North 110/North Miami
Sun Sentinel - January 14, 2005

In the late 1980s and early '90s, when Dewey LoSasso was chef at the Foundlings Club on Miami Beach, he was perhaps the least-known member of the coterie of South Florida chefs called the Mango Gang.

After a stint in New York, he's back in South Florida and back to some of his original tropical influences, and it's a welcome return.

With his wife, Dale, handling the front of the house, the couple has crafted a comfortable spot along what is coming to be called the Biscayne Corridor. North 110 is a good distance from Miami's nascent performing arts center that is one of the engines of this development boom along Biscayne Boulevard, but it is still in an area of small neighborhoods. Despite the aggravating construction in the area, North 110 has become a haven for a group of locals longing for something comfortably upscale.

The decor, completely renovated from the days when Il Tulipano and its successors inhabited the space, is low key and warm, with the dining room cleverly broken into sections that give both privacy and a sense of spaciousness. There's a private dining area where LoSasso wants to set up cooking classes and a full bar in the back, though the lovingly assembled wine list gets a lot more attention than the spirits roster.

The menu at North 110 is aggressively informal -- how could one feel otherwise when the menu includes signature appetizers like chips and dip ($8)? The key here is the kind of chips and dip -- crisp slivers of yuca paired with a trio of dips: yogurt and charred onion, a creamy hot pepper puree and salsalike mash of tomato and fresh herbs. It's refreshing and just the down-home touch to set the tenor of a comfortable neighborhood meal.

Among the more conventional starters, there are tender and moist salmon croquettes ($14) with a sweet, addictively hot guava sauce; and a light and flavorful crab cake ($16) with piquant mustard and garlicky mayonnaise; and a typical LoSasso twist on a dinner classic like a spinach and bacon salad ($13). Here, the "bacon" is made from smoked salmon, and a cooling note is added with chunks of charred apple.

Seared foie gras is as ubiquitous a starter on menus these days as fried calamari was a decade ago. LoSasso's version ($16) is more piquant than most, accenting the liver's richness with the sweet-tart flavor of carambola and roasted shallot, then adding a peppery note with arugula that gives the dish terrific balance.

There's an infectious enthusiasm to the menu at North 110 that may begin with an appetizer like chicken and stars soup ($6) -- albeit with organic chicken and semolina stars -- but continues into the main dishes with vegetable chili ($17) scented with cumin and beefed up with grilled tofu and pan-seared diver scallops with a pomegranate barbecue sauce ($24).

LoSasso likes assertive flavors but spends as much time on balance as on picking his peppers. Shrimp wrapped in thin noodles ($25) is quickly fried for a delectably crunchy texture set off by the bite of wasabi-infused butter, but even with that heady aroma, the palate is still surprised by an aioli flavored with kimchee, the fiery Korean condiment. Chilean sea bass is paired with basil for an aromatic combination ($25) accented by the surprising addition of red wine and mushrooms.

Beef short ribs are given a long, slow braising with chianti ($25) with the added homey touch of mashed potatoes. One of my favorite dishes on the menu is a simply roasted duck ($21) scented with orange and lavender and taken just to the edge of sweetness with sun-dried figs.

While LoSasso may still be most identified with tropical influences, he took part of his training in Italy and the influence of the northern part of the country shows up not only in dishes like the short ribs, but in desserts like ricotta fritters with lavender honey ($7) and a silky mascarpone and ricotta cheesecake, with an added tropical touch of caramelized bananas ($8).

North 110 is more than a cozy neighborhood restaurant, it's something of a family album showing a creative team of chef and manager developing a style all their own.

With a wine list and service that are both far better than most restaurants in the area, it deserves to be destination dining, regardless of which neighborhood is your starting point.