The onslaught of chocolate-heart candies, balloons and roses serve as loud reminders that this month is all about celebrating love. While many take the time to give thanks for their special someone, Miami foodies are grateful for the union of Chef Luci Giangrandi and Chef Alex Meyer, partners in business and life.
Meyer’s culinary career began in his hometown of Los Angeles before taking him to New York where he worked at the three-Michelin-star Eleven Madison Park. From there, he joined the opening team of The Nomad, where he met Giangrandi, a first-generation Miamian (her mom is Cuban, her father, Chilean), and chef with her own impressive list of achievements. By then, she had worked in two acclaimed Italian eateries: Scarpetta and Michelin-starred Carbone. The couple traveled throughout Italy, went to L.A. for a bit, but eventually, Giangrandi felt a calling to return to Miami.
When she moved back home, he followed. And we are all so very thankful for that.
In 2016 they opened La Pollita on what seemed to be a whim.
“There was this garden nursery in Midtown Miami that owned and rented out this food truck,” Meyer explains. “Luci drove by it one day and saw a ‘for rent’ sign. Since the infrastructure was there, it was easy to get going.”
They decided to make tacos. Not because they had any expertise in the matter, but because it is Meyer’s favorite food.
“Being from L.A., I would eat them at least twice a week,” he adds.
Alongside street tacos, the duo included their rendition of a Cemita, a classic fried chicken sandwich hailing from Puebla, Mexico. When South Floridians got a taste of it, they couldn’t get enough, making Giangrandi and Meyer an overnight success story.
Meyer attributes the craze to something he calls “the Big Mac effect.”
“I don’t have a love for a Big Mac, but the effect refers to a balance of every sensory note: sweet, salty, savory, sour.”
Their fried chicken sandwich, with its harmony of avocado, spicy aioli, fried chicken breast, coleslaw pickles and vinegar dressing all nestled in a sesame potato bun, did all that and more — creating a following so strong and loyal that when they traded the food truck for their brick-and-mortar restaurant in Little Haiti patrons lined up at the door.
The location of Boia De, which is Italian slang for, “Oh My!” is insipid. There’s no glitz and glamour of Ocean Drive or the Design District, simply a dark, rundown strip mall brought to life by a small neon pink exclamation mark announcing the restaurant squeezed between a questionable medical center and a laundromat.
While Meyer admits people wondered about the location, both felt the proximity to nicer areas of Miami coupled with the ample and free parking made the choice a simple one.
“We wanted a place we would want to go eat at, where it’s comfortable and won’t be a big deal, but still have a wonderful experience,” Giangrandi adds.
Take note: wonderful experience is an understatement.
While both are reluctant to call Boia De an Italian restaurant, their love of Italian cuisine (Giangrandi’s family hails from Livorno, a small Tuscan town she grew up going to) is evident in show-stopping dishes like Pappardelle Alla Lepre (wide pasta ribbons coated in a rich sauce served with tender rabbit) and Tagliolini Nero, squid ink pasta with king crab, Vin Jaune truffle sauce and herbs.
Other enticing options like Crispy Polenta with Marinated Eggplant, Potato Skins with Stracciatella, Caviar and Hard-Boiled Egg and the sublime seasonal pasta dish: Sunchoke Caramelle (a candy-shaped pasta served with black trumpet mushrooms, fresh bay leaf brown butter and sunchoke chips) flirt between traditional Italian cooking and Boia De’s fun, creative style.
“In [Italian] cuisine there are these hard-and-fast rules that you don’t break and no one knows why. We make everything in the tradition of Italian food and cuisine, but, we kind of take our liberties with it,” Meyer says.
Of course, COVID-19 came and wreaked havoc on the restaurant industry. The 900 square-foot Boia De — which seats 27 — pivoted and placed their dining tables in the expansive parking lot outside. While today patrons fill the compact space inside (be sure to make reservations as there is always a waiting list) a few tables remain on the sidewalk for those wanting an alfresco experience.
When asked if they would consider moving to a larger location, Meyer confides they’ve received — and turned down — multiple offers. Right now, they are enjoying the homey vibe and top-notch dining Boia De provides.
“We are just trying to do good food and good service,” Meyer says. “We are not trying to have people think too hard about life and cuisine or whatever. We are just trying to do something good here.”
“I don’t think there would be a Boia De in every major city, type thing,” Giangrandi adds. “There’s something very charming about 900 square feet. The popularity is there and we don’t want to mess with it.”
Pappardelle Alla Lepre
One of Boia De’s most popular dishes, it has been on the menu since the restaurant opened and “is not going anywhere” according to Giangrandi. A traditional Tuscan dish, it pairs nicely with a green salad and a glass of Rosso di Montalcino from Fonterenza.
For the braise
Ingredients
1 rabbit, legs and bellies separated (or just the legs purchased from the butcher)
1 onion, large cut
1 peeled carrot, large cut
2 celery stalks, large cut
3 garlic cloves, smashed
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 cup white wine (chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc)
1 tsp tomato paste
Chicken stock
Sear the legs and bellies in a Dutch oven with canola oil until golden on both sides. Remove the rabbit and add the chopped vegetables and garlic. Roast until they begin to color. Add the rosemary until fragrant, then add the tomato paste; stirring to coat the vegetables. Add white wine and cook until almost dry. Add the rabbit back to the pot, and just cover with chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and drop the heat to very low so the liquid is moving and steaming. Cover and cook for 2 hours. The meat should come off the bone with little effort but not be so cooked that it shreds apart.
Allow the rabbit to cool in the cooking liquid. Then, pick the meat into a separate container and strain the remaining liquid; reduce by 75%.
To finish (one serving)
Ingredients
Egg Yolk Pappardelle (store-bought or homemade)
½ cup of the picked rabbit meat
½ cup of the reduced cooking liquid
1 Tbsp. simple tomato sauce
5 thinly sliced pieces of garlic
1 ½ tsp. chopped parsley
1 ½ tsp. chopped rosemary
¼ cup and 1 Tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup grated Parmesan
Add ¼ cup of olive oil and the sliced garlic to a heated pan. Once the garlic is sizzling, add a tsp. each of chopped parsley and rosemary. Allow the herbs to sizzle then add the cooking liquid and tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Add the picked meat and cook together until a ragu forms and the liquid starts to look like a loose sauce. Drop in your cooked pappardelle, bring back to boil, and toss together. Finish with ½ tsp. of fresh herbs, 1 tbsp. olive oil, and Parmesan. Toss it all together to combine and serve, finishing with a little more Parmesan and olive oil on top.