Astor Place
956 Washington Ave. 305/672-7217
Miami Beach Hotel Astor
Here's a newcomer-oldcomer with yet another turnover of top toques. Co-owner Johnny Vinczencz, the self-proclaimed "Caribbean Cowboy," returned in May full-time to the back room of the chic bistro tucked into 29-year-old wunderkind Karim Masri's Art Deco hotel. He retreated from his 2-year-old fling at nearby Johnny V's kitchen, where Tex-New Mex chilies and spices reigned supreme. While he was brewing sensational soups and assembling humongous hoagies, Masri had Golden Spoon winner Norman Van Aken, from Norman's in Coral Gables, working as consulting chef for his hotel, personally spiffing up the staff, downsizing and internationalizing the menu, and introducing a caviar service. Vinczencz has added some new touches -- honey-truffle glazed diver scallops and a classy American variation of the British shepherds pie, replacing beef with lobster. Dinner, $20 to $36, served nightly, and there's a Sunday Gospel Brunch.
Bambu
1661 Meridian Ave. 305/531-4800
Miami Beach
On South Beach's Ocean Drive, Ricky Martin now has his own Puerto Rican retreat, Casa Salsa, close to Gloria and Emilio Estefan's Cuban Larios on the Beach, so why shouldn't actress Cameron Diaz do her own thing with the backing of that same wunderkind hotelier Karim Masri? But here, thanks to executive chef Rob Boone and consulting chef Norman Van Aken (Does the man ever sleep?), the food is all Asian with sushi and sashimi, seaweed tangled with spinach, chicken smothered by Thai curry and mini-mountains of noodles. Dinner, $14 to $30, served nightly.
Bolero
661 Washington Ave. 305/673-6516
Miami Beach
Chef Gemma Angulo, who cut his culinary teeth at Coconut Grove's Grand Bay Hotel back in the good old days and then refined his skills at both the Biltmore and the Tides, is only one of the reasons to make this a fave for the bacalao fritters, crab cakes, pork sandwiched with yuca and chayote over a pool of black bean puree, skewered tuna on soba noodles and seafood paella. The others are the sophisticated setting and the live music, Cuban all the way and most of the night. Dinner, $19 to $32, served Tuesday through Sunday.
Bossa Nova/Steak Masters
2121 Ponce de Leon Blvd. 305/567-1718
Coral Gables
Dr. Atkins' dream factory with non-stop delivery of meat, meat, meat, speared on a skewer and sliced before your very eyes -- all kinds of beef, plus pork, lamb, sausage and even salmon, grilled separately. It's all part of the Brazilian rodizio routine, here preceded by a bountiful salad buffet. Lunch, $10 to $15, and dinner, $20 to $26, served daily.
Caviarteria
1500 Ocean Drive 305/538-5415
Miami Beach
Sip champagne or slug Arctic-chilled vodka while gently crushing the pearls of beluga, oscetra and sevruga on the roof of your mouth or sipping black truffle soup followed by lump crabmeat, Scottish salmon, tuna fillet, smoked ostrich or breast of pheasant. Sit at the bar, out on the terrace or in your own home using the tempting take-out service from the country's oldest and largest distributor of premium caviar. Brunch, lunch and dinner, $10 to $195, served daily.
Cheeky Monkey
944 Collins Ave. 305/534-2650
Miami Beach Blue Moon Hotel
The Brits use this name to characterize someone who is both daring and delightful, like the formally garbed tailed creatures depicted in the paintings that form an integral part of the decor and like the menu meant to reflect the old outposts of the British Empire, where the sun never set, but with a few liberties like fig, prosciutto and a bit of bleu cheese wrapped in phyllo glazed with balsamic vinegar. It's the perfect prelude to roast duckling with blueberry-Grand Marnier sauce or chicken breast in coconut milk laced with lemon grass. Breakfast, $3 to $12, lunch, $6 to $17, and dinner, $20 to $30, served daily.
Parrilla del Polo
1237 Lincoln Road 305/695-9300
Miami Beach
Here there's a tribute to Argentina's other national sport with mallets: photos of the greats, jerseys of the teams on walls and on the waiters, plus a room-dominating TV showing non-stop videos of the pounding ponies. Non-parrilla pluses include roast-corn-filled empanadas, veal chop and cinnamon-enhanced poached pear. Dinner, $13 to $20, served nightly.
Pascal's on Ponce
2611 Ponce de Leon Blvd. 305/444-2024
Coral Gables
Pascal Oudin has finally done it! A restaurant of his own after 18 years in Miami, first at Dominique's at the Alexander Hotel (where a Shula Steak House now sits), and then the Colonnade Hotel, which he left to return to his native France to open Disneyland Paris, recruited from there by the Grand Bay to become executive chef and director. The last stop for this Golden Spoon winner was at Sweet Donna's Country Store in the Grove, where he developed Pascal's Gourmet Product Line of Dressings and Sauces, and now he's the newest of the newcomers, opening this dream recently and showcasing familiar mastery merging Florida freshness with French finesse, from pan-seared lump crab cake with roasted red pepper butter to terrine of pistachio-dotted duck, wilted spinach risotto with oyster mushrooms and rosemary reduction, veal ribeye with braised endive and mushroom fricassee, sauteed yellow fin and climax of baked apple tarte tatin. Lunch, $5 to $12, served Monday through Friday, and dinner, $5 to $24 served nightly.
TGI Friday's South Beach
500 Ocean Drive 305/673-8443
Miami Beach
A peculiarly South Beach kind of gentrification with 280 seats inside and out and without the usual TGIF red and white stripes and Tiffany lighting fixtures, but with much of the same winning menu of reasonably priced snacks, salads and sandwiches -- a classic Cuban has been added. Lunch, Sunday brunch and dinner, $6 to $17, served daily.
Westside Diner
1671 Alton Road
305/538-4090
Miami Beach
One good chef deserves another, and so when Johnny Vinczencz abandoned this space to return to the Astor, Lincoln Road's super chef Jonathan Eismann quickly filled the void, but not with the kind of food that has distinguished his Pacific Time, a perennial 200 Bester and always close to a Golden Spoon, but with the likes of comfort food -- meatloaf with mushroom gravy, T-bones, London broil, chili con carne, broiled dolphin and Key lime pie, set awash with a thick milkshake. Hard to believe it's health-conscious Eismann, but it's all impeccably fresh, made from quality stuff. Lunch and dinner, $3 to $16, served daily.
Restaurants Around the State
SOUTHEAST: Hollywood
The Red Thai Room
2039 Hollywood Blvd. 954/925-2080
Owner-operator Craig Gereau is not a native of Thailand, but he's spent enough time there to be fascinated with its style and cuisine, and he showcases both in this offbeat hideout where immersion is complete. Lunch and dinner:
$7 to $10.
SOUTHWEST/TAMPA BAY: Dunedin
Bon Appetit
150 Marina Plaza 727/733-2151
Gulf-front panorama views are dramatic at any time of the day, but great for sunset-watching when you can dine in great style on continental offerings with a few nouvelle twists. Lunch, $6 to $15, and dinner, $10 to $30.
CENTRAL: Winter Park
Chef Henry's Cafe
3716 Howell Branch Road 407/657-2230
Chefs Henrich and Estera Brestowski introduce the locals to peerless presentations of potato knodels and pancakes, goulash with spaetzle, fish paprikash and seven different schnitzels. Lunch and dinner, $5 to $23.
NORTHEAST: Jacksonville
Marker 32
14549 Beach Blvd. 904/223-1534
A dramatic second-deck setting overlooking the Intracoastal and the marsh with chef Ben Groshell in able command of the grill and saute pan producing top-quality seafood, lamb chops, steaks and filets cut from Angus beef. Dinner,
$18 to $30.
NORTHWEST: Pensacola/Pensacola Beach
Jubilee Restaurant
400 Quietwater Beach Road 850/934-3108
Life's not a cabaret; it's a jubilee, a multi-barreled one with TopSide for fine dining, waterfront deck for snacking, plus a sweet shop, bars and lounges and lots of special-event happenings. Lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch, $6 to $30.