Page 2. Florida Issue - Home Miami Beach, Florida Where to stay... HOTEL NASH The Nash joins the ranks of boutique hotels lining South Beach streets these days, but with a distinctive difference: three intimate swimming pools filled with freshwater, saltwater, and mineral water, respectively, occupy a courtyard garden. It's a small but personal space that includes cabanas and outdoor seating for Mark's, their popular in-house restaurant.
The 1930s building, tenderly renovated to chic standards, is located in what is now known as the Art Deco District of Miami Beach. The lobby is cool modern with the same theme carried over to each of the hotel's 50+ rooms and suites. Furnishings are minimalist and adequate, conveying the post-modern emphasis on simplicity and casual elegance. HOTEL NASH * * * Romantic Restaurants in Miami Beach afterglo
Everything seems a little different...because it is. Banquettes, seating 2 to 4 people, surround cozy tables, and mirrored walls from floor to ceiling provide self-viewing, while you watch the other guests enjoying themselves. Grecian and Egyptian accessories whisper "exotic" but are selected purposefully for their meaning of life. For the more daring, in the center of the room is a raised "bed" for eating with friends inside a 16th Century imported antique white marble gazebo. Designed to be "a celebration of food, drink, and all life," the menu designed by Chef Sandee Birdsong is based on the "The Syntropy Diet," created by owner Dr. Tim Hogle. This diet is founded on the principle that eating is one of life's most fundamental activities and has the power to greatly enhance beauty. Simply put, "syntropy" is an order-enhancing energy force stored in food that increases a body's beautifying benefits. Believing "food" has healing and regenerative powers is one thing; finding and serving it on a daily basis is another. That is why all foods served here are local, fresh, organic, and free range. And most are obtained daily to insure freshness and taste stability. Meats include bison, antelope, beef, and lamb, all grass-fed. The fish variety is wild, not farmed, and the vegetables are not your run-of-the-mill variety. Instead, Chef Sandee dazzles your palate with exotic purple sweet potatoes, burdock, dandelion, and watercress. Loving the opportunity to feel healthier and happier after eating, we made sure to consume as much as possible! Each course was stellar. Among the dishes we loved were the bison appetizer, wild rice with mushrooms, purple sweet potato, and a dessert of an exotic chocolate, covered with salt and drizzled with olive oil. Ooh la la! aflterglo is remarkable in actually delivering what it promises-eat right to feel right! You can always tell when a chef adds a secret ingredient. Your food looks and tastes special. It is apparent that each dish here is imbued with something extremely special when it comes from the kitchen of Sandee Birdsong. This ingredient is called love. afterglo * * * TANTRA RESTAURANT & LOUNGE Walking in, you sense the soft springiness of grass. It's wet, cool, and pungent. You have to look twice before realizing it's real! The dining room is draped in exotic cloths with subdued lighting. The floor is so dark you can't see it. Erotic objets d'art are strategically placed around the room. The music is an emoting world beat. The huge movie screen behind the bar is showing "Kama Sutra." Everything here is geared to the senses...including the aphrodisiac menu, created by Dr. Tim Hogle and perfected by Chef Sandee Birdsong. Yes, the same Chef Sandee and Dr. Hogle from afterglo. Considering our unforgettable feast there, we simply HAD to try their other restaurant.
Chef Sandee, a self-taught cook with a keen sense of "what-looks-good-and-tastes-good-combinations" prepared some very special dishes for us. It's her feel for the mixing of ingredients, all fresh-and many unusual-that arouse the palate above the mundane. Our "Tantra Appetizer" was a sky-high festival of succulent seafood that included stone crab, shrimp, oysters, ceviche, spicy tuna rolls, seaweed, artichokes, olives, and edible flowers filled with crème fraiche and caviar. Culinary and artistic perfection so absolutely beautiful that we briefly hesitated eating it, especially the purple orchids with caviar placed inside to look like seeds. The entrees that followed were equally extraordinary. We shared a Chilean Sea bass (fresh from Chile that morning!) served with a "bundle" of fresh vegetables and flowers; and a lamb chop and filet mignon combination with rosemary couscous and balsamic onions. Each sauce was reduced to perfection, light and flavorful, and served hot, a feat often forgotten on busy bistro nights in high season, but not at Tantra. Although happily sated and stuffed, we were unable to refuse Chef Sandee when she gleefully insisted we have dessert. "Romeo & Juliet," a rich chocolate lava cake with homemade ice cream was heavenly, but her c oconut mousse with passion fruit sorbet and passion fruit sauce was nirvana! When you go to Tantra, plan to have dinner and then stay for a totally different experience. After 11, the lights go down and the music heats up, as disc jockeys appear at turntables and the place turns into a trendy night club. We even discovered the private room with the hammock hanging from the ceiling where lovebirds can go to do what lovebirds do! Keep in mind, Mondays are the hottest, most happening nights at the club. If you love the sensual quality of food, prepared to near perfection and served in the ultimate romantic setting, Tantra is the place to be. TANTRA RESTAURANT & LOUNGE * * * WISH Wish I may, wish I might, eat at WISH every night! We were smitten with this Miami Beach venue almost immediately. As we walked through the empty dining room, the manager told us, "This is where we move you if it rains hard." He then showed us out to the already crowded, enchanting patio, and seated us next to the center fountain. All the tables are covered by umbrellas, so the fear of rain is quickly forgotten. Lighting is indirect and the atmosphere is dreamy, as if you're floating in the clouds. It's an inspired piece of restaurant theatre, and perhaps why this place continues to be one of the most popular on Miami Beach.
Our main courses were models of superb culinary presentation, timeliness, and taste. Snapper-hard to do perfectly? Yes, but not for Chef Michael. The crispy skinned snapper over Chinese sausage and jasmine rice with Vietnamese tea foam arrived at our table hot and juicy. It's no wonder this house specialty is one of the public's favorites. Our other entrée was a delicious veal porterhouse adorned with spinach, stewed tomatoes, and polenta on the side, soaking up all those exotic flavors. If we die now, we're as close to food heaven as humanly possible! And returning here would definitely be our last WISH. WISH - At the Hotel * * * FRATELLI LA BUFALA From the outside, looking in the window of this restaurant, one sees neat rows of tables filled with diners, all apparently very happy. Walking inside the brightly lit, colorful interior and getting a closer look, it's easy to see why. Enormous platters of cheeses, fresh vegetables, and breads are on every table. The other reason is the uniquely Italian ambience this first USA venue of an Italian chain offers up. Extremely popular in most big cities of Italy, with over 30 locations, Fratelli La Bufala exudes a smooth operation, cool ambience, and exceptional food. The menu is based around buffalo instead of cows. For lunch, we dined on a huge antipasto platter of prosciutto, grilled vegetables, buffalo provolone, and mozzarella that was enough for four people, not just the two of us. When a beautiful pasta dish appeared on our table, we were too full to eat it. Well, almost! It was the most delightful, thick al dente pasta in a light tomato sauce that was way too good to pass up. This restaurant's concept is based on the use of buffalo meat as a healthier alternative to cows, for their significantly lower saturated fat and cholesterol levels. They believe that if you want meat, eat buffalo and live longer! Whether or not it's true, it certainly seems like you can have all the satisfying tastes and texture of beef at a lower health cost. Even such things as salamis and other cured products were buffalo preparations, lighter and leaner than pork or beef; and we loved them all. You won't be disappointed. In fact, you'll be very pleasantly surprised. Be sure to enjoy this friendly and delicious spot for lunch or dinner. FRATELLI LA BUFALA * * * Hollywood, Florida Where to stay.... HOLLYWOOD BEACH MARRIOTT Hollywood, Florida, lost between the glam centers of South Beach and Ft. Lauderdale, is making a comeback. Long a center for hordes of Northern and Midwestern immigrants seeking an affordable beach stay, it went tacky from corruption and negligence in the 1950s, and is only now heading "upscale."
Right after checking in, we traded our street clothing for beach wear and elevated down to the boardwalk bar and pool. This was the spot! Packed with other sun lovers from cold climes, we chatted, drank, ate appetizers, and swam, all the while listening to the compelling beat of the hotel's steel drummer. When the sun went down, we went up to nap before heading out for the evening. Having had too much of everything at the pool and bar, we decided to stay in our room and order room service. The newly remodeled rooms are cozy and very nicely decorated, with exceptionally comfortable beds and soft linens. In fact, if you want the same ones on your bed at home, just pull out the descriptive brochure, pick the size you need, and add them to your bill! Room service was quick and competent. And reasonably priced, compared to the typical room service menu. We ordered flatbread pizza topped with jerk chicken, roma tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella. The nicoise salad was made with a large chunk of seared tuna over a salad with roasted tomatoes, asparagus, hard boiled egg, and roasted potatoes. They supplied a variety of tasty breads, including crisped pumpernickel raisin with sprinkled sugar, parmesan crispy bread, soft French bread and lavosh cracker bread. With the bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir accompaniment, it was a late-night party extraordinaire. Staking out an early position in the re-growth of Hollywood Beach is risky business, but it seems Marriott knows how to speculate successively. The hotel was completely occupied. We loved this place and recommend that anyone looking to see the "real" Florida head to the Hollywood Beach Marriott for a fun and fantastic time. HOLLYWOOD BEACH MARRIOTT * * * The best hamburger in town... LE TUB Within walking distance of the Marriott in Hollywood, Florida, is a hamburger joint called Le Tub, definitely different. You must go to find out why. Just be prepared to wait hours, day or night, to eat. We went twice. First, at 11:30 at night, we were told it would be 1½ to 2 hours for a table! Then, the next day at lunchtime, there was only a 1 to 1 ½ hour wait. What the heck! This looked like a fun place with a reputation for good food, so we stayed.
To keep from starving, we sat at the bar and ordered a small seafood salad, which only took half an hour to get! Loaded with shrimp, crabmeat, and salmon in light vinaigrette, the dish was dee-lish. But now we were no longer hungry. Of course, some 55 minutes and several beers later, when the burgers finally arrived, we dived into them. Admittedly, well worth the wait! Warning: the bar is often filled,too. So just make sure to snack before you go! LE TUB |
Entering this chic South Beach establishment is like entering another world, one that is healthier, friendlier and more spiritual than the one we now occupy. 
Not based on any particular region, all the ingredients used at Tantra are selected for their ability to provide a blend of aromas, flavors, and textures in each morsel. This "tantric" quality transcends the taste buds to tantalize all your senses for a spiritual revitalization. And it's all delectable!
The menu is equally inspired, with its Italian/Vietnamese Chef Michael Bloise, producing novel and appealing meals nearly every day. We were delighted with the refreshing "Wish Salad," an eclectic mix of mango and baby bean sprouts and cashews with lychee-mint vinaigrette dressing. Equally pleasing was the Blue Crab salad in crème fraiche. 
All the cold cuts and cheeses come from buffalo. One of the most revered cheeses in the world, mozzarella di bufala, is flown in fresh daily from their source in Southern Italy. Pundits claim this cheese is the only mozzarella worth eating, the rest relegated as pizza topping. We don't know about that, but the difference in taste, texture, and freshness is a joy on the palate. If you like mozzarella, you'll love Fratelli la Bufala. And yes, even their pizza has buffalo mozzarella. 
One of the early entries in the renaissance includes the Marriott Corporation with the newly renovated Hollywood Beach Marriott, located smack on the famous Hollywood Boardwalk, in front of the beach. The boardwalk is a 2 ½ mile concrete walkway populated by bicycles and walkers, and lined with restaurants, cafes, houses, and hotels. There is also a band shell... performance stage, and parks, kept constantly busy. This is one great location, a more "real" option to the high-styling South Beach, and offering greater value and fun than the trendy places to the south. 
