Definitely much more than the South Beach Diet
If you only eat three meals in Miami, make sure they’re in the area that locals know as SoFi
Celebrated for its glitz and glamour, Art Deco architecture and palm trees swaying near the turquoise Atlantic, Miami Beach’s South Beach neighbourhood draws swarms of visitors each year.
A melting pot of cultures — Latin American, Caribbean, European — shapes its vibrant dining scene.
One can find pretty much everything, including strong and sugary Cuban cafecitos, Peruvian ceviche, fire-grilled pizza and chilled stone crab claws. The trick is finding places where the food exceeds the hype.
Escape the carnivalesque mayhem of Ocean Drive (US$45 mojitos, anyone?) and head to the quieter neighbourhood referred to by locals as South of Fifth, a.k.a. SoFi.
This narrowing triangle of streets, from Fifth to the end of the island at South Pointe Park, is fast becoming the sophisticated place to visit and dine.
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and visitors on lower Collins Avenue will find breakfast nirvana when they step inside the cotton-candy-coloured building that’s home to Big Pink. (mylesrestaurantgroup.com, 157 Collins Ave.)
Eggs are served every imaginable way: in burritos, omelettes (five eggs!), and fried, scrambled and poached with sides of steak, corned beef hash, polenta fries, and the usual ham, bacon and sausage.
Smoothies and juices are available for those who want lighter fare. A full-service bar offers fresh fruit mojitos, bloody Marys, and specialty cocktails.
If you sleep till noon, no worries. Breakfast is available all day long.
Shuffle in from the Third Street beach to Lolo’s Surf Cantina, a casual spot serving authentic Mexican cuisine in the lower level of the Marriott Stanton South Beach hotel (loloscantina.com; 161 Ocean Dr.).
Mexican-born chef Richard Ampudia named his spot after his grandmother and, indeed, the dishes have a homey quality, as if you had stumbled upon a shack on the Pacific coast of ol’ Mexico.
Roasted bone marrow chalupas, rib-eye tacos and whole snapper guajillo are standouts, as is an order — or two or three — of the grilled corn with cotija cheese, chili powder and lime.
Grab a stool at the bar, or dine at simple wood tables, to enjoy chilled cervezas or saltrimmed margaritas and crispy chips accompanied by avocado and roasted jalapeno guacamole or a smoky pumpkin seed dip.
Signature cocktails include the Oaxaca (mescal, watermelon, lime and salty water) and the Sour Coyote (reposado tequila, lemon, passion fruit, chili and egg whites). After lunch at Lolo’s, a siesta is a necessity.
Fourteen years is a long time for a restaurant to survive in any city, and in Miami — where places open and close with the frequency of rising and falling tides — it’s an eternity.
And yet La Locanda, an upscale trattoria open since 2003, has thrived in this neighbourhood (lalocandmiami.com; 419 Washington Ave.).
Loyal fans, both locals and in-the-know tourists, come for its authentic Italian menu of brick-oven-baked pizzas, homemade pastas and warm hospitality straight from a Marcello Mastroianni film.
House-made pasta favourites include black-ink pasta tossed with shrimp in a light, spicy tomato sauce, and silky tagliolini with porcini mushrooms.
Secondi courses include veal chops and scaloppine, chicken and fish.