Miami Design District Expanding

The Miami Design District is continuing to add to its heady mix of star architect-designed buildings, public art installations and luxury and contemporary retail, with the addition of food from chefs Joël Robuchon and Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Phase three of the Miami Design District will largely be completed by August 2016, bringing the number of stores to 100. A condominium and hotel are slated to open in 2017. The district is owned by Miami Design District Associates, a partnership between Dacra and L Real Estate, a global real estate development and investment fund. General Growth Properties and Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. last fall took a 20 percent stake in the district, which boasts retailers such as Marni and Maison Martin Margiela. According to Craig Robins, founder and owner of Dacra, the partners are investing “several-hundred million dollars” in the third phase of the development. The total price tag of the Design District will be $2 billion when complete. “We finished the first two phases and they look pretty spectacular,” Robins said. “Basically, phase three will double what’s here. There’s a perception of the Design District as being amazing and looking cool, but this is only the first half.” Robins said phase three is the final phase —

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Feast for the Eye: Jon and Vinny’s Opens in L.A.

Two years after the much lamented closing of the popular late-night pizzeria Damiano’s Mr. Pizza, a new spot is opening in its place. And there are reasons to be optimistic. Two, to be more precise. The guys behind Jon & Vinny’s are Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo, the buzzy culinary duo also known as “the Animal guys.” When they opened Animal in 2008, the meat-centric restaurant quickly became a foodie staple on bustling Fairfax Avenue, a thoroughfare anchored by the landmark deli Canter’s and packed with kosher markets and hipster skateboard shops. Their latest venture, a 45-seat Italian-American restaurant, brings them full circle to their beloved neighborhood, where they once shared a bachelor pad and have now settled with their own families. “It reminds you of the place that, as a kid, you went to with your family after playing T-ball. Now that we both have children, this is where we’ll bring them,” Shook says. The menu includes comforting classics like meatballs with marinara; tagliatelle Bolognese; plenty of artisanal pizzas, and soft-serve ice cream. But, Shook says, “it’s not necessarily a red-sauce place because we also take advantage of the fresh local produce.” Seasonal small plates contain a farmer’s market bounty, including

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