The Best Thing I Ate This Week: Korean Bao Buns & Chocolate Budino
Korean bao buns with a view
Korean Chicken Bao Buns at Sugar
I am, admittedly, a sucker for a good chicken tender. I am also a sucker for a good rooftop bar. The limits of my suckerage, however, end with those lovely $18 “upgrades” to Miami Spice menus, which completely defeat the purpose of Miami Spice. This made the Spice menu at Sugar particularly alluring, because their Korean Chicken Bao Buns are some of the top tenders in the city, and require no additional spending. The tangy, salty, peppery sauce is an elevated take on traditional Buffalo, with the chicken’s hot, crispy breading contrasting the chewy bao. I wish they’d use white meat instead of thighs, but looking down on Miami from 40 stories up I wasn’t complaining. As Miami Spice meals go, this was one of my better experiences. —MM
@sugar.rooftop // 788 Brickell Plaza #40, Brickell
Chocolate Budino at Boia De
Boia De does a lot of things well, but this dessert might be the sleeper hit of the whole menu. The chocolate budino has been the closer since day one: a silky, dense pudding that reminds you why pudding ever existed in the first place. It leans into hazelnut without turning into Nutella, hits you with candied crunch, and then cuts through it all with a cool spoonful of crème fraîche. Sweet, salty, rich, balanced, and somehow still totally underrated. Even my dessert-skeptical husband couldn’t stop eating it. —OF
@boiaderestaurant // 5205 NE Second Ave, Buena Vista
Tuna and Caviar at Mika Coral Gables
The definition of an oral explosion, fish lovers of the freshest tuna everrrrr - please take note of this dish which is listed as an app. However, light eaters let it be known that this is sufficient for an entree. Sound effects not included with that buttery bread. With a price tag of $48, it’s as yasssss as it gets. —EMN
@mikacoralgables // 3007 Ponce de Leon Blvd, Coral Gables