Miami Food Blog

Paula Niño

​We could go on about the morality of eating grass-fed beef (if you watched Food Inc., you know cows confined to feedlots eating corn aren't very happy or healthy). But a better argument for buying grass-fed simply may be better taste and nutritional value.

It was the taste of U.S. beef, or shall we say, the lack thereof, that got Argentinean-born Pablo Liberato to start importing South American beef into the U.S. in the 90s. That and his interest in leading a healthy lifestyle. Grass-fed beef is said to have less saturated fat and more Omega-3 fatty acids - a.k.a. good fat.

While Liberato began by selling wholesale to supermarkets in New York, we have the economic crisis to thank for enabling us to buy directly from his company, Gaucho Ranch.

via 2 girls and a cupcake facebook

​Azucar!

2 Girls and a Cupcake bring gourmet cupcakery to Downtown Miami.

Today is their official grand opening, and the first ten customers get a free Oye Como Va. That's a vanilla cupcake with guava filling and cream cheese frosting.

Every Monday for the month of October, they'll be doing cupcake giveaways including a freebie for anybody who buys six cupcakes.

The store opens at noon today and will be open until 8 p.m. Short Ordered dialed up the shop and spoke to one of the two girls who run it. She told us about this week's mystery flavored cupcake. "It's called the Screaming O, like orgasm. It's made with Kahlua. It's good....it's that good," she said.

They also have the I Pink You cupcake, 10 percent of the proceeds of which are donated to breast cancer cure research.

The 2 Girls' message on this, their grand opening day is "Oh, like stop by, and buy a cupcake, and support Miami people, and women."

2 Girls and a Cupcake
140 S.E. 1st Ave.
Miami, FL 33131

To follow the adventures of 2 Girls and a Cupcake on Facebook click here.

Starting this coming Monday, October 5th, and continuing every Monday afterwards, Bourbon Steak Miami is offering diners 50% off every bottle of wine in stock -- all 850 of them. The "Half-priced Wines Mondays" promotion doesn't exactly roll off the tongue when you try to say it, but this is nevertheless quite a deal. We should also mention that Bourbon & Blues night every Wednesday brings a pretty hep scene, and Michael Mina's menu is always hitting high notes. Valet parking is complimentary with dinner. The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club at 19999 West Country Club, Aventura; 786-279-6600.

lee klein

BYOBM as well?

​On Thursday, October 22nd, China Grill and Kobe Club are hosting a "Bring Your Own Wine" Six-Course Tasting Dinner inside the latter restaurant's lavish den. An Imperia Vodka reception kicks things off at 7:30 p.m., followed by dinner prepared by executive chef Tim Nickey: Pan Seared Crab Cake with ginger-scallion aioli and cucumber-carrot namasu; Pumpkin Seed Crusted Diver Scallop with edamame puree and chipotle-honey sauce; a refreshing Intermezzo; Macadamia Nut Crusted Mahi Mahi with mango lime butter and purple Peruvian mash; Spiced Crispy Pork Belly with pineapple li hing mui chutney; Braised Mongolian Style Short Rib with tempura goat cheese cake; and Thai Donuts. This BYOW Dinner is priced and $55.00 per person (tax & gratuity not included). Reservations are being limited to 50 guests and can be made by calling China Grill at 305-534-2211.

Au Pied de Cochon presents a late night happy hour for hospitality professionals. Called the Green Hour, the deal runs from midnight to 2:00 a.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and includes cocktails, KBR and Kronenbourg beers  for $3, and glasses of wine for $5. This is not to be confused with Pied's Pink Hour, which brings $5 Bloody Marys, Bellinis, mimosas, and other cocktails throughout weekend brunch service (10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) Nor is it to be confused with Blue Hour, which is the time period during which you leave Pied, sober up, and realize you're not in Paris anymore.
81 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; 305-674-1844. 

Gotham Steak at Fontainebleau Miami Beach introduces Kickoff Sunday and Monday Night Football -- think very high end tailgating. The restaurant will open on Sundays at 4:00 p.m. and Mondays at 6:00 p.m. with a gridiron menu of  Smoked Berkshire Pork Ribs, Rib Eye Steak Sandwich "Philly Style", Kobe Meatloaf, Buttered Maine Lobster Rolls, the Gotham Burger, and other such hearty easy-to-pick-up foods. But here's the catch that scores: A Chivas Regal Ambassador will also be present every Sunday and Monday evening, offering exclusive samplings of Chivas Regal 18-Year-Old -- defined on the press release, evidently for the football fan who has been hit in the helmet once too often, as "a luxurious blended scotch that has been aged for 18 years". (Gee, I wonder how many years the Chivas Regal 12-Year-Old has been aged for?). And the deal keeps gaining yardage: All diners receive complimentary valet parking until October 31st.  To score a front row seat, call 305-674-4780.

Mexican Independence Day takes place this Wednesday, September 16, and Rosa Mexicano is celebrating all week. Starting today and running through Sunday, September 20th, the Mary Brickell restaurant will be offering a three-course prix-fixe dinner menu "inspired by the patriotic holiday celebrated in plazas throughout Mexico and by Mexicans all over the world".

Chef David Sloane's menu looks mighty tempting. Patrons get to choose one of each:

Appetizers: Guacamole en Molcajete; Chicken Raviolis with Poblano Cream Sauce; Three Ceviches (Red snapper with Guajillo and red pepper; Mahi-Mahi with coconut-habanero; and Halibut with Serrano ham and cilantro).

Entrees: Filete Cascabel (grilled filed mignon smothered in fire-roasted Cascabel chile salsa topped with melted Chihuahua cheese); Camarones de Agua Dulce (sweetwater prawns sautéed with garlic and parsley served over black rice); Chiles en Nogada (two Poblano chiles stuffed with pork picadillo topped with a traditional walnut sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds -- the red, white, and green of Mexico's flag)

Desserts: Caramel Crepes or Guava-Apple Crisp topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel sauce.

Price is $37, plus tax and tip, with a portion of the proceeds from each dinner benefitting Feeding America, a charity dedicated to feeding America's hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks.

Rosa Mexicano Mary Brickell Village, 900 S. Miami Ave., Miami; 786-425-1001.

Lee Klein

Ribs recently relished at Red Light.

​Starting this week, and continuing until whenever, Red Light Little River will be offering happy hour deals as such:

Times: High Tide (5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.) and Low Tide (10 p.m. to midnight).

Deal: $5 will bring any, but not all, of the following: BBQ Shrimp, wines by the glass or by the river, smoked fish, selected American beers, BBQ ribs, random shots of the day.

And also from Kris Wessel's riveting riverside Red Light setting comes Yard Sale Sundays: "Dj OmD," " chill scene," "$5 drinks," and "good vibes."

'nuff said.

Red Light Little River, 7700 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami; 305-757-7773.

The summer prix fixe menu at Côté Gourmet has been as easy to miss as Côté Gourmet. In case you have indeed missed both: Côté opened a couple of years ago as a lunch spot tucked into a Miami Shores office building. Afterwards an outdoor patio was added, which opens up the space and makes it more viable as a cafe. Then a dinner menu came along, and the food -- at least that which I've dined on -- is quite good. Through the month of September, it's very well-priced too: Thursdays through Sundays, 6:00 to 10:30 p.m., $23.95 will net you a solid three-course bistro meal.

Choice for opening salvo is soup, house salad, or phyllo dough "brick" stuffed with tuna, tomatoes, and capers. Entree can be wild mushroom ravioli, roasted chicken thighs in garlic sauce, sautéed salmon in lemon sauce, or skirt steak in red wine-shallot sauce. Dessert options are warm chocolate cake or banana cream "made with yogurt, créme fraîche and almonds". Diners seated between 6:00 and 8:00 p.m. are likewise offered a complimentary glass of Sycamore Lane wine. The room is cozy. The service is friendly. This is a deal.

Côté Gourmet, 9999 NE 2nd Ave., Miami Shores; 305-754-9012.

Ariston Restaurant, New Times' 2009 winner for Best Greek Restaurant, has just premiered a new set menu that makes it the Least Expensive Greek Restaurant as well. Deal is $34.95 -- for two! -- for a three course meal that includes: Choice of Greek salad, dip of the day with pita bread, or soup; grilled chicken or lamb shish kebab or moussaka or shrimp casserole over rice pilaf; and baklava or tart of the day. Add a glass of beer or house wine for $3.95. Deal is good Monday through Thursday starting now and running through December 17th.

If you manage to arrive at Ariston on a Monday through Thursday from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., all bottled wines are 50% off. After 7:00 p.m., all bottles priced $50 and up are discounted 25%. And if you drink a lot of wine and smash some plates on the floor, 10% off the price of the plates if you clean up after yourself. Actually, I just made that last deal up, but the rest are valid.

Ariston Restaurant is located at 940 71st St., Miami Beach.  For reservations:305-864-9848.

This card brings deals too

​1. If you order a coffee with steamed milk (also known as a Caffé Misto) instead of a Caffé Latte, you'll save about 85 cents.

2. Ten cents off when you bring your own cup or mug.

3. Any Starbucks coffee can be ordered served in a coffee press for two, which yields four 8-ounce cups for about $3 -- less than two 16-ounce Grande drip coffees.

4. A refill is just fifty cents.

5. You can brew your own Starbucks coffee at home for about thirty cents a cup.

Heavenly fish tacos have arrived on the stretch of Red Road between Bird and Flagler at Fish Shack Market.

One of the best dishes: the daily Triple Tail catch. Thick pieces of fish are seasoned and seared a la plancha. They land on crunchy strips of julienne green cabbage inside a flash fried corn tortilla. Then, each crisp bundle is topped with freshly-made pico de gallo, bunches of chopped cilantro and finely diced fresh jalapeno.

A steamed corn tortilla sleeve, true to Mexican custom, is folded under the luscious package to prevent breakage. Multiplied by three, these beauties are piled side by side into a paper boat, next to a shooter of spicy tomato cocktail to cleanse the palate with sips between bites. Fish Shack Market is the result of the merger of Lucho Cuba, a Caffe Abracci alum who spent 14 years behind its storied bar, and his friend of practically as long, chef Andre.

Jackie Sayet

Sidewalk caffe

​What is it with downtown Miami and old world-style Italian restaurants?  And good ones, at that?  We think these diamonds in the rough may be a sign of good things to come for this metropolitan center, as long as all the businesses in the area don't go bust before they have a fighting chance.

But devoted patrons, there is no shortage.  A poetic tribute to one such enclave, Fratelli Milano, was slipped under our door anonymously from a reader, and we just had to share it.  You also could go to Yelp's page on this gem to know that this Italian restaurant is no joke, but what's the fun in that?

We felt so inspired after reading this love letter, we had to check it out for ourselves, and it seems like we are late to the pasta party on this one.  But better late than never...

Here's the poem, some facts you may not know about Fratelli, and the resulting lunch visit in pictures.

Jacob Katel

Michy's fried chicken and sides.

​

• Why did the chicken cross Biscayne? To take a hot bath at Michy's, in bubbling oil.
• Fried is to chicken as cold is to beer.
• If chicken was the first female president she would be called Aberhen Lincoln.
• Think out of the bawks.
• What came first the chicken or the biscuit? Who cares, pass the biscuits.
• What do prisoners call a beastiality inmate? Chicken fingers.
• What do you call a sexy chicken? Chickendra Wilkinson.
• Where do chickens move to when they want a suburban home? Chickendall.
• Who cares? The people of America and the world, as evidenced by the popularity of said bird, killed, plucked, heated and eaten. One of the top methods, fried.

When Michelle Bernstein won a James Beard award for Best Chef: South in 2008 it told the entire restaurant industry that Michy knows what's up. So if you've got $33, not including tax, tip, or drink, for dinner on Wednesday, hit up Michy's for all you can eat fried chicken, biscuits & gravy, coleslaw, and watermelon greek salad. You also get a slice of chocolate cream pie to go with it, so make sure to take your appetite with you. Michy's is located at 6927 Biscayne Boulevard. Call 305-759-2001 for more info.

Jackie Sayet

Home is still baked-in

​Jennifer's Homemade may have graduated to a warehouse baking facility, but the same pasta-sheeter that Jennifer Behar retrofit for her flatbread dough, which she cut by hand and baked at home, matriculated along with the business.

"We moved two years ago.  It was a raw space, and we had to build it out, but it still looks very industrial, which I like," explains Jennifer, who was out of the house after three months.  "We knew pretty quickly that we weren't going to be able to operate the business from home for very long.  We were in many other places before this..."

​Maya Tapas & Grill  (809 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach) is not participating in Miami Spice this year, but it is offering a spicy deal for kids: they eat for free! Meaning while you and your better half are indulging in a 16-ounce carne asada or grilled short ribs, your ten-or-under child can indulge in spaghetti marinara, cheese pizza, chicken tenders, or a ham and cheese sandwich on Maya's dime. Offer runs through September.

ILoveMiamiSpice.com

​​You know that during Miami Spice more than  100 restaurants have reduced fixed prices for lunch and dinner. You may not know clubs, spas, and even hotels have a special deal too.

​I haven't yet been to Cantina 71 Restaurant (216 71st Street, Miami Beach). If you haven't been either, tonight (Tuesday, August 4th) might be the perfect time to try it out: A four-course dinner matched with eight wine tastings in all -- for $30 (plus, as always, tax/tip). The starting lineup:

First Course: Bruschetta Caprese with Duca d'Amalfi (crisp white) and Montepulciano d'Abruzzo.

Second Course: Octopus Carpaccio with Ponticello (sweet rosé) and Piemonte Barbera.

Third Course: Tagliatelle Bolognese with Sartirano Nebbiolo d'Alba and Chianti Colli Senesi Piccolomini.

Fourth Course: Tiramisu with Travicello and sparkling Moscato d'Asti.

Dinner starts at 7:00 p.m. Call for reservations (305-924-4281) or email:

The review of Eos in this past week's New Times was exceedingly positive. One of the things we like about the place is how eminently reasonable the pricing is. Now, at lunch at least, it gets even better with a 3-course prix fixe lunch menu for $25. Plus beverage. And wine. And complimentary valet. Free Wi-Fi too.

Start with a choice of Caesar salad or red snapper ceviche; second course is either half of a roast chicken with tomatoes, olives, and roasted potatoes, or roasted salmon Greek salad-style. For dessert, crema catalane with citrus and pomegranate, or essencia of chocolate with sesame halva and hints of lemon tea. Soda or ice tea is included, plus limitless glasses of Boutari wine,  -- but not tax and tip. Keep in mind that dessert and ice tea alone would cost $15 to $20 at our other high end hotel restaurants.

Lunch hours: Monday through Friday from noon to 3:00 p.m.  Address: 485 Brickell Avenue. Reservations: 305-503-0373.

Photo by Jacob Katel

In this recession, everyone is looking for a deal -- some are just a little more bizarre than others.

Chef Allen's in Aventura is holding a promotion in which the restaurant will provide a complimentary dinner for two to anyone willing to bring a wheelbarrow, or 200 pounds worth, of mangos. 

@Zillamonster (Chef de Cuisine Chad Galiano) via Twitpic

Chinese short ribs marinating that will be slow cooked for hours and hours and hours so that they fall off the bone on Sunday

With the tourism industry in a pinch, hospitality wants to be BFF with locals this summer. Remember Cuba Gooding Jr.'s Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire? (You're lovin' me now!) Yeah, it's kinda like that.

Trump International Beach Resort in Sunny Isles is the latest hotel to develop a promotion around access to its private pool and beach facilities for locals looking for a "staycation." Normally $35 to take a dip, it'll be on the house for folks who throw down $39 on a new Sunday brunch service from the whimsical cooks behind the Paradigm test kitchen at Neomi's. 

Philippe at the Gansevoort

Philippe at the Gansevoort (305-674-0250) is offering a three-course $29 dinner menu Sundays through Thursdays from 6:00 p.m. to midnight. The meal includes choice of appetizer (chicken satay, crispy seaweed, vegetable dumplings, chicken lettuce wraps, house salad); main course with rice (chicken and broccoli, beef and oyster sauce, velvet chicken breast, crispy salmon, sweet and sour chicken); plus dessert and coffee or tea.

The two-course offer at Pascal's On Ponce (305-444-2024) includes lunch for $23, and a two-course dinner for $29.95 -- tax and tip not included. Go on a Wednesday and the regular wine list is 50% off.

Uh-oh -- I think all the info needed is in the headline. This is unfortunate in many ways, not the least being that I get paid by the word. (I won't say how much, but if I can stretch this post to the approximate length of War and Peace, I'm pretty sure I'll break into double figures -- which, not to brag, would make me the highest-paid blogger in town.)

But I digress. Allow me to add that the $27.50 deal at Cacao Restaurant (tax and gratuity not included) runs through the month of July and features a three-course menu of red delicious apple salad with basil vinaigrette sorbet, main course choice of grilled Black Angus rib eye or flap steak (vacio), "El Rey" dark chocolate molten cake, and a glass of Malbec. If you go on a Monday, select bottles of wine are 50 percent off. Tuesdays bring a waiver on corkage fees. Limit on both wine deals is two bottles per table -- and if you drink much more, you'll likely be under the table.

By the way, just joking about getting paid by the word. I wish.

Brustman Carrino PR

This baby's on the menu and on the June 2009 cover of Food & Wine

(To the tune of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America")

God Bless BLT Steak,
Inside The Betsy Hotel.
Paying homage, to its patriot.
A menu to delight one and all.

Four special courses, it's a prix fixe, "Ocean Drive" cocktail, spiked with rum!  God bless BLT Steak, your home meat home.

Who: Chef Laurent Tourondel (well, probably his sous chef Sam Gorenstein, if we're talkin' in person...)

What: Special Independence Day prix fixe menu priced at $45 per person, exclusive of tax and gratuity.  Includes complimentary "Ocean Drive" cocktail with Bacardi Light Rum, VeeV acai liqueur, guava nectar and lime juice.  Start the meal with a choice of cajun-spiced shrimp and corn salad, or double cut smoked bacon, roaring '40s blue cheese and marinated tomatoes frisee salad, followed by choice of American Wagyu flap steak 8 oz. ($12 supplement) with smoked cippollini and chimchurri, or "Cheddar BLT Burger," or Maine lobster roll with Asian style spicy coleslaw and potato salad with Bacon and BBQ Sauce.  Finish with peach-apricot cobbler or blueberry-lemon parfait with mint.  For reservations or more information, 305-531-6100 or visit the website.

Where: 1440 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach

When: Saturday, July 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m

Why: Independence Day is as good a time as any to declare beef dependence... 

Gentlemen, you may be tempted to beg or borrow, but paleeeease don't steal children just to get these sa-weet Father's Day deals.  Ladies who know these gentlemen, don't say I didn't warn you...

Boris Breuer

Big daddy granola

If Daddy is an early riser... MixMyGranola
Support local granolahead entrepreneurs Andreas, Matt and Raoul, and get your crunchy daddy some Father's Day Granola!  The custom mix includes fruity dried apricots, golden raisins, almonds and brazil nuts, plus some chocolate mini morsels to nourish Daddy's sweet tooth ($8.99 for 16 oz.) You can order online here or send an electronic gift certificate ($10 value,) so he can mix to his own taste.  With new "enhancers," add shots of caffeine for sleepiness, pomegranate for detox or vita cherry for a vitamin boost.  The first one is on the house with promotion code "ENHANCERS."

During the NBA Finals between the Orlando Magic and LA Kobes, 8 oz. Burger Bar's Alton Road and Ocean Drive locations will be offering chicken wings for twenty cents apiece -- and $3 draft beers. Seems as though 8-oz. may be suffering from some sort of Susan Boyle Syndrome -- the place wins the New Times Burger Battle and within a week they go batty, open a second branch, and give away the house!

Same wings/beer deal will also be available during all Marlins games this season. Good thing, because Lord knows it's tough to be sober while watching our boys of summer keep botching leads.

The Palm

The Year of The Lobster, only at The Palm

For 40+ years, The Palm has been synonymous with its signature jumbo broiled Nova Scotia lobsters -- well, at least among seafood lovers. 

Beginning Monday, June 1, we're hearing that The Palm in Bay Harbor Islands will offer a lobster special to rival the best of 'em.  $89 gets you and a buddy one 4 lb. Nova Scotia monolith with two salads and one side.

The Palm has been working with Clearwater to dispatch top quality and sustainably caught jumbo Nova Scotia lobsters to its outposts across America (and soon London, coming this summer.)  To celebrate its self-proclaimed "Year of the Lobster," 3-pounders are available for $62 and each additional pound (up to 6) are only $12 more a pop, with savings reaching up to $40. The bigger the lobster, the better the value.  Now that's a crustacean I can stomach cracking into.

Fratelli Lyon

Dining on the fly at Fratelli Lyon

On deadline?  Early afternoon conference call?  Stressed out in general?  Type A personalities won't be left to starve thanks to a speedy and satisfying (for the tummy and wallet) lunch option at  Fratelli Lyon.

The recently introduced "Menu Veloce" (fast menu in Italiano) features this Design District favorite's best-sellers at lunchtime and is priced right at $15. 

"We had a fisso (fixed) menu available for lunch, but there were too almost many options and courses," says manager Daniel Toral.  "We wanted to offer the neighborhood, especially its time-pressed workforce, a lunch special that they could count on to be in and out in under an hour."

The Menu Veloce will be only be available throughout the summer, so be sure to grab it before you're left in the dust.

Menu Veloce at Fratelli Lyon

Choice of Iced Tea, Coke or Diet Coke

Choice of:

insalata amalfitnana
PRESERVED TUNA, GREEN & WHITE BEANS, TOMATOES, CAPERS, EGG, GREENS

insalata di susanna
FLATTENED, GRILLED CHICKEN BREAST, RUCOLA - FENNEL- TOMATO SALAD, OLIVE-CAPER-LEMON RELISH

bucatini all' amatriciana
HOLLOW SPAGHETTI PASTA, SPICY TOMATO, PANCETTA, PECORINO

torta di melanzane, alla napoletana
LAYERED EGGPLANT, TOMATO, RICOTTA, PECORINO, BASIL

Choice of Coffee or Tea with Biscotti

$15.00

Pizza Fusion wants readers of Short Order to know that their 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. deal, details of which were posted earlier today, brings diners a personal size pizza (4 slices), not a medium pizza (6 slices) as their first release had erroneously claimed. Also, please note that the special is in effect from Monday through Thursday only.

Pizza Fusion in North Miami Beach (in the Biscayne Commons Mall) has come up with a timely special: Between the hours of 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., price for a medium pizza (with white or whole grain crust) will be dictated by the clock. So if you arrive at 5:31 p.m., you will pay $5.31 for your pie; 6:45 p.m. means $6.45. Please tell me you don't need a third example.  

Another Fusion bargain comes on Wednesday evenings, when "children 8 years and under get a free personal cheese pizza (6x9) with a purchase of $25 or more (limited 2 personal pizzas per order)". Seemed like a pretty good deal until it occurred to me: What kid 8 or under carries $25 in their pocket?

Anyway, Pizza Fusion makes a tasty pie made with organic ingredients untainted by artificial additives and such. Organic beers and wines are also on hand. The restaurant is open until 10:00 p.m. weeknights and 11:00 p.m. on weekends, but, as we say, you'll get a real bang-for-the-buck earlier in the evening.

A bloody good deal this is: From 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays, guests at 8 oz. Burger Bar can partake of unlimited Bloody Mary drinks for $20 per person. Best part:You customize it any bloody way you want. The base of the 8 oz. drink can be a shot of vodka, gin, or tequila. Accompaniments include V8, tomato juice, beefmato juice, Tabasco, garlic powders, variously flavored salts, spicy or regular horseradish, lemon juice, cooked shrimp, oysters, pickled onions, pickled asparagus, salami sticks, hard boiled eggs, carrots, radishes, pickles, homemade hot sauces and more". Hope they've got large cocktail glasses.

8 oz. Burger Bar would also like you to know that it has added a grass-fed burger made from natural beef culled from the White Oak pastures in Georgia. Garnishes are garlic aioli, tomato, onions, pickles, and charred escarole.

8 oz. Burger Bar is located at 1080 Alton Road in South Beach. For more info call 305-397-8246.

 

...Saves Business. So reads the tag for a very short-story-pitch from Por Fin regarding its new $19.50 power lunch special. The promo for the Spanish restaurant in Coral Gables goes like this: Ad man about to lose account. Client sips fruity wine and bites into bikini 'de luxe' sandwich of Serrano ham, fresh mozzarella, and truffle oil. The business is saved.

Admittedly this is the hokiest hype we've come across in quite awhile (and grammar teachers among you no doubt noted that saves should be singular), but Por Fin is one of our favorite restaurants. We therefore believe that the two course power lunch meal, served Monday through Friday, will likely prove eminently satisfying. 305-441-0107.