Like it does every year, Miami Spice is heating up restaurants all across the Magic City—the Miami Design District included. During this special time of year, which runs from August 1st to September 30th, foodies can treat themselves to three-course lunch, brunch and dinner menus at some of Miami’s finest restaurants, all set at $23 and $39 prices.
Lucky for us, two of our top restaurants, Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink and Estefan Kitchen, are joining in the Miami Spice fun. Read below to tickle your taste buds, and make your reservation to experience it yourself. Happy Spice!
Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink
Brought to us by James Beard Award-winning chef and restaurateur Michael Schwartz, this Design District treasure is credited for making the neighborhood the thriving hangout it is today. And for good reason: the vibe is trendy but relaxed, the wine list is solid, its wood-fired pizzas are to die for, and the menus change daily based on what Miami’s local farmers, fishermen and ranchers have to share. Add in a culinary genius like Schwartz, and you’re guaranteed a culinary treat.
During Miami Spice, go for lunch or dinner and try plates like Wood-Oven Roasted Lamb Ribs with mint yogurt, Crispy Okra with pimento cheese, Falafel Wrap with pickled onion and tahini, Grilled Peach with herb pesto and ricotta salata, and Roasted Snapper with white bean and fennel. For a sweet ending, get the Ice Cream Sandwich with a Mexican chocolate brownie and mango, or Mini Doughnuts with guava and cream cheese. Then go home in a happy food coma.
When superstar husband-and-wife duo Emilio and Gloria Estefan open a haute Cuban restaurant, you go. (Especially when your meal comes with live dancers and singers, a pianist, and impromptu appearances by the pair themselves, who frequently stop by for dinner.) During Miami Spice, go here for lunch or dinner and get upscale twists on classic Cuban dishes the now-restaurateurs grew up cooking at home, made even better under the undeniable talent of Executive Chef Odell Torres.
Start with Crispy Pork Belly with mashed plantains and a sriracha glaze, a Cuban Cobb Salad or Picadillo Lettuce Cups, and move on to mains like a Cuban-Style Lobster Roll with maduro mayonnaise and malanga strips, the restaurant’s famous Vaca Frita with housemade Cuban mojo, Havana Gnocchi with braised oxtail, or Chino Cubano, which is basically a Cuban-style fried rice with shrimp, steak, chicken, bacon, eggs, vegetables and sweet plantains. Like the ambiance, the dessert here can’t be beat. Get the Natilla—a homemade vanilla pudding with a Cuban flair—or Arroz con Mango, a classic rice pudding topped with mango purée and a mint meringue. Enjoy!
