Lunch in Miami

[Schneier]

I'm changing plans in Miami, and have a five-hour layover. (Don't ask.) Where should I go for lunch?

I'm looking for one amazing meal in Miami. I don't care if it's expensive. I don't care if it isn't expensive. I don't care what genre. I just want to be impressed.

Suggestions?

Bruce

[Gifted Gourmet]

Has to be reasonably near the airport, no?

then, according to Gayot:

Azul

Chef Allen's

L'Escalier

Mark's South Beach

Nemo

Norman's

North One Ten

Pacific Time

Palme d'Or

The Restaurant

[Nyleve Baar]

I don't want to be the voice of doom here (oh, maybe I do...) but traffic in Miami being the way it is, 5 hours can be cutting it close in terms of getting somewhere and back in time to clear security etc. In theory, it shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to get to, say Chef Allens in North Miami. But I have been trapped on I-95 in standstill traffic - extending that length of trip to an hour or more. If you're determined to do this, I suggest you look for restaurants within a very close radius of the airport.

Unfortunately I can't help you with that either. I don't live in Miami. My experience comes from about 20 years visiting my aged mother who did live there and waited for us more times than I care to remember, her fingers drumming anxiously on the kitchen table, while dinner dried out in the oven and we were stuck in a traffic jam.

[ecruz1026]

Yes, the traffic in Miami can be bad, but not any worse than any other major city. Some of the recs from GayOT seem prohibitively far (L'Escalier is in West Palm Beach) and Chef Allens would take at least 45 minutes to get to. My advice would be to target one of the restaurants in Coral Gables. It's the closest area with a density of good restaurants that's close to the airport. It's a straight shot down LeJeune Rd (42nd Avenue) and shouldn't take more than 10 or 20 minutes to get there. If you go I'd suggest:

Ortanique - Caribbean food. Consistently good. Great Mojitos. Even the bread is addicting. Tell the taxi driver it's on Miracle Mile next to the Miracle Theater.

Cacao - upscale Venezuelan with other South Am. influences. Tell taxi on Giralda east of Ponce De Leon. On that same street there's La Dorada, the only US location outside of Spain. Has seafood flown in from Spain. A bit pricey, but good.

Les Halles - bistro (same as NYC and DC). Good steak frites. Near Miracle Mile and Ponce de Leon.

Caramelo - Haven't been and I've heard mixed reviews. It's Nuevo latino. On Giralda west of Ponce.

A bit further south on LeJeune from these restaurants there's an upscale mall (Merrick Place) that has a couple of latin inspired places. OLA Steak just opened so check if they will open for lunch. It bills itself as a Latin inspired steakhouse. Another is Chispa which is run by another originator of New Latin. There's also Via Quadronno, an Italian lunch spot with outrageously expensive and good sandwiches.

Those are my recs. If I had to choose, I'd go to Ortanique just because it's been around a minute and I've never had a bad meal there.

[Miami Danny]

El Palacio de los Jugos-5721 W. Flagler. The yucca con chicharron will blow you away. There are several hot food stations at this outdoor/indoor market cum picnic ground, serving different Latin dishes. Everything I have eaten here has been terrific-even the fried rice! Very inexpensive, and a good crowd-watching spot. And of course, an incredible selection of tropical juices as well. 10-30 minutes from the airport depending on traffic.