For more than a decade, Greater Miami has remained one of the world’s culinary hotspots and is the birthplace of some of the most innovative cuisine to come out of the United States. A reflection of the city’s multicultural identity, the area’s cuisine has been described as New World, Floribbean, Tropical Fusion, and Nuevo Latino.

Whatever the name, the cuisine here is a combination of classic European techniques, using fresh native ingredients with a dash of Caribbean and Latin gusto. In addition to tasting great, most dishes are low in fat and have evolved over the years from the tropical know-how of local Native Indians and the African heritage of West Indian slaves.

Along with fresh seafood such as snapper, grouper, lobster, stone crabs, shrimp, and conch, most of the staples used in Miami cuisine are exotic fruits, vegetables and spices that are grown in the area, including citrus, yuca (a starchy tuber also called cassava), mango, hearts of palm, avocado, guava, papaya, coconut, banana, cilantro, and more.

To accommodate the New World cuisine Miami is famous for, the area offers an array of restaurants specializing in international foods, such as Vietnamese, Japanese, Colombian, Thai, Cuban, French, Chinese, Peruvian, Northern Italian, Greek Irish, Russian, and Argentine. And, of course, traditional steakhouses, sushi bars, and New York-style delicatessens are provided throughout town. What all this means is that dining in Greater Miami and the Beaches is an epicurean emporium that food lovers from around the world can’t help but adore.