This Miami restaurant’s chicken parm was just named the best in Florida

When it comes to chicken parm, the ultimate Italian comfort food, Klime Kovaceski is more interested in what tastes good than tradition.

Sound like heresy? It’s not. The owner and chef of Miami’s Crust restaurant is obviously onto something: Eat This, Not That just rated the best chicken parm in every state — and decided Crust had the best version of the dish in all of Florida.

“Crust, the Florida restaurant that was named one of the Top 100 Restaurants of 2019 by OpenTable, makes a chicken parm and linguine entree that people can’t stop talking about,” the website wrote. “Their limoncello cake, a delicious dessert made with Sicilian lemon-infused cake, Italian mascarpone, and white chocolate shavings, is a great accompaniment to it.”

When you think of Crust, you might first think of pizza, given the restaurant’s name and the fact that its pizza is widely praised. Recently it was named one of the best pizza spots in the country by Yelp, and in 2020 was ranked one of the best pizza restaurants in the country by The Daily Meal. But Kovaceski, who runs the restaurant with his wife, Anita, says only around 20 percent of his business comes from pizza sales.

What makes his chicken parm, which sells for $25.95, so special? Kovaceski says it’s because he makes it the way he wants.

“I’m Macedonian, not Italian,” he says, laughing. “I don’t have to do my grandmother’s recipe. Sometimes not being authentic to the region is a good thing.”

This means using Japanese panko breadcrumbs instead of Italian breadcrumbs and Alta Cucina tomatoes instead of San Marzano tomatoes, “because I prefer them.” He also uses chicken tenders instead of chicken breasts because they’re “not as stringy.”

Kovaceski, who also prefers dried pasta to fresh, understands that some purists might look askance at his methods. He cheerfully admits he “overuses” fresh basil — he goes through 40 pounds in five days — because “it’s a signature of my cooking.” He says he’ll put his chicken Marsala up against any chicken Marsala in the country should anyone care to do a taste-off.

He says he has seen changes in the Miami restaurant scene since he and Anita opened Crust in 2015, the most recent of which involves a huge increase in takeout and delivery orders.

“Before the pandemic, my takeout and delivery was about 18 percent of the business,” he says. “In 2021, my biggest year ever, 46 percent was takeout and delivery. It more than doubled. But it makes sense. Myself and my wife, we try to go out as much as we can because it’s our job. However, it’s appealing these days to get takeout and eat at home.

“Sharing an evening at home with friends and family — we do that in Europe. If this is one good thing that came out of the pandemic, that’s good.”

Crust

Where: 668 NW Fifth St., Miami

Hours: 4-10 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday

Information and orders: crust-usa.com or 305-371-7065

This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 12:45 PM.