Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill

It had been a while since we went to a nice restaurant and it was time, but where to go? We ended up revisiting Sugarcane after four years and the experience was quite enchanting. The last time we were there was in 2011.

It was hot but we still sat outside in spite of this, as I had to take pictures of the food in natural light. We did go inside to take photos and it was cozy-wonderful and very pretty – plants and dark colored furniture with red accents gave the room a very warm atmosphere.

The food was also heartwarming – pretty, delicious and served in colorful plates.

The Red Velvet Pancakes were a joy to look at – served with strawberries, blackberries and blueberries with whipped sweet cream cheese. It was not my dish so I did not taste it, but my little one polished it off in an instant.

Breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day but it seems that if we go to a restaurant early in the day, my oldest daughter always has to order some type of bacon and eggs (and scrambled eggs at that, which are not easy to photograph). This time it was 3 Eggs Any Style with grilled tomatoes, yukon gold potatoes, toast and smoked bacon. It looked good but with so many things on the menu, why that?

To compensate for her lack of culinary judgement, I got the Bacon Wrapped Dates filled with linguiça and served with a manchego sauce. Linguiça is a Portuguese smoked cured pork sausage seasoned with garlic and paprika. This paired brilliantly with the dates and the manchego, which is a cheese made in the La Mancha region of Spain from sheep’s milk.

The Squid with Lemon Aïoli was just spectacular – the slices of squid tender like butter, perfectly seasoned and sprinkled with chives and served with a lemon wedge.

Another winner was the Octopus with Aji Panca (a type of chile pepper that is commonly grown in Peru). The octopus was so soft and flavorful; just one bite was reason enough for a visit to Sugarcane.

No meal would be complete without the obligatory piece of meat, rare meat. The Flap Steak (a bottom sirloin butt cut of beef) with Chimichurri  was also tender, the flawless embodiment of a steak designed to please all of the senses.

Nutella Sundae had nutella ice cream, nutella hazelnut brownie and cracker jacks. The kids devoured this so I did not get to taste it either. It was beautiful though, such a good idea to serve it on a blue plate.

Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill is located in the heart of Midtown Miami and the concept focuses on a ‘shared experience’ through its eclectic menu of small plates. It also offers artisanal cocktails, and an extensive rum selection. Chef Timon Balloo orchestrates this venue like the well-seasoned food professional that he is. Michelle Bernstein was his greatest mentor and he says that “She taught me to cook from my heart and, as such, I started to craft my own approach to food with Asian-Caribbean soul.”

I am coming back to this wonderful food paradise, if only to try the whole roasted chicken with truffle fingerling potatoes and wild mushrooms – we missed it this time, we went too early.