I’m on a Miami high with all the art events we have attended this week. And I am sharing some of my Miami Art Fair photos including some of the art we bought. I’m sure I have written about the News Cafe before but once is not enough. It’s my happy place. Forget the turkeys. In Miami we pardon pigs, and this year they are quite famous.

Art Addict

We are in full swing in the world of Art Basel parties. We are taking our vitamin B pills just to be able to gather up enough energy to attend all of the events we are invited to. It’s not easy, laughing, eating, drinking all day and night. Too much of a good thing is exhausting.

We actually started partying last Saturday night at the home of Teresa Enriquez and Michael Galex in Coral Gables. Their home is filled with art. Not a bare wall anywhere. Teresa buys, Michael hangs. She is always scouting for new works. We’ve caught the fever. Our apartment is definitely looking like an art gallery.

Mindy Solomon hosted a jammed pack extravaganza at her gallery Sunday night. Hundreds of folks showed up to her event because she has launched the careers of some of the most successful artists around the world. She really helped make Miami a major art city.

Monday night we went to a Big Band BBQ at Nina Johnson’s house. She is also one of the most respected gallerists in Miami so many tried to crash this event. It was a gorgeous night, so we all partied around her gigantic pool. I felt like we were making a movie because so many accomplished artists showed up to mingle with major collectors.

Everywhere we went this week the champagne was flowing. I was on a constant buzz. Champagne for breakfast, lunch and dinner at museums, galleries, art studios, all of the art fairs, retail stores, private homes and pop-up attractions.

It’s amazing I can write this story. I’m on a Miami high.

Images from Miami Art Fair

I can’t leave these Miami art fair photos in my camera roll. No copy, just a lot of imagination.  We bought the art in photos 6, 17, 18, and 20.

This Is My Happy Place

I’m sure I have written about the News Cafe before but once is not enough. It deserves ongoing special attention. The restaurant is responsible for bringing a taste of European café culture to South Beach. It’s the place where Gianni Versace had his morning coffee before he was fatally shot July 15, 1997. He loved walking a few blocks from his mansion on Ocean Drive, the boulevard that runs parallel to the Atlantic Ocean, to the cafe so he could sit, sip his coffee and look at the expansiveness of the water in front of him.

That’s what makes News Cafe so special. You forget where you are. The sun, the sand, the row of beach front restaurants that makes you feel like you have gone to some far away place. It was so sad when the restaurant closed during the pandemic, and stayed clothes for years. Then new owners, the V&E Restaurant Group, took over to bring back the flair that attracted everyone in the first place. V&E is the company that is behind Havana 1957, Cafe Americano, Paperfish Sushi, and others. The current owners say the new News Cafe will stay as close to the original version as possible.

Eliot and I decided to have lunch at the News Cafe on Tuesday after attending the nearby Untitled exhibit on the beach during the Miami Art Fair. For a few minutes I pretended we were back when Mark Soyka opened the café and newsstand in 1988 on what was then a sleepy oceanfront neighborhood. Soyka had moved down from New York with his friend, real estate developer Tony Goldman, of Goldman Properties. Wikipedia explains, “Within a year, it was a magnet for locals and tourists alike. Expatriates from other countries would stop in daily to purchase a newspaper from their home country at the newsstand and stay to read it over breakfast.”

Ocean Drive is one of the most gorgeous areas in the world. I hope it stays that way.

Dec. 11. Miami’s Annual Pig Pardoning Ceremony

Forget the turkeys. In Miami we pardon pigs, and this year at the 6th annual event Mayor Daniella Levine Cava will pardon two pigs, named after Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, this year at Latin Café 2000 Brickelle.

During the celebration, guest are welcome to enjoy complimentary spinach croquettes and delicious homemade Cuban Cafecito. Latin Cafe 2000 is Miam is leading Cuban restaurant group that serves traditional authentic cuisine. From Lechon to arroz con pollo and other popular favorites. This event is free and open to the public Valet parking is available at 1060 Brickell Plaza. 9:30 to 2:00 PM. GET THE DETAILS.