Warm tortillas
Los Félix, Ensenada, global media, Abbale Telavivian, Aventura listings, best Cuban, Food Rescue, MORE
ASK FOUND
Two new FOUND subscriber PROMPTS for which we seek intel:
Which getaway hotel have you booked for August?
Which fall restaurant opening are you most looking forward to?
Got answers or more questions? Hit reply or email found@itsfoundmiami.com.
RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
Mural mural
The Backstory: Opened in Coconut Grove during the pandemic, Los Félix has evolved into an effortlessly cool neighborhood staple that’s handily one of the best places in Miami for upscale Mexican.
The Experience: The restaurant is chef Sebastian Vargas’ homage to heritage techniques, where the past and present of Mexican cuisine collide. The space is tight, intimate, and warmly lit. A massive Quetzalcoatl mural watches over a well-dressed crowd murmuring over mezcal cocktails. It’s moody but not uninviting, perfect for a date or a hip night out.
Almost all the corn is sourced from farms practicing milpa agriculture, a method dating back to the Aztecs. Every morning, a miller in the kitchen grinds it fresh, setting the stage for the tortillas, tamales, and tostadas that define the menu.
The majority of the menu is small plates. The tamal, rich with chocolatey, spiced mole and grass-fed short rib, is deep and complex. The day’s catch crudo provides a tropical counterpoint to the earthier dishes, with slightly sweet guanábana, pickled pineapple, and lime caviar. And the more substantial pork cheek carnitas — braised with oranges, chiles, and hazelnut macha — arrive with comfortingly warm tortillas.
The cocktail program is just as thoughtful, with a focus on natural wines and spirits. Like most of the menu, the drinks pack a punch. The Espresso Martinez, for example, starts with vodka, like most, but then comes miso-mole, coffee liqueur, and mango to round it out. It seems like it shouldn’t work, until it does.
Why It’s FOUND: Los Félix is an ode to fine Mexican dining, with bold flavors executed flawlessly, and composed, warm setting to go with it. –Katelin Stecz
→ Los Félix (Coconut Grove) • 3413 Main Hwy • Tue-Thu 530-10p, Fri 530-11p, Sat 11a-3p & 530-11p, Sun 11a-3p & 530-10p • Reserve.
MIAMI RESTAURANT LINKS: Pop-up steakhouse Ezio’s from Roberta’s team in NYC opening permanent Miami Beach location this fall • Ensenada confirms closure is permanent • In MiMo, Andiamo Pizza to shutter this fall • Why temporary summer closures may spell disaster for Miami dining.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUNDLISTING
Gourmet meals, no planning required
CHEFS TO THE PEOPLE: Life is nonstop — big jobs, long workouts, full calendars, little kids. That’s why CookUnity brings chefs to the people. Skip the grocery runs, prep, and guesswork. Choose from 300+ rotating, heat-and-eat meals crafted by 150+ award-winning chefs and delivered fresh to your door. Whether you're powering through meetings or managing mealtime chaos, CookUnity offers effortless nourishment designed to fit your life. Enjoy restaurant quality meals with a flexible meal plan catered to fit your needs.
→ Order: CookUnity • 50% off your first order. [spon]
WORK • Modern Media
Growing up
Last week’s Eater layoffs — reportedly 15 people, approximately one-third of the brand’s union jobs, mostly at the city site level — are yet another reminder: media is hard and local media is harder. We knew it when we sold Eater (and Curbed and Racked) to Vox Media in 2013. But we were doing it, piece by piece, market by market.
Vox management never quite bought into the local approach, even as they grew the sites over the next decade (and even after they’d evolved from SB Nation, a network of local sports blogs). In the Vox venture capital era, everything was oriented around attracting a mass audience for big, national ad campaigns.
Eventually, Racked fell away, Curbed folded into NY Magazine, and now Eater looks vulnerable as it continues to pare back and zoom out.
Sometimes we reductively describe FOUND as a more grown-up version of Curbed, Eater, and Racked — upmarket, global, hopefully a little sharper. But we’re still building like we did in the 2000s, piece by piece, market by market. The goal: to fashion the next great global media company, sustainably.
We invite you to join us and bring your friends. Here’s how:
Writers and people of taste, pitch us ideas (found@itsfoundmiami.com). Ex-Eater friends, we welcome you especially.
Brands, consider us an effective new way to reach discerning consumers of quality products, services, and experiences (sales@itsfoundmiami.com).
New readers, subscribe today in Miami, LA, SF, NY, London, and Paris.
Loyal readers, upgrade to paid for best results!
Thanks for being with us for the early stages of FOUND. More soon. –Josh Albertson
WORK • Thursday Routine
Hungry heart
ELLEN BOWEN • South Florida site director • Food Rescue US
Neighborhood you live in: Miami Beach
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
In 2018, I started the South Florida chapter of Food Rescue US. I was involved in all sorts of large food events as the founder of the popular food blog, MIABites, and hated seeing how much food went to waste at the end of the night. Since then we’ve rescued over 15.2 million pounds of food that would have been thrown away and instead delivered it to homeless shelters all over South Florida. We have over 200 donor partners and almost 2k volunteers.
So on Thursday mornings — like every day of the week — I’ll head out with volunteers to local food donors like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, and Milam’s to pick up surplus edible food that would've been disposed of, like fresh produce, eggs, salads, meat, bread and bakery items. From there, we make drop offs at local hunger relief organizations and food banks. We may make a stop at local restaurants, hotels, and even stadiums. Over the years, we’ve done rescues after massive events like South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Art Basel, and the Super Bowl. It’s really rewarding to hear how the chefs at these organizations use the food from these events to transform them into epic meals for those they’re feeding.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Today is a big rescue day at the new Whole Foods Midtown/Edgewater. We’re loading up three to four carloads every day, and delivering to multiple shelters and pantries in underserved areas. We’re always open to more volunteers, if anyone is looking to give back!
Any bar or restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
A favorite for me is either Macchialina or Abbale Telavivian on South Beach. I live on Mid-Beach, so it’s an easy jaunt over and never fails to impress. The food and ambiance are always solid and we love taking friends who come to visit from up north. I love that you can dress up for a full night out or show up fairly casually for a great bite to eat at both.
How about a little leisure or culture?
As snowbirds who go back and forth between Connecticut and Miami, my husband and I spent most of our careers in New York City, so we love a show or live music. Take me to the Miami Beach Bandshell in North Beach anytime for music. There’s always something different happening there — while they aren’t the biggest names, it’s always a good time. Typically I’ll pop into Taquiza, Sushi Bichi, or Sazon for dinner first to make a full evening out of it. I also support Miami City Ballet and O Cinema, so I make sure to attend their events as often as possible.
Any weekend getaways?
New York City can be a quick trip — under three hours, and with Miami traffic these days, it seems like it’s a shorter trip than trying to drive to Palm Beach or the Keys. I just saw Buena Vista Social Club on Broadway. The show and music were truly wonderful, and featured Tony Award-winning choreography by former Miami City Ballet alums Justin Peck and his wife Patricia Delgado.
What was your last great vacation?
I was just in Los Angeles and stayed off Rodeo Drive in a funky boutique hotel called The Crescent Hotel. I spent my time popping into cafes, shopping, and we had an amazing dinner at Funke. I also made sure to go to the Beverly Hills Garden to see The Great Elephant Migration. It was in Miami Beach outside Faena during Art Basel, and this was the final stop on its 5,000 mile journey.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
Funny enough, I actually bought a baby elephant from the Great Elephant Migration. I loved the exhibit during Art Basel and visited it often as I live just a few blocks away. It was lovely to check out on my walks each day.
GETAWAYS LINKS: The secret overwater bar at Four Seasons Nevis • Aztec adds daily FLL-ELH (North Eleuthera) flights • American bringing back MIA-MXP (Milan, Italy) flights next year • Tradewind Aviation adding 3 Bahamas routes this winter • Fontainebleau Miami Beach adding on-site water park • The last remaining 747s.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three for-sale properties in Aventura that came to market in the last 30 days:
→ 3757 NE 208th Terr (Aventura) • 5BR/3BA, 2842 SF house • Ask: $2.75M • remodeled waterfront in gated community • Days on market: 24 • Annual tax: $15,969 • Agents: Ana Aizenstat & Stuart Berger, Coldwell Banker.
→ 20201 E Country Club Dr #1005 (Aventura) • 3BR/3.1BA, 3280 SF condo • Ask: $2.995M • renovated ocean-view at Hamptons South • Days on market: 29 • Monthly HOA: $3012 • Annual tax: $19,279 • Agent: Kristina Krykhtin, eXp.
→ 3201 NE 183rd St #2201 (Aventura, above) • 4BR/6BA, 3620 SF condo • Ask: $3.09M • corner unit with Intracoastal views at Peninsula • Days on market: 10 (and earlier) • Monthly HOA: $3628 • Annual tax: $17,504 • Agent: Marcelo Kohen, Sotheby’s.
MIAMI WORK AND PLAY LINKS: Why Miami homesellers are delisting properties en masse • Buyer increases deposit on largest land acquisition in Miami history • Playboy HQ relocating from LA to Miami Beach, new Playboy Club planned • ‘Largest padel club in U.S.’ coming to Midtown Park.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Ladies & Gentlemen…
The Weeknd with Playboi Carti & Mike Dean • Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens) • Fri @ 7p • sec 120, $258 per ($104 lowest avail)
LA Galaxy v Inter Miami • Chase Stadium (Ft Lauderdale) • Sat @ 730p • sec 101, $332 per ($82 lowest avail)
Erykah Badu and The Alchemist • The Fillmore (Miami Beach) • Tue @ 8p • GA, $104 per
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
Restaurants, Cuban
The Nines are our roundups of the best of Miami and surrounds. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundmiami.com.
Sanguich de Miami (Little Havana & other locations), strong contender for best Cuban sandwich in Miami