Artistic streak
Luca Osteria, Miami Art Week, Nina Johnson, The Cleat, post-election RTO, Sunset Key Cottages, Goldeneye, MORE
RESTAURANTS • FOUND Table
Luca the draw
There are only a few dishes I’d describe as life-changing, among which is the brown butter gnocchi at Luca Osteria in Coral Gables. Although I’m a regular at the restaurant, I hadn’t tried it until recently, when our server made the recommendation (it’s only available on Fridays and Saturdays). One bite, and I remembered why I’m here so often: the ricotta gnocchi is smothered in cream and topped with caramelized brown butter. It was like tasting pasta for the first time.
Situated on pedestrian-friendly Giralda Avenue, Luca’s aesthetic is minimalistic and clean, with dark wood floors, chairs and tables offset by white lacquered walls, exposed wood beam ceilings, and soft pendant lighting. The dining room is usually full and buzzing, with chef Giorgio Rapicavoli holding court amongst diners.
Elsewhere on the menu, the patate fritte — a crispy little potato ball covered in parmigiano fonduta and egg yolk, topped with black truffle — is the most decadent and indulgent morsel I’ve eaten all year. The local stracciatella, served with filone bread from Sullivan Street Bakery, olive oil, and black truffle honey is a perfect symphony of flavors and textures.
There’s more pasta to recommend, too. The al limone with mafaldine is prepared with parmigiano reggiano and a whole lemon — light, fresh, and a welcome contrast to some of the menu’s richer offerings. As for secondi, the lamb shank, served over a butternut squash puree and topped with pumpkin seeds, is worth the 45-minute prep time.
The cocktail program is flush with spritzes and Negronis, and the bar team will gladly recommend an off menu concoction.The Negroni Chiaro, made with Cinzano 1757 and Italicus Bergamot, is my go-to. It’s a great aperitif to tee up a meal of indulgent, even life-changing dishes. –Katelin Stecz
→ Luca Osteria (Coral Gables) • 116 Giralda Ave • Tues-Thurs & Sun 530-10p, Fri-Sat 530-11p • Reserve.
MIAMI RESTAURANT LINKS: Restaurateur Jorge Ramos debuts new Spanish tapas restaurant Bar Bella in South Miami • Secret new cocktail bar Panamericano opens in Brickell • Six years after fire, Delicias de España returning soon to South Miami • The definitive ranking of wine bar small plates.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Sponsor
Water & all that we love
Ryan and Arjan here, the co-founders of Jolie, a beauty wellness company focused on purifying the quality of one’s shower water for better skin and hair. We’re both fans and readers of FOUND, which is why we decided to sponsor this newsletter to reach like-minded folks like you.
As much as we love discussing water’s impact on skin and hair, we’re equally enamored by the connection of water to all else that we love in life — art, coffee, surfing, food, oysters, ceramics, and so much more. That’s why we created a fun video series, Water &, which looks at these topics through the lens of water. Some highlights:
We spent an early morning in Montauk with artist Joe Henry Baker who used the salty ocean water to paint with and wet his canvases, resulting in a crystallization in the painting as it dried.
We spent an evening with Esben Piper, the founder of the renowned Danish coffee company, La Cabra, at their Soho location in New York. Did you know that the parts per million of minerals in water (or the water’s “hardness”) made to brew La Cabra’s coffee is finely tuned to extract flavor while not making the coffee taste sour?
We joined designer Cynthia Rowley for a morning surf out east on Long Island, where the water is both a calming force for her and “balance” to her planned out, calendared work days.
We’ve always loved oysters, but we loved them even more once we started spending time with both the Billion Oyster Project and Montauk Pearl Oyster’s Mike Martinsen. Oysters clean the water by filtering water as they eat, removing ecosystem-destroying pollutants such as nitrogen. They also act as a natural storm barrier and help foster biodiversity. (The Billion Oyster Project, our non-profit of choice, is restoring the oyster reefs in New York’s harbors to clean the Hudson and East Rivers. Last we checked, 122 million oysters have been restored in New York’s harbor over the last 10 years.)
You can watch all of our Water & videos on our website here.
We worked with these partners because we think they are the best at what they do. If you are thinking about buying a Jolie, we encourage you to do so via the link below. We are picking five FOUND buyers to gift a year’s worth of La Cabra coffee to make at home.
The role of water is all around us. –Ryan Babenzien & Arjan Singh
→ Shop: The Jolie Filtered Showerhead (Jolie) • available in brushed gold, modern chrome, brushed steel, jet black, and vibrant red • $148.
WORK • Thursday Routine
Hanging around
NINA JOHNSON • senior director • Nina Johnson
Neighborhood you work in: Little Haiti
Neighborhood you live in: Shorecrest
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
Thursdays are often busy for us because it’s our typical opening day. I’ve owned a contemporary art gallery in Miami since 2007, so I have my daily routine down pat — though a big trick is trying not to let anything become routine, no matter how long you’ve been at it. I often bring my dog to work. I sit down at my desk and get right to email, after which I run through my to-do lists. I try to get this done before noon, because once the clock strikes 12p, I never know who may walk through the door. Walking visitors through the shows is still often the best part of my job.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Today, we’re working on prep for Miami Art Week. This year we’re opening three shows by Patrick Dean Hubbell, Estefania Puerta, and Josue Sanchez. Este will be flying in next week to hang her show early so we can give PAMM’s incredible International Women’s Committee a sneak peek in advance of the fairs, and we’re preparing for that.
Any bar or restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Tonight I’m headed to Sunny’s. I’m thrilled that it’s back, and you can find me there (along with everyone else) at least once a week. The atmosphere is gorgeous, the music is always on point, and who doesn’t love to end their night with a steak and a chilled Manhattan? For a sunset drink, always The Cleat!
How about a little leisure or culture?
My boys play baseball, so three days a week you can find me on the field. I’ve come to love it. When it's the season, we take them to Marlins games as often as possible.
Any weekend getaways?
This weekend I’m headed to Goldeneye, Jamaica.
What was your last great vacation?
My last trip was to New York City to see my husband Daniel Milewski play at David Zwirner for Jarrett Earnest’s “Feint of Heart” release, a compilation of art essays by Dave Hickey. I still love staying at The Bowery Hotel. I also loved eating at The Commerce Inn.
MIAMI WORK AND PLAY LINKS: Miami Dade condo sales jump in October as busy season starts • New bakery Façade opens in Coral Gables • Westchester’s Lucky Oriental Mart to shutter • Pants report: These ‘it’ pairs are the new handbag… 13 on-trend comfy options • Trendwatch: Ivy League degrees are a liability.
WORK • RTO
Balancing act
Election week is a weird time to introduce jarring changes to workplace policies (unless the change is “take the rest of the month off”) but we live in weird times. In a Thursday memo congratulating his staff on its recent journalism, Washington Post CEO Will Lewis also took the opportunity to call the whole team back to the office five days a week. “We are really good when we are working together in person,” he explained.
Whether the RTO shift was a newsroom decision, an extension of sister company Amazon’s recent push, or a way to indirectly trim the ranks, Lewis’s note ultimately concludes that if you can do three days — the Post’s current mandate — you can do five. The logic is there! Still, the policy goes into effect in February for managers and June for the rest of the staff, an acknowledgement that maybe this will require some reorganization of lives. Lewis writes:
We know for some people this shift from three to five days in the office will be welcomed and a straightforward transition. For others, we know it will be an adjustment – you may need to adapt routines and rediscover old ways of managing work-life balance. This is why we are giving more than six months for many of our colleagues to work it through.
Ah yes, rediscover old ways of managing work-life balance, a phrase doing a lot of work.
On the other end of this spectrum, the FT takes a look at policies in effect at companies like Spotify and Airbnb that allow employees to post up anywhere in the world. Those reportedly morale-boosting, attrition-reducing arrangements aren’t always WFH, but they share a flexible-work ethos that the Bezos-owned Post and Amazon have set aside as Covid-era novelty.
There was a time when it seemed like all of this would settle into a sort of new hybrid normal. But maybe there won’t be a middle, just companies that are flexible — or not. –Josh Albertson
CULTURE & LEISURE • Run-Around
Blues Traveler - 30 Years of Four Tour • Revolution Live (Fort Lauderdale) • Sat @ 7p • GA, $42 per
The Avett Brothers • Hard Rock Live (Davie) • Sun @ 7p • section 115, $82 per
Dwight Yoakam & The Mavericks • Fri @ 630p • section B, $89 per
GETAWAYS • Key West
Wasting away, again
If a Key West vacation isn’t remote enough, Sunset Key Cottages is there for you, just a little more removed from it all. Situated on its own private island less than a mile offshore, it’s accessible by ferry from the Opal Key Marina at the foot of Mallory Square — a short ride to peace and tranquility.
The 27-acre man-made island is home to both private residences and the 40-cottage resort. In pastel siding and tin roofs, the one- to four-bedroom layouts flaunt big wraparound porches and balconies with Adirondack rockers — some even boast their own private pools. Although each has its own unique décor, most are white-washed with bright pops of blue or yellow, featuring paintings by local artists and nautical objets d’art. With polished limestone floors, substantial wooden bed frames, and full kitchens with quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances, there is a home-away-from-home feel.
There’s a central clubhouse at the foot of the dock, home to the concierge, spa, gift shop, and Latitudes restaurant and bar. An additional facility houses the fitness center and leads to a big lagoon-style pool. The overall vibe is country club residential — on a private island in the Florida Keys.
Arguably Key West’s finest restaurant, Latitudes is favored by locals for special occasions. The menu’s constantly changing, as is the catch of the day. On my last visit, it was a dreamy saffron-encrusted black grouper with goat cheese and tomato croquettes. Time your reservation to the sunset and request a table on the outdoor patio for the most sublime views of the sky changing colors as sailboats drift along the horizon. –Shayne Benowitz
→ Sunset Key Cottages (Sunskey Key, Key West) • 245 Front St. • Two-bedroom cottages from $1534/night (January weekend).
GETAWAYS LINKS: Updating the classic Caribbean vacation for this winter • In the Bahamas, Cape Eleuthera adds beachside restaurant • Puerto Rico’s west coast is finally getting its due • Thompson Playa del Carmen morphing into Hyatt Centric • Amex rolling out digital waitlists for Centurion Lounges.
ASK FOUND
First, a quick primer on how this works: You send us the pressing questions of the day (on dining, services, living in Miami and surrounds). We all put our heads together (us at FOUND, + you, FOUND subscribers, who are also FOUND) in search of truth and beauty.
Today, three FOUND subscriber PROMPTS for which we are seeking intel:
Where should we host our office holiday dinner this year?
What Miami bar welcomes work groups the best?
Any new and interesting ticketed NYE dinners this year?
Got answers or more questions? Hit reply or email found@itsfoundmiami.com.
RESTAURANTS • The Nines
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of Miami’s best. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundmiami.com.
Power lunch
Capital Grill (Brickell), classic financial district steakhouse, prime steaks, old money vibes