Pane e Vino: Miami, FL

Tucked away at the end of Espanola Way, you’ll find an intimate restaurant that makes you want to book a trip to Italy. While it was difficult to get reservations, it was very much worth it. If you’re a lover of Italian food, especially homemade pasta and service, then Pane & Vino is a restaurant you need to visit next time you find yourself in Miami.

Interior

As you enter the restaurant you’re welcomed with endless lit candles and table side chatter. The interior is inviting through its charm of dim lights, in addition to the smell of freshly made bread and pasta. You’ll find it feels like you’re in a nonna’s house, and the restaurant is decorated with trinkets you’ll find around a house—small sculptures, fake potted flowers, decorative signs and paintings. Even the bathroom feels like it’s lived-in, and that’s what the restaurant makes you feel like—you’re welcomed into someone’s home eager for the culinary adventure you’re about to embark on.

Food + Drink

From their vast menu of homemade pastas to intricate appetizers, we started off with something light gradually moving onto the heavier pasta dishes. For wine we asked our waitress, Sara, for her recommendation based on what we ordered. We decided on a red wine from the south of Italy to pair well with each course.

Wine: Montepulciano d’Abruzzo

Appetizer: Burratina with parma, topped with sweet tomatoes and fresh basil and thyme.

Pasta: Cappelletti verdi Tartufati–handmade green pasta stuffed with fresh ricotta and mascarpone cheese, served with butter, Parmesan cheese and black truffle sauce

Tagliatelle Paglia e Fieno–handmade bicolor tagliatelle with crispy Parma prosciutto in a creamy portobello mushroom sauce

Dessert: shots of limoncello + Panna cotta ai Frutti di Bosco–homemade panna cotta with fresh mixed berry sauce on top

Homemade panna cotta with fresh berry sauce

Stomachs full and glasses empty, we spent time speaking with the owner and our waiters not wanting to leave. Our experience at Pane e Vino was amazing, delicious, and memorable. A big thank you to the owners and our waitress Sara for their hospitality, service, as well as making my boyfriend’s birthday a truly unforgettable experience. I’m looking forward to visiting this restaurant the next time I’m in Miami.

For more information about Pane e Vino:

Website

Instagram

x Yzabelle

San Marzano

Only a few years old, San Marzano offers homemade, high quality pasta for just $9. It's been a staple in my rotation of favorite restaurants--it's rustic and perfect for a casual hang out or date night. Their quality never falters and prices still remain affordable for everyone's budget. If pasta isn't quite your thing they also have a variety of paninis and appetizers to suit your fancy. There is also a separate brunch menu available which includes bottomless mimosas if you order alongside a meal. For my coffee lovers, coffee is bottomless for only $3.

The beautiful thing at San Marzano's is their customization with their pastas--pick a pasta then a sauce and dig in!

**Top: Garganelli with sausage and peppers, Bottom: whole wheat spaghetti with tomato sauce**

**Whole wheat spaghetti with broccoli rabe and sausage**

San Marzano can be found in East Village, at 117 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003

x Yzabelle

Down by the Bay

Kettle corn stand. The original had the perfect balance of sweet and salty.

My brother and Siu surprised me with a trip to Oyster Bay for the 31st annual Oyster Festival. We took the LIRR and it was an about an hour ride. It felt like Summer all over again-with carefree days spent with good company. I consider this the last hurrah for Summer even though it's gotten pretty chilly and it's already fall. Oysters and fresh seafood just scream Summer. There were various family friendly rides, but the main attraction for us was the food. We started out with Wild Bill's Olde Fashioned Soda. Their sodas are homemade and made with pure cane sugar. When you buy the mug you get unlimited refills throughout the day, we purchased the insulated mug to ensure our drinks remained cold. The flavors included orange soda, birch beer, root beet, sarsaparilla, diet root beer, ginger ale, and vanilla root beer. The sarsaparilla and root beer were my favorites. The mugs are quite big but it makes for a good souvenir. Lots of people at the festival had them, and more than once was I asked whether it was alcohol (not here folks!). I believe drinking was allowed but only off the festival grounds, but there were other non-alcoholic beverages available if soda's not your cup of tea.

The kettle corn was so good I forgot to take a picture! They had samples of each flavor available but I enjoyed the simplicity of the sweet and salty. As for the pretzels, the pictures don't do them justice. They're huge! I'd say as long as a person's face, and the pretzel was bigger than my brother's. They made the pretzels throughout the day and had them grilled before handing them out to customers. This is what I wish a NYC style pretzel would taste like.

They oysters were served with cocktail sauce, but there was a wide variety of condiments. I enjoyed them the best with a squeeze of lemon, yuzu sauce, and the spicy Korean cocktail sauce. These were definitely worth the hour and a half wait (eek!), I could have eaten WAY more than five (you can't just have one). We were tempted to get back on line to get more oysters, but the line got even longer towards the end of the day.

There were two adorable Alpacas, and I only got one of their names (Bella). I got to pet her and they were very friendly and sweet. Initially Siu and I had thought they were toys, they were so still-then they moved! Lots of blankets, vests, and other clothing items were sold by the farm. We also ended up seeing lots of unique things such as handmade lace and artisanal cooking and baking mixes. The handmade lace was all made by this sweet woman, who not only made doilies, but shawls, hangers, and anything you could imagine. We didn't get to try the English pastries but they were selling out pretty quickly (missed out on the black currant cake). But I ended up purchasing a few cheesecake mixes and dip mixes that I plan to make soon. The booth that sold the mixes are based in Vermont, they have their own Inn which has outdoor and indoor activities. If I ever get to go I was to try kayaking and their cooking classes. If their mixes were delicious I could only imagine what the food at the inn tastes like.

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