Gia at Eden Roc

Updated 11:01 AM EST, Mon, Jul 13, 2009

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Timing can be everything: Oscar hopefuls release late in the year to stay in the minds of voters, and "Psoriasis Awareness Month" got pushed back to August to avoid going up against the unstoppable, "National Doghouse Repairs Month". For a resto letting the dust settle at neighbor Fontainebleau before getting your attention, look at Gia.

Emerging from the Eden Roc's massive 18-month facelift, Gia's an airy Euro-Italian fusion resto with two walls of floor-to-ceiling windows, an open kitchen, white leather seating, a corner bar reminiscent of the Roaring '20s, and a menu that rocks beefed-up versions of Southern European classics, the type of stuff responsible for Gerard Depardieu's beefed-up Southern European belly. Small plate notables include stuff like tuna carpaccio w/ cured fish roe, and piadinas (Italian flatbreads) like prosciutto di Parma with red pepper aioli, shaved Parm, & truffle oil, or one with gorgonzola, caramelized onions, walnuts, and port-poached pears, proving fortified wines have finally branched out from the rhino tusk/tiger penis trade. For big plate standouts, there's swordfish wrapped in pancetta and drizzled w/ olive oil; roasted halibut w/ chorizo ragout, basil pesto & clam broth; and Kurobuta (Berkshire pigs pampered Kobe-style) pork chop Milanese w/ tomato jam, which sounds like it could be as good with noodles as a Phish jam. Gia's also got a wine list divided by flavor, with "soft and juicy" reds like Flowers Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast, "silky/earthy" reds like Barolo Zonchera Ceretto from Piemonte, Italy, and a bottle of Rose Krug bubbly that runs $720, just what the doctor ordered if you've been itching to end a month in the doghouse.