MIAGuide
Miami’s Best New Dishes Of 2023
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
Some people, when they talk about falling in love, will say things like, “Oh, I knew instantly.” And whether or not you think those people are completely full of it, that’s sort of how we feel about these dishes. Some of them are from completely new restaurants that opened this year, and some are just new menu items from restaurants we’ve loved for a long time. But of all the hundreds—and there were hundreds—of things we ordered over the last 365 days, these dishes stand out. And cringe if you’d like, but we knew instantly.
And while you're here, you might as well check out our picks for the best new restaurants of 2023.
THE DISHES
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
Dorade
Every member of The Infatuation Miami’s editorial team had a different opinion on what dish should represent Maty’s in this guide. We eventually had to visit together to duke it out in person and, after roping in our poor server for a tie-breaking vote, the dorade won. This is one of the only dishes that’s survived the many (and still ongoing) changes of Maty’s menu. And we will hand deliver an angry letter to the kitchen if it ever disappears, because this is the greatest fish we’ve ever ordered in a restaurant. The flattened dorade sits on a thin layer of aji amarillo beurre blanc staring up at you, holding constant eye contact like the Mona Lisa, as if to say, “Lucky you.”
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
Shoyu Ramen
In previous years, if you’d asked us where to find Miami’s best ramen, we’d “hmm” and “umm” and try to be optimistic despite the unfortunate truth that there wasn’t an easy answer. But ask us now and we’ll drive you to Dumplings Mi Amor, who, yes, serve good dumplings and some other stuff, but also make the best (and it’s not even close) ramen in Miami. The chef here used to have a popular pop-up called Peacock Ramen, but even if that means nothing to you, just know that we would still drive here at 5:45pm during Ultra even if they were out of everything except the shoyu’s broth.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
Tamarind Glazed Pork Ribs
It is not an exaggeration to say that the majority of Tam Tam’s menu could land on this list. But the ribs absolutely blindsided us—they’re the best we’ve ever had. The tamarind glaze hardens to form a delicate outer shell. You can detach the tender meat from the bone practically via telekinesis. The peanuts and scallions sprinkled over the top add texture. It can all be a tad messy if you go fingers over chopsticks, but that just gives you another excuse to visit the greatest restaurant bathroom in Miami.
MIA Guide
Miami’s Best New Desserts Of 2023
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
Pizza
The Miami pizza universe branched out into such chaotic plotlines this year (see: Vice City’s Big Mac pizza; Tom Brady and David Beckham eating at Miami Slice together) that a return to simplicity feels inevitable. Enter Baker & Barista. We love everything at this Italian bakery, but every day between noon and 3:30pm, get consumed by thoughts of their perfect pizza. It’s a thick yet airy square slice of dough with some crushed tomatoes, puddles of fior di latte mozzarella, and a few basil sprigs. One slice is enough to fill you up. Eat it at the blissfully wifi-free cafe while staring at the white wall and thinking of absolutely nothing but the pizza in front of you.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
Mustard Green Lasagna
Walrus Rodeo makes a specific amount of these lasagnas each day. And even though it’s an off-menu item, they always sell out. So make an early reservation. It isn’t just green in name—it looks like an emerald-colored ladder laid on its side thanks to all those layers. Between each step is rich lamb ragu, salty green grana padano cheese, and creamy stracchino. The top of the lasagna is charred, creating a browned roof that holds fermented mustard green sauce. If grandma isn’t available to eat with you at 5:30 when the lasagna odds are higher, just sit at the chef’s counter by yourself. There, you can watch pizza and gnocchi go in and out of the wood fired oven as you enjoy your crispy lasagna moment.
Butter Candle
The best part about Erba’s butter candle isn’t that it’s free or how it’s nonchalantly dropped off at your table without a word. It’s the precedent it sets for the rest of your meal—one that is full of delicious surprises. Even though the butter candle is a fleeting TikTok trend, it’s anything but gimmicky at Erba. The food-safe wick is made of beeswax and hemp (but don’t eat it). After the candle has melted a bit, your server leaves aromatic rosemary focaccia beside it and reveals the plot twist: it was butter all along. The candle has a primal way of bringing a table together like a campfire gathers strangers around crackling flames. Did we mention it’s free? But you should pay for something while you’re here too—specifically the agnolotti.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
Snapper Dog
This isn’t a fishy hot dog, which is what you might expect from something called a snapper dog (other than a dachshund with fins). It just tastes like your uncle accidentally let the juices from a grilled snapper fall on top of your dad’s expensive sausages on the grill at the family barbecue—a happy coincidence, done entirely on purpose at The Oyster Bar by stuffing snapper and pork into a plump, snappy sausage. Even though they say you shouldn’t learn how the sausage is made, we’d love to see how this thing happens.
Foie Gras & Truffle Tart
You have to really like two things to enjoy this dish: foie gras and truffles. If you do, then read on because it has the best elements of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with none of the lunch table negotiations. Truffle shavings are placed on top of foie gras and positioned between white port apple gelee and a pine nut crust. But there’s a strategy to getting the most out of this dish: eat it upside down. Cut a piece and turn it over with your fork so the first thing to hit your tongue is the gelee, letting each section of the tart melt slowly around it.
Foie Gras
We weren’t trying to put two foie gras dishes on this list. But Brasserie Laurel’s foie gras is easily one of the most balanced dishes in the city. The foie is scored and seared on either side until the outside is caramelized. It’s topped with cocoa nibs that add a barely bitter chocolate flavor, is plated alongside a caramelly canelé, and surrounded by vinegary berry gastrique. When you eat the creamy, fatty foie with every sweet and acidic component on this dish, your brain stretches like a dog after a delicious nap as it tries to absorb all the flavors at once.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
Clay Lamb
We ordered this three times during the year, and our giddiness when they sliced open the dome of brioche at the table never waned. We knew waiting underneath that thin ceiling of bread was a stew of tender lamb, vegetables, and a broth we could soak up with jasmine rice and chunks of sweet brioche. As prices for, well, literally everything ballooned this year, Jass was a safe haven for folks looking for a reasonably priced date night option. And splitting this with a loved one while live jazz plays in the background can even make the Grinch feel a little romantic.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
Ricotta Gnudi
The Zitz Sum menu changes so often that this dish might look completely different by the time we’re done typing this sentence. That’s a risk we’re willing to take for the gnudi, which has hung around long enough for us to feel somewhat confident celebrating it. It’s heaped with roe, crab, Thai basil, and sits in a pool of sake beurre blanc. What ingredients will be involved when you go? Lobster? Tofu? A dehydrated blanched feather from the peacock who took a dump on the chef’s car that morning? No clue, but with Zitz Sum, we’ve come to trust it’ll be inevitably delicious.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
The Pretzel
We could pull out the thesaurus and really sell this pretzel with dozens of unnecessary adjectives. But the truth is that it’s just a pretzel—a very, very good pretzel—which is shockingly hard to find in Miami. Before our server has finished saying hello, we order this. Its exterior is crisp enough to make one of those fingernail-tapping ASMR videos, and the wonderful beer cheese it comes with will inevitably be gone too soon. That’s OK—switch over to the excellent house mustard. And even if you run out of that, this thing is delicious all on its own.
photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC
Broccoli Sandwich
The best part of a soup is getting to dip toasted bread into it. And the broccoli sandwich from Caracas Bakery MiMo applies this logic by turning broccoli cheese soup into a sandwich. Charred florets peek out from within, held together by melted white cheddar, mozzarella, and sun-dried tomato pesto. Of course you’ll love this if you’re in the broccoli cheese soup fan club. But what’s most impressive about this sandwich is the way it instantly wins over someone (us) who has no particularly strong feelings about the vegetable at all. “And I don’t even like broccoli,” is an actual quote we’ve heard uttered by someone (us) staring lovingly at their half-eaten sandwich.
