Modern Forage: Miami, FL
Miami and South Florida anchor Floribbean Cuisine: the 1980s 'Mango Gang' (Norman Van Aken, Mark Militello, Allen Susser, Douglas Rodriguez) chef-driven Caribbean-Florida fusion that combines jerk, adobo, sofrito, and tropical produce with local Florida seafood. Deviled crab (Tampa-Ybor City), conch fritters (Florida Keys), datil pepper (St. Augustine — see Jacksonville), and lionfish tacos round out the broader South Florida regional cuisine.
Miami and South Florida anchor Floribbean Cuisine, the chef-driven Caribbean-Florida fusion the “Mango Gang” pioneered in the 1980s. Deviled crab, conch fritters, lionfish tacos, and Pollo Tropical’s Floribbean fast-food translation all live within the broader South Florida ecosystem.
This list is almost certainly incomplete; Miami and South Florida hold further hyper-local dishes that have not yet surfaced in the survey.
A note on the Where-to-eat blocks. Every entry below carries a list of restaurants and, where available, star ratings as of the date this post was published. These are a snapshot. Verify hours and addresses before driving anywhere.
Floribbean Cuisine — South Florida
A chef-driven fusion style pioneered in the 1980s by the “Mango Gang” (Norman Van Aken, JBF Award winner; Mark Militello; Allen Susser; Douglas Rodriguez) who combined Caribbean flavors (jerk, adobo, sofrito) with Florida’s fresh local seafood and tropical produce. Van Aken described its roots as “Conch, Spanish, Cuban, and Black” cooking traditions. The most geographically locked named dishes within this broad style: Deviled crab (Tampa), a crab meat croquette seasoned with sofrito and cumin, deep-fried, originating in Ybor City’s Afro-Cuban community; datil pepper preparations (St. Augustine), hot sauces, jellies, and aiolis made from the datil pepper, a fiery little orange pepper grown almost exclusively in the St. Augustine area, brought by Minorcan settlers in the 1770s; conch fritters (Florida Keys), chopped conch meat mixed with bell peppers, onions, and spices, battered and deep-fried, a Keys staple that’s the closest thing to a national dish of the Conch Republic; lionfish tacos, a conservation-driven fusion dish turning an invasive reef species into blackened or fried tacos with mango salsa. Pollo Tropical (Miami-based chain) brought Floribbean-style grilled chicken to a fast-food format.
Sources: Wikipedia (Floribbean cuisine); Tasting Table (2023); Grokipedia (2026, detailed history); Authentic Food Quest (2023); Cook Clean Repeat (2025); Visit St. Augustine (2025); Orlando Food Journal (2014). Seven+ sources.
Where to eat: Norman’s (Norman Van Aken’s restaurant, formerly in Coral Gables, now Orlando). Joe’s Stone Crab, South Beach. Versailles, Little Havana (Cuban-American Miami). For conch fritters: Bagatelle, Key West. For Pollo Tropical: any South Florida location.
More from the series
Browse the rest of the Modern Forage survey.
Research & primary sources
Methodology, validation logs, and the entries that didn’t make this post are in the modern_forage/ on GitHub. Every entry here passed a 2+ independent-source check; the citations under each dish list them.