I've been to Il Gabbiano twice over the past year and was blown away both times.

I can't speak for the fish dishes, but I suggest you reserve an early dinner time so you can be assured of having one of the outdoor tables overlooking the bay.

Is pescatarian their only dining restriction? What wins diners over at Gabbiano is the onslaught of freebie apps. They'll hit your table with bruschetta, sliced parmesan, bread, and fried zucchini chips before you even crack open the menu. It's impressive -- and tasty -- but not if none of that appetizes you.

The Yelp-arazzi had chimed in with a lot of negative reviews when it first opened, and I think it was largely due to the ill-advised "free burger" promo on opening day where things would be hectic. I finally checked in earlier this month and walked away with a positive impression. It opened around the same time as BGR The Burger Joint did on Miracle Mile, and I'd sooner go back to CG than BGR.

A CG is set to open in Merrick soon, and that one will also include the coal-fired pizzas they have in Jupiter.

I think we're all getting so jaded because of all of the presumably "gourmet" burger joints opening all over town, that few seem to stand out. The food truck burgers (the Macho from Latin Burger and the Mad Love from Latin House Grill) put some of these "gourmet" burgers to shame. Still, I did have a good time at CG, but perhaps it's because I went with low expectations after the negative reviews.

The baguette is wearing a tie, though.

Tough crowd here. A chain with 180 restaurants in Spain -- and ZERO outside of Spain, until the Miami ones open -- is getting heat for having a website in Spanish?

There is an "International Development" section in English to solicit franchisees. I trust when the eateries open that there may be an English standalone site or at least an English tab on the Spain site..

Wow, I didn't think Pizza Rustica would bring out love AND hate. To me it's adequate pizza. The value is fair given the thick slices. There's one with proscuitto and egg that I really liked, though the regular cheese slices are somewhat chewy and bland.

There is one that is about to open in South Miami on Red Road and US1. That's going to be the real test. The South Beach locations do well because there's a lot of tourist and local pedestrians walking around looking for cheap substance. The spot in South Miami is NOT in a pedestrian friendly spot at all, so it's going to have to earn its drive-to traffic.

Having hit the original Whopper Bar in Orlando, I can assure you that it won't be much of an upgrade from Miami Subs. It's a marginally updated Burger King with just a couple of extra ways to top your Whopper.

After seeing longer lines at Panda Express and Moe's (all three share the same building at Universal Citywalk), I wasn't impressed. Then again, it's probably a better stylistic fit in SoBe than another Burger King.

The great thing about Cuban food is that if it is NOT cheap then it's not authentic. The places that try to take it up a notch -- like Lincoln Road's Yuca -- lose the authenticity along the way.

If you're staying in South Beach, scscr's suggestion is solid. You also have a pair of David's Cafe (on 10th & Collins & on 16th & Meridian) eateries that will fit the bill. Though, to be fair, the iconic Cuban eateries -- Versailles, La Carreta, Casa Lario, Havana Harry, Las Vegas, Palacio de los Jugos (for an open market feel) -- are in Miami and not South Beach.

The saddest thing about that link is the "coming soon" promise -- only to realize that it's from 2005.

I remember hitting the 8th street location a few times in the 1990s. It was always a colorful scene since the place was in front of a cemetary yet down the block from several of the sleazy "by the hour" Calle Ocho motels.

There was always a few aloof patrons, prostitutes, and panhandlers. It was odd, but everyone seemed to mean well. The doughnuts were marginally better than Krispy Kreme, but probably so much tastier now -- in retrospect -- because it's unattainable.

And just for those who get stumped looking for The Blonde Giraffe on US1, it changed its name to Key Lime Pie Factory awhile back, but it's the same owners-recipe of Key West's Blonde Giraffe.

I think their pie knocks the crab shells out of Joe's (which I never got to try until AFTER the original pie guy passed away -- so maybe it was better back then).

Then again, I'll also confess to liking the chocolate-dipped key lime slices they occassionally sell at Key Lime Pie Factory, so I'll lose points with the purists.

Heck, I'll lose all credibility at this point and say that one of the tastiest pie revelations is the Mango Key Lime Pie that they sometimes sell at Publix. At least it's better than the regular key lime they sell there.

I'd pass on Tokyo in EPCOT, too. It's not any better -- and likely worse -- than your local Benihana's. The Morroco suggestion is a good one. My two favorites are France and Canada.

Canada's Le Cellier may seem like an unlikely choice but it's one of the first EPCOT eateries to book solid (by the way, don't forget to phone ahead for priority reservations, since even during the low season of October, some restaurants do fill up). Canada's Le Cellier is a steakhouse, but the signature dishes are a beer and cheddar soup and the pretzel bread appetizers.

And I'll be the fifth person to give Boma a thumbs up. I've taken the "I hate buffet" people and they walk away wowed. There are some pretty unexpected flavors to be experienced. And if your husband isn't a foodie, at least he knows he can get something else if he doesn't like what he's eating. Jiko next door will give you a more conventional fine dining experience, but don't dismiss Boma.

I'm heartened to see Frod give the nod to Houston's. It really is one of the best burgers I've had in town. Staying with Gables burgers, Yard House and Oneburger have yet to let me down with their burgers.

If your plan is to park in downtown South Miami and want to be able to walk to all three places, you have plenty of options. Yes, Bougainvillea is cozy for drinks, but RA Sushi, Lario's, and even Martinibar are all within a block or two if you want to mix it up with entirely different bar-centered themes.

There are too many dinner ideas, but I'm a big fan of Alta Cocina for dessert. I've stopped just for the white chocolate raspberry bread pudding and the fried banana beignets after dinner elsewhere.

Yard House impressed me too, since I figured a chain restaurant coasting on the gimmick of having 130 beers on tap would phone it in on the food. Thankfully, it didn't.

Went there last Friday, able to shoehorn myself into the media opening. It was a great way to check it out since the servers kept coming around with small portions of a wide chunk of the menu. So I didn't have to bust my gut and still check out nearly a dozen different items (cheeseburgers, pizza, crabcakes, pork egg rolls, pork loin, country-fried chicken, sirloin, spinach dip, summer salad, etc.). I walked away more impressed with the apps than the entrees, though the burger (served a quarter at a time, but I managed to wolf down 3/4ths of one), spinach dip, and summer salads left the best impression. The burger is juicy and the potato bread roll is something I wouldn't mind blowing up and sleeping on.

Went back after the Mother's Day crowds died down on Sunday to check out the menu items I was eyeing that didn't make the rounds on Friday )(amazing chicken tortilla soup, by the way), and enjoyed both visits, thoroughly.

Merrick needed a place like this, since the place appears to be a restaurant graveyard save for a few exceptions like Villagio. It's Bal Harbour in ghost town form, and it needed a place like this to make Merrick accessible to more than just well-to-do poodle walkers who send out their nannies with the kids to burn energy in the waterplay fountains as they shop.

The Yard House space itself has gone through a few cursed tenants like Pescado. Let's hope this breaks the curse. I like its chances.

Ordering takeout from Red Fish would be like falling in love with Jessica Simpson for her mind. Folks go there for the vibe and the desolate dinner location, not the merely adequate food and limited libations. It's hard to imagine anyone driving through the Matheson Hammock maze just to take the food out. The beach -- okay, lagoon -- crowd that's already there thins out considerably by the time it opens for dinner. By the time they've been baking out in the sun that long, waiting for takeout isn't a savory notion.

I'm with Sarah, enjoy Matheson Hammock as a way to battle the beach crowds elsewhere with a unique swimming hole experience and some cool nature trails. There is also no harm in heading out to Red Fish Grill for dinner as a standalone experience (if you're scoring on style points).

If it's a "good scrambled egg dish" that you're looking for, have you hit Delicias de España yet, on 57th and Bird (next to Allen's)?

The scrambled eggs with either serrano ham or Spanish chorizo, served with fresh-sliced potato crisps really hits the spot, if you don't want to venture off and try some of the more Spaniard dishes on the menu.

You will be a crosswalk away from Downtown Disney, so that opens a ton of choices. You will also be right by the Disney resort bus stop, so you can always catch a complimentary Disney bus to the hotels that have more interesting fare than you perhaps would find in Downtown Disney like Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Fort Wilderness, Boardwalk, and Animal Kingdom Lodge. They all have interesting eateries, and even the buffet restaurant at Animal Kingdom -- Boma -- will tickle your buds in new ways (yes, it's NOT like every other buffet restaurant in town). Boma's sister restaurant Jiko offers more conventional high-end fare. The best thing about Animal Kingdom Lodge is that if you book a meal before sunset you will be able to walk around and enjoy the animals before your meal.

Ice Box Cafe is built for brunch and is right by you. Front Porch is another popular breakfast spot, but it's a few blocks further out.

16th and Washington also makes the Lincoln Road outdoor brunch hotspots like Van Dyke and (to a lesser extent) Nexxt compelling choices. Since it's impossible to know what tickles your buds, the sites to all of these eateries have their menus online.

Asian Fusion? Cuban? You may be able to kill two birds with Oriente at the Cardozo a few blocks away from Delano.

I guess the tricky part is that you want "sceney" without it being "cheesy/touristy" as there are plenty of memorable places (like Barton G., B.E.D., & Tantra) with immemorable food (even though I'm willing to lose Chowhound-cred by saying that I've actually enjoyed the food at Baron G.).

Prime 112 has also been brought up. It is NOT walking distance (unless you wear comfortable shoes, as it's more than a mile away) but it would definitely fit the bill as an expensive sceney place for food & drinks. As for the food at Prime 112, the steaks are more than adequate, but the sides (the rum-soaked plantains and the mac & cheese) blow even the best chophouses away.

Hip Hop Soda Shop is another, though it's relatively new and I haven't been there.

http://www.hiphopsodashop.com

There are a few problems with offering a flat discount, especially at something like 35%:
-- It would probably have to be offered to EVERYONE, so the restaurant will be leaving money on the table from customers who showed up there without knowing about Spice.
-- Many of these restaurant would be ghost towns in late July, if patrons knew that menu-wide discounts were around the corner.
-- Since a lot of people probably tip 15-20% of the final Spice tab (instead of the actual normal value of the meal) shaving 35% off the meal will also likely mean shaving 35% off the tip, so retaining wait help might be a challenge (even if they do make it up in volume).
-- Every restaurant is different, but larger chains spend between a quarter to a third of net sales on food costs alone. Cutting off 35% from the prices would mean that food costs alone would eat up nearly have of that. Restaurants can hook up with an Entertainment card or Restaurants.com to offer deeply discounted vouchers, but those are usually one-off deals. A restaurant would have a tought time using Spice as a loss leader.

I've found that the better the value that the Spice menu is, the least likely the restaurant is to offer it up. Places like Rosa Mexicano & Por Fin where the Spice menus offer negligible savings have no problem promoting the spice menu. However, at Capital Grille the other day, you did have to ask for the spice menu (which is a monster deal there, as just one of the featured steaks is worth more than the whole full-course Spice meal).

However, after asking for the Spice menu at Capital Grille, we were still treated like royalty. So I don't judge a Spice restaurant on its ability to procure the menu. If you're a place like Capital Grille or Bourbon Steak you do NOT want a diner who is more than happy paying going prices to be talked down into paying less for more. It's there, like a locals discount or a secret speakeasy password or the In-N-Out off-menu.

If you're looking for scientific tweaks in cooking, how can you go to Chicago and not go to Moto?

I'll third -- or fourth -- the call on Delicias. The place probably rakes in more business for their breakfasts than they do during the lunch and dinner dayparts.

Gables Diner is another earlier rec in this thread that seems to be more popular for its breakfast (at least on weekends) than the rest of the day.

And while it's not going to be the best choice, if you are stuck at MIA for breakfast, you can get a reasonable Cuban breakfast there at the La Carreta.

If you're limiting it to counter service you're going to be sorely disappointed. Animal Kingdom actually has pretty decent counter-service (the barbecue heading towards Dinoland and the Pizzafari eatery as you head towards Africa are pretty good). If you want variety in counter service with a little entertainment, Cosmic Ray's (in front of the Tomorrowland speedway, next to the Mad Tea Cups) has three counters serving entirely different menu items. Some of the EPCOT countries do have passable counter service if you can't eat in the table service restaurants (like China), but counter service is the one thing that all of the non-Disney parks in the area do better.

Unfortunately, the good meals to be had inside of the parks are all table service.

The bakery you are probably thinking of is Knauss Berry Farm -- on 248th St. -- just a few blocks West of Krome. I think they're closed now (open from October to April). Great sticky buns, amazing breads, surprisingly memorable strawberry shakes. I can't vouch for the pies, though it has to be one of the few places down here where you can find shoo fly pie, if that floats your boat. No chocolate cake, though, as far as I can recall.

Today's Herald reports that the Cafe Tu Tu Tango space will go to a dueling piano concept out of Europe called Crazy Pianos.

Wasn't there a dueling pianos concept that came and went in the old Improv space several years ago?

Isn't Randazzo's supposed to be moving into a bigger space soon?

It's a great choice, IMO. The Sunday Gravy there is one of my favorite Italian dishes in the area. Cool vibe, huge portions. It's a small place, but shouldn't be crowded since you're going on a weekday.

As for Maggiano's, even though both eateries have the "Little Italy" slapped at the end, Randazzo's quality is a bit better. The portions are huge, but not family-style huge like Maggiano's. Since you like Maggiano's, I'd venture to say that you will really like Randozzo's. Your vegetarian daughter will cringe at the size of the meatball and sausages in the Sunday Gravy, but there are plenty of simple pasta dishes available.

It's good to know about Misha's. Wing Zone closed down last month, so it may be in that space.

It's the original Tu Tu Tango in Miami that is closing this month. Cool place. As long as you don't go overboard on the tapas and drinks you'll be fine.

Bahama Breeze has been hit or miss for me. If you're teens, it's a good bet because the menu is pretty varied despite the Caribbean bent.

Sweet Tomatoes is definitely not gourmet food, but it's a big winner on the buffet front if you're comparing it to the others in the area (Ponderosa, Golden Corrall, etc.).

Between the fresh-tossed salads, the pasta stations, the soup bar, the baked goods station, etc. there will be something for everybody.

Maggiano's is a cozy, themed, family-style restaurant. It works for me.

Yes, the Muvico will be a stylistic improvement to the AMC (which deteriorated into perhaps the worst AMC in the area -- I'd use it as a theater when I wanted to see a hot movie on opening weekend at an empty theater), but if the new Cocowalk was serious about walking their walk, they'd have sought out Cobb's Cinebistro to go smaller yet more upscale than just hope that Muvico will skew older (unless I'm missing something, the Pembroke Pines Muvico demographics aren't that different). I can only imagine the concessions that Cocowalk will have to give to Muvico, because Muvico is going to have to spend a pretty penny in upgrading those theaters.

Anyone give Cocowalk a shot of lasting much longer? Coyote Ugly didn't even make it to its first year anniversary. The Grove is in dire shape. If Cocowalk wants older clientele, why is it replacing AMC with a Muvico? The only reason it wants to get older is because the younger crowd is now in South Miami-Gables-Design District-SoBe. It's not aiming older on purpose. It's aiming older by default.

I'm taking good memories of TTT with me, but have to realize that if even TTT couldn't cover the rent and the landlord let it get away with it for several months, that it will be hard for any concept to be persuaded to open up there, investing in leasehold improvements at a potential ghost town.