Bryan in the Kitchen brings a gourmet bakery-cafe to downtown Miami

Linda Bladholm1/17/2012

Cupcakes capped with swirls of French buttercream lightened with egg whites sit beneath glass domes on a counter that also displays house-made granola, cookies and crackers at Bryan in the Kitchen, a bakery-cafe with a gourmet touch in downtown Miami.

Co-owner Bryan Underwood grew up in San Diego in a family that cooked together. He learned from his German grandfather, who was a butcher, and his Ukrainian grandmother, who baked. He studied information-systems management at the University of South Florida in Tampa, but knew he’d get into food.

After moving to Miami he met his business partner, Dana Cherington, in the downtown building where they both lived. They opened a small storefront selling takeout meals with Bryan doing the cooking and Dana working the counter. In June the duo expanded next door, using the original space as a pantry.

Start the day with house-made Greek yogurt and fruit, oatmeal with bananas or scrambled eggs. Lunch options include grilled cheese sandwiches, salads, soup of the day, charcuterie boards, dips and pita chips, smoothies and coffee drinks.

Try the grilled brie with fig chutney on multigrain served with orzo pasta or get a pressed panini with smoked salmon, cucumber, cream cheese and dill. Salads include mixed greens with strawberries, walnuts and French feta tossed in balsamic dressing and pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and basil pesto.

The cheese plate comes with a wedge of brie and thin triangles of Manchego with prosciutto, chorizo, sopressata, capocollo (cured pork shoulder) and fig chutney. Specials could be red quinoa, green apple, cranberry and jicama salad or farro grains with butternut squash and blue cheese. Cupcakes rotate in flavors like lavender, apricot-pumpkin, rose, espresso and maple-bacon with maple-glazed bacon crisps as a garnish.