In the know: What's heating up Miami's food scene this month

As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending today?

We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to analyze which local businesses have been in the spotlight this month.

To find out who made the list, we first looked at Miami businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.

Read on to see which spots are riding a trend, right now.

Ichimi 

Open since January 2016, this izakaya and Asian fusion spot, which offers ramen and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Asian Fusion" on Yelp.

Citywide, Asian fusion spots saw a median 2% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Ichimi saw a 48.5% increase, maintaining a solid 4.5-star rating throughout.

It's not the only trending outlier in the Asian fusion category: Phuc Yea has seen a 2.7% increase in reviews.

Located at 3252 N.E. First Ave., Suite 118, Ichimi's menu is organized into five main categories of izakaya, bao, gyoza, rice bowl and ramen. Fan favorites include the spicy miso ramen, shrimp gyoza (dumplings) and mango mochi for dessert.

The business is open from noon–11 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and noon–midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Hometown Bar-B-Que

Allapattah's Hometown Bar-B-Que is also making waves. Open since October 2019 at 1200 N.W. 22nd St., Suite 100, the popular beer bar and cocktail bar, which offers barbecue and more, has seen a 38% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.9% for all businesses tagged "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis the bar's review count increased by more than 150%.

Hometown Bar-B-Que offers craft beer and cocktails, including pineapple margaritas and passionfruit daiquiris. Enjoy them with hearty menu items, like the pulled pork sandwich or Oazacan chicken, a wood-fired special that comes with cornbread and slaw on the side.  Over the past month, it's maintained a solid 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.

This spot is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. (It's closed on Monday.)

Honey Uninhibited

Coral Way's Honey Uninhibited is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.

The popular breakfast and brunch and traditional American spot, which offers sandwiches and more and opened at 1777 S.W. Third Ave. in September 2019, increased its new review count by 23.7% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.3% for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch."

For more on the faces behind the business, we found this on Yelp: "[Owner] Carlos Dunlap is best know for his NFL career as a defensive end for the Cincinnati Bengals. He also was a key member of the [University of ] Florida Gators team that won the 2009 national championship. Carlos's passion for great, fresh foods led him to open Honey Uninhibited in Miami."

Honey Uninhibited offers shrimp and grits, French toast and pancakes. Popular menu offerings include Crème brûlée French toast, short rib Benedict and the uninhibited burger. 

The eatery is open from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. daily.

Gobistro

The popular Gobistro is currently on the upswing in the sushi bar category on Yelp.

While businesses categorized as "Sushi Bars" on Yelp saw a median 2% increase in new reviews over the past month, this sushi bar, which offers ramen and more, increased its new reviews by 13.1% — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars.

Open for business at 315 N.W. 25th St., Gobistro offers sushi combos, sashimi a la carte and maki rolls. Try the dragon (shrimp tempura, cucumber, negi and spicy mayo, topped with avocado); super ninja (shrimp tempura, eel, cream cheese, asparagus, topped with tuna tataki and flakes and veggie (avocado, cucumber, carrots and asparagus).

Gobistro is open from noon–2 a.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m.–2 a.m. on weekends.

This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.