Going along with that, I'm not going to write this like I would a regular travel blog. Most of this trip was about visiting with my sole living grandparent, cousins, and family friends. This blog will be more of a highlight reel of things we did/saw/ate that bear repeating. Evan did not join me this time. It was purely a mother-daughter adventure.
Travel dates: January 6, 2015 - January 13, 2015
Things we did/saw:
Book Review:
Our first full day in town my grandmother arranged for my mom and I to join her as guests at a meeting of the Brickell Avenue Literary Society. My grandmother is a member and it's quite a hodgepodge of stiff, stick-in-the-mud snobs. Haha. But that's all I'll say about that...
The meeting took place at Temple Israel and food was catered in. I'm so used to catered food being terrible that I was pleasantly surprised by the well-prepared and vast array of food. There was pasta, teriyaki salmon, couscous, tuna fish, caprese, etc. Delicious.
The main event was a presentation by the best-selling author, Marlon James. James is a native of Jamaica but now lives and teaches in St. Paul, Minnesota. He wasn't the most eloquent speaker but I wouldn't necessarily expect an author to be a great orator. I'm really not trying to pick on him because I did enjoy his presentation. I haven't had a chance to read his book, A Brief History of Seven Killings, but I intend to as well as an earlier book of his. I've heard authors speak before but this is probably the closest I've ever been to one. His podium was a mere three feet from my chair. That was kind of neat. I also liked that being a part of the Society gives you the opportunity to ask questions and interact one-on-one with the author. In the Q&A portion we found out that his current book is already in negotiations to be turned into a cable TV series.
I almost forgot to mention the best part - we each got an autographed copy of the book!
Miami Design District:
My cousin C is a very instrumental part of the revitalized/new Design District in Miami. My mom and I were able to join her during an afternoon lull for a quick tour of the area. It's very upscale shopping - think Dior, Vuitton, Prada, etc. There are also art galleries and installations. I couldn't leave without capturing a quick pic of this guy:
Art Deco-themed Walking Tour:
Originally I had planned on taking an Art Deco Walking Tour with the Miami Design Preservation League, but my grandmother has a friend in her building who does private tours (and provides transportation) so my mom and I hopped on that.
Kevin took us all around the South Beach area. He explained Art Deco qualities like terrazzo flooring and took us into some of the best-preserved or refurbished Art Deco hotels like the Cadet Hotel and The Raleigh. The Cadet had another name originally but was changed to honor its cadet guests during and post WWII. One of those cadets was Clark Gable and his picture is featured quite prominently in the lobby.
He also educated us about the evolution of Miami Beach. Before people could fly, Miami Beach was the most exotic destination regular Americans could imagine or reach with some ease. Cruise ships were an option, of course, but only for the rich. We made it all the way to the 1970s and 1980s when tourism in Miami Beach suffered due to crime mostly related to drug-trafficking. He said that in some ways, Miami Vice the TV show, can be credited for reawakening interest in the area because it made South Beach look fashionable and exciting.
The famous Ocean Drive:
Bougainvillea terraces outside the New World Center:
I thought this went along with the Art-Deco themed tour:
And I couldn't pass by King Kong without taking a pic:
So many of the institutions part of my mom's youth have been demolished and are no longer in existence. Nowadays Miami Beach is a lot stricter about protecting its heritage. For example, Kevin took us into the SLS Hotel, which is the old site of the Ritz Plaza. The signage "SLS" is only visible on the ground level where valet is located. The original Ritz Plaza signage at the very top of the building remains untouched and protected.
The SLS is one of the hotels Kevin took us into and I'm so glad he did because we discovered The Bazaar by Jose Andres. This was particularly interesting to me because Jose Andres is a chef that DC can claim as its own. He has at least five flag-ship restaurants downtown.
I wouldn't have known about the existence of The Bazaar without Kevin's intervention but it left a lasting impression with this chandelier:
Is that not AWESOME?! Anyway, the walk was great and so was Kevin. I'd recommend him but he's not on TripAdvisor. I think he has a lot of repeat clientele and succeeds due to word of mouth.
My mom and I had Fairchild on our radar throughout the trip and we were finally able to make it happen on our last full day in town. I love a botanic garden but the real draw was that Dale Chihuly, the renown glass artist, has multiple masterpieces placed throughout the grounds. FYI, this is a temporary exhibit that closes in May 2015.
We took the free (or included) 40-minute trolley ride around the Garden first. I didn't get a whole lot out of the narration of the tour - I was too busy trying to see everything, including the sometimes hidden Chihuly works. The best part was that it gave us our bearings so that afterward we were able to retrace our steps to see some of the best Chihuly pieces. I love how he incorporated some of them so seamlessly with the natural environment. If it weren't for the overly (in a good way) vibrant colors of the glass you might mistake some of the sculptures for real plants.
What a feast for the eyes!
Beyond Chihuly there was a really lovely butterfly garden that we walked through. I felt like a child filled with wonder!
Things we ate:
We had several exceptional meals. Believe it or not, one was the catered buffet at the book review. We also had wonderful meals at Joe's Stone Crab and La Gorce Country Club. I didn't take pictures of any of the food but suffice it to say, the food was excellent. I had the ginger salmon at Joe's and it was melt-in-your-mouth succulent. I also discovered that I don't, in fact, hate key lime pie as I've always thought. I actually like it quite a lot. I also had salmon, prepared differently, on a bed of lentils at La Gorce. It was a lovely combination.
My grandmother took us to a hot spot on Lincoln Road called Khong River House. Even though it gets quite a write up, I wasn't overly impressed. I had a pork dish and the meat was overcooked and dry when it should've been tender. I did have a bite of my mom's Chiang Mai chicken and that was prepared and flavored well. The desserts were also hit or miss. I guess I just wanted to get my opinion out there that it's not the end all be all.
Far and away the best meal of the trip was at The Bazaar. No joke, it was one of the most enjoyable meals of my life. On top of the food being transcendent, the experience was SO MUCH FUN. There were four of us and we got sixteen tapas dishes to share amongst us. Every dish was a conversation piece. It was a 2.5 hour meal and even though I started to get full at the end, I wish it never would've ended. SO. MUCH. FUN.
Unfortunately, my flash wasn't cooperating so my pictures will be a little dark and grainy. I didn't take pictures of food anywhere else but this was worth the embarrassment of looking like a tool.
Chicken croquettes in a shoe!
Smoked oysters (this is the only dish I didn't try)
King crab with raspberries
Not your everyday caprese (you have to get everything in one mouthful to experience all the different flavors at once). We loved it so much we ordered a second helping!
Cheese plate - the best was the Garroxta (goat cheese) with fig jam
So much processed meat (Iberico ham two ways and chorizo), so good!
Not a pretty picture but this is pisto or a vegetable stew
Cuban-flavored chicken leg
Sauteed spinach
Sauteed shrimp
Brussels sprouts with a lemon foam
Yuca churro with its own tube (think toothpaste) of peanut butter
Watermelon and tomato skewers
Deconstructed key lime pie
S'more cake with peanut butter ice cream (I think?)
Banana Mojito
Even though I don't consider myself a tourist, I don't go down to Miami Beach as much as I used to in my youth. Now when I visit I like to eat at the hot spots if possible and see things I've never seen before. I still have Vizcaya and Coral Castle on my list. Maybe next time? I think Evan's so jealous of my experience at The Bazaar that maybe I can drag him down next visit.
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