Dining In The Dark Miami- Toro Toro Miami

By Sonia Love

Dining in the Dark Miami has been around the scene for some time now. Toro Toro inside the InterContinental Hotel Miami hosted a Dining in the Dark night and it was very special. To begin, the place is beautiful. As you enter, you walk into the hotel’s lobby which screams Miami lure with neon lights and sexy people all around. From the bar they walked us blind folded to the special Chef’s table. This table is a behind-the-scenes, VIP, exclusive table. The table can be reserved for special parties. Sits about 14 people and it is very intimate. And now for the main reason why we were there, the food!

As we sat there blindfolded at the mercy of Chef Eric Do, we anxiously awaited our first sample. Enter the exquisite Gigamoto Oyster, topped with champagne vinegar foam, lychee, shallots and a hint of mint. Paired with the refreshing Amuse Bouche with Moet on ice. These two items were paired perfectly.

The Caviar Taco was the second item out the kitchen. Paired with Moet Brut Imperial this taco was like none other. To start the shell of the taco was made from potatoes, filled with crème fraiche, chives and caviar.

Next the Cacio e Pepe pasta topped with pecorino romano, extra virgin olive oil, confit shallots and fresh cracked pepper. This dish was not for the faint of heart. It was very hearty and filling partnered with the Moet Grand Vintage Blanc it was amazing.

The Spanish Octopus that followed seasoned with Peruvian adobo, cilantro sauce with a side of confit fingerling potatoes. The Moet Rose NV paired with the Spanish Octopus was super with a delicate bubbly sweet taste.

After the previous delicious samples the Madagascar Prawn Ravioli blessed our mouth with its rich flavor of uni brown butter, frisee, cili oil and a hint of lemon. This dish was something out of an Italian film. It was elegant, tastefully done and classy.

I forget to mention we had to try and guess all these dishes while blindfolded. Yes, some of us were good, others needed to awaken their senses more and give in to the exquisiteness of this experience. It takes patience and concentration trying to decipher the intricate dishes Chef Eric Do had concocted for us. The last meal of the night was hard to guess because, gasp, no one imagined it was braised rabbit sprinkled with thyme, roast apples, cipollini onions drizzled with a hazelnut sauce. Can you say? OMG! It was not something you see a lot on a menu and the guilt of eating a bunny rabbit did not stop me from consuming the heavenly dish.

Living in South Florida gives us residents the luck of having seasonal tropical fruits all year. And restaurants know how fortunate they are in incorporating seasonal fruits in their menu. Dessert is just as important a meal as an appetizer in my opinion, and sometimes I could do without an appetizer as long as the end is sweet. Chef Eric Do bid us farewell with an angelic lychee sorbet, mixed with a white balsamic reduction, drizzled with basil and topped with sweet strawberries.

Overall, the Dining in the Dark Miami experience was amazing with the private table which has a full view of the kitchen, a big screen TV to keep on guessing your next dish. Being blindfolded was exciting! The anticipation of guessing what the next dish was going to be was fun! This is the kind of experience you would hope for in a small dinner gathering with friends or families. I really enjoyed the blindfolded experience as it was fun and very entertaining.

Dining in the Dark Miami Full Menu:

Amuse Bouche – Moet Ice

Gigamoto Oyster

champagne vinegar foam / lychee / shallots / mint

1^st Course – Moet Brut Imperial

Caviar Taco

potato shell / crème fraiche / caviar / chives

2^nd Course – Moet Grand Vintage Blanc

Cacio e Pepe

pecorino romano / extra virgin olive oil / confit shallots / fresh cracked pepper

3^rd Course – Moet Rose NV

Spanish Octopus