Sarsaparilla Club Miami Beach Review
The Sarsaparilla Club Miami Beach is the newest culinary venture of Chefs Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth. Located off of the pool deck of the Shelborne Wyndham Grand South Beach on Collins Ave, the Sarsaparilla Club Miami Beach delivers a combination of Cantonese Dim Sum and American Comfort Food. The innovative take on contemporary American cooking that Chefs Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth implemented with the restaurant make Sarsaparilla Club Miami Beach a legitimate contender in the Miami Beach food scene.
We started off with a couple of Dim Sum cart items. The Heirloom Tomatoes was our cold Dim Sum option that came with a bed of homemade ricotta with a scoop of tomato sorbet, a couple of tomatoes sliced in half, crispy olive oil toast and a drizzle of basil oil. I had to try this one because… tomato sorbet?! As part of a Dim Sum plate?! I have never seen this on a menu. The flavors are actually very traditional but the interesting note on this dish is definitely the temperature and texture that the sorbet delivers. I mixed the oil with the ricotta and spooned it on the toast with some tomato sorbet in order to get all the elements in one bite. The bite is cold, refreshing, with tried and true flavor combinations that we know work well.
The hot Dim Sum menu was one of my favorite part of my dinner at Sarsaparilla Club Miami Beach, every Hot Dim Sum dish left me wanting more!
The Shrimp & Bacon Stuffed Chicken Wings was the one dish that I was DYINGÂ TO TRY! A shrimp and bacon mixture is stuffed into the chicken wings which are deboned on the top to allow for easy consumption. The wings are drenched in a chili lime hot sauce and are then laid on a small pool of buttermilk ranch.
The Homemade Sausage Dumplings lay on a Smokey Plantain BBQ Sauce and are topped with thinly sliced scallions. The sausage is rich and savory and pairs well with the very prominent smokey flavors in the plantain sauce. I could have easily eaten 20 of these dumplings, they’re seriously addicting.
The Braised Short Rib Dumplings lay on a salsify puree and are topped with crispy onion rings and a drizzle of black vinegar. These dumplings deliver the easily recognizable rich short rib flavors. If you love short rib because you’ll love these dumplings!
The Pork Belly Bacon Steamed Buns came with a chunk of pork belly bacon inside of a house made steamed bun with a fish sauce caramel and cilantro peanut slaw. I loved combination of salty pork belly with the crunchy textures of the peanut slaw and the prominent peanut flavor in each bite. There’s Asian written all over it.
The Sarsaparilla Fried Chicken was personally one of the best fried chicken plates I’ve had in South Florida. After numerous mediocre and rather disappointing fried chicken meals, there is finally a fried chicken living up to all that fried chicken can be. The Green Curry Fried Chicken is coated with a Kaffir Lime Powder, Coriander and Toasted Coconut before being garnished with slices of lime and cilantro. Visually, the fried chicken is very appealing. The prominence of the color green makes the fried chicken stand out from the pack. The chicken is brined for 24 hours which resulted in an extremely juicy fried chicken, I’m now convinced that brining a chicken beforehand is the only way to cook fried chicken, it makes all of the difference in the world! You taste the lime powder and toasted coconut which is a rather unusual combination with fried chicken, but it is actually a genius marriage of ingredients.
The Rock Shrimp Laksa is another dish I highly recommend. The Laksa has rock shrimp and tofu as its source of protein, egg noodles, and a delicious coconut turmeric broth. Cilantro and lime garnish the laksa. I’m in love with the heat from the red peppers and a nice crunchy texture from the fried onions. The marrying of the ingredients are harmonious and delectable.
The Really Big Steak On A Plate is Sarsaparilla’s 24oz Cowboy Ribeye that comes with sautéed local roots and a signature house steak sauce. Ordered medium as per the chef’s recommendations the Ribeye is heavenly. The sauteed local roots have a garlic undertone and pairs beautifully with the steak.
The Spiced Love Rice was my personal favorite side dish at Sarsaparilla Club Miami Beach. I am infatuated with the combination of saffron basmati rice, pomegranate, pistachio and raisins. The rice also has rose petals, a sprinkle of fried onions, and fresh herbs. There is a variety of flavors ranging from sweet to savory and a high degree of texture in rice.
The Sweet Corn “Grits” includes hand cut fresh sweet corn grits, green onions and arugula marscapone, crispy choclo and pecorino. There are a lot of elements to this “Grits” that I enjoyed, but they reminded me very little of grits and much more of a sweet corn casserole. The corn delivered plenty of sweetness and the crispy choclo might have been my favorite element of the dish as it provided crunchy texture to the grits. The pecorino cheese delivered a sharp and salty flavor and complemented the sweet corn well.
The Ice Cream Sandwich comes with vanilla ice cream stuffed in between two light and airy cream puffs and a small dish of chocolate for dipping or drizzling on your ice cream sandwich.
