Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
7
7
Places to Eat in . . . Miami, Florida
With more than 6,000 restaurants, the Miami metro area tends to stump din-
ers—it isn't a question of where so much as which. It's a supercharged culinary
scene, and everyone wants a piece of it—Emeril Lagasse, Nobu Matsuhisa,
Cindy Hutson, Christian Delouvrier, and Govind Armstrong are among the
nationally known chefs who've opened branches here.
Even after you've weeded out all those South Beach
beauties where the celebrity action is more important
than the food, you're still faced with a plethora of high-
end choices. Where to begin?
For an authentic taste of Miami, gravitate to the local
stars who've fused California-Asian with Caribbean and
Latin elements to create a world-class flavor all its own—
call it
Floribbean
. Exhibit A would be Allen Susser's New
World cuisine at
Chef Allen's
(19088 NE 29th Ave.,
Aventura;
&
305/935-2900;
www.chefallens.com).
Though it's tucked in the back of a strip mall in the northern reaches of Miami
Beach, since it opened in 1986 Susser has had no trouble packing this discreetly
elegant space with customers eager to sample his inventive Caribbean-inspired
dishes: grilled meats and seafood accented by jerk and curry and coconut-milk
spices, harmonized by chutneys and salsas and ceviches made of mangoes,
papayas, pineapple, and Key limes. The aptly named
Michael's Genuine
Food & Drink
in the Design District (130 NE 40th St.;
&
305/573-5550;
www.
michaelsgenuine.com) looks like just another neighborhood hangout, with its
high ceilings and industrial-chic decor, but Michael Schwartz's simple-seeming
menu items are a symphony of flavors, and each ingredient is allowed to sing.
(Try the roasted Vidalia onion stuffed with ground lamb and apricots, or the
grilled skirt steak with fennel-asparagus hash and black olive aioli.)
Then there's
Talula
(210 E. 23rd St.;
&
305/672-0768;
www.talulaonline.
com), owned by the talented husband-and-wife team Frank Randazzo and
Andrea Curto-Randazzo, who imaginatively mix up meticulously sourced ingre-
dients in signature dishes like the grilled foie gras with caramelized figs, blue
corn cakes, chili syrup, and candied walnuts, or the marinated hanger steak
with horseradish whipped potatoes. Book a seat in the exhibition kitchen for an
even more special experience. Curto-Randazzo used to cook at another well-
regarded South Beach hotspot,
Wish
(801 Collins Ave.;
&
305/531-2222;
www.wishrestaurant.com), where Marco Ferraro now presides; in that snazzy
Grilled swordfish at Chef Allen's.
