Each fall for the past several years, my day job has taken me to Miami, where I’ve enjoyed horizontal rain in gale-force winds, Zika fumigation air raids, and plenty of good eats with good company.
Café Avanti. This was my first food love in Miami, primarily for its pollo avanti (roasted chicken topped with prosciutto, eggplant and mozzarella) and especially good caprese — which one might think to be more or less a commodity food, but if you’ve had really good (or really bad) caprese, then you know otherwise. As it was close to my hotel and very tasty, I went there a few times before exploring elsewhere in earnest. Had I remained faithful to Avanti through the ensuing years, I’d probably give it a 10 today; alas, once I ventured farther afield, it slid to a solid 8.
The Bazaar by José Andrés. Try the pork belly bao and the signature “cubano” appetizer.
Casa Tua. Your efforts to walk two whole blocks inland from the beach will be rewarded with some outstanding tenderloin and tasty desserts, in a cheerful and relaxed setting on the hotel’s ground floor.
Pane & Vino. A few years ago, this tight-quartered trattoria felt like something of a discovery — or at least as much of a “discovery” as is possible in this neighborhood — and we were pretty sure that the owners, cooks and servers were all our best amici. Today, for good reason, Pane & Vino usually camps out near the top of Yelp and is an impossible weekend reservation. It’s easily a top five pasta spot for me anywhere (including Italy), and of the numerous dishes I’ve devoured here, only the shrimp risotto didn’t delight. They also do meat nicely, such as the lamb special offered on occasion. As a general rule, I’ve come to avoid truffles and truffle oil, because oversaturation (perhaps to drive home the “Hey, we used truffles! You got your money’s worth!” message?) tends to overwhelm, but here they do truffles just right. And the desserts — baked pear, strawberry mille foglie, raspberry panna cotta — get a Four-M Mmmm!
Front Porch Café. To this day, I still make (with some success) the yummy pesto eggs from their extensive breakfast menu. And if you forgo the front porch, you can dine beneath a glass-bottomed swimming pool.
Forge. Peanut butter and lobster sandwiches. Just do it. And bring earplugs.
OLA. My evening here should be subtitled “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Almost Love Ceviche.” I didn’t care much for ceviche before and haven’t tried it since, but for that one meal, the seafood (etc.) aligned darned near perfectly. The hazelnut-crusted rack of lamb, served with roasted beet salad and goat cheese, is also worth a try.
A Fish Called Avalon. My party crowned as our table’s winning entrée the macadamia-crusted snapper, covered in raspberry beaujolais beurre blanc (which was more like beurre rouge) and served with spinach risotto. For dessert, their not-too-tart “Best Key Lime Pie In America” was a close second to the as-good-as-it-sounds Gran Mariner cranberry / raisin / white chocolate bread pudding, served steamy warm with ice cream and crème anglaise.
LT Steak & Seafood. Occupying the main floor of the Betsy Hotel, LT is one of several restaurants owned by semi-celebrity chef Laurent Tourondel. Of the several we tried, my favorite appetizer (and the second-best of this sort that I’ve tried, the other being at Chicago’s Taverna Siena) was the watermelon / heirloom tomato salad, topped with mint, jalapeño and feta, and drizzled with balsamic. But the real highlight of the evening came first when I first a) watched the meat on the charred bone-in short ribs slowly succumb to gravity and slide from the bone, and then b) took my first bite. The recollection alone is making my mouth water. Grated horseradish added just the right kick, and the jalapeño chimichurri was perfectly bold without being pungent.
WANDERLOOSED 