Barbara & Steven
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
Michael Schwartz is our most serious chef. We like what Michael does because he is really committed to local ingredients – and for me especially, he is really committed to live fire. All his restaurants have wood burning grills, and I think he has been very successful in delivering wood grilled flavor in his food. When you eat his food you really know that someone was burning logs in a grill. We like Fi'lia his new Amara. We also like, The Petit Mason – Barbara especially likes it because it is so ‘adult’ and has white tablecloths. And, there are no television sets in the dining room – which is hard to find in Miami. They serve a baby chicken marinated in preserved lemons and garlic and grilled over a charcoal burning grill that’s fantastic. You’ll also find us at Stubborn Seed, Plant + Food, and Kyu in Wynwood.
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.
Marko
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
My wife and I usually cook during the week. If we go out, we'll do so over the weekend. The kids love anything Italian. My daughter's favorite is Villagio. Pura Vida, on the beach. They have a place now in Edgewater and the University of Miami as well. It's kind of fresh, healthy foods, and very good. When we go to the beach on Saturdays, we'll go there after for lunch and the kids love it. The last restaurant that I ate at that I really liked was KYU. I liked the octopus and there was a cauliflower dish that was really good. And from just from a casual perspective, something that's always consistent is Hillstone.
Alex And Danielle
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
Alex: We like Asian and Japanese in particular, Matsuri is our go to for sushi. Also, Wabi Sabi, which is a little bit more north, closer to my office, is not very well known but has great Japanese. Danielle: For Italian, I like Sapore Di Mare in Coconut grove and Kyu in Wynwood for Asian, and Mandolin for Greek.
Aliza
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
My kids love LAN Pan Asian. My son gets shrimp dumplings and the chicken flat noodles. My daughter gets the chicken katsu and edamame. I usually get Sushi. If I had to pick like my favorite place to go right now it would be Ghee. I like to go for lunch. They have a set lunch, with only two options. It's nice because it makes you try different things. It’s a super price as well, I think it’s $11 dollars.