girl, you know I love Miami, but there is a long list of places that this city can use - a macrobiotic lunch spot, a stylish massage parlor where you can buy crystals, a flower shop/perfumery.

Early in 2017, I'm looking back at some snapshots from places I encountered in my travels that made me wish they'd open a Miami location. Some of the featured places are totally missing on Miami's landscape, we are just a baby-city after all, and some are, dare I say, better versions than what's currently on our market.

This time: New York

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We have our fare she of coffee shops, but this one, Cafe Integral, by Miami-bred Cesar Vega, is particularly nice. Currently, Cafe Integral has a location in Downtown concept boutique American Two Shot and a free standing location on Grand Street in NoLiTa, plus another cafe in The Freehand in Chicago. Cafe Integral serves only Nicaraguan coffee that they source from farms in Nicaragua where he's developed a personal relationship. The Grand Avenue location also has a pretty unusual and totally delicious mylk menu and special concoctions like a Mexican Coke with espresso and bitters. We do, by the way, have a mini Cafe Integal location at The Freehand that just recently opened, so that will have to hold us over until we get a full fledged version.

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The Brooklyn Barge is a barge with food and drink overlooking the city. Someone explain to me why we don't have something like this in Miami. More creative waterfront dining options, please.

It should be noted, we do have a creative new barge here in Miami, the Miami Science Barge. But you can't drink spritzsthere, as far as I know.

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Macrobiotic eating is like, the next level phase of "clean eating," a diet that is drawn from principles of zen Buddhism that is all about balancing the yin and yang in your food. Eating at Souen, a place I've been frequenting since my college years, comes with lots of rules printed on the menu about posture and how many times you're supposed to chew each bite, and that's all good to read while you're waiting for your food, but that's not what keeps me coming back - it's the macroplate with "an ideal balance of steamed greens, vegetables, brown rice, beans and hijiki seaweed" with Carrot / Sesame Vinaigrette or Tahini Dill dressing on the side.

Fast Casual Dim Sum anyone? At Nom Wah in NoLiTa, you can order up a crazy spread (see above) of Chinese food like scallion pancakes, shrimp and snow pea dumplings, Cantonese smoked chicken leg with ginger and scallion sauce, vegan ho fun noodle soup, and on Fridays, "Fiery Dank Shank." Pick from the bevvie list, order a "grown up drink" and do it all in time to get back to the office for that 1:30 meeting.

There's a lot to love about The Spotted Pig, it's one of those iconic spots that is really, truly, an only-in-New-York place, so that's not what I'm angling for, it's the burger and oyster combo that is so hard to find in Miami for some reason. Is there a more people-pleasing combo? Let's get a good oyster and burger spot opened up, with a casual, no frills bar. PLEASE!

Come To Miami: New York Edition