At this time of year the emails about Miami Spice menus flood my inbox. One that I always pay attention to is from Bourbon Steak Miami and Corsair in Turnberry Isle Resort, (T.786-279-6800). Their offerings are always top notch. They see it as a way to showcase their restaurant to new patrons. Smart. The atmosphere of Bourbon Steak is also a favorite – it’s casually elegant, “buzzy” and yet not loud, and the lighting is just perfect. But let’s get to the main event – the food.
Happily, Bourbon Steak brought back its summer corn chowder from last year which was a menu highlight in my book – rich with rock shrimp, iberico ham, fingerling potato and dill. A friend gave high marks to the charred octopus ceviche, saying it was so tender you could cut it with a fork, and enjoying the crunch of a crispy hominy and piquant seasoning. For a main dish, I can never pass up a specialty of the restaurant, steak, so it was the Angus new York Strip I voted for, perfectly seared, with a beefy taste well complemented with a Vadouvan carrot puree, potato confit and cumin yogurt.
The competition for desserts was fierce. In fact, I suggested they offer an option for a dessert sampler (regrettably no go). One of the tops was the spiced chocolate cremeux, like a cup of thick chocolate soup with mixed chocolate buds on top (white, milk and dark) with banana toffee, passion fruit and mango sorbet on the side.
At Corsair, the dish that stole the show at this restaurant was the arugula and duck confit, the duck fashioned into something looking like a crabcake, tender in the inside and crunchy outside. It was teamed with a quail egg on a bed of humboldt fog and sherry vinaigrette. My Corsair dessert of choice was the key lime tart, unusually delicious, the perfect blend of sweet and tart. It looked like an abstract painting with its colorful topping of berries and fruit sauce. Miami Spice is offered exclusively at dinner.
Karen’s Miami Spice Bourbon Steak + Corsair Picks:
Summer Corn Chowder
Angus Strip Steak
Spiced Chocolate Cremeux
Duck and Arugula Confit
Key Lime Tart
Looking for more Miami Spice picks? Here are others I recommend with menus (click here). And watch for reviews of Jaya and newcomer, Sushi Garage (sister to Juvia) next week.
