Thanks to all of you who responded to post. I just returned from Miami last night and wanted to share with you my thoughts on where I ended up eating...

I took all your considerations into mind, but I decided to go with Joia. It is a trendy restaurant with Mediterranean cuisine located on Ocean Drive. The atmosphere was very nice (we ate out on the candle-lit terrace), and the food was delicious. To start, I had the crispy jumbo lump crab cake with creamy mustard sauce. The portion was small, but very tasty. For my main course I went with the Oxtail Tortelloni with Porcini mushrooms and fresh ricotta. Finally, for dessert I had the warm apple crostata with cinnamon ice cream (the ice cream was amazing!) Much to my dismay, I can't comment on the wine selection since I'm just shy of my 21st birthday, but it looked like they had an extensive wine list.

The restaurant is right across the street from the new South Beach Marriott hotel. I'd recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a good restaurant with a "chic" atmosphere in South Beach. I plan on checking out other restaurants mentioned above like Azul and Nemo on my future trips to Miami. Thanks again for all the recommendations.

-Robert-