Get your fixe

Just because we’re recovering from a recession doesn’t mean we can’t go out to fine restaurants or gather around a cozy meal with friends.

From the hipster to the chic and classic, restaurants all over South Florida are helping us straddle the effects of a volatile economy with pre-fixing menus to our pocket’s delight. We begin with Sunday brunch. 660 at The Angler’s in South Beach knows exactly what Sunday morning breakfast means – it means the Angler-coined “grown up hangover brunch.” Instead of heading out to the local diner, think banana Nutella pancakes and steak & eggs (i.e. 10 oz. hanger steak and shallot herb home fries).

Here at 660, though, it’s not the food that’s pre-fixed, it’s the drinks. The bottomless Get Your Bloody Mary bar ($14)– where guests design their own BM by choosing items from the cart that is brought to the table including Chianti cured salami, celery stalks and queen olives. There’s also a $14 bottomless champagne cart.

For those who want more solids than liquids for their buck, there’s the more down to earth Out of the Blue Café in Wynwood, where you can choose as many items from the brunch menu as you want for a fixed price of $19.95.

Customized omelets, baguettes with egg or Swiss cheese or both; BLT’s, fruit and cereal; Belgian waffles; dulce de leche& caramelized walnut crepes; poached eggs, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto – these are just a few of the choices you’ve got. Pick one or all and the price stays the Fixe same – under twenty bucks (including one complimentary mimosa).

While in Wynwood, take a turn into Joey’s for dinner, where the restaurant’s Venetian chef has created a Monday-Thursday prefixe summer dinner menu that brims with authentic Italian fare. For $14 per person, Joey’s serves a Monday night chicken and asparagus risotto with a glass of Falanghina wine. Jump to Wednesday and you have penne bolognese, radicchio and a glass of
classic Chianti. Thursday it is spezzatino/beef stew over polenta with a glass of Malbec.

Just a little further downtown, you have Mia at Biscayne, which also has daily executive lunch specials but kicks it to a more Latin flavor. Sit outside under the wide, shady umbrellas and enjoy arroz con pollo on Tuesday, made with confit chicken, chorizo, green peas, and creamy saffron rice; or, the Friday cochinillo: roasted suckling pig with buerre noisette potatoes. All set at $14.95 per person.

For the hungry execs, China Grill in South Beach now offers a $23 per guest fixed menu which allows for a choice of two appetizers; one to three entrees (depending on how many guests are at a table); your choice of accompaniments and the chef’s selection of house desserts. Appetizers range from lemongrass crusted tofu tots to spicy beef and scallion dumplings. Entrees range from sake-marinated drunken chicken to panseared spicy tuna. China Grill also offers a pre-fixe dinner menu for $36.

Not too far away, on Lincoln Road, there is SushiSamba, with its bright orange décor that’s hard to miss. Also hard to miss: the Omakase menu, which translates into “chef’s menu,” through which guests can dive into the palettes and gustos of Japan, Brazil, and Peru. The menu itself is offered nightly but changes daily: five courses for $59 and seven courses for $69. What you can expect: heirloom tomato sunomono made with tomato, kyuri, white grape, and watermelon sorbet; pulpo al oliva made with potato confit, red pepper miso, and botija olive. Or, how about SushiSamba taquitos with spicy aji panca sauce and fresh lime?

For the best ambiance - meets-pre-fixe menu in Miami, try Gibraltar at Grove Isle Hotel & Spa. A view of the Miami skyline and a gentle breeze coming in from this waterfront spot makes the dining here ever romantic. In addition, for $40 per person, Monday- Thursday, you get a brasserie prix-fixe dinner menu that spans from oysters to swordfish steak nicoise to key lime pie for dessert (unless you’re more into chocolate and want to dip into the warm fudge For higher end menus, move towards Coral Gables and join the French feast at Pascal’s. Here you’ll be met with an amuse bouche; a first course of country duck terrine, foie gras, pickled vegetables, and apricot chutney. A second course of diver sea scallops with beef braised short rib ravioli, and infused truffle fumet. A third course of milk fed veal tenderloin with parsnip puree, spring veggies and herb scented polenta. For dessert: bittersweet chocolate soufflé with chocolate ganache. $68 per person (add $50 per person for a wine pairing). For lunch, Pascal’s offers a bistro menu (two courses for $18.95 and three courses for $24.95).

- Vanessa Garcia