Chowin' Down Miami Style

Miami has so many different types of cuisines and restaurants. You are sure to find something from every region of the world. Miami is known for its Latin American and Cuban food as its local favorites. I have tried both and both are great, very different than the Mexican food you find here in Texas, but very good. We were able to try a variety of foods and places due to the length of our stay and the coupons we were able to find.

Eating is one of my favorite things to do while on a trip so with all the places Miami has to offer it makes it hard to choose. I recommend trying everything you can. South Beach alone has so many places, I don’t think if we ate out every meal for those 5 weeks we would have tried everything. Choose what you like the most and go from there.

You can find several sushi and Japanese places, you can find tons of Italian options, and of course you will see lots of seafood and American type foods like, hamburgers. I suggest trying to explore and try things you cannot get back home (wherever that might be). We always like to try local or regional foods that we know we can only get there. In Miami that is not hard to do.

I hardly think on this trip we were disappointed with the foods that we chose, some places the service was not that great but the food was usually really good and an exciting time.

Quick Tips:

Like in my other journals I always suggest getting an entertainment book and using coupons.

For restaurant coupons around the US try www.restaurants.com search for where you will be going and look for the good deals.

Also look for gift certificates. We were able to get several from out citi card points. These helped being able to eat out more as well.

In South Beach there is happy hour and all kinds of daily specials at all the hotels, bars, and restaurants along Ocean Avenue.

Try and explore new places and visit places that you cannot have when you get home from vacation.

Jerry’s Diner is a great place to go as a family, or if you want to make sure you can find something you will like. Jerry’s has over 600 menu items. You are sure to find something for the whole family. They have everything you could think of and it makes a great place for pleasing everyone.

Best Way To Get Around:

In Miami I think your main source will have to be by automobile. Check out a map and find some great places. In South Beach you can walk most of the time, but you may still need an automobile.

Use the Internet and other people for finding restaurants and other places to eat. Check out other IgoUgo journals on dining in that area and read what other people have to say about the places in that area.

Look in newspapers, magazines, and TV, in your hotel or around town. You will find ads, and commercials for all kinds of places.

Ask the locals. They know the best, where stuff is, and if it is good or not. Most of the time they are honest and nice and can really be helpful.

What ever you choose here are a few of my favorites that stand out from our trip and have fun with what ever you choose.

The Hard Rock in Bayside sits right on the water. The area surrounding the Hard Rock is a mall and shopping center, with several other restaurants as well. The Hard Rock Cafe it self is like any other Hard Rock. If you have never been to a Hard Rock then here is what you can expect to see: endless displays of music stuff from many different musicians. Most of the stuff is rare, classic, and priceless memorabilia. Hard Rock is known for its atmosphere and stimulating decorations throughout the restaurant. The service is also fun and friendly. They have a gift shop and a bar as well. It is a unique experience if you have never been you should go sometime.

The food was great on our visit, barbecue ribs, which were so good, they were very tender and meaty, and chicken fajitas which were also very good and flavorful. Both were very good. We had a buy one get one free coupon so our meal ended up being very cheap and we got to enjoy a dessert the classic 5 layer chocolate cake—it was fantastic. The menu had lots to offer, and the food is really worth the money, even at full price.

I have been to a couple of Hard Rock Cafes and this was by far my favorite because it was right on the water and the view was great.

Jerry's Famous Deli is a great place to eat for everyone and anyone who needs lots of options...It was a very fun experience for us. The atmosphere of this place is very welcoming, the restaurant is very big and you do not feel crowded. Jerry's is open 24 hours, and they serve all kinds of items all day long. Their menu includes over 600 items, so you should be able to find something, I would pay for someones meal if they could not find something at this place, I can't imagine how anyone could not find something when a place like this offers steak, hamburgers, pizza, tacos, spaghetti, salmon, turkey, barbecue, cajun foods, and hot dogs, what more could you ask for? Well they can probably cover that as well. I have never seen such a big menu in my entire life. It does make it hard to decide since there are so many things to choose from and it all sounds so good.

Jerry's also has a huge selection of desserts. I am a dessert fan, so I can't talk about his place without mentioning them. I had the carrot cake, and it was great. My slice was so good that I was able to eat on it for 3 days.

The food was also great. This place was definitely a fun place for the family to eat and was very easily accessible.

Ghiradelli is one of the beast known chocolates around. They make the best little chocolate squares filled with mint, caramel, raspberry, or caramel with almonds. They are the best.

In South Beach, on Lincoln Road, there is a Ghiradelli Soda Shop that serves their famous chocolates over ice-cream. When you walk into the store you will be greeted with one of their famous chocolate squares, complementary, and they greeted with great service and freindly faces. The soda shop has a little bar with bar stools that you can sit at and enjoy your sundaes. They also have an upstairs area with tables and chairs that you can sit at and enjoy any of their favorite treats.

We had its world-famous hot fudge chocolate sundae. It was great. We had a buy one get one free so we both enjoyed them and finished it up.

The soda shop is also a gift shop and you can buy memorabilia and any of their signature chocolates. I don't believe it is possible to go into this place and not leave with something. It is too good not to.

Miami Beach actually has two Gino's Pizza, and let me tell you, they are both great. They make a variety of styles of pizza; Chicago, deep dish, New York style, thin crust, etc. and have several toppings. They also serve a few other items as well.

Gino's is known for take out pizza and can be delivered all day and night (24 hours) anywhere in Miami Beach.

We actually ate there, they do have tables and a little bar that you can sit at and eat your pizza if you choose. The inside is not ideal eating quarters but that is probably because they are more of a take out place rather than an eat- in place (we just did not know that) but in any case we enjoyed our pizzas. I had a deep dish olive, sausage, and mushroom pizza, and my husband had a thin crust meat lovers. My husband really liked his and his was great, I did not prefer the deep dish even though that is what I order from Pizza Hut all the time, I guess everywhere is different. But the rest of the food and the pizza was still good. With our order we got free garlic rolls and they too were very good. I could have eaten a ton more of those.

We were both able to take food home, the portions were so big, and have left overs, still great the next day. I definitely recommend this place for a quick and fast dinner and it's great too. We found a coupon for this place too, so look and see what you can find.

Las Vegas Cuban Restaurant was a cute little place on Collins street. It is on the main road with several other little shops and dining places. It is tucked away in a shopping strip, so keep your eyes opened.

The food here was pretty good. I was a little nervous being that I have never had Cuban food and I know that Caribbean Latin food is different than other Latin food and Mexican food, so I was not sure if I would like it or not. I was surprised because it was really good. I had a chicken and shrimp platter with some peppers and rice. The rice and beans were a little different than what I was used to but still good.

The price was a little high since this place did not really seem like a nice or upscale place. It felt like a little hole in the wall place and the meals were around $10-15 a piece, The service was great and very helpful, we had our 8-month-old son so we sat outside since we thought he might be loud, it began to rain and the server was very helpful to move our stuff inside. We had fun, a great time and enjoyed our experience.

I was quite impressed with the overall experience we had, the food and service being great, but the price being a little high. Oh yeah and the only other complaint that I had was the dessert was not very good at all. I am a huge fan of desserts and heard that I needed to try key lime pie while in Florida and I did at this place and it was not very good at all, my husband also got a dessert, tres leche and he did not like it either.