Restaurants

The Magic City’s best chefs are welcoming spring with fresh dishes, so head to these restaurants to try what’s new.

Last evening, Miami’s top chefs, bartenders, and restaurateurs gathered at the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort in Miami Beach for the seventh-annual Zest Awards.

Dasher & Crank, a funky artisan ice cream concept, has quietly opened a few blocks south of Coyo Taco and Panther Coffee in Wynwood.

A full-time physical therapy student by day, Hector Galvez and his wife, Livia Monteiro, are the duo behind Miami’s 305 Coconauts, an Instagram account and YouTube channel dedicated to educating South Floridians about Miami coconuts. Galvez says he got the idea two years ago, when the couple first relocated to South Florida.

Sushi Kong on Coral Way offers unique and Instagrammable dishes such as raclette sushi and tempura cheesecake topped with Nutella.

Stop at any Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop today, April 10, from noon till 8 p.m. to receive a free cone in your choice of flavor.

On a recent Tuesday, Tadashi Shiraishi, a medium-size man with dark-framed glasses and spiked black hair, scurries into the Taco Stand in Wynwood. He passes a young woman in a white apron flattening tortilla dough, and a tall lanky fellow stuffing French fries into burritos. He stops in front of a bare copper wall at the restaurant’s rear, looks to his right, and presses a few buttons on a silver keypad. The wall magically becomes a door, sliding open to reveal a covert room.

In an area with increasingly pricey real estate, North Bay Village remains a deal. The small city — wedged between mainland Miami and the Beach, is home to affordable housing with stunning water views.

A new project in the heart of Wynwood will soon be transformed into a new mixed-use commercial space that will include two concepts from the Connecticut-based restaurant group behind Barcelona Wine Bar and Bartaco.

Habitat at the 1 Hotel South Beach, the newest restaurant by the five-time James Beard Award-nominated chef Jose Mendin, is open for brunch. The experience — part buffet and part à la carte — includes Mendin’s prized comfort food and a cocktail bar where diners can create their own brunch drinks.

On weekends, Miami’s restaurants and hotels open their doors for brunch. Many of them roll out luxurious spreads of sweet and savory items, inviting diners to savor unlimited bites with bottomless pours of alcohol. Some highlight a specific type of cuisine, from Asian to Latin American; while others feature an eclectic group of foods, placing Belgian waffles side-by-side with caviar towers, and Chinese sausage omelettes. Before you make Saturday and Sunday plans, check out Miami’s ten best buffet brunch experiences.

Beginning tonight, Aptil 5, Sansara, the Cuban-inspired pop-up inside Coral Gables’ Tinta y Café, will transition from brunch to dinner. Owners Sachi Statz and Andres Vega will offer a small menu of entrées and desserts from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. every Thursday and Friday. Until further notice, brunch will no longer be served Sundays.

The cofounder of Proof has announced the restaurant will pop up at Taurus in Coconut Grove.

Maurizio Farinelli, owner of Strada in the Grove and Farinelli 1937, has opened La Rue, a French bistro, in the former George’s in the Grove location on Commodore Plaza.

The Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC), which was expected to close April 29, will yet again extend its stay in Miami Beach. This time, it will remain open through Mother’s Day.

Monica Auslander, dietitian to the Miami Marlins and Soho Beach House, thinks everyone should seek plant-strong options that are light on sugar and heavy on nutrients.

A scoop of milky almond purée is smeared across a gray ceramic plate. Then comes a heap of arugula, glistening chunks of golden orange, bits of almond, and a generous drizzle of a rich, nutty, and slightly sweet Jerez vinaigrette.

March was a tough month for Miami’s food scene. While some promising eateries opened, it was the closings that made the news.In March, some of South Florida’s most loved ans respected eateries shuttered abruptly. Philadelphia’s Dizengoff and Federal Donuts, Proof Pizza & Pasta, and Fort Lauderdale’s Hot & Soul all closed.Cold pressed juice chain, Jugofresh closed all its locations with owner Matthew Sherman listing out the reasons why in a stunning display of transparency.

Miami Beach’s Hank & Harry’s Deli, a New York-style delicatessen founded by local restaurateurs Buzzy Sklar and Richard Booth, is now open in South Miami at 5958 S. Dixie Hwy. The outpost marks the largest location yet for the mini-chain, which recently opened a stall in Aventura Mall’s Treats Food Hall.

On a recent Saturday afternoon in Coconut Grove’s Peacock Park, rays of sunshine peeked through oversize umbrellas, and birds chattered in trees. Almost every outdoor seat was occupied. Bubbly drinks and plates of avocado toast and baked eggs dotted each table.

Kahwa Coffee, a Florida roaster based in St. Petersburg, debuts a Miami location today in Miami Beach’s Sunset Harbour neighborhood.

Next to Greynolds Park in North Miami Beach, find the charming new coffee shop the Alchemist. Tucked inside a complex of unassuming houses on West Dixie Highway, the quiet retreat sits inside a barn-like structure, where it serves fresh-baked Belgian waffles and churns out 24-hour cold brew.