After flying into Ft. Lauderdale, my boyfriend and I drove to downtown Miami where we stayed for the night. We arrived around happy hour and made our way to the hotel bar for a couple drinks and some conch fritters. The relaxed and friendly feel of the bartenders was infectious and the food and drinks were delicious.
A couple drinks down, it was time to ready for a night in South Beach. We consulted the Concierge and a few other hotel employees as to our best options to travel to South Beach from downtown Miami. We finally chose to drive ourselves when told it would be a 40 min plus bus ride if we took public transportation. We were also assured that there would be plenty of parking options in South Beach. The drive took maybe 10-15 min and we only had to circle a couple blocks to find metered parking just a block away from Washington St. However, I must caution: we assumed the metered parking was free at night (it was after 8pm), but apparently these particular meters ran well into the night and when we returned to the car we were surprised to see a ticket on the windshield. The upside? The ticket was only $15, probably comparable to paying for one of the nearby parking garages.
Our first act of business in South Beach was to walk around Lincoln Ave which is closed to vehicular traffic and easily reminds one of European streets fluttering with activity from all the boutiques and cafes. This was definitely the “hot spot”, it was a Wednesday night and every cafe/bar/restaurant had a slight wait for a table, every store had shoppers perusing the shelves and racks, and couples strolled through the area hand in hand while little Fido scurried about.
After walking through Lincoln Ave for about an hour, we stopped at Sushi Samba, a little sushi/Latin cuisine fusion restaurant. We split a roll and ordered a round of drinks. I had a capirinha which was very tasty, but a little strong.
Of course we had to swing by Ocean Dr. to make our night in South Beach official. Before doing so, we made a quick stop at the Walgreens at the corner of Collins and Lincoln for a few provisions. This place was packed and it was well after 10pm! I only mention stopping at Walgreens, because this one had it all…if you find yourself staying or visiting the South Beach area and need anything from band-aids to beer, I encourage you to shop at this Walgreens.
On Ocean Dr. the smell of the salt water and fish made me smile and the beauty of the palm tree lined street looked like it came straight from a movie. The crowds were a little more scarce on Ocean Dr., perhaps because less of these establishments had patio space because Ocean Dr. is not shut down to vehicular traffic as Lincoln Ave. is and it could be because of the time of night we got to Ocean Dr. – had we gone here first I’m sure we would have seen large crowds like we did on Lincoln Ave.
We followed the murmurs of a crowd and stylings of a DJ to Clevelander – an outdoor bar with a dance floor and stage set over a pool. This bar was definitely well designed there were 3-4 complete bars staggered around as well as various seating options plus the DJ and dance floor set over the pool! We ordered our drinks and were happy to learn, after receiving our check, that we had come on “$8 beer night”. I know I tease, but you must keep in mind the excessive charges for typically cheap drinks while budgeting your trip to South Beach.
While sipping on the $8 Presidente in my hand I started to notice that the crowd I had been mingling with all night was older than I had thought. There were barely any college students, let alone 20-somethings. This was like an “adult spring break”. We were surrounded by young professionals and middle-aged couples and divorcees. I even spotted a couple on the dance floor that had to be in their late 50s/early 60s. I think this is great, South Beach is a place for a mature crowd to act not as mature and let their hair down and have some fun, which I must say is certainly better than being surrounded by a crowd of college students trying to test their tolerance while fist-pumping and practically having sex on the dance floor. I have been told by friends and locals, that if the latter is more your scene, you can easily find it at the clubs in South Beach – just follow the mixings of the DJ and slurred speech of college students. There were actually rumors that the “Jersey Shore” cast was in South Beach filming the same night we were.
Before returning to the hotel, we made one last stop at a little acid Jazz/Jazz-Reggae club, Jazid located near the intersection of 13th and Washington. There was no cover and a live band right next to the door. The music was great, atmosphere relaxed, and drinks were slightly less expensive than on Ocean Dr. There was even an upstairs that had an impressive DJ playing some great old-school hip hop (think: Biggie Smalls), you just had to make your way through the crowd to the stairs and venture behind the curtain (I will warn you that behind the curtain there was a large cloud of smoke..in a Jazz/Reggae bar, behind a thick black curtain…I’ll let you put two and two together.) It clearly was a place even the locals would frequent and it certainly was one of a kind. I would definitely recommend stopping by Jazid for a round of drinks if in the South Beach area.
Overall outlook on my first visit to South Beach: laid-back, expensive, plenty of options for drinking and dining, young professional crowd, MUST SEES: Lincoln Ave., Ocean Dr., Jazid
