▼ Café Reach for the Stars Sushi by Scratch brings unconventional nigiri to Coconut Grove. BY JEN KARETNICK W hen you open a restau- rant, you follow a basic set of unwritten ground rules for success: Don’t overextend. Never go into business with family members. And whatever you do, don’t stray from your cul- tural lane. Fortunately, husband-and-wife restaura- teurs Phillip Frankland Lee (chef ) and Mar- garita Kallas-Lee (pastry chef) don’t like to follow rules. If they did, we probably wouldn’t be enjoying Sushi by Scratch Res- taurants: Miami, the latest entry in the city’s rapidly expanding omakase category. Located in Coconut Grove’s historic Stir- rup House, Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Mi- ami is part of the California-based Scratch Restaurants Group. Lee and Kallas-Lee opened the first Sushi by Scratch Restau- rants: Los Angeles seven years ago, close to where Lee was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley. It’s a place, he says, where “there are more sushi bars than Tokyo.” It’s also where, at age 13, influenced by dining on omakase with his father, he decided he wanted to be a sushi chef, despite not being Japanese. Indeed, Lee says, Sushi by Scratch Restau- rants: Los Angeles debuted to what he calls “backlash” partly because of his ethnicity. The other reason for an initially reserved re- sponse was the unconventional craft and pre- sentation of his 17-course omakase. However, this is precisely what sets Sushi by Scratch apart. “Instead of ‘what can I get for you,’ it’s ‘here’s what I’m really excited to share with you,” Lee explains. “We think of it as the guests hanging in the kitchen with the chefs. It’s like a workshop model.” The ingredients in the innovative nigiri dinner range from sweet corn pudding to breadcrumbs, all of which have special mean- ing for Lee, harkening back to childhood. Such dishes comprise the core menu, about ten nigiri total, which stays the same. They also happen to be the signature items that have found consistent favor with guests over time. (The remaining dishes cater to the ter- roir of location, using ingredients that speak to place. Lee is already eyeing the heritage mango trees that grow on the property.) Two of the signature items make up the “one-two punch.” They’re a pair of comple- mentary plates that incorporate the very non- sushi-like bone marrow. The first features a roasted bone marrow nigiri seasoned with homemade soy sauce, sea salt, and freshly grated wasabi root. The second is Japanese eel with salt made from matcha green tea, mushrooms, and kelp, cooked in bone mar- row aburi-style (with a blowtorch). It’s then steeped in soy, ponzu, lemon, sea salt, and po- blano pepper yuzu kosho. Meanwhile, customers are encouraged to chat with each other as well as get to know the bartender, who greets you with a wel- come cocktail. The convivial atmosphere urges a lifting of the veil, demystifying the reverent “our eyes are watching the sushi god” experience. The end result is not exactly a knife-juggling Benihana-meets-omakase show, but it’s certainly less stuffy than some omakase dens. “We make it fun and cordial but still take it “WE MAKE IT FUN AND CORDIAL BUT STILL TAKE IT SERIOUSLY AT THE SAME TIME.” seriously at the same time,” Lee says. “Our first year, once we won everyone over, we figured if we can stand out in LA, we can stand out any- where.” Lee and Kallas- Lee’s success with Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Los An- geles was no doubt assisted by the fact that they were already standing out with their first restaurant, Scratch Bar & Kitchen, opened in 2013. There, as the name suggests, everything is made in-house. That continues to be true for every venue the pair opens, whether it’s the soy sauce and vinegar in the Sushi by Scratch Restaurants (Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Cedar Creek, and Miami), the pasta and bread in the 17-course Pasta Bar by Scratch concepts (Los Angeles and Aus- tin), or the butter and cheese in the original Scratch Bar & Kitchen. It also actually helps, rather than hinders, that the duo work closely with both sides of their families. The oldest of six kids, Lee has one sister installed as CFO of their company and another as his assistant. A brother, also a chef, headed up the Sushi by Scratch Restau- rants: Montecito restaurant in Santa Barbara that won a Michelin star in 2021. (He is now moving on to do his own thing.) And Kallas- Lee’s father builds out all their restaurants. “Why hire other people when we can hire Photo courtesy of Sushi by Scratch Restaurants Wild-caught Korean escolar with wasabi and salmon caviar family?” Lee asks. Why indeed? With such trusted team members in place, Lee and Kallas-Lee live an intentional, nomadic life, opening restaurants only in cities that they love. They dwell there until they’ve established the place and their chefs have gotten their footing, then move on. At first, they kept their businesses in Califor- nia. Then their trek eastward began, first landing them in Austin and now in Miami — as has seemed to be the trend for just about everyone — where they’ve signed a one-year lease in Brickell and become first-time par- ents to a baby girl. Along the way, they also successfully made it through the lockdown portion of the pan- demic by developing an omakase-at-home model and picked up another Michelin star in 2021 for their Pasta Bar by Scratch Restau- rants: Los Angeles site. So much for keeping it simple those first years. But according to Lee, that’s been the plan all along. “We have the concept and the brand,” he says. “Our goal over the next de- cade is to become the most Michelin-starred, multi-unit concept out there. We intend to be the next [L’Atelier de Joël] Robuchon.” You could choose worse role models to emulate, of course. And Lee is well aware of how arrogant that can sound and how ambi- tious that goal really is. with a waitlist that had over 15,000 diners before even opening — for a restaurant that accommodates 30 per night (three seatings of ten each) — perhaps Sushi by Scratch: Miami is on the right track to be the next star in the Michelin pantheon. “I remind myself and the team every night that ‘this is ours to lose’ and how very easy it is to get complacent,” Lee says. “Now it’s about not phoning it in. Now it’s about show- ing why we’re fucking worth this.” Sushi by Scratch Restaurants: Miami. 3232 Charles St., Coconut Grove; sushibyscratchres- taurants.com. Dinner costs $165 per person plus tax and service, along with two beverage pairing options for $85 and $110. Wednesday through Sunday with seatings at 5, 7:15, and 9:30 p.m. [email protected] 1313 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | NEWS | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | CAFE | MUSIC | miaminewtimes.com | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | MIAMI NEW TIMES NEW TIMES MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 AUGUST 4-10, 2022
