For South Floridians, the mention of gourmet food will rarely bring to mind the Kendall area. Yet, tucked away out west in Kendall is Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant and Wine Bar. It features upscale food with a “wine country” vibe. The restaurant is attached to a tiny strip mall, and is easy to miss if you’re not looking. In fact, we drove right past it on our way there.
While waiting for the rest of our party to arrive, we decided to have a drink at the bar. That was the plan, anyway. Instead, we sat at the bar while anyone that walked behind the bar ignored us. Good thing we weren’t dehydrated. I was none too happy about that.
You receive complimentary bread when you’re seated.
Instead of butter, it was served with pesto. It was surprisingly good. I ordered the pork belly for my first course, throwing caution to the wind and suppressing the unpleasant memories of my previous experience with pork belly.
This pork belly was closer to my expectations about pork belly than previous experiences. It was crispy, not too greasy, and packed with flavor. They rendered enough of the fat off of the portion that you weren’t taking a bite out of some gelatinous unpleasantness.
My main course was the steak and shrimp. It was served on bed of mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. The portion looked fairly small when it was brought it, but turned out to be a good serving size for a weekend lunch. My steak was cooked perfectly, and the flavorful juices soaking into the mashed potatoes made me eat more of them than I normally would. The shrimp were slightly overdone, but also good. They had a slight kick.
For dessert, the only option available was a chocolate croissant bread pudding. Again, I cringed at the thought of having to eat bread pudding. Seriously, why does every restaurant insist on forcing this dish upon us? The presentation wasn’t anything spectacular, but I am no stranger to dishes that taste better than they look. Heck, the honorary title of my blog should be “Ugly, but Delicious.” Even so, by bread pudding’s standards, I would say that this was pretty good. I had fun eating the little chocolate beads on top, but I wasn’t blown away.
Aside from the shortcomings in the service department, I was pleased with my meal at Chef Adrianne’s. I would go back, although I strongly recommend that you make a reservation. The place is small, and fills up fast. Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.
For more information on Chef Adrianne’s, visit her web site at http://www.chefadriannes.com/