Fine Restaurants Spark Collins Park
February 16, 2015 - With fashionable foodies flying in from every corner of the world for the gastronomic orgy that is SoBe Wine & Food Fest, we see it fit to feature these up-and-coming restaurants in the sunny strip of Collins Avenue above 23rd Street called Collins Park. Granted, some, as in Tom Colicchio’s Beachcraft, which opens March 13 at 1 Hotel & Homes, fall into the “coming” not-yet-open category, but it’s good food for thought nevertheless.
1 Hotel & Homes (once the Gansevoort), the spectacular block-long eco-monolith by LeFrak and Starwood at 2399 Collins, entice hotel guests and condo shoppers with 600 feet of pristine beach, Beachcraft’s by-sea-or-by-farm-to-table fresh cuisine plus a revamped swanky STK on the ground floor. Chef Aaron Taylor reprises STK’s clubby kitchen with his signature bite-size wagyu burgers, lobster mac and cheese and locally sourced Miami-inspired seafood dishes. Yum. We can’t wait to arrive.
Nor can we wait for April 16, when right across the street, at the end of the intracoastal waterway (read: canal), Starwood’s Aloft South Beach promises to pep up the hood with a spunky arty crowd and chic casuelle ambience. Think The Standard only a 235-room condotel with live bands on this side of the island. Affordable drinks will rain on partiers at Wxyz bar in the Re:mix lounge. Chef Stephen Starr helms their Continental Miami restaurant modeled after his popular retro-Seventies eatery in Philly.
A Collins Park favorite for fine dining in a serene surround (see opening photo) with superb service is the Traymore restaurant at the COMO at The Metropolitan, 2445 Collins. Executive Chef Jonathan Lane’s serves up the most forward-thinking, healthiest cuisine in Miami a la their signature COMO Shambhala Cuisine concept. Sourcing the freshest organic, Floridian produce on land and sea, Traymore’s select menu boasts a plethora of American classics plus timeless Floridian seafood dishes of stone crab, Key West pink shrimp, lobster and yellowtail snapper. First stateside outpost of Christina Ong's eco-tique hotels, COMO, there’s a Shambhala Spa eight stories up on the roof and stunning interiors throughout by Italian designer Paola Navone.
Now head west and cross 23rd Street for this hideaway behind the Miami City Ballet kitty corner to The Bass Museum -- Vintro Hotel & Kitchen, 2216 Park Avenue. Can’t miss those happy stripes. Or, that shiny Streamline trailer. Feeling peckish? Slide past the lobby bar to Vintro Kitchen’s side terrace on Collins Canal for that Miami Beach-was-once-Little Venice effect. Order a nice bottle of terroir-driven wine, crafted by farmers not factories, then graze from a Latin-inspired Mediterranee´ menu of fresh surf-and-turf entrees, aphrodisiac bites, artisanal cheeses, charcuterie, contempo tapas and wild-caught Hamachi crudo brought to you by creative chef Giorgios Nikolas Bakatsias. The madding crowd in this 67-seat sliver of a restaurant is arty, well-dressed, well-read and upbeat. The decor pop deco nostalgia meets playful Paul Smith (sic). Originally designed by architect Harry O'Nelson, this 50-suite funhouse was reinvented by St. Barth architect Guillermo de Yavorsky.
So, if you're thinking winter condo in South Beach or just looking for a new home, consider the cultural hub that is Collins Park -- where Park Avenue meets the Atlantic. Streamline - 305.532.7368.
