Meet Melina Traituros & Cristian Ramirez | Owners at French Bistro – Argentinian Steakhouse

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melina Traituros & Cristian Ramirez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melina Traituros & Cristian Ramirez, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We started thinking about move abroad from Argentina, our home in 2017 since we have 3 daughters and we were concerned about the insecurity in Buenos Aires. We didn’t want for our kids to grow up in that environment. My sister Corina has been living in Miami for more than 28 years. And we visit her and her daughters yearly. Cristian born between pots and pans since his father, Victor had various restaurants in Buenos Aires, and he worked with him side by side but in 2007 he started working at the Private and Domestic Airport in Buenos Aires, and I had my own Travel Agency specialized in Boutique wine , Polo , fishing and hunting and all tailormade trips. Cristian got a Job offer in Pisa, Italy, to work at the airport , we had everything set, the Italian passports, the codici fiscale and the tickets, all set to move on but the Pandemic frozen all that project. In Argentina was very difficult to get the vaccines, so we planned a trip to visit the family and try to get the vaccines in Miami. During our visit we discover that the French Bistro was on sale, so we went for a walk through and our daughters got so excited that there was a grill to cook Parrillada and they discover they had breadcrumbs to make milanesas, one of their favorite food. So we say that the restaurant choose us!

We want to show the world that by means of French and Argentine fusion cuisine you can achieve a great culinary experience. Through our flavors you can travel far. We want to takes you on a journey FAR!

Respecting the inheritance of the restaurant that for over 18 years was French with Argentine touches. While still respecting our family inheritance, our mom last name was Iuvalé. Our great grandfather left France, went to Italy and from Italy to Argentina.

For us the biggest goal is to balance our food and the experience highlighting the points of common between Paris and Buenos Aires, the countryside of Provence and Las Pampas and their magnificent wines, flavors and of course music.

What should our readers know about your business?
Everybody sees the funny part of having a restaurant as being enjoying the salon chatting with the guests or cooking your favorite dishes, but our jobs start early in the morning from putting the orders for the suppliers, do the administrative part, the marketing, the social media and keep the restaurant clean and nice. So we have to strive for greatness with discipline, dedication and persistence to offer an excellence experience.

We have our day off on Mondays , and we don’t have as much time as we want to spend with our family and friends on weekends since we are open all day Saturday and Sundays. On the other side, we have the satisfaction of collaborate with the community participating at Career Day inspiring the kids and donations for the schools, churches, organizations, firefighters and even we had the Big Honor to participate not one but this next Feb is going to be our second year on the row at the SOBE Wine and Food Festival, at Steak and Whiskey Event hosted by Chef Symon and at the Goya Foods Grand Tasting Village where the 100% of the net proceeds from the festival benefit the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management at FIU, thanks to the opportunity the Lee Schrager, the founder of the SoBeWFF.give us by letting us be part of such a great cause. Also we have been honored by the presence of Mariana Rodriguez from A la carta Telemundo and we have been live on the news also at Telemundo51, Cocinando Contigo live at the 7 am news . We never imagine to appears on the TV and have the opportunity to help and do our contribution to the community.

We are a family business and we believe to keep the old way, from the vintage décor to a warm welcome. We take time to prepare every dish and desserts. We prefer to make you wait but enjoy your food fresh. So we hope to meet you soon and let us give you cozy and personalized experience.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As we are located in the beautiful Village of Palmetto Bay, of course we’ll take them to Deering Estate to discover this enchanting place nestled along the Palmetto Bay Coast, the Everglades to enjoy the amazing wildlife and natural beauty and the Florida Keys all the way down to Dry Tortuga to spend the night camping at the us southernmost national park and on the way back making a must do stop at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park to experience the beauty of the coral and underwater sea life in this National Marine Sanctuary while staying dry . Wynwood, Miami Beach, Miami Design District, Key Biscayne and the cherry of the top will be going to watch an Inter Miami soccer or football match.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate this Shoutout to My whole family, from my husband and Executive Chef Cristian Leonardo Ramirez who support me in this crazy journey, where we invest all our savings,dreams and efforts. He is the best Dad, always giving not his 100% but his 300% for our 3 daughters to have all their basic needs and more covered. He is the one who open and close the Bistro everyday, even on Mondays, our day off, he is on call and ready to go to maintenance the kitchen or whatever need to work on.

My Big sister and baker by nature Noemi Corina Traituros, who open us her home and her heart helping us taking care of the girls and work at the restaurant while I stay at home after school , but what makes her the Most Valuable Player is that share with us all her creativity by making different empanadas shapes and the most delicious homemade desserts with a precision and passion in every detail, God bless her and her magic hands!
Also We like to recognize her two daughters Araceli an Micaela Otero, for their unconditional help taking care of the girls, giving them advice and been the best cousins . They are always here ready to help at the restaurant or at the special events taking care of every detail.

And last but not least specially to my 3 daughters Azul Athina 12 years old, Abril Artemis 9 years and Alma Aletheia 6 years old, than despite all the adaptation at school, the language and new friends they light up our way to keep focus and never give up, even in the most challenge times like the omicron months and for all their support, cheering us up and critics positively .We love you from the bottom of our heart and I’ll be always grateful for all your help in each step of the way to have our own family dream (family business).

Website: www.frenchbistromiami.com

Instagram: frenchbistromiami

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com.ar/biz/french-bistro-miami

Other: https://www.miamiandbeaches.com/l/eat-and-drink/french-bistro/21269

Image Credits
https://www.instagram.com/gpphotographyllc_and_video?igsh=bGl6OHZucHJyemtj https://www.instagram.com/doralvideophotography?igsh=MWcxaXZ2dHY2ZWwzcw==