Opinion & Commentary

Dear Design District: Thank you. On any given day, your restaurants know what I want and have what I need. Although I’m not in the habit of picking favorite neighborhoods, your eateries have impressed me the most. And they’ve done so consistently, which is no simple feat. It’s no secret…

Before Second Saturday Art Walk became a thing, before Wynwood was named one of “America’s Hippest Hipster Neighborhoods” by Forbes, before the neighborhood became a walking ground for music royalty, there was the Electric Pickle. From the moment its neon green sign lit up for the first time in 2009,…

Miami New Times managing editor Tim Elfrink has won the George Polk Award in sports reporting for his series on the Biogenesis anti-aging clinic in Coral Gables. The award, established by Long Island University, is one of the nation’s most prestigious. Winners this year include the New York Times, the…

Every Friday, Riptide brings you the most eye-catching mugshots taken the previous week (or thereabouts) in Miami-Dade County. Yes, there is some mockery of bad neck tattoos, but also adulation directed at perps who just plain look more badass than we ever will. This is the italicized intro to that…

Rabid fans of music, Disney, or YouTube may already be familiar with Pogo. The music producer and remix artist is know for his incredibly watchable video edits that combine the music, voices, and sounds from beloved childhood classics like Sesame Street, Alice in Wonderland, and Mary Poppins into something new…

As we spend another February celebrating Black History Month, the reality is that many African-Americans in Miami don’t know dark-skinned folks were among the first pioneers to settle here. Forget Martin Luther King Jr. and “We Shall Overcome.” We have been hoodwinked into believing African-Americans have always been second-class citizens…

Painting the Town Picture perfect: The concept of creating Wynwood into a worldwide hotbed for talented street and graffiti artists was a great idea (“Paint the Walls,” Benjy Caplan, February 6). I have enjoyed visiting the area and experiencing the local culture. However, since I moved to L.A. two years…

Nominees have just been announced for the third-annual Johnson & Wales University’s Zest Awards, which honor leaders in South Florida’s culinary arts scene. On March 19 from 7 to 9 p.m., the JWU North Miami campus will host the invitation-only event, which showcases our best and brightest in six award…

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke drops institutional knowledge about Miami’s African American roots. As we spend another February celebrating Black History Month, the…

We all know February 14 is Valentine’s Day, but a little-known fact is that it’s also National Condom Day. In honor of love, safe sex, and expanding sexual taste buds, we present you with the top five crazy condom flavors. Keep your vanilla sex and vanilla condoms, because thing are…

First dates in Miami… They can be the first encounter you have with Mr. or Mrs. Right (Now), the greatest romantic rendezvous you’ve had in a while till he asks you to spot him for dinner or she proclaims her unrequited love for you, or, more than likely, one of…

Every Friday, Riptide brings you the most eye-catching mugshots taken the previous week (or thereabouts) in Miami-Dade County. Yes, there is some mockery of bad neck tattoos, but also adulation directed at perps who just plain look more badass than we ever will. This is the italicized intro to that…

Since November of last year, we here at Crossfade have been scratching our heads, wondering, “What is 11?” Last night, all of the mystery was unveiled at E11EVEN Miami’s media opening, where we got to experience firsthand the “upscale nightclub, meets Cirque du Soleil, meets international cabaret.” While not a…

Miami has for decades subjected its citizens to poison. Now lead has been discovered in Bayfront Park, which was founded in 1925 and has long been considered Mami’s version of New York’s Central Park, the Miami Herald’s Jenny Staletovich is reporting this morning. This follows months of dispatches from Staletovich…

Three months ago, a long-delayed plan to add a youth center and make other much-needed improvements to Charles Hadley Park in Liberty City was on life support. The Miami City Commission had set aside $40 million in 2005 to fix up Hadley as well as Overtown’s Gibson Park, which was…

So That’s What It Does! And it ain’t good: A great read with equally great art (“The Politely Evil Empire,” Pete Kotz, January 30). People, don’t let your children grow up to become members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. gumsandals Then again, what would a bunch of liberals know?:…

Uncle Luke, the man whose booty-shaking madness made the U.S. Supreme Court stand up for free speech, gets as nasty as he wants to be for Miami New Times. This week, Luke gives props to Miami’s rookie city commissioner. Three months ago, a long-delayed plan to add a youth center…

When you’re up against Peyton Manning and the (no longer?) best offensive team in NFL history, the odds might seem slim when it comes to winning the Super Bowl. But not for the Seattle Seahawks. With a final score of 43-8, not even Manning, with his all-time touchdown skills (55…

David Guetta is something of a perverse pioneer. He’s a true trailblazer, even if we don’t all necessarily want to follow his path. Several years ago, the scraggly-bearded Frenchman brought dance music to the masses unlike anyone before him. And today, he still sits atop the pop charts, alongside Miami…

It has been pretty well documented recently that, during slavery and into the 20th Century, black babies were used as alligator bait in North and Central Florida. A guy in Sanford, near Orlando, told this story to a researcher. He said he had heard it from his grandfather. The slaves…