Elite Event: Sabores by Chef James

Well, first– thanks to Cassie for my Unilocal ice tray. It is in the little freezer at my office and I use it all the time.
Now, to the event! I loved this event. Elite dinners are my favorite events because I love being able to sit down and chat with Unilocalers over a meal. Dining is an experience that brought me to Unilocal to share with others, and I love that these dinners really bring Unilocal to life.
Thanks to Chef James for the wonderful meal. That dessert had me drooling. I can’t wait to go back and try the guac and bacon wrapped date. Holy moly. The flavors were incredible. I also really enjoyed my cucumber drink. I’m officially a fan of Sabores!

Delicious, fun and entertaining! Food, new people, and learned more about cooking! Cilantro, cilantro and smack that Rosemary!
Assigned seatings: A table where my non-​friends showed up I got moved to the higher anarchy table (aka VIP) …not really, but you should be jealous of my table. It was fun meeting new people, ice breaker questions in shot glass, very well thought out (props Cassie!)
Chef James: He’s cool! Taught us well on how his food is all made from scratch. So simple, you can cook it yourself at home. Although, I bet his ingredients are fresher than the market.
All his plates are his favorite, which left me on the same page, until I began tasting the experience of Sabores.
Sabores:
Drinks: Favorite, the smoked gin a tonic. Chef James taught us well how to smoke it. Veronica will be purchasing one of those machines, I’ll borrow it from her. The Jalapeño margarita was delicious. Not a fan of the spice, but this drink was just right. Regret not having the blueberry mojito.
Food: Ceviche de Ecuador. All the way till el liquido del Tigre…
The smoked salmon dip was to die for! Denisse agrees with me on that one.
The chicharron (main plate) was a very interesting taste as the pork is press from stomach to skin and so, so thin… oMgG!
My favorite though, the Pork Arepa! The rich tasting pork with the salty, tasty arepa and the sauces on the plate was delicious!
Friendly staff, quick and friendly and all bilingual.
Overall, this event was a full success. From the scan/​id to check-​in, until the ice maker dish/​plater/​thingy at the end. Good drinks, great food, and most important, positive people. Thank you Unilocal!!!

As they say in Miami, «QUE PENA!».
I had drafted this review and completely forgot about it until just now. Toddler keepin me on my toes, but my making my brain lag far, far behind I guess.
This event was awesome for so many reasons… but here are my top 3:
1. Chef James is Venezuelan. I am too. Always happy to support a fellow chamo in successful endeavors! Such a friendly dude, totally down to earth, and you can really tell he’s passionate about what he does.
2. Who knew there was such a great place to eat at a Best Western by the Airport? THIS is why I Unilocal,people! Finding these hidden gems is what it’s all about.
3. The avocado chocolate «dirt» mousse. SO. DELICIOUS.
I recently found out this place does Brunch with unlimited margaritas and tacos, which sounds like it’s right up my alley and I need to get there STAT. I wouldn’t have known about this if not for this great event! Thanks, Cassie & Unilocal for all the hard work you do to keep us in the loop about the yummiest most awesome places to visit!

Took me a few weeks to write this, but here it is.
This event blew me away in terms of its organization, the presentation, the food, and even the chef. Having Chef James not only describe the food, but demonstrate how some of his dishes are made, created a more personal environment, more personal than if you were in the audience of one of the many TV shows he has appeared in. I only wished more of us got to taste the smoked drink and ceviche he made.
My favorite has to be the date wrapped in bacon. It was a perfect match between sweet and salty, with a nice crunch in the center. I loved all the drinks, but my favorite was the margarita with the nice kick of heat.
I loved the assigned seating — I got to meet Unilocal elite members I have never met before, and the questions on the tables that were nice ice breakers.
Overall the event was a success. My only concern with this restaurant is that the kitchen is located across the hall. In addition, it is located inside a Best Western hotel, and there are not many signs showcasing the restaurant.

Chef James Tahhan is the mastermind chef behind Sabores by Chef James. Having started in the kitchen at a very young age, James is now a TV personality on Telemundo sharing what he knows about the kitchen to the world. Besides showcasing his delicious recipes to the masses on national TV, James also has his own restaurant.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that Sabores is right off of Le Juene and Flager in Miami inside of a Best Western because James is serving up some delicious food. He prides himself in putting together food combinations that include ingredients from many different Latin American countries, really taking those who eat his dishes on an incredible journey through his food.
First you have to try one of Chef James’ famous cocktails. Without a doubt you have to try his version of the mojito, which comes with muddled blueberries and coconut rum. The perfect drink to have on a hot Miami summer day. And for those who aren’t into mojitos then go for the Cucumber Fizz, which comes with St. Germain and is topped with champagne for the perfect bubbly touch!
Now when it comes to food Chef James makes sure to not only add his personal touch to all of his dishes, but also make sure he continues combining different flavors from several countries. For example, his ceviche has more of an Ecuadorian flare — with ketchup, mustard, olive oil, lemon, and oranges the creamy texture and sweetness of the shrimp and ketchup truly blends perfectly.
You also have to try the arepas. Chef James serves his shredded beef arepas with an Amarillo paste and mayo cilantro and habanero sauce on the side. My advice? Make sure to blend all of the flavors together for maximum taste!
For dinner make sure to check out the pork confit. The pork is cooked low and slow for about ten hours. They then cold pressed in house and cut over smoky sweet potatoes with a little bit of cream, and lima beans. Total perfection.
And for dessert Chef James offers a tree in a pot, which is actually made with a vegan mouse! Instead of it being made out of milk it is made with avocados. You get the perfect blend of flavors between the avocado, coconut oil and caramel/​chocolate sauce. You can’t go wrong.

At first, I thought my GPS was wrong because it directed me to a Best Western. But it wasn’t! I was shocked to see such an unique location for a restaurant. Parking’ a little tricky but hey the food made up for it. Everything was delicious. My fave were the ropa vieja arepas (of course, I’m Cuban) ;) and the coconut blueberry mojito! Delish! I’m not a fan of regular mojitos but this one was excellent! If you’re a fan of coconut, this drink is for you!
Chef James was awesome! He came to our table to chat. You can tell that he’s humble, down to earth, and passionate about the food he prepares. I also admired how considerate he is/​was of the consumer’s financial standing. Creating a restaurant where anyone with a paycheck, whether large or small, can still enjoy a great meal. Thank you Chef James and thank you Cassie for a great event!

Fantastic event! Cassie did an unbelievable job in planning this event and Chef James was an outstanding host for the evening! To start, I like that since no +1’s were allowed, there was assigned seating. It eliminated the awkwardness of finding a seat! I also loved that Chef James told us his reasoning behind each dish and what was involved to make it. I loved loved that there were so many different dishes so that I could try many different options when I next return! I also very much enjoyed the demonstrations he did (though there is no way that I would be able to do that at home!).
My one suggestion for future tasting dinners is to encourage the host to pick a menu with varied ingredients. 3 of the dishes had pork in them and not everyone likes pork! Especially with such a varied menu with different types of meats and vegetables, there could have been many other options instead, though I understand that it is quite difficult to plan a tasting menu and not everyone is going to like every dish.
Lastly, the staff at the restaurant were incredibly friendly, courteous, and on the ball and it was such a wonderful evening!

If possible, this is where I would place that emoji with the big smile and the two eyes substituted as hearts. Not because our host, Chef James, is so dreamy and charismatic (though he is), but because I was in love with all the delicious treats we were given and guided through the course of the evening.
The setting was inside a surprisingly chic Best Western restaurant space, the staff were friendly and efficient and our host, Chef James, entertained all of us with food knowledge, demonstrations, guest appearances, and interactive tastings. I ended up being placed at a delightful table with old and new friends. We sipped spicy and delicious, eponymous margs and sampled our way through the tasting menu. Standouts included the smoked fish dip, the carne mechada arepas with habanero salsa verde, and the dessert in a pot!
I see a trip back for dinner with fellow Unilocalers and friends to get the full experience.
Thanks to Chef James, Cassie, the staff at Sabores and Unilocal… I am sipping a whiskey with Unilocalcubes as I type, thanks to my new Unilocalcube tray!

A little late but finally taking the time to rave about how great my first experience at an Elite Event was.
I was super excited to get the invite, and to find out it was centrally located, minutes from where I work in Coral Gables and that I’d get to meet renown Venezuelan Chef James was oh so sweet!
So I arrived a few minutes late with my sister Stephanie P, but the ever classy Cassie quickly gave us our name tags so that we could take our Assigned seats before the food distributing started. I loved that btw, one of my favorite parts of Unilocaling is getting to meet awesome people, so assigned seating let me mingle with Elizabeth R and Cid P, who so marvelously told me all the great things that lay ahead for us Elites (wohoo). Rony M baptized me as a newbie by sticking his name tag on me and a few others followed, again super fun!
OK ok so on to the review, as mentioned the location of the restaurant is very central, is it chic and romantic to go eat at a Best Western — No, but that isn’t the point of this place. It’s a place to come eat good tasting food made by a known chef at an economical price, this was expressed by Chef James himself, and made me dig him that much more, his looks and hair already had that going for him, but the fact that reaching his audience means more to him than opening a fancy out of budget restaurant in South Beach really won him fan points.
Any who we all know the dishes, the Ecuadorian Ceviche was my least favorite, the ketchup just over powered it and wasn’t appetizing to me. My favorite was the bacon wrapped date, holy cow I can have that everyday, it was perfection in my mouth. The second favorite was the bacon guac… I just really like bacon lol. Then the smoked fish dip very fresh loved the herbs, followed by the pork chicharron and the arepa with Ropa Vieja.
I loved his creativity in making traditional Spanish foods more chic and hip, and tasteful and filled with his passion and style. The presentation was also on point, very nice.
The drinks were interesting as well, the Coconut Blueberry Mojito was delicious and refreshing, and the Cucumber Gin made me like gin, it was the perfect combination for light yet just kidding there’s alcohol.
My overall experience was awesome, thank you Cassie… having a famous hot Chef teach me a few of his techniques while eating yummy food and meeting great people is the epitome of an Excellent Unilocal Event.
Keep up the good work Unilocalers, hope to see you again soon.

Another great event planned by Cassie G and another great meal by Chef James! This is up there for one of my favorite events I’ve been to.
For starters, while I love the larger events, this one seemed very special since it was a smaller crowd. I felt like I really got to enjoy each item and learn about it as we ate it, thanks to Chef James’ involvement in the whole meal.
The assigned seating seemed scary at first, but it turned out to be great fun! I’ve been Unilocaling for 5 years but I admit, I am always a little nervous of going to these events alone, but now I know there’s nothing to be afraid of! I met some really nice people who filled me in on some great places to try.
I am among the lucky ones who had been to Sabores before… but this event reminded me how close it is to my home… and how much I need to return. I can’t say enough about how impressed I am by the food and all of the thought and preparation that goes in an hour.
It was also very fun to watch Chef James’ demonstrations. I follow him on Instagram, where he often posts his TV appearances, but can’t keep up since I don’t speak Spanish. This time I got to learn all about how he makes his wonderful ceviche and incredibly creative cocktails and understand every word!
My only problem was a personal one: I had to go to work after the event and therefore didn’t get to enjoy two cocktails! Alas, that means I’ll have to return– and soon!

You see, THIS is what Unilocal is all about to me. A whole bunch of random strangers sharing one passion (i.e. basically Food — though it’s adapted to share a lot more interests now), trying out new things, meeting new people and coming away from an event knowing a lot more than you walked through that door knowing. For example:
Chef James is a Unilocaler.
You can make Chocolate Mousse from avocado and have it vegan and have us all wondering what the hell deliciousness IS this? (and licking the pots… though my tongue didn’t get right to the bottom — sorry boys).
Chef James is just as cute as Cid said.
I can make it from Las Olas to Le June in an hour.
Cassie is an up and coming superstar
I came to this event because I’m not a fan of South American/​Cuban food AT ALL and wanted someone to come along and change that. A challenge, per se. Assault my taste buds and convert me! That’s what I was looking for.
Gina H. 0 — Chef James 1
OK, some things were a tad too sweet for me. I like it hot and spicy, but the tastings of what were on offer were intriguing enough to have me finish each and every dish.
Notable mentions:
The Guac… with the crispy bacon bits. Yes, a whole entire bowlful would have been enough and I would have gone home super happy.
The date, enveloping the little almond, wrapped lovingly in bacon, slow roasted to the absolute orgasmic point of no return and served on the swoop of subtle blue cheese hinted dressing which teased the tongue. Who needs a man when you can buy this?
The smoked fish dip. Have to say. Mention of Jimbo’s came up… who didn’t love Jimbos and anytime fish dip comes up in conversation in Miami anyone who has been here for a decade remembers it. This fish dip however took fish dip to the next level. Smokey deliciousness. Again, put a bucket of this in front of me with a couple of cold beers and that’s dinner.
Great presentations, great tips, I’d say I came away with a wealth of information that I will put to good use in the future.
Thanks to Cassie, Chef James and all the wonderful staff at Sabores for opening this Irish girls eyes.

It’s really great that through Unilocal I got introduced to so many great restaurants and other businesses in Miami and wherever I go. Case in point is the restaurant hosting our Elite event, Sabores by Chef James. Honestly, if I were Unilocaling for a place to eat and this place popped up, I likely won’t have picked it. Who’d expected fine dining inside a Best Western?
The food we sampled was not only tasty, but also very creative. The word fusion is so passé but here Chef James did magic with ingredients from all over the world. Vegan chocolate mousse made with avocado soy sauce and balsamic vinegar?! He is also a master at playing with flavors and texture, like the crispy pork belly confit with guava marmalade glaze and served over a smoked sweet potato purée. He creates his dishes from scratch and sure has fun doing it. One of his secret weapon is the smoker. He uses it to infuse a lovely smokiness to many of his dishes — including ceviche and cocktails.
I also enjoyed how, besides just churning out food in the kitchen, Chef James demostrated some of the dishes in the dining room, and giving us more information about their regular menu. For example, as we enjoyed the guac with crispy bacon, he told us how they have a guacamole bar with seven varieties, including the roasted corn and watercress. He also showed us how to make a nekkei (meaning Japanese ancestry) ceviche, a sneak preview of what’s coming in his next venture.
There are three drinks to try, and the blueberry mojito is totally lovely.
I also love the little questions at each table, a nice ice breaker!
Thanks Chef James and Cassie for such a wonderful evening!

This was such an awesome event. I had such a great time enjoying the beautiful ambiance of the restaurant, the delicious and unique food, and the great people I was able to meet. Thank you Cassie, Chef James, and the staff of Sabores for this wonderful Tuesday evening.
I really enjoyed the assigned seating. It’s fun to find little connections with people who started out as strangers! The space was pretty intimate but I didn’t find anything cramped or too close. I also really appreciated the timeliness of the whole event. It is so nice to see a venue that is fully prepared to accommodate our events and it seemed like the Sabores staff really prided themselves on great service.
Some of the food items were things that aren’t usually my favorite, but I really enjoyed everything! The surprisingly tasty ones for my usually-​picky palate were the ceviche, which I’m just getting into now, and the spicy Chef James margarita. I don’t usually like margaritas OR spicy drinks, yet I would definitely order this cocktail next time I visit Sabores. My husband was pretty jealous of all the pictures that I took (for that purpose!) so I want him to have a similar experience! I’m using our 15% off card this weekend!
I absolutely loved the demonstrations by Chef James, giving us recipes to try at home. What a fun surprise! I was even able to ask him a couple questions I had afterward, which was great. He seems like a creative genius — someone who sees food and dining in an entirely different way than the average person. It is paying off!
Thanks to everyone who made this event so great.

I had the pleasure to visit this venue last night for a Unilocal sit down dinner event. This restaurant was tucked away in the Best Western Hotel right off Flagler in Miami. Not a typical place I find myself in here if in Miami. But that’s one of the great things about Unilocal,finding the hidden treasures.
The food was good. It had a prominent Latin twist to it. We had a range of different dishes from shrimp ceviche traditionally made with ketchup and mustard (new to me) to bacon wrapped dates, my personal favorite. They also had three signature drinks to choose from, including a jalapeño margarita, blueberry mojito, and a gin drink I believe. I chose the mojito and it was delish. I ended up having three!
The chef however was the best part. His demeanor and true love of food and enthusiasm in explaining each dish made it taste even better. That alone is enough for me to venture across the bridge back over to this hidden gem. I think I have my first Chef crush. haha
My only thing was I wish there was more food to go around, it was a tease that i surely wanted more of. Maybe that was the intention, leave you wanting more. .
Highly recommended and thanks for hosting Unilocal

Had so much fun at this event chatting up with Patrick and Jorge! The food was great! I gotta say my favorite were the dates! They were scrumptious and simply divine!
I also enjoyed Chef James’ presentations of all his dishes. He was funny and entertaining!
The Venezuelan Ceviche would be my second favorite and the fish dip my third. The margarita was nice, strong and spicy!
Had fun. Hope to come back soon!

I was quite impressed with this event! Cassie as always did an amazing job organizing this, nice touch on the assigned seating :)
Everything was delicious and flavorful! My favorite was the smoked fish dip. What a wonderful mix of onions, cilantro, and double smoked fish. I really enjoyed the fact that Chef James gave us a description of the dish and how it was prepared. The bacon guac was also at the top of the list for me. I commend him for making every bacon bite a crunchy one! I wanted more of this because I love avocados.
Chef James is so humble and down to earth. He came to our table and answered a few questions about the menu and shared details about why he chose to open at a Best Western.
Overall a 5 stars for this event. Everything was great. Just a note I had to park at BK but I blame myself for running on Cuban time!

As others before me have mentioned Chef James was the star of the show and what a great host he was.
Since It was tough finding parking I arrived a bit late but quickly found my name and had a seat at what would later be nicknamed the VIP table by all my fellow dinner mates and I. We were immediately asked what drink we would like and of course I had to go with the chef James Margarita how can you go wrong with that. The drink itself was great and had that spicy jalapeño kick which I love.
Shortly after small tasting dishes started to come out and Chef James was great at explaining every single one to us. Everything I tried was excellent and left me wanting much much more. Small portions made sense to me because now I have to make it a point to return for more. Even though I did enjoy every single dish I still had my favorites including the pork confit which was to die for, the bacon wrapped date because anything with bacon wins me over and the dirt cup which alone would be a perfectly valid reason to visit the restaurant but what really won me over is when my table was given the golden ticket aka salmon nikkei of which I had the honor of tasting and reviewing live. If that was just a small sample of what might become this chefs new venture I can’t wait to try it.
You can really see the passion and love put into the food that is being made here. Doing things the hard way as the chef likes to say really pays off. Shout out to Chef James gracias por todo you just got a new fan and thank you to all that amazing people of Sabores for hosting this amazing event. Most of all thank you Cassie for always going above and beyond.

Chef James not only made me a fan of his food, but I’m slowly becoming a fan of the man himself. He is knowledgeable about food and culture, that should be expected, but he is very much into nutrition, healthy eating, and using natural ingredients to help promote your well-​being. Our personalities should clash, me being a gluttonous pig, and him being a health nut… but no, I think he is kind of alright.
For the evening, we started things off with an Ecuadorian style ceviche, which was good and fresh. Then we had a smoked fish dip that was really good. Both these dishes kept the calories at a minimum. I imbibed in a Chef James Margarita, which had a little jalapeño and some cilantro leaves, and then we continued to a roasted bacon guacamole, a shredded beef arepa, and a bacon wrapped date. I then got a blueberry mojito, and we closed the evening with a pork confit (chicharron), and a vegan mousse for dessert.
All these dishes were made perfectly and were very tasty, and I think not much oil or fat was used, at least I didn’t taste much of it. My favorite dishes for the evening were the shredded beef arepa, and the pork confit. And I also liked the freshness of the ceviche. It was a nice rounded tasting menu.
I was also lucky to try a fizzy gin with cucumber. I am not a huge fan of gin, but I may have to reconsider my stance after having a couple great gin cocktails recently. Or maybe I am just tired of mojitos and margaritas…
Even though we were all about the food, the star of the soirée was Chef James himself. He did a couple demos, and he introduced all his dished. And, he kind of previewed his next venture, which he said might be a Nikkei inspired restaurant. Oh! Yes, Chef James is in love with Peruvian gastronomy, and who wouldn’t? Being able to eat Peruvian food in Miami is probably one of my top reasons for never leaving the Magic City.
None of this would have been possible, of course, if Cassie didn’t make it happen. Friends, great food, and an awesome CM, Unilocal is about to get very competitive around here.
Thanks Cassie, thanks Chef James, and thanks Sabores. It was a pleasure.
And… if you want to see a little Chef James interview, in SPANISH, do a quick search for «chef james tahhan bayly». Priceless.

Useless blah, blah, blahs:
So there I was with Chef James just a stone throw away from me. See? I told you I would behave. However, in my mind the whole time there, we were married, I gave birth to four of his offspring, I had one miscarriage and, we lived together with the kids, a llama, and a cat in a nice house here in West Hialeah close to the Palmetto Expressway.
For real, I’m a fan of his. I do watch Despierta América where he does a segment at times. Such a big fan of his that I didn’t even know he had a restaurant here in Miami. I’m trying to be as sarcastic as possible since his gorgeous primitive ethnic looks have nothing to do to the only reason I know he exists.
Did you know? I had no idea he spoke English. I just assumed he didn’t.
The Event:
* I really don’t know how anyone else feels, I haven’t asked anyone but, I’m a big fan of the assigned seating. I really enjoy that quite a bit. I like surprises.
* It was nice to see new faces as well. Some of you I have never seen before.
* In case you didn’t know, this was a real celebrity at this event. You would never know that because he gladly participated in conversation with anyone that approached him. I do know people that have met him in person and they all say the same thing, he’s not an asshole and very nice to his fans. THANKS Chef James Tahhan! It was a pleasure to meet you in person.
* BIG THANKS TO Unilocal! Not only has Unilocal given me a social life but, I never would have been here had it not been for Unilocal.SO THANKS Cassie and Unilocal!Much appreciated.
The Food:
* Ceviche Ecuatoriano — Although not bad, it was «weird.» I’ve never had ceviche in tomato sauce before.
* The Pork Belly thing, whatever the name — I’m coming back here for this. I’m Cuban. Cubans love pork. This is worth coming back for and giving it a try off their regular menu. THANKS for the 15% Discount!
* Everything else we sampled was good. That fish dip, though. I don’t even like seafood. Yeah, that was good.
From what I sampled and observed, the food offered here is an interesting fusion of techniques and «things.» Some of it, is odd yet interesting and loaded with flavor. I wish him the best in his restaurant and I hope his fans get it. It’s an unique approach to the art of cooking.
The Drinks:
* The Blueberry Mojito was refreshing and delightful. I want a tall glass of that next time I’m there.

So I didn’t even know there was a Best Western around this area let alone a restaurant inside of it. They’re located on the first floor of the hotel. Small size place with with a bar with a few stools. The kitchen itself is located next to the restaurant.
This event was limited to about 30 Elite Unilocalers. It was a signed seating so you had a chance to
new people. I had the pleasure of meeting Sonia, Rachael, Jacquie and Herman. It was also great seeing Gina, Stephanie, Tal, Cassie, Natassia, Megan, Patrick, Jeff, Julio, Michael, Arturo, Paul, Cid, and Rony. Also I finally meet Veronica!

The event started with your choice of three cocktails. The Blueberry Mojito, cucumber gin fizz, and a jalapeño and cilantro margarita. I had the mojito and margarita. Then we had a shrimp ceviche in a tomato sauce, a guacamole but they call it guac with bacon crumbles, a smoked fish dip, vaca frita arepa, bacon wrapped stuffed date with a cashew with a creamy blue cheese sauce, pork confit with a creamy sweet potato sauce, and a tree in a pot for dessert.
Chef James explained each dish from what’s in it to how to make them. He also gave us cooking tips. He made a couple of dishes that were not on the menu for us as well as a smoked gin and tonic that Patrick had the pleasure of having. The staff was friendly and quick to pick up dirty plates and refill your water. Thank you Chef for the 15 percent off card for our next visit. Also thanks Cassie for having me and the complimentary Unilocal ice tray.