Miami is freedom, ocean, hurricanes. It’s the southernmost tip of the US and always fun, always spicy. I’ve been working on a TV series with Iggy Pop that’s set in Miami – he says it’s a sunny place for shady people. I’ll go with that.
It’s the beaches that made me want to live here. A lot of people come to Miami and never go to the beach but for me they’re beautiful. The ones on 7th and 8th Streets are pretty crowded but I live on 66th, past Indian Creek Drive, and there it’s usually empty. If I’ve been away, as soon as I’m back I jump in the sea.
I like to start my day at sunrise. My apartment overlooks the ocean and seeing the sun come up is pretty magical. My wife and I head to the beach at 7am and I’ll jump in the water while she does meditation. Then I like to get a bagel – the best is New York Bagel Deli on Collins Avenue – and a really strong Cuban coffee with loads of sugar from the kiosk by the Deauville beach resort. I never drink coffee with sugar anywhere else, but in Miami it just makes sense.
I first came to Miami as a kid – my Boston grandmother used to spend the winters here – and one of my favourite memories is of seeing the actual Colonel Sanders walking out of an elevator at the Fontainebleau Hotel. I took a picture of him. I was blown away, firstly by the fact Colonel Sanders really existed and secondly by the fact he had a nice cane and white cowboy boots. I knew then that Miami was special.
I first went partying in Miami in the early 1970s and the scene was amazing. Pure disco. When that died out we had Miami bass, which was hugely influential, and in the early 1990s the Winter Music Conference started. A lot of what happened in clubs in Europe was influenced by Winter Music. For me, the track that epitomises Miami is At Midnight, by T-Connection. It’s the ultimate party track for Miami, the ultimate party city.
You can’t compare the city I first knew to how it is now. I loved all the delis back then, in particular Wolfies, which was popular with Frank Sinatra and his crew. Wolfies was Miami – it was the first place you’d go when you got into town and you’d always see characters there. Now, for the first time in 60 or 70 years, there are no all-night delis. The recent revitalisation of all the Art Deco places is cool but some of what made Miami great has been lost.
The biggest misconception about Miami is that it’s a cultural wasteland and everyone’s only into partying. That’s absolutely not true. There’s always been the downtown arts scene – what’s now known as Wynwood, and the Design District in midtown – but it’s become a much bigger part of Miami life because so many artists have moved there. I like to go to the Pérez Art Museum , which opened last year with an Ai Weiwei exhibition. It also has concerts and parties and it’s a real hub for the city. There’s also the Bass museum and MoCa, where Tracey Emin did her show last year.
When Art Basel is on (4-7 December), the city turns into a gallery. There are 13 or 14 art fairs taking place simultaneously and it’s blown up into a super-party for the rich and famous. Last year I saw David Beckham, Kanye West and Pharrell Williams in the same day.
The restaurant dish that epitomises Miami for me is Joe’s Stone Crab. They serve more stone crabs there than anywhere in the world. It’s one of the only old-school restaurants that still do it. For New Year’s my wife and I will order a bunch of crab and have dinner before we go out. They’re just cold crab legs with a sauce, but they’re amazing. You have to follow them with key lime pie, the Florida state dessert. Another great local seafood place is Garcia’s, right on the pier.
My insider tip is an Argentinian steakhouse called Las Vacas Gordas on South Beach. Anyone who grew up in Florida knows about it – it’s a local institution, but it’s not the sort of place that first-time visitors would find. If you don’t speak Spanish, you’ll be the only person there who doesn’t. They do a delicious rolled skirt steak that’s about six feet long when you unroll it. I’d also go to Puerto Sagua (700 Collins Ave). It’s been there around 40 years and is probably the only legitimate Cuban restaurant left on South Beach. Get the shredded beef, yellow rice and chicken.
• Arthur Baker is an ambassador for Leading Culture Destinations
