Mexican radio
Hacienda Ramirez Cruz, Edgewater listings, Motek, Kakar House of Design, Christopher King, best boutique hotels, MORE
WORK • FOUND Notes
Reminder that we’re looking for a freelance editor to help us create each issue of FOUND LA. The ideal candidate has impeccable taste and a deep understanding of LA’s restaurant scene (and other LA scenes of FOUND interest). Interested parties, drop us a line at found@itsfoundla.com.
Welcome Joe Arendt, a sales pro’s pro, to the FOUND team. Want to get your brand in front of our very attractive audience of 100K+ subscribers? Hit us up at sales@itsfoundla.com.
RESTAURANTS • First Person
Holy mole
Walking into Wynwood’s Hacienda Ramirez Cruz can be disorienting. You might not expect one of Miami’s most impressive Mexican menus to be found past velvet ropes, a field of VIP booths, and a live DJ with the occasional on-stage vocalist, encouraging the crowd to join in on the chorus of “Eres Tu.” Nothing about this screams “life-changing mole sauce,” until you try it.
Hacienda has a charming backstory dating back to the late 19th century and chef Lorena Elizondo’s ancestors, who passed their recipes down through the generations. The Wynwood space is meant to evoke memories of the old farmhouse and sprawling estate (nevermind the ’80s Mexican pop playing on giant TVs).
Still, the food hits. It feels like Elizondo transposed her grandmother’s cookbook straight onto the menu, from chilaquiles to jicama salads and the Ramirez roll made with chihuahua cheese wrapped around ribeye. Tacos sound underwhelming but overdeliver, while the moles shine, rich and complex in green, white, and traditional negro.
For the adventurous palate, the lime garlic chapulines are grasshoppers that taste like beer nuts. There are also escamoles — ant larvae, or “Mexican caviar” — sauteed in epazote and chile.
If you’ve come to Hacienda Ramirez Cruz for the party, there are theme nights all week, like Noche de Despecho (Heartbreak Night), where guests are given microphones and encouraged to sing along with classic Spanish love songs. Other nights offer similar opportunities, from reggaeton to old world classics. Whether or not that’s your thing, the food makes a case for ranking in Miami’s upper echelon of Mexican cuisine. If nothing else, it’s definitely the best you’ll find under strobe lights. –Matt Meltzer
→ Hacienda Ramirez Cruz (Wynwood) • 2509 N Miami Ave • Thu-Sat 7p-3a • Reserve.
MIAMI RESTAURANT LINKS: Will Kiki’s owner Roman Jones conquer Miami River’s dining scene? • Renderings revealed for Sushi Garage at The Standard Residences Midtown Miami, coming later this year • In Brickell, NYC import Black Tap Craft Burgers abruptly closes • Take your martini to the tropics.
REAL ESTATE • First Mover
Three for-sale properties in Edgewater that came to market in the last 30 days.
→ 480 NE 31st St #4701 (Edgewater) • 4BR/4.1BA, 1871 SF condo • Ask: $2.475M • corner unit at Gran Paraiso; 760 SF of wraparound terraces • Days on market: 15 • Annual taxes: $32,665 • Monthly HOA: $2088 • Agents: Sebastian Vallejo, Brown Harris Stevens & Ana Londono, London Foster Realty.
→ 700 NE 26th Ter #403 (Edgewater, above) • 4BR/6.1BA, 3774 SF house • Ask: $5.0M • 2-story, ‘townhouse-style’ in new Missoni Baia • Days on market: 13 • Annual taxes: NA • Agents: Sepehr Niakan & Katia Bon, Blackbook Properties.
→ 788 NE 23rd St #5401 (Edgewater) • 4BR/4.1BA, 3887 SF condo • Ask: $6.7M • reconfigured into 2BR w/ theater and executive suite • Days on market: 20 • Annual taxes: NA • Monthly HOA: $5964 • Agents: Marko Gojanovic & Reid Heidenry, One Sotheby's.
MIAMI WORK AND PLAY LINKS: 34-story new development One Twenty Brickell Residences breaks ground • David Yurman opens flagship store in Design District • Citigroup’s chill banking experiment in Costa del Sol closes 3 years in • That’s a wrap on the Metaverse • RIP Skype, 2003-25.
CULTURE & LEISURE • Back to the Rock
Fraggle Rock Live • The Parker (Ft Lauderdale) • Fri @ 6p, orchestra right, $35 per
Leafs v Panthers • Round 2, Game 3 • Amerant Bank Arena (Ft Lauderdale) • Fri @ 7p • section 118, $353 per
Teddy Swims • Hard Rock Live (Davie) • Fri @ 8p • section 204, $445 per
WORK • Thursday Routine
Glow up
SHIRI SARFATI • EVP/partner and licensed esthetician • Repechage Skincare
Neighborhood you work in: Hallandale Beach
Neighborhood you live in: Aventura
It’s Thursday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I work for my family’s skincare business, Repechage. It’s a seaweed-based professional skincare line sold at salons, spas, and through estheticians. Our corporate headquarters are in New Jersey, but I have a satellite office in Hallandale Beach. I get in at 830a and greet my team in the office. I get to my desk and run through my emails while eating my breakfast, which I made at home: half an Ezekiel bread muffin topped with almond butter, fresh blueberries and strawberries, and a drizzle of honey.
One day, I’m working on implementing a new CRM, and the next, we’ll be launching a new product category. I love working in my family business (which my mother Lydia Sarfati founded) and working alongside my father. It’s quite remarkable to own and operate an independent, USA-based manufacturing company.
What’s on the agenda for today?
We’re getting the word out about our latest product launch, Red-Out, designed for sensitive and hyper-sensitive skin. The products are dermatologist-tested and include a soothing essence, soothing moisturizer, and serum. The featured ingredient is silver, which helps strengthen the skin’s barrier while reducing the look of redness and irritation.
Any bar or restaurant plans today, tonight, or this weekend?
We tend to eat out a lot as a family in my neighborhood. We love to go to Motek. I love the crunchy cabbage salad and salmon skewer, as well as Toku for the Peking duck. Bourbon Steak is also a favorite, even just to get a drink and French fries with a friend.
How about a little leisure or culture?
I’m a mom of two boys, so going to a Miami Heat game is always fun. We’ll celebrate birthdays or just a weekday with game tickets. We love visiting art galleries and antiquing. My favorite museums are the Rubell Museum in Allapattah and the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach. I love Kakar House of Design for its great style and design pieces.
Any weekend getaways?
Palm Beach for gallery hopping and lunch at Sant Ambroueus. Drinks at RH Rooftop are a must, and I’ll head to The Spa at PGA National for the Repechage Facial of Champions. Also, Naples for a weekend beach getaway at The Ritz-Carlton. And of course, a weekend trip to Universal with the kids is something we do at least once a year.
What was your last great vacation?
We love going to Mont-Tremblant in Quebec to ski every year. It’s where my boys learned to ski. It’s such a quick flight from Fort Lauderdale, and we spend a few days in Montreal, eating our way through the city: Schwartz’s for a smoked meat sandwich, Estelle’s for dinner, and Monarque for fine dining. We do ski-in ski-out at Fairmont Tremblant. The après ski at La Terrasse for s’mores with the kids while sipping on Veuve in the hot tub is the perfect way to relax after a long day on the slopes.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
I bought a large piece of art by Con$umr. It was very impulsive, but art is never a rational purchase. This one was fun. It’s a piece called LoveSpray, inspired by pop and street art.
What store or service do you always recommend?
In Miami, facials at Spa E for a deep-cleansing treatment and Loews Miami Beach for the Ocean Glow Body Wrap featuring the Repechage Body Contouring Mask.
GETAWAYS LINKS: How Day 1 of Real ID went down • Manalapan is the new Palm Beach • Anticipated St. Regis Cap Cana opens its doors in the DR • Arajet adding MIA-PUJ (Punta Cana) flights starting 06/13 • LATAM flying new business class out of MIA • Rounding up this spring’s notable new hotel openings in the Americas • Inside Lisbon’s MACAN, palace-museum that’s redefining art travel.
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shop
King bling
Italian leather designer Christopher King has moved his showroom to George Merrick’s former Coral Gables home, a hundred-year-old estate where Spanish Mediterranean Revival architecture meets Gatsby-level grandeur. With immaculately trimmed hedges, stone archways, and Murano crystal lighting, stepping inside the brand’s new flagship boutique, which opened in December, feels like entering another era — one where champagne flowed freely and opulence was a given.
The elaborate store also sells accessories and home goods, but the bags are the thing. Hand-stitched in a 7,000 square-foot facility, they embody a nearly obsessive level of precision, with each corner edge carefully hand-painted five times. Ostrich and alligator skins bring an exotic touch.
But it’s not only about the goods — it’s also about the experience. The two-story showroom is designed for drama, complete with a sweeping staircase and a selection of ornate home decor, with bold pops of color and an unapologetic embrace of gold. –Katelin Stecz
→ Christopher King (Coral Gables) • 800 S Douglas Rd • Mon-Sat 11a-7p.
HOTELS • The Nines
Boutique hotels, Miami
The Nines are FOUND's distilled lists of the best in Miami and surrounds. Additions or subtractions? Hit reply or found@itsfoundmiami.com.
The Hotel at The Moore (Design District, above), 13 high-design suites crown 4th floor of historic (now private club) Moore building, $421