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WHAT’S GOOD MIAMI: 10.20.26
This week’s issue is about a city changing faster than anyone can keep up with, and I’m going to help you keep up.
In November, we are launching The Good List, my picks for what’s actually worth it in Miami, with no placements for sale. Stephen Starr opens Pastis at The Nora in West Palm and is turning the old Neiman Marcus on Worth Avenue into a restaurant Palm Beach had to be promised isn’t a chain. Russell Galbut pulls three Live Local towers off the table as Miami Beach fights Tallahassee for control of its skyline.
The Dolphins keep losing and keep getting worth more, with a fresh stake sold at a $12.5 billion valuation. Meanwhile the Canes are No. 1 for the first time in more than two decades, and Giannis opens his first season in Miami on Wednesday. And I got a first taste of A Pasta Bar in Sunset Harbour, where a saffron and bone marrow tagliatelle is the dish of the fall.
The bigger theme: Miami is growing into the most important city in the world faster than anyone can imagine. I can’t wait to watch this season’s metamorphosis.
On My Mind: The Good List Is Coming
Drive down I-95 and count the personal injury lawyers. Every one of them is “the best.” There’s a billboard, a plaque and an award from an organization you’ve never heard of, paid for by the lawyer on the billboard.
That’s most best of lists in Miami. A placement fee, a sponsored post, a friend of a friend. Nothing on them surprises you, and nothing on them costs anyone anything.
This city is full of superstars, and it’s full of shady people who look exactly like them and claim to be superstars. Same billboard. Same Instagram. Same velvet rope. From the outside, you can’t tell the difference. That’s our job.
So in November, I’m publishing The Good List. It’s my picks for what’s actually worth your time, your money and your Saturday night in Miami.
Each week takes one part of a good life here:
Eat Good: coffee shops worth crossing town for, pizza worth the carbs, dinner reservations worth the trouble
Feel Good: spas worth the splurge, the best recovery, yoga, the workout classes worth leaving your routine for, and the doctors worth knowing
Live Good: the best hotels for a staycation, and the memberships that are actually worth it
Good People: the chefs, developers, founders, lawyers and creatives raising the standard in this city
In most categories, I’ll name The Best and The Contender. Agree or argue. That’s the point.
The rules are simple. Nobody can buy a spot. Partners never pick winners. If I have a relationship with a place, I’ll tell you.
Mr. Miami Take: Anyone can buy a billboard that says “best.” Nobody can buy a spot on this list. Taste is not for sale. In November, it becomes a list. Together, we’ll make sure the good guys win and the assholes think twice.
BEACH BUSINESS
West Palm Rising: Nora Hotel & Pastis Open, More Coming from Starr to Worth Avenue
Today The Nora Hotel opens in West Palm Beach. It has 201 rooms from BD Hotels and Sean MacPherson at 1135 North Railroad Avenue, Florida’s first Sisley Spa, and a lobby bar called Jack’s, done by GACHOT in pecky cypress.
On the ground floor sits Pastis.
This is Pastis number five. Keith McNally opened the original in the Meatpacking District in 1999, and it closed in 2014. Starr brought it back in 2019 and has since taken it to Miami, DC and Nashville. The West Palm location runs more than 13,300 square feet indoors and out. It comes with Pastis Privé for private events, and Starr also handles room service for the whole hotel.
The hotel isn’t finished filling up. Mama Hospitality has the roof with Lillys, which includes a pool, a full bar called Bar Lilly and a casual Cafe Lilly. No date yet.
