(Michelle) This week on check please South Florida Miami takes center stage with creative burgers.

Everything is impressive in the simplicity of the ingredients.

Everything is delicious.

A sweet gem takes on Italian classics.

Every bite for every dish is just truly like an experience.

And a sleek new spot marries history.

The whole energy behind it really represents the Miami magic that we're always looking for.

(Announcer) Cultural culinary secrets and global flavors.

We have a passion for blending ingredients and seasonings from around the world.

Additional funding for check please.

South Florida is provided by George and Helen Weaver and the Friends of South Florida PBS.

I was like, wait, if Tennessee was a drink, this is it.

Everything was meant to be a certain way and it was beautiful.

It just tasted very light and milky and delicious.

Nice food, spicy food.

And the beignets were the best.

Honestly, like, the best I've ever had.

(music) Hello, I'm Michelle Bernstein and welcome to check please South Florida, the show where regular people from all over South Florida recommend and review their favorite restaurants.

So this is how the show works.

Every week we have three guests.

Each recommends his or her favorite spot, and then the other two go to check them out and see what they think.

This week, web developer Bradley Cummins is ready to familiarize you with his iconic pick.

Located within a historical Miami building.

He says you're sure to be wooed by their perfect mix of classic and contemporary styles.

Product Operations manager Annalisa Torres says your palate will be delighted by the homemade pasta dishes served by her pick.

She says this spot is her go to place for meals that are inventive and fresh.

Get ready for a sweet dining experience at this Miami gem.

But first, marketing and communications director Charlie Crespo is ready to give us the full scoop on his pick.

Because you can never underestimate the power of a great burger, he says.

This husband and wife owned spot has become the place everyone wants to write home about.

It's located in Miami and it's called United States Burger Service.

(music) Hi, my name is Michael Mayta, owner of USBS at The Citadel.

The idea for USPS came about when a couple of friends of ours were looking for something to do on the side, to kind of express ourselves.

We were usually kind of hanging out in a lobby where there was a mailbox system for like offices.

I think subconsciously that's what kind of helped with the name.

We live in the area, so we always wanted to look for something very close.

As far as the burgers and fries concept of it, we just wanted to do something that was very simple, approachable for people, but obviously burgers and fries, kind of something that anyone can do.

We didn't want to overcomplicate it, kind of stick to simple ingredients of higher quality, and so that means we'd have to try to make everything in-house, control the variables.

And so yeah, we bake our bread daily.

We grind our meat also as well.

We like to really lean into the postal aspect of everything.

So to the names we want to tie it in with the food.

I like the combination of the fact that when you send packages off, they always ask you to insure your package.

So insurance with fries tagging onto the burger, it just felt like it made sense.

The popular smash burger I think it's just because of like the surface area, there's a little bit more flavor that comes involved with the contact of like the flattop, just more sear.

Usually that kind of creates more flavor.

USBS is delivering good food.

(Michelle) So you say this is the best burger in Miami, right?

I do.

Yeah.

And tell me why you say that.

So I think that it's the best burger in Miami because everything is homemade.

Everything is impressive in the simplicity of the ingredients.

Everything is delicious.

(Michelle) Annalisa you want to talk a little bit about the fact that it's in a food hall and its location.

Yeah.

So this is in a food hall.

It's called The Citadel Miami.

And there's a lot of different spots in there, but the burger joint definitely caught my attention.

I had tried it before.

I'm a very big fan of Smash Burgers, which is what they specialize in, so I really enjoyed it.

(Michelle) Bradley, what did you think about the food?

I thought it was delicious.

I really liked the Smash burger.

I think that's like really popular right now rather than having this really thick burger.

It's just kind of slides right in your mouth.

(Michelle) And so those.

That don't know what a smash burger is, it's literally smashed, right?

So you take something heavy and you push it down until it gets incredibly crispy, and only until it gets golden and crazy crispy.

You can actually flip it over and then take it off unless you melt cheese on it.

And that's basically what it is, right?

Yeah.

And they have like a special sauce with it, which, you know, you always need a special sauce with a burger.

So it was absolutely delicious.

(Michelle) So tell me what you had this last time you.

(Charlie) Went this last time I had what I usually get.

It's called the smoke signal.

It's a single patty cheese, his government cheese sauce that he puts on it with homemade house made bacon.

And it's just like a symphony of ingredients.

(Michelle) Tell me a little bit about the pen pals Chicken nuggets?

(Charlie) Yeah, the pen pals chicken nuggets.

I think what's amazing about those is just the fry on it is so good.

It's not greasy.

It's not like falling off.

(Michelle) Have you had that too?

(Annalisa) No, I haven't, but it sounds so good.

I love chicken nuggets so I'll definitely go back for those.

(Michelle) That's funny.

What did you have by the way?

You never told me.

(Annalisa) So I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to a burger.

I had a cheeseburger plain.

It's my go to like, burger order, so it's kind of hard to mess up.

But this one was definitely so juicy.

The bread I loved and I got the fries as well, which were super crispy and, you know, really good fries.

(Michelle) Nice.

Bradley, what did you have?

(Bradley) I had the ground, which was a single patty.

And then the insurance, which were the fries.

(Annalisa) That was my exact order.

(Michelle) Yeah, really.

(Bradley) I try not to make it too complicated, but it was delicious because you could taste everything.

(Michelle) Well, that's the thing.

If you really want to try how good the burger is.

Well, Charlie, United States Burger was your pick.

Sum it up for me.

(Charlie) I think it's one of the best values in Miami.

And simple, delicious ingredients.

Um, that makes for a perfect burger.

(Michelle) Okay Annalisa.

(Annalisa) Great spot, quick bite to eat and super tasty smash burgers.

(Michelle) Bradley.

(Bradley) If you're looking for a fun food hall experience, uh, United States burger service is a perfect place to get a delicious homemade burger.

(Michelle) For a great burger delivered right to your mailbox, you can count on United States Burger service.

Located at 8300 Northeast Second Avenue in Miami.

They are open Tuesday to Sunday for lunch and dinner.

Reservations are not accepted where the average price for dinner without drinks is about 20 bucks.

(music) (Michelle) Now product operations manager Annalisa Torres is ready to explain why her pick will send your taste buds to the moon.

From classic Italian dishes to new creations, this spot is a sweet place to be.

It's in Miami and it's called Luna Pasta e Dolci.

(Italian music) Hola soy Gabriel Médici Dueno de Luna Pasta de dolci.

Cuando comenzamos Luna era Como aparacibos en el neighborhood y la gente en seguida estaba super, super contenta.

Super agradecida y mucho mucho mucho haciamos.

Todos de scratch.

Bueno en nuestro chef del restaurant es Miguel Cocolia es Vasco y bueno mucho nos vamos a hacer cositas italianas, pero con tuxedos mas un poco espanol O mas nuestro para nosotros la verdad.

Yo mucho mucho mucho en hacer algo para mis clientes.

Me olvido un poco todo lo q pasa por ahi afuera Y es Como puedes hacer algo simple com pocos ingredients y delicioso.

Luna Pasta E Dolci es un lugar donde realmente quiero?

Cuando el cliente prueba.

Primera vez lo ame no quiera para regresar.

(Michelle) Okay Annalisa So I know that your regular here and I'm guessing it's because number one you live a couple blocks away.

Is that correct?

Yeah.

So I don't live there anymore.

But my parents still live in that area.

I grew up there, so I definitely make it, you know, a thing to go check that.

(Michelle) It's my area too.

Yeah.

We are neighbors.

Yes.

(Annalisa) So I definitely go and check out the local spots around.

So when Luna Pasta first opened, they were on Biscayne and 69th Street.

(Michelle) They still have a little space too, right?

(Annalisa) Yeah, they.

Still have like a little market there where you can buy pasta to go and sauces to go and empanadas and empanadas too.

But the restaurant itself, this was the first time that I visited because they just reopened a restaurant.

So it's a little bit of a larger space.

So you walk in.

The decor is very simple.

It's a very homey feel.

My grandmother is Italian, so I definitely grew up eating a lot of pasta and really just enjoy Italian cuisine.

I can tell when a restaurant gives you boxed pasta versus fresh pasta, and this is definitely a place where you get fresh pasta, and every bite for every dish is just truly like an experience.

And I really love this spot and go to it all the time.

(Michelle) Bradley, when you went, it was really busy.

Yeah, it was a Thursday night and super packed.

I was able to sit by the bar, so it was pretty easy and ran into an old friend actually.

So it's definitely a local, really good energy spot.

(Michelle) What do you think when you walked in.

That it felt like simple, homey, but very inviting, very comfortable to be in.

I went on a Sunday night so it wasn't very crowded.

I had my sort of pick of the restaurant where I wanted to sit.

Uh huh.

Um, but yeah, very homing, very calm, um, quiet, which is nice.

Um, I enjoyed it.

(Michelle) Good.

All right, let's jump into what you had this last time you went.

(Annalisa) Yeah.

So this time I went.

I had some salmon.

It comes with gnocchi.

The gnocchi is cooked in like a saffron sauce that has artichoke.

So very unique type of sauce.

I had never really tried a sauce like that before.

I think it's cream based, but very delicious.

And it pairs super well with the salmon.

And then my mom, who I went with, she had the Bolognese.

So it's a very classic Italian sauce.

So really can't go wrong with that.

It was the perfect portion for us to share.

We didn't get dessert this time around, but I have been before and gotten dessert.

The tiramisu is really good there too.

(Michelle) Nice Bradley.

(Bradley) That night they had a special that was the seafood risotto and it was recommended by one of the servers and it was just delicious, like perfectly seasoned, perfect amount of seafood and risotto.

So I really enjoyed it.

(Michelle) Charlie (Charlie) I had the golden plate which is the, I think, their signature dish.

It was what was recommended by my server, and it was ricotta filled tortellini in a cream sauce with mushrooms and truffle.

And despite sounding very heavy, it was really well balanced and I didn't feel like too full or I wanted to stop eating at any point.

(Michelle) You also had tiramisu, I.

Did, how was that?

(Charlie) It was very good.

Also very light for something that would seem like it would be so rich.

But I had espresso with it and it was like the perfect compliment between shuttling between the two.

(Michelle) And you had some wine.

How was the wine list?

(Charlie) I did?

The wine list was great.

Also something that was recommended by my server.

But what really impressed me about the wine, and I don't find it in a lot of places in Miami, was it was served at the right temperature.

I think a lot of times red wine is you're you're told or you read it should be room temperature.

But since so many rooms in Miami are 85 degrees, um, it was served at the proper temperature.

And that's something I noticed with the salad as well.

It was actually served on a chilled platter or chilled plate.

It makes a huge difference.

(Michelle) And what did you think about the prices?

(Bradley) They're very reasonable.

It was you know you could tell that the ingredients are high quality.

Um, and the ambiance is really nice.

It just feels like this beautiful kind of local neighborhood Italian restaurant.

(Michelle) Okay well Annalisa Luna pasta was your choice.

Please give us a little summary.

(Annalisa) Yeah.

So Luna Pasta is an authentic Italian spot to go on a weeknight or weekend with friends, family or on a date.

And it's great, great food and you'll have a great time there, too.

(Michelle) Nice Charlie (Charlie) Luna was very warm, comforting.

I would say that anytime you're craving a nice homemade, uh, very tender bowl of pasta, that would that would be where you should head.

(Michelle) perfect Bradley.

(Bradley) Great, delicious Italian neighborhood joint with a cozy setting and the perfect pairings.

(Michelle) For a creative take on traditional dishes.

You can visit Luna Pasta E Dolci, located at 6927 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami.

They are open daily for lunch and dinner.

Reservations are accepted where the average price for dinner.

Without drinks is about $60.

(music) (Michelle) Have you ever heard of.

Cacio e Pepe?

Well, I.

Think it's become a very popular sauce for pasta.

It is a pepper sauce.

Um, just using a little bit of butter and something very interesting.

A little bit of starchy water from cooking the pasta.

I'm going to heat up this saute pan on about a medium heat.

Not crazy high, but not too low.

And what we're going to do is we're going to melt some butter in the pan.

To this butter I'm going to go ahead and add some grounds.

A lot of grounds of black pepper.

Now we're going to also add a little bit of salt.

Now this has a lot of cheese.

So don't over salt it now.

Something else you can add a little bit later right.

Keep shaking it.

Now we're going to add some starchy water.

Remember that pasta water I told you about?

I actually add pasta water to my tomato sauces to pretty much any pasta sauce that I make at home.

Now I'm going to bring this up to a boil.

And that's when we're going to start adding our pasta and the cheeses into this.

So now I'm going to start adding my noodles or pasta.

And this pasta is called bucatini.

I don't know if you can see it, but it has a little hole right in the middle going all the way through it.

So when you slurp, there might be a little bit of sauce caught inside of that noodle.

It's kind of delicious, but if you just like spaghetti, I'm good with that too.

I think that's about all that will fit in there.

So now I'm going to start adding and I have two cheeses here.

You can go with one.

But I love the balance of the two cheeses on the palate.

I think it's just amazing.

So here I have Pecorino Romano.

And I have Reggiano Parmigiano, not cheap cheeses.

I did not buy grated.

We grated it ourselves.

Okay I'm going to lower the heat a little.

We're going to keep turning this over.

So this is ready.

I'm going to shut off the heat.

This is delicious.

Okay, I'm going to add just a little bit more cheese before I add it into our bowl.

Okay, let's go ahead and pick all this deliciousness up.

It gets a little gooey.

But don't we love gooey?

And I'm going to pick this pan up and go ahead and pour it all over the pasta.

Just delicious.

And there you have it, my friends.

What I consider to be a.

Perfect cacio e Pepe.

(music) (Michelle) Finally, web developer Bradley Cummins is ready to make history with his pick.

Located within the iconic Miami Women's Club, this spot has created a luxurious culinary experience for all to enjoy.

It's located in Miami and it's called Klaw.

(music) Hi, I'm Kevin D'Antonio.

I'm the beverage director here at Cloud Restaurant Miami.

So the concept is actually built in London.

So it's a riff of the concept beast.

So beast is all about communal dining, focusing on Norwegian king crab that we source actually out of the ocean.

It's an invasive species.

Those are regional beef program.

So that was actually brought over here many years ago.

The building was actually founded by Henry Flagler.

It was to honor the Women's Club of Miami.

The history dates back to 1925.

Sasha and the group actually founded at 2015, 2016.

And it's been something in development since then.

It's historic, so we wanted to kind of pay homage to that.

There's plenty of places that kind of knock things down that are historic.

We want to embrace that.

So you'll see a lot of the high ceilings that are still in play.

The fifth floor is actually encompassing our kitchen, but we really want to play with the high ceilings that we have available, as well as the Bay view that encompasses the building itself in Biscayne Bay.

I think some of the deepest feedback we get is the fact that the king crab is so fresh.

I think most guests have had king crab throughout their lives.

We really try to honor anything we have coming in, so presenting it live and fresh, having it as part of what you visually see and then becoming something that's as delicious as it may be, that's so succulent.

It's very juicy.

I think that's the biggest feedback we get and what we really pride ourselves on.

Here at Klaw.

I think what people will say the most is Klaw is something that I had no idea of, and I can't wait to tell everybody about.

(music) (Michelle) So this building has always been just so important to all of us down here in South Florida.

You have to understand, like, I have been watching this building for years, and I'm so glad that you picked Klaw because it used to be a college.

I don't know if you knew that a women's college for design.

It's been a lot of things.

And now we have this incredible, iconic, you know, building and restaurant and soon to be very well known nightclubs.

So tell me a little bit about it.

Well, I.

Kind of came across it I think during Basil.

And um, ever since then it's been my go to spot for happy hour for bringing friends and then for special occasions so.

(Michelle) We should say it, it's upscale.

(Bradley) So the formal dining room on the fourth floor is very upscale.

So those are for, you know, special occasions.

But the rooftop is wonderful and they have a happy hour.

That's absolutely amazing.

They have a view that you cannot replicate in Miami.

And just the decor, the whole energy behind it really represents the Miami magic that we're always looking for.

(Michelle) Charlie, what did you feel about it when you walked in and and you just even arrived?

Because I know you have to take, like, the elevator to get up into it.

And what did you think about it?

I think I can sum it up by my wife who said, wow, this looks like a West Elm catalog.

So if you're familiar with the yeah, the decor and the and the vibe of that, just very like soft woods, very comforting, very warm.

And you definitely knew you were somewhere upscale.

Um, it was just, I think one of the most visually appealing restaurants in Miami.

(Michelle) Well, you went for happy hour, right?

Yeah, it's.

A very pleasant experience.

You take an elevator up to the rooftop, you sit down and have a bite to eat and some drinks.

(Michelle) outdoor, indoor correct.

But they keep.

Are they still keeping the glass doors open?

(Annalisa) Yeah.

They had like the balcony doors open so you can still, like, see the breathtaking views, which is really my favorite.

Incredible views right aspect.

Of the experience.

So yeah I really enjoyed it for Happy Hour.

I love the cocktail that I had.

It was like raspberry and vodka.

It was a very refreshing drink for a Friday.

(Michelle) Okay, well.

Bradley, let's dig into what you had this last time you.

Went.

(Bradley) Yes.

Well, I actually went for brunch, so they just started the brunch.

And I immediately knew that looking at the menu, I had to get the king crab eggs Benedict.

And it came.

(Michelle) We should tell Everyone that they're known for their king crabs.

And yes, they have these.

Beautiful.

(Bradley) You walk right into the sixth floor rooftop and there's two huge tanks of king crab.

(Michelle) So how was that Benedict?

Was it?

(Bradley) It was beautiful.

I mean, instead of using the traditional English muffins, they had these fresh made whole grain bread that they put on, which I was kind of nervous about then it just absorbs so well, and it was the perfect combination between the very, like, rich tasting king crab and then the hollandaise and the eggs.

So it was a perfect combination.

(Michelle) Nice what did you have?

(Charlie) We started off with the giant prawns, the yuzukosho sauce, and they're great.

They were cooked really well.

I think it's pretty easy to overcook shrimp or prawns.

Um, and, but they were perfectly tender.

And the sauce.

Sauce was delicious.

(Michelle) How about that.

Bone in New York strip you have.

(Charlie) Yeah, I went for that one because you don't see.

Well, first off, the server was very knowledgeable super about all the different cuts, their dry aging process.

All the steaks are dry aged for (Michelle) Not Just that where they're coming from.

(Charlie) Exactly.

(Michelle) Because they're using smaller ranches.

(Charlie) Exactly.

(Michelle) So the one that you had I think was from Stafford's.

(Charlie) Yeah, it was from Florida.

And that's why I chose that one, because it's not often that you see cuts of beef from Florida.

(Michelle) Nice.

Annalisa, tell me about all those apps that you had.

I know that you were there for happy hour.

So you had a lot of little things.

So tell us a little bit about.

A few of them.

(Annalisa) Yeah.

So I had the little bar snack.

It's kind of like a charcuterie board.

It came with some cheese, salami, almonds.

So that was really nice.

I had the stracciatella, which is like a cheese.

(Michelle) It's the inside of the burrata is exactly what it's like.

Ricotta a little bit.

(Annalisa) Yeah.

I was like, this reminds me of burrata.

So that makes sense.

Yeah.

So that was really good.

And then we had the beef tartare toast.

I'm personally not a fan of beef tartare, but I really like this one.

The bread was really crunchy and it just went really well with the pairing.

And my boyfriend and I ordered drinks.

So I got that raspberry cocktail and he got a gin cocktail, which the drinks were really great.

(Michelle) Nice.

Well, you went a little traditional, Charlie.

You had a flourless chocolate cake.

(Charlie) we had A flower chocolate cake.

What was the standout for me was the Grand Marnier ice cream that they topped it with.

It was delicious.

(Michelle) Well, Bradley Klaw was your choice.

Go ahead and give me a.

Summary, please.

(Bradley) If you're looking for an amazing time out in Miami for that magical outlook, uh, go to Klaw and you'll get.

A little bit of Miami magic.

(Michelle) Beautiful, Charlie.

(Charlie) I think ambiance, quality of service, quality of ingredients.

As long as you going in knowing that it's a bit pricey.

Um, it's definitely one of the nicer experiences that you can have in Miami.

(Michelle) Annalisa.

(Annalisa) Beautiful spot for happy hour with great drinks and small bites.

(Michelle) For a beautiful dining experience at an iconic location, you can visit Klaw.

Located at 1737 North Bayshore Drive in Miami.

They're open for dinner Monday to Saturday with brunch and dinner on Sundays.

Reservations are accepted where the average price for dinner without drinks is about $80.

(music) We've had a wonderful time and I want to thank my guests Charlie Crespo, Bradley Cummins and.

Analisa Torres for.

More about the restaurants and recipes featured in the show, or if you'd like to apply to be a guest reviewer, visit us at check, please.

Com and as always, you can find us on Facebook and Instagram.

Join us next time for three new guests recommending three of their favorite restaurants right here on check Please South Florida.

I'm Michelle Bernstein and I will see you then.

Salute everybody.

(music) (Announcer) Cultural culinary secrets and global flavors.

We have a passion for blending ingredients and seasonings from around the world.

(upbeat music)