a friend is coming to town…

my out-of-town friends always reach out to me when they, or friends of theirs, are coming to miami for a quick trip - mainly with the question: what should we do while we’re there? i recently put this novel of an answer together for a friend of a friend and thought - why let it go to waste? why not share? so here goes - feel free to copy/paste! =)

the best restaurants are in midtown/wynwood/design district (on the mainland). i suggest gigi, red light, sugarcane, mandolin, buena vista bistro, joey’s and wynwood kitchen and bar.

for south beach, if you’re willing to splurge, go to barton g, devito or prime 112 (i haven’t been to the latter, because i’m a vegetarian, but i heard it’s amazing). if you’re going to the beach and want a quick bite, go to la sandwicherie on 14th between washington and collins. if you want to eat on lincoln road (and want to splurge) go to the meat market. if you want healthier (but good) food, go to books and books cafe (and visit the book store, it’s adorable).

also, you MUST go get cocktails around sunset at the Mondrian on south beach - it’s called the sunset lounge.

and for clubbing on south beach, you’ll want to go to the florida room at the delano and the red room at the shore club. both have GORGEOUS outside bars too.

check out the new world symphony website - you may have heard that they have a new building designed by frank gehry - they do wallcasts of some of their performances. if you’re here for one, you should go. they’re free, and you sit in a park with surround sound and watch and listen. it’s an amazing experience. you can pick up food on lincoln road and eat it there (you can also get a trenta cup at starbucks on the way - which, btw, fits an entire bottle of wine).

collins avenue between 5th and 12th has great shopping. lincoln road has okay shopping. it gets better the closer you get to alton road (the further west you walk).

definitely go to the beach. it’s so beautiful. you can do paddle boarding lessons which are super fun - although if it’s your first time, you may want to do this in the bay where the water is calmer.

also, if you’re here during a second saturday, wynwood and the design district have an art walk that is super fun. food trucks are HUGE here and there is a big gathering. you can also find them on twitter and get food from them whenever - my favorites are la camaronera’s fish box, cheese me and sugar rush.

xoxo, m