a weekend in miami: brought to you by spirit airlines, $53, and a lot of food

I have a minor impulsivity issue.For example, one day last October, I was having a minor crisis. I just could not stand being on campus anymore. So, I did what any rational person would and immediately began looking up flight prices. You know, to see how much it cost to flee campus for the weekend. While I came minutes away from booking a getaway to Costa Rica, I decided to be rational instead, and book a $53 round trip plane ticket to Miami in two weeks instead. A very reasonable compromise. In those two weeks, I managed to wrangle one of my friends into coming along and sharing housing, and soon enough, I was on my way to the airport.

But because I overestimated how long it would take to get to the airport, I had a quick dinner in Flushing at my favorite plane food, 39 Kings Cafe. Usually I get it after I hop off a plane, but since I had so much time before my flight, I had time. We got zongzi(sticky rice triangles steamed in lotus leaves), rice rolls, congee, and har gow(shrimp dumplings with a clear wrapper).

All of it was incredibly tasty put me into a food coma strong enough to put me to sleep even in the rigid Spirit seats. Before I knew it, I was in an extraordinarily overpriced Uber to my hotel in Miami.

Because my friend was flying in Friday night, I had all of Friday to myself. Which meant I had all of Friday morning to do work, which I did. But as a tourist for the weekend, I naturally had to make a mandatory stop at Joe’s Stone Crab. After a short wait, a waiter, who happened to also be from NYC, led to me my table, where the fun began.

In order to get the full ~experience~, I ordered a set menu, which came with a generous amount of free bread for one person, stone crab claws, hashed brown potatoes, creamed spinach, and coleslaw. It was pretty exorbitantly priced, but the crab was very very good. It was served chilled, with a mustard-y aioli, which went really well with tender, slightly sweet crab meat.

The set I ordered also came with a key lime pie, which had a pretzel-esque crust that was very tasty, and contrasted well with the very creamy and sharp key lime pie. I am a sucker for a good key lime pie, and this hit the spot.

After making my way through the torrential downpour and back to my hotel, I retreated to yet again another place to do some work, but since it was mid-afternoon, the only place I could find to do work was the timeout market. Despite the lack of charging outlets and blaring music that probably burst my eardrums, I did get some more work done, and also eat a surprisingly decent and expensive kale salad as an afternoon snack

Thankfully, it was soon time to meet up with my friend, who had finally arrived, for dinner at Barton G’s, which you can read all about here. After yet another pricey yet tasty meal, it was time for some nighttime exploring and afterwards, time to head back to our new abode, a suspiciously inexpensive Airbnb/mildly sketchy hotel.

And because I made the unfortunate mistake of reading the reviews for this place, I learned that they may or may not have a bedbug problem, and out of fear of bringing bedbugs back to my dorm, decided to sleep on the long, wooden bench-esque piece of furniture, where I got an uncomfortable, although unexpectedly long eight hours of sleep.

The next day, luckily the weather cleared up, and we walked along the main tourist-y area, and had brunch and a show at Palace, a drag bar and restaurant. I got the mofongo, which was pretty tasty, as the chicken was especially well-cooked.

We then took a quick power nap on the beach, during which we were approached by a variety of strange men, who are for obvious reasons, not pictured.

After some respirating, I decided it was time for a very tasty and satisfying afternoon snack of a cuban sandwich from Havana 1957, which really hit the spot after such a difficult and strenuous day.

It also came with these crispy tiny matchstick potatoes that added an extra crunch and saltiness that I also ate embarrassingly quickly while watching the sunset on the beach. So all in all, an ideal experience. After watching the sunset, we headed back to our hotel, where we got ready for dinner.

this photo definitely does not do it justice. so just google it

We made reservations for the Ocean Grill at the Setai, which is one of the most beautiful restaurants I have ever been in. If I ever go back, I definitely want to be seated near the front, where you’re directly facing the ocean. An absolutely stunning open-air restaurant.

Unsurprisingly, I was feeling a bit full from my afternoon snack, so I just got the mushroom truffle risotto, which was rich and creamy and everything a risotto should aspire to be. I especially appreciated that they shaved real truffle on the risotto, although I will say, one of my guilty pleasures is the slightly-noxious flavor known as truffle oil.

To get some vegetables into my system, I also ordered a side of brussels sprouts, which were just okay, as they were sadly not crispy and slightly greasy. I also tried a bit of my friend’s salmon, which was flavorful and perfectly cooked.

Because my birthday was coming up, we got a creme brûlée to share, which was perfectly rich and creamy, and came with surprisingly sweet berries. Most creme brûlée I’ve had in my life is very unmemorable and clearly a money grab, but this creme brûlée was excetionally good. Our waitress was also lovely, and gave us another serving of berries, just so we could have berries with each bite of the creme brûlée.

We then did a bit more nighttime exploring, as to save money, both of us booked ridiculously early flights, so we wanted to make the most of our limited time left. After a relatively eventful night, we stopped by la sandwicherie, which I had discovered through an eater video a couple years ago and knew I had to visit. While the berries smoothie I had was relatively underwhelming, the freshly baked, chewy baguette was absolutely stuffed with delicious meat and crunchy vegetables. The vegetables meant that although the sandwich was loaded with meat and cheese, the sandwich still felt refreshing, and like you were taking a bite of a very tasty garden. It really did hit the spot at 2:30 am.

After that satisfying evening snack, we stumbled back to our hotel for a 30 minute power nap, after which we dragged ourselves to the airport, where I desperately wandered around until the dunkin donuts opened, where I had the tasted apple fritter I’ve ever had.

To be honest, after that, it gets a bit hazy. I vaguely remember finding the hard Spirit seats especially uncomfortable, but my next core memory is coming home and collapsing into my bed. A worthy end to a whirlwind of a weekend. I guess my main takeaway from this experience is that if you come across dirt-cheap plane tickets to somewhere, you should absolutely take that as a sign from a universe. You can always figure out the details later.