Our Miami Top 10

When you live in Los Angeles, like we do, jetting off to Miami for the winter seems a little…superfluous.

But, really?  It only seems that way if you’ve never been there.

We fell in love with vibrant, romantic Miami — and here’s why:

1. South Beach. When we first saw the translucent teal water, our jaws hit the sugary sand.  I turned to Adam and said: ”This kicks Santa Monica’s ass.” Roiling surf, soft December sun, and not a plastic surgery mistake in sight. The water’s even clean enough to swim in.

(Just mind the occasional man-o’-war jellyfish warnings.)

2. Dinner at Ola Restaurant.  Ever been to a restaurant you’d fly cross-country for?  Well, we found one. Ola, in Miami’s Sanctuary Hotel, stands for “Of Latin America, ” and is the creation of chef Douglas Rodriguez, whose fame is steadily making its way out west. Our warm Colombian waiter; the small, puffy, evil genius of pan de bono; an exquisite ceviche menu; ahi tuna “lollipops” on sugar cane paired with adobo shrimp: for all this and more, our meal made us weep with joy.

3. Mojitos at the Hotel Victor. If you can peel yourself off of South Beach, cross the street and kick back on the upstairs patio at this revamped Art Deco hotel. Cool off with light, made-from-scratch mojitos as you soak up the tourist scene on Ocean Drive and the Atlantic.  Don’t miss the disco-lit jellyfish tank in the lobby.

4. ArtCenter South Florida. This pop surrealist gallery and artist collective was our favorite part of tacky, touristy Lincoln Road.  About 40 gifted local artists create and sell their multi-media work here, so it’s an excellent place to check out Miami’s emerging art scene.  More lively than schlepping to the Wynwood Arts District, which despite rising in prominence in the wake of Art Basel Miami’s sixth year, still feels a little like a ghost town.

5. Cafe con leche from David’s Cafe II. We fell hard for this sweet, milky Cuban coffee delight…and hardest for it here.  Served by Cuban girls who speak English sparingly and don’t skimp on the espresso.  Get it to go and kick Starbucks in the ‘nads.  (1654 Meridian Avenue, just off Lincoln Road).

6. The scene at the Delano. As we approached this swanky Collins Avenue hotel, a Scandinavian male model with shoulder-length ice-blonde hair and shoes pointy enough to cut glass paused on the steps for effect, signaled to valet for his sportscar with a snap, and was gone in the night.  Are you kidding me?  Fantastic.

Designed by Phillippe Starck, it only gets more theatrical inside.  Lounge amongst bizarrely oversized furniture, groove to the lobby’s personal DJ, or take a private seat at a cocktail table…either by or in the candlelit pool.

7. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.  When welcomed by septugenarians from the British Isles, we knew we’d come to a serious garden.  This elegant 83-acre garden in Coconut Grove is dedicated to tropical plant conservation, and is rife with palms, vines, cacti, exotic trees, iguanas, birds, and art by Botero, Chihuly and more.  We happily hopped off the crowded 40-minute train tour in favor of wandering on our own. We chased butterflies, held hands in a rainforest, and while sipping $3 fresh-squeezed juices, queried a staff botanist about the unique fruits of Florida.

8. Crandon Park Beach.  Lulled by the music of an ice cream truck, this is where you come to hang on the beach like a local rather than a tourist.  The water and sand here in Key Biscayne feel just like South Beach, but with fewer Europeans and New Yorkers…and more real breasts.  The water’s so clear, warm, and shallow, you can walk right out into it for 1/8th of a mile, up to your knees.

9. “Islands” of the Uber-Wealthy. Star Island, Palm Island, and Hibiscus Island in Biscayne Bay are accessible from bridges that branch off the main-drag MacArthur Causeway.  Created by the co-founder of Miami in 1922,  these luxury communities have non-functional “guard gates” designed to scare away looky-loos.  (That is to say, you and me.)  Blow past them with abandon and ogle the homes of the rich, famous and possibly nefarious.  On January 1st, Shaquille O’Neal listed his Star Island estate for $25 million, illustrating a wonderful way to stay out of touch with the economy.

10. Vizcaya.  In my post, Miami – A Mid-Week Wander, our friends Nathalie and Mike recommended seeing Villa Vizcaya in Coconut Grove, the Italian Renaissance-inspired home built for agricultural machine titan James Deering in 1910. We went to see it for ourselves and were captivated.

Once we got over the long line for the lone, cash-only ticket-taker and the slightly seedy damp of the place, our imaginations took hold. To keep the ocean air from further fading the interior, windows are screened and shuttered, and a glass ceiling covers the atrium…but oh, what it must have been to live here. We preened in the sun on a faux Venetian bridge, marveled at whole rooms of carved lacquer and inlaid marble, and canoodled in a fountain-side grotto.

If only poor Miss Havisham had had a maid and a gardener, she’d have aspired to Vizcaya.

*To see more of our photos from Miami, click here.

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See related posts
Buen Ser, Miami
Death by Cubano Cuisine
Miami: A Mid-Week Wander
Adventures in Layover Land: Miami
TWT Travel Binder: Florida