14 July 20-26, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Tapped and Ready Biscayne Bay Brewing finally reopens at the historic Post Office in downtown Miami. BY NICOLE DANNA T he principals at Biscayne Bay Brewing Company say they’re making history after reopening as a taproom and kitchen. Ac- cording to co-owners Jose Mal- lea and Nick Bonfiglio, Biscayne Bay is the first brewery to open in downtown Miami, thanks to a project five years in the making. Mallea announced plans to open a new Mi- ami location of his Doral-based brewery in 2018, securing a lease at the historic Post Office building at 100 NE First Ave. The crowdfunded project, facilitated by the same visionaries who recently unveiled Julia & Henry’s in the old Walgreens building at 200 E. Flagler St., offers its unique, four-story food-hall experience. “We knew immediately we had to be a part of it and that it was the perfect home for our brand,” Mallea tells New Times. “Miami deserves quality craft beer in a quality crafted space.” After several patient years awaiting reno- vations to the neoclassical 1912 edifice, Bis- cayne Bay Brewing Company served up suds to thirsty Miamians starting this week. For now, Biscayne Bay Brewing Company will be the complex’s only operating tenant, with future concepts rumored to include the first stateside restaurant from a well-known Mexican chef, a Japanese izakaya and sake bar curated by a world-renowned restaura- teur, and a mezcal bar. One of the area’s longest-operating brew- eries, Biscayne Bay Brewing Company began producing beer in 2014 and opened its first taproom in 2016 in Doral. The brewery loca- tion was initially planned for Little Ha- vana but ultimately relocated to the larger space with hopes for expansion. When the brew- ery’s Doral taproom ceased operations at the onset of the coro- navirus pandemic, Mallea put his focus on a five-year partnership with the Miami Mar- lins, creating a bespoke ballpark brewery ex- perience at LoanDepot park with the 2021 opening of Biscayne Bay Brew Hall. Located in the stadium’s atrium, the 3,000-square-foot space offers baseball fans a large bar area where they can choose among several types of draft beer, including Biscayne Bay’s signa- ture Marlins lager. On the third floor that once housed the Miami Weather Bureau Office, Biscayne Bay’s new digs offer a traditional taproom ex- perience, complete with views of a glass-en- closed production space where a four-barrel system will produce a series of experimental and one-off beers. A wraparound bar at the center of the space is home to a dozen beers on tap — a lineup that includes Biscayne Bay’s core beers like the “Tropical Bay” IPA, “Miami Pale Ale,” “Regatta” double IPA, and “Co- lada” porter, as well as a rotating lineup of seasonal and guest beers. The brewery also serves a small menu with savory small plates like a charcuterie board and Mediterranean-style dips, Wagyu picanha crostini, and bao buns. Larger offerings include a four-cheese flatbread, a Wagyu burger, a tuna salad sandwich, and an Angus rib eye. An expanded entertainment lineup is planned for the space with one-of-a-kind ac- tivations, including seasonal beer launch events, weekly live music performances, and sports viewing nights. “The opening of our flagship location is a dream come true. We are so proud to be a part of Miami’s revival...while helping to preserve [this building’s] legacy for generations to come,” sums up Bonfiglio. “The old Post Of- fice building carries a sense of history, an ar- chitectural marvel that adds depth and character to the brewery. And now, it’s about to embark on an exciting new chapter.” Biscayne Bay Brewing Company. 100 NE First Ave., Miami; 305-381-5718; biscaynebay- brewing.com. Wednesday through Saturday 5 p.m. to midnight, and Sunday 5 to 11 p.m. ▼ Café KarbanNation photo Biscayne Bay Brewing Company opened in the historic Post Office building in downtown Miami. “WE KNEW IMMEDIATELY THAT IT WAS THE PERFECT HOME FOR OUR BRAND.” Coastal Fusion Pez Loco’s new menu offers an intimate take on LA’s and Mexico’s coastal cuisine. BY RACHEL COSTA I nspired by the coastal regions of Los Angeles and Mexico, Pez Loco Restaurant & Tequila Bar’s executive chef Ari Taymor has recently introduced a new menu highlighted by his take on coastal fusion cuisine. Taymor tells New Times that his mother is from Mexico City, so he grew up traveling around the area and lived in Zihuatanejo for a couple of years. “I was traveling all up and down eating, ex- ploring,” he says. “And I was just really blown away by the diversity, by the sophistication, by how much international influences kind of filter through. A lot of Asian influences have started to filter through the cuisine there and how it’s just like this really beautiful, unique cuisine.” Taking inspiration from what he experienced on the west coast of Mexico for the menu, Taymor also drew from his cooking expe- rience in California and the impor- tance of the product. To bring both of these concepts to South Florida, Pez Loco has a strong re- lationship with local purveyors. Taymor allows that it’s not always possible to source all the restaurant’s ingredients locally, but he says Pez Loco will always be “local first” — speaking to farmers and fishermen and then writing a menu around what’s available. “We’re fortunate to be a fairly small restaurant,” he explains. “So that means if somebody has a side of fish or one or two of something, we can just grab it. We can either ‘special’ it or run a menu item for a couple of days or a week or whatever that might be until it runs out. And that, for us, is super exciting.” Pez Loco chef de cuisine Victor Mendez, who also had a hand in creating the menu, says he hopes to allow diners to try a different style of Mexican food from what they’re used to. He draws inspiration from longtime family recipes, including dishes like “Rice & Roe,” an appetizer made with Spanish rice and salmon roe. Taymor says the restaurant’s signature dish, a Sinaloan-style tuna crudo, was inspired by a visit to Mazatlán. “I had one of the cab drivers take us to his fa- vorite mariscos place,” the chef says. “They do their crudos with this sauce — it’s very celery- based, which I’d never had before. It’s just a really interesting, spicy, astringent, kind of bitter flavor profile I haven’t had in Mexico before. We kind of played around with it and came up with our own variation.” Other highlights include the “Po’Boy Ahog- ada” and an octopus ragu, which the chef describes as utilizing a Southern Italian-style sauce prepared using Mexican ingredients. For dessert, he suggests the baked Miami, his take on a baked Alaska, served with coco- nut sorbet. Pez Loco’s cocktail menu carries a similar aesthetic. Taymor recom- mends the “Dirty Beet,” a tequila-based drink made with beet and lemon juices spiked with chili pepper that pairs well with the tuna crudo. “We just want to use these really beautiful in- gredients and tell the story of our experiences either traveling or through family and create that dish through our lens,” he says. Pez Loco Restaurant & Tequila Bar. 50 NW 24th St., Suite 101, Miami; 305-222-7768; pezloco- miami.com. Lunch served Monday through Friday from noon to 2:30 p.m., dinner from 5 p.m. to midnight daily, and brunch from Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. [email protected] Pez Loco’s baked Miami is a tropical take on a baked Alaska. Pez Loco photo
