Even the rich don’t mind a free meal or bottle. In Miami, it’s a way of life.
Billionaires do it. Millionaires do it. Writers who occasionally eat ramen noodles in the off-season do it. It doesn’t matter what you bank—everyone is in search of a freebie. And in a town where drinks cost $25 and the price of fun is jacked up to appeal to high-spending tourists, locals schmooze their way into socialite status in order to live the good life for free.
Sure, the best restaurants have four dollar signs next to them on every dining website, but no one really pays attention. They just sort of shrug their shoulders and say, “Eh, it’s better than giving the money to my ex-wife.” That is until, of course, you figure out that you don’t always have to pay.
Recently, while sitting at my second VIP dinner at Morimoto, the ultra-chic Japanese restaurant in the newly revamped Shelborne Wyndham Grand South Beach on Collins Avenue, I figured it all out. It was the second VIP dinner, because chef Masaharu Morimoto (whom many know from the hit TV show Iron Chef ) is now a Miami Beach chef, and in Miami Beach, we give away dinners to the in-the-know VIP crowd.
In case you were wondering, VIP means “free.” That means—twice—I enjoyed the yellowtail pastrami, tuna pizza, rock shrimp tempura, spicy king crab, and, oh, I don’t know, the crispy whole fish and the Duck Duck Duck on the house. As I was signing my name on what would have been a very Miami-priced meal (I still left a tip), I looked around and saw well-known lawyers, Hollywood types, and doctors—guys who not only rolled up in six-figure cars but have a Jeeves on salary to do the driving—all doing the same thing. That’s when it hit me: You can live in this town and never spend a dollar.
Everyone is doing it. The wealthy, the hot young models, folks with just enough Twitter followers, realtors, editors, developers, guys who occasionally say funny things on Facebook, fashion bloggers—they’re all there at that new restaurant or store opening where they pass around Champagne and hors d’oeuvres for hours on end. Somewhere every night, there is a free party to go to, and every Miami socialite (most of whom head back to their penthouse at the Continuum, bachelor pad at the Icon, or home on fill-in-the-blank island afterward) is in attendance. Free apps, free booze, and a free gift bag usually loaded with certificates for free facials, free blowouts, and a bottle of free vodka for later. I’m still waiting for when a free-rent voucher is in one of those bags.
It’s incredible, and it’s what makes Miami an amazing city. Everyone’s looking to party, to celebrate, reopen, and commemorate. And the only thing that pays is the liver.