Bazaar Mar
Hi Uncle Steve,
Ooh look! A blog!
We'll see how this goes.
For our first trick, we went to Bazaar Mar in the SLS, a recently opened condo-hotel high-rise in Brickell and conveniently situated to us. The restaurant, by Jose Andres (actually, I believe the full name is Bazaar Mar by Jose Andres, because apparently he's the type of chef who can pull it off*), has been very highly anticipated by the Miami food scene and for good reason.
*After the fact, I learned that Jose Andres is widely credited as being the man who brought tapas to America. So, yes, he can pull that off. That's on top of having a Michelin two star restaurant in D.C. that you need tickets for and a hand in another 2 dozen restaurants across the country
To begin, it is a stunning space. There's a lot of Dutch tile, marble, and modernist furniture throughout. Plus, the largest live seafood tank I've ever seen.
(By the way, you should be able to click on the pictures for a larger image).
And the food and drinks were phenomenal. We began with drinks: Lauren, a Tomaso, a cocktail with aged rum, coconut water, and bitters. So good she's tried to make some at home.
I began with a LN2 Caipirinha. Now Stephen, isn't LN2 a rather poor geek-speak rendition for liquid nitrogen? Why, yes, it is. I don't have an image, but a bartender (for lack of a better word) rolled over to our table a stainless steel cart for tableside preparation, which consisted of vigorously whisking the caipirinha in a deep bowl while pouring liquid nitrogen into it. Of course, there was a cascade of fog coming off the process and I ended up with this:
Yes, it is about as small as it looks. With no ice, there's no added volume, so you're back to a 3-4 oz volume of the mixers and liquor. On top of that, becomes it comes with a spoon (you can't drink it for several minutes until it starts to melt; I'm convinced the liquid nitrogen was cold enough to freeze the ethanol), the short sides of the small glass help. It was a spectacle and highly recommended solely on that ground (it's also no more expensive than any other drink). It was also tasty, if prone to quick consumption due to its friendly nature.
And, being as it is by Jose Andres, it is a tapas style restaurant, where food is brought as it is readied: Order 3-5 items per person, 3-5 items at a time. We ordered in two groups of four for our main meal, and then ordered two dishes for dessert.
For our first group, we ordered the Maine Lobster Croquetas, the Po Boy Jose, the Neptune Pillows, and the Ajo Blanco. (Note: we went two weeks ago, and as I write this and refer back to the menu, they've already added and dropped several items therefrom).
The Ajo Blanco was a white gazpacho (read: almond milk base) with, among other things, smoked blue crab, served in the thickest glass bowl I've ever seen:
The Main Lobster Croquetas were probably the stand out of the night. To the extent that the bar next door has the restaurants' food available to it, I must at the very least insist you go to the bar for a drink and the croquetas. They were both the pure essence of lobster and probably the perfect drinking food (I'd say drunk food, but then it would probably be lost on your numbed taste buds).
The Po Boy Jose (which curiously took the longest) was stellar. A brioche bun (which I think they may have flash fried before preparation) was filled with fried baby squid and an alioli.
For our later drinks, Lauren ordered a Salt Air Margarita, which was a margarita with a sea saltwater foam on top, instead of a salted rim.
For our second round of food, we ordered the Geoduck (pronounced "gooey-duck", and ordered only because they were out of the live Hokkaido Uni), the Ora King Salmon, the sauteed spinach and wakame, and the Pappas Arrugas.
The geoduck was served sashimi style in the most absurdly large and heavy marble bowl I've ever seen. The quality was very good, there very little to comment.
The salmon was the highly of our second round. The quality fantastic. The skin was crispy. The plating beautiful. And the marinated salmon roe probably the most delicious thing I put into my mouth that night.
I wish I could say more; highly recommended.
Lauren got a... well, I'll show you first.
Ooh look! A blog!
We'll see how this goes.
For our first trick, we went to Bazaar Mar in the SLS, a recently opened condo-hotel high-rise in Brickell and conveniently situated to us. The restaurant, by Jose Andres (actually, I believe the full name is Bazaar Mar by Jose Andres, because apparently he's the type of chef who can pull it off*), has been very highly anticipated by the Miami food scene and for good reason.
*After the fact, I learned that Jose Andres is widely credited as being the man who brought tapas to America. So, yes, he can pull that off. That's on top of having a Michelin two star restaurant in D.C. that you need tickets for and a hand in another 2 dozen restaurants across the country
To begin, it is a stunning space. There's a lot of Dutch tile, marble, and modernist furniture throughout. Plus, the largest live seafood tank I've ever seen.
(By the way, you should be able to click on the pictures for a larger image).
 |
| Lots of mermaids |
 |
| There are a lot of critters in there |
 |
| That big black square is a companion bar deco- rated in a complementary black. |
 |
| Er, what? |
And the food and drinks were phenomenal. We began with drinks: Lauren, a Tomaso, a cocktail with aged rum, coconut water, and bitters. So good she's tried to make some at home.
I began with a LN2 Caipirinha. Now Stephen, isn't LN2 a rather poor geek-speak rendition for liquid nitrogen? Why, yes, it is. I don't have an image, but a bartender (for lack of a better word) rolled over to our table a stainless steel cart for tableside preparation, which consisted of vigorously whisking the caipirinha in a deep bowl while pouring liquid nitrogen into it. Of course, there was a cascade of fog coming off the process and I ended up with this:
 |
| Sherbert? |
Yes, it is about as small as it looks. With no ice, there's no added volume, so you're back to a 3-4 oz volume of the mixers and liquor. On top of that, becomes it comes with a spoon (you can't drink it for several minutes until it starts to melt; I'm convinced the liquid nitrogen was cold enough to freeze the ethanol), the short sides of the small glass help. It was a spectacle and highly recommended solely on that ground (it's also no more expensive than any other drink). It was also tasty, if prone to quick consumption due to its friendly nature.
And, being as it is by Jose Andres, it is a tapas style restaurant, where food is brought as it is readied: Order 3-5 items per person, 3-5 items at a time. We ordered in two groups of four for our main meal, and then ordered two dishes for dessert.
For our first group, we ordered the Maine Lobster Croquetas, the Po Boy Jose, the Neptune Pillows, and the Ajo Blanco. (Note: we went two weeks ago, and as I write this and refer back to the menu, they've already added and dropped several items therefrom).
The Ajo Blanco was a white gazpacho (read: almond milk base) with, among other things, smoked blue crab, served in the thickest glass bowl I've ever seen:
 |
| Fantastic |
The Main Lobster Croquetas were probably the stand out of the night. To the extent that the bar next door has the restaurants' food available to it, I must at the very least insist you go to the bar for a drink and the croquetas. They were both the pure essence of lobster and probably the perfect drinking food (I'd say drunk food, but then it would probably be lost on your numbed taste buds).
 |
| I forgot to mention they came in a glass shoe. We don't know why there are laces. The sauce is Bearnaise. |
The Neptune Pillows were little pillows of fried dough, filled with spicy tuna, sprinkled with nori powder, and topped with a piece of tuna sashimi, and the whole apparatus stabilized with spicy mayo. Excellent!
The Po Boy Jose (which curiously took the longest) was stellar. A brioche bun (which I think they may have flash fried before preparation) was filled with fried baby squid and an alioli.
 |
| If the first one hadn't taken so long, I would have ordered a second. |
I ordered their Ultimate Gin and Tonic. Although I've drifted away from gin and tonics in the last several years, this was indeed an excellent one. Since there's not much in the way of craftsmanship or ingenuity you can say about a better gin and tonic (it's mostly a matter of selecting a better ingredient), the most I can say about it was a fantastic choice of glassware, namely, a large stemless wine glass, which concentrated the crisp citrus scents of the drink for your sniffing pleasure.
For our second round of food, we ordered the Geoduck (pronounced "gooey-duck", and ordered only because they were out of the live Hokkaido Uni), the Ora King Salmon, the sauteed spinach and wakame, and the Pappas Arrugas.
The geoduck was served sashimi style in the most absurdly large and heavy marble bowl I've ever seen. The quality was very good, there very little to comment.
The salmon was the highly of our second round. The quality fantastic. The skin was crispy. The plating beautiful. And the marinated salmon roe probably the most delicious thing I put into my mouth that night.
 |
| The streak is a pine nut sauce. |
The sauteed spinach/wakama was passable. The potatoes, though intriguing, were a bit disappointing (though the sauces fantastic). I'd say pass on those.
All in all, a very good meal. There's very much an emphasis on extremely fresh ingredients and bringing unusual, but delicious seafoods to the eater. While probably a top-ten meal, it lacks the emphasis on technique and skill that say Alter had.
Until dessert.
What the heck?
I ordered Who Lives In a Pineapple Under the Sea??? If the name seems frivolous, well, it it a reference to a children's cartoon character. But what is the dish? I don't know and I both can read the menu and I ate it. To begin, it is served in a glass pineapple. (I have no idea where they got that from). As a bottom layer is some sort of ice cream, though apparently made with condensed milk. On top is a layer of frozen pineapple which has been shaved or rasped into a snow. It somes with three chunks of pineapple marinated in something, a little sprig or two of fennel, and a pipet of chartreuse, which in addition to being a color, is apparently an unsweet herbal liqueur. It was excellent.
This is a deconstructed key lime pie reconstructed into a beach scene. The key lime filling (well, ice cream in this case) formed the base layer and was shaped (shaped?!) into sea shells. The graham cracker crust became sand and a sand castle. And to the side was a lime foam with little sprigs of something representing seaweed. It was mind blowing, and tasty.
Someone in the back has some Alter-level technique going on.
Again, all in all a very good meal. Lots of spectacle, incredible fresh and varied seafood, a few passable dishes, but a stunning dessert. The menu is expansive and fascinating: I'll have to go back if for no other reason that there were at least a dozen other dishes that tickled me. Certainly not for the faint of wallet (incl. drinks, tax, and tip, $135 pp), but highly recommended to the extent you can afford it.
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