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Magic City
By R. Couri Hay
Gisele Bundchen, Tom Brady, Cindy Crawford & Karlie Kloss
With its year-round balmy weather and Florida’s open-for-business policies, Miami is one of America’s hottest destinations. Beaches and outdoor attractions abound, and open-air dining is the norm there. A flock of boldface names has homes in Miami including Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, and Karlie Kloss and husband Josh Kushner. Kushner’s brother, Jared, and sister-in-law, Ivanka Trump, are building their post-White House residence on a $30 million lot they purchased on exclusive Indian Creek Island. For visitors, Miami offers the best of a tropical resort – sandy beaches, sparkling blue ocean, spectacular sunsets, boating, deep-sea fishing, golf, and water sports – amidst the sophistication of a major city with flourishing art, theater, dining, and nightlife scenes. There is truly something for everyone, young and old, in Magic City.
“Why is So Much Money Moving to Miami?”
Peter Thiel & Keith Rabois
Wall Street firms like Blackstone and Citadel have expanded their offices in Miami, and hedge fund Elliott Management moved its headquarters to the city. Silicon Valley titans like venture capitalists Peter Thiel and Keith Rabois have also been drawn there. The New York Times’s Kara Swisher recently interviewed Miami mayor Francis Suarez about the phenomenon in an episode of her “Sway” podcast titled: “Why is So Much Money Moving to Miami?” It’s because Mayor Suarez has put out the welcome mat for business, creating assistance programs for startups to turn the city into the newest tech hub. With the ubiquity of remote work, people no longer need to live near their offices, and Florida’s lack of income and inheritance taxes no doubt helps to lure new residents.
Booming restaurant scene
Miami’s diverse eateries are open for indoor and outdoor dining and are packed with high rollers. New dining spots have continued to open at a steady pace, there are also outposts of favorites like Nobu and Cipriani as well as others from New York, Austin, Tokyo, and other cities. There are far too many to list here, but we’ll highlight a few standouts, both new and longtime classics, that we loved on our recent trip.
Carbone Red hot is the way to describe the South Beach branch of the red-sauce Italian joint Carbone. The original Greenwich Village location proved so popular, with hourlong waits despite outdoor-only service, that more than once police action was required to rein in the crowds filling the sidewalks in front. In Miami, boldface names like Derek Jeter, David Beckham, Jerry Seinfeld, and LeBron James have already hit the newly opened spot, and reservations are booked out months in advance. Derk Jeter, David Beckham Jerry Seinfeld, and LeBron James have all been spotted here. Carbonemiami.com
Cote
An equally hot newcomer this winter is another New York import, Cote, the Michelin-starred Haute Korean barbecue steakhouse that opened in the Design District in February. The finest wagyu beef, dry-aged on-site, is cooked on tabletop grills – smokeless, so your designer duds remain odor-free – and “steak and eggs” on the menu is filet mignon tartare topped with caviar. The most popular order is the $54-per-head butcher’s feast, and for high rollers, there’s a 10-course steak omakase for $165. For this location, Cote has added some Miami-only dishes, including a ceviche with Amberjack, snapper, and cobia. Guests have included American Rapper NAS, film producer Peter Bittenbender, and Seth Browarnik. Cotemiami.com (305) 434-4668
Mr. Chow
At the W Hotel South Beach since 2009, Mr. Chow’s Miami location delivers the charm, lively atmosphere, and celebrity patrons found in all of the chain’s restaurants, in London, New York, Beverly Hills, and Las Vegas. The creative Chinese cuisine on offer includes favorites like chicken satay, squab with lettuce wraps, crispy beef, Beijing duck, and house-made noodles. Don’t miss the lychee-infused martinis and French-inspired desserts. You might spot Kylie Jenner and her glamorous clan in the mix, along with stars Justin Bieber, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lizzo, and Tom Cruise. mr.chow.com (212) 751-9030
Cecconi’s at Soho Beach House
While the Miami branch of Soho House, like its sisters, is a private club, this location boasts a restaurant, Cecconi’s, that is open to the public. The fare is classic Venetian-style food served in a buzzing see-and-be-seen atmosphere, with a chic setting and a large area for outdoor seating. Cecconi’s originated in Venice and has outposts in London, Berlin, Barcelona, Brooklyn, L.A., and Istanbul. The black truffle and goat cheese pizza is a favorite, and brunch is among the best in town. Jenifer Lopez, Sam Smith, and Rosario Dawson have all dined here. Cecconismiamibeach.com (786) 507-7902
Jaya
Jaya, at the luxurious Setai Hotel, is that rare restaurant that beautifully marries a fusion of Asian cuisines – Thai, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese, Japanese – with a French twist, and does it well. Standouts include Maine scallops with tandoori spices, the Hamachi appetizer, Peking duck, truffle rice hot pot, and the thali platter, an assortment of Indian dishes that vary with the seasons. Jaya has a terrific cocktail menu – try the chili-passion fruit martini – and its courtyard setting is a serene oasis away from the South Beach crowds. Madonna, Brittany Spears, Beyonce & Jay Z have all escaped the paparazzi here. thesetaihotels.com (855) 923-7899
The Top Hotels
Visitors to Miami are spoiled with choices when it comes to luxury hotels, from brand-new 5-star resorts to still-glorious Mid-century classics like the Fontainebleau and the Eden Rock, both designed by the legendary Morris Lapidus, and those Art-Deco era gems, whose rediscovery in the 1980s jumpstarted the Miami Beach renaissance we see today. Among the top hotels in Miami, six have 5-star ratings: Four Seasons at the Surf Club, the Mandarin Oriental, the St. Regis Bal Harbour, Acqualina Resort, the Faena, and the Setai, where we hung our hats during our visit this spring. To put the outstanding quality of these top-rated properties into perspective, those with just 4-star Forbes ratings include stellar hotels like the Ritz Carlton, the 1 Hotel, the Edition, and the Fisher Island Club.
The Setai
The Setai’s Asian-inspired design has an atmosphere of quiet luxury, the ultimate oasis for billionaires and mere millionaires to indulge in discreet beachfront privacy. The service is impeccable, no request is too lavish for the gracious staff and concierge. The spa is sublime, offering a range of treatments, a fitness center, and several swimming pools. In addition to Jaya, there’s a beachside grill and restaurant, perfect for lunch and sunset cocktails. If you enjoy your stay and the attentive service, you can move in – the Setai consists of two luxurious towers, one contains hotel rooms and the other residences, which are spectacular. It’s your chance to live out your “Eloise” fantasies in a 5-star ocean-front hotel. Ocean Suites ranging from one to four bedrooms can also be rented, it is one of the most luxurious – and expensive – stays in Miami. Thesetaihotels.com
Arte Surfside
So many families with children have moved to Miami that Arte Surfside, a boutique condo building, has offered as an exclusive amenity in-house tutoring and education services by Chris Rim’s Command Education, the world’s premier K-12 education and college consultancy. In addition to academic tutoring, services include planning for internships or research projects, private standardized test prep, and high school and college application consulting.
Miami Art Week
The arty city will be among the first to welcome back live art fairs. Both Art Basel Miami Beach (Dec. 2-4), and Art Miami (Nov. 30 – Dec. 5), are on track to take place as scheduled.
Artbasel.com | Artmiami.com
World-Class Museums
Miami bursts with excellent museums of all kinds, from art to science to history, aviation and railroads, children’s museums, and even one showcasing erotic art; there’s something for everyone. As the city is a major art-world destination, we’ll highlight a few of the best here.
Vizcaya Museum
This is Miami’s number one attraction, the Italian-Renaissance style villa in Coconut Grove should not be missed. The magnificent grounds comprise over 10 acres of meticulously landscaped gardens, including 2,000 orchids, plus 25 acres of protected forest. The house, overlooking the bay, is a breathtaking ode to European design containing a trove of more than 2,500 items of antique art objects and furnishings from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Inside and out, the estate is one of Miami’s most-Instagrammed spots.
Vizcaya.org
Rubell Museum
Formerly known as the Rubell Family Collection, this art-world staple became the Rubell Museum in 2019, upon relocation to a new, 100,000-square-foot, 40-gallery space housed in six former industrial buildings in Miami’s Allapattah neighborhood. The Rubells are known for amassing an enormous collection of works by blue-chip artists, in most cases before they’d become household names. The family continues to collect new works, about 100 pieces per year says Mera Rubell. Rubell’s rotating exhibitions are drawn entirely from its collection of over 7,000 works. Rubellmuseum.org
The Bass
Focusing on international contemporary and modern art, the Bass has a stellar permanent collection, and hosts exhibitions on design, fashion, architecture, and more. Located at the northern end of South Beach, the Bass also features a lush, tranquil sculpture garden. There are currently several ongoing long-term exhibitions, including one appropriately au-courant for this era of working remotely: “Working from Home.” It features nine Miami-based artists exploring their understandings of domestic life in a range of mediums including photography, drawing, collage, and digital formats. Through Sept. 26, 2021.
Hialeah Eléctrica – Metavector is a series of collaborative works by Cuban artists Rafael Domenech and Ernesto Oroza. The artists constructed a site-specific installation that is both architectural and sculptural and functions on three different levels: as an artistic project, an index, and an archive. Through Oct. 10, 2021.Thebass.org
Perez Art Museum Miami
The Perez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) exhibits 20th century and contemporary art, mostly from the Americas, and houses one of the largest collections of Cuban art in the U.S., a nod to founder Jorge M. Perez’s roots. Its massive, spectacular Herzog & de Meuron-designed building overlooking Biscayne Bay and its Instagram-ready outdoor sculpture garden is a draw for visitors and locals alike. Pamm.org
Neighborhoods to Explore
Wynwood Walls
The Wynwood Walls is Miami’s only outdoor museum dedicated to street art, with a roster of more than fifty Instagram-friendly murals painted by renowned artists working in the genre, including Shephard Fairey and Kenny Scharf. The Walls hosts a wide variety of public events, including concerts, rotating DJ sets, and outdoor yoga sessions. Most are free of charge but require booking to attend.
Thewynwoodwalls.com
Miami Design District
Once the city’s center for interior decorators, the Design District has grown into a true destination and is now a sophisticated hub for vanguard architecture, fashion, dining, and art. There are several open-air shopping complexes where you can pick up fashions – or just window-shop – at labels like Prada, Balenciaga, Armani, or Celine. Public artworks and a slew of fine-art galleries in the neighborhood make for a fun afternoon of browsing, and the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami features rotating exhibitions with free admission. A monumental installation by sculptor Robert Grosvenor runs through November 2021 at ICA, and a comprehensive survey of works by Chakaia Booker runs until October 31. You will not go hungry in the Design District, which is home to acclaimed restaurants, including new darling Cote and L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, as well as terrific local favorites. Miamidesigndistrict.net
Lincoln Road
This famous 1950s-era Morris Lapidus-designed mile-long pedestrian mall still charms today, bursting with sidewalk cafes, boutiques, cultural venues, and pop-up shops. Don’t miss 1111 Lincoln Road, possibly the world’s most beautiful parking garage, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, with beguiling retail spaces on the ground floor. There is always great people-watching here, and an artisan market on the last Saturday of every month is a popular destination for everyone. Lincolnroadmall.com