Il Gabbiano
Posted on | June 29, 2008 | 2 Comments
- Location-335 S. Biscayne Blvd.,Miami, Fl.
- Cuisine-Italian
The Gagit’s are joined by the Oil Baroness and the Racecardriver who got us to the restaurant in 15 minutes flat from Aventura.We both shared the memories of the total rip-off of Il Muhlino at Aqualina but based on recommendations of friends we decided to give Il Gabbiano a try.The owners are different then the Florida Il Muhlino who they sold the name too but from the original Il Muhlino in New York ,the Masci Brothers, Gino and Fernando. We park our car , enter the restaurant, and our seated at a great outside table on the bay overlooking Fisher Island, the Cruise Port, and the almost empty condos in the area.
Our waiter Matteo greets us in Italian , English might be his 4th language,and takes our drinks orders, this night Grey Goose all around, onions for me , olives for our guests, and with orange slice for Foodiechic. Only $60.00 per round, we better enjoy this food. lol. We are then plyed with the usual Il Muhlino fillers, sliced garlic Zucchini, tomato Bruschetta, a chunk of Parmagano cheese, and garlic bread. I wish they really tried to get me to forget Il Muhlino rather than remember by copying these already lame and old tastes .
As we peruse the menu , another waiter from another foreign country explains the specials in broken English, what is Bak-ed food. A third waiter takes our second drink order since it took it seems 30 minutes to explain the specials in his English . We place our orders with Matteo and are real concerned that he wrote down what we ordered our what he understood we ordered.
The girls ordered the Insala Gorgonzola e Pere to share.The salad arrives and was not only ordinary but they thought the cheese was Goat rather than Gorgonzola, Matteo really takes offense here and the girls really know the difference, I wonder if Matteo does.Racecardriver orders the Clams Casino for only $16.75, not a bad value for 6 Littlenecks if a plane ride to Rhode Island to get the clams were included.I thought Il Muhlino had no shame but the price of this dish would even embarrass them.
The mains now arrive and are shown above, I had Scallopini Pizzialo , tomato,peppers, mushrooms, and onions with a little spice.Not only was the spice missing, but the veal was really tasteless, and a quality I would expect in Mama Mia in Hollywood but not here. Foodiechic had the Picatta di Vitello Lemone, veal in lemon butter and white wine.Her only comment was consistent with mine, the quality of the veal was so inferior for a $27.75 dish , what a great way to make a profit at the customers expense. Our guests both had the Pollo alla Scarpariello, chicken and sausage with wine and garlic. the dish arrives and the Chicken is the low quality level of the veal,overcooked, and guess what no sausage for $27.75.
Matteo now comes over to our table and admits this time the sausage is missing,business is slow during the week,they have to cut corners.He offers us the house dessert on the house, a glass of Limoncello on the house,and coffee which we were charged for making the total bill, $400.00. Racecardriver got us back home in 10 minutes as we discussed which restaurant was a bigger rip-off,Il Muhlino or Il Gabbiano.
Let the Truth be Told, as long as a restaurant has any association with Il Muhlino , old or new,customer beware unless you need to be seen or impress your friends that you need to spend money for inferior Italian. If you really need to spend this money,at least go to Cafe Martarano where the food quality, taste, and service is really worth this amount of money.
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About me
Let me introduce myself: I am ER Gagit. Food and Drink are my Game. I have done extensive traveling, eating and drinking in some of the finest establishments throughout the world. read more
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July 1st, 2008 @ 2:22 pm
Pretty Place, no excuse for the lousy food. I would never go back there!!! Horrible!
June 28th, 2010 @ 11:25 pm
It’s good.
I love what you wrote.
I think you are a good writer.