This week on Check, Please!

South Florida, a farm-to-table menu with a relaxing atmosphere in North Miami Beach.

The decor, the complete ambience, as well as entertainment.

It's a very nice restaurant.

[michelle] Satisfy both your sweet and savory cravings in Miami.

Cinnamon, and powdered sugar, and brown sugar, delicious.

[michelle] And visit a historic South Florida spot for seafood and burgers in Dania Beach.

Come for the history, stay for the great food.

[narrator] Cultural culinary secrets and global flavors.

We have a passion for blending ingredients and seasonings from around the world.

Additional funding for Check, Please!

South Florida is provided by George and Helen Weaver, and the Friends of South Florida PBS.

You'll look at food differently when you leave.

One did really help the other.

And I just know it was the best.

It was just the perfect dish.

Prepared to perfection.

Hello, I'm Michelle Bernstein.

And welcome to Check, Please!

South Florida.

The show where regular people from all over South Florida recommend and review their favorite restaurants.

So this is how the show works, every week we have three guests.

Each recommends his or her favorite spot, and then the other two go to check them out and see what they think.

This week, Regional Recruiter, Stephanie Murphy, has the perfect candidate for Southern comfort food in Miami.

She says you can't go wrong with some delicious gourmet waffles paired with a fun and free atmosphere.

And COVID Contact Tracer, Leonard Goffe, is testing our taste buds at a historic spot here in South Florida.

He calls it a great place to simply relax and enjoy some good local seafood.

But first, Author and International Speaker, Carolyn Stein, is writing a review for her farm-to-table pick.

She says everything at this location is outstanding.

The service, the quality of food, and not to mention, the impressive presentations.

It's located in North Miami Beach, and it's called The Guest.

My name is Evgenia Huldisch.

I'm one of the Managing Partners at The Guest restaurant.

We are originally from New York.

We have the restaurant with a similar concept of Mediterranean food in Manhattan, upper East side.

And almost two years ago, we came to Miami and decided to open something similar in North Miami Beach.

The Guest, everybody is a guest.

Customers are guests and all our performers.

We have live music performances here, even the artists, so everybody is a guest.

So that's the meaning of it.

The concept of the restaurant is farm-to-table.

So we do a lot of specials.

We change the menu quite often.

Everything is fresh, we get deliveries daily.

That's why everybody's happy with the food.

Rack of lamb is one of our signature dishes.

The chef cooks the full rack, and then he cuts it after cooking.

And it's a full rack of lamb with the roasted vegetables.

The most famous dessert right now, actually we have two very famous desserts.

It's a Nutella chocolate lava cake with ice cream.

Everybody loves that.

It's amazing.

And another everybody's favorite, it's Napoleon cake.

It's a French-Russian cake.

It has a little lemony flavor.

Our chef is from Argentina and he is married to a Russian woman, so she taught him how to make this cake very well.

I think people feel at home, very homey and comfortable, where owners are always here to greet customers.

And we are happy to see everybody.

We have a lot of repeating customers, a lot of locals coming.

Of course, we have a lot of new people.

And they always very happy to meet us, and know who the owners are.

The Guest is all about come as a guest, and leave as a friend.

So Carolyn, tell us what you love most with The Guest.

It's an indoor and outdoor restaurant.

The tables are far apart.

But the presentation of the food, and on top of that, the important thing, the taste of the food.

We started with a mushroom flat bread, which was very good.

Loaded with mushrooms, seasoned very delicately.

The New Zealand rack of lamb was quite delicious and beautiful, surrounded by vegetables.

And I really enjoyed that restaurant.

So Leonard, tell us what you had pleased at The Guest.

The Guest is really fantastic.

When we went there it was during brunch.

It was nice and quiet.

They had a keyboard player.

We were outside, but we're totally covered from the sun.

And with all the plants and all the things that they had, you wouldn't know that you're next to a parking lot.

It separates you from the rest of the world.

We had brunch so we had eggs.

With eggs and spinach, with salmon and Hollandaise.

And then for dessert, I think you had a Nutella lava cake.

Is that right?

Yes, and it was delicious.

And it wasn't a huge portion of it.

It was just right.

The cake was melted inside.

I don't know how else to describe it, but it was a soft center to it.

And it was really good.

There was a couple of little raspberries and stuff like that on the side.

It was extremely tasty, and I was sharing this with five other people.

So it went quickly, and it was a beautiful looking dessert.

'Cause desserts should be looking beautiful.

But it was a very tasty dessert as well.

Stephanie, tell us about your experience.

So from the freshness of the food, the service, the decor, the complete ambience, as well as entertainment, it's a very nice restaurant.

We really enjoyed ourselves.

We felt very safe and comfortable, I had my children with me.

Let's talk about what you had.

You started with the crab cake.

Yeah, we started with the crab cake.

I'm really picky with seafood.

So the moment I taste what I would describe as like an oceany taste, I'm like forget about it.

But it was pretty fresh.

The fresh vegetables on the side were also good.

They pair the crab cakes with two different sauces.

The hamburger had its own special sauce on there, a house sauce that was fresh.

The bread was fresh, and the French fries that accompany the hamburger were fresh-cut fries.

They were crispy and seasoned well.

And their service was good.

Carolyn, is it easy to find?

Easy to park?

Oh, very easy.

Right there on 63rd.

It is a long strip.

But the nice thing is the barrier they put up between the restaurant and the parking.

So you were not cognizant of being next to a parking lot.

Music was in the background.

And the staff, they were very hospitable.

Well, Carolyn, The Guest was your pick.

Can you sum it up for us, please?

Wonderful, family, neighborhood restaurant.

Terrific food, and well worth the trip there.

Stephanie?

Beautiful place to go on a date, as well as children-friendly, if you wanna bring your family as well.

Very nice restaurant.

I totally recommend it.

Leonard?

It's a place where you can actually talk to your friends who you haven't seen for a long time, and enjoy really high quality food.

At the same time, in a space that's just separate from the rest of Florida.

So for farm-to-table dishes, to the nice ambience, be a guest at The Guest.

Located at 2995 Northeast 163rd Street in North Miami Beach.

Open for lunch and dinner daily.

And brunch on Saturday and Sundays.

Reservations are accepted, and the average price for dinner without drinks is about $45.

Now Regional Recruiter, Stephanie Murphy, has selected a place she calls one of Miami's best hidden food treasures.

Get your sweet tooth ready, because they're serving up some exotic waffles with some unique flavors.

And make room for the savory side too.

Stephanie says you've got to try some of their delicious Southern-style dishes.

It's located in Miami and it's called iKrave.

My name is Sheena Vandyke, and I am the owner of iKrave.

A little bit about iKrave and how we got started.

My husband, he had his big idea of opening up a restaurant.

And at first it was supposed to be like, maybe like chicken wings and fries, something that kids can come to.

We didn't really think it was gonna become what it is today.

We developed the menu two weeks before, and we just said, "Let's just put the best thing that we make."

And our kids came up with the waffles.

My sister daughter, Kayla, she came up with the Kayla's crunch.

And my very own recipe, the Oxtails and Grits, what we're really known for.

And it worked.

It worked, our small menu worked for us.

Our signature dish, we sell it from 7:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m., until we close.

Oxtails, whether you have it with grits, which is our number one seller.

Or would you have it with two sides, like our macaroni and cheese, collard greens.

Then a lot of people love our Dark and Lovely.

Which is the dark portion of the chicken, which is the thigh and the drumstick.

And they come with three sides.

And then can't forget about our chicken and waffles.

We sell it from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., because they come in and order it all day.

We're very community-driven.

My background, I was worked with children with disabilities.

And then my husband always work with you.

So like I say, we're very community-driven.

And that's how we hire.

We hire you.

We hire people that we give them second chances.

We wanted to make sure that we were well-rounded with our diverse backgrounds.

When people come here, I want them to feel welcome.

I want them to feel like they can come in as a family, with their friends, or with their colleagues, and just come have great food.

I crave, you crave, we all crave for iKrave.

So Stephanie, what makes iKrave so incredibly unique?

I do believe the iKrave restaurant is a hidden gem.

It's in a part of Overtown that may not get many visitors, but I would encourage the community to go out and support this restaurant.

The owners are not only very present in the restaurant, cooking, serving, and taking orders, they are also people who help the community.

And my family loves iKrave.

Whenever they want a special treat or myself wants a special treat, that's where we go.

[michelle] Let's jump right into what you had.

I know that you had the Oreo-flavored waffle with chicken wings.

[stephanie] Yes.

I consider myself a master at making fried chicken and I wasn't disappointed.

Everything was super fresh.

It wasn't overly seasoned.

The waffle was super unique.

It definitely had what we've all mostly tried, Oreo cookies.

But they have like a little secret sauce that they put on it.

And Stephanie, you also had the baked chicken?

I believe they have a daily special.

And the daily special for the day I went was baked chicken.

And there's a whole array of side that you could choose from.

I chose the candied yams.

And the yams have like a syrup on the top.

They tasted very fresh.

The chicken had really good, not only herbs, but vegetable seasonings on the top of it.

It was a great presentation.

And the price of it was also impressive.

I believe you get four items and it was only $10.

Sounds yummy.

All right.

So Carolyn, tell me a little bit about your experience at iKrave.

Well, it's a very small restaurant.

There were only about six tables.

They do a very big carry-out business.

The staff was very hospitable.

We only waited a few minutes for our table, there were five of us.

I had the grouper, and I'm very critical when it comes to fresh fish.

And this was really done very well.

I generally don't like it deep fried, but they had a very light coating on it.

Plus a side of the very sweet, very delicious yams.

So tell me about the waffle, this famous waffle.

I know you had a cinnamon one.

Oh, cinnamon, and powdered sugar, and brown sugar, delicious.

But really only for dessert.

And they had many varieties of waffles.

I think it would be fun to go there just to be sure and have the waffles and everybody get a different kind.

We enjoyed it.

We enjoyed it very much.

I think a waffle tasting is quite necessary for these days.

I think it's perfect.

Leonard, tell me about what you had and your experience.

I had the grouper, and it was very good.

It had green beans on the side, and I really liked it.

It was nice and easy, a good size portion for you.

But I could have ordered the waffles and chicken wings, and I didn't think about it at that time.

Really, I looked at the menu when I just wanted waffles.

And when I finally did get to eat the Oreo waffle, it was amazing.

We still have some of it left over 'cause we wanted extra.

And we were greedy, we didn't let our friend take it away.

But the food is great there.

The ambience was nice.

I also had grits along with that.

And my wife had the fried chicken.

She loved it, and she also loved the grits as well.

Don't overlook Overtown.

It's a great place.

As you said, it was up-and-coming.

But this little place over here, it's definitely worth the drive.

That's great.

And there's been a lot of beautification to Overtown and it looks more beautiful than ever.

And so, I'm so excited that Stephanie that you brought this restaurant to us.

Speaking of which, Stephanie, iKrave was your pick.

So sum it up for us, please.

For fun, savory, and sweet treats, and maybe even a little glimpse of a celebrity, choose iKrave.

You will be sure to enjoy it.

Carolyn, can you sum it up for us?

Everything we ordered was enjoyed and pleasant.

And the staff was very pleasant.

And it is certainly a very economical place to eat.

Prices were very reasonable.

Leonard?

Definitely head out there.

It's very friendly.

It feels like you're in somebody's kitchen.

And you've come to their house and you're feeding it.

And that's how good and home-style the food really is there.

Well, satisfy both your sweet and savory cravings when you visit iKrave.

Located at 4799 Northwest 7th Avenue in Miami.

Open daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Tuesday through Sunday.

Reservations are not accepted.

And the average price for dinner without drinks is about $20.

Today I'm going to show you how to make a waffle batter.

I have wet ingredients and dry ingredients.

Obviously, we have to combine each one separately and then combine the both together.

So for the wet ingredients, I'm just gonna whisk the eggs together.

To them, I'm gonna add, now this is cr me fra che but you could do sour cream, if you'd rather.

It's a little less expensive.

But cr me fra che is probably one of my greatest weaknesses.

It's really good in baking, and it keeps things really rich and moist.

To that, I'm gonna go ahead and add the liquid.

This is just regular old milk.

And then finally some melted butter.

All right, so let's move over to the dry ingredients.

Here I have all purpose flour, but you can do gluten-free flour, if you'd rather.

I do that quite often, it works with this recipe really well.

A little bit of kosher salt, some baking powder.

And I love to add a little bit of sugar.

It adds flavor, and it adds caramelization, and it just makes everything a little bit more delicious.

So when the wet ingredients are all mixed, and the dry ingredients are all mixed, let's go ahead and mix them together.

Scraping the sides.

All right, we have waffle batter.

So let's go ahead now.

And I've got a skinny waffle maker here.

You can use a Belgian, if you'd rather.

Or of course, if you have a cast-iron waffle pan, that would work great.

I've already sprayed it with a little bit of cooking spray.

And I'm just gonna go ahead and add in my mixture.

All right, so I'm gonna go ahead and leave that there.

And when it beeps, hopefully it'll be ready and delicious.

So once the waffles are done, either your timer will be up, your machine will beep, or you'll smell the caramelization of the waffle.

It usually only takes anywhere from three to five, maybe to six minutes, depending on what you're using.

So ours is ready.

Go ahead and cut it.

And then, this is mine.

So I'm gonna go with it as I like.

I'm gonna go ahead and drizzle little maple syrup right over the top.

And there you have it.

Easy, delicious, always delicious waffles.

Enjoy.

Learn how to make the perfect waffle at home.

Look for my recipe at checkpleaseFL.com Finally, COVID Contact Tracer, Leonard Goffe, has tracked down what he calls a fantastic destination restaurant for locals and tourists alike.

He says the atmosphere is relaxed and friendly.

And not to mention, the food is excellent.

It's in Dania Beach, and it's called Historic Dockers Restaurant & Pub.

I'm John Conlon, the Director of Operations for Sunchase Group, the owner of Historic Dockers in Dania beach.

Historic Dockers is the sister restaurant to Historic Downtowner in Fort Lauderdale.

In 2014, the brothers that owned Historic Dockers had shut Dockers down, the owners of the Marina.

And so they were interested in us coming in, revitalizing Dockers and getting it reopened.

And so we came and spent about a half a year redoing the whole place and reopening, and revitalizing Dockers.

We felt like we could be the gateway to Dania.

And Dania wanted to see Dockers open again.

It's primarily a seafood restaurant, but it has a wide varied menu that offers a lot of availability for whatever anyone's looking for.

Fish and chips is probably the most popular dish.

It's Atlantic cod with French fries, coleslaw, tater, and lemon.

And probably the most popular dish that we have on the menu.

So Historic Dockers is all about being an affordable, attentive, approachable restaurant that everybody can come to and feel comfortable.

If you're seven or 70, we have a wide-varied menu that makes something for everybody.

So Leonard, the name is true.

It really is historic.

Do you know how long they've been around?

They've been around since 1947.

And I would like to think that every old black and white movie star has stopped there on their way to Miami to make their movie.

It's got a little history on the walls, and fishing things, and stuff like that.

It makes you feel like you're in a little bit of the past, as well as being here right now with their modern food and their up-to-date menu selections.

All right.

So speaking of menu collections, tell me a little bit about what you had this last time.

You tasted quite a few things.

You wanna go through it a little bit?

We did, we had a lot of things.

We had the fish dip for an appetizer.

And I had the pasta and clams, which is definitely my favorite dish there.

It's got a whole lot of clams in there.

My wife had the shrimp scampi, and I've had that too.

It's delicious, it has a whole lot of shrimp in there.

The food is, we talked about farm-to-table.

This is probably ocean-to-table food.

And I didn't have it this time, but I wanna recommend the key lime pie for dessert.

Carolyn, what'd you think about it?

Well, when you first walk in, the dining room has floor-to-ceiling windows.

There was no outdoor dining, but the indoor ambience is very open.

The tables were spaced very far apart from each other.

And it's a very bright restaurant.

And you look out on the Marina, and I found the atmosphere very pleasant.

We started with the smoked fish appetizer.

And it had a real good kick with some jalapeno.

And everybody enjoyed that.

I had the clams in kind of a wine butter sauce.

The pasta was al dente, and there were just a ton of clams on it.

It was a very generous portion.

And I think you had two desserts, is that correct?

Yes.

The key lime pie.

And we had the brownie dessert, and it was delicious.

And we fought over it.

It was very good.

As it should be, exactly as it should be.

Stephanie, what did you think of Historic Dockers?

The food was very fresh.

So with the casual environment, I wasn't expecting so such high quality food.

But the seafood that we ordered was very fresh.

The conch fritter balls were full of conch.

My husband also enjoyed himself.

He ordered the country fried steak, seasoned vegetables, and mashed potatoes, and he devoured it.

I had Surf and Turf.

The steak was very fresh, very tender.

And the shrimp was made very well as well.

And the atmosphere just in general was just nice.

It was nice, and we didn't feel rushed 'cause we were there for quite some time.

We were able to take our time, and we enjoyed it.

We really enjoyed it.

Well Leonard, Historic Dockers Restaurant & Pub was your pick, sum it up for us.

Come for the history, stay for the great food.

That's a very good tagline, by the way.

Carolyn, can you give us your summary?

I thought generosity of the restaurant was very nice.

Stephanie, you wanna sum it up?

Sure.

I would say it's fine dining in a casual atmosphere, very warm and welcoming.

And lots of history behind it.

It's a good place to relax and enjoy fresh seafood and wonderful drinks.

You can sail on over to Historic Dockers Restaurant & Pub located at 318 North Federal Highway in Dania Beach.

They're open daily for lunch and dinner.

Reservations are accepted, and the average price for dinner without drinks is about $35.

Oh, we've had a wonderful time.

I wanna thank my guests, Carolyn Stein, Stephanie Murphy, and Leonard Goffe.

For more about the restaurants and recipes featured in the show, or if you'd like to apply to be a guest reviewer, visit us at checkpleaseFL.com And remember to find us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram.

Join us next time for three new guests recommending three of their favorite restaurants right here on Check, Please!

South Florida.

I'm Michelle Bernstein, and I will see you then.

[narrator] Cultural culinary secrets and global flavors.

We have a passion for blending ingredients and seasonings from around the world.