Le Banyan Not Answering Le Phone

It appears another restaurant has bitten the dust on Ocean Terrace. Le Banyan opened only this year, and the French owners' presentation of Thai cuisine earned early raves -- although most everyone commented that it was way too expensive for Thai.

Ocean Terrace is a rather pleasant two-block stretch east of Collins Avenue between 73rd and 75th Street in Miami Beach. It's just a stones throw from the ocean, but South Beach it ain't. Yet Le Banyan -- and before that Baraboo, Parioli Cafe, and a few restaurants whose names I've forgotten -- charged Ocean Drive, not Ocean Terrace prices. Could this be why they failed?

Yes.