Tis Me Michelle

These days, once I hear about a cool spot, I can’t help but check it out. The vibes of these new restaurants/bars opening up around town are immaculate. The walls were bright with funky art, and the design was kind of upscale industrial. This is a great spot for a girl’s night a date, or as I usually do, solo. I lucked out that I got there right around opening because boy did it get busy. I had the place to myself and then by the time I left, there were people waiting for a seat.

The menu has an Asian-influence, which I absolutely love, and so had a hard time deciding what I wanted because everything sounded good. They run a happy hour Monday-Friday from 4-6, with a few cocktails to choose from. They sounded more like standard drinks, but still with an Asian-inspired twist. At least when I was there, all the bartenders were pushing the El Diablo, and I’m a tequila girly, so I was down. It was sweet, but not terribly, and refreshing, perfect for this Florida summer.

This is another spot, pretty on theme for these newer restaurants, where things come in more bite/tapas sizes, so the prices will still add up as you try more and more. I opted for two of their tapas plates to share with me, myself, and I. Starting with the charred bok choy. I love me some bok choy and I feel like it always seems so simple, but I know I couldn’t make it like they do. It was citrusy, smokey, and cooked perfectly. I’d eat so many greens if it came like this.

The other plate I ordered was Jack’s Crispy Rice. I love a crispy rice. Like the edge bits off of a bibimbap stone bowl, my fav! At a more classic place, this would come topped with spicy tuna or something similar. The concept was there, and it was unique because they used jackfruit in place of fish. It tasted great and is an excellent alternative, not just for vegetarians. Even though there were savory and spicy elements, it still leaned a bit sweet for me. If I was sharing this with others, I would have loved having one of these, but this essentially was my main meal so a bit too much for me. Not to say the portion was huge, but I would recommend getting this to share.

There were a lot of cocktails that caught my eye. And most of them weren’t on the happy hour menu. Surprisingly, none of the desserts jumped out at me, but the one cocktail that intrigued me did sound very dessert-y, so that’s what I planned for. This guy, the Basic Instincts [description: sesame-washed dickel whiskey, tempus fugit banana, fernet branca, maple soy, lemon, chocolate, banana foam], tell me that doesn’t sound interesting. I mentioned it before, I don’t love bananas, except in dessert-y forms. When it came down to it, they ended up not having the banana foam part, which the bartender said wasn’t really worth getting without the full effect. I appreciated the honesty, cause I probably would have still given it a shot and probably been disappointed.

They ended up recommending the Morning Microdose, which I feel like I knew wouldn’t be my favorite, but I rolled with it. This is basically their take on an espresso martini, see explanation of my take on the Chayote post. The drink wasn’t bad, and I assume if you like an espresso martini this would be up your alley. It was sweeter, but again not overly, and it was creamy, so definitely leaned on the dessert side. Definitely a good alternative suggestion in that regard.

My main downside to this spot is the parking is extremely limited. I don’t know that there was an alternative to the valet parking unless you find street parking and walk. There usually is a decent amount of street parking on Mills. It was just annoying that there didn’t seem to be any self-parking options. Just be prepared on that front, especially since it does seem to get rather busy as it’s a new buzzy spot.

The environment was cute and vibey, like I said for any kind of hangout. I would totally come here again and try some different bites and drinks. It’s a great new spot in town!

Rating: 8.8/10