Miami's Best Eats and Drinks This Weekend: Art Basel Edition

Miami is in the thick of Art Basel madness. At a time when the streets teem with celebrities, you can't get a table at your favorite restaurant, and Uber prices surge. Of course, this is also the time of year when our city is the most vibrant and colorful. Take a stroll down any street in Wynwood and — if it's not raining — you'll spot artists making murals, international camera crews hustling for a good shot, and Leo DiCaprio having a nosh at the bar.

Here are some of our favorite ways to embrace Basel this weekend.

Frozen Treats for Every Taste
Artist Spencer Finch's medium of choice is ice cream and he's giving away his pastel-colored works that he refers to as "edible monochromes" from a rainbow-hued ice cream truck. The solar powered mobile gallery will be parked next to the Hyde Midtown Suites & Residences sales center in midtown every day through December 5 from 1 to 8 p.m.

Vegans get their sweet rewards, too. The Wynwood location of Jugofresh (222 NE 26th St.) is serving up Juicecream (2322 NE Second Ave.)  from Friday, December 4, through Monday, December 7. This is dairy-free, soft serve stuff made with just Jugofresh juice, coconut meat and dates. It comes in small ($6.50) and large ($8.50), and is available in el green go get gûrin (apple, cucumber, celery, romaine, kale, spinach, E3Live, lemon, and parsley); matcha verde piña verde (apple, pineapple, cucumber, celery, pear, kale, spinach, parsley, sunflower, sprout, mint, ginger, green tea matcha powder, lime, and spirulina powder); melon à trois pastèque y menta (watermelon, mint, cucumber, honeydew, cantaloupe, and lime); and verano delicado P.A.M.pered ginger (apple, pineapple, coconut meat, coconut water, orange, strawberry, mint, ginger, and macs extract).

Bunnie Cakes' Art-Inspired Cupcakes
Bunnie Cakes' artist-inspired cupcake series returns to this year's Art Basel with a new batch of delicious vegan and vegan/gluten-free cupcakes featuring art by Diana Contreras, Nate Dee, Lulu107, Piktorama, and Jenny Perez. These limited-edition edible masterpieces each come in their own box, signed by the artist. At $6 for vegan and $7 for gluten-free, these may be the most affordable art in Miami this weekend. 

Genuine Liquorette at GastroPod
New York City's hottest bar, Genuine Liquorette, pops up in Wynwood for Art Basel this weekend. Helmed by bartender Eben Freeman, the bar features cocktails served in cans he calls Cha-Chunkers. Freeman takes soda and juice cans and transforms them with his Cha-Chunker machine, widening the mouth, then adding an overturned mini bottle of booze, straw, and garnish. Freeman is bringing his Cha-Chunker machine to GastroPod this weekend, serving up three of his specialty cocktails, the Paloma (tequila and grapefruit soda), a dark and stormy (rum and ginger beer) and a Jamo and Ginga (Jameson and ginger ale). The bar master will be mixing drinks at GastroPod on Friday, December 4, and Saturday, December 5, from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. (GastroPod will be open, starting at noon) and on Sunday, December 6, from noon to midnight. Of course, GastroPod, parked at 168 NW 26th St., Miami, will be serving all your favorites.

Duvel Dinner at Smashed Canvas
Smashed Canvas, the Wynwood beer garden that features murals by more than 20 artists and craft beer, continues through the weekend. The event, which takes place at 244 NE 29th St., Miami, features a rotating roster of brews, is open daily through Sunday, December 6, from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tonight, December 4, Smashed Canvas is collaborating with Brewery Ommegang, Duvel, and Boulevard Brewing Company for a multi-course beer pairing dinner that includes carrot manage, sweet bread yakitori, roasted whiting fish, short rib, and a stuffed apple for dessert. All courses are paired with beer. Dinner seatings are at 7:30 and 9 p.m. and tickets are $80.12 (including beer). Purchase tickets at Eventbrite.com. 

The Bridge Pop-Up Bar at the Local Craft
Finally, if you're a little Basel-ed out, head over to the Local Craft Food & Drink in Coral Gables for the Bridge Pop-Up Bar. Bartenders David Perez, formerly of 1930's House at the Thompson Hotel and 27 Restaurant and Bar, and Will Thompson, formerly of the Broken Shaker, have taken over the bar at the Coral Gables gastropub for the entire month of December. 

Perez and Thompson will shake up cocktails made with local fruit, herbs, and spices for a range of creative libations that include the Port of Miami with Brugal Añejo, ruby port, chocolate Amaro blend, and C&B Blue Mountain coffee bitters; the Pearadise Fizz with Pisco Porton, honey, cardamom, half 'n' half, egg white, and pear cider; No County for Old Cosmos with Ketel One vodka, cranberry-rosemary reduction, orange, and lime; and Mexican Squashbuckle with Don Julio Reposado, spiced pumpkin-apple shrub, and molasses. All cocktails are $13 each, and a selection of non-alcoholic sodas and drinks are available for $4 each.

The cocktails are meant to be enjoyed solo or paired with chef Phil Bryant's fare that includes creamy, smoked chicken liver mousse, red pea falafel, and morcilla flatbread with roasted pears and Florida gouda. The Bridge at the Local is open daily through January 1, 2016.