Impact Fusion

In Los Angeles, one of my favorite restaurants is Versailles, which offers quality Cuban food –  terrific garlic chicken, plantains, black beans and rice.  If I were in Miami, though, I know I’d have to find some of the most authentic Cuban food possible in the United States by taking a trip to Little Havana.  There you’ll find a landmark shopping plaza called La Camaronera Fish Market.  You’ll be served the freshest seafood on the face of the planet, although be forewarned.  This is not a fine dining experience.  There’s just a counter, not even chairs.

To order, all you need do is point at the food on display and, in moments it seems, it’s on your plate.  Add lemons, some tarter sauce, maybe a little cocktail sauce, and you’re ready to go to have one of the best fish dining experiences you’ve ever had.  There’s also homemade hot sauce for those with hearty stomachs.  You can get any fresher fish than if you caught it yourself and prepared it at the dock.  There’s fish soup, seafood and rice.  You certainly won’t find another place that has such fresh Florida salt water lobster. There’s a dish, too, known as Pan con Minuta.  This is a de-boned fish, headless, in an egg/flour batter mix, that’s deep fried, then topped off with some diced onions and a bit of tarter sauce.  Amazing stuff.  Try the breaded lobster chunks here, too.

Miami locals have been coming to this spot in Little Havana Miami for decades, ever since 1974, but it’s been a seafood market almost a decade longer.  If you want a complete Miami vacation, check out a nice place to stay, and then head for some of the best and certainly freshest fish you’ve ever tried.  The other attractions — from the Miami Science Museum, to the Venetian Pools, to the Coral Castle– will all wait!