Miami Life: Ice Cream, South Pacific, Wynwood Walls
This is a dream come true. A new Miami ice cream shop for those who can’t eat ice cream. I just discovered Mai-Kai a Polynesian-themed restaurant and tiki bar in Ft. Lauderdale), that has been around since 1956 and will make you feel like you are in the South Pacific. There’s a fascinating new book out for Miami history lovers that tells the inside story of Wynwood Walls and how it became a successful business district and an outdoor art gallery. The Hard Rock Live 2025 concert schedule has just been released and some of the iconic performers include Diana Ross, Ringo, and Billy Joel.
A New Miami Ice Cream Shop
This is a dream come true. Valeria Alvarez and her husband, Marshall are making ice cream without cream, milk or other usual ingredients that make many people instantly sick because of allergies. Their formula uses only overripe bananas and a tiny bit of coconut milk. They are really proud that they found good use for the bananas that usually get thrown away. Valeria of Peel Miami Shores said while the stripped-down recipe for soft serve may sound strange, the taste is delicious. The Peel founders said business is better than ever.
They have turned rejected produce into gold. The demand for what they invented keeps growing. Now, lines form daily at Peel’s Miami Shores and Design District locations for a taste of these banana-based treats. The idea for their new dessert company was born when she realized that one-third of the world’s food production is wasted, with bananas ranking as the most discarded fruit globally.
“Those unwanted brown bananas aren’t garbage. As bananas brown, their enzymes break down starches and produce more natural sugar. These perfectly edible bananas are ideal for making soft serve.”
Peel offers black sapote creations made with fruit from local farms in the winter and mangos that fall from trees in the winter. This fall Peel will be serving smoothies and açai bowls.
Peel Miami Shores. 175 NE 96th St., Miami Shores; peelsoftserve.com.
Peel Design District. 90 NE 41st St., Miami; peelsoftserve.com.
The MAI-KAI Restaurant and Polynesian Show Is A Hoot
The Mai-Kai is a Polynesian-themed restaurant and tiki bar in Oakland Park (an area in Ft. Lauderdale), that has been around since December 28, 1956, and is still going strong today. Every weekend hundreds of tourists and locals show up to experience what it’s like to be a part of the Polynesian pop culture. The majority of the crowd loves the fact that they don’t have to travel far to feel like they have gone to the South Pacific. In 2015 it was named the “best tiki bar in the world” by Critiki, an online database cataloging over 1,000 tiki bars and other Polynesian pop culture locations worldwide. It is the last restaurant in existence to carry on the tradition of serving the original drink recipes of Don the Beachcomber, and it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
I never heard of this establishment until well-traveled friends were visiting us over the weekend of Valentine’s Day and wanted to go there. We later learned that brothers Bob and Jack Thornton officially opened the restaurant and lounge, MAI-KAI, meaning “the finest,” and it quickly became a popular hangout. What astonishes me is that it still remains popular today. I guess it’s because it transports customers to the South Pacific with indigenous oceanic artifacts, decor, Polynesian dance, fireworks, award-winning cuisine, and tropical libations—created by a leading mixologist of the golden era of tiki cocktails, Mariano Licudine.
I did find the MAI-KAI authentic Polynesian artifacts fascinating, some of which are more than 100 years old. While much of the original collection was donated to Stanford University and a local Fort Lauderdale museum, many remain on display today. It’s worth the trip just to see that. GET THE DETAILS.
The Inside Story of Wynwood Walls
Tony Goldman established Wynwood Walls in 2009. His daughter, Jessica Goldman Srebnick, tells the story of how her father transformed a once run-down expanse of warehouse buildings in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood into what is now recognized not only as one of America’s most successful urban commercial areas and most significant exhibition centers for international street art. In Street Art Icons: The Story of Wynwood Walls, readers will discover not just a book documenting 15 years of this successful business district, but how it became an outdoor art gallery. Featuring never-before-seen photography of The Walls’ development and special commentary from street art’s most iconic figures, including Shepard Fairey, Maya Hayuk, Kenny Scharf, Ron English, and curator Jessica Goldman Srebnick, the title effectively charts why and how Wynwood Walls became a phenomenon, known as a milestone in artists’ careers. The pages are full of high-impact shots by renowned documentary photographer Martha Cooper—who has been capturing the over 150 murals and pieces created in the past decade-and-a-half (what curator Jeffrey Deitch calls “vivid verbal pictures.”
“Legacy is the mark one makes on the world. A legacy can be made in an unexpected and improbable way, even with something as simple as a spray can and a bold idea,” says Jessica Goldman Srebnick, Wynwood Walls chief curator. “My dad envisioned a neighborhood unlike any other on the planet, one that resembled a masterful painting.”
Jessica Goldman Srebnick is the co-chair of Goldman Properties, the creative real estate firm with a storied history in developing thriving global destinations across the United States such as SoHo in New York City, Center City Philadelphia, Miami Beach, and Wynwood. Goldman Srebnick is also founder and CEO of Goldman Global Arts, curating large-scale art installations for clients like the NFL, Norwegian Cruise lines, Citibank, Wynn Hotels, the Kaseya Center, the Miami Dolphins, and the world’s largest outdoor street-art museum, Wynwood Walls. A graduate of Harvard Business School’s Presidents Program in Leadership and recognized as one of Forbes “Icons of Impact,” she was selected as one of the Knight’s Foundation Arts Champions for her community leadership helping to enrich arts and culture in South Florida.
Additionally, she was the Miami-Dade County co-chair for the 2020 Miami Superbowl host committee and served as the chair of the Town Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (TSNDC) board. She was awarded the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce Alvah H. Chapman Jr. Young Leader Award for Excellence in 2019, and the 2023 Visionary Award by the Miami Center for Architecture & Design.
Meet Jessica Goldman Srebnick in a conversation about her book, Street Art Icons: The Story of Wynwood Walls on Saturday, March 1st, 6 PM | Books & Books, Coral Gables. RSVP HERE FOR FREE
Hard Rock Live 2025 Concert Schedule
Hard Rock Live is the 7000-seat venue at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood. They have an exciting lineup for 2025! Here are some of the concerts announced so far:
With Pug Johnson 8 p.m. Friday, February 21
With Ashe and Marynn Taylor 7 p.m. Sunday, February 23
8 p.m. Saturday, March 1, and Sunday, March 2
8 p.m. Thursday, March 6
8 p.m. Friday, March 7
8 p.m. Saturday, March 8
With King George, Tucka, Pokey Bear, J-Wonn, West Love, and Lenny Williams 6 p.m. Sunday, March 9
With Don Felder 8 p.m. Thursday, March 13
8 p.m. Friday, March 14
With Danielle Ponder 8 p.m. Saturday, March 15
8 p.m. Friday, March 21
8 p.m. Saturday, March 29
8 p.m. Saturday, April 12
With Tyler Braden 8 p.m. Friday, April 18
8 p.m. Saturday, April 19
With Dead Pioneers 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 24, and Saturday, April 26
8 p.m. Sunday, April 27
8 p.m. Thursday, May 1
Primus, Puscifer, and A Perfect Circle
8 p.m. Tuesday, May 6
With Freak Freely 8 p.m. Friday, May 9
8 p.m. Sunday, May 11
With Carolina Campbell and Amy Manford 8 p.m. Thursday, May 15
8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 17
8 p.m. Saturday, May 24
With Alvvays and the Warning 7 p.m. Sunday, May 25
Ringo Star and His All Star Band
8 p.m. Friday, June 20
With Simple Plan 7 p.m. Saturday, June 21
7:30 p.m. Friday, August 1
8 p.m. Friday, August 29
With Jerry Douglas and Willie Watson 7 p.m. Sunday, September 28
With Chance Peña 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 7
7:30 p.m. Friday, October 10, and Saturday, October 11
8 p.m. Saturday, November 1
