I recently came into possession of a half-dozen back issues of Esquire,
a magazine somewhat obsessed with naming the best of this and the best
of that. The food section is no exception -- three of the issues I
thumbed through featured such listings. I took a tally to see how Miami
fared:
MARCH ISSUE:
The Encyclopedia of Sandwiches, with a hilarious intro by Scott
Raab, raved about fifty of America's finest. Our town scored with the
Cuban Sandwich from Latin American Cafeteria ("the later the hour, the
better it tastes"), and seafood salad on baguette from La Sandwicherie
in Miami Beach ("goes well with the salty air"). Only quibble with the
"encyclopedia" is that it isn't alphabetized.
JUNE:
Best Bars in America honored twenty spots, from Juneau to Isle
of Palms, South Carolina. Miami: Zero. Apparently creative caipirinhas
and frequent celebrity-sightings were not sufficiently factored in.
NOVEMBER:
Best New Restaurants trumpeted 23 of the nation's finest 2008
rookies. Congrats to Jonathan Eismann's Pacific Time for being our sole
representative -- although New York's Scarpetta made the grade, and
chef Scott Conant should be opening the Fontainebleau branch any time
now.
To close on a positive note: If Esquire ever does a Best Streets To Serendipitously Stumble Upon A Steakhouse survey, we will surely clean up.
