A celebration of all things local and fresh in its classy new digs, this neighborhood spot has gone to a new level with food by Simon Stojanovic. Expect pristine fish and seafood, lovely meats and amazing salads and sides. Great sweets, too, including house-made ice creams and divine tarts. Owner Caludio Giordano is always on hand to make sure things run smoothly.
Like the high school grad who changes his name from Billy to Bill when he goes off to college, the drab AltaMar has morphed into the more elegant AltaMare. The additional ``e'' is just one of many changes veteran restaurateur Claudio Giordano has made to his once-cramped Italian fish house.
After nearly a decade, Giordano is still giving Miami's discerning palates what should be more common in a place surrounded by water: consistently exquisite local seafood. He has also moved AltaMare down the block, doubled its size and added a full bar, private room and new chef.
Simon Stojanovic, a tow-headed Aussie who worked for nearly three years at Michael's Genuine Food & Drink, brings with him not only the cellphone numbers of South Florida's best farmers and fishermen but a commitment to letting local ingredients at the peak of freshness speak for themselves.
If imitation is the height of flattery, Michael's Genuine chef-owner Michael Schwartz must be blushing. Even my 10-year-old noticed the same heirloom tomatoes stacked on the kitchen bar and sea salt on the tables.
The toughest thing about a meal here could be choosing from the three-dozen items on a daily-changing menu. The raw dishes are as good as any I have had, in most cases dressed with little more than lemon juice, olive oil and salt. A thrillingly silky hog snapper carpaccio wears freshly shaved hearts of palm and sweet little smiles of cara cara orange.
A house salad is a celebration of spring with see-through sheets of shaved fennel playing against the snap of tiny leaves and the crunch of toasted pumpkin seeds. Microgreens, herbs, edible flowers and snippets of chives appear on most plates, as perfect as a sunrise and just as natural.
Other noteworthy local bounty includes a springy golden crab salad given nothing more than the lemon, oil and salt treatment. Likewise, cobia, triggerfish, yellow jack, tuna and an exceptionally pristine grouper with lemony, pistachio-studded rice are all treated reverentially.
The grilled octopus over warm, chewy faro studded with spicy bits of chorizo and grilled lemon is a dish I could get lost in, especially when I happened upon the lusciously rich saffron aioli peeking out from the corner of the bowl.
Those who love a good piece of chicken will be unable to resist the charms of the shatteringly crisp-skinned poulet rouge, served with a tangle of baby Swiss chard. Order the buttery whipped parsnips alongside.
Beef, too, is right on. A dry-aged Angus strip loin is expertly seared until gently charred but still plump and juicy on the inside, served with an earthy mound of sautéed wild mushrooms.
After eating more than half the menu, the only thing I didn't love was a drab whole-wheat spaghetti with shavings of bottarga, a dried fish roe that needs a better venue.
The young staff is friendly, attentive and competent, and the handsome if generic room is cozy, clean and well-lighted. The wine list has an Italian focus with other great choices from France and the New World at markups a moderate two times retail. A crisp and flowery Vermentino ($44) from Bolgheri is a fine pairing for the amazing seafood.
Pastry chef Crystal Cullison, a young Ritz Carlton veteran, puts out seriously great frozen treats, including a creamy whipped chocolate brownie ice cream. The best dessert we sampled was a toasty almond tart with a moist center and restrained flavoring like a good French pastry.
Yes, prices are a bit higher than before, but well worth it for this caliber of cooking. This food outshines most any I have had on the Beach in years.
