Hard-hat tour
WORK • Thursday Routine
JACQUELINE PIROLO • managing partner & beverage director • Macchialina
Neighborhood you live in: Miami Shores
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
First thing, I typically hit up Soul Sweat, my favorite workout studio in Miami, run by a super caring (and very fit) couple, Analys and Jorge. I get home around 10 a.m. and check my email. Macchialina, the Italian restaurant my family and I opened in Miami Beach in 2012, is undergoing a big renovation/expansion, and at 12:30 p.m. we have our weekly OAC (owner, architect, contractor) meetings. To be honest, they aren't my favorite, but overall, I’ve loved the process of getting to expand little old Macchialina while staying at the same location.
We’re close to the finish line, so we’re mostly working on the final touches, getting inspections completed, and working out the flow of the new space. It's exciting, but nerve-wracking. We have a loyal local following, and you always risk people preferring the old space. But I try to remind myself that those who truly love us will support us. You’ll never be able to please everyone.
What’s on the agenda for today?
Selecting the wines for my upcoming wine club offering. April is a heavyweight showdown, a battle of two grape titans, nebbiolo vs. sangiovese.
Any bar or restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
Walrus Rodeo! I went last weekend, had the most perfect meal that I haven't stopped thinking about. What else is there to do when that happens than satisfy the craving, and go back? I love QP Tapas for their pan con tomate and boquerones with a glass of sherry. Also, Tropical Chinese. I lived in New York most of my life, so Chinese food is a weekly staple. I make the 40-minute trek all the way to South Miami to get the best Peking duck. (Pro tip: go with a group, order two ducks, one all pancakes and the other half pancakes/half moo shu.)
Any weekend getaways?
Delray Beach. My mom and my fiancé's parents both retired from New York and moved across the street from one another in Delray. Our Mom's are bff's and see each other just about every day. On the drive up, we usually call Wine Wave — one of my favorite wine shops — and ask them to curate and deliver six bottles of their favorites, including some chilled bubbles. We cook and play games. The next day we usually go for a walk at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands, a bird sanctuary, and then pick up a New Haven-style pizza from AhBeetz. On the way home we stop at The Boys supermarket for hard-to-find Italian household ingredients, then Pho 78 in Pembroke Pines.
What was your last great vacation?
Las Vegas and Utah. I got engaged at Bryce Canyon on the most beautiful trail, Peekaboo Loop. I cried at the start of the trail because I was overwhelmed by the scenery. Of course the tears didn't stop once Will popped the question. He used to live in Vegas, and I’d never been prior to meeting him. He finally convinced me to go a few years back. I hadn’t realized how much amazing hiking is available in the surrounding areas.
It's now become a yearly tradition. First, two nights in Vegas, where we hit up all the amazing dim sum spots in Chinatown (off the strip), have cocktails at the Fireside Lounge (located in the back of the Peppermill diner) and omakase at Kabuto. On the way out, we stock up on supplies — good wine (Garagiste), good grass (Planet 13), good cheese, good snacks — and then head to the desert for a few nights of unplugging before heading home. It's the perfect mix of great food, a touch of glitz and bright lights, and then a full reset in the desert.