Nightlife Report: Mynt

Mynt continues to be one of the top nightlife draws on South Beach, and for good reason. At ground zero, Mynt is next door to Rok Bar and spitting distance from Bond St., Nobu, Vita, and the Setai. Mynt's interior design is stellar and the music is great. But as with any nightclub, the real draw is the quality of the crowd (by quality the Baron means beautiful women and a minimum of riff raff). And Mynt draws one hell of a crowd. The doormen, while sometimes annoying and always self-important, are actually out front for a good reason. Their job is to make sure that (a) the club does not get so full the fire marshal shows up, and (b) that the guests are attractive and well dressed. You don't really want those four guys in dockers and baseball caps to get in, do you? Surely you don't want them sitting at the next table asking for a keg of PBR?

As for getting in, the easiest way is to reserve a table. Best to do this ahead of time, but you may still be able to secure one at the door. Tables generally require a two-bottle minimum, meaning a table is going to cost about $500 (round numbers). Whether this math works for you will depend upon your priorities and the size of your group. You can also try dining at Vita across the street (same ownership) and ask to be set up to get into Mynt afterwards. Failing that, show up with a good male to female ratio (more females than males), and do be properly dressed. If you aren't getting a table, you may have to pay a twenty-dollar cover, or you may not. If you go out frequently, befriend the staff and the doormen so they remember you, or be friends with someone who goes out frequently enough to do so. If all else fails, duke the guy with the clipboard and see what happens. This is South Beach. Money talks.

Mynt's main room, the "Grand Lounge and Bar," features white banquettes with tables, a long bar along the south wall, and whimsical multicolored lighting. A few giant photos are thrown in as well. As the club is called Mynt, there is a predominance of mint green, but not as much as there was in some of the club's former incarnations. The owners freshen up the place once a year, and the next refurbishment is due in November. Speaking of the owners, don't worry about the recent schism and the departure of some of the ownership/management team. Mynt is doing fine, and again, the draw is the crowd. Let Ocean Drive worry about the politics.

Past the Grand Lounge and Bar and down the stairs is the "Low Lounge" or, alternatively, the Ultralounge. This smaller back room also has a full bar, banquettes, and tables. The music in the Low Lounge may differ from that played upstairs, and is often hip-hop. Some consider the Low Lounge more exclusive, but you will likely have a better view of the crowd upstairs, ideally with a view of the door. Also down the stairs are the bathrooms, which mercifully do not have annoying attendants. There is someone avaialable to sell cigarettes, mints, and so forth, but no one is trying to wash your hands for you or gaze at you longingly in the hopes that you will give them a dollar.

Bottle service is typical--an attractive waitress takes the order and brings out your selected bottles along with mixers and ice. Red Bull (or whatever Red Bull-substitute might be on hand) is extra but well worth it. Mynt usually opens its doors between 11:30 and midnight, so you are going to be up for a while. On this particular occasion, the Baron departed at 4 AM and there was no sign the party was slowing down. However, it was the weekend of the MTV VMA's, and Mynt was a safe haven (no Suge Knight and thus no gunplay). The DJ was excellent and spun some interesting selections, including an incendiary remix of Colourbox's "Pump Up the Volume." As would be expected, attractive women were up on the banquettes dancing and posing.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with bottle service, the waitress screwed up the tab, attempting to charge the Baron for three bottles as opposed to one (the Baron's comrades drank the other three). The Baron sent her back to redo the bill, and twenty minutes later, the waitress returned with the same credit card bill, advising that "your friends will have to owe you." Typical, but still completely unacceptable. One needs to be careful in these situations--it is a unique challenge making mental calculations under the influence of Grey Goose and Red Bull. Remember that if you don't sign the credit card receipt, the transaction did not happen. If you have problems at any club, make them run the tab correctly. Don't be afraid to ask for the manager. Then again, as one of the Baron's comrades recently pointed out, the pallies always paid in cash. You probably should, too. And watch out for the automatic inclusion of gratuity. Again, if you are impaired, you may miss it and end up tipping double.

Nemo: Dining Under the Pigeon Plum Tree

Nemo is restaurateur Myles Chafetz's first venture in the South of Fifth neighborhood. Opened in '95, it is a veritable dinosaur by South Beach standards. Former partner Michael Schwartz is long gone (and now cooking at Afterglow). Chef Mike Sabin is currently at the helm, having been in the kitchen at the restaurant's inception, departed, and now returned (there and back again). But despite the comings and goings, Nemo remains one of the Beach's strongest contenders.

The combination of indoor and outdoor seating (under the pigeon plum tree) along with the open kitchen, jazz soundtrack, and creative wine list, makes Nemo unique among South Beach restaurants. Also notable are the raw bar, copper covered menus, crusty bread served with hummus, and dessert menu from celebrity pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith. Nemo's menu is fairly consistent, but specials are usually thrown in to keep things interesting. Nemo also seves lunch (try the Maine lobster cobb salad) and an outstanding Sunday Brunch.

The tomato salad. The tomatoes were enormous, and each slice was at least an inch thick. These are top-quality tomatoes, and summer is the best time for them. Full of juicy tomato flavor, with a firm texture. The tomatoes are served on a bed of arugala, topped with thin slices of parmaggiano reggiano, and sprinkled with sea salt and balsamic syrup. Also commendable are the spicy Vietnamese beef salad and the spicy calamari stir fry.

Grilled marker swordfish. Swordfish steak topped with halved cherry tomatoes and cherry tomato vinaigrette atop a sweet corn sautee with pancetta. Unfortunately, the kitchen was heavy-handed with the salt, which is the only problem the Baron has ever experienced in all of his visits to Nemo. The wok-charred salmon sometimes comes out salty too. However, this is easily correctable by advising the waiter when ordering. The Baron also recommends the pan seared yellowtail snapper with Maine lobster hash browns (the Maine lobster hash browns can be ordered as a side dish at any time) and the seared rare nori dusted tune with crispy ginger rice ball.

The wine. Caymus Conundrum '03. Nemo serves its cocktails and wines by the glass out of small carafes set in ice baths, which means you get a glass and a half or whatever you order. The Baron likes that. The wine list is mostly California and has some good selections, including Nickel & Nickel.

Nemo could indeed be deemed expensive, but given the quality of the food, the professionalism of the waiters, as well as the ambience, Nemo is well worth it. An excellent spot for a date, especially if the weather permits sitting outside.

Cafe Boulud: Daniel Boulud Journeys to Palm Beach

Daniel Boulud has come to Florida. Yes, that Daniel Boulud. Of Daniel in New York (4 stars from the New York Times). Cafe Boulud. DB Bistro Moderne. Inventor of the $30 DB sirloin burger (stuffed with braised short rib, foie gras, and black truffles on a parmesean bun). French cuisine with a modern twist. It would have been more courteous of Mr. Boulud to open on South Beach, but perhaps Palm Beach is a better market with this style of dining.

Cafe Boulud is therefore ensconced in the newly-renovated Brazilian Court Hotel on Palm Beach. The bright and cheery room is done up in sorbet colors (lemon, lime, and orange). The waitstaff is professional, polite, and efficient. However, this being summer in Palm Beach, the room was rather quiet on a weekday at noon. Moreover, the summer menu was disappointingly limited, though to be fair, the website does advise of this. Most of the selections were either salads or sandwiches, and nothing particularly exciting stood out. There was a three-course prix fixe lunch menu for $25, which seemed like a good deal, but the selections again were uninspired--churrasco or salmon. Boulud's menu seemed to make an effort at adopting some local ingredients--there was a Cuban sandwich and the aforementioned churrasco (either on its own or in a sandwich). Again, though, these compenents should more properly be placed in Miami.

However, there was mussels and frites (moules marinere), and the Baron always likes mussels. Unfortunately, while plentiful, the mussels turned out to be small and rather standard. Better mussels may be found at newly-opened Le Bon on Lincoln Road, or at Cafe Pastis. The mussels were also swimming in enough butter to fell a rhinocerous. Not that there's anything wrong with that. The frites were excellent--thick, square cut and crispy, with plenty of herb and garlic. The churrasco sandwich was good, but not exceptional. Again, this sort of thing is available at any number of places.

While there was no DB Burger, the Baron did note a neighboring diner consuming a Classic American Burger. It did look superb. Extremely thick and medium rare. According to the menu, it was three-quarters of a pound. That's twelve ounces of artery-clogging goodness. However, that is not enough reason to make the trip. Now for the DB burger, that's a different story.

The desert turned out to be the best part of lunch. Fig and marscapone tart with peach sorbet. Perfect summer fare, and surprisingly light.

As it is summer, and the menu is limited, Cafe Boulud will require a follow-up visit once the "season" begins in the fall. The full menu will likely make a difference, and if the DB burger is available, then we will likely have something special.

Inquiry Follow-Up: Mr. Chow Update

The Baron's sources now report that Mr. Chow will open in the new W Hotel that is planned for the old Holiday Inn site on Collins Avenue. Like most intelligence, this is completely unverified and may simply be wrong. You have been advised accordingly.

Inquiry: In Search of Mr. Chow

The Baron would like to know what happened to Mr. Chow. Last year it was widely rumored that Mr. Chow, Chinese restaurateur to the stars (as in Mr. Chow Beverly Hills and Mr. Chow New York), was going to open on South Beach. A review of Mr. Chow's website confirmed this, and the Baron was eargerly anticipating a fall 2005 opening. However, having seen nor heard nothing of late, a followup visit to the website was in order. THe site now says Mr. Chow Miami will open in the winter of 2007. Let us hope Mr. Chow can speed things up. In the meantime, if you have any intelligence on Mr. Chow's status, do let the Baron know.

Nobu: 21st Century Comfort Food

Nobu serves comfort food. What's that? Comfort food is meatloaf and mac and cheese? Perhaps you are visiting the wrong website. Nobu is where the Baron goes after a rough week, because Nobu Matsuhisha's Japanese-Peruvian cuisine is a tremendous mood elevator.

The stunningly beautiful hostesses help too. There are a few that rotate, and all belong on a magazine cover. Keep an eye out for the redhead. Takes the edge off when one of them smiles and tells you it's going to be two hours until you are seated. Nobu does not take reservations (except for large groups) which can be a huge problem. Not to worry. Settle into the loungey anteroom and find yourself a cocktail.

As for the room, yes it looks like a high school cafeteria. Yes the acoustics are abominable. I'm sure you've been to the one in New York/London/Paris/Vegas and can hold forth for the next twenty minutes on why Miami's Nobu suffers in comparion. Who cares? You want first-rate food and a scene? This is your room. Celebrities, local personalities, and"beautiful people" (the Baron eschews the term "fashionista"). Besides, the Miami branch is making money hand over fist. They're not going to renovate. They don't need to.

Nobu's strength has always been his prepared dishes. The sushi is good, but certainly not unsurpassed. Another strength is the bamboo of sake. All of Nobu's sakes come from the Hokusetsu brewery on Sado Island. The Hokusetsu "Devil Killer" is good if you like a dry sake. The Black Label is always reliable too. Or you might try the ten-year-old Onigoroshi. Somehow, sake poured from a tall section of bamboo into a bamboo cup is more enjoyable than the usual bottle and glass routine.

As for ordering, it is always best to select a wide array of dishes to share. One favorite is of course the yellowtail sashimi with japalepeno in yuzu. A must. Deceptively simple. As the waiter will remind you (no matter how many times you've been), take a bit of cilantro with the sashiimi. Superclean and fresh.

The sashimi salad. Greens with a very gererous supply of tuna sashimi. Meaty and ruby red. The Mastsuhisa dressing is perfect. The addition of sweet onion to the soy and rice vinegar makes the difference.

Rock shrimp tempura in creamy spicy sauce. Next to the black cod in miso, this is probably Nobu's most heralded offering. The Baron suspects that someone in the kitchen sprinkles each dish with crack, but no one will confirm this. Instantly addictive. The combination of the battered, juicy shrimp with the creamy sauce and just the right amount of kick is remarkable. You may want to have an order while you are waiting for your table, and then get your second order during dinner.

Sweet potato tempura. Excellent with the tempura dipping sauce. Also recommended--zucchini and onion. I miss the pumpkin though. It will likely reappear in the fall. If you are a tempura fan, there are other items to sample. A neighboring table had an impressive plate of lobster tempura. The presentation included the whole lobster shell, and the tempuraed bites of lobster were on skewers and ready for dipping. Must have been good as the whole plate was gone in about ninety seconds.

Soft shell crab roll. Often called a spider roll. Softshell crab can be dicey, since it generally only fresh in the summer and is otherwise frozen. Many places turn out softshell crab that is either too dry or too salty. Nobu gets it right, pairing the crab with avocado and flying fish roe and wrapping the whole thing in cucumber.

Eel and cucumber roll. Also done right. You can taste the eel; there is only a light eel sauce, and it is not too sweet. Summer is a good time for eel.

New style salmon roll. Traditional? No. Good? Certainly. Nobu's "new style" rolls differ from others in that the fish is partially cooked by drizzling hot oil (usually a combination of olive and sesame oil) over it. The preparation is particularly effective with salmon, imparting a smoky sesame flavor. Sashimis are also available this way.

Sea urchin tempura. This dish was allegedly created on the fly for Tim Zagat (of the famed Zagats guide). Rich, delicious, melt in your mouth uni covered with crisp tempura batter and served up with sides of black pepper and sea salt. Accompnaying the sea urchin are a tempuraed shitake mushroom, sisho leaf, and sansho pepper. Outstanding.

Nobu is obligatory for the serious Miami diner. If you are put off by the wait, go early (before 8 P.M.) or try a weeknight. The Baron will likely have some followup reviews for Nobu given the wide array of dishes available.

Capital Grille, Fort Lauderdale: Steak and Sportscars

The Capital Grille has been a staple of Miami's Brickell area for years. The Fort Lauderdale branch is relatively new. There are now 23 of these around the country, competing with the Palm, Morton's, Smith and Wollensky, Del Frisco's, and perhaps Ruth's Chris (though one might consider Ruth's Chris an also-ran). The beef is dry-aged and top-notch.

On a Wedenesday night, the restaurant was jammed with an interesting and moneyed crowd. Perhaps a bit older than would be the Baron's preference, but still some fascinating characters. A review of the nameplates on the private liquor cabinets should give the visitor a sense of the sort of customer the Capital Grille is pulling in. You will recognize some of the names. The restaurant's close proximity to Lauderdale hot spot Blue Martini seems to be helping with business (and vice versa).

A viewing of the cars paralleled on the valet ramp alone was worth the trip. Lined up nose to tail were two Bentley GT Contintenals, a Ferrari 360 Spyder, a 575 Maranello (stunningly beautiful), an Aston Martin Vanquish, a Maserati Quattroporte, a Carrera 4, a Range Rover Sport, and an assortment of Bimmers and Benzs that were boring by comparison. Perhaps the sight of a an Aston Martin does not interest you. It does interest the Baron. Especially if it has an ejector seat.

Having dined many times at the Capital Grille in Miami, the Baron settled in for a good dinner. The Fort Lauderdale branch did not, for the most part, disappoint. So let us dispense with one hitch straight away. The wine service. The wine list had a Stag's Leap Artemis Cabernet, 2001. The Baron prefers Italians, but in dining with others, one sometimes is required to compromise. Still, a California cab is more than suitable for a steak. Now 2001 was a good year for Napa cabernet sauvignon. Unfortunately, the bottle presented was a 2002. The waiter was promptly sent back to the cellar to determine if there were any more '01s. One must always be careful when ordering wine, which is why the label should be presented prior to the bottle being opened. Is there a difference between the '01 and the '02? Of course there is (aside from the fact that '02 is still too young to drink). The waiter came back and advised the cellar's stock of '01 Artemis had been depleted. However, Captial Grille was charging the same price for the '02. The Baron was in no mood for such tomfoolery, but the Baron was also in need of a drink. We will chalk the incident up to either the waiter's inexperience or the cellar staff's failure to advise the floor staff of the vintage change. Let us not judge too harshly based upon the one incident. The anecdote is included here more as cautionary tale than complaint.

And so, on to the food. A trip to Capital Grille is not complete without the fried calamari. Fried calamari, you say? Abused and overused appetizer for the masses? Regularly botched, rubbery, greasy, salty, flavorless rings of frozen squid? Do they at least throw in the tentacles? Yes, you get the tentacles. That is always your first warning--the exclusion of the tentacles indicates that an establishment's clientele is too squeamish, and likely too unsophisticated, to handle the best part of the squid. Or perhaps that the restaurant is buying the rings already cut and frozen. Neither is a good sign. The genius of the Capital Grille's calamari is the hot cherry peppers. The calamari are properly battered and flavorful, though still a bit greasy. Probably a result of the garlic butter. Nearly anything is good with garlic butter. However, the hot cherry peppers make the dish. Rich, spicy, and intense. If you can't handle the tentacles, the Capital Grille's steak tartare is always good, as is the shellfish platter.

But this being Captial Grille, the feature is the beef. One of the chef's recommendations, though apparently a standard menu item, is a 20 ounce dry-aged New York strip, rubbed with finely-ground Kona coffee beans, topped with caramelized shallot butter, and served with a side of sauteed onions. The steak, ordered medium rare, came out rare, and still mooing. But come on, it was three inches thick. And oustanding. The Kona coffee rub proved to be an inspired touch. The coffee flavor was subtle but still discernable. Highly recommended.

As for sides, the asparagus was bright green and crispy, as it should be. The Capital Grill's creamed spinach is good, but not as good as that found at the Palm. No one has better creamed spinach than the Palm.

Aside from the wine incident, the services was professional, though a bit cloying. There were innumerable interruptions by both the waiter and the manager to inquire whether everything was satisfactory. Obviously, there should be one such inquiry after entrees are served, but service should be unobtrusive. The Baron's dinner conversation was interrupted one too many times. Still, better to have obtrusive service than neglectful service. This is more art than science and something that will probably get worked out over time. This branch of the Capital Grille has been open less than a year.

Overall an excellent experience, and a welcome additional to the Fort Lauderdale dining and social scene. Certainly worth the trip for the calamari and the Kona-rubbed steak, items not to be found elsewhere.

Wasabi Tuesday at Sushi Samba Dromo

Sushi Samba has been promoting Wasabi Tuesdays, with New York’s DJ Ani, hosts Mykel Stevens and Carmel Ophir, and MC and self-described "singer-comedian" Rocco. Sushi Samba's selling point is the room--sleek, modern, colorful. The iced shellfish display at the forefront of the sushi bar is a nice touch, even if it is a bit touristy. With branches in New York and Chicago, Sushi Samba offers a melange of Japanese, Brazilian, and Peruvian fare, such as sushi rolls, churrasco, anticuchos, and ceviches. Is the mix effective? Not entirely.

The restaurant got off on the wrong foot by failing to honor the 9:30 reservation, and seating did not take place until 10:00. However, the staff was suitably apologetic, and service once seated was attentive and professional.

And then the menus came out. Ideally, the first review of a menu should excite; there should be dozens of appealing options with the only challenge being to narrow the choices. Sushi Samba's menu does not generate that effect. The bulk of the offerings were familiar and derivative. One positive sign was the availability of sawagani--flash fried Japanese river crabs. The river crabs, each about the size of a silver dollar, are dropped live into the fryer, quickly withdrawn, sprinkled with sea salt, and presented while still hot. They taste like potato chips, with a nice crunch. However, Sushi Samba's sawagani were not as good as Shoji's, where the crabs are taken from a terrarium on the sushi bar in full view of the diner, sent back to the kitchen, and then served quickly. Sushi Samba's crabs, at nearly double the price, did not come to the table piping hot and there was no way to be sure they were live at the time they were cooked. Nor were they plated with seaweed as they are at Shoji. Still, at least Sushi Samba has Japanese river crabs, which is more than we can say about other Japanese restaurants in the area.

The seasonal field green salad--better. Field greens with ginger-white soy dressing, shredded carrot, daikon, and taro proved effective and delicate. But then again, it's just salad.

The rolls were, well, fine. Hardly transcendent. The heralded Neo Tokyo roll consisted of tuna, tempura flakes, and aji panca. Not bad. The tuna was ruby red, the tempura flakes provided texture, and the roll was suitably spicy. Less satisfying was the crispy eel roll, which suffered, as many eel rolls do, from too much overly-sweetened eel sauce. Good eel does not need to be doctored with cloying sauces. Bond St. Lounge's hot eel dice is a better example of a well-executed eel roll. The yellowtail and jalapeno roll was satisfactory, but that's a hard one to botch, unless the yellowtail isn't fresh.

Another gripe centered on the sake menu, which did not have some of the Baron's favorites, like Momokawa Pearl and Ohyama. The Hitori Musume was fine, but Momokawa Pearl is a much better unfiltered sake, for those who like such things. At least Sushi Samba has unfiltered sake (in two varieties), so in that they are ahead of the game.

But perhaps the food is secondary. Sushi Samba is a scene, and that was the reason for this visit. The crowd was attractive, with a fair number of the young, attractive females which make South Beach worth visiting. DJ Ani spins with a deep and well-chosen repetoire of remixed '80s gems. Unfortunately, at around 11:15 "singer-comedian" Rocco broke into a song about not powdering his balls. The Baron did not approve. Nor did the Baron approve of the colossaly bad karaoke that followed. Still, a good crowd, and satisfactory food. A return visit may be in order to focus on the cooked fare. It may be the case the anticuchos and Brazilian mixed grill are stronger entries. It has also been reported that Sushi Samba's outdoor Sunday brunch pulls in the occasional celebrity, if you care about that sort of thing.

Shoji Sushi: Shin’s Last Supper

As some of you may have heard, Shoji's Master Sushi Chef Shingo Inoue (or Shin-san, as he is commonly known), is moving to New York. For those of you in the City, I will advise once I know where Shin is going to work--he hasn't yet decided. Shin has been feeding me top-quality fish at Shoji for the past five years. No one else in town provides things like trigger fish with liver, wild buri, copper river salmon, sea snail, and live river crabs. Where else can you sit at the counter and engage the sushi chef about the six different kinds of Tuna he happens to have on hand, why the blue fin toro from Italy is so perfectly fatty, why you might like the tuna from Panama better than the tuna from Ecuador (the water temperature is a factor), or why you should have come in for the BABY blue fin toro last week because now it is unavailable? Never mind that, who else would kill a live lobster with chef's knife and slice up the tail right in front of you to make lobster sashimi (highly, highly recommended).
Shin's last night at the restaurant was at the end of July. Of course the Baron was there, for The Last Supper. In honor of the occasion, the Baron let Shin set the menu:

Octopus two ways. Braised octopus tentacles with cucumber; sliced live octopus ceviche with lemon, sea salt, bell peppers, onion, and cilantro;

Tuna nigiri: Blue fin tuna from Spain (ruby red, supple, impeccable); Blue fin toro from Italy (fatty, rich, sublime);

Japanese Aji nigiri and Saba nigiri;

Octopus tentacles tempura (actually just the suction cups from the tentacles, tempura-fried and served with lemon and sea salt);

Japanese sea urchin sushi. Most people shy away from uni but Shin's is flown in from Japan and it literally tastes like the ocean. Clean, sweet, and just a hint of brine.

Orange clam "muscle" with asparagus in a lobster bisque/Jack Daniels reduction--the muscle from giant orange clams sliced up and placed alongside baby asparagus in a sauce a miso, lobster bisque, Jack Daniels, soy and who knows what else. When asked about the ingredients Shin just said that "lots of things" went in the saucepot. Outstanding.

The Jerry-san roll. The Baron was seated next to Jerry (last name unknown) who was obviously a kindred fan of the raw stuff. Apparently Jerry was such a frequent customer that he had his own roll, and I wish I had known about this sooner. Tuna, hamachi, avocado, hot sauce, rice, and tempura flakes wrapped in an outside layer of cucumber. Reminiscent of the House Special Roll at Nobu, but better.

Steamed sea eel temaki with avocado. The "ice cream cone." An eel handroll is always a good way to finish because it is sweet and seems like dessert.

Shin will be missed. While there is other good sushi on South Beach, nothing measures up to the quality and exoticism of Shin’s preparations. Nobu’s sushi is fine, but Nobu’s strength is in the prepared dishes, such as rock shrimp tempura in creamy spicy sauce, black cod in miso, and lobster in black bean sauce. Bond Street Lounge has an excellent spicy tuna roll, but the dining room is far from comfortable, and the preparations do not hew to traditional Japanese styles and ingredients. There is a heavy emphasis on rolls accompanied by sauces. Toni’s sushi is still decent, but far from stellar. The Baron will continue to monitor Shoji in the post-Shin era to determine how the restaurant holds up.