Michael's Genuine Food and Drink

Hi Uncle Steve (and Rad),

Lauren and I went to Michael's Genuine Food and Drink last night on the American Express Gift Card you gave me for Christmas. Michael's is one of a few restaurants run by MichaelSchwartz, one of Miami's top chef's (James Beard Best Chef South 2010) and is located in Miami's Design District, a very high-end retail district just north of Downtown. 

We began with a pair of handcrafted cocktails: Lauren with some variation on a daiquiri (a true daiquiri, not a frozen one) and I had their specialty Manhattan (and finally decided that vermouth with whiskey only works well when the whiskey is of poor quality). I later also had an Old Fashioned, which I was more impressed with. 

The bread served with dinner was very good and we suspect the butter was churned in-house. We then split their lobster salad as an appetizer, which was excellent. The Maine Lobster (not Florida oddly despite Michael Schwartz's interest in local food) was mixed with celery, radishes, and onions in a very creamy Old Bay aioli. 

For our main dish, Lauren had a crispy pork belly pizza and I had a slow roasted pork shoulder with a parsley sauce. Her pizza was incredible thin and the dough had a great chewiness to it. My pork shoulder was about the most tender piece of meat I've ever had and was an ample portion. We also had a side of the brussel sprouts which was very good, though I did not think the aioli was needed. 

We planned on leaving it at that, but a dessert menu appeared and we were fascinated by their offerings. We ordered a chocolate cremoso (a type of cheese; look it up) which was served with a bit of espresso ice cream, sea salt, the faintest dribble of extra virgin olive oil, and a sourdough crostini. We also ordered the pistachio-rosemary doughnuts, which came with strawberry preserves and whipped ricotta on the side. Lauren also had a cappuccino made with coffee roasted at a local coffee shop called Panther Coffee.* 

It was an excellent if pricey meal and we enjoyed it a great deal. We highly would recommend the place, but would suggest sitting outside if the weather is agreeable (the inside is noisy). 

--Stephen & Lauren

* I would highly recommend Panther Coffee, which has locations in Wynwood and the Beach. I make it over about once a week to the Wynwood location and find their coffee to be excellent. The Wynwood location in particular is a startling nexus of activity on the weekend, and it has the feeling of a town plaza because there are so many people seated out front.