Itamae Ao...Peruvian/Japanese omakase done Miami style. . .'itamae' is Japanese for "master chef"...'ao' is Japanese for "blue". . .this means we are in store for a masterful seafood meal from the deep blue sea full of flavor and love. . .let's do it--jaaaa!
Swordfish belly wrapped around heirloom beans in a tomato broth...yum!
Conch fritter stuffed with potato chowder...topped with Jamon Iberico...YES!
Octopus wafer thing with olives and anchovies...lovely to look at, amazing to eat.
Squid with yuzu...totally delectable!
Grouper ceviche with gooseneck barnacles and yuca...delightful.
Scallops with apple banana, aji charapita and caviar...WOW!
Clams with aji amarillo wrapped in nori...lovely.
Veggie roll with egg/sesame dipping sauce...fabulous!
Spot prawn on soba noodles with shrimp head sauce...WOWEEWOWOW!
Eel with strawberry and aji panca jelly...wonderful!
Monkfish with choclo kernels and uchucuta pepper sauce...stupendous!
Cilantro short grain rice served with a nice hunk of bluefin tuna on the side...soothing.
Shiitake mushroom with soy caramel...fascinating dessert.
Another dessert called "soursop"...seasonal fruit, small green 'peaches'...GREAT!
Itamae used to be in the design district here in Miami...an extremely tasty Peruvian/Japanese snack joint that everyone loved. It closed over a year ago, and everyone was sad.
But we are sad no more because Itamae Ao just opened in the midtown section of Miami, and folks are flocking here to experience all of the wonderful flavors we have been missing. . .mmm, aaaahh!
Itamae Ao is run by siblings: Nando and Valerie Chang...both of Peruvian/Japanese/Chinese heritage...both amazing chefs...and both full of love for cooking and sharing fabulous food with all of us gringos and Miamians of every stripe, color, heritage, background, etc....no matter who we are we all want big flavors in our mouths, and the Chang family delivers this in top-notch fashion.
Itamae Ao...itamae--master chef...ao--blue. . .master chefs of everything from the deep blue sea--this is what they are going for with the name. And they serve up this goodness omakase style with Miami/SouthFlorida twists at an intimate 10-seat counter. . .WOW...just WOW.
It requires lots of planning, organization and vision to make this all work, and somehow it does.
You might recognize the name Valerie Chang if you follow the restaurant scene at all...she just won the James Beard Award for best restaurant/chef in the 'south' region for her restaurant called 'Maty's.' Maty's is the mothership here in midtown Miami...AMAZING grub based on her grandmother Maty's recipes from back in Peru...fabulous dining spot.
So, our cups runneth over: we got Maty's as the main joint for gobbling great food...and we got Itamae Ao in a side room of Maty's with the most amazing omakase dining in all of SoFlo...heck, the best in all of Florida...and possibly all of the U.S....yes, it's that good.
If you ever find yourself hungry for deliciousness while tooling around Miami, then make your way into Itamae Ao. . .you will love this food, I gar-ron-taaaaayy!
Time to find our next gobble spot...
...it's lovely and delicious out there.
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