This Local Restaurant Has The Best Gumbo I've Tried In Miami Thus Far

Good gumbo may be hard to find outside of the South, as this staple dish of Louisiana Cajun and Creole foods is typically crafted with generational family recipes that vary widely from household to household. Perhaps this is why restaurants outside of Louisiana have a hard time getting the recipe right. In Miami, the one place that comes close is The Fatty Crab. 

While I'm not from Louisiana, I've been lucky enough to eat authentic gumbo in the state. And it is now one of my favorite American stews. What I love the most about this warm dish is that it feels like a hug on a plate. In its basic form, the hearty stew has herbs, vegetables, and at least one protein. Depending on where it's made and the time of the year, gumbo might be thickened with okra, dark roux (slow-cooked oil and flour), or filé (sassafras leaves in powdered form). But mainly, good gumbo should fill your soul with the comfort of home. One spoonful of properly cooked gumbo has the power to make you feel like everything is going to be alright.

Longing for this back in Miami, I've searched high and low, braving traffic-choked highways and fighting for parking spots to visit the few restaurants that serve the stew. Out of all of them, The Fatty Crab's gumbo is the best I've tried in the city.

The Fatty Crab's uninspired layout and cheesy pink neon signs might make you assume that the food will be as bland as the cookie-cutter houses in Doral, the neighborhood where it's located. But what the restaurant lacks in design, it makes up for in what really matters: the food. 

Striving to be close to authentic gumbo, the restaurant makes the stew with chicken (originally, the most commonly used protein for it), shrimp, andouille sausage, vegetables, roux, and rice. It also adds saltine crackers in little packets next to the bowl. The stew is flavorful and heartwarming. It's spiced enough that it doesn't need any hot sauce, yet not so much that the spices overpower the other ingredients. Though different from gumbo cooked in a Louisiana home, it will still give you comfort, which is exactly what you look for in a dish like this. 

When I come to The Fatty Crab just for a bowl of the gumbo, I usually leave feeling quite full. That said, if you're hungry for more Cajun and Creole-inspired flavors, the menu has several other Louisiana dishes like beignets, po'boys, fried oysters, and seafood boil.

Miami gumbo might not necessarily give you a taste of the South, but it will certainly serve you a delicious bowl with its own flair. The city has a lot to offer, and not just at The Fatty Crab.

Cajun Boil is a popular choice for gumbo, but those who appreciate blander foods will enjoy it more. Though you can always add some excitement to it with a bit of hot sauce. I'd recommend this restaurant more for anyone who wants a generous and well-priced Cajun boil. Crab du Jour in Midtown also serves what it calls Cajun-inspired flavors. Although it doesn't have gumbo, the menu offers crab legs, po'boys, and seafood boils. This is a good option when dining in a group with varied tastes, as it also has a wide selection of burgers, tacos, and other dishes.

If you want gumbo that tastes more like it was made at home with love, you could always, well, make it at home. The dish isn't terribly complicated, especially if you use microwavable roux, which is just as good as its hand-stirred counterpart. Just make sure to ignore the fools who wrongly advise adding beer to gumbo, since doing so might ruin it. And if that still sounds like too much work, you have a few Miami options that will satisfy your cravings.