Miami sure did not disappoint when it came to food either. We we lucky enough to catch some really great restaurants while we were there, and we definitely enjoyed all of the dining experiences! This time around, we hit up some real fancy stuff, but as they say – When in Rome, do as the Romans do. After all, Miami is one of the most hedonistic places we’ve ever been to…unlike Southern California where many people are low key about how much they’ve got, in Miami they flaunt it loud and proud and make no apologies.
First stop was the Blue Door at The Delano Hotel. Going to this restaurant really piqued our interest because The Delano Hotel was designed by Phillippe Starck (we’re both big fans). When we visted another Starck-designed hotel, The Clift, when we were in San Francisco last May, we were thouroughly impressed, so we had to see what The Delano was all about. It turns out Madonna used to own the restaurant until recently – which totally made sense when we saw how glamorous the joint was. Anyway, we both agreed that the atmosphere was a 10, the presentation of the food was real fancy and deserved at least an 8, but overall, it was a little over the top, even for us foodies. We were glad we went, but we enjoyed seeing the hotel more than our meal.
Fancy dining room details.
Pretty appetizer. In laymen’s terms: Crab, Guacamole, something spicy, with a shrimp on top.
Because the hotel is so amazing, and we wanted to gush over Phillippe Starck, here are some pro pics we grabbed from the website, as our pics didn’t do the place justice!
Lobby.
Restaurant.
The next day, we had to bring it back down to earth and enjoy the fine Cuban food we’d been so excited about ever since booking the trip. We were directed to La Carreta by a friend of Ed’s, and this was it. One of the best and most favorite meals of the trip! The kitsch factor of the building itself only added to the experience, complete with wagon wheel decor and old cuban men drinking cuban coffee outside, debating politics. This branch of La Carreta was in the heart of Calle Ocho, the heart of Cuban Miami. Showing that price has nothing to do with goodness, this was also the cheapest meal of the trip at about $25 for the both of us, including a beer for Ed. Ed had the best ropa vieja he’d ever tasted (the flavor was indescribable), while Carrie had the tastiest mahi mahi she’d ever eaten. Apparently everyone eats at Versailles, but many locals and those in the know swear by La Carreta.
As with all of our vacations, we always visit a classy place that we can enjoy a fine steak dinner. Prime 112 was the perfect place for us, as it’s a self-proclaimed “Modern Steakhouse”.
This was a pretty landmark meal for both of us as we got an appetizer that wasn’t exactly what we expected…it contained ingredients that each of us considered verboten…it had raw yellowtail (Carrie won’t do raw fish) and raw onions and tomatoes (no friggin way for Ed). But you know what? It was friggin delicious. All these ingredients, as a composition, made for amazingly bright, summery, yet savory flavors that truly got our palates ready for the perfectly cooked steak to come. Goes to show what being flexible will get you!
Our steaks were perfect, and the sauteed spinach was the best ever!
YUM.
And finally, we splurged once more and hit up Yuca on Lincoln Boulevard. This was a very upscale place, specializing in Latin Food. They had THE BEST mojitos we have ever tasted. EVER.
The food was delicious – (look at all those colors!) this is what our langostinos with plantains looked like:
Our very last meal was lunch at the 11th Street Diner in South Beach. Yep, all good things must come to an end, and nothing sounded better before hopping on a plane for a long ride home than a good solid burger. The 11th Street Diner is an interesting piece of history. It was actually a pre-fab aluminum diner that was in Pennsylvania for 48 years, then dismantled and brought to South Beach back in the early 90s. Very deco in form and detail, it looks for all the world like it was made to be in SoBe (as the locals call it). Anyways, it was a good, solid greasy diner – Carrie had a regular burger with her favorite crinkle fries while Ed had a disgusting sounding (but delicious) variation of the same – the Pizza Burger!
When you think about it, it’s no wonder Miami is the foodie paradise that it is. Combine a vibrant, tropical, celebratory attitude with a lust for decadence and opulence, and you’re gonna end up with some pretty amazing food. It’s yet another reason why we’re committed to going back to Miami!
