New restaurant openings in Miami, not to be missed free family day at Mamey Miami on the 21st, dining experiences , food news notes, and a major farmers market expansion, all in Eating News for May 2021, Part 1.
Mamey Miami at the THēsisHotel has officially registered a holiday honoring Miami’s favorite fruit. To celebrate, the Coral Gables-based hotel and restaurant is hosting a free juicy jubilee featuring live entertainment from The Peter Bernard Calypso Band, mamey cocktails, bites by Chef Niven Patel of Mamey Miami and giveaways including sweet scoops from Azucar Ice Cream and soy candles by Fatima. The family-friendly event will be held at Mamey on 3rd, the rooftop extension of Mamey Miami. The celebration, which is free and open to the public, takes place on Friday, May 21 from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Chef Niven Patel of Mamey Miami, will be serving complimentary lamb ribs, served with a special mamey barbeque sauce as well as a refreshing roasted mamey and watermelon salad. In addition, island-inspired bites from the menu will be available for purchase. Guests are invited to be the first to sip on three new mamey cocktails specially curated for the evening including. Valet parking for the event is available. For more information, or to RSVP call 305.266-2639.
The Coyo Taco Group, the talented team behind Serena (see review below), has opened their second restaurant at the MOXY Hotel. Como Como is a marisquería and raw bar recalling Mexico’s seaside destinations with their traditional seafood restaurants. The restaurant’s interior is lined with stone and brick walls displaying Mesoamerican artifacts, and outdoor dining is in a lush courtyard layered with colored tilework, hanging plants, and stone gardens. The centerpiece of the dramatic dining room is a striking copper-and-wrought-iron “fuego” (fire station), where diners can watch the whole fish they’ve selected being cooked over a wood-burning grill.
Tableside presentations add to the show, whether a traditional Caesar Salad (a dish born in Tijuana, Mexico), or hand-chopped Tartar de Pescado (fish of the day), tingling with spices. Como Como also features traditional coastal varieties of ceviches. At the center of the bar is a dramatic “tequila tree” sculpture made of hand-blown glass spheres and copper pipes.Tequila travels through this dramatically lit forest of glass and metal until it is dispensed by bartenders into creative cocktails. There’s also a large selection of flame grilled meats and vegetable dishes roasted in the Josper charcoal oven. 915 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach.
In case you missed my review of Serena, click here.
On my serious watch list is the upcoming opening in the last week of May of KAORI Miami in the SLS LUX Brickell. The two story Mediterranean-Asian inspired culinary concept in the heart of downtown Brickell will also have what they’re saying is a “synergetic entertainment component”. The 4500 square foot restaurant will have its bar and lounge area on the ground level, making a statement with its mixture of entertainment, live music and exotic instrumentals from different cultures. Upstairs the dining area will have signature menu items such as authentic cuts of A5 Japanese Miyazaki Kobe Strip Loin with Shiso Chimichurri, Furikake Chicharron with Yuzu Mojo, Yellow Fin Tuna with Charred Avocado and Miso Sweet Potato Puree, home-made Short Rib Dumplings with Manchego Foam, and Kabayaki Glazed Seabass. The cocktail program will feature ingredients from different cuisines along with special wine and sake programming. KAORI Miami, 871 South Miami Avenue. Sounds enticing, no?
I’ve always liked the National Hotel, a South Beach art deco gem, and was happy to hear they’re back in business and rebranded as an adults-only hotel. According to the Miami Herald, they just opened Marea 1939, a Spanish concept with a coastal bent. Signature dishes include black paella with seared scallops and shrimp, honey spiced duck breast and Spanish octopus…..Another Herald news item is a members only Japanese restaurant in Wynwood for up to 16 people. Called Haiku Miami, it will have an initiation fee and commitment to five reservations in 12 months. Each reservation will feature a 10-12 course omakase menu with wine, champagne and sake. For more information email membership@haikurestaurants.com.
Aventura Farmers Market now boasts more than 75 South Florida vendors. Every Saturday and Sunday during mall hours, the recently expanded, indoor Aventura Farmers Market welcomes vendors to the Lower Level of Aventura Mall, with a diverse array of exotic foods, fresh produce, flowers, desserts and pastries, as well as handmade fashion accessories, home décor and body care products. Nearly 40 of these vendors offer international cuisine – from Colombian and Argentine-style empanadas to Chicha juice and rum-soaked cakes – to be enjoyed onsite or taken home. Looking for food for fido instead? The market also offers mini macarons for pups.
Azabu Miami Beach’s The Den has launched Now & Den: A Wagyu Series, a two-part dining experience where guests can savor the highest grade Japanese Wagyu from now to July. Chef Tadaaki Ishizaki, one of Japan’s leaders in Japanese-style dry aged beef and a founding member of the Japan Dry Aging Beef Promotion Board who has spent over ten years working with beef, helms the den until July 17. During this period, guests will experience an intimate omakase dinner utilizing several different types of Japanese Wagyu like Miyazaki Gyu, Satsuma Gyu, Premium WAOH Wagyu, and Tokachi Poroshiri Wagyu. Formerly with Salt + Charcoal in Williamsburg, Chef Tadaaki joined o.d.o in Manhattan, an intimate kaiseki restaurant with one Michelin star and a New York Times three-star review by Chef Hiroki Odo. During Chef Tadaaki’s residency, there are two seatings at 7 PM and 9:30 PM every Wednesday through Saturday for $220 per person. 161 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach.
