Miami: Pubbelly

After pho, we headed back to the hotel and changed into our bathing suits so we could take a nap on the beach. We napped for a while but then decided to get ready for dinner since no one really ate that much at Miss Saigon. Since we were flying back to New York on Sunday afternoon, we decided to take it easy on Saturday night. Hana’s friends, Phil and Jen, recommended we have dinner at Pubbelly, which was a little far from our hotel but definitely worth the cab ride. On Friday and Saturday morning, we went to a lot of places where the tourists hung out but Pubbelly looked like it was all locals. Their logo:

When we walked inside, it was very low key and looked like a place that belonged in the East Village or Williamsburg, not showy like the other places we visited in Miami! We started with olives at the table:

Pubbelly is a tapas-like restaurant so they told us to order a bunch of dishes for the table to share. We decided to each pick two items on the menu and we’d order more if we were still hungry. The dishes came out in random order so we were eating appetizers and main courses at the same time.

The miso glazed brussel sprouts were sweet and delicious:

This was the third time we’d had calamari in two days and this was the best preparation – spicy jalapeno sauce and chili pepper dusted on the calamari:

Rueben dumplings – I liked these but the edges of the dumplings were a little tough:

The Pubbelly pork sandwiches were really yummy – they were similar to Momofuku’s pork buns but were placed on potato buns instead of Chinese buns:

Octopus with potatoes and a crack-infused sauce (well, more like kewpie mayo and yuzu):

More pork belly:

Kimchee fried rice served in a traditional Korean-style bowl:

I was surprised they didn’t heat the bottom of the bowl to make the rice crunchier, but this was the only dish we couldn’t finish and ended up taking home.

Ribs with cole slaw:

Short ribs and gnudi (this was the special of the night):

And the only dish I don’t remember:

We were really satisfied after our meal and we were glad we arrived a little earlier (the line was out the door by the time we left!) As we asked a local to take our photo, someone told us that we made the right choice because Pubbelly is the best restaurant in Miami right now! The four of us after dinner:

It’s funny – Pubbelly has a quote by Lenny Bruce on their menu, “Miami Beach is where neon comes to die” – look who’s dressed in a bright pink neon belt and highlighter blue dress specifically purchased for Miami!