Downtown Miami is a special place, especially because zoning laws allow for 24 hour liquor licensing. Damn right.
Art Basel 2009 Miami brings with it a week of satellite fairs, many of them concentrated where most of the Design District and Wynwood galleries and Northern Downtown event spaces are, and right around the burgeoning club and entertainment district that includes Club Space, The Arsht Center, and The Vagabond.
Here are some places to eat in the area of Pulse, Scope, and Max Fish that you probably won't read about anywhere else. Also check out volumes 1 & 2 of our Art Basel Miami 2009 restaurant guides for Wynwood and the Design District, and our event guide for the whole week.
5. Mike's at Venetia - 555 NE 15th St, 9th Floor, Poolside
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A killer view, solid happy hour, and great history of reckless drunkitude backed by certified bar food and cocaine cowboy street cred.
4. Urbanite Bistro - 62 NE 14 Street
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Next door to the Vagabond, and Max Fish, just west of the Arsht Center, just North of Space and Goldrush, this new kid on the block is busting 14th streets' restaurant cherry and offering a solid Basel week 2009 lineup of art, food, and music.
3. DRB Miami - Democratic Republic of Beer - 255 NE 14th St />
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Can't vouch for the food here, but they do serve it, along with 400 bottled beers til 5 a.m., 7 days a week.
2. The Daily Creative Food Co. - 2001 Biscayne Boulevard
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Busy, newspaper-themed breakfast and lunch joint with online ordering and good sandwiches.
1. People's Barbeque - 360 NW 8th St
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Historic and widely revered Overtown soulfood joint born in 1962 just blocks away from where Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square was recorded and every major black entertainer of the area performed and hotelled due to Miami Beach segregation laws.
