Two weekends ago I flew down to Miami to visit my family. I booked the trip during one of Boston's infamous February blizzards. I just had to know there was an end to winter in sight (or at least a momentary pause).
On my first night in town, my parents wanted to take me out to celebrate. We were toasting to a new project I'm involved in. I can't share the details just yet, but I look forward to letting you in on this secret by the end of the month!
My mother, ever the planner, made a reservation for us at a restaurant inside a newly renovated motel called the Vagabond. We were a little bit early, so we popped into one of our favorite stores that's just a few doors down called Flavorish. I knew it was going to be a good night when I recognized the voice behind me in the checkout line, chef Josie Smith-Malave from Bravo's Top Chef.
With my heart palpitating after our brush with fame, we walked back out to the Vagabond.
The Vagabond Hotel aims to, "reestablish its glamorous past as a fabled Rat Pack hangout." If it's good enough for Frank, it's good enough for me.
The hotel still has that retro vibe, especially with its signage.
Inside the restaurant, the decor is simple - wooden tables set between black and white chairs and light fixtures that reminded me of Lucky's Lounge in South Boston. From every seat in the dining room you can see into the open kitchen.
We were seated quickly and once at our table, were greeted with postcards at every place setting. The front of the card looks like a photo from a night of drunken debauchery and on the back it provides the definition of the word vagabond. Don't forget, #vagabondlife.
My favorite touch was the coasters under each water cup. They are glass covered Polaroid pictures. Each of us had a different Polaroid.
Since we were celebrating, drinks were in order. From left to right, that's my mother's Blanc de Blancs sparkling wine, my dad's Funky Buddha Hop Gun IPA and my Bissap Mule.
Without ever having been to the Vagabond before, I managed to order their one and only hot pink drink! Go figure. The Bissap Mule is a play on the Moscow Mule. It has Tito's vodka, lillet, lemon, bissap, ginger and mint.
The drink tasted very similar to the red dragon ice tea at Sofra, which I am addicted to. This cocktail goes down like juice, so pace yourself!
To navigate the Vagabond's menu, we needed a little help from our waiter. Before we get to the food, I just have to say, our waiter J.D. was awesome. Once he heard we were toasting to a special occasion, he jumped right onto our festive bandwagon. He made the night so special.
The Vagabond's menu is made up of over 25 small plates. Some of the ingredients were so unusual that we had to have J.D. help us decode them. I kind of wished they had a glossary of exotic ingredients, like the team does at Sarma.
Ultimately, we settled on seven savory dishes. Lucky number seven!
The first to arrive was the cobia tartare. The dish was plated so precisely, including the garnish of two tiny edible flowers. The tartare was served with yuzu, avocado and quinoa.
Since I don't eat fish, I had to rely on my parents to fill me in on this one. My father said, "The cobia was fresh, light and had a good citrus flavor." My mother added, "The chips were great for a contrasting, crunchy texture."
The zucchini salad landed next, one of my picks. For this dish, the zucchini is very thinly sliced and then served with sauce pipian, pistachios and tarragon.
This dish had such a pretty presentation. The ribbons of zucchini formed a beautiful mound a top the patterned plate. With each bite you got a great crunch from the pistachios.
Sticking with the veggies, we also ordered the heirloom tomato fattoush salad. Look at the bright color of those yellow tomatoes. The tomatoes were topped with black sesame, sheep's milk feta cheese and sapote nergo (that's the shavings right on top).
We liked the heirloom tomato salad, particularly the dressing, but it didn't wind up being a favorite.
The best dish of the whole night was the ricotta gnocchi served with kale butter, breadcrumbs and savoy cabbage.
Of all the dishes, this was the tiniest portion, but it packed the richest flavor. The kale butter was so creamy and paired with the crunch of the cabbage and the breadcrumbs, it was perfection. I could have eaten two more bowls.
Though my parents were kind and ordered mostly veg, they couldn't resist the seared octopus. It was presented with rancho gordo bean, epazote and hoja santa. Bet you're wishing for that glossary right about now.
My dad, a tough critic, said, "Octopus is usually very tough, but this is super tender. It's incredible."
Our final two dishes were both veggie-centric. The baby roasted carrots came soaked in mole and topped with hazelnuts, yogurt and za'atar.
The carrots, combined with the mole, actually tasted more like sweet potatoes. My dad commented, "This is like a Spanish version of tsimmis."
Last but not least, we went with the crispy fingerling potatoes. The wedge cut potatoes were dressed up with liptaeur, benne seed and pickled onions.
My mom was having a real moment with these potatoes. I think she wanted to make out with them. I couldn't blame her really, they were sprinkled with salt and their spicy sauce was addicting. This was like a very upscale version of patatas bravas.
Once all the dinner plates were cleared, J.D. brought each of us a dessert menu. At first blush, nothing was appealing. However, J.D. talked us through each option and he did a pretty hard sell on the key lime and sorrel curd. It was basically a deconstructed key lime pie. Forgive me, I didn't realize until I uploaded these photos to my laptop that they're a bit phallic.
The dish was key lime curd, shortbread, mini toasted marshmallows and coconut sorbet. As my loyal readers know, I really only like chocolate desserts, but this dish won me over. The shortbread crumble was fantastic and if you got a bite with all the ingredients together and then closed your eyes, it really felt like traditional key lime pie. Though I loved it, my dad wasn't quite a fan. He commented, "The coconut sorbet doesn't really have a strong coconut taste, and by calling it 'deconstructed' they can get away with just tossing a bunch of things into a bowl and calling it key lime pie. I miss the mousse texture of the traditional version."
At this point, we were beyond stuffed. Why is that we always over order when we do tapas or small plates?
As we were getting ready to head out (around 9:00pm) the bar scene was starting to heat up. I love the blue back lighting. Very Miami.
Overall, our experience at the Vagabond was an A+. I praised him once before, but I'll do it again, our waiter J.D. made the night. He truly helped us make the most of the menu and he did it all with a smile, a sense of humor and just the right amount of attentiveness.
My parents, who go out to eat constantly, said that they found the service to be stellar compared to other Miami spots and they were also impressed by how much space the Vagabond has in between tables. Most of their favorite Miami spots are pretty cramped.
If you are visiting Miami, the Vagabond is not near Miami Beach or South Beach, so just prepare to take a cab or an Uber. You will be oh so glad you did.
Visit the Vagabond at 7301 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33138.
