Block 40 Food Hall Opens in Hollywood
Fresh pasta from Venice, Authentic Philly Cheesesteak, Hundreds of Beers, and More
Buying a home is a big endeavor in which the neighborhood is as important as the walls you’ll live in. Some people suss out the school district, others opt to investigate proximity to parks, major highways, or the water.
Before I placed an offer on my condo in Hollywood six years ago, I needed to check out the food scene. It’s safe to say that Hollywood’s eats weren’t varied — but Tipsy Boar had a good burger and an excellent beer selection, so I knew I had a place to go at least once a week. Hollywood’s dining choices weren’t fantastic, but there were enough winners to make a girl happy: Krakatoa, Mickey Byrne’s, and Helen Huang’s come to mind.
In the past few months, Miami has become quite lively with the openings of The Vintage Wine Bar, J&C Oyster, and now Block 40 Food Hall, which just opened today.
Society 8 Hospitality Group (Sistrunk Marketplace, The House on the River)’s Steve Dapuzzo told me of his plans to open a food hall in Hollywood about two years ago and I’ve been waiting with bated breath ever since.
On a rainy Friday afternoon, I checked out the brand-spankin’-new place. The 15,000 square foot food hall held some delightful surprises for me: a brew bar that offers coffee in the morning and over 100 different beers and seltzers after noon, a full bar, a Mexican restaurant with a large tequila selection, and nearly a dozen different food stands offering everything from handmade ice cream to Jamaican/Southeast Asian fusion.
Though today is the official opening, some of the eateries were scrambling to put some last-minute finishing touches on their places. For instance, Cho:Indian was still awaiting the OK for their roof and wasn’t open yet. Not to worry, since eight places were serving — along with the bar — and I tried several choices.
Catch Hollywood offers several different lobster rolls, including a Hollywood Roll (chilled lobster with mayonnaise and chives on a New England roll), along with poke bowls, chowder, and bisque. The bisque was creamy and the $26 Maine roll had plenty of meat.
Even though I am a sucker for Nashville hot chicken, I opted for wings at Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken. The wings were oversized, meaty, and the medium rub had quite a bit of a kick to it (I was forewarned).
The shrimp tempura tacos at Loco Ocho, the food hall’s full-service restaurant, were filled with plump shrimp, with a touch of fresh cilantro to freshen up the bite.
My two particular favorites, however, were the cheesesteak from PhasBreak Cheesesteak and the pasta from Dalmoros Pasta.
Howard Navin, owner of PhasBreak, is a Philly native who brought a bit of the City of Brotherly Love to Hollywood after finding South Florida’s cheesesteak game lacking (I have to agree). Navin tries to be as authentic as possible — flying the bread in from Philadelphia. For the cheese, he uses a Swiss/American blend instead of Whiz (which he considers a cheesy tourist schtick). One bite in, I knew my cheesesteak with hot peppers was legit. If anyone reading this is from the Philadelphia/New Jersey area, you must try one and let me know your thoughts.
The clear winner (and my new favorite place) is DalMoros Fresh Pasta. The restaurant was born in 2012 in Venice, Italy by Gabriele Dal Moro. Its six U.S. locations are run by the Caruso family after they ate some pasta on a trip to Italy and decided to bring the recipes back home.
Dal Moro was in town for the opening and explained that the recipes at the Hollywood location are as close to the original Venetian recipes as possible. All pasta is made in-house daily with the pasta maker in full sight, churning out fettuccine as patrons look on. The restaurant offers a choose your own pasta and sauce adventure — you choose a fresh pasta, sauce, then add cheese, red pepper flakes, or other items. There’s also a gluten-friendly option (they call it gluten-friendly because it’s cooked in the same water as gluten pasta so it’s not recommended for celiacs).
I ordered the fusilli amatriciana, which Dal Moro made for me, himself. He returned about 10 minutes later with a roundish, colorful takeout box full of pasta. I took one bite of the steaming pasta and found it heavenly. All of a sudden, Dal Moro snatched it away, running to the kitchen with it — he had decided I needed a generous dollop of stracciatella. He was right. The cool, creamy cheese added another dimension to the slightly smoky sauce and the toothsome pasta. Nothing hits like a good bowl of pasta.
I also found a delightful “Smile My Guy” IPA from Bronx Brewery at the Brew Bar. Let’s just say my Friday afternoon was complete. Block Party!
Feast away at 1820 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood; block40foodhall.com.
He Won’t Ghost You
Dating is tough these days. Most people treat online dating like Pokemon — collect the pictures and nothing more. If you meet someone for a drink, it’s likely that they’ll just fall off the face of the earth. We all know the term — ghosting.
If you just want to grab a drink with someone loyal, you may be looking at the wrong species — dogs are a better bet. And this Ghost is guaranteed to stay by your side. Ghost is a two-year-old male American Bulldog mix. His number is A2390972 and his kennel number is A13. Hauntingly loyal!
Batch Gastropub is the sponsor of our dog adoption section. If you adopt one of these guys (or any dog because of Miami Checklist), Batch will supply you with a gift card for the amount of the adoption from MDAS. So get a dog, get a burger…or something like that. Contact me for details.
Get that ghost at Miami-Dade Animal Services. 3599 NW 79 Ave., Doral; 305-884-1101; miamidade.gov/animals
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