A Taste of Miami
SELECT & REPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
Calle Ocho in the Latino neighborhood of Little Havana
Calle Ocho
Little Havana’s Calle Ocho is the center of Cuban life in the city, and a walk down the vibrant street yields a cornucopia of sights and sounds. Here, you can purchase a hand-rolled cigar or enjoy some sugar cane juice pressed to order at one of the many fruit stands lining the streets. To escape Miami’s relentless heat, head to Azucar Ice Cream, where owner Suzy Batlle uses fresh, local ingredients for a “farm to cone” experience. Batlle digs deep into her Cuban-American roots to create flavors like Cuatro Leche (a take on a Cuban tres leches cake featuring a cafe con leche made with rich, strong Cuban coffee and Oreo cookies), and the “Burn in Hell, Fidel” — rich chocolate ice cream with a great kick of cayenne pepper which tingles the lips, before the sweetness of the ice cream cools the tongue.
SELECT & REPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
Mojito
Trova Music
A few blocks east, Cafe La Trova, named after Cuban “trova” music, offers an immersive supper-club experience. James Beard-winning chef Michelle Bernstein has teamed up with world-renowned mixologist Julio Cabrera to create a menu that elevates staples like croquetas and ropa vieja (shredded beef and vegetables) and drinks such as mojitos. La Trova offers live music nightly, with band members playing on a stage festooned with a laundry line filled with clothes as if you’re partying on the streets of Havana circa 1957. At the bar, Cabrera and his fellow cantineros (bartenders) throw together daiquiris — tossing the liquid from shaker to shaker in a spectacular feat of showmanship. From time to time, the cantineros join the band, playing percussion instruments from behind the bar. The arroz con pollo is the standout dish — a steaming offering of fragrant saffron rice accompanied by half a succulent free-range chicken that’s been deboned.
SELECT & REPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
Grilled chicken and beef rice in Little Haiti
Jamaican Jerk Chicken
It might be slightly counter-intuitive, but for the best Jamaican jerk chicken, you have to travel to Little Haiti. Pearline Murray and her late husband, Clifford, opened Clive’s Cafe in the late 1980s in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. A few years ago, the little restaurant relocated to Little Haiti. Decorated in wood paneling, with a sound system consisting of a radio playing reggae music, Clive’s is neither fancy nor trendy. Yet people in the know (including regular Lenny Kravitz) come here for plentiful plates of home cooking. The jerk chicken brings a pleasant heat, and is served with two sides: mac and cheese — a thick slice of solid cheese and noodle casserole — and rice and peas, which are both excellent. The restaurant also serves up a fragrant curried chicken or goat, house-made patties and cracked conch. On weekends, Clive’s also offers mannish water, a goat soup that’s believed to be an aphrodisiac.
SELECT & REPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
Colorful street in Miami Beach
Haitian Cuisine
If you want to take advantage of Miami’s warm climate by dining al fresco, there’s no better spot than Naomi’s Garden, also in Little Haiti. Three decades ago, Yaron Yemini and his wife Shula opened this tiny restaurant that looked more like a shack than a dining establishment. The couple started out by serving Israeli food, but little by little, the local Haitian ladies who worked in the kitchen started making the food they grew up with. Today, Naomi’s offers some of the best Haitian food in the area in a lush garden setting. The one-page menu asks you to choose one main dish (oxtail, fried chicken, fried snapper, goat stew, jerk jackfruit and spinach stew are just a few of the options), then add sides such as rice and peas, collard greens, plantain, steamed vegetables and macaroni. You can further customize your meal with pickled vegetables and spicy Haitian pikliz (a blend of pickled cabbage, carrots, bell peppers and scotch bonnet peppers that’s deceptively spicy — go easy on this, as the heat from the scotch bonnets creeps up on you with every mouthful). The garden patio — filled with greenery — is the perfect respite from Miami’s hustle and bustle and overpriced, ultra-hip restaurants. Where else can you get a meal cooked with love and served in a peaceful garden setting for under $20 in the middle of one of America’s busiest cities?
SELECT & REPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
Steamed mussels and white wine
Taste of Trinidad
Finally, half an hour north of Miami, chef Timon Balloo and his wife Marissa Katherine have opened The Katherine Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale. There, Balloo taps into his Trinidadian and Chinese roots (and his travels with his wife) to serve a menu that’s extremely personal. This melange of flavors takes many forms and the menu ranges from a pasta dish the couple shared in Italy and fries topped with steamed clams to sweet-and-spicy chicken wings. The tender jerk-thighs are a highlight, served over kale braised in coconut milk with a side of plantain. And, though The Katherine doesn’t serve a traditional Caribbean menu, dishes like the roasted carrots offer hints of Caribbean flavors such as nutmeg, allspice, ginger and clove.
Contact our agency today to book your Florida vacation.
SELECT & REPLACE WITH ANOTHER TEMPLATE
We are here to help you turn your travel dreams into reality. contact us today!
Travel Leaders Network is the largest network of professional travel agents in North America. Wherever you want to go, however you want to get there — we have a travel agent for you.
Using an Agent Enhances Your Overall Travel Experience.
Local Agents. Global Experts.
Our travel agents are respected worldwide by a massive network of cruise, resort and tour companies, giving us special advantages to making your vacation truly unique.
77
Years Serving the Travel Industry
14,620
Travel Experts In the U.S.
65
Industry Awards Since 2009
300
Global Partnerships