BEST FRENCH RESTAURANT IN A STRIP MALL 2004 | Café Pastis | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Miami | Miami New Times
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BEST FRENCH RESTAURANT IN A STRIP MALL

Café Pastis

Since August 1999, when French native Philippe Jacquet joined with Miami native Scott Price to open this cozy little café, the place has become a neighborhood favorite, with scores of fiercely loyal customers dining here regularly -- strip mall or no strip mall. It's easy to see why. Aside from the friendly ambiance and charming décor (quite an accomplishment for a storefront operation), the food is consistently excellent across the full range of the menu -- from salads and soups to steaks and seafood. Their steamed mussels are justly famous, and if you like authentic French fries, this is the place. (Winner of Best French Fries, 2002.) The open kitchen is so small you'll wonder how it's possible such wonderful fare can be created in such cramped quarters. Answer: The chefs have perfected a culinary pas de deux that keeps them from crashing into each other. That, too, is a pleasure to behold.

BEST FRENCH RESTAURANT IN A STRIP MALL

Cafe Pastis

Since August 1999, when French native Philippe Jacquet joined with Miami native Scott Price to open this cozy little café, the place has become a neighborhood favorite, with scores of fiercely loyal customers dining here regularly -- strip mall or no strip mall. It's easy to see why. Aside from the friendly ambiance and charming décor (quite an accomplishment for a storefront operation), the food is consistently excellent across the full range of the menu -- from salads and soups to steaks and seafood. Their steamed mussels are justly famous, and if you like authentic French fries, this is the place. (Winner of Best French Fries, 2002.) The open kitchen is so small you'll wonder how it's possible such wonderful fare can be created in such cramped quarters. Answer: The chefs have perfected a culinary pas de deux that keeps them from crashing into each other. That, too, is a pleasure to behold.

BEST MEDIANOCHE SANDWICH

Latin American Cafeteria

Yes, the LAC is the indigenous Miami version of a Denny's or an IHOP, but they know their proletariat comfort foods. Ask anyone with an obsession for medianoches and they will tell you the LAC has the rules down to perfection: Make them greasy and filling, with a pleasing balance of saltiness and a dash of sweet and sour flavor. And so the medianoche is the Cuban ham and cheese sandwich, but much improved upon: roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles pressed between slices of soft, sweet egg bread. Some will add mayo or mustard, but that's up to individual preference. Now, if only the LAC would extend its hours to late, late night....

BEST MEDIANOCHE SANDWICH

Latin American Cafeteria

Yes, the LAC is the indigenous Miami version of a Denny's or an IHOP, but they know their proletariat comfort foods. Ask anyone with an obsession for medianoches and they will tell you the LAC has the rules down to perfection: Make them greasy and filling, with a pleasing balance of saltiness and a dash of sweet and sour flavor. And so the medianoche is the Cuban ham and cheese sandwich, but much improved upon: roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, and pickles pressed between slices of soft, sweet egg bread. Some will add mayo or mustard, but that's up to individual preference. Now, if only the LAC would extend its hours to late, late night....

BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT

Renaisa

Indian restaurants of even the standard sort are hard to come by in these parts. Additionally, for whatever reason, they tend to be located in shopping malls. Renaisa is housed in a picturesque wooden structure on the Little River, which makes for an engaging atmosphere. Many of the menu items are specialties from Bangladesh, which makes for an engaging dining experience. Grab a private booth or table on the outdoor, riverside deck, open one of the cold beers you've brought with you (Renaisa has no liquor license but allows you to bring your own). As you peruse the menu, enjoy complimentary crisp-fried lentil pappadums with three relishes -- bittersweet tamarind, tangy red onion, and sinus-clearing cilantro. All the usual curries are available, but so are some wonderfully different alternatives such as the starter mass bora, half-a-dozen slightly mouth-tingling fried patties of spiced ground fish, sprinkled with cilantro plus onion and green pepper chunks. The traditional chicken roast features juicy chicken pieces in a sinfully rich cream/yogurt gravy. For dessert try scrumptious rosmalai -- sweetened, fried cheese balls in heavy cream sauce. And if you're curious about some specialty that's not on the menu -- like jhal muri, a wildly popular street snack in Bangladesh and the adjoining Indian state of Bengal (but near impossible to find in the U.S.) -- just call ahead and the friendly proprietors will accommodate.

BEST INDIAN RESTAURANT

Renaisa

Indian restaurants of even the standard sort are hard to come by in these parts. Additionally, for whatever reason, they tend to be located in shopping malls. Renaisa is housed in a picturesque wooden structure on the Little River, which makes for an engaging atmosphere. Many of the menu items are specialties from Bangladesh, which makes for an engaging dining experience. Grab a private booth or table on the outdoor, riverside deck, open one of the cold beers you've brought with you (Renaisa has no liquor license but allows you to bring your own). As you peruse the menu, enjoy complimentary crisp-fried lentil pappadums with three relishes -- bittersweet tamarind, tangy red onion, and sinus-clearing cilantro. All the usual curries are available, but so are some wonderfully different alternatives such as the starter mass bora, half-a-dozen slightly mouth-tingling fried patties of spiced ground fish, sprinkled with cilantro plus onion and green pepper chunks. The traditional chicken roast features juicy chicken pieces in a sinfully rich cream/yogurt gravy. For dessert try scrumptious rosmalai -- sweetened, fried cheese balls in heavy cream sauce. And if you're curious about some specialty that's not on the menu -- like jhal muri, a wildly popular street snack in Bangladesh and the adjoining Indian state of Bengal (but near impossible to find in the U.S.) -- just call ahead and the friendly proprietors will accommodate.

BEST SUSHI

Siam River

He's young. He's energetic enough to hound Miami fishing boat captains every day for the most sparkling local catches. He's compulsive enough to haunt Miami's university libraries uncovering the undersea world's deepest secrets. To be honest, he's a complete bleeding madman on the subject of uncooked fish, which is why you can count on finding nothing but the freshest -- never frozen -- seafood at Kevin Cory's sushi bar at Siam River. The Thai dishes are fine if your dining party includes fishphobes too timid to eat it raw, but serious sushiphiles will see finned specimens behind Kevin's counter that are virtually still flapping. This includes yellowtail, grouper, and all the usual suspects, but also unusual indigenous sea creatures: gray triggerfish, mutton snapper, cottonmouth jack, much more. Almost equally pristine imported seafood, overnighted from the Tokyo fish market, round out the menu. While you will find more subtly crafted, elegantly served dishes at fancier or more established sushi/ceviche spots like Nobu and Matsuri, you'll find fresher fish nowhere in town.

BEST SUSHI

Siam River

He's young. He's energetic enough to hound Miami fishing boat captains every day for the most sparkling local catches. He's compulsive enough to haunt Miami's university libraries uncovering the undersea world's deepest secrets. To be honest, he's a complete bleeding madman on the subject of uncooked fish, which is why you can count on finding nothing but the freshest -- never frozen -- seafood at Kevin Cory's sushi bar at Siam River. The Thai dishes are fine if your dining party includes fishphobes too timid to eat it raw, but serious sushiphiles will see finned specimens behind Kevin's counter that are virtually still flapping. This includes yellowtail, grouper, and all the usual suspects, but also unusual indigenous sea creatures: gray triggerfish, mutton snapper, cottonmouth jack, much more. Almost equally pristine imported seafood, overnighted from the Tokyo fish market, round out the menu. While you will find more subtly crafted, elegantly served dishes at fancier or more established sushi/ceviche spots like Nobu and Matsuri, you'll find fresher fish nowhere in town.

BEST BRAZILIAN INVASION

Cypo Café

The Brazilian diaspora is all over town now, but its most marvelous manifestations are often hiding in places off the beaten path. Like that ultrasmooth Rio de Janeiro-style wax job inside your new girlfriend's old jeans. Or singer Rose Max's euphoria-inducing sets in candlelit bars, beyond the glare of thumping nightclubs. Cypo Café is also tucked away, although its purpose is to bring you pleasure in broad daylight. The owners, from the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil's heartland, moved into the heart of a Shell gas station at 71st Street and Abbott Avenue in North Beach about two years ago, where they set up culinary shop. The cramped café has only a few tables, which is why customers tend to call in and carry out the variety of platos tipicos on the Cypo menu. A daily special rotation includes muqueca de peixe (fish in a coconut, tomato, and pepper sauce); bobo de camarao (shrimp in a coconut, tomato, and creamed yuca sauce), frango com quiabo (chicken with okra, served with cornmeal purée), feijoada (black beans with pork, served with rice collard greens and fresh orange), and meat and mushroom stroganoff. Plates are a very reasonable $7 to $10 each.

BEST BRAZILIAN INVASION

Cypo Café

The Brazilian diaspora is all over town now, but its most marvelous manifestations are often hiding in places off the beaten path. Like that ultrasmooth Rio de Janeiro-style wax job inside your new girlfriend's old jeans. Or singer Rose Max's euphoria-inducing sets in candlelit bars, beyond the glare of thumping nightclubs. Cypo Café is also tucked away, although its purpose is to bring you pleasure in broad daylight. The owners, from the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil's heartland, moved into the heart of a Shell gas station at 71st Street and Abbott Avenue in North Beach about two years ago, where they set up culinary shop. The cramped café has only a few tables, which is why customers tend to call in and carry out the variety of platos tipicos on the Cypo menu. A daily special rotation includes muqueca de peixe (fish in a coconut, tomato, and pepper sauce); bobo de camarao (shrimp in a coconut, tomato, and creamed yuca sauce), frango com quiabo (chicken with okra, served with cornmeal purée), feijoada (black beans with pork, served with rice collard greens and fresh orange), and meat and mushroom stroganoff. Plates are a very reasonable $7 to $10 each.

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