Re:Sakaya Kitchen Burger Brunch (MiamiDon)

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 08:23:05 GMT

I think it was $30 per electronic "ticket." No tax or tips. Essentially unlimited food and drink, including mimosas.

Re:Sakaya Kitchen Burger Brunch (brisketboy)

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:25:55 GMT

That would be my question also, how much was it?

Re:Sakaya Kitchen Burger Brunch (joerogo)

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:15:25 GMT

Hey Don,

The fusion cooking looked liked it really worked well.

Good job with the pics and report.

If you don't mind me asking.....$$$$$$??????

Re:Sakaya Kitchen Burger Brunch (ann peeples)

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 10:50:01 GMT

What a fascinating brunch! Great looking food.

Re:Sakaya Kitchen Burger Brunch (sk bob)

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 22:00:04 GMT

wow, great find Don. sorry I didn't see this post sooner.
those burgers look great.
but those tater tots like you said can be a meal themselves.

Sakaya Kitchen Burger Brunch (MiamiDon)

Sun, 05 Jun 2011 14:08:58 GMT

I went to an unusual brunch one Sunday in May that was put on in honor of Burger Month. It was co-hosted by Burger Beast and Chef Richard Hale at Hale's Sakaya Kitchen in the urban develpment Midtown Miami. If you haven't been to Miami in years, the Midtown Miami combination of shops, restaurants and condos is located south of 36th Street where the old train yards were.

Sakaya Kitchen features inexpensive Asian-fusion (mostly Korean, from what I have seen) leaning towards organic where possible. It's a modest space on the outside of the shopping block.

Here is the menu:
As

As an aside, I just noticed the hot dog (!) listed on the lower left. I can't make out what the first word is.

Here is Chef Hale opening some sparkling wine for the mimosas:
Readers

Readers of Roadfood.com are bound to know about the soul-food specialty, "chicken and waffles."

Here is Korean Fried Chicken and Waffles!

The waffles are not American-style, they are akin to Korean scallion pancakes, pa-jeon. The chicken is korean-spiced, somewhat like teriyaki (not as sweet, and different spices). And of course to complete the dish, there is syrup.

You weren't expecting maple, were you? It is sweet chile syrup. This was very good.

Everything was served buffet-style, and there were some Korean-style sides (ban chan).

There were some traditional American favorites. Kurobuta peppered bacon:

Kurobuta is Japanese berkshire pork, and is highly prized for its flavor. I didn't have room for any of the biscuits. It wouldn't be breakfast without grits, right?

Kimchee grits with scallions and butter:

If you've read my postings about Miami Food Trucks, you may recall the Dim Ssam a Go Go tater tots. They were served for the brunch, too. Really, they could be a meal in themselves, with slow-roasted short ribs, scallions, bits of cheese layered-in, and the house spicey sauce.

Tater Tots:

There were four kinds of "burgers" offered.

Patty Melt

Black bread, instead of rye; kimchee instead of sauerkraut; pork burger instead of beef, and aged cheddar instead of swiss. This was a favorite at my table. It was the last item out, and so was warm and fresh. This was no stunt, it really worked well.

I received a menu ahead of time, but there were many changes, so if I make a mistake, please forgive me. In honor of Miami's "frita"so beloved in Little Havana and elsewhere, Chef Hale offered his own unique version.

Pork and Angus Beef Patty, Kochujang "Ketchup" with Scallion Ginger Onions and Sweet Potato Matchsticks

Southern-fried Kalbi Steakburger with Swiss Cheese

Because I thought I had the definitive menu, I didn't deconstruct it. Those may be fried potatos in there.

In the left rear is the Angus Beef Bulgogi Patty with Roasted Pork, Fried Potatos, Spicy Cheese and House Pickle:

They all were served on potato buns.

Dessert was Chef Hale's wife's cookies, and little cakes from Mo's Cakes next door:

Wild-man (in the kitchen) Chef Hale assembled a special "burger" for Burger Beast, with three of the patties:
Burger Beast Special

Burger Beast (Sef Gonzalez the food blogger at burgerbeast.com)

We had a good time, and enjoyed the brunch. I think the burgers other than the patty melt suffered from being put out on the buffet serving line a good bit before the last item was ready, although they did have quality ingredients. We'd definitely go again, and periodically they put on a Sunday brunch not burger-themed that I might attend.