A Fork in the Road: Miami Shores Country Club
You don’t have to be a member to dine at the Miami Shores Country Club. Anyone can grab lunch on the patio overlooking the manicured links, come for dinner Thursday or Friday or drop by for Sunday brunch. General manager Alberto Pozzi opened the dining room to the public last fall in order to create a new revenue source and attract a younger crowd.
At lunch, served daily except Monday, you’ll be joined by golfers who arrive by cart for such favorites as turkey breast and applewood bacon club sandwiches, teriyaki chicken wraps with Asian slaw and Southwestern salad with grilled chicken, black beans and shredded Cheddar on romaine with avocado-ranch dressing. At night, the atmosphere is old-time swanky with low lighting, white tablecloths and bartenders shaking drinks at the ovoid sunken bar (so old it’s cool again). Thursday evenings are laid back with live jazz, and Fridays feature a busy happy hour with a complimentary cheese and fruit buffet. (There’s a 4-7pm happy hour daily, too, with free tapas.)
The limited dinner menu rotates seasonally with specials that range from char-grilled pork chops with mango chutney to blackened red snapper in chipotle-lime glaze on creamy polenta. Once a special is well received, it’s added to the rotation. Shrimp cocktail hits the spot on a hot summer evening with tail-on peeled, poached shrimp perfect for dunking in sweet tomato sauce with a hint of wasabi. The candied walnut and wine-poached pear salad is big enough for an entree with diced chicken, blue cheese crumbles and crispy wonton strips. Main dishes include St. Louis-style braised ribs lacquered in Jack Daniel’s barbecue sauce, New York strip steak with cognac butter and portobello ragout and pan-roasted salmon drizzled in miso sauce with micro greens. A trio of beef sliders comes topped with cheese and grilled onions. Chicken saltimbocca brings white meat medallions stacked with layers of sautéed spinach and wild mushroom cream sauce. End sweetly with Key lime pie or apple crumb cake.
This story was originally published August 4, 2010 at 1:08 AM.