Prime 112-Prime Time Date Night

Miami is our second home, lucky us! We are back and forth to Miami all of the time, and of course use every trip to visit our favorite haunts (and cheer on the Miami Heat).  Any foodie trip to Miami must include  Page Six staple Myles Chefetz’s Prime 112.  Prime 112 has become a destination in Miami through a combination of insane celebrity/athlete sightings and insanely good food.  The place is always packed, and the professional staff tries as hard as they can to minimize any service disruptions during “prime” times.  If you are in Miami with a special someone or just someone you need to feed, consider this your Prime 112 Primer.

1. Book as far as in advance as you can.  It doesn’t matter the season or day of the week, this place rocks.  Locals from South of Fifth and beyond clamor to sit at the bar and watch games, the ones going on both on and off the television.  (There is free bacon at the bar as a bar snack, for real). Tourists come to check the place out and cougars and sugar daddy’s from all over flock here to take their shot.  If you are booking a trip to Miami, this should be your second call after Delta.

2. Book about an hour earlier than you plan on eating during busy times.  Unless you are Pat Riley, they really don’t give a shit what time your reservation is for, so no matter when you book, you should be prepared to wait.  If you are booking on a weekend or during a destination weekend in Miami (Art Basel, NYE, Boat Show, etc), you should book early and cross your fingers.  Get ready to be to sent to the bar for up to an hour.  Recently, I made a reservation for 7:30 on a Sunday night ( I don’t need to be cool, thank you very much) and was seated right on time. If you are prepared to wait, it will minimize annoyance all around.

3. Order smart, especially on a date.  Like much of Miami, Prime 112 is ripe with temptation to overindulge and overspend, but if make smart choices you can come out a winner.  This is not light or cheap fare, so you need to get down to priorities, especially if you want to be able to get down to business later.  (If you are planning on dancing  after this meal, good luck, might want to make it lounge night). You need to consider what is really important to try here, things that you can not get anywhere else.  Everything is going to be amazing, including the house salad, but the salad is actually the size of a house, so heed caution.  If you must indulge in an appetizer, you can either keep it light with some raw bar, or go all out and try the scallops and short ribs for a rich and filling treat. This will also allow you to dive into the tasty orange cheese rolls that are put on the table. After that, if you are on a date, or two girls who want the experience and don’t want to die of fullness, I suggest the following course of action: Split a steak, and order 3 sides to taste. The steak is nicely charred and worth trying, but the rich and decadent sides can steal the show.  As treats, I recommend the truffle mac ‘n cheese, creamed corn with black truffles, hash browns, tater tots, yummmmmm

4. Don’t skip dessert. It is worth it to indulge in some of the throwback treats available for dessert.  Where else can you find such high-brow interpretations of junkie favorites such as fried Oreos, chocolate peanut butter s’mores, peanut butter Snickers pie and good old fashion cookies and milk?  These novelties are amazing and such a rare treat that it is a crime to skip them…Miami is all about going wild, no?

5. Consider lunch-If the weather is not so great, or even if it is, a big, boozy lunch at Prime will set you up nicely for a nap in the sun.  A lot of the same items are available, and there are even some delicious items that are not on the dinner menu: The lobster Cobb salad and the Kobe Meatball Hero are both worth waking up before 2pm for…The crowds are much less intense, so lunch is definitely more about the grub than the glam…

P.S. The Prime Hotel next door has the same owner as Prime 112 and the dining room operates out of the same kitchen.  This is a nice option if you do not have a stepchild complex, especially sitting outside…the dining room is lovely, just without the added glitz…