Audio By Carbonatix
The Mahogany Grille (2190 NW 183 St) is a neo-classic soul food, white linen tablecloth, gourmet down home American Southern/Island Caribbean restaurant in the heart of Miami Gardens. It’s a family owned and operated joint. Legendary baseball player Andre “The Hawk” Dawson and his brother Vincent Brown own it, and their brother Greg Brown runs the kitchen. Click here for Lee Klein’s full 2007 review of the place. The Mahogany Grille is a two time Best of Miami winner for Best Soul Food Restaurant and Best Sunday Supper. Follow Short Order as we go in the kitchen, where Executive Chef Greg Brown and his crew make it all happen.
Chef Greg says “My kitchen staff, we hump it out. Ain’t nobody else but us. A lot of people come & put in applications to work here, but I got confidence in my crew.
It was a dream of my mom’s to open a restaurant, but she passed away before we could. This is a legacy for our mother. I learned to cook from my mom. I’d be in the kitchen when she was cooking asking her about dishes like ‘why do you season this the way you do?’ I think I was the only one who hung around the kitchen growing up. Vincent’s a lawyer, Andre played baseball, I chose to cook.”
“People come for our menu, our ambiance, for the good food. They crazy for our shrimp and grits, they love our oxtail, and our ribs are to die for. Everything on the menu sells. Everything is cooked from scratch and made to order everyday.”
Waitress Victoria Stallworth says “It’s fast paced, it’s busy and it’s popular, especially on karaoke and poetry nights.”
Donnell Virgin works the cold side, he deals with green and conch salads and desserts.
Willie Wright says “Man I’m here everyday, I don’t go nowhere. This like my second home. I do it all. I do dishes, pots & pans, salad station, the line, prep, they need somebody to come in and work they call me.”
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