Breakfast all day and comfort food at this ‘black sheep’ restaurant

When Barclay Graebner couldn’t find a place she wanted to dine in North Bay Village, she filled a need with what she calls the black sheep of the neighborhood. The year-old Black Sheep is another quirky place by restaurateur Graebner, who owns Morgan’s in Midtown and El Portal/Little Haiti’s Sherwood’s Bistro down the road.

There’s no signage above Black Sheep, just a lumpy silhouette of curly yellow neon with the stick legs of a black sheep poking out. It is sandwiched between a liquor store and Latin cafe. Here, Graebner and her executive chef, Gabriel DeSouza, plan menus around what they like to eat.

It’s a neighborhood hangout where regulars come for the eclectic comfort fare with breakfast all day. There’s nothing quite like it in the area — where you just might stumble across a chicken clucking between the benches out front.

In the morning, start with coffee and huevos rancheros, egg-in-a-hole served with potatoes, bacon and avocado or a smoked salmon plate. Any time of day is good for an order of Reuben croquettes, topped with sauerkraut and served with Russian dressing and gherkins. The Greek fries are served with crumbled feta and roasted garlic saffron aioli for dipping. Whet your appetite with hummus, olive oil and pita, or fried calamari with spicy harissa aioli.

Breakfast for dinner is always a good option if you order chicken and waffles. A thick waffle is cut into four, topped in a heap of lightly breaded fried chicken tenders, and served with a small pitcher of syrup. Or go big and share sliced leg of lamb with with pita, feta, tomato salad, olives and hummus or the picada criolla. The Argentine-style parillada comes with grilled chunks of beef, chicken sausage, morcilla (blood sausage), sweetbreads, a chicken empanada and cheese quesadilla with chimichurri sauce.

It’s easy to share a huge bowl of Prince Edward Island mussels steamed in red Thai coconut curry broth with a kick. Duck confit tacos come three to an order in thin grilled corn tortillas with spicy mayo, shredded cabbage, hoisin sauce and grilled scallions. Shredded short rib tacos have sriracha aioli, pickled onions and jalapeno crema.

The daily special is often grilled mahi piccata in a butter, white wine, shallot and caper sauce with sautéed spinach and jasmine rice. Light, pillowy gnocchi are stuffed with ricotta bathed in a creamy parsley and cilantro sauce with meaty oyster mushrooms, topped with toasted pistachios for crunch.

Try the butterscotch pot de crème. The pale yellow cream has the texture of thick lemon curd infused with buttery brown sugar. It’s topped with dulce de leche. There might also be big coconut macaroons, toasty on the outside and soft and chewy inside.

Hidden Gems highlights out-of-the-way restaurants in Miami-Dade county. It is not intended to be an anonymous, critical review. For more Hidden Gems visit Miami.com.

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 1:04 AM.