Monday, November 13, 2017
Norman Van Aken has a new restaurant in Miami and it's definitely worth the drive
Posted
By Faiyaz Kara
on Mon, Nov 13, 2017 at 10:32 AM
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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):
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Frida Kahlo artwork
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Three's open kitchen
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Bread course with handspun butter, cumin, sea salt, and maple syrup
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"Lucky Number Three": Bourbon, agave nectar, egg whites, basil leaf, and kumquat
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Hamachi tiradito, aji amarillo 'leche de tigre', sweet potato, benne seed oil, lime granizado
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Brazilian xinxim shellfish blintz, cashews, heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers
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Cracked conch chowder, saffron, potato, coconut milk, citrus
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Calabaza talkari, squash blossom en tempura, ricotta, brown-butter honey, curried pepitas
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Braised jerked oxtail cannelloni, red wine reduction, mulled red cabbage, roasted chestnuts
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Squid a la plancha, chorizo, beluga lentils, sauce 'mer noir', cauliflower in two textures
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"The Painted Bird": Roasted duck, Anson Mills grits, moonshine chutney, pomegranate jus
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"Chocolate and Coconut": Cashew sablé, chocolate mousse, cashew coconut praline, sprouted coconut
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Pain de singe, baobob crémeux, honey-olive oil cake, hibiscus gelée, honey labneh ice cream
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Passion fruit cream puff, chocolate bar, cacao
Three at Wynwood Arcade
50 NW 24th Street
Miami, FL 33127
305.748.4540
3-Course Prix Fixe: $60
4-Course Prix Fixe: $75
Tags: Norman Van Aken, Miami, restaurants, Image