Make Miami Genuine Again: Interview w Michael Schwartz

An interview with James Beard award winning chef Michael Schwartz

In a city obsessed with what’s next, Michael Schwartz is a rare thing: someone who made Miami better by staying true to himself. Long before the avalanche of omakase counters, steakhouse empires, and influencer-bait menus, he opened Michael’s Genuine, an honest, unpretentious restaurant in the heart of the Design District that quietly set a new standard (and winning best new restaurant in the country). Farm-to-table before it was a hashtag, neighborhood-y before it was nostalgic, and always rooted in real cooking, real hospitality, and real flavor. John Coltrane’s music embodied in a restaurant and a chef.

For this edition of Miami Minds, we sat down with the James Beard Award-winning chef to talk about what it means to be genuine in a city that often rewards the opposite. We got into the early days of Miami dining, the highs and lows of growing a brand, what he’s cooking now, and what still drives him in a world that loves to chase the new.

Call it a reminder—or maybe a rallying cry—that authenticity never goes out of style.