Your Miami choices are all solid. Timo's will be the closest, only a few minutes from Hollywood.

If you're way into seafood and sushi then you should make a reservation at Naoe, on Brickell Key. Second option would be Makoto in Bal Harbour.

I've never eaten at the Standard but have heard generally good things - not that I'd necessarily venture to go there if I wasn't already there, but I wouldn't avoid it if it's convenient.

I've not yet been for dinner but have had several good lunches at Bulla (formerly Por Fin) and I'm sure dinner is just as good. Pascal's on Ponce is reliably good French food - not quite high-end, but more upscale than a bistro. Graziano's does very good Argentine parrillada and also has a very good wine list. It might be a bit of a stretch for a walk (about a mile), but Eating House has lots of fun, creative dishes and is another good option.

Nemesis is a very good suggestion.

Other than maybe northern FL where you might find muscadines, I don't believe grapes are grown locally commercially at all, so wherever you get them, they're going to be from somewhere else.

If you don't want to make 2 stops, I'd go to Sparky's Roadside BBQ which is just off Biscayne Blvd. on NE 1st St. and walking distance to the arena. If you want something more posh, you can go to DB Bistro in the Marriott Marquis, or Area 31 or Zuma in the Epic.

The menu is not really as conducive to making your own tasting menu as it used to be. Where it used to be that pretty much anything on the menu was available as a 1/2 portion or full, it mostly follows a more standard appetizer / entree format these days. Several of the appetizers are still done as 1/2 or full size, but this basically makes them either solo apps or shareable.

I'll still typically order 3 of the smaller plates just for the sake of variety, but I miss the 1/2 order option across the board because - unlike many places - several of the best dishes are in the entrees. The short ribs are classic, the fettuccine carbonara is excellent (but incredibly rich), the salmon w caviar butter and the yellowtail with curry are great too, but all require a commitment to an entree now.

I still have never done the tasting menu there and really probably ought to remedy that oversight.

Just a little geographical clarification: the Ramada Plaza Marco Polo is in Sunny Isles Beach - not North Beach. "North Beach" isn't actually a real municipality or anything but is used to refer to the northern part of Miami Beach (i.e., from around 62nd Street to about 85th Street). The Marco Polo is about 100 blocks, and about 5 miles, north. Then just to make things even more confusing, "North Miami Beach" IS a municipality which is roughly parallel to Sunny Isles Beach, but on the mainland side (i.e., NOT on the beach).

Anyway ....

Very close by you have Timo and Chef Philip Ho. Not very far at all you have Hiro's Yakko San and Bourbon Steak. For more suggestions, check this thread and those linked within it, or search "Sunny Isles," "Aventura" (another nearby city) or "North Miami Beach"

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/883010

With limited time and a desire to avoid too many taxi fares, I would focus on one area rather than run around, and if you're interested in Art Deco architecture, it may as well be South Beach. 1001 Ocean Drive is an Art Deco Welcome Center, I don't know if I'd quite call it a museum. There is, however, a very interesting museum at 1001 Washington Ave., the Wolfsonian, which focuses on early 20th century art & design. The Bass Museum is also fairly close at 21st St. & Collins Ave.

Tap Tap is not remotely fancy but it's not a dive either. I think you'd be hard-pressed to find much more upscale for lunch on South Beach for $15-20 (but see comment on Milos below), and if you're looking for some "local flavor" it's a good choice.

You could also go take-out from My Ceviche (tasty but not unhealthy) but that's even more downscale, basically grab & go and picnic at South Pointe Park. You could do the same from Joe's Stone Crab but will have trouble staying under $20 if you want stone crabs.

Across the street, Milos has a very good 3-course lunch deal for $24 and is very much more upscale than any of those other alternatives - but there's not much "local" about it even though it's a seafood place (most of the product is flown in from the Mediterranean).

Club Deuce, on the other hand, is indeed a dive bar. If that's what you're looking for. Broken Shaker is a great place with very good cocktails and a wonderful atmosphere, but I don't think it's really operating during daytime hours (I could be wrong).

You can get a Cuban sandwich at the airport and save having to schlep it around with you - there are several Cafe Versailles outlets and La Carreta at Terminal E.

Petit Rouge in North Miami is doing one:
http://www.miami.com/node/330270

If you can't get into Naoe, omakase at the sushi bar at Makoto is a good substitute.

Miami is not big on the tasting menu format. Michy's will do it. Tuyo does one that is sort of a "Norman Van Aken's Greatest Hits." If you ask her, Micah Edelstein at Nemesis will put out plates for the table to share until you cry uncle. Macchialina (another Pubbelly place, this one Italian) offers a 5 course chef's tasting menu for the table to share. Scarpetta does a 4-course "tasting" menu. Area 31 offers a 5-course. The Restaurant at the Setai doesn't seem to have it up on its website right now but usually offers a full-blown tasting menu.

If your timing is right, you may hit on special event dinners at DB Bistro, Gotham Steak or a few other places that do them semi-regularly.

OK, busted. Still, I was picking up takeout pretty regularly (and anonymously) up until about 3-6 months ago and never noticed any decline. (I've never been to the downtown location and can't speak to that).

Curiously I was just there (Midtown) after not having been for quite a while and don't agree at all - in fact, I was literally saying to myself "Damn, I forgot how good these banh mi buns and kalbi-chunked spicy tots were."

Go to Josh's Deli in Surfside. Nova-style salmon, cured, smoked or pastrami style, all done in-house. It's a restaurant, not a retail outlet, but he can probably hook you up.

I often see blood oranges even at Publix these days, or Fresh Market, Whole Foods. Porcini powder you should be able to find at a gourmet market like Epicure in Sunny Isles or maybe Laurenzo's in NMB. Bottarga will be the hardest to find locally but is pretty easily obtainable from online retailers.

Papaya, avocado and tomatoes are all grown in South Florida, and heirloom tomatoes this time of year are excellent as is. Typically FL avocado season is more often seen in the summer than now.

In response to OP, the season for most fruits and veg in South Florida is fall - spring, with mangoes and avocados being the primary summer crops.

Just came back from a great meal there (you inspired me). In addition to previously mentioned items, conch chowder, pecan-dusted grouper, key lime pie were all excellent.

empanadas, duck egg - cheese broil, quail, ribs, burger; any fish w Kris is usually good too but I haven't yet had at Florida Cookery.

Great recap, thanks for taking the time.

If you go about 25-30 blocks north, there are much more casual options available in North Beach - Buenos Aires Bakery, El Rey del Chivito, Mosies Bakery, Sazon Cuban, Mr. Taco all right on Collins. The Publix around 69th & Collins may be your closest real grocery store (and it is newly refurbished and one of the nicer Publixs - which is sort of damning with faint praise, but it's not all bad).

Very similar question recently asked here as far as best neighborhood for close proximity to good dining:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/890852

Have you ever tried Bella Cuba at 16th & Washington? (I have not). Not sure if it ought to be added to the customary "South Beach Cuban Restaurant" list.

Some things don't change. I said much the same nearly six years ago, except then the "Signature Menu" was $110:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/396865

One small note: it's actually pretty traditional Japanese to serve soup as a final course.

After 6 years, let me officially rescind my Siam Bayshore recommendation and instead substitute Panya in North Miami Beach, which is leagues better than any other place I've tried in South Florida, and with a somewhat broader and more interesting menu.

I also hear good things about Ricky Thai in North Miami but haven't tried it yet.

Khong River House, recently opened on South Beach, is interesting in that it focuses on Northern Thai food. We had a special event dinner there that was excellent; one visit for a regular dinner was a bit inconsistent on execution but I like what they're trying to do.

Nice recap, thanks for doing so - always good to get feedback on the recommendations here.

OP was looking for a neighborhood to stay that was convenient to (1) dinner on Saturday night; and (2) breakfast Sunday morning, so they could avoid renting a car. That would suggest they want a neighborhood where they can walk to dinner and breakfast - not necessarily one that's convenient to the airport.

If I had one night in Miami and wanted to avoid renting a car, I'd likely stay at the SLS or somewhere nearby, go to Bazaar for dinner, have drinks at Bar Centro, or Gale (isn't that one of your recs?), or the W, or one of the other nice hotel bars nearby (Raleigh, Rose Bar in the Delano ...), and in the morning see if I had time to duck into Paul Bakery or maybe the Dutch bakery counter before leaving. If not, you're right that the eating at MIA is not as terrible as it used to be, I had a perfectly decent breakfast at Beaudevin recently too.

There's about a $10 difference on taxi rates to Downtown v. South Beach ($21.70 vs. $32) ($5 difference if you take a SuperShuttle):
http://www.miami-airport.com/hotel_sh...

Completely second this. Lantana is outside my usual turf and I've only gotten there once, but Pizzeria Oceano is really special. Great ingredients and excellent pizza.

I have no difficulty discerning between price and value. I have not been to Setai since the latest chef change, but my last experience with their $120 tasting menu was heavy on luxury ingredients and light on flavor. The tasting menu is now $155. For that price, or going a la carte with appetizers ranging from $14-38 and entrees $29-58, they better knock it out of the park.

Part of my problem with Setai is that the menu's Asian bent sets itself up for very difficult comparisons. That least expensive appetizer is a $14 Tom Kha Gai soup. That is probably nearly 3x what it will cost anywhere else. Is it 3x better than the soup at Panya? I really doubt it. They sell dim sum for $12-22 an order. You can probably get dumplings just as good at Philip Ho for 1/3 the price (the chef at Philip Ho made the dim sum at the Setai for 5 yearsi).

The service was excellent when I was there and the space is beautiful.

Trust me, I have no hesitation spending money on a great meal. But particularly for someone who describes themselves as "value-conscious," Setai would not be my recommendation.

I would drop Nobu and/or add MGF&D.

Dolce Vita gelato - locations in South Beach, Normandy, and Coconut Grove.