WSVN — Love Italian food? Then you’re going to go meatballs over two new restaurant openings, especially one restaurant run by a hunky celebrity chef. 7’s Belkys Nerey has lots of amore in tonight’s Style File.
Something good-looking, I mean, good, is cooking in the kitchen. Celebrity Chef Fabio Viviani is opening Siena Tavern in Miami’s South of Fifth neighborhood.
Fabio Viviani: “I’m very excited to be in Miami! Miami, so far, has done nothing but good things to me.”
Siena Tavern is one of the top restaurants in Chicago, and now South Florida is getting a taste of Viviani’s Italian greatness.
Fabio Viviani: “Staple dishes are not going anywhere.”
One of those staples is Viviani’s famous meatball, which is so popular, it has it’s own Twitter account.
Fabio Viviani: “The meatball is outrageous. It’s 14 ounces of Kobe beef mixed with a ratio of ricotta cheese to keep it nice and soft.”
Other must-trys are the homemade pastas, like gnocchi with truffle cream and crispy pancetta. And, when it comes to pizza, Viviani is working hard to make sure our pesky humidity doesn’t mess up his pie.
Fabio Viviani: “It messes your hair up, but for some reason, if you know how to turn that extreme content of water in the air in your advantage, you have the best pizza you’ve ever tasted.”
The charming chef runs a lot of restaurants, so how much we will actually see him in the Siena Miami kitchen?
Fabio Viviani: “The good news for you is that in Chicago, in about a month, it’s going to get really cold, and I like Miami a lot.”
For more Italian love, go off the beaten path to the emerging area called Ironside, just west of Biscayne Boulevard. That’s where you’ll find the new Ironside Pizza, run by the owners of Brickell favorite Toscana Divino.
Jeff Maxfield: “This area in general is an up-and-coming area. It’s very artsy.”
The specialty here is Neapolitan thin-crust pizzas, made with many ingredients direct from Italy.
Jeff Maxfield: “The dough is made in an very authentic way. We rise it for 12 hours; we’re using flour from Molino San Felice.”
Everything — pizzas, vegetables, even the bread — is made in the wood-burning oven.
Jeff Maxfield: “You get the really, really nice flavor from the wood. You definitely need to start with the involtini. I would recommend getting it with our homemade porchetta.”
Pizzas range from the Ironside, with green salad, feta and cherry tomatoes, to a dessert Nutella pizza. Come with a big group and order the Tour of Italy, an all-you-can-eat kind of deal.
Jeff Maxfield: “It’s $20 a person, and our Pizzaioli will just send you out different pizzas.”
Ironside Pizza also offers gluten-free pizza and vegan options. Siena Tavern Miami opens Monday, Nov. 10, and it is located in the old China Grill building on Washington Avenue.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Siena Tavern Miami
404 Washington Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 534-5577
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Ironside Pizza
7580 N.E. 4th Court
Miami, FL 33138
(305) 531-5055
events@pizzaironside.com