Out first night in Miami Beach brought us to the elegant Faena Hotel where I did a site inspection and was completely impressed.
After the inspection We joined our to dearest friends for over 30 years in Miami Beach for dinner at the famous Las Vegas restaurant where Argentine chef Francis Mallman reigns.
It's a huge room and very elegant but a bit noisy because there is a lounge that is a joining the restaurant with an open wall that allows for the live music as well as DJ played music to penetrate through. There is also a huge covered outdoor patio which might have been a better choice as it would have been further away from The Lounge!
We had a most enjoyable people evening starting with Noemia "A Lisa" 2017 from Rio Negro in Argentina's Patagonia which was mostly Malbec with some Merlot and Petit Verdot for softening making for a luscious soft wine.
The tables are made of beautiful burled lacquer wood and there are gorgeous chargers as well as Laguiole steak knives and beautiful appointments throughout which is why you can understand the prices are sky high.
Octopus a la Plancha was a monstrous sized appetizer with potato confit garlic aioli, kalamata olives and cilantro that would have satisfied anybody ordering a main course. Two of us got super tender pieces of seafood but unfortunately mine was slightly chewy. Prime beef tartare was also quite large and covered with papa Anna or sliced potatoes that had been cooked and served with a black truffle hollandaise that made it as well a monstrous sized and filling dish. Will could not resist ordering the appetizer of wood fired artichokes with sesame yogurt d'Espalette peppers & sourdough bread crumbs with cilantro for us to share which was away overdose, way huge and totally unnecessary. They did not come crispy and they actually were mushy and while they were delicious artichokes more attention should have been made to offer them as a crispy dish since they were wood fired.
We moved on to a second wine which was a delicious 2014 Bonarda "Emma" from Familia Zuccardi. The Bonarda that I chose first was not available so the sommelier suggested we have this one which cost about $20 more and I was quite surprised that he did not offer it at the same price!!
Our 3rd red wine was a amazing wine made exclusively for the hotel: Faena Vista Flors 2014 Gran Malbec from Valle de Uco also in Argentina that could have used some advance airing or decanting but was awesome with our big beef dishes.
Will and I ordered a signature dish called Mallman's beef tenderloin "Milanesa." It was a huge filet of at least 14 oz that had been covered with a crust made of panko and bread crumbs and then served with Boulanger potatoes poached egg and a Dijon mustard, think Filet Mignon Schnitzel! The portions were so huge we left large pieces along with our guests left overs so they could take them all home and enjoy them the next day. Our friends had the prime beef tenderloin with foie gras source charred brussel sprouts and balsamic vinegar.
We could not resist the dessert menu and decided to share one Dulce de Leche flan with mascarpone cream between the 4 of us. Decadent yet delicious it ended our wonderful evening and a truly delicious meal with way too many courses that were way too large.... Not to mention supremely expensive.
