youngarts week

a week from today miamians have the chance to see FREE week long performances by the nation’s most talented young artists. i beg you not to miss it.

isn’t it amazing that at the beginning of the new year, you get to see america’s freshest talent (for FREE)? isn’t it also spectacular that this signature organization, that finds the next generation of america’s arists, is headquartered in miami? would you be surprised to know that some of our very own miami creatives are alumni of this program? you can count naomi fisher, daniel arsham, lucas leyva, andrew hevia, annie blazejack, tarell alvin mccraney, hernan bas, the travieso siblings (chat AND yara), raul esparza (just to name a few miamians), vanessa williams, josh groban, adrian grenier, kerry washington, nicki minaj, wendell pierce, desmond richardson, doug aitken, gillian murphy, sam lipsyte, david lipsky and many more renowned artists within their 16,000 alumni base. (and for you SYTYCD fans, billy bell, nathaniel trasoras and ida saki were all recent youngarts alumni).

youngarts week was miami fav #42. you will never know how impressive and talented these arists are until you come and see them for yourself.

listen, if you are still trying to figure out your new years resolution - resolve to partake in the arts. as someone who is more than mildly obsessed with the knight foundation and all their doing to define miami culturally (i feel all warm and fuzzy inside every time i watch a random act of culture), i would like to note that youngarts sets the foundation for all they do. it sets up miami and the nation to recognize america’s fresh new talent. it puts you in the know and it affirms for these aritsts that they are the right path. that the arts are okay to continue pursuing. and miami, if you show up, you’re showing that you support that.

let’s make it happen. let’s start here. in the new year. let’s turn miami into the cultural center we have all been hoping for and building it to be. and let’s start with affirming to this next generation of artists that we want to see them thrive.

i truly hope to see you there.

click the link below for the full schedule and rsvp details for the FREE week-long event.

http://youngarts.org/exhibitions-and-performances

miami fav #94 / bali cafe

after my friend introduced me to first and first southern baking company (utterly crushing any ignorant/close-minded doubts i had about the place), he could have told me pigs fly and i would have believed him. he had my full attention. so, when he suggested bali cafe for one of our ‘friends-that-work-on-brickell-and-are-sick-of-mary-brickell-village-lunch-options’ lunches, i jumped at the chance. i would have totally walked by this place and never noticed it. or judged a book by its cover and never eaten there. at least not by myself. thankfully, i had pierre in my life. and so we ate. we sat at a four-bench booth of sorts. which was interesting because i had to literally swing my legs over a bench and was stuck in said ‘booth’ until i swung myself back out. oh, and the seats were wood. apparently bali doesn’t embrace the idea of cushions. but the food was worth it. the menu was pretty intense. i can’t even tell you what i ordered. but i can tell you that it was good. and i had enough for leftovers. which were just as good the next day. i love when that happens. pierre and i are both leos and we can talk forever. i am pretty sure this was the first time we were completely silent for a full 15-20 minutes. and i don’t even think we realized it. the food was so good the least we could do was give it our full attention. remember when i said i would believe pierre if he told me pigs could fly? well, to prove it, he suggested we try the durian ice cream, and i smiled and practically gave a ‘hell yes!’ if you do not know what durian is, let me tell you. durian is a pungent fruit. so pungent that once it is cracked open, it can either make you a) vomit b) leave the room or c) make you smile like a bali medicine man because you know this rare fruit is about to be eaten. by you. luckily the ice cream helps dull the smell and taste. even so, after we ordered it, the waiter walked away, and then came back seconds later, asking us if we were sure we really wanted DURIAN ice cream. yes. we do. but do you know what DURIAN is? yes. we do. okay then. durian was had. a place that sells a rare bali fruit and makes it into an ice cream is kind of must-do in my book. it’s like being on vacation. even if it’s just for an hour. and you have to go back to work afterward. but an hour is better than no time at all. i’ll take it. and the durian too.

109 Northeast 2nd Avenue
Miami, Florida 33132

miami fav #91 / first and first

when my friend first suggested we go to a southern cookin’ restaurant in downtown miami, i thought: oy vey. this is sure to be a dive. i pictured a tobacco-road-type establishment, where i would probably internally debate if i would rather eat my meal standing. five blocks away. but, then i thought, where’s my sense of adventure? and so we trekked from our brickell offices and made our way through the sidewalks and streets of downtown and showed up to possibly the cutest little thing i ever did see. first and first southern baking company. ah! it’s adorable. you walk in to a bakery area that smells amazing. and then wind back to a seating area. all blue and white. with black and white photographs dotted throughout. i wanted to eat this place up. the entire thing. we sat at our table and perused the menu. baked beans. yes. corn bread. yes. make it a double. and even though i am a vegetarian, i must add that they had my non-vegetarian-days favorite item. pulled pork sandwich. if i was a meat-eater, that would be a hell, yes. and then, the one item that truly takes the cake: coca-cola cake. YES YES YES. everyone’s meals looked and were delicious. and we split like ten desserts between the table of four. we couldn’t decide which ones we wanted most! oh, the good ol’ south. thanks for making food so damn good. and for sharing a taste of it with miami, florida. oh, and in hindsight, thanks be to the universe for making sure i had to walk there and back. that was key.

http://www.firstand1st.com/

miami fav #88 / the DRB

so, this place looks like a total dive from the outside. but, i was determined to see for myself. especially after i heard they had great beer. so after volunteering one night at the community partnership for the homeless (CPH), my friends and made some illegal u-turns, and stopped in. besides the fact that i was more than a little creeped out that there were flies just chillin’ on the insides of the windows (seriously?), the food was actually really good and the beer was divine. we lounged on the couches, ate, talked, and i sipped on my favorite blueberry wheat beer. honestly, any establishment that sells blueberry wheat beer is a complete winner in my book. i’ve been back since. i’ve sat outside, inside, gone early, gone late. either way, it’s a really chill place where you can actually talk to the people you’re with and still have a voice the next day. i like that.

http://www.drbmiami.com/

miami fav #87 / CPH

you’ve heard i love volunteering. it’s true. and, i am so glad i found out about the community partnership for the homeless. through their young benefactors group, next gen, i have been able to go twice so far and help feed over 500 homeless people in less than 3 hours. it is an amazing experience. a humbling experience. especially in this economy. those people really could be any one of us. and i like that i am participating in the activity. seeing what my donation goes towards. who it’s helping. and being a part of the process. the people that work there are amazing. i like being around them. even if they’re shouting orders at me. i like bringing my friends and working as team to get things done in a orderly and efficient manner. we break a sweat. we have to don hair nets. we have to wear latex gloves. and the apron gets in the way. but, we’re feeding people. our brothers and sisters. and i would do anything to have the opportunity to help out my neighbors, my fellow miamians, that are in need. i really do give so little, and yet get so much out of this volunteer project. for that, CPH, i thank you. and i’ll be coming back for me for as long as you will let me.

http://www.cphi.org/

miami fav #77 / sparky’s roadside bbq

for awhile i felt that downtown was really lacking in restaurants. however, i also felt i was somehow missing hidden gems and wasn’t looking hard enough. one day, i gave up and asked the great powers of google to help me. ask, and you shall receive. along came sparky’s roadside barbecue. we weren’t sure what “roadside” meant and how we ever missed it (“we” being my co-workers and i). so we called and asked (we’re so smart). it had just opened that week. no wonder we never saw it. but, i’m not complaining. one new restaurant means more new restaurants. and sparky’s doesn’t just have good food and a likable atmosphere - it also opened us up to recognizing all of the other recent new-comers (more on my other fav(orite)s later). =) i digress. sparky’s is not roadside (i am sure you were wondering as well). it actually has a really contemporary country interior with benches and a bar. i got catfish fingers and waffle fries (yes, waffle fries!). i loved it. thanks, google. and thanks downtown, for finally refreshing your restaurant venue choices. it is greatly appreciated.

http://www.sparkysroadsidebarbecue.com/

miami fav #42 / youngarts week

a must-see. this is a national program headquartered in miami (!) - and they bring the nation’s top 150 young artists (ages 17-18) in the visual, literary and performing arts to miami for ONE week only (in january) (amongst other things; like being the sole nominating committee for the united states presidential scholars in the arts). these performances are not to be missed. these ‘kids’ are spectacular. you’d think they were 30. oh, and did i mention these performances are at the magnificent gusman theatre AND they’re FREE? amazing that this is in OUR city: the ‘city of the future,’ nurturing the ‘next generation of artists.’ uncanny.

http://www.youngarts.org/

photo by my amazing colleague and graphic design guru ‘madMax Graphics’ Artist / Max Morales. it features youngarts alumna kiera daley, winner in irish step dance, and a miamian. =)

miami fav #30 / s&s diner

two words: banana pancakes. oh, and one more: yummy. this place can only seat approx. 12 people; but, it’s kind of cool in that you-feel-like-you-just-stepped-into-a-very-different-decade way (which can be hard to swallow when you haven’t had your coffee yet). it’s a true diner experience; and i truly appreciate it for what it is. i once even witnessed a waitress spill sugar all over the counter and then proceed to sweep it back into the container it had come from with her hand - and then put it next to me in case i needed it. but, alas! it comes with the territory i guess. and like i said: banana pancakes.

1757 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Miami, FL 33132

miami fav #24 / flickin’ summer

wow gusman theater. you really topped the top of the parties. i recommend these to anyone who loves drinking wine in a theater, watching cheesy 80’s movies, and then kickin’ it all night long to the best 80’s dance mix you have ever heard. i only went to one and truly regret not going to all three! we watched flashdance while drinking our spirits of choice in the most beautiful theater in the world (if you haven’t been there; go now. the interior is spectacular); and at the end, while they are playing “what a feeling” on the big screen; the screen rolls up to display a DJ booth, neon lights and a bar on the stage. we danced all night long. who needs a gym when you can have an 80’s dance party!?

http://www.gusmancenter.org/events/