Bon Appetit named Miami the 2023 Food City of the Year
It's something locals have known all along.
Miami was just named Bon Appetit’s food city of the year.
In the food magazine’s latest issue, writer Mariette Williams said this about Miami: “The city is buzzing with a sense of opportunity right now, and a wave of up-and-coming local and new-to-town chefs have picked up on that air of possibility.”
As a food editor living in Miami for nearly two decades, I must admit that Miami has never been “hotter” than it is now (heat index pun intended). Last year, Michelin introduced its first Florida Guide that encompassed Miami, Tampa, and Orlando with Miami receiving the lion’s share of entries into the guide.
Miami is also having great success with restaurateurs from across the globe opening satellite establishments in the Magic City. London’s Sexy Fish arrived in Brickell in February 2022; New York’s Major Food Group has taken Miami by storm with Carbone, Contessa, Sadelle’s, Dirty French, and more; and Austin-based Uchi is doing well in Wynwood.
In the months to come, Miami will continue to welcome out-of-town restaurateurs Keith McNally and Stephen Starr’s Pastis, Thomas Keller will welcome Bouchon to Coral Gables, Gordon Ramsay will double down with both Lucky Cat and Hell’s Kitchen, and NYC’s iconic Rao’s will open in Miami Beach.
Do all these out-of-town openings serve to put Miami on the world’s culinary heat map? One could argue that Las Vegas boasts restaurants by the finest toques, but that’s not the reason why so many people go (rather, expensive restaurants exist mainly to feed the high rollers that come for Las Vegas’ real purpose on the planet — gambling).
In order to make the case for Miami being the “best” food city, you have to look at its home-grown chefs and restaurants both old and new, luxurious and budget-conscious.
It started in the 1970s with the “Mango Gang”, a group of innovative chefs who chose to incorporate Florida’s bounty of tropical produce and local seafood into their formal culinary training. In the 2000s, a second wave of culinary talent hit Miami like a tsunami, with both Michelle Bernstein and Michael Schwartz winning James Beard awards.
In the past few years, new chefs have risen, many of them working with the abovementioned chefs to hone their craft.
Jeremy Ford, for example, made his Miami bones working at Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Matador room at the Edition Hotel in Miami Beach. While there, he won Top Chef season 13. Ford went on to open one of Miami Beach’s most ambitious restaurants, Stubborn Seed. The restaurant features a multi-course tasting menu at dinner (there’s also an excellent a la carte menu at the bar) that changes frequently. In 2022, Stubborn Seed was awarded a Michelin Star for its excellence.
Michael Beltran is another stellar Miami chef. At his Michelin-Starred Ariete in Miami’s lush Coconut Grove neighborhood, Beltran marries his formal culinary training with food from his Cuban roots as evidenced in dishes like caviar with caramelized plantains and a traditional canard a la pressed with duck fricassée pastelitos.
At Rosie’s, an outdoor-only restaurant that’s open on weekends during the day and on Thursday for dinner, Akino West and Jamila Ross offer a menu of Southern favorites like biscuits and gravy, shrimp and grits, and hot chicken and waffles. The restaurant is an oasis of trees and picnic benches in an industrial section of Miami. West and Ross are currently renovating the adjacent building, turning it into a full-service restaurant. For now, though, snag a reservation, take your dog, and enjoy weekend brunch.
Miamians have a love affair with Cuban food - especially the Cuban sandwich, or Cubano. What’s not to love about a ham, roast pork, and Swiss cheese sandwich that’s pressed to a golden brown? But, know that not all Cubanos are made equal. To experience a high-quality Cubano, you must travel to Calle Ocho in Little Havana to get a sandwich at Sangwich where the ham is brined and lechon (roast pork) is marinated on the premises. The fresh meats make all the difference, rendering a sandwich that’s both crisp and juicy.
While you’re in the neighborhood, walk a few blocks east to Suzy Batlle’s Azucar ice cream shop. You can’t miss the giant cone outside Azucar. Inside, you’ll discover the most “Miami” flavors you never thought existed like café con leche, platano maduro (sweet plantain), mantecado (Cuban vanilla), and a personal favorite — “Burn in Hell Fidel”, a sweet and spicy chocolate ice cream with a hint of cayenne pepper. The flavor was introduced when Castro died as a novelty and quickly became the “go-to” ice cream in the Magic City.
Miami is a waterfront city, and there’s no better way to pay homage to the bounties in the Atlantic Ocean and the city’s many waterways than a trip to Garcia’s. This no-frills fish market and restaurant offers seafood caught daily from its own boats, along with locally sourced seasonal stone crabs. The restaurant, which has been around for about a half a century, offers rustic seating directly on the Miami River, where you can watch everything from tiny dinghys and fishing boats to billion-dollar yachts float by as you chow down on local grouper, mahi, and hogfish.
In the end, diversity, creativity, identity, and pure gumption are what make a great food city. It’s the sum of the parts.
And, while stories like the one in Bon Appetit do serve to put a spotlight on Miami, they also make it seem like its food scene has sprouted up like a surprise sunflower after a rain.
In actuality, Miami’s culinary chops have been cultivated over decades, making it a delicious place to discover.