Last updated on February 13, 2016
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
***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)
Be First to Comment