Prepare for a Spice feast at these hotels

Foodies, prepare for a veritable feast of flavors during Miami Spice at two South Beach hotels that are home to four restaurants (two in each hotel) but that are also just a block away from each other.

At the Delano Hotel on 16 St. and Collins Ave. UMI Sushi & Sake offers you well...sushi and sake while at Leynia you can enjoy Argentine grilled favorites with a Japanese flair. Across the street at the SLS Hotel on 17 St. and Collins Ave. Katsuya's Japanese delicacies and the re-invented Spanish specialties at The Bazaar by José Andrés await you.

On a recent whirlwind Miami Spice dine-around it was an unforgettable evening where we sampled pretty much everything the four eateries are offering on their dinner menus for $39 during August and September.

I cannot possibly show you everything we had but here are some highlights:

A sushi and sashimi sampler at UMI Sushi Sake Bar with a glass of bubbly

UMI Sushi Sake Bar is at the entrance to The Delano and a lovely place to put on your Miami Spice list with a menu that offers either miso soup or edamame to start, a choice of one of six appetizers, one of seven entrees and a couple of desserts.

Empanada sampler at Leynia

Tender churrasco with chimichurri

Also in the Delano is Leynia an Argentinian grill serving up the classics with an Asian flare. The churrasco with grilled onion and chimichurri pictured above is tender and delicious and one of the entree choices for spice, and the generous empanada sampler is one of the appetizer selections.

Next, we moved over to the SLS South Beach just one block over and sampled Spice menu items at Katsuya and Bazaar by José Andrés. Beautiful food, just gorgeous and it tasted as good as it looked. Both restaurants create masterpieces and will have you wanting to return before you've taken the last bite.

Here's some of what we had at Katsuya:

The table was set with a chilled sake bottles and warm candlelight at Katsuya

No Soy Sushi

Robata carrots with grilled carrots, strawberry sofrito and dots of sesame puree

Watermelon "tuna" tartare made of compressed watermelon over a kombu reduction

Tortilla de Patatas "New Way" with egg 63, potato espuma and crispy potato. You'll swear you've bitten into a tortilla española.

"Not Your Everyday Caprese," with cherry tomatoes and liquid mozzarella that's a flavor bomb explosion

Switching gears to The Bazaar by José Andrés, it was another gastronomical trip, this time through Spain but via the re-inventions of classic dishes by what can only be called the mad scientist that is José Andrés.

I urge you to check out the full Miami Spice menus for all these amazing restaurants and carve out some time to enjoy them all. https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/offers/temptations/miami-spice-months