MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Southern style surf and turf? That’s what’s on the menu at a local restaurant.
They’re putting a unique spin on classic dishes, and you can find it on Miami Beach.
The restaurant you might be familiar with, but the menu, not so much as the iconic Eden Roc Miami Beach is serving up something new that’ll keep you talking.
It’s called Ocean Social by Tristen Epps.
The chef joined the team in September and gave the menu a full revamp.
“I really kind of developed this afro-Caribbean flair that really celebrated my own upbringing as well as my own heritage being Caribbean, and I really bring those flavors and that dinning to my food,” he said.
Epps is mixing all the cultures that make up South Florida and serving them on a plate, like the dry aged swordfish T-bone that’s been aged for 14-16 days.
“We’re representing a lot of different things here,” Epps said.
Most of the menu is what Epps calls “unpredictable surf and turf,” like the carcklin’ octopus, which has pork skins over octopus.
“Pork and octopus go well together,” he said. “We then take pineapple and cold feed it in bacon fat and char that along with it -- a lot of different things and we just blend it smooth and it becomes a nice little starter.”
Ocean Social’s menu, appropriate to its name, encourages sharing.
We got to try a dish that is new to the menu and features local clams from Florida soaked in souse -- a real mix of southern and sea.
“If you’re from the south, you know that your grandma or your auntie made you souse before. And when you get older, you’re like, ‘I was eating that?’” Epps said.
“We made souse as an original thing, and we strained everything out of it,” he added. “We kept all the ham hocks in it and we roasted clams in it to create our own version of it.”
If you’re not familiar with souse, it’s a mix of pork pieces and is very vinegary.
It doesn’t typically go with clams and, as you can tell from some of the dishes on the menu, Chef Epps loves mixing two things that don’t typically go together.
For more on Ocean Social, visit their website.