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BEST FARMERS' MARKET

South Florida Farmers Market

BEST FARMERS' MARKET South Florida Farmers Market 8287 SW 124th Street

Pinecrest

305-255-2468

http://store.gardnersmarkets.com/farmersmarket.html From relatively exotic items to basic organic produce, this Pinecrest mainstay has fair prices and a staff of local growers and dreadlocked fakin' Jamaicans to tell you about your cruelty-free produce selections and Mother Earth. Berries, greens, tomatoes of all shapes, sizes, and colors, as well as a variety of orchids, plants, oils, preserves, and salsas, can be found here every Sunday from January through April. Bonus: Every Sunday at 11:00 a.m. a different chef from a prominent local restaurant puts on a cooking demonstration using market products.

BEST HAMBURGER

Carmen the Restaurant

BEST HAMBURGER Carmen the Restaurant 700 Biltmore Way

Coral Gables

305-913-1944 Since her eponymous restaurant opened two years ago, chef Carmen Gonzalez has won so much national recognition for the upscale Nueva Puerto Rican-influenced fare in her venue's formal dining room that it's easy to forget half the place is a casual wine bar with its own menu of equally tasty light bites. And once you're committed to a bar meal, it's hard to turn down exotic stuff like rock shrimp empanadas for basic American hamburgers. But what burgers! The minimorsels of juicy ground sirloin, four per order, are only 1.5 ounces each. But unlike standard sliders, they come cooked to order, as rare as you like 'em, topped with creamy Gorgonzola and caramelized onions. Their buns? Homemade brioches. And all accompaniments, from the crisp shoestring fries to the pickles -- even the ketchup -- are made from scratch.

Readers´ Choice: Fuddruckers

BEST HAMBURGER

Carmen the Restaurant

BEST HAMBURGER Carmen the Restaurant 700 Biltmore Way

Coral Gables

305-913-1944 Since her eponymous restaurant opened two years ago, chef Carmen Gonzalez has won so much national recognition for the upscale Nueva Puerto Rican-influenced fare in her venue's formal dining room that it's easy to forget half the place is a casual wine bar with its own menu of equally tasty light bites. And once you're committed to a bar meal, it's hard to turn down exotic stuff like rock shrimp empanadas for basic American hamburgers. But what burgers! The minimorsels of juicy ground sirloin, four per order, are only 1.5 ounces each. But unlike standard sliders, they come cooked to order, as rare as you like 'em, topped with creamy Gorgonzola and caramelized onions. Their buns? Homemade brioches. And all accompaniments, from the crisp shoestring fries to the pickles -- even the ketchup -- are made from scratch.

Readers´ Choice: Fuddruckers

BEST RESTAURANT FOR INTIMATE CONVERSATION

BEST RESTAURANT FOR INTIMATE CONVERSATION Mark's South Beach Nash Hotel

1120 Collins Avenue

Miami Beach

305-604-9050

www.chefmark.com You two lovebirds want a cozy nest for cooing to each other? Fly down to the Nash Hotel, site of Mark's South Beach. Choose your venue: a stylish indoor dining room with mahogany walls and upholstered booths (elegant but not stuffy or dull) or, beyond French doors, a romantic 30-seat terrace by the pools. Music plays at a reasonable level, the lights are appropriately dim, the waitstaff attentive yet discreet. Perfect. So is the wine list, an array of mid- to high-end California bottles to pair with every fragrant flavor combination on the menu -- and the contemporary American menu at this five-year-old restaurant brims with bold taste sensations. Legendary local chef Mark Militello is a master at juggling diverse and innovative ingredients without ever losing balance, and executive chef Larry LaValley, from New York's Daniel, Union Pacific, and Bouley's Bakery, orchestrates Militello's compositions in enrapturing fashion. Share bites of your duck confit with champagne mango glaze, or black grouper and artichoke hash in sweet herb broth. Sensational food is sensual food, and sensual food encourages intimacy. But talk gets you only so far. After that it's time to leave the words behind and let passion render you both speechless -- pastry chef Juan Villaparedes's Gianduja chocolate terrine and double chocolate sorbet will do just that.

BEST RESTAURANT FOR INTIMATE CONVERSATION

BEST RESTAURANT FOR INTIMATE CONVERSATION Mark's South Beach Nash Hotel

1120 Collins Avenue

Miami Beach

305-604-9050

www.chefmark.com You two lovebirds want a cozy nest for cooing to each other? Fly down to the Nash Hotel, site of Mark's South Beach. Choose your venue: a stylish indoor dining room with mahogany walls and upholstered booths (elegant but not stuffy or dull) or, beyond French doors, a romantic 30-seat terrace by the pools. Music plays at a reasonable level, the lights are appropriately dim, the waitstaff attentive yet discreet. Perfect. So is the wine list, an array of mid- to high-end California bottles to pair with every fragrant flavor combination on the menu -- and the contemporary American menu at this five-year-old restaurant brims with bold taste sensations. Legendary local chef Mark Militello is a master at juggling diverse and innovative ingredients without ever losing balance, and executive chef Larry LaValley, from New York's Daniel, Union Pacific, and Bouley's Bakery, orchestrates Militello's compositions in enrapturing fashion. Share bites of your duck confit with champagne mango glaze, or black grouper and artichoke hash in sweet herb broth. Sensational food is sensual food, and sensual food encourages intimacy. But talk gets you only so far. After that it's time to leave the words behind and let passion render you both speechless -- pastry chef Juan Villaparedes's Gianduja chocolate terrine and double chocolate sorbet will do just that.

BEST CHOCOLATE

Truly Scrumptious Chocolate

Don't let the silly name stop you from sampling this damn good chocolate. Some of you are happy with just a Hershey bar, but true addicts who know good chocolate from the dregs are willing to drive for their fix. Whether you like the creamy white, the bitter dark, or the smooth milk chocolate, you will find a drool-inducing display of confections (either plain or with nuts, caramel, pretzels, potato chips, or fruit) made right in the store. Fancy gift baskets are also available, and they'll take the time to make exactly what you want, and deliver or ship your goodies anywhere.

BEST CHOCOLATE

Truly Scrumptious Chocolate

Don't let the silly name stop you from sampling this damn good chocolate. Some of you are happy with just a Hershey bar, but true addicts who know good chocolate from the dregs are willing to drive for their fix. Whether you like the creamy white, the bitter dark, or the smooth milk chocolate, you will find a drool-inducing display of confections (either plain or with nuts, caramel, pretzels, potato chips, or fruit) made right in the store. Fancy gift baskets are also available, and they'll take the time to make exactly what you want, and deliver or ship your goodies anywhere.

BEST NONVEGETARIAN RESTAURANT FOR VEGETARIANS

BEST NONVEGETARIAN RESTAURANT FOR VEGETARIANS Guru Restaurant and Wine Bar 232 Twelfth Street

Miami Beach

305-534-3996 Guru, like most Indian restaurants, offers a generous selection of vegetarian dishes. True, Guru isn't like most Indian restaurants. Proprietor Adish Jain offers an "international" menu that includes items such as Indonesian lemon fish, Argentine churrasco steak, and an American cheeseburger to go along with the kormas, masalas, and biryanis. But things work out exceptionally well for meatless diners just the same. The good veggie vibes begin via complimentary bhajia (vegetable fritter) with bowls of mint and tamarind dipping sauces and nan flatbread strips with cucumber raita. A few specially worthwhile selections from the quirky menu: dal makhani, a multidimensional lentil dish with unexpected textural variety; palak paneer, a spinach and tofu-cheese purée zinged with fresh ginger; and vegetarian dumplings in a mildly spiced yogurt-based sauce (kofta curry), the vegetable-flecked spheres so airy and tender you might find yourself looking at meatballs with suspicion from here on in. Sunday brunch is equally friendly to noncarnivores and a gift at twelve dollars.

BEST NONVEGETARIAN RESTAURANT FOR VEGETARIANS

BEST NONVEGETARIAN RESTAURANT FOR VEGETARIANS Guru Restaurant and Wine Bar 232 Twelfth Street

Miami Beach

305-534-3996 Guru, like most Indian restaurants, offers a generous selection of vegetarian dishes. True, Guru isn't like most Indian restaurants. Proprietor Adish Jain offers an "international" menu that includes items such as Indonesian lemon fish, Argentine churrasco steak, and an American cheeseburger to go along with the kormas, masalas, and biryanis. But things work out exceptionally well for meatless diners just the same. The good veggie vibes begin via complimentary bhajia (vegetable fritter) with bowls of mint and tamarind dipping sauces and nan flatbread strips with cucumber raita. A few specially worthwhile selections from the quirky menu: dal makhani, a multidimensional lentil dish with unexpected textural variety; palak paneer, a spinach and tofu-cheese purée zinged with fresh ginger; and vegetarian dumplings in a mildly spiced yogurt-based sauce (kofta curry), the vegetable-flecked spheres so airy and tender you might find yourself looking at meatballs with suspicion from here on in. Sunday brunch is equally friendly to noncarnivores and a gift at twelve dollars.

BEST CONCH FRITTER

Captain's Tavern

BEST CONCH FRITTER Captain's Tavern 9621 S. Dixie Highway

Pinecrest

305-666-5979 People can respectfully disagree about what the best thing is about Captain's Tavern. There are those who insist that the experience of Bill (the captain) and Audrey Bowers, who've helmed ship for more than 30 years, is what makes this beloved family fish house sail smoothly. (The paneled walls, padded captain's chairs, and faux-nautical kitsch would probably not top most folks' lists, but it is sort of neat in an anti-South Beach way.) Enophiles tend to focus on the wine selection of more than 600 labels, while those who just like to drink good wine at an affordable price point out the absurdly low markup on bottles. The long-time bartender and professional old-school waitstaff would certainly win votes as the Tavern's top draw, as would the serious selection of fresh, fabulous-but-not-frilly seafood that splashes across a five-page menu: fried shrimp, Portuguese fish stew, oysters in rosemary-perfumed cream sauce, yellowtail grilled Jamaican-style -- all fantastic, really, so as we've said, we can disagree with all the unfortunate, ill-informed, and misguided patrons who don't know that the very best thing about Captain's Tavern is the conch fritter -- or fritters, because you get six glorious globes for $8.95. The secret to the Captain's rendition is properly tenderizing the conch before chopping and mixing it with flour, eggs, green onions, celery, red peppers, and a savory thyme-tinged blend of spices. Top your sandwich off with the hottest thing about Captain's Tavern: Audrey's homemade Scotch bonnet pepper sauce. If you dare.

Best Of Miami®

Best Of Miami®

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