WYNWOOD WELCOMES NEWEST HOTSPOT – BEAKER & GRAY
Restaurant & Bar To Open September 2015
Adding to Wynwood’s national notoriety as Miami’s hippest zip code, a new restaurant concept will emerge this August in Beaker & Gray. Conceptualized by chef/owner Brian Nasajon and bar manager/owner Ben Potts, the restaurant will be a 120-seat eatery with an inventive, playful, globally-inspired menu and vibrant after-hours bar. Named after two elemental culinary tools – the Beaker, used by bartenders to mix drinks, and a Gray Kunz spoon, used by chefs to execute dishes, Beaker & Gray will be a new destination for Wynwood’s artsy environs.
“We have such wonderful access to ingredients from around the world,” Nasajon says. “When I began working on the menu I wanted to create a place that embraced the cultures and food styles I loved without pretension or stuffiness. Our goal is to select the best seasonal ingredients available and use them to make sophisticated, yet fun and approachable food.”
A veteran of Lure Fishbar in Manhattan, Wish in Miami Beach, and former executive chef at SushiSamba, Nasajon will play with global flavors and signature ethnic ingredients for something that goes beyond fusion. For a savory interpretation of a classic sweet dish, diners will relish Shrimp and Chorizo Churros with ginger and charcoal aioli. Caribbean and Asian ingredients will meet in a Grilled Oxtail with ponzu, peach and Serrano pepper. And Nasajon’s worldly take on Risotto will feature blackened shrimp, clams, hon shimeji mushrooms and uni butter.
“Just like Wynwood unites global cultures through art, we want Beaker & Gray to be a concept where guests can experience international flavors,” he adds.
Entertaining the ‘Beaker’ aspect of the venue, the bar program will be spearheaded by Ben Potts, formerly of Broken Shaker and Blackbird Ordinary. Potts’s bar program will be divided into three key sections – Shaken, Stirred and Strange. Aligning with Nasajon’s vision of making refined dishes approachable, complex cocktails will be created with familiar ingredients and simplified descriptions of flavor profiles. Shaken drinks will feature light and refreshing options such as Greenhouse – gin, herbal liqueur, basil and celery soda. Stirred libations will be boozy and complex, like Another 50/50 – barrel-aged genever with chamomile-infused blanc vermouth and lemon bitters. Finally, Strange are designed for those seeking an off-the-wall cocktail experience. The Inside Outside In includes rum aged in a hollowed pineapple with allspice, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon, garnished with a dehydrated pineapple ring and dusted with a proprietary spice blend.
Designed by Saladino Design Studios, the former ice factory will be transformed into an eclectic space contrasting elements of the Industrial Era with refined natural materials. Inside, aged stucco brick walls and antique mirrors will lend warmth and nicely complement the industrial concrete floor and exposed beam ceiling. The 3,600-square-foot restaurant will feature ample indoor and outdoor seating, including an elegant main dining area seating up to 75 guests, a 13-seat marble bar that welcomes imbibers and diners, and seating on the balcony for those wishing to dine al fresco. For a more interactive dining experience, patrons can sit at the kitchen counter and watch the chefs at work. Additionally, B&G will offer more than 20 private parking spaces – a rarity in bustling Wynwood.
Beaker & Gray is slated to open September 2015 and is located at 2637 North Miami Avenue in Wynwood. Dinner will be served nightly and will be open late for cocktails. Telephone: (305) 699-2637; http://beakerandgray.com/.
