As we aim to complete our dining in Miami, this was the last place on our list. Joe’s Stone Crabs is one of those institutionalized restaurant establishments for Miami (Beach). I think of it as their Katz’s to New York City, where it’s just been around for a while, and it still continues to attract all types of people. One of the reasons this was on my list was because it has stone crab claws, which are very meaty and comes in sizable portions. Lastly and fortunately, it was also stone crab claw season, which means the claws are freshly harvested and not frozen. I was able to book a reservation for 2 for 5:30 PM, but we decided to arrive about 15-20 minutes early, and we were easily seated in the back hall.

One of the inspirations and motivations for this Miami trip is to visit the former mansion of Gianni Versace, the Italian designer who was murdered at his doorstep. The mansion is located in the Art Deco district, and it offers some very interesting designs, including pebbled mosaic walls, storied history, and some interesting statues onsite. The lunch area is located adjacent to the pool area. We were able to book a reservation for 2 for 1:00 PM on a Sunday afternoon fairly easily a few weeks in advance. We were fortunately able to check in about 30 minutes early, and they seated us pretty quickly.

Chef Kwame Onwuachi has an amazing restaurant we’ve been to in NYC recently, Tatiana. When I heard of him opening another restaurant not in NYC, but in Miami, I was eyeballing reservations for this for a few months. The menu seemed very similar to Tatiana, and the wait staff told us there were some similarities. The Miami scene has not seemed to catch on to his foods yet, so we were able to make a reservation for 2 on a Friday night without any issues just a few weeks in advance. Chef Kwame is a James Beard Award-winning chef, and we had some expectations for this food tonight because we had a pretty good time when we went to Tatiana.

For our trip to Miami, Florida, we booked a series of restaurants to try out. Our first restaurant was Stubborn Seed. This was highly rated by various Miami bloggers and food reviewers as a consistent Michelin dining restaurant. This restaurant also holds a Michelin Star for both dining and sustainability. It was quite easy to get a reservation a few weeks ahead of time, so we stopped by on a Wednesday evening at 5:30 PM.