16815: (Hermantin) Miami-Herald-Huge talent, tiny tabs at Rosie's (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Thu, Sep. 25, 2003


REVIEW
Huge talent, tiny tabs at Rosie's

BY SUE MULLIN
smullin@herald.com

If Chez Rosie Restaurant & Catering didn't exist, I might just have to make
it up. It's that good. And while I was at it, I'd make it 10 times its
conch-shack size and clone Haitian-born chef Ernest Martial.

Signs plastered on the front of the place look fresh and new -- ''The
Difference is Real Chef, Real Food,'' ''Lunch Specials are noon-4 p.m.
$2.95'' -- but in funky charm and rock-bottom prices, it's as if we've
blundered into a time tunnel.

The Johnson & Wales and Florida International University diplomas hanging on
the cubbyhole's inside wall attest to the first claim. To put Martial's
abilities and the $2.95 deal ($5 after 4 p.m.) to the test, we order two
different specials on our first visit.

A potpourri of carrots, cabbage, chayote, eggplant, watercress and shredded
pork and beef stewed in a Creole sauce is a swell take on a pepperpot stew.
The clam-broth-based sauce, discreetly kissed by a habanero, is good enough
to drink. (Clam Digger, anyone? You'll have to whip one up at home; Chez
Rosie serves no alcohol.)

TENDER CHOPS

A thicker Creole sauce graces a special of pork chops. The meat falls from
the bone at the touch of a fork -- a plastic fork at that. Sides on both
specials include a mountain of rice and beans, scented Caribbean-style with
allspice, and golden-brown, fried green plantains that are surprisingly
moist and delicate.

With the chops, I get a bonus of freshly cooked green beans -- so good they
evoke memories of meals cooked by Amish women in the Midwest of my youth and
remind me that great cooks limit themselves not to a spot on the map but
only to what is fresh.

Nothing except a hurricane-force wind moves faster in Miami than Chez
Rosie's specials. On a follow-up visit, we were behind a customer picking up
20 orders for her co-workers. It's wise to call ahead, even on regular menu
items, especially island delicacies such as Creole dishes, conch, goat and
oxtails. And remember to take cash. No credit cards are accepted.

Depending on the day of the week, the $2.95 lunch special might include
fried, baked or barbecued chicken, turkey stew plus whatever Martial
concocts from fresh ingredients he has on hand.

Lobster Creole is the most expensive dish on the menu at $19.95 (no market
prices here; the only surprises are nice ones), but it would satisfy at
least two people.

Shrimp dishes are fabulous whether Creole or fried. Popcorn shrimp is not in
Martial's vocabulary and, lucky for us, jumbo is. In addition to the three
sides, we get a plethora of relishes and dips. Fried chicken is also tasty
with four small drumsticks -- crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the
inside.

The restaurant is so small Martial may have to go out front or back, where
customers dine under umbrella tables and awnings, to change his mind. But it
is huge on two scores: Martial's cooking skills and his heart. He feeds
hundreds of hungry people for free every Thanksgiving Day, no questions
asked.

Diners may struggle with plastic utensils and overloaded Styrofoam boxes,
but the food rises to wonderful, complex heights.

A made-from-scratch tartar sauce, for example, is spiked with capers. A
garden salad, which is served with many dinners, is loaded with iceberg and
baby designer greens, sweet red tomatoes, hearts of celery, purple onion,
grated carrots and watercress. And salad dressings, hot sauces and relishes
are all house-made.

PIKLIZ, PLEASE

Martial's version of the fiery Haitian-American slaw pikliz puts one-note
Louisiana hot sauces to shame. It's served warm, has a cabbage crunch, a
tart vinegary prelude and then, beware, acts as a blow torch if more than a
smidgen enters the mouth. Quell the flames with a little milk plus a slice
of Martial's Key lime pie or carrot cake.

This stretch of Biscayne is rapidly regentrifying. A sure sign: a Starbucks
preparing to open a few blocks away. So get on over to Chez Rosie before the
''chain'' reaction begins.

Place: Chez Rosie Restaurant.

Address: 7015 Biscayne Blvd., Miami.

Rating: Exceptional.

Contact:305-756-9881.

Hours:9 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

Prices: soups and salads $2.95-$5.25, entrees $2.95-$19.95.

FYI: Cash only.

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