If you’ve had enough of the sun, sand and craziness of South Beach, head over to Miracle Mile in Miami. Miracle Mile is lined with a range of stores (mostly bridal) and also a lot of interesting restaurants and bars. In a little corner, almost hidden is Patagonia. Patagonia is like entering Argentina. The terrace is filled with Argentinian business men having lunch. Inside pretty much everyone seems to also be from Argentina, including the staff who all speak to me in Spanish. It feels like the kind of place I could camp out in, stay indefinitely.
There are two things to come to Patagonia for. First and foremost you come for Empanadas and that is why I came here. They have over 15 different flavours all better than the last. My favourite was the one called Patagonia which had some magical concoction of yummy things inside. Second, you come here for the wine. The walls are lined with a range of beautiful bottles from across Argentina, many Malbec from the Mendoza region.
I ate quite a few empanadas from here but I also stopped for a hot chocolate. I was really looking forward to this. During my travels last year in Argentina I had hot chocolates quite often. There they were called Submarinos, a small chocolate bar that was given to you with a tall glass of hot milk. You would mix or drop the Submarino chocolate into your milk and watch it slowly melt. It was a fantastic experience and it tasted so good. Unfortunately everything at Patagonia is Argentinian it seems except for their hot chocolate which was a powder from Nestle and was overly sweet.
Verdict: Forget about the hot chocolate. Come here for empanadas, wine and Argentinian sweets. Patagonia, 244 Miracle Mile Coral Gables, Florida, USA.
