when i headed across the country on my recent trip to miami, there was one place in my mind that i knew i had to check out no matter what: beehive. the happycow and yelp reviews were down right intriguing, describing the place as unbelievable. lex of vegan-la even wrote me an email when he found out i was traveling to florida, urging me to specifically check out beehive no matter what. this place got so built up in my mind, i didn’t know quite what to expect.

rainforest burger: vegan burger in pita bread with lettuce, carrots, beats spinach and tomato.

i knew beehive was a small cafe with just a counter and a few stools located at the back of a health food store…and here just a few of the other things the reviews promised: a friendly and humorous chef who offers up free samples of whatever he’s cooking, a huge rotating menu consisting of tofu, seitan empanadas and soup, and a cramped bustling seating area with a wait. when i arrived on a friday afternoon, the place was empty and i don’t think the chef was even there…just some gruff dude chopping up vegetables who snarled at us as we sat down.

i had read on yelp that this place was vegan and maybe even a bit snobby towards omnivores, so i was a little surprised to see jars of honey sitting amongst the condiments. oh well, maybe they just aren’t that strict, i thought. i was looking forward to trying the seitan, and since i didn’t see any specials getting cooked or anything, i just went ahead and ordered off the huge menu board that hung above the counter: 1 tofu sandwich and 1 seitan sandwich. the dude told me they were out of both those things…actually they were out of everything on the menu except tuna sandwiches and veggie burgers. tuna sandwiches, WTF?!?! i thought this was a vegan place…or at worst, lacto-ovo. why the hell is fish 50% of the menu right now?! oh well, i just shrugged it off and ordered the burger…which ended up being pretty damn tasty!

the patty was huge, and definitely homemade, which is a plus. the pita was soft and totally overflowing with all the fresh vegetables. not bad. the leafy spinach in particular was especially delicious. also, the dude gave us two huge squezzy bottles of tahini and hot sauce to pour all over our burgers. mmm. mmmm. MMMM! that really hit the spot.

so, even though i definitely hit up beehive on a very off day, my journey there had a happy ending: a very respectable vegan burger. i will definitely try to go back some day and hope that the chef is there, i mean the reviews on happycow make it sound way out of this world. they go on and on and on and on about all the different dishes and specials that the chef thinks up each day. even the set menu on the wall was massive, i would have been so content ordering from it, if only they weren’t out of everything! motherfuckers!

huge menu, right?

even as i sat chomping away on my burger, i couldn’t help but notice a bunch of rave reviews of the cafe from local magazines with pictures of all the awesome food, hanging on the wall and mocking me. damn…i wish that chef was there! i will go back next time i’m in miami. hopefully it will be on a good day.