Postcard: Getting Sauced at the James Beard House

No, not that kind of sauced. Though I did enjoy many excellent wine pairings, it was this pork jus version of traditional tonkatsu sauce (pictured) that knocked me out. Chef Joel Huff of Azul in Miami's Mandarin Oriental Hotel created a stunning five-course meal at the famed James Beard House that drew on flavors from around the world. He layered Kobe beef carpaccio with slivers of pastrami and a smear of hot English mustard for his take on pastrami on rye. Sake-soaked tile fish was the star of a deconstructed Japanese hotpot. But this sweet, tangy tonkatsu sauce was a standout—drizzled over pork schnitzel, perched on cubes of lean wild boar, it was an intoxicating union of culinary cultures.