Delano Hotel | Bianca Restaurant Miami Beach

  This weekend I took my dad to the Bianca restaurant in the Delano boutique hotel in South Beach. We made the mistake of going during rush hour and suffered through about an hour and a half of traffic before finding the place. I chose this place through a mere google search and a whim and had never heard of it before that morning. I always like looking for places that make me feel like I earn more money than I do but I find the taste of the food equally as important. 

   On our ride from Miramar to South Beach we almost missed the building. The hotel was sitting on a narrow piece of land in a building that shot up to the sky in an a pale eggshell white. Since valet parking cost just about as much as one meal, we ended up going a couple blocks west to a parking garage across from the Fillmore. Driving around in Miami is always confusing. You barely realize that you had actually been in that place before. It's like a whole new world basically day vs night. Always bustling yet still almost unrecognizable. for most of the ride I felt I had never been in that area before until I saw the Fillmore and the mall from some nights ago. Only until then had I realize there was cheap parking garage right up the street from us, so we were able to avert too much searching. 

   I don't think I had ever been in a hotel as unique as this one. The lobby was minimalistic and the it was really pretty small, which should have been expected. A large hall made of wisping white curtains hanging from the high ceilings separated a piano and it's multiple lounging areas. Everything was in the dark, or just barely in the light. At the end of the grand hall was the breakfast area that lead outside to the real piece de resistance outside where most people sat enjoying the sunlight and the tall hedge separating them from the busy one way streets. Unfortunately, I had only a glimpse of that. We decided to sit indoors as we had broken a sweat on the walk there. It was of course normal Miami weather, well into the 90s. It was the smallest dinning area I had ever seen. Accompanied by the buffet it was merely us and a couple at another table, too close to us, talking business. I was glad when they left.

   I'd like to see the decor was a bit Hollywood regency and a tad bit of artsy eclecticism, chairs with artwork of someones face on them. The bathrooms were again small but filled with marble. I can appreciate that. I sat in an upright pleather chair up to the table. I decided for pancakes and my dad for an omelet. I knew I was going to be let down though because, can you forget, the pancakes at Oxford exchange? To die for.  These pancakes came with nuts. I don't know what for, since they weren't even cooked, heated, or caramelized. What was it? Trail mix? I wasn't going to touch that. The pancakes had no...no...joy. There was something sad about their taste. As if something unmentionably funny. Like they had no life, no gluten. I asked though, they had gluten. But I didn't have any patience to eat them. In the meant time, my dad was going away at the omelet he had. It was a fluffy coil of eggs that I got to taste. It was good enough. He seemed happy to eat it although he left the tomato alone. He was halfway done with his food whilst I waited for a new order of food to come my way. I will say this, the waiter I had was good enough to not even second guess my decision to order something else since I didn't like what was given to me. I appreciate that. I wasn't too scared he'd spit in my drink at all. Speaking of juice, they were the first restaurant in a long while to bring me truly fresh orange juice. A trait I feel every Florida restaurant should have. We're the orange capital after all! 

   I received my second order. The B.E.C sandwich, bacon, egg, cheese that is. Something fairly simple. Not more simple than pancakes though of course. It came on a brioche bun, lightly toasted, very soft. A compote of onions and broken bacon, eggs, that might have been a small omelet, cheese, and slices of watermelon, which I thought was a nice touch. It was again, good enough, but nothing to rave for. And you certainly don't want to get me started on the bill. Over $50 for breakfast for two.