Orno

Few chefs know their way around a vegetable better than Nivel Patel: The James Beard Award nominee grows more than 35 different varieties on his farm in Homestead—from seasonal greens to herbs to roots to grains that sprout from seeds brought back from his native India. At Orno, his latest and truest farm-to-table endeavor, he’s showing off his prowess with an ingredient-driven menu starring his beloved high-quality produce cooked simply in a wood-fired oven.

Orno comes from the Spanish word for oven, which you’ll find front and center in the open kitchen, opposite the sleek back bar in the bright and breezy modern dining room. Fortunately, it’s a fume-free environment but you get every bit of the char and smokey flavors from the flames in nearly every side, main and pizza served. As expected, the vegetarian plates live up to Patel’s reputation, including the roasted mushrooms with black truffle butter and the summer squash with herb yogurt, sumac and toasted almonds. The wood-fired meats aren’t anything to scoff at though, specifically the Australian lamb rack and the Iberico pork pluma with peperona—which, for the record, is not steak despite its beef-like consistency.

The cocktail program, like the private dining room, the Library, follows a literary theme. Drinks are named after famous authors and classic novels, such as Master Copperfield—a rum and cognac sipper—and the gin-based Dr. Gonzo, whose namesake appeared in Hunter S. Thompson’s seminal book, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.