Culinary Highlights from Terry Zarikian
The Week of September 1st
My week began keeping away from rich foods and desserts. . .
That was on Monday, when Mikey and I dined at Tanuki, a pan-Asian restaurant that needs to be discovered by everyone else outside of Miami Beach. We were impressed by the amazing variety of dishes and the innovative way many of them were executed. Our favorite dish was the Crispy Snapper, pristine slices of raw snapper, wrapped around bundles of crispy kataifi, the Middle Eastern angel hair-like version of phyllo dough, slightly baked, sitting atop a butter lettuce leaf, a bit of jalapeno relish and aioli softly kissed by horseradish. Next Monday I will be back for the Miami Spice menu as it looked like one of the best I have seen all summer.
Tanuki
1080 Alton Road, Miami Beach
305-615-1055
As I was saying, I continued the week trying to stick with lighter foods. . .
. . .so when I had lunch at Plant-Miami with owner Karla Dascal, I realized that not only was I going to eat healthy, but that I would also enjoy dessert. The newly created Mango Tart with Pistachio Crust and the Chocolate Tahiti Tart were both desserts that rival the great European pâtisseries, sans the sugar, gluten and animal fat, but organic, kosher and good for you!
Plant-Miami
At Sacred Space
100 N.E. 25th Street, Miami
305-644-3555
A visit to Tacology, at Brickell City Centre, with my Venezuelan friend, Chef Carlos Garcia, who will open Obra Kitchen Table this fall at the Jade Brickell Building, proved to be challenging for my diet (but then again, who said I was dieting right?). . .
As soon as Chef Santiago Gomez arrived with a gigantic Chicharron and an assortment of freshly made, deliciously refreshing Guacamoles, I knew I had to go with the flow. Memorable was the Special Ribeye Taco, tender morsels of nutty flavored, well-seasoned beef were mixed with minced Mexican chorizo, bits of chicharron and cilantro micro greens. A secret sauce full of Umami made us look at each other and sigh, “WOW.”
Tacology
Brickell City Centre, 4th Floor
701 South Miami Avenue, Downtown – Miami
786-347-5368
But it was Zucca, the restaurant by the Da Silva Hospitality Group along with Executive Chef Simone Mua and the charming General Manager Lucio Zanon, that took me back to my Mediterranean ancestry in a blink of an eye! This talented team delivers an exceptional dinning experience. Yes, the house specialty, Zucchini Flowers stuffed with Mozzarella was light and filled us with oozing gustatory impressions, but more than outstanding was the Chargrilled Octopus.
Zucca
Hotel St. Michel
162 Alcazar Avenue, Coral Gables
786-580-3731
Watch for my column in next Friday’s Events of the Week and read my Summer’s Best Culinary Highlights – September 8th.
Terry Zarikian is a connoisseur of good food and wine with unparalleled experience and vision in the culinary sphere. His early beginnings at the award winning L’Alouette Restaurant in Bal Harbour served as a stepping stone to the luxurious Grand Bay Hotel and its legendary Regine’s, the international disco and private club atop the hotel, where he directed the food and beverage operations in the 80s and 90s. Entering the new millennium, his culinary PR agency, Shapiro & Zarikian joined forces with Jeffrey Chodorow’s China Grill Management.
Zarikian is most recognized for his strong hand in the development of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival under Festival Director and Founder, Lee Brian Schrager. Today Zarikian is the festival’s Culinary Advisor and liaises with some of the most renowned chefs in the world.
Since 1988 Terry has been the Food Editor of Selecta Magazine, a national Latin lifestyle publication; he is also the Culinary Content Director for azureazure.com, an online publication dedicated to all things luxury, as well as contributor to American Airlines’ Celebrated Living magazine and SocialMiami.com. The focus of his writing is travel, restaurants, food and wine.
Additionally, Zarikian is the Director of New Business and Development at Rockaway PR, Marketing & Events, a culinary agency with offices in Orlando and Miami.
Enjoy some recent published articles written by Terry: 5 Best Star Restaurants; 5 Best City Hotels; and 5 Best Classic Restaurants.
