Feeling Blu? Try Miami’s Red Light District This Weekend
New visitors in South Beach are often content to remain in the safe confines of the lower 23 blocks of the city shopping, swimming, tanning and relaxing. In the last few years, we’ve noticed a certain stirring as repeat guests seek a more intimate glimpse of the area, an opportunity to escape the “Scene” and discover the off-beat places favored by locals. This weekend, eager foodies are flocking to a once-seedy “No Tell Motel” on 7700 Biscayne Boulevard to check out Chef Kris Wessel’s brand new restaurant in our former Red Light District. Aptly named “Red Light at Motel Blu,” Wessel’s labor of love will highlight the real tastes of the region - encompassing South Florida, the Caribbean and Latin America.
But for the moment, all he can do is offer you a drink. To appreciate REAL life in Miami, you need to know that anything worth doing cannot be done quickly. Permits and licenses have hit a snafu in Tallahassee and the much-anticipated opening is at least three weeks away. When the paperwork surfaces and Wessel finally fires up the stove - RUN, don’t walk to the shady side of town and try to get there before it’s impossible to score a single seat.
In his early days working as a chef on Miami Beach, Wessel made waves at Liaison, Paninoteca and Elia in Bal Harbour. Driving with his kids through the dodgy section of town three years ago, he noticed a run down property on the Little River housing the last vestiges of an old Chinese Restaurant. Seeing past the rubble and the crack dealers, he envisioned his brand new venture. In it’s heyday, this waterway served as a backdrop for the first franchise of Hugh Heffner’s Playboy Club which opened in 1963 and finally closed it’s doors in 1978 as the neighborhood deteriorated into a combat zone. In recent years, a somewhat successful Indian Restaurant attracted the bravest of diners to the north shore of the river, but guests had to overlook the ramshackle surroundings and questionable hygiene in pursuit of the spicy Bengali cuisine.
Wessel has worked tirelessly to clear the rubble and make the access to the river the focal point of the Red Light experience. In the coming weeks, expect to find a waterfront raw bar facing docile migrating manatees. There will be two floors to the restaurant and lounge and ample riverfront seating. Birds from the nearby El Portal bird sanctuary just might provide the soundtrack to your dinner. Wessel has built himself a smokehouse by the water and hopes to provide as much regionally grown organic food and tropical fruit as he can source from local purveyors.
This weekend, his fans and followers must content themselves with cocktails and a glimpse of the river he’s worked so hard to showcase. The neighborhood that once attracted a lowbrow crowd to the Pussy Cat Theater now boasts the eager yuppies who yearn to be first to taste what’s cooking in the Magic City.
We’ll be there toasting Chris for his energy, his efforts and his enthusiasm. And we’ll raise a glass toward Tallahassee and shout - “Hurry Up Already!”
Red Light at the Motel Blu, 7700 Biscayne Boulevard, will be open for dinner in 2-3 weeks from 6pm-2am. The motel is open for those of you stranded by the Winter Music Conference at www.motelblu.com.
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