March 20, 2011

Fiamma Gastronomia Italiana

Photography Brenda Benoit

Fusilli al Pesto

When you are walking on Espanola which is the equivalent of 15th street and Washington in South Beach, Fiamma, a gastronomia italiana restaurant will caught your attention because usually you see people standing outside . You will find the owner always here and people reading the menu trying to decide if they are going to with the ravioli, fusilli or tagliatelle. Their menu has the perfect balance , not too many items and not too little. Finally a place where they know how to prepare a perfect plate of pasta! Believe me it is not easy to find a reasonable priced pasta dish in South Beach but Fiamma delivers homemade pasta without the price tag that you'll find at nearby hotels. A couple of times when I was walking by I saw the chef making the raviolis, there is a counter with glass where you can see all the action - and for those who are into cooking, you can watch the whole process.

This place is beautiful, a great spot for locals who want to enjoy their own bottle of wine (btw, they will let you bring your own wine and they do not charge cork fee). All of the ingredients they use are of high quality, the olive oil is press cold press from Italy and the fusilli you see on the picture above is organic. The fusilli was cooked to perfection and the pesto which by the way is basil, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil was subtle which is the way that it should be because when the pasta is good, at least me, I like to be able to taste it and not have it hidden by an overpowering sauce.