One of Miami-Dade County’s greatest quality of life aspects is the incredible variety of cuisine produced by award-winning chefs drawn to live and work in mainland America’s only subtropical metropolitan paradise. Our area, with strong cultural influences from Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia, is known as the birthplace of fusion cuisine and we have been making waves on the culinary map ever since a group of chefs known as the Mango Gang earned renowned for their use of tropical fruits and flavors.
The Mango Gang includes many world renowned chefs, including: Norman Van Aken (Norman’s restaurant in Coral Gables); Mark Militello (named on of the (Top 10 Chefs in America by Food and Wine magazine); Allen Susser (Chef Allen’s in Aventura); and the husband and wife team of Dewey and Dale LoSasso (North One 10 in Miami Shores).
In addition to these internationally renowned chefs, Miami-Dade cuisine can also be defined by geographic area and sphere of influence. For truly authentic Cuban food, residents and visitors head to Little Havana’s Versailles or La Carreta restaurants on Calle Ocho, or to Hialeah’s Las Culebrinas. For the very best in Argentine steaks, empanadas and pastries, you can visit any one of many genuine Argentinean restaurants, including Rincon Argentino near Coral Gables or Las Vacas Gordas in Miami Beach. If Asian food is your passion, you’ll be in your ambience in North Miami Beach, home to a significant Asian population and several excellent Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese restaurants. Lovers of Jewish cuisine can find a variety of kosher restaurants and markets in Aventura, while genuine Mexican fare is served at Homestead’s El Toro Taco restaurant and many other establishments throughout Miami-Dade.
Those undecided what type of food they want to enjoy can always walk the pedestrian friendly streets in Downtown Coral Gables, Coconut Grove or Lincoln Road in South Beach, locations where business and community leaders, as well as celebrities, often visit.
Along with all the fine restaurants Miami-Dade County has to offer, it also plays host to several renowned gastronomic events, such as the South Beach Food & Wine Festival, The Biltmore International Food & Wine Weekend, and Miami Spice Restaurant Month, an annual event in which the area’s finest restaurants offer prix fixe menus at very special prices throughout the months of August and September.