In Miami (SoBe area) April 23-26th with 3 foodies

[Suresh]

Hey everyone,

Been reading the board to catch up on where to eat when 4 of us are in SoBe for 4 days next weekend.
It's our first time in Miami, and we're all big foodies/writers from Toronto, Canada.
Was wondering if you can help us find some good eats.
Here's the map I've put together with a lot of help from Jackie at Michael's Genuine Kitchen.
http://sptl.co/gMFb0d

We've all dined at top michelin star restaurants, and would prefer to skip those in Miami and go for some authentic bites and unique experiences.

Am I missing any restaurants on that list that you think we should check out?
For a splurge night, two in group wanted to consider the new Boulud place. http://lifeandtimes.com/dishing-with-...

Thanks a lot guys.

[Suresh]

Thanks for all the help guys. Updated the pegs with your suggestions, we've got a lot, and hopefully we make a dent.
If anyone is going to the cutler street food event or the one in wynwood tomorrow, we will be there.

thanks again.

[rebus1805]

I strongly recommend that you eat at Sugarcane at 3252 NE 1st Ave. Small plates, great tastes, great bar scene and always mobbed. Their brussel sprouts in balsamic is as good as it gets. I never eat brussel sprouts anywhere but at Sugarcane I love them. Bacon wrapped dates stuffed with Manchego cheese is another fav. Outside patio has a great Miami vibe. Last time we had pear cobbler for dessert and it was outstanding. Enjoy.

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SUGARCANE raw bar grill
3252 1st Ave NE #115, Miami, FL 33137

[LargeLife]

As always....tpigeon and frod are right on the money!......Joe's is far from being a tourist trap....you can eat stone crabs at a bunch of different places and for whatever reason.....they just don't taste the same.......

EMac
Ft. Pierce, FL

[taiga]

How about Joe's Fried Chicken?

[Suresh]

Thanks guys, we're narrowing down our list best we can, and we will have a car for the entire trip, so driving around shouldn' t be an issue.

It looks like we are doing NAOE after all.
Can anyone comment on Tony Chan's and these places?
De Rodriguez Cuba
Timos Restaurant
Acqualina Resort and Spa
Sole on the Ocean, new trending hotel
State Park, Oleta
Spanish Monetary
H Restaurant

Much appreciated. Can't wait. The food truck issue is really hot in Toronto right now, so would be great to get some perspective on it.

Too bad about Panther coffee, I'll make a note on the map.

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NAOE
175 Sunny Isles Boulevard, Sunny Isles Beach, FL 33160

Timo Restaurant
17624 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles, FL 33160

[tpigeon]

I have heard toronto chinese food is very good. If that is the case, I would recommend against Tony Chan. Which is not bad but not worth a trip.

I have not been to any of the others. Note that De Rod is now De Rod ocean.

[Frodnesor]

Just to expand on that: the D. Rodriguez Cuba restaurant that was in the Astor Hotel closed. The restaurant in the Bentley Beach Hotel on Ocean Drive is now known as D. Rodriguez Cuba (used to be D. Rodriguez Ocean), and has a menu that looks to be a hybrid of the two places - mostly contemporary Cuban, not as exclusively seafood-focused as D. Rodriguez Ocean.

If you are interested in Chef Rodriguez's cooking, you might want to consider Ola, which is perhaps more his flagship.

I am a Timo fan and it is a semi-regular rotation place for us. I have not been, but have not exactly heard a lot of raves about H Restaurant. The restaurant at Acqualina is Il Mulino (a spinoff with some relation to the NY restaurant) which also doesn't get much attention. I'm not aware of any restaurant at Sole on the Ocean. There's a decent little place on the edge of Oleta Park, Blue Marlin, that has some decent smoked fish, not a bad place to grab lunch.

I assume you're staying in Sunny Isles and that's why you have so many places around that area.

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Timo Restaurant
17624 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles, FL 33160

[Suresh]

Thanks frodnesor, will keep Ola in mind, and yes I meant D. Rodriguez Cuba. Going to book Timo now based on your rec.
We're staying at the Carlton, these places were suggested by someone from Sunny Isles, so hence the close proximity.

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Timo Restaurant
17624 Collins Avenue, Sunny Isles, FL 33160

[Suresh]

Yeah I think we're going to skip Tony Chan's. The fact that shark fin and sea bass is on the menu isn't sitting well with us. thanks tpigeon

[lax2mia]

That's quite a list you've got going! Just keep in mind some of these places are a haul from South Beach so you'd need some form of transportation (some are accessible by taxi, others such as Graziano's require a car - sorry, no Metro in Miami).
You've gotten great suggestions from the CH gurus but hopefully these tips will help:
- Panther Coffee still hasn't opened, we're waiting with bated breath
- The Jimmy'z location in Wynwood is a lot airier than the South Beach spot (plus mofongo is on the menu every day). It also makes a good starting point to explore the Wynwood Arts District if you're so inclined.
- El Palacio de los Jugos can be intimidating from size, selection and noise. Be ready for this one.
- Agree with Frod, DB is good but kind of an aseptic hotel restaurant. I'd replace the splurge with something like Hakkassan at the Fontainbleau.
- Eater Miami has a good, if sometimes contentious, list of restaurants in Miami that could be a good starting point (http://miami.eater.com/tags/the-eater-38)

[taiga]

The Palacio de los Jugos on Coral Way is much more accessable and much easier for tourists. There is a certain "color" to the Red and Flagler location with the great view of the gas station and bathroom supply stores; however, to the untrained novice, the Coral Way location might spare you a car dent or two.

[Frodnesor]

You're in luck if you prefer to skip top Michelin star restaurants, as there are none of those in Miami. I mean, aside from the fact that Michelin doesn't cover Miami, it's not really the local dining style anyway.

I'd add that if that's not what you want, I would probably pass on DB Bistro Moderne. It's very well executed, meticulous cooking, and good for what it is (somewhere between bistro and upscale French), but it's a hotel restaurant that is unfortunately somewhat lacking in personality and gives very little local flavor.

There are several other places you should at least consider adding to your list - Michelle Bernstein's restaurants (Michy's or Sra. Martinez), Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill, Sustain, Red Light, Gigi, Pubbelly all would give a good sense of the local zeigeist in various ways ... Joe's Stone Crab for an old school institution that still has great food (if you like stone crabs), or Graziano's as TP suggests for more carnivorous tastes.

Also just a FYI that the food trucks' locations are often changing. There are some semi-regular gatherings but you can't be assured of finding any of the ones on your map at those particular locations any given time.

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Joe's Stone Crab
11 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139

Red Light
7700 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33138

Sra. Martinez
4000 NE 2nd Ave., Miami, FL 33137

Graziano's Restaurant
9227 SW 40th St, Miami, FL 33165

[tpigeon]

American noodle bar is a good option too. Make sure you get the carrot cake.

[Suresh]

Thanks Guys!.
Yeah I see that one of my collaborators has added more places on the map, including Naoe!.

I meant to mention that the food truck pegs are merely there for reference so we know not to forget about them, we'll look them up for current info of course

Added shake shack (never been), jimmy's to the list, Red light, Sugarcane, Michy's and Sra as well, they look great. Thanks for the tips. By looking at the sites, I can say that this is exactly the stuff we were looking for.

Is Joe's Stone crabs really worth it? seems like an overly tourist thing to do.

If you're ever in Toronto, please look me up on spotlighttoronto.com and i will return the favour.

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Michy's
6927 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33138

[tpigeon]

Joe's is certainly worth it - especially if you have not tried stone crabs before, which are native to florida. If you don't want to deal with the big ordeal that joes is, do joes takeaway and get some stone crabs there.

Joes is an institution which invented the concept of eating stone crabs with mustard. It has been around for 100 years -- longer than the citiy of miami beach itself.

[mikek]

I actually prefer doing the takeaway for lunch rather than the ordeal that the restaurant can become. They have most of the menu, you can sit in there, pull a bottle of wine off the wall and not have to deal with the wait.

[Frodnesor]

Second. Joe's is not just a tourist trap. Yes, there are a lot of tourists who go, but it is an old school institution which still has good food. Most locals will still go at least once a season and many are regulars.

[taiga]

I found American Noodle Bar's noodles (in styrofoam) barely edible and inelegant. I took three internationals -- none liked anything they ordered, from the overly chalky noodles to the excessively sweet and "peculiar" sauces. Maybe we are all jaded by all the varieties of extraordinary everyday noodles we have eaten in Asia, but it did not work in any way. I'd never return.

[tpigeon]

That's because you didn't try their carrot cake. Their bahn mi aint bad either.

[taiga]

Is the criticism fair?

[tpigeon]

I was talking about your never return part of the remark. It is fine if you don't like their noodle soup but that doesn't mean you would not like their other dishes.

[Frodnesor]

I go to American Noodle Bar about once a week. I don't find the noodles chalky and I don't find the sauces either sweet or peculiar (I've had the sriracha, the lemongrass, oxtail, duck and pork broths that I can recall). I'm also a fan of their banh mi, the edamame hushpuppies, and the pickle plate is always full of some intriguing flavors.

I might give you "inelegant" but at $7 a bowl ...

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American Noodle Bar
6730 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33138

[taiga]

To both of you for whom I harbor great respect, I will try again and order banh mi and carrot cake -- this is my promise. And for Frod, thank you for the grudging acknowledgement toward the inelegance. I suppose my hopes were too high when I went.

[ankimo]

coming back for a couple meals to try the new places -- Pubbelly is my top new one to try.
is Gigi worth it?
where else would you recommend for a lunch and a dinner?

[tpigeon]

Gigi is worth it
get lunch at buena vista bistro - frankly, I think it is better than pubbelly
sustain is also good
sakaya kitchen is great

[Frodnesor]

How long has it been? Have you been to Naoe yet? Sugarcane, Pubbelly, Gigi, Sakaya Kitchen, Sustain all (relatively) new and worthy of consideration.

[ankimo]

a couple years, but i've eaten at bvb, naoe, sugarcane, sakaya last few times i visited, but not pubbelly, gigi, or sustain

[Frodnesor]

All are worth a visit. Gigi recently lost its chef (Jeff McInnis) but I've been back a couple times since and have not noticed a decline.

[taiga]

Ate at Gigi again Thursday night -- very tasty and enjoyable electricity.

[tpigeon]

You already have naoe. That is a splurge once you get to the sushi part.

in sobe
Alibi has great cheesesteaks and cupcakes
Keeses has good med food
Friday and Saturday you can get the Mofongo at Jimmyz
Shake Shack is my favorite burger and they have some killer custard specials (if you go to nyc, nevermind this rec)
You may want to try some stone crabs at joes take out.

Outside south beach
I think you should try Yakkosan - though I have not been to the new location yet, I have heard good things.

Michy's is great so is Sra Martinez.

You may want to try the original Graziano's on bird rd. get the provoleta to start, the mixed grill and DDL crepes to finish.

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Michy's
6927 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33138

Sra Martinez
4000 NE 2nd Ave, Miami, FL

Graziano's Restaurant
9227 SW 40th St, Miami, FL 33165