20 February 9-15, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ▼ DESIGN DISTRICT JEREMIAH BULLFROG’S SQUARE PIE CITY BRINGS “SLICE SHOP” VIBES TO MIAMI A project more than five years in the making has finally come to fruition for Miami chef Jeremiah Bullfrog. Last month, the former chef to rapper Rick Ross reopened Square Pie City with its first standalone brick-and-mortar spot in the Magic City. The Miami native told New Times he be- gan experimenting with square-pan pies in late 2016 with a goal of opening a brick-and- mortar restaurant. After several setbacks, in- cluding the pandemic, Bullfrog instead chose to launch the concept via pop-up, making regular appearances at Boxelder and Babe’s Meat Counter. The chef later opened his first permanent location inside Miami Beach’s Time Out Mar- ket in 2021, offering an expanded menu with a focus on the Motor City’s most iconic food- stuffs, the deep-dish square pie. A year later, in May 2022, Bullfrog left the food hall to expand into a larger, standalone location, resuming his pop-ups in cities like Nashville, Chicago, and Orlando while prepping for the move. Now, Square Pie City is back in business with a new home that opened earlier this month on the western edge of the Miami De- sign District. The casual space offers a walk- up counter for to-go orders, a quick meal where you can snag $4 slices for lunch, and indoor seating for dine-in guests. An online ordering platform on the website is also avail- able for both takeout and delivery. The experience, explains Bullfrog, is meant to recreate the slice-shop vibe you’d find at pizza shops across the Northeast. “We want people to be able to have that type of experience in Miami, the culture where you walk in and tell the pizza chef how you want your slice cooked — maybe you want it well done, or add some pepperoni,” explains Bullfrog. “That’s why we put our deck oven next to the counter. We want customers to have that conversation.” Fans of Square Pie will find the menu hasn’t changed much. You can still find Bull- frog’s most popular red and white pies with the option for vegan or gluten-free substi- tutes prepared using the chef’s 72-hour, dou- ble-fermented dough. Like most Detroit square pies, the thick base is first topped with cheese before it’s smothered in a layer of sauce and baked to form the style’s quintes- sential crispy edges. At the new restaurant, diners can choose from a menu of half pies (four slices), and full pies (six slices) priced between $17 and $34, or create their own with a variety of scratch- made toppings. Standout red pies include the “Classix,” a combination of mozzarella, pro- volone, and Parmesan beneath a layer of “dat sauce,” Bullfrog’s proprietary marinara. There’s also the familiar “Red in the Head, Fire in the Bed,” a spicy pie that offers heat from Calabrian chilies and chili-infused oil. White pies include the “All White E’rrythang,” topped with mozzarella, house- made ricotta, Parmesan, and roasted garlic, and the “Many Magical Mushrooms,” topped with caramelized cremini mushrooms, moz- zarella, asiago, garlic, and a housemade por- cini “dust.” While most options are fa- miliar favorites, there’s one new menu item worth getting excited about: Bullfrog’s new thin-crust, round pie. “I’ve had one on my mind for a couple of years, mentally working how we would do our version,” ex- plains Bullfrog, who based his thin crust off memories of Rotonda Pizza while traveling in Rome. Thin crust pies are available dur- ing dinner service and sold as whole pies for dine-in or takeout. Unlike the deck oven-cooked square pies, these are made using a malt-kissed, low-hydration dough that cooks into a flavorful, crispy crust from the high temperature of the in-house wood-burning oven. For now, the pies are available only during dinner says Bullfrog. “You can take it to-go, but you really want to eat it there when it comes out of the oven. Doesn’t get any better than that.” The wood-burning oven will also offer daily specials, including Bullfrog’s broccoli rabe, half-roasted cauliflower, smoked chicken wings, and mortadella meatballs, the chef’s recipe executed by Babe’s Meat Coun- ter. There also will be a secret menu offering one-off daily or weekly specialty items an- nounced via Instagram and a cocktail pro- gram designed by Mike Parish, formerly of Broken Shaker, that will highlight small- batch, vermouth-based spirits. “There’s still so much we’re waiting to bring on line. There are a lot of fun things in the works. Something I’ve always been about is supporting our industry. It’s important, as restaurateurs, that we have an ongoing con- versation about what will make Miami better. We’re constantly trying to make the space better, so we can make Miami better,” sums up Bullfrog. Square Pie City. 3918 N. Miami Ave., Miami; 786-408-3591; squarepiecity.com. NICOLE DANNA | TASTE TEST | ▼ Café Photo by Janel Kilnisan Square Pie City has opened in the Design District.
