Our clients insist upon the most exclusive, luxurious opportunities in Southern Florida, and that doesn’t stop with their homes. Florida Exclusive Living wants to help you find the home of your dreams, as well as helping you to find the best restaurants, retailers and experiences in the region. Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties are full of magnificent opportunities and we want you to enjoy as many as possible.
This week we spoke with Michelle Martinez, the director of marketing and guest experience for the Adena Grill, a brilliant steakhouse located in Hallandale Beach.
The establishment takes its namesake from Adena Farms in Ocala, the restaurant-owned ranch (a rarity) where all of the beef, pork, lamb and chicken used in its mouth-watering meals are raised. A simple rule-of-thumb might be to treat meat well if you want it to taste well: The beef at Adena Farms roams freely across more than 90,000 acres of pastures, forests and fields. Grass-fed only, none of the meat at Adena Grill features unnatural hormones or antibiotics.
This method of raising meat was inspired by the “old country” form of farming, but also results in a superior meal. That direction impacts the rest of the restaurant`s menu as well, simple ingredients and a lack of artificial preservatives makes the plate.
Here’s what she had to say about luxurious living in South Florida:
What’s the best thing about South Florida, in your opinion? What about Hallandale Beach in particular?
I truly love our beaches. Around the world, the majority of people only know Miami as the cliché of South Beach and the majority of tourism advertising only shows images of Ocean Drive. People don’t realize that the beaches of Florida stretch all the way up the coast and our beaches, particularity here in Hallandale, are amazingly beautiful, clean and far less crowded. Adena Grill is located only one mile from the ocean so you can come here for dining and entertainment, and venture over to the ocean for rest and relaxation. It really is the best of both worlds.
What does “delivering a luxury experience” mean, in your eyes?
A life of luxury is what most people strive to attain in their lives and the allure of things that are luxurious—whether it be food, hotels, travel, spas, cars, home or décor—is what most people gravitate towards. Everyone loves a place that goes above and beyond to provide a luxurious experience from beginning to end. Our owner hand selected all of our luxury décor, including imported Italian marble floors, Swarovski chandeliers, European leather wrapped booths and custom-made mahogany wood chairs. Also, with our menu including delicacies like roasted bone marrow from our Adena farm, imported truffles from Northern Italy, and even Louis XIII at our bar (which is $200 an ounce)… most bars don’t even carry it. We even went as far as to create a wine vault and floor-to-ceiling glass encasements, which carries over 7,000 bottles of wine in total from every corner of the world.
Fine dining is a competitive field…what do you do to make Adena Grill an exclusive experience?
Our restaurant speaks for itself when you walk in. I can go on and on about the décor and our owner spent over two years meticulously picking out every piece and every detail. However, we bought a farm so that we would have full control over everything that our guests consume, which is all grass fed, pasture-raised, and we never use hormones or steroids in our operation. There are several fine dining experiences in the South Florida area, but there are none that own their own farm. We have spent literally millions in research and have spent exorbitant amounts of time in making sure that everything that our patrons consume is of the utmost finest quality.
Who holds you to a higher standard…your clients or yourself?
We hold the higher standard…always. If we let up on our standards for one millisecond, I think that is when our patrons will say this is what you should be doing and that means we are not doing our jobs right. I should never have a guest come up to me to say anything other than praise, and that is why our standards are set so high.
We want to provide the best aesthetics, the best quality food, and the best guest experience…and that is why our tagline states that we are the best steakhouse in Florida.
Tell us about your hottest item right now.
Right now our hottest bar item is our signature drink called “Hey Leroy”, and it is by far the most unique, yet refreshing drink we have at the bar. I cannot disclose the full ingredients due to it being a private in-house recipe, but I can give you a hint it has Tito`s Vodka. I have worked in hospitality for the better part of 10 years and this drink is one of the best I have tried. I am honestly not just saying that because I work here. For our most popular main dish, I would have to say is the Petit Filet, which is a guest favorite. We sell everything on the menu because our menu is really based on guest requests and favorites, but that dish is the go-to item that guests come here to try specifically.
What do you do to treat yourself?
I am a self-proclaimed spa junkie. I love going to various spas all over the world and trying new treatments. So far, out of all of the spas in the world, Thailand has everyone beat in terms of pricing vs. value by a long shot. In fact, now that I have had a Thai massage, I will never have a regular one ever again.
What amenity is a must at your home…or one you’d like to add soon?
I guess tying in with my spa addiction, it would be the soaker air jet whirl tub I had installed a few years back. It is manufactured by Duravit and honestly it is really an amazing investment, especially after working a long 12-hour day, mostly running around on my feet. It has been a life-saver just to be able to go there to relax after a hard day of work.
Learn more about Adena Grill and check out its menu at www.adenagrill.com!