Tropical escape
Sunny’s, Villa17 listings, hushed hybrid, best new North American hotels, Boia De, Walrus Rodeo, record night, Hotel Saint Vincent NOLA, MORE
RESTAURANTS • First Word
The sun also rises
The Skinny: While downtown’s beloved Jaguar Sun may have set, a new day has dawned for restaurateur Will Thompson (see Thursday Routine, below) in Little River, where he’s found a permanent home for Sunny’s, his steakhouse that originally premiered as a pandemic pop-up.
The Vibe: A tropical escape in ever-up-and-coming Little River, Sunny’s has outdoor seating around a massive banyan tree (a key holdover from the pop-up). The exteriors are thrown into smart relief inside, by a gorgeous dining room designed with a touch of Palm Beach regency and mid-century modernist flair. There’s also a lush outdoor bar and patio for pre-dinner mingling, as well as another bar inside the restaurant for drinks and walk-in diners.
The Drinks: Jaguar Sun fans will be happy to see the revival of the Green Ghoul, a smoky, mezcal-laden riff on the margarita, and the Wolf Whistle, their spin on a tequila espresso martini. There’s also a large-format clarified rum punch for four, as well as a take on the Hemingway-authored absinthe champagne cocktail, Death in the Afternoon.
The Food: Sunny’s dry-aged steak program is on full display through their massive kitchen — a clear upgrade from their former makeshift outdoor kitchen digs. Start with Treasure Coast oysters or fluke crudo with strawberry and finger lime, before moving on to Parker House rolls and a perfectly dressed Caesar. Pastas include Jaguar Sun classics like a rigatoni with spicy pork sugo and agnolotti with blue crab and saffron. When it comes to the meats, take your pick from USDA prime hanger and Australian Wagyu. There’s also a rotisserie chicken and a pork collar with a Calabrian chili and anchovy rub.
The Verdict: A mature older sister concept rather than a facsimile of Jaguar Sun. The pasta and martinis live on alongside Sunny’s steaks and sauces. –Amber Love Bond
→ Sunny’s (Little River) • 7357 NW Miami Ct • Wed-Sat 5-12p, Sun 4-10p • Reserve.
MIAMI RESTAURANT LINKS: LA restaurateur Evan Funke’s Italian behemoth Mother Wolf Miami has dropped in the Design District • NYC Mexican favorite Ensenada bringing coastal Mexican cooking to former Vagabond space downtown • Sushi Garage joins culinary lineup at forthcoming Standard Residences in Midtown Miami • How Sam Kaplan’s Memento Mori wines became a Napa Valley sensation.
REAL ESTATE • FOUND Development
Sweet spot
Two new listings came online late last month at Villa17, a 10-unit new development in South Beach at 17th Street and Jefferson Ave. Kobi Karp is the architect on the project, which will feature rooftop terraces and three variations of fully furnished interiors — Tropics, Italian, and Yodezeen (after the design firm). Prices range from $3.5-4M for the 2700-3000 SF townhouses, each of which will have four bedrooms.
Here those two new listings:
→ 1701 Jefferson Ave #7 (Bayshore) • 4BR/4.1BA, 3391 SF townhouse • Ask: $3.559M • Days on market: 14 • Agents: Darin Tansey & Alice Troyanovsky, Elliman.
→ 1701 Jefferson Ave #5 (Bayshore) • 4BR/4.1BA, 3438 SF townhouse • Ask: $3.999M • Days on market: 14 • Agent: Darin Tansey & Alice Troyanovsky, Elliman.
WORK • Office Report
RTOver?
Amazon’s call for employees to return to the office five days a week continues to ripple:
In the wake of Amazon CEO Andy Jassy’s memo, other big tech companies were forced to react. Microsoft and Google execs said those companies wouldn’t force employees back unless (cue minor-key soundtrack) productivity slows.
Amazon employees are not happy! A survey of 2500 Amazon workers found that 91% are dissatisfied with the move and 73% are looking for a new job as a result. (N.B. FOUND is looking for good freelance sales people.)
In defense of Amazon’s policy, insiders said it was necessary to defend the company’s can-do corporate culture (previously defined by debilitatingly long hours in the office).
Meanwhile, the NYT says return-to-office has expired as a topic of interest because it is no longer interested:
[O]ver the summer, the phrase seemed to disappear: Its three-letter abbreviation appeared in The New York Times only four times from June 1 to Sept. 30. The words ‘return to office’ appeared only five times in the context of employers, employees and workplaces over those four months.
A novel theory! But maybe, splashy corporate memos and waning media trends aside, the RTO noise actually quieted down because employees unceremoniously took the issue into their own hands, pursuing a “hushed hybrid” approach in which they find a way to work flexibly even in the face of stricter mandates. Brace for more memos. –Josh Albertson
WORK • Thursday Routine
Jaguar son
WILL THOMPSON • owner • Sunny’s
Neighborhood you live in: North Miami
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
There’s not nearly as much routine as I’d like; I’d say chaos is the routine. But a normal flow is: Get up, check the first round of emails, make coffee, and take an hour or so to catch up on admin stuff. That’s the most productive part of my day. From there, once the team is onsite at Sunny’s, it’s making sure people have what they need to hit the ground running, and making sure they know you appreciate them. Depending on the day, we’re focused on getting ready for service and identifying all the small stuff. There’s always something — things we forgot to order, what did we think was coming in today that’s not? Everybody’s scrambling a little bit. No two days are exactly the same.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Today we went live telling the world we’re ready to go — and Resy went completely down. So the last hour’s been spent reaching out to anyone I could to get that sorted. Then, freak out. It’s gonna be our first service, so it’s particularly interesting, making adjustments to the floorplan, layout, checking music and lighting levels. Making sure permits are printed and hung where they’re supposed to be. Then, checking in with the kitchen and seeing if there’s anything we need to take care of with the menu. It’s a very long list, and everything is significant in seeing whether we have a good night or a bad night.
Any bar or restaurant plans this weekend?
Not this weekend, or any weekend for… a while. But I like to get out and support my friends Alex and Luci at Boia De and Walrus Rodeo; they’re obviously great. I really enjoyed Recoveco in South Miami recently. I like going over to Palma. If I have a chance, I like a small, independent restaurant; that always makes me feel better than supporting a corporate chain.
Any weekend getaways?
I think if you can get to Mexico for a couple of days, that’s as good as it gets. Even if it’s Mexico City, I’ve given up on trying to seek out fine dining and just like going where everything around you is delicious and pretty great. Here in Florida, I have some friends in St. Augustine with a bar called Boat Drinks; it’s just a fun town. It’s old, it feels like Florida — but not the Miami kind of Florida. There’s surprisingly good food there; it’s just a good hang, like Key West, without the fuss.
What was your last great vacation?
It was probably before I moved to Miami. I used to get to travel for work a bit and we went to Jamaica to see the Hampden distillery, and to Oaxaca. Not necessarily to see one distillery, but to just sorta bounce around. Another time we did a Moscow bar show and had events out in St. Petersburg, which was pretty insane.
What stores or services do you always recommend?
Sweat Records and Technique Records are always worth celebrating. We used to do a record night at Jaguar Sun when we were just getting started, and being able to go out to a couple record stores and find great things was a real treat.
MIAMI WORK AND PLAY LINKS: New development Residences at Mandarin Oriental notches $500M in sales in just two months • And here comes another Brickell supertall • Cheese shop Chèvre opening second outpost in Design District • Do corporate art collections have a point? • Meet the HENRYs — high earners, not rich yet.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Gold-plated
Gold Over America Tickets Gold Over America Tour Starring Simone Biles • Amerant Bank Arena (Sunrise) • Fri @ 730p • section 117, $171 per
John Legend • Hard Rock Live (Davie) • Sun @ 7p, section 115, $242 per
Billboard Latin Music Week • The Fillmore (Miami Beach) • Mon-Fri • insider pass, $650 per
GETAWAYS • New Orleans
When the Saints
The thing about New Orleans is that you can visit again and again — and have a different experience each time. A mere two hour flight from Miami makes it a doable long-weekend destination (or even fit for a 36-hour jaunt).
On a recent trip, my group settled into Hotel Saint Vincent, which opened three years ago in the Lower Garden District, just a few blocks away from bustling Magazine Street and its heavenly private homes. The building, a former asylum, was re-imagined by hotelier queen Liz Lambert of El Cosmico (Marfa) and Saint Cecilia (Austin) fame, with just as much design flair and attention to detail as those Texas properties.
While it’s hard to justify eating on property in one of the food capitals of the country, the on-site options are solid. My favorite was a stand-alone coffee and bánh mì café — a mini off-shoot of the French-Vietnamese cafe Elizabeth St. — in the front courtyard. There, you can pick up pastries and a latte, or grab something like a sticky rice bowl or Dan Dan Noodles later in the day. Within the hotel, there’s San Lorenzo and Paradise Lounge, an all-day restaurant offering myriad oyster options and good cocktails.
To round out the trip, we all did tarot card readings and a ghost tour to get into the metaphysical spirit, and learn more about New Orleans’s history and fabled past. Whether or not you choose to believe in the lore, there’s little debate to be had about the city’s powerful past and extraordinary present — all on grand display at Hotel Saint Vincent. –Zoe Schaeffer
→ Hotel Saint Vincent (Lower Garden District, New Orleans) • 1507 Magazine St • Weekend king rates from $474.
GETAWAYS LINKS: New Barbuda international airport (BIA) opened last week • American Airlines resumes service from MIA to FPO (Freeport, Grand Bahamas) • Following July hurricane, Mandarin Oriental and Soho Beach House in the Grenadines set to reopen today • Pool villas revamped at Belmond La Samanna on St. Martin • Amex closing all spas across Centurion Lounge network • At posh hotels, the rise of the robot massage.
GETAWAYS • The Nines
New hotels worth the trip*
Today’s Nines are courtesy our friends at Way to Go, the excellent weekly travel newsletter by the discerning founders of Fathom. You should subscribe to Way to Go for many reasons, chief among them its obsessive commitment to surfacing great hotels. (BONUS: 25% off for FOUND readers!)
Todos Santos Boutique Hotel (Todos Santos), sexy 10-key with elaborate F+B, $772
SHA Mexico (Yucatán), innovative medi/emo/wellness spa, $2052 (4-night program, 2 ppl)
Maroma (Riviera Maya), jungle meets beach resort, $1899
Silvestre Nosara (Costa Rica), bougie-boho surfer heaven, $947
The Dunlin (Johns Island, SC), Lowcountry cottage core, $1169
Hotel Bardo (Savannah), historic mansion turned Italian-y clubhouse, $595
The Potlatch Club (Bahamas), Eleuthera gem on beachfront acres, $475 (3-night minimum)
The Ranch Hudson Valley (Sloatsburg, NY), for quick hike-based resets, $2291 (4-night program, 2 ppl)
The Weston (Vermont), big-time luxe, small town charm, $550
*US, Caribbean, Mexico. All rooms November rates one night.
ASK FOUND
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Today, three FOUND subscriber PROMPTS for which we are seeking intel:
Which new restaurants have wowed you this fall?
What’s your favorite bookstore in Miami?
Which spa are you booking to escape the chaos of the season?
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