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(Photo: Mary Damiano)

Chef Jose Danger, executive chef of Teatro at the Arsht Center

Curtain Up on a New Season of Dining

At Teatro and Accent, the restaurants at the Arsht Center, Chef Jose Danger lets the food take center stage

Listening to Chef Jose Danger talk about food will make your mouth water because his passion for his art comes through in each description of his favorite dishes. He’s also a fan of theater, which is one reason his position as executive chef at Teatro, the restaurant on the second floor of the Arsht Center, is an ideal job.

“The arts are a very important part of my life, especially through cooking,” Danger said. “I grew up enjoying theater. We used to go a lot when I was young. I tend to go a lot to smaller shows, and I do like a good musical. I was a classically trained painter in my younger years. I used to do a lot of acrylics and watercolors and ink paintings. And now, as an adult, I play with food.”

SETTING THE SCENE

Teatro, is a concept by Constellation Culinary Group, known for providing best-in-class dining experiences for one-of-a-kind cultural centers across the U.S.

The dining room, designed by Johanna Dilone, creative director of Miami’s prestigious Gilded Group Decor, sets the stage for a dining experience that engages the senses. Teatro's avant-garde ambiance and its rich red color palette is a nod to the red curtains on theater stages, and perfect for a restaurant, as red is also the color of celebration and good fortune in some cultures.

The dramatic decor is the perfect backdrop for theatergoers while they enjoy pre-show dinners, craft cocktails and an expansive selection of wines curated by Teatro’s team of wine enthusiasts.

THE STAR OF THE SHOW

Teatro serves a New American menu with creative European and Latin influences. The restaurant offers a prix-fixe menu for $55, which includes a choice of one appetizer and entrée or one entrée and dessert, along with a tempting lineup of sides plus an à la carte menu. The menu changes throughout the year.

“We try to keep a lot of our menu seasonal with what's in season with what's going on at the produce market,” said Danger. “We try to make sure we reduce our waste, as we are interested in the Earth. It also is a way for us to bring something new to our patrons, as so many of them are repeat customers. They get season passes for their Broadway shows. We try to make sure that every time that they come, they have different options.”

Danger is excited to talk about the dishes coming to Teatro for the new season.

“We're bringing in a Heritage-bred Poulet Rouge chicken from Georgia, It's a small, red, French chicken. We have it fully deboned and made into a Milanese. You get both dark meat, white meat, and it is a full organic product.”

A new addition to the Teatro menu is a deboned, pan-seared snapper filet with Romesco sauce, inspired by the Caribbean and the Spanish influences in the Caribbean.

“That dish is served with fried plantain adanitas, which are from my home island of Puerto Rico with fried plantain fritter, which is grated plantain and then we make a little ball and fry it. They’re super crispy, but still a little chewy on the center. I call it the cheater’s tostones.”

Danger raves about a vegetarian item on the menu, a savory, mushroom bread pudding, inspired by French onion soup and made from sourdough, maitake mushrooms, and roasted oyster mushrooms, finished with brown butter in the pan and then gratinéed with gruyere.

“There's beautifully roasted mushrooms and flower petals and garlic crisps, and little fried onions on top of this beautiful, silky smooth sauce that’s all the essence of French onion soup,” Danger said. “It's super creamy. ”

Guests can also enjoy new desserts, including a chocolate tart with chilies, a toffee pudding, and a vegan coconut and pineapple sorbet sundae.

“It's every single, beautiful part of the coconut and the pineapple with a coconut rum caramel,” said Danger. “It’s very low fat, super healthy, but at the same time, you bite into it and it’s like a pina colada at the beach.”

Part of changing the menu is making sure the dining experience melds with the show, and Danger has created special menu items to complement each show in the Broadway season. For “The Wiz,” Danger has created Yellow Brick Road Chicken, which features country-fried Poulet Rouge over creamed corn, tomato, and braised collard greens.

“It comes with pickled watermelon rind that is actually very yellow, so they look like little bricks on top of the chicken,” said Danger.

That culinary whimsy also extends to “Clue,” the comedy mystery based on the board game. For that show, Danger has created a roast duck with plum sauce demi  and sweet potato puree, creatively plated.

“It looks like a crime scene,” said Danger. “We splatter the sauce onto the plate and over the roast duck press so that it looks as if it's murdered on your plate.”

All of that is in addition to Teatro’s regular menu items, which include coconut mussels with cilantro and mint; lamb osso bucco, slow-braised lamb served with polenta fries and classic gremolata; or the Berkshire pork cheek Wellington with roasted mushroom demi-glace; and chocolate sundae.

FEATURED PERFORMER

In conjunction with the opening night of “The Wiz” on Oct. 7, which marks 20 years of the Arsht Center bringing Broadway to Miami, a new restaurant named Accent will open at the Arsht Center.

Accent will occupy the space on the ground floor, formerly the location of Books & Books.  It’s designed to be a mid-level dining option between the food concessions inside the Arsht Center and the fine dining of Teatro, with prices between $8 and $25.

Accent’s menu will feature items to complement each show of the Broadway season – sort of like the retail version of the more editorial-style dishes at Teatro. For example, the special dish for “The Wiz” is fried chicken and waffles with truffle hot honey. For “Clue,” Danger is planning a duck slider.

“We will have a version of all the entrees for the different shows at the café, so nobody misses out,” said Danger.

SUPPORTING CAST

Danger sees Teatro as the most exclusive restaurant in Miami.

“We’re open less than 200 days a year,” he reasoned. “We only open for Broadway shows and any big house show, either a concert at the Knight Concert Hall or a ballet, opera, or show in the Ziff Opera House. You really have to get a reservation to get in, because if you don't, you probably won't be able to get a walk-in spot.”

The biggest challenge for Danger and his team at Teatro is serving guests promptly so they can all get to the show on time.

“So, our biggest logistical hurdle is the fact that we are only open for about three hours, and we have to take care of about 100 guests,” said Danger.

To accomplish that feat, guests are asked to honor their reservation times, although the Teatro staff tries hard to accommodate late-comers due to traffic and other delays. Teatro’s nightly kitchen crew includes six cooks in the kitchen, a sous chef, and Danger along with two dishwashers. The front of the house service crew consists of four servers and four runners.

“This helps us make sure that we can have everybody taken care of as fast as possible with the best service that we can give them, so their experience is flawless,” said Danger. “The quality of the food is the most important part to myself and the team. We want to make sure it's Michelin quality food at a faster pace.”

IF YOU GO

Teatro is open before select performances in the Ziff Ballet Opera House or Knight Concert Hall. Walk-ins are accepted based on availability. To make reservations, visit Arshtcenter.org/teatro.

THE BROADWAY SEASON COCKTAILS

In addition to the themed dinner menu, Teatro creates a specialty cocktail for each show in the Arsht Center’s Broadway season. For a pre-show cocktail, lounge at the 12-seat bar, which serves beer, wine, Champagne, and a selection of specialty cocktails.

“The Wiz”

Ease on Down is a golden journey of bold whiskey softened with bright lime, tropical pineapple, finished with drops of Angostura and crowned with a pineapple garnish.

“Clue”

Who Dunnit is a mysterious mix of crisp vodka, tart lemon, dark plum and rich sweet vermouth. Served in a sleek coupe with black cherries on a dagger, it’s as dramatic and puzzling as the game itself.

“& Juliet”

Head in the Clouds features raspberry-infused vodka, citrus, orange liqueur and foam, finished with a raspberry-powder & Juliet stencil.

“Moulin Rouge”

The Green Fairy is a blend of vodka and absinthe rinse with kiwi syrup and lime juice, served in a glowing green hurricane glass with a kiwi slice.

“The Notebook”

First Love Fizz is a sparkling mix of peach liqueur, rosé and pineapple juice topped with club soda and crowned with a brûléed peach.

“The Book of Mormon”

The Elder Spritz features elderflower liqueur and lemon juice, topped with prosecco and served in a tall glass with a lemon peel.