Lecap Restaurant

If you’re looking for Haitian stews, this is the place to go. Located on NW 7th Avenue between Opa Locka and North Miami, Lecap is a counter-service spot where you choose what you want and then wait for the staff to call out your order - first in Creole and then in English if they don’t get a response. While you’re waiting, make sure to check out the dining room mural depicting the Citadel, a fort built by the newly independent Haitians in the 1800s to protect themselves from French invasion. The legim here is the star attraction and can sell out quickly. This stew is made from a medley of vegetables, including cabbage, eggplant, chayote squash, carrots, green beans, and watercress, as well as chunks of beef. They start the stew well before they open for breakfast and don’t serve it until lunch time (sometimes a little later) when the beef becomes fork tender and the vegetables break down to a delicious, velvety mush. It has a slight smoldering heat from scotch bonnets and a bit of sweetness from a ton of cloves. If they’re sold out by the time you arrive, try the zepinad instead, a beef and spinach stew that’s similarly seasoned.