and bright March Saturday, can have restorative powers after a long work week. It's the cool breeze, and the emerald and turquoise waters that flank Overseas Highway, and the lampshades in the restaurant made of license plates from every corner of the U.S. and beyond. All of it conspires to make it a vibrant day of leisure.
   

     Mrs. Mac's menu is chock full of fresh seafood choices to complement the Florida Keys atmosphere, but they also provide a variety of options not from the sea. With solid homemade chili, churrasco, hot dogs, and a respectable list of burgers, this menu offers something for everyone.
     John ordered a Keybilly Island Ale but found nothing special in its flavor. A Miller Light in a pretty blue can. I saved my beverage calories for the promise of a dessert Key Lime Freeze, which although tasty and generous in size, lacked richness and depth of flavor.
    We both chose Docksider Baskets, John the fresh fish
basket filled with fat strips of tender breaded mahi in a bed of cottage fries. I was feeling adventurous and decided to try the alligator tenders, also with puffy, crispy cottage fries. My take is that alligator tastes a little like chicken, a little like fish. Freshwater chicken, if you will. They're chewy, but not in an off-putting way. I dipped the tenders in blue cheese dressing and tartar sauce, and both blended well with the reptile.

     The coleslaw was a pleasant surprise. Take it from a coleslaw snob- this one was outstanding.
     While I indulged in my Key Lime Freeze, John went for the traditional Key lime pie, touted here as world famous. It was sweet and tart as expected, with a little more bitterness than I would like, but a solid interpretation nonetheless. However, with all due respect to Mrs. Mac, we've had better.
     If you're in the area and want a basket of fresh seafood in a diner-style environment, Mrs. Mac's is your ticket.

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Crust

This is not your ordinary pizzeria with miscellaneous pasta dishes listed on the menu's perimeter. In fact, I will confess I didn't even acknowledge the presence of pizza while at this establishment in spite of the unrivaled quality of their pies which have won Crust numerous accolades. Even their bread rolls are extraordinary. They're a little bit Italian bread, a little bit flaky croissant, a little bit brioche bun, and besmeared to perfection in garlic olive oil and parmesan.

   

     The restaurant sits in a corner of the Miami River district, an area not known for its accessibility or abundant parking. Yet six nights a week the place is bustling with fervent repeat customers who tell their friends who in turn tell their friends, and they all want to try the inspired, generous dishes, and the exceptional service. It's a warm and inviting environment, a tone set by co-owner Macedonian-born Anita Kovaceski, who welcomes everyone who comes through the door with a sincere and grateful smile. Her husband, Klime Kovaceski, is the mastermind creating platters of love back in the kitchen.

     And platters they are, no joking. They take pride and pleasure in serving gigantic portions of the most comforting, well-thought out Italian dishes made with carefully selected fresh ingredients. Let's cut to the chase. They just want to feed you.
   

     On this fine evening, in the company of Daylin, my favorite partner in epicurean crime, and her husband Mario, we begin with Pan-fried Mozzarella and Meatballs for appetizers. Sounds like standard openers, but perfect ratio of cheese to breading, tender, large, shareable meatballs, and fresh, rich marinara sauce are elements that put these starters in a whole other league.

     It was an evening of classic dishes that somehow, in this place, were magical. I ordered the Risotto with Chicken, a massive plate of velvety, flavorful arboreal rice with golf-ball sized chunks of chicken breast, mixed with red peppers and zucchini. Daylin also received a mountain of Chicken Marsala on a king sized bed of mushroom risotto. The Marsala sauce was refined, with the right amount of sweetness, and a tingle of acidity, like God intended.

    Mario chose the Tuscan-style Tuna grilled in garlic, herbs, and truffle oil and served over sauteed fresh mixed vegetables. But the star of this spectacle had to be John's Chicken Parmesan. It was a mountain of baked chicken tenderloin over linguini, all covered in a luscious blanket of mozzarella, parmesan, and that addictive marinara. An intuitive dish that knocks your socks off unexpectedly.

     And as if this night had not already been magnificent, my favorite course was still ahead. The prospect of sampling four different sweet bonnes bouches, is nothing short of paradise for me. The parade began with Limoncello cake, a Sicilian sponge cake infused with lemon, accompanied by Italian mascarpone and European white chocolate curls. Is there one wrong word in that description?

     Then came another classic performed to perfection- a masterful Key Lime pie that blended creamy, sweet, tart, and crunchy. A Kentucky Bourbon pecan pie followed, warm and in the company of genuine vanilla gelato. The finale was a bowl of fresh berries in a Sabayon sauce that danced gracefully between subtle and sublime.

     Can you taste commitment to excellence? I believe so. And I also think that every single item on the Crust menu contains that flavor, that extra punch that turns the ordinary into extraordinary. Personally, neither distance, nor lack of parking (they do offer valet parking), nor the fact that they don't open for lunch will keep me away. It's worth any inconvenience. Crust is that good.

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