Miami - January 04, 2008

Chewing Tiger, Hungry Dragon

Kobe Club Opens

Defend shoguns. Revolutionize military fashion. Be immortalized in film and the world’s longest novels.

What’s a samurai do next?

Open Kobe Club steakhouse — first New York, and now, as of today, Miami — led by seasoned food warrior Jeffrey Chodorow and partner Charlie Walk.

Engage with shellfish plateaus and sake-cured salmon, followed by the “prime” offense: Kobe beef. Enjoy alone (the Emperor’s Flight: a four-ounce filet, strip, and ten-ounce rib-eye) or with American and Australian wagyu for comparison (the Samurai’s Flight: four ounces of each, plus a six-ounce American prime filet).

Surf-and-turfs are mix-and-match (Maine lobster, king crab legs); side dishes range from traditional (hash browns) to intriguing (sake white truffled cream corn). Dessert: chocolate caviar with vanilla blini and strawberry crème fraiche.

Overhead: 2,000 suspended samurai swords and 141,000 interconnected leather straps. Behind the bar: 200 daggers. On the walls: 2,000 square feet of antique silver leafing. Around the VIP table: 200 shards of black obsidian.

Don’t worry, it’s all just for shogun.

Kobe Club, 404 Washington Avenue (305-673-5370).