MC Kitchen Menu

MC Kitchen Restaurant Review:

MC (the initials referring to chef Dena Marino and her business-savvy partner Brandy Coletta) is the definitive Miamian-Italian eatery. The setting is casually sophisticated in a locals-oriented welcoming way, the antithesis of both South Beach glitz and Italian theme-park restaurant kitsch. As for the food, Marino (a Michael Chiarello protégée who previously had two restaurants in Aspen) calls it “Modern Italian.” But that’s a pale term to describe the vibrancy of her cooking, which utilizes market-fresh ingredients. Marino captures the essence of traditional Italian dishes while gently transforming them with distinctive creative touches and technical skills into something unique. Don’t miss lunchtime-only “piadenas,” Marino’s refined take on piadinas, a street food from Emilia-Romagna. Traditionally the tasty if one-dimensional naan-like flatbreads are griddled and filled with cold cuts or cheese; here, they’re wood oven-cooked for a crusty exterior and topped with changing seasonal combinations like spicy and crispy Florida Keys shrimp, jícama slaw, avocado spread and roasted lemon. The wine list boasts over 450 labels, from global wineries big and small (including one, BOE, based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn).