Christmas dinner in Miami

[A4th]

Our family will be vacationing in Miami over the Christmas holiday and wonder if you could suggest a restaurant for Christmas dinner. We would like it to be a memorable dinner or even a buffet anywhere in the Miami area and price is not a concern. We love to eat so any nationality of restaurant would OK. Thank you

[robyn]

Our family will be vacationing in Miami over the Christmas holiday and wonder if you could suggest a restaurant for Christmas dinner. We would like it to be a memorable dinner or even a buffet anywhere in the Miami area and price is not a concern. We love to eat so any nationality of restaurant would OK. Thank you

Since you'll be in Miami for a week - you can try lots of things. But perhaps the only unusual Christmas thing you'll find there is the traditional Cuban roast pig on "la noche buena" (Christmas Eve). You can find it at various restaurants in and around Little Havana (don't think you'll want to journey to Hialeah - too much traffic). It will most likely not be a big deal meal in terms of atmosphere or prices. But it is a traditional tasty meal.

Don't know exactly what your timetable is - but - if you like parades - marching bands and the like - the Orange Bowl Parade is a big deal parade.

What part of town are you staying in (the greater Miami metro area is a big place - and traffic is pretty bad a lot of the time)? Robyn

[A4th]

thank you for your reply. We are staying in South Beach for 4 nights. Actually, the only thing our family doesn't eat is pork so if you could suggest another restaurant, that would be great

[robyn]

thank you for your reply. We are staying in South Beach for 4 nights. Actually, the only thing our family doesn't eat is pork so if you could suggest another restaurant, that would be great

Well - no pork kind of rules out cuchinillo <smile> - and a fair amount of Cuban eating for that matter. On the other hand - do get to Little Havana for at least one lunch. Try Versailles. It is the quintessential Little Havana restaurant. A lot of fun. And you can get dishes without pork.

Let me give you 3 more (bigger deal) ideas. Bizcaya Grill in the Ritz Carlton in Coconut Grove. Azul in the Mandarin Oriental on Brickell Key near downtown. And La Broche also in the Brickell area near downtown. We haven't lived in Miami for about 8 years. Were there earlier this year and tried both the Bizcaya Grill and Azul for the first time. Both have big deal chefs. Of the two - we liked the Bizcaya Grill better (the rabbit canneloni at Bizcaya was to die for) - but Azul is definitely the hotter ticket. Haven't tried La Broche yet - it is a branch of the same restaurant in Madrid - and the chef is from the "El Bulli" line of chefs/cooking. Deconstructivist - a little weird. Don't know if you're into that kind of thing. Will probably check it out on our next trip.

Look at Norman's in Coral Gables - and Chef Allen's in north Miami. Both of these are older and more established - but the chefs were there at the start in terms of creating Florida fusion cuisine. I suspect both are still solid - if not exactly on the "cutting edge" these days. These restaurants are both a bit further away from where you'll be staying (don't know how far you want to drive or take a cab). I cannot recommend any of Mark Militello's current places (and I think I've been to most of them). I think he has spread himself too thin (which is a shame - since he was really the first great chef in Miami). Also read in the New York Times today that Doug Rodriguez is opening a new restaurant in Miami (where he came from originally - don't know where or when and don't have time to look it up right now - take a look - his food was always interesting - new American Cuban).

Read about these (there's a lot of on line stuff) and get back to me with questions. I'll try my best to answer.

Please note that I lived in Miami for over 20 years - and there aren't many restaurants on South Beach I can stomach. High prices - mediocre food - served with a lot of attitude. Have been to a few the last couple of trips - and I haven't changed my opinion. Perhaps I didn't find the right ones <shrug>. If you must do Joe's Stone crabs - and they're really good stone crabs - either do lunch (which is nice) - or takeout (eat at a picnic table on the beach). If you insist on trying to eat there at night when you're going - very busy time - figure a $20-50 "tip" to the seater to be seated in less than 1-2 hours.

By the way - what restaurants are you thinking of? Robyn

[A4th]

Thank you for these terrific suggestions. I'll look into each of them and then choose from your list. will let you know the outcome once a decision is made.

[robyn]

Thank you for these terrific suggestions. I'll look into each of them and then choose from your list. will let you know the outcome once a decision is made.

Please note that the Wall Street Journal had some pretty bad things to say about Norman's today. So I take it off my list of suggestions (I haven't been there in quite a while - and I will defer to a recent review). Robyn

[joiei]

I always enjoyed Ortanique on the Mile in the Gables.

I hear there are some very interesting neighborhood places up in the North Beach area, not all the flash and dash of South Beach but good food at reasonable prices. I have not been in 2 years, but am planning a late spring trip,