In Miami, boom fueled by the pandemic

Unlike many cities, Miami has seen a boom over the course of the pandemic.

Thousands of people moved to South Florida where restaurants, attractions and retail stores remained open and Miami’s tropical glow felt like a panacea all his life locked up.

“The pandemic has increased the value of Miami’s shares,” he said. robins craiga real estate developer who has helped revitalize South Beach and other parts of the city in recent years.

“There are eight new restaurants and two hotels under construction in the Design District alone. This growth is happening throughout the city ”.

The number of visitors is also increasing:

For the week ending May 21, the number of air passengers transiting at Miami International Airport was 1,010,657, a 20% increase from the 841,892 recorded in the same period of 2019, according to STR, the benchmarking of the hospitality.

In the same week, hotel occupations (or rooms sold) recorded 345,091, up 14% from the 301,648 booked in 2019.

This is what’s new in Magic City

A grill and a mall jewel, both Michelin starred

At Cote, the world’s only Michelin-starred Korean grill, the fun factor is as important as the meat.

Owner Simon Kim opened the Design District office in February 2021 with psychedelic lighting and a red-light dry aging room that doubles as an art installation.

Serious carnivores prefer the 10-course omakase steak ($ ​​185 per person), which is cooked at the table on smoke-free charcoal grills and served with pickled seasonal vegetables.

Another popular option is the steak and egg, a filet mignon and caviar tartare dish ($ 58).

In Nice viewthe I’m going to

Luciana Giangrandi and Alex Meyer’s 27-seater set in a sunny shopping mall recently received its Michelin star.

The two chefs, who worked together at Scarpetta, Carbone and Eleven Madison Park, prepare small Tuscan-inspired dishes (from $ 15) that are humble and a little surprising. Crispy polenta sticks with marinated eggplant and hangar beef tartare topped with tuna sauce and crispy capers are featured.

Eric Demby, the founder of Smorgasburg in New York, brought his outdoor food market to Wynwood last March when he noticed how many restaurant professionals were looking for work.

“We offer food entrepreneurs a great public platform,” Demby wrote in an email, allowing them to “do their own thing with minimal upfront investment.”

The event takes place every Saturday afternoon with more than 60 suppliers.

But the biggest impact on the South Florida culinary scene was the arrival of Major Food Group, a Manhattan-based hospitality company known for trendy restaurants like Carbone and Dirty French. Jeff Zalaznick, a partner of the group, was in Miami with his family when the coronavirus struck there in the spring of 2020.

They extended their vacation and Zalaznick said he saw “an opportunity to raise the bar, bring our style of high-energy food and great food to Miami.”

Major Food Group has delivered, with a number of restaurants whose high glamor is accompanied by skyrocketing prices.

The first was Carbone Miami, which debuted in South Beach in January 2021 and is a collision of Sinatra-era elegance with the South Florida glow; dishes include spicy rigatoni ($ 33) and beef parmesan ($ 69).

Next, a Miami version of the Tel Aviv dance party that’s Ha Salon with Israeli chef Eyal Shani, followed by a brunch at Sadelle’s in Coconut Grove with $ 125 bagel towers.

On Brickell Avenue, in a zebra-striped dining room with velvet walls worthy of Tony Montana, Dirty French Steakhouse sells $ 275 Wagyu Tomahawks: T-bone steaks served with the whole rib.

New art, shopping and urban green

During the pandemic, the Design District proved to be both a cultural hub and a shopping destination. Locals and visitors flocked to the 18-block area lined with boutiques to see the public art of Zaha Hadid, John Baldessari, Marc Newson and Buckminster Fuller.

In addition to the new shops, there are recently commissioned works of art to visit, including a window installation by the Argentine photographer Lucia Fainzilberg and two murals, “Interdimensional Portal”, by Afro-Brazilian muralist Criola, and “Baltimore’s good: Mr. GirlYouCrazy and Dev, 2021”. -2022 “, by Amani Lewis.

The underlininga civic project in downtown Miami is transforming 10 miles of barren land under the Metrorail system into native plant gardens.

You can stroll from the Miami River to Southwest 13th Avenue, admiring the cityscape and functional artwork such as Cara Despain’s terrace ping-pong tables, which They talk about rising sea levels.

Hotels influenced by art deco and the Spanish-Mediterranean revival

Those interested in a hotel designed by the nightlife entrepreneur David Grutman and the artist Pharrell Williams They won’t be disappointed in the influencer dream that is the Goodtime Hotel (rates starting at $ 243), which opens in April 2021.

Inspired by its art deco settings, the 266-room property in South Beach It features vintage scalloped bar seating, hand-painted greenhouse murals, and a 30,000-square-foot pool club (yes, there’s a DJ booth), brimming with lightly dressed millennials taking selfies.

Also in South Beach, a former artist colony has been reinvented as the Esme Hotel (rates start at $ 250).

The property spans one block with its 145 rooms and five restaurants spread across eight Spanish-Mediterranean style buildings.

Curious fact: Al Capone he once ran a clandestine gambling operation from the main property building.

Twenty five minutes north of the hustle and bustle of South Beach is Port of St Regis Bal ($ 1,050 / night), located on a stretch of beach dotted with dunes.

Guests outside the hotel can enjoy a quiet afternoon by booking one of the property’s private beachfront day villas.

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