Like the Cheese Course, or is that not top notch enough?

I can get on board with all of those. On the BBQ, Brother Jimmy's was a major disappointment (and I didn't have such high hopes to begin with). I am holding out hope for Pride and Joy (I think that's the name) in Wynwood near Clive's and Jimmy'z Kitchen.

Cobia are not easily caught by commercial fishing operations, but they are farmable. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquacult... So when you see cobia on a menu, it is not necessarily wild or local.

I like La Rosa II for Cuban.

I guess I don't care that much what constitutes a chain as long as the food is good. It sounds like we'll be getting a Bouchon at the Mandarin. I think that will be it's fourth location. Is that a chain? Maybe, but I'm not lamenting the appearance of another chain -- I am excited about what should be another great restaurant (albeit not the best of Keller's) serving a type of food that Miami has room for more of.

I like to support the independants and take a certain measure of "civic pride" in the locally grown chefs and restaurants. But there is plenty of room for good local chefs and restaurants regardless of how many of these upscale import "chains" come in. In truth, the imports haven't always fared that well in the competition with the locals -- many of the imports have failed despite good food.

The /sushi places aren't sushi places that are taking a stab at Thai, Indonesian, etc. food. They are Thai, Indonesian, etc. places that have added sushi to their menus to give them a wider appeal. Sushi is very popular and has become pretty standard fare in Miami (and elsewhere). A family may have some people that are adventurous and want Indonesian and others who are not and will not go unless there is something more familiar for them, like sushi. The presence of sushi on the menu doesn't dilute the Indonesian food it just provides diners with additional options. And the vast majority of those Asian restaurants are owned and staffed by Asians who do understand the food and the ethos. They may not all have good food, but I don't think it can be said that they don't understand it. I love Sakaya and go there often, but isn't it essentially a small plate fusion place? It certainly isn't a "pure" version of any particular type of Asian food. And not all the plates are small, but when I go I treat it as such and generally try to share several dishes among the group.

Maybe its the aforementioned "civic pride" but I bristle at these comparisons to NY, Chicago and SF. It's true that we lack that uber-high end place like Per Se, Alinea, French Laundry, etc., but there are a lot of very good restaurants in Miami. I eat out way more than anyone should and it is still very hard to get to all the good restaurants in a year (or even two), without even going back to the ones I like most. So maybe Miami has 70-80 really good restaurants and NY or Chicago have 300-400. But their populations are many times bigger and nobody can eat at all 300-400 (or even 70-80) on any kind of regular basis anyhow. I think it is an exciting time for food and restaurants in Miami and tend to focus on all the very good choices we have, as opposed to what we don't have.

I think the food truck roundups are the local version of the Singapore style hawker centre you refer to. Unfortunately, the cities have made those harder to do than I think they should be.

Not sure I agree that the best restaurants are the imports. I think there is a nice and growing selection of locally-grown places:

MGF&D
Michy's
The Pubbellies (incl. Macchialina and Barceloneta)
NeMesis
The Federal
Eating House
Blue Collar (which I think is very good at what they do, which is not haute cuisine)
Red Light

The nature of the neighborhood bistro is that it is a place that generally serves the neighborhood and not necessarily people that come from far away. But there are 2-3 good places near my home and work that meet that description.

miami_african, I disagree with a great deal of what you say here.

1. Burgers are America's most loved food (or at least no. 2). There should be a lot of burger places because Americans love them (myself included). Saying there are too many burger places is not unlike saying Italy has too many pasta places or Japan has too many sushi places, etc. And if you are going to complain about the number of burger places, don't single out the good ones like Shake Shack and Five Guys, which are probably the best of the thin patty fast food style (which to me is a different genre than the thick, steakhouse style burger).

2. Ceviche/sushi/crudo are not a single genre. They come from different places and use different ingredients. Yes, they have raw fish in common. But chicken fingers and coq au vin are both cooked chicken but otherwise have little in common. A grilled porterhouse and vaca frita are both cooked beef but have little in common. Sure, there are places that don't do raw fish especially well, just like there are places that don't do all kinds of different cooked foods particularly well. Sure, it would be great to have fewer bad places and more good ones. that I agree with, but . . .

3. I agree that overpriced places in general are undersirable. But I don't see a proliferation of overpriced Med places. Nor do I see a lot in common between Villa Azur and Juvia (which isn't even Med). It certainly isn't necessary for every restaurant to be a lounge or include lounge in its name. But not all restaurants need to be the same either. I see nothing wrong with a restaurant including a lounge (whether in its name or not). If they do it well and have good food, e.g., Haven, Catharsis, etc., I see no problem with it.

4. Re: latin american cuisine, see above comments re: burger places. As you seem to recognize, Miami has a large latin american population. It should, therefore, have a lot of latin american food. It would be huge shame if it didn't.

5. I happen to like fusion food and street food. I see no reason why chefs should be placed into little boxes and only permitted to make food that is traditional to a particular country or region. In fact, I think it would suck, especially in a diverse melting pot area like South Florida. Not sure what you are really looking for in terms of "proper SE Asian Street food." Do you want actual stands on the street serving pad thai, pho, etc.? 'Cause land use and zoning laws generally won't allow that -- just ask the food truck owners. If not that, what SE Asian street food dishes are you looking for? Every Thai restaurant (and there are plenty of them) has most of the typical Thai street food dishes. The Indonesian restaurants have many of the typical Indonesian street food dishes, etc. Yes, it is true that many of these places also serve sushi because it helps them stay alive and offers something for the less adventurous. So don't order the sushi at those places and stop worrying that someone at the table next to you is eating sushi at a Thai restaurant.

6. Most of the NY imports are pretty good. Have you had multiple meals in both the SoFla location and the NY locations to really be able to say that the SoFla location is not as good? And even if they are not, who cares? Many of them are still very good. When I am having an excellent meal at Scarpetta, DB Bistro, Gotham, The Dutch, Il Mulino, I am not bothered in the least by the possibility that the meal might have been incrementally better if I had it in the NYC location.

7. I love the small plate format. I like to try as many different things as I can. Whether I have 1 bacon-wrapped date in a small plate format or a similar size bite in a 12 course tasting menu makes no difference to me (except that it is usually cheaper at the small plate place). You want 4 bacon-wrapped dates all for yourself? Order it and don't share it. If all 4 of you at the table want 2, get 2 orders.

8. Yes, it would be great to have great Moroccan, Ethiopian and Eastern European places. Unfortunately, there isn't much market for it, as the ones that have been here haven't been successful. I'm not sure what you mean by "proper Italian place." I like Babbo, but there is no shortage of very good Italian places here -- Scarpetta, Il Gabbiano, Toscana Divino, Fratelli Milano, Salumeria 104, Romeo's Cafe, etc. For what it's worth, I like having some pasta to accompany my chicken parmesan (if that kind of American Italian is done well and is what I am in the mood for).

9. There are real neighborhood "bistros". There are small places that serve excellent food that if you go there week after week they'll get to know you by name and you'll see some of the same regulars there. Blue Collar comes to mind as a small place with excellent unpretentious food where the chef/owner is friendly and comes to your table, etc. Not sure where you live and which places you have frequented often enough for them to become the kind of place you are talking about . . . Sure it would be great to have more of those, but I suspect people in every city would say that.

10. I'm not terribly interested in a full on high tea, so I have no real comment on that. There is a growing number of excellent coffee places, such as Panther, Eternity, Roho, etc.

My favorite place in the Upper Keys now is Tasters Grill in the Tavernier Town shopping center (in the back near the movie theater).

http:/tastersgrille.com/

I think it is technically just north of Islamorada, but close enough. Not a typical Keys menu -- but with a few Keys standards. The food is very interesting and very good. You wouldn't know it when you enter the center or the restaurant, but there is waterfront seating in the back too and they have had craft beer tastings back there when I have been there. Definitely worth checking out.

Rincon Escondido on Biscayne around 26th is very good. Tiny place in a strange little strip center, but has a cool atmosphere and the food is very good. Mostly authentic Spanish with a few non-traditional items. Almost all of the tapas I have had have been very good, but I didn't think the paella (which is served in a small, tapas-like portion) was great. That said, I have been underwhelmed by 99% of the paellas I have had. I rarely order it anymore because it almost always disappoints. Maybe I just don't love paella that much.

I would avoid Bubba Gump like the plague -- I think it is awful. Los Ranchos is probably the best bet at Bayside.

Not everything at City Hall is plain jane American, but comfort food American is probably what they do best. I wouldn't get anything that required much subtlety or finesse and I generally don't get fish there, but their fried chicken may be the best in Miami and their chocolate croissant bread pudding and banana cream pie are among the best desserts around. Their burger is very good, as are their chicken wings.

Bin 18 has a good, interesting menu. Another option is Nove Kitchen, which is conveniently located across the street from the trolley stop that will take you to the AAA. Nove is a weird mix or sushi, fried rice dishes, burgers and izakaya-type dishes, but some of them are very good. I like their ceviche and they do a great roast duck (with excellent sweet potato fries). their salmon carpaccio is a hodge-podge of a dish but it works.

You might want to try one of the places in Midtown (Gigi, Sugarcane, Mercadito), which is right at the N. Miami Ave exit off 95 and 195. Harry's Pizzeria is another good choice in that area, but just north of 195 at that same exit. You could stay near $40 pp (w/o drinks) at Sra. Martinez or Michael's Genuine in the Design District too, although you might end up going a little over that.

There is some pretty good food at the Marlins Stadium, including a Taste of Miami section that has some quality local (largely Cuban) specialty foods, so you may just want to eat at the game. For casual in the Brickell area, you may want to try Burger and Beer Joint at Mary Brickell Village, La Moon (Columbian) or the River Oyster Bar (more upscale than the other two, but good happy hour with half priced oysters).

I had the burger at Blue Collar and they describe their bun as a portuguese muffin. It was like a softer, sweeter english muffin and worked pretty well. It is an excellent burger overall, with very good fries too.

For lunch, I'd suggest Fratelli Milano, which was mentioned previously, Ceviche 105, Bali Cafe (Indonesian -- cash only) or Soi Asian Bistro (Thai and ceviches are very good, not as much a fan of their sushi), or Little Lotus (sushi and izakaya/small plates).

For coffee about two blocks from your hotel, go to Eternity Coffee Roasters. Really great coffee -- I think it just edges out Panther Coffee for best in Miami (at least that I have tried).

There isn't much in the way of jazz or piano bars nearby, although I think Soya e Pomodoro (decent Italian in a funky converted bank lobby) may still have live jazz some nights (Thurs-Sat).

Jimmy'z Kitchen has an excellent burger. I have never seen it touted and it is not on the regular menu (although it has been on the blackboard every time I have been there), but it is a 10oz. prime burger that is well-seasoned with great beefy flavor and a good bun. They get extra points from me for serving it with both mayo and mustard on the side to go with the ketchup bottles that are out for the taking. I like to add a bit of their hot sauce too.

I haven't had the Gilbert's burger on the english muffin, but I generally prefer a soft bun for a burger. City Hall has a very good burger, but the bun isn't right. It's the same bread they serve before the meal with the butter pecan butter and is good bread in its own right, but to me it is too crusty for a burger. I'd think the english muffin (assuming it is toasted) would be the same way, but I guess I'd have to try it to really know.

I'd put The Filling Station and Sakaya Kitchen over the Gastropod. I wasn't that enthralled by the burger at Red Light, although I am generally less of a fan of it than many people on this board (which admittedly may be colored by the often atrocious service)..

I don't see the need to spend extra money every time I have a long wait for a table as if spending the money makes the wait less painful. I generally don't like waiting for a table at all, but if I was visiting Miami from out of town, I'd be very happy with a dinner for two at Joe's with an order of medium stone crabs claws (usually around $27), fried chicken ($6), skinny sweets ($7), grilled tomatoes ($7), seafood bisque ($7), and a slice of key lime pie ($7) for under $55, whether I waited for 90 minutes or not. In fact, I'd feel better about the wait if I wasn't paying $70 pp. That is a damn good (and big) meal at Miami's most iconic restaurant for a pretty fair price overall.

I agree. I go to the Take Away 5-6 times for every time I go to the restaurant itself. but I am a local and for a visitor the Take Away may not give the atmosphere/scene they might want.

I haven't had the scallops at Joe's, but their seafood is all very fresh and I'd be surprised if it wasn't good. To stay within your budget at Joe's, share some seafood and the fried chicken, which is very good and very cheap ($5.99, I think, for half a chicken). Get some skinny sweets (potatoes) and Key Lime Pie. I would go for the medium or select stone crabs, but you could do the scallops instead. Joe's Take Away is quick (if you don't want to wait for a table at the restaurant) and has a nice area to sit (but it is counter, not table, service).

For a drink nearby, I like The Room, which is about a block away from Joe's. Very good beer selection in a small but cool room. Probably more of a NYC atmosphere than SoBe, as they have 3 bars in NYC.

You can make reservations online at All'Oro, Roscioli and L'Arcangelo on www.diningcity.com, which is pretty convenient. It is similar to OpenTable, but you will get an e-mail from an actual person confirming your reservations and they can help with special requests, changes, etc.

At Los Chamos, get the Poutine with the shredded beef on it. Ridiculously good. The spiced beef goes perfectly with the peppery gravy and the cheese curds. Poutine is a strange thing to see on the menu for a Venezuelan food truck. Since it doesn't really fit with the rest of the menu, I figured it must be so good that they had to put it on there.

The other stuff (arepas and empanadas) are pretty good and hearty, but nowhere near as good as the poutine.

I skipped dessert the first few times for that reason, but then got the beignets (pumpkin apple beignets that day) on the 3rd trip, which were incredible.

While I enjoy the soft serve ice cream at Pubbelly, they aren't really anything special. If you are a big dessert person, that may tip the scales in favor of Yardbird over the Pubbellies (at least the original).

Ceviche 105 is a good call close to Bayfront Park. Fratelli Milano is a little further inland but is also very good. Bali Cafe (Indonesian) is another option, but is cash only.

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Fratelli Milano
213 SE 1st St, Miami, FL 33131

I'm glad it worked out. Did you get dessert? The chocolate banana cream pie and the chocolate croissant bread pudding are great.

The Design District/Midtown choices that Blind Mind gave are all good. If you want something closer to the Arena, such that you could park at the restaurant, leave the car in the lot or at valet and walk to the game, you might consider City Hall (20th and Biscayne) or Bin 18 (18th and Biscayne). They are about 15 minutes from the arena, but you save on parking and avoid the insanity fo getting your car out of the lots in the arena area if it is a high attendance event.

Graziano's on Bird Road is a short distance off 826 (between 826 and the turnpike) on the way down to the Keys. It's an Argentine steakhouse and maybe the most authentic of the ones in South Florida (including a Quebracho wood burning asador and meats grilled over wood). Looks like they are open til 10:30 on Wednesdays, although that may be cutting it close for you.

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Graziano's Restaurant
9227 SW 40th St, Miami, FL 33165

Those are all good choices. A few others to consider nearby:

City Hall at 20th and Biscayne -- upscale comfort food. Some things are overseasoned in my opinion, but its pretty good overall and within walking distance of your hotel.

NoVe Kitchen -- half a block from your hotel. A hodgepodge of a menu with sushi, bugers and thai food, but most of it is actually pretty good.

Bengal Indian -- Right next to City Hall. Decent Indian food, but I find it needs to be ordered hot/spicy or can be a little too mild.

Ceviche 105 -- Good Peruvian/ceviche downtown. The causa with chicken and tiradito Inti Raymi are very good.

Fratelli Milano -- Very good Italian downtown.

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Fratelli Milano
213 SE 1st St, Miami, FL 33131

I think the rendang is much better at Bali Cafe, which is just a few blocks away. I haven't spent any time in Indonesia so I am not saying it is more authentic there, just that I like it better. Have you been to Bali Cafe? Do you think Little Lotus' rendang is better or more authentic?

I like Little Lotus a lot. The rock shrimp tempura, crispy bok choy and pork belly are very good. The spicy crunchy tuna roll (I add avocado) is very good and very cheap ($4.50 I think). That said, there are some real misses. The Beef Rendang was very mediocre and I really disliked the Mi Goreng (noodle dish), which had a very off-putting smell and taste.