North Beach visit late November/early December, recs, please?

[monpetitescargot]

I searched the board and didn't find any threads specifically on North Beach eats, most threads i did find were quite out-of-date.

So, hit me with your recs. I am totally unfamiliar with the area and have no idea where to go or what to even look for. Help! Thanks in advance.

[Frodnesor]

It's not been updated for some time, but I've got a pretty detailed map of eating options in North Beach and surrounds here ->
http://www.foodforthoughtmiami.com/20...

North Beach is generally good for a variety of Latin American places, all budget-friendly. Some other highlights too. Not an awful lot has changed that's notable. Some high points ->

Around Collins Ave ->
- Buenos Aires Bakery - Miami is not strong on bakeries but this Argentine bakery does what it does quite well. Very good empanadas and excellent churros (10x better than the ones at Manolo down the street).
- Moises Bakery - I always like this Venezuelan bakery. Baked and fried (Venezuelan style) empanadas, tequeños, cachitos, etc.
- Sazon Cuban Cuisine - pretty good Cuban place on Collins, I like their garbanzos fritos, rabos encendido, vaca frita de pollo ...
- El Rincon de Chabuca - pretty good ceviches and other Peruvian standards.
- El Rey de Chivito - home of the Uruguayan heart attack on a bun. But it really is a fine sandwich.
- La Perrada de Edgar - Colombian hotdogs in a variety of unorthodox combinations (aside from ketchup, mayo, "golf sauce", potato sticks, some feature crushed pineapple, whipped cream ...).

For a more upscale meal, I returned to the Grill at Canyon Ranch this past weekend and was very pleasantly surprised. I'm wary of "spa food" but thought just about everything we had was quite flavorful and even satisfying.

Moving toward Normandy Circle ->
- Las Vacas Gordas - solid Argentine pariillada.
- Tamarind Thai - not exceptional, but pretty good Thai food. Encourage them to make it spicy (if you like spicy) as it can be a tad bland otherwise.
- Dolce Vita - good gelato.
- Katana - commodity quality sushi, but it is fun to pluck your plates as they float along the "river."
- Prima Pasta - I've not been nearly as much a fan of this place lately, but it has decent Italian food and some nice outdoor seating.

- for much better sushi, go west on the causeway (71st St. on the Beach, becomes 79th St. on mainland side) to Sushi Deli (a/k/a Japanese Market), a (duh) Japanese market with a small sushi counter that is one of my favorites.

- just at the other end of the causeway, Schnitzel Haus has very good German food. Across the street, Boteco is a funky Brazilian bar with a variety of caipirinhas and food that gets better the more you drink. If you go to Biscayne Blvd., just off the intersection with 79th Street is Red Light, a funky "New American" place on the Little River with some Louisiana and Caribbean influences (excellent New Orleans style barbecue shrimp, always a couple fresh local fish ... you'll find more info on other threads). Across the street, also on the River, I like Anise Taverna, a Greek/Mediterranean place with excellent grilled octopus, sardines, and other goodies.

- a little ways north in Surfside, Chow Down Grill does some very nice contemporary takes on Chinese-American classics, with nice fresh ingredients. Good beer list and a funky place too. Love their dumplings.

- I haven't been in ages, but always have fond memories of Cafe Ragazzi, also in Surfside.

- Lou's Beer Garden, at 74th & Harding (a bit west of Collins) is a neat little place with a great beer selection and a nice tapas-ish menu.

How's that for a start?

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Sushi Deli
1412 79th Street Causeway, Miami Beach, FL 33141

Las Vacas Gordas
933 Normandy Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33141

Cafe Ragazzi Restaurant
9500 Harding Ave, Surfside, FL 33154

Tamarind Thai Restaurant
946 Normandy Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33141

Prima Pasta Cafe
414 NW 71st St, Miami, FL 33150

Red Light
7700 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33138

Sazon Cuban Cuisine
7305 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33141

Katana Restaurant
920 71st St, Miami Beach, FL 33141

Buenos Aires Bakery Cafe
2220 N Flamingo Rd, Pembroke Pines, FL 33028