Gina

My family is traveling to South Beach for a last-minute long weekend, and I'm looking for restaurant suggestions.

Our standard traveling rule: each member of the family needs to treat for a few meals at a price that is comfortable for them - a sort of culinary socialism. Since our incomes range from poor grad student to well-off Dad, we're looking for a good selection of restaurants from cheap to worth-the-splurge.

Of course, we want all our picks to be reasonably chic - no burrito stands! And, I'd love to introduce my family to sushi while we're there.

Thanks for your help - we're staying on Collins Avenue at the Shelley, and are ages 26+.

Gina

Patrick

What a great idea of each person "treating" at their own price. I love this idea. For the higher income people I wouldn't miss Yuca on Lincoln Road and Joe's Stone Crabs, a real institution! For the lower income go for breakfast or lunch at Wolfie's, another Miami Beach institution, and certainly the News Cafe. I personally have been looking for a chance to get over to South Beach myself, and next on my list is the new and highly acclaimed Wish.

howard

For breakfasts (and perhaps other meals, too), it's the News Cafe on Ocean Drive.

CMcDaniel

For what it's worth, my hairdresser, who goes down often, recommended Yucca or Touch when we went down for the weekend a month ago.

Unfortunately we listened to the hotel's club level conceirge who, when told of my hairdresser's picks, replied, "and your hairdresser knows food?" Hahaha...well, perhaps he does. The conceirge's pick was Gloria Estefan's restaurant, Lario's on the Beach.

I wish we'd had another night there, as I'd have gone back to the conceirge and said, "And...conceirges know food??" Larios was the most incredibly loud restaurant I've ever been in. It was virtually impossible to carry on a conversation. The food was mediocre at best and the experience a huge disappointment! A word to the wise!!

jhm

Das Haus has excellent German food that is not particularly high-priced, and is just off the McArthur on the South Beach side.

Yummy fancy dinner = Astor Hotel, or Time Cafe. Absolutely delicious.

Fun brunch = Big Pink (I think it's on 2nd and Ocean). Great milkshakes, great french fries -- diner food but with the "fabulous" people.

Sabrina

If you have a car and can get to Little Havana I would go to Versailles. GREAT food, great desserts, great Mojitos, great cafecito

Gina

Mmmmmm, unfortunately, no car - so no Versailles for me. We're pretty much going to be bound in the South Beach area.

Still looking for sushi, if anyone can help me with that. When it comes to raw fish, I don't like to eat without a recommendation!

Thanks, everyone, for suggestions offered thus far!