& BES T RES TAURANT ( AVENTURA ) Motek Cafe 19565 BISCAYNE BOULEVARD, #938 (IN AVENTURA MALL) AVENTURA, 33180 305-974-2626 MOTEKCAFE.COM When most of us think of malls, we think of grabbing an Auntie Anne’s to stave off hunger pangs before shoe shopping. But Aventura Mall is home to a plethora of delicious, locally based restaurants. One of the most delightful of those is Motek Café, where you can enjoy brunch all day. The menu is so tempting that it’s hard to choose — creamy hummus, kebabs, an Israeli salad, avocado toast — but the “don’t miss” is Motek’s shakshuka, a tangy dish of baked eggs, tomatoes, and peppers served in its skillet with an oversize Jerusalem bagel. Fuel up on hibiscus tea or a mimosa and you’ll leave all fueled up for your shopping. (Note: Motek operates a location in downtown Mi- ami and a third is on the way in Miami Beach.) BES T RES TAURANT (HOLLYWOOD) Sasa Café Italiano 2001 VAN BUREN STREET HOLLYWOOD, 33020 754-800-5959 SASACAFEITALIANO.COM Sasa Café Italiano is less a restaurant and more an invitation to a home-cooked dinner. Salvatore “Sasá” Savarese and his wife Loiris opened the café, which occupies a little house just off downtown Hollywood’s main dining and shopping strip, in 2016. This little gem serves a modest menu of Italian dishes based on Sasa’s own recipes from his birthplace of Meta di Sorrento on the Gulf of Naples. All the pasta dishes are molto bene: a rich fettuc- cine with a meaty ragú, gnocchi with butter and sage, and lobster ravioli with pomodoro. For dessert, order an espresso and a slice of “Sasa” cake (chocolate cake with orange and amaretto) while you soak in the rustic old- country surroundings, including tin toys, Sa- sa’s own artwork, and oldies spinning on the restaurant’s jukebox. BES T RES TAURANT (F OR T L AUDERDALE) Dune by Laurent Tourondel 2200 N. OCEAN BOULEVARD FORT LAUDERDALE, 33305 754-900-4059 DUNEBYLT.COM 86 86 When eyeing spots for a new location, Lau- rent Tourondel — best known for BLT Steak and BLT Fish in NYC — was intent on dishing out a feast for the eyes. So when Dune became available, elevated atop actual dunes just steps from the Atlantic, boasting one of South Flori- da’s best panoramic waterfront views, it felt as Drink Eat though fate had found him. Today, Touron- del’s signature international influences at Dune are reminiscent of his LT Steak & Sea- food and the Alley (both at the Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach), where Asian and Mediterra- nean-inspired seafood dishes pair well with Italian favorites. Take the grilled Spanish oc- topus, impeccably seared and curled atop a bed of chickpea and chorizo. Or the flatbread sauced with a key lime ponzu alongside sliv- ers of ahi tuna, avocado, and purple shiso. And a seafood ravioli, mascarpone-filled pockets rife with tender shrimp and scallop. If the views fade with the nighttime horizon, soak up the sun over the newly launched brunch. Dishes take a tropical — if hedonistic — turn from the caviar and blue crab served over an open-face croissant with a spicy citrus mousse to the rich and decadent buttermilk-coconut pancakes topped with flambéed banana and a creamy pina colada sauce. BES T C OLOMBIAN RES TAURANT Elcielo Miami by Juan Manuel Barrientos 31 SE FIFTH STREET MIAMI, 33131 305-874-7867 ELCIELORESTAURANT.COM There is certainly a time and place for an on- the-fly Colombian empanada with spicy ají. Then there is experiencing the South Ameri- can nation’s cuisine elevated to the max with an experiential menu that changes every sea- son. No one is elevating Colombian food in Miami (or anywhere, for that matter) to greater heights than chef Juan Manuel Barri- entos, AKA Juanma, a veritable molecular gastronaut. After opening Elcielo hotspots in Medellín and Bogotá, Barrientos brought the restaurant to Brickell in 2015. An Elcielo has since opened in Washington, D.C., earning Juanma a Michelin star — the first-ever for a Colombian restaurant — in 2021. Take one step inside Elcielo’s space in Miami and you’ll begin to understant the praise. To make the most of an Elcielo experience, book “The Ex- perience” and arrive hungry: It’s a 21-course affair, with sensory moments throughout. If you’re aiming for a little more moderation, opt for “The Journey,” a more modest, 13-course affair. In this context, of course, modest is a relative term; on a given night, you might wash your hands in chocolate or inhale an osmotized watermelon. BES T CUB AN RES TAURANT Caja Caliente 808 PONCE DE LEON BOULEVARD CORAL GABLES, 33134 786-431-1947 CAJA-CALIENTE.COM From its humble beginnings as a food truck boasting “the original Cuban taco” to its more elaborate brick-and-mortar present day, chef/ JUNE 23-29, 2022 JUNE 23-29, 2022 NEW TIMES NEW TIMES BEST OF MIAMI® 2022 BEST OF MIAMI® 2022 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com
