The Six Best Vegan- and Vegetarian-Friendly Options for Miami Spice 2016

Local foodies are in their element right now with Miami Spice in full swing. But what about food lovers who aren't into animal products? Amid the smorgasbord of mostly omnivorous cuisine, where's a vegan to go?

Not to worry. Several Miami eateries offer special selections that cater to vegetarians and vegans. You can hit one restaurant a week — enjoying fare ranging from Italian and Mediterranean to American — and live large till Spice ends September 30.
6. Plant Food + Wine Miami
Matthew Kenney’s superfabulous plant-based brasserie offers a Spice menu for lunch and dinner five days a week (excluding Friday and Saturday). Dig into bánh mì rolls, achiote cauliflower tacos, barbecued mamey, and much more. Everything is vegan at this spot, so you can’t possibly go wrong. And given that this is arguably the best vegan food in the city, snag the special while you can.
5. Blue Collar
Danny Serfer’s popular Upper Eastside spot, Blue Collar, has some wiggle room for vegan eaters. As of this week, the eatery is offering a vegan ceviche appetizer with mango, habanero, plantain chips, and citrus. As far as entrées, the vegan version of the veggie plate features roasted beets and artichokes, grilled asparagus, and a watermelon-cucumber salad. Sadly, no desserts for vegans (though vegetarians are good to go), but you’ll probably be stuffed enough to skip it anyway.
4. Scarpetta
Scott Conant’s upscale Italian eatery is a go for plant-based eaters. Tell your waiter you're eating vegan, and chefs will adjust the mouthwatering menu. Options include polenta with truffled mushrooms and classic spaghetti with tomato and basil. 

3. Mignonette
Mignonette, Blue Collar's sister eatery in Wynwood, is featuring a chopped salad with purple cabbage, cucumbers, radishes, and balsamic vinegar for an appetizer. Its vegan veggie plate, similar to Blue Collar's, features homemade potato chips, green peas with shallots, roasted sweet potato wedges, and sautéed spinach and watercress. 

2. Timo
This Sunny Isles Beach spot has a particularly creative all-vegan menu option for Miami Spice. Far from the usual stir-fried veggies and salad selections, Timo's lineup includes a chanterelle mushroom fritto with whipped artichoke and 12-year aged balsamic; butternut squash lasagna with spinach and Kite Hill almond ricotta; charcoaled cauliflower steak with porcini "butter" and mushroom bordelaise; and chocolate pâté with raw cocoa, almonds, and mixed-berry sorbet.
1. Hakkasan
Specializing in Cantonese cuisine, this chic Fontainebleau eatery offers an all-vegetarian dim sum menu that can easily be veganized. Items include a green salad with crisp lotus root; a tofu black bean pot in black bean sauce; stir-fried baby pak choi with garlic; hand-pulled wild-mushroom noodles; coconut sorbet; and other tempting options.