MIAMI-DADE REVIEW
Savor starters, hip staff at ultra-cool Domo Japones
Posted on Thu, May. 15, 2008
BY VICTORIA PESCE ELLIOTT
CHERYL A. GUERRERO / MIAMI HERALD STAFF
Domo Japones, housed in Miami's first post office, sports provocative collages and photos by local artists.
Place: Domo Japones.
Address: 4000 NE Second Ave., Miami.
Rating:
*** (Very Good)
Contact: 305-573-5474;
www.domojapones.com.
Hours: Dinner only; 5:30 p.m.-midnight, Tuesday-Wednesday, 5:30 p.m.-2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday.
Prices: Appetizers $9-$12, entrees $17-$29, individual sashimi pieces $3-$7, sides $3-$6, desserts $5-$7.
FYI: Full bar; corkage $25; prix-fixe menu available until 7 p.m.; metered street parking available; valet $10. Reservations accepted and available at
www.opentable.com. AX, MC, Primecard, VS.
Domo Japones, the hip Japanese Bistro that sprouted up in the Design District this past December, is serving up modern takes on an ancient cuisine and making a great addition to the ripening scene there.
It's housed in what was Miami's first post office, a dramatic block of a white building with the original winged eagle staring out over wicker seats and patio tables. Inside are an artsy print of a young Naomi Campbell in the nude, provocative collages, paintings and photos by local artists making for a cool juxtaposition of old and new.
Owner Amir Ben-Zion, who designed the space with the help of Cybele Erdek and Karine Rousseau, knows a thing or two about cool. He has partnered in such ventures as The Townhouse, Miss Yip and Bond Street Sushi Lounge on South Beach and New York with great success.
Even the staff, a mix of familiar faces from The Beach's heyday and some new recruits, seem more grown up, more sexy and more urban.
They sport tattoos, piercings or just the kind of tall and lanky good looks you might find on the pages of Maxim but not Town & Country. And for all their gritty glamour, they do seem to know a bit about the menu. Most are quick to offer suggestions and advice.
Drinks, on the other hand, are trickier. A serviceable wine menu is combined with a nice range of sakes and a bottle menu of pricey spirits that reminds you that you are in nightclub territory. Our waiters, however didn't know the difference between a chardonnay and a pinot grigio.
Maybe the most attractive thing about Domo is its simple but eclectic appetizer menu, which puts out a range of expertly prepared delicacies from black edamame with sweet soy sauce and yuzu to miso glazed eggplant three ways (chili, sweet and sesame).
There's nothing better than to enjoy the whacked-out soundtrack with a steamy bowl of miso broth while breathing in the smoky vapors that successfully merge earth and sea with dots of silken tofu, strands of briny wakame and divinely funky Nameko mushrooms.
Veal cheek gyoza in a feathery wrapping and a tantalizing pomegranate-based vinegar sauce is another winner, while the oily panko-breaded sweetbreads and bacon are a rare disappointment.
Try instead the crunchy, cigarette-sized spring roll sticks stuffed with black tiger shrimp. These harumaki, or Japanese style springrolls, are served with a mouth-puckering sweet citrus ponzu sauce.
Sashimi is also uniformly appealing with its subdued saucing and high quality plate companions. A Usu-Zukuri -- meaning super thinly sliced -- white fish is expertly topped with tiny shards of jalepeno, chunky sea salt and a blood orange sauce. Similarly treated yellowtail jalapeño is a subtle sensation.
Touches like that make this more than just another sushi joint trying to make a buck. Thanks for that go in part to chef de cuisine Timon Balloo, who cooked at Azul, Chef Allen and La Broche, and sushi chef Naohiro ''Nao'' Higuchi formerly of Nobu at Atlantis, Paradise Island and Sushisamba.
You are in murkier waters when it comes to the more creative rolls. Some may like their raw salmon with pesto sauce and sundried tomato but I don't. Still, a surprisingly tasty pineapple, shrimp and prosciutto combo does somersaults on the tongue, and an interesting barbecued eel almost works with the shower of coconut, avocado and sweet balsamic soy.
Bistro dishes can also run hot and cold. While I savored a stewy (if overly salty) rendition of filet mignon sliced and served in a rich mushroom and potato studded sansho pepper sauce, a towering platter of slimy but somehow dry cod in dishwatery broth had me politely picking bits off to the side of my plate. Yet, I drool just remembering the perfect ramen bowl with its shredded bits of roast pork and fatty pork belly and a runny egg on top.
Desserts, too, extend just beyond the ordinary. A bit of sea salt kicks up that aged rock star of a molten chocolate cake. And though the flower tea was not available on my visits, an array of fruity sorbets made a good sweet finish for a meal that really deserves a sincere thank you, or domo in Japones, which is Spanish for Japanese. Don't you just love Miami?
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