2/9/2009
The New UrbanDaddy
6/15/2008
First look: Pacific Time
Jonathan Eismann is on track to be the comeback kid with the re-opening of his ex-Lincoln Road spot.
6/1/2008
First look: DiBono's
The homey Italian cafe wants to make you a menu offering you can't refuse.
5/30/2008
First look: Art of Food
At Midtown's new vegan café Art of Food, nutmilk (and other healthy stuff) does a body good.
5/15/2008
First look: Blu Pizza e Cucina
Eco-friendly wine and belly-filling Italian fare comes to Brickell.
5/10/2008
First Look: Red Light
Biscayne Boulevard pays homage to its seedy past (and, um, present) with Red Light.
Home Box Office?
Brikolodge Office Space
Chic Eateries
Fly the Co-op: Co-op Miami opens
First look: Dune Oceanfront Burger Lounge
The Ritz classes up the burger by adding a beach backdrop and fancy fixins.
On the Boulevard: Dining on Miami's Upper East Side
The Biscayne corridor has always been a more functional rather than leisurely strip of concrete. A major north-south artery, “the Boulevard,” as its known, has seen its share of ups and downs as Miami has developed into a sprawling metropolis. At times gritty, but always maintaining its unique character, the Biscayne corridor is now home to a variety of notable Miami restaurants, from neighborhood joints that feed a steady stream of locals to foodie-attracting hotspots helmed by celebrity chefs. A successful farmer’s market this winter proved that this strip is fast becoming the epicenter of a food-conscious city.
First Look: Ratatouille
No culinary blessed rats, just fine French fare at the Hotel Clinton's new resto.
First Look: Red Light
Biscayne Boulevard pays homage to its seedy past (and, um, present) with Red Light.
Design Studio: Jefre
First Look: 1 Bleu
Why so Bleu? The Regent Bal Harbour's 1 Bleu restaurant is sure to make you -- and your belly -- smile.
Grill and Testament: China Grill Ft. Lauderdale Opens
March Picks
Chow on This: Philippe Opens
take a wok on the wild side: philippe is opening at the gansevoort south, and this new york transplant is about to fill miami's dim sum void.
First Look: China Grill Ft. Lauderdale
First Look: Badrutt's Place
We don't think you'll remain neutral about Swiss-imported Badrutt's Place.
First Look: Abokado
With Abokado, Mary Brickell Village now has a sushi restaurant -- soon their restaurant empire will be complete. Bwahahaha.
First Look: Bistro One LR
The Ritz-Carlton trades Americana for Latin/French-inspired Bistro One LR.
First Look: Andu Restaurant
Bleu Blood: 1 Bleu opens
miss reeling in your dinner? skip the cold sails and salt in your hair and go directly to the second best source of fresh fish once 1 bleu opens.
Nikk of Time: Nikki Coconut Grove opens
better make a move before someone grabs your spot on the outdoor bed. nikki coconut grove is up and running, and you should be doing the same.
Andu Time: Andu Restaurant opens
First Look: Nikki Coconut Grove
First Look: The Smoking Rabbit
First Look: Bourbon Steak
Chef Michael Mina's Bourbon Steak offers up comfort food with a twist -- and really big steaks.
First Look: Brosia
Sangria and mezze-style small plates under old oak trees. That's right, oak trees.
Holy Joley
the hotel astor is once again a hot nighttime noshing destination now that stylish resto joley has opened in the former johnny v space.
Segaplex: Segafredo Brickell opens
Scissor Sister
no one can accuse riley mclachlan of being snippy. after years of working in a 250-square-foot space, the brit-born hairdresser is finally moving to bigger digs at snip.
The Suite Life
You just won the lottery. You just won the Super Bowl. You just won a settlement from Microsoft. There are plenty of reasons to stay in Miami's most posh penthouses - if you've got the cash.
First Look: Domo Japones
First Look: Kobe Club
First Look: Joley
December: Beauty Picks
Ooh La Spa: Guerlain Spa opens
Casa Decor
It's no secret that Miami is a mecca of interior design. With a wealth of talent, ample square footage to adorn and abundant resources our city has become a wonderland for design and architecture aficionados. For its second year in Miami, CASADECOR'07 appeals to this appetite for visionary design by giving over 60 designers and architects a gargantuan 30,000-square-foot canvas to actualize their aesthetic impulses. The designers converted this year's space–a parking garage on Biscayne Boulevard, just north of the Carnival Center–into a series of fascinating vignettes, beautifying themed rooms with ample mosaic tiling, marble, recycled wood, custom-designed fixtures, rugs, fabrics, furniture and even electronics.
MiMo Glam
Doug and Gene Meyer have channeled Miami's glamorous 1960s hotel scene in their site-specific installation at CASADECOR’07.
Q & A: Timon Balloo
Timon Balloo’s resume would make most culinary hopefuls green with envy; from working in the kitchens of Miami chefs Allen Susser, Tim Andriola and Michelle Bernstein to stints at SushiSamba in New York and Miami’s celebrated La Broche. This winter Balloo will helmthe new Domo Japones, a swanky sushi bistro in the Design District.
Punk Rock Papa
Neal Pollack is an author, blogger, sometimes-punk-rocker and a full-time parent. His book Alternadad is a humorous memoir chronicling his early days as an offbeat parent.
South of Fifth
Neighborhood: Normandy Isles
To the hundreds of drivers who pass through Normandy Isles each day on their way to or from the JFK causeway, the neighborhood may seem like a Francophone curiosity – the streets on the island feature grand French names and the wide boulevards and public plaza feel distinctly European. Though the neighborhood is composed of many nationalities including Portuguese, German, Argentinian and Cuban residents, the international make-up does not lean heavily towards the French. Yet the neighborhood has the quaint community-oriented feeling and walkable streets that evoke a European village; there's nary a high-rise building in site and a local farmer's market sets up shop every Saturday by a picturesque fountain. The islands, whose buildings for the most part appear frozen in time, is truly a local's haunt. In terms of character Normandy Isles offers that rare combination of salty beach life – it is simultaneously funky and valuable with the two qualities often working in conjunction with one another to maintain its architectural character and small-town appeal.
birthright israel: Trip of a Lifetime
Lola's on Harrison
Miami Style
A Waterfront Home on Miami Beach Takes Its Cue from the Holiday Homes of British Royalty.
Neighborhood Profile: Belle Meade
If you are thinking of a move to the Upper East Side or Miami's northeast, to what is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after sectors of the city, look beyond the bustling and gentrifying Biscayne corridor to the quiet, well-kept and well-liked neighborhood of Belle Meade. Nicknamed “Beautiful Belle Meade,” the neighborhood's streets are wide and lush with palm and oak trees. The majority of the houses are modest one-story Mediterranean and Bermuda-cottage-style homes. In contrast to its neighbors to the south, the historical districts of Bayside and Morningside, Belle Meade feels lighter, younger and more open to quirks in landscape design and house colors.
Neighborhood Profile: Silver Bluff
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Little do the commuters battling traffic on Dixie Highway to destinations farther south and north know that parallel to the highway is one of Miami's quietest, best located neighborhoods. Its residents are modest, there are no great landmarks to speak of, the city's history lacks the grandiosity and hurricane-riddled drama of other pre-WWII Miami towns and there are no stories of colorful developers staking claim to uninhabited mangroves. Yet it is precisely those prosaic qualities that draw residents to Silver Bluff, that keep them there and that ensconce the neighborhood safely under the radar, keeping housing prices stable and preserving its winsome character.
Q & A: Govind Armstrong
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The opening of Govind Armstrong's Table 8 in South Beach heralded a new era of dining excellence in South Florida. Along with his emphasis on local, organic ingredients, the celebrated California chef created an upscale restaurant that is both unpretentious and accessible. His boyish good looks, contagious positivity and earnest approach to cooking have earned him a loyal fan base that includes critics and celebrities who consistently pack the tables. Here, Armstrong shares his observations about Miami's culinary scene, pleasing our diverse dining community and where he goes to enjoy good Cuban food.
Fantasy Island
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Walking through the sun-filled home shared by Dacra developer Craig Robins and Design Miami/Basel director Ambra Medda is like taking the Who's Who tour of the art and design world. The 6,000 square foot house is peppered with references to the superstars of contemporary design: a Campana brothers teddy bear chair, a Jean Prouve compas table, Gio Ponti chairs, two John Baldessari paintings, and a Paul McCarthy sculpture are a just a few of noteworthy pieces. It is a fitting abode for two of the most prolific contemporary design collectors in the city.
The Radar Home: Facundo Poj
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Rusty airplane doors, abandoned claw-foot bathubs and rows of old sinks. When others see trash, Facundo Poj sees inspiration for his next line of furniture. The Argentinian designer crafts singular pieces constructed from salvaged materials including antique bathtubs and discarded airplane parts. Part found-art and modish swank, his pieces are often commissioned by corporate clients – the South Beach Food and Wine festival used his orange-colored tubs for their champagne “Bubble Bath” – yet the furniture feels natural in a Mid Century Modern home or a boutique hotel. Now that his collection is available at the “Edge 46” gallery in the Design District, Miami's design addicts will have their pick of Poj's imaginative efforts.
Moving In, Moving Out
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Moving into a new house is an opportunity to take creative leaps. For NiBa co-owner Beth Arrowhead and her husband John Berryman moving from her funky beach condo to a larger Bermuda-style cottage in Miami required a shift in their design paradigm. Marrying the two styles and keeping the eclectic pieces that gave the small apartment its offbeat look required a bit of compromise, ingenuity and loads of white paint.
Cafe Emunah
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Mysticism is hot these days. Perhaps it is a yearning for answers in our increasingly hectic and technology-focused lives, but whatever the reason, in just a few short years the Kabbalah has risen to a fame most pop stars would envy. Beyond all the hoopla, very few people actually know what the Kabbalah is and how it relates to one's life. Dr. Marla Reis, a psychologist turned restaurateur wants to change all that. Her new establishment, located on a quiet stretch of A1A, aims to introduce colorful cuisine that blends Jewish mysticism with a dash of organic chic.
Product Design: Gene Meyer
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A fashion designer whose bold scarves and trippy graphics earned him stints at Geoffrey Been and Marshall Fields, Gene Meyer began designing furniture and rugs with his brother Doug three years ago. Together they helped establish NiBA home in the Design District where his exuberantly-colored rug collections share space with swanky housewares. A forward-thinking designer with an old soul, Meyer has incorporated nostalgic themes from Miami's Deco past into his plush floor pieces.
Graphic Design: Ilona Oppenheim
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There's a building named after her (designed by her architectural powerhouse husband Chad) yet Ilona Oppenheim is becoming known for her meticulously produced graphic design materials, small masterpieces rising to the top in a sea of developer-generated hype. Inspired by the works of Massimo Vinelli and Bruce Mau, the soft-spoken Swiss designer brings that rare combination of European grace and appreciation of form to the Miami design circuit.
Interior Design: Charles Allem
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South African-born Charles Allem imbues his interior design work with an eclecticism that refuses to be pigeon-holed into a “signature style.” His monochromatic interiors have graced such high profile projects as the W Las Vegas, private residences in California and Miami and the upcoming redesign of the Savoy Hotel in South Beach.
Architecture: Chad Oppenheim
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Chad Oppenheim is one of those creative types who is unabashedly optimistic and yet undeniably cool. His buildings have pleased both critics and an increasingly discerning public with an insatiable appetite for design. Equally at ease at glitzy Miami parties as when delivering a lecture on sustainable building practices, Oppenheim has steadily advanced his imaginative structures through an often frenetic development market. His projects illustrate a desire to elevate the Miami skyline and test the bounds of creativity. Sublime buildings like Ten Musuem Park and Cor are launching both Oppenheim and Miami into the global design stratosphere.
Visual Importance
Chefs Whip It Up at Hunger Benefit
It was a cornucopia of culinary delights. It was a chance to taste offerings from some of South Florida's most innovative chefs. It was the convergence of more than 40 restaurants and dozens of wineries, all participating in the 15th annual Taste of the Nation benefit. Held at the Broward County Convention Center, the event attracted more than 1,500 people to raise money to fight hunger among children. The Fort Lauderdale event benefited Share Our Strength, which supports local agencies involved in hunger relief and other humanitarian services. In all, organizers said the event helped raise enough money for one million meals, the evening's goal.
Gone Shopping: Tel Aviv
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From the start Tel Aviv, which translates as “Spring Hill,” has been a destination for artists and designers. This reputation culminated in the 1930’s when many of the forerunners of the International Style emigrated from Europe and quickly set about molding an architectural mecca for the modernist set. Dubbed the White City, Tel Aviv boasts the largest concentration of Bauhaus buildings in the world. Four years ago UNESCO declared Tel Aviv a World Heritage site prompting the city to restore many of its neglected structures. Architects are still drawn to the Mediterranean beach city for its continued embrace of progressive design. Philippe Starck and Richard Meier have residential projects in the works and Santiago Calatrava just finished a pedestrian footbridge in Petah Tikvah, a suburb of Tel Aviv. The city has also revived other landmark areas such as the old city of Jaffa (which is now home to upscale restaurants in addition to it famous antique bazaars) and the northern port area filled with cavernous lounges and fashion outlets. All this urban renewal has buttressed the city’s vibrant art and design community, with many designers opening showrooms and mass-producing their coveted designs.
The Cafe at the Pelican Hotel
The Pelican Hotel exudes cool. How can it not? It’s the only hotel in the world owned and operated by Diesel, the apparel company. The brand's quirky vintage aesthetic combined with a refined trend radar make it a welcome attraction to the relaxed South Beach hipsters that feel at home at the Hotel's casual cafe.
A Florida Psychologist Asks: Kabbalah with your Sushi?
A new beachfront restaurant in this South Florida city is billing itself as the country’s first kabbalistic restaurant.
Theater Review: Golda's Balcony
In her memoirs Golda Meir tells the story of how as a teenager in Milwaukee she used to stand on a soapbox outside her local synagogue and preach the Zionist cause. When her father learned of this, he threatened to drag her home by her braid for shaming the family. But Golda's oratory abilities were so engaging that on the day her father meant to drag her home, he was spellbound by her speech and vowed to never stop her from speaking publicly again.
Wired
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When designing a home, deciding on lighting is sometimes a bewildering task. Too much light in one area or too little in another and one is left with a dining area that is anything but romantic and a salon where a flashlight would come in handy. And if there is any single element of interior design that quickly evokes drama it is lighting. That is why more interior designers are turning to companies that have experience in the commercial market.
Architectural Elements Star at Film Fest Awards
On the last night of the Miami International Film Festival and after a week of watching fantastic films, all anyone wanted to do was celebrate and dance. The committee for the Miami International Film Festival transformed the second floor of the Alfred I. Dupont Building into a flashy, thumping nightclub, replete with plush white couches and a mammoth dance floor. After the festival's awards presentation and a screening of the film Ira & Abby at the regal Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, partygoers flocked across the street to the Dupont Building to celebrate the completion of the 2007 festival. The party was both a celebration of this year's festival and a kickoff for the festival's 25th anniversary next year.
Stars of the Culinary World Honor Chef Ripert
The Saturday night event for the South Beach Wine and Food Festival was an exercise in elegance and restraint. Over 650 members of the food and wine world gathered at the Loews Miami Beach Hotel to pay tribute to the famed New York restaurant Le Bernardin. The guests of honor were legendary chef Eric Ripert and Le Bernardin founder Maguy Le Coze.
Gone Shopping: Tokyo
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Tokyo is a sprawling, blinking, shopping-happy city. Every bit of space—air and land— is used to satisfy the city’s 12 million inhabitants’ insatiable urge for the new, the shiny and the trendy. The city is a wonderland for design and architecture buffs; Tokyo’s streets sparkle with gems like the Prada store in the Aoyama neighborhood, designed by Herzog and de Meuron, which resembles a crystalline honeycomb and Toyo Ito’s concrete tree facade for the Tod’s flagship store in the neighborhood of Omotesando. These inspired retail structures are emblematic of the reverence between design and consumer culture that pervades Japan.
Sushi Samba Dromo
People in the food world shy away from using the word “fusion” these days. The term has become too trendy, overused and was never quite defined. It takes a trip to Sushi Samba Dromo to remind us all that fusion cuisine can be exciting, flavorful and full of unexpected promise. The restaurant developed back in the day when fusion was a ground-breaking phenomenon, and despite its status and the older and wiser doyenne of Lincoln Road's high-end eateries, a meal at Sushi Samba proves that the Japanese and South American-influenced eatery has not lost its mojo or its ability to churn out respectable fare.
Chef Alvaro Beade Marries Old and New at IDEAS
In service, décor and culinary wizardry, IDEAS is top notch. Chef Alvaro Beade executes Spanish cooking from the Castilla y Leon region with a confidence and elegance that is both accessible and lofty. From the page-long list of Chef's suggestions to the standard menu, the selections at the restaurant marry old and new ideas about traditional Spanish cooking.
The Jewish State of Florida
Caffe Da Vinci
The word “homemade” is bandied about too easily on Italian menus. Sadly, what one often receives in South Florida spaghetti joints seems no different from the store bought variety. At Caffe Da Vinci you can really taste the difference. Fresh pasta has a certain snap to it, a bite that signals perfect al-dente execution and freshness that can not be faked. All pasta at Oggi restaurants (which include its namesake Oggi and Blue Oyster Grill) are made fresh daily at the restaurant's resident pasta factory, and it shows. From the minute you enter the cozy Bay Harbor Isles outpost of the famed Oggi restaurant empire you know you are in good hands.
Drinks Cart: Acai Fizz
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The term “virgin cocktails” conjures images of canned maraschino cherries and mini-paper umbrellas. And of course, the absence of alcohol. For the pregnant, driving or those who are not yet legal (for drinking, that is), meeting for cocktails is sipping juice or a choice carbonated beverage. Yet as cocktail culture becomes more about sampling sophisticated ingredients than getting buzzed, non-alcoholic cocktails are popping up on trendy menus around the globe. Sushi Samba Dromo, the South Beach outpost of the New York-based Brazilian-Japanese chain, glamorizes this neglected cocktail category with the healthy and invigorating “Acai Fizz.”
Brief Reviews: Bonim
Cooktops
Stand alone cooktops are established facets of high-end kitchens and the preference of serious chefs. Separating the cooking surface from the oven gives the cooktop a dramatic space on either a kitchen island or centered on a counter bar and allows for “social cooking” whereby chefs and their admirers can gather round the fire and sample the delicacies, chat, and observe the cooking process. Versatility abounds in countertop cooking terrain. With options such as cutting-edge induction surfaces, nonstick surface griddles, and professional grill attachments, the current cooktops are fabulously functional and striking centerpieces for kitchen action.
Ranges
Espresso Makers
The espresso machine serves a very specific purpose – to deliver tiny impeccable cups of coffee with reliable efficiency. Given this industrious expectation, espresso machines have tended to focus more on function than design. But espresso machines are quickly becoming a staple of contemporary kitchens as fresh and inspired designs begin to shape the look and function of these compact caffeine vehicles first created a century ago by Milan engineer Luigi Bezzera. From the ponderous Miele built-in to Luca Trazzi’s whimsical candy-colored models, espresso makers are flexing their design muscle.
Whether it is perfect “crema,” the caramel-colored foam that appears on top of a shot of espresso during the brewing period, or evoking the design optimism of Italian futurism, each of these appliances has something to offer regardless of budget, from the ultimate in luxury to a modest starter set.
Babies Go Modern
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There is a baby boom going on in Miami. And the parents behind it are young, hip, and design-conscious. These parents, who are often patrons of this city’s burgeoning art and architecture revival, lean more towards mid-century modern rather than rococo lavishness. Declaring that it is never too early to introduce kids to good taste, Miami moms and dads are looking for appropriate pieces that fit seamlessly amongst Saarinen wombs chairs and Kreiss end tables. In an era when adults no longer see themselves as giving up their dedication to design and fashion simply because they have become parents, the renaissance in nursery design is markedly sophisticated and unfussy. Parents are not hiding the nursery anymore, but are embracing the baby bedroom as a design opportunity, a chance to experiment and take chances.
