City Life >>

• Best Reason to Stay in Miami for the Summer
  Sacred Sevens Selebration
  Last year's summertime calendar brought us 6/6/6, the apocalyptic number of the beast. Some predicted the Antichrist would appear on that hot as hell June afternoon, but it didn't happen.This summer will bring 7/7/7, which is sacred and mystical, according to various traditions. On that day... More >>
• Best Sanctuary from the Fast Track
  Wat Buddharangsi Temple
  You make the 45-minute trek to work every day. And every day at least two jerks cut you off or give you the finger. At work your micromanaging boss breathes down your neck because he's a sadistic maniac. The kids fight, your visiting in-laws are annoying, and you're behind on your bills again.... More >>
• Best Use of Excrement
  Miami Metrozoo
  Metrozooç Go south until you smell it, turn west until you step in it ... oh, hell yeah. Stinky jokes, offal puns, and a heap of fun arrived at animal land this past October to January when, we shit you not, the clever hypesters at Miami Metrozoo laid waste from an assortment of critters... More >>
• Best Local Boy Made Good (3 Comments)
  San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore
  During a game in Detroit against the Lions this past season, on his way to a 1695-yard rushing season and his first Pro Bowl appearance, Frank Gore showed us why he is probably the best running back to come out of the University of Miami. Around the 50-yard line, the former Coral Gables Senior... More >>
• Best Local Boy Gone Bad
  Ralph Arza
  Former state Rep. Ralphie Boy, of Hialeah, was once a rising star in the Republican Party. The onetime school teacher was elected to the State House of Representatives in 2000 with 70 percent of the vote and then worked his way up the ranks in Tallahassee, sitting on the education,... More >>
• Best Local Girl Made Good (12 Comments)
  Ulrike "Uli" Herzner
  Who cares if noted fashion designer Michael Kors said her clothes concoctions "belong strictly with flip-flops on Ocean Drive." No one cares what a stuffy old queen has to say anyway. We, on the other hand, love Uli's "Miami-esque" fashion designs. And though she came in second place to dirtbag... More >>
• Best Local Girl Gone Bad (2 Comments)
  Natacha Seijas
  She's the first county commissioner to receive a recall vote since 1972. At taxpayer expense, she hired lawyers in an attempt to stop the vote on the strong-mayor debate. Pushing her personal vendetta even further, in November 2006 she proposed cutting the mayor's salary from $229,083 to... More >>
• Best Local Boy Gone To Heaven
  Ellis Rubin
  When colorful attorney Ellis Rubin died of cancer in December, most people remembered the 81-year-old for his unconventional — some say theatrical — legal strategies and larger-than-life clients. In fact he is known nationally as the first lawyer who wanted to use the now-common "TV... More >>
• Best Local Girl Gone To Heaven
  M. Athalie Range
  Mary Athalie Range started out as a typical Miami transplant, but her decades of civic activism and public service became one of the city's great stories. In the late Forties, conditions at her children's Liberty City school jump-started the activist in Range. Her successful work in the PTA... More >>
• Best Fifteen Minutes of Fame
  José Varela
  It's the day after Thanksgiving! What should we doç We could eat turkey sandwiches and draw cartoons. Or go to Wal-Mart at 5:30 a.m. and jostle Christmas shoppers.... Hey, I know! Let's put on our FBI polo shirt and fatigues. We can pretend our fake machine gun is real. Then we can... More >>
• Best Religious Figure
  Father Albert Cutié
  He was born Alberto R. Cutié in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Cuban parents. An imposing presence at six feet tall, the 36-year-old sports a thick head of closely cropped black hair and blemish-free, tanned skin. When he smiles, his piercing blue eyes sparkle affectionately and his lips part... More >>
• Best Disappearing Act
  Michael Patrick
  People come and go, but Michael Patrick disappeared — and then reappeared, a day later, in handcuffs. The escape artist, who performed escapes at the Key West Sunset Celebration for fourteen years, announced last Halloween night that, in honor of the 80th anniversary of Harry Houdini's... More >>
• Best Super Bowl Moment
  Prince's Halftime Show
  It seemed likely that the appearance of Prince at Dolphin Stadium during the big game would be worth watching. It was. Not for the tiny titan of tuneage's medley of unlikely covers and "Purple Rain," which must have seemed clever at the time because, in Miami's special... More >>
• Best Chutzpah
  Johnny Winton
  You're a developer and city official in town stuck on Concourse A waiting for your delayed flight to Houston. Do you: (A) sigh, crack open your briefcase, and catch up on some reading, or (B) find a Texan named Karl, sidle up to the airport bar, and drop $130 on seven wines, four beers with... More >>
• Best New Law
  HB 7105: Repeal of the Alcoholic Beverage Surcharge
  Jeb Bush signed this baby into law on June 9, 2006, and it will take effect this July. It could generate $30 million in new economic activity in the state and potentially create 400 new jobs for Florida's considerable hospitality industry, according to a study done by the Distilled Spirits... More >>
• Best One-Nighter You Missed
  NRA Fundraiser
  On August 3, amid the hubbub of the Republican gubernatorial primary, the state's gun lovers converged on the Rusty Pelican. They were all present for the delightful gala event, which was held in a cheesy ballroom in the waterfront restaurant — with all proceeds going toward Boys & Girls... More >>
• Best Boondoggle
  Train to nowhere
  Okay, so it's bad enough that Miami International Airport is always under construction, and the parking situation is confusing at best and miserable at worst. But Magic City dwellers suffered one more airport-related indignity last year when it was revealed that the long-awaited airport train is... More >>
• Best Political Coup
  Alex Villalobos's Senate Win
  Sometime during the 2006 legislative session, one Republican lawmaker dared to challenge Jeb Bush's crazy proposals on class size and vouchers. That man was state Sen. Alex Villalobos, and his refusal to support Bush's master plan for education cost him dearly. Punishment was swift: Villalobos... More >>
• Best Political Miscalculation
  Frank Bolaños's entire career in 2006
  First he supported the ban of Vamos a Cuba, a 32-page children's book that Cuban exiles said glossed over the harsh realities of modern-day life on the island. The ACLU sued the district over the ban and won. Then Bolaños called for an appeal of a judge's ruling to allow the book on... More >>
• Best Political Comeback (2 Comments)
  Palm Trees on Biscayne Boulevard
  Some said the trees were ugly. Others said they were a danger to motorists when their fanlike fronds dropped on the busy street. And the Florida Department of Transportation said Biscayne would be better lined with oak trees. Oaks! In tropical Miami! In 2006 the New York Times wrote about the... More >>
• Best Municipal Advancement
  The Strong-Mayor Petition
  It took him two years and an exhausting legal battle with the county commission and its benefactors, but Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Alvarez succeeded in assuming more power over county government. Now Miami-Dade joins major metropolitan areas such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, where one... More >>
• Best Quote (2 Comments)
  Tom Tancredo's rant
  We are a polarized bunch here in Miami. The Cubans hate Castro, the Venezuelans hate Chavez, Haitians hate a lot of their leaders, the city people hate the beach people, and the beach people don't even bother with the hot mess that is downtown Miami. But for one brief, shining moment back in... More >>
• Best Cop (1 Comment)
  Pedro E. Rojas Jr.
  Pete Rojas had given himself this award a long time before we did. But he's a good cop, and perhaps the only officer ever to receive a gangsta rap shout-out, much less a cameo in the corresponding video. (In a 2006 song, "Get Yo Money Brisco," Opa-locka rapper Brisco lamented, "Rojas got me... More >>
• Best Criminal Conviction in the Past Year
  John Couey
  Sometimes someone commits a crime so horrible that we can't even finish reading about it in the newspaper. That's how the 2005 slaying of precious nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford affected us, even though the crime took place some six hours north of Miami in Citrus County. So when her killer,... More >>
• Best Activist
  "Flash," manager and coordinator of the Wallflower Gallery
  He responds only to "Flash," and like the nickname implies, he is all about speed and light. Speed: to continually schedule a new and interesting slate of events, meetings, and benefit concerts. And light: to shed upon often overlooked issues that affect our city. The man who hides behind the... More >>
• Best Gadfly
  Max Rameau
  Before the April fire that burned Umoja Village to the ground, Max could be found grinning and holding his baby boy while sitting on a stained couch in the middle of the homeless shantytown in Liberty City. Part street theater, part protest, the place, which was Max's idea, opened this past... More >>
• Best Young Environmentalists
  Aspira
  The Aspira Association is a national nonprofit dedicated to the education and leadership development of Puerto Rican (and other Latin) kids. Since 1961 the group has created programs to teach reading, math, and science; and increase educational resources, health, highway safety, and professional... More >>
• Best Miami Spokesman
  Don Shula
  When the South Florida Super Bowl XLI Host Committee needed a public face, its members didn't tap Gloria Estefan, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, or rapper Rick Ross. Instead they went with the granite jaw, the legend: former Dolphins head coach Don Shula. The man is an icon in this city. For more than... More >>
• Best Citizen
  Bill Swink
  For more than twenty years, Bill Swink has been known among Coconut Grove's homeless population as the "Soup and Sandwich Man." He serves food every Friday afternoon (around 2:00) at the Dinner Key Marina docks by the shrimp boats (3400 Pan American Dr., Miami). He drives up in his white car,... More >>
• Best Herald Writer (2 Comments)
  David Ovalle
  Working the cops beat in Miami-Dade is an inherently sensational experience with no lack of dramatic narratives, but David Ovalle has found a way of lingering after the rest of the media circus has taken down its tents. His assailants and victims are people Herald readers remember. To cover the... More >>
• Best Magic City Icon
  Miami Herald headquarters
  One Herald Plaza is among the ugliest buildings we have ever seen. This hulking, squat, cube-shape structure reminds us of the Borg's spaceship. Inside you will find journalists stripped of their free will objectively describing what their Borg masters (a.k.a. the McClatchy Co.) tell them to... More >>
• Best Career Move
  Anders Gyllenhaal
  Anders Gyllenhaal spent twelve years as a reporter and editor at the Miami Herald before leaving to work at papers in North Carolina and Minnesota, where he was editor. In December the Herald's parent company, the McClatchy Co., announced that Gyllenhaal would be returning to Miami to replace... More >>
• Best Commie Agent (1 Comment)
  Oscar Corral
  That damn Oscar Corral. First he writes a story informing Miami residents that ten South Florida journalists are on the payrolls of U.S. propaganda vehicles Radio and TV Martí. Then he has the nerve to tell us that none of the $55.5 million in taxpayer money intended to fund Cuban... More >>
• Best Correction
  The Miami Herald
  "A source interviewed for the story on happy hours in Saturday's Tropical Life section misidentified himself to the reporter. Carl Palomino, a lawyer, was not at the Martini Bar. His brother, Pat Palomino, identified himself as Carl and provided his brother's name and profession instead of his own." More >>
• Best Neighborhood Newspaper
  Biscayne Times
  This scrappy little rag has a new lease on life. With former New Times editor Jim Mullin at the helm, BT has shown a renewed vigor, mixing down-home local interest stories (police blotter and gardening tips) with hard-charging reporting (on a fire-fee scandal and controversial urban planning).... More >>
• Best Flack
  Cece Feinberg
  From her Buena Vista house, Cece Feinberg and her small team specialize in highlighting the slightly under-the-radar and very hip side of Miami fashion and culture. This comes with a crowd that's similarly more downtown than South Beach, and nonfashion clients seek her out for a cool-infusion at... More >>
• Best Manifesto (17 Comments)
  The G Manifesto Blog
  We're not sure who actually writes this blog, or where the author is from. But whoever it is — we think it's probably a he, given the macho, misogynistic rants and the fact that he signs each post as Michael Porfirio Mason, a.k.a. "The People's Champ" — visits South Beach often to... More >>
• Best TV Show
  The King of Miami
  Smart things about Miami are hard to come by. Sometimes parts of our city blow up in a crappy action movie. Occasionally we get to watch rappers pour champagne on naked ladies here. And it has always been that way: Remember Police Academy 5çNobody has ever wanted to film anything in Miami... More >>
• Best Cheap Thrill
  A walk on the old Rickenbacker Causeway
  Alongside the William Powell Bridge, between the mainland and Virginia Key and the bridging replaced by the new William Powell Bridge in 1985, the scene is almost apocalyptic: On a recent weekend night the pier was teeming with grungy fishermen — many of whom had boomboxes and bicycles... More >>
• Best Not-So-Cheap Thrill
  Civet Coffee
  The Asian palm civet is to beverages as sturgeon is to victuals. The fish produces one of the world's most expensive foods, caviar. The civet produces the planet's priciest coffee, Kopi Luwak. And when we say costly, we mean up to $600 per pound (or around $40 a shot). The stuff is so... More >>
• Best Kids' Thrill
  The Miami Shores Marshmallow Drop
  Every year on a Saturday morning just before Easter, hundreds of kids gather on the playing fields just south of Miami Shores Country Club. They look into the sky hopefully while clutching shopping bags and baskets. Then they scream. It hurts your ears. A helicopter descends from the sky and a... More >>
• Best Parking In Miami Beach (1 Comment)
  Alton Road between Fourteenth and Fifteenth Streets
  The locals will kill us if we tell you about the last free spot on South Beach, so we'll clue you into the easiest metered parking instead. The stretch of Alton Road at Fourteenth Street is often the fastest place to grab a legal parking spot; in fact it's so fast that residents of the adjacent... More >>
• Best Carnival Center Parking
  NE First Court between Thirteenth and Fourteenth Streets
  The area around the new Carnival Center for the Performing Arts isn't exactly swanky. For the four-wheeled flocks that descend come showtime, the thought of parking on the street is a piss-in-your-pants proposition. Most would rather pay $10 or $20 to leave their automobile in a lot, or more for... More >>
• Best Bumper Sticker
  "Jesus Is the Reason for the Season"
  Gray summer storm clouds hang ominously overhead. Small cyclones flare up on the roadside and lightning crashes down. You are trapped in sweltering gridlock. Your eyes cross from a mixture of frustration and anxiety, and your vision goes blurry. As you inch forward a few feet, the image of two... More >>
• Best Power Couple
  Alonzo and Tracy Mourning
  Hometown hero Alonzo Mourning and his wife, Tracy, are both professional success stories. Alonzo is a 2006 NBA champion and Tracy runs her own clothing line, Honey Child. Together they're one of South Florida's most well-known and charitable dynamic duos. "I think they're a terrific power... More >>
• Best New Neighbors (1 Comment)
  The Hogans
  When pro wrestler Hulk Hogan (born Terry Bollea) left his $25 million dream house in his native Tampa, he informed the Miami Herald his clan was descending upon the Magic City like "the Beverly Hillbillies." But even by nouveau riche redneck standards, the Hogans's $12 million waterfront estate... More >>
• Best Interlopers
  Monitor Lizards
  Who needs a zoo when you live in the subtropics? Parrots, pythons, peacock bass, Cuban tree frogs and Cuban lizards, those weird Chinese snakehead fish that walk on terra firma — the area is alive with a biology text's worth of exotic, invasive species. Our favorite invader is the monitor... More >>
• Best Place to Meet Intelligent Men
  Miami Book Fair International
  When they aren't ironing their ascots, taking nature walks, or perfecting their gourmet cooking, intelligent men like to read. A lot of them write too. Some even do poetry for intelligent women. In mid-November these ¨bermenschen gather, in between triathlons and winetastings, to hear their... More >>
• Best Place to Meet Intelligent Women (1 Comment)
  Critical Mass
  Progressive thinkers sometimes feel like aliens in this city of aliens. Critical Mass, a bicycling staple elsewhere, is growing here as the city fills with educated idealists. Activist groups Emerge Miami and the Miami Green Party have teamed up with the Wallflower Gallery and Sweat Records to... More >>
• Best Place to Meet a Writer
  FIU North Creative Writing Program
  He came into town from a gig in Texas, bringing his books, his notes, and his notebooks. He was a tall man with sandy hair who left behind in the dusty sprawl all the attitude and arrogance associated with the Lone Star State. His charm, his way of encouraging erudition and enlightenment, was... More >>
• Best Place to Meet Single Men
  Playwright Irish Pub and Restaurant
  Since the beginning of time men have fought for stuff. Honor. Women. Countries. Kingdoms. Men like fighting. Though they might not support kicking the crap out of someone to make a point, they will watch. They chanted in the school yard when Billy the bully used to beat up nerdy Norman for his... More >>
• Best Place to Meet Single Women (1 Comment)
  Score
  A gay clubç Straight, single womenç Yup. Counterintuitive perhaps, but effective. Score is as lively as they come and attracts an interesting, diverse crowd — more than a few of them attractive women. In the comfort of gay male friends, women are more apt to cut loose, party... More >>
• Best Place For A First Date
  John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park
  The all-important first date. The all-important first impression. Fail here and chances are you'll end with a polite "I'll call you" instead of a spine-tingling game of tonsil hockey. So here's a foolproof plan: A snorkeling trip from John Pennekamp Park. First you have the hour-long... More >>
• Best Place for a Second Date (4 Comments)
  Laundry Bar
  If you've made it to the second date, chances are you've been playing by the rules and haven't put out ... yet. Sure you've gotten all that awkward past-relationship conversation out of the way, and your good boy/girl act was Oscar-worthy, but what nowç The second date is when you really... More >>
• Best Landmark
  Dadeland Mall
  Ask a Kendallite. Your average South Beach resident, Fort Lauderdalian, and foreigner have one thing in common: They don't know the sprawling suburbs of Miami. To them it's just a frightening maze of salmon-color townhouses and strip malls. If you live south of Miller Drive, you need a landmark,... More >>
• Best Renovation
  Circa 28
  The beast known as Miami's nightlife scene is vicious. Clubs go as easily as they come, regardless of how long they've been around or who promotes them. There's rarely mercy for dying clubs, so it's refreshing when an old favorite is injected with new life. The former Slak Lounge (and before... More >>
• Best City Mural (2 Comments)
  Adam and Eve
  Call Miami the Mural City. From the charming collaborative We're in the Same Boat — created in 2001 by senior citizens of Haitian and Cuban descent, with help from Coral Park Senior High students serving as translators, and from artist Xavier Cortada — in Coconut Grove, to the... More >>
• Best Room With A View
  Plaza Venetia Condo Building
  We can all appreciate a balcony that looks out over Miami's stunningly colorful skyline and the aqua-blue waters that surround our great city. But residents of the Venetia condo building located at the western end of the Venetian Causeway have us all beat. Those who reside in upper-level units... More >>
• Best New Building
  Wilkie D. Ferguson Jr. United States Courthouse
  One of the great things about being from Miami is that we relish our quirky uniqueness. Whatever happens in Vegas may stay in Vegas, but whatever happens in Miami is proudly announced to the world in English and en español. Even the new federal courthouse triumphantly declares where it's... More >>
• Best Public Restroom
  Tarpon Bend
  Drive by Tarpon Bend on a Friday or Saturday night and the place is like a block party. Valet parkers have long thrown up their hands, and the entire sidewalk is covered with booze-happy weekenders trying to flag down a harried bartender. Well, you can only guzzle so many $8 Jack and Cokes ($10... More >>
• Best Place to People-Watch
  Government Center Metrorail Station , 5:00 p.m.
  Metrorail is one of Miami's only mass transit systems, and despite its limitations, every day it transports thousands of people from all walks of life to their homes and jobs. Whether they're lawyers, sandwich-makers, college students, homeless vagabonds, or Brickell Avenue CEOs, they all share... More >>
• Best Hidden Neighborhood
  Biscayne Gardens
  It's only nine miles from downtown Miami, but the leafy and low-key Biscayne Gardens might as well be a continent away. This unincorporated community (read: low taxes) of big lawns (many houses are platted for one-acre lots) and modest Forties-era ranch houses is one of those truly rare... More >>
• Best Display of Wealth
  CiFo
  Until last year, the 1936 building that houses CiFo art space was just another in a long line of bleak industrial fa?ades in the desiccated cityscape of downtown Miami's warehouse district. Ella Fontanals Cisneros, CiFo's founder, commissioned architect René González to create a... More >>
• Best Hotel
  The Hotel
  For people, affiliation with a reality TV show can mean a real-world boost on the fame-o-meter. But what about buildings? Ask The Hotel, a South Beach wonder that has an interior designed entirely by current Bravo Top Design host and fashion/interior designer Todd Oldham. The historic Collins... More >>
• Best Place to Donate Your Clothes
  Rag Trade Happy Clothing Co.
  Thrifting is a labor of love. Sometimes you spend hours sifting through forgotten garments to find that one item that's meant for you. Usually, though, thrifters go home either empty-handed or with a few threadbare fixer-uppers. But at Rag Trade, quality second-hand clothing is in abundance and... More >>
• Best Fashion Designer (6 Comments)
  Ema Koja
  Paris Hilton's brain might be void of any factual information, but the bimbette knows a thing or two about fashion. And it's not by accident that she's often snapped by the paparazzi sporting the wearable works of art spawned by the creative genius of one of the planet's hottest designers, Miami... More >>
• Best New Fashion Trend
  305 Hats
  Some of us Miami natives think that there should be a holiday on March 5 (3/05) every year, where we could put on our 305 hats and parade down Biscayne Boulevard chanting: "THREE-OH-FIVE!" That's right. 305 stayin' alive. This past year brought the NBA Championship for the Heat, and we became... More >>
• Best Cultural Institution
  New World School of the Arts
  We imagine the hallways of the New World School of the Arts (NWSA) as being pretty much like a scene from the Eighties cult classic film and TV series Fame: an explosion of students burning with talent, skipping down the hallway en route to musical theater class, and bursting into perfectly... More >>
• Best Charity (1 Comment)
  Inner City Outings
  A branch of the Sierra Club, Inner City Outings is a unique little outfit that takes city kids to a world they rarely see: nature. Teenagers who associate wildlife with gang-bangers get the chance to cycle the Everglades, paddle the Little River, and camp overnight in a state park, among other... More >>
• Best Festival (2 Comments)
  Asian Culture Festival at the Fruit & Spice Park
  Miami is a rich and meaty cultural stew, but a typical sampling of the sancocho is definitely heavy on mojo criollo and Jamaican jerk. We love it when the less-represented residents of the city come together and share their spice. For that reason we look forward to the Asian Culture Festival all... More >>
• Best Promenade
  Miami River Promenade at One Miami
  Undiscovered territory while the city waits for the promenade to be connected to the one that runs along Bayfront Park, this is a sliver of unique urban beauty. It's right at the mouth of the Miami River, prime viewing spot for boats headed up and down river, the bay beyond, and the gleaming... More >>
• Best Road to Avoid
  Biscayne Boulevard between 70th and 79th Streets
  There are few other roads in Miami-Dade County with the breadth and scope of the traffic nightmare that is Biscayne Boulevard. Construction has seemingly gone on for years, with no end in sight (one employee at a Dunkin' Donuts said it could last till May; we're not sure if he meant 2007 or... More >>
• Best Mile of Miami
  Flagler Street between the Miami River and NW 22nd Avenue
  If Calle Ocho is the undisputed heart of Cuban America, then Flagler Street is the lesser-known capital of just about every other Spanish-speaking group in Miami, especially Central Americans. The mile-long length of Flagler west of the river is jam-packed with niche groceries, discount shoe... More >>
• Best Urban Picnic Spot (1 Comment)
  Rainforest Garden Lounge
  You could go to the beach, or maybe some crappy old park. But if you're an urban romantic, try the Rainforest Lounge. Laid out by renowned landscape architect Enzo Enea as a Design District showpiece for Art Basel Miami Beach two years ago, this little oasis is unmatched. Like a giant jewel box,... More >>
• Best Class Disparity
  Biscayne Boulevard between 69th and 70th streets
  Miami has been criticized of late for being a city of the very poor and the very rich, where the middle-class has been squeezed out into the suburbs, or even to faraway North Carolina. There's something to this. A drive up Biscayne Boulevard reveals a Miami of the wealthy (wine shops, designer... More >>
• Best Spectacle
  Metromover
  Miami's weirdness is difficult to wrap your head around. There's the part born out of poverty and hardship and there's also the share that comes with way too much money. The town has both, for sure, but it's mapped in such a way that you rarely get to sink your teeth into both at the same time... More >>
• Best Party Promoter
  Susanne Bartsch
  New York's Susanne Bartsch is not your run-of-the-mill party promoter. Who else would conceive, let alone execute, a plan in which America's most infamous transsexual, Amanda Lepore, perches naked in a bubble bath in the middle of a crowded dance floor (at the swanky Setai, nonetheless,... More >>
• Best King Mango Strutter (1 Comment)
  Justin Steak-N-Shake and the Chubbettes
  For most of the participants in the annual King Mango Strut, the costume and/or performance is a decision made in a beer-induced flight of fancy. We suspect that beer had quite a bit to do with the performance by Justin Steak-N-Shake and the Chubbettes. The bellies don't lie. This group of... More >>
• Best Rolero
  Leonardo Peraza
  Once upon a time, Miami had a thriving cigar industry. Factories all over the city employed Cuban roleros (cigar rollers) to carry on their native country's well-known tradition for making the world's finest stogies. The industry, like others, has largely moved overseas; most hand-rolled cigars... More >>
• Best Place to Take Out-of-Towners
  Viernes Culturales
  If your guests' visit coincides with the last Friday of the month and some down-home flava is what they crave, then form a conga line and steer it to Little Havana's juiced-up block party on Southwest Eighth Street and Fifteenth Avenue for a deep-fried slice of Miami's historic Latin barrio.... More >>
• Best Weekend Getaway
  Islamorada
  Between Homestead and Key West, the eighteen-mile-long village of islands called Islamorada is probably the most happening of the northern Florida Keys. That's saying a lot: The pace of life is still steady as she goes, and sun-drenched relaxation is the order of the day. But there are adorable... More >>