Los Verdes: Oh MyCitos!!!

Once again I find myself in the magic city of Miami, the 24-hour paradise playground that seems to never run out of things for a young adult to become distracted with. During my visit home, I was lucky to have stumbled upon a gem lighting up the streets of Miami with its two neon “OPEN” sign and enormously green logo. Well in reality I didn’t really stumble upon it rather I was dragged there by one of my best friends, Paula, but nevertheless the opportunity presented itself, beckoning me to chase it …and so I did.

Los Verdes was its name, and Colombian fast food is their game (^corny). If you aren’t familiar with Colombian fast food, here is a quick rundown. Over recent years, Colombians have been notoriously taking over the hotdog game. Their “perros calients” are known all over for their off-the-wall and intense amount of toppings such as potato sticks, quail eggs, bacon, pineapple, bacon(yes I said it twice), beef, pork, chicken, and just about any thing else they can come up with. But they don’t limit themselves to just hotdogs; Colombian folk love to get just as creative with their hamburgers, Arepas Rellenas (stuffed arepa), Chuzos(kebab), their Salchipapas, a mixture of sliced Salchicha (sausage) and Papas(French fries), and of course today’s focus: Maicitos! All these foods are intended to be eaten on the go; they are the perfect street food for anyone to munch on. But los Verdes is far from a food stand you might find at an intersection somewhere in downtown Miami.

If I had to capture the essence of Los Verdes in a few words I would have to employ the use of “Guy Fieri cooks for Adam Richman, after a run-in with Johnny Walker, featuring Daddy Yankee”. That is to say Los Verdes is open until 6am on weekends and 3am on weekdays. These fantastic hours of operation make it ideal place for late-night, post-club, intoxicated dining which make their food so much more tasty, but its just as delicious when sober. Not only is the food spectacular but it also comes in vast amounts, and it massages the ears with the loud thump of Reggaeton music that resonates from the speakers that sequin the ceiling. If your coming in fresh from the nightclub the atmosphere is definitely appropriate, however the volume of the speakers doesn’t change if you visit in the middle of the day which makes going out to have lunch with a friend a bit of an uncomfortable experience. But then again, if you often find yourself in the midst of awkward pauses when you engage in conversation, Los Verdes will definitely give you a semi-deafening helping of noise to fill in those voids of awkwardness and lack of personality.


However what I’ll be focusing on this time around is something you might not be too familiar with; a wonderful dish known as Maicitos. …So you’re probably asking yourself: “what exactly are Maicitos?” Well the best way to describe it would be corny, cheesy, saucy, crunchy, meaty goodness. And by that I mean that the base ingredient is corn, thus the name Maicito (Maiz is Spanish for corn). It’s accompanied by some special mixture of sauce and cheese and lined with layers of crushed potato chips to give it a nice little crunch. In addition to that, you have the option of throwing in some form of meat into the mix such as steak, chicken, chorizo, bacon, or all of the above. The result is a myriad of flavors polymerized into a surge of deliciousness that is quite unique. I might not look too great when you just look at it because its simply so much blended into one dish that it really just looks like Colombian slop. However it as tastes just as delicious as it looks messy.

I went ahead and ordered my Maicitos with steak, which I feel was probably the best possible choice. The reason being that it was the most tender churrasco chopped into pieces and mixed in with the rest of the ingredients and it definitely was a great compliment to the dish. To me this dish was a beautiful blend of textures that all had a great affect on the entire chewing experience and mixed well with the flavors they worked with. The corn added a nice texture to the meal as the kernels burst with every bite I took, the potato chips threw in the crunchy effect, while the cheese made it gooey and oozy. In addition to what already comes with it, Los Verdes gives you the option of putting a little bit more into your maicitos with any of its four additional sauces they provide. The options are Pineapple sauce, Green Sauce, Pink Sauce and Ajo(garlic sauce). All four sauces are pretty tasty my favorite is probably between the green sauce and the Ajo sauce. It’s pretty hard to tell exactly what is in each of the sauces, but I know for a fact that they all will go well with your maicitos except for maybe the pineapple. For me it was just a little too sweet but it definitely compliments the hotdogs PERFECTLY.

It seems to me that this dish definitely is a reflection of the city in which it was prepared. Just a Miami is a melting pot of the world’s diverse cultures, lifestyles, and mindsets. Maicitos are equally diverse in their flavors, textures, and the ingredients you can throw into them. But like always the best part of any dish you can find on this blog is, of course, the price. A measly $5.89 to enjoy a meal that perfectly reflects the city of Miami in a setting and atmosphere that perfectly reflects the city of Miami, I don’t think you can beat that.. Sure its not the healthiest meal on the planet but the body surely could do well with a little greasy deliciousness every now and then (especially after a long night out on South Beach). So definitely try and make it out to this establishment if you’re ever in town and given the opportunity. Also if you ever find yourself in front of any form of Colombian fast food I implore you to dive in and take a bite… you definitely will not be disappointed.

BZ Grill: Going Greek

Greece: Land of enchantment, an ancient Mediterranean paradise whose images humble even the most persnickety amongst us and cause us to revel in wonderment at this source of all the myths and legends we’ve all come to know and enjoy. Thousands of years of history and culture compressed into a landmass roughly the size of the state of Mississippi. But of course, as is the case with every country, culture, or any other organized grouping of people found across the world, what shines out to make it most unique and distinct is none other than that which provides us with the nourishment to sustain our daily lives: THE FOOD!

I have somewhat of a soft spot for Greek food, mainly because I consider it the twin cousin to my favorite cuisine found anywhere on this little blue planet we call Earth; that of course is Arab Food. Greek and Arabic Cuisine are like two parallel lines that mirror each other but never quite intersect, they share quite the few similarities which mostly stem from the fact that Greece and much of the Middle East were under Ottoman rule for quite sometime. That along with the fact that Arab countries such as Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt all had direct interaction with Greece due to the fact that trade between them via the Mediterranean Sea was so frequent that the mixing and sharing of culture was inevitable. But despite their similarities, they each have their staples that set them apart. Such as the sauces they use, meat they consume, etc.

Today’s run in with Greek food happened during the first of what I am positive will be many visits that will result in eventual permanent residence in the City of New York. …New York City, it speaks for itself. Nothing can be said about this perpetually roused metropolis that hasn’t already been spoken. It’s a unique melting pot of the worlds diversity blended and spread throughout five distinct boroughs. I visited this city for the weekend and was astounded not just by its diversity but by its seemingly infinite array of restaurants catering to just about any and every taste whether it be Greek, Chinese, Soul Food, Thai, Dominican, Middle Eastern, Italian, Vietnamese, Mexican; just name your preference and you can be sure that it can be found somewhere within the unceasing bustle that is New York City.

When in New York it’s pretty much impossible to walk down more than two blocks without running into some sort of food cart at the intersection of any given road. Maybe about 80% of the time that food cart will have Arabic Calligraphy sequined across it and the distinct block letters “HALAL” residing somewhere within the sea of overlooked foreign typography. Its here that one will might find probably the most easily identifiable and most well known of all Greek foods, the Gyro. Pronounced “yee-roh” by Greeks and “jai-roh” by everyone else, this Mediterranean morsel is one of my favorites because it so closely resembles my absolute favorite treat (Shawarma) in appearance, content, preparation, and somewhat in flavor. In my opinion, the gyro has surpassed the Hot Dog in personifying everything that is NY street food. Surprisingly enough however, the Gyro I will be presenting to you was not bought on the street but in an actual restaurant.

The restaurant in question is none other than BZ Grill located in the heart of Astoria, Queens. BZ Grill is a quaint little establishment that boasts the best Greek food in all of NY. It’s critically acclaimed and can definitely back it up. The meal I had on this wondrous occasion was their Gyro Sandwich. The name itself doesn’t do the meal any justice and is somewhat misleading. For those who don’t know any better, its easy for one to immediately assume that by ordering a “Gyro Sandwich” you will get your run-of-the-mill gyro meat wrapped in a pita with Tzatziki sauce… If that is what you thought the case was this time around, you might find that you are refreshingly mistaken.

The BZ Grill Gyro Sandwich is made with a little twist that made me fall in love with this wrap. Pork is the star of the show; juicy, tender, succulent pork. Now I’m no expert on Gyros and their preparation but as far as I am concerned, the pork was an unexpected yet much appreciated curveball. The combination of the pork and the Tzatziki sauce made for a perfect collaboration for this meal along with the crisp lettuce and fresh tomatoes thrown in. As I took each bite, I couldn’t help but wonder where else could anyone ever find any Gyro on this side of the Mississippi that can match up to this masterfully crafted wrap. Now although the Gyro was not accompanied by any side or anything else of the sort, the whole thing alone made for a good lunch snack on a chilly November Sunday afternoon.

At a price of $5.97, the Gyro Sandwich at BZ Grill might be a little pricy. But the way I see it is that you are paying for quality ingredients for quality preparation in a quality environment. I definitely recommend that if you ever find yourself in Astoria, Queens in NY look for BZ Grill and take a bite out of this $ix Dollar $itdown.