Ok, ok, we didn't stay up all night partying (old age doesn't come alone, plus relaxing is exhausting...!), but we did have some pretty great evenings out in some of South Beach's restaurants and my love of Will Smith was too great to not use more of his lyrics. Child of the 90s...
Seeing as I have an embarrassing amount of photos of food, I thought I'd share another little restaurant round-up with you. If the sunshine isn't enough to convince you to add Miami to your holiday wish list, maybe this beauties will! Needless to say, we are now home and detoxing like mad!!
Havana 1957
Cuba is somewhere I'd really love to visit, but Miami is still the closest I've got. With a large Cuban community in the city though, it seemed a good opportunity to at least try some of the cuisine. Havana 1957 have three locations in Miami, and we went to the one on Espanola Way.
The restaurant was incredibly atmospheric, doors wide open and tables spilling out onto the cobbled street. We went for a sharing plate of traditional Cuban snacks for our starter, followed by two casseroles, one chicken, one pork. I have to be totally honest and say that I didn't find the food that amazing. There was nothing wrong, it tasted fine, but it was quite dark and heavy and, though the starter choices were unusual for us, the mains weren't anything special. I suppose I'd expected zingy, fresh, colourful flavours, but this wasn't that. We still had a fun evening though, helped along by some Cuban beer (brewed in the US...) and some delicious fruit cocktails. The atmosphere and drinks alone made our visit worth it.
Shake Shack
Oh my word, Shake Shack. I almost have no words. Except to say that the malts, shakes and frozen custards served up here are amongst the best I've ever tasted. We spent an embarrassing amount of time in this place, excusing our addiction as being for medicinal purposes on account of the heat. Hmm... Very excited to hear they're coming to London soon! Oh and actually, the burgers and fries are ok, but they're not the stars of the show and there are definitely better versions very close by.
Burger & Beer Joint
I am still having food cravings for this place and Mr. O says the burger he had here is still the best burger he's ever had. Very close to our hotel, though a little away from the main hubbub of Lincoln Road, Beer & Burger Joint is a local favourite and there was quite a queue when we went there early evening and midweek. We were happy to stay for the short wait for a table though and, once seated, entertained ourselves with the brown paper tablecloth and crayons, because we're basically children.
Mr. O built his own burger and I went for the 10lb Motherburger. Jokes! I had a 1/2 lb-er with mozzarella cheese and vegetables, though I can't for the life of me remember the name. I bloody loved it - it even came in a BRANDED bun. I felt incredibly cool. The mushroom fries I chose to go with it are the stuff dreams are made of.
11th Street Diner
11th Street Diner is your classic American diner - I actually felt as though I'd stepped into a scene from a movie as we walked through the front door. Housed within an old dining cart, shipped to Miami from Pennsylvania, eating here is so much fun! The menu if packed with classic diner food and, frankly, I'd have felt rude if I hadn't ordered the pancakes. I ordered a side of strawberries too though, which totally balanced out all the syrup.
Jerry's Famous Deli
If you've already been to 11th Street Diner and want to have another opportunity to really feel like you're in America, go to Jerry's Famous Deli. Open 24 hours a day, this place is huge, but again makes you feel like you're living in a movie (they're also really keen to give you lots of creamer with your coffee!). The food is diner food, but choose the right item and you'll be in heaven. Might I recommend the brisket and jus sandwich, which was UH-MU-ZING. The pancakes are also really good and they have a very impressive selection of cakes (which is handy when you need a sweet fix at 11 o'clock at night).
T-Mex
I absolutely love Mexican food, but apart from rustling up a mean Chilli con Carne at home, good Mexican is hard to come by in Swansea. So I was determined to enjoy copious amounts of the stuff whilst in Miami. I found great reviews for T-Mex online, so off we trotted, only to think we'd got things very wrong when we found ourselves at little more than a whole in the wall. We decided to be brave and persevere and were duly rewarded with some of the best tacos I've ever eaten. Needless to say, we enjoyed more than one meal here, enjoying tasty food and protecting our budget. Perfect!
The Frieze
We popped in here after dinner one night and I fell in love with the branding (geek). Mr. O indulged in a cinnamony ice cream and thoroughly enjoyed it, though I prefer my ice cream a little softer. They did have an impressive selection of flavours though and the guy serving was really lovely.
And one to avoid...
Wanting a great, very 'Miami' meal for our last night, we trekked down to Big Pink, run by a fancy restaurant group and somewhere I'd seen getting rave reviews. It really wasn't worth the effort, the service didn't leave us feeling very special and the food was the sort of stuff you'd find in a student kitchen - massive bowls of stodgy food with little flavour.
T-Mex, 235 14th Street, Miami Beach, FL 33139
The Frieze, 1626 Michigan Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139
