15 January 19-25, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | Contents | Letters | news | night+Day | CuLture | Cafe | MusiC | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | CONTENTS | LETTERS | RIPTIDE | METRO | NIGHT+DAY | STAGE | ART | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | ▼ HALLANDALE BEACH PEGASUS WORLD CUP WILL HAVE A VERY GROOT CULINARY FLAIR Gulfstream Park is going Groot for the 2023 Pegasus World Cup and beyond. The perennial thoroughbred horse racing event, which has quickly become as much of a social spectacle as it is a sporting affair, goes down on Saturday, January 28. And Miami- based Groot Hospitality has signed a new multi-year partnership to add its A-list zest to select culinary and entertainment elements. “This gives us such a unique opportunity to curate amazing experiences, combining our entertainment prowess and bringing in celebrity VIPs with our hospitality pro- gram,” Chris Cuomo, chief operating officer of Groot Hospitality, tells New Times. “This partnership is amazing for us as we’re al- ways looking to expand as a lifestyle brand. And what better way to partner than with event organizer 1/ST.” According to Cuomo, two major Groot takeovers will be at this year’s Pegasus World Cup with a major culinary appeal. The first will be the Carousel Club, which is sure to be the entire event’s focal point for culinary goodness, celebrity moments, and entertainment. Located on the rails of the track and curated by LIV and Palm Tree Crew, core Groot brands to offer bites will in- clude Brickell mainstay Komodo, Papi Steak (known for its 55-ounce Wagyu tomahawk steak presented in a briefcase), Coconut Grove-based the Key Club and Gekkō, a re- cently opened Miami collaboration with Bad Bunny. Specific dishes in Carousel Club provided to New Times will include a Papi’s Platter with two ounces of Kaluga Black Diamond caviar, latkes, and a horseradish cream- topped ribeye Papi Steak sandwich. Gekkō will offer maki selections, including a roll topped with A5 Wagyu beef. To complement the Carousel Club vibes, Norwegian DJ Kygo and Ryan Tedder-led pop-rock band, OneRepublic, will perform. Admission to the Carousel Club – including an open bar from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., compli- mentary bites, and a $25 wagering credit from the event organizer, 1/ST – is currently running $250. The second Groot-curated experience will be the Flamingo Room, billed as the spot to “toast and mingle with celebrities and in- fluencers while seeing the racing action from the third level.” In addition to select bites from Komodo, Papi Steak, and the Key Club, Miami Design District fave Swan will have a presence. Culinary experiences will include a Komodo Peking duck station and a carving station with Wagyu pastrami and housemade mustards. For Flamingo Room guests, jazz vocalist and trumpeter Brian Newman – the bandleader and arranger for Lady Gaga’s Jazz & Piano Las Vegas residency – will perform live. Flamingo Room admission costs $770 a pop. “The great part of a brand of hospitality like ours is that we are always bringing some- thing different to the table,” says Cuomo. “We want people to have an experience, and they will have just that.” Pegasus World Cup. 11 a.m. Saturday, Janu- ary 28, at Gulfstream Park, 901 S. Federal Hwy., Hallandale Beach; 954-454-7000; pega- susworldcup.com. Tickets cost $125 to $770. JESSE SCOTT ▼ WYNWOOD 2 KOREAN GIRLS’ VENDING MACHINE MAKES CUSTOM COTTON CANDY Do you remember getting cotton candy at the fair or amusement park? Those fluffy clouds of sugar on a stick were the stuff of childhood dreams. Now you can relive those days with a much more sophisticated, delicious, and photo-worthy version of cotton candy, cour- tesy of 2 Korean Girls and 1-800-Lucky. 2 Korean Girls’ partners, Jennifer and Mi- chele Kaminski, have placed a pink Willy Wonka-esque machine inside the Wynwood food hall that creates custom cotton candy in your choice of shapes, colors, and flavors. In other words, the pink, tasteless sugar clouds of yore have been replaced with beautiful, edible flowers, stars, and butterflies in flavors like strawberry, lychee, and pineapple. 2 Korean Girls’ Jennifer Kaminski tells New Times that the cotton candy machine was installed about a month ago and is al- ready a hit. “People’s minds are blown watch- ing the cotton candy being made. They’re so excited about it. That’s what we want. We want to feed people and bring them joy.” Kaminski says that she ordered the ma- chine from a manufacturer in China, where vending machines are part of the culture. “In the U.S., we think of vending machines as a place to get a Coke and a bag of stale chips, but in Asia — Japan especially — the vending machines are really high-end.” The 2 Korean Girls cofounder says the ma- chine serves a dual purpose: It gets the 2 Ko- rean Girls brand out to potential customers and fans and it makes people happy. “It’s su- per fun,” she adds. The cotton candy is made with custom, naturally flavored sugar shipped from a California company specializing in cotton candy sugar. “Our supplier is an artisan cotton candy provider and a cotton candy consultant. She makes all of the sugars in-house and creates some very cool flavors,” says Kaminski, who adds that the flavors rotate, but currently you can get lychee, strawberry, pineapple, and grape cotton candy. The cotton candy costs between $10 and $14, depending on the size and intricacy of the shape. The $10 cotton candy is a tradi- tional fluffy cloud in your choice of lychee or rainbow. For $12, your cotton candy will be spun in the shape of a heart. For $14, you can choose from different flavors and shapes, including a heart, butterfly, and star. Whichever you choose, the candy will be spun as you watch and takes about two min- utes to transform from a bunch of sugar to edible art. Kaminski, who says she’s gone down the “cotton candy rabbit hole,” is also quick to share some cotton candy facts — like how the fluffy treat was invented. “Cotton candy was actually invented by a dentist and a confectioner as a way to get kids to eat less sugar. Turns out there’s less sugar in cotton candy than in a candy bar.” According to National Geographic, dentist William Morrison and confectioner John C. Wharton invented and patented their cotton candy contraption in 1897. In 1904, it became a sensation at the St. Louis World’s Fair and has since become a staple at every fair, carnival, and amusement park. Next time you’re in Wynwood, be sure to pick up the most heavenly of treats: some bespoke cotton candy. Hashtag #dentistapproved. 2 Korean Girls Cotton Candy at 1-800-Lucky. 143 NW 23rd St., Miami; 305-768-9826; 2kore- angirls.com LAINE DOSS ▼ FORT LAUDERDALE SEAGLASS ROSÉ EXPERIENCE RETURNS TO FORT LAUDERDALE BEACH If a rosé-in-hand, feet-in-the-sand vibe sounds like the perfect way to spend a week- end in South Florida, a returning event known as Seaglass is designed to deliver pre- cisely that experience. Venice magazine founder Carlos Suarez tells New Times he often found himself la- menting the lack of oceanfront events in the city of Fort Lauderdale during the coastal commute to his office each morning. To rem- edy that, he created one to fill the void. Today, his highly curated Seaglass: a Fort Lauderdale Rosé Experience is considered a thriving success, growing from one tent to two in its third year while offerings area wine lovers a three-day festival that’s all about — you guessed it — rosé. As many as 3,500 people decked out in pink and white are expected to attend over the course of the three-day weekend, explains | TASTE TEST | ▼ Café Groot Hospitality photo Photo by Jean Flores Papi Steak will be served in the Carousel Club and Flamingo Room. 2 Korean Girl’s cotton candy machine at 1-800-Lucky
