The day after Hurricane Irma impacted South Florida was a blur for many in the region.
Houses were plunged into darkness, almost all street lights were off and many streets were left impassable.
But after a stressful week, many people needed to get out of their homes and feel a sense of normalcy.
That’s what Bagel Bar East (1990 NE 123rd St) specializes in.
On a typical day, Bagel Bar East is a local eatery that people go to find interesting characters in North Miami and traditional New York style fair.
But over the years, it has also become known for being open almost immediately after hurricanes.
People line up outside of Bagel Bar East in North Miami the day after Hurricane Irma struck the region and caused widespread damage.
The joint is owned by Steven Hochman, a Brooklyn native who has lived in South Florida for over 20 years.
He believes that the community needs his place to be open in times of stress.
And he takes that commitment to his customers seriously.
As Irma started to impact South Florida on September 9, Bagel Bar East remained open until conditions became too dangerous and it reopened at 6:30 AM on September 11, even before the curfew in Miami-Dade County was lifted at 7:00 AM.
” I do it for the community,” Hochman told RISE NEWS as he served food the day after Irma passed. “Everybody needs ice, water and food. People have been saying thank you all day.”
Few locals were surprised by this.
“They know Bagel Bar is going to be open,” Hochman said.
They have a generator that runs the lights and gas powers the cooking equipment.
Dozens of locals from all around Northern Miami-Dade County waited hours to be served.
Bacon, eggs and cheese sandwiches were the big sellers that day.
This isn’t the first time Bagel Bar East has served the community.
They were open soon after Hurricane Wilma hit the area in 2005 as well.
“As long as it’s safe, they are going to be open,” Tracey Heldenmuth a North Miami resident and Bagel Bar East regular said while cheerfully waiting in line. “Thank you Steve for pulling through.”
Thomas Alexander, a baker at Bagel Bar East and North Miami resident was proud of his work that day. He’s worked at the restaurant for over 20 years and understands what it means for the community.
“Without us, they won’t be eating,” Alexander said. “It makes me feel happy. I love to see people eat and be happy.”
While Hurricane Irma caused widespread damage across South Florida, it also exposed a level of human goodness.
It also taught some folks in Miami how important something as simple as a bagel can be in the face of crisis.
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Miami Meal Planner: From A Latte Art Competition To A Shrimp Boil, There Is A Lot Going On This Week
This piece was originally published by our partner MIAbites.com and is produced by them.
Each week, MIAbites presents the Weekly Nibble, featuring curated foodie events in and around Miami. All listings are subject to change, so always call ahead to confirm details, prices and times.
Friday June 10th– Sundown Grillout 6-9 pm -The Miami Design District’s Palm Court is the perfect setting for James Beard Award-winning chef Michael Schwartz’ all-new events series celebrating food and culture – The Genuine Summer Series, presented by Lynx Grills. Kicking off Friday, June 10 from 6-9PM with a Sundown Grillout featuring pairings with special attention to Riesling varietals, presented by The Genuine Hospitality Group’s sommelier and beverage manager Amanda Fraga. Guests will enjoy a cocktail hour with passed bites followed by a three-course seated dinner at farm-style tables. The evening will feature live music from Marcus Grant “Mutes & Roots” Jazz Trio$85, plus tax and gratuity. Tickets for Genuine Summer Series are available online in advance, as well as on-site the day of the event (subject to availability). Visit michaelsgenuine.com/summerseries
Saturday June 11th– Latte Art competition at 4pm at Threefold Café in Coral Gables. Join Judges and hosts, Nick Sharp from Threefold Café, Ryan Hall from Panther and MIAbites own @AndyMiami, Andrew Giambarba for what promises to be a fun competition between baristas and coffee lovers. The Latte Art competition promises $500 to the winner and an equal or greater contribution to the charity chosen as the first recipient: “Touching Miami With Love”. For more information email [email protected] or [email protected]. Threefold Café’s 141 Giralda Ave. Coral Gables.
Sunday June 12th- The Regent Cocktail Club and Stoli invites guests to the Art of The Martini competition from 6-8 pm to mingle with the top competitors as they compete for a spot in the Global Bartender Celebration in Ibiza. Guests will also enjoy open bar provided by Stoli and hors d’oeuvres from Dolce Italian. The Gale South Beach1690 Collins Ave. Miami Beach.
Friday June 17th- Old Bay All Day- New Orleans style SHRIMP Boil with Chef Kurtis Jantz and Gastropod’s Jeremiah Bullfrog. Live music by Uncle Scotchy and friends shrimp boil and all the fixins! po’boys! beignets! cafe au lait! craft beer! A little bit of Louisiana comes to Wynwood. Tickets on Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/old-bay-all-day-tickets-25649857414?ref=enivtefor001&invite=MTAyMjE3MjUvZWxsZW5AY3RiaXRlcy5jb20vMA%3D%3D&utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=inviteformalv2&utm_term=eventimage&ref=enivtefor001 Gastropod 168 NW 26th St – 168 Northwest 26th Street, Miami, FL 33127
Thursday June 16th- The Dutch at W South Beach will kick off summer with an al fresco “Paella y Vino” dinner on Thursday, June 16 from 6:30PM – 10PM. For only $40 per person, guests can enjoy a myriad of traditional Spanish plates with a modern twist, including a large and delicious Paella Valenciana, created by Executive Chef Adonay Tafur. Critically acclaimed Pastry Chef Josh Gripper will also be showcasing his talent with specially curated desserts. The “vino” portion of the evening includes $8 glasses/$24 pitchers of sangria. The Dutch in the W Hotel 2201 Collins Ave. Miami Beach FL
Friday June 17th- Gearing up for its 28th year, South Florida’s Taste of the Nation for No Kid Hungry – the region’s premier culinary benefit featuring top chefs from Miami-Dade and Broward counties –will showcase over 80 of the hottest restaurants from Dade and Broward counties, top chefs, sommeliers and mixologists and an impressive array of auction items in a benefit for No Kid Hungry, national non-profit with goal to end childhood hungry in the US. The annual event migrates to Wynwood’s SoHo Studios. General Admission tickets are priced at $125, and VIP ( 6 pm admission) at $250. For additional information and to purchase tickets, please visit: NoKidHungry.org/SouthFlorida.
New and Ongoing:
The Drawing Room Bar & Lounge at the Shelborne Wyndham Grand South Beach invites guests to experience their new summer cocktail menu. The liquid artists at the popular South Beach bar have stirred up several unique combinations using The Drawing Room’s in-house made liqueur, artisanal Florida spirits, local ingredients and botanicals to create exceptional cocktails. Along with the new cocktail menu come two champagne-based summer cocktails. “Pineapples in Champagne” gives guests a refreshing savor of fresh pineapple, St.Augustine pure cane vodka and prosecco while “The Talking Melon” is crafted with honeydew, fresh picked mint and served with The Drawing Room’s infused melon. The Drawing Room Shelborne Wyndham Hotel 1801 Collins Ave Miami Beach FL
The Pubbelly Boys kick off the 2nd Annual James Beard Foundation’s Blended Burger Project, which challenges chefs to create a “Better Burger” by blending chopped meat with mushrooms and other healthy ingredients. Chef Mendin brings his creative touch and unique sense of flavor through a menu of specialty burgers served every Wednesday from June 8 to July 27.Each week the restaurant adds a special burger, created by a series of Miami “guest chefs”, who will appear in the restaurant on their special night. $1 of all proceeds from the guest burgers will be donated to the James Beard Foundation initiative. For “guest chef” burger schedule and more info visit MIAbites article: http://www.miabites.com/home/2016/6/5/pubbelly-burger-series-kicks-off-better-burger-project
( Information provided by various sources and subject to change. Please confirm all details beforehand and make reservations as necessary )
The above was produced by MIAbites, one of the leading sources for food news in South Florida. Be sure to visit their website for more great information.
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Taylor Swift’s ‘Wildest Dreams’ Video Has A Big Race Problem
Last week’s MTV Video Music Awards will likely be remembered as a hot-bed of drama, social issues, and controversy, spurned by the likes of Miley Cyrus, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye West. The slightest mention of the awards show is enough to disturb the silence in any room. This is the effect of popular culture at its finest.
But, there is one music video which can be distinguished as emblematic of the whole controversy, released during the award show and drawing attention to the reflective nature of said popular culture: it is fuelled by the cues of our society and what we deem to be acceptable. Or, in this case, what can not be deemed acceptable.
The plot-line of Taylor Swift’s ‘Wildest Dreams’ is easy to understand: intended to complement the sorrowful lamentations of a doomed relationship, Sunday night was witness to a dark-haired Swift posing sadly as the star of a 1950s Hollywood film against a backdrop of what can only be described as the most colonial of images of Africa.
With Scott Eastwood as the object of her affection, her relentless glances at him are not enough to provide the pair with a happy ending and so, the glamour is for nought and the drive into the sunset is non-existent. So too, as many of us have picked up on, is the presence of non-white Africans.
Reductionist at best, Swift’s ‘Africa’ is stereotypically conveyed with all the patronising ignorance of someone imagining what would constitute as The Exotic Land of Africa, a colonial illustration leaving out the knowledge of it being a continent, complex, rich in many histories, and therefore difficult to package and sell so neatly. Still, it did not stop Swift’s creative team from trying.
So Taylor Swift’s Wildest Dreams video was filmed in “Africa” but what country? Also, why does it only contain animals and white ppl #Taylor
— Lena Olson (@LeynuhPawp) August 31, 2015
Rather than using Africans as props in her new music video, Taylor Swift just sticks to white people… http://t.co/CSMBNMf2sb — Tom Murphy (@viewfromthecave) August 31, 2015
From the depiction of rolling grasslands, wild animals in migration patterns, dry dust flying as Swift kisses her co-star in her throwback hunter outfit, the video enables the audience to see all of these things as mere accessories.
The romanticism of this history is a clumsy, heavy-handed act which calls to attention an out-dated racial hierarchy and is scarily reminiscent of colonial attitudes
They are ambiguously, stereotypically ‘African’ enough to contribute to not only the myth of Africa, more at home in a historically out-dated periodical, and ambiguously, stereotypically ‘African’ enough to warrant more attention on Swift and her lover. It would be easy to make the argument that indeed, she is the star and this is her music video. But what must be recognised is the fact that the spot-light is on a truly horrifying image: Swift’s Africa features white people, complicit in acting the role of colonial settlers under the facade of the creation of a film.
Watch The Video:
Is @taylorswift13 not aware of the legacy of colonialism in Africa or….???????? Know your history, sweetheart. #WildestDreamsVEVO
— Sydney Murray (@sydmurray) September 1, 2015
The romanticism of this history is a clumsy, heavy-handed act which calls to attention an out-dated racial hierarchy and is scarily reminiscent of colonial attitudes: ‘Africa’ can be groomed to fit an image the white person deems acceptable, can be plundered for its beauty whilst the locals remain invisible, and can become the mythical image of exoticism anyone fed on racist stereotypes sees it as.
The video casts a hazy, rose-tinted glow to the white imperialist presence in the African continent, romanticising it so that Swift does achieve that old Hollywood ’50s colonialist film vibe she’s looking for
It is truly as Binyavanga Wainaina writes about in his Granta Magazine essay, “How to Write About Africa:”
“Africa is big: fifty-four countries, 900 million people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book. The continent is full of deserts, jungles, highlands, savannahs and many other things, but your reader doesn’t care about all that, so keep your descriptions romantic and evocative and unparticular.”
Swift is not a stranger to the romantic, the evocative, and the unparticular. In fact, these qualities seem to be a staple of her song-writing style, and yet, within the context of the ‘Wildest Dreams’ video, these are not qualities which can be dismissed as simply indicative of her personality.
The video casts a hazy, rose-tinted glow to the white imperialist presence in the African continent, romanticising it so that Swift does achieve that old Hollywood ’50s colonialist film vibe she’s looking for: ‘Wildest Dreams’ can easily be recognised as an example of Western media providing a propagandistic image of the exotic frontier playground, sitting comfortably alongside John Huston’s The African Queen and Sydney Pollack’s Out of Africa in these efforts. It is an achieved goal Swift has every reason to not be proud of.
The video is deceptively portrayed as simply detailing a complicated love-affair. As Zak Cheney-Rice concisely explained for Mic:
“It is remarkable that the insidious nature of the African colonial fantasy is so seamlessly glossed over. This matters. When a pop culture product reaches as many people as a Taylor Swift video does, the images it presents have implications beyond their immediate purview.”
Cheney-Rice has every reason to be wary of Swift’s creative products in light of her influence as one of the world’s biggest female popstars, and especially so when said creative products are as disastrously constructed as ‘Wildest Dreams’.
When it comes to influence, it is a by-product of fame which must be handled with responsibility.
It is exactly this which is lacking in this music video, and while director Joseph Kahn may be comfortable to shirk this one must recognise the importance of contentious, important historical landmarks, like the African continent having to suffer under European colonialism, being treated with more respect and awareness and less lazy nonchalance.
Ultimately, it is the fact that these attitudes surfaced so casually in our modern age omitting the truth of Africa’s history and the Black African presence, whether intentionally or not, in the place of romantic fantasy which deserves to be called to attention.
In this case, Swift’s love-story stopped short of occurring between her protagonists and began to cast back to a part of history which needs no affection. It is this which is truly distressing about ‘Wildest Dreams.’
Cover Photo Credit: GabboT/Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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The F Word: Misconceptions About Feminism
By Kelsey D’Auben
Let’s talk about the F-word. You know it; the one that make people cringe and shift uncomfortably in their seats when brought up in social conversation. That’s right, I’m talking about feminism. From suffragettes to bra burners to the third wave feminists of today, feminism and those who preach it seem to not only make people go quiet and uncomfortable, they also seem scare people. But why is that? A women, or anyone, pushing for equal rights and treatment amongst all genders doesn’t seem so absurd, especially in today’s modern and progressive society. Unfortunately, it is not the idea of total gender equality that makes people shy and cautious of the word, but the modern misconceptions of what the word actually means.
So what exactly is feminism? The truest definition of the word was famously said in a speech by modern African-American novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (or perhaps more commonly known as the bridge speech of Beyoncé’s hit single “Flawless”) “Feminist: A person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.” A feminist is a person who desires complete equality among all genders, both traditional binaries and not.
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say I am a feminist, that can come off as a negative connotation. But I am a strong female.”
– Carrie Underwood
However, this is not the definition that comes to mind for many people. It is fairly common when people are asked if they are feminist for their response to be “No, I’m not. I believe in equality, not feminism.” These people are contradicting themselves. When this happens they are not saying they are against equality of all genders, but they refuse to identify as a Feminist. This is because they are mistaking feminism for misandry, which is defined by the Oxford online dictionary as “dislike of, contempt, or ingrained prejudice against men.” By definition, misandry is the female equivalent of misogyny.
Feminism isn’t strictly about women. It is about improving societal conditions so all genders may be treated with equality. Although the name does imply that it’s concerns are only “feminine” ones, which is untrue. Feminism was given it’s name because when Feminism first began, and it is still true today, the conditions within society that needed to improve for genders to become equal were those of women, hence the “feminine” in feminism. But there are many aspects of feminism that deal with issues of all different genders. Feminists are not only concerned with issues like equal pay, but also issues such as men and women receiving equal prison sentences, having equal chance of receiving alimony or custody of children in court, and being equals in government and military jobs. Yes, this even means Feminists are okay with being on the front lines and in the draft. Equality means equality, and Feminism isn’t just about women only getting the good stuff.
One of the more recent examples of this occurring in social media comes from vlogger Lauren Southern, who went viral after posting a photo online of herself holding a sign which read “I don’t need feminism because I believe in equality not entitlements and supremacy” She later went on to post a video called “Why I’m not a feminist” that received over 700,000 views on YouTube, and over 19,000,00 when the video was shared Facebook page called “Men’s Right Wing News.” In the video Southern claims that she isn’t a Feminist because Feminism refuses talk about men’s issues, such as domestic abuse and sexual assault of men, because Feminism only focuses on women. When, in reality, a huge part of Feminism is ensuring cases of rape, domestic abuse, and sexual assault being taken seriously and that no victim ever feels afraid to report them, be it a man or a woman. Every argument Southern makes against Feminism is actually an issue feminism talks about and fights for every day. Feminism isn’t about “entitlement” or “supremacy” of women, it is about equality for everyone.
And Southern isn’t the only “celebrity” who has made this mistake. Several, very prominent, strong, and successful female celebrities have publicly stated that they are not feminists, even though they aren’t necessarily against equality. Country singer Carrie Underwood once said “I wouldn’t go so far as to say I am a feminist, that can come off as a negative connotation. But I am a strong female.” And Icelandic musician and songwriter Björk has said “[I don’t identify as a feminist] because I think it would isolate me… It’s more important to be asking than complaining.” These women believe in feminism and what it stands for, but are too afraid to actually call themselves feminists because they fear the negative identity incorrectly associated with the word.
Being a feminist isn’t a bad thing. It means having the same respect for everyone, regardless of gender or how they identify. It’s about standing up and saying something when prejudices are made based on gender. It is about being feeling confident, comfortable, and safe no matter what your gender is. Feminist isn’t a bad word. So never be afraid to call yourself one.
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