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restaurant review

New Miami food hall, Julia & Henry’s serves up Asian cuisine, all on one floor

June 19, 2023 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Ding, ding, ding! New Miami food hall, Julia and Henry’s serves up Asian cuisine, all on one floor. The newest curated food hall with a lineup of numerous celebrity chefs finally opened in downtown Miami in the iconic art deco building that housed Walgreens. Story goes this food hall was named after Julia Tuttle and Henry Flagler, considered “the mother and father of Miami”! 

Ground Floor, Natural Wine Bar
See through flooring

About the decor:

Your first impression of Julia and Henry’s is, WOW! You’re immediately hit by the multi level, colorfully lit up wine cellar (I’ve only seen it blue and pink).

It’s MASSIVE, I like that there’s an atrium in the middle that spans all three floors. With “balconies” on each floor, this makes the food hall very open and light. There’s a modern, see through staircase and walkways which lets light in also and regular staircase in the rear back wall. The design is modern, whimsical, industrial with hints of colors especially with the bar lounge sofas and wall art.

Currently open in the food hall: ground, mezzanine & balcony third floor. Future will be a floor dedicated to music and “experiences”. The third floor balcony showcases SIX Asian Food Concepts and a craft cocktail bar, The Lasseter and that’s where we went straight to! I mean food not bar.

Lasseter Craft Cocktail Bar
Dining area on 2nd Floor

Scout, then action:

I loved visiting with my foodie buddy @epicurean305 we enjoy the same pacing and like exploring new flavors, do check him out on Instagram. We took a quick tour of the SIX Asian food concepts before settling on two: Fried Snapper bowl from Achar and Pork Lechon Gyozas from Hitchi Haika.

We did end up getting a third dish from Osso on the Ground Floor but that’s for another post.

About the 6 Asian Food Concepts:

@Acharstreet.kitchen
Created by restauranteur, Maher Murshed, who also opened Byblos in South Beach among many others. His vision with Achar was SPOT ON! He nailed it with all aspects for a fantastic dining experience. I mention this constantly…ambiance, presentation and of course, delicious food. Interesting Achar is tagged as Burmese but Murshed is Bangladeshi and the chef is Peruvian??? I don’t care as long as the food is tasty!

Chef Marco Cahaus
Wow, so organized

About Achar’s food:

Fried Snapper Bowl, $18 came with basmati rice, turmeric cauliflower & potato, mashed tomato with onions & a gorgeous colorful, chopped salad. I loved this complete meal and it was great value. The fried snapper was dipped in a chickpea batter so it’s gluten free and seasoned with a house mix. The snapper was perfectly executed, moist and tender. You could taste flavors of each ingredient in that beautifully presented bowl.

There were options of tandoori grilled, beef or chicken skewers which looked very tantalizing. I got to film some fiery grill action there. Definitely going back to try those! There was also a Tamarind tossed Chick Pea Bowl for vegetarians.

Beautiful Fried Snapper Bowl
Sweet Rice Pudding

I managed to have a brief chat with Chef Marco who had worked at Byblos & Bazaar by Jose Andres. Chef definitely has operations organized, you could see colorful bowls laid out ready which just needed the skewered protein. Our dish was ready quite quickly. 

He gifted us Sweet Rice Pudding (Firni) served in a traditional earth clay bowl. It’s made with chinigura rice, rose water and pistachios. A flood of food memories rushed at me in the first bite, this dessert reminded me of a semolina dessert my mom used to make in Hong Kong. I loved this sweet end to what was a well thought out concept and most importantly, our Fried Snapper Bowl was really very delicious.  Well done Achar!

My fav Asian concept so far
Love menu

@Hitchihaika
Japanese Gyozas filled with 7 flavors from around the world by Chef Jose Mendin (Pubbelly & many other food concepts) & Chef Jorge Mijangos. Between $14-$16. We tried Pork Lechon Gyozas with citrus mojo, green herbs. 5 in an order, very tasty and lovely presentation, maybe a little bit teeny.

Pork Lechon Gyozas
Hitchi Haika Menu

Lucky @epicurean305 scored a fantastic window seat right next to Hitchi Haika, it was PERFECT for photo taking.

Now, for the other 4 Asian Concepts:

@shimujaflorida Master Ramen Chef Kei San was serving authentic ramen bowl made fresh in front of you. I’ve heard so much about this restaurant. I can’t wait to try, my only issue is I can’t eat a lot of starchy noodles.

Yum, Ramen bowl
Chef Ken Sei

@palmarmiami described as “Dim Sum” by Javier Ramirez who also opened Alter, Bachour and Palmar in Wynwood where I’ve dined several times. Described as “blending Latin flavors with modern Asian street food and tropical Miami vibes”! The spicy pork noodles and papaya salad looked scrumptious.

Palmar
Spicy Pork Noodles, Papaya Salad

@sankuay by Chef Charles Thomson. A Peruvian-Cantonese Chifa Wok concept and Asian street food. Lomo Saltado looked delightful, priced at $22. I need to try one of his Wok dishes, hey, I am a wok cooking teacher and know a thing or two about this!

Sankuay
Lomo Saltado
Sankuay menu

@yabairolls serves Japanese hand rolls. Yabai brings the vibrancy of Kabukicho, an entertainment district in Tokyo known for their neon signs!

Conclusion:

I would love to hear what Asian dishes you’ve tried or want to try!

Julia & Henry’s is definitely a fun food hall to check out with so many options. Maybe weekday? We went Saturday, around 1:45pm and only waited 5 minutes in line to get in. However, when we came out, the line was half a block long! Or wait a couple more months when it’s not the newest and latest food hall to try?

Love collages of chefs

Filed Under: Asian themed restaurants, blog, Food Halls, Miami restaurant, restaurant review Tagged With: "Asian themed restaurant", "miami foodies", "Miami restaurant review", "miami restaurants", downtown miami, Julia and Henry's, miami food hall, miami food scene

Society BBQ for ALL!

January 1, 2020 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Community, part of a club…

I asked Chef Richard Hales why the name “Society” for his latest food concept? “I like that Society is about community but also a reference to being part of a club.  BBQ and the love of it is definitely a club. I’m always about community and how my ideas for restaurant impact it.” Therein lies why Hales has been so successful with his FIFTH restaurant concept to date! He cooks for the community. He wants the community to rally round and eat well and we are so ready for good BBQ. The concept especially works well at The Citadel, a food hall in Little River area of Miami.

Pork Ribs, Brisket, Burnt End (my fav), pickled onion and cucumber, cole slaw

Chef Richard Hales is one of the smartest chefs around! He doesn’t only know how to cook but he’s good with EVERYTHING. From concept to execution. He looks at business from a diffferent view point, for example, simple things like charging by the rib instead of by the pound, SMART! 

Chef Richard Hales show off a rack of Beef Ribs.
Chef Richard Hales show off a rack of Beef Ribs.

5 Food Concepts

All of Hale’s food concepts revolve around foods he himself enjoys, Northern Chinese food with Black Brick, Vietnamese Fast Food with Sakaya Kitchen, Dim Saam A Go Go with food truck, Southern with Bird and Bone and now Society BBQ with one of the most popular foods Americans love to indulge in. Try them all, they are totally different. 

Chef Richard Hales' To Go bag highlights his 5 restaurant/food concepts.
Chef Richard Hales’ To Go bag highlights his 5 restaurant/food concepts.
Society BBQ is first counter you see as you enter at south entrance of The Citadel.

Labor of Love…

The work involved in making BBQ is as Hales said, “a labor of love” with 18 hour work days starting at 4am. His work ethics make us feel like “layabouts” my husband’s words and “under achiever” my words. 

There is a difference between BBQ, Smoking and Grilling. BBQ is low and slow, Smoking is cooking something with smoke, also low and slow and Grilling is cooking over fire, hot and fast. 

Society BBQ: orders lined up
Society BBQ: orders lined up.

So, let’s break down why Society BBQ works so well…

One…meltingly tender brisket and our fav, Burnt Ends and fall off the bone Pork Ribs. 

Two…PRICE. Yes, you have to provide VALUE. 

Three…great sides.

Society BBQ menu
Society BBQ menu
Society BBQ: Smoked Squash and Cheese; Sweet Potato Casserole
Society BBQ: Smoked Squash and Cheese (our fav); Sweet Potato Casserole

We absolutely fell in love with the Smoked Squash with Cheese, tasty, tasty, it’s like a vegetable cousin to Mac N’ Cheese and the best part were the crispy, crunchies sprinkled on top.  We also loved the cucumber pickle which was more an Asian slant than the normal dill pickle, a steal at $2 a portion. 

Save room for dessert…

Be sure to save room for Wife Hale’s Smoked Bourbon Bread Pudding, we had to save for our next visit cause we were so full. 

Conclusion…hit Society BBQ EARLY because they can run out!  

Society BBQ
inside The Citadel Food Hall
8300 NE 2nd Avenue
Miami, FL 33138

Disclosure: meal was provided complimentary but that doesn’t sway my judgement.

Filed Under: blog, restaurant review Tagged With: "Chef Richard Hales", "Society BBQ", BBQ

Traymore by Michael Schwartz at Como Hotel

July 28, 2019 By Eleanor Hoh Leave a Comment

Smart move Como Metropolitan Hotel, Miami Beach!  Opening a restaurant with a James Beard award-winning chef, Traymore by Michael Schwartz guarantees immediate success.

The reason for his success? That’s easy…his philosophy has always been to cook what’s local and seasonal and provide a “Genuine” dining experience, LOVE that! He puts so much flavor and panache into his dishes. Schwartz created Genuine Hospitality Group in 2007 with his wife and partner, Tamara and has been dominating the Miami culinary scene with 9 restaurants so far and no end in sight. His pan-Asian fusion dishes fit perfectly with Como’s Asian roots.

Michael, you definitely nailed it. Thank you for giving us uncluttered Asian flavors with an upscale ambience!

I love that they respected the Art Deco curved ceiling inlay details accented with lights and soaring columns flanked with huge pots of greenery giving the dining room a tropical look that’s tropical chic yet casual.

About the decor:

It’s a place where people feel comfortable and cozy and appeals to both hotel guests and locals. Como originated from Singapore, founded by Christina Ong and  boasts 9 hotels and resorts in Asia, 3 in Europe.  I am so thrilled to hear this because my mom was born in Singapore and it feels good to know this luxury brand has chosen Miami Beach as their first USA location.

Como Metropolitan Hotel, Miami Beach’s Lobby, zen and clean.
No words necessary!
Porch setting for those who enjoy a little humidity!

Cute area which can be curtained off for private functions!

Splendid Bar with Raw Bar!
Banquettes on the back wall. Thank heavens for this, my hubby has a superstition and likes to sit with the wall behind him.

About the food:

“I have always loved the ingredients and tastes of Asia” says Schwartz. As a long time fan of Chef Michael Schwartz, we were pleased to see his signature Wok Charred Salmon on the menu as well as the inclusion of Black Rice in many dishes, another of his favorites from when he helmed the kitchen at Nemo back in 1995. I’m so happy Chef Michael gets to bring back his love of Asian flavors at Como. His culinary genius is respecting each ingredient and bringing out its best potential with sourcing from excellent purveyors.

Everything we ordered was exquisitely executed, very tasty and well presented. Quite reasonable considering this is Miami Beach. Raw Bar ranged from $17-$29. Market Table were $6-$10. Appetizers, $12-$20. Entrees, $21-$42. Dessert, large $12, small $5.

Miami Spice starts August 1st and continues to September 31, with lunch and dinner menu. It’s a great way to get a sampling. Umm, just saw Pork Belly Ramen and Black sticky rice with mango, I’m so THERE!

About the service:

As this was a media tasting, the Como staff as well as the restaurant managers were there to greet us, we appreciated the attention! Our server ‘knew’ the menu and shared his favs.

Top: Broccolini with Thai peanut sauce and black rice, staff know how to wok it, crispy crunchy. Tuna Sashimi with kaffir lime vinaigrette, very refreshing and light.
Lobster stuffed Zucchini blossoms, preserved lemon dressing. Light and fluffy.
Pan Fried Pork & Kimchi Dumplings with Papaya Mustard. I couldn’t taste the Kimchi though? Otherwise, this crispy disc was genius. Who doesn’t love crispy dumplings?
Wanted to show how each dumpling was underneath!
Grilled Rib Eye, green sambal, chile fried long green beans and black sticky rice in small plate. That was one of the most TENDER and juicy steaks I’ve ever had. It had the perfect temperature for medium rare. Stir Fried Thai Eggplant Curry was also delicious. Of course, so good as leftovers next day.
I loved how a server poured hot water to make the Vietnamese coffee which seeped into Sundae beneath and when she removed it, TA DA, there was our Vietnamese Coffee Sundae!
I posted on my Instagram story @wokstar Switch on notification for latest updates.
Vanilla ice cream, sweetened condensed milk, sesame-hempseed crunch, toffee, whipped cream, house maraschino. With Hemp Seed Balls from the Small Bites section. I’m not sure how we managed to fit this in but we did! Very rich, blame it on my hubby for ordering it, I would have preferred Miso Flan.

Disclosure: this media tasting was complimentary. As a cooking teacher and authority on Asian food, my audience enjoys my reviews and recommendations.

Filed Under: Asian themed restaurants, blog, Miami restaurant, restaurant review Tagged With: "Asian themed restaurant", "Miami Asian food", "Miami Beach dining", "Miami restaurant review", "Traymore by Michael Schwartz"

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