December 7, 2012 Art Basil Night II
The moveable feast re-emerged the second night in the heart of the Wynwood District on Red Dot’s unadorned wooden deck that had little natural lighting. Cloaked in the ambiant darkness the three headed sculptures by the comly Argentine sculptress Cecilia Lueza cecilialueza@yahoo.com glowed in the dark. With fresh orchids by interior designer Ines Naftali Florals and Events; the activity unfolded under a canopy of full moon and stars.
Spirits of the Tsars Vodka ™ reappeared to complement free flowing vintage reserve wines by vintners J. Lohr, Papi, and YaYa. The night evolved into a love affair between off-the-grid, thought provoking art, and stellar global cuisine.
Elin Trousdale, doyenne at Lighthouse Point’s Le Bistro (called by Zagat Guide one of the top 10 French in South Florida) and a triumphant survivor of Gordon Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares was accompanied by Tai Dempster onto the culinary stage. Lip smacking rosettes of Florida snapper crudo, featuring a bouquet of julienne baby carrots on a disk of hand cured chorizo and deep red radish were topped with a drizzle of zesty habanero dressing. /www.lebistrorestaurant.com
Direct from stints in Manhattan’s most acclaimed kitchens, Chef Deniz with her nine-month baby, Aiden, on her hip, displayed ‘Performance Art under duress’. An afternoon absorbed in art overload was more enticing with Deniz’s delicate mélange of succulent Maine lobster, Basmati rice, micro basil, cumin, pine nuts (Turkish not Chinese) fresh Rock Garden mint and sumac rolled into tubes of tender Khashman cabbage.
Gerdy Rodriguez, Restaurant Group’s chief consultant & restaurateur and his bella Senora presented the finish of Mexican Chocolate Flan Caramel, Cayenne-Cocoa Crumble, and Cinnamon Ice Cream. Carumba!
Allied Kitchens ™ supplied the only kitchen convenience Allied brothers Bill and Joe Feinberg accompanied by the second generation Michael Feinberg rolled in a massive, one-ton marble table. Their mobile custom island is replete with an imported slab of Cesar stone quartz, top drawer Viking range grill and the rectangle island fashioned from 2nd growth zabrano wood imported directly from Gabon, Cameroon, and Congo. The finely hewed hulk was rolled onto the Red Dot’s unadorned wooded deck with ease.
Without the benefit of running water, electrical lighting, or cutlery, the three presenting chef’s epicurean mastery was even more evident. Red Dot’s George Bill is could barely show restraint when it came to tasting and testing the dishes that were visibly smart and stunning.
The main nod to a thematic affinity was George’s, Wynwood Old World Cigar Lounge with Julio hand rolling fragrant tobacco leaves into redolent cigars on the spot.
