Michy's Miami: Best Short Ribs Ever

At the end of January I spent a long weekend in the Sunshine State with my friend Miss M -- she traveled south from NYC to run the Miami Half Marathon, and I tagged along in order to get a break from Chicago's winter weather and, of course, cheer her on. (Some of you may recall that I've been lucky enough to go on several exotic-destination vacations with Miss M because she's got mad Starwood Points. When you have a friend like her it really pays to be a freelancer, be able to work from anywhere, and not have to ask The Man for time off!)

Miss M had thoroughly researched the Miami restaurant scene and made reservations for us every day and night at fabulous spots. The place we visited our first evening in town, Michy's, ended up being my favorite, which thoroughly surprised me. It surprised me because I thought its owner/head chef, Michelle Bernstein, was a bit of a you-know-what when she appeared as a guest judge on Season Seven of Top Chef. It was actually her recent return to the series during the current All-Star season that reminded me to write about my experience at her restaurant! (And yes, I realize that someone's personality doesn't have any bearing whatsoever on whether or not they're a good chef. I guess I was just mentally prepared to not like her food because she rubbed me the wrong way on the show.)

Now, usually I'm the kind of person who's all about appetizers and desserts. I'm not really a main course kind of gal -- meaning that's not what I usually look forward to when I go out to eat, if that makes any sort of sense. But while I generally recall everything being wonderful at Michy's, I seriously can't even remember what else I had there besides THE FREAKING BEST SHORT RIBS IN THE WORLD. Their superiority crowded out the memory of anything else I consumed that night.

Am I allowed to deem them the Best Short Ribs Ever when they were actually the first short ribs I've tasted in my life? Yes, I am, because: 1) It's my site and I can do whatever I want, and 2) I ended up having short ribs for dinner every night for the duration of our trip just to compare and contrast... and have also had them at a few other high-end places here in Chicago over the last two months. Michy's short ribs blew the competition away. It was no contest. Not only was the meat excellent (and this is coming from someone who rarely eats red meat), but the accents (is that the right word?) just did me in. The diced squash with cinnamon KILLED ME. And guess what? I found a picture of it all:


Perfection.

Guess what else? I actually found the recipe, straight from the chef herself! But since I don't cook that means someone out there is going to have to offer to recreate the meal for me -- preferably on a day when I need cheering up. Because this dish is guaranteed to do it. Who's up for the challenge?

- e