MC Kitchen: Chef Dena Marino Is the Design District's New Queen

Comments (0) By Emily Codik Thursday, Feb 14 2013

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The menu also lists a variety of fish and meats, including a Colorado rack of lamb — a tender, slightly charred meat, served medium-rare over a bed of braised, mixed lentils, a frothy apple butter, and a delicate frisée salad.

But its Marino's rendition of tiramisu that epitomizes her favorite Italian saying: "A tavola non s'invecchia," which means, "You don't age while seated for a meal." The massive square seven-layer cake is composed of rich mayonnaise chocolate cake, sandwiched between slathered chocolate mousse. There are also two layers of zabaglione, prepared with potent espresso and rum. Devoid of ladyfingers and mascarpone, Marino's dessert is hardly traditional. And after the server places the mighty tower of cake atop our table, it takes seconds before anyone dares disrupt the tall composition of chocolate and sugar.

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Colorado rack of lamb

Location Info

Map

MC Kitchen

4141 NE 2nd Ave., 101A
Miami, FL 33137

Category: Restaurant > Brunch

Region: Midtown/Wynwood/Design District

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Details

MC Kitchen

305-456-9948; mckitchenmiami.com
Monday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Stone-oven rosemary pizzetta $10
Stone-oven-roasted octopus $17
Roasted pear and cheese fiocchi $18
Spaghetti with sautéed Florida prawns $24
Colorado rack of lamb $36
Tiramisu $10

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"I won't bring sharing plates for this one," the waiter says as he places additional cutlery on the white tablecloth. "The dessert is more romantic this way."

He walks off. A brave fork breaks the layered, geometric mold. The cake is swiftly devoured.

Across the bustling dining room, behind the open kitchen's counter, Marino looks up from her busy station. Her eyes scan the restaurant, but her head does not move.

Perhaps the waiter was wrong. Marino's food is not romantic. Nor is it idealized or glorified. At MC Kitchen, Marino's cooking is an intimate balance of sophistication and honesty. And it's this graceful simplicity that garners her the title of the Design District's new reigning queen.