Miami burger fiends have a new outlet for their seared-meat cravings. Located in the old Ouzo South Beach spot in the booming restaurant row off Purdy Avenue, Burger & Beer Joint on Bay Road follows the recession-friendly dining wave.

In addition to the raucous restaurant with high-backed booths and a bustling bar, there's also a neighboring sports bar with flat screens and graffiti walls and an upstairs lounge with bordello furniture and crystal chandeliers. Noise levels border on cacophonous with a soundtrack that veers from thrash metal to rock classics. Reservations are a good idea; waits can last up to an hour.

The grub is burgers, fried food and more burgers. Executive chef Carlos Barillas shows gourmet flair with American Kobe beef, foie-gras toppings and optional truffle oil for your shoestring fries. Burgers average $10; starters are $6-$9 and beers are $6. You could pretend to go healthy by starting with a Mediterranean salad with feta and watercress or just get straight to the artery-clogging fare. Burgers can be had in half-pound or one-pound varieties. Vegetarians have a hefty ``Dear Prudence'' burger of fat portobello mushrooms, roasted red peppers, arugula and mozzarella served with a side of tempura-battered zucchini fries. There are 99 varieties of beer, most bottled, but with Sierra Nevada, Presidente and Brooklyn Lager on tap. There's an old-school soda fountain and ice-cream bar where ``adult'' milkshakes are spiked with sweet liquors, and classic sundaes share space with such rodeo fare as deep-fried Twinkies.

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