In case you haven't dined out in South Florida in the past 15 years, Mark is Mark Militello, who first attracted wide recognition as the culinary spark behind Dennis Max's fine dining empire.

When Max shifted from up-market to mass market, he sold off his flagship Café Max (now Darryl and Oliver's Café Maxx in Pompano Beach) and Max's Place in North Miami. Militello quickly snapped up that spot and renamed it Mark's Place; for many of us it remains in memory as Miami's best restaurant.

Militello, a Broward resident, eventually closed Mark's Place to focus on his Mark's Las Olas, opened in 1994, and Boca's Mark's in the Park, which opened in 1998. One of the more notable millennium events was Militello's return to Miami-Dade County with the opening of Mark's South Beach in the Nash Hotel.

The reserved Militello is seldom visible at the Beach outpost, but his imprint has always been clear on the menu and the restaurant was in exceptional hands under executive chef Tim Andreola. A few months ago, Andreola left with plans to open his own restaurant, and now Chef Larry Levine is flipping the foie gras in the kitchen.

Under the new regime, Mark's seems a bit heavier than it used to be, though the dining room continues to have one of the most polished waiting staffs in town. The wine list is still exceptional and actually seems to have moderated the once stratospheric prices.

The wine list includes two dozen well-chosen wines by the glass and an array of mid to high-end California wines plus just enough new and old world bottles to make the list fascinating. The glassware is good, and the staff is helpful in matching wine to the menu.

I've consistently found the starters lighter in execution and flavor than the main courses, which sometimes get heavy and sweet. A bowl of roast clams with pungent broth of tomatoes, chorizo, garlic, wine and cilantro ($14) is a favorite at all of Militello's restaurants. On South Beach, the dish is pristine in its piquant flavors. Mussels are offered in a lightly creamy broth of shallots, potatoes and white wine ($12) and the tuna tartare ($15) is top flight, with cucumber, avocado and lemongrass oil combining to give the dish a texture that is at once bright and creamy.

Another popular Militello starter is cracked conch, which he offers in South Beach both 'cooked' ceviche style and with vanilla rum glaze ($13). I've also enjoyed some of Militello's vegetable starters, including a sharply flavored terrine of goat cheese, Portobello mushroom and goat cheese ($12) and tangy salad of three types of roasted beets with feta and cumin ($9).

The main courses sometimes miss the lightness and elegance apparent in the starters, though the dishes can never be faulted for blandness. Black grouper with artichoke hash ($30) was overcooked the night I tried it, though the accompanying herb broth was quite tasty. Salmon ($27) had too heavy an application of orange-cardamom glaze and the entire dish was out of balance, the sweetness competing with accompanying mussels, pancetta and white beans. The grilled pork tenderloins ($25) is moist but overly rich with accompaniment of gorgonzola polenta and bacon.

One of the best dishes on the menu is slow roasted chicken breast with wilted spinach ($24). The moist meat and honey roasted potatoes, set off by the capers and olives, give it the appeal of contemporary comfort food. One of the top seafood dishes is crisp-skinned snapper with a fennel and saffron-infused Mediterranean broth ($31).

Pastry chef Juan Villaparedes turns out some stunning options to end the meal (most are $9), including brightly flavored sorbets (the pear and dried cranberry is particularly successful) and a dulce de leche créme brulée. The knockout, though, comes from the aptly titled 'Sabotage of Chocolates' ($12), a trio of chocolate dishes that includes a stunning mocha pot de créme.

Mark's South Beach is as polished as dining gets and continues to be a benchmark of SoBe elegance.