Going to Jon & Vinny’s is a fun excuse to eat like a child - Review - Miami - The Infatuation
"Don’t be fooled by the location, Jon & Vinny’s is not the restaurant you’d expect to find within 100 meters of a Yayoi Kusama installation. It’s an adult pizza party where you can eat with your hands, be loud, and draw on the menu with provided crayons. It would make more sense inside Super Wheels than the Rubell Museum—so treat it as such. Jon & Vinny’s comes to us from LA, where its easy-to-love Italian-American dishes proved popular enough to turn the restaurant into a mini-chain. Its Miami location is a bit of a rush job. Partially constructed from empty pizza boxes, the restaurant opened just in time for Art Basel 2024, and you can sense the impending deadline in its design choices. We wouldn’t be surprised if its boxy green furniture were constructed exclusively with those hex keys that come with IKEA tables. (In their defense, it’s unclear how long Jon & Vinny’s plans on operating in Miami, since they’re referring to this location as a “residency.”) video credit: Ryan Pfeffer So maybe don't plan a date or special occasion here. But do come when you’re in the mood to shovel down pizza and ice cream like a child who’s been forked over to their fun aunt for the weekend. Jon & Vinny’s menu is big, but your focus should be on the best thing here: crispy, thin pizza. Other than that, order a couple of the most consistent starters—honey-drizzled ricotta bruschetta, meatballs, and salads—and soft serve, which is always a good way to end a meal that feels like a ninth birthday party. Food Rundown Gem Lettuce The lettuce is just a delivery mechanism for the two best parts of this salad: a satisfyingly spicy calabrian chili dressing and breadcrumbs that somehow stay crispy even though the salad is a touch overdressed. photo credit: Jakob Layman Chicken Wings If we meet a person who's never seen hot wings before, we’ll show them these as an example. But then we’ll point out they should never pay $30 for a dozen of them. Spicy Fusilli It’s a fine pasta, but it doesn’t earn the “spicy” in its name. The gem lettuce salad is actually spicier. How embarrassing to be out-spiced by a salad. PlayMute video credit: Ryan Pfeffer Bronx Bomber Jon & Vinny’s is a scary place to be if you suffer from pizza indecision. But the good news is that we’ve yet to try one we haven’t enjoyed. If you want something meaty, go for this version loaded with fragrant fennel sausage, mozzarella, onion, garlic, and oregano. PlayMute video credit: Ryan Pfeffer Crust Dip It costs an additional $2.75 to get a dip to accompany your crusts. Do it. We like the garlic buffalo, which is too good simply for crust. Dip the entire slice in it. PlayMute video credit: Ryan Pfeffer Soft Serve Good, but better if you pair it with a soft snickerdoodle cookie. Oh, to be a kid again. photo credit: Ryan Pfeffer Drinks Anything that comes in a can or a bottle tends to be more reliable than the imbalanced, inconsistent cocktails. So stick to beer and wine." - Ryan Pfeffer
