Art of living
GETAWAYS • Miami Beach
This post appeared in yesterday’s edition of FOUND Miami. Looking for a little more South Beach in your life? Subscribe to FOUND Miami, with new issues dropping each Thursday.
The Skinny: No strip of South Beach is more exciting right now than Española Way, where a spate of buzzy new restaurants is transforming what was once a sleepy pedestrian corridor into an unlikely epicenter of cool. Leading the pack: The Joyce, a 45-seat chophouse that opened last month (with a separate ventanita, The Window, for ordering one of the best burgers in town to go).
The Vibe: Modern, moody, with dim lighting that mainly serves to illuminate walls covered in art from co-owner Andre Sakhai’s enviable collection (Picasso, Basquiat, et al.). Passing through the curtained entry feels like stepping into an exclusive Greenwich Village nook traversed by well-heeled locals and in-the-know visitors. Reservations are currently available through the membership-only app Dorsia, and the crowd looks the part. At the table next to mine, a boisterous party reminisced about their startup’s pre-IPO days. My second trip to the restroom, akin to a mini gallery, was as much an excuse to admire the funky art as it was to pamper with the Aesop products lined up on the vanity.
The Food: Chef James Taylor’s brief menu of creative American classics brings together his experience at some of Chicago’s top restaurants (Alinea, Roister, Bavette's Bar & Boeuf). Thick slices of Hamachi crudo in hatch chile and lime were unbelievably tender; crispy latkes topped with Ossetra caviar melted into crunchy, silky mouthfuls. The creamed kale with rich Saint-André cheese was an ideal accompaniment to a medium-rare Australian filet mignon, as were the tangy, al dente sauteed Brussels sprouts in horseradish and honey mustard. But if a sitdown dinner isn’t in the cards, that Joyce burger, made with a double patty and sharp American cheese, is well worth a visit to the walk-up window.
The Drink: Gregarious beverage director Andrew Herron maneuvers throughout the room wielding hefty sculptural glass vessels in which he delivers selections from a 100-bottle wine collection. Cocktails by Japanese mixologist Takuya Mizuguchi are simple, smooth, and rooted in technique, as was the case with a clarified lassi (a take on the refreshing Indian yogurt beverage) made with gin, absinthe, and lychee.
The Verdict: With edgy contemporary art and a darkened backroom vibe, this spot works just as easily for cocktails and fries before a night out as it does a sexy date or a unique work dinner. The Joyce is trying to be cool, and succeeding. –Falyn Wood
→ The Joyce (Miami Beach) • 448 Española Wy • Wed-Sun 6-11p.