New York City celebrates midwinter with a week-long school holiday. This holdover is from the 1970s energy crisis. The objective was saving a few dollars in heating bills by closing schools for a week. The city’s school children could be cold at home without costing taxpayers’ dime.

Ironically, by the time the school system got around to implementing midwinter break, the energy crisis had ended. But that hasn’t prevented the schools from closing for a week each year in February. Like many families in the same position, we booked our flights and headed south to Florida.

We first stopped at my in-laws on the west coast. We weren’t there long before we headed east to Miami where my wife had a client meeting and I was looking to explore the city. The drive from Naples to Miami is 130 miles through alligator-infested everglades. It would make a great high-speed rail line, and ironically our hotel was two blocks from the Bright Line terminal.

In the past we stayed on South Beach, a narrow strip of land that’s easily walkable with beaches and Art Deco architecture. This year we were staying downtown in part so my wife could access the regional transit system to ride to her work meeting in the suburbs. South Beach is notoriously isolated from the mainland, strangled by traffic, and now we had a new city to explore. Quite literally, every block had construction.

Our first night in town we ended up at the Bayside Marketplace. It was a short walk from our hotel, but we took a car there since we were in the middle of monsoon-like downpour. The Bayside marketplace is a tourist trap for cruise ship victims. Trinket shops line the promenade, and other restaurants in the complex include Times Square favorites like Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.

We were headed to La Cañita, the latest concept from Michelle Bernstein, a James Beard Award chef. She partnered with her husband David Martinez and David Borgia and Orestes Pajon on the project. The restaurant opened in 2021, with a new location opening this spring in Palms of Town & Country, in Kendall, a suburb.

La Cañita was recommended to my wife, but I had been watching Michelle Bernstein showing Anthony Bourdain around the city in an old episode of Parts Unknown. On the drive into Miami, we stopped to eat at La Esquina Tropical, a bodega restaurant Bourdain visits on the show. Bourdain was in my mind that week. I was reading Care and Feeding, a memoir by Bourdain’s former assistant, Laurie Woolever.

So it’s Bourdain’s voice I hear as I write this: Seemingly this entire city is built around mall complexes–sorry, lifestyle centers–with the last vestiges of old Miami currently being dismantled for new towers. But that’s perhaps the magic of this place. There’s no history, nothing with any staying power, just an endless stream of newness satisfying the desire limitless consumerism.

Despite the pouring rain, we grabbed a spot on the outdoor deck. We were kept dry, and the seats overlooked the harbor. We watched a party fishing boat arrive in the downpour, and then a bit later, a sorority departed on a booze cruise, all while screeching their haunting cheer as the boat floated past.

We started off with mojitos. It felt like a throwback to the mid-aughts when everyone was mojito crazy until realizing they are actually a lot of work to do correctly.

Conch fritters were sweet and savory

I started with an order of conch fritters, one of a handful of dishes that iconically define Miami, according to The Infatuation. They were a combination of savory and sweet, like a fish cake with a dash of powdered sugar. They were crispy on the outside, but I thought they needed hot sauce.

Also they turned out much bigger than I wanted them to be. The ratio of surface area to crust to interior softness felt slightly imbalanced.

The Ropa Vieja that my wife ordered was absolutely delicious. This Latin American classic translates to “old clothing,” and consists of stewed beef, tomatoes, and sofrito. The combination of flavors was really spot on. The meat was rich and savory with just a hint of spice, and the beans had a hint of sweetness.

I ordered the Lechon Asado, a Cuban-style pulled pork served over yucca. The yuca had an interesting starch, prepared a lot like a potato. It was a good contrast to the pork, but overall I found there was too much yuca.

A highlight of this dish was the pickled onions, offering a bit of refreshing acid. I would have preferred a bit more, though.

A tangy Key Lime pie

We finished off the meal with a tangy key lime pie. The custard portion was rigid and smooth.

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