Pao by Paul Qui
Paul Qui won season 9 of “Top Chef” but became a headline name, sadly, when he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend. Eventually, charges were dropped, Qui went into rehab, and moved from Texas to Florida to open this restaurant. If you believe in second chances, you owe it to yourself to try his phenomenal fusion of Filipino, Japanese, Spanish and French cuisines. Among the many stellar menu items is Singapore-style chili crab served with jumbo lump blue crab, an egg, peppers and fermented tomato. We also stan the wagyu short rib with toasted rice cake, red curry and crispy basil. But it’s “The Unicorn” that so many scream about: sea urchin, grilled sweet corn pudding, sake aioli, chile de arbol and lime. There’s also excellent sashimi and nigiri and an unusual “bread service” of house-made salt bread, a traditional Filipino bread served with bone marrow caramel and smoked butter miso. We’d have that instead of dessert if there’s still room, frankly.
Paul Qui won season 9 of “Top Chef” but became a headline name, sadly, when he was accused of assaulting his girlfriend. Eventually, charges were dropped, Qui went into rehab, and moved from Texas to Florida to open this restaurant. If you believe in second chances, you owe it to yourself to try his phenomenal fusion of Filipino, Japanese, Spanish and French cuisines. Among the many stellar menu items is Singapore-style chili crab served with jumbo lump blue crab, an egg, peppers and fermented tomato. We also stan the wagyu short rib with toasted rice cake, red curry and crispy basil. But it’s “The Unicorn” that so many scream about: sea urchin, grilled sweet corn pudding, sake aioli, chile de arbol and lime. There’s also excellent sashimi and nigiri and an unusual “bread service” of house-made salt bread, a traditional Filipino bread served with bone marrow caramel and smoked butter miso. We’d have that instead of dessert if there’s still room, frankly.
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