At lunch at Michael’s Genuine today, the fried egg on top of crumbled duck terrine and toasted bread spread liberally with homemade Dijon was a good order (it’s next to impossible to order badly here);

Dennis ordered what reminded me of a warm Andalusian gazpacho,

and we were both happy to be at this restaurant run by Michael Schwartz,

who stopped by the table and is up for the James Beard award for Best Southern Chef (the nominee list) next week (as Michael mentions, this is an example Dennis’ work with Plum TV as a culture correspondent).

Before we left, Michael confirmed when Dennis asked if he was celebrating Grilled Cheese Month (as we have here on kthread) that every month at Michael’s Genuine is Grilled Cheese Month. Fellow Miamians, rejoice! (And everyone else, come visit. More grilled cheese in just a bit…)

And while we were in the Design District, we stopped by the Wynwood gallery Dennis owns with his wife Debra, World Class Boxing, where the current Mitzi Pederson exhibit, “I Think I Was Looking at That Before” has thin, shaped wood sculptures like bows of painted silver leaf that are strung not for arrows, but hang high on walls and around blocks on the gallery floor reminding me of simplified Aeolian harps.

And in the untitled piece Pederson refers to as a “ground drawing,” cinder blocks glitter playfully as you move about them, winking back as you accept a clever invitation to circle the piece, subtly engaged in this gallery in a city of unironic sequins…

Related posts:

1. grilled cheese appreciation week: comté monday
2. transformative light in Miami
3. grilled cheese appreciation week: cheddar thursday

It was too difficult to choose between the tomatoes

that stretched out in breathtaking rows at Waterpenny Farms and Radical Roots.

I reluctantly left this place of thoughtful people and food, and drove to the District, where I came upon a group of women drumming.

Very inspired by these drummers, I thought about my friend Amanda’s recent post pondering the possibilities for the future of art communities in this area.

For a late lunch, I think there’s quite a bit of artistry in the food here, beginning with a perfectly spiced chili that tops “half-smokes” and hot dogs at Ben’s Chili Bowl on U street.

An unexpected hit of spice and the very finely diced onions recommend a vanilla milkshake,

which paled in comparison, though, to a later concoction with a tender crumb emerging from my friend Laura’s kitchen–a cake glazed with white chocolate that she decorated artfully:

The cake joined an incredible variety of dishes brought by the eleven dinner party guests who arrived at our friend Kevin’s house, including insalata caprese, homemade spring rolls, and fig bruschetta.

Remember when Rachel explained on July 4th how the fig trees behind her house wouldn’t ripen? Now they have (and make lovely bruschetta toppings):

Then, the eternal question: cake or pie?

Fueled by both, Laura and I made our way (via a bar that played exclusively Madonna tracks while we were there) to an art gallery in a hidden alley with skate ramps inside and outside, to see our friend Chris Bishop‘s new art and celebrate his birthday.

My friends Cameron, Morgan, and Nina were worth a rather interesting exploration of the area to find the gallery space itself,

and the dashing Cameron took this picture of Laura, Morgan, Nina (with a rad unicorn necklace), and me as we sat and caught up as the skaters whizzed by behind us.

Perhaps, like the figs Rachel resourcefully ripened, it is only a matter of time until the many pockets of underground art buzzing around the District come to fruition…

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1. kidnapped by @missmodular
2. America Day II: Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through
3. tall, proud, and progressive as a rainbow birthday cake