Miami is quickly gaining a reputation as the culinary center of the southeastern United States. With gourmet centers in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, and South Beach, the city offers the best Cuban cuisine north of Havana, the tastiest Jamaican and Haitian dishes this side of the Caribbean Sea, and the purely Miamian fusion of classical French cuisine with tropical fruits, vegetables, and spices.

11th Street Diner
1065 Washington Ave.
305-534-6373
Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Inexpensive
Cuisine type: American, Diner
Set in an authentic 1948 train dining car, this cozy restaurant serves above-average American diner-style food such as pot roast, grilled pork chops, and hamburgers, as well as sandwiches and salads. The milkshakes and malts here are the best in South Beach. The wait staff's friendly demeanor and flawless service add to the pleasure of the dining e xperience.

Al Manara
5811 SW 72nd St.
305-665-3374
Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Vegetarian
Year after year, the Miami Herald and other noteworthy publications rate Al Manara Miami's best Middle Eastern restaurant. Nearly 10 years old, this cozy restaurant in the heart of pastel-hued South Miami offers vegetarian Lebanese delights such as tabbouleh, hummus, baba ghanouj , stuffed grape leaves, and falafel. More adventurous diners can try the veal tongue or the kafta kebab, which is made with ground lamb and green herbs and served in a sea of stewed tomatoes. First-timers might want to order the mixed appetizer platter, which features a sampling of the restaurant's specialty dishes.

Astor Place Bar and Grill
956 Washington Ave.
305-672-7217
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Expensive
Cuisine type: American Fusion, Floribbean
Combining Southwestern cuisine with Floridian ingredients, Chef Johnny Vinczencz gives the food at the Astor a heartland harmony rather than a trendy Asian-tropical sharpness. The seductive appetizer menu includes crab and shrimp cakes with star-fruit salsa and smoked vegetables with goat cheese in a tortilla quesadilla. For the main course, try the best-selling corn-crusted yellowtail or the jerk grilled tuna with sweet mango sauce and coconut-jasmine rice cakes. Leave enough room for the delectable creme brulee parfait. The atrium dining room, appointed with blond woods, marble and limestone walls, and date palms in huge clay pots, is perhaps the most visually enticing place in South Beach.

Balans
1022 Lincoln Rd.
305-534-9191
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: American Fusion, Mediterranean, Asian
Offering mouth-watering food at affordable prices, Balans has recently become the hangout of choice for South Beach's more budget-minded beautiful people. The restaurant's rising popularity now translates into a minimum half-hour wait to get seated, and a din so loud that it overpowers any attempt at intimate conversation. However, the food, which is best described as international with an Asian-Mediterranean flair, is worth both the noise and the wait. Appetizers include warm Thai salad with scallops and basil; deep-fried goat cheese and mushrooms in a beer and caraway-bread crust; and charbroiled squid and arugula. As a main course, try the soft and light herb-crusted Chilean sea bass or the hearty sirloin steak with black lentils.

Blue Door
1685 Collins Ave.
305-674-6400
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Very Expensive
Cuisine type: American Fusion
Incorrectly rumored to be owned by Madonna, the Blue Door is still one of South Beach's most innovative restaurants. The setting, including oversize furniture and gauzy drapes cascading from the ceiling, gives the place a ve lvety, dreamlike atmosphere. Executive Chef Luke Rinaman, who has worked in Seattle, New Orleans, and Jakarta, Indonesia, brings with him a classical French cuisine background, and combines it with local tropical ingredients. This fusion is apparent throughout the menu, with such refined appetizers as ravioli with sugar pumpkin mousseline filling, scallops in puff pastry with Madras curry sauce from Trinidad, and ragout of snails with wild mushrooms, pearl onions, and celery leaves. Main courses include roasted lobster in soy, lime, and brown-butter sauce and stuffed quail with mango chutney and tamarind sauce. For dessert, try either the sinful passionfruit crepe souffle or the light mango mousse served with fresh mango salad.

Cafe Abbracci
318 Aragon Ave.
305-441-0700
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Expensive
Cuisine type: Italian
Always at the door to greet his customers, owner Nino Pernetti appears never to forget a face, as he embraces and kisses the profusion of diners who visit his fine establishment. A Swiss hotel-school graduate, Pernetti opened Cafe Abbracci in 1989. Specialty dishes here include changing risotto and Arborio rice dishes; penne with grappa, pancetta, sage, rosemary and tomato; veal tricolor with fresh tomato and basil; and grilled swordfish with al dente baby carrots and fried onions. Constantly praised by Esquire Magazine, the Miami Herald, and other respectable publications, Cafe Abbracci is undoubtedly one of Miami's foremost Italian restaurants.

Cafe Med
3015 Grand Ave.
305-443-1770
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: Italian, Mediterranean
Cocowalk's most pleasant restaurant serves affordable Mediterranean favorites, including pasta, seafood, and pizza, on a breezy sun-drenched patio or in a casual, slightly cooler indoor setting. The restaurant's prime location, in the heart of the Grove, assures a steady flow of customers. Its location also makes Cafe Med an ideal place to sip a cappuccino and watch the Cocowalk world go by.

Cafe Tu Tu Tango
3015 Grand Ave.
305-529-2222
Credit cards accepted: MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: Latin American, American Fusion
The food at Cafe Tu Tu Tango stubbornly refuses to be categorized. The mammoth menu offers such disparate choices as black bean soup spiked with onion and lime, beef tenderloin with pepper served with horseradish cream and onion marmalade, seared tuna sashimi, Mediterranean spinach dip, and chicken pot stickers in soy and rice-wine dipping sauce. For dessert, options range from a traditional chocolate cake to a sinfully unique guava cheesecake with strawberry sauce. Dubbing itself an artists' colony/tapas restaurant, Tu Tu Tango continues to offer what is perhaps the best budget food in the Grove.

China Grill
404 Washington Ave.
305-534-2211
Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Very Expensive
Cuisine type: American Fusion/Asian
Since it opened its doors in the fall of 1995, China Grill has somehow managed to remain the trendiest restaurant in South Beach. On weekends, expect to wait at least a half-hour for a table--if you have a reservation. The wait is well worth it, however, if you want to sample first-rate cuisine or even if you just want to observe Miami's most beautiful people in action. Both restaurant and nightclub, China Grill is constantly pulsating with raw energy as tan Latino men in ultra-hip Miami get-ups try various pick-up lines on knockout women sipping flavored sakes and other upscale libations.The decor successfully mixes the warmth of red-stained wood floors with the steel-cold feel of a stainless-steel stage and an open-air kitchen. Best menu bets include broccoli-rabe dumplings in a puree of roasted tomatoes, pan-seared spicy tuna seasoned with coriander and fennel seed, and Japanese panko-crusted veal.

Chow
210 23rd St.
305-604-1468
Credit cards accepted: MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: Vegetarian, Asian, Fusion
Executive Chef Deb Stanton, who has New York notables such as the Galaxy Global Cafe and the Tribeca Bar and Grill on her resume, successfully mixes Asian and Caribbean flavors to come up with a healthful, vegetarian-friendly menu. For starters, try the Sichuan tuna tartare, the organic greens with miso vinaigrette, or the bo nuong la gno (grape leaves stuffed with basmati rice or jasmine rice and flavored with scallion and curry). Follow up with the marinated half-chicken served with garbanzo beans and Spanish onions in a miso broth, or the pan-seared prawns with spaghetti squash. The succulent Key lime pie will satisfy the most discriminating dessert lover.

Christy's
3101 Ponce de Leon Blvd.
305-446-1400
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Expensive
Cuisine type: American, Steak House
Lamb chops, prime rib, steaks, and a mighty Caesar salad are the staples at this Coral Gables institution where the creme de la creme of Miami society meets for power lunches, family dinners, or just to catch up on the city's latest gossip. Although many critics claim that the food is overrated and that the crowd is often stuffy, Christy's has managed to keep a loyal following in a city where new restaurants are quickly overshadowing old standards.

Giacosa
394 Giralda Ave.
305-445-5858
Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Expensive
Cuisine type: Italian, Mediterranean
Alfredo Alvarez, chef and owner of Giacosa, is perhaps the most formidable rival of Nino Pernetti (owner of Cafe Abbracci). Fighting for the elusive pasta crown, Alvarez takes great pains to serve Miami's best Italian dishes. The result has translated into magnificent, sumptuous, otherworldly pasta creations. Try the pasta del ragazzo, which consists of spaghetti with porcini mushrooms, red pepper, tart arugula, and capers; or the round tortelli, elegantly filled with pieces of lobster and served with chopped tomato, olive oil, and fresh thyme. The risotto with artichoke hearts and prosciutto is another unbeatable entree choice. Crepes suzette and bananas foster, prepared by the Neapolitan pastry chef, are two of the many sinful desserts avail able.

Grill Fish
1444 Collins Ave.
305-538-9908
Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: Seafood
A dramatic interior mixing ultra-high ceilings, a risque mural, deco architecture, and austere stainless steel sets the tone for this South Beach fixture popular with blase, chain-smoking residents as well as sunburnt, gawking tourists. Served by a cross, often haughty, but always beautiful wait staff, the food here continues to surprise with its superior quality. Starters include crispy fried calamari and the luscious seafood quesadilla special. For the main course, stick with the superlative grilled fish--choices vary from tuna, mahi-mahi, and sea bass to other exotic catch such as monkfish. The Russian banana split is a delicious, enormous, and therefore best shared, dessert.

House of India
22 Merrick Way
305-444-2348
Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: Indian
Operating in Coral Gables since 1975, House of India remains the city's foremost "place for curry and kebab." For starters, best bets here include vegetable pakoras (fritters stuffed with cauliflower, onion, eggplant, spinach, and coriander), onion bhaji (fried ball of onion with chick-pea flour), and lentil soup seasoned with onion, garlic, ginger, and fresh tomato. Entrees run the gamut from a full-flavored chicken or goat curry to a tender lamb with spinach curry to a milder vegetable biriyani, which mixes nine vegetables with nuts and fragrant basmati rice in korma sauce.

Joe's Stone Crab
11 Washington Ave.
305-673-4611
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Very Expensive
Cuisine type: Seafood
In 1999, the oldest restaurant in Miami Beach (Joe's has been around for about 90 years) decided to change its now legendary menu. Owner Steve Sawitz, however, kept many of the traditionally favorite touches, such as mustard sauce, coleslaw, and hash browns. Florida's ultimate crustacean remains the star of the new menu, although there are now some additional seafood choices for those not wanting to feast on succulent crab.The restaurant has its own fleet of boats bringing back crabs. Since 1913, the restaurant has prided itself on never, ever going to foreign waters: Florida claws are and will remain the vastly superior delicacy. Expect to wait well over an hour for a table on weekends. And remember, stone crabs are only available from October through May.

La Carreta
3632 SW 8th St.
305-444-7501
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Inexpensive
Cuisine type: Cuban
Bette Midler once sang "only in Miami is Cuba so far away." At La Carreta, on Little Havana's flavorful Calle Ocho, Midler's words are given a serious challenge. As diners enter into the popular eatery, they are greeted in a Caribbean-inflected Spanish by one of the many Cuban waitresses buzzing around the place. Near the door, a revolving refrigerator displays authentic Cuban desserts, such as the beloved tres leches (three milks) cake. Further inside, the languages spoken by patrons and workers alike are Spanish, Spanish, and Spanish! And the menu features Cuban favorites, including bistec carretero (skirt steak), and pollo imperial (chicken served with rice). Less adventurous diners can always opt for the simple yet tasty tuna sandwich.

Larios on the Beach
820 Ocean Dr.
305-532-9577
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: Cuban
After sharing her musical heritage with such Latino-flavored songs as "Mi Tierra" and "Hablamos El Mismo Idioma," pop star Gloria Estefan delved into her culinary heritage and brought Cuban cuisine to Florida's most beloved oceanfront strip. Located right on Ocean Drive, Larios serves authentic, down-home Cuban fare without any trendy twists and turns. Fun, spacious, and often swaying to the sounds of one of Gloria's many songs, Larios offers such Cuban favorites as tart or sweet fried plantains, skirt steak, seafood symphony, and Cuban-style paella. For dessert, the menu lists six different kinds of flan.

Le Bouchon du Grove
Host: 3430 Main Hwy
305-448-6060
Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Expensive
Cuisine type: French
Most visitors to Miami miss this hidden jewel, located on Main Highway, slightly away from the more recognizable Cocowalk shopping center and its flashy surroundings. From the outside, Le Bouchon looks more like the college bar it once was than the stylish French bistro it has become. Once inside the 45-seat eatery, however, diners find themselves amid a clutter of Pastis and Dubonnet posters, village road signs from France, a French flag, and faded postcards depicting romantic Gallic destinations. Stand-out dishes here include traditional onion soup; fresh spinach salad with smoked salmon; pot-au-feu made with veal shank, vegetables and white potatoes; and bouillabaisse replete with snapper, mussels, scallops, and shrimp. For dessert, order the warm tarte Tatin served with fresh cream.

Les Deux Fontaines
1230-38 Ocean Dr.
305-672-7878
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: French/Seafood
An elevated terrace set atop gleaming Ocean Drive provides the setting for Chef Jean Pierre Petit's southern French cuisine. Located between two hotels on a breezy Mediterranean courtyard, Les Deux Fontaines feels like it should belong on the Cote d'Azur, rather than in America's Casablanca. For the discerning diner, the menu offers 10 different types of fresh seafood dishes daily, in addition to a succulent bouillabaisse and a superior mussels mariniere. The fresh homemade tarts, accented by the cool ocean breezes, are a perfect way to end the meal.

Los Ranchos
2728 Ponce de Leon Blvd.
305-446-0050
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: Nicaraguan
Carlos Somoza, nephew of Nicaragua's deposed dictator Anastasio Som oza, opened this offshoot of the original in Managua, Nicaragua. In addition to first-rate churrasco (Argentine-style steak) with chimichurri (sauce of chopped parsley, oil, garlic, and vinegar), the place also serves a variety of other meat and seafood items with the traditional rice and beans as a side dish. Los Ranchos has four additional branches throughout the Greater Miami area.

Mezzaluna
834 Ocean Dr.
305-674-1330
Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: Italian
This spacious South Beach eatery offers both outdoor dining, on a pretty, sun-drenched patio cooled by soft trade winds, and indoor dining below ceiling fans. On one of Miami's infamous hot and humid summer days, however, the indoor fans often prove too weak to cool overheated diners. Poor air conditioning aside, Mezzaluna does offer first-rate Italian cuisine such as homemade crabmeat ravioli with brandy sauce, linguine with seafood, and 12 made-to-order pizzas.

News Cafe
800 Ocean Dr.
305-538-6397
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Inexpensive
Cuisine type: American, Diner
Just a decade ago, the News Cafe was a modest ice-cream shop and newspaper stand. Today, this place is perhaps Miami Beach's best-known and busiest eatery. Open 24 hours, 365 days a year, the News Cafe is constantly buzzing with activity as locals and visitors stand in line for an oceanfront table in an attempt to rub elbows with Christy, Cindy, Naomi, Linda, or any of the other glamorous fashion divas who patronize this popular establishment. The menu runs the gamut from burgers, sandwiches, and salads to more ethnic dishes such as hummus and bagels with lox and cream cheese. Most people, however, choose to drink a warm cappuccino or to sip a glass of chilled white wine, while keeping an eye out for their favorite celebrity. The News Cafe has a second, more neighborhoody branch in Coconut Grove.

Paramount Cafe
1040 Lincoln Rd.
305-535-8020
Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: American
Sitting close to Lincoln Road's most appealing fountain--the one decorated with impaled pieces of chinaware and broken tiles--this sidewalk cafe offers relatively affordable American cuisine on Miami Beach's fashionable pedestrian mall. Starters include fresh mozzarella salad, conch fritters, and daily soup specials, while entrees vary from grilled sea bass brushed lightly with Dijon mustard to a half-chicken with rosemary, lemon, and garlic. Other specialties include salmon with citrus butter, penne with basil and plum tomato sauce, and pork chops with a honey-mustard sauce. Recent visits to the Paramount have revealed a decline in both service and food quality, pointing perhaps to the effects of fierce competition in the form of newer and trendier restaurants along Lincoln Road.

Restaurant St. Michel
2135 Ponce de Leon Blvd.
305-446-6572
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Expensive
Cuisine type: Breakfast, Brunch
The historic Hotel Place St. Michel, housed in one of Coral Gables' most splendid old buildings, provides the setting for this intimate restaurant whose highlight is brunch on Sunday. The dining tables are arranged in a semi-circle around the mouth-watering buffet table, affording diners an unobstructed view of croissants, muffins, breads, fresh fruits, cakes, and other sumptuous breakfast and brunch delights. St. Michel also claims to serve the "best crepes west of Paris." Brunch is served Sunday only; the rest of the week the restaurant serves French food.

Sakura Gables
440 South Dixie Hwy.
305-665-7020
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: Japanese
This likable neighborhood restaurant serves tasty Japanese fare at affordable prices. Bright, airy, and pleasant, Sakura has been around for well over a decade and continues to offer the best sushi and sashimi south of Miami Beach.

South Beach Brasserie
910 Lincoln Rd.
305-534-5511
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Expensive
Cuisine type: Fusion
Talking about his best-loved hobby, British actor Michael Caine once said, "Some actors have gambling, some have drugs, some have alcohol, some have women. I have restaurants." For his sixth dining venture, actor Caine has transformed a former Jehovah's Witness hall into an upscale restaurant full of pillars, beams, majestic window shutters, wood floors, and potted palms. In spite of the gorgeous interior, most patrons want to sit outside, on recently redesigned and gloriously landscaped Lincoln Road mall. (Thanks to the recent influx of Europeans, Miami is discovering the splendor of sidewalk dining, of enjoying the fresh ocean breezes instead of freezing in artificial AC.) The best menu selections for a warm Miami evening include artichoke with foccacia crumbs and parmesan, fresh catch Provencal with sweet red pepper coulis and olive tapenade, the imported cheese plate, and the elegant lobster salad with mango and cucumber.

Tap Tap
819 Fifth St.
305-672-2898
Credit cards accepted: American Express, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Moderate
Cuisine type: Caribbean, Haitian
South Beach's first Haitian restaurant is set amidst a profusion of sounds, smells, and colors. There are radiant Haitian artworks lining the walls, splashy and unique dining tables, and an endless succession of tiny rooms in what might have once been a single-family dwelling. Located off the beaten path and nowhere near the restaurant rows of Ocean Drive, Lincoln Road, and Washington Avenue, Tap Tap is easily missed, yet so worth a stop. A languid, smiling, and very Caribbean staff adds to the illusion of having been transported far from South Florida's busy metropolis to a removed tropical island where time is the least of all concerns. First, order the addictive non-alcoholic homemade ginger beer. Then, move on to the fiery soup fish soup, made with grouper and kingfish, or the spicy soup pumpkin soup with yucca and other tropical vegetables. As a main course, try either the charcoal-grilled goat with rosemary and garlic or the charcoal-grilled kingfish marinated in lime and butter. Tropical fruit sorbets, like passionfruit or mango, add the ideal finishing touch to a sensational meal.

Yuca Restaurant
501 Lincoln Rd.
305-532-9822
Credit cards accepted: American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa
Price range: Expensive
Cuisine type: Cuban
Leaving its original Coral Gables nook behind, Yuca has recently relocated to Miami Beach, where window watching is almost as much fun for the eyes as its nouvelle Cuban cuisine is for the palate. The unique culinary creations include appetizers such as fried yucca with onion-oil mojito, and tamal verde, a steamed green tamale made with chick-pea flour and filled with lobster and peanuts. Entrees include a grilled portobello mushroom filled with vegetable paella and the now-legendary plantain-coated dolphin fish with a tamarind tartar sauce. Each dish, regardless of price or size, is presented like a work of art, and diners might even regret having to delve into the food and destroy the masterpiece. Don't be surprised if one of the well-toned waiters or statuesque waitresses offers to slip you an authentic Cuban cigar under the table for the right price.