Let the Tropical Gorging Commence!

Miami Spice is here! The 2-month extravaganza (August and September) will challenge you to test and taste all the pricey eateries that are normally out of reach for hungry plebians. If you're an obsessed foodie and exhaustive researcher, the website features most of the lunch and dinner menus of participating restaurants as well as dates of free wine tastings courtesy of sponsor Campo Viejo (the first one is August 9th at Bal Harbor Bistro). My personal picks for the high-qual dinners, which somehow all include some form of seared ahi tuna, are:

Blue Door at the Delano - the dining room is always visually interesting and an appetizer of Jumbo Ravioli Filled with Taro Root Mousseline, with White Truffle Oil and Light Mushroom Foam sounds intriguing.
afterglo - if only to try "A BEAUTIFUL MIND SALAD"
Winner of “Best Salads” Best of Miami 2006, New Times
organic romaine mix, fresh blueberries, walnuts, crushed brazil nuts, himalayan sun dried goji berries & strips of fresh young thai coconut garnished with a pomegranate chia seed jelly & ground raw cacao (chocolate) tossed in our signature rosemary, gingko & gotu kola vinaigrette.
Pacific Time - because the SZECHUAN GRILLED LOCAL MAHI with Hawaiian Ginger And Tempura Sweet Potatoes sounds transcendent.
Sushi Samba - for the dessert option of a deconstructed Asian take on carrot cake, "WARM SAMBA CARROT CAKE ," consisting of cream cheese “dumpling,” farofa-cinnamon streusel & carrot-ginger gelee. Mmm. Sounds post-modern-liscious. What is "farofa," praytell?
Wish at The Hotel - what to make of a menu that offers SPICED POTATO LATKES composed of Cilantro, Mushroom Ciccarones, and Miso Tea? Are "ciccarones" the same things as "cahones" because my grandma's latkes certainly had those! Oh! And lest you accuse Wish of being uninventive, do consider their dessert of RICOTTA AND GOAT CHEESE FRITTERS with Roasted Asian Pear and Roaring Forties Blue Cheese Ice Cream.

$30.06 for a 3-course meal at these places is a steal. I also noticed that some of the restaurants overlap with restaurant.com's dining gift certificates. (They include: Novocento, North 110, Bal Harbor Bistro, Ola, and 510 Ocean.) One wondes if their $25 coupons will be accepted during Miami Spice time. Hmm. One can always hope.