A critic’s critique of Broward, Palm Seaside picks

The Grove in Delray Seaside. Oceano in Lake Price Seaside. The Katherine and Casa D’Angelo in Fort Lauderdale. Pasta And … in Margate.

These are a few of my favourite eating places in South Florida, locations with high-quality meals the place the cooks deliver ardour, creativity and precision to plates. Locations that I like to recommend with out hesitation to associates and strangers alike.

None have been included within the 2025 Florida Michelin Information.

When Michelin – the so-called “foodie bible” produced for over a century by the French tire firm – introduced earlier this yr that it could be welcoming Broward and Palm Seaside counties to its 2025 version, the native restaurant and meals neighborhood reacted with pleasure and anticipation. However when the coveted stars and lower-rung “Bib Gourmands” and “really helpful” eating places have been revealed at a ceremony in Orlando in April, past the compulsory smiles, high-fives and Champagne toasts, there was additionally a lot head-scratching.

In two counties with a mixed inhabitants of three.5 million and greater than 7,000 eating places, Michelin’s nameless inspectors noticed match to award only one.1 eating places a star (extra on that in a bit), and simply three Bibs, that are given to eateries that provide “good high quality meals at an excellent worth.” 9 different eating places have been listed as “really helpful.” All advised, the 2 counties had 14 eating places included within the information; 9 from the Palm Seashores and 5 from Higher Fort Lauderdale.

In distinction, Miami-Dade, with 2.8 million folks and roughly 8,700 eating places, had 63 eating places included within the information – 15 starred, 14 Bibs and 34 “really helpful.” When the information first got here to Miami in 2022, Michelin inspectors lauded 30 eating places: 11 with stars and 19 with Bibs (the “really helpful” comfort prize didn’t exist at the moment.)

Does the fault lie inside ourselves or the celebrities? Is the culinary scene actually that a lot better to our south? Or are Michelin’s nameless inspectors – who surreptitiously traversed the area final fall and early winter – simply changing into snobbier in terms of newcomers that wish to be part of the membership? The Michelin Information will develop to incorporate all of Florida in 2026, after getting a lot blowback a few system that primarily requires state and county tourism boards to pony up money to defray the mysterious inspectors’ bills, together with journey and paying for his or her meals.

In early June, six weeks after this yr’s ceremony, the lone Palm Seaside County star recipient – Konro in West Palm Seaside – shuttered, its chef-proprietor jailed and charged with a violent assault towards a girl who was his home and enterprise associate. It was a digital repeat of an episode that led to the shuttering of his earlier Michelin-starred institution in Chicago in 2017.

Konro has since been faraway from the 2025 Michelin Information and its web site, one thing Michelin says is commonplace when it learns of a starred restaurant’s closure.

Earlier than Konro imploded, its 14-course tasting dinner with wine pairings price roughly $1,000 per individual, together with tax and tip, payable upfront to safe the reserving.

Konro’s closing leaves the 2 counties, for now, with only a partial restaurant with a star – the 14-seat, tasting-menu Chef’s Counter at MAASS restaurant on the 4 Seasons on Fort Lauderdale seaside.

And this leaves me, a former South Florida Solar Sentinel meals author who remains to be a eager observer (and devourer) of the South Florida meals scene, with questions:

How is it that the identical kitchen that produces the identical meals for a 125-seat eating room at MAASS be deemed star-worthy just for its costly chef’s counter tasting menus ($195 or $375, excluding wine), and never all the restaurant, whose a la carte menu options most of the identical objects?

How is it that Michelin appears to fawn over the identical cooks with a historical past of stars in different locales (even these with checkered pasts), and so usually snubs native expertise and glorious eating places with longtime neighborhood roots?

How is it that Michelin could be so uneven throughout the area? Up to now yr, I’ve had mediocre, overpriced meals at starred eating places in Miami that left me going “huh?” and floated away from marvelous experiences in Broward and Palm Seaside counties that Michelin inspectors ignored or underrated.

With regards to stars, Michelin’s inspectors appear to like small locations with fancy tasting menus that embody what I name the three P’s: Dear, pretentious and treasured. Salons the place tweezer-placed microgreens steadiness simply so on high of fermented foams and 28-ingredient reductions. Therefore, numerous chef’s counters and costly omakase dens.

I favor locations that heat the soul. Locations akin to chef Timon Balloo’s The Katherine and cooks Jeremy and Cynthia Bearman’s Oceano (previously Oceano Kitchen, which reopened in January after transferring from Lantana) and chef Michael Haycook’s The Grove, and refined Italian eating places with basic old-world service akin to Angelo Elia’s Casa D’Angelo and cooks Luigi and Esperanza Marenco’s Pasta And …, which is improbably positioned in a strip- mall with a 7-Eleven and a Papa John’s.

In my humble palate’s estimation, all these locations might have rated at the very least a “really helpful” point out, if not full-blown stars or a Bib. And if deserving, venerable locations akin to Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Seaside advantage “really helpful” inclusion within the information, might the identical not be stated for Darrel Broek and chef Oliver Saucy’s Café Maxx in Pompano Seaside, and even the re-imagined Anthony’s Runway 84 or Café Martorano in Fort Lauderdale, all in enterprise greater than 30 years? Or how about a number of the daring flavors and regionally sourced substances showcased at chef Jimmy Everett’s Driftwood in Boynton Seaside, or chef Jason Binder’s MIA Kitchen in Delray Seaside?

Did Michelin inspectors go to these locations and deem them unworthy, or miss them fully? Michelin wouldn’t say. “The Michelin Information doesn’t reveal specifics concerning the variety of eating places inspected, the vacation spot inspection course of or the inspectors’ strategies of evaluating a vacation spot,” a Michelin spokeswoman despatched by e mail in response to questions, saying it ought to be attributed to the “nameless Chief Inspector of the Michelin Information North America.”

Michelin says its inspectors “compile lists of eating places that warrant visits” by exploring locations with advance subject work, and likewise use “numerous sources, together with native and nationwide media, social media, and word-of-mouth suggestions.”

Did Michelin use the identical inspectors who doled out honors so liberally for Miami-Dade in Broward and Palm Seaside counties?

“The sort of element about our inspection groups is saved non-public,” the nameless Chief Inspector wrote.

Their stars appear to gravitate towards these with Michelin pedigrees in different cities. MAASS is overseen by government chef Ryan Ratino, who has a number of starred eating places in his residence base of Washington, D.C., and now the Orlando space, too. Well-known names akin to chef Thomas Keller and types akin to Korean steakhouse Cote have been awarded stars for restaurant outposts in Miami-Dade.

Are Michelin inspectors locals with a really feel for the realm or flown in from different elements of the world?

“We don’t share demographic details about our inspectors to take care of their anonymity and to guard the independence of the method,” the nameless Chief Inspector wrote. “However, they’re worldwide former professionals from the business … all have at the very least 10 years of expertise, which ensures they’ve a exact and technical data of the sector.”

Michelin, which awarded its first U.S. stars in New York in 2005, says its coaching and methodology for inspectors “ensures a uniform worldwide commonplace … A starred restaurant has the identical worth no matter whether or not it’s in Paris, New York or anyplace else on the earth.”

The Information additionally says its rankings are primarily based strictly on meals and cooking high quality and never service or décor, which is senseless to me. Again in my reviewing days, I thought-about service, environment and beverage packages key parts to an distinctive restaurant expertise. An amazing restaurant didn’t essentially should be fancy or costly, however its atmosphere needed to be hospitable, comfy and appropriate with its total mission.

One other eccentricity: Michelin says stars are awarded to eating places and never particular person cooks, but “the persona of the chef as mirrored within the delicacies,” is deemed crucial to the accolade, listed as one of many information’s 5 standards. The others embody “product high quality, mastery of cooking strategies, concord of flavors … and consistency over time and throughout all the menu.”

The deal with consistency explains why the information skews in the direction of smaller eating places with expensive tasting menus. As one Palm Seaside County restaurateur stated: “It’s so much simpler to realize consistency when you have got only one seating an evening with 12 visitors the place everyone seems to be consuming the identical dish each course, versus an all-night service with 350 covers and 45 menu objects.”

But Michelin doesn’t appear constant in its personal requirements throughout the area, at the very least in terms of the extremely subjective world of meals. Over the previous yr, I’ve eaten at quite a few starred and really helpful eating places within the tri-county space and typically walked away confused.

For instance, I had a satisfying and costly however not significantly earth-shattering meal at one-starred Los Felix in Coconut Grove, the place smallish plates of well-sauced, refined Mexican meals are served quickly in a cramped, artsy house. If that have is star-worthy, then why not a star for Buccan in Palm Seaside, chef Clay Conley’s bustling, fashionable American kitchen that solely rated a “really helpful” from the information? Conley, a four-time James Beard Award semifinalist, opened Buccan in 2011. My latest meal there was flavorful and memorable, together with standout pastas akin to squid-ink orecchiette with crumbled sausage and slivers of conch, and a Sunday-only fried rooster dinner particular with a heavenly biscuit and crispy, greaseless and crackling-good hen.

Typically the Michelin dichotomy is contained throughout the identical constructing. I’ve been to the one-starred Chef’s Counter at MAASS and its tasting menu was … tremendous. The parade of fairly, little dishes – some showered obscenely with black truffles – didn’t inform a very cohesive story. The one issues I remembered a couple of weeks later have been the whimsical bookends: a foie gras macaron at the beginning and a miniature raspberry mochi taco on the finish. I a lot favor the Mediterranean choices at Evelyn’s, one ground above MAASS within the 4 Seasons Fort Lauderdale, which solely merited “really helpful” standing within the information. I’ve been quite a few instances since its 2022 opening and am at all times impressed by chef Brandon Salomon’s cooking, together with specials like a candle made out of carrots, fresh-baked pita and Jerusalem bagels with spreads and hummus, a grilled complete branzino deboned tableside with coriander-seed chermoula and rose petals, and a aspect dish I’ve desires about – the crispy, spicy potato “batata harra.”

Maybe realizing how the Michelin sport is performed and reaching for its star, Evelyn’s has just lately added a tasting menu to its choices ($125 per individual, $215 with wine pairings). With all these cockamamie contradictions and imperfections, does the information carry an excessive amount of weight and garner an excessive amount of consideration from cooks, the media and foodies?

“All people cares about awards and recognition – it’s nice for employees morale … I’d like to be talked about within the information,” stated Angelo Elia, an old-school Italian chef who opened the Fort Lauderdale flagship of Casa D’Angelo in 1998. He shrugged off the snub by saying that after 30 years he’s “nonetheless studying, nonetheless making an attempt to enhance” and will get satisfaction from seeing pleased visitors and a wholesome backside line. “This enterprise is a problem on daily basis,” he stated.

The consensus amongst native cooks and restaurateurs whom I spoke with: It’s an excellent factor that Michelin is right here; this yr is simply the beginning; its presence provides aspiring and bold cooks a worthy aim; it does give eating places an preliminary attendance enhance; and extra locations which can be deserving can be acknowledged in future years because the inspectors roam extra freely and extra often.

The flip aspect: Michelin stars shouldn’t be seen because the be-all-end-all, and inclusion within the information doesn’t at all times result in enterprise success or long-term survival. In Miami, two starred restaurant within the 2025 information have closed (EntreNos and Itamae AO), and one other has introduced its conversion to non-public eating solely
(Tambourine Room by Tristan Brandt on the Carillon Miami Wellness Resort).

Homegrown cooks like Rino Cerbone of Heritage in Fort Lauderdale, who grew up working at his household’s Pizza Time pizzerias in Coral Springs and Boca Raton, says 2025 is only the start for Broward’s rising and bettering restaurant scene.

“This reveals that native cooks can get on the map,” Cerbone stated just lately at Heritage, a miniature statue of Bibendum, the tire firm’s mascot higher often known as The Michelin Man, on a bar shelf over his shoulder.

I used to be significantly happy that Heritage was acknowledged with Bib Gourmand designation, given Michelin’s historic antipathy towards Italian-American eating places. However Cerbone’s scrumptious and reasonably priced fashionable takes on pizzas, pastas and different classics, akin to his re-invention of clams oreganata utilizing minced razor clams and a lemon crema, apparently proved irresistible to the inspectors.

In Palm Seaside County, Aioli Bakery (the place all the pieces is made in home) and Palm Seaside Meats (an artisanal butcher store that provides sandwiches and particular tasting dinners) have been additionally deservingly awarded Bibs.

There’s extra on the plate for Michelin inspectors to contemplate for the 2026 information, with two notable new Fort Lauderdale eating places arriving on the scene in latest months, Calusso and Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse. Calusso, on the renovated Pier Sixty-Six resort, is a contemporary American restaurant overseen by chef Jonathan Kaiser, who grew up in Hollywood and has labored at starred eating places across the nation, together with the three-star Joel Robuchon on the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The opening “oysters Caprese” and shutting honeycomb semifreddo blanketed by shaved curls of Comte cheese are each showstoppers.

And at Ukiah, chef Michael Lewis has made a triumphant return to South Florida after founding the progressive KYU in Wynwood in 2016, as soon as once more bringing Asian-inspired and wood-fired treats to the area. His snapper skewer brushed with brown-butter ponzu and grilled lemon is a marvel of simplicity, the smoked brisket and pastrami quick rib a carnivore’s dream. And I’d crawl over a mattress of smoldering put up oak to eat the coconut cake, derived from his mom’s recipe.

Right here’s hoping Michelin saves room for dessert – and finds room on the desk for extra recognition for deserving Broward and Palm Seaside eating places.

FLORIDA MICHELIN GUIDE 2025
The 14 eating places in Broward and Palm Seaside Counties listed within the 2025 version of the Florida Michelin Information:

ONE STAR
(Prime quality cooking)
Chef’s Counter at MAASS, 4 Seasons Resort, Fort Lauderdale (fashionable tasting menu)
BIB GOURMAND
(Good high quality cooking at good worth)
Aioli, West Palm Seaside (artisanal bakery)
Heritage, Fort Lauderdale (Italian-American)
Palm Seaside Meats, West Palm Seaside (artisanal butcher with sandwiches, small
plates and tasting-menu dinners)
RECOMMENDED
Buccan, Palm Seaside (fashionable American)
Butcher’s Membership, PGA Nationwide Resort, Palm Seaside Gardens (steakhouse)
Coolinary and the Parched Pig, Palm Seaside Gardens (fashionable American)
Daniel’s, A Florida Steakhouse, Fort Lauderdale (steakhouse, fashionable American)
Evelyn’s, 4 Seasons Resort, Fort Lauderdale (Mediterranean)
Larb Thai Isan, Fort Lauderdale (Thai)
Moody Tongue Sushi, Hilton West Palm Seaside (sushi)
Nicholson Muir, Boynton Seaside (steakhouse)
Stage Kitchen & Bar, Palm Seaside Gardens (worldwide)

MIKE MAYO’S LIST
Broward and Palm Seaside County eating places worthy of inclusion or elevation within the 2026 Florida
Michelin Information, in response to former South Florida Solar Sentinel meals critic Michael Mayo:

NEW & NOTABLE
Calusso, Pier Sixty-Six Resort, Fort Lauderdale
Ukiah Japanese Smokehouse, Fort Lauderdale

EXCLUDED IN 2025, Worthy of Recognition

Anthony’s Runway 84, Fort Lauderdale
Cafe Maxx, Pompano Seaside
Casa D’Angelo, Fort Lauderdale
Cafe Martorano, Fort Lauderdale
Driftwood, Boynton Seaside
Eathai, Boca Raton
The Grove, Delray Seaside
The Katherine, Fort Lauderdale
Oceano, Lake Price Seaside
Pasta And … , Margate

RECOMMENDED IN 2025 GUIDE,
Worthy of Elevation:

Buccan, Palm Seaside (star)
Daniel’s, A Florida Steakhouse, Fort Lauderdale (star)
Evelyn’s, 4 Seasons, Fort Lauderdale (star)
Larb Thai Isan, Fort Lauderdale (Bib)
Stage Kitchen & Bar, Palm
Seaside Gardens (Bib)