Josh Marcus Creates Menu for Sliderz, Opening in September

Sliderz, the Miami-based slider-centricfast casual concept, opens ifs flagship restaurant the first week of September, with plans to open five more in the next few months.   The first Sliderz, located at 1817 123rd St. in North Miami,  will feature a menu of (what else) sliders. If you’re thinking the…

New York’s Numero 28 Pizzeria Arrives in South Beach

Although invented in Italy, pizza is centered in New York (sorry Chicago). Until recently, transplanted New Yorkers in Miami have either had to fly back home for a couple of slices or deal with the Miami versions that lacked the tang and oregano of a good sauce or the bite…

Wynwood Diner to Open Friday

Wynwood Diner opens this Friday at 2601 N.W. Second Ave.,and it’s like no other diner you’ve seen. The casual eatery, which opens August 14, looks less like a typical greasy spoon and more like a cozy sanctuary you’d find in trendy country-chic hotspots like Charleston and Asheville. That’s not to…

Saffron Supper Club Brings Persian Flavors and Stories to Miami

Saffron Supper Club, self-billed as “a roving pop-up dinner club exploring the food and culture of the Middle East” started out of friendship and necessity by South Florida food writers Maude Eaton and Sara Liss. According to co-founder Maude Eaton, the two women met at a media dinner about five…

Cheeseburger Baby Brings South Beach to Little Haiti

Cheeseburger Baby has opened a second location in the Little River District of Little Haiti. This stripped-down version of the South Beach burger joint, favored by everyone from club kids to Anthony Bourdain and a pre-vegan Beyonce, started serving yesterday at 212 NE 79 St. The 260 square foot structure,…

Homesick Peruvians Share Their Beloved Sandwiches With Miami

Sharon Morla was a greedy kid. While growing up in Lima’s San Isidro neighborhood, she would often tease a fistful of nuevo soles out of her parents and avoid her sister and friends while scouring the streets for her favorite carrito sanguchero. Each rickety metal cart shaded by a technicolor…

Brasserie Azur Coming to Midtown This Month

Brasserie Azur, the casual sister of South Beach’s Villa Azur, is set to open in Midtown sometime this month. The brasserie-and-rotisserie concept opens in the former Mercadito space at 3252 NE 1 Ave. (adjacent to the Shops at Midtown), with a modern French bistro concept. Designed by Francois Frossard, who…

Trust & Co. in Coral Gables: “Steampunk Meets a Bank”

Trust & Co., a chef-driven restaurant by one of Batch Gastropub’s founders, is set to open in Coral Gables this fall. Jerry Flynn, who co-created Batch Gastropub with partner Kevin Danilo, is opening the restaurant at 2 Aragon Ave., in the former Azucar Cuban Cuisine spot. Flynn, by the way, is no longer…

Chef Venoy Rogers Brings His Essence to Essensia for Miami Spice

Essensia has always been a farm-to-table, gourmet restaurant inside The Palms Hotel & Spa but earlier this summer a new chef was brought into the kitchen. Venoy Rogers is the new executive chef and you can begin to taste his creations and vision through the restaurant’s Miami Spice menu.  Venoy will reveal…

Segafredo Opening at Bayside Marketplace

Despite changing times for Lincoln Road, one bistro remains a constant for both locals and tourists alike. Segafredo L’Originale, which opened in 2000 and brings a bit of Italian cafe life to the pedestrian mall, serves cappuccinos and cocktails to people and their coiffed canines who frequent the outdoor spot…

Miami Spice 2015: Five Weekend Brunches Worth Indulging In

The weekend is coming and you’re making plans for brunch with friends. Suddenly you remember that Miami Spice, the two-month-long dining deal, is in full swing and try to find a good weekend brunch place that offers Miami Spice. Alas, upon perusal of the Miami Spice website, you’re disappointed to…

Vagabond Offers New Lunch Menu: Try the Tsukune Sandwich

Since its opening less than a year ago, the Vagabond Restaurant and Bar has challenged Miami’s palates with everything from chapulines, which are spicy Mexican grasshoppers served with peanuts, to pan-seared beef hearts. Under the care of executive chef Alex Chang, the kitchen has turned out food that’s colorful, playful, and exploratory. …

Miami Chefs Host Cuban Counterparts for Historic Exchange Program

In Key West, a line snakes, sometimes for blocks, with people waiting for a chance to take a picture with the famous Southernmost Point marker, which proclaims Cuba is only 90 miles away. Now, diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba are officially re-established and connection with the people…

Ms. Cheezious Hosts TV Filming Party, Plans Expansion

Ms. Cheezious has plenty of delicious sandwiches, but her most decadent has got to be the croqueta monsieur. The sandwich, a mashup of two different culinary favorites, was created for a food event, Ms. Cheezious’ Brian Mullins explains. “Our croqueta monsieur came to be when Burger Beast asked us to…

Latin Lounge Rubi Now Open in Brickell

There’s a new gem in Brickell, and it’s called Rubi. On the corner of SW 1st Ave, Rubi’s got a 4,000-square foot space draped in red that bounces between a lounge, a club, and a mini-restaurant. So whether you’re searching for a happy hour, a Miami-style late night out, or a…

Pubbelly to Transform Into a More Polished “Pubbelly 5.0”

It’s hard to believe, but it was nearly five years ago that partners Andreas Schreiner, Jose Mendin and Sergio Navarro introduced Pubbelly, their pork-centric, Asain-inspired gastropub to Miami Beach. The restaurant, which opened November 2010, connected with locals who craved good fare in a casual setting. After half a decade, the…

Miami Restaurant Sales Recover as Closings Slow

Despite a run of high-profile restaurant closures that have rolled through like a summer squall, casualties are waning as sales figures pick up and begin outpacing major metro areas like Los Angeles and New York. The numbers seemed to have bottomed out in March, when they climbed a paltry 0.8…

Soho Bay Temporarily Closes Due to Road Construction

It looks like another restaurant has fallen prey to Miami Beach’s horrific road construction. Soho Bay, which opened about three months ago, has closed temporarily. The restaurant, which happens to be the first United States location of a popular Brazilian chain founded in 1998, opened inside the Bentley Bay, featuring…

July 2015 Miami Restaurant Openings and Closings

July was a scorcher, both in terms of the heat index and the pace restaurant openings. More than a dozen new restaurants opened in the midst of a Miami summer, proving once again that there really is no off-season lull. The new offerings are as varied as our city itself…