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18 DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017

28 From the Editor

36 Around WestonOpenings, events and other fun stuff you’ll want to know about this month.

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50 Design Of Our TimesOrchard Supply Hardware makes its first foray into South Florida with a Weston location.

114 Matters Of StyleGet your holiday swingin’—and blingin’—with these fab finds.

120 Table HoppingSay hello to Kuro, the dazzling and delicious hot spot in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

126 Wheel LifeSteve Siler compares the 2017 Porsche 911 and the 718 Boxster and Cayman.

134 Out & AboutA look at who’s celebrating, fundraising and socializing in and around town.

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18 DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017

120 DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017

If you’re into gorgeous spaces, cocktails and food—the latter

two of which are also off-the-chain delicious—run to Kuro

at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.

By Michelle Payer

say hellokuro

table hopping

TO

Sometimes the universe has its own plan. When Chef Alex Becker was ready to move to Rome for a culinary

opportunity in one of the Eternal City’s finest restaurants, a visa snafu brought him to Miami to seek help from the Italian consulate. While visiting South Beach, he discovered Nobu, which led him on an odys-sey that included nearly a decade with the restaurant empire (including executive chef positions at Nobu New York, Honolulu and Los Angeles), then on to Katsuya as cor-porate executive chef opening restaurants around the globe. That’s when Cupid put his future wife in the seat next to him on a flight to Japan (12 hours to chat with a potential beloved provides a charming chef enough

time to seal a dinner date in row 63!), and finally, in 2014, South Florida beckoned once more with an offer he couldn’t refuse: a chance to open and mastermind the menu at Kuro Japanese Craft Kitchen inside the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. The critics have spoken, with an avalanche of honors that includes Zagat’s “Top 10 Restaurants to Try Now,” as well as “Best New Restaurant” and “Best New Chef ” by New Times Broward-Palm Beach.

Strolling across polished marble floors through the Hard Rock Casino’s grand salon and up the steps into Kuro transports guests into a glamorous Las Vegas restaurant, with opulent beaded chandeliers dripping from an undulating wood-beamed ceiling, flanked

by a 400-bottle wine vault, shimmering gar-den pool and vibrant sushi bar. The “deep house and new disco” background music creates a mod-ish vibe (the house DJ comes in three times a week to design new mixes) that’s subtle enough not to be overpowering. The sophisticated crowd is a combination of visitors and locals who return for Becker’s varied menu and often a culinary tour designed by knowledgeable servers, who are themselves ardent fans of Becker’s cuisine.

Gabe, one such tour guide, a self-described foodie who has been with Kuro nearly a year, says the “desserts are from another planet” (thanks to Pastry Chef Ross Evans), and is most excited when he gets to design a menu for his guests. “I want

Kuro’s elegant dining room. BELOW: Artfully presented

Hokkaido Scallops.

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122 DECEMBER 2016 / JANUARY 2017

to earn guests’ trust with a menu I create for them,” he explains. “Let me bring out two dishes. If you like those, we’ll go from there.” As such, he’s created a fan follow-ing of Chef Becker’s cuisine by designing tastings for regulars each time they visit. It’s a novel approach and decidedly fun culinary adventure, as you don’t know what’s coming next, though you can always ask and make alternative choices.

Chef Becker spent six months creating the expansive menu, which is separated by sec-tions, starting with the lightest (chilled) and progressing to the heaviest (land and sea) with sushi as the final dish (before galaxy-shifting dessert, of course). As part of Kuro’s signature style, he highlights classic Japanese ingredients and techniques to create con-temporary dishes that are entirely new, yet approachable. The flavorful Hokkaido Scal-lop Sashimi is from Japan and served with yuzu gel, young ginger and sea salt, while

the Seared Salmon Sashimi features Scottish salmon with apple chutney, Japanese 12-spice and creamy sesame. The Wagyu Tacos are a must-try, served with spicy cilantro, soy shal-lots and aji Amarillo aioli. New to the menu is the Snapper Nitsuke, featuring Florida snapper, Okinawan Japanese potatoes and simmered vegetables in a broth that’s so flavorful, the waiter will bring a side of rice to soak up the remaining elixir. Definitely order the House Special Maki (another new

addition), featuring tuna, yellowtail and salmon with dollops of four sauces: jalapeño ponsu, shoyen, creamy avocado and spicy miso. Nightly specials vary based on the fresh fish Chef Becker sources from Japan. He’s currently designing an Omikase menu “to present super-seasonal ingredients,” he enthuses.

Don’t miss the innovative cocktail menu that is divided into five flavor profiles—sweet, savory, bitter, salty and umami (“San” is a refreshing vodka-based cocktail with absinthe and grapefruit and topped with shiso, a Japanese herb from the mint family), or the aforementioned dessert menu, especially the Chocolate Hazelnut Bar with three types of chocolate and a touch of fresh raspberry, topped with a dark chocolate ganache.

A glamorous date-night outing, Kuro is located at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino at One Seminole Way in Hollywood. Dinner is served nightly, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Lunch is served Saturdays from noon to 3 p.m. Reservations are recommended by phoning 800-937-0010; visit www.seminole-hardrockhollywood.com

table hopping

TOP: The glittering Kuro Bar. LEFT: The very special Snapper Nitsuke with Japanese potatoes and vegetables.

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