For the entire month of October, the Fontainebleau Miami Beach will be observing Breast Cancer Awareness Month with its event “Bleau Goes Pink.” Four of the resort’s restaurants- Scarpetta, Gotham, Hakkasan and Vida- are offering prix-fixe menus, and a portion of the proceeds from each meal will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Walking into Scarpetta is like moving back in time. Diners pass through the lounge and bar area into a small and intimate dining room, which boasts several enormous windows that look out over the hotel’s pool and beachfront areas. The dining room feels like it could have come straight out of a turn-of-the-century steamship, with a few porthole-style windows and pillars that could pass for smokestacks. Chrome fixtures and rope detailing complete the nautical look.
The $39 prix-fixe menu is three courses and provides several options for each course. Diners may choose from appetizers like the creamy polenta with a fricassee of truffled mushrooms.
The entrée choices include pasta, seafood, chicken and beef dishes. The pasta in the tomato basil spaghetti was thick and hearty and cooked to al dente perfection. At first taste, the sauce was extremely fresh, bright and tasted very strongly of- surprise, surprise- tomatoes and basil. Further into the dish, however, the taste became richer and smoother.
The Amedei chocolate cake, which the server likened to a molten cake, came with toasted almond gelato and salted caramel sauce. The inside was soft, warm and truffle-like. The gelato was slightly savory and had a cleansing effect on the palette.
For the price of $39, given the excellent quality of the food, Scarpetta’s “Bleau Goes Pink” menu is a very good deal. While it is not in every student’s budget to regularly, or even occasionally, eat at restaurants of this caliber, this event is an excellent way to splurge for a special occasion in the month of October.
Kelly Fitzpatrick may be contacted at kfitzpatrick@themiamihurricane.com.
If you go:
WHAT: “Bleau Goes Pink” prix-fixe menu at Scarpetta
WHERE: The Fontainebleau is located at 4441 Collins Ave. in Miami Beach.
WHEN: Through the end of October. Reservations are recommended. Call 877-326-7412 for all Fontainebleau restaurant reservations.
COST: $39; All Bleau Goes Pink menus are available at fontainebleau.com/web/promotions/bleau_goes_pink
ADDITIONAL INFO: The other restaurants participating in “Bleau Goes Pink” include Gotham, a New York-based steakhouse; Hakkasan, a Dim Sum Chinese restaurant; and Vida, a casual American-style café.