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Category: Food

Okeydokey Miami, A Different Kind of Food Hall

Okeydokey Miami is a food hall with more than one difference --  it’s a restaurant, offering both fast casual and full waiter service  on two floors, a comfy loungey area with couches next to one of three bars,  and soon to come on floor three, an entertainment lounge. My family and I went to check it out, trying a dish from each of six different food concepts, and some of their signature cocktails. We were impressed with the service options, delicious food, well chosen concepts and plus, they have a very good “buzzy” happy hour  .Want to combine your visit with something new and different to do? Read on until the end.
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The “New” CHICA: Elevated Mexican Cuisine

Elevated Mexican cuisine stars at the "New" CHICA Miami. I liked the sound of that, especially since it was coming from celebrity Chef Lorena Garcia whose food and standout presentations I’ve always liked. Together with Miami based 50 Eggs Hospitality’s Culinary Research Director Chef Rishi Kumar  they created a new menu of these Mexican inspired dishes along with CHICA’s signature Latin favorites from South and Central America. With this exciting culinary news in mind, I was happy to return, this time with Peter Rabbino who won my recent blog contest and a chance to join me for a media dine.
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Bunbury Miami: Modern Argentinian Cuisine

Third in my series of chef owner/operated restaurants that offer delicious food, honest value, and good or even great service is Bunbury that specializes in modern Argentine food. I was especially pleased to make this “find” because I often go to the Arsht Center and have been at a loss as to where to go for dinner. That being said, besides all of the above, it’s attractive, comfortable, and, with a series of small spaces, has an intimate feel, so is worth a trip whether or not you’re in the neighborhood. There’s a separate bar area that’s popular for a cocktail at happy hour with one of their delicious house baked empanadas and an adjacent boutique with fashions from Argentine designers.
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KooLuLu Miami, Another “Find”

KooLuLu Miami is another "find"  in my series of chef owner operated restaurants that have very good food that’s also both authentic and reasonably priced. The fact that chef Asaf’s parents were from Yemen and Morocco, he was born and raised in Israel, and worked as a sous chef at a Michelin starred restaurant in Amsterdam and Madrid give you an idea of the culinary excitement in the menu. The name KooLuLu is a sound made to express joy, and Chef Asaf says it represents the restaurant's commitment to providing a welcoming and celebratory dining experience for all who enter.
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Eating News in Miami: April ’23

A foodie's auction this week for a good cause, dinner extravaganza, Mad Hatter's Tea, new restaurant openings, ficelle bakery for a top baguette, ice cream "scoop", and more in Eating News for April '23.
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Queen Reigns in Miami

Queen Miami Beach is now the restaurant to top . Its décor is stunning, over the top, but in a stylish way. It exudes glamour, as in Hollywood in its heyday. The food we had was delicious, beautifully presented, and the service friendly and attentive. We went on a Tuesday, just under two months after opening, and the place was full. Miami is loving it. Yes, it’s pricey, comparable to the most expensive restaurants in the city, but it’s worth it. And then there’s a way you can check it out for a lot less.
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Which Cuban Restaurant Do I Recommend?

What Cuban restaurant do I recommend? That’s a question I frequently get, especially when friends are having out of town visitors. Since there hasn’t been one I really like, there was no recommendation, at least until now. Mr. W, Cuban born, and a Cuban friend convinced me to try Havana Harrys and my English girlfriend and I are now converts. Why?
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Lira Beirut Eatery, My Newest “Find”

Along with the high priced, glitzy restaurants moving into Miami, I’m  happy to see more honest, reasonably priced eateries with delicious food opening up, like my newest find, Lira Beirut Eatery in Wynwood. Lira is the creation of joint Lebanese and Italian investors including one who owns a restaurant chain in Lebanon (quite a combo right?). They went all out to make it authentic, from the Chef who makes everything in house, and décor graced by works of Lebanese artists and artisanal light fixtures, to the furnishings and food products. How authentic is it? The Lebanese community in Miami comes here regularly.
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STK Miami

STK Miami has always been unlike any other top steakhouse in Miami. And now they’ve picked up their game. Of course there’s the prime Angus beef and a selection of primo seafood that you’d expect, but there’s much more. None of the traditional clubby steakhouse décor but rather, a “glam” ambiance, loungey music and delicious food, all of which come together to create what STK has called “vibe dining.”And now, fully a third of the menu is devoted to steaks and every imaginable topping and sauce, plus steaks divided into small, medium and large sizes which I wish more steakhouses would do. They offer one of the better happy hours in town as well as you'll read, a good opportunity to check out the restaurant.
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First Experience at a Plant Based Restaurant

Though I love, even crave vegetables, full disclosure, I’ve never been to a plant based restaurant.  It never seemed to me that a meal could be totally satisfying without meat (you know what a carnivore I am!), chicken or fish. The turning point was a lunch at  Planta Queen in Coconut Grove, with a menu inspired by Executive Chef David Lee’s favorite dishes from across Asia. Hmmm, thoughts of new twists on sushi, dumplings, bao buns. Would they be delicious and exciting? Yes, they were, very. My girlfriend thought the same.
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