Paon Eatery

Here, on the oblong Bay Harbor Islands, where people rarely glance left and right as they make their way to or from the beach, Paon Eatery's Federico Cassino has assembled a menu of hearty bistro fare offered at far more reasonable prices than what can be found at the nearby Bal Harbour Shops. It comes from an Argentine upbringing, where he learned to cook under his grandmother, who lorded over her home region's specialities, and his mother, who cooked with elements of Spanish and French refinement. At Paon, dishes wander the globe with everything from grilled octopus to a sweet summer corn soup dotted with sesame oil. There's the city's best French fries here, if you could call them that, as well as house-made steamed buns stuffed with an umami bomb of shiitake and porcini mushrooms. Despite Cassino's time in an ambitious, Michelin-starred restaurant, his latest place proves food need not be overly fussy to be enjoyable. Such was his mission when he made the more than 4,400-mile schlep from Buenos Aires to Miami.