Sustain restaurant in Miami

As much as I was craving the vaca frita at Havana Harry’s, when I went back to Miami this past weekend, my friend Shahla and I decided to try something new. We first thought we’d go to Taverna Opa (a Greek restaurant where I hear there are a lot of waving napkins and smashing plates happening), but the line at the door was out of control. We decided on another Mexican tapas place, but on the way there, we came across Sustain. The decor inside was alluring enough for us to change our minds and eat here instead.

Sustain is all about locally grown, organic food so the menu changes seasonally and sometimes even more often than that. Shahla had never been, but we decided might as well be a little adventurous with our food. Yeah. Sometimes that can work out for you, and sometimes it doesn’t. This time, not so much. I think our meal started well and ended well, but everything in between wasn’t anything to rave about. We started with the squash blossoms:

This is one of those seasonal menu items. It was filled with cheese and kind of tasted like Indian pakoras (fried fritters)…I don’t know if they use cumin or coriander in it to make it taste that way to me and it was a little unexpected. This was the good beginning.

We ordered a small plate of the watercress salad which came with bits of watermelon, candied peanuts, and blue cheese. The salad was decent, but the watercress and all its stems were a little difficult to eat, and I felt that the candied nuts were too sticky to chew. Plus, they were a little frugal with the cheese. It definitely tasted fresh, just nothing mind-blowing.

This is where I tried to get a little adventurous and went for the duck. Well, OK, our waiter HIGHLY recommended it. It’s another limited offering on their menu so I decided I might as well try it. I only had duck once before, in Paris, and it tasted like chicken but a little tougher to me. The sliced duck breast here was a little chewy, and too unfamiliar to me to really enjoy. The sauce didn’t do much for it. The forbidden black rice was my favorite part of the dish, and that’s not a good sign for a poultry dish.

Shahla was told that the burgers here were supposed to be something amazing (and of course, our waiter also strongly agreed), so we ordered one that was supposed to be done medium-well. It seemed a little more undercooked than we would have liked, and the carmelized onions did nothing to really save it. Another strike for our waiter’s recommendation. On a side-note, he did stress that already-known detail that his opinions are subjective, but I guess it just didn’t really work out for us this time.

The dessert might have been the only saving grace in the whole meal. We ordered a pot de creme chocolate and caramel blend mousse that came out in a little “illy” cup with a dollop of whipped cream that made it look like a cute little cup of coffee. I loved that touch. It left a good taste in my mouth, but as for the rest of the meal, not the best I’ve had. A+ for ambiance and service (our waiter was excellent to be fair), but the food really wouldn’t get as high of a marking.

Restaurant Info:
Sustain
3252 NE 1st Ave #107
Miami, FL 33137
(305) 424-9079
Midtown Miami

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