Hello luxury foodies! Here’s a few picks for you to check out next time you’re in the fun and vibrant city of Miami, which I had the opportunity to spend time in last month when attending a conference and before heading to Aruba.
I wrote a great foodie guide to Aruba as well, so be sure to check it out (warning: it’s pretty extensive so ten times longer than this one but plenty of over the top food shots to whet your appetite). Be sure to check out all of our Foodie Guides.
Above, from Kuenko Food Truck
Tea Houses
There are some great tea houses in Miami, including specialTEA Lounge, Tea N’Sanity, Cauley Square Tea Room and JoJo Tea.
I had an opportunity to hang out with the guys ta JoJo briefly — and sip of course.
They care deeply about making the perfect cuppa tea. Rather than adding stuff to the tea, they’re’ most interested in finding the best of the best: farmers and tea masters with generations of experience and years of direct study.
They look for those geographic jewels: high-elevation farms enshrouded in fresh, cool mists….from the finest hand-harvested, hand-processed teas to delicious machine harvests for iced tea.
There’s also Enchanted Dollhouse, which is a very unique experience.
Photo credit: Yelp
Wynwood Yard
On NW 29th Street, you’ll find Wynwood Yard, which is a pop-up entrepreneurial hub that has a myriad of creative food, drink, design, and more. It’s set in a vibrant outdoor setting in the Wynwood Arts District and they often have life music as well.
Above credit: Wynwood Yard
Some of the restaurants, eateries and food trucks in the yard include MYUMI, The Bar at the Yard, Charcoal Garden Bar & Grill, Kuenko, della test kitchen, Mr. Bing, World Famous House of Mac, Schnitz N’Fritz, Yoga Matcha, The Lone Wolfe and Brazilian Fire (below).
Brazilian Fire
Brazilian Fire is known in South Florida’s as a top rodizio/churrascaria food truck and catering company. They have catered several large-scale events, including international events for companies in the UK and Dubai.
Brazilian Fire uses butcher-cut meats, and local produce and is only grilled over all-natural wood coals, Brazilian fire to ensure that authentic churrascaria flavor.
With over 21 years of rodizio and catering experience, Brazilian Fire’s managers Priscilla Sawaya and Carlos Silva came together with the unique concept of mobilizing Brazilian churrascaria typically found in Brazilian rodizio restaurants and taking it on the road and into homes all over South Florida.
The center bar in the yard.
Kuenko
Below, magic happening at Kuenko’s food truck. Kuenko blends the best of Asian and Spanish cuisine. From Madrid Spain and created by Chef Ricardo Sanz, their presentation is very simple, but he highlights each dish with a Michelin-rated technique.
MYUMI Japanese Food Truck
If you’re a fan of omakase, the Japanese style of sushi that allows the chef to choose the dishes, then MYUMI is the spot for you. Now set up at Wynwood Yard, it’s hard to get a reservation and must be done well in advance.
It only seats 6’ish people at a time and he offers a chef’s choice tasting menu made right in front of diners. Behind it is chef Kazuo Yoshida and former TV producer Jake Smith. The chef is Ryo who apparently is VERY particular. In other words, he had a woman guard his truck while he cooked, which made it hard to ask questions or even get a word with him. C’mon, really?
I get that the sushi is fresh and he’s got a ‘name’, but I’ve met plenty of famous chefs over the years who are warm and inviting and are eager to share their love and passion for cooking. And so I left and didn’t bother making a reservation for a future date. I’ve heard that the food is incredibly delicious though and worth doing, so if you don’t mind the attitude, then you can book it
Wynwood Farmer’s Market
Speaking of Wynwood, there’s also a fabulous farmers market as well run by Melissa Frantz who I had an opportunity to grab drinks with before leaving Miami. She’s awesome as is the market.
Above, the Wynwood Farmer’s Market — photo credit: Miami New Times
Quinto La Huella @ EAST
Organic and fresh, grilled meats are the focus at this rustic-chic hotel restaurant with a patio and breathtaking city views. Be sure to read my hotel review on EAST which has plenty of other photos.
From a full fish and grilled octopus, to fresh oysters on the half shell and an on-site sushi bar, they’ve got you covered. They’ve also got plenty of fresh salads as well.
The restaurant turns into a breakfast buffet bar in the mornings — from fresh juices, including green drinks, carrot and watermelon and incredibly delicious coffee to eggs, bacon, cheese, yogurt, fruit, pastries, bagels and more, you won’t go hungry or be disappointed.
Full Bloom
Veggie lovers will love this fresh spot in Miami as it focuses on gourmet vegan cuisine. I had an opportunity to try them out since they had a food truck at the World Happiness Summit, however they have a restaurant for dining over on 11 Island Avenue in Miami. Their mission is to bring animal-caring, health conscious cuisine to food levels in Miami and provide an intimate special dining experience.
It’s reservation only but worth signing up for – take a look! Each dish was freshly prepared and incredibly scrumptious. That’s a zucchini spaghetti in case you’re wondering.
Pubbelly Station @ the Langford
Scrumptious dishes include BBQ dates with bacon, smoked brisket and coleslaw (oh so southern), grilled octopus with aji panca pepper, chorizo, sweet potato and cilantro, grilled bone marrow with parsley-shallot salad and country toast (LOVE THIS), and the stone crab linguini, which I didn’t try but it was egging me on, as was the roasted beet salad with walnuts, and raspberry vinaigrette horseradish.
Check out our full blown review here. Other call outs go to Jumbo Stone Crabs, Yellowtail Taquito with red onion, radish and avocado mousse, and the Hamachi Crudo (my favorite), which they served with gazpacho vinagrette, red pepper panzanella and paprika oil.
Other call outs go to the Wagyu Beef Tartare slider with a parmesan-truffle cream with fries and Onion soup dumplings (shown below), which they top with gruyere cheese and serve with brioche croutons.
And, how about these divine brussels sprouts with salted caramel, smoked house bacon and peanuts? They were to die-for, so much so that I could have eaten this dish alone all night long — oh so yum!!
Miami Fruit
They source fresh fruit from local farms from South Florida. They began as a small fruit stand and now deliver throughout the United States.
Be sure to check out our Food and Wine section for more fun.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
