Oh, the divine culinary choices your guests will have if you book them a vacation at The Ritz-Carlton, Key Biscayne in Florida. This five-diamond, utterly fabulous resort, fronting one of the area’s most precious stretches of beach in Florida, is home to several dining venues, including Cantina Beach, Miami’s only oceanfront, coastal Mexican restaurant; Dune Oceanfront Burger Lounge, with its gourmet burgers and plush beachside seating; and Cioppino, offering Tuscan cuisine created by chef Ezio Gamba. We’ve had the pleasure of sinking our teeth into the culinary creations at all of these restaurants, but last week was utter bliss when we tried the new additions—it was an 8-course dinner—to the summer menu.
Chef Ezio blends seasonal and local ingredients with ingredients flown in directly from Italy, his native home, and the results are masterful. Ingredients include roasted red pepper, Maine lobster, curry, quail, pancetta, snapper filet, mussels, halibut, puttanesca…. With ingredients like that, you can’t possibly go wrong, and with Ezio’s culinary prowess, the results are dishes you won’t want to try making at home because they really need to be created by a master like Ezio. Think a seafood stew; Maine lobster with curry tomato cream sauce; a carbonara dish with poached egg, pancetta and Parmesan, and a few other heavenly treats. Here’s a snapshot of the dishes from last night’s “tough” evening:
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Book your clients on the Summer Beach package, available through Sept. 30, 2013 and starting at $269 per night. Package includes overnight accommodations; Internet access; daily use of beach chairs and umbrellas; and valet parking. Or, if your clients are major beach buffs, book the Discover With You package, valid through Dec. 31 and starting at $429 per night. It includes overnight accommodations; daily American breakfast for two each morning in the restaurant; $100 hotel credit per night; and admission to Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park for two (the state’s park took the #7 spot on “Dr. Beach’s Top 10 Beaches for 2013” list).
For more information, call (305) 365-4500 or visit ritzcarlton.com.
