Visiting Miami, known as the Magic City, is a sensory experience.
Cigar smoke wafts across the facades of the shops lining Calle Ocho in Little Havana.
The open windows of the Maserati that cross Ocean Drive fill the street with salsa and merengue beats.
The sunlight shines on its impeccable finishes and makes the temperature of the stool rise to almost melt your sandals.
Then there’s the food.
This is a city where you can find $5 Cuban sandwiches and $50 crab legs on the same street corner.
The neon signs of decades-old coffee shops reflect the smoked glass windows of new tapas bars, and in coffee shops you can hear the buzz of Havana and Hollywood gossip.
Yardbird Southern Table & Bar
When you visit Miami, one of the most international cities in America, it’s easy to forget you’re in the south.
Yardbird is here as a reminder.
Southern hospitality dominates this themed restaurant just off Lincoln Road.
Yardbird specializes in Southern cuisine made from the basics with farm-fresh produce.
It’s all about fried chicken, shrimp and grits, and mint julep in glass jars.
Yardbird is especially popular for its chicken and waffles, served with a side of spiced watermelon and bourbon maple syrup.
Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, 1600 Lenox Ave., Miami Beach; +1 305 538 5220
Versailles
Versailles, which bills itself as “the most famous Cuban restaurant in the world,” has served “ropa vieja” and “cortaditos” since 1971.
The restaurant is located on Calle Ocho in Miami’s Little Havana, which is perhaps the most popular Cuban neighborhood not under Castro’s reign.
Over the decades, Versailles has become a meeting place for classes for the local Cuban-American community.
Diners can nibble on guava cupcakes and croquettes while eavesdropping on talks about U.S.-Cuba relations and Fidel Castro’s health.
Versailles, 3555 S.W. 8th St., Miami; +1 305 444 0240
Joe’s Stone Crab
On the instructions of his doctor, Joe Weiss arrived in Miami in 1913.
Back then, the only known cure for asthma was a change of climate.
Weiss borrowed $50 from his life insurance policy, made the trip to upstate New York and set up a fish sandwich stand in Miami Beach.
According to legend, Weiss was the first to serve Moorish crab claws, which is now a delicacy on menus throughout Florida.
Today, waiters in tuxedos fly past plates of Moorish crab tongs, potato croquettes and lime pie through Joe’s Stone Crab’s chandelier-filled dining room.
The restaurant does not make reservations and the wait can be really long.
It is recommended to arrive early — before 7 p.m. — to avoid the hustle and bustle.
Joe’s Stone Crab , 11 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; +1 305 673 0365; Please note that the restaurant is closed from August to mid-October. Call for more information.
The Sandwicherie
As a South Beach institution for nearly 30 years, La Sandwicherie is a made-to-the-moment sandwich bar located just a few blocks from the beach.
The portions are huge, the ingredients are fresh and the prices are reasonable for this area.
Most sandwiches cost less than $10.
With just a few stools on the counter counter, customers might feel better by taking their Tropical sandwich — a mix of avocado, mozzarella, papaya, mango and pineapple served over a flaky croissant — to the beach for a picnic.
Night owls will take advantage of La Sandwicherie’s extended hours. The booth is open until 5 a.m. during the week, until 6 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
La Sandwicherie, 229 14th St., Miami Beach; +1 305 532 8934
Mignonette
Located in a 1930s gas station, next to the oldest cemetery in the city, Mignonette is an oyster bar and seafood restaurant that sticks to the motto “simple and elegant.”
The atmosphere is informal… A huge canopy above the open kitchen displays the daily oyster menu in bold lettering and there are vinyl booths lined up in the windows facing the street.
But the menu is elegant.
East and West Coast oysters are served on half shells or decorated in the Rockefeller or Bienville style.
Stuffed eggs are topped with lobster, caviar is shipped from Russia and cauliflower garnish is served with a trout roe mayonnaise.
Chef Daniel Serfer, a Miami native who founded the city’s popular Blue Collar restaurant, also wants everyone to know he makes a top-notch rib.
