Restaurants

Delicious by Design

The elegant Domo Japones is just one more sign that the District has finally arrived.

By Lee Klein 

That the Miami Design District would soon be "the next big thing" was first suggested to me about two years into Bill Clinton's presidency. I have heard the same refrain many times since, but whenever I'd venture into the neighborhood, it would display the sort of eerie quietude usually encountered only deep within forests, deserts, and Fred Thompson campaign rallies. As recently as a year ago, I was able to drive to then-new Michael's Genuine Food & Drink on a weekend evening and park right in front. That is not the case anymore, a point driven home when I had to circle the block to find a spot for a late Saturday-night visit to Domo Japones — which is on the same corridor as Michael's and, farther up, Grass. All three restaurants were jammed, as was new and nearby Brosia. I believe it is at last accurate to say the Design District has arrived.

If Michael's was the spark plug, then other hip, stylish, culinarily serious eateries like Domo are the engine to this vitalization. Housed in a former post office on the corner of 40th Street and NE Second Avenue, the restaurant boasts a white exterior exuding the grace and gravitas of a landmark building. The two-level interior is warm and comfy, the lighting subdued, the décor a handsome mosaic of brick, dark wood, hardwood floors, and chocolate-brown leather booths. Mildly risqué artwork on the walls includes a giant black-and-white blowup of a young, topless Naomi Campbell (if possible, you should try to maneuver the seating situation so you end up facing this photo).

The crowd is a cocktail of chic scenesters fizzed with local folks, the soundtrack a mix of Édith Piaf, Dylan, rock, reggae, rap, and recordings made in this century by artists whose names elude me. An upstairs lounge in the rear of the space provides a romantic nook to partake of sake, cocktails, or wine; a listing of the last encompasses two dozen bottles, with many in the $30 to $40 range. Domo would probably be considered a "contemporary urban bistro," but perhaps a more pertinent description came about when my wife and I both commented, simultaneously, how it felt like being back in Manhattan.

Sushi and nigiri/sashimi selections share menu space with "Japanese bistro fare." The former is overseen by chef Naohiro "Nao" Higuchi, who previously worked at Nobu Bahamas and SushiSamba Miami. Orchestrating the latter is chef de cuisine Timon Balloo, who apprenticed with Michelle Bernstein (at Azul) and Tim Andriola (at Chef Allen's), and also served stints at SushiSamba New York and Miami's short-lived but brilliant La Broche. That's an impressive resumé to run on. Completing the team's top tier is owner Amir Ben-Zion, who has given us Miss Yip Chinese Café and the excellent Bond St Sushi Lounge (also in New York and L.A.).

Chef Balloo's menu weaves local, organic, and distinctive ingredients into a clean and simple tapestry of innovative Japanese cuisine. We started with a bowl of black edamame, whose soybeans were sautéed with sweet soy and citrusy yuzu sauce. The legumes don't absorb the flavorings through their pods, but in the process of shelling them, the fingers get sticky and transfer the taste to the delicate legumes.

Other finger-licking appetizers include fresh gyoza dumplings padded with moist morsels of veal cheek and heightened by a splash of pomegranate soy and persimmon vinegar; and large cubes of tender toro tuna sashimi topped with micro-sprouts (Swank Specialty Produce in Palm Beach County supplies the hydroponic greens). Each square of tuna comes perched upon pale green puffs of edamame purée with a warm but cautious caress of wasabi. Vegetable tempura was aptly crisp, but the choice of fryables — asparagus, red pepper, zucchini, and onion — was as inspiring as a pep talk by Mitt Romney.

Starters are superb, but sushi selections should not be overlooked as appetizers — or as dinner itself. Nigiri/sashimi offerings include shrimp, octopus, tuna, Scottish salmon, Pacific yellowtail, Pacific amberjack, and freshwater eel. We sampled the last four, which were all pristine, but Chef Nao is really in the know concerning cutting-edge makimono/temaki (rolls and hand rolls). Although his signature wrap is composed of shrimp, prosciutto, and watercress, a scallop roll drew more enthusiasm around the table. The cylinders of shellfish, cucumber, and salt-cured plum each came capped with sparkling tobiko fish roe. A side dish of ume plum paste pooled in white truffle oil elevated the flavor to dreamlike status — although some guests in our party thought it overpowered the subtle scallop.

Also unique was a gorgeous "box-style" gomoko roll, small squares of pressed sushi rice dotted with pickled vegetables and colorfully covered in a flattened fuchsia gomoko flower, a green minty shiso leaf, and a thin, opaque sheath of kombu (seaweed).

"Bistro" entrées exhibit an impressive range within a limited framework of eight items: two beef dishes (filet mignon and short ribs); two vegetarian (miso-glazed tofu, and vegetables with udon noodles); one pork; one fish; one shellfish (lobster); and one chicken. Pork ramen stands out as the frontrunner, with gently braised morsels of Berkshire pork, slices of crisp pork belly, sturdy strands of ramen noodles, and shreds of pickled ginger set in a bowl of dark, meaty broth. The yolk of a soft-boiled organic egg unctuously oozed over the luscious landscape like flavescent lava.

Nobu-inspired miso black cod brought thick, sweet, opalescent flakes of fish finished with a shiny sesame-soybean glaze. The skin of the cod, facing up, was soggy rather than crisp — a rare kitchen misstep. An accompaniment of sautéed greens called gai lan, or Chinese kale, contributed a mild but provocatively bitter bite imbued with roasted garlic.

A free-range, French-cut, teriyaki-glazed organic chicken breast was also chaperoned by roasted garlic cloves but this time set in a petite puddle of "neri goma potato," which seemed to be velvety mashed spuds imbued with the flavor of sesame tahini. The succulent bird came propped on a raft of four hefty asparagus spears. Entrée prices run a reasonable $17 to $25 (lobster is $29), so it's generous of Domo to bulk up the plates with such alluring additions.

Chef Balloo creates the desserts, and these, too, succeeded in a singular way. There is surely nothing out of the ordinary about a flourless disk of warm chocolate cake with leaky center, but here it comes with vanilla ice cream sprinkled with Okinawa sea salt. We were also swayed by a deconstructed but delectable "fall miso apple crumble" — wedges of baked apples, gingery crumbs, and ginger ice cream bathed in caramel-miso sauce. In this season's crowded field of restaurant contenders, early exit polls suggest that Domo Japones is clearly a winner.