Miami Medley

It has always amazed me how difficult it seems it is to find fresh fish in Miami. Surrounded by water, filled with fisherman, and relatively civilized, there are few places in Miami that we trust for good fish.

If you were to ask me yesterday, I would say the only consistent option is Garcia's Seafood on the Miami river, 398 Northwest North River Drive, Miami, FL 33128, where everytime I go, I promise myself I will return soon.

My father is obsessed with another fish market restaurant, Don Camaron, 501 NW 37th Ave, Miami, FL 33125, and even though I was impressed with the market selection (even though it was not all of the first quality), I find the food hit or miss.

Those were the only places I could recommend...until today.

When I asked longtime friend Tatiana where to eat a few months ago, and she unabashedly promoted her favorite fish place, Medley Restaurant, 7441 NW 72nd Ave, I knew that it was a must see, and today over great conversation I confirmed why.

Even though it looks like a standard fried food warehouse district dive, this particular place is full of smiles and warmth, and as I would soon find out, great fish.

Casual and no-nonsense, instead of bread, you receive palm-sized pieces of fresh fried fish, just made, and served with a Cuban-sized portion of tartar sauce. Hot and tender, I couldn't imagine a better salvation to my world class hunger and craving for fish.

Once I had calmed my body, I was prepared to enjoy the rest of the meal. I ordered their special fish soup (which I order obsessively everywhere I go), and Tatiana and I both chose the fresh catch grouper (they also had tilapia and dolphin) a la plancha, but she added tostones bien aplastados to hers, while I thought a side of lettuce and tomato would complement mine.

The fish soup lacked intensity, but I quickly got over it when I received a beautiful fillet of grouper topped with some sauteed onions.

The fish was delicate, perfectly cooked, and had fantastic structure. There was a crispy "skin" that seemed the result of an exquisitely executed pan fry, and it was served hot enough that I couldn't stop eating it.

Eyeing Tatiana's plate sized pair of tostones, I knew I had to try them, and Tatiana gracefully let me have one. Two-handing the disk like a hamburger, I knew after the first bite that I would have a hard time eating inferior tostones for a while. It had a thin crisp exterior that seemed to crack as each bite met a soft sweet first quality platano taste inside. An amazing cooking job given that the tostone was less than half a centimeter thick.

In the end, I was most impressed by the care and success of the cooks, as it seemed they did a fantastic job complementing the first rate fresh fish and fabulous platanos I ate today. Not bad for a casual lunch!

Thank you Tatiana for the wonderful conversation and a first rate introduction!