Can't Miss in Miami?

[loratliff]

Hi,

My boyfriend and I will be in Miami for Art Basel, visiting from NYC. We have six nights worth of eating and I'd love some CH recs to fill our days. We'll have breakfast at the hotel on South Beach most mornings, but some inexpensive lunch recommendations (let's say $25pp?) would be nice.

For dinner, I made a reservation at Yardbird. We'd really like to avoid the ultra-trendy restaurants or the restaurants we have here in NY—see The Dutch or Scarpetta, as we eat at places like that all the time up here. My short list for food includes My Ceviche, Pubbelly, La Sandwicherie, Tap Tap, and Joe's Stone Crab (BF has never been to Miami before so I figure we must). Budget is not a huge concern, but we'd rather try stuff we can't get in NYC as opposed to having white tablecloth meals.

We won't have a car most days, so recommendations focused on South Beach or Wynnwood (where we will be one day) are appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

ETA: Any good coffee recs? Is Panther Coffee worth a visit?

[Frodnesor]

Particularly if you're looking to stay on South Beach there are many good threads here, for instance:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/814659
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/863016

Tops on my list given your guidelines would be Bazaar (José Andrés' new place in the SLS), which may be higher end than you're looking for but worth a visit; the Pubbelly places (Pubbelly, Pubbelly Sushi and Barceloneta are all right next door to each other and can make for an ambitious crawl), Sardinia, Indomania, My Ceviche, Joe's (do Take-Away and picnic at South Pointe Park). Just opened is Florida Cookery from Chef Kris Wessel, who just closed down Red Light which was one of my favorite restaurants. Menu at Florida Cookery looks pretty similar but with South Beach prices.

Panther Coffee is definitely worth a visit, very serious about their product and best coffee in town. In Wynwood there's Jimmy'z Kitchen, Bloom (Asian / South American street food inspired - so far my experiences have been mixed but I'm not giving up on it), Pride & Joy (BBQ - only one visit, I was underwhelmed but will try again), Wynwood Kitchen (haven't been since new chef took over), Clive's Cafe (hole in the wall Jamaican).

Nearby in Design District / Midtown area there's Michael's Genuine (excellent), Harry's Pizzeria, Oak Tavern (just opened, haven't tried yet, but sister restaurant to River Oyster Bar downtown which is very good), Mandolin Aegean Bistro, Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill (tapas and crudos are the best, skip the sushi), Salumeria 104, Acme Bakery for good breakfast & lunch, Sakaya Kitchen for really good food with casual order-at-the-counter service; around the corner on Biscayne Blvd. is The Federal, a nice gastropub type place.

Wynwood is a hotbed of activity during Basel and you may want to make restaurant reservations there early if that's your plan.

[loratliff]

Excellent, thank you—this is a great starting point.

Bazaar is actually priced quite moderately and seeing that he doesn't have a place in NYC, I think it's worth adding to the list; I just made reservations.

[Frodnesor]

Just fair warning that you will typically end up spending a decent chunk of change at Bazaar. It theoretically can be done modestly but you're going to want to order several things (and most are tapas sized portions). Still that's not at all a reason to skip.

[loratliff]

Of course, I figured as much. Alas, it's my birthday over that weekend, so I figure it's a justifiable reason to go. ;) Actually quite looking forward to it from all that I've read!

[rsanders99]

Michael's Genuine and Michy's are both restaurants that should not be missed.