It had been years since I had eaten at Big Pink, but what made me return after all this time? Some burger changes to the menu sparked my curiosity.
Big Pink (157 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach) has served its amped-up diner food for over twenty years. Unfortunately, the dishes you usually find at these chain diners are frozen and overly salty foods to hide the lack of quality ingredients.
Also, very few of them make their dishes in-house. At Big Pink, you get the exact opposite of that, plus the portions are sometimes monstrous. The hours are great too; they’re open every day from 8 AM till Midnight.
I may have gone a little overboard ordering, but I thoroughly enjoyed everything that touched my lips. There’s an entire burger menu to choose from, but I went with one of their older standbys, the Smash Burger.
I love a perfectly executed smash and griddled burger, and that’s what it was. However, if you can save space for dessert, I would, since the Dulce de Leche Bread Pudding is just plain out-of-control goodness.
After all the pictures, you can read about my initial visit to Big Pink in October 2008 or check out their sister restaurant, Prime 112.
Big Pink Menu
Big Pink Food Pictures
Big Pink in Miami Beach
October 8th, 2013 – A few people have “hyped” Big Pink to me, so I figured I would cave in and check the place out. It has a very laid-back ambiance about it when you walk in. I expected to see Marty McFly and Max Headroom like the Back To The Future II scene.
So we sit at the bar and order a few beers served up nice and cold. As for the apps, we started with the macaroni with cheese (elbow macaroni with a mixture of cheeses and Parmigiano Reggiano shreds as a topping), which was nothing out of this world.
There were also the chicken chili nachos, a platter of multi-colored tortilla chips with chili, cheddar cheese, salsa, jalapeños, guacamole, and sour cream, which was our least liked of the appetizers. On the other hand, the popcorn shrimp and panko-crusted chicken tenders (coated with Japanese bread crumbs) served with honey mustard and BBQ sauce were excellent.
I loved these, but they taste identical to those served at the Gables Diner (RIP), and both are served with the same two sauces. Then, I had the BBQ burger (bacon, fried onions, BBQ sauce, and jack cheese). Now, this was a thick burger.
The bartender told me that the burger patties are hand-pressed daily. After the first bite, there was no doubt that these were the real deal and excellent. I intend to return here as they have a gigantic menu, and I’d like to try a few other things.
