Foodies, get ready to dine your bellies out!
Miami Spice starts Wednesday and runs through Sept. 30. The 11th annual two-monthlong restaurant promotion offers discounted, three-course, prix-fixe menus for lunch and dinner at a record 171 participating restaurants.
This year, the price point is higher and meals fall into two categories. Under "luxury dining," lunch costs $23 dollars and dinner costs $39. At "fine dining" restaurants, you can score a $19 dollar lunch or $33 dinner.
Last year, a three-course meal cost $22 for lunch and $35 for dinner.
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One of this year's hottest newcomers is Juvia on Lincoln Road, where bento box options feature a unique blend of Japanese, Peruvian and French flavors.
"It offers a quick, quick lunch for the people that want to come in whether it's executives or people that just want an economic way to come in and have a nice meal," Executive Chef Sunny Oh said.
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The hot spot is usually a special occasion splurge for diners.
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"It's a really great surprise that they would participate, because it makes it more available for us to come on a more regular basis," said Juvia diner Verena Giordano.
It's not just the artful food that's driving business.
"You walk in here, it's unbelievable you feel like you went to heaven. I think it's the only place we've ever seen with living walls, the views are amazing," said Juvia diner Robert Shemin.
At Kung Fu Kitchen & Sushi at Hotel Catalina on South Beach they are serving up something different. It's offering an upgraded Miami Spice dining experience: Naked Sushi.
"Naked sushi is putting the two best things together - naked people and sushi," said Hotel Catalina Owner Nathan Lieberman. "You come and you get to dine off a naked model or sometimes one of the servers."
The hot bodies are sure to entice the more adventurous diners during the two most popular months to eat out, he added.
The Miami Spice meal costs $500 for a party of 10.
"It's a very royal experience that we have here at Kung Fu," said Lieberman. "We went back to the old school Japanese tradition of the emperors used to dine off nude bodies."
So far, the dining option has been popular with bachelor and bachelorette parties, he said.
For more information and a full list of participating restaurants click here.
