More Than Ingredients
Chef Daniel Small Knows How to Attract an All-Ages Clientele

The best one-word description of the thin-sliced Filet Mignon Carpaccio ($9.95) was clean.

A family restaurant with sophisticated fare.

By Mark Goldberg

It’s been awhile since we’ve done the family dining experience. But you could take Il Migliore out of its mini-strip center, Aventura locale; drop it into a South Beach hotel and it would fit right in. Food, service; it’s all that good. Fortunately, it’s right where it is and we don’t have to pay $48 for a rack of lamb. It is the most expensive dish on the Il Migliore menu, but it’s only $24.95.

Apparently everyone eats at Il Migliore, from grandparents to grandkids, and everyone knows everyone else. More important, owner Neal Cooper and Executive Chef Daniel Small know every diner by name and by favorite dish. And that’s an achievement, since the three-year-old, 62-seat restaurant turns over at least twice a night.

And those favorite dishes? They could all be favorites. From a simple grilled salmon to the baby chicken cooked under a brick (Huh? We’ll have to come back to that). Chef Small describes his menu by explaining his ingredients. “We use the best products in the simplest way, without masking or hiding anything. We want you to taste what you are eating.” Well, I’ve been putting on the critic’s bib for too many years to know it takes more than good ingredients. And so do Cooper, who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, and Small, a Johnson & Wales graduate.

The menu is Northern Italian, so don’t go searching for hot spices. These are the butter people who enrich both their pastas and their meats with heavy cream. Even the special Mussels Fra Diavlo ($14.95) were not spicy, though they were remarkable. Huge, soft Mediterranean black mussels were piled high in a bowl filled with a pungent, yet not spicy red sauce loaded with diced tomatoes. After enjoying the shellfish, we made our own bruschetta by piling the saucy tomatoes on our crusty slices of bread. The best one-word description of the thin-sliced Filet Mignon Carpaccio ($9.95) was clean. Here was quality meat topped with arugula and covered with shaved slices of fresh Reggiano Parmesano. The grilled Portobello Mushroom ($9.95) was marinated in balsamic vinegar and grilled until its cover of fontina cheese melted into it. Served over baby mixed greens with a balsamic vinaigrette, we thought it was the ultimate salad. Until we tasted the Insalata Spinaci ($9.95). Remember when your mama said, “Eat your spinach”? If she had dressed it up with incredible candied walnuts, crumbles of gorgonzola cheese and crimini mushrooms and splashed it with a pancetta vinaigrette, there would have been no problem.

Pastas were a pleasure. The simple Spaghetti Pomodoro ($12.95) featured tomato concasse and garlic, basil and extra virgin olive oil over an al dente homemade noodle. Mushroom Fettuccine ($15.95) captured crimini, portobello and shiitake mushrooms intermingling with homemade noodles in just a bit too much truffle oil. But the rich, earthy flavor still put the dish on top. Our favorite was the Rigatoni Buttara ($13.95) for which Small cooked down spicy sausage and mirepois, kicked in a bit of red wine and let sit until saucy. He then added heavy cream and some peas to create a light tomato cream sauce.

That North Atlantic Salmon ($15.95) was simply prepared with a little salt and pepper and a mustard vinaigrette. Of course the vinaigrette was a combination of sherry vinegar, mustard seed, Dijon mustard, sugar, basil and shallots. It gave the dish a nice, sweet contrast and a perfect melding. You either hate or love Calves Liver ($15.95). If you love it, you’ll love it even more at Il Migliore. Pan-sautéed, fork-tender, rich, flavorful without being all liver-y, the dish was topped with caramelized onions and disappeared quickly. Veal Marsala ($18.95) combined a sauté of crimini, shiitake and portobello mushrooms with shallots, and fresh demi. The veal was then sautéed with cream and the Marsala and cooked down. Then there’s the baby chicken cooked under a brick. Chef Small joked that it was prepared that way, “Because using chains wasn’t so nice.” Actually, the Pollo “Al Mattone” ($15.95) is the restaurant’s most popular dish. Small takes a Cornish game hen, removes the backbone, and lightly presses the whole bird beneath a brick, on an iron skillet. The process seals in all the juices and, with a light sprinkle of salt and pepper, some rosemary and garlic, you have a moist, crisp dinner.

Special mention must be made of Il Migliore’s Tuscan Fries ($4.95). Roasted Yukon Gold potatoes were lightly fried and mixed with parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme and basil. These were so good, they disappeared quicker than M&M’s at a 3-year-old’s birthday party.

All desserts are made from scratch, from the chocolate mousse zucotto to the ricotta cheesecake to the, yes, delicious key lime pie (Hey! We’re in Florida).

By the way, Il Migliore is Italian for The Best. The name fits.

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Il Migliore

• ADDRESS: 2576 NE Miami Gardens Drive, Aventura

• PHONE: 305-792-2902

• HOURS: Lunch Monday – Friday: 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Dinner Monday – Saturday 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Closed Sundays until October.

• FOOD: Northern Italian

• SERVICE: Neighborhood homey, but know their stuff.

• PRICES: Appetizers: $4.95 - $10.95; entrées: $9.95 - $24.95

• WINES: Quality list, running from “25 Wines For $25” to Tuscans.

• ATMOSPHERE: Intimate family dining.

• RESERVATIONS: Suggested for parties of six or more.

• CREDIT CARDS: MasterCard, VISA, American Express.