Linda Bladholm

food@MiamiHerald.com

L & L Market Bistro is an oasis on Miramar Parkway just north of the Broward County line for lovers of microbrews, fine wine and good food. Named for partners Lucy Rosende and Lizzy Davila, who run the place with their husbands, the gourmet outpost has been open about a year.

Prepared-food customers can pick up takeout or eat at a large, communal, wood table surrounded by racks of wine and deli cases. There are also a few small tables out front. Many customers check the website for the daily menu and monthly specials.

Lucy, who oversees the front and came up with the menu, began cooking Chinese food as a girl because it seemed exotic compared to the starchy Cuban food her parents ate. She always intended to go to culinary school but ended up learning on the job as the assistant food-service director for Gardner's Markets in Miami-Dade and a culinary specialist for Burdines.

The dining scene in Miramar consists mostly of chains, so the market-bistro concept is a welcome addition. It is worth a drive just for the beers -- everything from banana-flavored Belgian Lambic beer (matured in oak casks and good with dessert) to nutty Morimoto soba ale from Oregon (brewed from roasted buckwheat and hops).

Popular salads include the Bombay (greens topped with curried chicken salad and mango salsa), Asian (Napa cabbage, snow peas, spicy chicken, crispy noodles and Asian aioli) and a tuna with capers and Kalamata olives. Favorite sandwiches are the hot muffuletta (cold cuts, provolone and olive tapenade on a ciabatta roll), tuna melt (with fontina cheese and spinach) and the Cuban Ruben (pulled pork, corned beef, Swiss and sauerkraut on Cuban bread).

Rashaad Abdool, a recent Le Cordon Bleu graduate, runs the kitchen. He is of East Indian descent via Trinidad, so he often makes potato and pea-stuffed samosas (fried pastry triangles), chicken curry with coconut milk, rice pilaf, and roti (flat bread).

Other frequent specials on the eclectic international menu include tandoori shrimp, Korean barbecued short ribs, salmon with pecan butter and pork loin stuffed with shiitake mushrooms and goat cheese. All come with a suggested wine pairing.

Shop for wine or gourmet products before or after eating. Lucy searches for items that complement the prepared foods she sells. Choose from jalapeño jelly, blue cheese crackers, peach chipotle jam (good on grilled salmon) and fig spread (great with brie).

Hard-to-find cheeses include Blackstick Blue from Lancashire, England (soft and creamy with an appealing tang), Humboldt Fog (California goat cheese with a bloomy gray rind that has a full, creamy flavor and crumbly-smooth texture) and Sonoma Dry Jack (sharper that Monterey Jack). From the hand-crafted beers to homemade cookies, there's something for everyone here.

Linda Bladholm's latest book is Latin and Caribbean Grocery Stores Demystified.

FYI: Free delivery in Miramar area.