It took a few twists and turns for the Miami Design District to become the white hot neighborhood it is now, boasting high end home furnishings showrooms like Fendi Casa and Luminaire as well as the likes of Cartier and Louis Vuitton. However, the dining landscape in the past had always been what I’d classify as sketchy. Sure, Miami’s star chefs like Michelle Bernstein had charted a course and stuck with it and the quarter’s old standard, Michael’s Genuine, is still going strong but it’s time to check out another newcomer (but hardly new) to this commercial neighborhood of concrete, glass and steel. Enter bella Chef Dena Marino who landed here as of November bringing MC Kitchen to the quartier. Let’s just say that things have sure changed!
MC Kitchen is serving modern Italian cuisine with a twist. Honestly, we’re happy enough with the emphasis on modern and let’s get things straight; this is quite a progressive Italian restaurant. “We serve homemade Burrata cheese but Grandma never stuffed it like we do,” says Dena. Hailing from New Jersey (like another famous Italian, Ol’ Blue Eyes), Chef Marino is CIA trained (Culinary Institute of America) and made a name for herself out west in Colorado where she got hands-on experience in Aspen, spending 13 years at AJAX Tavern, then her own restaurant D19 before heading to Miami to open MC Kitchen with partner Brandy Coletta. We all know how finicky those Aspen denizens are so how about a hand for Chef Dena?
The restaurant’s décor takes a nod from Chef Marino’s cooking approach, rustic and homey with refined finishes. A showcase open-style exhibit kitchen greets you as you enter the expansive space with floor to ceiling windows and an oversized communal bar, half in the dining room and half out. Let’s say they’re prepared for anyone who wants do some serious time at the bar. Service is stellar … discrete and relaxed yet helpful.
Innovation begins here with Marcus Wade’s cocktail menu. We couldn’t help but order the Scarborough Fair, an out and out tribute to the Meyer lemon constructed with Charbay Meyer Lemon Farricello vodka, Meyer lemon syrup and what else but parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme. The sounds of silence were definitely felt after downing Mr. Wade’s potion and it was obvious that careful thought had gone into the specifically selected craft labels on his beverage menu. His careful experimentation with flavors even includes infused-beer cocktails, wildly inventive and made with Dogfish Head selections shaken with fresh citrus, herbs and spices. Our favorite was the Linus van Pelt mixed with DH Punkin and served in a special shaker infused with Berkshire Mountain Corn Whiskey soaked Chile Ancho. If this sounds too adventurous for you, just stick with one of the bar’s 18 Dogfish beers on tap.
Drinks definitely prep you for exploration here at MC so when it comes to food we suggest ordering with abandon. Get started with a deconstructed stone oven pizetta, a fine crusted wafer enlivened with roasted garlic, cambozola cheese (like brie) and a superb Tuscan extra virgin olive oil sold on the premises in Mercato, their adjacent Italian-style grocery. Dena’s signature Burrata stuffed with whipped roast squash and dressed with a saba vinaigrette melts in your mouth and will make you cry, “Mama”. Also refreshing especially for the calorie conscious is a halibut crudo accompanied by hearts of palm and shaved baby artichokes dressed with lemon oil and Maldon sea salt and an oven roasted octopus, as tender as a baby’s tiny hands.
Don’t miss out on pasta, even if you share one before the mains. Chef Dena has shared numerous signatures here like a Pumpkin Tortelloni with a braised rabbit ragu and house made ricotta, a unique take on a traditional dish. Or try her Garganelli Bolognese, the sauce a tantalizing mix of ground veal, pork and porcini mushrooms.
We chose a meat and a fish for mains, a Colorado Rack of Lamb with braised mixed lentils, apple butter and frisee salad harkening to the chef’s 13 year base out west and a fresh Florida Grouper served with Calabrese sausage and a New England clam sauce. Our neighbors at the next table, aware that everyone in the dining room was experiencing a real Italian food renaissance taking place in Miami, raved about the Heritage Breed Chicken with jumbo asparagus and wild mushrooms topped with an over-easy egg!
Dessert was pure indulgence, none other than a Tiramisu Cheesecake, an airy, lightly sweetened mascarpone cream cheese with traditional lady finger crust and espresso syrup. For chocoholics a Gianduia Chocolate Mousse served in an unusual sea salt sugar nest will give you the fix you need.
We sat with an 8 year old port from Meyer Family Cellars in northern California and contemplated a summery mural on the paneled far wall, with butterflies taking flight in an airplane. We could relate as we’d just taken flight ourselves, to a place where expectations were tossed aside and everything was a new experience. Something tells me it may be time soon for Round 2 at MC Kitchen.
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