A wonderful new spot to take out of town visitors (or just treat yourself), the Miami meat market for all cuts of Wagyu beef including hamburgers, new brunch and dinner menus from a fave, and if you like bundt cakes you’ll swoon over these, all in Eating News for January ’21, Part 1.

A much welcome new addition to waterfront restaurants and bars and a great place to bring visitors to Miami is the Baia Beach Club at the Mondrian South Beach. It’s a beautiful remake of the large pool area, now with all new restaurant, two bars, lounge and pool deck with cabanas. Part of a recent $20 million dollar property wide transformation, it takes full advantage of the waterside location with tables that are so close to the water you feel you can touch it.

The Mediterranean dinner menu offers local crudo, a combo of Middle Eastern breads and spreads ($34), a range of salads with protein add ons ($17 to $19), entrees like linguini clams with white wine garlic sauce (($27) and sushi menu . Served for 2-4 diners are a signature whole rotisserie chicken with roasted potato, sweet peppers and onions ($57) and whole roasted branzino with roasted cauliflower ($60).

Breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch are offered, along with “Sundown Social” happy hour with special pricing on drinks and light bites and a prix fixe Mediterranean spread for Sunday brunch along with a la carte brunch options. Baia also functions as a private members club and offers several options for group dining and private events. Public parking available is nearby. Baia Beach Club at the Mondrian, 1100 West Avenue, Miami Beach.

An exciting new brunch menu by Chef Joseph Bonavita has been launched at The Deck at Island Gardens which, as you know, is one of my favorite spots for its glam décor and picture postcard view of mega yachts in the foreground and the skyline of downtown Miami. Menu items include The Deck benedict ($20) poached eggs with bearnaise sauce, toasted English muffin, arugula salad with option to add Maine lobster (+$13) or Alaskan king crab (+$18);Sunday steak and eggs choice of 10oz Wagyu Flat Iron ($38) or 8oz Filet Mignon ($58) with two farmer’s eggs sunny-side up and seasoned potatoes; brick oven carbonara pizzetta ($21) Pecorino Romano, apple wood crispy pancetta, two farmer’s eggs sunny-side up; and lemon ricotta pancakes ($18) with marinated berries, chopped walnuts, Greek honey, crème fraîche and petite mint.Caviar service  is also available, as well as a selection of chilled seafood.

The brunch is offered Saturday and Sunday from Noon to 4 p.m. with loungy music included. And speaking of new menus, there’s a new one for dinner, too. The Deck at Island Gardens, 888 MacArthur Causeway, Miami T. 786-627-4949 https://www.islandgardens.com/the-deck

LoMelo’s hot dog won the distinction of being one of my best dishes of the year but it has much more. LoMelo’s Meat Market Miami features exclusively flown in fresh grass fed wagyu beef including New York Strip, Ribeye, Tomahawk, Japanese A5 Ribeye, Filet Mignon, Skirt Steak, Burgers, Wagyu Japanese Ribeye and much more. The rib eyes are available with two degrees of marbling – 6/7 score and 8/9, the latter offering more marbling and a more buttery flavor and the former more beefy. I tried the bone in 6/7 rib eye which was very tender and flavorful. ($48) Also very good were the burgers packaged as 6 or 8 ounce patties (2- 8 oz patties $12) . Meats are sold in store and online and they offer delivery. They also sell California red wine to complement the meat. Owned and operated by three local Miami entrepreneurs – Jason Spiewak, Jorge Lorenzo and Javi Melo – LoMelo’s officially launched in June 2020 out of Jorge’s house and has now upgraded to its own brick and mortar location at 9810 S Dixie Hwy, Kendall, FL 33156.

If you like bundt cakes (and even if you don’t usually like them), you’ll really enjoy the ones from Mo’s, an artisanal baker from Miami. All the cakes are made from family recipes.  You’ll find not only the usual lemon variety, but much more exciting flavors of guava, Nutella, dulce de leche (after all, this is Miami) and the original — cinnamon. There’s also a flavor of the month and holiday versions, like the upcoming chocolate Hershey’s kisses version for Valentine’s Day. Another thing I really like is that besides the traditional sizes of 8” serving 6-8 and 10” serving 8-10 ($27 and $37 respectively), they have 4” personal size cakes which can feed one or two.  Then there are minis, perfect for one, so you’re not tempted to eat more (a big temptation in this case).  Whatever flavor you choose, each has icing and is laced inside with the particular flavor’s goodness. If you can’t decide which flavor to pick, you can choose their mixed box with four personal size cakes ($20) or 8 ($38). The minis come in a cute jar of three (6 jars for $36). Mo’s Bundt Cakes.