Il Gabbiano is setting new standards in Miami for high-style New York Italian food with a side of razzle dazzle. Owners Gino and Fernando Masci have good training after more than 25 years at the helm of New York's Il Mulino. Here the water views, attentive service by flattering waiters and fantastic food -- especially the pastas -- combine to make a magical experience for those who can pay the exorbitant tabs
Victoria Eliott
velliott@MiamiHerald.com
Il Gabbiano is setting new standards in Miami for Italian food. Mind you, this is not the kind of refined meal you might be served in Piemonte nor the rustically simple "cucina povera" from Puglia nor even the luscious tapestry of Lazios fare -- though you will definitely find delicious renditions of dishes from those regions and others.
Instead, it is a particularly rarefied hybrid of New York style Italian epitomized by the Manhattan landmark Il Mulino, where owners Gino and Fernando Masci spent more than two decades before selling the name. Now that briskly expanding chain has a dozen locales from Aspen to Tokyo, including Sunny Isles while the brothers do their thing here with aplomb.
The experience includes a good dose of razzle dazzle with food that stands up to the schtick. An elegantly choreographed tap dance of hostesses, busboys and tuxedoed waiters ensures that pampered clients are well-tended at this gleaming mahogany and marble palace on the bay, where glimmering gold curtains frame fantastic water views.
Its The Big Night on The Big White Way. Complete with a dramatic setting that may or may not include its namesake sea gulls but most certainly will include over-the-top service and prices to match.
Terrace seats this time of year are much in demand even if the roar of the jets taking off and landing at MIA mute a conversation.
Part of the well-rehearsed script is a prelude of complimentary extras. Diners are greeted with a basket of toasty, crusty sourdough bread. Soon a pile of cold, fried and bitingly garlicky zucchini chips appears loaded with red pepper flakes and oil. Then, a well-trained waiter with an accent from The Sopranos takes a whack at a golden half-wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano, spearing a crystally wedge of the milky rock for each diner. Rounds of bruschetta loaded with more garlic and tomato hunks also find a spot on the table before the menus even arrive.
Extra garlic, oil, cheese, freshly grated cheese, fresh milled pepper and extra large portions of everything define this particular style of indulgence.
Watch out not to be weighed down with all the freebies followed by the heavy dishes such as fettuccine Alfredo or pollo alla Valdostano with prosciutto, foie gras, Fontina cheese and wild mushrooms. The cooking is rich and there are plenty of wines to stand up to whats going on the plate.
A seductive, Italian-centric list includes many pricey trophy bottles including Super Tuscans, Angelo Gajas best bottles and some impressive Bordeaux. A helpful wine steward knows his stuff. Unfortunately, his stuff is mostly super high-end. Mark-ups are in the 300 to 400 percent range.
Service is attentive with touches that include cute, young waiters who know how to walk the tightrope between flirting and flattering by, for example, calling a momma signorina. Table settings include fine linens, Riedel glasses and Villeroy & Boche flatware.
Judging from the enormous portions, pastas are intended as main course rather than as a first plate. Orecchiette with juicy medallions of spicy sausage and meltingly sauteed broccoli rabe; delightful signature cappellini with peas, onions and mushrooms in a smooth cheese sauce; a smoky spaghetti ala carbonara and a beefy fettuccine Bolognese are across the board fantastic.
Request half portions to have room for the excellent mains.
A hulking tower of juicy filet mignon is almost stew-like with its thick brown Barolo sauce dotted with earthy mushrooms, while a textbook osso buco over perfectly chewy, al dente risotto is swoon-worthy.
Other entrees worth considering are the pollo scarpariello -- boneless chicken breast chunks and sausage smothered in savory fresh herbs, tomatoes and mushrooms; piccata di vitello al limone with Italian parsley, and a delightfully bright sauce, surrounding exquisite veal; and dentice Livornese -- fresh red snapper enveloped in an herby tomato sauce with onions, basil, capers and oily black olives.
Most dishes come with an artfully simple accompaniment -- sometimes a tangle of greens, maybe some potatoes or carrots. Simple vegetable sides like sautéed spinach ($9) or roasted asparagus ($14) are insultingly priced but uniformly well executed.
In fact, there are few disappointments at Il Gabbiano -- a rubbery ball of burrata cheese with not a drop of milky curd and slices of mealy tomatoes at the height of Miamis season are the only ones I caught on several visits.
How else to finish a meal like this but with a shot of inky, frothy-topped espresso with an Oh-My-God New York style cheesecake. This thick, rich and creamily decadent slice is decorated with fresh kiwi, strawberries and raspberries.
An ice cold shot of limoncello makes a perfect parting gift for a meal that offers a taste of the Old World in The Magic City. Place: Il Gabbiano.
Reviewed on April 3, 2008
velliott@MiamiHerald.com
