Think Local, Eat Global

The culinary scene in Miami’s South Beach is an international adventure

- By Michael Alpiner

LEFT AND ABOVE: The Bazaar, Time Out Market Miami, Katsuya

Florida – the Sunshine State – is not always so sun-shiny. Throughout its history the peninsula, and particularly its southern tip, has from time to time been the target of major Atlantic hurricanes. Nevertheless, the (mostly) sunny weather, the beaches and the desire for both are a continual draw for people to South Florida’s shores. And when disaster does strike, these resilient folks have picked up the pieces and gone back to living life in paradise.

That’s certainly the story of South Beach, aka SoBe, a strand of barrier islands between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic. Here, Ferraris of all styles and colors rumble through the streets with unrestrained bravado, women and men parade along the sun-baked sidewalks wearing their well-earned tans and aloof attractiveness, and the chatter from the street-side cafes pronounce man’s temporary dominance over the forces of nature.

The Art Deco style, synonymous with the original South Beach ambience of the 1930s, has been preserved with almost a square mile of the area on the National Registry of Historic Places. Just as the glamorous style coexists with the attributes common to nearly all American cities (not everyone who lives in South Beach can afford Ferraris), so too the food choices are geared for all lifestyles and wallets.