Nando
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
My favorite restaurant to go to right now is a Jaguar Sun. I love what they do with the limited amount of space they have. I have a tremendous respect for Chef Carey and Will, I think they provide one of the best experiences in Miami. Another favorite place is Ariete, I love what Mike does. I love his commitment to excellence. I love NIU kitchen. Also, La Mar. I know we do something similar with Peruvian food. But, because we don't have a kitchen, whenever I'm missing good Peruvian hot dishes, it's my favorite place to go. I think Diego is always pushing the boundary on Peruvian food.
Ariete, Itamae, Jaguar Sun, La Mar, NIU Kitchen
Carol And Ed
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
For fish, I love Captains Tavern. My favorite is the Hog fish. For a quick lunch, we go to Wagon’s West. It’s like our Cheers – they all know my name. I’ll get a grilled cheese or scrambled eggs. If I want to be really bad - they have the best homemade cherry pie.
Naomi
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
Ghee. I really enjoy Chef Niven's food. And, Lincoln's Beard Brewery.
Isabel
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
I really like Stubborn Seed, south of fifth. I like Lilikoi, also south of fifth. Everything's organic, I really appreciate that. We do like to try new restaurants. My husband used to have a restaurant, so he loves going out to dinner and trying new things and he's in real estate and brokers restaurant and retail deals. He's always in the know and has to check out new places that pop up. I'm usually his sidekick. Also, Plant Food and Wine at the Sacred Space- I Love, love, love what they're doing over there.
Andy
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
That's tricky for me. I cook my own food. That was a decision I made about five years ago. That way, I know what I'm putting in my body. You can go somewhere and they'll say something on the menu and then all of the sudden it's something else. When I eat out, maybe I'll have lunch at the Last Carrot in Coconut Grove. I trust the food there.
Deborah
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
We really love to cook, so it's hard for us to get out of that box. We like to walk around in Coral Gables and see the new things that are popping up all over. We actually went to a restaurant that was excellent the other night, called T U R. It's on Geraldo, but not on the closed off street. The food was excellent- but why do we have to have TV sets everywhere? That would be my only complaint.
Claudia & Mike
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
We love the Primavera Risotto from A Pizza Brooklyn (their Tiramisu is also on point), Shrimp tacos from The Brick Restaurant and from Whisk the fried green tomatoes, pork burrito and crab fried rice!
Daniel
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
Golden Rule, Black Point Ocean Grill, and Captain's Tavern. I love trying out the different specials. If they have hog fish, I try to order it. It's one of my favorite fish. Captain's Tavern does a Maine lobster special, which I rave home about.
David
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
That list is supremely long. Do we go geographically...alphabetically? My buddy Niven, just opened up (Mamey) a new spot in Coral Gables. The food looks great, but I haven't been yet. The guys that Bar Lab cocktails opened up their natural wine popup on South beach, and it looks amazing. I still haven't gotten my hands on one of those pizzas that Brad and Old Greg's are doing in the Design District. I really miss the eating the ceviche at Itamae on an everyday basis. I still get my share of my EL Bagels - that's like my essential breakfast and brunch item. I still eat a ton of Stanzione's pizzas. I had an amazing lobster roll from Justin Flit and Mike Beltran at Nave. They're doing a New England style clam shack menu on the weekends. Aaron Brooks is doing a pop up at Stanzione 87. It's like a Turkish inspired pide and lahmacun. Aaron is supremely underrated. His food is incredible. One of the silver linings of the pandemic is all the creativity that's coming out of it. I've also had some random homemade things. There's a nice girl, that I met through the Miami food community, that's making homemade Armenian food every weekend. People are signing up and she's selling out every weekend. Her name is The Spicy Dolma. The guys from Kyu, Chef Raheem and his crew, are doing amazing barbecue right out of their front yard. It's impossible to list everyone. Jaguar Sun is doing amazing things right now in Little River. People are finding ways to survive. They're finding ways to thrive. They're finding ways to support their teams and to support their families. All of that is really amazing.
Ilene
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
In Pinecrest: Daily Bread, Cheese Course, Joanna’s. Brickell: River Oyster Bar, the new Fleming's and for French food, Le Petite Mason. We love Crust on Miami River. It is an Italian restaurant with great food. I get their angel hair pasta with olive oil and garlic, and an arugula salad. The portions are huge – so you have to share everything.