We here in Central Florida have been lucky enough to have not one, but two restaurants run by James Beard Award-winning chef Norman Van Aken— NORMAN’S at the Ritz-Carlton Grande Lakes and 1921 in Mount Dora.
Van Aken, whose namesake restaurant in Coral Gables was a perennial contender for James Beard Foundation Awards before it closed in 2007, opened the short-lived Norman’s 180 (also in Coral Gables) in 2010 before it, too, shuttered.
But with the recent opening of his latest venture — Three at the Wynwood Arcade — Van Aken has made a celebrated return to South Florida. The restaurant itself is stunning; and the food more so. Along with chef de cuisine Miguel Massens, pastry chef Mame Sow and owners Candace Walsh and Susan Buckley, Van Aken has expanded the purview of “New World Cuisine” as evidenced by the stellar dishes we sampled on a recent visit to the Miami restaurant. Have a look (then plan a visit):
Frida Kahlo artwork Credit: Faiyaz Kara
Three’s open kitchen Credit: Faiyaz Kara
Bread course with handspun butter, cumin, sea salt, and maple syrup Credit: Faiyaz Kara
“Lucky Number Three”: Bourbon, agave nectar, egg whites, basil leaf, and kumquat Credit: Faiyaz Kara
Hamachi tiradito, aji amarillo ‘leche de tigre’, sweet potato, benne seed oil, lime granizado Credit: Faiyaz Kara
