St. Roch Market Opens in Design District With Chloe Coscarelli Concept

St. Roch Market Miami will officially open its doors in the Design District Saturday, February 24.

The market, a sister of the flagship that debuted in New Orleans in 2015, will offer a dozen curated food and retail vendors, including a vegan eatery by chef Chloe Coscarelli.

The chef, who rose to fame as the first vegan chef to win Food Network's Cupcake Wars, is opening Chef Chloe and the Vegan Cafe at St. Roch. The café will offer plant-based sweet and savory items including butternut nachos with cashew queso and a Miami mango salad with chili-cashew dressing. Her signature vegan cookies and cupcakes will also be available.

Coscarelli, in town for both the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and the opening of her café, explains she fell in love with Miami as a food destination during last year's festival. "Miami's people are so wonderful, and there's a great vegan scene. The people I've met are really passionate about the vegan lifestyle. It's a place I've always loved."

The chef says this is an entirely new concept and the dishes at her St. Roch café are all made with new recipes created for this venture. "This is a very personal project, so I can have a lot of fun with it."

Coscarelli says that, for her, eating plant-based is an ethical choice, but anyone should be able to enjoy the food based on its flavor. "Vegan is the food of the future, but I want to also showcase how delicious it is. The weather in Miami lends itself to eating vegan. It's hot out, and people want to eat dishes that are fresh and light and tasty."

For carnivores and omnivores looking to explore a plant-based diet, Coscarelli suggests baby steps. "Incorporate a few meatless meals into your diet, and find out what you like and don't like. I hear people say they can never be vegan because they love cheese. You can always eat some vegan meals; then try some vegan cheese." The chef's butternut queso might just be the gateway to veganism. "I use cashews to make it creamy and coconut oil, which gives it that fatty texture. It's really flavorful."
Other concepts at St Roch Market include:

Coop. Brothers Robert Ruben and Giancarlo Rodriguez, best known for their Bar Bites in Hollywood's Yellow Green Farmers' Market, will serve down-home dishes such as buttermilk biscuits with candied-bacon butter and 25-hour brined fried chicken served on a cheddar-chive waffle.

Dal Plin. Milan-born Massimo and Elisabetta Tundo offer handmade pasta, gnocchi, and ravioli. Dishes include spaghetti chitarra al pomodoro and bucatini cacio e pepe.

Elysian Seafood. Brandon Blackwell and Jennifer Sherrod are bringing their New Orleans seafood recipes to Miami, where they'll offer East and West Coast oysters served raw or charbroiled, marinated crab claws, crab cakes, and shrimp cocktail.

Hot Lime. Craft tacos and ceviche are the specialities of chefs Daniel Gonzalez, Jaime Villanueva, and Carlos Padilla. Dishes include smoked corvina ceviche with ají amarillo and Argentine-influenced tacos with sautéed shrimp and chile de arbol garlic sauce.

Itame. Chef Fernando Chang offers nigiri and sashimi with a Peruvian flair, including ingredients such as guava and ají amarillo.

Jaffa. Yaniv Cohen, AKA the "Spice Detective," serves Israeli dishes such as turmeric-roasted cauliflower, roasted carrots with labne, and meze.

Sabal Coffee. This coffee bar by Chase Rodriguez offers Counter Culture coffee and JoJo tea. Beverages include cold brews, espresso drinks, and single-origin pour-overs.

Sweetblendz. Smoothies and açaí bowls by chef Inbae Jin include the Super Hero bowl, packed with berries, coconut milk, and spirulina and topped with granola, fresh fruits, chia seeds, hemp hearts, flaxseeds, cocoa nibs, and bee pollen.

Tran An. Chef John Nguyen serves dishes inspired by his family's hometown of Hanoi. Items include chicken pho and bánh mì with lemongrass sausage, shaking beef, and barbecue pork. Tran An will also offer bubble and Thai teas.

Yuzu. Alinea-trained Andrew Zarzosa offers Asian-influenced fare such as foie gras dumplings, fried chicken mantou, pork belly ramen, a chicken curry noodle bowl, and a short-rib rice bowl.

In addition to food, Derek Brumfield's the Mayhaw serves a range of drinks, including tiki cocktails, made with fresh juices and mixers. The bar also offers a 55-label wine list featuring rosés and sparkling wines. The bar, located in the center of the space, is the focal point of the market.

Full menus and pricing are not yet available for food items.

St. Roch Market. 140 NE 39th St., Miami; 786-566-6656; miami.strochmarket.com. Sunday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.