These locals are making a big impact on Miami’s food scene with small-batch dishes
Like all tough times, something beautiful evolved during the pandemic. While we stayed home, small-batch businesses were born or flourished in kitchens around South Florida. From a celebrated chef who constructs and sells his favorite Vietnamese sandwich from his downtown apartment, to furloughed locals finally following their culinary dreams, Miami now has access to exotic and specialized dishes. Pickup or delivery, hit them up on social media (handles included below)!
Down with Dumplings
Being at home without work during the lockdown finally pushed Dominique Hawit-Patron to start her own business, The Dumpling Lady, which has a strong following from the likes of South Beach Wine & Food Festival guru Lee Schrager. “My husband and I have always loved dumplings and enjoy making them at home,” says Hawit-Patron of the couple who both worked in the hospitality and restaurant industry. “We literally woke up one day during the pandemic, opened an Instagram account and started testing recipes.” She stuffs her tender dumplings with spicy pork, chicken and shrimp, or mushrooms, and every order comes frozen with a recipe for easy pan-fried dumplings with a coveted crispy bottom. (This is the way to go — trust!) Just as important are the addictive dipping sauces which include a spicy signature sauce made with fresh Thai chilies, a classic dumpling sauce, and the uber-popular spicy mayo. Hawit-Patron offers pickup and delivery in Miami-Dade and Broward but hopes to expand to other avenues where her food will be more accessible to everyone. @thedumplingladymia
Breaking Bread
Chefs with impressive pedigrees also jumped into the small-batch game. Boredom during the quarantine prompted Ben Murray, chef de cuisine at Pao by Paul Qui restaurant at Faena Hotel, to craft homemade banh mis in his downtown condo. “They are my favorite sandwich,” says Murray who started selling the Vietnamese sandwiches to Instagram followers in May and now sells out days in advance. Customers can choose from lemongrass meatballs glazed in soy sauce, roasted pork, or the popular vegetarian option, char siu portobello. “The bread is the biggest ingredient. It’s super light and airy on the inside but has a nice crunchy shell on the outside,” says Murray of the fresh bread that arrives daily from Bettant Bakery. The chef generously stuffs the sandwiches with cilantro, mint, pickled daikon, carrots, Vietnamese cult condiment Maggi Seasoning sauce, and umami mayo. “It’s a flavor bomb. It has everything you want in a sandwich,” he promises. While Murray will return to Pao, he has plans for a physical space for Benh Mi; until then he’s selling banh mi kits that can be assembled at home. @benh_mis
Soup for You
Even though he’s managed and consulted for fine dining restaurants from New York to Miami where fancy dishes prevail, Cristiano Azevedo of What Soup Miami comes from humble roots. “I’m Portuguese, and in my home, we always had soup at every meal. It’s always been present in my life,” says Azevedo, who began making and selling batches of simple, yet intricately layered soups in his Midtown apartment in January thanks to encouragement from his partner/girlfriend Luisa Lopez. Like the others, his homemade soups took off during quarantine as people looked for easy meals. With around 35 varieties, Azevedo rotates three different soups each week, which is often like taking a culinary trip around the world. Showcasing his background in fine dining, expect one soup centered around composition and refined ingredients; a garden-centric soup like sweet potato with flecks of arugula ad turmeric; and a soup with international roots inspired by his travels to 39 countries or his childhood. Some of the most popular are the “caldo verde”, a potato-based Portuguese soup made with collard greens, sausage and olive oil, and a refreshing Spanish gazpacho. “Everything is about a good ingredient. A good tomato, a good cucumber,” he says. “In my gazpacho, I don’t strain it, so you can still taste the tomato meat.” The soups are available for pick-up or delivery to some areas of Miami. @WhatSoupMiami
Delicate Dance
If there’s one thing we all need right now, it’s something deliriously beautiful and delicious — and Linda Reguieg’s dreamy desserts are the answer. Born and raised in Paris, the marketing maven-turned-pastry-chef’s love of pavlovas stemmed from her childhood. “My mom would make a batch of meringue, cut any fruit we had from the bowl, and we’d eat it with whip cream,” explains Reguieg of the dessert named after the Russian ballerina. “For me, the pavlova is very delicate, feminine, and elegant. I love the crunch of the meringue, smoothness of the cream, and acidity of the fruit. It’s not overly sweet, so you can finish it in a few bites.” The marketing manager of Juvia Group and her chef-husband Pierre Morat concocted six pavlova recipes, which she initially offered and sold to friends including nightlife impresario David Grutman; during the quarantine, word spread quickly on Instagram about her light-as-air treats. Reguieg offers creations made with organic fruits such as mango and passion fruit dashed with lime and coconut, or decadent choices like black forest fashioned with cherries and chocolate meringue. Reguieg, who’s company name is Super [BON], offers pickup or delivery, and hopes to soon have her desserts on restaurant menus.
Spice of Life
Another small-batch phenom is 32-year-old Maral Arslanian, who originally created The Spicy Dolma on Instagram to catalog her exotic family recipes. While she’s of Armenian descent, her recipes are a conglomeration of all the places her family has lived from Syria to Greece and Argentina. When Covid-19 struck and Arslanian was furloughed from her job in fashion, she began making food for friends, and eventually hungry Instagram followers. “I have clients who’ve never tasted Armenian food in their life, and some that are Armenian but can’t find authentic food in Miami,” says Arslanian, who relies heavily on sumac and dried mint to season dishes. One of the most sought-after dishes is mante, an Armenian dumpling similar to an open-faced ravioli stuffed with ground beef, veggies, and fresh herbs, and served with warm chicken broth and Greek yogurt. The heavenly dish comes pre-made, and all you have to do is finish crisping it in the oven. Each week, she rolls out different small batch dishes like “dolma,” which translates to stuffed vegetables like cabbage or red peppers, to lahmajun, a thin pizza topped with ground beef and veggies. With no plans to return to her corporate job, Arslanian hopes to continue sharing her heritage with Miami. “The food community has been so welcoming,” she says,” and I’m so happy with what I’m doing now.” @The_Spicy_Dolma
