Swelling with more Sunshine State pride than Udonis Haslem when he was fat and that Florida tattoo on his back was literally all swelled up, Red Light Little River's Kris Wessel opened Florida Cookery. The bright, airy, contemporary joint -- which's named after a local cookbook his grandma used back in the '40s -- is lined with gray ocean murals and tables uniquely tiled with patchwork wood, at which you'll eat dishes Wessel creates with ingredients he personally gathers from hyper-local farms and fisheries.


On any given day, he might return to Cookery with figs, sorrel & duck eggs, which he'll pan-sear into into a duck egg-tomme cheese broil w/ fig duck confit & a rosemary dip toast (also the preferred breakfast of gross baseball players who loooove rosemary), at least when he's not dousing Dade County-caught spiny lobsters in a dry sherry.


He'll also stuff hand-plucked bananas in a bacon-aided skillet French toast, and even relive his Chopped champ days by turning a selection of mystery ingredients from Sons and Daughter's farm into a weekly dish called the "CSA Box Salad" (he swears none of the mystery ingredients will be boxes).

While he's not driving from booze farm to booze farm every day to harvest it, Wessel's stocking a nice selection of ports, grappas, Cognacs, and Italian vinos, while also creating boozy confections like a Puerto Rican pineapple rum cake, and a banana pecan bread pudding soaked in a sauce made with whiskey, which tends to make everything pretty swell.

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Florida Cookery

Published: October 26, 2012 at 4:00am EDT

1545 Collins Ave

Miami Beach, FL 33139

305.604.5700 Menu

Opening Thursday

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