In a world obsessive about the subsequent Instagrammable second, Miami takes the cake. Right here, social media feeds overflow with the newest “expertise,” whether or not it’s a pet yoga class in Wynwood or taking a selfie on the Museum of Intercourse. Cue within the newest collaboration between Cadillac and Cote, the Michelin-starred Korean steakhouse within the posh Miami Design District. On June 20 and 21, diners can expertise Cote’s legendary delicacies within the backseat of a luxurious automotive.
The seven-seater Escalade IQ boasts pull-out eating trays within the second row such as you’re flying first-class, in case your airplane cabin have been parked on a metropolis sidewalk. The concept of selecting to dine inside a automotive — moderately than bask within the horny, softly lit inside of Cote — felt like swapping a seat at Le Bernardin for 24B on a delayed flight. However as the present proprietor of 2016 Honda Civic, I stated sure to an opportunity to test it out.
The night started inside Cote on the smooth, low-lit bar for a welcome drink. Ours was a shot of one thing that seemed like grapefruit juice however packed a Paloma-like punch: candy, citrusy, and simply boozy sufficient to make you neglect you have been about to eat dinner in a automotive.
There’s no alcohol served within the automobile (“It’s an issue with the optics of serving alcohol in a automotive,” our server informed me), so should you have been hoping to pair your A5 wagyu with a glass of Musigny Grand Cru, you’ll have to return again for a correct desk.
After drinks, we have been escorted exterior to NE 39th Avenue, the place a black Escalade IQ gleamed like a waxed spaceship behind velvet ropes. The large doorways opened, revealing an opulent inside and two outsized second-row seats. The hands-free driving system was briefly talked about earlier than we have been reminded that this automobile can journey 460 miles on a single cost. Not that we’d be transferring an inch.
Sinking into the buttery leather-based and fidgeting with the therapeutic massage settings, I felt my unique skepticism slipping. Considering of my Civic with seats which have seen higher days and various espresso spills, I used to be beginning to get it.
As soon as inside, the five-course meal started. The Cote staff expertly arrange the tray tables (red-checkered fabric and all). Impressed by a Korean dosirak picnic (multi-compartment boxed lunches), the five-course meal unfolded over a span of an hour.
On the middle console, between the motive force and passenger seats, sat a small bouquet and a card stand holding a placard that launched every course.
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We started with drinks: two mocktails to select from. Finesse, made with coconut water, Earl Gray, raspberry, and lemon; and Downtime, made with Aplos Calm (a hemp-infused beverage), orange, hibiscus, and lemon. The Cote staff served them in unison, providing a well mannered “Excuse my attain” earlier than leaning into the automotive to current the colourful drinks, then quietly closing the doorways to depart us sipping in our plush little bubble.
Our first course was gogi cha, a wealthy meat broth produced from USDA Prime quick ribs simmered in a single day. It arrived in a stainless-steel thermos, poured into small cups. As we sipped, servers stood guard like they have been J. Lo’s bodyguards, drawing much more consideration as teams of vacationers and locals stopped to ask what was occurring.
A hearth crackled on the display as servers arrived with a Howdy Kitty bento field, revealing the subsequent course: steak and eggs. Lifting Howdy Kitty’s face uncovered a doll-sized cylinder of steak tartare topped with a beneficiant spoonful of caviar. Two rectangles of crispy, buttery milk toast have been tucked alongside.
Possibly it’s the distinction to these Civic seats with their espresso stains and worn cloth, however the tender camel-colored leather-based gently understanding the knot on my decrease again began to really feel luxurious.
A brand new placard was positioned on the console, titled “Nostalgia In Movement.” It launched the subsequent course: beef bulgogi gimbap and yubuchobap. The gimbap featured ribeye marinated in galbi sauce, rolled with egg and julienned greens, and wrapped in toasted seaweed. The yubuchobap got here as little tofu-skin bundles full of rice and extra ribeye, arriving in one other pink Howdy Kitty container.
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Subsequent, “The Butcher’s Bowl,” a nod to Cote’s legendary Butcher’s Feast, arrived. Inside a cheerful bear-shaped bento field, neat rows of filet mignon, 45-day dry-aged ribeye cap, Japanese A5 wagyu, galbi, and banchan awaited.
Dessert was a swirl of strawberry tender serve sprinkled with dehydrated strawberries for further crunch. Possibly it was the Escalade air-con maintaining the cone crisp, or perhaps it was the group leaving the high-end jewellery retailer throughout the road who stopped mid-conversation to stare — however that easy cone tasted higher than any I’d had earlier than.
Seems, spending time in a automobile might be a unprecedented expertise. I’ve simply been doing it improper all alongside.
Cadillac’s “Cadillac of Reservations” expertise at Cote is complimentary, with seating out there on June 20 and 21. Reservations opened on Resy at 10 a.m. on June 16.