6 June 26 – July 2, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES B E S T º F M I A M I ® 2 0 2 5 BEST POWER COUPLE Tam Pham and Harrison Ramhofer tam-tam-mia.com Tam Pham and his husband, Harrison Ram- hofer, were underwhelmed by Miami’s Viet- namese food scene, so they decided to change it. The couple, who met in 2017 and quickly bonded over their mutual love of Vietnamese cuisine, began cooking hard-to- find Vietnamese dishes from their home kitchen a couple years later, sharing them with friends and family. What began as a la- bor of love soon evolved into an underground supper club called Phamily Kitchen, which led to a pop-up residency at 1-800-Lucky. This all culminated in Tâm Tâm, their first brick-and-mortar restaurant, which opened in 2023 on a quiet corner of downtown Mi- ami. The cozy 36-seat space features a rotat- ing, boundary-pushing menu — with dishes like dragon shrimp crudo, jungle steak tar- tare, and salt and pepper frog legs, as well as playful touches like a literal karaoke machine in the bathroom. In 2024, the restaurant was awarded a prestigious Bib Gourmand by the Michelin Guide, and Tam Pham was hon- ored with the Young Chef Award, cementing the couple’s spot as key players in Miami’s ever-evolving food scene. The duo recently partnered with chef Adrian Ochoa to open Double Luck, a Chinese pop-up housed in the former New Schnitzel House in Miami’s Shorecrest neighborhood. BEST LOCAL BOY MADE GOOD Steven Rivera instagram.com/canesbarber Steven Rivera, better known as Canes Barber, has never forgotten where he comes from. Before he traveled around in his tricked-out Sprinter van to groom professional athlete clients, he was the child of immigrants who grew up in small efficiencies in West Perrine. He started out looking at a career in law en- forcement until his friend, then-University of Miami running back Javarris James, tapped him to cut hair for his gameday tune-ups. Soon, he was sculpting the locks of Miami Hurricanes basketball and football teams, earning his nickname. The man is busy. He operates his brick-and-mortar Players Lounge Barbershop in Davie (with a second location coming soon to Miami Gardens), shears your favorite NFL player’s hair in his van, and visits the Dolphins’ facility every week for haircuts before gameday. The best of us, he also carries on his tradition of giving free haircuts to the Miami Northwestern football team before the first day of school and works full-time for Miami-Dade County to help maintain its public sports fields. Ri- vera lives by this mantra: “Always remember where you came from. Always give back, re- gardless of where you’re at in life, make sure that’s a priority.” BEST LOCAL GIRL MADE GOOD Cristina Brador instagram.com/kingbraids13 By day, Cristina Brador is a pediatric nurse, healing and soothing the smallest patients with medical precision. By night, she’s a men- ace in the octagon, channeling that precision into lethal elbows and forced tap-outs. Since her professional MMA debut two years ago, the Miami-born-and-raised Brador has been making waves in the ring, taking down oppo- nents with the kind of grit and heart our city is known for. With no signs of slowing down any time soon, Brador seems ready to spread a message we all know too well: You don’t mess with Miami girls. BEST LOCAL BOY GONE BAD Enrique Tarrio He’s back — and like many other far-right lead- ers who served time for the January 6 insurrec- tion, he’s returned with a kind of vengeance. Earlier this year, onetime Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio was released from federal prison after serving less than two years of a 22- year sentence for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to his role in the J6 U.S. Capitol riot. Although Tarrio was not physi- cally present at the Capitol on that day in 2021, prosecutors described him as a key ringleader of the insurrection, pointing to his creation of the Proud Boys’ Ministry of Self Defense, which helped coordinate — and later celebrate — the attack. The Miami-born Afro-Cuban, along with other members and leaders of far- right groups, was pardoned by President Don- ald Trump almost immediately after his return to the White House. Since Tarrio arrived home, he’s vowed revenge against those responsible for his prosecution. “The people who did this, they need to feel the heat, they need to be put behind bars, and they need to be prosecuted,” he said in an interview with right-wing com- mentator Alex Jones. To describe him as gone might be an understatement. BEST LOCAL GIRL GONE BAD Gina Bisignano Onetime Beverly Hills beautician Gina Bisignano traded Botox for a bullhorn when she joined the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Clad in a Louis Vuitton sweater, Chanel boots, and matching earrings, the Delray Beach resident was seen on video outside the Capitol that day shouting into a megaphone: “We the people are not going to take it anymore. You are not going to take away our Trumpy Bear!” One of the first defendants charged with federal crimes after participating in the insurrection, Bisignano was indicted on seven charges, including destruction of government property and engaging in physical violence. While she was convicted on several charges, she was ultimately never sentenced. Earlier this year, Bisignano was granted a pardon alongside roughly 1,500 other J6 defendants — after which she swiftly cut off her bedazzled ankle monitor in a dramatic display for local news cameras. “The bracelet was four years of tyranny and persecution and I think I wore it with dignity,” Bisignano told reporters. “As you can see, I bedazzled it. I took one for the team and the American people.” Unrepentant, Bisignano has said she feels zero remorse for her actions on the day of the insurrection and would join a similar event in the future, if given the chance. BEST POLITICIAN Coral Gables Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson Coral Gables City Hall 405 Biltmore Way Coral Gables 33134 305-446-6800 coralgables.com/staff/rhonda-anderson If Coral Gables had a superhero in its city hall, her name would be Rhonda Anderson. Recently re-elected, Anderson has served as vice mayor since 2023 and as a city commis- sioner since 2021 (with a landslide win, no less). She’s become the go-to voice for com- mon sense, community-first leadership. Whether she’s fighting to keep mega-devel- opments in check, pushing for better drain- age and traffic calming in the neighborhoods, or standing up for those less fortunate, An- derson doesn’t just show up; she delivers. A fierce advocate for disability rights and a tire- less champion for Coral Gables residents, she’s spent nearly two decades volunteering, organizing, and shaping smart, people-cen- tered policy. From the Planning and Zoning Board to the Public Safety Commission, An- derson has been everywhere that matters, al- ways putting residents before red tape. When she’s not leading meetings or preserving the city’s charm, the vice mayor is a powerhouse attorney who’s argued in courts from Miami to Washington, D.C. With degrees from Nova Law and the University of Miami, her com- munity roots are deep roots, and it shows in the kind of genuine, no-nonsense style that makes people trust her. Add in her work with the Junior League and Coral Gables Garden Club, and you’ve got someone who doesn’t just talk the talk, she plants the flowers, too. BEST ACTIVIST Aaron Bos-Lun Men4Choice men4choice.org Maybe we’d have less of a lonely man “epi- demic” if more men were like Aaron Bos-Lun.
