These are probably old news now, but I have been busy (eating), and finally get around to organize what we did in Miami……
Most people go to Miami for the sunny beach paradise, or the hot night scenes, some for the infinite pool side parties with frozen beverages, but I come to Miami for one thing, food… well, mostly. The sweet fried chicken at Yard Bird itself is enough reason for me to hop on the plane, plus the stone crab, and all the Cuban food… Honestly, I really don’t know how folks who live in Miami keep up with their beach body. Though our visit to various eateries, everything had been amazing, and we were very satisfied and keep going back for more. But, there’s always a but. During our most recent visit to Miami, we have encountered our first disappointment.
The Pubbelly boys, a trio of rising stars in the culinary world base out of Miami. Since the opening of Pubbelly in 2010, this empire now has 6 restaurants under the brand. All are critically acclaimed. Pubbelly and Pubbelly Sushi in Miami are both on the Eater Miami heat map for a long time, and still are. In fact, the year that Pubbelly opened, Chef Mendin was nominated for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef South award. He made it to the semi-final, then again and again, four years in a row. The other Pubbelly boy is Chef Navarro. The brothers met while working together at Nobu Miami and Sushisamba. Between this dynamic pair, Mendin takes cares of food, while Navarro gets in touch with his designer talent, and whatever they are doing, they seem to be getting it right. But….. we feel very differently.
click to view more photosJoe’s stone crab Miami
Stone crab, interesting creatures. Tiny brownish body with unequally sized claws. A spices that no one eat until 1921. Thanks to Joe’s, we now enjoy these delicious big, jumbo, fresh, sweet claws.
Although no one eat stone crab till 1921, Joe’s opened their door back in 1913. Back then, this family restaurant served crawfish and fish. Now, it become the place to have stone crab. This place is more than just a restaurant. It plays a significant role in the stone crab history, and still influencing the industry today. Stone crab is in season from October to May. This is June, not in season, but we are going anyway. We will just have to settle with fresh frozen product.
Joe’s is old school. the space is like a huge Spanish mansion. Iron gate, front garden, it reminds me of Scarface, or some place that the mafia would meet the whole gang. Through the door, is a spacious bar. There are different dinning rooms, but we settle at a booth next to the bar.
Oysters
-East & West coast with Mignonette sauce
West coast (New Zealand) oysters are definitely better. Bigger in size and sweeter in taste.
Snapper Ceviche
-Shaken w/ lime, jalapeno, cilantro, shaved garlic, red onion, & citrus lavish cracker
Snapper ceviche came in a shaker on a little wood board, along with a shot of lime juice and some incredibly crispy crackers. Jalapeno, cilantro, garlic and onion are already in the shaker. Supposedly we should drop the shot of lime in the shaker, and shake! Shake! Shake! But silly us… we didn’t think of that, the whole “shaken” thing didn’t register to us… perhaps we are too excited for stone crab. We use the spoon to stir and serve. Amazingly sweet!!! And generous amount of snapper. This snapper is going on my top ten list. And the cracker… is like a extremely good cheese crepes.
Grilled Tomatoes
We need vegetable, and our waitress suggested this. I was a little skeptical with melted cheese. We wanted this dinner to be light. But it didn’t disappoint. Cheese and spinach stuffing was just the right amount. And tomato is as fresh as it could be. I’m happy with our choice.
Large Stone crab
Finally, STONE CRAB!!!! Just claws. Nobody eats the body. it came with house-made mustard sauce, but it honestly doesn’t need sauce, other than a couple drops of lime. SWEET!!! Yes it is frozen but still so good. Can’t imagine if we had it fresh. Little crabbies, we are planning our next visit to you.
*** 11 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
click to view more photosHavana 1957
***405 Española Way, Miami Beach, FL 33139
The morning before we left Miami, we want our one last taste of cuban food. And we had planned to bring cubano sandwich for the road. We thought about going back to Putero Sauga. But the nice lady at the front desk of Surfcomber hotel highly recommended Havana 1957. we were skeptical, because it is a chain restaurant and it is on Espanola way, we thought… hmmm…. tourist place… But she is cuban, so we have to trust her, and we are glad we did.
At the start of Espanola Way, Havana 1957 dress up as an old school family restaurant. Pictures on the wall, red booth and bar. It’s cute, and charming. We sat at the shaded outdoor area. The plantain chips were very good, we couldn’t stop picking at it. With a couple of mojito, suddenly, it is not that hot anymore. Mojito Clásico(right) 12.95
– With Bacardi Superior, sugar cane, and yerba buena Fresh Kiwi Mojito(left)
– Bacardi Limón, Razz, crushed kiwi, sugar cane, and yerba buena
Cubano 14.5
Of course we are having Cubano sandwich. Ham, cheese, roasted pork, pickles, and mustard on bread. Oh juicy salty meat meet with pickles and mustard. Melty cheese holding everything together. And the bread, so crunchy!!! May be a little too much cheese, but really great sandwich. I have to say it is better than I expected, and may be even better than Putero Sauga. We shared a sandwich at the table, and so greedy that we each order 2 more sandwichs for the road!!! Yum!
Tasajo con Boniato 9.99 (the day’s special)
– Salt dried beef with criolla sauce. Served with white rice and sweet potatoes
No oxtail today, it is only available on Sunday. Looks like we just missed it. 🙁 our waitress recommended the salt dried beef. And so far we haven’t been disappointed by anyone’s suggestion in Miami, why stop now. Strong, bold flavors. Salty beef is really well balance by the criolla sauce- red pepper, onion and tomato, great for anything!
With our belly full, and two sandwichs in hands, we left Miami satisfied. And we are coming back for more!!! (June, 2015)
click to view more photosYard Bird needs no introduction. Between it’s outpost in Las Vegas and the fact that it was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s Emmy winning series “Parts Unknown” with a special appearance of QuestLove, foodies flocked here for it’s famous fried chicken and waffle. But I can assure you, this place is way more than just fried chicken.
Not far from Lincoln Street Mall, in a quiet residential area, there is Yard Bird Southern Table and Bar. A white building with huge windows and glass door, the space was once a grocery store, now famous for it’s fried chicken and waffle.
I absolutely love what they did to the space. It’s bright and light. Exposed beams and ducts, white brick columns, dark wood feature wall, and especially the mason jar chandelier. Its rustic, chic, clean and contemporary. Take a closer look at the wall. They hold wisdom… if these wall could talk… wait… they could.
The pig said “God gave the angels wings, he gave us bacon”
The chicken said “there are 2 kinds of people in the world; those who love fried chicken, and communists”
The bottle on the wall said “Bourbon is sunshine mixed with love and genius”
and my personal favorite “never trust a skinny pastry chef”
Drinks are colorful and delicious. Served in a mason jar. Both of them were unique, and extremely refreshing especially during the hot Miami summer. Blackberry Bourbon Lemonade (left)
– Buffalo Trace bourbon, fresh lemon and cardamom 12
just the right amount of sweetness Watermelon Sling (right)
– Troy & Sons platinum white whiskey, fresh pressed watermelon juice & fresh lemon balanced with rosemary & Aperol 12
FRESH! FRESH! FRESH!
Deviled Eggs
– fresh dill, smoked trout roe ‘redneck caviar’ 10
Creamy, dreamy!!! the devil is smiling
Chicken Liver Toast
– grilled country bread, cuke & fresno pepper relish 5
For only $5, this is a steal!!! crunchy toast with thick layer of chicken liver moose generously spread. The pepper relish and scallion on top added a sweet taste and crunch. Love it!!!
Chicken n’ Watermelon n’ Waffles
– Yardbird’s signature ‘old school fried chicken’, honey hot sauce, chilled spiced watermelon, Cheddar cheese chow chow waffle, bourbon maple syrup 36
Despite the fame, we were still hesitant to get the chicken and waffles. Because, this $36 dish feature half a chicken!!! with just the two of us, we couldn’t possibly finish it along with other things we wanted to have. But how often are we in Miami… we have to!!! and if we didn’t, we would definatelty regret. Chicken is so moist and tender, not only the dark meat was awesome, even the white meat was amazing. Although deep fried, it is not oily like all other fried chicken. Very lightly breaded, and no excessive oil, nor greasy, just flavorful, juicy chicken. Then there were waffles. I’m not a waffle person, but I am totally taken by these little corners of goodness. As Fluffy as it can be. Cut a corner, and the are cheese inside!!!! a light layer of cheddar in the middle of the waffle. Making is extra fluffy and melty. Pair with the bourbon maple syrup….. yum yum yum. Too heavy? That’s what the watermelon are for!!! chilled, spiced with pepper, lemon and herbs, watermelon just become more mouthwatering.
With all these excellent goodies, my suggestion is— rally up the whole gang and share the joy of good food. There are so many more items we wanted to try, but couldn’t. Our neighbor at the next table had the fried green tomato BLT and shrimp and grits, and they look so good!!! next time, may be dinner? There are more items on the supper menu!!!
*** 1600 Lenox Avenue, Miami Beach, FL
www.runchickenrun.com
click to see slide showOn this trip to Miami, we learn a new meaning to a word – YUCA. Yes, a root vegetable, but in Miami, it also means “Young Urban Cuban American”. Obviously a term that many people in Miami can related to or identify as. It is also a somewhat upscale Nuevo Latino restaurant on Lincoln Road mall.
It is a lounge setting, festive place with a live band performing. It is dark but lively. With a couple bottles of wine, it’s a party!
Hamachi Tiradito
– Sliced hamachi with yuzu citronette, sweet peppers, shallots, and jalepenos
There seems to be a lot of sauce. Looks A little excessive too. While it does have the citrus taste, it wasn’t sweet as its look might appear. It was actually quite good. And I love the jalepenos and shallots that gave it the little kick and crunch.
Pulpo a La Gallega
-Saute Octopus, galician ajada and potatoes
Octopus was very tender. There were a lot of potatoes, and it’s rather salty. It would go very well with a couple of beers, or in our case, with some chilled white wine.
Rabo Encendido
-Tender slow braised oxtail, fiery rioja wine sauce, roast garlic-goat cheese malanga mash
Yes, we have a thing for oxtail. When it is on the menu, we couldn’t or wouldn’t restrain ourselves to not order it. Because when it is done right, it is irresistible. And this one is spectacular. Tender, meaty oxtail slow braise in red wine. It is rich, juicy! And look at those big chunks of meat!!! What a cow!!! That potato goat cheese mash was amazing too. And seriously, the portion here are ridiculously generous. Look at that plate, it is portion for two!
Chilean Sea Bass
-Fresh fillet pan seared, lobster cream lobster mashed potatoes
To balance the heaviness of oxtail, I thought we would order a fish. However, the sea bass is quite filling too. Large fillet of sea bass perfectly cooked, topped with lobster cream. YUM! The mashed potatoes, hidden with chunks and chunks of lobster. Oh I don’t know how to stop eating. Sorry, no dessert… I’m stuffed! (June, 2015)
*** 501 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, FL 33139
The Pubbelly boys, a trio of rising stars in the culinary world base out of Miami. Since the opening of Pubbelly in 2010, this empire now has 6 restaurants under the brand. All are critically acclaimed. Pubbelly and Pubbelly Sushi in Miami are both on the Eater Miami heat map for a long time, and still are. In fact, the year that Pubbelly opened, Chef Mendin was nominated for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef South award. He made it to the semi-final, then again and again, four years in a row. The other Pubbelly boy is Chef Navarro. The brothers met while working together at Nobu Miami and Sushisamba. Between this dynamic pair, Mendin takes cares of food, while Navarro gets in touch with his designer talent, and whatever they are doing, they seem to be getting it right. But….. we feel very differently. 
