Bienvenido a Miami

Just returned from rainy, but hot Miami. I was there speaking at a couple of conferences. It was nice that they were both in south Florida during the same week. It made travel a little easier, but that is one long flight from Seattle to Miami. Whenever I fly east, I try to take a red-eye (yes, I know that sounds crazy) because it saves me a day. I don't need that much sleep anymore (a Wu thing), so if I can catch 3-4 hours of sleep I am okay. My travel secret for red-eye flights is to use ear plugs, a sleep mask...and to help with relaxation, a double Jack and Gingerale. This time, the red-eye was pretty good...before I knew it we were wheels down and landing in tropical paradise.

My first speaking gig was in Naples, a 3 hour drive from the Miami International Airport. I was scheduled as the keynote speaker at the Prepared Foods New Products Conference. The conference put me up in the beautiful Naples Grand Resort, very nice. It was sunny, warm, with a slight breeze. I arrived about 11 am, and got checked into my nice poolside room. I had a choice between two fun events; a golf tournament or Everglades Tour. I decided on the tour. I didn't want to drag my golf stuff around, plus I already had 4 pairs of shoes along, and couldn't imagine packing a fifth pair of golf shoes. I can imagine the guffaws as I explain why I was packing 5 pairs of shoes to Lori and Melanie (I always complain about their packing when we go on vacation...couldn't be too hypocritical). I wasn't speaking until the next day, so I did get to enjoy a little the surrounding area.

The tour was goofy. The bus driver/guide, a retired steelmill worker from Pennsylvania, gave us a tour of the town of Naples at about 65 mph. We could barely see anything...his hurry? He gets some sort of commission for taking us to places where we can spend some money...the gift shop at the seafood restaurant, the ice cream parlour and gift shop, and the Everglades Boat Tour gift shop. It was amazing how much time we had to wander around a gift shopping area v. driving through the Everglades to spot wildlife. The closest we came to spotting wildlife was when he hit a flying Ibis with the bus as we roared down Alligator Alley on our way to the Seminole Indian Village...and gift shop. The 1.5 hour boat tour was pretty good. No airboats (darn!), but a giant pontoon boat run out of the National Park marina. We saw all the major bird groups...egrets, Osprey, ibis, storks, cranes, herons, hawks, buzzards, vultures, and even a nesting pair of Bald Eagles. The wildlife officer couldn't believe I wasn't too excited to see the eagles...I explained to her that I was from Seattle, and Bald Eagle sightings are pretty common..."like crows" I told her. I saw a group of dolphin while the crowd almost tipped the boat straining to see the eagles from the port side. I mentioned the dolphin sightings, and the crowd rushed quickly over to the starboard side where I was. The wildlife guide gunned the motor, and the dolphins took that as a sign from her to "play" with the boat. They use the wake from the stern (back) to ride, jump, surf, and just put on a show. Now THAT was cool. On our way back to the dock, we actually saw the rarest of the Everglades animals, 3 Manatees rolling around in the shallows. Turned out is was mating season, but I couldn't tell which end was heads or tails, just a couple of gray blobs in the stained water. On the bus ride back to the hotel, our driver just had to mention that he works for tips, and if we really enjoyed his guided tour of Naples, his rantings about the rich, the government, the war in Iraq, and his personal views of how best to manage the population explosion of that south Florida region, we should show our appreciation by tipping him accordingly. I gave him the free hat that came with the boat tour.

After opening the conference (about 225 attendees), I had to quickly check out and drive back to Miami for the Iconosphere 2008 Client Conference. This is the event of the year of Iconoculture. We hold this conference to bring as many clients as we can together to really inspire, inform and entertain them. We had about 380 show up in South Beach this year. Last year in Beverly Hills we had 275, so it is definitely growing in popularity. It was held this year at the Loews, South Beach...very, very nice. Unfortunately we had such an awesome turnout of clients that we didn't book enough room for all of us, so some of us had to stay next door at the Royal Palm Beach Resort...not so very, very nice. I had a nice room (recently renovated), but others weren't so lucky...some had bed bugs, fleas, and stained carpeting and furniture. CSI black lights would reveal those stains to be of human excretion type. And this place wasn't cheap.

Our keynotes were the legendary Ze Frank, of user generated, YouTube fame (dancing man), and Anthony Bourdain, reknowned chef, author and traveler. Wow, how fun is that? Since we are a consumer behavior company, these guys happened to leave me with a couple of tidbits to share. Ze Frank shares that consumers are learning new languages (your brand), and are willing to converse with you through new media interchanges. It isn't just us telling them what to believe anymore. It isn't as simple as advertising on billboards, in TV commercials. It might have to be communicated in totally new ways. Of course he used user-generated examples like the Mentos and Diet Coke videos to make a point. How would you react to your product being hijacked in this way...obviously not the way you expected consumers to use your product, but a dialogue nontheless. Bourdain is just plain hilarious. He is so direct, spontaneous and clever that his Q and A session had me laughing until I was crying. He is the master of telling mini stories to make his points. Food is the conversation a chef wants to have with a diner. The closer you can get to the chef, the better the conversation and understanding. His favorite example is the true sushi experience. You sit at the bar, and the chef decides what you will eat. He hands you the sushi and you take it with your fingers. That is as intimate a conversation as it gets. The chef is learning what you like based upon your response to his offerings, and the dinner "conversation" morphs as you each learn about each other through that exchange. He is an advocate of what he calls "eating submission". Cooking for a chef is about control...the food, flavor, texture, etc. So eating should be about a diners submission to that chef's cooking. The meal is an interaction with what the chef thinks you will like...that is the purest form of cooking. Unfortunately that is the opposite of the eating and dining culture in most of America. The diners are in control, demanding what they think they want. Too many chefs are frustrated because they cannot give you what they believe is delicious. He mentions two vanguards...Mario Batali, who has made organ meats fashionable, and Adrain Ferrar, the founder of molecular gastronomie. He had one other piece of sage advice for us...we need to go back into our heritages and learn to eat what our grandparents loved to eat.

My best foodie experience in Miami was in Little Havana...Calle Ocho. Our Hispanic Strategist recommended that for good Cuban food, I should try Versaille Restaurant. It was an adventure finding the place, but man oh man was I glad I didn't give up! I dragged a couple of colleagues who also love Cuban food along for the ride. The feast began immediately when they brought us a basked of warm garlic toast...my mouth is watering as I type this. We ordered Malanga Fritters (they were out of Codfish Fritters) and Tostones for appetizers, and then to maximize our tasting opportunity, we went with sampling platters. My friends each had the "classico" of Roast Cuban Pork, a Corn Tamale, Ground Meat Picadilla, fried Plantains, and Black Beans and Rice. I went with the "Criollo", which means "original"...that was loaded with Fried Pork Chunks, Yucca, Fried Plantains, Ropa Vieja, Yellow Rice and Black Beans. My onliest disappointment was that they left out the fried pig skin, I am sure they ate that in the back...what gringo would want that? We ate like pigs, and even forced down some dessert...we split the Flan Cubano (velvety smooth), a Key Lime Pie (loads of condensed milk), and our favorite, the Pastel Tres Leches (oh, soooo good), all washed down with Cafe Cubano. This place was so good I came back on my last night in Miami with another bunch of Iconoculturistas. I missed the Codfish Fritters last time, so they were a must, along with fried Yucca, Ceviche (Red Snapper in lime juice), Ham Croquettes, and more Tostones. Then I had a Beef Liver done Milanesa style...breaded. I had to do it after listening to Tony Bourdain. I have to admit...not my first choice if I go back, but I enjoyed it. The two pitchers of Sangria didn't hurt.

My week in south Florida went down easy, like the Mango Mojitos at the Delano (must do!), and had the same effect. I am groggy but smiling.

Chow!