DOWNTOWN MIAMI

To explain what it’s like to attend Ultra Music Festival isn’t quite that easy. Sure, those who can’t grasp exactly what “EDM” is just don’t get it. To love house music along with it’s accompanying sub genres, is truly a sort of cult our generation has embraced. Over the course of 3 days, Weekend 1 welcomed well over 50,000 people. In retrospect, that’s a tiny portion of the music lovers around the world. But to us? Nope. It felt as if it was the only type of music surrounding us in our own little heaven.

Joonbug is your one-stop-shop to everything new, hot, trendy and awesome happening in America’s wildest cities. From restaurant reviews to socialite spottings, our goal is to keep our readers up-to-date and ever-informed.

For our Miami fanbase, we’ve created Joonbug’s Miami Music Festival guide - an all-inclusive list of the best EDM events taking place from March 16 - 25. These two weeks of non-stop partying stem from the presence of Winter Music Conference, one of the largest annual music gatherings in the world. The two-week seminar gathers 100,000+ up-and-coming DJs and music lovers for events, workshops, seminars and parties.

With such a massive influx of music lovers comes daily/nightly musical happenings. Check out http://miamimusic.joonbug.com/ for our extensive list of events.

After discovering house music in 2010, I dabbled in the different sects of electronica and found myself in love. In March of 2011, I made my official crossover from rap-enthusiast to househead when I attended Ultra Music Festival. Nearly a year later, I cannot wait to return to my stomping grounds and once again bask in the harmonious music and beating sunshine.

Last year’s festival was an incredible experience, but as a newbie, I had a lot to learn. The low-point of my weekend was when my ticket was ripped off of the lanyard strewn around my neck by a drunken fool. The maniac grabbed the ticket that was hanging above my chest, and ran. Luckily, my mother had always instilled within me the importance of self-defense, so I lunged at the crazy kid who attempted to steal the $275 ticket and returned the item to its rightful owner... me.

Downtown/Wynwood/Design District

Food Truck Round-Up

Imagine this: Food trucks plus Art Basel at the Adrienne Arsht Center. It’s the lunch of Michelangelo himself… sort of. Anyway, the food trucks won’t go unnoticed for the 10th anniversary of Art Basel this year and you can catch up with mostly all of them this Friday, December 2nd from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Adrienne Arsht Center. Don't miss the live performances and interactive art! Enjoy the art on the street and on your plate.

1300 Biscayne Boulevard, Downtown

305.949.6722

Wynwood Kitchen and Bar

Just in time for Fall, downtown Miami will soon offer a new and improved Chophouse Miami Bistro & Lounge with the help of acclaimed chef, Jacques Van Staden and his international culinary style and attention to detail state of mind. The James Beard Award nominee is no rookie in the kitchen, as former executive chef of Michelin star winning Alizé, located at the top of The Palms hotel in Las Vegas and his continued work with Celebrity Cruises as master chef of culinary operations, the chef’s credentials are clear. With the help of his brother, Pieter Van Staden, a skilled chef all his own, the sibling duo is bringing class and a fresh culinary point of view to downtown Miami.

“I loved the location and thought the Chophouse space had such potential,” says Van Staden. “When the opportunity arose for me to take it over and remake it as my own I couldn’t resist.” As for the menu, the South African born chef firmly stands by his “something for everyone” approach. The moderately priced menu will include small plates, sushi, flatbreads, premium cuts of meat and fresh fish. Prospective dishes include tamarind glazed pork belly alongside a papaya salad topped with toasted peanuts and drizzled with a yellow curry vinaigrette, signature “tacushi”, a black truffle potato salad topped with a quail egg, and a perfectly grilled 20 oz. porterhouse steak.

The menu isn’t the only thing under construction; the interiors are also getting the Van Staden touch complete with a sushi bar, wine tasting lounge, outdoor patio and a private dining room fit for 50. Come Thanksgiving 2011, downtown Miami’s business crowd and foodies alike will be able to enjoy the re-imagined Chophouse Miami Bistro & Lounge. An à la carte brunch will be served every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and a buffet-style brunch will be offered every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. A nightly Happy Hour will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and a late-night Happy Hour from 11:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Chophouse Miami Bistro & Lounge
300 South Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL 33131
(305) 938-9000
www.chophousemiami.com

One of the things I can always count on when returning to my native Miami is dirt-cheap authentic Cuban food - the sustenance of my heritage. But now, with Miami's booming culinary scene congregating in the resurgent Downtown and the newly created Midtown, that good quality at affordable prices is true for other cuisines as well. Miamians are broadening while fine-tuning their culinary palates, and Peruvian Chef Juan Chipoco knows it.

In September 2008, Chipoco opened a brilliant restaurant centered around the cuisine of his homeland in the heart of downtown - a risky move (that paid off) in an area that is known to transform into a ghost-town at the close of office hours. The playfully named CVI.CHE 105 (pronounced ce-vi-che) was the word on the street upon my recent visit back to South Florida, and the packed, boisterous sleekly-clad space proved it. On a random downtown street, lined with empty storefronts advertising the "coming soons," CVI.CHE 105 had guests pouring out the door on an early Sunday evening. I squeezed my way through the disproportionately cramped waiting area to find a grand gray and white concrete expanse flecked with bright Caribbean colors and numerous occupied tables. First turn-off: the noise level is almost too much to bear, bouncing off the lofty walls and floor. First turn on: mounds of fresh fish ceviche were piled high on pretty white plates being doled out one after another from the ceviche bar at the front of the house. My stomach was rumbling. Next thing I see: Chef Chipoco standing solidly, arms crossed observing what I was observing but with a different eye. Mine, longing. His, scrutinizing. Talk about pressure in the kitchen. He almost made me nervous. But his overbearing attentiveness gets the job done; his food is spectacular. His hands-on approach wafts from the kitchen to the house as well, personally greeting guests at each table with pointed eye contact, a firm handshake, and an immaculately white smile. To assume he is meticulous man would be more than fair. And it radiates through his menu.

Where else can you run into friends and be perfectly excused to not hug or shake hands—all because you’re covered in shellfish juice? Looks like you made it to Tobacco Road’s 11th Annual Crawfish Boil. Last Sunday, families, UM kids, New Orleans transplants, and foodies congregated to indulge in the star of the party: spicy, scalding red crawfish. Long banquet style tables were elevated at the perfect height for some serious chowing down. Food trucks like Latin Burger & Taco, CheeseMe, Dim Ssam a Gogo, Yellow Submarine, and The Fish Box lined the perimeter of the lot. Fire roasted oysters, gumbo and standard Cajun sides were also available. Not to mention beer and plenty of libations. There was even face painting and a drawing contest for the kiddos, giving mom and dad a nice respite.

Get ready to suck the head and eat the tail! Try to keep your minds out of the gutter and focus on what’s important here- Tobacco Road’s 11th Annual Crawfish Boil. This annual Crawfish craze takes place this Sunday, April 17th at Miami’s famous Tobacco Road Bar from 12 noon-6pm. This is an all ages event, the only of its kind for Tobacco Road. A big difference from the 420 Fest happening at the same locale the night before!

We know you’re all looking forward to celebrating our most beloved cannabis-inspired holiday next week, 420. So why not start early, this Saturday at 420 Fest?! Miami’s oldest bar, Tobacco Road, is hosting 420 Fest, Saturday, April 16th from 8pm-4am. Four stages will host twenty bands (get it? 4-20) at this 21 and over concert paying homage to the hampa. Some of the sinsemilla bands headlining the music fest are Timatayo, Behind the Houses, Purple Popcorn, 1000 Pounds of Thrust, The Deadly Blank, and Mr. Liqer.

If you have yet to attend an evening, night, morning, and afternoon (yes, afternoon) at Louis Puig's Club Space in the heart of downtown Miami, it can be summarized in two words -- an experience! The club, which originally opened it's doors in March of 2000 during Winter Music Conference, has acquired quite the reputation as the #1 dance club in the US. Boasting an undescribeable multi-level and rooftop venue with guest appearances by legendary DJ's Paul Van Dyk, Paul Oakenfold, John Digweed, and Tiësto, the club has secured it's position as a mandatory "to-do" for visitors and locals alike. Over the summer, rumors circulated that Club Space was closing for unconfirmed reasons. Die hard fans invaded the club for the club's epic closing party and left Club Space to hibernate until further news. Word of mouth later brought news to light that the club was only closing for a short while for renovations.