From Gallery to Table: Art Inspires the New Menu at Verde
- rcastro05
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
At Verde, the waterfront restaurant at Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), art and cuisine converge with the debut of a new seasonal menu inspired by the museum’s current exhibitions. Curated by Executive Chef Valeri Fuentes, the menu draws from Carlos Cruz-Diez: Chromosaturation and Elliot & Erick Jiménez: El Monte, transforming visual and emotional themes of color, identity, migration, and memory into plated interpretations.
Guided by a distinct culinary vision rooted in her Latin American heritage, Valeri approaches the menu as an extension of the museum experience itself, inviting guests to engage with art through flavor, texture, and presentation.
“Bringing this menu to life was about more than creating flavors,” said Valeri. “It was about translating the meaning behind these artworks into something you can taste. Food and art are both ways of telling stories, and I wanted each dish to reflect that.”
The new offerings can be enjoyed within Verde’s striking indoor–outdoor setting overlooking Biscayne Bay, where lush greenery, world-class art, and views of the museum’s sculpture garden immerse diners in a distinctly Miami atmosphere.
Select dishes are marked with a paintbrush icon and paired with a QR code that allows diners to learn more about the artwork that inspired each creation. Highlights include the Raspado Ceviche, inspired by Cruz-Diez’s Chromosaturation, layering corvina with passion fruit and leche de tigre shaved ice alongside sweet potato, baby corn, avocado, pickled shallots, pomegranate seeds, and watermelon radish.
The Love Letter Empanadas, filled with chorizo, mozzarella, and sweet plantain and served with black garlic truffle aioli, ají dulce romesco, and guasacaca, draw from Cruz-Diez’s Chromointerference of Additive Color installation at Maiquetía International Airport.
“These empanadas are a love letter to that diaspora,” Fuentes says. “A plane, a note, and a taste of memory.”
Inspired by the Jiménez brothers’ The Incredulity of the Ibeyí, Dagger to Your Heart reimagines the artwork’s bold palette and symbolic details through a charcoal falafel dish served with labneh and black garlic aioli, capturing both its visual language and emotional tone.
Additional small plates include the Cornbread Cachapa Brûlée, a tribute to Fuentes’ shared Venezuelan roots with Cruz-Diez, pairing caramelized cornbread with feta mousse and herb butter, as well as Peas Be Mine, a creamy green pea soup finished with poached egg, lime sour cream, basil oil, and crispy mortadella. The Miami Caesar Salad, featuring frisée, baby gem, queso fresco, chicharrón croutons, and lemon zest, rounds out the offerings.
Among the larger plates is the Chromosaturation Salmon, an herb-crusted fillet served with Japanese sweet potato purée, ají dulce romesco, grilled green onion, and basil oil, echoing the radiant hues of Cruz-Diez’s immersive installation. The menu also features Chile en Nogada, a charred poblano pepper filled with vegan chorizo and chickpeas, topped with coconut milk, beet-cashew sauce, pomegranate seeds, and dried apricot.
Dessert continues the dialogue between art and cuisine with El Monte, a layered creation inspired by the sacred ceiba trunk central to the Jiménez brothers’ exhibition. Built with chocolate, dulce de leche alfajor, pistachio gelato, pistachio sponge, tarragon, and finished with palo santo smoke, the dish evokes ritual and spiritual cleansing. A lighter option, Dulce de Lechoza, features ricotta ice cream, green papaya confiture, and puffed rice.
Verde’s cocktail program complements the menu’s visual storytelling with vibrant signature drinks and thoughtful zero-proof options, reinforcing the restaurant’s commitment to creativity and accessibility.
