Tag: food

Series: Planning for 36 Hours in Miami

November 19, 2019 / odrozd

By Doug Bright

About the series: Welcome to our ongoing travel series. These are all posts written by planning students and professionals about what to do in a given city when looking for Brunch, a Brew, or a good idea on a Budget. To cap it all off, we include a fun planning fact!

About the visit: As the darkness and cold of winter approach, biological urges guide our travel selections southward, to the Sunshine State. Miami Beach offers both sun and sand to sooth your S.A.D. and well-preserved Art Deco architecture to satisfy your structural style sensibilities. The robust influence of Latin America, especially Cuba, creates a culturally diverse and immersive city, with plenty more to offer than the party scene it’s well-known for. Miami is not your typical American city, and that makes it worth visiting.

IMG_8271 (1) — A foul weather day at Lummus Park Beach in South Beach. Photo credit: Doug Bright

Brunch

Embrace the tradition of the colada, a takeaway cup with a few servings of sweet, Cuban-style espresso meant for sharing, enabled by the plastic espresso cups it comes with. Pair it with freshly baked Cuban pastries – the objective best being the pastelito de guayaba y queso (guava and cream cheese turnover) – and enjoy beachside for best results. While this combo can be found at many places, if you’re in South Beach, the Meridian Food Market provides quality versions of both at a great price, less than half a mile from the beach. Snag a giant Florida avocado or some delicious tropical fruit while you’re at it.

If it’s a bit later in the day and you’re ready for something more substantial, try the equally ubiquitous sandwiches: a classic Cuban or its sweeter, softer cousin, the Medianoche (Las Olas in South Beach or Enriqueta’s near Wynwood will both satisfy).

IMG_20171110_101117596_HDR — *Pastelitos and a colada from Meridian Food Market. Photo credit: Doug Bright*

Brew

J Wakefield Brewing’s taproom in Wynwood pumps out fantastic beer and offers respite from both the midday heat and the obsessive Instagramming in one of the biggest street art districts in the country. It strikes a balance between the bougie beauty of Veza Sur Brewing, the curated street art vibe of Concrete Beach Brewing, and the hole-in-the-wall style of Wynwood Brewing. All are worth visiting; the short walks separating them make it very easy to do so. If the mental anguish of girlfriends having their boyfriends take “candid” photos of them in front of street art outweighs the beauty of the art itself, you might enjoy wallowing at Mac’s Club Deuce in South Beach, which provides all the sticky, casual, friendly spirit of a dive with an oddly-shaped bar and an emphasis on neon that remind you that you’re in Miami Beach.

Budget

While Miami offers plenty of chances to alter your future financial wellbeing in the course of one night, plenty of fun can be had for cheap. Between the previously mentioned beaches, Art Deco Historic District of South Beach, and the street art labyrinth of Wynwood Walls, at least a full day can be filled for free. The flora-inclined can enjoy the Miami Beach Botanical Garden for free. A walk on Little Havana’s main drag, Calle Ocho (8th Street), is a great way to experience the neighborhood. Don’t miss Máximo Gómez Park, where permanent tables facilitate outdoor games of dominos; if you’re there just to watch, be respectful.

*Gallery space complements street art in Wynwood. Photo credit: Doug Bright*

Fun Planning Fact

Before the fun facts, it’s important to acknowledge that Miami’s geography means rising sea levels and other climate change impacts will have a huge impact on the city in the coming decades. In terms of financial impact on GDP, one study suggests an impact of $2 billion per year in 2050, the greatest of any US city and sixth highest in the world. Of U.S. cities, Miami has the 2nd greatest number of residents living within the FEMA 100-year floodplain (to NYC), but 12(!) of the top 14 are municipalities in the Miami MSA. Another study suggests the coming impacts have a gentrification effect: higher-elevation regions of Miami appreciate more quickly. While the rich have historically preferred coasts, changes due to climate change might result in displacement non-coastal areas.

Ok, now ready for some fun? Stiltsville refers to a collection of buildings built on stilts among the “Safety Valve” sand banks that mark the edge of Biscayne Bay, one mile from land. Dating back at least to the 1930s, the buildings famously offered social clubs specializing in vice. Illegal gambling and alcohol sales at institutions with names like the Bikini Club and the Quarterdeck Club led to a high-powered regular clientele and occasional raids by authorities. At its peak in 1960, Stiltsville included 27 buildings, but hurricanes and regulations since have reduced the remaining structures to seven. The buildings are currently in Biscayne National Park, owned by the National Park Service, but managed by the non-profit Stiltsville Trust since 2003. The park and trust have an agreement to rehab the buildings for educational use in the future.

BN-WC703_1118MI_M_20171113162242 — *One of the Stiltsville houses, Bay Chateau, with Miami in the distance. Photo credit: Wall Street Journal*

Featured Image: The relative peace of dusk in the winter at Lummus Park Beach. Photo Credit: Doug Bright

About the Author: Doug is a first-year master’s candidate in the Department of City and Regional Planning, specializing in transportation. He’s a proud Chicagoan, enjoys taking the streets by two wheels, and indulges in improvisational cooking. He likes thinking and talking about education, design, and sustainability. He also likes jokes. Doug received his undergraduate degree in Social Studies from Harvard College.

Series: Planning for 36 Hours in Burlington, VT

September 26, 2019 / odrozd

About the visit: Whether you’re a foodie, an arts enthusiast, an outdoor adventurer, or anything in between Burlington has something to offer. Only a 3-hour drive from Boston, Burlington is located on the shores of picturesque Lake Champlain and combines the amenities of a large city with the charm of a small town. Many travelers are attracted by Burlington’s access to the great outdoors but the city also boasts an impressive array of museums, concert venues, restaurants, and local boutiques. Read on for a few of my favorite Burlington (and closely surrounding area) spots!

Misery Loves Co. located just outside of Burlington in Winooski, VT serves up a rotating farm-to-table brunch menu. Photo Credit: Savorytravels.com

While not technically located in Burlington, the cleverly named Misery Loves Co. is too good not to include on this list. Both head chefs have been nominated for James Beard Best Chef in the Northeast awards and as you’d suspect their brunch menu does not disappoint. Their menu is seasonal and therefore subject to change, but don’t miss their tater tots, complete with smoked char, trout roe, and crème fraiche.

Brew

Foam Brewers opened in 2016 on the shores of Lake Champlain and serves a varied and ever-changing lineup of beers. Photo credit: SevenDaysVT

Like seemingly every other place in the nation, craft beer has exploded in Burlington and in Vermont more generally (there are 60 breweries on the Vermont Brew Trail). While there are many options to choose from, any visit to Burlington would be incomplete without a trip to Foam Brewers. Head to their waterfront location and try to find a seat on the often-crowded patio to take in the views of Lake Champlain while sipping a craft brew. Their beer selection rotates and includes traditional New England IPAs as well as some funkier sour options for the more adventurous drinkers. Stop by and see what is on tap!

Budget

Burlington City Arts located on Church Street is free and features three stories of exhibitions, including this past installation by artists Crystal Wagner. Photo Credit: Hifructose

If window shopping on Church Street doesn’t sound appealing, stop in at Burlington City Arts (BCA). Their galleries feature local, national, and international artists and are free to the public. Not only is BCA a budget-friendly option for the arts enthusiast, they also host events, run art camps, and provide studio space for local artists. BCA has been a mainstay of the Burlington Arts scene for more than 30 years and is definitely worth a visit!

Fun Planning Fact

Today Church Street Marketplace is a thriving public space, but 50 years ago cars drove down these blocks in central Burlington. Photo Credit: Church St. Marketplace

Pedestrian malls were trendy in planning during the 60s and 70s as a way of trying to entice customers back to downtown areas and away from large indoor shopping malls. While Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace was officially opened in 1981, the idea of closing the street to vehicular traffic began a decade earlier.

In July 1970, the Burlington Downtown Merchants Association sponsored a one-day event meant to show the community what life could be like with a pedestrian mall on Church Street. It took a decade of negotiating and planning, but eventually, the mall was opened to the public and has mostly been a success, drawing 3 million visitors to downtown Burlington each year.

Featured Image: Lake Champlain from the shores of Burlington. Photo Courtesy of Amy Sechrist.

About the Author: Amy Sechrist is a first-year Master’s candidate in the Department of City and Regional Planning at UNC-Chapel Hill with a concentration in Housing and Community Development. Her research interests include affordable housing, planning for equity, and the intersection of gender and planning.

The Hawker Center

September 24, 2019 / odrozd

Many Americans got their first big glimpse into Singaporean culture via the 2018 rom-com Crazy Rich Asians, which is set in the small Southeast Asian country often associated with finance and food. The film primarily focuses on the gilded world of Singapore’s super-rich, but also highlights one of the most democratizing urban places on the planet and a unique cultural and urban planning product of the region: the hawker center.

Hawker center staff on patrol for tables to clear at the Chinatown Hawker Centre, Singapore. Photo credit: Doug Bright.

On their first night in Singapore, Rachel and Nick (the “rom” in the rom-com) join friends at a hawker center, a semi-open-air bazaar of dozens of food stalls serving the broad spectrum of food one can expect in a country whose unique culinary culture is a mosaic of Chinese, Malay, and Indian foodways. As Nick puts it in the movie, “Each of these hawker stalls sells pretty much one dish and they’ve been perfecting it for generations.” The Crazy Rich crew fills up on fresh sugar cane juice, laksa, satay, chili crab and more all while sitting among a crowd whose diversity is enabled by the affordable prices of hawker fare.

Browsing chicken rice options at the Chinatown Hawker Centre, Singapore. Photo credit: Doug Bright.

In the region, street (hawker) food has been a cultural fixture for decades. In Singapore, the institution of the hawker center has explicit roots in planning. In 1950, the Hawkers Inquiry Commission began investigating problems arising in the hawker industry: poor hygiene, disorder caused by the unorganized use of the public right-of-way, and resulting law enforcement issues. The first wave of hawker centers was built as a solution between 1971 and 1986. The island’s 100+ hawker centers (with more on the way), as well as hawker registration operations, are currently under the purview of Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA). According to the NEA, individual hawkers rent stalls out with prices varying by size and location (median of $1234/month, accounting for about 12% of costs), with additional fees for service and maintenance, varying from $240 to $930.

Dessert beckons at the Chinatown Hawker Centre, Singapore. Photo credit: Doug Bright.

Parallel models in Hong Kong (cooked food centers) and Malaysia (hawker centers, kopitiams) reflect similar accessibility and diversity. Generally, customers first find a seat, reserving it with a pack of tissues (or another personal item) before browsing options. At busy times, it is common to share tables. Customers order at individual stalls plastered with the menu – photos, prices, and all. Self-serve stalls require the customer to bus their own order, but many will deliver to the table, identified either with a quick point or the number of the table (as noted by a label). A nearby beverage hawker is available – and will often stop by the table – to take a drink order. Teas, coffees, and juices are popular all day, while beers come out in the evening. A diverse offering of highly specialized stalls means that many options are quite affordable, especially the wide variety of noodle and rice dishes, without sacrificing quality.

A busy morning at Chong Choon kopitiam, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Photo credit: Doug Bright.

The spaces themselves are utilitarian: fairly stark and unadorned, but functional and durable. Seating and tables are simple, sturdy, and easy-to-clean, just like the tile floors. The cups and plates are similarly long-lasting hard plastic, labeled on the bottom allowing staff to return them to the proper stalls. Bussing and dishwashing is centralized, with some centers asking patrons to help by delivering their dishes to a collection station. Napkins are the responsibility of the customer, so elderly salespeople often can be found roaming centers selling packs of tissues. Patrons can also sometimes find tissues being sold by the bathroom attendant, where payment is also collected for using the toilet. Bathroom design also prioritizes ease of cleaning, most being completely tiled. The common design of these spaces is low-maintenance and centralizes some costs that otherwise might make restaurant entrepreneurship challenging.

The white, washable walls of Woon Lam kopitiam, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Photo credit: Doug Bright.

While using these spaces does cost money, their affordable cost (a cup of coffee for less than $1.50 in Singapore and less than 50 cents in Malaysia) for a quality product allows for a diverse clientele, even in a wealthy place like Singapore. They can be found in nearly every neighborhood, allowing for many types of people to access them. They are a ubiquitous and quotidian experience: about 60% of Singaporeans eat one of their daily three meals at a hawker center. In combination, these factors make for a satisfying restaurant experience in a cultural touchstone that closely resembles a vibrant public space. It’s this atmosphere that makes hawker centers (and their counterparts in the region) the best places to eat, drink, people-watch, and absorb culture in Southeast Asia.

A local pharmacist’s supplies at a kopitiam in Pulau Ketam, Selangor, Malaysia. Photo credit: Doug Bright.

The best advertising at Kafe Kheng Pin, Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia. Photo credit: Doug Bright.

About the Author: Doug Bright is a first-year master’s candidate in the Department of City and Regional Planning, specializing in transportation. He’s a proud Chicagoan, enjoys taking the streets by two wheels, and indulges in improvisational cooking. He likes thinking and talking about education, design, and sustainability. He also likes jokes. Doug received his undergraduate degree in Social Studies from Harvard College.