Only this year, restaurateurs seem to be operating on tortoise time, opening weeks, even months, after their publicists swear they will. Other new places are modeling "preview" menus and having "soft" (practice) openings or trial runs, as if holding rehearsals for the main event. Yet others are announcing themselves with "grand opening" parties only after they've been in business for a month or two, operating as if on the sly.
Rather than deal with such frustrations, I compromised for this week's review. Kaleidoscope in Coconut Grove isn't exactly youthful; it's been around for 23 years. But its owners, Simon Elbaz and Michele Brune, are definitely newcomers, having taken over from the previous proprietor, Hagan Taudt, this past April.
Aside from ownership, everything about the 95-seat restaurant is identical to its original incarnation, including the pretty terrace and balcony, both set with white wrought-iron tables and chairs, and the more formal dining room, accented by wall lamps and copies of old masters oil paintings. Service, always exceptional in the past, continues in that stellar vein. And still-chef Jacques Deliverance's European and Caribbean menu sticks to the "kaleidoscope" theme, meant to be a culinary whirl of influences and cultures.
The appetizer list clearly demonstrates that whirl, ranging from bruschetta with tomato and roasted garlic to Norwegian smoked salmon with capers and lemon to red curry mussel stew to snails in Roquefort garlic butter. We traveled to the Caribbean for Bahamian seafood cakes ($7.75) but were disappointed by the fake flavor and texture of the "seafood," which turned out to be that rubbery reconstituted stuff. The method of preparation was satisfying -- two crisp grilled cakes nicely browned, topped with shreds of fried leeks and accented by a somewhat spicy, sweet-and-sour tomato coulis. But this dish would be tastier with real shellfish.
Tortelloni with spicy grilled shrimp, one of eight pastas offered, was far better ($12.95). The kitchen kindly split this in quarters for us behind the scenes, equally dividing the cheese dumplings and dozen medium-size, spice-encrusted shrimp. The pan-seared shrimp were in a delicious light cream sauce; fresh tomatoes dotted the pasta rather than the sun-dried tomatoes advertised on the menu. A bigger quibble: The pasta was tortellini, not the larger tortelloni, and contained virtually none of the touted cheese filling.
The kitchen didn't even attempt to make substitutions for the arugula salad topped with shaved Parmesan, grilled peppers, roasted corn, and a smoked tomato vinaigrette -- they just plain didn't have it, a fact we discovered long after our order was in. We settled instead for the caesar salad that precedes main courses. Settling it was. Refrigerated croutons were stale and and the chopped romaine limp from sitting too long in the dressing, which was creamy but bland.
Kaleidoscope also came up short on pan-roasted lamb shank on Tuscan beans, an entree we'd wanted. This we learned about in a more timely fashion and went instead with the roasted duckling, which turned out to be two legs and thighs, no breast meat. The skin, glazed with a chunky orange-rum chutney, was great, all crackle and crunch. But the meat itself was overdone and slightly stringy. A side dish of four potato croquettes, fashioned from the flavorful scallion mashed potatoes that accompanied the other main courses, was terrific.
Veal scaloppine was a generous portion, three large and flat pounded pieces afloat in a brandy-cream sauce ($17.95). Slices of earthy porcini mushrooms kicked this up a notch, the rich sauce successfully lightened by their juicy presence. A side dish of grilled polenta, listed on the menu, had been replaced by the scallion smashers without warning; we were getting somewhat used to this by now. The only truly bad blot was the main event: The veal was a little dry, a victim of that tiny touch of overcooking that can damage a dish.
The same fate befell medallions of black grouper. Coated in herbs and grilled, the fish was mild and fresh despite a lack of juicy flakiness. A Key lime butter sauce and a firm black bean relish surrounded the mound of tubers on which the fish was arranged. But we had no complaints about the Atlantic salmon, a moist grilled fillet perched on "wilted" fresh spinach ($15.95). An invigorating but not overpowering dill beurre blanc dressed fish and spinach alike, and here the mashed potatoes were perfect.
As I mentioned, Kaleidoscope has always been known for the excellence of its service, and that, I'm glad to report, remains the case. Our problems stemmed from the kitchen, not from the waiter, who kept us informed to the best of his ability and was polite, professional, and apologetic throughout. So apologetic, as a matter of fact, that he gave us dessert on the house, a puff pastry Napoleon surrounded by scoops of sorbet that went a long way toward mending blunders. Sometimes to its detriment, Kaleidoscope may be all over the map in terms of cuisine, but reasonably priced and tastefully decorated, it nails down at least one other detail: how to treat the customer. For that reason alone, as the season heats up and new restaurants continue to delay their openings, I'll go here to chill.
Kaleidoscope
3112 Commodore Plaza, Coconut Grove; 446-5010. Lunch Tuesday -- Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (Sunday brunch); dinner nightly from 6:00 to 11:00 p.m.
