Genuine artifact

Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, Design District

RESTAURANTS • First Person

Last week in Air Mail, a local writer posited that the recent spate of Miami restaurants opened by groups from places like New York, London, and Mexico City is a bubble about to burst. The story cited a local hospitality broker’s intel that sounds the death knell for many of these spots. But this boom and bust cycle in Miami is nothing new.

While the Air Mail story is particular to the volatility of Miami’s post-pandemic hospitality recovery — something every city’s restaurant scene is experiencing in its own way — it could’ve been written anytime in the last 15 years, with a different set of restaurants and circumstances.

Many of the restaurateurs cited (Stephen Starr, José Andrés, Charles Khabouth) may have opened new concepts in Miami in recent years (Pastis, Zaytinya and Amal, respectively), but they’ve been doing business in Miami long before the pandemic. Their success largely depended on their ability to tap into and understand Miami’s culture, as well as the sincerity of their (time, energy, and resource) investment in becoming an authentic part of the city. 

The more interesting (and telling) story of the Miami restaurant scene’s health is the local chefs and restaurant groups who survived and continue to grow, spawning new talent from their kitchens. In that respect, Miami’s restaurant scene has been on a steady upward trajectory for as long as I’ve called this place home. 

There’s perhaps no better example than Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink. Established in 2006 by James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schwartz, the restaurant ushered in Miami’s farm-to-table movement, partnering with local farmers to source seasonal ingredients for a daily changing menu. The Design District as we know it today essentially sprouted up around this early neighborhood canteen. And while Schwartz may have had various other concepts and partnerships come and go, Michael’s Genuine remains a stalwart alongside its sister restaurants, Harry’s Pizzeria and Amara at Paraiso. 

Schwartz’s contemporaries and forbearers (like Michelle Bernstein, Norman Van Aken and Cindy Hutson) have had similarly enduring if non-linear careers. And a new class of chefs and restaurateurs continue to redefine the city’s dining scene, including Michael Beltran, Jeremy Ford, Janine Booth, Jeff McInnis, and Michael’s Genuine alum Niven Patel. Others are expanding their reach beyond the confines of the city via bona fide national hospitality groups (Gabriel Orta and Elad Zvi with Bar Lab, David Grutman with Groot Hospitality).

Returning to Air Mail’s story: It’s not that restaurant groups from other cities and countries can’t make it in Miami — we’re largely a city of immigrants and transplants, after all — it’s just that with each restaurant effort here, sincerity and connection to place matters. No one understands that better than locals. –Shayne Benowitz 

→ Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink (Design District) • 130 NE 40th St • Mon-Thurs, 1130a-10p, Fri-Sat 1130a-11p, Sun 11a-11p • Reserve.