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Wednesday, October 10, 7:00 P.M.
Members $100, guests $125
MARK’S SOUTH BEACH IS "SUPER-elegant,
super-expensive and, of course, super-delicious," Tanya Wenman
Steel wrote in Bon Appétit’s Best of the Year Top Tables
roundup. Viviana Carballo of The Miami Herald agrees. At Mark’s
South Beach, she writes, Miami superstar chef Mark Militello, like
his restaurant, is "focused, stylish, refined, mature."
Step into the "stunning" downstairs room, as Carballo
termed it, in the historic, ultra-suave Nash Hotel, and you’ll
know you’ve arrived somewhere very special. Taste the "most
exquisite tomato consommé," as Carballo describes it
or just about anything on the menu dreamed up by Militello and chef
de cuisine Tim Andriola—and you may never want to leave.
Born in El Paso and raised in Buffalo, Militello abandoned plans
to become a doctor when he realized that the culinary cure was the
one he really sought. He trained at Florida International University
and the State University of New York. The brand-new regional cuisine
he helped pioneer at Café Max in Pompano Beach was a revelation.
He brought his culinary gospel to the people at Maxaluna in Boca
Raton and at Max’s Place in North Miami; then he bought Max’s
Place in 1988, and renamed it Mark’s Place. The accolades rolled
in. In 1992, he was named James Beard Foundation Best Chef: Southeast.
Food & Wine put him on its list of the country’s ten best
chefs, and Condé Nast Traveler gave him a Distinguished Restaurant
Award. Mark’s Las Olas, Mark’s Mizner Park, Mark’s
South Beach, and Mark’s CityPlace followed—all garnering
glowing reviews.
New Hampshire–born Andriola trained at the CIA and earned a
degree in hospitality management from Florida International University
while working at Allen Susser’s legendary Chef Allen’s
in Miami. By age 24, he was chef de cuisine at the Four-Star, Four-Diamond
New World eatery, earning star-studded reviews for his innovative,
deeply flavored food. In 1999, he left Chef Allen’s to team
up with Militello. The partnership was an immediate success. Gourmet
named Mark’s South Beach the best in Miami and celebrated its
"playful" menu; Bon Appétit declared it the year’s
best new restaurant. John Mariani, writing in Esquire, put Andriola
on his list of chefs to watch out for: Andriola, he declared, "definitely
has a touch of the master."
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