Taste Of The Town: It's All About Farm Fresh At This Miami Beach Eatery
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MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) -- With sweeping views of the ocean outside and a warm contemporary vibe inside, The Strand Bar and Grill is the new restaurant located at the Carillon Miami Wellness Center creating a culinary buzz.
The newly remodeled eatery and hotel go way back in Miami Beach history. The building is 60 years old.
"This and the Deauville back in the day were hot spots believe it or not. There's a little bit of architectural points that give nuance to it," said Executive Chef Stephen Ullrich.
Back in the kitchen, Miami native Chef Ullrich created a seasonal ingredient-driven menu that's all about being farm fresh.
"It's a new American vegetable forward concept featuring the best of what we have to offer," Ullrich said.
We start with chef's mouthwatering seared scallop dish beginning with a hot oiled pan.
Chef Ullrich uses local growers for the veggies. Thinly sliced Brussel sprouts are sauteed with a miso sauce.
The Kampachi Crudo with yuzu, asparagus, radish and rice crisp is made like a work of art.
Ullrich says The Strand has something for everyone even those watching their calories.
"We also have an in-house dietitian, that is if somebody is looking for a wellness experience, we can cater their experience specific to their dietary goals they have in place," he explained.
So let's get to those seared sea scallops with Brussel sprouts, sunchokes and pomegranate.
Ullrich and CBS4's Lisa Petrillo sat down to taste it
"So you get the subtlety of the sweetness of scallop and I really like the way sunchokes contrasts the scallops," said Chef.
"The scallop is so smooth. It's a gourmet scallop," Petrillo said.
Next up, Beet Bucatini Pasta with whipped ricotta cheese and Parmesan.
"The cream of ricotta, crunch of the nuts, it's so good," said Petrillo.
"And you feel a little bit of the lemon at the end. It's there but its quietly there," said Ullrich.
Next up was stracciatella cheese with compressed plums radicchio and basil, which was down right addictive, and a Kampachi Crudo with fresh yellow tail and asparagus - which had just the right amount of salt.
"At the end of the day fish needs extra salt especially eating it raw to bring out the flavor of the fish," said Ullrich.
Our meal ends on a beautiful mango-cardamom semifreddo.
The Strand Bar and Grill is open Monday through Sunday breakfast, lunch and dinner. For more info, click here.
