Welcome to EAT THIS CITY, your tour of the best restaurants in one of our favorite cities, as chosen by a world-class chef, celebrity, or local hero.
This week for Eat This City, we return to Miami, Florida, where Chef Lorena Garcia will take us on a whirlwind tour of the city’s culinary hotspots. You probably recognize Chef Garcia; she’s a restaurateur, author, producer, and tv personality who has appeared on Top Chef Masters, Top Chef All Stars, NBC’s Food Fighters, The Talk, The Chew, and The Today Show. Kids recognize her too: she’s a producer on Nickelodeon Latin America’s Food Hunters, and has appeared on Toni, la Chef, on which she also serves as a consulting producer.
Flying into Miami? Lorena Garcia Cocina, which opened in 2011, offers a healthier take on traditional Latin meals. Travelers to Atlanta International Airport can sample tapas and drinks at Lorena Garcia Tapas, too. Her third location, Tapas Y Cocina, opened in September of last year in Dallas/Ft. Worth Airport. This spring, high rollers can check out Chica, serving up Latin-inspired lunches, dinners, and weekend brunches, at Las Vegas’ famed Venetian.
If you’re not traveling to any of these cities soon, you can still sample Chef Garcia’s dishes — Lorena Garcia’s New Latin Classics: Fresh Ideas for Favorite Dishes spins classic Latin cuisine and adds surprising accents. Lorena Garcia’s New Taco Classics will up your Taco Game too. Some people need that sort of assist.
Ready to explore Miami’s best meals? Let’s do this thing!
PIZZA
Proof. The pizza that I absolutely love is their oxtail pizza — with black garlic, caramelized onions, thyme and mozzarella.
TACOS/MEXICAN
I love their traditional, freshly made blue corn tortillas.
ASIAN
I love that the menu is small but with the perfect selections no matter your mood. The Rice and Noodles on the menu are outstanding.
STREET FOOD
https://www.instagram.com/p/7c2Ebsss1y/
La Sandwicherie, even though they have a full sandwich menu, I enjoy that you can create your own sandwich combination while sitting outside their window on a stool.
SWEET FOOD
As one of the most popular bakers in town, they often have new and different offering so it’s nice to go in and be surprised once in a while, or I go straight for to the chocolate croissants when I’m craving something sweet.
FINE DINING
A staple in Miami, it is such a great spot. I love anything that comes from the robata grill. It’s always such a fun time and ambiance when having dinner there.
CASUAL DINING
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKf5XmjhMHA/
The burger at Pinch is incredible; it’s great quality ingredients and they have superb combinations to pair with it.
VEGETARIAN
https://www.instagram.com/p/BRvQbj1gFe8/
Although not a completely vegetarian place, they have so many options for a vegetarian dish and clearly note those items on their menu making it easy to navigate. I love the avocado toast and acai bowls — it’s a healthier casual-dining place.
BRUNCH
I love Southern comfort food for brunch, and Yardbird has it down with their fried chicken, watermelon, and waffles.
ICONIC FOOD OF THE CITY
Stone crab at Joes is always very iconic and always on my list when entertaining family and friends visiting from out of town.
ODD CULINARY EXPERIENCE
https://www.instagram.com/p/BQd2ZRZAnKh/
A quick bite at Marion and then a show next door at their sister property El Tucan. It’s reminiscent of retro Cuba with live music. Fun place to have drinks and dance…
GUILTY PLEASURE
The sticky buns and donuts are the ultimate guilty pleasure for me!
HANGOVER FOOD
https://www.instagram.com/p/BG05G4QBu59/
Not that I’m often seeking out hangover food, but if that day comes I would go for the perfect little fried empanadas at La Moon.
DATE NIGHT
Juvia has a great view and ambiance. The crudos are delicious but some of my favorites are the dishes that come out of the charcoal grill.
RESTAURANT RUN BY A FRIEND
Chef Dina Marino at MC Kitchen, and not just because it’s ran by a friend but because she truly is talented. The pastas are divine as are the seafood dishes.
Thank you Chef Garcia, for your taking us on a culinary tour of Miami!
Stay tuned for more EAT THIS CITY — where each week we’ll feature a premier chef in a different city sharing insider eating tips! Missed a week?
Check out San Antonio, Return to Las Vegas, Manhattan, Oakland, Paris, Portland, Tampa, Durham, Toronto, Baltimore, Monterey, Vail, Lexington, Bentonville, San Antonio, Warsaw, Kansas City, NYC, Washington DC, New Orleans, Cleveland, Miami, Seattle, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Sydney, Portland, Chicago, Austin, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, New Orleans,Providence, Memphis, Orange County, Boston, and Detroit.
See you next week!
