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Review content:
I've lived in the greater Miami area for 22 years and have been back to visit regularly for the past 9. I always have trouble finding restaurants in the city that are slightly upscale, yet with great food. Miami Beach is like a mine-field when it comes to rip off joints, seeking a quick buck off of tourists. \r
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Since we were going to a Heat game, I did some research to find the best restaurants in downtown Miami. I figured it was less of a tourist market down there, so there must be some decent places to eat. Perricone's came up at the top of the list, and after checking out their website, I fell in love. It is housed in a quaint little bungalow amidst the hi-rises of downtown. The front bar looked sexy as hell, and their menu seemed great yet reasonably priced. \r
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We arrived and were promptly seated in the back courtyard. The weather was perfect, and we prepared for a great meal. The smooth jazz blaring from the speakers wasn't what I was hoping for, but I ignored it and settled in with some of their bread and bruschetta topping. It was quite delicious and I eagerly anticipated the caprese and caesar salads we ordered for starters. \r
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Both came out almost immediately and showed signs of pre-preparation. The mozzarella and tomatoes were clearly prepared long before dinner and had been sitting in a cooler somewhere. The cheese had turned pink from touching the tomato, and the tomatoes had turned soggy from touching the cheese. The tomatoes skin also looked withered and dried out from sitting in the cooler for who knows how long. The caesar salad suffered from the same fate, as the lettuce had been sitting in the dressing in presumably the same cooler. \r
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For entrees, we tried 4 different meals: Eggplant Parmesan, Fiocchi Gorgonzola (pear and gorgonzola stuffed pasta pockets with a light cream sauce), The seafood pasta special, and the spinach ricotta ravioli.\r
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The Eggplant parmesan looked like a huge hunk of lasagne . It also came with whole wheat pasta. Most of their dishes were based around whole wheat pasta, which I really dislike. The first bite was excellent, but as I moved through the plate, other bites weren't as good. There was a variable consistency throughout the serving that I really didn't know what was coming next. Some bites were great, others very salty, and some were bland and soggy. \r
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The seafood pasta specialty was really bad. It cost 26 dollars, and featured muscles, shrimp, and scallops. At one point, my brother (who ordered it) said it tasted like a bathroom at the beach. \r
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The pasta pockets with gorgonzola and pear were quite good, but extremely difficult to finish. The flavor was very rich and the cream sauce became quite heavy after several bites. It was a good dish, but a bit too much .\r
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The ravioli was fine, nothing special, and nothing really to complain about .\r
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All in all, we were all disappointed with this place. I had high expectations, as it was one of the highest rated restaurants on this site. I'd say you could do better.
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