Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Food & Drink
When South Florida sits at the table, who knows what language the menu is
written in. This region has a rich culinary identity, which is an extension of an
already rich demographic identity. As a result the local culinary scene is
paradoxical, yet delicious: on the one hand a free-floating gastronomy for
people unmoored from their homeland and detached from tradition, and on
the other an attempt to connect to deeply felt roots and folkways via the im-
mediacy of taste.
South Florida's Best Cuban
Defining Local Dining
It's hard to isolate a 'native' South Florida cuisine (actual Native American dishes such as
chili and fry bread found in Everglades-area restaurants are imported from the American
Southwest). The first white settlers here came from all over America, and thus the Americ-
an South and its food ways, which heavily influence Northern Florida, is one of many
dozens of influences in Miami, although more keenly felt in the Everglades region and the
Keys.
But in general, South Florida is a region defined not by any one, many cultures: South-
ern, Creole, Cuban, Caribbean, and Central and South American, but also Jewish, Japanese,
Vietnamese, Nigerian, Thai, Chinese, Spanish and more. The expression 'Jack of all trades,
master of none' occasionally applies in these circumstances. Local restaurants that are ded-
icated to a particular style of cuisine are usually a better bet than places that jumble their in-
fluences. As an example: when in Miami, you'll note dozens of 'Thai-Japanese' restaurants.
These two cuisines are pretty far apart in terms of their flavor profiles, and inevitably,
