Not-Spice: 6 restaurants not on Miami Spice that are offering deals
Some restaurants don’t play by the rules.
Sure, Miami Spice is the talk of summer, with more than 240 Miami-Dade County restaurants participating in the promotion to offer lunch at $23 and dinner at $39 during August and September.
But that doesn’t mean restaurants skipping Miami Spice aren’t offering interesting deals.
Here are six that bucked thrend and have their own thing going on during the year’s slowest restaurant months:
Eating House
804 Ponce De Leon Blvd., Coral Gables
Miami homeboy Giorgio Rapicavoli loves thumbing his nose at the establishment. The chef who started his own restaurant with his winnings from Chopped hosts an annual 4/20 dinner in honor of the pot-lovers unofficial holiday with a glutonus menu. Throughout August and September, Eating House will offer a seven course fixed-price dinner menu for $42 with $4.20 from every meal donated to United for Care, which advocates for legalizing medical marijuana. The Miami Munchies menu includes “cold pizza” focaccia, buffalo duck wings, mini Cap’n Crunch pancakes, and a “special” brownie sundae.
Glass and Vine
2820 McFarlane Rd., Coconut Grove
Rapicavoli is the chef here, too, so of course they were going to offer not-Spice deals. The restaurant received 3 1/2 stars when The Miami Herald reviewed it in May, and now it is open daily for lunch and brunch on the weekends, from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Expect outside-the-box dishes, such as pan con tomate (pictured above), semolina buttermilk pancakes with lemon zest and wood-oven baked eggs with garlic cream, both $12.
Joe’s Stone Crab
11 Washington Ave., Miami Beach
Sure, stone crab is in the name and undoubtedly the specialty of this oldest-running Miami restaurant. But did you know about the fried chicken? Their half fried chicken for $9.95 is some of the best in Miami, and with Joe’s honey-mustard sauce and cream cole slaw and chips, it’s a steal. Oh, and you can get it any time of year, not just during the summer.
Seven Dials
2030 S. Douglas Rd., #102, Coral Gables
British food never fared so well in Miami as it does in chef Andrew Gilbert’s hands atSeven Dials. They excel at everything from housemade charcuterie, fish and chips and proper sausage to composed dishes such as the lamb shank, which is part of a new summer menu. Every Tuesday this summer, they will have a new version of mussels and a new curry every Thursday.
The Local Craft Food & Drink
150 Giralda Ave., Coral Gables
The classic Coral Gables spot, now under the direction of chef/owner Phil Bryant, is turning to social media to keep diners up to date on weekly specials it hopes to feature throughout August and September, www.facebook.com/thelocal150. The restaurant will be on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive in and Dives” on Aug. 5, when it will offer a menu of dishes featured on the show at a watch party.
Tap 42
301 Giralda Ave, Coral Gables
One of the best-kept Monday night secrets should be secret no more. Tap 42’s Prohibition Burger, with melted white cheddar, applewood-smoked bacon and secret sauce, usually $14.50, is just $5 on Monday nights. (So is the veggie-falafel burger, for the vegetarians out there.)
This story was originally published July 26, 2016 at 3:07 AM.