Miami Spice: Deal or No Deal? The Final Tally

• I have to say Mercadito in Midtown was a great deal! $35 pp. 2 Guacs, 2 Ceviches, 4 tacos, a margarita and dessert. All graciously served.

• Frodnesor, This list isn't based at all on how I feel about any given restaurant. I personally would rather eat at Michy's than at Tuna's, but Tuna has its regulars and enthusiasts, and there are some people who've never dined there but like that kind of restaurant/ambiance. So what I'm saying to those readers is that Tuna is being as generous as it possibly can by offering the priciest items on its menu -- lobster, lamb chops, etc. Same goes with 94th Aero and Novecento -- it's true you can choose the lowest end offerings and come up short at Novecento, but you can also order a New York steak (not just a hanger). These deal/no deal decisions were largely based on generosity of spirit -- a thumbs-down to owners thinking they can get away with serving chicken thighs or stuffed baked potato, thumbs-up to those giving the best they have. I'll leave it up to others to decide just how good that 'best' is. On the other hand, I think you're right about Bond St. I'm going to switch it into the deal column.

• Also, Novecento? You can order a soup or empanada, gnocchi, and a dessert off the regular menu for about $28. Or you can pay $35 for the same things on the Spice menu. How is that a deal?

• Some good work and a lot of menu-browsing went into this, and overall it's pretty helfpul. Thanks. I do find the math or the conclusions a bit suspect in a few instances though: Bond St. - It's possible you misread their Spice menu (or maybe I have). But it seems what you're calling an "entr� is actually listed as a "second course," PLUS you also get a chef's selection of nigiri and 2 sushi rolls. By my calculation, you could get edamame ($7), a ceviche ($14), a spicy crispy shrimp ($16), a spicy tuna roll ($11), a sesame crusted shrimp roll ($11), 3 pieces of nigiri ($7-8?), and a dessert (?) - easily $60+ at regular menu prices for $35. (Who knows what the portions are like though). Not sure how that's not a deal. Tuna's Raw Bar - this is a place where regular menu prices average around $6-9 for apps, $20-30 for entr�, $6 for dessert. If you ordered most of the items on their Spice menu at the regular menu prices, you'd pay somewhere right around $35-45. What's so special about that? 94th Aero Squadron - another place where the apps they list are regularly priced around $5-10, entr� around $17-20, and desserts I'm guessing are around $5-6. That's quite literally no savings whatsoever, other than the outlying "seafood collage" (listed on the regular menu at $29.95; and do you really want to eat something called a "seafood collage"?). Plus if you're really hankering for beer cheese soup, it comes for free with any entr�on the regular menu. In fact, you could walk in any day of the week, order a $16.95 churrasco, get a beer cheese soup with it, and have $18.05 left over to figure out how to placate your sweet tooth. That's a deal? More to the point: are you serious that you'd rather eat at Tuna's Raw Bar or 94th Aero Squadron for $35 than at Michy's? Really?

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