Miami Beach

There are few restaurants in America that deserve the monikor- institution. Galatoire's, The Union Oyster House, and Joes's Stone Crabs are some of those. On my recent trip to South Florida I found myself in the mood to be institutionalized, so i headed across the McArthur causeway to south beach. I navigated the intrepid parking woes and headed in to the newly refurbished (at least for me) dining room. Joe's stone crabs' employees all wear tuxedos, although the dress code for diners has gotten more lax since i was last there. there were diners in shorts, even one in a jersey, but the service turned a blind eye to the garments on their backs, as most were in very nice duds.

we were shown to our table after being greeted by the maitre 'd who made us feel like regulars. we walked past the large rectangular bar which was starting to get bustling, and into a high-ceilinged area with beautiful murals that made the area look like a mediterranean patio. the crisp service had our water filled before we were able to scoot our chairs all the way up to the table. bread and crackers were next, along with some butter that is as good as you can get. (this is still the weakest link in Louisville dining).

for starters, i had a stone crab seviche which was absolutely breathtaking. the succulent meat was accompanied with only a little lime juice and a few diced green peppers. a boutique bottle of tabasco was on the side, and i did try some for kicks, but i needed the untouched taste of sweet stone crab. i am still dreaming about this dish. my dining partners ordered the cracked stone crab claws, large in size and excellent once you got past the labor. there was one of the claws that had the properties of being frozen, possibly a coincidence, and possibly a breach in the freshness guarantee of such an establishment. nonetheless, they were all eaten.

for my entree, i ordered another appetizer- the stuffys- very large clams that were blended with a breading and topped with parmesan cheese and baked until piping hot and served with lemon and more boutique tabasco. theses were so good i was barely able to eat any of the sweet potato fries that were ordered by nearly every table in my viewing range. they were crisp, but lacked the flavor that just makes you scream for more, like i am now for the stuffys. a wedge salad finished off my dining partners' entree and it looked to be as fresh as could be.

as we left i remember thinking how the prior maitre 'd was the the best paid employee in America during the 1980's and early 90's and saying to myself- I see why. the last time i ate at Joe's I was a wee lad and only remembered the 3 hour wait for our table as my little belly growled in dismay. this trip delivered with a prompt table on a beautiful Sunday night, followed by a walk to south beach for the food and wine festival. By the way, the festival too crowded to enjoy. but what a dinner we had at Joe's. **** come on, it's an institution, what did you expect?

AE