The Best:
Allapattah Emergence: Great neighborhoods for bike riding like Wynwood in 2005. El Espacio 23 and Rubell stake their claims.
“Order of Importance”: Leandro Erlich’s cars buried in the sand
Art Miami: Best single piece at Opera Gallery
Untitled: Solid curators, designers, architects, and galleries year after year. Simone Kennedy Doig and Dorian Munroe.
Pulse: Comeback of the year for this all female team. Especially enjoyed Jean Jullien’s delightful work from the Chandran Gallery.
Prizm: Well-curated in the beautiful DuPont. Mikhaile Solomon beautifully showcased contemporary artists from the global African diaspora.
Raleigh Gardens: Just go.
Books & Books: Always there.
Miami Book Fair: World class.
The Frieze: Most delicious sorbet in the world – no attitude from the working kids.
Croquetas, Pan de Bono, and Tequenos all over town with Ricky, Vicky, Party Cake, and Pinecrest, though Macita’s baked goods are a whole ‘nother level.
Hometown Barbecue: Brisket and atmosphere
SoBe Seafood Festival Chef Showdown: Big fun.
Check, Please!: Michelle Bernstein’s oddly delightful local restaurant recs from WPBT.
Parasite and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: We still need the big screen sometimes.
Khruangbin at III Points: Evan Finds the Third Room live.
Parking: 1111 and Museum Garage in the Design District are architectural, tourist attractions.
The New Times: Solid in so many ways.
The Worst:
Philanthropy: If it’s such a good thing, why are the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer? Pay your taxes and stop this charade.
Allapattah: Gentrification will create unstoppable neighborhood destruction.
Marionette faces: With as much respect as I can muster, please stop! It ain’t workin’.
Matheson Hammock: Its Baghdad imitation is still preventing us from enjoying our precious view. Fix it.
Design Miami: How pretentious can one fair be? I thought the Design District was bad.
Brickell City Center: I repeat, I thought the Design District was bad.
The Design District: At least Pura Vida, OTL, and the ICA are there.
Art Basel: That banana taped to the wall being sold.
Traffic: Even atheists pray for relief. And it’s so easily solvable.
Highway construction: Miami’s everlasting money-making scheme.
Turn signals: Why do we have them?
Climate Emergency: SMH on the public neglect and denial. Marches led by Fridays for Future and CLEO Institute are great, so students afraid to skip class — wake TF up. The punishment you are about to get is far worse than the detention you might get.
Celebrity Chefs and Hospitality Groups: Nonsense coming from make-believe creative industries.
