Deep cut
Baha Mar, Christmas reservations, Coral Gables listings, best knives, Flannery Beef, The Nutcracker, MORE
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner, ticketed
Aviv (South Beach), Solomonov’s Israeli answer to Chinese on Christmas (12/24-25), reserve
Daniel’s Steakhouse (Coral Gables), 12 Days of Christmas specials including Australian wagyu Wellington, truffle churros, cranberry-pistachio cheesecake (12/24-25), reserve
Jaya at The Setai (South Beach), legendary brunch goes Christmas w/ caviar station, endless Louis Roederer, Santa visits, jazz quintet, reserve
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon (Design District), 5-course holiday feast for foie-gras royale, king crab w/ caviar, Japanese A5 ribeye (12/24, $305 per), reserve
Lido Restaurant at Surf Club (Surfside, above), Calenzo’s Italian feast inside historic Surf Club (12/24, $225 per); oyster-heavy brunch (12/25, $245 per), reserve
Los Fuegos by Francis Mallmann (Mid Beach), flame-fired a la carte elegance, bluefin crudo w/ Osetra, wood-fired branzino, wagyu hanger, hazelnut yule log (12/24-25), reserve
Macchialina (South Beach), traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes; fried calamari, tuna crudo, spaghetti vongole, halibut w/ crab-potato stew (12/24, $80 per), reserve
Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink (Design District), Schwartz goes old-school holiday w/ pheasant terrine, goose confit, gingerbread w/ rum pears (12/24), reserve
Pao by Paul Qui (Mid Beach), upscale Asian-fusion Christmas; Hokkaido scallops w/ black truffle, sake-aged wagyu prime rib, mango chutney yule log (12/24), reserve
CULTURE & LEISURE • FOUNDLISTING
Elevated, indulgent, and decidedly festive
Add some Viennese sparkle to your holiday season
On December 13 and 14, New World Symphony invites you to experience the holidays at their most chic.
From the first jingle of sleigh bells, Mahler’s Fourth Symphony shimmers with happiness. Hear it live this weekend at New World Symphony’s Frank Gehry-designed concert hall.
Conductor Manfred Honeck sets the mood with the playful pomp of Strauss’ Overture to Die Fledermaus, opening an evening that’s elevated, indulgent, and decidedly festive.
Arrive early for a celebratory sip in the rooftop garden, then settle in for music that will leave you floating into the season ahead.
→ Honeck: Mahler 4 (Miami Beach) • New World Center, Sat 12/13 @ 730p and Sun 12/14 @ 2p. [spon]
MIAMI RESTAURANT LINKS: Miami Slice taking over kitchen at the Gibson Room while it preps its own full location • Wynwood mourns (literally) the death of Pizza Tropical • End times: there’s now a restaurant inside a pickleball complex.
GETAWAYS • Bahamas
Out of this world
As I strolled across Baha Mar’s sprawling casino floor — plush red carpeting underfoot, slot machines buzzing and whirring, a band warming up at Jon Batiste’s Jazz Club — I caught a glimpse of the aquamarine Caribbean Sea through floor-to-ceiling windows and thought: it’s Vegas, plunked down in the Bahamas. To be clear, that’s not a bad thing, especially for anyone with a weakness for gambling, drinking, and dining out, all in an opulent world unto itself, not to mention poolside sunbathing and plunging into the salty sea.
Comprised of three distinct hotels — Rosewood, SLS, and Grand Hyatt — Baha Mar opened in 2017. The 100,000 square-foot casino (the largest in the Caribbean) serves as connective tissue for the thousand-acre resort nestled on Goodman’s Bay on the northside of Nassau in the Bahamas. You can also wend your way along the paved oceanfront beach walk to access each hotel and their unique poolscapes and beachfront setups. The resort is also home to an impressive waterpark, multiple spas, a tennis center, a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course, and much more.
In true Vegas fashion, Baha Mar is a gastronomic funhouse, home to more than 45 restaurants and bars, some helmed by flashy celebrity chefs, like Marcus Samuelsson. Food Network notable Scott Conant opened a new Italian restaurant, Leola, in November. And I was visiting to attend a truffle dinner hosted by Daniel Boulud at his namesake Café Boulud as part of the resort’s annual culinary and arts festival in October. It was an utterly glorious five-course affair with highlights including slow-baked salmon in créme de vermouth with white truffle and leeks that Boulud spent an hour and a half perfecting with his team earlier that day.
I stayed at Rosewood, Baha Mar’s most luxurious destination. Part of that luxury comes from its exclusivity. At 221 rooms (compared to Grand Hyatt’s 1,800 and SLS’s nearly 300), Rosewood guests have exclusive access to the hotel’s poolside and beach amenities, as well as the rest of the resort. The rooms are comfortable, plush, and spacious with a modern beach house aesthetic. Oceanfront rooms enjoy a view above the resort’s treetop canopy and out to the sea.
During my stay, I was impressed by Rosewood’s chic Manor Bar with its plush colonial-inspired design, excellent cocktails and genteel waitstaff, perfect for happy hour or a nightcap. Café Boulud transforms into Breakfast Café in the morning, serving one of the best hotel breakfasts I’ve enjoyed lately, featuring a decadent quiche Lorraine, soft scrambled eggs with caviar, and indulgent almond croissants. There’s also the fantastic Costa Mexican restaurant in a lovely al fresco setting surrounded by koi ponds.
While there’s plenty to keep you occupied at the resort, do yourself a favor and venture out to get a taste of local Nassau culture. As the capital of the Bahamas with a population of about 225,000, it’s considered the big city. The local fish fry is a nightly tradition. Make a beeline to Goldie’s, a waterfront conch house for outrageously delicious cracked conch and other local seafood delicacies served in enormous portions and priced for locals. Everything pairs perfectly with a Goombay Smash.
Then there’s Graycliff, a 1700s-era mansion built by a pirate that an Italian family bought in the 1970s and runs today as a boutique hotel and restaurant. It’s eclectic in a wonderfully bonkers, specifically Caribbean way, home to a purported $20 million wine collection. Swing by for dinner or a glass of wine in the lounge where you’ll find on display freeze-dried conch chowder that flew to space on the same all-female mission as Katy Perry, as well as a Graycliff chef’s cousin, certificate of flight and all .
With flights from Miami at barely an hour, Baha Mar goes a long way in providing its own galaxy to run amok in Nassau. –Shayne Benowitz
→ Rosewood Baha Mar (Nassau) • Winter rates from $1322/wkdn night/king.
GETAWAYS LINKS: South Beach’s Marela Boutique Hotel is changing owners • Anticipated new hotel Park Hyatt Los Cabos at Cabos Del Sol has opened • Yes, you can still find a villa in St. Barths for Christmas.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three for-sale properties in Coral Gables that came to market in the last 30 days.
→ 1004 Cotorro Ave (French City Village) • 3BR/4BA, 3293 SF house • Ask: $5.95M • fully renovated 1926 home with butterfly garden • Days on market: 27 • Annual tax: $22,035 • Agents: Judy Zeder & Nathan Zeder, Coldwell Banker.
→ 6960 Sunrise Dr (Sunrise Harbour) • 4BR/2.1BA, 2709 SF house • Ask: $11.9M • 100’ of deep frontage w/ ‘nearly approved’ plans for new estate • Days on market: 4 • Annual tax: $83,502 + $26,247 • Agent: Gabriela Dajer, Sotheby’s.
→ 7150 W Lago Dr (Cocoplum, above) • 6BR/6.1BA, 6978 SF house • Ask: $16.495M • rebuilt on corner lot w/ 250 feet of frontage and basement salon/gym • Days on market: 19 • Annual tax: $66,568 • Agent: Brett Eaglstein, Compass.
MIAMI WORK AND PLAY LINKS: New Miami-Dade home rental record: $200k/month • Amenity renderings revealed for Avenia Adventura, with interiors by FENDI Casa • Checking in on the bevvy of new residential developments in Edgewater • The 50 best clothing stores in America.
FOUND GIFT GUIDE • FOUND Larder
Age appropriate
Time and again, I’ve splurged on steaks that boast 40, 50, and more days of dry-aging, from top butchers and restaurants alike. Yet too often, that unmistakable, savory umami punch of truly dry-aged beef just isn’t there.
Marin County butcher Flannery Beef, a retailer to top restaurants across the country like Tennessee’s Blackberry Farm and LA’s Meteora, has solved that problem now that all of its offerings are available online.
A family business in San Francisco since 1963 now based in San Rafael, it’s run by its second and third generations. USDA Prime beef (alongside lamb and pork) from both California and the Midwest is available for overnight or two-day day shipping, all with a strong emphasis on dry-aging. The signature line, California Reserve, comes from male Holstein cattle raised in California — a rarity, since this breed is synonymous with dairy production. Here, though, the Holstein’s fine marbling and smaller muscle diameter allow for thicker cuts and a richer, more meaty flavor.
Flannery’s lineup ranges from unaged steaks to those rested upward of 90 days. The most iconic is The Jorge, a bespoke cut named after the team’s favorite Spanish wine importer, Jorge Ordoñez. It’s essentially a bone-in rib steak with the thick, marbled strip of rib cap left attached so that it runs along the top edge of the steak. Dry aged beef neophytes should check out Flanner’s new Dry Aged Beef Intro Box ($194 per), which contains a wet aged rib eye and New York steak, plus the same cuts dry aged for 30-35 days. This pack is a great way to taste the impact that time has on rested beef. –Kat Odell
→ Shop: Flannery Beef.
CULTURE & LEISURE • 12 Days
The Nutcracker • Arts Ballet Theatre of Florida • Aventura Arts & Cultural Center (Aventura) • Fri @ 7p • orch, $79 per
Trisha Yearwood • Au-Rene Theater (Ft Lauderdale) • Sat @ 8p • center orch, $97 per
Ela Taubert • Miami Beach Bandshell (North Beach) • Sat @ 8p • GA, $140 per
ASK FOUND
Three PROMPTS for which we seek your immediate attention:
What’s your favorite Miami spa (and treatment)?
Who do you trust to do your eyebrows?
Where’s the best bar to dine alone in Miami?
Got answers or more questions? Hit reply or email found@itsfoundmiami.com.
FOUND GIFT GUIDE • The Nines
Knives, delivered
The Nines are FOUND’s distilled lists of the best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundmiami.com.
Poglia (above), gifty, ornamental, NYC-made, $$$