The One Restaurant in Miami I Always Recommend

Photo by: Kelly Dawson

Of all the cities I’ve visited on numerous occasions, Miami is the one I’m usually most ambivalent about. I love its beaches, of course, and the Art Deco exteriors of its South Beach buildings. I’m not particularly fond of its humid brand of heat, since California’s dry daylight is much more familiar, and I can’t make sense of the way people drive. The rules that apply to Los Angeles’s many freeways don’t apply to its three. 

And yet, my “eh” attitude toward this city falls apart where Macchialina is concerned. This is quite possibly my favorite restaurant in the country, and I tell everyone I know to visit it whenever they’re here. 

Let me tell you how I learned about it: Four years ago, I was at a conference in Miami when I became friends with two other women, Stephanie and Hannah. Stephanie asked if we wanted to join her for dinner at a small Italian restaurant later that night, and we said yes. Her friend, Jacqueline Pirolo, co-owns the restaurant with her brother, chef Michael Pirolo. But I didn’t know any of that when we headed over there. All I thought about was that I didn’t want to spend the night watching television in my hotel room — even if it happened to be an especially wonderful hotel room. 

We all had so much fun chatting and praising the food that we ended up staying after closing to continue our conversation, giving a chance for Jackie to join in and make us laugh even more. She served us classic spaghetti pomodoro sprinkled with bright basil leaves, mounds of browned meatballs covered in a thick tomato sauce, and fresh branzino with crispy corners blackened by just enough fire. I’m sure there were sides of vegetables and perhaps other dishes too, but you should know that Jackie is also a celebrated sommelier. So other than what I’ve listed, I mostly remember that my glass was never empty and she knew exactly what I’d (try to) finish. 

I’ve visited Miami three more times since then, and every time that I do, I remember how fun that dinner was and how everything I’ve eaten on its rotating menu — the noodles, the sauces, the seafood — continues to be approachable yet still so satisfying. My dad and I went there for dinner last week, and we cleared our plates of escarole salad, cacio e pepe, and cavatelli topped with porchetta and pecorino. Jackie also sent out a small bowl of roasted eggplants in a tomato sauce to scoop up with crescents of crusty bread, and this was my dad’s reply: “I don’t like eggplants, but I like that!”

As we ate, the Impressions and James Brown played overhead, and the patio’s string lights glowed amongst the hanging greenery. Given this setting, and the fact that Jackie brought out my dad’s favorite dessert of banana pudding just before we put down our forks for good, I felt like Miami probably deserves more pros than cons in my book. After all, with a restaurant this good, how bad can it be?