Food & Drink

In March 2016, Shannon Allen and her husband, former Miami Heat player Ray Allen, opened Grown, a healthy fast-casual eatery, in South Miami. Today it remains the first and only USDA-certified organic fast-food restaurant with a drive-thru on the East Coast. This month, the couple opened a Grown location inside a Walmart Supercenter in Orlando.

Since the Salty Donut debuted in December 2015, the doughnut purveyor has created a handful of unorthodox mashups, such as rainbow dough, sticky bun doughnuts, boozy glazes and fillings, cannoli-shaped varieties, and doughnut burgers.

Firm, glistening cubes of watermelon bear a striking resemblance to high-end raw tuna, which is precisely why chef Todd Erickson chose the juicy fruit as the foundation for the restaurant’s vegan poke ($7). To make the dish taste like the Hawaiian raw fish salad, he enhances the watermelon with Asian…

After 50 Eggs’ fast-casual fried-chicken spot in Fort Lauderdale shuttered earlier this month, the Miami Beach Spring Chicken location closed it doors last week, leaving the windows on the Alton Road business, which was once Lime and later BTW (Burgers, Tacos, Whiskey), covered with brown paper.

This past Friday, Magic City Casino was filled with a thousand croqueta lovers for the fourth-annual Croquetapalooza, a celebration of Miami’s favorite snack. The event, founded by Burger Beast blogger Sef Gonzalez, saw more than two dozen of Miami’s best-loved restaurants vying for the titles of “best croqueta” and “best frita.”

A new late-night service is whipping up brownies (no, not that kind) and delivering them to local college students around the Florida International University and University of Miami campuses.

Miami is ever-evolving.  And, while the summer is generally slow for restaurant openings, as the weather (finally) cools, the city’s restaurant scene heats up. Here are five restaurants to look forward to.

Bocas House, a Venezuelan-Peruvian restaurant based in Doral, has officially opened a third location, in Coral Gables. The concept, known for large portions and indulgent milkshakes, is part of Bocas Group Corporation, led by César González and Levin De Grazia.

Plomo, Miracle Mile’s first tequila and taco bar that debuted this summer, is now open for brunch Saturday and Sunday. Created by the Atomic Group, known for popular Coral Gables eateries such as Crema Gourmet Espresso Bar and Copper 29, this Mexican-inspired lounge offers bottomless mimosas and sangria paired with a selection of Latin-influenced brunch plates.

Thursday, October 5, New Times’ Iron Fork will return for its tenth anniversary with delicious food and a showdown between two of Miami’s finest chefs. Tacology’s Santiago Gomez will face off against Beaker & Gray’s Brian Nasajon in a competition hosted by chef Allen Susser.

Last month, federal agents and Florida state police joined forces in Miami to crack down on slotting fees, or the practice of paying retailers to prominently place a product. In this case, they were investigating local beer distributors, according to sources interviewed by New Times.

BLT Steak, known to serve some of the best beef, seafood, and popovers in Miami, will reopen in September inside the new Iberostar Berkeley Hotel, previously the Berkeley Shore Hotel, in South Beach. An exact date is expected in the next few days.

Bird & Bone, chef Richard Hales’ Southern restaurant inside the Confidante, has one of the best-valued Spice lunches. The three-course meal, which includes many of Hales’ most popular plates, offers about a 30 percent discount compared to a regularly priced lunch at the restaurant.

If you’re obsessed with Miami’s taco scene, you won’t want to miss New Times’ Tacolandia, presented by Goya. On Saturday, November 18, from 3 to 6 p.m., Wynwood’s Soho Studios will turn into a veritable taco-filled theme park serving unlimited taco samples from 30 of Miami’s best restaurants, including Amour de Miami, Plomo, and Tacology.

There was a time in Miami when artisanal bread didn’t quite exist. However, in the past few years, the Magic City has embraced culinary wonders such as Zak the Baker, True Loaf, and Madruga Bakery. Now there’s a new baker in town. James Beard Award-winning baker, chef, and author Jim Lahey has opened an outpost of New York’s Sullivan Street Bakery near Little Haiti.

Venezuelan chef Carlos Garcia announced he will open a much-anticipated outpost in Miami this fall. Garcia, whose elegant restaurant in Caracas, Alto, has held a coveted spot on Latin America’s World’s 50 Best Restaurants list since 2013, says his Brickell place, Obra Kitchen Table, will offer simpler, humbler fare.