Restaurants

JetBlue is trying to relieve some of the stress of Hurricane Irma by providing a free meal today, The airline is sponsoring a free food truck roundup today at BB&T Center in Sunrise.

Though much of South Florida is rundown with fallen trees, broken power lines and other debris from Hurricane Irma, some restaurants and bars have managed to reopen, pledging to serve hot and fresh-made meals to residents. Others plan to reopen in the next day or so, as soon as curfews…

Mercato is actually a revamping of Cafe Nuvo, which was run by the same owners and chef Alex Martinez, who’s been working in Miami Beach at various restaurants since the mid-’00s. It’s now the spitting image of an Italian street scene, fit for a postcard.

Roberta’s, a popular Brooklyn restaurant and pizza joint based in Bushwick, will open a pop-up shop in the Design District this October.

August, typically a slow month for Miami’s restaurant scene, saw many openings of note.The Magic City got two new breweries with the opening of Nightlife Brewing Co. adjacent to Marlins Park and Veza Sur Brewing Co. in Wynwood.Other openings include Jose Mendin’s Baja Bao, Lutum, and Etaru in Hollywood.Major closings included two Spring Chicken locations and Sushi Maki in Brickell.

Mignonette Uptown, located in North Miami Beach, will reach nine months old September 6. To mark the occasion, the restaurant has added new items to its Miami Spice menus. This is the final month diners can snag the unbeatable deal of a three-course lunch for $23 and dinner for $39.

Bird & Bone has been serving Southern-inspired breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the Confidante hotel’s charming patio for nearly a year. This summer, the restaurant, formerly Michelle Bernstein’s Seagrape space, finished renovations in its dining room, which boasts warm colors and repurposed wood for a rock ‘n’ roll country-house vibe.

On Thursday, October 5, New Times’ Iron Fork will return for its tenth anniversary with delicious food and a showdown between two of Miami’s finest chefs. Tacology’s Santiago Gomez will face off against Beaker & Gray’s Brian Nasajon in a competition hosted by chef Allen Susser.

In March 2016, Shannon Allen and her husband, former Miami Heat player Ray Allen, opened Grown, a healthy fast-casual eatery, in South Miami. Today it remains the first and only USDA-certified organic fast-food restaurant with a drive-thru on the East Coast. This month, the couple opened a Grown location inside a Walmart Supercenter in Orlando.

Since the Salty Donut debuted in December 2015, the doughnut purveyor has created a handful of unorthodox mashups, such as rainbow dough, sticky bun doughnuts, boozy glazes and fillings, cannoli-shaped varieties, and doughnut burgers.

Firm, glistening cubes of watermelon bear a striking resemblance to high-end raw tuna, which is precisely why chef Todd Erickson chose the juicy fruit as the foundation for the restaurant’s vegan poke ($7). To make the dish taste like the Hawaiian raw fish salad, he enhances the watermelon with Asian…

After 50 Eggs’ fast-casual fried-chicken spot in Fort Lauderdale shuttered earlier this month, the Miami Beach Spring Chicken location closed it doors last week, leaving the windows on the Alton Road business, which was once Lime and later BTW (Burgers, Tacos, Whiskey), covered with brown paper.

This past Friday, Magic City Casino was filled with a thousand croqueta lovers for the fourth-annual Croquetapalooza, a celebration of Miami’s favorite snack. The event, founded by Burger Beast blogger Sef Gonzalez, saw more than two dozen of Miami’s best-loved restaurants vying for the titles of “best croqueta” and “best frita.”

A new late-night service is whipping up brownies (no, not that kind) and delivering them to local college students around the Florida International University and University of Miami campuses.

Miami is ever-evolving.  And, while the summer is generally slow for restaurant openings, as the weather (finally) cools, the city’s restaurant scene heats up. Here are five restaurants to look forward to.

Bocas House, a Venezuelan-Peruvian restaurant based in Doral, has officially opened a third location, in Coral Gables. The concept, known for large portions and indulgent milkshakes, is part of Bocas Group Corporation, led by César González and Levin De Grazia.

Plomo, Miracle Mile’s first tequila and taco bar that debuted this summer, is now open for brunch Saturday and Sunday. Created by the Atomic Group, known for popular Coral Gables eateries such as Crema Gourmet Espresso Bar and Copper 29, this Mexican-inspired lounge offers bottomless mimosas and sangria paired with a selection of Latin-influenced brunch plates.

Thursday, October 5, New Times’ Iron Fork will return for its tenth anniversary with delicious food and a showdown between two of Miami’s finest chefs. Tacology’s Santiago Gomez will face off against Beaker & Gray’s Brian Nasajon in a competition hosted by chef Allen Susser.

Last month, federal agents and Florida state police joined forces in Miami to crack down on slotting fees, or the practice of paying retailers to prominently place a product. In this case, they were investigating local beer distributors, according to sources interviewed by New Times.

BLT Steak, known to serve some of the best beef, seafood, and popovers in Miami, will reopen in September inside the new Iberostar Berkeley Hotel, previously the Berkeley Shore Hotel, in South Beach. An exact date is expected in the next few days.

Bird & Bone, chef Richard Hales’ Southern restaurant inside the Confidante, has one of the best-valued Spice lunches. The three-course meal, which includes many of Hales’ most popular plates, offers about a 30 percent discount compared to a regularly priced lunch at the restaurant.