Neighborhoods
What's the hottest new spot? Sometimes it's an old neighborhood that's been rediscovered. Other times, it's a clever revamp. And often you can never tell what's going to bring the cool crowd. Here are some neighborhoods worth the visit.
Giralda Under the Stars
10 YEARS AGO …
Just north of Miracle Mile in downtown Coral Gables, the one-block stretch of Giralda Avenue known as Restaurant Row closed to traffic one night a month. The dozen or so restaurants – including Talavera, La Dorada, Bangkok, Miss Saigon, Pasion del Cielo and The Local – set up chairs and tables outside for an evening of al fresco dining and music.
Giralda Under the Stars, came about when businesses got together to see what could be done to attract more diners, says Taciana Amador of the Coral Gables Business Improvement District.
The City Beautiful’s planners may not have envisioned businesspeople riding around in scooters or dancing in the streets when they. “It was a success and put them on the map,” she says. Closing off Giralda to traffic to make the street an event space became part of a $20+ million streetscape plan encompassing all of Miracle Mile, widening the sidewalks and illuminating the heart of downtown to make it more pedestrian-friendly. Public art projects like Umbrella Sky and local artist Jessy Nite’s Sun Stories, supported by the Coral Gables Community Foundation, brought out an Instagram-seeking public. “It’s more about experiences and variety,” says Amador. In the central business district alone, there are now more than 90 restaurants, plus new spaces on Giralda, including Coyo Taco (now open); Sweetgreen and Cebada from Jorgie Ramos of Barley. “It’s not as sleepy anymore.”
The MASS District – Music and Arts South of Sunrise – is focusing on developing an arts scene among its food and drink spots, including Batch, the Cookie Company; 27; American Icon Brewery; Glitch Bar; and Leaves and Roots Lounge. The new Sunny Side Up Market, an artisan and farmers market, debuted in December with plans to go monthly. In the Progresso Village neighborhood, the Sistrunk Marketplace and Brewery is launching with restaurants, art and event space, a distillery and cooking classes. “These projects are good because they keep people here more,” says Dylan Lagi, MASS District executive director. “It’s a local attraction for residents and keeps income here.”
Stock Island, Key West
Locals know this small waterfront community outside of Key West with shrimp and fishing boat docks as a less-touristy place and home to restaurants like Hogfish Grill and Roostica wood-fire pizzeria plus a growing arts scene. On Second Saturdays through April, take an Art Stroll from 11am-4pm. The Art Shack on Front Street is a charming enclave of galleries, studios and food trucks.
Downtown Miami
Looking for new reasons to visit Flagler Street and the heart of downtown Miami? Witness the New Downtown is an initiative aimed at changing negative perceptions of the neighborhood. It’s home to cultural institutions like the 1926 Olympia Theater and HistoryMiami (check their website for historic walking tours). The bar scene? Check out Lost Boy Dry Goods, Mama Tried and Jaguar Sun. Margot Natural Wine Bar from the Broken Shaker’s Elad Zvi and Gabriel Orta will launch in the Ingraham Building where Timon Balloo’s eponymous restaurant just opened. Check out Niu Kitchen and Arson Miami, a couple of doors down. And if you’ve never seen the surreal Bohemian space of Soya e Pomodoro, stop by for lunch or dinner.
Allapattah
West of Wynwood, this working-class neighborhood is getting attention culinarily – NYC’s Hometown BBQ opened in the fall in a freshly designed space at the Miami Produce Center – and culturally, with the move of the Rubell Museum. Plans have been approved for a massive and architecturally dramatic multi-use development at the Miami Produce Center. The multi-use River Landing on the Miami River in the Hospital district at the south end of the neighborhood will bring riverfront dining along with residential living and shopping when it opens later in the year.
