For a town filled with Latin American flavors and restaurants, Miami oddly enough doesn’t have much Costa Rican presence, which is why we were excited to get an authentic taste of Costa Rica during the one-week Pura Vida Pop-up at EDGE Steak & Bar.
From now through Sunday, May 17, guest chef Mario Alcocer and sous chef Pablo Brenes of Sol y Sombra, one of three new restaurant concepts at the recently renovated Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo, is collaborating with Executive Chef Aaron Brooks to provide authentic “Tico Flavours” on the lunch break, dinner, bar and Sunday brunch menus of EDGE Steak & Bar.
We got to sample a little bit of each menu. Each dish was light and refreshing with a plethora of flavors that reflect Costa Rica and Miami perfectly. Featured on the lunch break menu — a steal at just $23 — is the Cartago Salad made with three different types of quinoa, kale, avocado, chickpeas, green apple, grapes, cashews, and a ‘tapa de dulce’ vinaigrette, which might seem like a lot of competing tastes but it came together perfectly in the salad. The entree available during the lunch break is the Slow-Cooked Caribbean Chicken served with Costa Rican rice and beans, sweet plantains and coconut sauce, Chef Alcocer told us this dish was a nice reflection of the cuisine typically found in Costa Rica. For dessert, a small but sweet Strawberry Guaro Tres Leche made with passion fruit and crispy lime meringue rounded out the meal.
Since we like to hit up the bar at EDGE more often then we’ll admit, tasting the bar snacks offerings were a must. We tried the Ticos Tuna with avocado, mango, plantain chips and spicy mayo along with the Hearts of Palm Ceviche that features thinly sliced hearts of palm tossed with passion fruit, cilantro and bell pepper. Both dishes paired well with the special 18th on the Green cocktail made with Flor de Cana Rum, fresh lime juice, basil leaves and cilantro.
Just like lunch, EDGE is also offering a special Tico dinner menu that features three dishes for $59, or you can order them a la carte if so desired. For starters the we tastes the Puerto Caldera Tuna Tiradito made with freshly caught Yellowfin tuna topped with soy sauce, avocado, roasted corn, cilantro, and red onion. The almost too beautiful to eat (emphasis on almost) Plantain Crusted Pacific Sea Bass was served with a side of award-winning avocado quinoa cannelon along with a corn puree and citrus sauce. For dessert, we tried Tico’s unique spin on a Paleta made with arroz con leche, orange sauce and centenario golden raisins.
While we’d love to these dishes make their way onto EDGE’s permanent menu, we sadly don’t think that’ll be the case so make sure to check it out before May 17 and get a look of the tasty dishes below.
