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Calle Dragones<\/a>, the chef’s new Calle Ocho restaurant, means the world to him. A local Cuban, he moved to Miami in 1999 after successful a visa lottery. <\/p>\n Pous made essentially the most of his leap of religion. The chef has risen the culinary ranks, serving as a visitor chef at James Beard House in New York City and dealing in prestigious spots like George V Hotel in Paris and Little Palm Island within the Keys. Still, Pous had a special aim in thoughts: to open a restaurant that celebrates Havana’s heyday.<\/p>\n \u201cMy dream was always to do a Cuban restaurant and now it\u2019s here,\u201d he says. \u201cMy idea was to focus on the glamourous times of Havana. When people think of Cuban food, they think of rice and beans. But there are remnants of such a beautiful Cuba from before the revolution with beautiful buildings, cabarets, and places to really wine and dine. This place captures it all.\u201d<\/p>\n Pous says building on the house, in a partnership with the creators of Salvaje Hospitality Group, began roughly 18 months earlier than the pandemic. He has since opened places in Bogot\u00e1 and Cartagena, Colombia. <\/p>\n The Miami location was designed by Spanish architect and inside designer Garc\u00eda de Vinuesa. Design highlights embody purple velvet curtains, black crystal chandeliers, terrazzo flooring, Fifties velvet furnishings, and a classic white grand piano. <\/p>\n On the leisure entrance, nightly programming consists of Spanish Fiesta Thursdays, Havana Tropical Nights Fridays, Salsa Disco Fever on Saturdays, and World Carnaval Day on Sundays. The performances and stay music are curated by musical director Dayhan D\u00edas, who has labored alongside the likes of Andr\u00e9s Cepeda, Rey Ruiz, and Amaury Guti\u00e9rrez.<\/p>\n The eating menu pays homage to Pous\u2019 heritage with an Asian aptitude \u2013 the restaurant, in any case, is known as after a road in Havana\u2019s predominantly Chinese neighborhood. Among its standout gadgets, in accordance with Pous, are a mojo-roasted duck with guava hoisin and Chinese pancakes; a crab fricas\u00e9 with Thai sofrito; and a risotto with quick rib vaca frita.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a lot of talented people around me to bring this idea that was in my head to life,\u201d says Pous. \u201cThe attention and detail have been like nothing else.\u201d<\/p>\n Calle Dragones.<\/b> 1036 SW eighth Street, Miami; 786-722-8370; calledragones.com<\/a>. 5 p.m. to midnight Monday to Wednesday, 5 p.m. to three a.m. Thursday to Saturday. Sunday brunch from midday to five p.m. <\/i>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n