14 MAY 18-24, 2023 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | 5/18/23* Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | El Vecino, a chic cigar and cocktail con- cept from AHG, officially opened on Friday, May 5, at the base of Miami Worldcenter’s Caoba residential tower. It’s the brainchild of chef Michael Beltran, best known for his Mi- chelin-starred, new-American spot, Ariete, in Coconut Grove. “Cigars, in general, have always been a big part of my life... growing up in Miami and be- ing a Cuban-American, they were at every family gathering,” Beltran tells New Times. “This concept has always been a dream of mine, a lifelong goal. It’s just a nice fit with our French brasserie right next door, where you can have a nice meal right there, too.” Amid its soft opening, Beltran says early adopters have enjoyed El Vecino’s laidback atmosphere and sophisticated service, with the ambiance anchored by amber-hued light- ing, velvet and leather touches, rich wood ac- cents, and vintage furniture touches. For cigar buffs, there’s a state-of-the-art air purification and humidification system to keep the goods, curated by cigar czar Nicolás Jimé- nez, in their prime. The cigar list upon launch includes offerings from Nicaragua’s Aganorsa Leaf, Drew Estate, Espinosa, and Oliva and Pa- drón, along with Dominican Republic selec- tions from E.P. Carrillo and Felipe Gregorio. “When it comes to our focuses, we’ve really partnered with some of the best cigar manu- facturers out there, many of whom I’ve known for a long time,” says Beltran. “We’re working with great people and backbone brands here that we’ll hopefully carry for a very long time.” You don’t have to be a cigar aficionado to find your happy place here – there are bever- age offerings, too. Staples include a wine list designed by wine director Adrián López to complement the cigar menu and handcrafted cocktails in the $19 to $26 range. Initial cock- tails include the “Peaty’s Pepino” (Islay scotch, cognac, aloe liquor, amaro, and cucumber), “El Patio” (gin, passionfruit liqueur, velvet faler- num, orgeat, soda, and lemon), and “Exit Row” (aged rum, cognac, and Biscoff cream). “It was a nice team collaboration behind the cocktail menu. After endless hours of work and several tastings, we’ve landed on such a nice menu,” says Beltran. “At the end of the day, we offer incredible cigars, but more than just cigars. More than anything, we wanted to expand our footprint in this neighborhood with a beautiful and comforting space.” Beyond the opening, El Vecino will offer corporate and individual memberships with perks, including private lockers, invitations to members-only events, and a concierge ser- vice offering preferred access to AHG’s sister locations. El Vecino. 698 NE First Ave., #G-172, Mi- ami; elvecinomiami.com. Sunday through Thursday noon to midnight, and Friday and Saturday noon to 2 a.m. JESSE SCOTT ▼ DORAL A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS LED RESTAURATEUR NEDAL AHMAD TO START A NONPROFIT In 2010, Nedal Ahmad, Otto Othman, and Ni- zar Ahmad opened a fast-casual restaurant on Bird Road in Miami. Pincho Factory (now Pincho) sold pinchos (skewers) and burgers with a Miami twist. The restaurant went on to win the South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Burger Bash and grew to almost a dozen locations thanks to an ever-growing local fan base. In 2018, at the height of the restaurant’s success, Nedal stepped down from Pincho to pursue other endeavors; he retained one Pincho franchise and de- cided to launch a Muslim version of Elf on the Shelf called Eid with Saeed. Then, the pandemic hit. Nedal’s Pincho franchise in Doral heavily relied on commuter traffic, forcing his res- taurant to shutter. The factory producing his Eid with Saeeds was in Wuhan, China, and the order was canceled. “I get a kick out of how crazy a life story can be. The losses were piling up, and all of a sudden, we’re essen- tially broke. A few years later, my wife and I are splitting up, and that started a downward spiral,” Nedal tells New Times. Still a partner at Crackers restaurant in Miami Springs, Nedal also gave that up to get his life in order. “I gave up at Crackers. I wasn’t able to keep going on the project,” he confides. While at the height of his success at Pin- cho, he went into therapy to learn the tools needed to become a better father. “There was a disconnect because people were confused because I was always with my kids, but I just felt like a terrible father. Therapy helped me be a better father.” Feeling overwhelmed, Nedal decided to seek therapy again. The therapy, combined with a sound sup- port system of friends and family, started working. “I joined a kickball league, and I’ve built a circle of friends that have become my family,” he adds. Nedal believed in the help he received and started answering questions from friends. “I started recommending things to friends, and I found I was having an impact without even trying. One night the idea just came to me that I had to help people.” Nedal founded a nonprofit to help people on their mental health journeys. Heal For Us offers referral services, mental health research, and resources for people who don’t have the means to pay for mental health services or don’t know where to start in finding a provider. “Right now, I operate as a referral service,” he says. “The problem a lot of people face is that they don’t know where to start. People can call me. We’ll have a conversation, and I’ll send them different modalities.” Nedal is also helping people in their men- tal health journey by providing them with six-month mental health “scholarships” to pay for therapy. To help fund Heal For Us, Nedal is hosting a fundraiser at Doral Yard on Thursday, May 18, in support of Mental Health Awareness Month. Heal Fest 2023 is a night of poetry and music featuring local musicians covering some of the world’s best artists who strug- gled with mental health issues. The music of Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston, Mac Miller, Kury Cobain, and Prince will be per- formed by Vix, Joshua Mitchell, Trevon De- Vitto (Giftrap Tre), Christopher Luv, and Dria. In all, 30 musicians are scheduled to perform, and guests can eat and drink at Doral Yard’s restaurants and bars and receive a gift card to try Diced, a new bowl concept. Nedal says that while therapy helped him and others, there is still a stigma about mental health issues that he would like to end once and for all. “We all carry things around. I liken it to having a heavy backpack all day and finally getting to put it down for a minute.” Nedal adds that therapy doesn’t necessarily have to look like the traditional kind. “There’s art therapy, group therapy, talk therapy. It’s like having a best friend that can’t share your information.” And if the world has got you feeling over- whelmed, Nedal has a bit of advice. “When it comes to feeling depressed, we tend to want to hide. Do the opposite. Seek out someone and talk about it. People underestimate how much better things feel when you share them. Find someone, somewhere — preferably a mental health professional, but at least a fam- ily member or friend. When you go down that spiral, that’s when the trouble really starts.” Heal Fest 2023. 7 p.m. Thursday, May 18, at the Doral Yard, 8455 NW 53rd St., Doral; 786- 843-5106; thedoralyard.com. Tickets cost $35 to $60 via eventbrite.com. LAINE DOSS Ariete Hospitality Group photo Cigars and cocktails are on the menu at El Vecino. “IT’S LIKE HAVING A BEST FRIEND THAT CAN’T SHARE YOUR INFORMATION.” Taste Test from p12
