Esquire Magazine Names Miami Restaurant Among Those America 'Can't Afford To Lose' During COVID Pandemic

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- The restaurant industry has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, with customers staying away from indoor dining due to safety concerns and restrictions limiting seating capacity.

Dozens and dozens of restaurants across the state have closed since the start of the pandemic and everyone has a favorite restaurant that they'd hate to see shut down for good because of the pandemic.

With that in mind, Esquire recently put out a list of "100 Restaurants America Can't Afford To Lose," chosen by its writers.

"If we lose them, we lose who we are," the magazine stated.

There is one entry on the list from Florida: El Rey de las Fritas located in Miami.

Of the restaurant, Esquire said:

"Yeah, South Beach is fun, but you haven't really made contact with Miami's Latin American spirit until you've experienced the initiation of the frita. A frita (as interpreted by El Rey, which was founded in the 1970s by Cuban exiles Benito and Gallega Gonzalez) is basically a burger on an airy Cuban bun with an avalanche of shoestring fries and a sweet paste of sautéed onions. It's a monument, of sorts, to a crucial period in Florida history, and it's also a damn good snack."

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Esquire says one way to help the restaurant industry, in addition to supporting your favorite local eateries, is by donating to the Southern Smoke Foundation and the Lee Initiative that are helping restaurant workers during the pandemic.

Click here to see the entire list.