Ariete in Coconut Grove

Ariete in Coconut Grove

The new modern phrase is to buy experiences and not things. As such you have the not so new trend of people buying smaller homes so that they can travel. A trip to Coconut Grove for Ariete grants you a culinary experience perhaps of a lifetime. This michelin star restaurant is next to the Coconut Grove Playhouse and created by Michael Beltran who is born and raised in Miami. I am always pleased to see local talent do well, as having grown up in Miami myself, a lot of friends swore to leave for bigger and better things, but having done so and returning, I believe it's not better "out there" and the grass is not always greener.

For some unbenownst reason I expected a huge restaurant with lots of seating and boisturous activity, but this restaurant is a relaxing smaller size and could be consdered a romantic destination. There is outside seating and inside is well laid out to not feel overly crowded.

I was seated at a window table with a beautiful view of the courtyard entrance and was quickly greeted by my wait staff of approximately 3 different people. However, I mostly interacted with one person. The service was impeccable as every need was attended with prompt refills of water, table cleaning between courses and of course clean silverware. The impressive thing about the service was that things were anticipated. The staff had interleaved additional dishes into my meal without having too contrasting or similar flavors between them. When I left to go to the bathroom, my napkin was neatly folded upon my arrival.

If I had ordered the wine pairing, I would have had an additional person come by and explain the wine selections. However, I generally don't order the wine pairing though I know it can greatly accentuate intended flavor profiles. I opted for a 9 course meal to get as much overview of the restaurant as possible.

My first course was the "taste of miami" which consisted of vaca frita, cuban sandwich gougere, creme fraiche, and caviar flan, wagyu tartlet. The presentation was dramatic.

The presentation of the second course was more impressive than the first, with a wood grill that still has smoke coming up from it underneath two oysters, one filled with bone marrow and chives and the other with uni butter and parmesan. The complementary pairing of beef and cheese

My next course consisted of caviar, with white sturgeon caramelized plantain and lobster jus.

This was followed by the scallops in pickled mulberry, orange, cucumber leche de tigre. The beautiful part of this dish was the cucumber prepared several different ways on the same plate. Not only was it a frothy component in the leche de tigre but small bits were in the leche as well as shaved pieces next to the scallops. It was a beautiful dish to look at, to think about and to consume.

The next course was the King crab served coconut custard, pickled jalapeno and stone crab consomme. This was a very fish tasting dish and delicious.

Each course up to now had hit every part of my palate with sweet, bitter, sour/tarte and savory flavors. It was a delightful gastronomic journey and the next dish continued the meandering gastronomical path.

This time, what appeared to be a cookie with white chocolate sprinkles was the foie mosaic with homestead guava, caramaliezd white chocolate and tarragon. Everyone loves foie gras and some love it more than others as foie gras is officially banned in the city of Chicago on accusation that creation of it is animal cruelty. Regardless it was quite a sensation of differing flavors with sweet, savory and a touch of bitter. Pieces of freshly baked soft bread were served along with this to neutralize the palate when needed.

After this, I was served Scottish sea trout with carrot mamey butter, baby root vegetables and roasted fish jus. It was absolutely delicious that I would describe as similar to the best most buttery tender salmon I've ever had. There was a hint of tart in the sauce that helped to add a bit of contrast to the very savory dish.

If the meal had ended several courses ago I would have been more than satisified, but the courses kept coming and I was ever thankful. The next course was their famous Canard A La Presse, their 14-day dry aged duck breast after being lightly coated in guarapo and honey. It is served with roasted calabaza duck tamal and wild mushroom and foie gravy. According to Ariete's web site, they are one of only four restaurants in the United States that serve this.

After a brief intermission of sorts with a palate cleanser, the pan con bistec was served which consisted of a miyazaki grade A5 ribeye pan cubano, with caramelized onion, papitas and roasted tomato jus. This is where there is a bit of whimsical artistic elegance. When looking at the meat, it will appear there is a piece of fat on the side however, that is the cuban bread with mushroom and onion filling cementing it to the meat which would harken to a beef wellington. The papitas give a slight crunch to offset the tenderness of the meat. Being a steak and potato dish, this was so much more and so appreciated.

I again was presented with a palate cleanser which was a tart flavored cream based dish which could in itself be a dessert. In anticipation for their dessert, I was presented with another dish Ariete is known for, The Cigar which reminds of the chef's roots. It is a dessert that appears to be an after dinner cigar however it is really a manjari shell, hazelnut praline with, gianduja mousse with espresso ice cream. The cigar itself is meant to be broken up and mixed with the ice cream.

Finally, I was served a complementary set of sweets from the kitchen which consisted of a double chocolate bite sized morsal reminiscent of a lava cake, an orange flavored jelly candy morsel, a creamy melon bite sized morsel and marshmellow with chocolate powder on top. It was quite the delightful ending of an amazing gastronomical journey of an evening.

This is a meal that I will remember probably for the rest of my life and I would without reservation recommend Ariete as a place to visit for anyone who loves food, good service and presentation.