Florida Cookery

Florida Cookery, located at the James Royal Palm Hotel, is Kris Wessel's debut in South Beach. The James Beard Award-nominated chef, who previously owned Red Light Little River in a seedy motel on Biscayne Boulevard, has upgraded to a new, swanky setting. Here, his cuisine represents a love letter to Florida. The restaurant's name was inspired by a late-'40s pamphlet about Sunshine State cooking that belonged to the chef's grandmother. His interpretations involve cast-iron-seared frogs' legs, alligator empanadas, and Puerto Rican pineapple rum cake. Flavors bounce between diverse ethnic and cultural influences: Latin America, the Caribbean, and the U.S. Northeast. But sticklers for efficient service would consider this polished restaurant quite unpleasant. Dinners are structured haphazardly. Sharing plates rarely arrive. Improper eating utensils are delivered. Dishes are cleared too soon or too late. In other words, go to Florida Cookery for the Florida cuisine, not for the service.