First came dates Avec chorizo with spicy tomato, goat cream, and smoked bacon. Dates Avec L’echon (stuffed with bacon and suckling pig and oozing with pork just) followed. And now, the Pubbelly Boys are changing the date and food game once again with their newest eatery PB Station… and BBQ Mustard Dates (the double BB stands for bacon and brisket that’s been smoked). If you thought dates were played out, it’ll take one bite of these babies to make you remember what caused their widespread explosion onto menus all over Miami.
That’s cause five years after the inception of Pubbelly, no one quite crafts a date like five-times James Beard nominee Jose Mendin. But don’t walk into PB Station – nestled on the ground floor of the historic and completely redone Beaux-Arts 1920’s Langford Hotel in downtown and resembling an antiquated train platform – expecting to find pork belly, because it doesn’t grace a single dish on the menu. Instead, Mendin is showing his deft gastronomic hand by giving Miamians a taste of what we haven’t had before (at least not in our Magic City). Namely, Seafood Charcuterie: Bold yet delicate octopus pepperoni, piquant and just the right amount of unctuous rock shrimp mortadella, or mouthwatering Thai lobster sausage. And that’s only the beginning.
Mendin and executive chef Guillermo Concha (who has been with the Pubbelly Boys since the beginning) have crafted an enticing menu that’s a reinterpretation of American cuisine with global flavors. Oysters get the broiled treatment and are crowned with grana padano and oregano butter. Milanesa Cruda is a clever take on the Latin American breaded fillet meets carpaccio; raw meat is coated with a layer of brioche crumbs, dollops of tallegio, and drizzled with smoked tomato black garlic vinaigrette. Yuzu makes a comeback in a New England Lobster Roll with celery and tarragon. Rather than traditional beef bolognese, octopus takes the place of meat in a bowl of Cavatelli.
There’s also a meaty Gulf Swordfish with rock shrimp from local waters, charred onion, and green peppercorn sauce. For tangible meat, carnivores can relish in the PB Station Burger, which packs bacon confit, gruyere cheese, and smoked bordelaise; bone-sucking good Colorado Lamb Chops with roasted pepper and mint persillade; or go big and then go home after either an 8 ounce Florida Wagyu Filet Mignon, foie butter and caramelized garlic or an 18 ounce Kansas City 1855 Dry Aged Prime with bone marrow and smoked bordelaise (both crowd favorites and restorations from PB Steak).
Though there are no French toast sticks for dessert, the night ends on a sweet note thanks to the Flanrroz Con Leche — a dream come true for arroz con leche and flan lovers everywhere who no longer have to pick between the two because they’ve become one confection — finished with mango, passion fruit, maple ice cream, and brûlée foam.
And because you’ll need a nightcap after your meal, go ahead and take the elevator up to Pawn Broker Rooftop and Lounge where the Pubbelly Boys are likewise mixing it up with novel takes on classic cocktails.
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