✭✭✭1/2
Review: Scarpetta in Miami Beach
By John Tanasychuk, Sun Sentinel
Important: This article was last updated on March 12, 2010. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.
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 Fontainebleau, 4441 Collins Ave., Miami Beach 877-326-7412 fontainebleau.com Cuisine: Italian Cost: expensive Hours: dinner daily, Sunday brunch Reservations: highly recommended Credit cards: all major Bar: full service Sound level: conversational Outside smoking: yes For kids: high chairs, boosters Wheelchair accessible: yes  |
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First impression: New York chef Scott Conant opened this outpost of his New York City restaurant when the resort reopened in 2008. Scarpetta was an instant hit with diners and critics. One taste of Conant's modern Italian fare and you'll know why. Just be ready to spend big money.Ambience: If the late Italian film director Federico Fellini had been asked to design a seaside restaurant, it might have looked like Scarpetta. Swirls of black and white mosaic tile cover the walls of the lounge. The theme is vaguely nautical, like a glamorous Italian ocean liner
Starters: While the very good barrata ($16) with tomatoes arrived without tomatoes, it would have been nice to know in advance. (Cold snap, no doubt.) Cece bean soup ($14) was a creamy bowl of sausage, cabbage and, of course, chick peas. Fritto misto ($17) was a light crisp mixture of whiting, shrimp and calamari. A squirt of lemon was all it needed.
Entree excellence: Every time a certain someone I know eats Scarpetta's oh-so-simple spaghetti with tomato and basil, these words are spoken: "I want to marry Scott Conant." The dish is typical of how the chef cooks. Like all great Italian food, the flavors are simple in that they're simply built from starting with the only the best ingredients. Roasting prime aged sirloin ($40) results in exquisite flavor and tenderness. It's then plated with mushrooms and potato gatto, a kind of cheesy mashed potato. Roasted lobster ($42) is shelled and served with pureed sunchoke, sea urchin and risotto made with nutty farro, instead of the usual arborio rice.
Sweet!: Desserts are not an afterthought here. Be sure to order coconut panna cotta ($11), which is served with caramelized pineapple and guava "soup," which will cure you of any anti-guava prejudices. Amazing gingerbread pear crisp ($11) is served with cinnamon gelato and caramelized cranberries.
Service: Sometimes terse. Certainly not warm. But efficiency makes up for tone.
Liquid assets: A fine selection of Italian wines, many of them surprisingly well priced.
Contact dining correspondent John Tanasychuk at jtanasychuk@sunsentinel.com or write to him in care of Sun Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301.