Simon Kim / COTE Miami photo
Audio By Carbonatix
Fresh off their gold medal victory over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Team USA’s Men’s Hockey team traded ice rinks for palm trees and Wagyu.
The players touched down at Miami International Airport on Monday, February 23, to a grand welcome complete with cheering fans, flashing cameras, and a visit from Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava. Still riding the high of Olympic glory, the team waved to supporters before heading off to freshen up at 1 Hotel South Beach, winner of New Times‘ Best Hotel 2025, where they were staying during their victory tour through town.
But this is Miami. And in Miami, you do not celebrate without a proper feast.
Screenshot via Instagram/@mreats305
A Double-Decker Bus to the Miami Design District
The newly crowned gold medal champs made a beeline for Cote Miami in the Miami Design District. If you’re going to toast Olympic gold, you might as well do it with A5 Japanese Wagyu.
By early evening, hundreds of Team USA fans had lined up around the block. Security was tight, and those without reservations lingered nearby just to catch a glimpse of their heroes walking in.
Inside, the vibe was allegedly buzzy but polished (very Cote Miami).
Inside Cote, Miami’s Michelin-Starred Steakhouse
Restaurateur Simon Kim’s sleek Korean barbecue-meets-classic-steakhouse concept has racked up multiple New Times Best Of awards over the years, and it is easy to see why.
The Design District stunner dry-ages its steaks for at least 45 days in-house and seasons them with Maldon, Himalayan pink, and Korean thousand-day salts before grilling them tableside. The menu reads like a carnivore’s fantasy, featuring American Wagyu, A5 Japanese Wagyu from Miyazaki prefecture, and luxe caviar service for good measure.
Cote earned its Michelin star in 2022 and has held onto it ever since.
Screenshot via Instagram/@simonkimNYC
From a Steakhouse Straight to E11even Nightclub
And as we all know, when in Miami, you don’t just stop at steak. You go big. You go loud. You go to E11even.
After dinner, the squad regrouped and headed to the city’s favorite late-night playground to bask in their red, white, and blue glory. Cue the eagle screech.
Earlier that day, E11even had posted that not only would the team be celebrating in-house, but they were blessing the people with an open bar from 9–11 p.m. Which is objectively the most unhinged thing a club can announce, because even on a Monday, Miami’s finest degenerates will absolutely clock in for duty.
By 9 p.m., there was a line stretching blocks. Dudes in USA jerseys. Florida Panthers sweaters. Questionable American flag tank tops. All united by one cause: patriotic chaos.
When the team arrived, it was pure pandemonium. News crews swarmed. Fans shouted for selfies and signatures. A few of the players looked like they’d already been celebrating for several hours, but that just meant the warm-up was complete. The real game was about to start.
Inside, hockey highlights looped across massive screens while players draped themselves in flags like victorious gladiators. Gold medals clanked against bottles. The energy was somewhere between a championship parade and Spring Break ’09.
The most aggressively American moment of the night? A full club singalong to Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue,” led by several team members posted up on the center platform like rock stars on tour. If there were fireworks indoors, no one would’ve questioned it.
Then came “Free Bird.” And that’s when things truly ascended. As the legendary guitar solo ripped through the speakers, the team lost it, chanting “USA! USA!” while showering the crowd in liquor like it was holy water. Somewhere, a bald eagle definitely felt that.
Connor Hellebuyck, the gold medal goalie himself, took a moment to address the crowd before leading everyone in the national anthem. Yes, the national anthem. In a strip club. On a Monday. If that’s not cinema, what is?
Between “We Are the Champions,” endless USA chants, and the club replaying Jack Hughes’ game-winning shot on repeat while the crowd erupted every single time, it became clear this wasn’t just a party, it was a patriotic fever dream.
Looking back, E11even proved it can transform into a mid-2000s rock-and-roll victory bar whenever necessary. And honestly, what’s more American than that?
Gold medals. Steak dinners. Strip clubs. Toby Keith. “Free Bird.”
God bless the United States of America.
Cote Miami. 3900 NE Second Ave., Miami; 305-434-4668; cotekoreansteakhouse.com.
