South Florida Food 50: Eileen Andrade of Finka Table & Tap

Eileen Andrade, Chef-owner of Finka Table & Tap

Why she’s in the Food 50: Eileen Andrade saw a lack of creative food options in west Miami-Dade and set out to change that with Finka. Aside from being in a Publix shopping plaza, Finka bears no resemblance to the cookie-cutter chains that dot its nearby landscape. Andrade’s spacious gastropub pours craft beers and creative cocktails, and it serves cheffy takes on comfort-food dishes from Peru (lomo saltado wok-fried rice), Korea (fried chicken with spicy, funky gochujang) and Cuba (tostones with ropa vieja and chicharrón crumbles).

It’s the latter category in which Finka excels, a reflection of Andrade’s lineage (her grandparents opened the popular Islas Canarias chainlet of Miami restaurants) and her past experience running the CubanCube food truck with her brother. She’s on a roll now with Finka: It won Best Restaurant in the 2015 Burgies, a people’s-choice competition hosted by food blogger Burger Beast.

Where to find her: Finka Table & Tap, 14690 SW 26th St., Miami-Dade.

Web: finkarestaurant.com

Social: @FinkaTableTap

This story was originally published February 17, 2015 at 7:34 PM with the headline "South Florida Food 50: Eileen Andrade of Finka Table & Tap."