Eric Barton

Why is everyone vacationing in the same place? I often wonder this during travel spikes, scrolling social media to see people with nothing in common having the same experiences. Are we all spring skiers now? Is everyone actually having fun, or are we just yielding to a trend? It’s time we all dig a little deeper, skip the cookie-cutter trip and set off somewhere different. Forget what everyone else is doing! Let’s explore our own interests—and while we’re at it, do it where it’s not so crowded. To help you find the perfect underrated summer travel destination, we tapped our network of writers with plenty of experience discovering cool places. We’re showing new sides to cities and regions you already know and sharing choice spots that might be new to you. From wine tasting your way through Boise, Idaho, and encountering wildlife in Oakland, California, to ferry hopping in Southeast Alaska, these aren’t your typical summer escapes. A little less popular and still very exciting, these underrated U.S. destinations are calling your name this summer.

For years, the good people of South Florida were left wondering which of our Miami restaurants are worthy of a Michelin star. For those of us who eat out for a living, or at least go to restaurants like it’s our job, it was a dinnertime game: Who would you award a Michelin star? The need to guess ended when the Michelin Guide finally arrived in Florida in 2022, awarding stars to 15 restaurants in the state. Unsurprising to those who live here, 11 of those restaurants were in Miami. Each year since, the guide has rolled out new selections representing the best of Miami, Tampa and Orlando. For its 2024 awards, Michelin doled out stars to three new Miami restaurants, bringing the Magic City's grand total to 14 starred restaurants, including one with a two-star disinction. We’re happy to report that Michelin continues to assemble a worthy collection of our favorites, places deserving of all the accolades, and your next night out. RECOMMENDED: These Time Out Market spots made the Michelin Guide

We believe a taco can be enjoyed at any time of day. To create this guide to the best tacos in Miami, we consumed breakfast versions stuffed with things like egg, sausage, cheese and peppers. We moved on to the quick, street-food-style tacos that make for a great lunch, served from nondescript strip mall spots and mini Mexican chains alike. We ended days at sit-down spots owned by the same family for years. We dined at some of the finest restaurants in town, with trendy Tulum themes and tablecloths as delicate as tres leches. And then we stayed up way too late gorging on roadside tacos from North Beach to Florida City. Peruse the results below, an in-depth, all-day map to the very best of Miami tacos.  RECOMMENDED: The best Mexican restaurants in Miami

There’s a restaurant not far from me, just one neighborhood away in a strip mall so low rent you’ll double check that the car is locked. Pass through the parking spots that seem entirely too tight to be real and you’ll find one of Miami’s best restaurants, Boia De, where the theme is quite simple: put out things that are delicious. Like other Time Out contributors and editors, I make a pilgrimage there yearly on my birthday. To do this, I check the reservations incessantly. I put my name on a waitlist. And I text the chef as if I’m hoping he’ll take me to the spring formal. Eventually, usually, I get that coveted reservation, albeit at a time that most people would say it’s too early to begin happy hour. The crazy thing, as we found in trying to book these restaurants below, is that Boia De isn’t even the toughest reservation to be had in this fair land. Some of the toughest reservations in America are just simply impossible to get—unless you’ve been headlining at Madison Square Garden. For others, getting a reservation will require a combination of computer skills and patience, and some planning well in advance. So, break out your laptops, set your calendar with reminders, and prepare to call in favors because we’re about to take a trip to the restaurants in America that are just near impossible to book. RECOMMENDED: The cheapest Michelin-starred restaurants in AmericaThe best seafood restaurants in the USA

Living in Miami means regularly fielding texts from old friends asking the same thing: They’re staying on South Beach and do we know what’s good? Though we have a list of go-tos at the ready for most major Miami neighborhoods, South Beach needs follow-ups. Like, what’s the budget? Are they packing an LBD or do they prefer to stumble into a place in their beach coverup? Basically, are you like many out-of-towners looking for the clubbiest of clubstaurants, or is your goal to experience an amazing meal? Below, we’ve included both of those things (and they’re not always mutually exclusive) in our guide to the best restaurants in South Beach. Save this page and send it to your friend visiting Miami next time they ask for instant clout. RECOMMENDED: The best bars in South Beach, ranked

Searching out the best Mexican food in Miami means something very different than it did just a few years ago. Back then, you’d have to stand in the yellow glow of food trucks in unassuming parking lots and peruse unbelievably long menus at places that have been around forever. Today—yes, you still might sidle up to a food truck and gorge yourself at the old-school Mexican spots. But Miami is now also home to places that would fit in well on the streets of Mexico City. We also now have monuments to Mexican cuisine, fancy places with “elevated” dishes and even one spot inside an actual castle (OK, chateau). The good news is that our guide to the best Mexican restaurants in Miami includes a range of prices, from affordable to outrageous—so that you’re free to properly indulge in one of the best cuisines on the planet.  RECOMMENDED: The best Miami rooftop bars for solid sips and dazzling views

Will eating your way through every burger in Miami lead to record-setting cholesterol levels? Maybe. But sniffing out the best burgers in the city is a worthy cause, at least in our book. It means consuming stacks of smash burgers, piles of traditional fritas and bountiful buns and patties prepared using fine-dining techniques at fancy sit-down restaurants. After housing every burger we could get our hands on—from the overhyped to the criminally under-the-radar, we’ve produced this guide to the very best burgers in Miami right now.  RECOMMENDED: The best breweries in Miami

Most bars and restaurants in Miami offer some sort of discounted offering during happy hour— and if they don't, they should. Because the rent is too damn high, and we all deserve a break where we can get it. If you're here, you're seeking out the best bang for your buck, and we know exactly where to find it. At these top Miami happy hour spots, you’ll find flowing drinks, yes. But there’s also an array of tasty bar victuals to be sampled from some of the finest restaurants in town. Dollar oysters and panoramic views, half-priced martinis and caviar-topped snacks, frozen libations and live music—get it all, and at prices that’ll make that monthly Brickell rent just a little easier to part with.  RECOMMENDED: The best rooftop bars in Miami

Studies have shown that Miami knows how to brunch better than any other city. We should note that said studies were not conducted by proper research centers but rather by a team of hungover journalists in dire need of good eggs and a bloody mary. Over several years of indulging in breakfast-lunch hybrids in the early weekend hour of around 2pm (basically dawn in Miami), we have confidently determined the finest places to brunch in a city that makes brunch an unofficial sport (along with day drinking and al fresco dining). We're laying it all out below in our guide to the very best places to brunch in Miami, the unscientifically official Brunch Capital of the Planet.

Surprise! Florida is known as the Sunshine State, but more than a third of the time, you can count on a rainy day here in subtropical Miami. Wet weather is typical in the summer, but if your plans call for sunshine, there's a good chance you'll get rained out no matter what season you're in.  Don't let a little water ruin your good time. Whether you’re dealing with a fleeting sprinkle or a full-on tropical storm, there are plenty of fun indoor activities in Miami when it rains. Shopping in Miami is an excellent option, and a rainy day is the perfect excuse to get off the sand and explore the city’s world-class museums. Figuring out what to do in Miami when it rains? Below, we came up with fun beach day alternatives, kid-friendly activities and plenty of boozy options so your day doesn’t have to be a total washout.

The Wall Street Journal published an article recently with a headline that asked: “Wait, Is Fort Lauderdale…Cool?” To locals, this seemed both like confirmation of something they already knew and absurd. Because if that’s ever been an actual question, it was answered long ago. That’s especially true when we’re talking about the Fort Lauderdale restaurant scene. Sure, a generation ago, dining out here largely meant staid Las Olas restaurants serving vaguely continental cuisine. But now, the city has stellar restaurants spread from the sand's edge to the county's western reaches. To be sure, we visited the city’s chef-driven spots and hidden strip-mall gems and places as cool as, well, Fort Lauderdale itself. Follow our guide to the best restaurants in Fort Lauderdale to see just how cool this city has become. This guide was updated by South Florida-based writer Eric Barton. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines.  RECOMMENDED:📍 The best things to do in Fort Lauderdale🏖️ The best beaches near Fort Lauderdale🏨 The best hotels in Fort Lauderdale🌴 The ultimate guide to Florida

April 2024: Miami's spring is oh-so-brief and soon we'll be staring down another long, muggy summer. For now, though, the days are sunny, the nights are breezy and the spring break crowds have vanished. So before it's too late, dine outside, on the water or in the sky at a Miami rooftop restaurant. And if you're short on time, be sure to check out our locals-approved guide to the best Miami restaurants where you don't need a reservation. Our top places to eat in the city are a true mix of flavors and feels, from white tablecloth fine dining—like some of Miami’s best steakhouses— to tried-and-tested cheap eats in Miami that never, ever disappoint. And where there’s a solid cocktail there’s likely to be an epic dish that follows, so expect to run into some of Miami’s best bars on this list. Just as we've always done, Time Out’s local experts scour the city daily for great eats, great value and insider info. We emphasize fun, flavor and freshness at every price point, and update this list monthly with standout finds. If it’s on the list, whether it's a short-lived pop-up or a mega clubstaurant, we think it’s awesome and hope you will, too.

I’ll admit to being skeptical walking into Oise. The idea here is to combine Japanese and Italian ingredients, a theme they’re calling “itameshi.” Which sounded initially like the very-played-out Asian fusion thing. But then I had the Oise meatball. It’s soft and tender within and caramelized on the outside to give it a glazed, crispy texture. It sits on a tomato sauce that’s richly umami from the addition of miso. And it wears a crown of fondue foam blowtorched until it’s charred like a toasted marshmallow. It’s as tasty and creative as anything I’ve had lately at the finest of fine-dining restaurants.  And yet the concept at Oise is something far more casual. To create this place, Chef Brad Kilgore, who’s killing it these days at MaryGold’s, teamed up with Andrew Mayer of the affordable-yet-excellent Mr. Omakase. They devised a simple space in the back of The Oasis food hall where you order by your phone. There are no servers, just a food runner and a single person back in the open kitchen. Whether that’s a process you’ll find enjoyable really comes down to personal preference. There will be a moment when you have to stop the conversation and open your phone to search the menu for your next round. Still, that’s arguably more efficient than unsuccessfully trying to flag down a server almost everywhere else in town.  When the dishes arrive, it’ll become clear why you came. The Baby Butter Lettuce Salad is like a Caesar reinvented into something better: a green goddess dressin

There’s no participation trophy in restaurant reviews. But if I could give an “A for effort,” it’d go to Smoke & Dough. Because what it’s trying to do—update American barbecue into something very Miami—is the best idea since somebody decided to stuff guava and cheese into a pastelito.  The thing is, Smoke & Dough has that meet-cute backstory that makes people want to root for a restaurant. Owners Harry and Michelle Coleman,met while working at the FIU student newspaper. They couldn't find journalism jobs after graduating in 2008 (who could?), so eventually they opened Empanada Harry's in a Kendall strip mall. They later added Smoke & Dough as an adjoining restaurant. It might have just been a quiet little barbecue place if the New York Times hadn’t put Smoke & Dough on a list of restaurants the paper was most excited about in 2023. Then things blew up.  The early Saturday night I was there, “reserved” placards sat on every table—yes, a barbecue place that takes reservations. The theme is “modern smokehouse,” corrugated metal in place of tiles in the drop ceiling, a pelt on the wall, “BBQ” lit up in bare bulbs in a sign hanging above our heads. The Sinatra soundtrack, loud and lively, added to the man-cave vibe.   Some of the dishes excel at combining Southern barbecue with Latin flavors. The brisket features slices of tender, cafecito-rubbed meat atop a rich mole sauce with an artful swirl of herb oil. The bravas substitute fried yuca for potatoes and add heat from a dried pe

One of my favorite local Instagram accounts follows the exploits of a couple with an enviable life: they travel the world eating at only the finest restaurants. After the Michelin Guide debuted its Miami recommendations, they posted their own analysis, arguing that our local picks didn’t hold up against other cities. I disagree with that conclusion, but I thought about it during my recent meal at Sereia. This modern seafood restaurant in Coconut Grove seems destined for the Michelin Guide—multiple stars, even—because it succeeds at every key fine dining metric, from impeccable service to dishes displaying a sophisticated level of technique.  Take the bacalao. It’s salt cod, which some may remember as a fishy, over-seasoned offering from their grandparents. Here, it arrives in the form of a tarte, pretty enough for the front window display of a French bakery. A cured egg yolk sits on top like the center of a blooming flower. It’s mixed tableside, a light and delicate dish with the flaky cod the star of it all.  This refined approach is the work of Henrique Sá Pessoa, who earned a pair of Michelin stars before opening Sereia in Michael Beltran’s old Navé spot. The space received a minor facelift, the bar still off to the left as you walk in, and an open kitchen in the back for those who want to watch the chefs work. To helm the kitchen here, Sá Pessoa hired Miguel Massens, a tasting menu master. Luckily they went with an a la carte menu at Sereia, since diners (and their wallet

Ossobuco is a beautifully designed Wynwood restaurant with an everything-is-grilled theme. It puts out dishes that run from fatally flawed to so perfectly executed that it’s almost as if there are two opposing chefs in the kitchen. The place occupies a space in the bottom of Sentral Wynwood, one of the shiny new apartment complexes replacing the neighborhood’s squat warehouse buildings. Inside, it’s all stone, amber woods and concrete with an open floorplan that spills out to the leafy courtyard. It’s moody and buzzy, with every seat in the dining room and handsome L-shaped bar offering a view to the kitchen’s grill stations. And that’s the point. Each dish, even the cold apps and some of the cocktails, includes a grilled element. The chef (there’s actually just one) is Guillermo Eleicegui, an Argentine who’s worked at Sugarcane, the Delano and the Hilton West Palm Beach. Here, he’s designed a menu that’s like a modern version of a South American parrilla. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it flops as hard as a flipped T-bone. Photograph: Eric Barton for Time Out Take, for instance, my Negroni cocktail washed in Wagyu fat. The drink itself is a smack-you-in-the-kisser umami bomb, which already is hard to process. The garnish is a clump of raw, lightly blowtorched mushrooms. Bits of them broke off, creating an awkward sip and an unseemly texture that says, “A fungus is floating in my drink.” But then, to emphasize the dichotomy of the place, arrived the Steak and Eggs appetizer:

I was walking around Wynwood one night when I spotted a guy holding a paper bag with a drawing of an old-timey soda fountain worker in a bow tie, offering a smile and a wink. It’s the logo from the hot TikTok spot of the moment.  When I told him I’d been wanting to try the place, he turned my way, sleepy-eyed. “Dude, these are so good,” he said, the vowels so drawn out they became their own sentence. This was an IRL version of the hype surrounding Skinny Louie, which has been getting a lot of love from the influencers (e.g. “It’s thick and rich like me”). This explains why Skinny Louie often sports a long line down a block full of good restaurants.   Photograph: Eric Barton for Time Out So I got there early one day, just after Skinny Louie opened at a wide-eyed-for-Wynwood 11 in the morning. Uber Eats drivers idled near their scooters. Inside, a gaggle of employees crowded a kitchen so narrow a naked John Cena would need to maneuver sideways. Skinny Louie is the creation of Gonzalo Rubino and Matias Palloni of Crazy Poke and Sushi Mas. The simple, late-night smashburger joint serves just seven items: three burgers, three shakes and fries. Aside from an Impossible Meat option, there are no substitutions and no secret menu items—smart, especially when considering Skinny Louie’s rowdy 2am crowd.  We unwrapped our burgers on one of the lipstick-red tables outside, a Motown soundtrack adding something celebratory to all that hype. We spilled out the fries, salty and not unlike t

What’s the vibe at Nine One Five? The dining room and veranda downstairs serve as the perfect spot for a couple’s night out, while the second-floor bar can turn into a bit of a scene, albeit far less wild than elsewhere on Duval Street. What are the prices like at Nine One Five? For a place putting out some of Key West's best seafood dishes, prices here are reasonable, like duck confit pizza for $14, yellowfin tuna tartare for $14 and black grouper with lentils for $28. What should I order at Nine One Five? There’s a handy visual menu online to help the planners get ready, but we’d suggest the crispy whole snapper served with white rice and a sweet-tangy sauce of Thai chili, ginger and garlic. What's worth visiting nearby? Considering you’re semi-dressed up for Nine One Five (at least by Key West’s casual standards), head to Vinos on Duval, an equally charming wine bar just a block away.

What’s the vibe at Date & Thyme? Take a break from Key West’s standard Caribbean motif with a bohemian hangout for health-conscious locals. What are the prices like at Date & Thyme? Considering everything is organic and fresh, prices here would be a steal in a bigger city: avocado toast for $8, a pesto garden wrap for $11 and a peanut butter and banana coconut milk smoothie for $8. What should I order at Date & Thyme? If you’re like us and came for something healthy after all the bad things you did to your body last night, get the Sublime Bowl: black beans, roasted veg, grains, mojo sauce and cashew lime crema. What's worth visiting nearby? Stick with a theme of what the locals do and head to 5 Brothers for a Cuban coffee and seriously entertaining people watching from the chairs out front.

What’s the vibe? The tight dining room has the homey vibe of a neighborhood bistro and gets crowded pretty much always. What are the prices like at The Katherine? While individual dishes here aren’t comparatively expensive ($12-$34), this is the kind of spot best done by ordering too much and sharing everything, which can get pricey once you've filled your table with dishes. What should I order at The Katherine? Starters and sides really sing here, so don’t sleep on the sherry-roasted carrots, clam chowder fries, and the best dish we sampled, the chili garlic heirloom tomato with a coconut lime vinaigrette. Entrees are big enough to feed two, but you’ll still want your own; our favorites are the Thai Red Curry Branzino and Mom's Trini Oxtail. What's worth visiting nearby? It’s a short walk from The Katherine to Las Olas Boulevard, where you can grab after-dinner sweets at Ann's Florist and Coffee Bar or a glass of wine at the charming Vinos on Las Olas.

What’s the vibe at Heritage? The open kitchen, crowded dining room, and a reservation list that seems permanently booked equals an atmosphere that’s always bustling. What are the prices like at Heritage? Moderately priced pizzas run from $19 for a New York-style cheese to $25 for the sausage and broccoli rabe. But they're a menu gateway drug, leading to the $26 meatball app and $30 for a bolognese with veal, wagyu beef and pork. What should I order at Heritage? Razor clams, a dish you don’t often see in South Florida, are a signature stuffed with a crispy and buttery filling. Follow them with the rich bolognese and any of the pizzas. What's worth visiting nearby? Heritage is in the center of Lauderdale’s Flagler Village arts district, and there’s lots to do nearby—like the Chops + Hops ax-throwing bar and the speakeasy Mama Hanks, found through a secret door in a liquor store.

What’s the vibe at Anthony's Runway 84? A recent renovation to this Fort Lauderdale classic set out to make it feel like the nightclub scene from Goodfellas, right down to the crooners onstage and well-dressed maître d's working the dining room. What are the prices like at Anthony's Runway 84? Living like a gangster doesn’t come cheap, so bring a hefty bankroll for the $30 wagyu beef carpaccio, $32 rigatoni cauliflower and $38 Sunday feast. What should I order at Anthony's Runway 84? Go off-menu and order the not-so-secret Danielle, a crispy veal shank slathered in vodka sauce with peas, prosciutto and gooey mozzarella. What's worth visiting nearby? After dropping this kind of coin, head across the street for cheap domestics at Broward’s oldest bar, the divey Freddie's Anchor Sports Grill.

Inspired by a trip to Austin, former KYU chef Raheem Sealey opened Drinking Pig at the end of a North Miami cul-du-sac. Now, he's got a full-fledged location in Downtown (though it's currently only open Saturdays and Sundays from noon until they sell out). The vibe improves on the already fun frontyard aesthetic with a bar churning out cocktails and a communal table to eat beside the people you meet waiting in line. The reward for the wait: moist and tender brisket, just a bit of fat clinging to that pink-hued meat; smoky wings tossed in a mustard sauce; spicy sausage with a crunchy exterior; and baby back ribs so succulent they slide off the bone. For sides, there’s oozy mac and cheese, smoky beans, tangy slaw, collard greens spiked with smoky chicken and cornbread with salt crystallized over the top.

Occasionally, you walk into a place and think: This is going to be my place. I’m coming until they know my drink, until it’s on the bar when I sit down, until I’m on a first-name basis with all the servers, until I’ve eaten the entire menu. Yeah, QP Tapas had me right away. It’s the vibe, first off, like a dinner hosted at a friend’s where they’ve mastered the lighting and decor and especially the music (just loud enough to feel like a party). You hope that the food will match up and, luckily, the plates they’re putting out at QP Tapas are reason enough to become a regular. The Spanish-Japanese concept got its start when Josh Elliott, a veteran Miami chef who’d recently helped his contemporary Niven Patel open Orno, expressed to his wife/partner Ellie Groden that he was ready for his own place. “Don’t say anything more,” Groden told him. They had a vacation to Ireland planned, and they’d give it some thought then. Photograph: Courtesy QP Tapas/Jackie SayetJosh Elliott and Ellie Groden By the time they returned home, it was full steam ahead on a menu that combined two of their favorite cuisines. Elliott designed Spanish-style tapas with playful Japanese nods and Groden brought her own skills gleaned from years of working in PR and as an assistant to chef Michael Schwartz. She runs the dining room, making sure nobody’s waiting long for anything. After teaming up with business partner Michael Leigh, QP spent ten months as a buzzy pop-up inside MKT Kitchen in Coral Gables befor

There’s a truth about Miami that maybe you didn’t know, something that’s developed over the last few years, pretty much out of nowhere: We now have a die-hard contingent of folks who will do whatever—brave the heat, long lines, uncomfortable seating and those daily hurricane-like rainstorms—just to eat something delicious.  Because of this, pop-up restaurants now thrive here. Those responsible for the pop-ups (both experienced chefs and young upstarts with no training) credit these people, the ones going above and beyond to discover Miami’s next best foods, with allowing them to do what they do.  There’s proof by the dozen across town, with many of Miami’s best restaurants growing out of pop-ups or humble food trucks. Among our favorites, Boia De, now a Michelin-starred restaurant, launched as a food truck serving fried chicken sandwiches; Zitz Sum, one of the city’s most awarded restaurants, started with a chef making dumplings in his home kitchen; Old Greg’s, some of the best pizza in town, began as a pandemic side project; and the new QP Tapas, technically still a pop-up, is among our favorite new restaurants this year.  The growth of these experimental, temporary restaurants and their committed followings has fundamentally changed the restaurant industry in Miami in ways that make it entirely better. How? Why? We spoke to the teams behind many of Miami’s pop-up success stories to find out. RECOMMENDED: Why is it so damn hard to open a restaurant in Miami? Photograph: Cou

It seems like every week there’s a new national outlet arriving in Miami to report on something we locals already know: This city is having a serious restaurant moment. It began well before pandemic lockdowns but, ever since, Miami has seen an influx of major restaurant groups clamoring for their piece, along with homegrown chef-owners carving out new concepts throughout the county. This season, there’s lots to be excited about, from (yet another) Miami omakase courtesy of the Itamae team to Klaw’s stylish new Italian neighbor. As the not-so-slow summer ends and fall picks up, here are our top Miami restaurant openings to bookmark on Google Maps this season from Wynwood to South Beach and beyond. RECOMMENDED: Every Michelin-Starred Restaurant in Miami Photograph: Courtesy Itamae Ao 1. Itamae Ao Much-loved Nikkei destination Itamae swaps its Design District digs for a new, 12-seat omakase-style counter next to sister restaurant Maty’s in Midtown. Brother-sister duo Nando and Val Chang were just named best new chefs by Food & Wine, so expect hard-to-get reservations from day one. 3255 NE 1st Ave Photograph: Courtesy Alpareno Restaurant GroupAlpareno Restaurant Group founders Mohamed “Mo” Alkassar and Chef Niven Patel 2. Erba Niven Patel, the celebrated Miami chef behind Ghee, Orno and Mamey, began this pasta concept as a pop-up way back in 2019. Ever since it’s been just on the cusp of reopening in a permanent home. This fall, Erba finally lands in Coral Gables with a menu

Vikram Thadani first came to Miami from Chile on vacation when he was 17, and he swore right then that someday he’d open a restaurant here. That was in 2002, and after opening four restaurants back home, he decided in 2021 he’d attempt to pull off his dream. Thadani settled on a space in Wynwood. He figured it would take six months to open. “Everyone laughed when I told them that,” he says.  Eighteen months later, after endless red tape and reams of paperwork thrown at him by the City of Miami, he finally opened his Indian restaurant, Rishtedar, in February. He can’t even calculate how many tens of thousands of dollars the delays cost him.  “That’s why I’m living in my car at Home Depot,” he says with a laugh. “Just kidding, just kidding.” Thadani’s experience is similar to stories I’ve heard over and over from chefs and restaurant owners in my 20 years covering the industry in South Florida. Miami’s inefficient and often beguiling bureaucracy can lead to months—sometimes years—of delays in even a simple restaurant opening, costing operators sometimes upwards of six figures. The reasons for the delays in Miami are often baffling, owners say. In Thadani’s case, one problem arose when the Post Office changed his restaurant’s mailing address. Suddenly, inspectors stopped showing up, leading to a two-week pause in the process—and adding to months of delays. Some might shrug this off as a problem suffered only by well-off restaurateurs. But it can also hurt workers who get stuck i

It’s after 2 o’clock in the afternoon when we hook up with Brittany Brave, and she’s just finishing up breakfast at Mamey in Coral Gables. She polished off a coffee, a mimosa, coconut water, tuna tostones, and grilled cheese bites—all with the desperate hope of beating the hangover. Having just barely answered the phone, she’s already apologizing profusely for sleeping through multiple alarms and jumping on the call late. “I don’t know what I was thinking scheduling a 10am Monday phone call.” You can’t blame her. The night before, 31-year-old Brave had headlined the Miami Improv for the first time, all part of what seems to be a major moment for this homegrown comedienne. In the past year, Brave has racked up headlining spots and accolades including being named by the Miami New Times as the city’s best comedian. Is this officially a thing? “Um, yeah, I am afraid—well, first off thank you for saying that—but I’m afraid to use language like that,” Brave says. “You never want to jinx it, and you never want to think you’re ahead of where you are.” Up until recently, she was a starving artist. “Sometimes literally starving,” she says. And as such, she doesn't want to ruin things. Brave grew up in west Kendall, the only child of a cosmetologist mom and sales manager dad. Her parents remain the funniest people she knows, she says, and she figured out early on that she loved making them laugh. Some of her earliest memories are of standing in the middle of the room at get-togethers an

Take a stroll through the lush grounds behind the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens and you’ll find yourself at a one-of-a-kind staircase. The steps are made of hardened coral called coquina, and they lead down into the murky depths of a mangrove forest. There are a couple of moorings at the bottom that look like barber poles, where you can imagine Venetian gondolas pulling up. While the stairs make a sweet backdrop for engagement photos, they’re also a harbinger. David Hardy, the horticulture manager at Vizcaya for a decade now, has watched as the bay waters creep up those stairs inch by inch. More and more every year, the rising waters also carry in plastic bottles, wrappers, netting—the detritus of society that, let’s be honest, doesn’t look great in a selfie. Photograph: David Hardy All that junk will vanish over the span of a day when a few hundred volunteers descend on Vizcaya to fish around 700 pounds of trash from that mangrove swamp. The efforts are part of Baynanza, a county-wide series of events with the goal of cleaning up Biscayne Bay and raising awareness around the constant challenge of preserving our local waterways. “This is truly critical,” Hardy says of Baynanza. “And the level of enthusiasm of the people who come out, and their concern for the environment—it’s encouraging to see how many people really care.” Since it began in 1982, more than 100,000 volunteers have shown up for Baynanza’s annual Biscayne Bay Cleanup Day and collected more than 500 tons of trash f

Most people know Carolina Isabela as Caro the Tour Guide, a personality she took on for social media to boast about all the cool things in Miami. But when we spoke, she had just returned home from Amsterdam and couldn’t stop gushing about all the epic bike rides there.  “It was the best.” And then drawing out words in a way that’s become something of her signature, she said: “ It was amaaaaazing.” She biked everywhere, slowly so she could take in the view of the Rijksmuseum and look for street food, stroopwafels especially. “Oh, my god. Amaaaaazing. I’m so mad I didn’t bring any back.” Considering how much Isabela likes to bike, it’d be easy to assume she’d be wistful about Amsterdam now that she’s back in Miami. But when asked about whether the Magic City could ever compare to bike-friendly Amsterdam, she’s nothing but optimistic. “Can Miami do it? Yeah, of course. Miami is only 126 years old. We’re babies!” she says. “Amsterdam has been designing their city for millennia. We’re just getting started.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Miami’s Tour Guide - Carolina (@carothetourguide) Is Miami a bike-friendly city? Not all bike advocates share Isabela’s hopefulness, but Miami has certainly made progress in becoming a bike-friendly city. Thanks in part to efforts by the Transit Alliance Miami and local organizers, we recently gained bike path protectors along the Venetian Causeway as well as three new miles of Downtown bike lanes, with plans for even

Congratulations, you’ve booked a week’s vacation in Miami, the Magic City, a subtropical subparadise known for its sandy beaches and pumping nightclubs. Now forget everything you think you know. Ignore the online guides and the recommendations from the concierge (who gets paid to tell you to do the touristy things). On this list, we’re sending you elsewhere and warning you of the things in Miami you need to ignore. Don’t worry—there will still be croquetas and cafecito. 1. The food scene is legendary Call us biased, but with tons of celebrity chef-run restaurants and imported cuisines from everywhere in the world, Miami isn’t just having a moment. It’s downright one of the best restaurant cities anywhere. 2. Enriqueta's over Versailles Presidents have dined at Versailles, it’s true. And yes, it’s been there forever. If you want big plates of Abuela-quality Cuban food and don’t want to wait in line with cruise ship types, head instead to Enriqueta’s and squeeze in between construction workers and lunching lawyers at the tight counter. Jonathan P.Ellgen" data-width-class="" data-image-id="105807692" /> Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/Jonathan P.Ellgen 3. Airboats are loud AF Riding on an airboat is proof that it’s a good rule to avoid any kind of trip into nature that requires earplugs. 4. Nobody rides the bus There’s nothing sadder than seeing a public-transportation-reliant European waiting for those tubes of human misery provided by Metrobus. Photograph: Shutterstock 5. Al

There’s an old saying that the best thing about Miami is that it’s so close to the United States. It’s true for the fact that this is a place that often feels very European, South American and Caribbean. It’s also true for the fact that Miami exists as a place different from anywhere else in this country, a Bermuda Triangle of weirdness, where the rules on what to wear and where to go and how to act just might change depending on your dance partner for the evening. How do you live in such a place? Here below is a guide on how to navigate America’s most delightfully foreign city. 1. The dress code is whatever It doesn’t matter if it’s the fanciest brunch spot in town or the jankiest corner deli. Look around the room and you might see a dude in a tank top and jellies next to a woman wearing a sparkling evening gown. If you want to wear it, you’ll probably be fine. 2. About that dress code, tho Even though you can wear whatever to pretty much everywhere, you’ll also walk into clubs and bars and restaurants where every single person looks dressed by their own personal shopper. ChrisGoldNY" data-width-class="" data-image-id="105877750" /> Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/ChrisGoldNY 3. Nudity is a thing Out on the sand of South Beach, topless is normal, and up at Haulover, it’s all coming off. Just try not to make eye contact. 4. If it requires a trip on I-95... ... the restaurant is almost surely not worth it. 5. It’s raining iguanas When it gets cold, giant reptiles just might st

We don’t know why you’ve gotten to this point. Perhaps your favorite Miami restaurant just took that amazing burger off the menu (legit problems). Or working from home means your only coworker is that long-neglected philodendron in the corner (have you considered a dog?). Or maybe it’s just time for a good soul-renewing sob to remind you of all the good that’s in the world—somewhere. Either way, it’s time to weep like Forrest just learned Jenny’s not going to make it. Here then is where you can bust out a good cry in public in Miami, places where your uncontrollable emotional breakdown will fit right in. NiteOwl Drive-In Nobody’s going to judge if you were to weep during the showing of a tear-jerker on an outdoor screen at this makeshift drive-in that’s smack in the middle of downtown (with a second location coming soon, perhaps?). We suggest you might wait for the breakup scene. Photograph: Shutterstock Shark Valley The Everglades is a wide expanse of nature that’s perfect for dumping a body and/or getting far, far away from anyone else. Here at Shark Valley, you can walk or bike a seven-mile paved trail, giving you plenty of space to let out all that’s pent up and see nobody else aside from a few judgment-free gators. Photograph: Shutterstock Hard Rock Stadium The Dolphins and Hurricanes play here. Must we say more? MGoBlog" data-width-class="" data-image-id="105591069" /> Photograph: Courtesy CC/Flickr/MGoBlog Freedom Tower From 1962 to 1974, what may be Miami’s most

Being short on cash and with a big date looming, you’ve got some choices to make. There’s always figuring out which of your cards isn’t going to get cut up by the waiter. Or there’s heading midday to COTE Miami. Go there for dinner, and it’ll cost you a couple of hundred bucks. But there’s a lunch menu you can actually, maybe, afford—and still impress your date with your great expensive taste. On it is the “shicken” sandwich that costs $28, and yes, you’re probably laughing now at a sandwich that costs $28. But it’s huge, as in too-big-to-eat-on-your-own sized. It looks utterly charming too, like a beautiful remake of McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish. There’s the big, fluffy La Provence Bakery bun, the tartar sauce dripping out the sides, and the slice of melty American cheese. The patty in the center is as thick as a butcher’s block, and inside there’s something quite unique: layers of pounded chicken and diced shrimp, layered together and then panko battered and fried golden. They split the sandwich back in the kitchen, providing both a cheese-stretching cross-section and also an ideal setup for proposing to your date that you split it. This thing is so huge I guess we don’t need to order anything else, you’ll say. Two tap glasses of your finest tap water, please, and a killer chicken-shrimp sandwich, and you just took your date to one of the nicest places in Miami for $14 per person. Well done, you cheap bastard. Photograph: Eric Barton

Back when Brickell was just a quiet neighborhood south of super-sketch downtown, and the beach was all shuffleboarding old people and strung-out coke heads, the rules of Miami were decidedly different. Those days Miami was a sub-tropical sub-paradise. The sleeves of sports coats were pushed up to elbows, the pole-thin South Beach models looked like they needed a cheeseburger, and everybody wanted a gator on their Sonny Crockett sailboats. OK, some of that is still true. But now that Miami has become America’s Coolest Ciudad (trademark pending), we need a new operating manual. Here then are some things you should know to avoid being a Miami shit. 1. Be not on time It’s not easy to know what time something starts in Miami. Generally, be on time for restaurant reservations and the theater. Show up a bit late to dinner parties, because the host isn’t expecting you yet. Be fashionably late to the club. Be very late to the concert with opening acts. For weddings, it’s likely they’ve told Miamians to show up an hour before the thing starts. Whatever you do, embrace that you’re in a place where being late is the norm, not the exception. 2. One colada per person Every afternoon, from Doral to Hialeah and all the way down to Kendall, somebody’s walking around offices with a little tray full of thimble-sized paper cups with a Cuban coffee called a colada, which could fuel all the rockets of all the billionaires. You take one, you say “thank you” in your best Spanglish, and you raise you

There may come a time in your life when suddenly that sweet print of the Eiffel Tower you scored from Z Gallerie starts to not exactly look your age. Then there’s that questionable painting from the art fair, and, oh yeah, the paint-by-numbers thing you muddled through after two (or was it three?) glasses of wine. Now that you’ve realized you must, how do you step up what decorates your walls? If you’re clueless about the next steps to become an actual art collector, it turns out you’re not alone: A Miami nonprofit called Commissioner is working with a small group of people who are new to collecting. The goal is to teach them how to take the first steps into the world of original art. Commissioner came about after a conversation in 2017 between friends Dejha Carrington and Rebekah Monson. Carrington recalls: “She asked me one day how someone like her could learn more about collecting, and it was really that question that was personal to her that helped identify that there was a greater need in the community.” The two of them started imagining a model that would use a pool of money from a group of people to commission original art. It’s a bit like a community-supported agriculture program, where a bunch of people chip in to support and buy produce from local farmers. It’s also, Carrington says, inspired by a Caribbean susu, a tradition where women chip in money to do community projects. Their idea was good enough to score a couple of grants, including $90,000 from the Knight F