When Top Chef ‘s Nina Compton left Miami Beach’s Scarpetta in June 2014, the assumption was that she was opening a restaurant in the 305. Well, half of that assumption turned out to be true. Turns out, the talented and charming “fan favorite” recently left Miami to open a restaurant…
. Upstairs, two middle-aged men in shorts and white sneakers scarf down their steaks. They stop only to glance at the TV screens while their decidedly dressier female companions munch on salads. Downstairs, an attractive model type wearing a lace crop top and a fitted pencil skirt rubs her…
The Miami dining scene is aware of Ralph Pagano’s “go big or go home” attitude toward everything he does. The chef’s larger-than-life personality translates into all his projects — from his television appearances on Hell’s Kitchen and Pressure Cook to his weekly radio stints on BIG105’s Paul and Young Ron…
Le Macaron, the Sarasota-based French pastry shop, is opening several locations in South Florida over the coming weeks. According to the Bradenton Herald, the small chain started franchising its stores about two years ago and has grown exponentially since then. Le Macaron now has nearly 20 locations throughout Florida and…
Another weekend, another new brunch to try. And this time it’s Brickell’s newest and hottest watering hole, American Social, that’s flipping eggs and pouring bottomless booze. If you’ve been to the Fort Lauderdale brunch, this is nothing like it. Gone is the gringo food: crab legs, fried chicken, prime rib…
In early 2013, Mimi Gross told her husband she wanted Cuban food. That man was Hans Seitz, owner of the downtown barbecue spot Sparky’s along with Kevin Kehoe, who was testing ham recipes and fortuitously had Dijon mustard, pickles, Swiss cheese, and some bread on hand. Thus Sparky’s Cuban Ex-Patriot…
Klima executive chef David “Rusti” Rustarazo is a simple guy. The Catalonian honed his skills at the acclaimed Coure in Barcelona before making his way to South Beach. He doesn’t want to complicate himself or his menu. “This isn’t NASA,” he says. “Our food isn’t meant to be cryptic, just…
Do you remember Phuc Yea? The temporary Vietnamese restaurant that opened for a season in 2011 was one of the first pop-up restaurants in Miami, taking over downtown’s Crown Bistro during dinner hours. The little temporary spot garnered quite a following in the few months it was open, with people…
Coya, restaurateur Arjun Waney’s London-based concept with a second outpost in Dubai, is open for business in Brickell today. Waney has already brought to Miami his other high-end concept, Zuma. Now he’s expanding his offerings with a taste of Peruvian food unlike anything else around. See also: Coya Is Set…
David Foulquier is a Manhattan native with a Persian and French background. His grandma lived across the street from French culi-genius Daniel Boulud in Lyon, France. “Thanksgiving growing us for us was always cooked by Daniel,” says Foulquier. “He catered my bar mitzvah and even gave me my first chef’s…
Brunchers in the MiMo district will have a new weekend spot for eggs and mimosas when the Vagabond Restaurant starts Sunday brunch service March 15. Every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., chef Alex Chang will offer his unique take on the festive weekend meal, saying his brunch menu…
Situated in the gray area between Coral Gables and Little Havana, the new Asador 5 Jotas offers a delicious take on the cuisine of northern Spain. With walls lined by Spanish wines, whole serrano hams hanging like ornaments in the dining room, and a menu full of tapas whose mere…
In Miami, the name Choices is synonymous with vegan cuisine. And now fans of the plant-based eateries will have one more choice in their roster of restaurants — in Coconut Grove. This will be Choices’ fourth cafe in Miami and comes quickly behind the January opening of their new Coral…
Oversize purses of fresh pasta are filled with milky ricotta dotted with basil speckles. Before they’re sealed, a raw egg yolk is nestled in the cheese. The whole thing is briefly poached before a quick toss in brown butter sauce followed by a dusting of savory, salty Parmesan cheese. There…
There’s no better way to start a meal than with a puff of steam floating off a bamboo tray packed with swollen soup dumplings. At Momi Gyoza Bar, which joined the fray in Brickell two months ago, chef and owner Jeffrey Chen’s version of xiao long bao relies on the…
Juicing is the new eating, and with reason. It’s no secret that veggie and fruit laden beverages pack a ton of antioxidants and help cleanse your body. But when you’re drinking juice and only juice, you can get a bit, um, irritable. See also: Ten Fruit’s Juice Cleanse: What It’s…
Vegans know that the word “Mediterranean” in a restaurant’s name generally means there’s something there to eat. We are grateful for this, even though the warmest thing about our dinners is usually the toasted pita bread that comes with chilly plates of hummus, baba ganouj, and tabouleh. Not so with…
The Broken Shaker’s Bar Lab Boys, Elad Zvi and Gabriel Orta, like to change things up. A constantly rotating monthly menu of libations synchronzed with the seasons is usually the name of the game at the popular bar. So it should come as no surprise that the brunch at 27…
Oysters and wine will soon join the miniature Japanese empire Jeffrey Chen is building on a streetcorner near Brickell Avenue. Chen, who opened Momi Ramen in 2012 and Momi Gyoza Bar in January, plans to launch Momi Oyster & Raw Bar and Momi Wine later this month. See also: Momi…
Three short months into business, SooWoo — a Japanese/Korean restaurant located just off Fifth Street and Washington Avenue in South Beach — has been shuttered. The place, which occupied a variety of locales before moving to the Beach, got off to a rocky start after several employees claimed — and…
Restaurant chain Bagatelle has opened a South Beach location at 2000 Collins Ave., giving Miami’s beautiful people another place to sip champagne in a fairy-tale setting. With locations already in the tony cities of New York, Los Angeles, São Paulo, St. Barts, and St. Tropez, Bagatelle was fated to come…
Klima hasn’t even opened yet and already the Spanish restaurant has hosted the master of New Basque cuisine, Juan Mari Arzak. In 1989, he was awarded three Michelin stars for his namesake restaurant in Spain, Arzak. Along with fellow three-Michelin-starred chefs Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz and Quique Dacosta of…
