Our Foodie Venture in South Beach

Have you been tempted by or privy to South Beach's thriving food scene? Either way, we're going give you some reasons to be intrigued.

For those that do not know, the Food Network South Beach Food & Wine Festival is taking place this very week down in Miami's oh so vibrant South Beach neighborhood.

It just so happens that we found ourselves in the equally gorgeous and delicious South Beach last month while everyone else in Cleveland were getting dumped on by epic amounts of snow ;) This was our first visit to the crazy euro and foodie savvy area - needless to say, we totally wish that we were heading back down this week for the festivities and the culinary wonders that Miami has to offer.

We thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to recap some of our favorite eats since we had not yet done so:

Our first stop was at the incredible Michael's Genuine Food & Drink where their Crispy Pig Ears were one of the best "snacks" we've ever had - Kelly (as you might know) is not a big meat eater and she was loving and devouring every last morsel. Thankfully, this moment was documented.

The crispy rice cake was awesome, complimented artfully by Florida rock shrimp, chorizo, manchego and a fried organic egg.

For dessert we had the ooh soo yummy Tangerine Creamsicle Pots De Creme with cara cara orange confit and petite hot donuts - perfection.

The next afternoon we decided (upon the much appreciated recommendation by a kindred hipster spirit at Michael's) to hit up The Abbey Brewing Company, the only brewery in South Beach.

This place was an awesome little whole in the wall bar, with some serious beer, where people can bring their own food and the owner is super friendly.

After several beers we craving some comfort food. . .and, that is when we hit up a South Beach institution known as Pizza Rustica. After those beers this pizza was amazing. Those pieces of pizza in front of Jose that cover more than whole table are considered one freaking slice. We would kill someone to have this in Cleveland (well, Jose would at least).

After stuffing our faces at Pizza Rustica, we did not have nearly enough room in our stomachs for the beyond divine food that would be coming our way at SRA Martinez. The drinks here are top notch, it is no VTR but when a place has it's own separate drink menu and it's leather bound, you know they don't mess around when it comes to the art of cocktail.

You can create your own cheese spread, which won us over, and oh my gosh were those white sardines sooo delicious

These eggplant chips were lightly fried and drizzled with a rich, savory molasses. So simplistic and something we have been wanting to replicate ever since sampling.

Although Miami might seem like more bikini ready than foodie friendly, we definitely found ourselves enjoying the the restaurant and bar scene more-so than the beaches :) We'll undoubtedly be back soon*