Dine Mag $10 treat
This was a special evening set up by Dine Magazine at Chef Allen’s (links open in new windows) at 19088 NE 29th Avenue in Aventura. 305.935.2900
Chef Allen is one of the famous “Mango Gang,” a group of chefs that put south Florida on the culinary map in the 1980′s, so I was looking forward to his menu:
Ceviche on a silver spoon
Chicken truffles with sweet chili dipping sauce
Guava and brie crostini
Wild shrimp & chorizo skewer
Marinated white anchovy on ciabatta
Mini crab cake with mango chutney
Plus a glass of one of five fine wines
The venue is great – cool (in a good way) and welcoming.
It was a nice turnout and that turned out to not be a good thing.
They were probably expecting around ten people rather than the forty or more that showed up because of Chef Allen’s reputation. The result was complaints among the crostinis.
One complaint was about the small room initially provided. It faced the sun and with all the extra bodies soon over-heated, so everyone spilled out into the main restaurant. Which was fine unless you were one of the diners who had come by for a quiet dinner at one of the best restaurants in southern Florida.
The wine was nice, although it seemed to be a short pour. If it was, it was probably because they were trying to accommodate the unanticipated large crowd.
Another complaint was about the size of the samples. Compare the size of the (small) waiter’s thumb to the size of the Guava and Brie Crostini. Personally, I found it hard to extract much flavor from a less-than-a-bite-sized delicacy.
Then, because they had expected so few, they would bring out about 10 (small) samples at a time and they would be gone before the server got more than a few paces into the room (those are the aptly-named Mini Crab Cakes with Mango Chutney).
The result was that I didn’t get to sample everything (and that was probably true for others), although I did try – and tasted – the Marinated White Anchovies on Ciabatta.
And I saw the Ceviche on a Silver Spoon (sorry, no pictures). All in all, what I tasted tasted quite good, so the evening was not a loss.
[Later, I went on to my local Wednesday evening poker game at Vinyl & Kai in South Beach, where I came in third in the first tournament, keeping me in second place for the site competition.]
Sounds like an interesting time, despite the small portions and crowd! An experience!
The magazine does these on a regular basis and I’m going to be a regular customer. Apparently other events have been much better.
My favourite way to eat – many small exotic dishes. Also noted that no one was wearing sweaters or jackets – don’t see that too often on the “cool” (literally) wet west coast. Looks like you are having a good time. Good to hear from you again.
Good excuse to meet and greet and literally have a bite to eat.
Beautiful presentation…
So glad you’re still out there….
For the two M’s: I do post jottings on my facebook page at http://bit.ly/dDj0Nf
It’s not the same as a blog, though, so I’ll periodically post items here.
Marilyn: note that the long pants (jeans) on some of the attendees classify this as “Miami formal” dress :-)