Anyways, that's the setting. Let's get on to what they do with it. The food is FANTASTIC. We got excited just looking at the menu, not your run of the mill bar grub - and even more excited to hear that we had made it in time for Happy Hour pricing (on select items). We jumped at the Chicken Liver Mousse on Toasts ($4 regular price / $3 during Happy Hour) caper berry marmalade, frisee, radish. Loved the beautiful balance of creamy, earthy chicken liver mousse with the clean crunch of radish slices, frisee and sweet/tart caper berry marmalade - on a slender slab of artisan toast. We were going to share, so we can taste other food, but ended up ordering a second round immediately after the first bite.
Our friendly bartender asked what kinds of drinks we were into: when I said craft cocktails, layered - he recommended the 5-Star Sidecar ($11) Mexata Star, fresh orange, fresh lemon, Jerry Thomas bitters. I loved this light and refreshing drink, that almost felt healthy. Bitters can sometimes be overpowering but this one was perfectly balanced.
Next up for grub: Pork Belly and Charred Squid ($18) cranberry beans, eggplant, new onion. Big price jump on this one, but loved the offering of charred squid, at a bar!!! It was a dream pairing of gourmet surf and turf. I don't think I've ever seen eggplant used with squid either - kind of an ingenius combination, as evidenced by our rapid inhaling of the entire dish. If we weren't so close to our office (big risk of co-workers coming in, and in fact, one did as we were settling inwith our food) - we would have picked up the bowl and licked it clean.
Time for another drink. There are two things I particularly love in cocktails: cucumber, and some sort of element that brings heat into the mix. So the bartender whipped up a Westside Eastside ($12) Fidencio Clasico mezcal, fresh lime, agave syrup, cucumber, jalapeno - probably my fav drink of the night. I could drink these all day like they were Pressed Juicery concoctions. 
I was so occupied with my drink I didn't really take good notes on Ms. Fab's unfortunately. So I think this pic is of Swedish Island ($9) Kanon Organic Vodka, lime, coconut water, orange blossom simple syrup. Ms. Fab liked hers but if memory served correctly, wished she had ordered the Westside Eastside instead. 
Last but definitely not least - the dish that made us want to 'jump the bone': Reuben's Gluttony ($24) corned beef, bone marrow, yorkie pudding, carmelized kraut. We didn't really expect this giant platter of insane deliciousness. There was a gigantic bone with gorgeous, buttery marrow inside, topped by finely chopped carrot and I think celery bits for flavor and counterbalancing crunch. There were 'yorkie puddings' that were like giant popovers. Addictive *sweet* sauerkraut. Amazing corned beef that was more like carvings of steak, perfectly cooked. With house made mustards on the side that we wanted to lick off the board.
Brioche French Toast with stone fruit & creme fraiche ($11) this was one of the best french toast dishes I've ever had - the toast itself was nice and fluffy with slightly crisped sides - but it was the toppings that stole the spotlight. The combination of super fresh sweet-tart peaches, cherries, lovely, smooth creme fraiche and super fragrant basil was pitch perfect. As was the ratio of 'toppings' to toast. Love that they didn't do the standard syrup or berries.
With a full bar, The Pikey has a great cocktail list - Bloody Mary caught my eye as it is made with housemade Vegemite (paste made from yeast extract)! So...Australian (fine, it is a British colony). I usually don't enjoy Bloody Marys as they are too thick, like drinking tomato sauce - which isn't that appetizing first thing in the morning. But The Pikey makes theirs nice and light - it was actually a very refreshing drink, with a bit of heat - and a giant stalk of celery for garnish (and snack...).
Next up was my absolute favorite of the meal: Curry on Toast with a Fried Duck Egg ($10) - it was shockingly sophisticated / original for brunch much less at a pub!!! The curry was intoxicatingly fragrant, and perfectly tempered for the just awakening stomach / sense by the toast and soothing mild flavors of the duck egg and its lovely runny yolk. I don't think I've seen such a dish at any other brunch spot in LA...A bloody brilliant dish that I will definitely come back for!
Apparently Chef Johnson knows quite a bit about meats, especially pork. He house cures / smokes his bacon and sausages etc., and the House Smoked Bacon ($5) was delicious - spot on fat to meat ratio and just the perfect hint of sweet.
The Cured Arctic Char with Scrambled Egg, Biscuit, and Hollandaise ($14) was a beautiful sight - though this one doesn't strike you as immediately original as the others, this was a nice meeting of three classic breakfast items that you wouldn't normally see together: scrambled eggs + cured fish (inspired by lox?) + hollandaise sauce (normally served over a poached egg on eggs benedict). A very well-executed plate - the scrambled egg was beautifully pillowy and still wet around the edges, the way I like it. The fish added a smooth, cool blast of salinity while the hollandaise held it all together with creamy deliciousness.
One of the ladies at our end of the table, Sam Durbin, loves and requested Egg in the Hole with House Smoked Bacon and 100% Pure Maple Syrup ($12) - I wasn't very familiar with the dish, but it is pretty much self-explanatory - it's an egg cooked into a hole cut out in bread. And, as Sam pointed out, what V made for Natalie Portman's character for breakfast in V for Vendetta - that is what sparked her interest in the dish, and she had set out to try it at every place she could. This is why I love meals with food writers. The Pikey's version of Egg in the Hole though was I think overshadowed by the epic creativity and taste of the others.
The kitchen very generously kept sending out food! We also tried Slow Roasted Pork Belly Sandwich with horseradish cream, cornishons and watercress ($13) - this was more like hamsteak in taste and texture, but I did love the use of horseradish cream for a kick that cut through the pork flavors nicely, and cornishons chopped up and slid right into the sandwich that punctuated bites of meat with bursts of sour-sweet juicyness. The fries on the side are also noteworthy - they're 'thrice cooked', which makes them super crispy outside and deliciously soft and yieldy inside. We didn't leave a single fry on the plate.
Last up of the cooked dishes is the Fried Eggs, Pork Sausage, Bacon, Beans, Roasted Tomato & Mushroom with Grilled Toast ($13) which our informative server let us know is actually called "Full English Breakfast" - but they broke out the elements on the menu as most people here wouldn't know what Full English Breakfast means. I thought the best thing on this plate was the housemade pork sausage, so soft, tender and fresh.
Before we finished, fellow foodie Narmar ordered Pimm's Cup made with fresh berries, and having established that we were both huge fans of Matt Biancaniello of Library Bar, I trusted her recommendation on this drink - and she was right, it tasted so fresh and light yet flavorful with fresh muddled berries. Would order this again on my next visit, for sure.
The most buzzed about of Chef Park's creations was the Popcorn Bacon, Maple Crema ($7) - so that had to be our first dish! In short, it was genius. With the national bacon obsession, it's crazy that no one's ever thought to do this before - but Black Hogg cures their own bacon and serves it in cubes, deep fried in the most addictive seasoning - so that you get this amazing crunch and blast of flavor yielding to juicy, super luscious fat - all in adorable bite-sized squares that you won't be able to stop popping in your mouth. And you get a side of maple cream for dipping. Pure heaven for pork lovers.
As a funghi lover, I had to try the Wild Mushrooms on a Brioche Box ($15) - this was a simple dish, that at first I didn't want to spend precious stomach space on, as it didn't sound particularly exciting - but turned out to be shockingly delicious. The mushrooms were perfectly cooked in a richly flavored sauce, and served in just the right proportion with a hefty slab of buttery brioche toast. It's sort of pricey for a dish that is essentially vegetarian, and not really entree sized, but the taste was that amazing that I would say, worth the splurge at least once.
Next up was another favorite of the night: Roasted Marrow Bones, Breakfast Radishes ($12) bone marrow at other places have disappointed me in the past, being usually too oily and an unpleasant mouthfeel. Black Hogg serves theirs pitch perfect - lush and fatty-creamy (no oil slick!) and with a side not only of breakfast radishes to provide counterbalancing crunch, but also a first-ever (for me), a mix of capers plus cilantro (and I thought, also, lime juice) that is a unique pairing for bone marrow, and lends it some southeast asian flavors that cut through the richness of the marrow nicely. All this is served with lightly grilled tortillas for a great plate that to me seemed to give a cool nodd to some of the flavors of LA: bit of Vietnamese and Mexican layered with American gastropub fare. 
As everyone at the table loves lamb, we got the Buttery Lamb Burger, Habanero Onions, Onetik Bleu, Fries ($17) - this may have been the best lamb burger I've ever had. Super juicy (and apparently buttery because actual butter is added to the meat in the patty!), super flavorful, amazing with the punch of pungent blue (sheep's milk) cheese, and crunch of innocuous looking pink onions lent some heat from habanero. Layers of flavor that work perfectly together, topped by perfectly toasted brioche buns.
In any case, with only a few days - most of which would be occupied by work functions - there was one place at the top of my list that I resolutely would not leave Miami without grabbing at least one meal at: Michael's Genuine Food & Drink in the Design District. 
We were staying near South Beach, and although Design District, where Michael's was located, sounded safe enough to me - all the cab drivers I talked to said it was best to stay in South Beach at night if on my own. So happily with Hawaii Issue on board, we were able to take a 10 minute cab ride into Miami proper. Michael's, as it turns out, is in a chic little shopping complex called Atlas Plaza. It was a charming space with dark interiors with a gastropub feel, and a cute patio area that was laid back and in my mind very Miami with crossbeams opening up to the beautifully blue Florida sky filled with impossibly perfectly fluffy clouds, framed by silhouettes of tall palms. So naturally I chose to sit outside - it was a little chilly this time of year, but they had plenty of heat lamps to keep us warm.
First order of course almost before we sat down was for Crispy Pig Ear ($6) - I was actually really proud of Hawaii Issue, who is more of an American/Italian chain restaurant fan, for diving in to try this. They were thin fried ribbons pungent with seasoning that somehow reminded me of fritos. A really original bar snack that I thoroughly enjoyed yes. Was it the most amazing thing we've ever eaten? I preferred the taste and texture of crispy pig ears at Lukshon back home (part of lunch entree). But I was glad I got to try Michael's, and as a bar snack I agree is the best ever.
(A close up shot of the crispy pig ear!)
From the small plates section, I went for that which features a local ingredient: Cobia & Shrimp Ceviche papaya, avocado, citrus, cilantro ($11) - cobia is a local white fish, which when served in ceviche has a pleasing texture that is soft and supple but structured, with a subtle sweetness. I liked it! The shrimp was also incrediby fresh and delicious, especially when mixed with papaya perfectly ripened avocado pieces. This starter was light, refreshing and a great way to kick off the meal - it also lived up to the name of the place with clean flavors, letting the high quality ingredients shine.
Hawaii Issue chose something unexpected for his starter: Spicy Octopus chorizo, crispy fingerling potatoes, saffron aioli ($11) - this was a hearty dish that was all kinds of meaty, crunchy, juicy deliciousness, topped with a bright, smooth yellow saffron aioli to temper the heat underneath. Really great choice by a self-proclaimed non-foodie!
Next up for me from the medium plates: Crispy Rice Cake chorizo, Florida rock shrimp, manchego, chili aioli, pns farm egg ($13) the theme for me was local ingredients! Got this so I can try the Florida rock shrimp - the 'rice cake' turned out to be a crab-cake like patty made with chorizo, shrimp, cheese and a rice crust, topped by a perfectly fried egg with a side of not-overly-spicy chili aioli. Loved this as well, the original combination of ingredients - the feeling of breakfast for dinner - and the presentation with the relatively bold colors on the plate.
I didn't grab a bite of Hawaii Issue's Linguini Niman Ranch lamb bolognese, housemade ricotta, basil ($19) but our server said they make their pastas fresh in house every day, and Hawaii Issue really enjoyed it.
Though pretty full at that point, apparently Michael's has a famous pastry chef who churns out very creative pieces, so we couldn't leave without dessert. The one that came highly recommended was the Banana Peanut Butter & Bacon Panini chocolate caramel ice cream sundae ($10) - bacon in any form of dessert is always a good idea, and though we weren't sure that a panini for dessert sounded appealing, the rest of the description drew us in and so we went for it. I think if we weren't already so full, we might have enjoyed this more - and I appreciated the originality, but the hefty chunks of bread were a bit too much for dessert (though I loved how the smokey char from the grill balanced nicely with the light sweetness of the other ingredients). The peanut butter was too 'chunky' for me as well (I don't like having to work around 'pebbles' of nuts in my dessert) but Hawaii Issue liked that element. The bacon was a bit crusty and hard as well where I wanted more juicy, softer pieces. The sundae on the side, in a shotglass was a cute touch and I thought made the dish like a reinterpretation of french toast a la mode.
Our second dessert on the other hand was phenomenal - one that Hawaii Issue actually noticed first (I think there's a dormant foodie in there somewhere!) Tangerine Creamsicle Pot de Creme warm doughnuts tarragon blackberry jam ($10) - this was a fantastically light, beautifully citrusy and creamy creme in a ramekin, served with freshmade sugared donuts served warm, and a little side of tarragon blackberry jam. A little plate of heaven that I wish I could fly back and eat, very soon.
