Sneak Peek at Makoto

Stephen Starr's Japanese masterpiece Makoto opens at The Bal Harbour Shops tomorrow. I stopped by over the weekend to take a few shots and taste a few dishes. So far, so good. The restaurant is named for chef Makoto Okuwa, the executive sushi chef at Morimoto in Philly. So expect pristine seafood and modern Asian dishes with fancy trappings: Kobe beef fried rice with frosty foie gras, lobster shabu shabu with ginger lime vinagrette and Kindai toro topped with caviar.
The space is grand (200 seats) but the vibe is laid-back. Good for a power lunch, great for a date, fine for an early dinner with kids. It feels like the middle ground between Zuma and Gigi - not quite as pricey or stuffy as Zuma, yet not as rough around the edges (or filled with tattooed hipsters) as Gigi.
Mostly, I'm overjoyed to see more Asian restaurants in my hood.
See the menu here.

Lychee martini made with sake and rosemary.

Tea-smoked tuna with avocado and pickled onions.

The Bal Harbour roll: crab, spicy tuna, shrimp, shiso, mint and jalapeno.

Kurobuto pork belly with micro chives and pork cracklings.

Chicken Tsukune meatballs topped with quail egg.

Outdoor seating flanks the whitewashed bar in a courtyard inside the mall.

9700 Collins Avenue
Suite 107, Bal Harbour, FL 33154
(305) 864-8600

French Caribbean and French Macarons

A couple new openings to keep you busy this weekend.

• La Cocotte, a cute French-Caribbean spot in downtown.
• Madmac, the pricey French macaron company has opened two locations in Miami - one in North Miami and the other at the Bal Harbour Shops (might want to wear a bullet-proof vest for that visit. Also, to continue with a parenthetical tirade, people in Bal Harbour get citations for riding their bikes on the sidewalk but someone opens fire in the mall and they can't find the person? WTF?).
• And Clay Conley's new spot in Palm Beach, Buccan, is open and doing delicious things, so I hear. 

Crudo Oil

I'm in a crudo mood. Not carpaccio, not sashimi, not ceviche. Crudo. Paper-thin slices of fish slightly-marinated in the Italian tradition. Tiraditos, the dish's Peruvian cousin, are too boldly-spiced, too reliant on the zesty fire of aji amarillo. Altamare chef Simon Stojanovic understands the delicate dance of the crudo.  Meaty hunks of snapper are arrayed with shaved buddha's hand (a Japanese citrus) giving the dish a bitter bite. And below, thin slices of sheepshead are bathed in lemon and olive oil and topped with shaved hearts of palm and oranges. It's everything you want cured fish to be - bright, balanced, with a touch of crunch. But mostly silky, oceany.

This Friday: A Full Moon and Endless Raw Bar @ Ritz South Beach

Best Bite of SobeWFF (So Far)

Setai chef David Werly's hollowed-out egg filled with caramelized eel topped with a lychee and foie gras foam, black lava salt and jasmine flowers. Consumed at 12:30am at Dim Sum Disco at the Setai.

Let Them Eat Cake @ 1111 Lincoln

The name of the ice sculptor? Vanilla Ice. Yes, I made that up.

Cupcakes were the dominant cake form on display. No complaints here.

New York chef Geoffrey Zakarian and his lovely wife Margaret not saying anything about the restaurant he may or may not open in Miami. And not saying whether the aforementioned restaurant will or will not be located in South Beach.

Burger Bash 2011: It Was a Rare Occasion

Amstel Light's National Contest-winning burger in collaboration with Greenhouse Tavern: twenty per cent lamb, anchovies, fennel slaw on brioche bun. 

Burger recipe winner Danielle Williams and Greenhouse Tavern chef Jonathan Sawyer.

Morimoto, exuding Japanese cool. 

Joseph Phelps Wine Dinner @ The Forge

In case you don't have plans Saturday night during South Beach Wine and Food Fest - February 26, 7:30p and $125 per person. Menu is below.

Tagliatelle, South Beach

South Beach needs another Italian restaurant like it needs another bikini wax joint. And yet – here’s Tagliatelle, peddling vittles from the Boot. Despite its predictability, it’s hard to resist the charms of the place. It's romantic. It's quiet. It's run by French people. It's tucked away in South of Fifth. The spot is owned by restaurateur Matthieu Mineo, a native of Nice with a handful of restaurants on the French Riviera. He's taken over the old Segafredo spot and given it a Mediterranean polish with cream-colored interiors, whitewashed chairs and tables and a stainless steel bar. But now is the time to take advantage of the outdoor patio – a quiet spot on Collins Ave.

The spotlight is on pasta here, as most of it is made in house including the namesake tagliatelle, fettuccini and the gnocchi. The kitchen is headed by Chef Mariano Gravante, previously of Alta Mare and Indochine. Prices are reasonable given the swanky neighborhood: starters are $6-$14, pastas average $15 and most mains are under $25.
There’s also a three-course pre-fixe menu for $23 that runs from 11:30a to 7p daily.
Some things they do well here - good wine, good pasta. Some things they don't do well - bring you food in a timely fashion. Seriously, carve out at least 2.5 hours for dinner. Also, the desserts could be more exciting.
Highlights include the eggplant terrine, homemade fettuccine with porcini mushrooms, the salmon tartar and the frito misto platter piled high with fried calamari, baby octopus and shrimp.

124 Collins Ave, 305.397.8019

Bazaar Brunching @ Cafeina

The few times I've been to Cafeina I've enjoyed it. They've commandeered a pocket of gritty Wynwood and made it feel hip and polished, an urbane oasis in an urban wasteland. Yesterday they launched the first of their Bazaar/brunch hybrids turning an airy gallery space into a pop-up dining room and converting the outdoor courtyard into a flea market for boho goods.
The food (and drinks) took an exceedingly long time to get to the table but once it hit our yellow and white striped place mats we devoured everything like hungover DJ's. Good stuff - a colossal crab cake topped with a poached egg, goat cheese croquettes in guava sauce, truffle fries, apple French toast. My friend pronounced her Bloody Mary on par with Michael's Genuine (blasphemy, I know. But she's a lawyer, the stuff practically runs in her veins). Bottomless mimosas were $20 and got the job done just fine.

There crowd was buzzing with hipsters in the hive, there were Canadian ingénues acting as DJ's. For me it was a kiss-kiss fest of all the media and PR folks I know. If you weren't in that scene you probably would have enjoyed the 70-degree weather and the relaxed atmosphere. There were dogs, kids, nightlife people who kind of look like pimps during the day and LOTS of great sunglasses. Next time I'm up for a leisurely Sunday morning I'll consider coming back, I may just have a snack before I leave the house.

Sundays, 11a-4p.
Cafeina is at 297 NW 23rd St, 305-438-0792.

Dinner in Paradise, January 23

 

The chefs: Douglas Rodriguez (of the De Rod empire), Paula DeSilva and Thorsten Leighty (of the Eden Roc) and Michael Bloise (of American Noodle Bar).

The setting: Paradise's bucolic bounty in Homestead. The temps were cool, the Schnebly's sparkling wine was fruity and the night had A Midsummer Night's Dream mischevious/romantic vibe.

The host: Paradise owner Gabriele Marewski, exuding pioneer woman charm.

A few things have changed with this season's DIP dinners. There are now five courses instead of six (folks complained that dinner ended too late for the drive back up north) and service is brisk and efficient now they've got an army of Johnson And Wales students tending to the tables. They've also installed a cozy firepit area with benches where guests are encouraged to hang out and sip wine and coffee after dinner.

De Rod kicked things off with a shrimp ceviche topped with a stone crab ice cream. The ice cream was gimmicky but it worked fine (things went downhill for De Rod from there). Paula DeSilva's one dish was flawless - a creamy burrata sourced from Pompano frommagier Vito Volpe and heirloom tomatoes from Teena's Pride.

De Rod then came back with a duck egg dish over a parmsean cream surrounded by arugula and oyster mushrooms dressed with a pine nut vinaigrette. It was heavy and unfocused. And it would have been nice to have a piece of toast or something crunchy to go with the goopy egg.

Grouper by Michael Bloise nicely offset with pickled shrimp Pennsylvania chow-chow and tomato-confit rice.

Thorsten Leighty's meringue pyramid with pomelo (a less-juicy grapefruit) and passion fruit sorbet. Delicious, not too-sweet, balanced and refreshing.

Cine Boteco Sunday @ 7p

Vinyl & Kai One Year Anniversary Party

Complimentary cocktails and beer Wednesday Feb. 2 from 9-11pm including ten kegs of domestic import and craft beer. Also Rock and Roll flicks such as Streets of Fire and Rock and Roll High School on their massive projection screens.

Lox-smith

Weekends in a Jewish home = bagels, lox, high-octane coffee and listening to NPR and then arguing about their portrayal of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Okay, maybe that's not all Jewish homes. But that's my home.
[smoked salmon breakfast at Hyatt, Key West.]

Brunch @ Mercadito

The cocktails here are creative and strong, the wild creations of mad-scientist drink-ologists The Tippling Bros. And Sunday mornings – for $30 a person – brunch goers can sip to their hearts content. Unlimited cocktails include the Misty Sleeve (blanco tequila with ginger liqueur, Gran Marnier, citrus, hibiscus concentrate and a splash of El Yucateca hot sauce) and the grassy cucumber margarita.

The tequila-soaked feast includes a choice of three dishes served family-style. Mexican pancakes (thin and chewy). Platters of home-made corn tortillas topped with beer battered mahi mahi, shrimp, wild mushrooms, rosemary marinated skirt steak. Huevos ahogados – poached eggs, crispy corn bread, covered in a chipotle-hollandaise sauce. The place buzzes with everyone from scruffy artists to young families.

Saturdays and Sundays, 11:30-3pm, 3252 NE 1st Ave, 786-369-0430.

Cecconi's, Miami Beach

Is it wildly expensive? Yes, it can be.
Will a formally-dressed waiter serve you tuna tartar (mixed with chili and mint) tableside? Yep.
Will you run into Rod Stewart or Marc Jacobs having lunch? Probably.
Is the goat cheese and black truffle pizza worth $40? No. But it's tasty.

Burrata mozzarella and truffles are peppered throughout the menu as are rich bowls of Maine lobster spaghetti. The entire restaurant is outdoors, (there’s a retractable roof in case it rains) allowing for easy dinners under the stars, surrounded by salty ocean breezes.

Sergio Sigala, the former chef of Casa Tua is in the kitchen, and while his food is overwhelmingly straightforward, he does a fine job toiling away in the kitchen feeding the priveleged and pretty.

It's a lazy kind of place. Everyone there always seems to be able to spend two hours on lunch. And even though it's at the Soho House the restaurant is open to non-members, and it’s got a relaxed elegance, meaning it’s not too stuffy for lunch time meetings with clients over thin-crusted pizzas topped with prosciutto and arugula. And it’s still classy enough for a romantic date spent sipping Barolos under mason jar lanterns that hang from wood beams.

At the Soho Beach House
4385 Collins Ave
Miami Beach, FL 33140
786-507-7900

Eurocinema Launches Bistro Theater With Avenue Montaigne @ Wine Depot

New Year's @ DB Bistro Moderne

The extra "e" is for Excellent.

Music, Art and Tapas @ Mai Tardi

Chow Down Grill x Wok Star This Weekend

My favorite Wok Star and my favorite neighborhood dim sum parlor are teaming up this weekend to host a family-style Chinese feast. See details below. More info here.

Pre Christmas Chinese Family Style Lunch
with Chef Josh Marcus, Chow Down Grill

Mandatory RSVP; prepayment on first come, first served basis
Seating is limited to 36
Reservations closes THURSDAY, Dec. 16, TOMORROW!!
Call Chow Down 305-397-8494, mention HOH WOK CLUB, Sun. Dec.19 lunch
Provide number in your group
Prepay $17 per person includes tax and tips
Cash bar: any drinks should be paid separately

Menu:
Starter to share at table: Chow Down Chop Salad (no meat)
Family Style Plate: Steam dumpling with organic chicken and basil, Angus Steak w/ Mongolian BBQ Sauce, Broccolini, pepper, onion (picture shows different veggies, just so you don't expect this!)
Dessert: family style surprise platter to share

Agenda:
As a courtesy to Josh, please be ON TIME...
12pm - arrive, meet and mingle, drinks at bar.
12:45pm - seating at community tables