Burger Bash 2013

I don't have many photos from the Burger Bash, the annual burger-off put on by the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. That's because I was too busy double-fisting glasses of rosé and sliders and trying not to get grease all over my phone as I live-tweeted the event (for late-breaking burger news). But I did manage to taste at least seven (or possibly 12) burgers before I lapsed into a beef-induced coma and could only be revived by caramel truffles at the Godiva tent.
But onto the hard news: It was all about the crunchy burgers as Bobby Flay broke Michael Symon's three-time winning streak by taking home the People's Choice award at the 2013 Sobe Burger Bash. Flay’s signature green chile cheeseburger topped with potato chips bested Symon’s entry from B Spot Burgers, dethroning the Cleveland chef.

Flay's "crunchify" team.

Amid predictably-long lines for popular spots like Burger and Beer Joint (I skipped that), The Forge (with a great truffle burger) and Shake Shack were TV personalities Iron Chef Morimoto and Guy Fieri churning out beefy goodness for the Amstel Light-swilling crowds that swarmed the tents on the beach.
New contenders in this year’s competition included Tampa-based Burger 21 headed by Chef Shane Schaibly with a Tex-Mex burger. Chef Paul Malvone, co-founder of Boston Burger Co., served up his "Hot Mess Burger," topped with bacon, jalapenos, sweet potato fries and dripping American cheese between two Thousand Island dressed buns.
But the buzz on the sand was for the double-patty on a toasted bun courtesy of Atlanta-based Holeman and Finch restaurant. Guy Fieri’s tent was doling out Jell-o shots (yes, I will admit I consumed one in the gluttonous frenzy) while Tim Love’s Fort Worth-based Love Shack topped their patties with crispy lamb bacon (loved it).
Best side dish goes to Ft. Lauderdale Rok Brgr for their mini-lobster corn dogs. New York chef Michael Whitel previewed a delectable burger from his soon-to-open The Butterfly, a Wisconsin-inspired cocktail bar and restaurant he's opening in Tribeca.
Local chef Hedy Goldsmith had an impressive pavilion piled high with her overstuffed “Nutter Butter” dessert sliders stuffed with peanut butter cream in a cookie sandwich.

Going Clubbing

Saffron Supper Club Dinner #1, Miami Beach Botanical Garden

I've decided to go behind the line.
To go from someone who usually only consumes and observes to one who provides and executes.
To go in the kitchen.
And so far it's been exhausting. And exhilarating. Fun. And tough. Confusing. And clarifying.
Suffice to say: I'm learning a lot.

Pots of Tahdig, the crispy inverted rice.

It all starts with Saffron Supper Club. It's hard to categorize this endeavor because it's still developing. It's a roving pop-up dinner club exploring the food and culture of the Middle East. Which means we're flexible. We may show up at an idyllic garden and throw a banquet. Which is what we did for our first dinner. Or we'll materialize at a neo-Jewish diner and transform the space into a bohemian hideaway of dill-flecked rice. Which is what we're doing for our second dinner. We may focus on Persian, which we've been doing since our inception. Or we'll explore the food of Morocco. Tunisia. Lebanon. Maybe you'll catch us on a rooftop in the middle of the city. Or on the beach with Bedouin tables and cushions.
Won't you come on the adventure with us?

Khoresht Bademjan - Eggplant and beef stew (dried limes, yellow split peas).

All photos courtesy of Justin Namon

Why I'm Cuckoo for Kuku Sabzi

In Najmieh Batmanglij's book A Taste of Persia, she explains that kuku is

a baked omelet somewhat similar to an Italian frittata or an Arab eggah; it is thick and rather fluffy, and stuffed with herbs, vegetables, or meat. It may be eaten hot or cold — it keeps well in the refrigerator for two or three days — as an appetizer, side dish, or light main dish with yogurt or salad and bread. Kukus are traditionally made on the stovetop, but my oven version is much simpler. A fresh herb kuku such as this one is a traditional New Year's dish in Iran. The green herbs symbolize rebirth, and the eggs, fertility and happiness for the year to come. 

An apt summation. I love kuku because it's less eggy than a frittata, not as rich as a souffle and way more dense than a quiche could ever be. The recipe is deceptively simple, though in prepping for this dish my mother consulted with a few Persian friends who added extra steps like chopping and pre-sauteing the greens, whisking the eggs in separate bowls, etc.
But really it's the kind of unfussy dish that doesn't require all that much prep -- chop fluffy piles of greens like parsley, cilantro, spinach, scallions or chives. Whisk in about six or seven eggs. Dashes of tumeric, salt and pepper. Brown in a skillet. The end result: deliciously herby, not-too-crusty wedges that will make all other egg-based wedges feel meek in comparison. There's a bit of texture there -- lots of leafy presence and just the hint of creaminess from the eggs. For our Saffron Supper Club Dinner #2 we're kicking off the meal with this and pairing it with a salmon pastrami and yogurt sauce.

Saffron Supper Club

So I've become involved in a roving pop-up supper club. It's called Saffron Supper Club and it's kind of marvelous. We've already had one dinner featuring Persian food. More on that soon. For now, you can see more on our Facebook page.

OTC Restaurant, Brickell

Two decadent dishes recently discovered at the very hip OTC (Over the Counter) on Brickell. The foie gras mousse and the LaFrieda slider topped with fried bacon and poached duck egg. Crazy rich. Crazy delicious.
Located at 1250 S Miami Ave.

Khong River House, South Beach

The team behind Yardbird recently unveiled Khong River House, a post-colonial homage to the food of Northern Thailand. The names alludes to the Mekhong River, which runs through Southeast Asia and provides the eatery with a convenient set of cuisines from which to compose the menu (such as Northern Thai, Vietnamese and Burmese street food). Walking in the main dining room (the former Miss Yip space) feels like industrial-loft apartment of a couple of discerning globe-trotters who made out really well at a flea market in the Far East. Bare light bulbs are housed in traditional Thai fishing traps, the brick walls are meticulously scuffed and a stairwell to the upstairs bar is clad in Thai motorcycle license plates. The main dining room can get loud on busy nights, but the dining “alvcoves” in the back provide a quieter and more intimate atmosphere for small parties.
Executive Chef Piyarat Potha Arreeratn (known as Chef Bee), staffs the kitchen with Thai-born chefs for an authentic experience. You can get your noodles and curries, but this isn't your local Asian fusion shop. Instead, entrees feature grilled and fried seafood and traditional – often very spicy preparations. Prices are a bit higher than at a Thai flea market: most small plates average $12, larger shareable main are $17-$36 and rice is $4.

Crispy duck with green peppercorns and basil.

Traditional Boat Noodles made with beef brother, meatballs and topped with chicharones.

The staff really push Burmese Fresh Noodle Wraps for a starter but I wasn't as enamored of the dish, made with roasted dried red chili, roasted peanuts, palm sugar, lemon and cilantro. I found more exciting the small plates of fiery chicken wings flash fried and dressed in a sticky chili sauce and the grilled eggplant salad with mint and sour roasted chili paste. Salads feature proteins like the spicy, aged-pork ginger salad with fried curried rice balls. The jungle curry is not made with coconut milk, but rather a fragrant mix of tiny bitter eggplants, chunks of chicken, peppercorns, baby corn and mushrooms. The Rotisserie Chicken (GAI YAANG) is marinated in coconut milk and lemon grass while the grilled whole fish is salt-crusted and stuffed with basil and lemongrass.
Overall the experience is one you won't readily find in Miami: a gorgeous, meticulously-scuffed dining room combined with unabashedly spicy authentic Thai cooking. Welcome, welcome Khong. 1661 Meridian Avenue Miami Beach, Florida 33139 (305) 763-8147

Thea's Pizzeria

Restaurateur Thea Goldman (formerly of Joey’s) branches out Downtown with Thea’s Pizzeria, a handsome new spot for pizza and wine. The stylish bistro is located adjacent to the UM Life Science and Technology Park and is an ideal spot for power lunches near downtown. The neo-industrial space is outfitted with molded black chairs, polished concrete floors and a striking Bisazza tile mosaic of flowers behind the bar. A window into the kitchen allows for view of pizza-making at a marble slab. The restaurant is open right now for breakfast and lunch only, with plans to roll out dinner in the next month. The grub: Thin-crust pizzas and gourmet salads. According to Goldman, this is a friendly spot to grab a glass of wine (most are $6 a glass) and a bit of pizza and charcuterie without breaking the bank. Most of the staff are veterans of Joey’s and the menu is short and simple: ten pizzas, a handful of sandwiches, five salads and five entrees. Prices are reasonable with pizzas $11-$14, salads average $7 and mains top out at $16.
There’s gourmet detail here: the Italian bread that comes in the gratis bread basket is made by a former baker at Mario Batali’s Eataly, the pizza maker uses Italian flour for pizza dough and everything seems sourced with quality in mind. Besides the margarita, which is a scrumptious mélange of dough, cheese and tangy tomato sauce, there’s the artichoke pizza made with artichoke purree, grana padano cheese and fresh arugula. Salads include a roasted beet with gorgonzola and walnuts and a oven-roasted tomato with goat cheese. Charcuterie boards come piled with prosciutto, salami and mortadella while mains include a salad Nicoise and a skirt steak. Dessert includes traditional canolli and gelato sourced from Amore Gelato in Brickell. An espresso granita is a playful spin on the usual espresso digestif.
1951 NW 7th Ave Miami, FL 33136. (305) 777-3777

Shokudo Miami

The Asian street food revolution has spread to Buena Vista with Shokudo, a stylish outpost of sushi, dim sum and sake. After shuttering World Resource Cafe, owner Yoko Takarada transformed the seedy convenience store spot into a bright, airy space with an inviting backyard patio.
The menu includes belly-filling small plates and noodle bowls from Korea, China, Japan, Tibet, The Philippines and Thailand.The menu offers an extensive array of appetizers, six types of dumplings, a handful of buns and eight specialty sushi rolls. Drinks include 15 sakes as well as Thai, Japanese and Korean beer. Prices are neighborhood-friendly with most maki rolls $9, noodle and rice dishes $14-$18. A daily $9 lunch special is a nice touch.

Start with thin-skinned har-go shrimp dumplings, crispy pot-stickers stuffed with turkey, or the Tibetan "momo," filled with curried potato in a tomato dipping sauce. Ramen - the wallet-friendly dish of impoverished college students - gets the gourmet treatment here with a broth made of simmered beef, chicken and pork bones and topped with braised pork belly or shrimp tempura along with scallions, and tamago, half a hard-boiled egg cooked in soy sauce.

Another slurp-worthy dish is the green tea soba noodles with seared duck breast in a dashi broth. The ahi tuna poke, a cone of diced fish with macadamia nuts and avocado, comes with home made taro chips. Korean offerings include a bibimbap rice hot pot with spinach and shiitake mushrooms as well as a Soon du bu, a spicy Korean soup with beef, oyster and shrimp. Korean "banchan," or small side dishes include picked radish, sauteed spinach and kimichi-marinated radish.
Desserts include a green tea matcha custard presented in a tea cup and a coconut cake topped brimming with shaved coconut.

All in all it's nice to see the Buena Vista 'hood diversifying with walle-friendly spots, it's just too bad it's at the expense of greedy landlords on Lincoln Road pushing out local businesses. But if the trend continues (as it has for the last few years), you'll need to venture over the causeway for good food in casual environments.

Dolder Grand, Precise Luxury in Zurich

We went on holiday. Well, I was on holiday. Husband was working and I took a much-needed break. Hadn't had an official vacation in two years. And I wanted something different. A place with deep contrasts to Miami. So we went to Zurich. First impressions of the city: it's like Germany but a little more polished, less harsh. Smooth. Elegant. Everyone speaks perfect English (even my taxi driver from Montenegro).
It's very clean and very quiet. People are soft-spoken. Cars murmur. Trains whisper. No one converses on the tram. There's barely a hushed din in restaurants. The Swiss must have amazing hearing. Or else everyone I grew up with was deaf. Probably a little of both. I definitely prefered the low tones but it's a little off-putting. Especially when you have a toddler toddling about shouting thing like “Truck!” and “Coffee Shop.”
But I digress, because the real star of the show was the place we spent a few glorious days at: The Dolder Grand Hotel, a luxury city resort with a massive spa, a ridiculously grand ballroom where we tried to crash a black-tie event (actually there was no way we would ever have blended in with the dapper-banker crowd), two restaurants and a highly-stylized cocktail bar. The hotel is located on a mountain above the city (we rode the old-school funicular train down the mountain for jaunts to the city) and flanking a nature reserve giving it an exclusive, hilltop hideaway feel.

Walking in to the chateau-like main building with its meticulously-restored marble entryway feels undeniably grand. But there are whimsical touches to this seemingly buttoned-up beauty that break the formality. Curved hallways, tree-branch latticework and a rock and roll-themed Rolling Stones suite lend the place just enough edge to keep things interesting.

An autographed Keith Richards guitar in the Rolling Stones suite.

Like the city of Zurich and the watch making tradition it’s famous for, the Dolder Grand embodies the precise, exacting detail that makes staying at a luxury hotel a worry-free experience. Elevators are appropriately muffled, lighting is well-calibrated, rooms are sound-proof, design is tasteful-yet-comfortable and everything arrives on time. Originally built as a “Curhaus” in 1899, the hotel underwent a massive redesign by famed architect Sir Norman Foster and reopened in 2008 after four years of renovations.

A typical room at the Dolder Grand is a streamlined affair with minimalist décor–dark hard wood floors, cream-colored furniture and marble bathrooms. The bathrooms are a study in Zen opulence with chocolate marble sinks, sparkling fixtures and floor-to-ceiling windows framing mountain views. Large white whirlpool tubs come with complimentary bath salts and soaking oils (with dried flower petals! le sigh).

There are two restaurants–the Garden Restaurant and chef Heiko Nieder’s two-Michelin star award-winning The Restaurant (lobster with shavings of tender strawberries, finely diced beetroot with pomegranate, that sort of thing). There’s also the tranquil lobby where afternoon tea is served in the winter and the noir-ish bar awash in candles and glossy black tables.

Since we were with toddler we passed on the Michelin-starred affair and opted for The Garden Restaurant, helmed by Chef Gion Fetz. It's the all-day restaurant on premises where quiet breakfasts are conducted in the serene dining room and dainty lunches can be had on the terrace. Jetsetting parents take note: toddlers here get to sit in Norwegian-designed Stokke high chairs, possibly the handsomest kid seats on the market.

A typical lunch includes a salad with chanterelles and spring chicken filled with ricotta cheese over tagliolini pasta with olives and tomatoes while dinner veers in haute territory with air-dried Grison beef with watermelon, summer venison patties with spaetzli and mountain cranberries. And for dessert–coconut pudding mixed with strawberries, cassis sorbet and kaffir-lime oil.

Sensational petit-fours for dessert at lunch.

The dining room at the Michelin-starred Restaurant.

More grooviness in the Rolling Stones suite.

Miami Beach Caffe

Prague restaurateur Tomas Johanovsky wants to bring fine dining back to Ocean Drive with Miami Beach Caffe, a French-inspired spot on the north end of the touristy strip. And yes, the name lacks creativity, or a sense of SEO significance, for that matter, but the place is churning some interesting food. The interior has a mod feel with white-on-white décor of shell-shaped white chairs, teardrop crystal chandeliers and mounted iPads on the walls. There’s ample indoor seating and a glossy bar that specializes in European cocktails like Caipiroshkas and prosecco complimented by strawberry “ravioli,” a nod to the restaurant’s slight molecular gastronomy leanings.

The menu comprises familiar globe-trotting dishes with fancy preparations. The kitchen is headed by Czech Republic-born Executive Chef Ludek Munzar, the former sous chef at the Fish Market in Prague. Prices are in keeping with the high-end vibe: starters are $14-$16, mains $27-$36.

Complimentary bread service includes a marinara dipping sauce and an herbed crème fraiche. The caprese salad is an upscale take with fresh buffalo mozzarella and a cone of tomato tartar served with a mix of sprouts and red balsamic vinegar reduction while the tuna tartar comes with mango puree and not-too-spicy wasabi biscuits. Mains include a grilled tuna with bacon lasagna (above) that adds smoky notes and braised beef cheeks in a cauliflower puree. Dessert includes a bit of kitchen theater as Chef Ludek creates strawberry, dark chocolate and Bailey’s flavored ice cream, at a tableside cart using liquid nitrogen, creating a cloud of smoke.

1412 Ocean Dr. Miami Beach, FL 33139 T: 786.691.1020

Jean Paul's House

Jean Paul’s House, a date-friendly restaurant from former La Cofradia chef Jean Paul Desmaison, occupies a quaint cottage in Wynwood. The space is decked out in artfully-scuffed chairs, circular mirrors and a communal picnic table. An L-shaped bar provides ample room for solo diners or those popping in for happy hour cocktails. There are plans for a gourmet market in the back as well as takeout pizza counter and a small wine-tasting bar.
Italian, American and Latin dishes pepper the menu but Peruvian classics like ceviche and lomo saltado (steak stir-fry) anchor the offerings. And the Peruvian spirit pisco find its way into dishes like the crispy pork belly and the passion fruit tart. Prices are wallet-friendly with snacks for $3, starters $9-$11 and mains $16-$29.

Start things off with the homemade potato chips and black mint sauce or the garbanzos sautéed with spinach and chorizo. Starters include three types of cured fish – a flounder tiradito topped with avocado, a salmon sashimi and a traditional ceviche. The eggplant carpaccio brings thinly sliced grilled eggplant topped with shaved reggiano cheese and a drizzle of olive oil while the beet salad is a colorful combo of yellow beets, avocado and blood orange. Mains include braised short ribs over polenta, a bouillabaisse with lobster stock and red snapper cooked with white wine and grilled lemon.

Pastry chef Lamyaa Samir (Soho Beach House) curates a dessert menu with items like Peppercorn Genoise, an Italian sponge cake topped with figs and balsamic glaze and a passion fruit tartelette with a mango piscojito sauce and toasted meringue.

J + G Grill, Bal Harbour

Miami gets another celeb-chef restaurant with the first Florida outpost of J + G Grill, a bistro from French toque Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Housed in the opulent new St. Regis Bal Harbour Resort the cathedral-like dining room overlooks the ocean and the resort’s pools through double-height floor-to-ceiling windows. The room exudes a soothing Zen mix of grey herringbone wall panels, slate-colored banquettes, plush carpeting and oversized silver pendant lights. An outdoor patio with lush landscaping and mod furniture works well in the evenings.

The kitchen is helmed by chef de cuisine Richard Gras (Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay) who executes classics from the Jean-Georges canon like hamachi sashimi and black truffle pizza. Prices are in line with the posh surroundings with starters $10-$32, mains $24-$45 and sides $8-$10.

Dinner starts with slices of crusty baguette and multi-grain bread and a soybean spread. From there starters like parsnip soup with coconut foam and peekytoe crab cake with pink grapefruit showcase the chef’s farm-to-table approach. Florida hearts of palm and heirloom tomatoes are showcased in a delicate salad dressed with shards of coconut while the black truffle pizza with fontina cheese could easily be a main dish. Fish dishes include a local red snapper with sweet and sour jus and a roasted grouper with black beans and cilantro. Meat lovers can go for the Flintstones-sized milk-fed veal chop in a sherry marinade nestled in a pistachio pesto along with roasted cauliflower. The soy-glazed short rib with apple-jalapeno pueree is hearty enough to be shared.

Sides like black truffle cheese fritters and sautéed maitake mushrooms round out the eclectic feast.

Pastry chef Antonio Bachour (W South Beach) gets creative with sweets like the key lime vacherin made with coconut meringue and chunks of mango and the Grand Marnier soufflé with mandarin orange sorbet. But ice cream lovers shouldn’t miss the salted caramel sundae made with homemade ice cream topped with popcorn and peanuts.

9703 Collins Ave Bal Harbour, FL 33154 (305) 993-3333

Unknwn, A Store

It turns out LeBron James is quite the retailer and his baby Unknwn is packed with unique finds. To help you understand this retail miracle, here's some vital data…
Seconds it will take to walk across the corridor from J. Crew to the store: 30
Number of LeBron’s friends who are collaborating on the store: 4
Per cent of that team that have worked with Kanye on clothing lines: 25
Percent chance you’ll catch LeBron there stocking the shelves: 0
Percent chance you’ll catch him hosting a paparazzi-packed opening party: 100

iPads festooned to the sneaker display wall: 45
Vintage Miami Hurricanes t-shirts in stock: 1
Percent chance you’ll pair it with the 60’s aviation jacket for sale: 50
Listening stations where you’ll try out Beats by Dr. Dre headphones: 1
Tables stocked with Barbara Kruger art books, Jay-Z’s Decoded and old LIFE mags: 2
Percent chance you’ll curl up with all three and a mug of eggnog: 95
19501 Biscayne Blvd Aventura, FL 33180

Nine, Hotel Breakwater

Newsflash: there's actually good Italian food on Ocean Drive. Crazy, I know. But consider Nine, an alfresco Italian enclave now open at the Hotel Breakwater your new excuse to sit outside on Ocean Drive.
So yes, it’s time to take the touristy strip back from the t-shirt hawkers and the daiquiri swillers. Because this place is legit. The chef’s from the Amalfi Coast. He worked at Escopazzo. And he makes his own bread, pasta and burrata cheese in house.

Inside the restored hotel there’s a tasteful dining room with polished terrazzo floors and cushy purple couches but we’d like to draw your attention to the spacious outdoor terrace. And the menu of rustic, greatest-hits-of Italy cuisine.

This is where you'll go on lazy evenings when you feel like sitting outside and sharing a bottle of Chianti with good company while supping on bowls of tagliatelle pasta with lobster and chili sauce.
 Hotel Breakwater 940 Ocean Drive Miami Beach, Florida 33139 305-532-2362

Vesper American Brasserie

The revamped Shelborne on South Beach is now to the polished Vesper, a clandestine supper club serving upscale American standards. Tucked away in the back of the hotel by the pool, the restaurant is entered via the kitchen, giving it a mafia-movie vibe (although the name is a reference from an Ian Fleming James Bond novels). The petite dining room done up in wood paneling, leather banquettes and black and white photos feels like the interior of a yacht or an underground gentlemen’s club. A large patio offers al fresco seating with white couches and candlelight, as well as ocean breezes and pool views.

Chef Frank Ferreiro (Prime Italian) presides over the menu of upscale comfort food by keeping things simple and portions generous. Prices are on par with SoBe hotel dining spots. Starters are $12-$16, mains $25-$52, sides are $7-$9.

The gratis bread basket features homemade corn bread, cheese bread and ciabatta rolls. The artichoke-spinach dip served warm in a mini-casserole dish is large enough for four while seafood lovers will appreciate the colossal crab cocktail. The Caesar salad doesn’t break the mold with its sourdough croutons and well-dressed romaine and the iceberg wedge comes with Nuskee bacon. Mains include a gargantuan platter of shrimp scampi over linguine, a Shepherd’s pie made with Kobe beef wagyu and a grilled branzino bathed in a champagne lemon-butter sauce over roasted corn. Four cuts of steak available include a twelve-ounce filet with choice of black truffle or gorgonzola butters.

Desserts include the diet-busting “zeppoli” fried oreos encased in fluffy fried dough served with chocolate dipping sauce, a platter of donuts accompanied by a vanilla milkshake and key lime cheesecake.

1801 Collins Avenue, 305-341-1500

MLT: A Grilled Cheese Joint in South Beach

There's a new grilled cheese joint in town (actually, it's probably the only grilled cheese joint in town that's not a food truck) and it's name is, appropriately, MLT. It's on a clubby stretch of Washington which is perfect for the genre, considering plenty of tipsy nightlifers will find hangover-curing solace in their gut-busting menu of Philly Cheesesteaks, fried chicken on biscuits and namesake gooey sandwiches.

Despite the blue collar leanings, the place actually makes an effort to make everything from scratch, including the maple gravy drizzled over the fried chicken and waffles, the tomato bisque that comes with the grilled cheese and the key lime mayo dipping sauce you'll receive with an order of onion rings.

1541 Washington Ave
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 672-1541

A Look Inside the New St. Regis Bal Harbour

It's been over four years since we bid farewell to the old Sheraton Bal Harbour, the Morris Lapidus hotel originally known at the Americana. During that time I watched the new St. Regis go up in my neighborhood, one concrete mixer at a time. Walked down the beach path flanking its pool deck and wondered how the new place would feel compared to the old, which was loosing a bit of its glamour but still held on to its retro cool by virtue of its unique design.
Last Thursday was the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new structure - a three-tower campus that includes the luxury hotel sandwiched between two condo towers. There was the traditional champagne-sabering associated with the St. Regis brand (they saber a bottle every day. That day it was a pricey Krug. I made sure to have a glass.)

The post-opening reception was a congenial way to see the interior of the hotel. Fancy bites of salmon tartar and key lime tarts, plenty of champagne and a crowd that was clearly interested in seeing the new product.

I'll reserve the opinion on the design of the new building until I've been there a few more times and had a chance to really soak up the vibe. One thing is for sure - we're not in Lapidus territory anymore. The interiors were designed by Yabu Pushelberg, a firm known for other local projects like DB Bistro Moderne at the JW Marriott downtown, with trademark muted tones and double-height scale. Walking in, you're meant to feel like you've entered someone's home (albeit a multi-million dollar home) so there's no grand lobby and traditional reception desk. Instead you'll find this sitting area and then a corridor of mirrors festooned with chandeliers.

Further in, you come across this deer sculpture made of crystal balls and the check-in desks - which are sit-down desks. Introductory room rates start at $675, by the way, and expect those to climb to $800 for peak season. And all 243 guest rooms face the ocean.

There's a glass-enclosed wine cellar in the lobby cocktail bar (they've got 2500 labels in stock). And a nice terrace overlooking the ocean. There's also J+G Grill, a restaurant developed by celeb chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten (more on that at another time).

Do I miss the old Sheraton? Sure, it's sad to see architectural gems go. But I'm gratified by new development and hopeful this place will succeed. If they bring their trademark level of top-notch service and studied elegance to the city, it's certainly something to celebrate. Lord knows, the beach could use a few places where everyone from the valet to the cocktail server treats you with respect.