When we have out-of-town guests, after we’ve given them what we call the Fort Lauderdale/Wilton Manors experience, if they’re here long enough, we expand that to the Miami experience, which includes tours of South Beach, and MiMo, and we always end up in Wynwood.

Mai-Kai, the legendary Fort Lauderdale Polynesian dinner theater, restaurant, and Tiki lounge, is an official landmark.

Haiku is a Japanese form of poetry of simplicity and precision.

I’ll start with a confession: I’ve been a fan of Maggiano’s since its inception. I was one of the first journalists to review its original Chicago location in 1991. Even then, it was clear this place was something special, like returning to my grandmother’s kitchen for a homemade meal. That is, if my grandmother were Italian — and if she could cook.

Papa’s Raw Bar is the kind of place locals go to, so I held off on this review until after season. Keep this entre nous, because we wouldn’t want word to get out, it’s hard enough to get a table as it is.

If you’ve got relatives coming from out of town and want to give them the perfect South Beach dining experience, take them to A Fish Called Avalon. The historic Art Deco setting and the street-side elevated patio would be enough, but there’s also the creative menu from Chef Kal Abdalla, offering diners a satisfying blend of cuisines at this celebrated South Beach landmark.