Guidebook for Miami

IN OUR IMMEDIATE NEIGHBORHOOD (3-10 minute drive) Battubelin – cosy Italian, on 79th Street, just around couple corners from our house. Great pizzas and other dishes for dinner, nice indoor space and a large terrace. Reasonable pricing, good value. Pinch Kitchen – small casual nice bistro, menu just a bit on the finer side, on Biscayne Blvd, or dinner. Not cheap, not expensive. Very close, very casual Thai (and Japanese) restaurant Siam RIce, on Biscayne and 80th St, we sometimes get takeout, sometimes have a good $9 lunch on site. Citadel – a contemporary food court style place with a dozen different style kitchens around shared seating. Good quality, medium priced. Poke bowls, pizzas, pastas, burgersm oysters, etc. On NE 2nd Avenue. (...on the same NE 2nd Avenue and +/- 98th Street, i.e. in the center of Miami Shores, theres also a few restaurants, for example a fine French one.) Jimmy's East Side Diner – traditional, simple American diner with soul, for eggs and bacon type breakfasts, few blocks south on Biscayne Boulevard = US1. Usually tables available before 8.30am, later might have some queue. Cream, different kind of small hipster breakfast cafe on Biscayne and 82nd St. ...further down on US1 (and 55th St), there is Andiamo, an outdoor pizza place with pretty nice, less greasy pizzas. UP NORTH Zaika – decent Indian restaurant on 123rd Street Mizumi – great deal (adults $18, young kids half of that) on a very large (dozens of dishes) and actually pretty good japanese lunch buffet, up north on 163rd Street. Everything from sushi to warm japanese food, also a chef station... on weekends it's usually 30-45min wait for tables, weekdays not so much HEADING SOUTH... WYNWOOD Taco Stand – great quality, nice priced, tacos and burritos in a vibrant environment. Small place, go outside rush hours to avoid a long queue to the counter to order or a table to sit at. Wynwood is full of new restaurants, some of our old local favorites have closed and were replaced by new, more "touristy" places with less value places. Probably some ok, but haven't really been hanging out there much in the recent years. DOWNTOWN (Awesome museums: PAMM (Perez Art Museum) and the neighboring FROST museum of science. PAMM also has a restaurant, with a view to the port of Miami. Great places to hang out with kids for couple hours.) (Downtown and Brickell also full of new restaurants.... some better than others.... up the Miami RIver theres a legendary seafood place Garcias, next to slightly finer seafood place Casablanca, followed by Seaspice, a "party bistro on the water" for the rich and famous and anyone in between.) ALL THE WAY SOUTH... Boater's Grill – casual fish shack in a beautiful location n the water, inside Bill Baggs park, all the way south in Key Biscayne (30min ride from the house). Make sure to take some time to walk around the park trails, through the jungle and on the seaside. The park also has the oldest lighthouse in the area. Down south, on the other side of the bay, of course Coconut Grove traditionally boast a large selection of different kinds of restaurants. On a Cuban note, Calle Ocho/Little Havanna area has some decent ones too, among the too touristy ones. We like a casual but great Thai shack called Lung Yai. Also some ok Cubans, of course, and the famous Cuban restaurant Versailles. IN MIAMI BEACH SoBe: Joe's Stone Crab – a legendary seafood place in the south end of the island. Has a finer restaurant, and (our favorite) take-out counter, with also tables available for eating in. Not the cheapest, but an experience. Stubborn seed – contemporary, innovative fine dining, also in South Beach. Expensive. Northern beaches: Burgers and Shakes – name says it all. Great little place, one block off the beach on 74th Street ...and on the 79/71th Street (John Kennedy) causeway towards the house, there is Shuckers', a casual waterfront sports bar with all american menu, burgers, salads, seafood, meat. One of the few places where can sit right on the water. Enjoy your stay!