where jess ate

Serving up “luxurious comfort food”, Michy’s is brought to you by chef Michelle Bernstein and her husband David Martinez.

Michy’s (@MichysMiami) has a very eclectic menu which matches its décor – funky and not exactly high-end or modern. You’ll see French (duck confit, steak frites), Italian (many pasta dishes) and Asian influences in the menu. You’ll also find that the prices here are on the high side for Miami.

They also offer a family style tasting menu for $70 to $90 per person but we decided to order a la carte.

Shortly after ordering, we were brought some complimentary bread. There were two types – a walnut sourdough and a fruit bread, both of which were delicious!

To start, we had the Jamon Serrano & Blue Cheese Croquetas – with fig marmalade ($8 half/$13 full). Our half order came with 3 sticks which was more than enough for the two of us given how rich they were.

The best way to describe them would be a grown-up cheese stick. Even though it was made with blue cheese, I found the flavour to be quite mild which I appreciated since I’m not a huge fan of blue cheese. They were nicely fried – gooey in the centre with bits of Serrano and not at all greasy. The fig marmalade gave the croquetas a nice sweetness and made for a delicious bite!

Our second starter was the Korean Fried Sweetbreads – house made kimchee and lettuce wraps ($18). While the sweetbreads were perfectly fried – crispy on the outside and moist and firm in the centre, I didn’t love this dish.

Mike thought it was a decent dish but I found the sauce to be pretty tart and too overpowering. I’ve eaten a lot of great sweetbread dishes but unfortunately this wasn’t one of them.

For my entrée, I went with the Fettuccine Carbonara – with Serrano ham, cherry tomatoes, peas, poached egg and Saint Andre cheese ($29) after hearing so many great things about it. I would never have ordered it otherwise given that a heavy carbonara dish doesn’t exactly scream “Miami.”

The pasta was topped with a perfectly poached egg with a runny yolk which spilled into the pasta after cutting into it. I loved the freshly made ribbons of fettucine and the crispiness of the ham packed little bites of saltiness into the pasta.

While the price was pretty steep for a carbonara dish, the portion was pretty enormous. I kept eating and eating and it looked like I had barely made a dent in it.

Mike went with the Short Ribs – with brown butter parsnip puree, roasted butternut squash and cauliflower and pomegranate ($36). Again, this isn’t a dish that screams “Miami.” It was strange eating such a hearty winter dish in the warm Miami weather.

The menu advertised the short ribs as “falling off the bone” and it didn’t lie. It was incredibly tender and the accompanying parsnip puree was a classic pairing. It was a solid short rib dish but having eaten my fair share of amazing short rib dishes in Toronto, this wasn’t anything particularly memorable.

We had to finish our meal with Michy’s Bread Pudding – with raisins, cognac, chocolate chunks, orange rind and vanilla ice cream ($9), their famous dessert. They’re also known for their baked Alaska but we didn’t have room for more than one dessert after our hearty entrees.

The bread pudding was nice and custardy in the middle and I loved the addition of the chocolate chunks sprinkled within the pudding. The scoop of vanilla ice cream made it a perfect dessert. The most memorable part of the meal!

It’s a pretty rich and sweet dessert so we ordered some Coffee ($2.50) to go with it. I’m a huge fan of Illy coffee so I was glad to see that this was what they were serving.

Overall, I couldn’t help but feel a little underwhelmed by my meal at Michy’s. The reviews have been outstanding for the restaurant and my guess is that there aren’t very many restaurants in Miami which serve up similar food. In Toronto, you’ll see most restaurants serving up the likes of sweetbreads and short ribs, most of which make them really well. So maybe it’s just harder to impress me with these dishes…it was a good meal but I expected more.

At a glance:
• Serving up “luxurious comfort food”
• Brought to you by chef Michelle Bernstein and husband David Martinez
• Eclectic décor and menu (French, Italian, Asian influences)
• Prices are high for Miami
• Food was fine but was left a little underwhelmed; had better versions of these dishes in Toronto
• Seating available outdoors
• Valet parking for $5

Ratings (out of 5):
• Food: 3 stars
• Service: 3 stars
• Atmosphere: 3 stars