TALDE Miami Beach, FL

Dale Talde may never have won Top Chef, but he has easily risen to the upper echelons of "Celebrity Chef"-dom, with his impressive resume and a solid point of view. This is Asian comfort food, hearty and, well, comforting, yet with a professional sheen. Talde's eponymous Miami Beach outpost is open late, so a few friends and I popped by for a post-show nosh one evening. 

The decor is dark and a little playful, like a Deco tavern, with a DJ spinning great music (is having a DJ a Miami Beach thing, or a Talde thing? Too tough to tell.) Expect to see noodles (lots of noodles,) ribs, dumplings, and so on, but with a twist. The wine and cocktail list isn't huge, but solid, and matches the cuisine. 

Of course we had to have the famous Kung Pao Chicken Wings, with their delectable glaze. I could also nom-nom dumplings all day, and the Pretzel Pork and Chive Dumplings with their spicy mustard dip were gobbled up in minutes. 

The Lobster Tom Kha was packed with flavor, and -- though difficult to share -- was slurped up gleefully, and the rosetta of Chow Fun with braised pork shank was very tasty as well (if a bit disjointed; the clever presentation made combining the noodles with the rest of the dish a little difficult.)

As a bit of a Charles Smith junkie and a rosé advocate, (especially with hearty Asian food,) I jumped on the Charles & Charles rosé, while my friends each had a Lychee Martini and a Plum Basil Margarita, both of which sips' were delish. 

Talde Miami Beach was a solid choice, especially in Miami Beach, where good food can be a little finicky and overpriced. My only regret was that I didn't get to go back (I mean, it was only two blocks from our hotel!) but the food is so scrumptious and filling, I'd have likely gained 10 pounds there alone. 

Bon appétit!

Talde

Inside the Thompson Miami Beach hotel 
4041 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, FL 33140 
T: (786) 605-4094

THE BAZAAR BY JOSE ANDRES, Miami, FL

It was rainy and the Uber prices were skyrocketing, but I would have done anything to get to my reservation at the Bazaar by José Andrés. Not only is he in the top echelon of what we term "celebrity chefs," but I found his playful idea of mixing and melding cuisines in this Miami Beach hotspot intriguing.

I opted for a seat at the bar so I could watch some of the chefs work — something I usually adore, however in this case, the way the bar was structured, it was difficult to catch sight of much of anything. (Next time I'll go for a table... although one of the chefs was gorgeous, so I still enjoyed the view!)

The dishes are organized by concept and by style (meat, vegetables, etc.) and are tapas-like, so you can order 3-5 and structure a little degustation however you'd like. It was tough for this foodie to choose, I'll tell you that much. My server was very helpful; in one case steering me away from an initial choice to something else that ended up being the highlight of my meal.

Of course I had to splurge on the ossetra caviar cone. While it was a wee bite, it was delicious! (But it just made me want a huge spoonful of caviar so I could more greatly appreciate those gorgeous pearls.) Next, the pork and shrimp shumai was quite flavorful, if not knockout-memorable, save for the flecks of gold leaf on top (the first two courses were both gold-leaf adorned, which made me laugh thinking that they might all come out that way — luckily, no!)

The seared scallops served with a Pedro Ximenez sauce were cooked to perfection, and when I was able to combine all of the flavors of the sauce, pine nuts, and raisin adornments, the bite was spectacular.

And then it happened: another addition to the TOP 10 DISHES OF MY LIFE appeared. (A previous entry was the squid ink risotto at Sin Manieras in Lisbon. To die for.)

It was a Cuban-coffee-rubbed skirt steak, with passion fruit, coffee foam, and slightly caramelized pearl onions. OH MAH GAWD, it was so good! The steak on its own was incredibly flavorful, but the addition of the passion fruit was a stroke of pure genius. Its sweet-tartness married impeccably with the coffee char of the meat. I honestly got a little misty-eyed, it was so freaking good. Each bite was savored and I didn't want it to end. (I truly don't have enough superlatives to continue raving.)

The steak floated me into a state of bliss, somewhat sated but craving more deliciousness, so I figured I'd go for a dessert. I wanted something on the lighter side, and was torn between the deconstructed key lime pie, and the mojito sorbet with caramelized bananas. I finally chose the sorbet, but the "pie" came out — perhaps it was a mixup, but my waiter covered it by saying he wanted me to try both, and the key lime dish was on him. It was very good, but indeed presented a little sweeter than I'd been wanting, so when the sorbet came out, it was PERFECT. Served in a chilled banana; playful, but light and rich at the same time. Both dishes had marshmallow dollops to boot, and I could've spooned that into my mouth all night.

For wines, I chose a rose Cava, which paired quite well with most of my dishes, and then a robust Tempranillo to go with the steak. I also went with an Oloroso sherry for the dessert, taking it from the sherry list rather than the dessert wine list, as I didn't want it too sweet.

Due to the tapas-like nature of The Bazaar, one's bill can escalate quickly. But the overall quality of the food was incredibly high, and standouts like the steak especially make it worth every penny.

The Bazaar by Jose Andres

1701 Collins Avenue

Miami Beach, FL 33139

305-455-2999