NAOE - pronounced oddly enough, "naoe"

Naoe is owned by Chef Kevin Cory, Miami born but Japanese by heritage.  His family owns a sake brewery in Ishikawa Prefecture (southwest peninsula off of the main island called Honshu) which brews all of the sake that is served in the restaurant.  The brewery is called Nakamura, and you can order Junmai, Ginjo, and Daiginjo grade sake from this brewery which is exclusively sold in this restaurant, or you can have Sapporo.  I suggest you order the sake!  There is also a dessert sake made using "wine yeast" which I didn't get to try, but I most certainly will on the next visit.  There is also an array of non-alcoholic beverages including green tea.

Chef Cory learned Japanese Cuisine from Exec. Chef Nobuo Kase who learned the craft in Kyoto, where Kaiseki Ryori, (the most sophisticated and coveted of Japanese Cuisine) is headquartered.  He then learned from his uncle and admitted mentor Yasushi Naoe, who is highly revered in Kaiseki dining by the Japanese.  After several restaurant experiences in Miami, he finally opened Naoe, the name being a tribute to his uncle, in March, 2009.  The reviews have been stunning since the beginning -- and just to name a few, Gayot top 10 New Restaurants, Highest Rated by Yelp in Miami, Highest Rated in Miami by Open Table, NBC #1 restaurant, Miami New Times 2010 Best Japanese Restaurant.....

Your experience must first start off with a reservation (required and exclusive through opentable.com), and these are offered for 8pm, 9pm, or midnight seatings Wednesday-Sunday, and the place only can serve 17 at a time, so no matter when you choose to dine, the experience will be intimate.  Go with close friends, not your surf-buddies or your rowdy book club.

We chose to sit at the bar.  Which was the best decision, considering we got to witness 37 year old Chef Cory hard at work as the master of his small domain.  The hostess/server explained the experience, and coached us about what to expect:  a Bento Box and Miso Soup, then various courses of sushi/sashimi that is made from seafood that was "alive this morning or still alive."  This restaurant brings in fish directly from the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo (pictured above-right), or the Miami fish ports every day. The website motto "It's Not Fresh, It's Alive" rings true indeed!

So here is the Bento Box.  Top Left:  Some kind of sushi with a mashed mountain vegetable foam,  Bottom Left:  Rice with Shiitake Mushrooms, Bottom Right:  Spanish Mackerel sushi and poached lobster with freshly grated wasabi (much sweeter and milder than your typical wasabi paste), Upper Right:  Raw-ish pork with mustard sauce, sweet pea pods, tempura fish tail, and (gasp) Sea Bream "male eggs" - translate - SPERM.

And company included - the vote was that the Sea Bream Sperm was the highlight of the experience.  The butternut squash miso soup was exquisite and fragrant.... Great digestif and completely yummy!

I must emphasize there is no menu.  This is the chef's whimsy, and largely based on what is local and fresh and seasonal.  And true to the Bento Box style of dining, the presentation was simply lovely and the variety of flavors broad, yet focused. The soup was slurped sans spoon, also very traditional.  This is no-doubt the most traditional Japanese cuisine I've found in the US.
So then we are instructed by our Asian but nearly accent-free server "Wendy" that the next portion of our meal is sushi/sashimi -- based on what was fresh in the moment. We could pick and choose through the rotation, no need to try everything, but we were encouraged to try the salmon and scallops, truly fresh and delicious at the time.  However, we could stop at any time - a classier version of the red/green drink coaster at Fogo de Chao that alerts the server/chef when you are "ready for action" or "sitting this one out."

I love Naoe.  

And I love scallop sushi.  I just don't love salmon.  At least not until Chef Cory got to me.  This salmon was melt-in-your mouth goodness and fresh, thin, buttery and completely amazing.  The scallop was alive 30 seconds before being served over the warm slightly vinegary rice.  It melted in my mouth and practically dissolved into nothing but flavor..... oh my goodness was this fresh!  Each piece was hand painted with specially designed soy sauce, created by the chef to enhance each morsel.

And then we had the Geoduck Clam.  Wow!  This thing the closest to a dildo I've ever seen in a kitchen.  There really isn't anything else intelligent I can say about this creature.  There is meat in a clam shell and then a "foot" that looks unmistakably like a penis.  I mean, use your imagination to come up with another description, and well, um..... yep.  It's nearly identical to a penis.  What's even more uncomfortable?   That's the part we ate!  

Ok, so Chef Cory flash-boiled this thing to kill it, and then dipped it in ice water to halt the cooking process, and voila! - no shrinkage! LOL! We still have a piece of raw shellfish that looks like a penis.  And then you watch the chef salt it and then carefully slice it in down the center - despite the wincing and grimacing of every male in the room.  And then the meat is scored, painted again with soy, and served sushi-style.  And I have to admit once again, exquisite.  

After some shimmery mackerel sushi, and some baby shrimp that was tiny, sweet and with a truly unique but delectable texture, we gave in.  "No more" we cried!

So Wendy brought us true mochi (difficult to find in the US) coated in Sweet Potato Flour, and served with toothpicks.  This was one of my favorite desserts while traveling through Japan and Naoe does not disappoint!  Then a mystery ice cream and Wendy challenged us to identify the mystery flavor.  Hmmmmm I thought Sesame, because it was slightly peanut-butterish.  However we were told the ice cream's secret flavor was soy sauce - and the savory, sweet, creamy cold sensation began to make sense.  Completely amazing.

I'm no Michelin Guide or Food Critic, but I give this place 5 out of 4 stars, 11 out of 10 smiley faces and three thumbs up.  Amen.
www.naoemiami.com