Food: Voila for Vita by Baoli!
Vita by Baoli’s French Spice is a Taste of a Rich Mediterranean Menu
By John Zur
The annual late-summer craze known as Miami Spice gave birth to French Spice, its November offspring, in 2010. From the 1st through the 30th, twenty restaurants in Dade and Broward are participating in the lunch ($22) and dinner ($35) prix fixe menus. While not all of the restaurants, including Vita by Baoli, are intrinsically French, I dare you to find a better steak frites in South Florida. Hosted by the restaurant to indulge in their dinner menu – Vita by Baoli is not participating in French Spice lunch – each dish had its moments to merit and its qualities to rave about.
The exterior gives off a SoBe club-like vibe – Vita does double as a lounge. The interior is cool and swanky, like a cigar bar save the cigars. Hardwood floors, low tables with accompanying low leather chairs, and a golden hue – reflective of the copper ceiling – throughout, the space is both romantic and energetic. Upbeat lounge music by obscure artists, and Some Like It Hot playing on a projector’s screen on the west wall, brought about an artsy flair. With roots in Cannes, France, Vita by Baoli is about to get a new design by early 2012.
Executive chef Marc Debas delivers a Mediterranean menu, influenced by French, Italian, and Spanish fare. Hailing from France, his dishes reflect a genuine care for realizing simple and approachable fine cuisine. Priced at $35, the French Spice menu is a bargain.
The choice of appetizers includes the smoked duck breast salad with the sliced cuts served over a mixed green salad with diced mango, caramelized pecans, cherry tomatoes, and truffle vinaigrette. The end result is nothing short of fantastic. The dense smokiness of the duck breast is easily offset by the salad’s fresh and diverse accompaniments. The warm goat cheese tart, which can also be found on the regular menu, includes an acceptable-sized salad of mixed greens, sundried tomatoes, and balsamic vinaigrette. The tart is comprised of goat cheese, cream cheese, chives, and caramelized onions set inside a baked tart shell.
The entrees include Branzino provencale, with the Mediterranean sea bass grilled and served over sautéed fennel, artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, black olives, and a fresh pesto dressing. Micro greens garnish the top. With the two halves of the branzino stacked on top of the vegetables, the presentation looked good but was impractical when it came to eating. Branzino is on the regular menu, except there it is served with sautéed spinach and lemon vierge sauce.
The strip steak and fries was as good as it gets. The juicy cut of meat, grilled of course, was served a perfect medium rare with a side of crisp French fries. Best of all the red wine sauce for the steak also served nicely as a dipping sauce for the fries. While a sprig of rosemary provide a little green on the plate, this is not a dish for one counting calories, just bites of pleasure.
The desserts are where the menu did slip just a bit. The banana pound cake has a pretty presentation with sliced green apples and strawberries, a scoop of banana ice cream set atop of chocolate chips, and chocolate sauce oozing from the banana pound cake. However, the cake isn’t as moist as one would hope for and the other items on the plate appear as merely distractions. Some great flavors, including the intriguing ice cream are there, but overall the dessert could use some refinement. The raspberry mousse had a solid, frozen consistency but was too tart for the taste buds.
We, and the other diners within our vicinity, were serviced by a suit-wearing man. With his team of support staff, the service excelled to the degree that glasses were never half empty, plates were whisked away within seconds of the last bite, and food arrived promptly with cutlery already in place. They worked briskly, did not indulge in small talk, and were personable and always attentive.
If the French Spice is any indication, the food is consistent and of a higher caliber at Vita by Baoli. With an ideal ambiance to boot and exciting renovations in store for the new year, there is definitely a winning combination in place.
Vita by Baoli
1906 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 674-8822
