There's yet another wave of taquerias opening in Miami these days, so many I've given up even trying to list them, much less sample them all. But last week I did stop in on La Pollita, which is currently operating from a trailer parked in the Midtown Garden Center. The backstory is intriguing: chefs Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer worked at some pretty highfalutin places before this: Eleven Madison Park (just named as "World's Best Restaurant" by the suspect but influential 50 Best list), its sibling the NoMad, Scarpetta in Manhattan, Animal in L.A. Which made me wonder – what are these folks doing running a taco truck?
Making really great food, it turns out. They've got a short list of tacos, served on fresh tortillas pressed from masa supplied by Miami masa maestro Steve Santana (of Taquiza), and the cochinita pibil I tried was very good. But the standout item was the fried chicken cemita. A hot, crispy, juicy tranche of fried chicken. A crunchy, vinegar-laced, herb-flecked cabbage slaw. A dollop of mashed avocado for some richness. A creamy, mildly spicy Valentina aioli. A sesame-seed flecked bun with just the right heft: substantial enough to be a meaningful component of the sandwich composition and to keep everything together until the last bite; but not so much as to overwhelm the stars of the show. It is just about perfect, and was the best thing I ate last week.
(You can see some more pictures in this La Pollita - Miami flickr set).
The mantra at EMP is "Make It Nice." The alumni running La Pollita learned it well.
La Pollita
2600 NE 2nd Avenue, Miami, Florida
310.435.7766
I love fried chicken sandwich but never ate at la Pollita. Last week I went to The Butcher Shop , where I like chicken sandwich the most. Next time I want to eat chicken sandwich from la Pollita because I had read positive reviews of your restaurant.
ReplyDeletewow, this looks scrumptious and the colors so vibrant!
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