Matthew Kenney’s New Miami Restaurant

Matthew Kenney is one of the leaders of the Vegan Gourmet Dining movement, and Jean and I were lucky enough to visit his Miami Restaurant Plant Food + Wine tonight.  In general I’ve found restaurants that specialize in vegan food to be overpriced, high fat places that try to mimic meat based meals without meat.  Kenney does it right.  His food is 100% vegan, and nearly all raw besides.  It was not high fat overall, and was so good that anyone could fully enjoy, even if you don’t usually eat plant based.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the place is an oasis of civility in a brutally tough Miami neighborhood.  Jean and I drove by the place once, noted the lot across the street with a pair of guard dogs, I think a Pit b\Bull and a Rottweiler who looked ready to enjoy us as their dinner, and commented that if we parked here we doubted we’d have a car to return to.  We tried again a block away, no luck.  Jean called, and the entrance is inside a rusted iron fence and the valet parking is a relief.  (There is no sign “yet.”)

The dinner was fairly expensive. We had everything we wanted, a “cheese plate”, a salad, a “small plate”, two main courses and two glasses of wine each and left for about $160. including tip.

Every dish was a delight, no pressure to hurry along, and we asked for and got our food served one item at a time with fresh share plates for each item.  That way we passed a delightful outdoor 2-hour meal leisurely and with great service. Here are the dishes:

White Truffle, Smoked Cheddar, and Mixed Peppercorn (Cashew Macademia) Flora Artisan Cheese Platter:

Bahn Mi Lettuce Wraps:

Watermellon Poke:

Caco Pepe (Kelp Noodles, Watercress, Green Olive Puree, Sun Dried Olives):

Banana Leaf Tamale:

Here is the menu:

I had a glass of the cabernet blend, I thought excellent, and the Pino Noir, good but not as good as the blend.

Overall a 5/5 star experience.  Makes me want to up my food prep game.  A lot!