Dina
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
Red Rooster in Overtown. The original is in Harlem, New York. That's where I used to live and would frequent Red Rooster all the time. I'm excited that they brought it back here to Miami, in the same community where my family's restaurant is. It's like your soul food, but with a French / New Orleans infusion. They have this amazing shrimp and grits, or an oxtail, which is to die for. They even have something for vegans, which is a plant based fried chicken appetizers which is amazing. I didn't think I'd like it, but I do. And they have a DJ and it feels like New York.
Lauren
What local restaurants or businesses do you recommend?
I love exploring new restaurants and that's been hard this year with COVID, but I make all outdoor reservations. I call in advance to make sure that we have outdoor seating. If I see that it's too crowded, I won't go. We just went to Red Rooster last Saturday night in Overtown. It was probably the best mac and cheese I've ever had. In the Design District, my favorite is Mandolin for Greek food. It's a romantic, beautiful restaurant. We just went to the new Cote Miami, which is like culinary theater. In Coral Gables, Mamey is really good, with great outdoor seating. In terms of the Grove, we probably go to Green Street every two weeks because we love the waitstaff there, we know what we're going to get, it's dependable. For Thai food, we love Atchana. For Indian, we love Bombay Darbar. Paulo Luigis is like the Italian that I was used to grow up in New Jersey. And, the new ghost kitchen in Coconut Grove is Two Korean Girls. I love their concept. They come in these fabulous, bright pink boxes and the food is a great combination of flavors.