Discovering Latin Cuisine at OLA Miami

I was in Miami recently and stumbled onto an exciting restaurant named OLA. It stands for "Of Latin America." The meal we had was so astounding that I wanted to start a blog to journal this taste adventure. I had recently joined the James Beard Foundation and saw that the chef of OLA, Douglas Rodriguez, had just been nominated as one of the best chefs in 2008 for the South region. Chef Rodriguez, also known as "El Jeffe," is author of three Nuevo Latino cookbooks.

Restaurant OLA is housed inside the Sanctuary hotel. It has a restored 20's era modern feel similar to the Avalon hotel in Beverly Hills, California. One look at the menu and I knew I was in for a treat. I started off with a lovely coconut mojito called the "Cojito." This is definitely for the coconut lover since the flavors are intense and on the sweeter side. Then the wonderful wait staff came by with these donut-hole sized Colombian rolls. The texture of the rolls was a bit chewy and nutty. Turns out it is made with yucca flour, tapioca flour, and dusted with white cheddar powder. I even took a picture of it. I'm in search for the recipe and will post it when I find it.

My husband and I shared several appetizers. OLA is known for its inventive ceviches. After studying each ceviche combination I went with the Rainbow, which was made up of tuna, corvina, salmon, white soy sauce, citrus juices, sesame seeds, sweet potato & cilantro. My husband went for the short rib empanada and the tuna tacos. The tacos were comprised of diced tuna, crispy shallots, diced jalapeno, paprika, lemon oil, roasted garlic & ginger aioli; and arrived in a custom made wood block to hold each taco perfectly in place.

By now my husband and I are in taste heaven. But wait...there's more. For our entrees, my husband had a delectable beef tenderloin cut in a Churrasco style. It came with grilled asparagus, crabmeat, and chimichurri sauce. I had the Pescado A La Mocha, which is the fish of the day cooked a la plancha. I had red snapper and it came with sauteed baby spinach, clams, mussels, calamari, and shrimp; all in a wonderful aji amarillo sauce.

With all this wonderful food, my husband was the only one with room for dessert. He chose the chocolate cigar, which was presented with great whimsy. I took a picture of that as well. It was an almond cake rolled up in the shape of a cigar and coated with chocolate mousse. It was accompanied by coffee ice cream and a candy book of matches.

OLA is a place where your taste buds come alive and bombarded with a wide range of Latin flavors. I have not had an experience in a long time where I discovered new flavors. This was a dining experience to remember.

OLA
1745 James Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33139
305.695.9125
http://www.olamiami.com/

James Beard Foundation
http://www.jamesbeard.org/