IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Diane Weis
DATE: July 28, 2003 PHONE: 407-240-0779
TOP CHEF IN SOUTH FLORIDA
OPENS NEW RESTAURANT CONCEPT IN AVENTURA
AVENTURA, FL (JULY 2003) – Selected as one of the top, up-and-coming chefs in South Florida by The Miami Herald, Scott Fredel has opened a new restaurant in Aventura, Florida that offers a dining experience and concept unlike any other in the area.
Pilar, the name of Fredel’s restaurant, inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s famous fishing boat, is located in the Promenade shops at 20475 Biscayne Boulevard.
The 80-seat restaurant offers patrons a contemporary yet comfortable dining experience featuring an appealing American fare menu.
“My desire is to combine my love for food and passion for fishing with exceptional value.” says Fredel. “I also want to show that a restaurant can be friendly and affordable without sacrificing creativity, style, and quality.”
A Miami Beach native, Fredel has been the Executive Chef at Rumi, one of the most popular restaurants on South Beach for the past two years. During his tenure with Rumi, Fredel received exceptional reviews from The New York Times and The Miami Herald.
After graduating from the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, Fredel worked with culinary masters and successful restaurateurs Norman Van Aiken, Mark Militello, Kerry Simon and Pascal Oudin. Recently, Fredel was a guest chef at the distinguished James Beard Foundation Dinner in New York.
Fredel, 31, a United States Coast Guard licensed fishing captain who has participated in competitive fishing tournaments throughout the coast of Florida, includes a variety of fresh Florida seafood on the menu including Roasted Salmon with a truffle red bliss potato salad and roasted garlic - grain mustard sauce, Seared Rare Yellowfin tuna with bok choy, rock shrimp spring roll and sweet soy glaze and saut_ed Yellowtail Snapper with potato-leek croquette and warm tomato -herb vinaigrette.
The menu also features Slow Roasted Pork Tenderloin with asparagus and brown butter sweet potato mash, Angus Center Cut New York Strip steak with Yukon Gold mashed potatoes, and Baby Back Ribs with fries, braised then grilled with house-made barbeque sauce. Appetizers include Fried Bahamian Cracked Conch with fresh hearts of palm slaw and Caribbean curry sauce and Sweet Potato Gnochetti with a cashew pesto and reggiano. A Baby Spinach Salad with red onion confit, apple, feta cheese and toasted walnuts in a fresh herb balsamic vinaigrette is just one of the salads offered. Grandpa’s Apple Walnut Coffee Cake and the Chocolate Brownie with caramel oatey brittle and vanilla ice cream are just two ways to complete your dining experience at Pilar.
Another special feature of Pilar is the virtual open kitchen via a plasma television screen in the bar where patrons are welcome to dine.
Pilar will be open for dinner Tuesday through Sunday, 5p.m. to 10 p.m. Starting this fall, the restaurant will be open for lunch. Reservations can be made by calling
305-937-2777.
Collaborating with Fredel on the design of Pilar is highly respected architect, Richard Graham, former principal with SB Architects in Coconut Grove.
Graham has extensive experience with hospitality, recreation and urban mixed-use projects around the world. He was instrumental in the design of George Lucas’ Sky Walker Ranch, Fox Studios, Australia, The Diplomat Country Club in Hollywood, Florida and the Disney-MGM Studios, including many of the high-concept themed restaurants such as The Brown Derby.
Graham, who lives on a cruising sailboat in South Florida, shares a common bond with Fredel that has had a major influence on the theme of the restaurant. Their vast love and regard for the ocean.
“As the name suggests, the restaurant takes some of its interior design cues from Ernest Hemingway’s famous sport fishing boat,” explains Graham. “The rich yacht interior theme is not literal, but merely a point of departure for the more important notion of warmth, coziness and friendliness.”
Pilar's General Manager is Jeff Berke, a native of Hollywood, Florida. Berke has managed and opened some of the most popular and successful restaurants in South Florida including Brasserie and Dancing Bear in Ft. Lauderdale, Prezzo, Fish, and Bruzzi, all Aventura establishments and Astor place, Nemo, Big Pink and Max's in South Beach, where Fredel and Berke met.
Bob Weis Design Island Associates, Inc., Orlando, Florida, designed the logo for Pilar and is handling the marketing for the restaurant. The website www.pilarrestaurant.com will soon provide the menu and other information about the restaurant.
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Chef2Chef News Desk