In the middle of Downtown Dadeland is a great local story. One day my family and I were in search of dinner when we found “Barley – An American Brasserie”. Surrounded by restaurants, it would be easy to miss this place. It’s small, dark, and casual. The tables were decorated with only a small candle and the restaurant was loud and busy with all the servers in a hurry.
The waitress (Jaime) came to our table and remembered us from a few days before and even remembered what we ordered. She was nice, helpful, and explained everything on the menu. I told Jaime about my blog and she brought Chef Jorgie Ramos to our table.
Chef Jorgie is Cuban and was raised in Miami; he worked in construction with his father until they opened their first restaurant together. Barley has been open for 5 years and Chef Jorgie is also opening an “old-school Cuban rum bar called Abi Maria”.
I always ask every chef: “what inspired you to be a chef?” I always enjoy hearing their answers. Here’s what Chef Jorgie said:
“I love the process, I love the creativity, I love making people happy. So the reaction people have when they eat our food is my greatest inspiration.”
I also asked Chef Jorgie what his favorite dish to make is. He quickly said, “The Croquettes”! He told me how it is was a recipe passed down from his grandmother to his father, and now to him. He tries to keep the tradition alive, he uses more modern ingredients but the same process.
When the croquettes came to the table, they were round and filled with Serrano Ham and Manchego Cheese. I can tell what he meant by “modern ingredients” because it was also topped with Guava sauce. I LOVED THEM!
Besides the croquettes I tried the Charred Octopus, Charred Broccoli Fundio, Crispy Kale, and Mac and Cheese. I loved ALL of it! The portions are perfect for sharing and most of the dishes came in a mini cast-iron skillet. But my favorite of them all was the Crispy Kale. The kale leaves were charred and flaky and melted in your mouth like cotton candy. They were served with beets, goat cheese, pecans, and cranberries with a citrus sauce. Sorry I couldn’t show a picture, the dish was so good that I ate it all before I could remember to take one!
With all this food there’s still always room for desert. We ordered the bread pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It also came in a skillet and reminded me of a brownie, but when I tasted it, it was more like french toast with chocolate chips. It was warm with a cold scoop of ice cream and didn’t last long on our table.
Before we left, Chef Jorgie invited me to join him in the kitchen to cook with him one day. So maybe next time you come to Barley, you might find me in the kitchen making croquettes!
Small-Fry Eats Miami 