January 25, 2008

Hop Chef

The Smoking Rabbit Opens

Remember the Cree parable about the rabbit smoking a peace pipe to outsmart the cougar?

Never mind. The moral of the story can be summed up at The Smoking Rabbit, Miami Beach’s first gastropub.

First: The inspiration may be a traditional English pub, but there’s nothing stodgy about the place. Vintage photos, antlers, taxidermy, and hand-hewn wood tables make it hip. (And English pubs don’t have back patios. You’d freeze your bum off.)

Second: Owners Armen Minasian (Leo boutique) and Robert Fautz (NYC’s Burger Joint) know what people want — cool but not contrived.

Third: No bangers and mash. Just hard cider-steamed mussels; burgers with Roquefort cheese and shoestrings; and pork chops with mango chutney, cabbage, and tomato.

The whole-food approach makes for tasty meals.

No matter what’s in your peace pipe.

The Smoking Rabbit, 510 Ocean Drive (305-972-4840).