Situation room
Tâm Tâm, Palm Beach listings, CookUnity, Sapore di Mare, Onda, Copacabana Palace, best of mango season, MORE
RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
Pham fans
The Backstory: When Tâm Tâm opened in 2023, it quickly became a staple of the downtown dining scene. Born from chef Tam Pham’s frustration with Miami’s lack of Vietnamese food, the restaurant evolved from supper club to a series of pop-up events (at 1-800-LUCKY), and finally, to this fantastic downtown spot.
The Experience: Tâm Tâm radiates groovy, nostalgic energy with its retro Asian diner aesthetic, as warm red and yellow lighting casts a cinematic glow over wood-paneled walls. A green neon sign welcomes you, while the bric-a-brac and oddball touches give the space personality. It’s compact, making it better suited for intimate dinners or low-key dates than large group hangs. There’s a street-food spirit to the proceedings: grab a seat on a plastic chair, hunch over the “lamb wrap situation,” and sip on spiked Vietnamese coffee.
The food is bold and shareable, like jungle steak tartare with wagyu and fire ant salt, scallop pomelo goi layered with coconut nuoc cham and crispy garlic, rich bone marrow with sourdough and bird's eye chili fish sauce, and five-spiced duck noodles with pickled papaya and shiitake mushrooms. Messy, but worth it: the betel-leaf-wrapped lamb with banh hoi noodles is a standout.
Why it’s Found: True to its roots, Tâm Tâm offers outrageously delicious Vietnamese food in an inviting, lively atmosphere. Just over two years in, it continues to be the perfect start to a night out downtown. –Katelin Stecz
→ Tâm Tâm (Downtown) • 99 NW 1st St • Tue-Thu 6-1030p, Fri-Sat 6-11p • Reserve.
GOODS & SERVICES • Quicklisting
→ ORDER GOURMET MEALS NOW: Big jobs, long workouts, full calendars, little kids — life is nonstop. That’s why CookUnity brings chefs to the people. Choose from 300+ fresh, heat-and-eat meals crafted by 100+ award-winning chefs. Enjoy effortless nourishment with 50% off your first box. [spon]
To promote your outstanding good or service to FOUND’s all-star subscribers, drop us a line at sales@itsfoundmiami.com.
MIAMI RESTAURANT LINKS: In Coral Gables, Sapore di Mare and Last Carrot relocating or closing this fall to make way for Ziggurat development • Also in Coral Gables, Caffe Vialetto calling it quits 08/16 after 26-year run • New Coconut Grove Italian wine bar 3190 also serves a mean lasagna • Why the clock is always coming for your favorite restaurant.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three for-sale properties in Palm Beach that came to market in the last 30 days:
→ 2275 S Ocean Blvd 205/206a (Palm Beach) • 4BR/4.1BA, 3459 SF condo • Ask: $5.299M • double-unit offering The Reef with private beach access • Days on market: 14 • Agents: Patrick Letourneau & Kathleen Weisz, One Sotheby’s.
→ 100 Royal Palm Way F1 (Palm Beach, above) • 3BR/2.1BA, 2123 SF condo • Ask: $5.895M • primary suite with glass doors to the garden • Days on market: 29 • Agent: Suzanne Frisbie, Corcoran.
→ 355 Cocoanut Row 2 (Palm Beach) • 3BR/3BA, 2730 SF townhouse • Ask: $8.9M • fully renovated in 2024 • Days on market: 10 • Agent: Jack Rooney, Elliman.
MIAMI WORK AND PLAY LINKS: In Edgewater, 62-story north tower at Aria Reserve tops off • Amazon grows Miami office to 75K SF • Florida’s first Google Store coming to Aventura Mall this fall • Preservationists rally to save Olympia Theater • WFH gender gap is widening • Trending at Sun Valley: baseball hats.
WORK • Thursday Routine
Local development
CHRISTINE MARTINEZ DE CASTRO • chief marketing & sales officer • CMC Group
Neighborhood you work in: Downtown Miami
Neighborhood you live in: Sunset
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I’m touching base with our construction team to discuss any pressing matters that need attention. We’re finalizing details at Onda, our newly completed development in Bay Harbor Islands, to officially turn over the condominium to the Homeowners Association. Meanwhile, we’re also preparing for the upcoming delivery of our Vita at Grove Isle development later this year and strategizing for our newest condominium, the Four Seasons Residences Coconut Grove.
Any bar or restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Tonight, I’m heading to a classic and local favorite, Hillstone. This weekend, I’ll likely end up in Coconut Grove. There are a lot of great new restaurants popping up, but a consistent classic is Sapore di Mare. It’s reliable, fresh, and high quality.
How about a little leisure or culture?
The office has really enjoyed playing padel as a group. It’s a fun activity that’s brought us all together outside of work. My three daughters are really into pickleball, so I’ve been playing with them, too, when they’re visiting from college. I guess my leisure time has become a lot of racquet sports.
Any weekend getaways?
As a Miami native, I love escaping to the Keys, whether for a weekend or just an afternoon. The energy shifts the moment you arrive — everything slows down and life feels simpler. Living near the water is a true gift. A few of my favorite spots are Fish House in Key Largo and Square Grouper for seafood. Catching the sunset at Pierre’s in Islamorada is a must.
What was your last great vacation?
Any vacation with my daughters is full of adventure, belly laughs, creation of core memories and many pictures. We made a quick girls’ trip to New York City recently and just shopped, ate, and walked our way through the city. We stayed at the Hotel Elysee, home to the iconic Monkey Bar. The hotel has so much charm; it’s unique and intimate, and the service was excellent. We also hit the usuals, like Eataly, Fifth Avenue, and Balthazar. I’m a big fan of Chinatown and love the dives that serve dim sum and hand-pulled noodles. Thanks to the girls, TikTok often determines where we eat these days. Some of the spots like Liberty Bagel were actually great, so I cannot complain.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Hootie
Mike Epps • Miami Improv (Doral) • Fri @ 730p • GA, $168 per
Darius Rucker • Hard Rock Live (Davie) • Sat @ 8p • section 115, $176 per
Royals v Marlins • loanDepot Park (Little Havana) • Sat @ 410p • section 8, $64 per
GETAWAYS • Rio de Janeiro
Carioca conviviality
Like Miami Beach, Rio de Janeiro is one of those cities I always knew my spirit would align with. Serious beach culture, cosmopolitan vibes, beautiful people. Not to mention the stunning natural landscape, from the Dois Irmãos twin peaks at the eastern edge of Ipanema Beach to Christ the Redeemer looming large atop Corcovado visible from almost anywhere, and Sugarloaf Mountain’s dramatic peaks at the northwest horizon of Copacabana Beach.
Presiding over it all since 1923 is the Copacabana Palace, a regal Beaux-Arts hotel in white stone with arcade windows, Juliet balconies, and wrought iron and stone balustrades. It was designed by French architect Joseph Gire to mark the centennial of Brazil’s independence. In the years since, everyone from Brigitte Bardot to Beyoncé has graced its hallowed halls. Today, operating as a Belmond Hotel, it’s the peak of Rio de Janeiro luxury, where you’ll find old world glamour, impeccable hospitality, and Carioca (i.e. Rio de Janeiro locals) conviviality.
The enormous courtyard pool is the hotel’s hub of social activities, whether that’s sipping Champagne on a lounge chair beneath fashionably fringed umbrellas, dancing with the roving samba band, or dining at one of the restaurants encircling it, which includes a Cipriani outpost and award-winning Asian fusion restaurant MEE.
The oceanfront poolside restaurant, Pérgula, hosts an epic Saturday feijoada feast. The traditional Brazilian Portuguese celebration centers on its namesake black bean stew served with beef, pork, rice, and sautéed kale. At Pérgula, this translated to the most fabulous lunch buffet I’ve ever experienced, with all manner of salads, pasteles, bread, tropical fruit, cheeses, fried chicken, caipirinhas, and beer — with a samba group keeping things festive.
Inside, the décor is traditional, elegant, with gleaming marble floors, plush carpeting, sparkling chandeliers and original murals depicting scenes of old Rio. There’s a wide range of room and suite types to choose from, some with multiple bedrooms. I stayed in a spacious oceanfront one-bedroom suite with dramatic high ceilings, windows overlooking the beach, and a sitting room. The décor was transitional with dark wood furnishings, light upholstery with clean lines, and standard lamp shades, which created a warm, cosseting effect that was easy to melt into. There’s also rooftop clay tennis courts and a small spa where I had a wonderful deep tissue massage.
There’s a festive spirit to Rio any time of year, but New Year’s is especially epic when Copacabana Beach, packed with revelers, lights up with fireworks and a whole host of local rituals keep you out until dawn. It might just be one of the only cities that loves a party as much as Miami. –Shayne Benowitz
→ Copacabana Palace, A Belmond Hotel (Rio de Janeiro) • late summer rates from $834/night.
GETAWAYS LINKS: Brutalist former Pan Am terminal at MIA breaks ground on makeover into private terminal • Expansion underway of Gulf Harbour Yacht & Country Club in Fort Myers • Finest farm stays in Europe • Why do airport restaurants feel the same?
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Mango season
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best in Miami and surrounds. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundmiami.com.
Michael’s Genuine (Design District), for mango-habanero glazed wood-roasted prawns w/ green mango salad