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 "Without the freedom to criticize, there is no worthy praise." Beaumarchais | ||
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Sunny Isles Beach By Jana Danger At Michael’s Kitchen in Sunny Isles, showmanship is a major part of the dining experience. The restaurant’s slogan is “the cure for boring food,” and a meal there is part dining, part performance. Chef Michael Blum hit on the concept when he was looking for ways to set himself apart. “Food is food, and I wondered what I could do differently,” he says. “I noticed many people seemed to want to go to dinner and a show, so little by little, I incorporated the two. The food is the show and the chefs are the players.” A native of New York, Blum graduated first in his class from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. He began his South Florida career in 1994 when he opened the Frozen Café in Dania Beach. Two year’s later he changed the name to Michael’s Kitchen, and in 2004 moved to downtown Hollywood. Late last year, Blum moved from Hollywood to the Newport Beachside Resort in Sunny Isles where he launched his current venture, a kind of culinary circus with himself as ringleader. A contemporary décor combines caramel-colored walls with bright orange cornices and other vibrant accents. The lounge in the front of the space has a long bar and a large, muted, flat-screen TV. Energy pervades the dining room beyond, which features comfortable banquettes and closely spaced tables topped with white cloths, all with a view of the theater kitchen where Blum presides over a crew of chefs. The counter separating the dining room from the kitchen is back-lighted in red, emphasizing it as a visual focal point. Several stools offer the opportunity to sit and watch the cooks up close. Starters Dinner begins with rolls served on individual square glass tiles. Accompanying the bread is sweet butter and smoky, spicy humus laced with whole cloves of roasted garlic. Our first dish was a plate of sliders ($15), three mini-burgers made with fresh Kobe beef and topped with rich foie gras butter; caramelized onions and shaved Parmesan, and accompanied by a barbecue sauce flavored with dark-roast coffee. A creative take on an old favorite, the sliders could serve as a meal for lighter appetites. A showy yellow-fin tuna tartar “firecracker” ($14) is served in a tall, stemmed martini glass crowned with a wide fan of crispy rice noodles. Underneath are tender chunks of fresh tuna in a lemony bath. Tart sake pickled cucumbers and spicy pickled ginger, plus a mild soy dipping sauce, make for an interesting combination of flavors and textures. Rich, creamy lobster bisque ($11) was excellent with the traditional accent of sherry and shellfish in nearly every bite. Other appetizers include rock shrimp served in a movie-style popcorn bucket ($15); steamed mussels ($18); oversized filet mignon meatballs ($18); and Asian-style chicken wings ($12). There’s also a selection of thin-crust flatbreads ($12-$15). Entrees Mongolian barbecued ribs ($31) arrive flaming dramatically with their own mini-grill. Tender, moist and flavorful, the mildly spicy meat is accompanied by pickled ginger, mandarin oranges, bok choy and fried rice. The dish is something we would definitely order again. Snapper with shrimp and lobster ($36) was a special of the evening. The fish was firm, flaky and very fresh, and the dusky flavor of a rich curry coconut lobster cream sauce was an ideal complement. The lobster tail on top was beautifully cooked, but the breaded shrimp were overdone. An accompanying bed of buttery wilted spinach was too heavy on garlic. Grilled honeycomb chicken ($26), sautéed with Grand Marnier and served with an actual honeycomb on top, was tender and flavorful. This very sweet dish, however, would have benefited from an accompaniment that provided more contrast than pineapple rings, which added yet another layer of sweetness. Among the other entrees are black truffle lobster mac ($34), a grown-up version of macaroni and cheese; turkey meatloaf ($24); short rib tacos ($28) chimichuri skirt seak ($24; New York strip ($38); grilled salmon ($25); linguini with clams ($27) and garlic shrimp penne ($31). Desserts Desserts definitely are intended to appeal to the kid in all of us. Oversized, meant-to-be-shared selections include deep-dish rice crispy pizza ($22); campfire s’mores toasted at the table ($16); rich, creamy Reese’s peanut butter pie ($15) with white chocolate chunks and an Oreo cookie crust; and a huge cloud of bubblegum-flavored, sweet pink cotton candy ($16) served on a stick. For those who don’t want to share, there are individual portions of Key lime pie; bananas foster; baked Alaska, Milky Way chocolate malt, and tiramisu (all $5). Michaels’ kitchen combines creative culinary combinations with colorful showmanship and lots of fun. You’re likely to leave smiling. 
 
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