The über-fresh tuna tiradito from Sebastian Fernandez
December 2021: The Local Cuban is no longer at Time Out Market Miami.
Welcome to Food Envy, where we’ll highlight different dishes from Time Out Market Miami that we think you’re going to love—partly because we do. This week, Alberto Cabrera’s Miami-fied media noche croquetas from the Local Cuban.
RECOMMENDED: Guide to Time Out Market Miami
Croquetas are to Miami what pizza is to New York City. We take our ham fritters very seriously and ours, naturally, are unequivocally the best in the country. Like NYC, where there’s a slice shop on every other block, Miami has myriad croqueticas to choose from—get them Cuban-style from a ventanita like Versailles, order the Spanish variety at a tapas bar such as Bulla, or opt for—our favorite—the Miami-inspired media noche croquetas served at the Local Cuban inside Time Out Market Miami.
For this dish, chef Alberto Cabrera combines the flavors of a classic media noche sandwich—the Cubano’s lighter sibling, made with a soft brioche instead of a crunchy baguette—with the consistency of a classic, deep-fried croqueta. These golf-ball–sized fritters are served with a mustard dipping sauce (an ode to the sammie) and saltines—because the perfect bite requires all three.
An order of these delectable bites includes five croquetas ($12), though the serving size varies: we can never just have one and three might spoil dinner. Though, admittedly, we have been known to put down all five without so much as flinch. They’re practically bite-size—can you blame us? If you haven’t yet tried them, don’t say we didn’t warn you. These things are addictive.
