Meat Me K.M.

It would be a bit of an understatement to say that there's a large Jewish presence in Miami Beach. Yarmulkes are everywhere. The big church in Miami Beach isn't actually a church—it's a big Jewish temple. I've heard it said that English is a third language, behind Spanish and Yiddish. I opted to take advantage of the culture by eating today at a rather new restaurant called Meat Me K.M. (K.M. for "kosher Miami").

Meat Me is a small restaurant, very narrow and deep, with only twelve modern tables and sleek paneled walls displaying very modern art. The menu is surprisingly unremarkable--nothing "exotic" about it to make it seem like kosher food is anything really all that different from what we Gentiles normally eat. I started with their chicken soup. I thought maybe it would come with matzo balls, but it was a very traditional chicken soup with a rich broth, bits of potato, carrot, celery, parsley, and garlic, and a chicken wing served in a white quatrefoil bowl.

While I was eating my soup, the waiter brought a plate with three small bowls, each with a different salad. There was a very basic mayonnaise-based cole slaw. Another cabbage salad was made of long shreds of purple cabbage with lots of chopped fresh parsley, all marinated with a bit of salt in an olive oil dressing. And, there was a spicy, garlicky salad made of crinkle-cut carrot coins that packed quite a punch, which, when I asked the waiter what it was, he said "carrot."

Then my main course arrived. Some of the most scrumptious chunks of lamb shish-kebab were impaled on two long, metal, handle-less sword blades and presented atop a large white oval platter. The lamb was delicately spiced and roasted just to juicy perfection. On the platter was a large mound of intentionally-lumpy and very yummy mashed potatoes that were seasoned with chicken fat (remember, this is a kosher place, so butter can't be served with meat on the menu). A small triangular plate filled with a thoroughly sauteed melange of green and yellow squash shreds, onion, and julienned carrot was the side dish du jour. After all this food, I was way too stuffed to even think about dessert!