New lunch specials at Swan in the Design District , Adrift Mare in the Brickell area and Il Mulino in Sunny Isles; first look at Red Farm; Delilah 20’s supper club adds a Latin twist to late nights;  a brunch for pets and their owners;  plant based burger bar; Bolivian liquor now in the US; the return of Fooq’s and “surge pricing” trend, all in Eating News for March 2024, Part 2. If you missed Part 1 click here.

Swan, the Miami Design District restaurant from hospitality mavens David Grutman and Pharrell Williams, has a new Social Lunch menu now available Monday through Friday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. The menu, designed around market-driven ingredients, will feature a two-course ($36 per person) and three-course  ($42 per person) experience including menu items such as Charred Octopus, Cobb Salad, Pesto Rigatoni, Double Smashburger and Branzino. Guests can also enjoy special side dishes like parmesan fries and miso brussel sprouts, as well as desserts like the Brothers Bond Butterscotch Budino. Finish off your experience with a $10 cocktail like the Purple Reign or The Swan.

In addition to Swan’s Social Lunch, the chic restaurant is also launching for the first time a special Happy Hour menu available Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Guests will be able to indulge in specialty $10 cocktails like the Purple Reign and Lychee Sangria, $8 wine by the glass and beer, and small bites including Chips & Caviar, Grilled Cheese, Tuna Crudo and Salami Pizzeta.

I had a first look at hot eating spot Red Farm Chinese restaurant in Coconut Grove, in advance of my visit for a review. Bottom line, the food was super delicious. Strongly recommend the pork soup dumplings, Malaysian vegetable curry and the striped bass. Important note: come early, as in 5:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. as the sound level is very “energetic” starting at 7 p.m.

Pups and Brunch! Vinya in Coral Gables now offers a brunch with special selections for pets and their owners every Saturday and Sunday in the outdoor patio from. 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

It’s not easy finding a reasonably priced lunch in the Brickell area if looking for a low key yet handsome setting, very good service, and food prepared by a Michelin star chef. I made a new find, Adrift Mare in the Hotel AKA Brickell. It’s ideal for a business lunch (quiet, bright, relaxed, tables spaced well apart) or getting together with a friend. The  Power Lunch special is $32 for two courses and $39 for three. And if you want to add a glass of wine it starts at $17 (6 ounce pour). The chef of Adrift Mare, Gypsy Chef David Myers, earned a Michelin star in Los Angeles and has in country experience with the cuisines of three continents and it shows in the menu. It’s well curated, a combo of popular favorites albeit with a twist, and inspired by both the Eastern and Western Mediterranean. We both started with salads, I with their variation on a Caesar and my friend, one with Fattoush, butter lettuce, tomato cucumber, sumac dressing and croutons.

Both were very fresh and tasty. For mains the choice was the beef ragu orecchiette which we would have had but were calorie watching, so she opted for the grilled vegetable sandwich with burrata, pesto salsamic and fries. Once again, the vegetables were high quality, and the baguette crusty and dense — the ideal combo. Seeing the high marks it got in consumer reviews,  I had the MARE burger  with gruyere cheese and welcome condiments of jalapeno pickle, tomato ajiwan salsa and fries. To that we added a side on the regular menu, Greek inspired fried eggplant whose crust is made with dark beer and then cooked over active charcoal. It  will be one of my best dishes of the year. Absolutely amazing, it was charred on the outside and creamy inside, served with a side dish of garlic aioli ($12). For dessert we had the highly original deconstructed baklava, here made with pistachio sponge cake, pistachio Cremieux topped with pecans and phyllo crackers made fresh daily ($14).  Next time off the regular menu I’d like to try the chicken kebab with pickled vegetables, lobster roll and sweet corn ribs with smoked chive salt. It was topped off with creamy walnut ice cream. Adrift Mare is open for breakfast lunch and dinner and Sunday brunch.

Get this, a plant based burger bar. Yes, you got it. It’s at PLANTA Queen in CocoWalk, Coconut Grove. It offers a variety of plant-based burgers, sides, treats and shakes.

Speaking of lunch specials, surely one of the best which I really enjoyed for a friend’s birthday, is at Il Mulino at Acqualina Resort in Sunny Isles. It scores high on everything, from quality of the lunch choices, deliciousness , and  service, to handsome setting (indoors and outdoors on a lovely terrace), and value. For $35 per person plus 18% gratuity, you get three courses. My friends and I started with the arugula and tomato salad, a hard choice considering there were also clams, a wedge salad and others. Next up we had the veal piccata, red snapper with black olives and capers, and branzino. For dessert we opted for a tarta alla nonna. And how could I not mention the included tapas of fried zucchini, chunks of parmesan cheese, bruschetta with tomato and a selection of breads that you get as soon as you sit down. Everyone vowed to return very soon!

Happy to hear that Fooq’s that used to be in downtown Miami is reopening later this year in the Little River neighborhood, located just north of Little Haiti and Miami Design District.    Fooq’s will reopen with a significant expansion from its original 2015 opening, with a ground-up, 9,000-square-foot build located at 150 NW 73rd Street. The new space will be brought to life by Swedish design house, Joyn Studio, who has designed for restaurants of the highest caliber, including World’s 50 Best and three-Michelin-starred restaurant, Frantzén. The interiors will complement Fooq’s heritage, visually realizing the cross section of traditional Middle Eastern and Moroccan influences with a contemporary nod, and will span across two floors as well as include an outdoor lounge area. Fooq’s is anticipated to open towards the end of the 2024, and will serve lunch, brunch, and dinner seven days a week, with the second level and outdoor seating lounge offering entertainment on select nights. For more information and updates on Fooq’s reopening, visit www.fooqsmiami.com.

Delilah Miami, the popular Roaring ’20s-inspired supper club with a contemporary twist, is adding a new late night program, Coco Loco, to their roster starting Wednesday, April 3. 

Picture this: Guests are surrounded by the  rhythms of the five-piece Coco Loco Latin Band and the allure of dazzling dancers dressed head-to-toe in Copacabana-inspired costumes. Delilah Miami’s vintage-inspired ambiance provides the perfect backdrop for the sizzling sounds of the talented live vocalist, two percussionists (a conga player and drummer to be exact), cellist and trumpeter. Performing both on stage and throughout the crowd, the eye-catching live dancers create an infectious energy ensuring a night-long Latin dance party for all guests.Better yet, Delilah Miami’s exclusive Late Night Menu, led by Executive Chef Daniel Roy, will be available for Coco Loco goers to indulge in an array of technique-driven dishes. The cocktail menu encourages guests to sip on unforgettably delicious drinks, while immersing themselves in this portal to Miami’s past.

Could restaurant “surge pricing” be in the near future for Miami restaurants? The Wall Street Journal recently reported that it’s being done selectively around the country. It’s similar to what the airlines and hotels have been doing for years, what they call “dynamic pricing” — charge more when demand is high, and lower prices to encourage sales in the off season and off peak periods. It already exists to some extent with happy hours, but some places are experimenting with raising prices on weekends. New technology is helping make that possible. To read the article in the Journal, click here.