Watch CBS News

Ariete Features Worldly Menu With Comforts Of Home

Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Tucked inside a lush tree lined street in Coconut Grove, Ariete is the ultimate hidden gem.

Opened 18 months ago by Executive Chef Michael Beltran and his business partner Jason Odio, the charming eatery has been doing sold business.

Since some restaurants in the Grove have opened to much fanfare, only to close quickly, CBS4's Lisa Petrillo asked Beltran what makes their place special, one that will stick around.

"We want to be a neighborhood restaurant. We want to be a cornerstone of the community. Our plans are to open for breakfast and lunch in next few months and the reason we want to do that is so we are a neighborhood restaurant, the place people can always depend on to open and to serve high quality food," he said.

Unlike other restaurants around it, Ariete opened just two days after Hurricane Irma blew through due to the owners' perseverance and creativity. No power, no problem.

"A friend of mine lent me his food truck and we parked it in front of the restaurant and served food while we didn't have power," said Beltran.

As for the food, Beltran doesn't love categories. In fact, they change the menu often and the only thing that remains the same are the plates it's served on.

"When people ask me what style of food we do, it's hard to pigeonhole us because we don't have a certain style. We do French influence, we do Hispanic influence, Miami influence. We cook good food," he said.

For a tasting, Beltran fired up Ariete's signature short ribs with a side Caesar salad. He said it takes the team nine days to prepare the meat.

"We brine it for seven days, smoke it for two, and then roast it for four hours. Basically, the only thing we do for the customer on the day of is we touch it on the grill," he said.

"I'm so excited about this," said Petrillo. "I'm not usually a big short rib fan. I usually find them chewy and thick.

"Honestly I'm not a huge red meat or short rib fan either, so I wanted to do a short rib that i could really dig into," said Beltran.

"It's so tender and so delicious," said Petrillo after taking a bite.

Next up was a classic Italian appetizer in a jar called Tuna Conserva which Petrillo found bother delicate and filling. She also found the wood grilled oysters served with bone marrow butter, lemon, and chives quite a surprise.

"You know, you have the salinity, you have that briny-ness, you have the richness of bone marrow," said Beltran.

"It's very different and very smooth with flavor," said Petrillo.

Ariete - a worldly menu with the comforts of home.

Ariete, located at 3540 Main Highway, is currently open for dinner only and with a brunch on Sunday. It will be open seven days a week for breakfast and lunch begining November 6th. There is a happy hour nightly.

For more info and to check out the menu, go to arietemiami.com.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.