Located behind the Marathon gas station at 6189 Miami Lakes Drive in the Lake Katharine Shopping Center, a small gem lies in place of what used to be a former Farm Stores.
NQC is not the typical fast food place. Instead of dishing out day-old fries or an unhealthy burger, NQC serves up gourmet Cuban comfort food with healthy options as well as locally crafted beer.
Mylo Gonzalez, owner and long-time Miami Lakes resident, was born into the restaurant business. With a retired chef as a mom, and even co-running El Pimiento with his family back in 2014, Gonzalez had years of experience. Not to mention many ideas that included some sort of quick-service that would have wholesome food and modern twists on traditional meals any South Floridian would recognize.
The name NQC is an acronym with many definitions. At first, Gonzalez and his wife decided on NQC to stand for “Natural Quality Cooking”, but after a comment from one of his regulars about his wife’s disdain for cooking, a light bulb went off, and thus “No Quiero Cocinar,” which means “I don’t want to cook” in Spanish, was born. Another denotation was later added as well.
“With inspiration from the customer base here in Miami Lakes, I said you know what? I’m going to do some sort of comfort food, and I’m going to attach a healthy menu as well, and call it NQC, Not Quite Cuban.” Gonzalez said.
Some of the mouth-watering items on the menu include a selection of “comfort bowls” complete with options of beef tenderloin mixed in with sweet plantains. Lunch isn’t the only grub they serve, breakfast burritos and an omelette with all the fixin’s are available for early birds as well. Talks about supper are also in the works.
“In February we’re going to open for dinner service. The fixed menu will be based on a chicken, fish, pork or a beef type of dish and every week the menu is going to change. We’re going to be open until 7 p.m.” Gonzalez said.
Outside of the small cooking area, a small dock was built in what used to be a patch of trees and grass. Ornate with patio lights and vibrant colors, the dock is reserved for small, special events.
“This used to be a dead space and I like to do hidden gems, but this place needed a lot of work. It was all trees and stuff,” Gonzalez explained. “We’re going to do a monthly food and beer tasting. We also have wedding books, and we have our first coming in February. They wanted something cool and different, and that’s what we have. We close the drive-through and put a platform so people can dance. It’s really nice and cozy.”
To order from this unique watering hole, download the app, NQC Grub, on either the App Store for iPhone or Google Play on other devices. For more information, call (305) 556-4838.