Top Ten Miami Restaurants

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MARCH 2019

TOP 10

MIAMI RESTAURANTS By @ReneGourmet

CEO’S LETTER

This issue is devoted to Gourmet Pleasures Top Ten Restaurants in Miami and it includes all of my articles and photographs concerning these amazing restaurants. Actually, I never should have written the pronoun “my” in the previous sentence.

I have an wonderful team that I would be lost without. They are extremely devoted, talented and hard working. Margie Castro is not only the Editor in Chief but is also responsible for the magazine’s creative design. She is the one tasked with putting together the overall “look” of each issue and I am astonished every month with her amazing ideas. There would be no magazine without her.

My Senior Editor, Ellen Rosenfeld, works very hard to make sure that every word I write is the absolute best. She is also not afraid to stand up to me when she disagrees with my opinions and, I must admit, she often wins the argument. I also want to thank Oswaldo Pisfil, our Associate Editor and our contributors, Gabriela Morales, Alex Forster, Hilarin Soto, Matt Wagner and Lili Tique.

A big thank you goes to my family and friends who often dine out with me at the restaurants I review. When our food arrives at the table I don’t let them eat anything until I get the perfect pictures. They are starving and I keep repeating “just one more picture”.

Now that are top ten list is complete, I am busy work on a Top Fifty Restaurants in Miami list.

My goal is to complete this project before the summer months and, hopefully, without gaining 100 pounds! Next month’s Gourmet Pleasures’ issue will celebrate our one year anniversary and it seems like just yesterday that we started this “adventure” I believe we have come a long way and my intention is to keep getting better. We are in the process of revamping some of our monthly columns and, as always, we welcome your feedback. Have a great month!

Rene Buroz CEO/Founder

Content: 6 HAKKASAN

57 PRIME 112

14 NUSRET

62 THE BAZAAR

20 LA MAR

70 JOE’S STONE CRAB

30 ZUMA

79 NOBU

40 IL GABBIANO 49 MAKOTO FOUNDER/CEO Gourmet Pleasures Rene Buroz (2018) Editor in Chief/ Creative Design Margie Castro Senior Editor: Ellen Rosenfeld Assosiate editor: Oswaldo Pisfil Editorial@gourmetpleasures.com PHOTOGRAPHY GP Photography @ReneGourmet @DroneProductions

CONTRIBUTORS Gabriela Morales Alex Forster Hillarin Soto Matt Wagner Lili Tique PUBLISHED BY Stage Wynwood LLC 2018 Head Office: 350 S. Miami Ave Ste. A Miami, Fl. 33130 Email: Contact@gourmetpleasures.com

FOR OTHER ENQUIRIES, PLEASE VISIT: www.GourmetPleasures.com © Copyright 2019 Gourmet Pleasures. All rights reserved. While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein. @GourmetPleasures

W

hen I made the decision a year ago to launch Gourmet Pleasures Magazine I knew that I wanted to develop a top ten list of restaurants in the Miami area.

Barely a week goes by without online photos of celebrities enjoying our “amenities”. This area consists of a multicultural population that is constantly growing and has also been a favorite choice for those seeking a second home, often to escape the brutal winter weather common to many other states. Because of these reasons, South Florida has become a prime dining destination, boasting some of the best spots to enjoy amazing food. Unfortunately when I googled “top ten restaurants in Miami” I was extremely disappointed with my search results.

I limited my search to the past year since we all know restaurants “come and go”. I also found that I had to try numerous alternatives to the name Miami, such as South Florida, Miami-Dade, Miami Beach, etc. Even after trying all of these searches, I was still dissatisfied. Many of the list are a compilation of reviews from recent “diners”, and although Renee M. from New York City or John from Ft Lauderdale are probably very nice people, I have no idea what constitutes their idea of a great meal.

Yes there were other lists, but none of them impressed me and so I decided to do the research (eat), and come up with my own list with the help of my talented staff of writers and editors.

I must admit that I do not consider myself an expert on food. I am a food lover and have been since I was a child. I spend many years as a criminal attorney and my successful career afforded me the luxury of owning and operating several restaurants during the last twenty years, I served on panels of judges for culinary students’ examinations. I have been professionally trained in several culinary areas, such as sushi and kobe beef, as well as becoming a certified bartender. However, when I review a restaurant I rely on my sense of taste, sight and smell rather than any of my education about food. My criteria is very simple, I am simply looking for a truly amazing dining experience. I am not high maintenance and I don’t count the minutes it takes for a waiter to notice a dropped fork on the floor, a common ploy used by one well known dining review committee. Nor do I care whether they have 400 different bottles of wine on their menu. For me the food is the star. Of course, bad service and lackluster ambiance do detract from the overall experience. Gourmet Pleasures list of the top ten restaurants in Miami is like most lists, an opinion.

These ten restaurants consistently impressed me and my staff and we highly recommend them to our loyal readers.

Hakkasan From the moment you enter the lobby of the Fontainebleau Hotel, you can sense that your evening at Hakkasan will be memorable, When you arrive at the restaurant’s location on the 4th floor, you are warmly greeted by three very pleasant and elegant hostesses. Once seated at your comfortable table, you begin to enjoy the beats of electronic music, preparing for your gourmet Chinese culinary experience.

You can start your dinner with the “Hakka” cocktail, a perfectly blended mixture of top shelf vodka, sake, coconut passion fruit and lychee juice. Or, if you prefer, you can choose from a wide variety of sakes and champagnes.

The menu is extensive, with unique dishes at this Miami Beach location that stand out. (Hakkasan has eleven locations worldwide ) We are making some suggestions but we’d like you to know that this is extremely difficult task since all of the food we tasted was spectacular. (and we ordered a lot! ) For appetizers, we recommend the lobster dumplings ( but only if you arrive early, They are so good they are almost always sold out). The Crispy Duck Salad is a delectable mixture of greens and superbly cooked duck.

You will also not be disappointed with the Crispy butter and egg soft shell crab. For an entree, if you like duck, we strongly suggest the traditional Peking Duck with Petrossian caviar. We also urge you to try the delicious Sweet and Sour Pork with grapefruit and the very tender and succulent Black Pepper Beef.

Leave room for dessert. The Warm Chocolate Fondant is a fluffy chocolate cake baked to perfection and filled with a delicious chocolate fudge sauce. For a lighter dessert we love their delicate rice pudding.

The service is flawless. The restaurant has a pefect amount of staff so that you feel well taken care throughout your entire meal but never rushed.

The waiters, hostesses, bartenders, runners and managers all make you feel at home.

All of these reasons make Hakkasan one of our top 10 restaurants in Miami deserving of our “Gourmet Pleasures� award.

PAO By

PAUL QUI

The sensational restaurant Pao by Paul Qui is located in the very upscale, and relatively new, Faena Hotel in South Beach. The decor is rather eclectic with the focal point being a golden unicorn statue “standing guard� under a domed ceiling. There are gold leafed walls, a marble bar and beautiful ocean views all combining perfectly with wooden tables and lush greenery. The cuisine is modern Asian fusion, which has been globally inspired by Filipino, Spanish, Japanese and French influences. All of these elements contribute to the kitchen sending out dishes that are worthy of the best restaurants in the world.

The menu is comprised of crudo (raw) dishes, salads, meats, fish and specialty rice. Since everything seemed so appealing, we challenged ourselves to order as many dishes as we could possible eat, or at least taste. We started this adventure with nigiris ( a type of sushi ) of Wagyu Kobe Beef A5. A5 is the highest grade of this beef and it did not disappoint with its dense, but divine flavor. We fell in love at first sight when our server brought us the King Crab Taco, with jicama, avocado and grilled scallions. Gourmet Pleasures is not easily impressed by presentation but this dish wowed us with its colors and flowers, and best of all it tasted as good as it looked. We followed this with Kinilaw, a fresh cobia accompanied by hearts of palm, red onions and cilantro in a delicate broth of coconut milk. For those unfamiliar with this dish, Kinilaw is a Filipino version of ceviche and is flavorful and refreshing. We were particularly impressed by the fact that a small piece of chili pepper and micro cilantro had been carefully placed inside each piece of cobia.

For our main dish we feasted on the Smoked Short Rib Asado with Japanese Sweet Potato Puree. The menu stated that the Wagyu Beef was cooked for 72 hours and after our first bite we knew the chef was not exaggerating. The sweet potato puree was luscious and light and one of the best we have ever eaten. The entire dish was outstanding. We also want to recommend Pao’s Roasted Fish. The night we dined it was Branzino and it was a huge portion that was moist and very tasty. All of the desserts on the menu sounded delicious but since we had “room” for only one, we ordered the Coconut Tapioca which was served with seasonal fruit and burnt coconut sorbet. It was fabulous; creamy, but not cloying, We would definitely order it again.

The service at Pao was excellent. It is evident that the restaurant takes great pains in making sure that all of their staff are well educated in the correct manner to treat admirers of fine dining. Gourmet Pleasures enjoyed our extraordinary dinner at Pao and we do not hesitate in recommending it to our readers.

LA MAR When talking about Peruvian cuisine, it should be considered a crime if the name Gaston Acurio Jaramillo is not mentioned.

Born in Lima, Peru, Mr. Acurio has not only brought Peruvian food to its highest level, but has been most influential in sharing his country’s wonderful flavors with the rest of the world. He currently has approximately 34 locations in 11 countries.

We previously wrote about him in our Gourmet Diary article, published in November, where we shared our experience visiting his fabulous restaurant Manko in Paris. We are huge fans of his Miami restaurant, La Mar. La Mar is located in the prestigious Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The interior restaurant has a contemporary, but warm and inviting, design. The restaurant also has outdoor tables on the terrace where diners are treated to an breathtaking view of Biscayne Bay and the Miami skyline.

Once seated, we were served a complimentary bowl of tortillas with a yellow aji sauce for dipping.

We sipped “Pisco Sours�, a popular Peruvian cocktail, while we studied the menu.

Our waitress was very professional and eager to explain all of the various dishes to us.

We began our meal with one of the most traditional dishes of Peru, ceviche. We ordered the Cebiche Sampler which consisted of the most popular choices; the El Lujoso with lobster, crab, trout eggs, chalaca, radishes, with olive oil and avocado leche de tigre; the El Clasico with fluke, cilantro, aji lemon pepper, red onions, choclo, and classic leche de tigre and the Carretillero with snapper, shrimp, octopus, crispy calamari, sweet potato, choclo, cancha and spicy leche de tigre.

In reading the ingredients of each dish you could assume that the three were very similar in taste, but the different mixtures of ingredients and the components of the tigre milk made each dish unique.

The one thing that they did have in common is that they were all exceptional. We then had the La Chalanita, which is a causas dish. Causas is a dish with layer mashed potatoes topped by various ingredients. The La Chalanita had a topping of nikkei (raw thinly cut fish), crab and salad. It was beautifully presented in a hand carved model of a traditional fisherman’s boat. The whipped potatoes tasted soft and subtle which allowed the flavors of the fish to “shine” For a main course, we had the Lomo Saltado, another Peruvian specialty.

This was a perfectly stir fried tenderloin with red onions and tomatoes accompanied by fried potato wedges.

This was also very good, but the “dish of the evening” was the Pork Shank with a tamarind sauce reduction.

Gourmet Pleasures loves pork shank and, for us, this preparation was like a dream come true. The skin of the pig was incredibly crispy and the flesh was soft and juicy. We can’t wait to return to La Mar and order this again. Even though we were full, we couldn’t resist ordering the El Chocolate en Texturas for dessert. The chocolate brownie texture with foam and ice cream was the perfect ending to a perfect meal.

The menu at La Mar may give you the impression that they are serving simple dishes, but in reality this is “haute” cuisine. This amazing food, combined with the impeccable service and pleasant ambiance, makes La Mar one of our top ten restaurants in Miami, truly deserving of our Gourmet Pleasures Award.

ZUMA

In the heart of downtown Miami is the Japanese restaurant Zuma. Its unmistakable style fuses with the authentic flavors of Japanese food but with the latest trends in world cuisine.

The environment is fun, energetic and elegant, all at the same time. This is a fashionable dining spot where everyone goes to see and be seen.

If you dine there you may see Jlo, Pitbull, Miss Universe Ximena Navarrete or one of the Kardashians sitting at a nearby table. Our first indication that we were about to have a memorable meal was the service.

Zuma does not believe in anything by perfection.

The service is impeccable. The waitstaff is very knowledgeable about the menu, the ingredients in each dish, and warn about any possible allergies. They are quick to anticipate your any need. Presentation is also paramount to Zuma. The food is picture perfect and is served on exquisite and colorful platters, many handmade in Japan, some costing as much as $500.00

On our recent visit, Gourmet Pleasures began with drinks. Zuma boasts of one of the best Sake lists available including one, biwa no choju, which is brewed exclusively for them. They also have an excellent wine and cocktail menu. Our favorite cocktail was the Passion Fruit Martini.

Zuma’s menu is extensive with seasonal dishes, soup and salads, seafood, sushi, meat and dessert.

Their main method of cooking is the robata (actual Japanese name is robatayaki) which is similar to barbecue. Items are cooked at varying speeds over hot charcoal adding a spectacular taste to the food.

We ordered a wide variety of dishes that we shared at our waiter’s suggestion.

For appetizers, we enjoyed the Fried Soft Shell crab with mizuna and wasabi mayo, presented in crunchy and creamy halves with that touch of wasabi at the end. We also found the Watercress Salad with avocado, wasabi and cucumber very refreshing. The Tuna and Salmon Tartare was one of our favorites This was different from the traditional preparation, as Zuma presents it in the form of a very soft pasta, subtly seasoned. If you wish, you can spread it on some crackers for a delightful variation. It should almost be mandatory to order the Kurobuta pork belly skewers with yuzu mustard miso. It is soft and juicy and loaded with flavor. We added fresh shaved truffles to the rice hot pot with mushrooms and Japanese vegetables. It was similar in creaminess to a risotto and the mushrooms were enhanced by the amazing black truffles. Another mandatory dish, in our opinion, is the King Crab with ponzu lime butter. This is a work of art. The thickness of the sauce with the acidic touch of the ponzu combine perfectly with the texture of the shellfish. Gourmet Pleasures could not resist the grilled scallops with pickled plum and shiso and mentaiko butter. The magic of the butter and the flavor of the charcoal from the robata contributed beautifully to the strong but very delicious and succulent flavor.

If you are a meat lover, Zuma offers several options from skirt steak to the decedent wagyu tomahawk steak with fresh truffles. Please do not miss desserts no matter how full you are. They are enticing and unique.

We were very impressed by the yuzu and key lime meringue pie. This is far from the your usual key lime pie. The yuzu is a fruit that tastes like a mixture of lime and grapefruit and it adds the perfect citrus flavor.

Gourmet Pleasures could not leave without ordering Zuma’s famous Chocolate Fondant with the name of the restaurant decorating the top.

The atmosphere, service and quality of the food at Zuma is A+. All of these reasons make Zuma one of our top 10 restaurants in Miami deserving of our “Gourmet Pleasures” award.

IL GABBIANO In the rear of the One Miami building is the Italian restaurant Il Gabbiano. Upon entering and walking down a long corridor you are warmly greeted by two stylish hosts and escorted to your table. The main dining room has a bar and elegantly set tables with beautiful tablecloths and fine china. There is also seating available on the terrace, offering breathtaking views of the Port. of Miami, Miami Beach and Key Biscayne. It is an amazing setting for a romantic evening or special occasion. In the interior portion of the restaurant are three mobile pasta preparation stations. Among the chefs preparing these exquisite dishes is one of Il Gabbiano’s owners, who makes certain that everything is done to perfection.

Nutella Pie

Immediately upon sitting, you are served a complimentary piece of aged Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese accompanied by balsamic vinegar, as well as bruschetta with tomatoes and fried zucchini chips. It’s a great way to start your meal. Each table’s service is led by a “captain” who, after taking your drink orders, explained the specials of the evening. The menu has something for everyone; from antipasto, soups, salads and risottos to meat, fish and chicken. They also offer an excellent selection of fine wines.

If you like octopus, the Grilled Octopus with white bean salad is a perfect choice for your appetizer.

This was certainly one of the best octopus dishes Gourmet Pleasures has ever had. If you prefer soup, we recommend the Tortellini in Brodo (broth) which will surely bring back memories of your grandmother’s kitchen. The pastas are extraordinary. One of the best is the Champagne Porcini Tortellini. The flavors combine perfectly to the point that you know you will be returning soon to eat this again. Another fantastic option is the Linguine alle Vongole. If you are in the mood for meat, we suggest you order the Osso Bucco, which is cooked slowly at a low temperature making the meat extremely tender. It is served with a delicious parmesan risotto.

The juicy double cut veal chops where also sensational. An unusual, but very tasty, dish is the Branzino a la Sal. The fish is first entirely covered by salt and then baked. When it is served, the waiter breaks the salt covering open tableside and then fillets the fish in front of you. The fish is very flavorful but, surprisingly, not too salty. For dessert order the Tiramisu, the quintessential Italian dessert. It is heavenly.

The food, service and atmosphere at Il Gabbiano are all first class . All of these reasons make Il Gabbiano one of the top 10 restaurants in Miami deserving of our “Gourmet Pleasures� award.

MAKOTO Located in the very luxurious and upscale Bal Harbor Shops is the Japanese restaurant Makoto. This dining establishment is elegant, with beautiful wood dominating the exquisite decor. Makoto’s spacious interior showcases a large sushi bar where expert sushi chefs create a large assortment of sushi and sashimi, including otoro and chutoro.

Toro is the name for the fatty part of the tuna found in the belly portion of the fish. Due to its relative scarcity as a proportion to the entire fish it is expensive, but well worth the price. The restaurant also has seating at two outdoor terraces, one of which overlooks the interior of the mall and has a bar where you can enjoy a wide variety of cocktails and, of course, sakes.

The menu is simple, but by no means limited. Makoto offers hot and cold appetizers, salads, rice and noodle dishes, fish and meat. For an appetizer, Gourmet Pleasures recommends the Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice, which consists of a bed of crispy rice topped with tuna tartar and seasoned with just the right amount of serrano chili. This is an excellent combination of textures, with the tuna predominating. The Wagyu Carpaccio is spectacular. It’s dressing of ginger, garlic and truffle oil gives it a unique taste. For those who like bold flavors, this dish is perfect. Our CEO Rene Gourmet always orders the Dynamite Hand Roll, which is prepared with baked crab, rice and creamy ponzu wrapped in rice paper.

For main dishes, we recommend the Japanese Wagyu cooked tableside on a hot stone. This is not only a delicious dish but a fun experience. It is served with a sensational sesame dipping sauce. For fish lovers, we suggest the Miso Sea Bass. It is delicate and perfectly marinated. From the Robata menu, we like the King Crab with ponzu butter. Ponzu is a Japanese sauce that is make from yuzu juice, which is a Japanese citrus fruit similar to lime, and soy sauce. This combined with butter highlights the crab so perfectly that you will be tempted to have a second order. Also on the Robata menu is fantastic grilled avocado and very tasty corn with citrus butter.

In our opinion, it is almost mandatory to order the Short Rib Yaki Noodles. This is served in a hot stone vessel which finishes the cooking process as it is brought to the table. The server then gently mixes the dish tableside before serving. This noodle dish is “fit for a king” When it comes to dessert, Toban Yaki is a clear winner. This combination of passion fruit-white chocolate, almond cookie crumble and mango sorbet is heavenly. The perfect end to a perfect meal.

The service is first class. The wait staff are knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. All of these reasons make Makoto one of our top 10 restaurants in Miami deserving of our “Gourmet Pleasures” award.

PRIME 112 When it comes to selecting a restaurant in South Florida, where you can enjoy a good steak, it it almost mandatory to think of Prime 112. This is a modern style restaurant which is already considered a classic in our city and is also one of the leaders in restaurant sales in the United States. When you first arrive at the location you see luxury automobiles at the valet station, private limousines and throngs of people eager to be seated in this very popular establishment. During the “season�, even with a reservation, be prepared to wait.

Gourmet Pleasures recently dined at Prime 112 and, since it was a week night in the summer, we were promptly greeted and escorted to our table. As soon as our waiter brought the basket of bread to your table, we realized this night would not disappoint.

Although all of the bread selections were good, the cheese bread stood out. It was freshly baked with a warm cheesy center enclosed in a perfect crispy crust.

For an appetizer, Gourmet Pleasures recommends that you order the oysters. Prime 112 is primarily known as a “steakhouse� but, from our experiences, their seafood selections are always fresh. The succulent oysters were accompanied by a horseradish sauce and black pepper mignonette. The wagyu short rib sliders, the jumbo lump crab cakes and the lobster bisque are also excellent choices for a first course.

At Prime 112 all of their beef is USDA Prime and dry aged for 30 day and our waiter was extremely educated about the various choices and cuts available.

We ordered the porterhouse steak for two. It was cooked to perfection; flavorful and juicy. We also ordered the Bone-In Filet. This is a somewhat rare, and rather expensive, cut of meat. It has the tenderness of the filet, but with more flavor because it is cooked on the bone. It was absolutely fantastic. For side dishes, we had the Sweet Potato & Vanilla Bean Mash and the Crispy White Truffle Fries.They were both delicious accompaniments to our meal. Although we were quite full, we could not leave without sampling dessert. We chose the fluffy warm chocolate pudding cake It was served with sweet cream and amarena cherries and it was the perfect conclusion to our very enjoyable meal.

The service was good, despite the busyness of the restaurant. That coupled with the excellent food and appealing atmosphere makes Prime 112 one of our top 10 restaurants in Miami deserving of our “Gourmet Pleasures� award.

THE BAZAAR No list of top American chefs would be complete if it did not include the name Jose Andres. Born in Mieres, a municipality of Asturias in the northwest area of Spain, his early career included studying under the great chef Ferran Adria at the restaurant elBulli.

The two men later went on to teach a culinary class together at Harvard University. Today Mr. Andres has several restaurants across the United States and we are very fortunate that two of them are located in South Florida

The Bazaar by Jose Andres is located in the lobby of the SLS Hotel in South Beach. The restaurant has three distinctly different areas. The first is the bar with its eclectic decor highlighted by the mounted head of a hooded bull and candlesticks embellished with melted wax. The main dining area is both minimalistic and elegant. There is also a terrace area featuring tapas, which is not unexpected since Mr. Andres is often credited with introducing “small plates� to American diners. All three areas share a romantic vibe.

The restaurant has an extensive menu showcasing the chef’s Spanish influence coupled with Asian inspirations and ingredients. Our first appetizer was the Spicy Tuna Cones which was a delicious and expertly seasoned tuna tartar. From the section of the menu title “Singapore Connection” we ordered the Kueh Pai Ti, which is a popular Singapore street food of shrimp, peanuts and chili sauce. It was presented in small crispy edible baskets. The appetizer we enjoyed the most was the Iberian Ham Croquettes. They were perfectly crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside with small chunks of ham. This was so good that we immediately placed our order for a second helping.

Wanting to try as many different dishes as possible, we also had the Piquillo Relleno de Cana de Cabra featuring goat cheese, plantains and mojo verde, and the Iberico Sliders which were outstanding

For an entree, we enjoyed the Fish in Papillote with a caper sauce and crispy quinoa. The presentation of this dish was amazing. The fish was brought to the table wrapped in cellophane paper tied with black ribbon, almost resembling a present. Our server cut it open tableside releasing the tantalizing aromas. The fish was extremely soft and the quinoa was an ideal accessory. Another spectacularly presented dish was the the Dragon Fruit Ceviche composed of tuna, pecans, lemon and hibiscus and decorated with dragon fruit foam. Each ingredient provided a palate pleasing sensation. Our dessert selection was deserving of an award. We had the Key Lime Pie. This was not your everyday version as it was served deconstructive, allowing us to experiment with mixing the cream, biscuit crumbs, meringue and citrus foam. We will long remember this extraordinary dessert.

JOE’S STONE CRABS If we could only use two words to summarize our recent visit to Joe’s Stone Crabs we would simply say “incredible dinner”. Joe’s recently reopened for their 105th season (they close for several months over the summer) and their longevity can be explained by their excellent food and stellar service.

Taking precautions to avoid a long wait, since the restaurant does not accept reservations, we arrived at 6:00 on a Wednesday evening. We were immediately escorted to our table by the hostess who very professional and welcoming and thanked us for coming. In less than a half hour the restaurant was already full and had a crowd waiting to be seated. The decor is classic with an outdoor terrace with garden furniture and a “no nonsense” dining room with wood tables dressed in white linen and china. There is also a large bar area where you can enjoy a cocktail, or two, while waiting for a table. We were greeted by our waiter who told us his name was Don “but if you have any complaints my name is Jeff”. Don, we have no complaints only compliments for your incredible service. He suggested some dishes but we relied on our senior editor, Ellen Rosenfeld, who has been visiting Joe’s for more years than she will reveal.

To start, we had the cole slaw which consisted of delicate and crunchy sliced cabbage mixed with sweet cider vinegar and mayonnaise and topped with sweet pickle relish. It is served with two large and perfect slices of tomato. It was both unique and delicious.

We also ordered a half dozen oysters. Don asked if we wanted east coast or west coast and sensing our indecision he suggested that he would split the order and pick out what he thought were the best ones.

We’ll let Don pick our oysters anything he wants since the “oyster expert” at our table said these were the best oysters he had ever eaten. Obviously we order the Stone Crabs. Joe’s offers four different sizes; medium, select, large and jumbo. Since we had done some research on Stone Crabs, as it was our cover story last month, we ordered the select knowing that all sizes taste the same and the select was the best “value” because you are getting the most amount of meat per order.

The Stone Crabs were so fresh we imagined that they had just been caught that morning. They were soft, succulent and delicious and perfectly cracked making them easy to enjoy. We loved the mustard sauce but with or without the sauce they were exquisite. Incredibly the surprise of the evening was not the Stone Crabs but Joe’s Fried Chicken. Yes, this Stone Crab destination, makes the best fried chicken we have ever had. The serving consists of half of a three pound free range chicken, which comes from one of the biggest and best purveyors of chicken in the U.S. It was perfectly cooked and not greasy at all.

It was a beautiful golden color, with a crispy batter and tender and juicy meat. I personally tried the breast and wing, my favorite parts, and they were sensational.

This is now on our mandatory must order list whenever we dine at Joe’s. We would also like to mention that this fried chicken is “cheap”. Four large pieces of chicken cost $6.95. For dessert, we ordered another signature dish “Joe’s Famous Key Lime Pie” Key lime pie is the unofficial dessert of Florida and many people will argue that Joe’s is the best in the country. It had a traditional graham cracker crust topped by a smooth and creamy key lime filling. The filling had the perfect balance of sweet and citrus. It was served with a dollop of fresh whipped cream on the top. It was the ideal end to our amazing dinner.

NOBU Under the leadership of celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa, the Miami Beach location has excellent food and fabulous service and ambiance. Mr. Matsuhisa was born in Saitama, Japan and after graduating from high school he began working in a restaurant in Tokyo. After several years at the restaurant he was approached by a regular customer who invited him to join him in opening a restaurant in Lima, Peru.

In Peru Mr. Matsuhisa found it difficult to obtain some of the Japanese ingredients he was used to cooking with and he was forced to improvise by adding some Peruvian ingredients. This was the beginning of the fusion cuisine and signature dishes he is now known for. Today, he has over 30 restaurants across 5 continents of the world.

Gourmet Pleasures has long been a fan of Nobu and we have had the privilege of visiting several locations across the United States, and several months ago their location in Ibiza. Nobu in Miami Beach is located in the Eden Roc Hotel, which recently underwent a multimillion dollar renovation. It is an elegant location with attractive and modern decor. We have never had a dish that we didn’t enjoy, but we would like to mention some of our favorites. One of their classic dishes is the White Fish Tiradito, which is thin slices of white fish with a vegetable hash and spices that highlight the freshness of the fish.

Nobu offers 6 different tacos options on their menu.

Yes, you read correctly, tacos! Our favorite is the Wagyu which has a subtle touch of truffles, creating the perfect combination of flavors. The King Crab Ama-zu has exquisite pieces of tempura king crab with purple onions, cilantro and a slightly acidic sauce. It is a quite unique dish. If you are in the mood for a lighter meal, the Lobster Shiitake Salad with a spicy lemon dressing is an excellent choice.

For meat lovers we recommend the Hot Stone Wagyu.

Not only is it a delicious dish but we also enjoy preparing the thin slices of this spectacular meat on the hot stones and pairing them with the variety of accompanying sauces. Our favorite dessert is the Bento Box. This is a valrhona dark chocolate fondant cake with matcha gelato. We have only one word for this, amazing! We have one final recommendation. If you have the opportunity, ask for Maria to serve you. She is a true professional who is extremely educated about the menu and will guide you in the right direction.

Can you Remember the Top Ten Restaurants in Miami?