Nine months ago, the New Times editorial staff hauled the ol' Best of Miami® machine out of storage the way we always do and cranked it up right outside the publisher's office door the way we always do because we know how much he hates the racket it makes.
And here we are — six months later than we'd planned.
Of course, 2020 has been a year none of us could have planned for, and, for far too many of us, a grueling and painful one.
Still, there have been bright spots, and for us, putting together this issue was an exercise in discovering (or reminding ourselves of) the superlative nature of several hundred of them.
You might note that some of your favorite categories are missing from this year's edition. That's mostly out of respect for the process. (How, for instance, can you choose a best local actor when there was no local theater season?) Some of our favorite places may be missing, too: those that haven't reopened from pandemic-induced closures yet, and those that shut down permanently.
In the case of the former, we're looking forward to seeing you in time for Best of Miami® 2021, which is tentatively planned for June. And in the case of the latter, we're dedicating this issue to you in the hope that the people who made you what you were will return with something just as wonderful, or maybe even more so.
The Best of Miami® is written by:
Juliana Accioly, Grant Albert, Juan Antonio Barquin, Amber Love Bond, Clarissa Buch, Alexi C. Cardona, Joshua Ceballos, Carolina del Busto, Laine Doss, Jose D. Duran, Dan Evans, Zachary Fagenson, Tom Finkel, Suzannah Friscia, Jessica Gibbs, Jen Karetnick, Jessica Lipscomb, Chris Malone, Olivia McAuley, Chelsea Olson, Aaliyah Pasols, David Rolland, Jesse Scott, Catherine Toruño, Elena Vivas, and Ryan Yousefi.
20/20 concept and section openers by Tom Carlson. Design by Tom Carlson and Alexander Flores.
[parent] => 0 [count] => 317 [filter] => raw ) [6] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000428 [name] => Best of Miami® 2019 [slug] => 2019 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 429 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] =>Welcome to your guide to Miami’s best of almost everything. This year, we’ll fly through the air with the greatest of ease as we guide you through our picks for the city’s top waterfront restaurant (Malibu Farm in Miami Beach), the best brewery (Beat Culture in West Miami-Dade), and the exclusive, secret lounge you should know about (Ama at Kaido in the Design District).
Miami is crazier than Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey ever considered possible. Consider, for instance, the best documentary, Screwball, which included a child star playing Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez. The Magic City even has its own bearded lady: the best drag performer, Queef Latina.
Indeed, turn the pages of this brilliant work of journalism and you’ll discover the finest in more than 250 categories, according to New Times staffers and a select group of contributors.
For more picks, step inside the big top to see how the public voted. This year, more than 5,000 ballots were cast online for Miami’s best. Readers said goodbye to the Electric Pickle by choosing it as the city’s best dance club and welcomed Dwyane Wade into retirement by voting him the best Heat player.
After you read through the winners, head to the Best of Miami party Thursday, June 20, 2019, from 8 to 11 p.m. in Jungle Plaza in the Miami Design District. Enjoy unlimited food sampling from Miami's top restaurants, sip specialty cocktails from the area's finest bars, and watch live art, all while vibing to the sounds of Virtuoso-Inc. Tickets are available via eventbrite.com.
#BestofMiami
Illustrations by Alvaro Diaz-Rubio.
[parent] => 0 [count] => 354 [filter] => raw ) [7] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000427 [name] => Best of Miami® 2018 [slug] => 2018 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 428 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] =>Welcome to your guide to Miami’s best of almost everything. Now let’s roll out the red carpet! On these pages, you’ll discover the top romantic restaurant (Stiltsville Fish Bar in South Beach) and the number one inexpensive restaurant (Ono Poke in — where else? — Wynwood). You’ll learn that Otto Von Schirach has the best Instagram (What, it’s not mine?!, you’ll protest) and that the Gables Corset Shoppe has the coolest lingerie.
Indeed, you’ll discover the finest of more than 300 categories, according to New Times staff and a select group of freelancers.
You will also see how the public voted. This year, more than 9,000 ballots were cast online for Miami’s best. Some of these winners were predictable: Readers chose Zak the Baker as top bakery and Broken Shaker as the first bar of Miami Beach. Pleasant surprises were choices for best karaoke — Let’s Sang at Gramps — and best news anchor: Roxanne Vargas.
Though DJ Khaled is the one who made “We the best” his signature phrase, Miami New Times has provided a guide to what’s best for the past three decades.
#BestofMiami
Illustrations by Alvaro Diaz-Rubio.
[parent] => 0 [count] => 421 [filter] => raw ) [8] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000426 [name] => Best of Miami® 2017 [slug] => 2017 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 427 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] =>Thirty years ago, Miami New Times began publishing from offices in South Beach. It was 1987, and the place was all fun, sun, cocaine, and senescence. Well, 30 years from now, in 2047, it will be under water. So why are you sitting on the couch? Get out there and enjoy, for tomorrow we snorkel!
It’s our annual Best of Miami® issue. In these pages, you’ll find our picks for more than 300 of the Magic City’s top restaurants, finest clubs, greatest shops, and most interesting people. You’ll also discover the findings of our Readers’ Poll, assembled after months of public voting.
You can locate the town’s best psychic, veterinarian, and car mechanic, as well as the freshest seafood, smoothies, and steak. You can also — believe it or not — find the best politician, charity, and local boy made good.
Hang on to this issue as a year-round reference for all the picks.
See it before you have to swim it.
Illustrations by Scott Anderson
[parent] => 0 [count] => 428 [filter] => raw ) [9] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000425 [name] => Best of Miami® 2016 [slug] => 2016 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 426 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] =>South Florida breeds champions. We win titles, we climb podiums, and we wear our medals with pride. Our own DJ Khaled tells it straight: We da best. And the biggest competition of them all comes to a stunning climax in this issue. No, not the Olympics.
It’s our annual Best of Miami® issue. In these pages, you’ll find our picks for more than 400 of the Magic City’s finest restaurants, coolest artists, most pulsating clubs, and greatest bars. You’ll also learn the results of our Readers’ Poll, assembled from months of voting by thousands of local connoisseurs.
Prep your gold medal dance now. You’ll need it when you learn this year’s winners for best cocktail, most happening weekly party, and top sneaker store.
It sure feels good to win, doesn’t it?
Illustrations by Alvaro Diaz-Rubio
[parent] => 0 [count] => 442 [filter] => raw ) [10] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000424 [name] => Best of Miami 2015 [slug] => 2015 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 425 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] =>Grab your plutonium, rev that engine to 88 mph, and hang on tight: It's time for a journey to Miami's red-hot present. After all, Marty McFly traveled to 2015 in Back to the Future Part II. So consider nearly 350 of our picks for the best places to snag late-night eats, chug cheap beer, and peruse vintage clothes right now in the Magic City. Not even a mad genius like Doc Brown could invent a better choice for the best new bar, the coolest day trip, and the finest tattoo shop. To top it off, you'll also find the results of our Readers' Poll, tallied from months of voting. Keep this issue in your DeLorean's glove box for handy reference, or find all of our picks at miaminewtimes.com/bestof. Great Scott!
#BestOfMiami
[parent] => 0 [count] => 444 [filter] => raw ) [11] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000422 [name] => Best of Miami® 2014 [slug] => 2014 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 423 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] => Grab your controller and heed the call of duty. It's time to read about the best places to eat brunch, drink beer, and party until dawn in Miami. In the pages that follow, you'll find 320 of our picks for the greatest artists, musicians, and restaurateurs in this steamy subtropical beach megalopolis. You'll also discover the results of our Readers' Poll, which was assembled from months of voting.Miami and crime go together like Crockett and Tubbs. This city, after all, has been the backdrop for Grand Theft Auto, CSI: Miami, and that infamous ’80s TV show that became a flop of a movie starring Jamie Foxx. Then there’s the cocaine, grand larceny, and shady banks.
But hey, during a recession, a little hustle goes a long way. Keep reading and you’ll find 336 ways to get ahead in the Magic City. Wanna swipe a parking spot on South Beach? Try Michigan and 15th. What’s the best place to get your heart stolen? Go to Gen Art’s Shop Miami. Where can you drown your sorrows once it’s over? Head for the Fontainebleau.
We’ll also tell you what to do when you’re tired of clubs and movie theaters ripping you off and which art gallery is practically giving away classy stuff.
All of this advice is free, but if it makes you feel like Tony Montana, you can pretend you jacked it.
[parent] => 0 [count] => 336 [filter] => raw ) [17] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000416 [name] => BEST OF MIAMI® 2008 [slug] => 2008 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 417 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] =>Miami is a fairy tale. The restaurants are dreamy. The stores are magical. Even Biscayne Bay is at times enchanted. Read on, and you'll find 437 of the best ways to survive the summer sizzle.
For the lonely, there's the best place for a first date: the Upper Eastside Garden.
For the famished, there's the best last meal on earth: a taco in Homestead.
You'll also discover dozens of readers' favorites. One thing you won't uncover is the most popular choice for the best category we didn't ask. It's Best Way to Clean Your Colon.
And that's no fairy tale.
[parent] => 0 [count] => 411 [filter] => raw ) [18] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000415 [name] => BEST OF MIAMI® 2007 [slug] => 2007 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 416 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] =>Evil nemesis got you down?
Had enough of Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four? Need a heroic way to start your day?
Try our nineteenth "Best of Miami." Four hundred ninety-five choices of everything from top tango to numero uno pizza joint.
The old favorites are here: Nikki Beach took home Best Brunch Buffet. And some new winners: $40-per-shot coffee sold at Barton G. that's made with beans plucked from rodent poop. There's Best Commie Agent: Oscar Corral of the Miami Herald. And Best Prodigy: seven-year-old Lucciano Pizzichini, who picks "Why Don't We Do It in the Road" on his guitar.
More of you voted in this year's "Best of Miami" poll than ever before; the number topped 2000. And for that we can only say thanks, hero.
[parent] => 0 [count] => 421 [filter] => raw ) [19] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000414 [name] => BEST OF MIAMI® 2006 [slug] => 2006 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 415 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] => L-a-a-a-adies and g-e-e-e-entlemen, in this corner, weighing more pounds that we care to disclose, is the unchallenged champeen of the subtropical world. It’s an enormous chunk of newsprint that includes more than 400 of the region’s most inspiring treats.There’s the highbrow -- Mark’s South Beach is the best restaurant in South Beach, and Martini Bar in South Miami is the best new bar. And there are some exotic surprises: Club Típico Dominicano on NW 36th Street is the best Latin club, Bagua on NE Second Avenue is the best Zen gift shop, and the recent confrontation in which a python swallowed an alligator and then exploded is our best reptilian death match.
Fans answered our call, informing us La Carreta is the best place to get Cuban coffee, and Space is the best dance club. Also according to our Readers’ Poll, Best Spa/Salon was the best category we didn’t ask. (A place called Myra & Company was the suggested winner, but we can’t say whether the clients and owners made the nomination.)
So now we clang the bell. You can take on this monster, wrestle it to the ground, and see just what you think of our choices. [parent] => 0 [count] => 441 [filter] => raw ) [20] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000413 [name] => BEST OF MIAMI® 2005 [slug] => 2005 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 414 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] => With this issue, the Best of Miami celebrates its sixteenth anniversary. Sweet sixteen. Still young enough to be playful and innocent but old enough to be self-aware. Not in the sense of being self-absorbed, but rather in being cognizant of the future — a dawning realization that there will be a tomorrow and that we’ll be part of it. In fact for many people in Miami, the World of Tomorrow has become something of a preoccupation. You can feel it in the air, a sensation of imminent growth and change. It’s as if Miami, 109 years old this July, is only now emerging from a prolonged adolescence.
Hints of tomorrow’s Miami are all around us, most notably in the eruption of new construction — to the south and west, single-family homes surging over farmland like some residential kudzu; high-rise condominiums mushrooming in the urban core. Demographic transformation may be the most visible symbol of Miami’s future, but it’s not the only thing about to change. The very fabric of life here will soon be redefined. Of course, those of us who live in Miami will be largely responsible for shaping our destiny, which prompted us to ask an intriguing mix of locals to imagine our future. You’ll find their musings further along in this annual compendium of all that makes Miami so weird and wonderful.
We’ve been doing our own thinking about the World of Tomorrow — in particular about the Best of Miami. For example, in the future we might want to consider modifying one category in our Readers’ Poll: Best Local Girl Made Good. Imagine this: Best Local Girl (Other Than Gloria Estefan) Made Good. That’s right — readers for the umpteenth time bestowed that award upon La Gloria, even though she made good long ago.
A thoughtful correspondent suggested that, in the future, we consider Colombia: “One thing I find rather peculiar is the fact that, even though we as Colombians represent at least half a million people in Miami-Dade, not one of the 50 or so Colombian restaurants presently functioning is included in Best of Miami. Why is that?”
The final item on the Readers’ Poll actually invites ideas for the future: Best Category We Didn’t Ask. Who knows, in the World of Tomorrow, the Best of Miami might incorporate some of the more charming suggestions: Best Overpriced Thrift Store, Best Worst City Planning (winner: Sunny Isles Beach), Best Pan-Fried Yellowtail Snapper, Best High School Sports Dynasty (wild guess: Gulliver girls’ water polo?), Best Freedom Fighter/Terrorist Depending Who You Ask (Luis Posada Carriles, we presume).
If past is prelude, the future is sure to include Best of Miami ballot-stuffers. Consider the Fox and Isicoff clans. This year’s winner of Best Local Boy Made Good is not attorney Eric Isicoff, but that’s not for anyone’s lack of trying. Family, friends, friends of friends, passing acquaintances of in-laws twice removed — the outpouring of support for the guy was nothing short of amazing, as was another nomination on every single one of those Isicoff ballots: Best Vein Doctor. The unanimous choice for this category we not only didn’t ask but also, frankly, never considered? Susan B. Fox. Don’t know her? Maybe you’ve heard of her sister, prominent Miami immigration attorney Tammy Fox-Isicoff. Talk about hints of tomorrow’s Miami! The Fox and Isicoff households offer convincing evidence that the future of the family unit looks stronger than ever.
Sometimes it is not easy to say precisely what constitutes ballot-stuffing. It’s a tricky business we’ve grappled with for years, so the future doesn’t look too promising on that front. Frankie’s Big City Grill, for instance, may have hand-delivered an elaborately designed container literally “stuffed” with ballots, but does that make it “ballot-stuffing”? Apparently the improv group Just the Funny has quite a few devoted fans who may or may not have received certain specific ballot instructions. Is that or is that not a problem? Mr. Izzy Havenick, whose family may or may not own Flagler Dog Track, seems to have a kennelful of friends with enough computer savvy to vote via our Website. But is there such a thing as electronic ballot-stuffing? [parent] => 0 [count] => 810 [filter] => raw ) [21] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000423 [name] => BEST OF MIAMI® 2004 [slug] => 2004 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 424 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] => This is the fifteenth edition of the Best of Miami. Fifteen years. Can it be? Can a decade and a half really have zoomed by since we awarded Best French Restaurant to Le Festival? Or decided that Little Nicky and the Slicks was the Best Local Blues Band? Or predicted that the Best Local Band with a Future would be the Mavericks? Anyone remember the Avenue A escapades (Best Traveling Party)? How about the Eagle's Nest bar above the Sand Dollar restaurant at the Silver Sands Motel on Key Biscayne (Best Place to Drink in the Afternoon)?
Gary James's Avenue A parties are now the stuff of legend. Hurricane Andrew took care of the Eagle's Nest. And Le Festival is just a memory, though a delectable one.
But Nicole "Nicky" Yarling is still going strong. Just two months ago Raul Malo and the Mavericks appeared before a wildly enthusiastic crowd at the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin. And another item from that 1990, inaugural Best of Miami still resonates. Best Miami Euphemism: "It's never dull. Most commonly employed during conversations between transplants to Miami and their worried friends and relatives back home. Translation: My neighbors were just busted by the DEA, my car has been broken into again, five city commissioners were indicted last week, and someone's been placing headless chickens at my back door."
Of course there have been other reassuringly immutable objects amid the turbulent changes that have buffeted Miami over the past fifteen years. Churchill's is still a great rock club. The black bean soup at Puerto Sagua is as savory as ever. El Palacio de los Jugos continues to make killer Cuban sandwiches, and Versailles is perhaps the world's most famous Cuban restaurant (in Miami, that is). The Athens Juice Bar on Collins Avenue is still squeezing fresh fruit. And this year, for the umpteenth time, we cheerfully acknowledge that Books & Books remains Miami's best bookstore. Our readers have displayed surprising consistency as well. In voting for their own Best of Miami winners, they once again have awarded Best French Fries to (who else?) McDonald's. Best Beach? As always, it's South Beach, just as Key West is Best Weekend Getaway. Christy's restaurant in Coral Gables is the perennial winner of Best Caesar Salad. And for the umpteenth time readers declared Gloria Estefan to be Best Local Girl Made Good. You'd think that fifteen years of consistent failure would discourage potential ballot-stuffers. But nooooooo. Take Rex Art Supplies, for example. We didn't have a category for Best Art Store, so the good folks at Rex corrected that with 39 photocopied ballots signed by, among others, a remarkable number of full families. Nor did we have a category that was tailor-made for the Shin Wellness Center. Not to worry. Someone there took care of the oversight by making it easy for 48 individuals to simply sign their names on premarked ballots nominating Shin as the winner of Best Category We Didn't Ask. Those efforts, ambitious though they may have been, were distant runners-up to our pick for this year's Best Ballot-Stuffer. Best Gym? Who knows? We didn't ask readers to vote on such a category. But according to 157 people from all over town, we should have. And the winner should have been Zone Fitness Centers. Among the many other suggestions for Best Category We Didn't Ask, a few stand out as emblematic of this weird and wonderful place we call home: Best Criminal Done Good, Best Spot to Paint Graffiti Illegally, Best Place to Buy Liquor If You're Underage, Best Way Not to Die From Extreme Heat in the Miami Summer, Best Reason to Live in This Hellhole, Best Way to Escape the Latin Influence, and our favorite: Best Local Cross-Dresser.
[parent] => 0 [count] => 814 [filter] => raw ) [22] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000408 [name] => BEST OF MIAMI® 2003 [slug] => 2003 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 409 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] => After scanning our trenchant looks at politico Art Teele and developer Don Peebles, viewing Miami poverty from the ground up, and busting ex-police chief Raul Martinez, you might not think New Times was really as nuts about our town as we are. But it’s true: We’re nuts about Miami! Our annual tribute to the very best the area has to offer should be proof enough. This year we’re going to tell you where to find great buys on Brazilian bikinis, where you can jog without fighting traffic, where to get the best deals on bikes, hamburgers, beer, even the best shave in town. For example, this year’s best authentic prole food is at the Eleventh Street Diner in South Beach (Best Diner, natch). You can scarf down some homemade meat loaf, green peas, and mashed potatoes for more than reasonable prices, and talk to the cool waitstaff too. And read New Times, which they pile up at the Washington Avenue end of the counter every Wednesday afternoon starting around 3:00. Or you can take your ancient Voigtlander camera to Manfred Wenzel, owner of Dan’s Camera Shop on Biscayne Boulevard, and trust that he’ll give it the kind of predigital attention it deserves. Or check out the hot dog menu at Dogma, just north of Dan’s. You’ll start to believe us.You should especially believe us in the arena of chefs, Miami cuisine, and culinary shooting stars, where we regularly field experts like writers Lee Klein, Jen Karetnick, and Pamela Robin Brandt. Klime Kovaceski, for example, who runs the Crystal Café on 41st Street in Miami Beach, prepares a wonderful menu of “new continental” cuisine — meaning the sauces are lighter and he transgresses borders to make new dishes — used to be a rock guitarist, and will jump out of his kitchen to greet customers. Another prominent chef is Carmen Gonzalez, owner of recently opened Carmen the Restaurant in Coral Gables. She does a cutting-edge version of Americanized Caribbean, and so is attracting droves of gourmands. Michelle Bernstein, that rarest of all South Floridians, a born Miamian, and honored last year as Best Local Girl Made Good, now runs Azul at the elite Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Brickell Key. She’s been drawing national attention in venues like Esquire and the Food TV network for her award-winning work in the kitchen. And that’s not to mention the likes of other highly creative chefs like Pascal Oudin, Andrea Curto and husband Frank Randazzo, Sergio Sigala, Rob Boone, and Cindy Hutson.
Some people believe us so thoroughly they risk misdemeanor or even felony fraud charges by stuffing ballots on Readers’ Poll votes in a desperate attempt to win various categories such as Best Paintball Center, Best Scooter Store, Best Tanning Salon, or Best Topless Bar. Their techniques are pathetically obvious: overweening praise in semiliterate language about, say, the profound wonder of spackling your neighbor or brother with pink-colored paintballs, or the repeated use of business stationery — a dead giveaway, especially when we receive 97 entries from the same business, as we did this year.
Why go to such extremes? Because Best of Miami winners get to advertise that honor for years to come. They greatly value the credibility of our (now) institutional New Times endorsement. That Best of certificate hangs in the window. Customers go in. Thus is belief measured.
[parent] => 0 [count] => 825 [filter] => raw ) [23] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000409 [name] => BEST OF MIAMI® 2002 [slug] => 2002 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 410 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] => You'd think that in a town as wonderfully weird as Miami, no one could ever grow jaded by what they see around them. Think of those clueless mothers with toddlers hoping to cross a busy street but refusing to use a crosswalk, standing on the center line as cars whiz by only inches away. Or how about the drag queens who are as comfortable prancing down the aisle at Publix as they are working the room at a Beach nightclub? And what about the irrational panic that overtakes thousands of people at the approach of a storm? And don't forget our really, really bad drivers.All that and much more surely looks pretty darn loony to someone from, say, Des Moines. But in fact this stuff becomes old hat to anyone who's lived here for more than a couple of hurricane seasons. Locals adapt to this cognitive overload by simply accepting it. With time we come to see bizarre behavior as normal, and we're surprised when out-of-town friends express astonishment. If we've moved here from some other place (that would be about 90 percent of us), our occasional returns to the old homestead are often accompanied by a kind of psychic deflation. Everything seems somewhat dull and boring, as if all life's sharp edges had been sanded down and smoothed over. Eventually our adaptive response to life here in the steamy subtropics can lead us to an unwitting blindness in which we lose sight of the fact that we're operating in a very wacky world.
That's where this year's Best of Miami comes in. With this thirteenth edition of our paean to all that is good and dear about our home, we wanted to see Miami with fresh new eyes. We set out to lift the veil of ennui, to polish the mirror we use to reflect our own image. So in the second year of the new millennium, 2002, we sought a new view. Inside you'll find the unexpected and the new. Best place to play darts? You'll never guess. And you'll be surprised to learn of a cool little waterfront restaurant on Virginia Key. We'll guide you to a fine charity you probably never heard of. Ditto our best hidden neighborhood, best roast pig, and best Indian grocery. We can almost guarantee you've never taken our best hike. Like we said — lots of new ideas to keep life here interesting.
Some things, however, never seem to change. Has anyone other than Gloria Estefan been voted best local girl made good? No surprise that our readers once again think La Carreta is the best Cuban restaurant. And also no surprise that reader response to Best Category We Didn't Ask turned up some gems: Best Restaurant to Dine in During a Hurricane, Best Activity to Do While Intoxicated, Best Place to Go Stoned, Best Support Group.
And finally there always are some rascals out there who can't resist the temptation to bend the rules, especially if it might mean a coveted Best of Miami award. Yes, we had our share of brazen ballot-stuffers again this year, among them a certain scooter shop whose 36 identical ballots arrived in one envelope. Almost fooled us! At least one person complained confidentially via e-mail: "I am outraged at the lengths some folks would go to try to win a category in the Best of Miami. I am an employee at a very popular [business omitted here] and I was asked to enter [the business] on ballots (thousands of ballots) and submit them to your office. Use different pens and try to change your handwriting, I was told! Are we that hard up for publicity? What is this contest coming to?"
Indeed, what is it all coming to?
[parent] => 0 [count] => 746 [filter] => raw ) [24] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000410 [name] => BEST OF MIAMI® 2001 [slug] => 2001 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 411 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] => We all know we need it, and we all know we don’t get enough of it. No not that, the other thing, the thing that keeps us young at heart, calm at soul, wise at mind — that thing we call relaxation. In a place like Miami, relaxation seems to be the most elusive of all elixirs. Sometimes it feels as though we’re merely existing, not actually living. So to get the 21st Century off to a tranquil start, we bring you New Times’ Best of Miami “Chill Out” issue. Yes, it’s the annual celebration of this city’s outstanding shops, restaurants, services, recreation sites, and entertainers. This time around, though, we’ve decided to ask some locals with jobs that can make the blood pressure soar just what they do to decompress from the stress. Serious downtime is not simply a luxury; it’s a requirement if you treat critically ill children all day, pull people of all ages from burning buildings all night, guide hunks of flying steel to a safe landing at MIA, fly a hunk of steel into the eye of a hurricane, or ferret out corruption in this most corrupt of counties. But even if your job isn’t associated with high anxiety, you still need to plop on the beach, paddle a kayak, read a book, down a beer, and take advantage of what our tip of the subtropical peninsula has to offer. But how, and where? That’s why we’re here! Open these pages and soak up the hundreds of items we have chosen to lead you to the Best of Miami.Even if you’re a long-timer, you still may be stumped over the best place for a cheap date. (Hint: Think full moon.) Sure it’s hot and humid here, but did you know you can sip some of England’s finest at high tea? If it’s the hard stuff you want, there’s a bar wrapped ’round a banyan that will help ease the pain. Or if it’s adventure you’re after, we’ve got hot spots for boating, surfing, hiking, and, of course, Dumpster diving. But maybe you just want to know where to find the best fresh fish, fried chicken, one-dollar meal, doggy day camp, or the best lava lamp lounge for lovers — that’s all here, too. We’ll also help you get to know your fellow residents and neighbors: the best local girl made good and local boy gone bad (a relative of a certain New York senator rings a bell), the best actress and the best director, the best drag queen and the best weather forecaster, the best Dolphins player and the best park manager (bet you didn’t know there was one).
Finally we’ve let you have your say in all this. The results of our Readers’ Poll yielded surprising and not-so-surprising winners, but we liked some of your suggested additional categories: biggest idiot (looks like a mayor on this one), best beach access, best dance company, and best rehabilitation center, to name a few. Your choice awards are printed at the beginning of each section. [parent] => 0 [count] => 729 [filter] => raw ) [25] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000411 [name] => BEST OF MIAMI® 2000 [slug] => 2000 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 412 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] => The New Millennium
At the dawn of a new millennium, New Times and a host of South Florida's most forward-thinking citizens have taken on a weighty responsibility: to predict the future. And it doesn't look pretty to us. The stock market will sag, dot.com technology will leave us in the slow lane, and Miami Mayor Joe Carollo will explode, showering the city with post-Elian scum and bile.
So we've decided to concentrate on what's fresh, pretty, and sweet. Actually we're kind of fresh, so let's move on to the other two. We asked a well-known chef, the leader of the county's most successful human-rights campaign, a prestigious architect, and the winner of a genius grant, among others, to tell us what Miami-Dade will look like 100 years hence. Their answers, we hope, will spur you to think a little, dream a bit, and laugh a lot.
And if that's not enough, we've scoured the county for the best hip-hop barbershop, the top topless beach, and the most appropriate restaurant for intimate conversation (think mattresses on this one). We've also dug up a mall kiosk that would have embarrassed Sigmund Freud, a local pop band that would have shamed Jack Kerouac, and an unguarded moment that clearly humiliated school spokes-nerd Henry Fraind. Indeed we have chosen more than 400 of the best things going.
Hundreds of you wrote and e-mailed us with ideas for the readers' poll and some of your ideas were downright creative. Some were weird, too. A few of you had a crush on voluble historian Paul George. Others wanted us to choose the number-one yoga teacher and laser hair-removal center. Sorry folks, maybe next year. Others stuffed the ballot box. We disqualified those votes.
But enough about yesterday. Read on. Think ahead. Enjoy. [parent] => 0 [count] => 797 [filter] => raw ) [26] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 40000412 [name] => BEST OF MIAMI® 1999 [slug] => 1999 [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 413 [taxonomy] => best-of-year [description] => After ten Best of Miami issues, it’s time to look back. What a decade it’s been for this town. South Beach went from slum to slick. Nelson Mandela was snubbed. Hurricane Andrew leveled South Dade. Cuban rafters landed by the thousands. A slew of politicians were indicted. A summit brought Latin America to us. The Everglades were saved, then burnt, then saved again. And Wayne Huizenga was a hero, then a goat, then Billy’s goat.
Amid all this we managed to publish nine editions of Best of Miami, our once-a-year respite from the usual fare of political shenanigans, public corruption, and ecological devastation. The first issue was a saucy 176-page look at the finest in the subtropics. In the years that followed, we grew in girth and made increasingly impressive choices. Among them: Stephen Talkhouse was our best concert venue. An American Place Waterside Restaurant at the Jockey Club was our best new restaurant. Les Violins was our best glitz palace. All closed. Then there was Wayne’s World, chosen as best day trip. This place was never even built.
Now here we are at number ten. In this issue you’ll find our choices for classic topics like best cover band (the Clap), best new band (Chlorine), and best band name (Ho Chi Minh), and you’ll also discover some untried categories: best way to stick it to your pet (an acupuncture vet) and best place to watch fish while dining on one (you’ll have to read on for this). You’ll also encounter readers’ preferences for everything from best hotel (the Delano) to best local girl made good (Gloria Estefan — tenth time’s a charm).
Although this is a transient, ever-changing place, one thing seems constant: the urge to cheat. Readers have always tried to stuff the ballot box. Some of this year’s miscreants hail from a stylish and well-known Lincoln Road eatery and its next-door neighbor. A hot dog vendor even asked two of our reporters to stuff the box.
But enough of that jazz. Welcome to Best of Miami 1999. Sit back, soak up some South Florida sun, and enjoy.
Contributors
In addition to the New Times staff, the following people contributed to this year’s issue: Robin Shear (coordinator), Greg Baker (section editor), Alan Diaz, Carla Diaz, Laura Esguerra, Fred Hernandez, Sara Kaplan, Lee Klein, Rebecca Muller, Jen Osorio, Victoria Pesce Elliott, Alex Salinas, and Christine Tague.
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