Miami's Best Eats and Drinks This Week: Vagabond Lunch and Lee Schrager's Birthday

Nothing brings an end to a long weekend quite like a Tuesday. But the festivities didn't end yesterday: Wednesday is Lee Schrager's birthday, and he wants to celebrate over his favorite dishes at Yardbird. (Hint: Fried chicken is involved.)

Short week starts now.

Tuesday

Lunch at Vagabond Restaurant & Bar 
There's a good chance you might still be hungover, so pork tonkatsu is a surefire way to heal all that ails you. Get it at Vagabond Restaurant & Bar. The MiMo eatery is dishing out lunch beginning today, and the menu is a combination of the restaurant's light dinner fare and eggless brunch dishes. Expect items such as stracciatella with leek, oil, and country bread and Chinese chicken salad with herbs, avocado, and citrus. Already tried those? Go for the newcomer: a Japanese meatball sandwich with tare, nori, scallion, and pickled cucumber.

Wednesday

Lee Schrager's Birthday at Yardbird
It's no secret that the South Beach Wine & Food Festival organizer Lee Schrager loves fried chicken. He even wrote a recipe book — Fried & True — about it. So for his birthday this Wednesday (yep, he's a Gemini), he'll celebrate by eating his favorite Southern comfort dishes at Yardbird, and you can too. Part of the restaurant's Guest Supper Series, the feast will offer Schrager's top picks — St. Louis-style pork ribs, shrimp 'n' grits, and Lewellyn's fried chicken to name a few — family style for $55. For dessert, choose between coconut cream pie and chocolate cake. If you can't decide, just think, What would Schrager do? The celebration begins at 7:30 p.m. 

Thursday

Robata at SushiSamba
Grilling season is here, which means lots of meat to eat. Good thing SushiSamba Coral Gables has spruced up its robata offerings to include Robata Rub Thursdays. Get white asparagus with a 64-degree poached egg, bonito flakes, sesame, and garlic soy cream ($7) or Alaskan king crab leg with sansho pepper vinaigrette and charred lemon ($15) cooked to perfection on a charcoal grill. Other new items include octopus with chorizo, bean purée, and olives ($10), as well veal heart with confit potato, chimichurri aioli, and aji panca ($7). Not a carnivore? Try local Zellwood corn on the cob with chili, aji panca butter, and grated manchego or Hass avocado with crisp garlic, tofu crema, and su-shoyu. There's sushi too. 

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