EAT AT BLUE COLLAR FOR A HAPPY BELLY
Danny Serfer works his magic in the kitchen and on social media. WELL DONE!
I’ve been tweeting with Danny Serfer, BLUE COLLAR’s Chef/Owner and with his third hand, a social media asskicker. The more and more I mix and mingle with the general managers, chefs and owners of Miami’s restaurants the more of a social media snob I’m becoming. If I tweet a restaurant and they don’t tweet me back (and fast) they lose cred. Let’s face it, in Miami, social media is a very big deal and there are restaurants that aren’t doing it strategically and well. They either need to hire me to help them or get lost in the dust. There I said it. Danny Serfer is in an elite crowd of Miami based restaurant talents who knows the power of social media and is responsive. He connected with me on twitter, has been checking out how I cover brands and restaurants in this city and he reached out. I was absolutely flattered. He’s cool, busy, very busy and took time to read a bit of my blog. We exchanged some fun friendly tweets which led to the amazing opportunity to sample what Blue Collar has to offer. YUM!
Laid back friendly and for professional eaters. Fresh food cooked to perfection. I AM SO IN!
It isn’t news that I’m a fan of laid back spots with asskicking food. Sure it’s nice to dress up to have a meal from time to time but for the non-golddiggers out there who truly are interested in eating and not just being seen, Blue Collar is one to get to. Immediately. Blue Collar is a small spot. It’s what I refer to as a “weed out spot.” This means it’s the kind of place a woman will either LOVE you for taking her to or, snub her nose and despite it by no means being a dive nor cheap, if she doesn’t appreciate food and eating she won’t be into it. BLUE COLLAR is for women who EAT! It reminds me of a place you’d find in New York in maybe the Flat Iron District. There’s classic rock playing off Danny’s iPod, not to loud but subtle in the background. The space is noisy though. It sounds like there’s 100 people all talking at once but in actuality it’s a small quaint space with really cool décor. FYI… parking is on 68th street, free and legal.
Danny and his staff were so welcoming me and my guest. I wanted a guy’s point of view on the meal so I asked the manfriend if he wanted to join me and of course, he had some lame ass reason not to. So I asked the sort of husband who was totally game to help me eat some serious food. Here’s what we had (cue the food porn).
*Saffron Arancini – the tomato jam is delicious. WOW! Never had it before and it blew me away.
Goodness gracious great balls of arancini. With Tomato Jam for dunking. WOW!
*Chanukah Latkes – with homemade apple sauce. All I have to say is MAZELTOV! These were the best of my life and I had legit Jewish Latkes in Brooklyn and Long Island. These are GOOD, better than any I’ve ever had. They taste like someone invited me for Chanukah dinner and bought me a present so I wouldn’t feel left out. Seriously, you need to check these Latkes out. OY! Delicious.
MUST HAVE APPETIZER!! Chanukah all year long at BLUE COLLAR with Chanukah Latkes. DEELISH!
*Marsha’s Salad – was named after Danny’s mom. It’s her salad which has been in his family all his life. It’s fresh crunchy and simple with the most perfect dressing to compliment it mmmm.
A perfect simple salad with excellent dressing and fresh crunchy lettuce named after chef Danny’s mom Marsha.
*Shrimp n Grits – OH MY SWEET BLESSED LORD best in Miami period, end of story and why? TEXTURE plus the Shrimp to Grits ratio delivers a shrimp and heavenly bacon in pretty much every bite. Do not I repeat DO NOT leave here without having the shrimp and grits. Get an order and share it as an appetizer. Or get an order for yourself and stab anyone who comes close for a taste. This dish is good enough to make someone protect their plate like a German Shepherd.
Shrimp, grits and bacon. Too damn good. We dug in and left the spoon in the picture. A MUST ORDER!!
* The Billy Corben (named after the director) is an “off the menu by request item.” First it is the most tasty heavenly beef brisket served on Portuguese bread where you will not find anywhere else in Florida. This means either book a flight to Portugal or come to Blue Collar for it. Trust me, it’s bread of the heavens and incredibly special. You dip the sandwich in the gravy provided…YUMMMMMM!!!! The gravy made me miss New Jersey. Nothing like Fries and brown gravy after a night of boozing in NYC.
Seriously…hard core beef brisket on buns more flavorful than mine. HA! Say hello to The BILLY CORBEN. Ask for it by name.
*Clams Casino – Reminded me of growing up on Long Island. These were outstanding and the ending is like a sweet perfect sexy kiss at the end of a date. There’s toasty bread and when you dunk it in the garlicy, brothy goodness that remains in the bowl long after the shells are emptied and sent to an empty bowl, you can’t help but say, “holyshit this is soooooo gooood, the bread oh my GOD dunk the bread.”
The clams casino look and smell even better in person. mmmm taste the sea.
*Curried Cauliflower Puree – It’s sweet, mushy and you taste the curry. My sort of husband really liked them and credits BLUE COLLAR for introducing him to cauliflower in a way he can get down with.
Oh and let’s not forget the BACON. I love bacon. Bacon and Lisa sitting in a tree. LisaTakesBacon. Please. I can go on forever. Bacon Bikini. Oh enough. If you love bacon as much as I do then you will find it everywhere at BLUE COLLAR. It’s not just thrown on every dish but Danny does it more like a party of flavors and the bacon is the dude who brings the keg.
As my belly started to morph from Equinox hard to full on second trimester, we were served two desserts. I had a three way of sweets. It was good. My belly was happy. Coolest thing, the pastry chef is 19 years old. He was making desserts since he was a kid. Danny said there’s no dessert menu because the little dessert angel sent from heaven in the morning to create whatever his little heart desires. So you ask what’s for dessert and they tell you what was made fresh.
Bounce me out the door! Desserts were irresistible. The 19 year old pastry chef has a gift.
*Heath Bar Bread Pudding – Now I LOVE Heath Bar. I love it with ice cream crushed up. MLT, the amazeballs legit Philly Cheesesteak spot on 15th and Washington got me into bread pudding (theirs ROCKS) so when I was presented with a HEATH BAR bread pudding I braced myself. WHOA this is going to be INSANE! It was. It’s the kind of dessert that you want to eat alone on a Friday night during a Sex and The City Marathon so you can hate men and fat ass it in peace.
*Chocolate Espresso Cake – ORGASMIC! It was more chocolate tasting than coffee which is perfect for me because as you know, I’m not a fan of the coffee. But this cake was ON POINT.
There was this dollop of fresh cream on the plate which was faaaantastic and complimented both desserts. WOW!
“Danny my friend, YOU have a gift,” I raved. Danny smiled and said, “well thanks I have a great team and a lot of help.” Such a great guy who is quick to share credit with his kitchen crew, I like that and it’s a testament to the kind of person Danny is and what he’s created. BLUE COLLAR workers are brothers. They are a team and they have each other’s backs. The name absolutely suits the mood Danny has created.
There’s a Good beer selection and very well-priced. They also carry Virgil’s sodas and the Cream Soda was the best of my life and I can only imagine what it would be like with a shot or three of rum. Yes rum and cream soda. Go try it. In the interim enjoy a cold Virgil’s mmmm.
Danny is now not only a dude I tweeted with he’s now the chef, owner, social media asskicker of BLUE COLLAR an establishment that is on my list of off the beach spots I love.
BLUE COLLAR / 6730 Biscayne Blvd / Miami, FL 33138
Neighborhood: Little Haiti
(305) 756-0366
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