Scarfing down in Scarpetta - Miami

Last month, after an amazing Caribbean Cruise, we headed back to Miami South Beach for a few days before heading back to Vancouver. And although I've tried Scarpetta in Toronto, I wanted to see how it would play out in the USA.   The meal started off shocking similar, with a bread basket complete with Stromboli with a side of Olive Oil, Marinar and Butter with salt. Even the presentation is the same. But armed with the knowledge that Stromboli lays at the bottom, I moved a bunch of the other "meatless" breads to the side and beelined it for the meaty goodness. The basket doesn't disappoint, but you have to prioritize!!   We tried the Swordfish Carpaccio to start which is quite similar in description to the Yellowtail Primi that we didn't actually try. The fennel is a nice touch, adding some crunch to the creaminess of the swordfish. The next appetizer we got was the Beef Short Ribs. I had ordered the same thing in Toronto, but the portion size here was decidedly small. See for yourself. If you want to see the full post, click here. Although the amount of beef was probably the same, and the much smaller accompaniment was a disappointment. Fortunately, the beef was tender, fork-tender and very moist. The beef seemed to be very slow cooked and the rich sauce made the rather small dish very decadent.   This is the Creamy Polenta, another signature Scott Conant dish. If you are not a fan of polenta, this will change your opinion, even Bennett would agree. Most people dislike the grainy texture of polenta, but they sure make it creamy (as promised) and when you put mushrooms in a truffle oil on top of that, it's definitely a game-changer. The best way to eat this dish is slowly. Take a spoonful of polenta, and with another spoon, top it with some of the mushrooms and pop the bundle into your month. Try to take equal servings of both, and then when you run out of polenta, reach for the bread basket. 

Here is another shot, this is how the servers prefers you to eat this, plop the mushroomy mixture onto the polenta, but I find this to be an inefficient use of the two ingredients. Just my humble opinion.   Because we had already had a fairly big lunch, we decided that three appies and one mail would be enough, we opted for a pasta dish. The Sciatlelli with Key West pink shrimp, calamari & English peas. They divided this into two servings for us, as requested, so don't think they are skimping in the serving size. The pasta is like a fat linguine, and is often served with a seafood sauce. Although there wasn't a heavy sauce with this dish, I found the lightness very suiting to the seafood. I found the simplicity of this dish very appealing.

Take note:

• This place is pricey! I think I paid close to $20 for a martini
• Your servers will spoil you
• Have the polenta, short rib and dig in DEEP into the Bread Basket
• This is my second visit to a Scarpetta, here is my review of the one in Toronto