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(Courtesy Bouchon Bistro)

The Garden at Bouchon Bistro

May Days

Celebrating This Month's Joys

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In May we celebrate the approaching summer; Cinco de Mayo, the day of the victory of the Mexican army over the French army in 1862; and Mother’s Day. Be sure to plan something to show you cherish Mom. And we also celebrate the return of two beloved restaurants in Coral Gables.

If you're looking for a special restaurant to celebrate Mother's Day, The Garden at Bouchon Bistro Miami, (305-990-1360) 2101 Galiano St. Coral Gables, is the perfect place. Bouchon celebrates seven-Michelin-starred Chef Thomas Keller's authentic bistro cuisine.

Set amid Coral Gables' natural beauty, Bouchon occupies the historic La Palma building, a historic landmark dating back to 1924, and is designated on the prestigious National Register of Historic Places, an official list of sites deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic value." The building's Mediterranean-style exterior features a beautiful central courtyard in a beautifully designed outdoor space, bringing together Keller's classic French fare with the natural surroundings of Coral Gables. An elegant setting for al fresco dining, The Courtyard's array of native trees, palms, and flowering vines embodies Bouchon’s signature refinement. Bouchon partnered with the nation's largest orchid conservation initiative, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden’s Million Orchid Project, to integrate orchids into The Garden's landscape, helping preserve the local ecosystem.

A selection of daily specials is featured on a blackboard, or patrons can choose from an a la carte menu. To start, everyone is served house-made baguettes with creamy French butter and pistachios. In France, pistachios and bites such as olives and canapés are often served as part of l'apéritif, an appetizer enjoyed with cocktails before the main course.

The menu is divided into several sections – fruits de mer, offering choices such as lobsters, oysters, and mussels; hors d’oeuvres; salads, such as Salade Lyonnaise with escarole, frisée, bacon lardons, and a poached egg; cheeses; hors-d'oeuvres; débuts; sides; and sturgeon caviar. The Mains menu offers signature steak frites, a pan-seared filet steak served with french fries, and gigot d'Agneau, a roasted leg of lamb with brown butter flageolet beans.

A perfect place to enjoy Mother's Day, or any occasion, is INK Entertainment Group's Byblos Miami (786-864-2990) 1545 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, which celebrates its 10-year anniversary this summer. Byblos is introducing new items to their menu, complementing favorite dishes that both locals and visitors have come to love over the years.

Byblos’s new executive chef Medy Serawi, in collaboration with INK Entertainment Group's corporate executive chef Patrick Ochs, have created a new menu focused on the vibrant flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Dining at Byblos is enjoyed family style with mezze (small plates) followed by larger shared dishes. New summer menu items include braised lamb bourekas with sumac spinach, labneh, and Aleppo butter, a butter infused with Aleppo pepper, adding a touch of heat and a tangy flavor to dishes, served with pistachio gremolata, saffron, green tahini, and topped with pomegranate; baked phyllo made with goat cheese, pine nuts, whipped honey and topped with sesame seeds; grilled tiger shrimp dressed in lemon butter, garlic and scallions, served with harissa; lamb kebab with roasted eggplant and Aleppo pepper, served with fresh lavash. Save room for dessert, which includes baklava cheesecake with pistachio butter, baklava syrup, vanilla, and marigold.

Byblos also offers signature cocktails, a tableside spirit-infused cold tea trolley, along with beers and wines from around the Eastern Mediterranean coast highlighting labels from Lebanon, Israel, Spain and Greece.

On May 5, celebrate Cinco de Mayo with all-day brunch or dinner at Campo, at Casa Faena (786-655-5600) 3500 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. We think Mom would also love this restaurant because of its health-consciousness and the beautifully-designed interiors symbolizing its connection to the land and nature's bounty. The farm-to-table restaurant from executive chef Antonio Maldonado focuses on New American cuisine with a Latin flair, spanning categories such as a raw bar, robata skewers, and sushi rolls. Maldonado, who grew up in Mexico, sources ingredients from South Florida farms: "campo" is "country," or "field" in Spanish," inspired by restaurant owner Alan Faena's countryside home in Argentina. The menu is wholesome, with sustainable and locally-sourced ingredients used in recipes from Chef Antonio's childhood memories in Mexico. The all-day brunch menu features smoothies as well as loaded pancakes with berries, and chilaquiles topped with a sunny-side-up egg and queso fresco. The dinner menu offers robata choices such as Key West shrimp and organic chicken with lemongrass, sesame and green chili; Maine lobster sushi nigiri; and sustainable entrees such as Branzino al Pastor in charcoal and Creekstone Farms prime steak and fried rice with cashews and seasonal vegetables.

Bodega Taqueria y Tequila is doing it up big for Cinco de Mayo. From its flagship location in South Beach (305-704-2945) 1220 16th St., Miami Beach, to its other locations in Coconut Grove (305-704-3674) 3419 Main Hwy., Coconut Grove; to Coral Gables (786-785-1501) 317 Miracle Mile, the Miami Bodega is using the occasion to kick off their anniversary celebration in South Beach of 10 years of tacos and tequila. To celebrate Cinco de Mayo, from Fri., May 2 through Mon., May 5, Bodega offers drink specials, including Frozen Margaritas, Draft Modelo + Mamitas Tequila Seltzers Patron, El Tequileño, Devils Reserve and Dobel shots, and Cazadores Draft Margarita.  

WHAT'S NEW

Francesco (305-797-4039) 278 Miracle Mile, Coral Gables, which closed in 2018 after 18 years, is back. Previously, Francesco was known for its culinary excellence, welcoming ambiance, and an impressive customer base that included Miami celebrities such as Gloria Estefan, Pitbull, and Juan Luis Guerra. It is now operated by one of the original owners, Franco Danovaro, in partnership with Fusion Agency and V&V Grupo Inmobiliario (Vertical Developments Group).

Renowned in Lima as one of the city's top seafood restaurants, Francesco’s fine-dining approach and Italian influences distinguished it from other Peruvian eateries, both here in Miami and in Lima. In the new Miami iteration, Francesco is set in a nautically-inspired dining room, anchored by a circular bar and a lively outdoor terrace.

Executive chef Sergio Riglos leads Francesco’s Miami culinary program, along with two other Peruvian chefs, Pedro Monteza and Jorge Quispe, who helmed the kitchen at Francesco’s former Miami restaurant. A selection of Francesco's original signature dishes are on the menu, including squid ink risotto with grilled calamari on aji amarillo sauce; and tiradito Francesco, fish marinated in lime juice, with leche de tigre.

Appetizers include grilled scallops served with parsnip purée; rocoto relleno de camarón, a starter of Peruvian red pepper filled with shrimp and finished au gratin; seared sea scallops with creamy walnut sauce; spaghetti and double-cut pork chop carapulcra, accompanied by southern Peruvian potato stew. Sweet endings feature suspiro limeňo, Peruvian dulce de leche topped with Italian merengue; and Oreo freddo cheesecake.

Another Coral Gables restaurant is also celebrating the opening of its second act. After closing more than 12 years ago, the Spanish restaurant Señora Martinez (786-860-5980) 2325 Galiano St., Coral Gables has been resurrected by the same Miami hospitality power couple: Michelle Bernstein, who was the first woman to win the Best Chef South James Beard Award; and David Martinez, her husband and business partner. With culinary influences from Old-World traditions, France, and the Mediterranean area, mixed with South Florida flair, the new menu is different, with the exception of a few dishes, like the crispy artichokes. On the current menu: Creamy carbonara croquetas, oxtail paella with bone marrow, padron peppers, and fried eggplant chips, which you can't stop popping into your mouth. Cocktails are carefully curated here, including the specialty Sra. Martinez, made with No. 3 Gin, Dewar's 122, Rojo Vermouth, Cherry Heering and bitters.

Irene Moore is a Miami-based writer and certified sommelier whose vivid descriptions take readers through culinary cultures around the world.