As per my usual plan around this time of the year, I continue my foray into Miami Spice.  My next visit brought me to Edge Steak and Bar in Downtown Miami.  The steakhouse takes a lighter approach to the traditional steak dinner.  They pair their steak with locally-sourced ingredients, and there is even a pepper and herb garden on the terrace where they grow their herbs.  Pretty cool!  The restaurant itself has garnered several accolades, so I had high hopes.

The restaurant itself is located on the 7th Floor of the Four Seasons Hotel in Brickell.  The restaurant opens directly to the bar area, with no actual host/greeting area.  However, we were greeted warmly by the staff, and promptly taken to our table.

The dining room was dimly lit.  I imagine that this would be a nice date spot.

Our server was also very friendly, and he was all smiles the entire evening.  After taking our drink orders, we were brought out some bread and homemade chips to munch on.

The chips were super crunchy, which I loved.  There was some sort of seasoning on them that was not just salt, but we couldn’t pinpoint what it was.  We were so hungry that we kept on eating bread and chips, and almost forgot that we had a 3-course meal we were going to need to tackle.

My first course was the smoked beef belly.  It was served with pickled plums, an endive slaw, and a sauce that I believe was a mustard sauce.  The beef was great on its own, but spectacular when combined with the sauce, plum, and slaw.  The plums and the slaw added sweet and acidic tones that cut the robust smokiness of the beef belly.  An upscale take on the “tangy and smokey” combination found in backyard smoking.  I could have had a larger portion of this as my entrée, and would have been perfectly fine with that.

I chose the rib eye steak.  It was served with a peppercorn sauce and horseradish cream, as well as a side of kale salad.  I’ll be perfectly honest and admit that I didn’t touch the salad very much.  The steak was just so tender and flavorful that I didn’t want to taint the experience with greens.  Yes, I am terrible.  I know this.  But, a good steak is nothing to be tampered with.  It was cooked to a perfect Medium, and gave way easily with minimal effort when cutting.

After we finished our entrees, we still had dessert waiting for us.

The lychee panna cotta was very well-presented.  There was a scoop of mango sorbet on top of the panna cotta, along with a citrus foam/meringue and citrus crumbles.  The panna cotta itself was sweet and refreshing, but the citrus garnishes were too tart for me.  I mostly ate around them.

The service was great.  Someone came by and asked if our steaks had been cooked to the right specifications, and we never had to ask for anything.  I would definitely come back.  Heck, I am tempted to try their brunch, which was voted one of the Best Brunch Buffets in America earlier this year.

For more information on Edge Steak and Bar, visit their website at http://www.edgerestaurantmiami.com/