Serious Sandwiches: Flame of Forest Wrap at the Pineapple Blossom Tea Room in Miami Florida
You may be aware of the fact that Jamaica was at one time a British colony, and as a result much of the country grew up enjoying English style afternoon tea. I didn't, and perhaps that bit of knowledge would have made finding a place like the Pineapple Blossom Tea Room in Miami, Florida much less of a surprise to me than it was. A tiny little restaurant situated in a fairly unlikely part of of Miami, the Pineapple Tea Room is run by Jamaican chef Frances Brown and serves up a menu of elaborate tea services (complete with freshly baked pastries) side-by-side with a full offering of salads and wraps, combining the flavors of multiple countries under the Jamaican theme of "out of many, one people."
The fresh baked scones and extensive list of exotic teas are a perfectly adequate reason to stop into the Pineapple Tea Room for an afternoon snack, but at lunchtime, the wraps are the clear star—each named after a flower. One of my favorites is the Flame of Forest, which features poached shrimp wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla with mixed greens, avocado, English hothouse cucumber slices, Japanese style pickled ginger, and a sweet and spicy mayo, house-made from combining mayonaisse with sugar, vinegar, and crushed chilis. Ginger makes its presence known in a lot of the wraps, as does a tropical fruit salsa, evoking thoughts of Island lunch'ing in a way that makes sense in the context of Brown's philosophy. It's that same thought that has chutney dressing and guava vinaigrette added to what would otherwise be pretty standard smoked turkey or grilled chicken sandwiches.
You can't really go wrong with any of the sandwiches at the "not as strange as it seems when put into a historical context" Jamaican tea room in the middle of Miami. Wash it down with a ginger/pomegranate iced tea, and you've got the perfect summertime lunch.
Pineapple Blossom Tea Room
8214 Biscayne Bouleavard, Miami, FL 33138 map
Phone: 305-754-8328
Website: pineappleblossom.com
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
1 Comment:
The Pineapple Blossom Tea Room is my new favorite place to be! A peaceful ambiance with classical music, it's like having a spa treatment for lunch. The walls are lined with literature, and books on poetry for guests to browse or get lost in .. and the food is fantastic. I chose a book at random and got lost in the poetry of Rabia and Kabir as I waited for my food. I ordered a wrap with greens, Calabaza pumpkin, Chayote squash, curried chick peas, tomatoes and fig chutney - - wow! I ordered for the sake of curiosity alone and then worried if the eclectic mix was going to be good or not, but then at one bite, when the spice and heat of the curry met the sweet of the figs and the acid of the tomatoes, it was a perfect match! The squash added a delightful crunch and the pumpkin was absolutely savory. I washed it down with a ginger pomegranate iced tea that was heavenly. Do yourself a favor and make a date with the Pineapple Blossom Tea Room. I'm inviting my friends for a poetry reading/tea party next Sunday at 4:00pm (tea time)! One more thing, Chef Frances and the waitress (sorry I didn't get her name) were absolutely lovely. I can't wait to go back.
diana_b at 11:05PM on 06/08/08