Miami Beach lifestyle hotel The Confidante (pictured atop) has teamed up with Chef Richard Hales to present a new restaurant concept this winter: Bird & Bone. This 165-seat restaurant will showcase Chef Hales’ take on the American culinary landscape.
Scheduled to launch on November 27th with breakfast and dinner previews for hotel guests and locals, Bird & Bone will join the hotel’s hip-hop themed Asian-American restaurant TALDE Miami Beach.
Known for his midtown Miami restaurants Sakaya Kitchen and Blackbrick Chinese, Hales will source a menu that “reflects the heart and soul of traditional country cuisine from independent small farms and organic butchers, touching on his passion for Southern dining,” the company says in a press release.
Design-wise, Bird & Bone will undergo a make-over, slated for completion in February 2017, marking the restaurant’s full launch.
The American-inspired menu will feature daily specials like “Bone of the Day” and “Bird of the Day. Menu highlights will include Slow Roasted Lamb Ribs with White BBQ Sauce, Charred Cauliflower, Cayenne Pepper; and Mason Jar Snacks like Deviled Ham, Smoked Potato & Egg Salad, Pimento Cheese and Oxtail with Benne Seed Wafers. Desserts will be a twist on Southern classics by Chef Hales’ wife, Jenny Hales, including Bourbon Cake with Cinnamon Whipped Cream topped with Candied Pecans.
“Developing the Bird & Bone concept has allowed me to explore the roots of American cuisine, and I’m excited to share my discoveries at The Confidante,” says Richard Hales, Chef/Partner of Bird & Bone. “When guests enter Bird & Bone, I want them to feel like they’re entering my weekend farmhouse that features a comfortable, inviting dining experience.”
Upon its full completion in early 2017, Bird & Bone will also feature an in-house farmers market and to-go section open daily. The market will offer coffee, homemade biscuits and jellies, salads, sandwiches, and speciality goods including Florida honey, cookies, organic produce and more. Market menu highlights include Chef Hales’ Fried Chicken in a take-out 12-piece “bucket,” as well as a Nashville Hot Chicken Salad Sandwich on grilled Zak the Baker Country Bread, Coleslaw and a Kosher Pickle.
“At The Confidante, we have set out to create the ultimate guest experience, and our food and beverage offerings is a crucial part of that,” says JP Oliver, Vice President/Managing Director, The Confidante. “It was love at first bite; I had no doubt that Chef Hales’ interpretation of Southern comfort food would be the perfect addition to our hotel.”
Hales’s restaurants have “played an important role in growing Miami’s Midtown area,” the company says, starting with Sakaya Kitchen in 2009 showcasing a chef-driven menu with Hales’ take on Korean street food. Most recently, Hales opened Blackbrick, which was nominated by Bon Appétit magazine’s “Top 50 Best New Restaurant in America 2014.”
Locals also follow Hales’ Asian food truck, Dim Ssäm à gogo, which launched in 2010 and was named one of the best food trucks in America by Daily Meal.