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RESTAURANTS • First Person
Genuine artifact
Last week in Air Mail, a local writer posited that the recent spate of Miami restaurants opened by groups from places like New York, London, and Mexico City is a bubble about to burst. The story cited a local hospitality broker’s intel that sounds the death knell for many of these spots. But this boom and bust cycle in Miami is nothing new.
While the Air Mail story is particular to the volatility of Miami’s post-pandemic hospitality recovery — something every city’s restaurant scene is experiencing in its own way — it could’ve been written anytime in the last 15 years, with a different set of restaurants and circumstances.
Many of the restaurateurs cited (Stephen Starr, José Andrés, Charles Khabouth) may have opened new concepts in Miami in recent years (Pastis, Zaytinya and Amal, respectively), but they’ve been doing business in Miami long before the pandemic. Their success largely depended on their ability to tap into and understand Miami’s culture, as well as the sincerity of their (time, energy, and resource) investment in becoming an authentic part of the city.
The more interesting (and telling) story of the Miami restaurant scene’s health is the local chefs and restaurant groups who survived and continue to grow, spawning new talent from their kitchens. In that respect, Miami’s restaurant scene has been on a steady upward trajectory for as long as I’ve called this place home.
There’s perhaps no better example than Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink. Established in 2006 by James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schwartz, the restaurant ushered in Miami’s farm-to-table movement, partnering with local farmers to source seasonal ingredients for a daily changing menu. The Design District as we know it today essentially sprouted up around this early neighborhood canteen. And while Schwartz may have had various other concepts and partnerships come and go, Michael’s Genuine remains a stalwart alongside its sister restaurants, Harry’s Pizzeria and Amara at Paraiso.
Schwartz’s contemporaries and forbearers (like Michelle Bernstein, Norman Van Aken and Cindy Hutson) have had similarly enduring if non-linear careers. And a new class of chefs and restaurateurs continue to redefine the city’s dining scene, including Michael Beltran, Jeremy Ford, Janine Booth, Jeff McInnis, and Michael’s Genuine alum Niven Patel. Others are expanding their reach beyond the confines of the city via bona fide national hospitality groups (Gabriel Orta and Elad Zvi with Bar Lab, David Grutman with Groot Hospitality).
Returning to Air Mail’s story: It’s not that restaurant groups from other cities and countries can’t make it in Miami — we’re largely a city of immigrants and transplants, after all — it’s just that with each restaurant effort here, sincerity and connection to place matters. No one understands that better than locals. –Shayne Benowitz
→ Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink (Design District) • 130 NE 40th St • Mon-Thurs, 1130a-10p, Fri-Sat 1130a-11p, Sun 11a-11p • Reserve.
MIAMI RESTAURANT LINKS: Miami Beach’s Macchalina unveils details on major expansion • Coral Gables resort The Biltmore opens new fine dining restaurant overlooking golf course • French Moroccan-inspired supper club Habibi to open this summer on the Miami River • MaryGold by Brad Kilgore closing June 1, new concept planned.
REAL ESTATE • On the Market
Open house crawl
Five to get you started this holiday weekend:
→ 1537 SW 10th St (Little Havana, Sat 12-2p) • 5BR/3.1BA, 2928 SF house • Ask: $1.79M • plus detached 1BR cottage • Days on market: 22 • Agent: Jack Coden, Keller Williams Eagle.
→ 4175 Raynolds Ave (Coconut Grove, above, Sat 12-2p) • 3BR/2BA, 2100 SF house • Ask: $2.299M • two-story, wood-paneled great room and poolside Tiki lounge • Days on market: 13 • Agent: Joshua Altman, Redfin.
→ 1777 SW 22nd Ter (Coral Way, Sat 10a-12p) • 4BR/5BA, 3500 SF house • Ask: $2.625M • new construction with outdoor kitchen and pool • Days on market: 37 • Agent: Sebastian Echeverri, RGI.
→ 10126 SW 93rd Pl (Kendall, Sun 1-4p) • 6BR/4BA, 3921 SF house • Ask: $3.8M • 1/2 acre lot on a cul-de-sac • Days on market: 23 • Agent: Laura Kefalidis, Compass.
→ 3685 Royal Palm Ave (South Coconut Grove, Sat 12-2p) • 3BR/2.2BA, 3292 SF house • Ask: $5.35M (originally listed 9/7/23 for $8.999M) • vintage Mediterranean-style villa • Days on market: 76 • Agent: Liz Hogan, Compass.
WORK • Thursday Routine
On fire
MIKA LEON • chef, restaurateur, and content creator • Caja Caliente
Neighborhood you live in: Coconut Grove
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
No Thursday is the same, except for the fact that I'm juggling a million things at once. I start my days going to Caja Caliente, a Cuban restaurant I own in Coral Gables, and making sure everything is set up for the day and that there are no fires to put out. I also create recipe videos and work with brands to develop content. If it's a filming day, I spend the morning preparing my kitchen and mise en place before my social media manager and I start shooting, usually around 11:30 a.m. I typically shoot around five to six recipe videos a day. I’ll wrap up around 5 p.m. and then it’s on to emails and calls until 8 p.m.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Working from home, getting myself organized for the next few weeks, and taking a few Zoom meetings. I’ll get recipes ready for client approvals and go through creative briefs with my manager. Then, I’ll plan outfits for upcoming shoots and business trips I have coming up. I’ll also send producers photos, releases, ingredient lists, and other necessary documents before taping. I’m writing down talking points and things I’ll need to avoid forgetting. If I have any downtime today, I’ll go for a walk around my neighborhood to unplug.
Any bar or restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I plan my weekends around food — lots of it. My go-to happy hour spot is Bar Taco in Coconut Grove on Friday after work. They have the best mezcal margarita I’ve had in Miami. Saturday morning after class at Mimi Yoga, I check out the Coconut Grove Farmers’ Market and then walk over to Grove Grover for all my cooking essentials. They have the best locally made bread, olive oils, beans and tinned fish. On Sundays, I like to walk over to Sadelle’s for bagels to go with a soft scramble I’ll make at home. On an ideal night, dinner is at Edan Bistro, my favorite Miami restaurant at the moment. The basque cheesecake is a must.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I recently attended the Miami Open and enjoyed some local favorites like Omakai, Dos Croquetas, and Cheeseburger Baby. When I'm not working, I love being outdoors, and that’s usually spending time on Key Biscayne or Kennedy Park, where you can get the best lemonade slushy from the A.C.’s Icees truck. (Make sure to bring cash.)
Any weekend getaways?
My recent weekend getaways have been to Colombia: Cartagena is always a good time and has the best island hopping (my favorite is Baru). While in Cartagena, I always go to La Cevicheria for fresh fish and Erre de Ramón Freixa for dinner.
What was your last great vacation?
I would definitely say Japan. I spent two weeks in Tokyo and Kyoto. Nothing compares to the food and culture over there. While in Tokyo, I really enjoyed the teamLab Planets exhibition, knife shopping on Kappabashi Street, and thrifting in the Shibuya area.
MIAMI WORK AND PLAY LINKS: Ten-acre energy storage site on Fisher Island hitting the market in massive redevelopment play • Residences at Mandarin Oriental to break ground next year on Brickell Key • Floating social club Arkhouse says it won’t open in Bird Key waters • Wynwood’s tech office boom hits a short circuit • Why home equity is so hard to tap • Bored remote workers are boosting the online retail market.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Pilates
Cadillac in the jungle
Situated in a stunning jungle-esque setting, Sundara Pilates is a welcome addition to the Coconut Grove scene. The studio’s teacher, Nicole Lopez-Carrell, was drawn to Pilates as a way to get back in shape after having three kids. She customizes private sessions ($120 per, $80 for the first session) on both reformer and Cadillac. You can also bring in your own instructor for a $50 fee. –Ginger Harris
→ Sundara Pilates (Coconut Grove) • 3794 Irvington Ave • open Mon-Fri • call to bring your own instructor.
GOODS & SERVICES • The Nines
Pilates
Sundara Pilates (Coconut Grove), BYO teacher or book a private class
The Pilates Place (Morningside & South Beach), knowledgeable and experienced teachers (teacher training, too)
Pilates One (Coconut Grove), energetic, transformative classes
Reforming Pilates (South Beach), studio as aesthetically pleasing as it is demanding
Pilates in the Grove (Coconut Grove), as much about getting in shape as it is healing past injuries
CadiLab (Silver Bluff Estates), when you’re ready to upgrade to the Cadillac
Method K Pilates (Morningside, above), for one-on-one and duets in the most charming space
Pandora Pilates (Coconut Grove), also offering physical therapy and massage
Sobe Pilates (South Beach), group classes or private sessions (chair and tower classes, too)
Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundmiami.com.
WORK • Meetings
Booked solid
We had a 9a video call with a potential vendor yesterday morning to kick off the week at FOUND. I selected the time after the Calendly link the vendor sent on Friday showed no availability for weeks, and he offered to make time outside his standard 10a-5p booking schedule.
It was a good meeting. But the scheduling was a funny dance for a minute — sort of like a day-of 7p reservation magically opening up at a hot restaurant — and reminded me of days in more meeting-heavy corporate cultures when we could never “Find a time” in Google Calendar for that 10-person check-in. There was so much politics and preening, manufactured busyness, and big-timing built into the process.
The changing nature of work schedules and remote work seems to be doing away with some of that. With more employees working asynchronously, firms have had to get creative about how they interact, trading check-ins for shared workspaces and new forms of documentation.
One upshot of meeting-lite work culture is that it’s harder to show off how absolutely packed your calendar is. For those purposes, however, there’s still the pre-dawn email, reportedly making a comeback.
It’s unlikely yesterday’s scheduling dance was about calendar gamesmanship, but if it was? Well played. We just might get a Calendly ourselves and block it through July. –Josh Albertson
CULTURE & LEISURE • Home Ice
Thievery Corporation, Miami Beach Bandshell (Miami Beach), Fri @ 730p, GA, $310 per
Bad Bunny, Kaseya Center (Downtown), Sat @ 8p, section 107, $489 per
Rangers vs Panthers, Amerant Bank Arena (Sunrise), Sun @ 3p, section 118, $866 per
GETAWAYS LINKS: American adding new Caribbean flights from MIA including LRM (La Romana/DR) • Forthcoming Bahamas resort plans first over-water bungalows • Last day for Epic Pass best price for next winter: May 27 • Is Ritz-Carlton really a luxury brand?
ASK FOUND
First, a quick primer on how this works: You send us the pressing questions of the day (on dining, services, living in Miami and surrounds). We all put our heads together (us at FOUND, + you, FOUND subscribers, who are also FOUND) in search of truth and beauty.
Three FOUND subscriber PROMPTS for which we are seeking intel:
What Miami hotel do you always recommend for out-of-town guests?
My friends and I are searching for a new (non-hotel) day spa for a weekend drop-in. What are the latest FOUND options?
What’s your favorite restaurant in Miami (if you haven’t told us already)?
Got answers or more questions? Hit reply or email found@itsfoundmiami.com.