Here are the Magic City’s 11 most sensational offerings, according to “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” and the mayor of Flavortown.
Guy Fieri, the host of Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” has visited the Magic City time and time again to showcase the culinary prowess of Miami restaurateurs for national audiences. Out of the 20 Miami restaurants Fieri has featured on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” over the last two decades, only 11 remain open today.
What are you waiting for? Visit these vibrant Miami eateries approved by the one and only mayor of Flavortown.
11th Street Diner
Step back in time to Miami Beach’s Art Deco heyday at this classic diner dishing out comfort food staples and bottomless cups of Joe. Located on Washington Avenue a couple blocks inland of South Beach, the 11th Street Diner was featured on season three, episode seven of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
Guy Fieri’s team showcased the diner’s affordable pricing – where else in Miami Beach can you get a patty melt or cheeseburger for under $20? – as well as its historic environs. The 11th Street Diner is housed in an original dining car classic, built in 1948 in Pennsylvania and transported to Miami Beach’s historic Art Deco District in 1992.
Blue Collar
As seen on season 19, episode eight of Fieri’s Food Network program, Blue Collar reflects Miami’s cultural multiplicity in its pairing of tried-and-true Southern dishes with Caribbean plates. Classics like grilled mahi mahi, shrimp and grits, and ribs with sweet corn appear on the menu alongside inventive specialties like the Cuban sandwich spring rolls and the spicy oxtail, made with fiery scotch bonnet chili peppers.
Located inside of the Biscayne Hotel in Miami’s Upper East Side neighborhood, Blue Collar is a homey stopover perfect for your next feel-good meal.
Blue Marlin Fish House Restaurant & Adventures
What other Miami restaurant allows you to work up an appetite by enjoying a paddle over calm waters before your meal? As featured in season six, episode nine of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” North Miami Beach’s Blue Marlin Fish House Restaurant and Adventures offers thrill seekers and nature lovers the fuel they need to explore nearby Oleta River State Park. Choose from one to four-hour kayak, canoe, or stand-up paddleboard rentals before diving into a hearty meal of fresh seafood classics like smoked fish dip, a mahi mahi sandwich, or the Oleta fish and chips.
Doce Provisions
Ask any Miamian local to Little Havana, and they’ll tell you that Doce Provisions is the spot for unpretentious, locally sourced, quality Cuban food. This neighborhood gem, whose sister location lies a half hour northwest in Doral, was featured on season 28, episode 10 of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
Dine on a welcoming patio stringed with twinkling lights, and enjoy updated classics like the arroz imperial Cubano, featuring braised arroz con pollo served paella-style and baked with queso fresco, aji mayo, and maduros. Be sure to save room for the coconut rum tres leches cake, topped with torched meringue.
La Camaronera Seafood Joint and Fish Market
Fulfill your next craving for fresh seafood at La Camaronera Seafood Joint and Fish Market, a tiny, unassuming gem tucked into a strip mall in Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. As seen on season six, episode 11, La Camaronera has served filling portions of fresh catches prepared with love since 1976. Arrive hungry and order the yellowtail snapper or hogfish, both available grilled or fried in their entirety.
Prefer shellfish? Larry’s Fav Whole Spiny Lobster arrives at the table fully intact and served with your choice of side, including yuca fries, Hawaiian tostones, and eladias caritas, or black-eyed pea fritters.
Latin House Grill
When Fieri visited Latin House Grill on season 19, episode seven of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,” he found himself drooling over their chimi burrito, a bigger-than-your-face meal consisting of yellow rice, cheese, sweet plantains, and your choice of carne asada, vaca frita, cilantro-lime chicken, carnitas, or veggie-soy protein, all flash-fried and topped with pico de gallo and sour cream. Other inventive and belly-busting dishes at Latin House Grill include the Korean tostones, topped with Korean barbecue pulled pork, as well as the media noche egg rolls, made with slow-roasted pork, sweet ham, and pickles.
Milly’s Empanada Factory
Featured on season 28, episode six, Milly’s Empanada Factory brings Venezuelan street food staples to Miami’s West Kendall community. As its name suggests, Milly’s specializes in empanadas: choose from more than a dozen different fillings like spinach and cheese, spicy chicken, pork, or pabellon, a mixture of shredded beef, black beans, and plantains.
Feeling like a more substantial meal? Go for Fieri’s favorite menu item: Milly’s Famous Pabe-YoYo. This handheld dish crafted from pabellon criollo, or shredded beef, ham, cheese, black beans, and cilantro sauce, is sandwiched between two battered, flash-fried sweet plantains.
Mojo Donuts & Fried Chicken
Season 28, episode five of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” saw Fieri drop by Mojo Donuts & Fried Chicken, an indulgent stop for breakfast or lunch with locations in the South Florida cities of Miami, Coral Gables, Kendall, and Pembroke Pines. Those with a sweet tooth may have trouble selecting just one treat from such mouth-watering delights as the Oreo Speedwagon gourmet donut, topped with crushed Oreo cookies and sweet cream icing, and the Slutty Brownie, a donut treated with chocolate icing, crumbled cookie, brownie chunks, and chocolate sprinkles.
Mr. and Mrs. Bun
Fieri savored the rich flavors of Peru while shooting season 28, episode seven of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” at Mr. and Mrs. Bun, a strip mall sandwich shop located in west Kendall. At Mr. and Mrs. Bun, bread is made fresh daily, the sopa criolla is made Peruvian-style with aji panca, or Peruvian red pepper, and the Butifarra sandwich features ham marinated for 48 hours.
Taquiza
After an action-packed day enjoying surf and sand at Miami’s North Beach, locals flock to Taquiza for tacos, Mexican-inspired bites, and cocktails. This spot located a short walk from the shore was featured on season 24, episode 12.
Taquiza’s menu includes street snacks like churros, tostadas, and elote, or grilled corn on the cob covered in cilantro-jalapeno crème and cotija cheese, as well as filling plates of tacos made from lengua, or beef tongue; huitlacoche, or Mexican corn truffle; and rajas, or charred onions and peppers tossed in oregano. Can’t get enough of Taquiza’s hand-made, stone-ground corn tortillas? Order a dozen or two fresh tortillas to carry home.
Whisk Gourmet Food & Catering
Season 19, episode five of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” saw Fieri chow down on beer-braised baby back ribs and cornmeal-fried okra at Whisk Gourmet Food and Catering, an American eatery with Southern flair located in South Miami.
Brunch also goes big at Whisk — the Gnarly Biscuit B.E.C. towers over the plate with two fried eggs, cheddar cheese, bacon, and bacon gravy piled high into a biscuit.
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