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 est
Palm Beach and its more ballyhooed neighbor, the golden
isle of Palm Beach, have long been locked in a symbiotic—if
occasionally antagonistic—relationship. Palm Beach
prides itself on privacy, discretion, and stone-cold snobbery;
its neighbor, immersed in a billion-dollar boomtown period,
is proud to flaunt its monuments of commerce. Still, West
Palm has plenty of historic neighborhoods—El Cid,
Prospect Park, the Mango Promenade—with beautiful
1920's Mediterranean-Revival, Frame Vernacular, and Florida
Bungalow architecture. One heiress of my acquaintance, with
an impeccable background, rebelled and moved to the mainland
to escape the psychic baggage and staid cocktail-party circuit.
Unlike the island, with its short, seasonal pageant, West
Palm Beach is a town for nesting (antiques shopping, house
hunting, and money saving). It's the ultimate in tropical
chic on a budget, Palm Beach without all the fuss.
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WHERE TO STAY West
Palm doesn't have grand hotels, but it does offer some stylish
(and value-minded) options. Hotel Biba (320 Belvedere Rd.;
800/789-9843 or 561/832-0094; www.hotelbiba.com;
doubles from $119), a former motor lodge in El Cid, was
transformed into a riot of color by Barbara Hulanicki (known
for the high-sixties London boutique Biba and for her work
with Island Outpost). The bar is a psychedelic blur straight
out of Blowup: purple plastic-covered hassocks, Day-Glo
Plexiglas cubes, rainbow-striped walls. On Friday nights,
it's the focal point of local cocktail culture-a lively
scene that can spill out into the pool and the garden.
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WHERE TO EAT If you're
looking for kitsch with your quesadilla, nothing compares
with Rhythm Café (3800 S. Dixie Hwy.; 561/833-3406;
dinner for two $65). The campy vibe (mirrored disco ball,
soft Nat King Cole) is the ideal setting for menu listings
such as "s.s.cargot," but the "Floribean"
quesadilla with conch and the coconut shrimp are seriously
good.
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WHERE TO SHOP From there, take a seismic
luxe leap to the Floral Emporium (3900 S. Dixie Hwy.; 561/659-9888)
for over-the-top luxury goods: furniture, sculpture, stone
armchairs, and all strains of orchids.
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 ANTIQUES
"R" US The stores along Dixie Highway's
Antiques Row...from such elegant stalwarts as the Elephant's
Foot (3800 S. Dixie Hwy.; 561/832-0170)...Wardall
Antiques & Decorations (3709 S. Dixie Hwy.;
561/832-0428), the sister operation to Kofski Antiques
(315 S. County Rd.; 561/655-6557) on the island. The
owners conduct occasional estate sales at their warehouse
(5501 Georgia Ave.; 561/585-1976), with a gamut of merchandise
that encompasses both the exquisite (an Italian-marble
gazebo, antique silver, vintage fireplace mantels) and
the mundane (lawn furniture, picture frames). •
...Galere (3733 S. Dixie Hwy.; 561/832-3611)
is a smart operation dealing in 20th-century decorative
art and furniture: George Nakashima cocktail tables,
sound sculptures by Harry Bertoia, Charles Eames chairs,
and Frank Gehry cardboard furniture. • Christa's
South Antiques & Seashells (3737 S. Dixie
Hwy.; 561/655-4650) is out-there, high-Florida camp
all the way—candelabras, busts, and mirrors made
of seashells. • After a morning of scavenging,
all classes and aesthetic persuasions take scones and
finger sandwiches in the belladonna-lined garden at
the Little Tea House (3627 1/2 S. Dixie
Hwy.; 561/832-5683; tea for two $28). |
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