New restaurants are opening in Miami every day, but there’s nothing like your favorite neighborhood spot — the hole in the wall down the street where the owner knows you and your dog, the menu is solid and you don’t have to fight tourists for tables.
These neighborhood gems are hard to find if you don’t live in the area. They require insider knowledge from a local who frequents the place enough to know why it’s worth a shot. We wanted to find some of the under-the-radar local gems in Miami-Dade County, so we decided to start in-house. We asked our Miami Herald colleagues to tell us about their favorite local haunts, where they go for a stress-free meal when they don’t feel fussy, don’t want to drive too far and don’t want to spend too much money.
What our colleagues gave us were little spots from Cutler Bay to Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah to North Beach. They are in nondescript strip malls, marinas, and cute little buildings that locals pray don’t get bought up by developers. So take a look at some of the places you might find Miami Herald staff dining on any given night, and down below make sure you fill out our questionnaire about your favorite local restaurant.
Miami and the beaches
Edda León, audience engagement producer for the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald, likes a little spot called Cafe Croissant in Miami’s Shenandoah area, which she picked because you can get a cheap brunch and the best sweet or savory crepes she’s ever had in Miami. “You can take your out-of-town friends to this hidden gem and look like the coolest local they’ve ever known,” she says…