Restaurants

Nearly six months after Jeremy Ford announced his departure from Matador Room, the Top Chef winner returns to Miami Beach this week with the opening his first restaurant, Stubborn Seed.

After weeks of Hurricane Irma chaos, many of us could use something cold and sweet. How does an ice-cream sandwich sound? From Middle Eastern-inspired gourmet ice-cream sandwiches in South Beach to waffle, doughnut, and Italian varieties in Aventura, Wynwood, and Brickell, here are the five best in Miami.

About nine months ago, more than 20,000 sweets flooded the FIU arena for Dessert Wars. Now, Miami’s largest sweets fest is gearing up to return for a second time this year on October 14. Tickets for the event, which falls on National Dessert Day, are now on sale. The annual competition, which usually occurrs in the winter, saw increased demand during its January 2017 installment, prompting event organizers to add an October date.

The day after Hurricane Irma roared into town, Richard Hales felt lucky. His two midtown Miami restaurants, Blackbrick and Sakaya Kitchen, were unharmed. Both places had power, and residents of the high-rises that surround the neighborhood were growing antsy. So he decided to open for dinner with a limited menu…

To help local restaurants, the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB) has extended Miami Spice through October. The dining program, which traditionally runs August 1 through September 30, is designed to give a financial boost to local eateries during Miami’s slowest months for tourism.

Jonel Vajanc has spent much of the past three decades tucked away inside the maze full of stainless-steel equipment and warehouse-size refrigerators and freezers behind Penn Dutch Food Center (3950 N. 28th Ter., Hollywood; 954-921-7144; penn-dutch.com). Some days he ensures that thousands of hot dogs, stuffed into sheep casings that…

Epicure Market, a Miami Beach tradition, has closed for good thanks to Hurricane Irma. In a tweet this morning, the South Beach grocery/prepared-foods specialty store announced its days are done.

Coco Bambu, an award-winning Brazilian restaurant, is officially open in South Beach (955 Alton Rd.). Because of Hurricane Irma, the restaurant was forced to close Friday, September 8, hours after its grand debut.

It’s been a week since South Florida first braced for Hurricane Irma. Days later, as we remove trees, clean up debris, and wait for FPL trucks to reach our areas, many of us are eager to return to our daily routines, even if that means an eight-hour workday.

Many Miami establishments are donating funds and supplies to relief efforts — even as they themselves are without power. Here’s a list of places where your dollars and donations can help. If you know of an establishment donating funds or collecting supplies, email Laine.doss@miaminewtimes.com with information and we will update this list.

JetBlue is trying to relieve some of the stress of Hurricane Irma by providing a free meal today, The airline is sponsoring a free food truck roundup today at BB&T Center in Sunrise.

Though much of South Florida is rundown with fallen trees, broken power lines and other debris from Hurricane Irma, some restaurants and bars have managed to reopen, pledging to serve hot and fresh-made meals to residents. Others plan to reopen in the next day or so, as soon as curfews…

Mercato is actually a revamping of Cafe Nuvo, which was run by the same owners and chef Alex Martinez, who’s been working in Miami Beach at various restaurants since the mid-’00s. It’s now the spitting image of an Italian street scene, fit for a postcard.

Roberta’s, a popular Brooklyn restaurant and pizza joint based in Bushwick, will open a pop-up shop in the Design District this October.

August, typically a slow month for Miami’s restaurant scene, saw many openings of note.The Magic City got two new breweries with the opening of Nightlife Brewing Co. adjacent to Marlins Park and Veza Sur Brewing Co. in Wynwood.Other openings include Jose Mendin’s Baja Bao, Lutum, and Etaru in Hollywood.Major closings included two Spring Chicken locations and Sushi Maki in Brickell.

Mignonette Uptown, located in North Miami Beach, will reach nine months old September 6. To mark the occasion, the restaurant has added new items to its Miami Spice menus. This is the final month diners can snag the unbeatable deal of a three-course lunch for $23 and dinner for $39.

Bird & Bone has been serving Southern-inspired breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the Confidante hotel’s charming patio for nearly a year. This summer, the restaurant, formerly Michelle Bernstein’s Seagrape space, finished renovations in its dining room, which boasts warm colors and repurposed wood for a rock ‘n’ roll country-house vibe.

On 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.

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…