Taste Of The Town: Michelin-Starred Italian Restaurant, Carbone, Comes To South Beach

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Carbone Miami is the sister restaurant of the original in New York which has been called the most influential American restaurants of the last decade.

The South Beach location on Collins Avenue, which opened in January, marks the fourth Carbone in the roster, along with Hong Kong and Las Vegas.

Partner and Chef Mario Carbone tells CBS4's Lisa Petrillo this location was always planned but COVID-19 just accelerated it.

"It was always part of our hope, in our dreams, and I think with the last year and COVID and everything that's happened and the fact that we are pretty shut down in New York, sped up our process and the thoughts to be here in Miami. So we made a quick pivot here," Mario Carbone explained.

The restaurant seats about 50 people in their retro tropical outdoor patio and another 140 inside. The decor is ornate, with fancy chandeliers and rich, bold fabrics.

Mario describes it this way.

"It's 1960's, sort of if my Aunt Maria had a bunch of money, this is what she would build," he said laughing. There is beautiful Venetian glass, marble, everything but the plastic on the furniture."

Reservations are tough to get. There's a lengthy waitlist as big name celebrities and hipsters fill the scene.

"It's very cool and a huge compliment," Carbone said. "Anyone who is an arbiter of great taste that's been around the world and seen everything, and if they choose to spend the night with you, it's a huge compliment."

So let's get to the food. Modern cuisine does not apply.

"It's certainly old-school. The idea is that we provide a nostalgic experience," Carbone explained.  "We make hopefully the best versions of something that you've had hundreds of times before in your life. I think that's a secret to regular customers. We are tapping into those nostalgic memories of comfort and familiarity. Those are the things that we spend our time working on," explained Carbone.

For starters, there is the Carpaccio Piemontese, which is a filet of rare grass fed beef with black truffles, walnuts, and piemontese cheese.

"It's definitely a decadent beef carpaccio," said Carbone.

"It has truffles and mushrooms. It's from heaven and it's insane," said Petrillo after tasting it.

So is the Veal Parmesan, which is pounded, breaded and seasoned.

"It's pan fried. We use half butter, half olive oil topped with our homemade tomato sauce and mozzarella that we make every day here," explained Carbone.

The tasting ends with Mario's favorite dessert, the flaming 'Bananas a la Rum'.

"Just leave me here. It's so rich and decadent. The bananas are caramelized from the rum. It's just a match made in heaven," said Petrillo.

Carbone Miami is fine dining with style and a big goal in mind.

"When the guests leave what do you want them to think about?" asked Petrillo.

"Their next reservation," said Carbone.

Carbone Miami is open Tuesday through Sunday dinner only. For more info: Carbonemiami.com

Now back to that dessert!

If you want to try this delicious bananas foster recipe at home, here it is from Carbone Miami.

Ingredients:

• 10 oz. All purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 pound Butter
• 15 oz. sugar
• 20 oz banana puree
• 4 each eggs

Instructions:

• Puree with a hand blender 40 oz. of very ripe bananas and set aside
• In a bowl of a mixer place 1 pound of butter and mix with a paddle attachment till light and fluffy
• Slowly add sugar and continue to mix till fluffy
• Add eggs one by one until fully incorporated
• Sift flour, Baking soda and salt
• On low speed alternate adding the dry mix and the banana puree
• On a half flat sheet tray lined with parchment paper and sprayed measure out 35 oz of banana bread mix and using an offset spatula spread mix evenly flat on the tray
• Bake at 325 for about 10-12 minutes
• Once cool using a circle cutter portion banana bread into circles

Banana Syrup Ingredients:

• 3 ½ oz. butter
• 7 oz. banana Liquor
• 14 oz. brown sugar

Banana Syrup Instructions:

• Measure all ingredients into a pot
• Using a whisk bring to a boil
• Set aside until ready to use

Final Dish:

• 1 circle of banana bread
• 3 scoops of good quality vanilla ice cream
• ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
• 2 oz. banana syrup
• 1 each banana sliced
• 1 oz. 100 proof rum

Assemble:

• In a bowl, place banana bread and 3 scoops of ice cream on top
• In a sauté pan, pour banana syrup into pan and heat, add bananas pour the rum and dip pan slightly into fire until it flambés
• Bananas will light on fire, continue to sauté until fire goes out
• Pour hot bananas over ice cream
• And finally, garnish with the toasted sliced almonds
• Enjoy!