This Korean takeout spot opened its first dine-in restaurant at a Miami Beach hotel
When Jennifer and Michele Kaminski opened the delivery spot 2 Korean Girls in December 2020, they fielded a lot of orders from South Beach. This wasn’t a problem — their ghost kitchen was in Coconut Grove, but the pandemic had slowed the usual Miami traffic nightmare to a manageable level.
A few months later, though, the cars and trucks returned. Delivery of their magical boxes of bibimbap to the Beach became too difficult and was discontinued.
Now, South Beach diners craving their favorite Korean recipes can rejoice.
The sisters are bringing 2 Korean Girls to the Shelborne South Beach hotel’s Oasis Garden for the brand’s first dine-in location — with direct access to the Miami Beach boardwalk.
Jennifer Kaminski says the move to South Beach is strategic.
“Fans on social media were telling us all the time, ‘We miss you on the
Beach,’ ” she said. “We’re happy to be here, not only for locals but being able to introduce the brand to people visiting Miami and staying in the hotel and the surrounding area.”
The sisters started 2 Korean Girls with help from James Beard Award-winning chef Allen Susser and their mother, Chom “Sunny” Kaminski, who has operated a Korean restaurant in Indiana for more than 30 years.
“All of our recipes, sauces and seasonings come from her,” Jennifer Kaminski says. So does the endless refrain the sisters heard growing up and put into thrifty practice: “No waste!”
The original menu has been tweaked a bit, though diners can still order the bibimbap with the heartshaped egg that made the delivery service famous (Jennifer Kaminski says it’s still her favorite item to make). The sisters added new dishes like Korean short rib and Korean fried chicken “sammies” because they don’t have to worry about how well the food travels across town.
The menu also includes dishes like Korean Melon Salad, cucumber kimchi, kimchi fried rice and tteokbokki, a simmered rice cake. 2 Korean Girls even has its own signature cocktail now called The Last Imoogi, a bright pink dragon fruit-infused Bacardi rum cocktail served with a swirl of rose gold shimmer, domaine de canton, citrus, orange bitters and an edible flower.
Michele Kaminski says that adapting to the dine-in concept was easier than dealing with the take-out model.
“When it’s takeout, there are so many more challenges, so many more checkpoints you need to go through,” she says. “Is the to-go bowl holding up? How is this transferring in transit to the customer? Is it still warm? There was a lot of trial and error in purchasing different types of paper goods to figure out that part.”
Having a dine-in space allows the chefs to make fixes more rapidly, Jennifer Kaminski says.
“You lose so much control over the food and the experience on the delivery side,” she says, laughing. “We’ve heard it all — delivery drivers not showing up or eating the food, getting into accidents, getting flat tires. That’s not consistently, but so many things can go wrong from point A to point B. Here, it’s what, 50 feet from kitchen to table?”
2 Korean Girls will be at the Shelborne through the end of the year, but the Kaminskis are looking for a permanent home in Miami. Their ghost kitchen is still open in Wynwood, and you can order from the new restaurant via UberEats.
But it’s the new, in-person contact they’re most excited about, because they remember the hospitality that flowed through their mother’s restaurant.
“Michelle and I have taken it to heart,” Jennifer Kaminski says. “That being able to make a connection, coming out of the kitchen and talking to everyone, understanding what they’re eating and what they like. It’s not lost on us, the amount of effort and concern
with connecting to the people eating your food. There’s love in it. That’s what’s so fulfilling.”
2 KOREAN GIRLS
Where: Shelborne South Beach Oasis Garden, 1801 Collins Ave., Miami Beach
Hours: 5-10 p.m. Thursday and Sunday; 5 p.m.midnight Friday and Saturday. Special happy hour 9 p.m. until close every night with Korean fried chicken or fried chicken sammies for $9 and halfprice specialty cocktails. Karaoke at 8 p.m. on Fridays.
More information: 2koreangirls.com or @2koreangirls on Instagram
Connie Ogle: 305-376-3649, @OgleConnie