‘I’m forever grateful to Miami’: This Kendall chef just won the Herald Chef Showdown
The final results of the extremely unscientific Chef Showdown Poll are in, and the Queen of Kendall dining is the champion.
With 54 percent of the vote, Adrianne Calvo of Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant & Bar in Kendall, is the winner. Her final competitor, Carlos Garcia at Leku, the Basque restaurant at the Rubell Museum in Allapattah, mounted a strong challenge and earned 46 percent of the vote.
Calvo said she was indebted to Miami and its loyalty to her restaurant, which you can find at The Palms at Town & Country.
“My guests are the best ever,” she said. “They’re the most loyal fans. . . .Every chef that was on the list [for the poll], I admire. They’re my colleagues, and they’re amazing.”
Calvo, who was born in Chicago but grew up in Miami, opened Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant & Bar when she was 22. In a landscape where businesses come and go, her restaurant, which serves modern American fare, celebrated its 16th anniversary on April 28.
“Miami and myself, we’ve grown up together,” she said. ”A lot of these people, we know their stories, their love stories, their milestones, their anniversaries. We’ve done their baby showers. They’ve seen me grow from a mom-and-pop shop in a strip mall to the 160-seater we have today.”
Helping to put Kendall on the dining map is important to Calvo, who also owns the more casual spot Cracked by Chef Adrianne in South Miami.
“When people think of an awesome restaurant, they think of Brickell, the Beach or Gables,” she said. “They don’t always think of Kendall. I love when I see restaurants like Boia De [in Little Haiti] making space to open up minds about geography. The culinary arts don’t have a zip code.”
The industry has changed dramatically in the past 16 years, much like Miami itself. Diners are more interested in details like sustainability, Calvo said. Thanks to the Food Network and social media, food lovers are more knowledgeable now than ever.
But despite the crowded food scene and all the new hot spots to try, Calvo finds her fans always seem to return.
“Once people get around, once they take a lap to all these huge new restaurants and the star-studded, celebrity-endorsed ones, they come back around to what they think is really good,” she said. “That’s what has kept me in business for so long. Where do you celebrate something that really matters and invite your family and friends? I’m forever grateful to Miami.”
Chef Adrianne’s Vineyard Restaurant & Bar
Where: The Palms at Town & Country, 11715 Sherry Lane, Miami
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday
More information: chefadriannes.com or 305-408-8386
Reservations: sevenrooms.com
