501984 Sun Mar 23 13:45:59 -0700 2008 6 10 Florida 0 3519951 Hi, I am going to be in Miami for four days next week with the family (5 &7). I am not looking for white linen level. Any recommendations? We are over in the four seasons. Thanks Sun Mar 23 13:45:59 -0700 2008 177265 bigds01 1 3520946 A little more guidance as to food preferences would be helpful, but here's a start focusing first on Brickell area and kid-friendly -> Rosinella - nice simple Italian Deli Lane - not exactly food to go out of your way for, but they do decent breakfast and the pressed duck sandwich is a gem. Tobacco Road - it's a blues bar in the evenings, but they do a decent lunch (good burgers) and you can sit outside River Oyster Bar - may want to look at the menu and make sure there is something the kids will eat. Mary Brickell Village also has chains galore - Oceanaire, PF Chang's, Rosa Mexicano ... plus on Brickell Ave. there are steakhouse chains Capital Grill and Morton's. I've heard very good things about Il Gabbiano on the other side of the Brickell Bridge downtown. If you're venturing out of Downtown/Brickell (and I highly recommend you do) then that opens up your options exponentially, as there are a lot of choices in South Beach, Coral Gables, up Biscayne Blvd., etc. Sun Mar 23 20:58:14 -0700 2008 3519951 35525 Frodnesor 2 3520951 Adding place links -> Sun Mar 23 21:00:46 -0700 2008 3520946 35525 Frodnesor 3 3521464 I would add Grimpa & Tutto Pizza/Pasta to brickell area Mon Mar 24 06:48:46 -0700 2008 3520951 50328 tpigeon 1 3521558 We are foodies, and will be in the coral gables and sobe areas as well. Thanks Mon Mar 24 07:25:54 -0700 2008 3519951 177265 bigds01 2 3521918 Michael's Genuine Food & Drink is a don't miss. Surely you've heard the national praise (incl. #4 on NY Times' somewhat solipsistic recent list of restaurants worth visiting outside of NYC, as well as several other national "top restaurant" lists), but it's generally good simple food that actually really hits the sweet spot with our kids too (10 & 8). My 10-year old in particular is a big fan, he loves the crispy pork belly w/ kim chee and also has wolfed down the buffalo frog legs, the duck confit, and most everything else he's tried there ... His little sister likes their falafel, chips & onion dip, sometimes the pizza. There's also a beautiful roast chicken done in the wood-burning oven. One of the interesting by-products of the trend toward "small dishes" and 1/2 portions is that they're often ideal for the kids (MGFD's menu is divided into "small" "medium" "Lage" and "x-large" plates as well as "snacks" like the falafal and the chips & dip). Here's a good thread with more info -> http://www.chowhound.com/topics/387579 Along the same lines, Michy's is one of the more interesting places to eat in town as well and, we've found, works well for our kids too. Menu changes a bit fairly often and everything is done in half portions. While MGFD tends to focus more on local product, fairly simply but conscientiously prepared, Michy's menu is much more of a grab-bag type approach and often strikes me as riffs on some of the chef's favorite dishes. Again, the 1/2 portion thing usually works great with the kids - my 10-year old will usually get the 1/2 order of the steak frite while we can usually just do a simple pasta for my daughter if she's not feeling adventurous (usually with home-made fresh noodles). Here's a good thread on Michy's -> http://www.chowhound.com/topics/358521 Neither of these are high-brow, elegant "white linen" establishments but they aren't cheap eats either. Also, neither are in particularly touristy parts of town. On South Beach, Joe's Stone Crab is an institution and while you feast on stone crabs, you can feed the kids on the cheap - $5.95 for a 1/2 fried chicken (and it's great fried chicken, too!). Get take-out (available next door to the restaurant) and have a picnic. One of my other favorites on South Beach is Sardinia, which is an Italian place with a focus (surprise!) on Sardinian regional specialties. For me, some of the best stuff is the salumi, vegetable, and cheese antipasti, though I also like the spaghetti with bottarga and the clams or cockles w/ fregola (a pasta similar to an Israeli couscous). To get some local flavor, try some of the cuisines of Latin America, esp. Cuban, Argentinian, and/or Peruvian. While I think the culinary heights of Cuban food can only go so high, a visit to Versailles on 8th Street near Coral Gables is probably something worth doing if you've never been before. The Gables also has one of the top Argentinian parillas (Graziano's) and one of the top Peruvian places (Francesco's) in town. Both of these are somewhat upscale (though not "fancy"), there are more down-scale options available elsewhere. For good simple parillada, I like Las Vacas Gordas in North Beach. None of the foregoing are exactly "hidden gems," but if I had 4 days in Miami as a visitor, some combination of them would definitely be on my list. If you happen to be around the North Beach area, here's my Google Map listing lots of places along, and on either side of the 79th St. Causeway -> http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=114717104716217955697.00000111dca7091ec5330&z=13 We've successfully taken our kids to most of these places. Mon Mar 24 09:08:05 -0700 2008 3521558 35525 Frodnesor 3 3523139 Baires is better than LVG and is in south beach. Neither are as good as Graziano's in the gables. Graziano's on Bird Rd. is the best of all. Mon Mar 24 13:54:34 -0700 2008 3521918 50328 tpigeon