Shakey's Pizza Parlor

Small plate eating is running rampant in Miami and it’s a trend that I embrace fully.  Tapas has always been a preferred eating style for me - after all, one entree is never enough for The Hungry Goddess.  I want to experience multiple delectable bites and I don’t want it to break the bank. To identify a small plate, I have a loose definition.  It should be under $15 (or in that area), ultimately shareable and it should communicate its gastronomic punch in that one bite.  Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink has a menu full of small plates that just beg to be shared.  Their Steamed Mussels is a completely social small plate.  Everyone can pick a perfectly cooked mussel, spear a generous chunk of house made bacon and a fingerling potato and complete it all with the grilled sourdough bread dipped in the savory juices gathered at the bottom of the bowl. Lest you think that Bacon or some form of pork figures in all of my food excursions, let me tell you about Blue Collar.  Their Veg Chalkboard is priced at $4 per veggie plate and Chef Daniel Serfer is serving up some of the freshest food in Miami.  Be greedy and order the Veggie Plate that gives you 4 of the veg dishes for $14.  Yardbird and Chef Jeff McInnis serve up Southern favorites with a flair!  The best small plate is the Fried Green Tomato BLT - a stack of perfectly fried green tomatoes with pork belly, greens, tomato jam and house made pimento cheese.  The seasonal Butter Bean Risotto with Grilled Hen of the Woods mushrooms is a great dish for several forks and don’t discount the Grilled Endive Salad with generous amounts of Virginia Ham, Blue Cheese and candied pecans.  Yardbird is open for lunch during the week and is just the excuse you need to share some food over a business meeting. The Bazaar by Jose Andres takes traditional Spanish cuisine and makes it new, modern and droolworthy (not that it already wasn’t but...).  The Bazaar menu meets small plate standards and exceeds them (by about 60 shareable plates).  Weeks could be spent reveling in Chef Jose Andres’ creations.  The Cubano Sandwich with Iberico Ham and a mouthwatering foam inside the sandwich which makes it easy to end up with some of it down the front of you but you really won’t care.  Delicate cones and skillets and plates filled with gastronomic wonders abound - this is small plate paradise.  Michy’s by Chef Michelle Bernstein encourages “half” selections on the menu - all the better to eat a varied smorgasbord.  Serrano Ham and Blue Cheese Croquetas as well as Ceviche and White Gazpacho are siren calls of small plate delight.  Warning, you may end up just ordering one entree for the table to share as well!  The Pubbelly Restaurants could be known as the Small Plate Empire - each restaurant has a slew of delectable bites that can be eaten with one or more companions, enabling you to sample more than one (or five if you are greedy like me) dish.  The Pork and Scallion Dumplings at the Gastro Pub ensure everyone in a party of four gets a flavorful bite.  The Barceloneta Pulpo a Feira is a requirement to savor a spoon of potato foam, grilled octopus and the house made chorizo (best I have ever had!).

South Beach on Sunday morning has a silence that is golden...or like a ghost town. Tourists and late-night partiers are still snoozing while the residents are heading to a relaxing yoga class or paddle boarding on the early morning bay. It’s a great time to walk the beach or wander through the Miami Botanical Gardens but, as late morning approaches, brunch is the order of business. The choices are vast on South Beach but here are a few top picks that make me long for Sundays. I often like my brunches tapas style (so I can try more dishes and share plates with friends), and for real tapas, I go to Barceloneta. Headed by Chef Julia Gonzalez and part of the infamous Pubbelly group, Barceloneta provides vibrant Catalan-influenced food, traditional and contemporary. The dish that sounds a siren call in my head from Barceloneta is the Alubias con Botifarra:  housemade Catalan Sausage with white beans, roasted peppers and an organic poached egg.  I restrained myself from licking the bowl but only because I was distracted by the delightfully sweet and addictive Shishito peppers with candied walnuts and Valdeon sauce (blue cheese) pooled at the bottom of the plate.  Eggs Benedict is mandatory for brunch in my opinion and Barceloneta accommodates my picky palate with their Benedict that includes a potato roll, pork belly, Serrano ham, Hollandaise sauce, & a poached organic egg. Some Sundays you wake up craving grits.  At least, this started happening to me once I experienced the fresh Adluh South Carolina stone ground cheesy corn grits at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar.  I crave their fluffy, creamy and cheesy deliciousness and I guarantee that they don’t taste like most of the grits you have ever experienced.  Yardbird has service with a smile and genuine Southern friendliness.  Their farm-to-table classic Southern menu delivers some of my favorites like the Fried Green Tomato BLT (pork belly, pimento cheese & tomato jam with the fried green tomatoes) and the BLT Benedict Cast Iron Casserole (made with a buttermilk biscuit crumble).  Notice there are lots of “B”’s - that is for Yardbird’s dedication to intensely flavorful bacon, pork belly and Virginia ham.  If you don’t like pork, you might drool over the rolled in sugar and seated in strawberry jam Pumpkin Beignets.  Close your eyes and it's as if you had traveled to the South.  Fried chicken is also an option at brunch … fried chicken and bacon?  Thank you, Yardbird. Something about brunch makes Southern cooking so right and Georgia’s Union brings organic soul food right to the table peppered with the passion of Chef Nate Martin for hand-picked, fresh food.  Even some of my fried favorites like frog legs with buttermilk dressing  and golden fried chicken livers with caramelized onion aioli are light and fried with non-hydrogenated oils and no trans fats.  But, there are two particular dishes which have stolen my heart at Georgia’s Union. The first is “Bleu Collared” Greens with baby greens, roasted yellow beets, oyster mushrooms, honey’d pecans and a Winter Park bleu cheese to make you weep.  The second dish is where the grits come in - creamy fresh Riverview Farm white corn grits buried under a mound of crayfish (Florida spiny lobster), lobster jus, green onions and roasted tomatoes.  Dig deep and savor those bites or you could just order two. There is a newcomer to the breakfast and brunch scene on South Beach … FIX, at the newly renovated Blue Moon Hotel on Collins Avenue.  Fix has just opened but word of the scrumptious offerings are spreading like wildfire.  Lounge by the gorgeous pool under a wood-beamed porch and prepare to be delighted by Chef David Welch’s contemporary menu.  I recommend two brunch must-haves: The Kurobota Pork Belly Benedict and the Rice Krispie®-Crusted French Toast.  There is no way to be flowery - Chef David Welch has delivered the best pork belly that I have ever eaten.  Period.  I was a hard sell for the French Toast but after one bite of the brioche bread, bourbon caramel sauce (OMG), mascarpone zabaglione (OMGx2), and fresh strawberries, I am a convert.  The Fried Oyster Po-Boy with the bacon-chive aioli sealed the deal - FIX is here to make a statement and it is “Come and Eat” which I will do again and again.  For those who like cocktails with brunch, all cocktails at FIX use freshly juiced fruits when appropriate and when aren’t mimosas appropriate?  Or blueberry caipirinhas?  Or White Sangrias? Brunch in South Beach is an adventure - a delectable one - and what gets me out of bed on a Sunday morning.

FIX is one of South Beach’s newest restaurants and is nestled in the beautifully remodeled Blue Moon Hotel.  The restaurant has a rustic feel and flows from the outdoor patio that overlooks Collins Avenue through the modern bar to comfortable dining rooms and a stellar poolside dining area. The dining areas are beautiful but the stars of the show at FIX are the menu and the food, overseen by Miami native and Executive Chef, David Welch.  Breakfast, all the time, scores high in my book but great food scores even higher and this is what Chef David and FIX deliver: great food, fresh ingredients and twists on classical favorites. Visiting FIX and Chef David Welch meant that we got to munch on the signature (and addictive) Rice Krispie-Crusted French Toast with bourbon-caramel sauce, mascarpone zabaglione, and fresh strawberries and the Kurobota Pork Belly Benedict, plus ask Chef David a few questions. Chef David is a Miami Native who studied culinary arts at the Art Institute of Philadelphia in 1999, and gained the title of Certified Executive Chef by the American Culinary Federation after teaching culinary arts at Le Cordon Bleu. He has many culinary certifications in nutrition, sanitation and wines and spirits. His experience includes time spent in some of the most sought after luxury hotels and restaurants from Philadelphia to Miami including the Loews Miami Beach Hotel, Smith & Wollensky, Tantra and Acqualina. HG:  Why did you become a Chef? Chef David:  The position chose me. I have always worked in the kitchen since my first job. Once I realized I was good at it, I stuck with it. HG:  What is your Food Philosophy?  Chef David:  Food doesn’t have to be fancy to be great.  Simple techniques applied correctly can provide excellent results. HG:  What is the best part and/or challenging part of cooking in South Florida? Chef David:  The best part of cooking in South Florida is the ability to use techniques and ingredients from many different ethnic backgrounds.  And adding a refined touch to rustic and cultural cuisine. HG:  How does FIX reflect you as a Chef?  Chef David:  FIX reflects my playful culinary side. A lot of times we are forced into a box of what’s classical and there is no room for much creativity.  I have a lot of room for creativity here at FIX. HG:  How do you run your kitchen?  Chef David:  I run my kitchen like the classical brigade. Neat, clean and organized. HG:  Who are the Chefs that you admire?  Chef David:  Charlie Trotter, Marcus Samuelsson, Ferran Adria HG:  What do you consider your signature dish?  Chef David:  The signature dish at FIX is the Rice Krispie French Toast HG:  Your favorite dish to prepare at home is…  Chef David:  BBQ, anything BBQ. HG:  The ingredient that can make all the difference in a dish is …  Chef David:  Salt HG:  The person you would love to cook for is… Chef David:  Anyone who appreciates good food HG:  What excites you about being at FIX? Chef David:  It’s back in my hometown so lots of people who know me can stop in, try it out and tell me what they really think. HG:  What can we look forward to at FIX in the next 6 months? year?  Chef David:  Great food Chef David Welch is extremely competent, runs a smooth and organized kitchen, and also has a great time with the food he is creating.  He definitely has the recipe for success and we look forward to visiting again.  and again.  and again.