Ariete in Coconut Grove
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Your Guide to Miami Art Week 2021
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A thrilling day perusing Art Basel galleries deserves an equal reward of art on a plate.
Miami-Dade County is the home to some of the country’s most exciting fine dining, but contrary to popular belief, it’s not all centered around the glitz of South Beach. Miami Beach has several can’t-miss restaurants beloved by locals and visitors alike. And those who want a true taste of Miami should be willing to cross the bridge to continue their taste of adventure.
Going on nine years, Macchialina has become a Miami Beach staple with locals and visitors in the know. This is the way I love to eat Italian. You can certainly settle in for a bowl of ziti Bolognese or share a veal Milanese. But the move is to order small plates and share or take a wine-paired tasting flight to experience the spirit of the restaurant that chef Michael Pirolo created with his sister, sommelier Jacqueline Pirolo. The restaurant never gets stale as Michael continues to create and Jacqueline continue to search for new and interesting wines.
820 Alton Rd., Miami Beach. 305-534-2124
Other Miami Beach hits: Casa Isola, Stubborn Seed, Sushi Garage.
/Cortesía/Felipe Cuevas
JUST OVER THE BRIDGE
Café La Trova
Rather than a traditional sit-down restaurant, Miami celeb chef Michelle Bernstein and her hospitality-pro husband David Martinez partnered on this old-world Cuban music lounge in a still-sleepy part of Little Havana with mixed-drink master Julio Cabrera. From its Spartan menu, go with empanadas with roasted calabaza, piping hot paella croquetas or jamon serrano with fig jam, and her mom’s perfect arroz con pollo. Pair it with one of Cabrera’s cocktails — I’d go for the Guayabero (tequila, guava marmalade, lime) topped with a timba, a tiny bit of guava with cream cheese speared with a tiny umbrella. Go on a Thursday night for live classic Cuban music.
971 SW Eighth St., Little Havana. 786-615-4379
Red Rooster
Marcus Samuelsson aimed for his restaurant to bring life to this southeastern corner of Overtown — and it is fulfilling its promise. More than four years have passed since Samuelsson and partners bought this spot, the former Clyde Killens Pool Hall, where the country’s biggest Black artists, such as Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole, once performed. Now it’s where men in ties and women in high heels fill every table and seat at the bar. Incandescent globe lights warm a tropical blue-and-gold dining room, while a DJ spins a bumping mix. The fried yardbird, sour orange pork ribs, cauliflower “burnt ends,” mac and cheese will all make you want to return.
920 NW Second Ave., Overtown. 305-640-9880
Other east-side gems: Boia De in Little Haiti, Kyu in Wynwood
Grilled yellowtail snapper with charreed gooseberry salsa at Red Rooster Overtown MICHAEL PISARRI Red Rooster Overtown
FARTHER INLAND
Ariete
Michael Beltran cut his teeth with some great chefs, including James Beard winners Michael Schwartz and Norman Van Aken. He struck out on his own for Ariete, where he is among a new wave of Miami-born chefs of Cuban descent, reimagining our city’s cuisine. The foie gras uses sour orange. Baked ricotta includes nispero (sapodilla). And you’d be smart to finish with the flan made with candy cap mushrooms that add the flavor of maple syrup. The menu is always changing, highlighting a Miami inspiration to fine dining. Trust it and let Beltran be your guide to, let’s call it, New Miami Cuisine.
3540 Main Hwy., Coconut Grove. 305-640-5862
Luca Osteria
Giorgio Rapicavoli, Miami’s first “Chopped!” winner, gave Miami a piece of his heart with his new Italian restaurant, where he makes comfort food inspired by his Italian mother’s home cooking. Here he is prone to combine the freshest, unexpected and non-traditional ingredients just as he did for nine years at Eating House, which he is relocating two doors down in early 2022. That means ‘nduja “sausage” made instead with marinated tomatoes, a Bolognese of long-stewed short rib and perfectly al dente pasta like the amatriciana with rendered prosciutto. It’s skilled and unpretentious food served in a fun (if sometimes loud) setting along Giralda Plaza.
116 Giralda Ave, Coral Gables. 305-381-5097
Other nearby gems: Mamey and Orno, both by Niven Patel
This story was originally published November 26, 2021 at 1:58 PM.
Miami Herald food editor Carlos Frías is a two-time James Beard Award winner, including the 2022 Jonathan Gold Local Voice Award for engaging the community with his food writing. A Miami native, he’s also the author of the memoir “Take Me With You: A Secret Search for Family in a Forbidden Cuba.”
