Estrella Damm Chef's Choice: Downtown and Brickell
Estrella Damm, the only beer brewed in Barcelona, is bringing its Mediterranean flair and flavor to Miami with a special Chef’s Choice experience from May 14th-29th, featuring delicious 3 course meals prepared by 46 top chefs all over the city. With prices ranging from $30 to $70, each meal is paired with an ice cold Estrella Damm beer and an entrée featuring rice and are available only from May 14th – 29th.
Last week we were invited to join other food media to take a tour highlighting some of the participating spots around Brickell and Downtown Miami. We made four stops including COYA, Toro Toro , Tuyo and 1111 Peruvian Bistro. All of the chef’s creations were delicious with a Spanish flair and all very filling – you can expect to see us in some of these kitchens again very soon.
Chef Gareth Rhodes
We started our tour off at Coya where we were served Arroz Nikkei as our entree. This traditional Peruvian seafood and rice dish was absolutely amazing. It was so creamy and flavorful that I could have easily filled myself up on the first stop of the tour but I knew I had to trek on.
APPETIZER
ROBALA TRUFA CEVICHE
Striped bass, truffles, ponzu, chives
ENTRÉE
ARROZ NIKKEI
Estrella Damm, chistorras, clams, shrimp, fish
DESSERT
QUINOA PUDDING
Quinoa and rice pudding, Josper pineapple, quinoa ice cream
$45PP
Chef Eric Do
Next we moved on to Toro Toro located in the Intercontinental Hotel in Downtown Miami. Here we had Arroz con Marisc, another seafood and rice dish. Made with Bomba rice which is commonly used for paellas it was just that – bomb! This rice was fantastic and overflowing with fresh seafood and parmesan cheese.
APPETIZER
HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD
Heart of Palm, watermelon, avocado, balsamic chipotle vinaigrette, burrata
ENTRÉE
ARROZ CON MARISC
Bomba rice, saffron, calamari, clams, scallop, shrimp, parmesan
DESSERT
CREMA CATALANA
Vanilla custard, orange alfajores
$49PP
Chef Victor Santos
For our third stop we visited Tuyo, which is located on a rooftop of one of the Miami Dade College buildings in Downtown Miami and features gorgeous views of Biscayne Bay and the American Airlines Arena. Tuyo is part of Miami Dade College’s Culinary Institute. This was the only stop on our tour that presented a dish that did not include seafood, which was a very welcomed treat! This Estrella Damm-cured Breast of Duck was served over a fried rice with a lovely sweet and sour mango sauce and a poached egg. All cooked perfectly and complimented each other very well.
APPETIZER
SPANISH OCTOPUS CARPACCIO
Thinly sliced octopus, fingerling potatoes, crispy garbanzo beans
ENTRÉE
ESTRELLA DAMM-CURED BREAST OF DUCK
Roasted beer-cured duck breast, fried rice, mango sweet and sour sauce,
topped with a perfect poached egg
DESSERT
POACHED PEACH TART WITH CARAMEL-BEER ICE CREAM
Tart with hazelnut filling, peaches, served with Estrella Damm caramel-beer ice cream
$39PP
Chef Diego Muñoz
Our forth and final stop of the evening was 1111 Peruvian Bistro located in the Axis building in Brickell (near El Tucan and Marion) on a dark side of the street that often gets passed without notice. 1111 Peruvian Bistro is one that deserves notice. We were served Parihuela, a traditional seafood soup that was turned into risotto. Much like our first two seafood dishes it was full of every kind of fresh fish you could dream of. I loved the addition of the rolled zucchini for a nice pop of green.
APPETIZER
POACHED CHICKEN & KING CRAB CAUSA
Soft yellow flesh potato, poached chicken with citrus emulsion, King crab
ENTRÉE
PARIHUELA
Traditional Parihuela soup of crab, fish, mussels turn into a risotto with little neck clams, scallops, scallops, prawns and zucchini
DESSERT
LUCUMA CASSONADE
Soft Lucuma custard, black and white sesame seeds, chocolate sorbet
$45PP
It was very enjoyable to see each chef’s take on their rice dishes and how well they paired with the Estrella Damm. I recommend checking out at least one of the 46 options during the next two weeks.
The full restaurant listings and menus and more information about Estrella Damm can be found on their website www.chefschoicemiami.com.