This week, Miami celebrates several new arrivals, including a second location for a Los Angeles-based chain expanding its South Florida footprint to Coral Gables and a Miami Beach favorite sushi spot that recently expanded north to Fort Lauderdale.
Read on for details about these and other recent Miami-area restaurant openings.
(Did we miss a good one? Email us: [email protected])
Chef Nicole Votano recently added Alla Vodka Shop to her Miami-based delivery-only Italian concepts .
Photo courtesy of Reef Kitchens
Alla Vodka Shop
2417 NW N Miami Ave., Miaminbrhd.com
Mamma Parmigiana chef/owner Nicole Votano has been busy. Having debuted her Italian-inspired delivery-only menu a few weeks ago, she's now offering a number of pasta-focused dishes available via a second concept, Alla Vodka Shop. Now open for delivery — and picnic table-style casual eating alongside Votano's Reef Kitchen truck — the Alla Vodka Shop menu offers a variety of modern Italian fare in to-go form. Here, find dishes you won't on the Mamma Parmigiana menu, from polenta-crusted fried calamari and burrata with marinated red peppers to a variety of pastas, baked pastas, and parm-style sandwiches and dishes smothered in the chef's pink vodka sauce. End on a sweet note with Votano's cannoli three ways: classic, pistachio, and chocolate. Open daily for delivery.
The Fatty Crab specializes in New Orleans-inspired fare and recently opened in Doral.
Photo courtesy of the Fatty Crab
The Fatty Crab
2000 NW 87th St., Doral786-618-5183
thefattycrab.com
Miamians can journey to NOLA — in spirit, anyway — thanks to the opening of the Fatty Crab in Doral. The New Orleans-inspired menu offers classic Creole and Cajun dishes, from beignets smothered in powdered sugar to jambalaya, gumbo, and po’ boys. Feeling adventurous? Try the fried frog legs, soaked in buttermilk and seasoned with Creole spices, then fried to a crisp ($13). Or choose a traditional seafood boil: shrimp, mussels, crawfish, clams, or snow or king crab, boiled in your choice of sauce and spices ($9.50-$17). For a dish you won't find anywhere else, try the double crab fried rice, a Cajun-seasoned Dungeness crab paired with fried rice and topped with a crab cake ($22). Open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from noon to 11 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 10 p.m.
After more than two decades in business, Miami Squeeze has opened its second location in the Shops at Midtown Miami.
Photo courtesy of Miami Squeeze
Miami Squeeze
3401 N. Miami Ave., Miami786-206-1075
miamisqueeze.com
The Shops at Midtown welcomes Miami Squeeze to its growing roster of restaurants. Built on the concept that a healthy lifestyle can be affordable, Miami Squeeze opened its first location more than 20 years ago, delivering its fresh-focused — and fairly priced — Mediterranean cuisine, vegan dishes, and savory smoothies and juices in North Miami. The restaurant offers nearly every type of smoothie you can imagine, from versions loaded with fruits and vegetables to power-based options that include protein powder, coffee — even granola. For larger meals, salads and soups pair nicely alongside melts, panini, pitas, and wraps. And nearly everything on the menu costs $12 or less. Open Monday and Tuesday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Wednesday through Sunday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sweetgreen
3015 Grand Ave., Coconut Grove305-614-4009
sweetgreen.com
Los Angeles-based fast-casual restaurant chain Sweetgreen has opened its second South Florida location in CocoWalk. The 1,990-square-foot Coconut Grove location has both indoor and patio seating, although the brand's online ordering and delivery application is also popular for those looking to take their food to-go (a pedestrian pick-up window makes that especially easy here). The menu is based on core bowls, salads, and main plates priced at $8.50 to $13.50. Each restaurant also features seasonal dishes and city-specific dishes — here, for instance, the citrus shrimp and avocado bowl with roasted sweet potatoes, tomatoes, red onions, shredded cabbage, cilantro, tortilla chips, baby spinach, and warm quinoa with a ceviche dressing. Open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sushi Garage has opened a Broward County location in Fort Lauderdale.
Photo courtesy of Sushi Garage
Sushi Garage
500 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale954-727-3533
sushigarage.com
Restaurateurs Jonas and Alexandra Millán of Juvia, along with partner and chef Sunny Oh, recently opened their second location of Sushi Garage. The newest outpost of the popular Miami Beach Japanese and sushi restaurant is located on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, a 6,000-square-foot space with plenty of seating for patrons to indulge in Sushi Garage's beloved "Happiest Happy Hour," offered from 5 to 8 p.m. daily. That means you can get $5 specialty cocktails to pair with $3 sashimi, $5 to $6 half-rolls of sushi, and $7 small plates, including tempura shrimp bites and chili shrimp dumplings. Open Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 to 11 p.m.
