Mi'talia Kitchen & Bar

Chefs Jeff McInnis and Janine Booth try their hands at Italian food with their latest South Miami restaurant, Mi’talia Kitchen & Bar. From fried chicken at Root & Bone and seafood at Stiltsville, the couple pivots to add fresh-made pastas and wood-fired pizzas to their culinary repertoire. Though neither is Italian, the country’s cuisine has always intrigued the pair who endeavor to put their own spin on some of their favorites. Diners will recognize everything on the menu but several preparations are certainly more surprising than others—like the beef carpaccio finished with pistachios and a shaved egg yolk that’s cured for seven days, or the sunflower pizza shaped like its namesake flower and topped with mint and pistachio pesto, sunflower seeds and whipped ricotta. The dough used in the pizzas and pizzettes (smaller pies resembling a flatbread) is made fresh daily and baked until it reaches its perfect chewy consistency. The ingredients are straightforward but none of the dishes are one-note thanks, in part, to their bold flavors and varying textures that keep even your basic spaghetti and meatballs from ever becoming boring.