Ossobucco over a bed of mashed potatoes by Chef Edgard Leal, owner of "Cacao Restaurant". Photo: C.M. Guerrero.

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Cacao 

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• 141 Giralda Ave.
  Coral Gables, FL 33134
• Phone: 305-445-1001
• Hours: 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday, 6-11 p.m. Monday-Saturday
• Price: $$$, $20 - $40
• Cuisine: Caribbean, International, Latin American, Mexican

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About

Miami is awash in Latin restaurants, and most of them are identified not by their quality, which can be negligible, but by the nostalgia immigrants feel for their native cuisine. Nothing in the cool, modern décor of Cacao suggests any particular country. It looks like what it is: up-to-date and up-market. If the dishes originate in South America -- and in most cases, Venezuela -- it is because, well, dishes must originate somewhere, and South American cuisine is rich and fascinating.

Cacao looks into tradition and then finds ways of fitting it into an elegant restaurant setting, not unlike taking French peasant food, e.g. cassoulet, and serving it on a white tablecloth with an excellent wine.

A tasting menu at Cacao could begin with a choice of tradition or modernity. A chupe is a classic chowder, in this case chicken, energized by a Peruvian yellow chile that kicks up the flavor in a number of Cacao dishes.

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