Trip Notes Miami 2023: Great Food, Awesome Cholov Yisroel Chocolate Workshop, And More Weekend Fun

• Read the South Florida Master Thread on DDF
• Previous Miami trip reports:
  • Trip Notes: Miami. A Trip Of Firsts. (2011)
  • Trip Notes: Miami 2012.
  • Trip Notes: Miami 2014. Food, Food, And More Food.
  • Winter Break 2015 Trip Notes Part 1: Miami
  • Trip Notes: Miami Kosher Food Scene Heats Up, Silvercar, And AMEX Centurion Lounge Report (2015)
  • Trip Notes: A Quick Weekend Trip To Miami-December 2015
  • Trip Notes Brazil Part 2: Flying “Private” To Sao Paulo With Miles, And A Quick Stop In Miami (2016)
  • Trip Notes: Flying On A Private Jet To Toulouse And Customizing Planes At Airbus Headquarters And Back Via Miami (2019)
  • Trip Notes Miami: A Foodie’s Delight, Plus Roundup Of 135+ Kosher Spots In South Florida! (2021)

Introduction and outbound flight:

I know. I really should write more trip notes about my travels to Antarctica, Iceland, the Lofoten Islands, Molokai, South Africa, Tasmania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, or exploring the eruptions of Fagradalsfjall and Mauna Loa. But based on metrics, it seems like all anyone really cares about is Miami and it’s been a couple years since I last wrote about Miami. As always feedback is appreciated and you can sound off in the comment for which of those I should write about next.

My wife’s brother made an upsherin 2 weeks ago in Hollywood, so we took the opportunity to spend the weekend with my grandparents, may they live and be well to 120, in Boynton Beach.

Plus, we figured that we’d beat the Yeshiva Week rush. We may have done that, but places were still slammed and traffic was still awful. But hey, it’s a sub-3 hour flight and the weather is a whole lot better than back north.

I brought along my NY MTA bridge and tunnels E-Zpass that I bought in Queens last year for NYC discounts without monthly fees, but also registered my rental car’s plates with Sunpass. That turned out to be a good move as 8 tolls hit the E-Zpass, but one toll didn’t. That one toll billed my Sunpass account rather than the rental car, which would have charged an arm and a leg for using their toll service.

What I love about mileage tickets these days is that you can cancel and redeposit them at will, so we had bookings on various airlines and dates and I kept rebooking them as the prices dropped, which they did multiple times. In the end we paid fewer than 10K United miles each for nonstop flights from Cleveland to Fort Lauderdale, and my wife and I each got 10K miles rebated thanks to booking one-way travel with our United Quest℠ Cards.

I did my usual move of checking in the bags while Mimi was busy with the kids, and then parking the car by myself. We met back up at the PreCheck CLEAR line, which had no line at all.

As I told my kids as we looked at the departure board for our flight to Fort Lauderdale that morning, “This is why friends Tattys don’t let friends kinderlach fly Spirit:”

 

When I booked the flight there were only scattered seats available, but I watched the seat map like a hawk and was able to get us 6 seats together in Economy Plus. I declined to get an upgrade as we’re better off just sticking together. Interestingly, the gate agent noted that she had been watching our seats over the past few days and said she was impressed how I finessed seats together. I know United looks after Global Services flyers, but I was just impressed that she was watching that closely.

Rafi had the window seat and enjoyed taking pictures above the clouds:

 

The flight attendant proactively thanks me for my status, which is very rare, and offered me a free drink and snack. I took the Tapas box, which is mostly kosher parve, and a Glenfarclas scotch mini, which I now have a ridiculously large collection of back home.

Ben B Coco, Wynwood:

I was catching up on the South Florida Master Thread on DDF while in-flight and noticed this post last month by yochai. He wrote about Ben B Coco and shared that the chocolates are really good, the owner is super nice, and he was able to get them delivered to Miami Airport with a Lyft.

I’m more than a little obsessed with chocolate, which is a problem as good cholov yisroel chocolate is hard to come by.

Was it really that good? I went to check out the Google reviews. 5 stars from 197 reviewers?!? OK, this sounds like it’s worth investigating for myself.

Surfside’s Miami Beach Chocolates is always worth a stop (the sea salt caramels and lotus truffles are excellent), but there aren’t many other cholov yisroel chocolates in the US that I’ve had.

Ardely’s in Paris was great, but that was a COVID fatality.

I scrolled onto Ben B Coco’s Instagram and saw they offer chocolate workshops.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Chocolate Factory | Wynwood (@benbcoco)

 

Well, that could be fun. We did a workshop at Galita in Israel a few years ago, which was mostly building chocolate houses, but the kids loved it. However the workshop at De Karina was overpriced and boring, plus they wouldn’t allow our well behaved 2 year old inside.

Based on the reviews, it seemed like it could be a great activity, but the website has precious little useful information.

I confirmed with the ORB that everything was parve or cholov yisroel and then called Ben and he had availability for us that day. He also had no problem with us bringing along a 2 year old.

I love flying United to Fort Lauderdale as it’s just a couple minute indoor walk to the car rental facility. Rafi and Talia helped bring the bags curbside and I was back with with a minivan from National’s executive elite aisle in no time.

We drove right to Ben B Coco in Wynwood, a colorful neighborhood in Miami with art murals painted on buildings everywhere you look.  I used to visit the area back when Zak the Baker was cholov yisroel, but haven’t been back since he went cholov stam.

Ben had giant placemats of chocolate waiting for us and was excited to teach us the process of how he makes chocolate.

He makes everything in house from scratch and it’s incredible to see him roasting the beans from different countries to create a boutique product that is unlike anything I’ve tried before. There’s no preservatives or additives in these chocolates and you’ll see how different various chocolates taste based on where the beans grow.

 

We got to watch the entire chocolate making process, while tasting the product as it moves along between each stage from bean to bar.

Best of all, Ben is incredibly passionate about his craft and worked to keep everyone interested in it, from unique facts to dipping sticks into the vats of chocolate. He’s just missing the Willy Wonka hat.

 

 

After learning all about chocolate and tasting seemingly endless varieties of chocolate, all made in house, the workshop concluded with us molding and painting our own chocolate bars. And of course you can choose from dark, white, or milk chocolate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids loved choosing toppings for their bars:

 

OK, we’re not pros. But it’s fun and the chocolate is outrageously good!

 

You then package up your chocolate bar creation:

 

All of the chocolates here fit perfectly with Wynwood, with the fusion of art of delicious food.

 

The dulce de leche bars and the nuts are unique and delicious:

 

 

 

And for DDF member @chucksterace, they even have edible flowers:

 

The sea salt covered chocolate caramels and peanut butter bars are just heavenly:

 

After a very enjoyable workshop and then spending way too much on bars and jars of homemade chocolate and caramel…

 

…and on fantastic chocolate bonbons, both in dark…

 

… and milk chocolate:

 

I just hope they remain cholov yisroel, as this was all a real treat for us to experience.

I loved their chocolate workshop so much that I asked Ben about making a discount for DansDeals readers who want to do their workshop. He said that he’d be happy to pass along a 5% discount to anyone that mentions DansDeals when they book, which you can do by calling 786-309-5566 or messaging Ben B Coco on Instagram. The store is located at 170 NW 26th St, Miami, FL 33127.

The Chocolate Experience workshop, which takes about 90 minutes, covers tasting more than 20 types of chocolate and confections, learning how chocolate is made from the tree to the bars in the store to tips for making your own chocolate confections, and everyone will mold and paint their own chocolate bar. The workshops cost $150/person for 1-2 people, $125/person for 3-6 people, and $95/person for 7 or more people before the discount.

Alternatively, kids can paint a bar for $39.

Ben also said if you mention DansDeals, you can also purchase 5 chocolate bars in store and get a 6th bar of the same price for free!

Ben treated us to ridiculously delicious chocolate covered homemade marshmallows and we made our way up to my grandparents house in Boynton Beach.

Smash House Miami, North Miami Beach:

But first JJ insisted that we pickup a blooming onion from Smash House Miami along the way back. They weren’t yet open for dining, so we got a few things to go.

It was indeed phenomenal, and the kids loved their shnitzel and smash burgers.

 

Ditmas, Boca Raton:

After going for a swim with the kids in my grandparents complex’s heated pool, we decided to order in some food from Ditmas, which was the only available option on Uber Eats at that time.

I had never had food from Ditmas in Boca, but we used to love the LA Ditmas. Unfortunately this wasn’t anything like that.

Though to be fair, delivery food can’t really be compared to eating in.

The steak sandwich was very tough and chewy:

 

The burger was very rare:

 

The Tony’s fries were good, though not like how we remembered the addictive flavor of them in LA:

 

Stefano’s, Coral Springs:

DDF member Lurker let me know that he opened Stefano’s grocery store with Shabbos takeout food and pizza in Coral Springs, which was just 20 minutes from Boynton Beach, so we stopped there Friday.

Their dips, fish, kugel, pulled beef, and brisket were all excellent!

 

And the kids loved the pizza we had for lunch there:

 

Cinnaholic, Boca Raton:

For dessert, we stopped at one of our kids favorite spots, Cinnaholic in Boca:

 

We didn’t have time on the short Friday to go to Sugar Sand Park, a truly incredible park in Boca that we have enjoyed in the past for countless hours:

 

Cafe Noir, Hollywood:

After Shabbos we called Cafe Noir and were told that could make reservations for 9:45pm, so we booked that and drove the 45 minutes down there.

The place was still packed when we got down there and after waiting in line to talk to the Maître d’, we were told they didn’t have a reservation for us.

My phone records all calls, so I pulled up the recording of them confirming the 9:45pm reservation.

The Maître d’ was nonplussed. She shrugged and said we were welcome to wait, but it would be at least an hour for a table.

 

 

These pretzels are making me thirsty, Cafe Noir…

 

In the end we ordered food to go from them. They said it would take 30 minutes, but it wound up being more than an hour. There still were no tables available and we wound up eating in the car.

But after all that, I will say that the fried fish bao buns were delicious, though the truffle fries were mediocre.

 

The fettucine alfredo was good, but not as good as NYC’s Abaita or Noi Due:

 

Hadekel, North Miami Beach:

On Sunday we drove down to Hadekel for brunch.

The Limonana and Iced Mocha are outstanding:

 

The Pita Saruf is the stuff dreams are made of. Roasted tomatoes, onions, eggplant, chickpeas, tahina, and zchug and come together in a delicious pita to create something magical:

 

The Sabich Bureka is also incredible:

 

Their quinoa salad was also great. I’m still not sure how simple Israeli food tastes so good here, but it’s better than anything I’ve had in Israel or anywhere else, so go figure.

After brunch it was off to an upsherin in Hollywood, complete with a bubble show that the kids loved:

 

And then we caught up with my grandparents, my brother JJ and his family, at my brother Dovid and his family at their place in Aventura Isles. My younger 3 brothers live in Cleveland.

 

Fuego, North Miami Beach:

We capped off Sunday with a birthday dinner for my mother-in-law at Fuego.

Fuego has loud music that turns into a real party scene when people have a birthday, which seems to happen at every table. Do people come here specifically for birthdays or do they just say that every time they come?

At first the little ones were confused at the spectacle:

 

But they soon got into it every time they brought a sparkler to someone’s table:

 

Personally, the noise is all a bit too much for me to enjoy a dinner, but I can see why people enjoy it.

In general, apps are the way to go here, though the pastrami eggrolls have gotten very stingy on the pastrami:

 

Dirty nachos are a good dish:

 

The Caipirinha is excellent:

 

Short ribs were also excellent:

 

The Mexican street corn is a surprisingly delicious dish. Who knew parve cheese could taste that good?

 

Same goes for the mac and cheese:

 

The carne asada grilled steak tacos had very chewy meat:

 

 

The brisket flatbreads were OK, but the brisket can certainly use some work:

 

 

The pastrami flatbread on the other hand was the highlight of the night, this is a great dish:

 

After taking her to Toronto’s Marron Bistro last year, my daughter Talia is now a real steak lover. I long ago decided to just order apps from Fuego, but ordered a steak for her. Unfortunately it was still black and blue inside, so we sent it back. Alas, it came back charred beyond the point of edibility, but by then we were all full from the appetizers. That just reinforced my previous beliefs about skipping the entrees here.

 

And we got the full birthday treatment of course. The kids loved the dancing and clapping!

 

 

Asiatiko, Aventura:

I never wrote about Asiatiko, but I’d be remiss not mention it here. I visited Miami last May to celebrate my brother Dovid’s birthday and to fly with my grandparents back north for the summer.

 

The Sumatran Tiger is a great drink:

 

The corn ribs are excellent:

 

The Turkey wrapped dates are out of this world. What’s crazier about that is I don’t particularly care for turkey or dates!

 

The gyozas are great:

 

The truffle fries are excellent:

 

The sliders are phenomenal:

 

The hot pot is good, though not quite as good as the other dishes:

 

Overall, I think Asiatiko, Street, and Mendel’s have the best fleishig food in Miami.

On Monday we said our goodbyes to my grandparents, but not before my Bubby managed to prepare delicious french toast for breakfast and for the road.

Moran Patisserie, Fort Lauderdale:

Near Fort Lauderdale airport is Moran Bakery, probably the best French inspired cholov yisroel bakery this side of the Atlantic, ahead of the excellent Patis in NYC.

All of their croissants are beyond belief.

Chocolate hazelnut, almond, blueberry cheese, cinnamon, chococoate, and good old plain buttery croissants are all incredible! And the frozen ice coffee will take you right back to Israel.

 

Moran also has a food menu now, so we ordered an avocado toast and a truffle mushroom toast, which were also great!

 

Flying home:

United had a plane change and while 5 of our seats were preserved together in Economy Plus, I had booked Mimi’s ticket separately so she would qualify for the 5K Quest rebate.

Unfortunately that meant despite being seated next to us in Economy Plus, she was now relegated to a middle seat in the back of the plane.

Knowing that it would be nearly impossible to trade anyone for that seat, I decided to opt into the upgrade, which I rarely do when I’m with the family. United allows for a complimentary upgrade for an elite member and a family member on award tickets if you have a United card, and sure enough, we got 2 upgraded seats. That enabled me to put Mimi back in the Economy Plus seat which opened up, but meant that we had 4 seats in Economy Plus and 2 seats in first class 737. But it’s a whole lot easier to get people to trade you an Economy Plus for a first class seat than an Economy middle seat!

In the end I decided to go by the book and have the United gate agent move people around, by declining my upgrade on condition that we could have our 6 seats together as they had been. That created some extra work for the gate agent, but ensured the next people in line would get upgraded and that we wouldn’t have to make any shenanigans on the plane.

We had the same flight attendant back to Cleveland as we had from Cleveland on Thursday. This time she recognized me and offered me 2 free snacks and 2 free drinks to add to my collection…

 

Our kids winter break is later than most other Jewish day schools, which have theirs last week or this week. Where are you spending your winter break?