30 September 19-25, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | September 19-25, 2024 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Tran An 215 NE 82ND ST., MIAMI 786-423-3578 TRANANMIAMI.COM If you’ve got 20 bucks, you can dine like roy- alty at this tiny, ’70s-inspired eatery. Tran An owner Jon Nguyen’s 18-seat restaurant offers Vietnamese comfort food: a hearty pho, a tangy papaya salad, bánh mì sandwiches, and a chicken-and-rice dish are all satisfying and affordable. The pho’s broth is rich, heaped with slices of chicken or beef, noodles, and vegetables. Vegans can get their comfort too, with a vegetable pho based on a vegan broth. There’s no liquor license, but you’re free to bring beer or grab a bottle of wine from the shop next door. Speaking of bottles, don’t leave without a bottle of Nguyen’s “Grandma” sauce, a Vietnamese fish sauce condiment that perks up everything from salad to eggs. Tropical Chinese Restaurant 7991 BIRD RD., MIAMI 305-262-7576 TROPICALCHINESEMIAMI.COM Nearly four decades into its existence, Tropi- cal Chinese is still going strong. The dinner menu is chock full of offerings, from the traditional to the ex- otic. Appetizers include wok- fried, salt-and-pepper-style calamari and the fun-to-eat “rainbow pancake,” featuring four wraps to fill tableside with vermicelli noodles, wood ear mushrooms, shredded carrot, cabbage, scallions, and freshly ground peanuts glazed with plum sauce. What’s more, this unassuming spot in a West Miami-Dade strip mall remains a go-to for the best dim sum in the county. More than 30 kinds of are offered, all prepared fresh on site. Pro tip: The barbe- cue pork buns are a must. Versailles Restaurant 3555 SW EIGHTH ST., MIAMI 305-444-0240 VERSAILLESRESTAURANT.COM Since opening in 1971, Versailles has become a Calle Ocho staple for locals and tourists alike. The 200-plus seat dining room is illuminated by golden chandeliers and surrounded by lus- trous mirrors — a nod to the Hall of Mirrors at its namesake outside Paris. But that’s about the only taste of France you’ll get at this clas- sic Cuban eatery. The extensive menu offers appetizers such as croquetas — the breaded and deep-fried cylinders made from bécha- mel-bathed fish, chicken, or ham — and lunch items like Cuban sandwiches slathered with mustard and layered with ham, roast pork, Swiss cheese, and pickles. A variety of sea- food, chicken, pork, and beef entrées are available with traditional Cuban sides such as rice and black beans or fried sweet plantains. Vinya Table 266 MIRACLE MILE, CORAL GABLES 305-203-4229 VINYAWINE.COM An extension of sommelier and co-owner Al- legra Angelo’s Key Biscayne wine market, Vinya Table is one-half restaurant, one-half market from which you can grab any of Ange- lo’s thoughtfully curated bottle selections off the shelf to enjoy with your meal (in addition to a list of more than 40 wines available by the glass). When it comes to food, there’s the obligatory build-your-own charcuterie board, as well as sections dedicated to pasta, meat, and seafood. But don’t skip over the small plates. Try the morcilla spring rolls, loamy Spanish blood sausage encased in a crisp Madeira wine-stained shell and served with a sweet onion marmalade, or the lamb baklava, prepared just like the Greek dessert but with a savory-sweet pairing of orange- glazed meat and crushed pistachios. Zaika Indian Cuisine 2176 NE 123RD ST., NORTH MIAMI 786-409-5187 ZAIKAMIAMI.COM In 2016, three Indian expats (and former roommates) opened a neighborhood restau- rant in an unassuming shopping plaza just west of the Broad Causeway Bridge in North Miami. Drawing from their shared background work- ing for the prestigious Taj Mahal Hotel Group in their home country, owners Majob Patel, Avanish Shrivas- tava, and Shivashankar Mala- banti developed a menu that skews toward the robust and buttery flavors of northern India, while also dipping into the sub- tler offerings of the south, famed for its use of coconut and curry leaves. They named their restau- rant Zaika — a Hindu word that roughly translates to “sense of taste.” Any meal here must include the naan, prepared in-house using a traditional coal- heated clay oven, each chewy disc the perfect vessel for whatever fragrant, saucy dishes you choose. On that count, our top picks include tender Malabari chicken enveloped in a coco- nut sauce and adorned with curry leaves, red chili, and mustard grains, and the lamb rogan josh, a hearty dish slow-simmered in a ginger- infused tomato base. Pro tip: Vegetarians and meat eaters alike will appreciate the yellow lentil dal, served in a bowl crowned with a rich paste of garlic, butter, and spices. Zitz Sum 396 ALHAMBRA CIRCLE STE. 155, CORAL GABLES 786-409-6920 ZITZSUM.COM Zitz Sum chef/owner Pablo Zitzmann’s mash-up of Asian, Mexican, Latin American, and Italian influences earned him a Michelin Bib Gourmand designation in 2022. Previously famed in Miami for his now- closed restaurant No Name Chinese, the chef brings together all these flavors in dishes like lobster and shrimp har gow (dumplings) and pork-belly potstickers with a green-apple amazu sauce. The menu is succinct but Zitzmann is known to change things up, so if your favorite dumpling isn’t listed, take it as a cue to explore something new, secure in the knowledge that everything is unique — and delicious. TOP 100 RESTAURANTS
