Lesley Elliott

This is the sirloin, which as you can see, is indeed a burger beauty. It's so juicy and gratifying that I honestly can't imagine the Wagyu meat could do any better.

​The prime Angus sirloin burger at Burger & Beer Joint is really, really good, with a nice ribbon of fatty marbling throughout the beefy patty. I prefer to make my own version (although it is hard to walk away from anything titled "Stairway to Heaven"), topping it with Maytag blue cheese and thick-cut smokehouse bacon and then slathering on an embarrassing amount of truffle aioli on my fluffy brioche bun. Every now and then, I add red onion marmalade for a special touch of patty divinity.

With all of those flavors competing against each other, I've perpetually assumed the up-charge for American Wagyu just isn't worth it. The burger is excellent in its entirety because each component both complements and slightly overwhelms the others. So in one bite, you have juicy meat, a little smoky bacon, pungent cheese, unctuously creamy truffle mayonnaise... but it drowns out the flavor of the beef. Or does it?
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Lee Klein

Tudor's lemon-ricotta pancakes.

​In this corner: Lemon-ricotta pancakes from chef/owner Michael Schwartz and pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith at the iconic restaurant Michael's Genuine Food & Drink.

In the opposing corner: A different interpretation of the same pancakes from chefs Geoffrey Zakarian and Jamie DeRosa at the recently opened Tudor House Restaurant at the Dream Hotel in South Beach.

It's a battle of batters, a test of zest, a crunch at brunch -- and a prelude to our upcoming Flapjack Flip-Off XI.

Ready. Set. Pour!
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Flickr Commons

David's Cuban sandwich.

​We take the subject of Cuban sandwiches very seriously. If there is anywhere except maybe Havana, that should be able to deliver a classic Cubano, it's Miami. Yet we find that some of the most popular joints on South Beach serve up a surprisingly lackluster version. So we keep searching for a better version.

It seems so easy - pork, cheese, pickles, mustard, bread. Not so complicated, but it's the quality and quantity of those ingredients that can either make or break a "sandwich Cubano."

We've been to Bernie's, and we've been to David's...who makes the better Cuban sandwich?
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Beef - it's not just a game.

​UPDATE: City of Ate, our sister food blog over at the Dallas Observer, respectfully disagrees.

Tonight's second Finals face-off between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Arena (ours not theirs, dummy) is the hottest ticket in town. Millions more watching the game at bars, restaurants and homes throughout Miami, Dallas and beyond. Indeed the first game drew the largest finals audience in seven years.

We've decided to handicap Miami vs. Dallas...in barbecue.

Sure, you might think that Dallas has a clear advantage over the home team, being that its famous for cattle, cowboys, and barbecue joints. But Miami, being a cosmopolitan city with strong Latin and Southern roots, has two unique kinds of barbecue while Dallas has only one. Besides, according to its own hometown rag, D Magazine, Dallas doesn't have the best barbecue. Maybe Dallas really is big hat, no cattle after all. Let's take a look:

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John Zur

Bagel Emporium's bagel and lox to-go.

​A great bagel with lox/nova in Miami is about as rare as a sold-out Marlins game. In South Miami, two local bagel places were tested head-to-head. Both Bagel Emporium and Roasters' n Toasters are located on South Dixie Highway, just three miles -- or four minutes -- apart.

Bagel Emporium

The bagel with nova ($9.95) starts out innocently enough. Add "the works," according to the employee we encountered, and the price becomes $12.95 with the addition of lettuce, tomato, onions, cream cheese, and a lemon wedge. The request of capers brought with it an "open-price deli" charge of $2. It wasn't nearly worth it. The bagel was heavy and stiff. The salmon was thick and slimy. A tiny container of cream cheese was provided. The lettuce, tomato, onion, and lemon wedge arrived so bountifully we could have made a salad out of the produce. And as for those capers, they came in a ridiculously small container.
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With the help of local boy Udonis Haslem, the Heat nailed the Bulls last night 85-75. Now we come back to Miami for re-ignition of this NBA Eastern Conference Finals sausage fest on Saturday at 8:30 p.m.

Since we're foodies, not sports handicappers, we decided to do a "playoff" of the food kind - pitting the Chicago Hot Dog against our version, the Colombian. Here's what we found:

The Chicago Dog

The Chicago Dog

​Chicago is known for two things: hot dogs and horribly windy winters. The Chicago Dog starts its life as a basic all-beef Kosher mutt, either boiled or steamed. It's placed in a poppy-seed bun and "raked through the garden." It's the next step that gives the Chicago dog identity. It is dressed with yellow mustard, chopped raw onions, pickled relish, tomato slices, a dill pickle spear, hot peppers and celery salt. The one thing you'll never see on the Chicago variety? Ketchup. To put ketchup on a Chicago Dog is akin to rooting for the Heat -- treason.

If you want to check out a Chicago Dog, Dogma Grill makes a traditional Chicago dog, complete with poppy seed bun for $3.95.

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John Zur

Halibut.

​On a recent Saturday night, we visited South Beach's Red the Steakhouse and were delighted when chef Peter Vauthy amicably provided some plates for us to taste. The entrées consisted of the du jour item -- halibut -- and an eight-ounce filet mignon.

The Surf

As our knowledgeable server informed us, the halibut is on the menu during its season (about three months). The pan-seared fish ($49) has a multitude of components, such as orzo, mushrooms, peas, and hearty chunks of lobster meat. The creamy sauce with a touch of truffle oil is not too rich and topped with microgreens. The only drawback is the price, which is about $10 to $15 more than this dish should cost.
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Lee Klein

Blue Door octopus

​I recently dined at both Michael's Genuine Food & Drink and Blue Door Fish, and it just so happens I tried the octopus at both places.

Surprisingly, although they both look pretty good in photos, neither was especially successful. Each rendition was vaguely flavorful, but they paled compared to other dishes sampled at those respective restaurants.

Still, we're pitting them mano-a-mano (or tentacle-a-tentacle, as the case may be), and only one can come out on top.
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Photo by Vimary Valdes

Just because it's healthy doesn't mean it has to taste bad.

​There has been a growing trend over the past several years toward eating a more healthful diet. And various diets have gained popularity, such as the raw food and vegan ones. Miami has nowhere near as many health food restaurants as Los Angeles, for example, but Short Order found several to investigate. Because Miami Beach probably has the 305 market cornered, I stayed inland and visited the Last Carrot in Coconut Grove and Lifefood Gourmet in the Roads.

Now I'm not normally fond of pretentious, raw, vegan, patchouli-plentiful food places. It's not that I don't like to eat healthy -- I'll take steamed Brussels sprouts over French fries nine times out of ten. It's just that these places tend to have an inauthentic sincerity, a sense of faux bohème, that grates on my nerves faster than the $1,600 juicer that sits in their kitchens.
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Michael McElroy

Gigi's version

​ at Short Order, we're huge fans of the noodle bowl. From near-transparent cellophane strands to thick egg noodles, and from a light miso base to a thick shoyu broth, we find it cures the 3 a.m. postclub blues like nothing else. For years, we asked the food gods for cheap noodle shops à la San Francisco and New York City, and the past two years we've come close to a reward via Gigi and American Noodle Bar. Both offer pocket-friendly renditions that don't sacrifice quality ingredients. But does either offer the bowl we've been waiting for?
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