Readers´ Choice: Nestor Torres
Readers´ Choice: Nestor Torres
Miami Beach
305-532-1525
www.mansionmiami.com After Level was purchased by the Opium Group, renovated, and renamed Mansion, this linchpin of South Beach nightlife has become the place for excited celebrity-seekers thanks to the many models and hip-hop stars it draws. It also has frustrated those gawkers with its strict velvet-rope policy. Lost in the commotion is the fact that it is a superior music venue, capable of holding 2500 people throughout its two floors and four rooms. Since its March 2004 opening, Mansion has hosted an amazing concert by hip-hop band the Roots; a raucous performance by hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver; and Hip-Hop Fridays, an occasional concert series co-promoted by Empire Events and featuring old-school rap legends Big Daddy Kane, the Jungle Brothers, and Black Sheep. With a mixture of plush seating and standing areas and an excellent lighting and sound system, Mansion is a seeming contradiction -- a snooty SoBe club and a great place to see live bands.
www.ironandwine.com There's considerable paradox in the fact that a folk poet such as Sam Beam could emerge from the land of Art Deco, Miami Vice, and Modelpalooza. Beam, known as Iron & Wine, sings of stories that take place far, in spirit if not geography, from South Beach's ostentation. His gentle voice drifts toward the pastoral terrain of Homestead and the rural parts of South Florida, and the nooks and crannies within Coral Gables and Hialeah that, on an uneventful summer day, can at least seem like the South. Beam's lyrics would be without effect if not for his skill with acoustic melodies that, like so much folk music, strike a chord both melancholy and hopeful, clear-eyed and utopian.
BEST JAMAICAN RESTAURANT
Miami Herald
Miami International Airport
Miami Herald
Miami Herald
Miami International Airport
Miami Herald
BEST JAMAICAN RESTAURANT
Miami Herald
Miami International Airport
Miami Herald
Miami Herald
Miami International Airport
Miami Herald