JOE ALLEN’S

There used to be three cultural highlights in Miami Beach: Art Basel, The New World Symphony and Joe Allen’s. But after 11 years, in 2011, Joe Allen, seduced by a wealthy developer, sold his Purdy Avenue restaurant. He left the same way the restaurant advertised itself, incognito.

A friend once told me that the most important thing for a club is a good hamburger and a dry martini. Joe Allen had both, along with meatloaf, beef tartar, mussels and the perfect lasagna.

It quickly became the club everyone could join. It was New York on Miami Beach.

And if you wanted to see a celebrity in Miami, there was a good chance you would find one at Joe Allen’s on any given night.

Regulars at the club became friends, to the point that, when one died, after-funeral receptions were held there.

Allen died last week. Those of us who were regulars of his club will miss him. I doubt there will ever be another restaurant in South Florida like Joe Allen’s. I thank Joe for his 11-year dining affair in Miami Beach. May he rest in peace.

– John H. Schulte, Coral Gables