As professional eaters, we pride ourselves on the ability to include food in every occasion. Wedding? We keep the canapes classy. School bake sale? The kids love our maldon salt chocolate cookies the best. Miami Marathon?
The ultimate excuse for a carb load -- whether you're running or not.
So if you're running in this weekend's marathon, go get 'em, kid. And if you're not, let's eat.
Because god knows we can win a competition in that.
The folks at the Fontainebleau have marathon runners in mind and created a carb-up menu for the two days before the race. When we were wee tots in school, our rowing coaches made sure to stuff pasta, fibrous vegetables and lots of water down our throats for the race. So rest assured, Scarpetta's menu it legit. It's prix fixe and costs just $35 bucks for three courses. Some of the menu items include raw yellowtail with marinated onions and baby greens and butternut squash raviolini with veal cheeks and broccoli rabe pesto. The full menu can be viewed here and you can reserve your tables for both nights here.
Of course, if a three-course meal won't do it for you, you can always do the carb loading on your own.
With the recent influx in the Magic City's bakeries, there are plenty of options to buy loaves of bread to accompany a glass of leggy wine for your homemade pre-race pastas. Acme, Lee & Marie's, and Zak the Baker's breads are all at your disposal. Keep in mind you can use the leftover stale bread for croutons or bread pudding. You're winning already and the race hasn't even begun!
For those wanting absolutely nothing to do with the idea of melting away pounds of fat and challenging endurance, Fairchild Garden's Chocolate Festival is this weekend from Friday to Sunday, 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Surely, you can imagine what's in store: Everything from cacao beans and pods to chocolate fountains to thick and creamy chocolate milkshakes to hand crafted chocolate truffles. Delicately painted confections aside, everyone loves chocolate and it's truly a loss if you don't visit. Teas, plants, flowers, and food are there to buffer the sugar, cocoa and butter.
It's a win-win weekend for all of us. Pasta, bread, brownies, muffins, and cookies OR chocolate.
Follow Alex on Twitter @ARodWrites.
Follow Short Order on Facebook, on Twitter @Short_Order, and Instagram @ShortOrder.
