Peterbrooke Chocolatier's Chocolate Bottle

Bring in your GF's favorite bottle of wine and Pete'll make a boozy Magic Shell by dipping it in your choice of chocolate (milk, dark, white). Once it's hardened, yank a tab and the sweets'll fall off in bite-sized shards -- a delicious little trick that'll expose the fact that you have no idea what her favorite bottle of wine is.

Mia At Biscayne

For a full-on resto that morphs into a full-on nightclub, duck into Mia On Biscayne.

Sitting in the heart of downtown and feeling a bit like a high-end supper club circa '78, Mia's dining area rocks a fusion of Spanish, Latin, and Japanese plates and around midnight, transmogrifies into a nightlife hub, with a stage for live acts, a perimeter decked out in plush banquettes and technovations like a 16ft iBar tabletop with digital fish that react to your touch, a second floor VIP wrap-around balcony with dark booth-nooks, and a V-VIP spot that's essentially a cushy, upholstered cave, or a padded cell, depending on how the date's going.

Jimbo's Birthday
Sunday, 12:30pm 'til dark 4/15,
 Jimbo's:

Celebrate one more great man's great institution, hit Jimbo's 82nd birthday this weekend.

For the uninitiated, Jimbo's, on the lagoon on Virginia Key, is a shrimp shack half-overrun by tropical growth and strewn with extremely broken-in furniture, plywood patching, taxidermy, rusted-out cars, and roosters strutting the undergrowth, boasting an undulating bocce court, loads of cheap cold beer, and a cast of regulars, including cigar-chomping, ready-to-blow-out his four-score-and-two-years birthday Jimbo Luznar. The astonishing time capsule was created in '54 when the mainland docks where Jimbo's family moored their shrimp boats were destroyed to redevelop the area for stuff like the Herald; the city granted Jimbo dockage and a shack on the forsaken lagoon, which has since been used for shrimping and drinking, and as a location for.....

Michael's Genuine Food & Drink Launches Sunday Brunch
Starting This Sun, 11am to 3pm:

Michael’s initial foray into brunch breaks things down via simple palate categories: Sweet (almond French toast stuffed with caramelized pears; homemade pop-tarts), Savory (wood-oven-roasted double yolk egg w/ cave-aged Gruyére & roasted tomato on sourdough crostini), Meats (grilled skirt and ham steaks), and Snacks (crispy pig ears). For thirst, there's the Genuine Bloody Mary w/ fresh-squeezed heirloom tomato juice, honey, and fresh horseradish, and a drink with Sombra Mezcal and juices like agave, fresh pineapple, cucumber, and jalapeno called the Sombrita, also what you call it when the water purifier pitcher in your fridge wears a festive hat.

PIG (Pig Is Good)

VIP Passes on sale now, event Sun Nov 22, 2pm to 8pm: Harvey's By The Bay;

Golden Ribs Now Open, 11am to 9pm:

A simple counter take-out spot on the western outskirts of Coconut Grove, GR's the first permanent location for a rib man who cooked his way through the South before parking his BBQ truck on Grand Ave for seven years, all using the same sauce he concocted at age 12

Urbanite Bistro Pre-Show Prix Fixe
Mon to Sat, 5 to 7pm:

Designed for show-goers but open to all, UB's $37 three-course prix fixe

Salsa Fiesta
Opening Wed, 10am to 11pm:

Fiesta's whipping up easy-on-the-wallet grub in a space that mixes the raw industrial feel of cement walls and exposed pipes with colorful accents and an open kitchen.....
The taco menu gives you meat choices (grilled chicken, ground beef, steak, grilled mahi, roasted pork) to pop into any of three styles: Original (pico, guac, jack & cheddar), the protein-intensive Macho (pinto or black beans, lettuce, sour cream, jack & cheddar), and the tropical Guerrero, with onions, shredded cabbage, cilantro salsa, cheese, and mango relish -- the very phenomenon tourists experience when visiting a certain Ocean Drive club. Burritos get jammed with the same meat options, plus style choices like the straightforward Guacamole (cilantro-lime rice, lettuce, guac, pico), the Mexicano (plus roasted sweet corn, beans & cheese), and the fish-friendly Durango: mango relish, chipotle salsa, sour cream, and shredded cabbage,

Michael's Genuine Food & Drink Launches Sunday Brunch
Starting This Sun, 11am to 3pm:

Michael’s initial foray into brunch breaks things down via simple palate categories: Sweet (almond French toast stuffed with caramelized pears; homemade pop-tarts), Savory (wood-oven-roasted double yolk egg w/ cave-aged Gruyére & roasted tomato on sourdough crostini), Meats (grilled skirt and ham steaks), and Snacks (crispy pig ears).

Talavera
For a resto setting the record straight on legit Mexican food, hit Talavera.

From the Mexico City minds behind Jaguar Ceviche Spoon Bar, Talavera's a well-appointed, reasonably priced Mexican joint fully devoted to the homeland, with modern Central American art juxtaposed against colorful splashes of traditional Talavera pottery, plus grub going way beyond standard Tex-Mex, ranging from the refined dishes of high-end Mexico City restaurants, to old-time specialties from street markets and "hill towns" where everyone annoyingly wears Duke jerseys and plays the piano really well.

Taking reservations now for the Oct 23 Grand Opening: Adrienne Arsht Center's Ziff Ballet Opera House;

Cafe Bastille
Opening for lunch today, dinners shortly;

Doing things the hard way can help develop real skills: for example, crunching numbers without a calculator will prepare you for a lifetime of taking a lot longer to do math. For a resto that roughed it while getting its food-making sorted out, check out Cafe Bastille.

The first permanent resto from a catering company that's been crepe-ing Miami for the past 12 years, Bastille's occupying a narrow little nook downtown, with French country styling on one side and an open kitchen on the other, where Franco-friendly food's whipped up by a staff that cut their teeth working out of tents, so they should have no problem making you a meal so good it'll have you pitching one. Crepes've been perfected to a super-thin yet resilient consistency, and the menu mixes things up a bit with savory options like the Con Lechon (pulled pork, caramelized onions, mozz cheese), the Mexican (grilled chicken, avocado, cilantro, pico, sour cream), and the Philly (flash-fried roast beef, caramelized onions, peppers, mozz, and mustard), and sweet numbers like the Pommes Cannelle (caramelized apples, cinnamon, and whipped cream), and the classic Crepe Suzette: orange butter sauce'd and doused in flaming Grand Marnier, which will burn your whiskers off as you valiantly try to drink it.

Maitardi

2 Girls And A Cupcake

Cupcakes ruled the day on birthdays throughout childhood, powering parties, bringing joy to classrooms, and sending Sammy Taylor to the hospital for pooping tinfoil. 2 Girls And A Cupcake.

Giovana Cafe

Busting out of its hidden alcove, Giovana's bringing its lunch-friendly Italian fare to up-and-coming SE 1st St, plating apps like Giovana's Platter (mozz sticks, bruschetta, chicken fingers), and their famous chicken salad w/ raisins, Granny Smith apples, basil, and toasted pine nuts, plus hot dishes like snapper filet w/ capers, onions, and olives in a light tomato sauce, and lobster ravioli w/ basil and asparagus in a pink sauce, which you can always count on for: 1) inexplicable mainstream music success, and 2) swearing it's not a dude.

Cherry On Top

For a shop destroying your inhibitions towards buying fancy food, Cherry On Top.

The brainchild of an aerospace PhD/Jake's Gastropub owner who yearned for a place to grab an easy glass of wine, a quick snack, and gourmet eats in the Grove, two-level Cherry's: 1) a cozy high-end market downstairs stocked with food items you'll be hard-pressed to find in one place anywhere else, and 2) a wine/beer bar with tables both outside, and in a second floor cafe with 20ft windows that was previously used as a photo studio, that closed due to a lack of demand for "brightroom time". The market carries unique goods

Atrio Redux

On the 25th floor of the Conrad Hotel and boasting views of the sunset over Brickell, Atrio once plated fusion fare, but next week is re-launching with a new concept and menu focusing on locally-sourced, sustainable grub chef'd up by a UK dude who's worked at a handful of Michelin-starred spots, and cooked at events for the Queen of England, G.W. Bush, Obama, and musical luminaries like Kid Rock and Kanye West, who said he'd let him finish, but Beyonce had one of the best rump roasts of all time. Though it pulls as locally as possible, the menu takes Continental, American and even English angles

The Filling Station
Now Open: 95 SE 2nd St; Downtown Miami; 786.425.1990

Ahnvee

A trip to New Orleans means world-class food and music, but it also means your dad's friends will email him links to pictures of you flashing your jugs. Get the Big Easy experience while safe in mostly-clothed Miami, at Ahnvee.

From a guy obsessed with the cuisine and music of New Orleans, Ahnvee (Creole for "to crave") gutted Club Deep and the spaces next door (thank god) and built out a NO-style supper club, with a stage for nightly live music, a dining room decked with French Quarter-ish woodwork, frosted windows, high-backed VIP booths with TVs for watching the live acts, and a menu of Cajun/Creole grub that would otherwise require crossing Alabama. Bayou-inspired apps include Louisiana crab cakes w/ Creole spice and mustard remoulade; Lobster & Escargot Pot Pie w/ leeks & St. Andre cheese in a puff pastry; and specials like fried 'gator -- although that seems unlikely considering how goddamn squeaky clean that Tebow is

Viceroy at Icon Brickell
Noon to 11pm, ;

Hit the Viceroy's deliciously cover-free Independence Day pool party on its massive 15th floor two-acre deck, and enjoy burgers, dogs, chorizo, abundant beer, DJ Mike Vasquez at 7pm, and face-melting views of fireworks launching from Key Biscayne, Miami Beach, and Bayside. For access to even killer-er views from the 50th-floor Club 50,

Neighborhood Bistro

A lone man working a single stove, NB's Cordon Bleu-trained, Cuban-born chef (who worked seven years in Paris) turns out French-leaning international cuisine in a modest, vaguely French nook with a marble bar overlooking a very open kitchen, and so few tables (six inside, six on the wooden porch outside) you're bound to feel as if someone like likes you. The menu keeps things simple and blessedly cheap

Andu Smokeout Fridays
5 to 7:30p, Fridays, 786.871.7005

Normally austere Andu gets all hoedown-ish with free hickory-smoked whole pig, mesquite-smoked goat sliders, $3 beer specials, and $4 homemade red or white sangria, plus tunes by a DJ named Henry, who's curiously decided not to go with his given name, Funkmaster.

Ribs-2-Go
10am to 10pm, Thurs thru Sat,

From a man who moved to Fla to preach, then started BBQing for his congregation in the parking lot after church, Ribs-2-Go's operation's based out of Cherokee-pulled, open-air trailer with a custom-built BBQ drum on the back, conveniently hauled close to the I-95 and 112/195 intersection just west of the Design District -- allowing you to expand both your artistic horizons, and your Sansabelts. Pork offerings include spare ribs in your choice of sandwich or half/full rack, prepared by removing the membrane for better flavor penetration, marinading in beer, rubbing with seven spices, grilling without sauce (for smoky flavor from a blend of Kingsford and hickory chips), then lathering on your choice of tomato-based BBQ sauce or a mustard-based sauce with a collection of spices so secret, dude pretends he's deaf when you politely inquire about them. Beyond pork, there's 1/4 chickens in either dark meat leg cuts, or white meat breast & wing cuts prepared just like the ribs, as well as conch fritters, conch salad, and the all-new fried conch -- hold it high, and everyone will listen to you not say a word, because your mouth is full.

The Sports Exchange

A polished sports bar, SE has smoothly de-vino'd the former City Cellar space... while bar apps're a step up from the norm: e.g., Creole shrimp served on rustic croutons; Southwest eggrolls full of grilled chicken, roasted corn, peppers, and mozzarella, served with avocado cream sauce; and of course wings, from Buffalo, to Teriyaki, to Thai, a favorite snack during Thai water buffalo fights -- a sport where post-game, athletes plow paddies, not groupies. Heavier stuff includes brick oven wood-cooked thin crust pizzas with toppings like spaghetti & meatballs, slow-cooked babyback ribs, and a "burger" selection from portobello, to pulled pork, to standard beef, all served on chewy house pizza dough rolls and ranging in size from sliders to a 16-oz behemoth called the "Big Boy", a name the owner totally came up with completely on his own.

Bourbon & Blues Weds, 7:30 to 10:30pm

Relish 25% off a roster of 30 hard-to-find American whiskeys (Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 23 Year, A.H. Hirsch Reserve 16 year...), while enjoying live blues from the likes of Albert Castiglia and Graham Drout. For sustenance, there's a flashy new burger menu (Prime/Kobe blend, lamb, add-ons like seared foie gras, duck-fat fries) plus a 1/2-price 6-8pm happy hour on cocktails like the "English Breakfast”, with Plymouth gin, Cointreau, apricot marmalade, and fresh lemon, or order the full English and get it garnished with pig's blood sausage.

River Lounge At the Epic Hotel:

RL sits inside fishbowl-like 30-foot windows and faces out over the mouth of the Miami River, across from the Miami Circle, and under all the new towers of Brickell and Downtown -- offering so much to look at, your date might even tear her eyes away from her BrickBreaking, but probably not. Outside there's a riverbank patio with docking area, and inside, high ceilings and espresso hardwood floors house a circular bar in the middle, a nookish area in the rear, and a playful loft balcony overlooking everything, replete with banquettes curvy enough for Dr. Seuss, and zebra print carpet zebra-y enough for your banana hammock.

Bulldog BBQ

The owner's smoke/braise/vinegar process means less smoke, more spice absorption, and delicate meat in the form of baby back ribs, pulled pork, brisket, chicken, skirt steak, and shrimp; desserts include root beer floats, seasonal cobbler, and a s'more pie -- order one....