PODCAST Miami Restaurant Reviews: 1-7

Episode 4 takes a quick, honest, and candid look at some of the Miami restaurants I visited this January. Also, meet the hubs and dining partner-in-crime, Lawrence. He debuted as my co-host for this new and developing Miami restaurant review segment and did not hold back.

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Top 21 Miami Restaurants of 2021: Palette Awards

I reserved, ordered, photographed, and ate at all of these restaurants. No one asked nor paid me to do so. Supporting our local restaurants brings me joy, and I am passionate about Miami’s food scene. A lot of careful thought went into the naming and placement of each honoree.  Last year, I placed the awards […]

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Top Michelin-Starred Bites of 2019

Love or love to hate the Michelin Guide? I, for one, continue to find their star system valuable. It doesn’t necessarily mean I agree with all the ratings, but I’ve experienced more hits than misses while following its star system.

My travels this year brought me to many new and tried and true starred restaurants. I’ve continued to think and talk about these bites long after I returned home.

This is not a list of how these experiences ranked overall, although I will talk about that briefly toward the end. These are the dishes at each spot that captured my full attention. The ones I OMGd through. The unforgettable ones.

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Gourmand Getaway: Journey to SingleThread

October 2019 Three Michelin Stars #51 The World’s Best Restaurant list # 2 Opinionated About Dining Opening at the end of 2016 and focusing on sustainable sourcing, chef Kyle Connaughton and his wife, Katina, took on quite the project in Sonoma: a nearby farm, boutique inn, and restaurant. Just seven miles away, their farm supplies […]

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Gourmand Getaway: Atelier Crenn 2019

Driven by childhood memories, San Francisco’s chef Crenn created an elegant dining experience for the guest, inspired by the past and presented ahead of its time. The care, thought, and detail behind every unbelievable bite shows why she continues to soar.

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Star Power at Fiola Miami

What’s that? Another restaurant has opened in Miami? Prices are high? Prime hours are blocked on OpenTable? Packed at all hours?  So? What else is new? Sounds just like another day in South Florida. Restaurateurs, chefs, investors and everyone in between continue flocking south, trying to sway their way into our hearts and stay for the long-haul. Ha! If it was only that simple. Curious and hungry (as usual), I made a reservation and have visited several times. Spoiler alert: I can now say I am swayed and impressed.

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NAOE MIAMI: Kingdom of Cory

One of South Florida’s most well-respected restaurants hides behind a nondescript single door, and a sheer white curtain. NAOE, a natural Japanese cuisine hideaway, continues to receive high rankings and accolades without any signs of slowing down. And yet, “Where is that?” is still a question I often get. Two words, Miami: Brickell Key.

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Buyer’s Remorse at The Den (Azabu)

“Did you hear about Azabu? It’s a Michelin-starred restaurant that just opened in Miami!” Or so I misleadingly heard and read over and over. Except that’s not factually accurate and there’s so much wrong with that statement. This rumor has become a terrible game of telephone throughout our city. Sushi Azabu is actually not currently ranked on New York City’s Michelin Guide. As per my research, the last time it received a one-star rating was on October 2015 (when the 2016 recipients were awarded) and has not yet regained its star (the 2019 list was announced today).

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El Cielo Miami

Occupying the ground level of a Brickell high-rise, El Cielo is currently celebrating a three-year anniversary. Three. Years. In Miami? Bravo! Needless to say, it took me a while to visit this Colombian restaurant chain by chef Juan Manuel Barrientos Valencia.

Unless we are talking about Chicago’s Alinea (and the reason you won’t find me at Barton G. or Nusr-Et), I’m not really into overly gimmicky dinners. From all the advertising and social media posts (and there are many), I figured I’d have to navigate through smoke and fluff just to get to the food. By the time dinner ended, with a full-on smoke show, of course, I pondered just how many times I would want to relive that experience now that I knew what it entailed.

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Michelin-Starred Restaurants in Miami

Hear this well: As of May 2018, Miami still does not have a Michelin Guide. A restaurant cannot have a Michelin star, or two, or three without a guide to award them.

Do we need a guide? Of course not. We dance to the beat of our own drum. However, like it or not, having our own guide and/or placing on this list would put an official and prestigious stamp on what we already know: we rock.

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