Miami Chefs Spill Their Favorite Menu Items & Best Sellers of 2017
Another year, another set of trends. As we welcome 2018, we can’t help but think about all the delicious meals we enjoyed over the last year and of course have begun to wonder what this year will bring to our plates.
We asked a few chefs around town what their favorite dish to serve was in 2017, what the biggest hit on the menu was, and what they think we will be seeing more of in 2018.
Here’s what they came up with:
Favorite Dish and/or Top Selling Dish of 2017:
Executive Chef Drew Andrade at Tanuki: "This is definitely our best-selling Truffled Yellowtail Roll. With truffle complimenting fresh yellowtail, avocado, chili daikon and tenkasu, it is simply perfect."
Executive Chef Ronnie Jariyawiriya of Lure Fishbar SB: “Surprisingly with all the decadent dishes modern chefs are coming out with nowadays blanketing social media with sophistication and elegance even I would find myself lost in translation. Everyone can agree that simple, basic cooking is what we all crave. One of the best selling dish at Lure Fishbar is a simple Grilled Dorade dressed with agrodolce. Who doesn't like a crispy grilled to perfection deboned whole fish seasoned generously with salt, pepper and fresh squeezed lime dressed with agrodulce (an Italian dressing of sour and sweet)?!”
Chef de Cuisine Will Crandall at StripSteak by Michael Mina: “My favorite dish has to be our namesake steak, The Dry-aged NY Stripsteak. The combination of flavors and textures from the in-house dry-age room make it a home run. The dry-age process has a twofold advantage: affecting the texture to make our meat more tender and the concentration of flavors (just like reducing a sauce) to intensify the eating experience.”
VP of Culinary Chef Thomas Conell at Fontainebleau Miami Beach: “Foie Gras Ravioli at Scarpetta”
Executive Chef/Partner Food Comma Hospitality Group Chef Jose Mendin at Habitat, Pubbelly Noodle Bar, Pubbelly Sushi, Baja Bao House: “One of my favorite dishes of the year is Habitat’s Clams Carbonara made with cured clams, guanciale and dashi butter.”
Chef Brian Doyle at Council Oak Steaks & Seafood: “One of my favorite/bestselling dishes on Council Oak’s menu is the Florida Reef Lion Fish. We plate the broiled filets with the whole body for an interesting and visually appealing display. Served with melted fennel and citrus gives the dish a well-rounded, balanced flavor.”
Chef Miguel Gomez at Pisco y Nazca: “At both of our Pisco y Nazca locations, the Pulpo plancha and Lomo Saltado were our best selling dishes. Both are delicious and representative of Peruvian cuisine.”
Chef Kaytlin Dangaran at Verde at PAMM: “Year after year, our best selling dish is the chicken under a brick. It's one of our original menu items and overall just a well-rounded dish.”
Chef Masatomo Hamaya at Dragonfly Izakaya and Fish Market: “We are really excited with the feedback we are getting on our fish-aging program. It started building mid-year with really positive customer feedback on our house special 21-day Aged Otoro and culminated in October with our 30 Day Aged Bluefin Tuna Nigiri dish winning the first-ever “Battle Sushi” event at this year's SoBe Seafood Festival. We are now serving an aged fish dish regularly as a special at Dragonfly.”
Chef Alex Q. Becker at Kuro: “People are indulging in wagyu ribeye a bit more than they were a few years ago. We have a strong following for Kuro’s wagyu beef dishes, from the wagyu lollipops and wagyu with chestnuts and cauliflower to wagyu ishiyaki, and wagyu houbayaki.”
Stay tuned to see what their predictions are for 2018 later this week!