Frodnesor's Profile
Where are the best burger joints in Miami (possibly South Beach)?
I like Shake Shack, it's a good burger for the price (better, and simpler, than Five Guys) and I appreciate that a single is a relatively modest size.
But Burger & Beer Joint would be my choice. It's a little pricier (a 1/2 lb burger starts at $9 and their specialty burgers, usually 10 oz., run about $14 depending on toppings) but they're pretty darn good. The fried pickles are pretty good too. Very casual place, not South Beach trendy.
HELP FOR VALENTINES DAY....My sweetie is craving sea scallops for home cooked romantic meal
Have no idea what their pricing is like, but you may want to try Delaware Chicken Farm in Hollywood, Laurenzo's in North Miami Beach, Captain Jim's in North Miami Beach.
Please comment on the list of restaurants for first week of April
I like La Camaronera quite a bit. I think Versailles is more appealing for the unique atmosphere than the food, which is only OK. I hear good things about Havana Harry's but haven't been. I like Sazon in North Beach but mostly just because it's the closest decent Cuban place to my house.
nyc'er coming to miami for one night
Thanks for the follow-up, always appreciated. A few comments -
1 - Just have to ask for the carcass when you get the whole chicken at MGFD, they'll gladly oblige (I always do too).
2 - I don't know that MGFD is thought of as "new" or "exciting" conceptually (though the farm-to-table thing was a bit moreso 5 years ago when it opened); like most farm-to-table places, it's just good food with a local bent and probably the best example of its kind in Miami.
3 - Sorry to hear that about the Dutch - still haven't gotten over there myself.
Seeking input on some options - Sustain v Yardbird and some others - With thanks!
I prefer the food at Sustain to Yardbird but there are good dishes to be had at both. Sustain may be a little more "Miami," Yardbird's Southern theme really isn't a Miami thing. Yardbird is more "lively" than Sustain, constantly busy and bustling, Sustain has a more peaceful atmosphere.
If you want to do Hakkasan I'd do it for a weekend lunch when they have the dim sum menu.
Michy's is still great and esp. if you've never been is worth a visit.
Fried shrimp anywhere from North Miami Beach to FLL?
Go to La Camaronera on W Flagler St. around 20th. It's not much of a place - a fish market with stand-up counters and fryers behind them - but fried shrimp are their specialty. The fried fish sandwich ("minuta") is excellent too, as are the black-eyed pea fritters.
FOOD SAFETY REPORT
I've generally found the DBPR site is pretty good at finding restaurants by whatever their "common" name is. If it's a new place it may not be in there yet.
FOOD SAFETY REPORT
You can search by name right on the Florida Dept. of Business & Professional Regulation website:
https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp?mode=0&SID=&brd=H
Hankering for paella and spanish Iberico
I've walked by La Dorada literally probably a hundred times and have never tried it. Will have to do so.
Miami Beach Cinco de Mayo
~2 miles vs. ~5 miles and they may have cars. I'd pay the extra cab fare to avoid having to eat at Rosa Mexicano (and I don't even really love Mercadito).
Miami Beach Cinco de Mayo
Mercadito in Midtown is probably doing something too and I think the food is better than Rosa Mexicano (even if I don't love it). The drinks are a lot better. Not a gigantic difference going across the causeway to Midtown vs. going to South Beach from the Palms.
Baby friendly dinner places within 20 minute drive of Hallandale
Lunch is better than dinner as far as the wait, and I have no idea about the stroller thing, but with an infant, I'd just go to Joe's Takeaway next door and have a picnic on the beach or at South Pointe Park.
Hankering for paella and spanish Iberico
I don't know of any Spanish restaurant in Miami that's "mostly Mexican." That said ...
Barceloneta on South Beach does indeed serve paleta de iberico but it is unreasonably expensive ($18/oz). Some of their more contemporary tapas dishes are very good, and I've enjoyed all the rice dishes I've tried there.
Sra. Martinez also has some very good contemporary tapas, they've had jamon iberico occasionally when I've been. The crispy artichokes, eggplant with honey, butifarra with white beans, egg yolk carpaccio, are all great. Never had the paella.
If you really have a hankering for jamon iberico, you're probably better off going to Delicias de España and getting for takeout. Delicias has a very good and well-stocked market but the restaurant and cooked foods are only OK.
For more traditional Spanish, I've had pretty good meals at Rincon Asturiano on SW 17th St. near Flagler, and more recently at Rincon Español down south on Dixie Highway. Asturiano may get jamon iberico de bellota. I've not tried the paella at either place.
I've not had nearly as good meals at Xixon since they moved down the street on Coral Way, not sure why, though some things are still quite good - the croquetas, the "matrimonio" with 2 types of anchovies and manchego cheese.
I thought Andalus in the Design District was overpriced and underwhelming. Their menu is pretty paella intensive - I tried their fideua and it wasn't very good at all.
Baby friendly dinner places within 20 minute drive of Hallandale
Never heard that, but besides, unless you're in with the maitre'd you're due to be waiting for a table, never good with an infant in tow.
Baby friendly dinner places within 20 minute drive of Hallandale
Sit outside at Il Mercato (Hallandale) or Timo (Sunny Isles). Get dim sum at Chef Philip Ho (Sunny Isles). Mexican at Cheen Huaye (North Miami Beach). Japanese at Hiro's Yakko-San (North Miami Beach). There are plenty of options, just have to be prepared at that age for one of the spouses to do "the walk" when the baby starts acting up.
Group dining - unique to Miami
Sustain was going to be my call too. Michael's Genuine will be tough to get a group of 20 (maybe you could buy out the second dining room. Red Light also offers lots of local flavor but will not be as upscale as you may be looking for. 1500 Degrees on the Beach would also work.
Foodie parents coming to miami in 2 weeks--looking for reco's
Federal is a gastropub type of place, you can get an idea of the menu here (this is close but not quite what is presently "on the ground") ->
http://southflorida.menupages.com/restaurants/the-federal/menu
I've paid one visit so far, biscuits with sweetbreads and gravy were great, so was the short rib pot pie, nice salad, pretty good lamb burger. Menu is a bit heavy but I suspect as they expand the repertoire a bit after getting their feet under them that will change.
Place has a nice feel to it for a sort of nondescript strip mall location and a short but well selected list of beers and wines.
I haven't made it to Eating House yet but the first reports I heard from opening weekend have been very good.
Naoe is currently closed as they are building out a new spot on Brickell Key.
Michy's
white gazpacho
bibb lettuce salad w creamy jalapeno dressing
any sweetbread preparation
any foie gras preparation
baked alaska
bread pudding
Szcheuwan/Cantonese chinese restaurant 'near' Aventura
Folks say Lung Gong does authentic Szechuan - I've not yet tried it ->
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/682994
Tuyo?
I've not been but folks I know who have tried it have enjoyed it. The regular menu is very much a list of Norman's "classics" (saffron conch chowder, french toast w foie gras, yellowtail with a "belly" of mashed potatoes, Mongolian veal chop ...) and he's got Jeffrey Brana, who used to be the CDC at Norman's in the Gables with him, so I imagine they're done very much as they were back in the day. Every month they do a "Voyager's Menu" with newer stuff as well.
South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center
I've not been there yet but Forno 52 is a little pizza place that's supposed to have great Neapolitan style pies, and is close by in Palmetto Bay. Check their opening hours. (I had their pizza from a mobile wood-burning oven set up at a Fairchild event and it was very good).
I don't get that far south very often, but Captain's Tavern is down that way (about 10 miles north) and is an old reliable for fish and seafood. I also recently had a nice meal at Rincon Español in the same area.
Szcheuwan/Cantonese chinese restaurant 'near' Aventura
Yakko-San and Makoto are very different places.
Makoto's sushi is much better than Yakko-San's. With Naoe closed, Makoto, along with Sushi Deli, would be tops on my list for best sushi and sashimi.
Yakko-San has a much broader variety of cooked items than Makoto; Makoto has a shorter selection, and what they do is mostly more refined (and more expensive).
Szcheuwan/Cantonese chinese restaurant 'near' Aventura
I've not been but have heard good things about dinner at Philip Ho as well.
Group dinner in Miami in March
Your group would be a tiny bit scattered at Sustain but it could work. There is one long banquette which could probably be set up as tables for 10-12 and then several larger tables in the middle that could also take groups of 8-10.
(I"m sure you'd have trouble buying out MGFD anyway).
Outdoor lunch for Saturday?
I've been to Mercadito several times (though not recently) and just can't get too excited over it. My favorite thing there are the baja style fish tacos, which are excellent, but it drives me crazy that they only sell the tacos 4 to an order and do not allow you to mix and match. (If you go to the casual "taqueria" in front you can order tacos "by the piece," but they don't have the fried fish ones there and what I have had from there is only OK). The food is generally decent or better but nothing has really blown me away other than the cocktails, which are excellent.
Group dinner in Miami in March
The chef now at Azul is relatively new - Michelle Bernstein had been there first, then Clay Conley, it's now Joel Huff. At least a few of the items from that dinner are variations of dishes that appear on the menu.
I like the food at Sustain quite a bit. It's in the same kind of genre as Michael's Genuine - focus on local seasonal ingredients, generally not fussed with too much.
What's up with Gigis?
They don't take reservations and they're not big on answering the phone. I've heard this complaint from others. I suspect Tuesday lunch you won't have trouble with a group of 6 though.
Recommendations during UMF 2012 please (Researched!!)
Cuban restaurants are generally not going to be very vegetarian friendly.
Maybe consider Little Lotus - it's a hole in the wall type Japanese place but with lots of cooked dishes as well as sushi, along with some Indonesian stuff here and there, and several things a vegetarian could eat.
Group dinner in Miami in March
Do you not want to do it in Azul at the Mandarin Oriental? They did a great special event dinner for us a month ago:
http://www.foodforthoughtmiami.com/2011/12/cobayazul-aka-abc-azul-bizarre-cobaya.html
You should talk to Sra. Martinez about doing something at the Crumb & Parchment space across the street. I've had a dinner (for about 35) and a cocktail event (for about 100) in that space and they did an excellent job on both.
DB Bistro Moderne in the JW Marriott Marquis may also have a space, though it's got a slightly stuffy feel to it.
Sugarcane doesn't to my knowledge have another space to use and would probably be tough to buy out. You may be able to get Sustain for a night though I actually don't know if that space seats 90. Could possibly also buy out Area 31 in the Epic on a Tuesday night.
Recommendations during UMF 2012 please (Researched!!)
Pretty good choices but you should flip-flop Sakaya Kitchen and Michael's Genuine so you do the MGFD Sunday brunch (it's not open for Saturday lunch) - and you should make a reservation for brunch, it's always busy.
You may want to consider adding Sustain (Midtown) and Yardbird (South Beach) to your rotation, both serve lunch and both can be vegetarian friendly.
Nothing is jumping out to me for late-night dinner downtown. I'd be inclined to go across to the beach and go to Chow Down Grill or the Alibi.
Just from doing a little research, it looks like these places have light night hours near downtown (though they're on the Brickell side which is not really walking distance) ->
El Vato Tequila and Taco Bar
Burger & Beer Joint
Fado Irish Pub
Of those, I've eaten at B&BJ (the South Beach location, not the Brickell one) and their burgers are solid.
