Aisles, Insights & Lyft Bites
Going local with "coffee pizza"
Whenever I go to a city, I like to visit a grocery store. A grocery store tells you many things about the culture, economy, and lifestyle. You see specialty products, seasonal foods, and local produce you might not see in your store at home. Pricing and brands, as well as the store design and layout, are also interesting.
On my recent adventure to Miami, Florida, I was excited to visit downtown Brickell and hopefully find a grocery store. Its walkability, reminiscent of New York City, was instantly appealing. And if it’s walkable, there must be a food store around.
Sure enough, checking out tall buildings and bustling eateries, we had wandered long enough to bump into a Publix supermarket. I don’t have one in my area, so I wanted to see what the store had. What’s in the healthy selection? Is it heavy on processed foods? What kinds of foods are sold for the local culture?
Publix
I wandered around. The breads listed more ingredients than I expected, some salmon contained dyes, and the sheer volume of processed foods—from cold cuts to packaged goods—felt overwhelming. I buy foods with fewer ingredients, either from a store or online, or we make them. For example, I favor the The Bread Pot basic bread recipe, which has ingredients you know. It takes no time to whip up a loaf. Everybody should try it.
Even the prepared foods had ingredient lists longer than I’m used to.
Thank goodness for the vegetable section, where we found fresh tomatoes, lettuce, and carrots. I also returned to the fish section for one package of salmon with the fewest additives. Phil commented—and I think he’s right here—that if we had scoured the aisles, we might have found more of what I was looking for.
The experience at Publix left me wanting more, though others might be okay with what it offers. Remember that I was only there once, but outside of the fresh produce section, I didn’t find what I hoped for.
At the checkout, I told the salesperson that it would be wonderful if the store offered more foods with simple, clean ingredients. I did my best to find and buy what fit my criteria of being the healthiest and least processed.
That’s just my perspective, though. Everyone has different tastes, habits, and expectations when they shop. Next time, I’ll make it a point to visit the Brickell City Centre Farmer’s Market, where locally sourced products can be found.
Locals in the know
The food store behind me, I was ready to hear from a few locals. The first was a hotel staffer who said the food was hit or miss on Miami Beach. That’s partly because gratuities are included, so they can give you the worst service and never return. So if it’s wrong, overcooked, or undercooked, the 18% is already tacked on there. That said there are many great places to go. He recommended The Oceanaire, whose seafood menu features fresh catch daily. That’s on my list for Miami next time!
Next up was our Lyft driver, who was not only a great driver but also a foodie! He said La Carreta, owned by the same people behind Café Versailles, was terrific. He actually liked the food better there than at Café Versailles.
He pointed out other good spots in Coral Gables and Coconut Grove: Hillstone, Capital Grille Burgers, and Planta Queen. He said the food stalls at Regatta Grove are very good.
Then came Mister 01 Pizza in Coconut Grove.
“They’re incredible,” he said.
“What makes it so good?”
“They have a coffee pizza that is ridiculous.”
“How do you make a coffee pizza?”
“It’s like a spicy, honey sauce on it, they put pepperoni cheese, and they sprinkle coffee grounds on top of it, and let me tell you, it’s the most incredible thing I’ve had in the last…come on. It’s a wow.”
Then he continued, “Well, let me tell you, it is surprisingly delicious. Honestly, it’s my favorite pizza right now. We have Joe’s Pizza and Miami Splice in the area, and both are good. And I’ve been between those two as the best pizza in Miami. But after having that coffee pizza, that blew me away.”
“I’ve never heard of coffee pizza!” I said, nudging Phil, and he knew the nudge meant he might be sous chef to this dish at home.
“Neither had I, but one of my buddies told me about the coffee pizza, and I’m like, really?”
There you have it, dear readers. Coffee pizza is a real thing—can’t wait to give this one a whirl. Phil, whatever you do—don’t toss those coffee grounds!!
And we didn’t. This past week we tried making our coffee pizza version using the Lyft driver's information. We substituted prosciutto for pepperoni. We both agreed that the honey worked well with the coffee grounds! We’re guessing that’s the secret sauce!
