15 May 11-17, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | ▼ LITTLE HAVANA CALLE DRAGONES OPENS WITH ASIAN-INFLUENCED CUBAN FARE “When people come in, I want them to be proud and to feel the elegance of what Cuba once was,” Luis Pous says while holding back tears. Calle Dragones, the chef’s new Calle Ocho restaurant, means the world to him. A native Cuban, he moved to Miami in 1999 after win- ning a visa lottery. Pous made the most of his leap of faith. The chef has risen the culinary ranks, serving as a guest chef at James Beard House in New York City and working in presti- gious spots like George V Hotel in Paris and Little Palm Island in the Keys. Still, Pous had a dif- ferent goal in mind: to open a restaurant that celebrates Havana’s heyday. “My dream was always to do a Cuban res- taurant, and now it’s here,” he says. “My idea was to focus on the glamourous times of Ha- vana. When people think of Cuban food, they think of rice and beans. But there are rem- nants of such a beautiful Cuba from before the revolution with beautiful buildings, caba- rets, and places to really wine and dine. This place captures it all.” Pous says construction on the space, in a partnership with the creators of Salvaje Hos- pitality Group, started approximately 18 months before the pandemic. He has since opened locations in Bogotá and Cartagena, Colombia. The Miami location was designed by Spanish architect and interior designer García de Vinuesa. Design highlights include red velvet curtains, black crystal chandeliers, terrazzo flooring, 1950s velvet furniture, and a vintage white grand piano. On the entertainment front, nightly pro- gramming includes Spanish Fiesta Thursdays, Havana Tropical Nights Fridays, Salsa Disco Fever on Saturdays, and World Carnaval Day on Sundays. The performances and live music are curated by musical director Dayhan Días, who has worked alongside the likes of Andrés Cepeda, Rey Ruiz, and Amaury Gutiérrez. The dining menu pays homage to Pous’ heritage with an Asian flair — the restaurant, after all, is named after a street in Havana’s predominantly Chinese neighborhood. Among its standout items, according to Pous, are a mojo-roasted duck with guava hoisin and Chinese pancakes, a crab fricasé with Thai sofrito, and a risotto with short rib vaca frita. “I have a lot of talented people around me to bring this idea that was in my head to life,” says Pous. “The attention and detail have been like nothing else.” Calle Dragones. 1036 SW Eighth St., Miami; 786-722-8370; calledragones.com. Monday through Wednesday 5 p.m. to midnight and Thursday through Saturday 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. Brunch is served Sunday noon to 5 p.m. JESSE SCOTT ▼ LITTLE HAVANA THIS MIAMI BROWNIE TOOK HOME THE TOP PRIZE How sweet it is for Exquisito Chocolates. Among more than 2,000 applicants at this year’s national Good Food Awards, the Mi- ami-based chocolatier took home the top prize in the snack category for its 73 percent agrofloresta brownie. “To have people from all over compete and to be honored with this is quite nice,” Caro- lina Quijano, founder of Exquisito Choco- lates, tells New Times. “And what is great is that the award is not only about taste but about sustainability and food sourcing.” Held annually, the Good Food Awards fea- ture 16 categories — from oils to spirits to grains — preliminarily judged with a blind taste test. From there, finalists are scored on various environmental and social responsibil- ity benchmarks, and the winners are named by region. In addition to Exquisito Choco- lates, Miramar-based Scobucha was the only other South Florida business honored this year, in the pickling category. So, what makes this brownie so darn special? “We self-produce all of our chocolates in- house and import all of our cacao beans from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean,” says Quijano. “We control the ultimate flavor of the chocolate, as we roast everything in-house and only roast in single- origin batches. In baking, we get so many different results and, in many cases, are wonderfully surprised.” In the case of the 73 percent agrofloresta brownie — named for its Mexican origin and the percentage of cacao beans in it — the re- sult is, in Quijano’s words, “a very rich and fudgy flavor” that’s deep, dark, and chocolatey with robust notes of whiskey. The brownie base includes organic eggs, flour, and sugar. Exquisito Chocolates has a brick-and- mortar operation in Little Havana where the treat is currently available as part of a brownie flight with four total morsels for $14. To celebrate the brownie’s big win, until Sun- day, May 7, all customers who make a pur- chase of $50 or more will receive a free 73 percent agrofloresta brownie. Beyond brownies, bars, bonbons, and truf- fles, the homegrown operation is starting to roll out single-origin cacao ice cream. “We’ve grown very organically, starting with a machine that produced ten pounds of chocolate, and now we’re making about 500 pounds in a single batch,” says Quijano. “As we grow, we want to keep improving the quality of what we do, pushing what we do with chocolate and never compromising.” Exquisito Chocolates. 2606 SW Eighth St., Miami; 786-558-4580; exquisitochocolates. com. Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. JESSE SCOTT | TASTE TEST | ▼ Café Calle Dragones photo The interior of Calle Dragones on Calle Ocho “THERE ARE REMNANTS OF SUCH A BEAUTIFUL CUBA FROM BEFORE THE REVOLUTION.” Exquisito Chocolates photo The brownies at Exquisito Chocolates
