There's Only One Good Way to See the New Downtown Miami: on Foot

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There’s only one good way to see the new downtown Miami: On foot

By Pamela Robin Brandt Photos by Silvia Ros

y day it was strictly a 9-to-5 busi- But that was downtown Miami then. Development Authority, 60 new businesses According to Alex Gonzalez, ness area with mostly low-rent Suddenly, almost overnight, down- opened, and not one of them was a dis- founder of the social-networking website Bsupport amenities — fast-food town seems to have transformed into an count electronics and luggage emporium. Miami Urban Life and downtown Miami joints for ofﬁ ce workers, discount elec- exciting, vibrant, night-and-day live, work, The majority were independently owned, resident since late 2007: “Downtown tronics and luggage stores for tourists. At and play zone. In 2009 alone, according individualistic restaurants and lounges night it was, in a word, dead. to statistics from Miami’s Downtown with only-in-Miami personality to spare. Continued on page 14

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March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 3 Contents COVER STORY 1 DWNTWN UPTRN: PART 2 COMMENTARY 6 Feedback: Letters 10 Miami’s King: Jack King 12 Word on the Street 26 OUR SPONSORS 8 BizBuzz PO Box 370566, Miami, FL 33137 NEIGHBORHOOD CORRESPONDENTS www.biscaynetimes.com 22 Wendy Doscher-Smith: My So-Called Cotel Life PUBLISHER & EDITOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES 24 Kathy Glasgow: Hurricane Lucie (Tondreau) Jim Mullin Marc Ruehle 26 Frank Rollason: One for the Road [email protected] [email protected] 28 Jen Karetnick: Lust for Lice INTERNS Nancy Newhart COMMUNITY NEWS Mandy Baca [email protected] 30 Once a Beauty, Always a Beauty [email protected] BUSINESS Manager 30 Skateboards and Synagogues: Like Oil and Water Sara Marzougui Ileana Cohen [email protected] 31 What a Hoot! [email protected] 31 Art director One Neighborhood, Two Personalities Matthew Ruckman Marcy Mock POLICE REPORTS [email protected] [email protected] 36 Biscayne Crime Beat 31 CONTRIBUTORS Advertising design ART & CULTURE Victor Barrenchea, Erik Bojnansky, DP Designs 38 Anne Tschida: Artists in the House Pamela Robin Brandt, Terence Cantarella, [email protected] 40 Bill Citara, Wendy Doscher-Smith, Kathy Art Listings Glasgow, Margaret Griffis, Jim W. Harper, CIRCULATION 43 Events Calendar Lisa Hartman, Jen Karetnick, Jack King, South Florida Distributors PARK PATROL Cathi Marro, Derek McCann, Jenni Person, PRINTING 46 Jim W. Harper: May I See Your Passport, Please? Frank Rollason, Silvia Ros, Jeff Shimonski, Stuart Web, Inc. COLUMNISTS Anne Tschida www.stuartweb.com 45 Kids and the City: The Art of Family Life 48 Pawsitively Pets: When Nature Barks F oR AdVERTISING INFORMATION CALL 305-756-6200 50 Your Garden: Chilled Out to the Max All articles, photos, and artwork in the Biscayne Times DINING GUIDE are copyrighted by Biscayne Media, LLC. Any duplication or Member of the 48 reprinting without authorized written consent from the publisher Florida Press Association Restaurant Listings: 215 Biscayne Corridor Restaurants! is prohibited. 50 Wine: Red, White, and You: Blended Reds You’ll Love 38

4 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 5 Commentary: Feedback Letters to the Editor From Urban Chic to Third foot by throwing millions of dollars at World Grit: Five Short Blocks the already beautiful CBD and Brickell areas, and pennies at areas that need it Pamela Robin Brandt’s article on most. Let’s continue to improve down- downtown Miami (“DWNTN UPTRN,” town Miami, but ensure that all residents February 2010) read like it was copied benefit equally and equitably from city off a press release from the people at initiatives, not just a chosen few. the Downtown Development Authority Brad Knoefler (DDA), patting themselves on the back Miami for how well they’re doing their job. While the DDA has made tremendous strides in improving the quality of If Leroy Griffith’s life in the Brickell area and the Central Boulevard Theater Throws Business District (CBD) over the past few Off So Much Cash, Why years, it has ignored the areas north of NE 5th Street and west of NE 2nd Avenue. In Keep Changing It? Thank you, Erik Bojnansky, for continu- fact all of the DDA initiatives mentioned in ing to write about Leroy Griffith’s Boule- the article are by definition not available to vard Theater (“Boulevard Theater: The residents and business owners north of NE New Incarnation,” February 2010) and 5th Street. Yet property owners living up to for keeping the heat up. NE 17th Street are required to contribute But come on, Erik! Just because annually to the DDA special-taxing district. Griffithsays that it is so, does not make it This is one of the reasons that heading so. If his theater were producing exces- north from NE 5th Street is like being Every Saturday sive revenue, why is it that in the past transported from a First World country to three years he has changed the name and a Third World country. the services of the club more than half a 7:30 am – 2 pm While Brickell and CBD residents get dozen times? What gives? sidewalk pressure cleaning, landscaping, I wish someone would ask tougher and decorative paver crosswalks, residents First Market Opens on Saturday, March 27, 2010 questions, including how much he has north of 5th Street are crying out for basic contributed to local political campaigns sidewalk maintenance and street repairs and who are his investors. In years past, The Midtown Miami Market will be the perfect for overgrown weeds and potholes that this is a story the Miami Herald would make the neighborhood look worse than opportunity for you to showcase your fresh grown or have done. Now it’s up to you guys. Haiti. Furthermore it is hypocritical that Here’s hoping you take a whack at it. created products to thousands of people. The market certain properties owned by a DDA board Laura Wides-Muñoz member in Park West are contributing to will be on the corner of N. Miami Avenue from NE 29th Belle Meade the dilapidated nature of the neighborhood. Street traveling north to NE 31st Street. These properties feature dozens of code violations and are strewn with trash and I’ll Cook Your Iguana If Produce • Arts & Crafts collapsing barbed-wire fences. You’ll Buy My Book Even though the DDA’s stated mission Regarding Jen Karetnick’s meditation Baked Goods • Art • Home Decor is “make downtown Miami the most livable on frozen iguanas dropping from trees urban center in the nation,” the thousands (“Frozen Objects Falling from the Skies,” Limited Garage Sale Alley of new residents (and taxpayers) of Park February 2010), I believe it’s time for West and Omni don’t dare venture more iguana meat to be baked, fried, barbecued, than a block from their homes into what Ms. boiled, stewed, or ground for consumption. Spaces start at $35 Brandt calls the “isolated and tough neigh- Like all large reptiles, their flesh is Reserve Today 305-573-3371 borhood west of the Arsht Center.” edible. This delicacy can even be coined Ignoring this area affects the image of “treetop gator tail” in South Florida to the entire city. Imagine the impression left entice consumers. There is no reason to

MIDTOWNBLVD. on the thousands of visitors to the American let the meat of an animal that can weigh Airlines Arena and the Arsht Center, who, as much as ten pounds go to waste, espe- upon seeing the run-down state of the area, cially when there are 50,000,000 hungry may never return to downtown Miami. people in the U.S. and unemployment in NE 31ST STREET NE 36TH STREET NE 34TH STREET NE 29TH STREET NE 32ND STREET In order for redevelopment to be certain areas is above 25 percent.

N.MIAMIAVENUE successful, it needs to be approached For more details, talk to your holistically. All our downtown neighbor- friends from Central America. The only hoods are linked and interdependent, as is Learn all about it at ShopMidtownMiami.com or visit us reason I did not include iguanas among the case in other cities around the world. edible wild game in my most recent on Facebook at Shops At Midtown Miami. The DDA is shooting its long term goals of a livable, 24/7 downtown in the Continued on page 35

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March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 7 Our Sponsors BizBuzz: March 2010 Sales, special events, and more from the people who make Biscayne Times possible By Pamela Robin Brandt Cash for Gold Miami (3401 N. Miami Ave.) BT Contributor will give shoppers a chance Smiling Pets to vote for their favorite of t Bagels and Company 12 mannequins draped in (11064 Biscayne Blvd., clothing designed by local A305-892-2435), March artists. The winner gets a brings coupon specials for starva- month-long display at the tion budgets. Take a friend to Shops, says general manager lunch, free, with the 2-for-1 entrée Lenor Ryan. “Two for Tuesday” menu. On After nearly a decade Sakaya Kitchen Wednesdays and Thursdays, en- of litigation and bankrupt- trées from the “Bail-Out Special” cy, the Wynwood Foreign menu are half price. And start any Trade Zone (8.5 acres) has weekday with a $2.99 breakfast: two eggs, plates (dumplings of all sorts, plus many Stars Visual Arts finally been sold. 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8 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 9 Commentary: Miami’s King Financial Meltdowns, Political Martyrs, and Herald Wordplay Just another month in Miami, where theater of the absurd reigns supreme By Jack King a few holes in it. money was not suspended. That guy has the Herald’s idea of expanding their BT Contributor Regalado has selected 59-year- since been removed from office, so soon coverage was to reduce the number of Special to BT old Miami banker Carlos Migoya to be we should expect another red herring “Neighbors” sections from 11 to 6. Wow, the new city manager. Migoya has an from Spence-Jones. I thought. I need to call BT publisher Jim o say that the City of Miami is in extensive business background, and the The District 5 commission seat has Mullin right now and tell him that if we deep financial trouble would cer- mayor has persuaded him to work for been held by a bizarre cast of charac- cut our circulation in half, we can tell Ttainly be an understatement. The free. Certainly sounds like a good deal ters over the years. We’ve had Miller everyone we’re expanding! budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal compared to the $300,000 Hernandez Dawkins (sent to prison for taking The “Neighbors” experience year may be in the $200 million range was pulling in. But bear in mind that two bribes), Art Teele (charged with corrup- over the past 40 years has been an if you include payments the city must city managers ago, we had a guy named tion but never proven before he commit- unmitigated disaster for the Herald. make to various union pension plans. Joe Arriola, another successful business- ted suicide), Jeffery Allen (a nice guy It started out when the Herald bought The city commission has taken steps man who worked for a dollar a year. He who did nothing right or wrong but who the Coral Gables Times and Guide to slash the budget and initiate heavy also made a mess of city business, and actually lived in Lake Worth, 65 miles and the North Dade Journal. The pur- personnel layoffs. that doesn’t count his strutting about city up I-95), and Richard Dunn, who is back chases were actually made by Herald Up until now, city manager Pete hall like an arrogant dictator, ordering for his second turn on the commission employees in the business department Hernandez has not followed any of people around and generally making an (completely harmless, which is why he so there would be no specter of mo- those directives from the commission. ass of himself and the city. got the appointment). nopoly. Then they got suckered into This is nothing new as Hernandez Be careful what we wish for. District 5 loves to elect martyrs buying the Broward Times for three and his former boss, ex-mayor Manny so they can complain about how badly times what it was worth. Diaz, have pretty well ignored every * * * they’re being treated. Voters would Not long after that, Community directive from the commission. So As if the city’s financial melt- be much better served if they elected Newspapers publisher Ron Miller much for government by, for, and of down weren’t bad enough, we also someone who could do a good job for complained to the Justice Depart- the people. For eight years it was gov- have a world-class goofball in Michelle both their district and the city. Until that ment about the Herald’s monopolis- ernment by Manny. Spence-Jones, the multi-time elected happens, we’ll always get what we have tic hold on the local news business. But now Hernandez has found a and suspended District 5 commissioner. always gotten. Under pressure, the Herald “bought” new and unique way to avoid following Spence-Jones, whose district includes the papers from their own people and city commission orders: He resigned. Overtown and Liberty City, was sus- * * * rolled all of it into what we now know More accurately, he was fired by new pended from office by Gov. Charlie Crist I generally don’t think of the as “Neighbors.” Mayor Tomás Regalado. That’s one way after she was arrested for using county Miami Herald as a humor publication, Community Newspapers is still to avoid being the bad guy. Better yet, grant funds as a piggy bank for herself but occasionally they step into Dave with us, but is now owned by Ron’s sons, Hernandez can now blame it on some- and her family. She was re-elected and Barry’s world. Last month the Herald Grant and Michael Miller, who have no body else. Crist suspended her again. The case has launched a promotion about how they journalistic relationship to their father. Pete Hernandez is one of those not gone to trial yet. were expanding the coverage of their For the life of me I cannot figure people who never belonged in govern- Spence-Jones is getting a good “Neighbors” sections. “Neighbors” out why the Herald does this stuff. If ment because he did exactly what his public-relations boost by employing a is the Herald’s weak attempt to cover they would stop trying to BS everyone bosses told him to do, no matter how tried-and-true tactic: Change the subject very local news throughout Miami- and just do a good job journalistically damaging or stupid it was. He worked when your butt is in the wringer. Rather Dade and Broward counties. My initial — like become the newspaper of Miami for Miami-Dade County for years and than discuss whether she actually stole thought was: This a good idea, as the instead of the newspaper of the world left them in a mess. Of course, he had the money, she has turned her arrest Herald was and still is very weak on — people would read it and the Herald lots of help there. Now he has left into a fight over whether she should be the local scene. would have no problems. the City of Miami in a mess. Thanks, suspended from office when some white But then I watched a promotional Pete. Hope your golden parachute has guy on Florida’s west coast who stole video on the paper’s website. Turns out Feedback: [email protected]

10 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 11 C o m m e n t a r y : W o r d o n t h e S t r e e t What impact has the earthquake in Haiti had on your life? Compiled by Cathi Marro – BT Contributor

Jean Rickersond Sr. Mary Frances Jim Spinney Cynthia Graffeo Marvin Lee Johnson Heathermarie Griffith Retail Sales Fleischaker Sales Associate Salon Manager Car Wash Manager Business Owner Little Haiti Campus Ministry North Miami MiMo Downtown Bayside I lost one uncle in the Miami Shores It has had a tremendous Obviously it is a terrible My heart goes out to the It has been very depress- earthquake. The rest of It has focused my attention impact on me as many of tragedy. I have lots of people but it doesn’t really ing. I have many friends my family is okay because on that part of the world my co-workers lost family friends who have family effect how I live my life. who have lost family they are not in Port au and the plight of the people members. We’ve been in Haiti. Our salon has I go on with my daily members. A lot of people Prince. They live in the in Haiti. I’m surprised and pulling together by getting had fundraisers and I have chores. I have a friend in my neighborhood have northwest of Haiti. Other encouraged by the response corporate to send supplies donated clothing and food in Haiti who got hit with gotten together to donate countries should help Haiti not only here in Florida, over there. I also have high- for them. We raised a good the aftermath. Luckily he clothing and money. The but especially America where we have many school friends arranging amount of money doing didn’t get hit too badly. United States should because we have so many Haitians, but of the world free flights for medical per- before and after photo- I think America should absolutely help Haiti, but Haitians living here. We community. Barry Univer- sonnel to go to Haiti. I hear graphs of customers at our definitely help Haiti since they have a habit of being should not give money to sity and Amor en Acción their stories of working salon opening. America it is such a poor country there when the tragedy the Haitian government, have sponsored a lot of on the victims with no ER was there for the tsunami and we do help other happens then forgetting. but direct support instead activities to raise awareness available. It’s frightening! victims and fighting wars countries. I feel badly for I hope we stay involved for the people so that they and collect donations. Also I pray for the people who elsewhere, so it seems those who lost loved ones because this will take a will recover and be okay many of my religious sisters lost loved ones. Eventually like a good reason to get and family, and I hope long time to heal. in the future. and I have been helping the they will rebuild, but it will involved with this island God helps them. religious sisters in Haiti. be a long process. in need of our help.

Moët Hennessy

12 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 13 Cover Story

DWNTN UPTRN says that even though Area 31 is located Continued from page 1 in the Epic Hotel, 80 percent of diners, surprisingly, have been locals. “When took a major upturn in 2009. It’s like I ask if they need their valet ticket night and day.” stamped,” Bohen reports, “they say, ‘No, Actually a closer look at the DDA’s we walked tonight.’ Many sound amazed figures shows that notall of downtown’s when they say it. It’s like, ‘Wow! Maybe upturn has been quite so sudden. Of the we do live in a real downtown after all!’” 60 new businesses, 28 set up shop in rela- Certainly the glittering views from tively affluent Brickell, which the DDA the 19th-floor restaurant’s best tables — considers part of “downtown” Miami. on an outdoor dining balcony — make Brickell’s restaurant numbers have been Miami look impressively urban-glam. on the rise for several years. In contrast, Walking north on SE 3rd Avenue, only eight new businesses opened last the still-under-construction Met com- year in the northernmost sector of the plex makes the point that the emerging DDA’s territory, an area called the Media urban area is still not fully emerged. and Entertainment District. Signs on construction walls trumpet It’s really the formerly blighted the imminent opening of the much- Central Business District (CBD) where anticipated Daniel Boulud restaurant revival reached warp speed last year: 23 DB Bistro Moderne, a golf school, and new businesses, 18 of them restaurants Area1 3 chef John Critchley invents things, just like the new downtown itself. several similarly upscale ventures. Mi- — and all those are doing well enough to amians who know that such signs mean still be open in 2010. In comparison, ten the venues may open anytime from later CBD restaurants opened in 2008, four of to never will not be impressed. which had closed by 2009. Never mind. Looking to the right “Quality restaurants are traditionally after reaching SE 2nd Street, you’ll see the first retail to open in emerging areas,” contemporary Italian hot spot Puntino says Alyce Robertson, director of the (packed at lunch since a restaurateur DDA, a quasi-independent City of Miami from Naples opened it in June of last agency charged with improving the qual- year), where a half-dozen suits are ity of life for downtown businesses, resi- still power-lunching al fresco at 3:00 dents, and visitors. “It’s especially hard p.m. Luckily the place is open Monday for shops like boutiques to open during a through Saturday until 11:00 p.m. recession. But I’d say there’ll be a notice- On the same block, in the sprawl- able difference within two years.” ing Wachovia Financial Center complex, Indeed intriguing shops are already is the chic Roy Teeluck Salon, which catching up to the CBD’s explosion of opened last fall. The Big Apple original eateries, including the celebrity-studded won Vogue’s “Best Haircut in NYC” opening of Igal Haimov’s opulent accolade. Also in the Wachovia is the jewelry store — supplier of $62,000, Downtown Athletic Club, a venerable diamond-blinged designer watches to the Miami establishment that has added likes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and From his new downtown jewelry store, Igal Haimov sells very expensive many new facilities designed with a host of rappers and NFL players. watches to very wealthy clients. new residents in mind — including a Downtown’s upturn has already pro- rock-climbing wall, boxing studio, and gressed to the point that the DDA feels it’s of visuals that convey the new urban expe- including, in Bayfront Park, a flying-tra- double-size cardio theater. “We’ve been ready for prime time as a tourism magnet. rience downtown. peze school. Consequently it’s currently seeing a very different demographic than Most of the agency’s initiatives, Robertson “The perception of downtown is the most pedestrian-friendly part of even a year ago,” notes marketing direc- admits, have been oriented toward new one thing. The reality,” she says with downtown, night and day. tor Rob Aylward. downtown residents. After a couple of confidence, “is another.” A recent ramble began alongside The Wachovia complex’s years of stalled luxury condo sales, new- Still skeptical that downtown’s the Miami River, with lunch at Area 31, 35,000-square-foot outdoor plaza, al- comers have filled the high-rises to 62 per- upturn isn’t mostly hype? See for your- downtown’s most nationally recognized ready arguably downtown’s most popular cent occupancy, thanks to plunging rental self on a stroll in the part of downtown new restaurant. Chef John Critchley’s urban park, is currently being renovated rates and sale prices. Robertson adds: “But that resident and restaurateur José Goy- swoonworthy sustainable seafood to attract new restaurant and retail ten- we’ve also been heavily promoting down- anes, of La Loggia and the cool new Tre specialties (imagine seared Key West ants to its ground-floor level. town in partnership with other entities: the Italian Bistro, calls “the closest thing, yellowtail snapper with salsa verde and Continuing north on SE 3rd Beacon Council, the Downtown Miami structurewise, that downtown currently cloud-light chestnut purée) are definitely Avenue, there is the stylish, fast-casual Partnership, the Convention and Visitors has to a mini New York.” chef-driven — a perfect fit for an urban pasta/salad place Spoon (other branches Bureau, American Airlines Arena, the Port This is the southeastern section area also inventing itself. in Beverly Hills, New York, and Paris), of Miami, and others, reaching out locally of the Central Business District, which “The neighborhood spirit here which opened early in 2009. Motto: but also internationally. There are cam- contains the largest concentration of seems to be: Let’s do it together,” agrees “Create What You Crave.” paigns locals wouldn’t have seen unless occupied new condo buildings as well Area 31 general manager (and new they’d been in target countries, consisting as, not coincidentally, other amenities, downtown resident) Carlos Bohen, who Continued on page 15

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DWNTN UPTRN contemporary Martini 28, opened last Continued from page 14 fall by a Peruvian husband-and-wife team who change the menu every Across the street is Smokeshop, few days; Giovana, where the “only much more elegant than Lincoln authentic Italian food in downtown” Road’s tobacconists. Aside from cigars has evidently been secreted away since and imported cigarettes, the shop also 1996; and Thai Angel, which Basti as- sells snazzy pens like Mont Blanc and serts is “best Thai food in Miami.” Cartier. From 2003 to 2006, the warren Look to the right at SE 1st Street also housed a charming, budget-priced and you’ll see the House of Wine & bistro called Lila’s, run by three dynamic Liquors. Admittedly the name doesn’t young Peruvian sisters who tried repeat- scream “yuppie safe,” but the floor-to- edly to nudge downtown tastes into this ceiling wooden bins of quality clas- century with evening hours, chef-driven sic and boutique wines, plus chichi creative dishes, housemade sauces, and packaged snacks, make it clear there’s more. When they finally folded, one nary a bottle of Ripple in this house. sister explained they’d held out for a year Wine shopper and new downtown after they’d gone broke, “hoping down- condo resident Andres This hidden courtyard is home to an array of restaurants. town would turn into del Corral is enthusiastic. a real downtown, like “If I want to stay home,” New York or Chicago.” he says, “they’ll deliver Too bad it didn’t happen locally until 2:00 or 3:00 for them. Today’s a.m.” downtowners would Turning left in front love Lila’s. of a Starbucks and walk- Basti slows at ing west on SE 1st Street, the landmark 1926 you’ll find yourself in La Olympia Theater at the Petit Paris: Café Bastille, Gusman Center for the serving tapas but looking Performing Arts. This like an authentic French fantastical, Moorish- sidewalk café, then La turreted jewel, once Paris café, then Croissant the cultural center of d’Or. Okay, probably only Miami, has suffered one is interesting enough horrendous setbacks to review, but it’s fun to for decades — fiscal stroll by what’s almost a disaster, artistic “restaurant row,” down- Flossie’s on SE 1st Avenue will bring out your decline (the theater town French-style. inner hippie. has been run strictly Across the street is the as a rental hall since Downtown Book Center, whose propri- Fratelli offers an interesting ex- 1992, with no original etor, Raquel Roque, is one of the found- ample of the new downtown rubbing up programming), serious ers of the Miami Book Fair. The eclectic against the old. The restaurant, with its The Downtown Athletic Club has added new structural decay, and shop, which has been there since her outdoor tables and colorful umbrellas, facilities for new residents. a series of “improve- Cuban-immigrant father, José Rabide, is next door to Las Palmas cafeteria and ments,” like a 1970s opened it in the mid-1960s, boasts ex- North Rio, a discount electronics store. time off from work to play tour guide, effort that replaced the theater’s brass- actly the large, varied stock of books that But a new awning over all three estab- eager to share a few of his favorite “neat and-wood-trimmed seats with bright red readers are always complaining Miami lishments allows them to co-exist with old places people never knew about,” plastic ones. doesn’t have. Who knew? visual charm. Throughout your walk, places he believes fit perfectly into the There was a slow fade to near black “That’s a great thing about down- you’ll notice many such spruced-up new downtown. in terms of community visibility, ac- town becoming more pedestrian-friend- storefronts, most courtesy of beautifica- First stop is Flossie’s (111 SE 1st cording to Margaret Lake, who moved to ly,” says the DDA’s Alyce Robertson. tion grants from the Downtown Develop- Ave.), a candle/crystal jewelry/African downtown Miami two and a half years “There’s plenty of great old stuff there ment Authority. mask/spiritual book/Haitian art/scented ago to become the Gusman’s new direc- that people never discover when they just Across SE 2nd Avenue on the oil/potpourri/incense shop. One whiff tor. Lake has since overseen a complete drive in to work and then out.” corner is Ecco Pizzateca, opened in 2009 and you’re back in 1968. Far out. structural rebuild and restoration of the In the last building before reaching by emerging-area veterans Brian Basti Next, catty-corner from I.M. theater’s gloriously ornate décor. Still, SE 2nd Avenue is Fratelli Milano, which and Aramis Lorie, the duo formerly re- Pei’s Bank of America tower on SE 1st she sighs, “You wouldn’t believe how opened several years ago with lunch-only sponsible for the legendary Poplife nights Street, sits a low-rise building whose many times I’ve taken people inside to hours, but expanded operations last year at PS14 in the still-iffy western Arts and hidden inner courtyard houses a tropi- see it, and they say, ‘I didn’t know it was to include dinner, joining some 17 other Entertainment District of downtown. cally landscaped warren of international beautiful. I didn’t know it was there.’” restaurants north of the Miami River that Basti, who is taste-testing a new truffle restaurants. At least a couple of them are now open at night. oil pizza (highly recommended), takes serve dinner as well as lunch: attractive, Continued on page 16

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 15 Cover Story

DWNTN UPTRN relocated in 2005. Continued from page 15 Inside the store, son Tony Alonso, a genial gentleman and DDA board member, Now Lake has some good news: The tells the story of downtown’s fall and Gusman will present a season of its own rise, from the mid-1960s to the present. programs, possibly as early as this fall After opening as a small corner shop in (depending on funding), but definitely by the Alfred I. DuPont building, La Época 2011-2012. “Presenting will restore our rapidly expanded to 7000 square feet. credibility,” she says. “When you’re just a At the time, Alonso says, downtown rental hall, all you can do is hope the quality was the healthy city center of a much is up to par. And there’s no financial stabil- less populated Miami. “There were a few ity because it’s hard to get people to buy into suburban malls, but they weren’t big. a sporadic calendar.” (Currently the Gusman In fact, you know what Dadeland was operates only 75 nights a year.) nicknamed? Deadland!” Lake hired a consulting firm, the Then in the 1970s, urban sprawl vir- North Group, to assess the Gusman’s tually emptied downtown Miami. “It was potential. The results of creating its own happening everywhere in the country,” programming were projected to be stun- The Gusman’s ornate interior: Many more shows are planned. Alonso recounts. “In the 1970s and 1980s, ning. Increasing to 125 operating nights nobody wanted to live in downtowns annually would have “a major impact season is certain. Last summer’s “Flickin’ top sign is a replica of the original La except New York and San Francisco. on the economic vitality” of all down- Summer Series” featured several classic Época in Havana, a massive, five-floor Miami was a lot of little low-rise cities town; 225 nights, and the effect would be film musicals, each screening followed by structure that was the third-largest de- with no personalities, a little Los Angeles. “transformative” in revitalizing the area. an on-stage dance party with three-dollar partment store in Cuba. Congestion got to the point where nobody So Lake is now scrambling for beers and five-dollar cocktails. The middle sign is from the wanted to live downtown.” money in order to develop original Across SE 2nd Avenue at La Época, original, smaller Miami store that family La Época nevertheless remained programming. “I’ve been able to write an expansive department store inside a patriarch Diego Alonso and his two profitable, thanks largely to its women’s grants myself,” she says. “Thank God I striking 1936 Art Deco building, Basti sons opened down the block, after the boutique and electronics department, was raised by an English teacher.” In the points out three stacked logos on each family fled Cuba in 1965. At bottom is meantime, another summertime mini floor of the Alonso family’s store. The the sign that’s been there since La Época Continued on page 17

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DWNTN UPTRN just that every week since last year, on Continued from page 17 “Mojito Tuesdays,” a happy hour with live bands and complimentary mojitos handed because, Alonso points out, “25 years out just inside the front door. Try finding ago, it was the boom of the Latin that in a New York department store. tourist.” Outside on Flagler Street, epicenter Meanwhile the New Urbanism of the DDA’s beautification efforts (75 theories espoused by Miami’s own Andrés percent of retailers have partnered with Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk were the agency to improve their storefronts’ gaining adherents across the nation. (New aesthetics, says Robertson), downtown Urbanism advocates compact, densely Miami looks dramatically revived. populated city centers as the solution to Yet as night falls, it’s clear that ecologically and aesthetically atrocious sub- downtown’s upswing is still a work in urban sprawl.) “In the early 1990s, almost progress. Even within José Goyanes’ every center city around started renovating “mini New York,” pedestrians are sparse. and bringing back residents,” says Alonso. And Goyanes admits, “north of Flagler “Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, West has to grow yet” in terms of nighttime Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale with Las Olas. restaurants and other inviting businesses. Every city except Miami.” Perhaps not surprising, given that many Why not? new high-rise condo buildings north of “The City of Miami went broke!” Flagler, finished more recently than those he exclaims. “It was like, ‘We don’t have Brothers Pepe and Tony Alonso in front of their family-owned store. to the south, are still largely devoid of time to renovate our downtown. We’re the residents who would create a demand too busy going bankrupt!’” Instead he cut the old store’s space and stock jeans. The $90 Diesels outsell $35 Levis for such nightlife. Despite the civic neglect, Alonso in half. “The store was low price, bargain five-to-one! The stock is high-end, simi- There are scattered bright lights, anticipated a need for more inventory and tables. Levis were my top-of-the-line jeans.” lar to a Neiman-Marcus. And my sales like the restaurant CVI.CHE 105, nearly space, so he purchased the present building in These days, inside La Época’s are going up every year.” always packed with diners craving 1992, but didn’t move in right away. In fact he three-story, 24,000-square-foot space, Seems like a reason to celebrate. didn’t move in for more than a dozen years. Alonso says, “Levis are my lowest-end And in fact La Época has been doing Continued on page 20

18 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 CCEMiami and TOURIST OFFICE OF SPAIN IN MIAMI present:

Design & The New Cuisine in Spain Diseño y Nueva Gastronomía en España Opening reception March 13 at 8 pm On view until April 10 Design District 4141NE 2nd Avenue Suite 102 Miami

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“With the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cul- tural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners.”

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 19 Cover Story

DWNTN UPTRN Continued from page 18

creative, “new style” ceviches and tira- ditos. But try venturing just a bit farther northwest in the Central Business Dis- trict, over near the federal courthouse, to the Wallflower Gallery. This eclectic, all-ages, mixed-media space — with its cutting-edge art shows plus five- buck live band performances and large collection of Miami indie-music CDs — should fit perfectly into this energetic young downtown. But the owner, Flash, is currently seeking new digs. “I don’t think these new residents even know we exist,” he laments. Nevertheless, strolling downtown’s southeastern streets after dark no longer feels like creeping through a ghost town. You’ll see joggers, some couples walking to restaurants, even a few lone women. From his bustling Tre Italian Bistro on Flagler, Goyanes observes, “I Officer Jeffrey Glasko: “Downtown see women walking their dogs at night is really a very safe place.”

according to department statistics, robberies (including purse-snatching) dropped 13.1 percent, auto theft decreased 39.5 percent, and assaults decreased 7.8 percent. Comparable crime figures in nearby areas like Wynwood, Edgewater, and the Upper Eastside are significantly higher, he says. “Downtown,” he says, “is really a very safe place.” Restaurant owner José Goyanes (with Jennifer At a January meeting Porciello) sees a mini New York emerging with the DDA, newly ap- downtown. pointed Miami Police Chief Miguel Exposito made a from Macy’s to Bayfront. Just a short commitment to beef up the police pres- while ago, a woman who did that? You’d ence downtown. Says Glasko: “That is say: ‘You’re crazy!’” already being implemented.” At Chandi, a wine and liquor shop Obviously Miami’s central business across Flagler Street from La Época, district is nowhere close to New York in manager José Huaman says, “Four years terms of an energetic, 24/7 urban life. ago, when this store opened, I went home But it is being rapidly transformed by when the business people went home, be- intrepid entrepreneurs and pioneering cause the area was empty. But one and a residents. Now just might be a good time half years ago there were enough people to explore and enjoy downtown before it that we began staying open, and making gets too trendy. local deliveries, until midnight. Now the “The area has already changed area feels safe.” dramatically in a very short time,” Tony Jeffrey Glasko, the Miami police Alonso says with a smile. “Everything department’s downtown Neighbor- has a beginning, and this is the begin- hood Resource Officer, confirms that ning of downtown.” the streets don’t just feel safer — they are safer. From 2008 through 2009, Feedback: [email protected]

20 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 21 Neighborhood Correspondents: Miami at Large My So-Called Cotel Life It’s Miami in microcosm — maddening and hilarious at the same time By Wendy Doscher-Smith back because the sun is steady and the BT Contributor landscape does not resemble the surroundings of a buried coffin. he cure for my frosty MFT (Mer- The cotel, perfectly in step with Miami, ciless Frozen Tundra) hangover nullifies its guests by lying. For example, Thas turned out to be a hair-of-the- wireless Internet is advertised to be in dog panacea: the colorful, Brickell-based every room. Except it doesn’t exist. By the cotel (condo-hotel) I currently occupy. time guests figure it out — oh well! Cotels like this are peppered all over So far this season the cotel visi- Brickell and downtown. If you want a Doscher-Smith BT photo by Wendy tors are mostly South Americans, who true Miami experience, you can’t beat it. always want servicio. That’s what the The cotel offers outstanding people- housekeeping staff says while coast- watching opportunities, both in the form ing up and down 28 floors in the dog of the residents (I think there are ten of ’vator. (More on this later.) I’ve also them) and the visitors. Plus there is that seen a smattering of Europeans and one bonus of the Miami brand of incompe- Asian tour group. The American guide tence, which never disappoints, especially cautioned those tourists against eating when unassuming Midwesterners or super leaving the room for the entire month unmoved employee. Ah, well, if I were anything “sold from the street,” because uptight New Yorkers expect something to because she was having “surgery.” I getting my breasts pumped up a few “it will make you sick!” before simulating actually…get…done. Now! Ha, ha! glanced at the future shut-in, a woman sizes and my face stretched back a few a retching fit. That accompanied my café And there is the occasional odd with a perpetual, entitled pout, impa- yards, I suppose these basic comforts con leche quite well. request that is Miami all over. Like the tiently tapping her foot at the end of the would be a top priority. Living in the cotel guarantees the other day, when a disgruntled guest concierge desk. Why does a city that thrives on tour- opportunity to survey the kind of people demanded that he and his wife be moved “The bed is too hard and the TV is ism have the worst service in the nation? to a different room. The wife was not too small,” the man complained to the Because it can. People will always come Continued on page 23

22 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Neighborhood Correspondents: Miami at Large

Cotel was pushed into the pool, the ensuing Oh, and let’s not forget Mr. Models. is also the elevator used by the cotel’s Continued from page 22 tsunami drenching the palm fronds in Reportedly there is a guy with a pent- service workers. They include the house- her path. house suite who caters to models. How? keeping staffers, who push very large who travel to Miami for popular events, The residents in this cotel are an I’m not sure yet. All I know is he pro- carts filled with clean and dirty towels, as well as their accompanying habits. eclectic bunch. There is the Self-Impor- vides “a well-stocked fridge with every M&M packets, and copious rolls of toilet First there was the Super Bowl. That tant Ex-Hippie. He is a long, dirty-blond- type of champagne and phone chargers paper. While I’ve never been a klepto, I event drew rowdy people in tacky polo haired, leathery-face burnout who air for every type of phone.” And he has a must fight the urge to pocket a Snick- shirts. One particularly raucous group on kisses while insisting he owns “one-third terrier who wears a green striped polo ers. It is there, looking uncomfortable my floor arrived from New Orleans. They of the building.” This fraction changes shirt and who is walked by different among the packets of Oreos and bags of held a loud party the night before the game. according to his sobriety level. He also people each day. jalapeno chips. I’m not sure what happened in there, but says he has a son at Julliard, and one The other beauty of the cotel is that, I live on the 28th floor, or as I call the next morning there was, literally, a trail recent evening resorted to asking the as a “hotel guest,” you get to experi- it, the “bird’s nest.” I almost feel at one of fairy dust (okay, it was confetti) leading waitress in the cotel restaurant to help ence all the inconveniences of living with the vultures. from the room to the elevators (all four of him figure out which number to dial to in a condo without battling the condo While the view is nice, my main them.) The clean-up crew looked annoyed. reach his son. board. (I am a “monthly,” which makes fear is fire. So imagine my elation the I spied multiple mops. Then there is the Smoking Blonde me feel all special-like, in the same other night when I returned to the cotel Then the boat show came to town. Woman who has taken a particular liking way as renting a room by the hour in and encountered fire alarms ringing and The cotel saw lots of middle-age, pot- to my rent-a-dog, a bichon named Sasha an establishment where quarter-fed smoke in the hall. My first thought was: bellied, Docker-wearing white guys who (my friend is letting me “borrow” her). vibrating beds and heart-shaped tubs Dog in Room. My second went roughly discussed propellers and fish finders over Smoking Blonde Woman, who is forever are highlights.) like this: “Oh, wow — 28 floors in these heaping plates of bacon and eggs at the trying to cadge free drinks, never hesitates Naturally in the cotel, Sasha is popu- platform shoes?” restaurant. Lots of bacon. to tell Sasha: “God loves you!” Leaving lar, often being mistaken for a gourmet Turns out it was not even a real fire, Then there’s the pool, where, sadly, me to wonder: “Does God love me, too?” vanilla cupcake. She is also, by virtue but a prank. Seems some cotel inhabit- the American Abroad reputation is Sasha doesn’t like her. SBW always of being a dog living in a condo, Public ant thought it would be funny to toss the earned every day. “I hope you didn’t has a cigarette hanging out of her hand Enemy No. 1. So what this means is that fire extinguisher down the stairwell. My forget the cigarettes!” yelled one en- or mouth, or both. At first I thought when I am with Sasha, I am relegated to guess? Self-Important Ex-Hippie’s Jul- thusiastic man as he bee-lined for the Sasha snubbed her because of the smoke. the “dog elevator.” liard genius paid a visit. hot tub, where a few woman sat, toes Now I think there is something Sasha There are four elevators in the cotel. dangling. Another one screeched as she knows about SBW that I don’t. The dog ’vator is by far the slowest. It Feedback: [email protected]

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 23 Neighborhood Correspondents: Liberty City Hurricane Lucie Haitian activist, political dynamo, law student, single mom — that would be Ms. Tondreau By Kathy Glasgow nonstop stream of un- to leave it like that. Why mess it up by BT Contributor documented Haitians trying to do it all over again? As far as seeking help filing for I’m concerned, I won.” ucie Tondreau was unequivocal. “I temporary work visas, That’s not to say Tondreau is finished will never run again,” she said, more which most are now with politics. Last year she worked on than once, when the subject of her able to secure after the behalf of attorney Frank Wolland in his L BT photo by Cathi Marro 2002 political campaign came up during January 12 earthquake unsuccessful bid to serve again as mayor a recent conversation at her immigration- in Haiti. of North Miami. This year, with an array consultation office in North Miami. “But then it got of Haitian-American hopefuls vying for In her first bid for political office, very ugly.” local, state, and federal elected offices, Tondreau came close to unseating the “[His allies] tried she is likely to put her political talents powerful Miami-Dade County Com- to have a war between and energy to work after the primaries. missioner Dorrin Rolle. She certainly Haitians and African- For the moment, however, the single unsettled him. Working on a fraction Americans,” put in mother of three has more than enough to of the incumbent’s funds, Tondreau, Charles Nacivre, Ton- concentrate on, including law school at then 42 years old, ran her grassroots dreau’s assistant. There Nova University. campaign with unexpected élan, even were confrontations “I’m not supporting anyone; I’m not impressing the Miami Herald editorial and alleged assaults at going to any fundraisers,” said Tondreau, board with her “depth of understanding Kreyol-language radio stations, always epi- tend to doubt the integrity of our county dressed in a brown pinstriped pants suit, of how county government works…that centers of political passion, and Tondreau’s political machinery. a spot of white-out smudged on a front is unusual in first-time candidates,” and campaign complained that her yard signs But none of that is why Tondreau has pocket, as she reached for a beeping cell garnering the Herald’s endorsement. were disappearing en masse. vowed not to seek political office again. phone on her desk. “But I will always be “Until the endorsement, Rolle didn’t Rolle avoided a runoff with Tondreau Just the opposite. “It was one of the best involved in politics. As long as there are even notice us,” Tondreau remarked only after a recount, the results of which experiences of my life,” she said, raising in between questioning and advising a remain suspect to her and to others who her eyebrows in appreciation. “I want Continued on page 25

24 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Neighborhood Correspondents: Liberty City

Hurricane Lucie intervals during several years of historic his lucrative reign. But Tondreau fared Haitian-American opponent, Joe Celes- Continued from page 24 unity within South Florida’s Haitian better than state Representative Brutus, tin. “We’ve got ‘bad’ Joe and then we’ve communities, both the North Miami and whose bid to unseat Rolle four years got ‘worse’ Dorrin,” muses “Eye on politicians who ignore my people, who El Portal city councils boasted Haitian later, in 2006, received little support and Miami” commentator Geniusofdespair. don’t serve the interests of their voters, majorities. In 2000, Phillip Brutus was less attention. But who can know just how I will be doing everything I can to show the first Haitian-American elected to the That same year Gepsie Metellus Haitian-American politics will be Haitians they can change that.” Florida State Legislature, and in 2002 (subject of my previous column) was affected by Haiti’s earthquake? The I first met Tondreau in 1999, when Yolly Roberson became the second. planning to run for the county commis- diaspora, especially in South Florida, she and her then-husband, Eddy Del- In retrospect, I think Tondreau’s sion in a different “black” district, from is only beginning to sort itself out mont, were pulling an all-nighter at a commission campaign that same year which her former employer and mentor, in light of that most transformative tiny AM radio studio situated hard by was even more of a gutsy groundbreaker Barbara Carey-Shuler, was retiring. Even disaster. The latest, plentiful Haitian- the train tracks running through Lib- than it appeared at the time, because pen- Metellus’s decade of experience working American lineup of political candidates erty City. Two Haitian Americans were etrating the Miami-Dade County Com- at county hall and clear competence were could presage a rebirth of unity and first-time candidates in North Miami, mission is among the most formidable of no help, because she was born in Haiti teamwork in a community that has for mayor and city councilman, and of challenges for any politician, far more and therefore could not be a real African- been perennially at odds and habitually Tondreau and Delmont were getting the so for an ethnic outsider. Miami-Dade American. She had no business seeking a passed over by the powers that be. word out in Kreyol. Tondreau was seven voting districts are tough neighborhoods “seat…carved out for an African-Amer- Still, Tondreau, ever the activist or eight months pregnant at the time, but controlled by deeply territorial turf lords. ican,” in Carey-Shuler’s blunt words of and bullshit-detector, is leery of the she and Delmont tirelessly took calls and Being a Haitian candidate for a county warning. So Metellus, who is tempera- golden opportunities for posturing and urged on voters until the sun rose. (The seat, even in a so-called “black” district mentally more contemplative than the pandering that the earthquake has pro- baby, Ludie, would be born on the day with lots of Haitian residents, isn’t really feisty Tondreau, chose not to enter a race vided. “In a way we are not as divided Tondreau’s mother died.) an advantage. that she might have won. now,” she acknowledges. “But there Joe Celestin, the mayoral candidate, Tondreau jumped in anyway. Back Tondreau told Metellus it was a “mis- is still not that sense of unity. More didn’t win that one, though Ossman then her surprising defiance of Miami’s take” not to run. “An African-American people are trying to do their own little Desir did become North Miami’s first African-American political establish- seat?” Tondreau scoffed. “What does thing. Now there is a war of leadership. Haitian-American city councilman. But ment made only a fleeting impression that mean? This is the USA. We are free! Everyone wants to look like a leader, Celestin tried again in 2001, and served before the “blinged-up fat one” (as There’s no such thing!” but nothing changes.” two terms as the first Haitian-American Rolle has been described on the Miami This year the increasingly vulner- mayor of a large U.S. municipality. At political blog “Eye on Miami”) resumed able Dorrin Rolle has attracted another Feedback: [email protected]

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March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 25 NEIGHBORHOOD CORRESPONDENTS: BELLE MEADE One for the Road Forcing bars to close early will not stop drunk drivers from killing people By Frank Rollason high. Those emotions can and must be BT Contributor channeled in productive ways. However, passing laws that restrict ne of the problems with writing the hours during which alcohol can be a monthly column is that by the sold is not among those productive ways. Otime it gets to print, the subject I remember one of the fi rst calls I matter may be old or overshadowed by responded to as a rookie fi reman back interest in other topics. Within the City in 1966. A drunk driver slammed into a of Miami, there is now a laser focus on ’55 Chevy on SR836, killing three young the impending fi nancial crisis, and it men from Virginia who were trying to rightly overshadows everything else. change a fl at tire. My subject this month — drunk And the driver? As so often happens drivers and the bar owners who are serv- in such tragedies, he escaped serious ing them — was under discussion at the injury, though he was pissed off that he’d city commission several weeks ago. Like been arrested. He probably served no all other topics, however, it has taken more than 60 days in jail, because back a back seat to the monetary maelstrom then there was no vehicular homicide at city hall. But it is not old. On the statute specifi cally aimed at drunk driv- contrary, it is timeless, and it will forever Less obvious is the futility of casting to reduce the issue to a personal level, ing. MADD (Mothers Against Drunk stir intense interest. bar owners in the role of evildoers who targeting the owners of businesses that Driving) did not exist, nor did any of the First let me state the obvious: No tacitly support drunk-driving. If you’ve sell alcoholic beverages. In the recent other advocacy groups that today would one should operate a motor vehicle lost a loved one to a drunk driver, your discussions at city hall, which centered have taken up the banner for those boys when they are under the infl uence of determination to prevent that from hap- on Coconut Grove’s late-night bars but who lay lifeless at my feet. substances that impair their ability to pening to other families is genuine and had implications for the entire city, in- drive safely. Period. valid. But it can be counterproductive cluding the Upper Eastside, emotions ran Continued on page 27

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26 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Neighborhood Correspondents: Belle Meade

Road he’s not able to drive safely. Now, before listened to the guy who came up with for running a business within the estab- Continued from page 26 you say this may not be an appropriate this program as a result of losing his lished laws and possessing valid licenses use of taxpayer dollars, consider that brother to a drunk driver. Funding was from the state and the city to do so. Unfortunately for everyone who has we are already footing the bill for some provided by grants and local govern- The objective should be to get all the a horror story to tell about the misery seniors who need a ride to the doctor ments, and surprisingly among the “cows” safely back to the barn — those inflicted by drunk drivers, restricting the or hospital through various community biggest contributors to the program who have been drinking as well as those operating hours of bars is not an easy fix organizations that apply to the city every were the local taxi companies. Drivers who have not, regardless of the time of to the problem. Too many other factors year for funding. One such organization were volunteers as well as individuals day. In fact you could argue that having play into scenarios that can lead to death was recently grilled by city commission- sentenced to community service by the drunks on the road at the traditional 2:00 and destruction. But there may be some ers over problems caused by insufficient court system. Perhaps a local chapter of a.m. closing time exposes more people alternatives worth considering, such as: resources. Well, why not give them a MADD could sponsor such a program to danger than a 5:00 a.m. closing time. • Recognizing that the drinking few more bucks and also have them pick countywide, funded by the county as There are simply more people on the individual is the first to be held respon- up individuals too drunk to drive in the well as participating municipalities and roads at 2:00 a.m. sible for his or her actions. Those who nighttime hours, when their vehicles are cab companies. Would some tragic accidents be are lucky enough to be stopped by police sitting idle? • Taxi operators might be required averted if every bar in Miami had to before taking an innocent life should • The bars and lounges themselves to provide a certain number of free rides close at 2:00 a.m.? Probably. But by that be handed an extremely stiff sentence could be required to have an in-house home as part of their licensing agree- logic, it would be even better to force — at least 60 days in the slammer and program designed to get patrons home ments with the county. Let’s say each cab them to stop serving alcohol at midnight. suspension of his or her license for one safely when they say they’re too inebri- was required to provide one such ride per So how about right after happy hour? year. Second offenders should have ated to drive. I cannot conceive of a bar month. With all the cabs throughout the By the way, will someone tell me their license revoked for life in the State operator who’d turn his back on such a county, this could go a long way toward how that one works to keep drunks off of Florida. End of story. No getting it request for help. providing options for the tipsy. the road? Come to happy hour after work back, no get-out-of-jail-free card, and no • I am aware of an out-of-state Restricting serving hours may be the from 5:00 to 7:00! Half price! having daddy pull a few strings. You are program that offers not only a free ride answer for those who are desperate to Pound them down and then get done driving in Florida! home but provides another driver who solve this deadly social problem. But the behind the wheel and rush home to • Consider starting a city-sponsored takes your car home too! This program truth is that you cannot address a social dinner with the family. program that provides for a taxi to pick answers the argument: “I can’t take a cab issue with an economic model. It has Or maybe not. up anyone requesting a ride home from home or ride with someone else because never worked and never will. Bar owners any bar in Miami, anyone who believes I won’t have my car in the morning.” I should not be made to suffer financially Feedback: [email protected]

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 27 Neighborhood Correspondents: Miami Shores Lust for Lice If you have a soft spot for cute little creatures, you’re in luck By Jen Karetnick wet food or, if you’re really dedicated, BT Contributor cooking up concoctions yourself. To feed lice, all you have to do is s I cleaned up yet another ac- eat. Whether your diet is all organic or cident on what was once a fairly Cheetos and Diet Coke or Jim Beam Ahandsome Dade County Pine and cigarettes, your lice won’t complain. wood floor — courtesy of the most stub- They’re not picky that way. Lice are far born (or dumbest) Dachshund I’ve ever Photo by Eran Finkle © 2009 easier to feed than children or spouses. met — it occurred to me that I’ve never They’re low-maintenance in other lived in a house without at least one ways, too. You bathe them when you domestic animal. For virtually my entire bathe yourself. You groom them when life I’ve been accompanied by multiple you brush your own hair. No extra effort mammals. Lately, though, I’ve reached is required to keep them clean, and you capacity — or what my husband likes to even save on water. They don’t shed or call my quota: five cats, three dogs. spit up hairballs. They don’t whine or Until recently we were also caretakers beg for food. Lice don’t lick your face for a colony of hermit crabs (until I donated I’m eager to share my latest discovery, airplane seats. And sure, they might when you’re not expecting it, or jump them to my school’s science department), and thanks to my kids, who owe their thanks bite like stray dogs, but that’s their job. up on your new white shirt with muddy we’ve owned many fish that rather quickly to some other kids, who owe their thanks Besides, it tickles. Or maybe just itches a paws. In sum, lice are all-natural, eco- went to that big aquarium in the sky. And of to still other kids: It’s not cats and dogs little. Though sometimes a lot. friendly creatures who are content to live course we’ve rescued various creatures, from that make the best companions. It is lice. That brings us to the manner of feed- and let live. the baby blue jay with the injured neck to Consider the basics. For starters, ing them. No more lugging 20-pound They are also, like the most gracious clearly ungrateful lizards. you don’t have to buy your pet lice. You bags of dry feed home from Pet Super- of canines, incredibly loyal. Say your So I consider myself something of an can just pick them up on the street, or market, where you just remortgaged your expert in the matter of pets, which is why at school, or in movie theaters or on home. No more opening smelly cans of Continued on page 29

28 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Neighborhood Correspondents: Miami Shores

Lice pinstriped fedora, which, when cocked for them. No matter how many offspring The only real fault lice have? They are Continued from page 28 over your brow just so, will cover a lot they produce — and they do seem to stubborn beyond any toddler you’ve of them up but let a few peek out. Or if multiply rather quickly, even more than ever met. So when you decide they’ve daughter has lice and her BFF doesn’t. you want to really show them to advan- rabbits and guinea pigs — you can taken advantage of your hospitality long She can lend her lice to her friend and tage, you can just put a boho-style knit always take in more lice. And more lice. enough, they tend to disagree. And just they’ll come right back to her. And some black beret on your crown and they’ll And then more lice. to make sure you can’t arbitrarily bump of the devoted little things will opt to stand out like salt over pepper. But Of course, it can be difficult to them off, over the years they’ve devel- stay with her BFF. How sweet is that? whatever you want to wear in your hair distinguish lice, so naming them is not oped tolerances to the top three brands You know how, when you have a dog — a barrette, a bow, a band — it will always an option. Call them all Bill or of lice-be-gone products on the market: and he or she wants to go everywhere with definitely make your lice feel special, Freddy. It won’t matter to your kids. Nix, Pronto, and Rid. you? Well, lice are also like that. But unlike like you’re paying attention to them Their short life spans also mean you That’s when you know it’s time dogs, the great thing about lice is you aren’t and making them pretty. to do what you do with any other forced to sit at an outdoor table when you You don’t have to walk lice unwanted pet: Advertise. “Lice free take them with you to a restaurant. You or clean out their litter box. One of the best things about lice: to a good home” usually doesn’t work and your lice can step inside any restaurant You don’t even really need to You never run out of room for them. too well, but when you do declare and sit right down. No one will be the least know about their elimination No matter how many offspring they that you have a few million more lice bit suspicious, and the health department process at all. You can’t see it, produce, you can always take in more. than you really need, you get a lot of will be none the wiser. and as you know, out of sight is good advice. Most of it comes in the It’s like having a hundred thousand out of mind. form of professional services that, tiny little teacup Yorkies in teeny-weeny Best of all, lice are for a price or for free, will help you Gucci purses hiding behind your ears extremely kid-friendly. They don’t won’t have to worry about your kids get rid of them with natural products, and on the nape of your neck. Only it’s discriminate, plus they won’t fight forming unhealthy emotional attach- including tea tree oil and rosemary, much quieter. For that matter, they’re the with other pets you already have. In ments. It’s the same way most people flavors that lice apparently don’t only pets your son can bring to school most cases, they’ll ignore the canines feel about carnival goldfish. The upside much care for. without his teachers yelling at you, or and felines around the house, if only is that, when they do pass on to their But here’s the real deal: Unlike other making him take them to the science de- because they can’t survive on any eternal reward, there won’t be tears in pets, lice cost a whole lot more to get rid partment, or even knowing about them. animals but humans. the family. of than they do to acquire. Plus lice are so super easy to ac- One of the best things about lice is It’s that eternal reward that’s the cessorize. For example, you can wear a that you never seem to run out of room problem when you have lice for pets. Feedback: [email protected]

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March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 29 Community News Once a Beauty, Always a Beauty Introducing the first completely restored MiMo motel By Karen-Janine Cohen Boulevard boosters also hope the Special to BT restored New Yorker will draw more people to the area and begin to change he neon “New Yorker” sign is up, the stubborn perception that Biscayne the guest-room walls are painted Boulevard remains a haven for drugs, robin’s egg blue, and the motel’s crime, and prostitution. “I hope people T Courtesy of Scott Timm office is nearly ready to greet customers will come and see it — people who with restored terrazzo floors and gleaming still think the Boulevard is riddled with tile work. “Trying to find this tile, it’s a crime,” says Fran Rollason, president of nightmare,” laughs Shirley Diaz, who, with the MiMo Biscayne Association, whose husband Walter Figueroa, has spent eight members include businesses, historical months and more than $60,000 meticu- preservationists, and local residents. lously restoring the motel at 6500 Biscayne In 2006 the City of Miami Blvd., doing much of the work themselves, designated the stretch of with family members pitching in. Biscayne Boulevard between On March 20 the former Davis Motel 50th and 77th streets as the will open as the Motel New Yorker, the The New Yorker circa 1955. MiMo Biscayne Historic first of the Boulevard’s midcentury District. The city also ponied motels restored to its original appearance transformation of Biscayne Boulevard’s up $100,000 to fund a busi- and atmosphere, a classic example of MiMo Historic District. They hope the ness improvement committee the architectural style known as Miami New Yorker will blaze a path other local with the hope that commer-

Modern, or MiMo. (Also part of the motels will follow. Photo by Scott Timm cial property owners will property is the Audubon Motel. Sepa- Working from old pictures and docu- agree to subsidize a business rately constructed, it too is undergoing an ments, Diaz and Figueroa are painstak- improvement district, which upgrade. Together the two buildings have ingly recreating the heyday of the New The New Yorker today. could help them upgrade their 53 guest rooms.) Yorker, built in 1953 and designed by buildings. Cheering on Diaz and Figueroa vaunted MiMo architect Norman Giller. throughout the rooms, which also boast Restoration of the Boulevard’s are the area’s preservation devotees, The original pink-and-green or gray- flat-screen TVs and other contempo- 1950s-era motels is widely believed to along with many businesses and resi- and-yellow bathroom tiles look like new. rary amenities. Plans are under way to be a key to fueling regeneration. Many dents who believe the renovation is an A variety of chairs, mirrors, and other reopen a bricked-over office window and important step in pushing forward the reproduction period furniture is sprinkled entrance door. Continued on page 32 Skateboards and Synagogues Are Like Oil and Water Miami’s plan for a new skate park encounters an immovable object: Mr. Stanley Tate By Erik Bojnansky stupid things,” Sarnoff says. “We had BT Contributor two meetings with the temple — one meeting that Stanley Tate attended and a ureaucratic red tape may be second meeting where they apologized among the reasons the Biscayne for Mr. Tate’s comments.” BSkatepark project has progressed Photo by Ben Warren What exactly Tate said during that so slowly, but should the ambitious plan first meeting, held in December, Sarnoff finally gain traction, it will face another declines to repeat those comments, but obstacle. An influential business leader Tate himself tells the BT he has two fears: vows he’ll fight the skateboard park tooth drugs and noise. “Kids go there to smoke and nail if City of Miami officials try to grass,” he says. “The main thing is the build it at the selected site: adjacent to noise. They play these boom boxes that Temple Israel. you can’t possibly believe at all hours of “We don’t want it to be built there,” the night. We have a large membership of says Stanley Tate, a successful South Miami’s new skateboard park could resemble this one in Winter Springs, elderly people in their 70s and 80s. It just Florida developer, veteran political designed by Team Pain. does not belong there.” player, and past president of Temple Douglas Jacobs, current president of Israel, which is located on NE 19th Street membership in Dade County. We are Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, Temple Israel, says the congregation’s in Miami’s Midtown neighborhood. “If well respected. I don’t think the city a supporter of the skate park, insists that membership is divided over the proposed we have to, we will bring a large number commission wants to get involved in that Tate’s views are not shared by Temple of people. We have some of the oldest kind of controversy.” Israel’s board of directors. “He said some Continued on page 33

30 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Community News What a Hoot! Whooooooose behind that surge of home-building in Biscayne Park? By Karen-Janine Cohen “I’m trying to square it off,” he ex- Special to BT plained. Abby took charge of the hammer. “About six months ago we came n a recent mild Saturday, Amy outside and saw an owl on our awning,” Refeca steadied a rectangle of he said, with an aside to Abby suggesting Ocedar while Linda Dillon ham- she take note of his fingers as she began mered nails into it. The Biscayne Park to tap. “We have a big pine tree in the neighbors were constructing a birdhouse front and our house is very wooded. It at the village recreation center. And not BT photo by Karen-Janine Cohen will add to our menagerie.” just any birdhouse, but one scaled and Like most of the Saturday carpenters, tailored for the nesting preferences of the the Carlisle family signed up for the Eastern screech owl. project in December at the Biscayne Park Nearby lounged Amy’s husband, Winterfest. The idea came from the vil- Roberto Refeca. “I’m supporting — I lage Parks and Parkways Advisory Board, wouldn’t even say assisting,” he dead- which was considering programs resi- panned, though he was actually keeping dents would enjoy. Board member Lynn an eye on the couple’s two children play- Fischer broached creating a welcome ing nearby. for screech owls. Other members helped The three were part of a group of a Putting all those bird homes on the market at once was bad for prices, conceptualize, plan, and run the event. dozen or so Biscayne Park residents — but great for owls. Over the sound of uneven hammering, plus a few Miami Shores folks — who Fischer described why she suggested the met under the rec center pavilion at the wood, creating the round entrance holes, cheerful critiques and advice to the builders. owl project. “In the early 1980s, there end of January to assemble ten birdhouses. and assembling the kits. “You’ve got the glue part stuck. were lots of Eastern screech owls,” she The houses were carefully prefabbed But it was probably worth it. Armed Why don’t you just nail it?” suggested said, taking a minute away from dem- by Erwin Stadler and Gary Kuhl, who with hammers and enthusiasm, gleeful nine-year-old Abby Carlisle to her dad, onstrating how to score the inside front said, “I don’t want to tell you how long,” children and adults pounded together the Matthew Carlisle, who was trying to get when asked about time spent cutting the sizable nest boxes. Friends and family gave a side wall plumb with the back wall. Continued on page 32 One Neighborhood, Two Personalities In Shorecrest, hot tempers lead to a rift and a rivalry By Margaret Griffis Howard’s background is in public BT Contributor relations, and he has worked in Wash- ington, D.C., as a press secretary for n the next few weeks, residents of Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson Miami’s Shorecrest neighborhood of Texas. What he brings to the mix is may find themselves a little con- his knowledge of political dealings and a

I Photo by Maggie Steber fused as they realize they now have two fiery desire to get projects moving. How- homeowner associations in their little ever, that aggressive, Beltway attitude community, which lies east of Biscayne has perhaps strained his relations with Boulevard and north of NE 79th Street. some neighbors, who may prefer or have There is the long-standing Shorecrest simply resigned themselves to the often Homeowners Association (SHOA) and lackadaisical, when not exasperatingly now the upstart Shorecrest United. slow, local political culture. This sort of thing is not uncommon Even as Howard and Masciatti in small towns filled with passionate were trying to recruit new members to residents: Strongly held beliefs lead to Shorecrest United, the fledgling group friction, then fracture. scored its first victory. On February 22, a Troy Howard and Chris Masciatti City of Miami special master agreed with grew frustrated with the slow pace of Howard and Masciatti that the owners change that has left Shorecrest, in his of a property at 810 NE 80th St. had opinion, lagging behind other Biscayne Mayor Tomás Regalado meets and greets at the Shorecrest party. committed several code violations and Corridor neighborhoods that have seen ordered it brought into compliance. For dramatic improvements in their quality special skills to the endeavor. are already governed by various codes more than two years, American Earth of life. Rather than try working within Masciatti is a former code-enforce- and laws. Not only that, he can quickly Movers, a marine dredging company SHOA, they recently joined forces and ment officer and now a private code condo the research required to present a struck out on their own, each bringing sultant. He can easily detect abuses that credible argument before city officials. Continued on page 34

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 31 Community News

Beauty the neighborhood just west of the Revamping buildings is only part of Continued from page 30 Boulevard, is steadily attracting more the equation, Liebman believes, noting professionals and middle-class fami- that revitalization also depends on the in the area see opportunities for an lies. “We’ve seen this place change,” city cracking down on crime and code appealing alternative to pricey South he says. “You see a lot of people walk- violations. She also believes that motel Beach hotels, while also supplying ing with their dogs, taking kids to the owners could make common cause by rooms for visitors to Wynwood’s art park. We see a lot of things we didn’t marketing themselves as one. Which Courtesy Diaz and Figueroa galleries, the Adrienne Arsht Center, and see before.” is exactly what Walter Figueroa has in other mainland attractions. If the New Yorker does succeed, it mind. “We shouldn’t think like we have The New Yorker unveiling is also a will reprise a time when Miami tourists 50 rooms,” he says, “but like we have salve for the collective disappointment drove, rather than flew, from the north. 500 rooms.” at the failure of the Vagabond Motel’s Vacationers with their cars stayed in The Motel New Yorker’s March 20 purchasers to make good on its potential Boulevard motels, whose architecture re- grand opening will get a boost as part of as the Boulevard’s crown jewel. Today flected postwar prosperity and optimism, the “MiMo Madness” festival that same the Vagabond, designed by B. Robert says Nancy Liebman, a well-known day. The annual event brings food, music, Swartburg, who also conceived Miami preservationist who was deeply involved and entertainment to the Boulevard. Diaz Beach’s Delano Hotel, sits vacant and in saving Miami Beach’s Art Deco and Figueroa are even considering syn- abandoned, its future a mystery. structures and is now working on MiMo chronized swimmers in their motel pool, Shirley Diaz has a long view of the historic preservation. a bit of fun to mark the end of a long and Boulevard’s ups and downs. Her parents, The New Yorker’s guest rooms put “It doesn’t look modern now,” Lieb- arduous process. Diaz puts it this way: Victor and Elisa, bought the New Yorker you in a time warp. man says, “but it was the modern design. “We want to say: Look what a difference in 1987. Diaz grew up working at the The beauty of what architect Norman we’ve made in the neighborhood!” front desk. “I was 15 when I got here,” she says there are still drugs and incidents. Giller and others did at that time was to she says. “The place was a nightmare.” But progress is evident, adds her create a feeling of openness, the exciting And while the neighborhood has improved, husband. For one thing, Palm Grove, time of the 1950s.” Feedback: [email protected]

Hoot An owl expert, Mealey suitable nesting sites. Continued from page 31 explained that the village likely Screech owls are often associated has an owl population if the with the red-bellied woodpecker, which plank of the box so baby owls could eating is good: “Usually how pecks open tree cavities as they hunt more easily climb up and out. much food is out there will insects. Owls then move in, though star-

Three years ago Fischer put up an determine how many owls you Photo by Brian Mealey lings, and the woodpeckers themselves, owl house in her backyard oak tree. Oc- will have in an area.” Many also often use the cavities to nest. “When cupancy was almost immediate. The next residents, however, may be not you put up a screech owl box, you might year a different pair settled in. “They be aware of the quiet, nighttime not always get a screech owl,” Mealey were a lot more shy. And last year we creatures. Despite their in- said. “Sometimes there is a lot of compe- didn’t have any owls.” timidating name, screech owls tition for these boxes.” It’s hard to know why the owls didn’t are petite members of the owl In Florida, homeowners are quick to return. Still, Biscayne Park residents family, only about eight inches Screech owls are petite members of the owl clear dead and dying trees, a preferred would have a good chance of attracting long, and emit a hooting “Brrr” family, only about eight inches long, and emit owl habitat, especially as hurricane nesting pairs — though it was a bit late rather than a scary shriek. a hooting “Brrr” rather than a scary shriek. season approaches. That is just when owl in the season — if they quickly affixed The Eastern screech chicks are being raised in unobtrusive the boxes to trees, said Brian Mealey, owl is one species that has adapted well occasional songbird, but as the owls are hollows and corners where nests are not executive director of the Institute of to human habitats. They dine on large nocturnal and most songbirds are active noticed. When the tree or branch comes Wildlife Sciences, a nonprofit based in insects — like palmetto bugs — lizards, during the day, their paths don’t much Palmetto Bay. mice, and frogs. They will snatch an overlap. Their toughest task is finding Continued on page 33

32 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Community News

Skateboards interfere with services at Temple Israel and Continued from page 30 its expansion plans, including a possible charter school. “We are going to make the skateboard park. “There are people who whole temple into a major cultural area for don’t mind it and people who do,” he says. the Jewish community,” he vows. Jacobs’ own feelings? “I think it During a recent visit to skate park facili- could be a very valuable asset to the ties in South Miami and Coconut Grove, Tate neighborhood,” he says. In a written says he saw cars transporting 12 teenagers at statement, Jacobs did outline some con- BT photo by Karen-Janine Cohen a time from locations as far away as North cerns: “We recognize the value this type Miami. Tate claims he also saw skateboarders of park offers its users: exercise, friend- “smoking grass” and carrying radios. ship, and a safe place to develop skills. The only skateboard facility in Our only concern is its placement in Coconut Grove is at Peacock Park. Says front of our preschool. [Other] issues of Sarnoff: “Stanley must be going to a concern include increased traffic and different place than I’ve gone to. We’ve noise. We look forward to working with never had any issues there.” the city to ensure all interested parties Sarnoff says Biscayne Skatepark is more benefit equally from this development.” likely to be killed by the city’s financial As for Tate’s opposition, Jacobs says, woes than opposition from Temple Israel: “He’s very passionate about the temple.... Stanley Tate at Temple Israel’s preschool: “We will bring a large number of “We might not have the money for it.” He is a valuable congregant for many people. I don’t think the city commission wants that kind of controversy.” Delio Nuñez-Menocal, a 36-year-old years. He only wants to see the good of skateboard enthusiast who also owns the neighborhood and the synagogue.” staircases, and parking garages to hone Tate complains that the city never a mobile marketing firm, hopes Miami Founded in 1926, Temple Israel is said to their skills. Originally the city had hoped notified Temple Israel of the plans. He moves forward with the skate park. “I be the oldest Reform congregation south of to open the park by April of this year. says he found out by accident. “We were think it’s about time we begin to look at Baltimore. Tate himself has been attend- However, the city has yet to select a out one day and there were guys measur- building a skate park,” he says. “All the ing and contributing to the synagogue ever contractor to design and build the park. ing [the city property], a surveying crew,” major metropolises have one.” If the city since he was married there 61 years ago. Lara De Souza, spokeswoman for Mi- Tate recounts. “I asked, ‘What are you can’t build near Temple Israel, Nuñez- In December 2008, Miami’s Commu- ami’s parks department, says it’s a com- doing here?’ and they said it was for a Menocal has an alternate location in nity Redevelopment Agency earmarked plicated process and it simply takes time. skate park. No one informed us.” mind: the downtown Miami waterfront $1 million for the construction of a She does admit that work was slowed Of particular concern to Tate is the park where $275 million in taxpayer 54,000-square-foot skateboard facility on somewhat in order to address Temple proposed park’s proximity to the temple’s money is allocated to build two museums. land the city owns at 150 NE 19th St. Part Israel’s worries: “There was a delay due preschool, which, incidentally, is named “I think Museum Park would be a perfect of the motivation was to provide a safe to the concerns of Temple Israel. How- after him and his wife — the Joni and place,” he says. “But that’s just me.” alternative for young skateboarders in the ever…, the project is no longer being Stanley Tate Early Childhood Center. But area, who’ve been using street furniture, delayed for this reason.” Tate also believes the park’s users could Feedback: [email protected]

Hoot where raptors are rehabilitated. “We re- to feed and protect the wee owls, says homeowners find baby owls or a downed Continued from page 32 ceived more than 50 orphaned screech owl Parks-Mealey. After learning to hunt live nest, center staffers will respond and babies last year,” notes Greta Parks-Mealey, prey, chicks are provisionally released, undertake a search for the adults. “If a down, “baby screech owls come rolling the center’s director, who describes them as usually at Fairchild Tropical Botanic baby is missing, there is generally a lot out,” Mealey said. looking like “ping-pong balls with fuzz.” Garden. “That,” Parks-Mealey adds, “is of fretful activity going on because the Last year, in fact, Miami-Dade hom- They are the lucky ones. Lucille, a the best scenario we can give to a very parents are looking for the baby,” Parks- eowners brought scores of baby screech human-raised screech owl at the museum, unnatural raising of chicks.” Mealey says. owls to the Falcon Batchelor Bird of Prey has taken on a foster-mom role. Unable Quick action can restore owl Center at the Miami Science Museum, to be released into the wild, Lucille likes chicks to their natural surroundings. If Continued on page 34

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 33 Community News

Shorecrest issues together. of that would not achieve the goal of [get- Continued from page 31 By contrast, the new rift — whether ting] Shorecrest where it needs to be. On mostly professional or personal — be- the day that Shorecrest is where it needs with offices on NE 79th Street, had been tween the association and Troy Howard to be, I think the two groups will probably using a residential lot behind those of- became too great to continue. Instead of combine.” fices to store heavy construction vehicles staging his own coup, Howard chose to Meanwhile the Shorecrest Home and parked cars. Residents were suffering advocate separately and found a perfect Owners Association is soldiering on with from the ugly appearance and noise pol- BT photo by Margaret Griffis ally in his neighbor Masciatti. Together resident Jack Spirk as its new president. lution produced by the illegal parking lot. they formed Shorecrest United and The recently elected board was presented Shorecrest United’s founders believe registered with the state as a community to the public during a February 26 party this win underscores how their orga- action organization in this past January. at Yiya’s Gourmet Cuban Bakery. Miami nization can shine — in what Howard Howard downplays the split: “Sho- Mayor Tomás Regalado, along with and Masciatti call the “technical angle.” recrest United came about as a comple- more than two dozen residents, attended Some SHOA members, however, call that ment to Shorecrest Home Owners As- the meet-and-greet, which showcased a “technical angle” something else, espe- sociation, not in competition or anything. friendly and welcoming atmosphere. cially as it applies to Howard: unneces- Shorecrest United is just going to take Spirk himself is no slouch in the sarily combative. Shorecrest Homeowners on issues on a more technical level than world of community activism, having Not long ago, Howard was SHOA’s Association president Jack Spirk: SHOA was prepared to do.” worked with various advocacy groups vice president, but tempers eventually “I believe the confusion of having Masciatti agrees: “We need each other. since moving to South Florida more than flared at meetings (and outside of them) two groups will impede progress.” We can’t do everything. We’re deal- two decades ago. He tells the BT about as the clashing personalities bogged ing with the impossible stuff, the major various projects SHOA is pursuing, and he down the group’s work — just as it had project called Oasis. Then, as president zoning issues where you need a technical disagrees that the two Shorecrest organiza- recovered from a previous schism. of an umbrella group called the Upper background. Shorecrest Home Owners is tions should work separately on them. “I In late July 2007, SHOA president Eastside Miami Council, she had or- good for the community issues, the street believe the confusion of having two groups Allyson Warren was ousted during a chestrated the expulsion of Belle Meade cleanups, the Crime Watch, the speed will impede progress,” he says. “Troy and boisterous and vitriolic meeting in representative (and BT columnist) Frank bumps. They are focusing on the things Chris could have been a more positive which members challenged her leader- Rollason. Several homeowner asso- that are easier for them to understand and force if they worked within the established ship (“The Shorecrest Insurgency,” BT, ciations quit in protest. The Shorecrest to do, and they do a very good job.” structure of the SHOA and chaired commit- September 2007). Earlier Warren had Home Owners Association eventually So why not combine forces? tees, not created a splinter group.” angered many Shorecrest residents when overcame the debacle, seated an interim Masciatti answers: “I like every single she endorsed a waterfront condominium board, and resumed work on community one of them (at SHOA), but being a part Feedback: [email protected]

Hoot ground. Quiet is better than a spot with this owl house is going to go up,” re- recounts. “This morning I got up and sat Continued from page 33 lots of activity, and they need a clear flight marked Abby Carlisle. outside with my coffee and opera glasses. path. “Almost everybody I know who has “Yes,” agreed her father. “This house She almost brought her whole body out.” In a kind of Extreme Makeover: Owl put them up has gotten owls,” says Ogden, is going up!” As with all real estate, it’s location, Home Edition, staffers have been able to adding that screech owls may scout nest Take a walk around Biscayne Park’s location, location. Their box is pretty replace a lost nest with an owl box. With sites as early as November or December leafy streets and you’ll spy some of the high up. It’s positioned away from the their babies tucked inside, the parents soon and may roost for two or three months owl homes. Be sure to look up at trees in street. And it is attached to a coconut arrive, no doubt astonished by the turn of before laying eggs. The young are ready the grassy medians. palm that stands close to an oak tree. The events. “So we encourage people to put the to take flight in April or May. It didn’t take long for the birdhouse Schaefers were delighted to discover that artificial boxes up,” says Parks-Mealey. Meanwhile, back in Biscayne Park, belonging to John and Kathy Schaefer the nesting owl’s partner likes to sit in Box location makes a difference as everyone had successfully finished their to get a tenant. First the Schaefers noted the oak. Close to home. Keeping a big well, says John Ogden, director of bird owl boxes before noon. Plans to attach various bits of straw hanging from their eye on things. conservation at Audubon of Florida. them to oaks, pines, and royal palms box’s round entrance hole. “Then we Boxes should be at least 15 feet above the were discussed. “I’m very determined saw the little owl face,” Kathy Schaefer Feedback: [email protected]

34 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Commentary: Feedback

Letters portions such as: “While some people personnel at the Florida Fish and Wildlife as I do not wish to continue cleaning up find wild green iguanas to be a beautiful Conservation Commission have more their feces from my pool deck. Continued from page 6 addition to the Florida ecosystem, the realistic priorities than she does. Chris Jonckheer book, Backyard Deer Hunting: Con- fact is that they do not belong there” and The “Florida freeze” was Mother Biscayne Park verting Deer to Dinner for Pennies Per “It is illegal to relocate iguanas, because Nature’s response to this epidemic, and Pound, is that I did not think of it. as a nonnative species, they cannot be re- those who actually care about the well- A “Question” for Jen Gator recipes can be found in two leased into the wild — even if they were being of the delicate Florida ecosystem Karetnick: Why Is “It” All of my other books: Practical Bowfishing caught there to begin with.” The article can only hope and pray for another one also mentions that if iguanas are caught, before the end of the season. About “You”? and Crossbow Hunting. Iguana meat can I have a question about the “writer” be substituted in many of the recipes, they should be turned over to the proper Iguanas have and will continue to authorities for humane euthanasia. cost many people big dollars, as they who covers the Miami Shores beat, Jen although the paws may be a tad small for Karetnick. Is her writing an inside joke? Gator Paw Soup. I would also like to point out that the destroy large areas of local vegetation releasing of the two iguanas Ms. Karet- and their burrows rapidly increase sea It reads like a stream-of-consciousness William Hovey Smith diary of her life, her kids, her home. Sandersville, Georgia nick “saved” was in direct violation of the wall erosion, for which repairs cost tens Florida Administrative Code 39-4.005 of thousands of dollars. One of South I don’t live in Miami Shores. I live (which prohibits releasing nonnative spe- Florida’s most popular attractions, Fairch- in the Upper Eastside. But my grand- Iguanas Are Dreadful, Just cies into the wild) and 68A-4.005 (which ild Tropical Botanic Garden, is currently mother lived in Miami Shores for 30 Like a Certain BT Columnist states that no person should release or in- having a huge problem with these pests. years. It is a small and beautiful commu- As a resident of Biscayne Park, I am writ- troduce in the state any wildlife, freshwa- They have completely destroyed their nity, with interesting individuals and sto- ing to you in regard to Jen Karetnick’s ter fish, or any other organism that might historic hibiscus garden. ries to tell. Does Jen go to any city gov- iguana column. As an Eagle Scout and transmit a disease). Iguanas are known Finally, if residents want to allevi- ernment meetings? Has she interviewed avid outdoorsman, I am appreciative of the carriers of salmonella. ate the problem, they should follow these people at the community center? Has she unique ecosystem that exists in Florida. Ms. Karetnick also mentioned that steps: 1) Never buy an iguana from a pet asked any Haitians about the earthquake This article by Ms. Karetnick, wildlife personnel “turned their backs” on shop, and 2) lobby the FFWC to ban the and the community’s response? like many of her other articles on the this nonnative species to help endangered sale of invasive species. No, she writes about a frozen Village of Miami Shores, was not only species that are native to Florida, such Perhaps Ms. Karetnick could donate iguana she saved. factually incorrect but also mislead- as manatees and sea turtles. It’s simply one of the rooms in her house to be turned Her writing cheapens Biscayne Times. ing, perhaps intentionally so. In it she laughable that she would put iguanas into a giant iguana terrarium. That way she It’s not all about you, Jen Karetnick! quoted an article published by the Green in the same category as any native could house the entire population present Kirk Arthur Iguana Society, conveniently leaving out threatened species. I think the qualified in both Miami Shores and Biscayne Park, Upper Eastside

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 35 Police Reports Biscayne Crime Beat Compiled by Derek McCann One Large Hooker, Hold vehicle was questioned. He consented the Anchovies to a search of his premises, where the 5200 Block of Biscayne Boulevard watches with matching serial numbers Does this sound familiar? Two tourists were discovered. The man claimed wanted to explore the idiosyncrasies he bought the watches from a “crack of our great city by renting a room consumer” for $10 each. He admitted in a fleabag motel and ordering in a to being in the vicinity of the burglar- prostitute. Here in Miami, it’s just ized home after dropping off his friend like ordering pizza. A hooker calling “Chico” for a job interview at Burger herself Karma came by and delivered King, but he was merely lost and circling the goods. The satisfied tourists soon the area. As his fingerprints were later fell asleep. Guess what happened when found at the crime scene, he was arrested they woke up? Right. Their wallets and charged with third-degree grand were gone, along with other property. theft. No word if Chico got the job. This victim was on his usual Boulevard Hey, didn’t this happen last month? Chico and the Watch Man vacation — in jail — and after his re- The motel is equipped with security 100 Block of NE 78th Street Internet Love lease, returned to a ransacked apartment. cameras, but the tourists didn’t stick Police responded to the theft of several 2200 Block of Biscayne Boulevard He believed one of his neighbors broke around for a screening. They left town watches from a home. The front-door Our victim met the defendant in an into his place and took his belongings. in a hurry. lock was compromised, and a suspicious Internet chat room and invited him over He even saw a neighbor wearing his Ford Taurus had been seen casing the for some friendly company (G-rated The Jailbird as Victim clothing. Despite this, the victim did not area several hours earlier. Fortunately explanation). After their business had 200 Block of NE 25th Street want to press charges. We predict “street one of the victim’s neighbors had the ended, the invited guest left the premises. Even criminals get what’s coming to justice” will soon be administered and temerity to write down the license plate. However, ten minutes later he banged on them, but like all victims, they need to that our victim will be taking another The car was traced to an address in the be respected and comforted (somewhat). vacation in the slammer. Biscayne Corridor and the owner of the Continued on page 37

36 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Police Reports

Crime Beat but when he did, he was “confident that I arrested the scoundrel. After the great Get Ready for Hurricane will get a confession out of him.” chase, the arrested defendant was forced Continued from page 36 Season to drop the bag, which contained the 1000 Block of Biscayne Boulevard the door and demanded to be let back in stolen items: WWE action figures. The Case for We don’t like to talk about it, but hurricane for another round. The victim refused, season is just around the corner. Time to having already dispensed with him. The Health-Care Reform 2800 Block of Biscayne Boulevard Donuts and Coffee and Crime stock up on those generators! In this case, guest grew irate and kicked in the door. A first-time patient went to see his 5130 Biscayne Blvd. a dynamic duo of preppy criminals wear- A neighbor called police, and when they new doctor but was refused treatment A woman was eating an apple fritter ing striped shirts stole a generator from an arrived they found the victim on the floor because he did not have the “proper pa- at Dunkin’ Donuts and admitted to area business and began pushing it down and the spurned guest looming over him, perwork.” The patient became extremely having left her wallet unattended for the street. As is the custom with most of smoking a cigarette. He was immedi- upset and threatened the doctor and staff. nearly 15 minutes. Despite the upscale our criminals, there was no end game. ately arrested. Time to log off. He was asked to leave, which he did crowd Dunkin’ Donuts is trying to lure After about a block, they gave up and ran — but not before grabbing the doctor’s away from Starbucks, this is still Miami. off — probably to Starbucks for some Enhanced Interrogation prescription pad and running out the When the victim noticed that her wallet stolen purses. The generator was returned Techniques? door. To make matters worse, he didn’t was gone, she surveyed the scene around to its rightful owner. 67th Street and N. Miami Avenue even make his co-payment. her: Nothing but yuppies on laptops. Oh, A doctor had his car and diamond ring well…back to Starbucks. The Big Sleep stolen. Together they were valued at Some Things Are Just Too NE 20th Street and Biscayne Boulevard $107,000. Police lifted prints from the Stung at Starbucks A man was waiting for the bus, but since scene and came back with a match. The Valuable 6815 Biscayne Blvd. Miami’s transit system leaves much to be suspect was a gang member with the NE 5th Street and Biscayne Boulevard As a woman was savoring her Starbucks desired, he fell asleep from utter bore- LHG (Little Haiti Goons), who report- A man observed two suspects reaching brew, she placed her purse under the table. dom. He awakened several hours later. edly hang out at Little Haiti Park. After into the back of his brother’s parked After she finished, she walked to her car in Not only was there no bus, but his pock- the suspect was tracked down and car and removing an item. He called the parking lot. That’s when she realized ets has been turned inside out and three questioned, he admitted to the crime but his brother and both gave chase as the she’d left her purse inside. She hurriedly wallets had been taken. Police have no said he didn’t have the ring, which now suspects ran off, one holding a bag of ran back inside, but much to her chagrin suspects, and the victim has no money belonged to an individual named Stinky. pilfered loot. Ignoring the potential the purse was gone. The laptop, horn- for the bus that never arrived. The police officer who prepared a report for violence, the brothers managed to rimmed-glasses crowd was no help. Oh, wrote that he had not yet located Stinky, corner the bag man and call police, who well…time to make coffee at home. Feedback: [email protected]

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 37 A r t & C u l t u r e Artists in the House LegalArt launches its live-and-work residency program By Anne Tschida broader community. BT Contributor This past February the first six residents were announced. Says Carignan: stately, four-story, 1924 building “We looked at diversity in the types of just north of downtown Miami art, and who would work well together. will soon become the new home We then did studio visits, and let them

A BT photos by Mandy Baca for six Miami artists, several visiting art- look at the space so they would know ists and curators, offices for the nonprofit what they were getting into. And organization LegalArt Miami, and an we let them know that this was exhibition space. It will also become the supposed to be an incubator proj- latest focal point for the increasingly ect for real collaboration, not just a prominent and important art scene in studio space.” Miami. A commitment to a year of Thanks to a $400,000 grant from the both working and living was Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts Chal- also an underlying factor in who lenge, LegalArt, which provides legal would work out best. But that services and educational programming to process almost took care of itself. the art community, has just launched the “If someone in town has a big Live/Work Residency, the first of its kind studio and established hous- in Miami. The building on N. Miami ing situation, they most likely Avenue (across from the CIFO exhibition Legal Art director weren’t applying for this in any hall) combines studio and living spaces, Kathleen Carignan. case,” says Carignan. shared baths and kitchen, lecture rooms, In the end Carlos Ascurra, and a library. Pachi Giustinian, Jiae Hwang, Alvaro Ilizarbe, Manny Prieres, and Almost ready: This building will soon be bustling with art and artists. Jen Stark were picked to set up shop and home for the inaugural year. In and partnerships, including pro-bo- of art, as it has been designed by artist fact the residency program was ini- no work from the Dade County Bar Daniel Arsham and his company, Snarki- tially to include only five artists, but Association and University of Mi- tecture. (Arsham is also on the board of Ilizarbe and Stark are a couple, and ami’s law school, LegalArt has been directors of LegalArt.) the spaces are big, and after all, it’s all Courtesy of the artist able to generate unique programs for The fact that LegalArt was awarded the about intimate collaboration. local artists. But this Knight grant Knight grant in 2008 and is ready to open Each studio will include a table and brings it to another level — or four the Live/Work Residency this spring is also a stool — all other furniture the artists levels, actually. commendable. “Everyone was committed must provide. They will also bring with Construction workers in hard- to getting it done, in the best way, as quickly them paint brushes, sound systems, light hats are still putting up drywall, as possible,” says Carignan. projectors, video equipment, fabrics, and and dust is everywhere, but the But in the end the building will only other materials the artists, who work in a layout is already impressive. Each be as successful as the residents who work wide variety of media, will need to real- of the five, 900-square-foot live- in it, and much time and effort has been ize their visions. in studios has large windows with put into that aspect as well, Carignan And it is an interesting array of art- expansive views, and in a nod to notes. “We looked at other residencies, ists. Jiae Hwang is well known in Miami the realities of contemporary art, including worldwide,” to design up a circles, mostly for her videos, such as multiple power sources. There will top-notch selection process. And what the one that garnered the Museum of be 13 studios in all, available for they came up with is a little off-beat: an Contemporary Art’s “Optic Nerve” top discounted rent, expected to be entire year-long residency for local artists, prize several years ago. But the South around $400 per month. with two-month residencies for national Korean native is versatile, with works “Each studio is a little different, and international artists and curators. The on paper and graphite as well, shown in shape and layout, and there are combination is meant to be a huge incen- internationally and at the Fredric Snitzer shared showers — it’s unique,” says tive to keep talent in Miami, and to attract Gallery here. Carignan. The others here. Hwang says she’s long been a sup- Plasmascopic by Jen Stark. whole purpose of According to Carignan, few restric- porter of LegalArt, and of the develop- the residency is to tions were placed on applicants, except ment of a solid, lasting community in the Kathleen Carignan is a lawyer encourage collaboration and community that realistically “they couldn’t be city she now calls home. As for sharing and the new director of LegalArt. She development; all of the artists will be welders, you know, the noise factor,” or close quarters with five others for the moved here from Philadelphia a year committed to working with LegalArt and parents: “Kids won’t work.” The artists next year, she says that’s the point: “To ago, and as she shows off the space, her educational programs. Carignan likes to also had to propose a “Give Back Proj- excitement is palpable. Through grants think that the building itself is a piece ect,” in which they would work with the Continued on page 39

38 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 A r t & C u l t u r e

House Continued from page 38 me, they are not strangers, but my peers, the majority of the people I have been close friends with over the course of my career.” As part of her “Give Back Courtesy of LegalArt Project,” she will offer training sessions in video technology and graphics. Arsham/Snarkitecture Daniel Carlos Ascurra works mostly with sound, while Argentine transplant Pachi Giustinian concentrates on light instal- lations. For her “Give Back Project” she has developed a “To See Without Sight” program for the blind. Manny Prieres has been active in the local scene for years, mixing up a punk sensibility and a Cuban heritage in his Jiae Hwang’s Infancy of the Universe. Artist’s rendering of the Live/Work Residency spaces. images. His sculpture, drawings, and watercolors were recently exhibited in a produced.” But he’s somewhat intrigued communal: She’ll be sharing an indi- That’s the plan, at least. The north- solo show at the Spinello Gallery. by how it will all pan out in terms of the vidual studio with Ilizarbe, and showers ern native Carignan says the uncharted As for Alvaro Ilizarbe, originally close living quarters. “Yes, there will and kitchen and ideas with five others. “I nature of Miami is what makes it excit- from Peru, his black-and-white drawings definitely be some issues that will arise,” think it should be fine, as long as every- ing. “In Philadelphia there are long- and scribblings currently cover the walls he says. “It all depends on how parties one respects each other’s space,” she says. standing institutions and infrastructure,” of the bar that was once known as PS-14, handle it.” But mostly Stark thinks that this she observes. “Here we are still making just a stone’s throw from the residency. Jen Stark is one of Miami’s most vis- experiment “could really foster more col- it. It’s young and we can be part of the He’s also the founder of the clothing ible artists, her vibrantly colored, detailed laborative projects within the community. incubator process.” label Freegums. Ilizarbe says he has no work popping up all over. While some Having a central area where artists live doubt that this set-up will create interac- artists crave isolation, Stark’s interest could be a good meeting place for projects tion “and encourage more work to be in participating in this residency is all to happen and for artists to meet others.” Feedback: [email protected]

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 39 Art & Culture Art Listings WYNWOOD GALLERY WALK & DESIGN DISTRICT BREVARDS GALLERY ART + DESIGN NIGHT 2320 N. Miami Ave., Miami DPM GALLERY SATURDAY, MARCH 13 305-576-5747 2441 NW 2nd Ave., Miami www.brevards.com 305-576-1777 101/EXHIBIT Through March 30: www.dpmgallery.com 101 NE 40th St., Miami “NonDuality” by John Brevard Call gallery for exhibition information. 305-573-2101 Reception March 3, 6:30 to 10 p.m. www.101exhibit.com EDGE ZONES CONTEMPORARY ART March 13 through April 6: BUTTER GALLERY 47 NE 25th St., Miami “Robert Fleisher: New Work” by Robert Fleisher 2301-2303 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 305-303-8852 Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. 305-303-6254 www.edgezones.org www.buttergallery.com Through March 6: ABBA FINE ART March 11 through March 27: “Bound and Gathered” with Mora Barber, Pip Brant, 233 NW 36th St., Miami “7.625 FL OZ” by Ahol Sniffs Glue Natasha Duwin, Annie Heckman, Laurie LeBreton, 305-576-4278 Reception March 11, 7 to 11 p.m. Abigail Lelis, Marcela Marcuzzi, Emmy Mathis, Jason www.abbafineart.com Meyer, Isabel Moros-Rigau, Alex Trimino-K, Casey Ann Through March 11: CALDWELL / LINFIELD GALLERY & STUDIO Wasniewski, and Plamen Yordanov “Recent Works” by David McConnell 8351 NE 8th Ct., Miami March 13 through March 31: March 13 through April 8: “Recent Works” by Pip Brandt 305-754-2093 “Prague for Haiti” with various artists Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. www.susannacaldwell.com Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. Ongoing: “Seductive Assemblages and Wood ALEJANDRA VON HARTZ FINE ARTS Sculpture” by Susanna Caldwell ETRA FINE ART 2630 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 10 NE 40th St., Miami 305-438-0220 CALIX GUSTAV GALLERY 305-438-4383 www.alejandravonhartz.net 98 NW 29 St., Miami www.etrafineart.com Through April 3: 305-576-8116, calix-gustav.blogspot.com Call gallery for exhibition information. “Monstrous Moonshine” by Magdalena Atria Through April 1: “Basics” with Yvonne Cordoba, Eric Kehinde Wiley, Regard the Class Torriente, Max A. Kraushaar, and Agustín de Llanos Struggle as a Main Link in the FACHE ARTS ART FUSION Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. 750 NE 124th St., North Miami #2 1 NE 40th St., Miami Chain, oil and enamel on canvas, 305-975-6933 305-573-5730 CAROL JAZZAR CONTEMPORARY ART 2007, at Miami Art Museum. www.fachearts.com www.artfusiongallery.com 158 NW 91st St., Miami Shores Through March 15: Through March 24: “INCANTATIONS IN MULTI- 305-490-6906, www.cjazzart.com “MADE IN CHILE” with Victor Mahana and Carla Fache COLOR” with various artists By appointment: [email protected] DIANA LOWENSTEIN FINE ARTS 2043 N. Miami Ave., Miami Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. Through March 14: Lynne Golob Gelfman FREDRIC SNITZER GALLERY March 27 through April 11: “Characters” by David Rohn 305-576-1804 2247 NW 1st Pl., Miami www.dlfinearts.com ART GALLERY AT GOVERNMENT CENTER Reception March 27, 7 to 11 p.m. 305-448-8976 Through March 6: “Pássaros geométricos e pelo 111 NW 1st St., Suite 625, Miami www.snitzer.com menos um pássaro rectangular!” by José Bechara, 305-375-4634 CENTER FOR VISUAL COMMUNICATION Through March 9: “The Triumph of Patience” with Uisuk Byeon, Young Call gallery for exhibition information. 541 NW 27th St., Miami “I’ll Cross that Bridge When I Get to It” by Bert 305-571-1415 Cho, Jessica Labatte, and Briana Schweizer, and “si Rodriguez no existe el mas allá, la injusticia del pobre se prolonga ART ROUGE www.visual.org March 13 through April 3: eternamente” with Colectivo MR 46 NW 36th St., Miami Call gallery for exhibition information. “Pathological Liar” by Diego Singh March 13 through April 3: “Blind Enough to See” 305-448-3060 Reception March 13, 7 to 9 p.m. by Ivelisse Jimenez, “Pimp Art History” by Daniel www.lurie-kavachnina.com CHAREST-WEINBERG GALLERY Gonzalez, and “Rich and Famous” by Andriy Halashyn Through March 12: “Metamorphosis” by Laurie Recanati 250 NW 23rd St., Miami FIGHT CLUB March 13 through May 6: 305-292-0411, www.charest-weinberg.com Reception March 13, 7:30 to 10 p.m. 120 NE 20th St., Miami “Blue Rose Journey” by Evelyn Valdirio March 13 through May 15: “10 Years” by SunTeck Chung Through March 31: DIASPORA VIBE GALLERY Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. “The Art of Boxing” by Silvia Ros 3938 NE 39th St., Miami 305-573-4046 ARTFORMZ CHELSEA GALLERIA GALERIE HELENE LAMARQUE www.diasporavibe.net 171 NW 23rd St., Miami 2441 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 125 NW 23 St., Miami Through March 25: 305-572-0040 305-576-2950 305-576-6095 “Mirrors Messages and Manifestations” with Patrick de www.artformz.net www.chelseagalleria.com www.galeriehelenelamarque.com Castro, Jacquenette Arnette, and Hugo Moro Through March 8: Through March 6: “Carnaval” by Daniel Kedar Call gallery for exhibition information. “Past-Present” with Anja Marais and Guillermo Portieles March 13 through April 3: March 11 through April 5: “Latin American Photography” with various artists DIMENSIONS VARIABLE GALERIE SCHUSTER MIAMI 171 NE 38th St., Miami “A Terrible Beauty” with Sibel Kocabasi and Alette Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. 2085 NW 2nd Ave., Miami dv Simmons-Jimenez 786-266-2445 dimensionsvariable.net Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. CITY LOFT ART www.galleryschuster.com 61 NE 40th St., Miami Call gallery for exhibition information. Call gallery for exhibition information. BAKEHOUSE ART COMPLEX 305-438-9006 561 NW 32nd St., Miami www.cityloftart.com DINA MITRANI GALLERY GALLERY 4100 2620 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 305-576-2828 Through March 10: 4100 N. Miami Ave., Miami 786-486-7248 www.bacfl.org “Light Meets Color” with Elmar Hund, Ekaterina Moré, 305-572-9606 www.dinamitranigallery.com Call gallery for exhibition information. and Ingrid Kaufman www.gallery4100.com March 13: March 13 through April 24: Through April 1: “Recent Dreams” by Mario Algaze BAS FISHER INVITATIONAL “SEA SHELLS - an ecologic approach of art” by Ingrid “Princess for One Fucking Day” by Wulf Treu 180 NE 39th St., #210, Miami Kaufmann Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. By appointment: [email protected] Reception March 13, 7 to 10:30 p.m. GALLERY DIET www.basfisherinvitational.com DORSCH GALLERY 174 NW 23rd St., Miami 151 NW 24th St., Miami Call gallery for exhibition information. CS GALLERY 305-571-2288 787 NE 125th St., North Miami 305-576-1278 www.gallerydiet.com www.dorschgallery.com BASHA GALLERY 305-308-6561 Through March 6: Through March 6: 795 NE 125th St., North Miami www.chirinossanchez.com “Rachel Is...” by Rachel Perry Welty “Pleasure Seekers” by Kyle Trowbridge, “Knock-Off” by 305-891-4624 Call gallery for exhibition information. March 12 through April 3: Alex Golden, and “de-lux” by Keith Sklar www.bashagallery.net Sarah Conaway and Graham Hudson March 13 through April 3: Through March 31: DAVID CASTILLO GALLERY Reception March 12, 6 to 9 p.m. “Walkabout” by Elisabeth Condon and “Don’t Forget to “A Celebration of Women and Art” with Michael 2234 NW 2nd Ave., Miami Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. Crash” by Martin Murphy Ajerman, Beatrice Findlay, Allyson Krowitz, Arnaldo 305-573-8110 Rosello, Jorge Chirinos Sanchez, and Kari Snyder www.castilloart.com Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. GALLERY I/D Through March 6: 2531 NW 2nd Ave., Miami DOT FIFTYONE ART SPACE BERNICE STEINBAUM GALLERY “Oh the tangled webs we weave” by Karelle Levy 305-778-4568 51 NW 36th St., Miami 3550 N. Miami Ave., Miami March 13 through April 3: www.galleryid.com 305-573-9994 305-573-2700 “Chained to a Creature of a Different Kingdom” with March 13 through April 24: www.dotfiftyone.com www.bernicesteinbaumgallery.com Skip Arnold, Susan Lee-Chun, Angela Dufresne, aaron “Upstate Girls — What Became of Collar City” by Through March 7: Through March 5: GM, Kate Gilmore, Ann Hamilton, Micol Hebron, Dawn Brenda Ann Kenneally “Fusion” by Leonel Matheu “In Search of a Sacred Place” by Willie Birch Kasper, Kalup Linzy, Marilyn Minter, Shana Moulton, Reception March 13, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. March 13 through April 30: March 13: “Auction to Benefit Haiti“ with Women Quilters Ali Prosch, Yvonne Rainer, Pipilotti Rist, Jimmy Joe “Goody Two Shoes” by Leslie Gabaldon of Gee’s Bend Roche, and Mark Verabioff Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. Continued on page 41

40 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Art & Culture

LILIENTHAL ART STUDIOS MYPAC Art Listings 96 NW 29th St., Miami 3324 N. Miami Ave., Miami Continued from page 40 305-573-2002 305-981-6199 www.ilanalilienthal.com Through March 28: GIOVANNI ROSSI FINE ART Call gallery for exhibition information. “Willow” with various artists and “A Light Above the 2628 NW 2nd Ave., Miami Rest” with various artists 561-251-1375 LOCUST PROJECTS www.giovannirossifineart.com 155 NE 38th St., Miami OUR HOUSE WEST OF WYNWOOD Call gallery for exhibition information. 305-576-8570 3100 NW 7th Ave., Miami www.locustprojects.org 305-490-2976, www.oh-wow.com HARDCORE ARTS CONTEMPORARY SPACE March 13 through April 24: Call gallery for exhibition information. 3326 N. Miami Ave., Miami “The World Is Yours” by Andrew Heitzler 305-576-1645 Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. PANAMERICAN ART PROJECTS www.hardcoreartcontemporary.com 2450 NW 2nd Ave., Miami Through April 3: “Love, Infatuation or Lust” with LYLE O. REITZEL GALLERY 305-573-2400 Natasha Duwin, Juan Griego, Kate Kretz, Catalina 2441 NW 2nd Ave., Miami www.panamericanart.com Jaramillo, Angelica Clyman, Magda Ortiz, Maria Cory Arcangel, Self-playing 305-573-1333 Through March 11: “Operation Beefeater” with Magnus Lino, Julie L Friel, Luisa Mesa, Aleli Egues, Gretchen www.artnet.com/reitzel.html Sigurdarson and Paul Stoppi Scharnagl, Hugo Moro, Monica Travis, Rochi Llaneza, Sony PS1 Bowling, video game Through March 30: March 13 through April 17: Jules Lusson, Aleli Egues, Monica Travis, Tamara “Refreshing Recollection” with various artists Carolina Sardi and Ted Larsen Hervera, Orion Mansfield, Ingrid Eliasson and Jennifer system, hacked controller, 2009, at Reception March 13, 6 to 9 p.m. Basile, Donna Torres, and more Museum of Contemporary Art. MIAMI ART SPACE Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. 244 NW 35th St., Miami PRAXIS INTERNATIONAL ART 305-438-9002 2219 NW 2nd Ave., Miami KELLEY ROY GALLERY www.miamiartspace.com 305-573-2900, www.praxis-art.com HAROLD GOLEN GALLERY 50 NE 29th St., Miami Call gallery for exhibition information. Call gallery for exhibition information. 2294 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 305-447-3888 305-989-3359 www.kelleyroygallery.com www.haroldgolengallery.com Through March 20: “Debris of Abstraction” by Mimi Bates MIAM-DADE COLLEGE, CENTER GALLERY PRESSITON ART GALLERY 300 NE 2nd Ave., Miami 4100 N. Miami Ave., Miami Through March 5: “Way Out Hi-Fi Beats” by Derek Yaniger March 25 through May 1: Bldg. 1, Room 1365 786-925-2930 “Hairball Cosmology” with various artists IDEABOX ARTSPACE 305-237-3696 www.pressitonart.com www.mdc.edu Call gallery for exhibition information. 2417 N. Miami Ave., Miami KEVIN BRUK GALLERY Call gallery for exhibition information. 305-576-9878 2249 NW 1st Pl., Miami Call gallery for exhibition information. 305-576-2000 SAMMER GALLERY 82 NE 29th St., Miami www.kevinbrukgallery.com MIAMI INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ART AND 305-441-2005 INTERFLIGHT STUDIO Through March 31: Works by Matthew Weinstein DESIGN 1501 Biscayne Blvd., Miami artnet.com/sammergallery.html 250 NW 23rd St., Miami Reception March 13, 7 to 9 p.m. 305-573-1673, www.interflightstudio.com 305-428-5700 Call gallery for exhibition information. www.mymiu.com Through March 12: “Love is in the Air” with various artists KUNSTHAUS MIAMI Call gallery for exhibition information. 3312 N. Miami Ave., Miami SETH JASON BEITLEE FINE ARTS 250 NW 23rd St, #202, Miami KABE CONTEMPORARY 305-438-1333 305-438-0218, www.sethjason.com 123 NW 23rd St., Miami www.kunsthaus.org.mx MUSEO VAULT 346 NW 29th St., Miami Call gallery for exhibition information. 305-573-8142 March 13 through May 30: 305-571-1175 www.kabecontemporary.com “homo nymos” by Iván Puig www.museovault.com Call gallery for exhibition information. Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. Continued on page 42 Call gallery for exhibition information.

A project of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Dream Big & give us your best idea! What is your dream for the arts in South Florida? We want to know because we can help you realize it. There are just three simple rules: 1 Your idea is about the arts. 2 Your project takes place in or beneﬁts South Florida. 3 You ﬁnd funds to match our grant. “This grant was huge for us, it helped us expand our programming”. Lolo Reskin, SWEAT RECORDS, Inc.

Applications accepted through March 15th at www.KnightArts.org

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 41 Art & Culture

Art Listings WOLFGANG ROTH & PARTNERS FINE ART Through May 16: “In Body and Soul: The Performance Lyon, Cindy Sherman, Justine Kurland, Alec Soth, Jeff 201 NE 39th St., Miami Art of María Teresa Hincapié” by María Teresa Hincapié Brouws, Olafur Eliasson, and Anastasia Khoroshilova, Continued from page 41 305-576-6960, www.wrpfineart.com March 9 through April 18: “Aesthetics & Values 2010” and “Depression Bread Line” by George Segal Call gallery for exhibition information. by Bhakti Baxter, Xavier Cortada, Guerra de la Paz, SPINELLO GALLERY Richard Haden, Bert Rodriguez, Gerry Stecca, TM THE RUBELL FAMILY COLLECTION 155 NE 38th St., Miami WYNWOOD CENTRAL GALLERY Sisters, Frances Trombly, Wendy Wischer, and Ricardo 95 NW 29th St., Miami 786-271-4223 2242 NW 1st Pl., Miami E. Zulueta 305-573-6090 www.spinellogallery.com 305-433-3441 March 24 through April 18: “Wanderlust” by FIU MFA www.rubellfamilycollection.com March 13 through March 31: www.wynwoodcentral.com Students, Jason Galbut, Pati Laylle, and Kim Yantis Through May 29: “My Americans” by Zack Balber and “Resurrection” by Ongoing: Kito Mbiango “Beg Borrow and Steal” with Ai Weiwei, John Christina Pettersson LOWE ART MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI Baldessari, Frank Benson, Amy Bessone, Matthew Reception March 13, 7 to 11 p.m. YEELEN ART GALLERY 1301 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables Brannon, Maurizio Cattelan, Peter Coffin, George 250 NW 23rd St., Unit 306, Miami 305-284-3535, Condo, Aaron Curry, John Dogg, Marcel Duchamp, STASH GALLERY 954-235-4758 www.lowemuseum.org Gardar Eide Einarsson, Elmgreen and Dragset, Hans- 162 NE 50th Terr., Miami www.yeelenart.com Through April 4: “Cuba Avant-Garde: Contemporary Peter Feldmann, Urs Fischer, Dan Flavin, Robert 305-992-7652 Call gallery for exhibition information. Cuban Art from the Farber Collection” with various Gober, Aneta Grzeszykowska, Wade Guyton, Guyton www.myspace.com/stashgallery artists \ Walker, Karl Haendel, Peter Halley, David Hammons, Call gallery for exhibition information. MUSEUM & COLLECTION EXHIBITS Mark Handforth, Keith Haring, Rachel Harrison, Richard MIAMI ART MUSEUM Hawkins, Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer, Jonathan STRUCTURES CIFO (Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation) 101 W. Flagler St., Miami Horowitz, Thomas Houseago, Rashid Johnson, William 80 NE 29th St., Miami 1018 N. Miami Ave., Miami 305-375-3000 E. Jones, Deborah Kass, Mike Kelley, Jeff Koons, 305-447-3888 305-455-3380 www.miamiartmuseum.org Barbara Kruger, Jim Lambie, Elad Lassry, Louise Through March 31: www.cifo.org ongoing: Lawler, Mark Leckey, Sherrie Levine, Li Zhanyang, “12” with John Henry, Albert Paley, Lin Emery, Henry Through March 7: “Being in the World: Selections from “Selections from the Permanent Collection” with various Glenn Ligon, Robert Longo, Nate Lowman, Nathan Lautz, Jae Hahn, and Catherine Billingsley the Ella Fontanals-Cisneros Collection “ curated by artists Mabry, Kris Martin, Paul McCarthy, Allan McCollum, Berta Sichel with Chantal Akerman, Rafael Lozano- March 20 through June 20: Adam McEwen, Takashi Murakami, Cady Noland, Hemmer, Muntean/Rosenblum, Shirin Neshat, Robin “The Embodied Experience of Color” by Carlos Cruz David Noonan, Richard Prince, Charles Ray, Jason UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI PROJECTS SPACE 2200 NW 2nd Ave., Miami Rhode, Bill Viola, Francesca Woodman, and more Diez Rhoades, Stephen G. Rhodes, Bert Rodriguez, Sterling 305-284-2542 Ruby, Thomas Ruff, David Salle, Steven Shearer, Call gallery for exhibition information. DE LA CRUZ COLLECTION CONTEMPORARY ART MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART Cindy Sherman, Haim Steinbach, John Stezaker, Philip SPACE 770 NE 125th St., North Miami Taaffe, Hank Willis Thomas, Piotr Uklanski, Meyer 23 NE 41st St., Miami 305-893-6211 Vaisman, Kelley Walker, Wang Ziwei, Andy Warhol, WALLFLOWER GALLERY 10 NE 3rd St., Miami 305-576-6112 www.mocanomi.org Christopher Wool, and Zhang Huan www.delacruzcollection.org March 11 through May 9: 305-579-0069 Call for operating hours and exhibit information. “The Sharper Image” by Cory Arcangel and “Auto www.wallflowergallery.com WORLD CLASS BOXING Focus” by Ceal Floyer Debra and Dennis Scholl Collection myspace.com/wallflowergallery FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY FROST Reception March 11, 7 to 9 p.m. 170 NW 23rd St., Miami Call gallery for exhibition information. ART MUSEUM 305-438-9908 10975 SW 17th St., Miami THE MARGULIES COLLECTION www.worldclassboxing.org/ WHITE VINYL SPACE 305-348-2890, http://thefrost.fiu.edu/ 591 NW 27th St., Miami March 13 through May 28: 3322 NW 2nd Ave., Miami Through April 11: 305-576-1051 Anna Gaskell and Mariko Mori 305-776-1515 “The Fantastic World of José Gurvich” by José Gurvich www.margulieswarehouse.com Reception March 13, 7 to 10 p.m. www.whitevinylspace.com Through April 25: “Women’s Work / Men’s Work: Labor Through April 30: March 13 through March 31: and Gender in America” with various artists “Masters of Surrealist Sculpture” with Joan Miró and Compiled by Victor Barrenechea “The Cooking of Spam in Portugal” by Jeremy Kennedy Through May 16: “Taiwan Discovered: In Place and Isamu Noguchi, “100 Years of Photography 1909-2009” Send listings, jpeg images, and events information to Performance March 13, 7 to 11 p.m. Time” with various artists with Lewis Hine, Dorothea Lange, Helen Levitt, Danny [email protected]

42 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Art & Culture Events Calendar full schedule at www. The Year: 1967. Asian Culture Festival The Album: arshtcenter.org. Days of Future A Most Unusual Passed If you remember all Art Tour If you’ve been feeling guilty the words to “Nights in about that one-speed bike White Satin,” you’re of rusting away in the garage, a certain age and have absolve yourself during a pretty darn good March Bike Month. One memory. But even intriguing event is the pair- if you just remember ing of healthy exercise and liking the song, then artistic appreciation with get yourself to down- Graffiti by Bike, an explo- town Miami’s Bayfront MiMo Explained ration of the eye-popping Park Amphitheater for The Moody are Rudi Goblen, Juraj Kojs, and Jillian wall murals decorating the Wynwood Blues. The Moodys are among the least World Premier Mayer, whose performances range from Arts District on Saturday, March 6. The embarrassing dinosaur bands. None of dance to theater to multimedia perfor- Performances — Right free tour will follow a route that high- that Pete Townshend thrashing around. mance. But these world premiers are just Here and Now lights the evolution of Miami’s street That was never their style. And in fact part of the weekend festival, which fea- Each year the Miami Light Project com- artists and crews, ending at the recently their style remains fresh, which is tures a smorgasbord of related events, from missions new works from some of Miami’s commissioned “Wynwood Walls” col- why they’re still touring and have sold works in progress by local artists to panel most talented young performing artists, lection. Art-loving bikers should meet some 70 million albums worldwide. discussions with performing arts leaders often with spectacular results. For the past at 10:00 a.m. at the Allapattah Metrorail They take the stage on Friday, March from around the nation. Tickets (305- few years the Here & Now festival, as it’s Station (3501 NW 12th Ave.) for the 5. Tickets are $12 for the lawn to $71 known, has been staged at the Adrienne 949-6722) are $40 and include access to for geezers who need actual seats. Visit the entire weekend, Friday, March 5 Arsht Center, and the 2010 edition prom- Continued on page 44 livenation.com or call 877-598-8698. ises to be compelling. The featured artists through Sunday, March 7. See the

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 43 Art & Culture

Events Calendar also feature a deliciously decked out Cu- linary Arts Pavilion. Tickets start at $25. Continued from page 43 For a complete schedule and tickets go to ride over to Wynwood. The tour will www.miamifashionweek.com. end around 1:00 p.m. — just in time for lunch at Joey’s Italian Caffe. E-mail MiMo Madness: Have a bike-miami-days<\@>googlegroups. com or visit miamibikescene.blogspot. Blast on the Boulevard com for more information. Portions of the MiMo Historic District Unusual Art Tour World Premier Performances (Biscayne Boulevard between 67th and 75th streets, to be exact) will get The Far East Is Closer a little crazy on Saturday, March 20. Than You Think That’s when the third annual MiMo The year of the tiger is here and Madness street festival cuts loose. with it comes the annual Asian The free event begins at 10:00 a.m. Culture Festival, which cel- and will line the Boulevard with craft ebrates its 20th year on Saturday, vendors, street performers, historic March 6 and Sunday, March tours, stilt walkers, comic characters, 7. You’ll enjoy a diverse mix of artists, custom cars, and a wide range Asian crafts and activities, and of live music. Historical tours of the an even more eclectic selection of area begin at 10:30 a.m. at the Vaga- cuisine. Starting at 10:00 a.m. at bond Motel. Plenty of free parking at the Fruit and Spice Park (24801 75th Street. Call 305-609-4288 or go to SW 187th Ave.), visitors will be www.mimoboulevard.org. treated to Thai fruit carving and movement. The tour will explore the many performances, including perimeter of the island and make stops Dazzling Performance Art fushu daiko (Japanese drumming), at buildings designed by Morris Lapidus, native dances, and even Muay Igor Polevitzky, and other noted MiMo from China Two world-renowned Chinese choreogra- Thai boxing. For more centered strumming, and singing. The event begins pioneers. After the tour ends at 5:00 p.m., phers and performers, Yin Mei and San souls, tai chi and yoga will also be offered. at 12:30 p.m. and food and drinks will be treat yourself to a photo exhibit and re- Jijia, take the stage for two nights only to Admission is $10 and free for children 12 available. Admission is free, but parking ception until 8:00 p.m. A $10 donation is reveal the transformative powers of paper and younger. Call 954-431-7484 or visit ranges from $5 to $10 depending on car requested. Call 305-945-1770 for details. in a multimedia work that interlaces his- asianculturefesetival.org. size. Park office: 305-945-3425. tory, contemporary and traditional dance, There Is Style and There Is music, sound, and visuals. The ancient Blue Grass on the Green MiMo Explained and Fashion — Which Will It Be? Chinese city of Luoyang is the setting for Grass at Greynolds — Free! Experienced Fashionistas, clear your Crackberry cal- Yin Mei’s City of Paper, and the Byron Attend a real bluegrass jam on Sunday, If you’ve ever wondered where, why, endars for one of the can’t-miss events of Carlyle Theater (500 71st Street, Miami March 7 at the county’s lovely Greynolds when, and by whom the term “MiMo” the year. Rub Manolos with celebrities Beach) is where it’ll come alive. Don’t Park (17530 W. Dixie Hwy.) and get in was coined, head to Bay Harbor Islands and designers at the 12th annual Miami miss this exclusive event, presented by touch with your deep American roots. on Saturday, March 13. A walking International Fashion Week. The MDC’s Cultura del Lobo Performance Presented in coordination with the South tour called Bay Harbor Islands MiMo: event hits the runway Thursday, March Series: Friday, March 19 and Saturday, Florida Bluegrass Association, this is Architecture of a Mid-Century Town 18 through Sunday, March 21 at the March 20. For more information and one in a series of Bluegrass Sundays at the begins at 3:30 p.m. at 1019 Kane Con- Shops at Midtown Miami, which will be tickets (prices vary), call 305-237-3010. park, on the first Sunday of each month. course and is hosted by designer Teri transformed into Fashion Central. The It kicks off with the New River Boys D’Amico, who co-founded the Miami week concludes with the Miami Moda Compiled by BT interns Mandy Baca and and then unleashes a torrent of picking, Modern architectural preservation & Music Awards. This year’s event will Matt Ruckman

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44 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Columnists: Kids and the City The Art of Family Life How a home address led to a unique and memorable creative experience By Jenni Person It turned out the way Carlos wanted BT Contributor to create the house number was to invite us to his studio to create parts of it. He used to hate the number on our is very experienced at working with house. Not the numerals themselves. kids owing to his extensive projects with It’s not like I have an aversion to the students all over the community. Cur-

I BT photo by Jenni Person numerology behind our address. As a rently he is guiding students from across matter of fact, I love the numerology as Miami-Dade County in a commissioned the digits added up equal nine, which project for a county courthouse. is very powerfully three threes, which Carlos was amazing with Goldi and is my favorite number. What I couldn’t Izzi. He not only taught them about stand were the standard hardware-store working with clay, he empowered them frilly flower tiles. They were ugly and as artists. He showed them different tools no one could read them from the street. and how to use color, and he celebrated Visiting friends often had a hard time their creativity and vision by selecting finding us. their small creations to incorporate into Then I ran into my old buddy, mosaic the larger piece. As we made starfish artist Carlos Alves, who is pretty well and goldfish and octopi, Carlos loved known to those who have been around the fact that Goldi also created lips to Miami for a while. His intricate mosaics from many neighborhood artists and other in our family, sea life also has a big represent our family kisses. Then came utilize found objects, old tableware in volunteers, which made it a true reflection of presence. Shortly after Goldi was born, the requisite cat as well as a peninsular china and stoneware, as well as his own the neighborhood’s life at that time. “Broken we started occasionally referring to her shape to represent Florida. He was espe- sculpted and painted tiles. shards were brought by all kinds of people in as Goldi-fish because she received so cially charmed that Izzi made a French His work can be seen in public-art the community,” he recalls. many gifts with cute little goldfish on fry. Carlos used it right at the top of the projects and in private homes and collec- Ten years later the fountain mosaic them. Then, once pregnant with Izzi and whole piece. tions here and around the world. South was rebuilt a third time because the foun- searching for name that began with “S,” What we ended up with was an Beach crawlers from the early 1990s will tain itself was finally made functional we experimented briefly and jokingly amazing day engaging our kids in art. fondly remember his fountain on Lincoln after many dry years. This time Carlos with Starfish, which became his in-utero They got their hands right on things in Road at Lenox Avenue, in front of where did the work with a team of professionals code name. (Jewish superstition kept the studio of an accomplished working his studio used to be. Those former and more handmade tiles — thanks to us from ever uttering the name we had artist. It was a real bonding experience crawlers who now have tiny crawlers of support from the City of Miami Beach’s chosen before he was born.) Somewhere in which we articulated and celebrated their own will recognize Carlos as the Art in Public Places program. along the way, I began comparing my our own family culture. And last but not artist behind the giant sandcastle slide at My kids, and probably yours too, are partner to a seahorse. In that species, the least, we came away with a beautiful the Miami Children’s Museum. most familiar with Carlos’s work on that male takes on a significant childcare role. original artwork that is unique to our The Lincoln Road fountain was origi- awesome slide at the Children’s Museum. As you can see, we almost had a family and our home. nally created in 1992, just before Hurricane Mine are also proud that the artist behind whole virtual underwater life. My family Oh, and now you can read our ad- Andrew, and had to be rebuilt after the storm it is an old friend of mom and dad’s. So then decided to bring me into the ocean dress from the street! damaged it. Funded through a neighbor- they were completely thrilled when one too. They deemed me to be an octopus hood enhancement grant to what was then day I told them I’d asked Carlos to make for all the multi-tasking tentacles I have For more about Carlos Alves check out called the South Florida Art Center (now Art us a street address number for our house. reaching out into different projects. I www.carlosalvesmosaics.com. Center/South Florida), the project trans- It made a lot of sense because much didn’t love it, but I love that it’s their formed the old fountain. Carlos sought help of Carlos’s work features sea life, and vision, so I accepted it. Feedback: [email protected]

March 2009 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 45 PARK PATROL May I See Your Passport, Please? One thing about Aventura’s main park: It’s really, really safe By Jim W. Harper a large grass fi eld, a playground, tennis BT Contributor courts, and the no-depth water park, or “SplashPad,” as they call it. The splash n adventure awaits any visitor to area opens on weekends in March and the parks of Aventura, much like also on weekdays during the summer. Athe adventure of trying to enter But don’t pay $10 to visit it. Skip it, or Cuba. “No es fácil” is a common Cuban fi nd a friend in Aventura who can sneak saying that would apply to both situa- Harper BT photos by Jim W. you in for free. tions. It’s not easy. Just don’t pretend to be a journalist! To get to Aventura’s main park, The playground is very popular with Founders Park, you may end up circling the condo mothers and their nannies, and the Aventura Mall a few times before the children seem to like it, too. A large realizing that you should have made that section is conveniently shaded in an left turn at Condo Albuquerque. Once at exemplary way, and other Miami parks the entrances, you must decide if you are could learn something from this tarp. a leftie or a rightie, as the park is divided Another outstanding and nearly by 190th Street into the larger northern unique feature of this park is recycling. I section and the smaller southern part. have been ranting and raving about how Go right, young man. The southern almost none of Miami’s parks recycle, part promotes socialism by allowing visi- Aventura’s main park has a split personality. and here in Aventura they offer it, along tors to park for free. Although small, it boasts a walking path, clean bathrooms, Then there are the rules for jour- I have visited, this and a waterfront. Sometimes parents bring nalists, especially ones with cameras. was a fi rst. their children here for lessons in soccer, Even if they offer to pay $5, they are not Now here’s my which seems to be a socialist sport. allowed to enter. I know, because it hap- opinion of the park — Beware the left. Here capitalism pened to me. I had to turn on my heels, drum roll please — I shifts into high gear in order to protect cross the street to where I had parked my like it. It’s very clean the children (but only the children on the car for free, and leave. and feels very safe. left, who are clearly rightists). Visitors After obtaining the necessary paper- The restrooms are must fl ash a residency card, which deter- work from city hall, I was “permitted” to immaculate. They mines whether or not they are contribut- enter with camera and notepad in hand. have two clay tennis ing to the Aventura economy. Look out! Here comes the scary jour- courts. But other than If you live anywhere else, you’re not. nalist with his ballpoint of death! that, it’s not worth the Never mind the mall. Those not accom- Honestly, what did they think I was entry fee. Go to the panied by a resident must pay $5 to enter going to do? It feels strange to register mall instead. and an additional $10 to use the splash in order to visit a park, and this level of Boo! The south part features tranquility, water, free parking, pad. Fifteen bucks for a park without a hoop-jumping is unprecedented. Of the Did the park and all are welcome. Gap and a food court? No thank you. dozens of others parks in Greater Miami critic scare you? Deep breath. with very good trash cans. They even FOUNDERS If you live in Aventura, no doubt you have an electric cart for shuttling staff PARK have taken advantage of Founders Park, between parks. which is named after the founding of the Founders Park really is quite nice, NE 192nd NE 192nd Park Rating City of Aventura in 1995. In the center and clean, and apparently safe, but my NE 192nd stands a podium celebrating the city’s experience of being denied entry makes tenth anniversary in 2005. me feel that it is overly sanitized. Much 3105 NE 190th St., Aventura The park’s biggest weakness is its like the rest of Aventura, everything is W Country Club Dr Club Country W 305-466-8556 location next to the William H. Lehman enclosed behind a fence and reserved Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Causeway (State Road 856), because that for VIPs only. (Residents of Aventura, side of the park is noisy. The south side, you’re all VIPs to me). Perhaps they Founders Park Picnic tables: Yes Barbecues: No on the other hand, has a tranquil canal should change the name to Clorox™ Picnic pavilions: Yes that connects to aptly named but mis- Park. Then they could earn residuals! Hidden Bay Dr Tennis courts: Yes spelled Dumbfoundling Bay. (It should The park does fall short in some NE 190th St Athletic fi elds: Yes be Dumbfounding.) Of course, this being areas. No barbecues and no other heat NE 190th St Night lighting: Yes Aventura, the water is secured behind a sources of any kind are allowed, mean- Swimming pool: No steel fence. Don’t even think about fi shing your children won’t be eating hot Playground: Yes ing here. dogs and baked beans at that birthday Special features: Water splash pad The main features of the larger north side are a high-quality baseball diamond, Continued on page 47

46 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Park Patrol

Passport Continued from page 46 party. No es fácil. On the south side by the water fountain, a fire extinguisher case was mysteriously empty. Had someone used it recently on a flaming journalist? No es fácil. The tennis courts are closed from noon until 2:00 p.m. to allow for watering of the clay. Um, isn’t that the time of day when evaporation happens most quickly? Don’t water-conservation rules tell us not to water during the daytime? I guess these rules don’t apply to clay. No es fácil. The ice-cream vending machine is not accepting bills! ¡No es fácil! Children of residents have many A very nice baseball diamond amid the high-rises. Nonresident park visitors must options here to join various sports clubs: pay $10 for this? Little League baseball/softball, soccer, something very classy and very boring. Can you blame the residents of fascism for beginners. In case you were But the park is safe. It’s safe. It’s Aventura for wanting to create some safe For the rest of us? Well, let’s party wondering, I made up that last one. safer than the nearby mall, where anyone spaces? The world is a dangerous place, for free on the south side of Found- A new baseball league for men is could enter. Practically any pedophile and everyone needs an escape where they ers Park. But don’t bring your camera, also getting started. and mass murderer could follow you into can breathe some fresh air and stretch and leave your press pass in Havana. I Founders Day takes place in Novem- The Gap and watch you buy jeans. That their legs on a quarter-mile pathway. The wouldn’t want you to miss the aventura. ber and this year will celebrate Aven- probably won’t happen in Founders Park residents of Aventura have that for free on tura’s Quince. I expect the city to do — at least in the northern section. the north side of Founders Park. Feedback: [email protected]

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 47 Columnists: Pawsitively Pets When Nature Barks Sometimes it’s not what you do, but where you do it By Lisa Hartman on the size and age of your dog, initially BT Contributor you might need to take her out as often as every 15 minutes (this usually for tiny ouse-training is probably one of young dogs) so as not to miss an oppor- the top three reasons dog owners tunity to reward her outside and avoid an Hare ready to throw in the towel accident inside. and adopt an animal-free lifestyle. Who Once inside, the dog must be su- can blame them? Not only is it incredibly pervised at all times. Do not even turn frustrating when an animal has acci- around to answer the telephone. This dents, it is downright disgusting. is usually when you will find an acci- The family room, where everyone dent, especially if you have scolded or gathers to socialize and watch TV, the punished her in the past. She’ll do it the place where the baby crawls, has now second you’re not looking. become a doggy toilet. Even more dis- So do not punish your young dog tressing, it seems the dog at some point for house-training accidents as that can understands that she’s not supposed to cause sneaky behavior. Take accidents as relieve herself indoors — only to have the information: “I need to take my dog out owner stumble onto yet another accident. more often and supervise better!” But the house-training stage is no Most important, you do not want time to get anthropomorphic and project your dog to be afraid to eliminate in human emotions and characteristics on front of you, or she may not even do your dog. In fact you have to remember her business outside with you present, that, while we humans naturally steer and instead go in the house when you’re clear of bodily waste, dogs find it down- and the importance of effective training when she eliminates outdoors in order not looking. If you punish the dog for right fascinating and are drawn to the becomes clear. to make the association that that is the going on the carpet in the living room, smells and information it provides. They Like humans, dogs are creatures of right place. she may try the carpet in a bedroom. If learn who’s who in the neighborhood, habit. They will grow accustomed to Do not bring the dog back indoors you punish a specific spot, she may try a the gender of dogs or other animals who doing their business in a certain area. In and then give her a treat long after the new spot a few feet away. Very confus- live nearby, and more. Just as we may this column, I’ll focus more on theory fact. Also do not chant phrases like “Go ing! My best advice: Reward every- be hooked on reading e-mail, dogs love than training specifics, beginning with potty, go potty” before the dog begins to where outside and be vigilant to avoid to read “pee mail.” Each blade of grass, your pet’s homecoming. eliminate. Again, you want to build an accidents inside. every shrub and tree trunk serves as their Immediately when you get your association with the phrase you use and Generally “teacups” or tiny dogs local news source, their Biscayne Times. new dog (puppy or adult), take her the dog’s behavior. with small bladders are the most difficult It is important to set up your dog outdoors for a walk. You can choose a It goes without saying that, in addi- to house-train. But even large dogs can for bathroom success early, as each and tree or bushes close to an entryway to tion to bringing treats with you outdoors, have issues with soiling indoors or even every indoor accident can work against your home or condominium to serve as you must always have poop-scoop bags. in their own indoor homes or crates. This you. Add to that the fact that the smell a training area. Have some amazingly Once you believe your dog is is most prevalent with large dogs bought of excrement and urine is extremely wonderful treats with you to reward “empty,” you will want to bring her at pet stores or from puppy mills. difficult if not impossible to eliminate your dog right after she goes. This is an inside and begin area-training or crate- Dogs have a natural tendency to keep from some porous surfaces (which will extremely important point: You want to training. Do not give her the whole house themselves and their homes clean, but draw the dog to that area even more) reward and praise the dog immediately in which to make mistakes. Depending Continued on page 49

48 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Columnists: Pawsitively Pets

Nature give her time to learn that things will be “Hey, this carpet works perfectly well. important to have patience, be consis- Continued from page 48 different and cleaner with you. Young Why was I waiting to go outside?” tent, and build a reward history outdoors. or small dogs that seem to be doing well Whatever the case or age or the dog, go Soon your house will look (and smell) as they can lose that instinct. Puppy-mill with house-training may “know” to back to the beginning for a while and good as new! dogs are never let out of a crate; they go outside but not yet have the muscle things should return to normal. live in filth and squalor. Pet-store dogs control to hold it. Some dogs need to go Once your dog is on the right Lisa Hartman is head dog trainer for never see grass or get out of their cages immediately when their bladders are full. track, she should have a signal to Pawsitively Pets. You can reach her at or pens either, and certainly when the Older dogs can become untrained tell you she needs to relieve herself. [email protected] or store closes until the store opens the next after years of perfection. Sometimes Whether it’s a bark at the door, a look, www.pawsitivelypetsonline.com. You can morning, the dogs must eliminate on this is a medical issue, in which case or a ringing of a bell, you should con- also keep up with her and her dogs on themselves and stay dirty until they’re a visit to the vet is in order. Some- dition a behavior that is rewarded with Facebook at www.profile.to/dogtrainer. cleaned up. times it’s the result of a change in your you opening the door. If this is the case with your dog, lifestyle. Other times it’s just a case of When house-training animals, it’s Feedback: [email protected]

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 49 Columnists: Your Garden Chilled Out to the Max These cold snaps can be killers, but there are ways you can cheat death By Jeff Shimonski on cold days our survived. We cover it with a burlap tent BT Contributor pile of compost was when temperatures get into the 50s. One quite warm com- night we left it uncovered and all the hen the freeze of January 1977 pared to the ambi- older foliage burned, but it is surviving. occurred, I was attending ent temperature. This is a stunning palm from Malaysia Wnight school while working The same for the but very sensitive to the cold. during the day at Parrot Jungle. One eve- mulch piles. This Now our cold-preparation prac- BT photo by Jeff Shimonski ning during my plant physiology class, I learned was the tices are paying off. Except for some of I overheard two students exclaiming result of biological the more cold-sensitive tropicals, our that Parrot Jungle would have to close activity, all those landscape has escaped major damage because the garden had been wiped out tiny organisms during recent chills. This I attribute to by the freeze a week earlier. produced quite a bit the judicious use of mulch and compost I had been wondering about that of heat as they went in the landscape over the past few years, myself because I had seen the damage about their business irrigating well before the cold fronts, and firsthand. About 15 feet of the canopy of decomposing the not fertilizing so the plants do not have of the giant banyan tree had been killed organic material or any tender new foliage to burn. by frost. Giant Areca palms with trunks eating each other. You can see a difference at the reaching 30 feet had been killed to the So we started to park. Compare the stands of the corn ground. I still remember that morning take advantage of plant, Dracaena fragrans. Some stands vividly, the owner and staff frantically that process. Our cycad collection was undamaged by the cold. This are burned more than others. I believe running around with hoses and sprin- In the winter, female cone of Encephalartos ferox just produced this is the result of soil moisture. The klers trying to protect all of the tender we began to mulch viable seeds. corn plants grown on slopes or areas plants by encasing then in ice. It was heavily around all the ground beneath plants the afternoon that received less irrigation have more quite beautiful, long icicles were hang- of our more tender plant material like before a cold spell, the ground would burned foliage. ing off full-grown banana plants. The heliconias and bananas, so that the roots remain much warmer and less plant The palm Carpentaria acuminata hibiscus and crotons were encased in ice. and the rhizomes would not be dam- damage would result. is another excellent example. They A lot of these plants did die. aged by cold. We could lose the stems So now it has been almost 20 years look great at the park. Usually this Over the next two decades, I and foliage but the plants would grow since we’ve experienced a severe cold time of year they look so burned and learned quite a bit about protecting right back because underground they spell. At Jungle Island I was growing beat up from the wind that you want to plants from cold weather. During those had been protected by the heat from the lots of ultra-tropical plants. We had a cut them down. years, we would experience tempera- biological activity. beautiful breadfruit tree, Artocarpus I’ve also noticed something else tures briefly dropping into the high 20s Since heat flows from the object with altilis, that had been growing in the of significance: no fig whitefly and no before sunrise about two or three times the higher temperature to the object with ground for the past three winters. It had iguanas. Maybe the cold is sometimes a a year — nothing more. By the 1990s I the lower one, we took this process one reached 20 feet and had flowered for the good thing. even stopped putting out sprinklers on step further. I had noticed that the same first time the week we got temperatures the grass and just started painting the plant species planted in a container and in the high 30s. Jeff Shimonski is an ISA-certified munic- burned grass with green paint the day in the ground would react differently I’m using the past tense because I ipal arborist, director of horticulture at after a freeze. In a couple of weeks the to cold. Potted plants got cold much had to cut the tree down to the ground Jungle Island, and principal of Tropical guys would cut the grass and no one faster, resulting in greater damage. We a couple of weeks ago. It was dead Designs of Florida. Contact him at jeff@ would notice the difference. started burying some potted plants in from the cold. The red sealing wax tropicaldesigns.com. When we started a composting beds of mulch for the winter with good palm, Cyrtostachys renda, growing in a operation in the late 1980s, I noticed that results. I also found that when irrigating large container in our jungle river, has Feedback: [email protected]

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50 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Dining guiDe

R ESTAURANT L ISTINGS The Biscayne Corridor’s most comprehensive restaurant guide. Total this month: 215.

NEW THIS MONTH come custom-spiced -- mild to authentically brain-searing Sakaya Kitchen daily happy hour, select dishes (like steamed pork buns -- and are so affordable there’s no guilt in splurging on Shops at Midtown Miami with apple kimchi) are discounted. $$-$$$ superb house specials like crisp-coated duck or fresh Buena Vista Avenue, 305-576-8096 MIAMI snapper (whole or filleted) in tamarind sauce. The young www.sakayakitchen.com chef has a heavenly hand at tofu, too, so vegetarians are This chef-driven, fast-casual Asian eatery is more an BRICKELL / DOWNTOWN very well-served. $$ izakaya (in Japan, a pub with food) than a sakaya (sake MIAMI shop). But why quibble about words with so many more Giovana Caffe intriguing things to wrap your mouth around? The con- UPPER EASTSIDE 154 SE 1st Ave., 305-374-1024 MIAMI cept takes on street-food favorites from all over Asia, www.giovanacaffe.com housemade daily from quality fresh ingredients. French Luna Corner Pizza If the menu at this charming downtown hideaway MIDTOWN / WYNWOOD / DESIGN DISTRICT Culinary Institute-trained Richard Hales does change his 6815 Biscayne Blvd., 305-507-9209 contained only one item -- pear and gorgonzola ravioli menu, so we’d advise immediately grabbing some crispy www.lunacornerpizza.com dressed, not drowned, in sage-spiced cream sauce The Cheese Course Korean chicken wings and Chinese-inspired, open-faced At this cheerful takeout/delivery place (masterminded by -- we’d be happy. But the café, formerly lunch-only but 3451 NE 1st Ave., 786-220-6681 roast pork buns with sweet chili sauce and homemade the Amatruda family, pizza-makers in Italy since 1968), now serving weekday dinners, is also justly famed for www.thecheesecourse.com pickles. $$ the concept is fast but high-quality whole pies or single meal-size salads like grilled skirt steak atop sweetly Not so much a restaurant as an artisanal cheese shop slices. Sauce is from flavorful San Marzano tomatoes, balsamic-dressed spinach (with spinach, tomatoes, with complimentary prepared foods, this place’s self- Salsa Fiesta and toppings include imported salami picante, pleasantly bacon, hard-boiled eggs, blue cheese, and almonds), or service café component nevertheless became an instant 2929 Biscayne Blvd., 305-400-8245 spicier than American pepperoni. Proprietary electric an especially lavish chicken salad with pine nuts, golden hit. Impeccable ingredients and inspired combinations www.salsafiestagrill.com ovens, designed to transform Luna’s secret 24-flour for- raisins, apples, and basil, an Italian twist. $$ make even the simplest salads and sandwiches unique The first stateside offshoot of a popular Venezuelan mini mula into perfectly pliable/foldable crusts in under five -- like bacon and egg, elevated by hand-crafted cream chain, this “urban Mexican grill” serves health-conscious, minutes, ensure consistently street-neat eats despite the Martini 28 cheese, roasted red peppers, avocado, and chipotle made-fresh-daily fare similar in concept to some fast- slices’ massive size (big pies are 20-inchers). $ 146 SE 1st Ave., 305-577-4414 mayo. Cheese platters are exceptional, and customized casual competitors. But there are indeed differences This stylish little lunch-only spot, a labor of love from for flavor preference from mild to bold, and accompa- here, notably pan-Latin options: black beans as well as a husband-wife chef team, serves what might well be nied by appropriate fruits, veggies, nuts, olives, prepared red; thin, delightfully crunchy tostones (available as a the most impressive meal deal in town. From an ambi- spreads, and breads. $$ side or as the base for a uniquely tasty take on normal NORTH MIAMI BEACH tious, daily-changing menu of fare that’s geographically nachos). Other pluses include weekday happy hours with eclectic but prepared with solid classic technique, diners Mandolin Aegean Bistro two-for-one beers -- and free parking. $-$$ Flamma Brazilian Steakhouse get a choice of about ten entrées (substantial stuff like 4312 NE 2nd Ave., 305-576-6066 3913 NE 163rd St. (Intracoastal Mall) steak au poivre with Madeira cream sauce and roasted www.mandolinmiami.com Sugarcane Raw Bar Grill 305-957-9900, www.flammasteakhouse.com potatoes, or pignolia-crusted salmon with Dijon mustard Inside this converted 1940s home’s blue-and-white din- 3250 NE 1st Ave., 786-369-0353 The rodizio formula is familiar: Pay one price ($39.90 sauce, potatoes, and veggies), plus soup or salad and ing room -- or even more atmospherically, its tree-shel- www.sugarcanerawbargrill.com for dinner, $29.90 at Sunday brunch), then eat till you housemade dessert. For just $9.99. Told ya. $ tered garden -- diners feast on authentic rustic fare from This chic indoor/outdoor space is an offspring of Lincoln drop from a groaning salad/appetizer bar and a massive both Greece and Turkey. Make a meal of multinational Road’s SushiSamba Dromo and a sibling of Sugarcane selection of beef, pork, lamb, poultry, sausage, and fish Thai Angel mezes: a Greek sampler of creamy tzatziki yogurt dip, lounges in NYC and Las Vegas, but more informal than (16 varieties at dinner; 5 at brunch) carved tableside 152 SE 1st Ave., 305-371-9748 smoky eggplant purée, and airy tarama caviar spread; the former and more food-oriented than the latter, as by costumed waiters. What spectacularly differenti- Inside a colorful courtyard that rather resembles and a Turkish sampler of hummus, fava purée, and rich three kitchens -- normal, raw bar, and robata charcoal ates Flamma: its setting on the Intracoastal Waterway. Munchkinland, this downtown “insider’s secret” serves tomato-walnut dip. The meze of mussels in lemony wine grill -- make clear. Chef Timon Balloo’s LatAsian small But also spectacular is a Monday-Thursday two-for- serious Thai food till 9:00 p.m. daily. Tasty classics like broth is, with Mandolin’s fresh-baked flatbread, almost a plates range from subtle orange/fennel-marinated one dinner deal with a coupon available at Flamma. the four curries (red, green, panang, and massaman) full meal in itself. $$-$$$ salmon crudo to intensely smoky-rich short ribs. At the Unbelievable but true. $$$$

MIAMI famed sense of culinary balance is now evident through- Azul dog-friendly outdoor terrace, over a rich croque mon- Brickell / Downtown out the global (though primarily Asian or Latin American- 500 Brickell Key Dr. sieur (which comes with an alluringly sweet/sour citrus- inspired) menu, in dishes like yuzu/white soya-dressed 305-913-8254 dressed side salad), a lobster club on onion toast, some Abokado salad of shrimp tempura, a tender pork shank glazed Floor-to-ceiling picture windows showcase Biscayne surprisingly solid Asian fusion items, and a cocktail is 900 S. Miami Ave., with spicy Szechuan citrus sauce, or lunchtime’s rare Bay. But diners are more likely to focus on the spar- one of Miami’s more relaxing experiences. $$-$$$ 305-347-3700 tuna burger with lively wasabi aioli and wakame salad. kling raw bar and open kitchen, where chef Clay Conley www.abokadosushi.com For dessert few chocoholics can resist a buttery-crusted crafts imaginative global creations – many of them Bali Café Hamachi chiles rellenos? Shiso leaf “nachos” topped tart filled with sinfully rich warm chocolate custard. combinations, to satisfy those who want it all. One 109 NE 2nd Ave., 305-358-5751 with raw spicy tuna, kaiware sprouts, and other Asian $$$$$ offering, “A Study in Tuna,” includes tuna sashimi, While Indonesian food isn’t easy to find in Miami, ingredients? The Viva, a sushi roll that starts with stan- Maine crab, avocado tempura, and caviar, with several downtown has secret stashes — small joints catering to dard Japanese (spicy tuna, cucumber, avocado), adds Area 31 Asian sauces. Moroccan lamb is three preparations cruise-ship and construction workers. This cute, exotically Latin sabor (jalapeño, cilantro), wraps it in a flour tortilla, 270 Biscayne Boulevard Way (grilled chop, harissa-marinated loin, and bastilla, the decorated café has survived and thrived for good reason. and garnishes it with heat (spicy snow crab mix)? Miami 305-524-5234 famed savory-sweet Middle Eastern pastry, stuffed with The homey cooking is delicious, and the friendly family hasn’t tended to initiate too many food “firsts,” but this www.area31restaurant.com braised shank. $$$$$ feel encourages even the timid of palate to try something Japanese/Pan-Latin fusion place is surely one. Prices are Not that the sleek interior of this seafood restaurant new. Novices will want Indonesia’s signature rijsttafel, higher than at neighborhood sushi spots, but in keeping (named for fishing area 31, stretching from the Carolinas Balans a mix-and-match collection of small dishes and condi- with Abokado’s Mary Brickell Village neighbors. $$$$ to South America) isn’t a glamorous dining setting. But 901 S. Miami Ave. ments to be heaped on rice. Note: bring cash. No plastic we’d eat outside. From the expansive terrace of the (Mary Brickell Village) accepted here. $-$$ Acqua Epic condo and hotel on the Miami River, the views of 305-534-9191 1435 Brickell Ave. Brickell’s high-rises actually make Miami look like a real www.balans.co.uk The Bar at Level 25 (Conrad Hotel) Four Seasons Hotel city. It’s hard to decide whether the eats or drinks are the Open until 4:00 a.m. on weekends, this London import 1395 Brickell Ave., 305-503-6500 305-381-3190 most impressive. The food is impeccably fresh regional (Miami’s second Balans) offers a sleeker setting than On the Conrad’s 25th floor, The Bar’s picture-windowed Originally an Italian/Mediterranean restaurant, this com- fish, prepared in a clean Mediterranean-influenced style. its perennially popular Lincoln Road progenitor, but space is not just a watering hole with panoramic views. At fortably elegant, upscale spot switched chefs in 2006, The cocktails are genuinely creative. Luckily you don’t the same simple yet sophisticated global menu. The resulting in a complete menu renovation. Thailand’s have to choose one or the other. $$$-$$$$ indoor space can get mighty loud, but lounging on the Continued on page 52

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 51 Dining Guide Red, White, and You Agreeable wine for $12 or less By Bill Citara to thinking and then drinking outside the finish. If there ever was cassis-olive-pepper-toast flavors BT Contributor viticultural box. Today we slurp some an inexpensive red wine that can stand up to hearty beef red wines. Come April we’ll swirl, sniff, made for pasta, this is it. stews, grilled sausages, and just he box is one of mankind’s most and snarf down a few whites. And the You might call about any kind of red-sauce pasta. useful inventions. It’s strong and only boxes will be those we use to haul Tempranillo the Sangio- Your spaghetti may come in a Trugged and comes in a variety of home our new-found booty. vese of Spain, and the box, but your wine will definitely be sizes. It’s inexpensive. It’s perfect for Tops on this list of not the usual 2007 Eguren reprises outside it. shipping everything from books to re- suspects reds is d’Arenberg’s 2007 many of Sangiovese’s frigerators. It’s essential for moving and The Stump Jump. It’s an Australian characteristics. It’s got The luscious Stump Jump is pretty much everyone’s first choice reference, mate, to a type of plow used a very fresh, lively nose, blend can be found at the when it comes to storing items no longer way back when to clear vineyard land with tart strawberry North Miami Crown Wine and useful around the house. of the gnarly roots of eucalyptus trees. and raspberry fruit and Spirits (12555 Biscayne Blvd., To quote that great lifestyle maven, That said, there’s nothing gnarly about hints of black olives. On 305-892-9463) for $9.95. Martha “Convicted Felon” Stewart, the this mélange of Grenache (50 percent), the palate it loses some Antinori’s Santa Cristina box “is a good thing.” Shiraz (29 percent) and Mourvedre (21 of that complexity, but costs $10.99 and is available Unless you’re a wine lover. percent), and at ten bucks a bottle it’s a its light to medium body at many Publix, including To any real fan of the fruit of the flat-out steal. and generous acidity the Biscayne Commons vine, the box is as much a prison as any What makes it so impressive is make it a good compan- store (14641 Biscayne steel-barred jail cell in San Quentin, you can actually taste each grape of ion to a variety of foods. Blvd., 305-354-2171). The albeit a biodegradable one. (We will the blend, starting off with the peppery In that same light, Eguren Tempranillo and make an exception for the case box, spice of Shiraz, which gives way to the crisp, and tangy vein Andre Brunel Grenache are which allows us to feed our addiction earthy, musky flavors of Mourvedre, in is the 2006 Domaine both at the North Miami by the dozen.) The box, you see, is turn yielding to the bright red cherry Andre Brunel Grenache. Beach Total Wine & More what we all too often drink inside of, character of Grenache. Buy it by the box. Think tart raspberries (14750 Biscayne Blvd., 305- thoughtlessly grabbing another bottle One of the best “old reliable” wines on and a meal of roasted 354-3270) for $7.99 and of Cabernet or Merlot or Chardonnay or the market and my go-to Italian wine when chicken, veal scallopine, $8.99 respectively. And get Sauvignon Blanc off store shelves with- nothing else on a wine list seems appealing or even meaty fish like Briccotondo’s Barbera at out stopping to consider the multitude is any vintage of Antinori’s Santa Cris- salmon, swordfish, or the Aventura Cellars Wine of interesting, exciting, and perhaps tina Sangiovese. The 2007 wine contains tuna. If you’re in the & Spirits for $11.99 (21055 unfamiliar wines that exist outside our ten percent Merlot to soften it up a bit, but mood for a wine with Biscayne Blvd., 305-936- (virtual) cardboard prison. that doesn’t take away from its typical a bit more heft, the 9433). Which brings us to where we are tangy, cherry-berry flavors with earthy- 2006 Briccotondo today (and next month, for that matter): mushroomy undertones and a long citrusy Barbera delivers the kind of bold, brassy, Feedback: [email protected]

Restaurant Listings spectacular dining setting than the upscale Azul, upstairs, Ecco Pizzateca & Lounge That includes this family-owned ristorante, where even owing to the option of dining outdoors on a covered ter- 168 SE 1st St. newcomers feel at home. At lunch it’s almost impossible Continued from page 51 race directly on the waterfront. The food is Asian-inspired, 305-960-1900 to resist panini, served on foccacia or crunchy ciab- with a few Latin and Mediterranean accents. For the www.eccomiami.com atta; even the vegetarian version bursts with complex lunch it’s an elegant sandwich bar; at night it’s a raw bar health-conscious, the menu includes low-cal choices. Masterminded by Aramis Lorie (of PS14) and partner and complementary flavors. During weekday dinners, (with pristine coldwater oysters) and (best) a tapas bar For hedonists there’s a big selection of artisan sakes. Brian Basti, this hip hangout was designed to entice try generous plates of risotto with shrimp and grilled serving pintxos. That’s just the Basque word for tapas, but $$$-$$$$$ downtown workers to linger after office hours. And even asparagus; homemade pastas like seafood-packed fet- here there’s nothing mere about the generously portioned without the expansive, casual-chic space as bait, interna- tuccine al scoglio; or delicate Vitello alla Milanese on small plates. They range from traditional items like cod The Democratic Republic of Beer tionally award-winning Italian pizza chef Massimo Fabio arugula. $$-$$$ fish equixada and saffron-sautéed Spanish artichokes 255 NE 14th St., 305-372-4161 Bruni’s exquisitely airy, burn-blistered pies, made from to inventive inspirations like foie gras and goat cheese- www.drbmiami.com homemade dough, could do the trick. The rest of the Fresco California Bistro stuffed empanadas. $$$ The food here? Beer is food! The DRB serves 400 beers organically oriented menu may also great, but with pizzas 1744 SW 3rd Ave., from 55 countries, ranging from $2 Pabst Blue Ribbon like the cream/mushroom-topped Bianca beckoning, we’ll 305-858-0608 Botequim Carioca to $40 DeuS (an 11.5% alcohol Belgian méthode never know. $-$$$ This festively decorated indoor/outdoor bistro packs a 900 Biscayne Blvd., 305-675-1876 Champenoise brew). But for those favoring solid snacks, lot of party spirit into a small space, a large variety of www.botequim-carioca.de tasty global smallish plates include fried fresh zucchini Eos food onto its menu. To the familiar Latin American/Italian If Brazil’s cuisine were defined by the USA’s Brazilian res- with dip (cheese recommended); chorizo with homemade 485 Brickell Ave. (Viceroy Hotel) equation, the owners add a touch of Cal-Mex (like Tex- taurants, the conclusion would be that Brazilian people cilantro mayo; or steak tacos, served Mexican-style with 305-503-0373 Mex but more health conscious). Menu offerings range eat nothing but rodizio (all-you-can-eat meat), and weigh, onions, cilantro, and spicy salsa. Sadly for breakfast-brew Unlike their Michelin-starred New Adriatic restaurant from designer pizzas and pastas to custardy tamales, but on average, 400 pounds. This Brazilian pub broadens enthusiasts, the DRB isn’t open that early. But it is open Anthos, in Manhattan, this venture of chef Michael the bistro’s especially known for imaginative meal-size the picture, with a menu that offers entrées, especially at late -- till 5:00 a.m. $$ Psilakis and restaurateur Donatella Arpaia has influences salads, like one featuring mandarin oranges, avocado, lunch, but highlights Brazilian tapas -- mega-mini plates ranging way beyond Greece to the whole Mediterranean apple, blue cheese, raisins, candied pecans, and chicken meant for sharing. Must-not-misses include pasteles Dolores, But You Can Call Me Lolita region, and even Latin America. Unchanged is Psilakis’ on a mesclun bed. $$ filled with shrimp and creamy catupiry cheese, beautifully 1000 S. Miami Ave. solid creativity, and a beautiful sense of balance that seasoned bolinho de bacalau (fried salt cod dumplings), 305-403-3103, www.doloreslolita.com makes even very unfamiliar combinations taste acces- Garcia’s Seafood Grille and Fish Market and aipim frito (house-special yuca fries, the best in town). From the stylish setting in Miami’s historic Firehouse No. sible. So skip the safe stuff and go for the luxuriantly cus- 398 NW N. River Dr. $$$ 4, one would expect a mighty pricy meal. But entrées, tardy, egg yolk-enriched lobster and sea urchin risotto, or 305-375-0765 which range from Nuevo Latino-style ginger/orange-glazed any raw seafood item, especially the unique marlin with Run by a fishing family for a couple of generations, this Café Sambal pork tenderloin to a platter of Kobe mini-burgers, all cost pistachio, apricot, and house-cured speck. $$$-$$$$ venerable Florida fish shack is the real thing. No worries 500 Brickell Key Dr. either $18 or $23. And the price includes an appetizer about the seafood’s freshness; on their way to the dining 305-913-8358 -- no low-rent crapola, either, but treats like Serrano ham Fratelli Milano deck overlooking the Miami River, diners can view the retail www.mandarinoriental.com/miami croquetas, a spinach/leek tart with Portobello mushroom 213 S. Miami Ave., 305-373-2300 Though the Mandarin Oriental Hotel describes this space sauce, or shrimp-topped eggplant timbales. The best Downtown isn’t yet a 24/7 urban center, but it’s expe- Continued on page 53 as its “casual hotel restaurant,” many consider it a more seats are on the glam rooftop patio. $$$ riencing a mini explosion of eateries open at night.

52 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Dining Guide

Restaurant Listings draw everyone from downtown business types to La Provence pork belly with a panko-crusted egg yolk capsula, the yolk the counterculture crowd. Not that there’s anything 1064 Brickell Ave., 786-425-9003 nitrogen-frozen before frying to achieve a crisp crust and Continued from page 52 “mere” about the range of food served from three www.laprovencemiami.com delightfully improbable oozing interior. $$$ Asian nations. Light eaters can snack on Vietnamese Great baguettes in the bread basket, many believe, indi- fish market. Best preparations are the simplest. When stone summer rolls or Japanese sushi rolls. For bigger appe- cate a great meal to come. But when Miamians encounter Miami’s Chophouse crabs are in season, Garcia’s claws are as good as Joe’s but tites, there are Thai curries and Vietnamese special- such bread -- crackling crust outside; moist, aromatic, 300 S. Biscayne Blvd. considerably cheaper. The local fish sandwich is most popu- ties like pho, richly flavored beef soup with meatballs, aerated interior -- it’s likely not from a restaurant’s own 305-938-9000 lar – grouper, yellowtail snapper, or mahi mahi. $-$$ steak slices, rice noodles, and add-in Asian herbs and kitchen, but from La Provence. Buttery croissants and www.mannyssteakhouse.com sprouts. $$-$$$ party-perfect pastries are legend too. Not so familiar is Formerly Manny’s Steakhouse, Miami’s Chophouse Grimpa Steakhouse the bakery’s café component, whose sandwich/salad retains basically everything but the famed name (from 901 Brickell Plaza Iron Sushi menu reflects local eclectic tastes. But French items the original Manny’s in Minneapolis), and remains 305-455-4757 120 SE 3rd Ave. like pan bagnats (essentially salade Niçoise on artisan Miami’s most intentionally masculine steakhouse. www.grimpa.com 305-373-2000 bread) will truly transport diners to co-owner David Thau’s Here, ensconced in your black leather booth, everything This expansive indoor/outdoor Brazilian eatery is (See Miami Shores listing) Provençal homeland. $$ is humongous: dry-aged choice-grade steaks like the sleekly contemporary, but no worries. The classic Bludgeon of Beef (a boldly flavorful 40-ounce bone-in sword-wielding gauchos are here, serving a mind-reel- La Loggia Ristorante and Lounge Le Boudoir Brickell ribeye, described as “part meat, part weapon”); king crab ing assortment of skewered beef, chicken, lamb, pork, 68 W. Flagler St. 188 SE 12th Terr. legs that dwarf the plate; cocktail shrimp that could swal- sausages, and fish. And included in the price (dinner 305-373-4800 305-372-233 low the Loch Ness monster whole; two-fisted cocktails $47, lunch $34) is the traditional belly-busting buffet www.laloggia.org www.leboudoirmiami.com that would fell a T-Rex. Not for the frail. $$$$$ of hot and cold prepared foods, salad, cold cuts, and This luxuriantly neo-classical yet warm Italian restaurant At this French bakery/café, mornings start seriously, cheeses. A pleasant, nontraditional surprise: unusual was unquestionably a pioneer in revitalizing downtown. with choices ranging from quality cheese, charcuterie/ Miami’s Finest Caribbean Restaurant sauces like sweet/tart passion fruit or mint, tomato- With alternatives like amaretto-tinged pumpkin agnolloti pâté, or smoked salmon platters to chic Continental and 236 NE 1st Ave., 305-381-9254 based BBQ, and mango chutney, along with the ubiqui- in sage butter sauce and cilantro-spiced white bean/ complete American breakfasts. At lunch, generously Originally from Jamaica, proprietor Miss Pat has been tous chimichurri. $$$$-$$$$$ vegetable salad dressed with truffle oil, proprietors salad-garnished, open-faced tartines are irresistible. But serving her traditional homemade island specialties to Jennifer Porciello and Horatio Oliveira continue to draw a sophisticated salads and homemade soups make the downtown office workers and college students since the Il Gabbiano lunch crowd that returns for dinner, or perhaps just stays choice tough. And do not skip dessert. Superb sweets early 1990s. Most popular item here might be the week- 335 S. Biscayne Blvd. on through the afternoon, fueled by the Lawyer’s Liquid include rich almond/fresh raspberry or properly tangy day lunch special of jerk chicken with festival (sweet-fried 305-373-0063, www.ilgabbianomiami.com Lunch, a vodka martini spiked with sweetened espresso. lemon tarts, traditional Madeleines, airy layered mousses, cornmeal bread patties), but even vegetarians are well Its location at the mouth of the Miami River makes this $$$ and addictive mini-macaroon sandwich cookies with daily- served with dishes like a tofu, carrot, and chayote curry. ultra-upscale Italian spot (especially the outdoor terrace) changing fillings. $-$$ All entrées come with rice and peas, fried plantains, and the perfect power lunch/business dinner alternative La Moon salad, so no one leaves hungry. $ to steakhouses. And the culinary experience goes way 144 SW 8th St. beyond the typical meat market, thanks in part to the 305-860-6209 MIA at Biscayne Novecento flood of freebies that’s a trademark of Manhattan’s Il At four in the morning, nothing quells the munchies 20 Biscayne Blvd. 1414 Brickell Ave., 305-403-0900 Mulino, originally run by Il Gabbiano’s owners. The rest like a Crazy Burger, a Colombian take on a trucker’s 305-642-0032 www.bistronovecento.com of the food? Pricy, but portions are mammoth. And the burger: beef patty, bacon, ham, mozzarella, lettuce, www.miaatbiscayne.com For those who think “Argentine cuisine” is a synonym for champagne-cream-sauced housemade ravioli with black tomato, and a fried egg, with an arepa corn pancake At this expansive, ultra-glam restolounge, the eclectic, “beef and more beef,” this popular eatery’s wide range truffles? Worth every penny. $$$$$ “bun.” While this tiny place’s late hours (till 6:00 mostly small-plate menu ranges from the expected of more cosmopolitan contemporary Argentine fare will a.m. Friday and Saturday) are surprising, the daytime (grilled skirt steak with chimichurri; new-style ceviches, be a revelation. Classic parrilla-grilled steaks are here Indochine menu is more so. In addition to Colombian clas- and luxe sushi rolls) to a small but tantalizing selection for traditionalists, but the menu is dominated by creative 638 S. Miami Ave., 305-379-1525 sics, there’s a salad Nicoise with grilled fresh tuna, of chef Gerdy Rodriguez’s signature creations. Lunch fare Nuevo Latino items like a new-style ceviche de chernia www.indochinebistro.com seared salmon with mango salsa, and other yuppie includes modernized “Minuta” fish sandwiches (avocado/ (lightly lime-marinated grouper with jalapeños, basil, and Indochine has succeeded by morphing from mere favorites. $-$$ habanero vinaigrette-dressed hamachi on nori Kaiser restaurant into hip hangout. Copious special events rolls), while dinner offers edgier inventions like confit Continued on page 54

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 53 Dining Guide

Restaurant Listings The River Oyster Bar chops with a savory-sweet soy/chopped pecan crust. Fish Buena Vista Bistro 650 S. Miami Ave. fans and vegetarians will find equally enjoyable large and 4582 NE 2nd Ave., 305-456-5909 Continued from page 53 305-530-1915 small plates: potato-wrapped local pompano; beautifully If a neighborhood eatery like this one — which serves www.therivermiami.com seasoned veg siu mai; shrimp corndogs with mustard and supremely satisfying bistro food — were within walking This casually cool jewel is a full-service seafood spot, as mango dips. Other pluses include an imaginative late- distance of every Miami resident, we’d be a helluva hip the refreshing sweet counterpoint of watermelon), or crab evidenced by tempting menu selections like soft-shell night menu and free valet parking. $$-$$$ food town. Like true Parisian bistros, it’s open continu- ravioli with creamy saffron sauce. Especially notable are crabs with grilled vegetables, corn relish, and remoulade. ously, every day, with prices so low that you can drop in the entrée salads. $$-$$$ There are even a few dishes to please meat-and-potatoes Waxy O’Connor’s anytime for authentic rillettes (a rustic pâté) with a crusty diners, like short ribs with macaroni and cheese. But 690 SW 1st Ct. baguette, steak with from-scratch frites, salmon atop rata- Oceanaire Seafood Room oyster fans will find it difficult to resist stuffing themselves 786-871-7660 touille, or many changing blackboard specials. Portions 900 S. Miami Ave. silly on the unusually large selection, especially since www.waxys.com are plentiful. So is free parking. $$ 305-372-8862 oysters are served both raw and cooked – fire-roasted While the menu of this casually craic (Gaelic for “fun”) www.theoceanaire.com with sofrito butter, chorizo, and manchego. There’s also a Irish pub will be familiar to fans of the South Beach Clive’s Café With a dozen branches nationwide, Oceanaire may seem thoughtful wine list and numerous artisan beers on tap. Waxy’s, the location is far superior -- on the Miami River, 2818 N. Miami Ave., 305-576-0277 more All-American seafood empire than Florida fish shack, $$$ with waterfront deck. And none of Miami’s Irish eater- Some still come for the inexpensive, hearty American but menus vary significantly according to regional tastes ies offers as much authentic traditional fare. Especially breakfasts and lunches that this homey hole-in-the-wall and fish. Here in Miami, chef Sean Bernal supplements Rosa Mexicano evocative: imported oak-smoked Irish salmon with house- has served for more than 30 years. Since about 1990, signature starters like lump crab cakes with his own 900 S. Miami Ave. made brown bread; puff-pastry-wrapped Irish sausage though, when owner Pearline Murray (“Ms. Pearl” to regu- lightly marinated, Peruvian-style grouper ceviche. The dai- 786-425-1001 rolls; lunchtime’s imported Irish bacon or banger “butty” lars) and cook Gloria Chin began emphasizing their native ly-changing, 15-20 specimen seafood selection includes www.rosamexicano.com sandwiches on crusty baguettes, served with hand-cut Jamaican specialties, the intensely spiced grilled jerk local fish seldom seen on local menus: pompano, parrot This expansive indoor/outdoor space offers a dining expe- fries, the latter particularly terrific dipped in Waxy’s curry chicken has been the main item here. Other favorites: fish, amberjack. But even flown-in fish (and the raw bar’s rience that’s haute in everything but price. Few entrées sauce. $$ savory rice and pigeon peas; eye-opening onion/vinegar- cold-water oysters) are ultra-fresh. $$$$ top $20. The décor is both date-worthy and family-friendly flavored escovitch fish; sweet plantains; and cabbage that – festive but not kitschy. And nonsophisticates needn’t Wok Town redefines the vegetable. $ Pasha’s fear; though nachos aren’t available, there is nothing 119 SE 1st Ave. 1414 Brickell Ave. scary about zarape de pato (roast duck between freshly 305-371-9993, www.woktown.com The Daily Creative Food Co. 305-416-5116 made, soft corn tortillas, topped with yellow-and-habane- Judging from the takeout window, the minimalist décor 2001 Biscayne Blvd., 305-573-4535 The original branch on Lincoln Road was instantly ro-pepper cream sauce), or Rosa’s signature guacamole (with communal seating), and predominance of American While the food formula of this contemporary café is popular, and the same healthy Middle Eastern fast food en molcajete, made tableside. A few pomegranate mar- veggies on the menu, this Asian fast-food eatery, owned familiar – sandwiches, salads, soups, breakfast food, and is served at several newer outlets. The prices are low garitas ensure no worries. $$$ by Shai Ben-Ami (a Miss Yip and Domo Japones veteran) pastries, plus coffee and fruit drinks – a creative concept enough that you might suspect Pasha’s was a tax write-off may initially seem akin to those airport Oriental steam differentiates the place. Signature sandwiches are named rather than a Harvard Business School project, which it Solymar tables. Wrong. Custom-cooked by Chinese chefs, starters after national and local newspapers, including Biscayne was by founders Antonio Ellek and Nicolas Cortes. Dishes 315 S. Biscayne Blvd. (like soy/garlic-coated edamame), salads, and have-it- Times, giving diners something to chat about. Sandwiches range from falafel and gyros to more unusual items like 305-371-3421 your-way stir-fries, fried rice, or noodle bowls burst with and salads can also be do-it-yourself projects, with an muhammara (tangy walnut spread) and silky labneh Housed in the stunning space with great water views bold, fresh flavor. The proof: a startlingly savory miso beef unusually wide choice of main ingredients, garnishes, yogurt cheese. Everything from pitas to lemonade is made originally occupied by Prime Blue Grille, Solymar similarly salad, with sesame/ginger/scallion dressing. Bubble tea, breads, and condiments for the creatively minded. $ fresh, from scratch, daily. $-$$ pursues the power lunch crowd with steaks and seafood, too! $$ but with a stronger Latin accent. There’s more emphasis Delicias Peruanas Peoples Bar-B-Que on snacks, too, making happy hour a great time to sam- 2590 Biscayne Blvd. 360 NW 8th St. ple $2.50 tapas like conch fritters with spicy Argentine Midtown / Wynwood / Design District 305-573-4634 305-373-8080 pink sauce and palmito salad, sparkling-fresh Amarillo Seafood is the specialty at this pleasant Peruvian spot, as www.peoplesbarbque.com chili-spiked Peruvian shrimp ceviche, or festive fish/lump Adelita’s Café it was at the nearby original Delicias, run by members of Oak-smoked, falling-off-the-bone tender barbecued ribs crab sliders, along with half-off drinks. $$$-$$$$ 2699 Biscayne Blvd. the same family. The food is as tasty as ever, especially (enhanced with a secret sauce whose recipe goes back 305-576-1262 the reliably fresh traditional ceviches, and for those who several generations) are the main draw at this Overtown Soya & Pomodoro From the street (which is actually NE 26th, not Biscayne) like their fish tangy but cooked, a mammoth jalea platter. institution. But the chicken is also a winner, plus there’s 120 NE 1st St., 305-381-9511 this Honduran restaurant seems unpromising, but inside As for nonseafood stuff, Peru practically invented fusion a full menu of soul food entrées, including what many afi- Life is complicated. Food should be simple. That’s owner it’s bigger, better, and busier than it looks. Unlike many cuisine (in the 1800s), such as two traditional noodle cionados consider our town’s tastiest souse. And it would Armando Alfano’s philosophy, which is stated above the Latin American eateries, this one sticks close to the dishes: tallerin saltado and tallerin verde. $$ be unthinkable to call it quits without homemade sweet entry to his atmospheric downtown eatery. And since source and proves a crowd-pleaser. On weekends espe- potato pie or banana pudding, plus a bracing flop – half it’s also the formula for the truest traditional Italian food cially, the dining rooms are packed with families enjoying 18th Street Café iced tea, half lemonade. $-$$ (Alfano hails from Pompeii), it’s fitting that the menu is authentic fare like baleadas (thick corn tacos), tajadas 210 NE 18th St. dominated by authentically straightforward yet sophisti- (Honduras’s take on tostones), rich meal-in-a-bowl soups 305-381-8006 Perricone’s cated Italian entrées. There are salads and sandwiches, packed with seafood or meat and veggies, and more. $ www.18thstreetcafe.com 15 SE 10th St., 305-374-9449 too. The most enjoyable place to dine is the secret, open- Most of the seating in this cool little breakfast/lunch room www.perricones.com air courtyard. Alfano serves dinner on Thursdays only to Bay View Grille is in a sort of giant bay window, backed with banquettes, Housed in a Revolutionary-era barn (moved from accompany local musicians and artists. $-$$ 1633 N. Bayshore Dr. (Marriott Hotel) that makes the space feel expansive. This pioneer- Vermont), this market/café was one of the Brickell area’s 305-536-6414 ing place deserves to survive, even if just considering first gentrified amenities. At lunch chicken salad is a Tobacco Road This expansive restaurant has no outdoor component, but the roast beef sandwich with creamy horseradish – an favorite; dinner’s strong suit is the pasta list, ranging 626 S. Miami Ave. floor-to-ceiling windows and a multi-level layout means inspired classic combination that makes one wonder why from Grandma Jennie’s old-fashioned lasagna to chichi 305-374-1198, www.tobacco-road.com every table has a Biscayne Bay view, which we find par- more places in this town don’t serve it. Other culinary fiocchi purses filled with fresh pear and gorgonzola. And Prohibition-era speakeasy (reputedly a fave of Al Capone), ticularly enjoyable in the morning, over a fresh asparagus highlights include a turkey/pear/cheddar melt sandwich, Sunday’s $15.95 brunch buffet ($9.95 for kids) – fea- gay bar, strip club. Previously all these, this gritty spot has and Boursin cheese omelet or huevos à la cubana (fried and really sinful marshmallow-topped brownies. $ turing an omelet station, waffles, smoked salmon and been best known since 1982 as a venue for live music, eggs and cheese on black beans). Lunch and dinner bagels, salads, and more – remains one of our town’s primarily blues. But it also offers food from lunchtime menus are a “greatest hits” mix (steaks, pasta, Caesar Five Guys Famous Burger and Fries most civilized all-you-can-eat deals. $$ to late night (on weekends till 4:00 a.m.). The kitchen is salad), featuring appealing local accents like a hefty fried Shops at Midtown Miami especially known for its chili, budget-priced steaks, and or blackened grouper sandwich on ciabatta roll, with Buena Vista Avenue, 305-571-8341 Prelude burgers. There’s also surprisingly elegant fare, though, remoulade sauce. $$-$$$ www.fiveguys.com Adrienne Arsht Center like a Norwegian salmon club with lemon aioli. A meat- No green-leaf faux health food here. You get what the 1300 Biscayne Blvd. smoker in back turns out tasty ribs. $$ Bengal name says, period, with three adds: kosher dogs, veg- 305-949-6722 2010 Biscayne Blvd., 305-403-1976 gie burgers, and free peanuts while you wait. Which you Though the opening of Barton G.’s elegant performing arts Tre Italian Bistro At this Indian eatery the décor is cool and contemporary: will, just a bit, since burgers are made fresh upon order. center eatery did feature a live giraffe, the food’s actually 270 E. Flagler St. muted gray and earth-tone walls, tasteful burgundy ban- Available in double or one-patty sizes, they’re well-done more grown-up than at his original SoBe spot. The concept 305-373-3303 quettes. And the menu touts “Modern Indian Cuisine” but spurtingly juicy, and after loading with your choice of is prix fixe: Any three courses on the menu (meaning three www.tremiami.com to match the look. Classicists, however, needn’t worry. free garnishes, even a “little” burger makes a major meal. entrées if you want) for $39. Highlights include silky, tarra- “Bistro” actually sounds too Old World for this cool hang- America’s favorite familiar north Indian flavors are here, Fries (regular or Cajun-spiced) are also superior, hand-cut gon-inflected corn/bacon chowder, beautifully plated beef out, from the owners of downtown old-timer La Loggia, though dishes are generally more mildly spiced and in-house from sourced potatoes. $ carpaccio with horseradish/mustard and shallot olive oil but “restolounge” sounds too glitzy. Think of it as a neigh- presented with modern flair. All meats are certified halal, dipping sauces; and over-the-top playhouse desserts, one borhood “bistrolounge.” The food is mostly modernized Islam’s version of kosher — which doesn’t mean that Fratelli Lyon with a luscious crème fraiche ice cream pop. $$$$ Italian, with Latin and Asian accents: a prosciutto-and-fig observant orthodox Jews can eat here, but Muslims can. 4141 NE 2nd Ave. pizza with Brazilian catupiry cheese; gnocchi served either $$$ 305-572-2901 Puntino Downtown as finger food (fried, with calamata olive/truffle aioli), or www.fratellilyon.com 353 SE 2nd Ave., 305-371-9661 plated with orange-ginger sauce. But there are tomato- Bin No. 18 This Italian café has been packed since the moment www.puntinodowntown.com sauced meatballs with ri’gawt for Grandpa Vinnie, too. 1800 Biscayne Blvd., 786-235-7575 it opened. No surprise to any who recall owner Ken The first U.S. venture of a hotelier from Naples, this $$-$$$ At this wine bar/café, the décor is a stylish mix of contem- Lyon’s pioneering Lyon Frères gourmet store on Lincoln stylish little place is open Monday through Saturday for porary (high loft ceilings) and Old World (tables made from Road (1992-97), another joint that was exactly what its dinner as well as lunch. Ambiance is fashionably cool Urbanite Bistro wine barrels). Cuisine is similarly geared to the area’s neighborhood needed. The restaurant’s artisan salumi, Milanese rather than effusively warm Neapolitan. The 62 NE 14th St. smart new residents: creative sandwiches and salads at cheeses, flavorful boutique olive oils, and more are so food too is mostly contemporary rather than traditional. 305-374-0662 lunch, tapas and larger internationally themed Spanish, outstanding that you can’t help wishing it also had a retail But in true Italian style, the best stuff stays simple: an www.urbanitebistro.com Italian, or French charcuterie platters at night. Though the component. Entrées include properly al dente pastas, plus antipasto platter of imported cold cuts with crostini and Ambitious but neither pretentious nor pricey, this multi- place is small and family-run friendly, chef Alfredo Patino some regional specialties like Venetian-style calves liver, housemade marinated veggies; crisp-fried calamari and room, indoor/outdoor bistro is just the sort of friendly offers sophisticated snacks like the figciutto: arugula, gor- rarely found outside Italy. $$$ shrimp; airy gnocchi with sprightly tomato sauce, pools of hangout the neighborhood needs. Chef Frank Imbarlina’s gonzola dolce, caramelized onions, pine nuts, fresh figs, melted bufala mozzarella, and fresh basil. $$-$$$ menu features hip contemporary fare like natural boar and prosciutto. Free parking behind the building. $$ Continued on page 55

54 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Dining Guide

Restaurant Listings friendly Wynwood eatery, which, since opening as a weekday-only breakfast and lunch joint in 2005, has grown Continued from page 54 with its neighborhood. It’s now open for dinner six nights a week, serving Southwestern-style fare at rock-bottom Grass prices. Dishes like piñon and pepita-crusted salmon, 28 NE 40th St., 305-573-3355 chipotle-drizzled endive stuffed with lump crab, or custom- Chef Michael Jacobs’s menu travels beyond pan-Asian izable tacos average $5-$8. Also available: big breakfasts and Mediterranean influences into the Americas. Entrées and salads, hearty soups, housemade pastries like lemon- range from comfort food (cunningly reinvented mini pot crusted wild berry pie, and a hip beer and wine list. $ pies) to high-status extravagance (stone-seared, authentic Kobe steak). For healthy grazers, raw-bar selections Maino Churrascaria include ceviches and a large seafood platter. There’s also 2201 Biscayne Blvd., 305-571-9044 a snack menu (pristine coldwater oysters, a crab salad This very upscale Brazilian steakhouse has all the fea- timbale, parmesan-truffle shoestring fries, mini-Kobe tures you expect, including all-you-can-eat meats carved burgers) served till the wee hours, providing a welcome tableside and a lavish buffet. What sets Maino apart from alternative to the Boulevard’s fast food chains. $$-$$$$$ typical rodizio palaces is its family-run feel, intimate rather than intimidating, plus its attention to every detail. While The Girrrlz of Sandwich it’s rare at most rodizio joints to get meat done less than 555 NE 15th St., 2nd floor (Venetia condo) medium, Maino will cook to order. One other welcome 305-374-4305 difference: There are à la carte starters and pastas for Riot Grrrl DIY spirit shines in the homemade soups, lighter eaters and noncarnivores, and some lunch spe- sweets, salads, and exceptionally tasty warm baguette cials. Free parking, too. $$-$$$$$ sandwiches (like prosciutto and fresh mozzarella, dressed with a unique sumac vinaigrette) at this concealed café, Maitardi hidden on the Venetia condo’s mezzanine. Owners Ana 163 NE 39th St. Oliva and Fadia Sarkis scour local markets daily for the 305-572-1400, maitardimiami.com freshest of ingredients, and their breads (plus light-crust- Though we admired the ambitious approach of Oak ed empanadas and sinful Ghirardelli chocolate cake) are Plaza’s original tenant, Brosia, this more informal, inex- all baked in-house. On Saturdays the grrrls’ll even deliver pensive, and straightforwardly Italian concept of veteran you an elegant (yet inexpensive) breakfast in bed. $ Lincoln Road restaurateur Graziano Sbroggio seems a more universal lure for the Design District’s central “town Joey’s Italian Café square.” The mostly outdoor space remains unaltered 2506 NW 2nd Ave., 305-438-0488 save a wood-burning oven producing flavorfully char-bub- The first new restaurant in the Wynwood Café District, bled pizza creations, plus a vintage meat slicer dispens- this stylish indoor/outdoor Italian hangout is as casually ing wild boar salamino, bresaola (cured beef), and other cool as one would hope — and as affordable. There’s artisan salumi. Other irresistibles: fried artichokes with a five-buck half-serving of spaghetti al pomodoro and lemony aioli; seafood lasagna with heavenly dill-lobster respectable vino for under $30. And few can resist sauce. $$-$$$ delicately thin, crunchy-crusted pizzas like the creative Dolce e Piccante or orgasmic Carbonara. Pastas are Mario the Baker fresh; produce is largely local; the mosaic-centered décor 250 NE 25th St. is minimalist but inviting. And no need to be wary of the 305-438-0228 warehouse district at night: Valet parking is free. $$-$$$ (See North Miami listing) La Provence Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink 2200 Biscayne Blvd., 305-576-8002 130 NE 40th St., 305-573-5550 www.laprovencemiami.com An instant smash hit, this truly neighborhood-oriented res- (See Brickell / Downtown listing.) taurant from chef Michael Schwartz offers down-to-earth fun food in a comfortable, casually stylish indoor/outdoor Latin Café 2000 setting. Fresh, organic ingredients are emphasized, but 2501 Biscayne Blvd. dishes range from cutting-edge (crispy beef cheeks with 305-576-3838, www.latincafe2000.com whipped celeriac, celery salad, and chocolate reduction) The menu is similar to that at many of our town’s Latin to simple comfort food: deviled eggs, homemade potato cafés, largely classic Cuban entrées and sandwiches, with chips with pan-fried onion dip, or a whole wood-roasted a smattering of touches from elsewhere in Latin America, chicken. There’s also a broad range of prices and portion such as a Peruvian jalea mixta (marinated mixed seafood), sizes to encourage frequent visits. Michael’s Genuine also or paella Valenciana from Spain, which many Miami eateries features an eclectic, affordable wine list and a full bar. consider a Latin country. What justifies the new millennium $$-$$$$ moniker is the more modern, yuppified/yucafied ambiance, encouraged by an expansive, rustic wooden deck. $$ Mike’s at Venetia 555 NE 15th St., 9th floor Lemoni Café 305-374-5731, www.mikesvenetia.com 4600 NE 2nd Ave., 305-571-5080 This family-owned Irish pub, on the pool deck of the The menu here reads like your standard sandwiches/ Venetia condo, for more than 15 years has been a salads/starters primer. What it doesn’t convey is the popular lunch and dinner hang-out for local journal- freshness of the ingredients and the care that goes ists and others who appreciate honest cheap eats and into their use. Entrée-size salads range from an elegant drinks. Regulars know daily specials are the way to go. spinach (goat cheese, pears, walnuts, raisins) to chunky Depending on the day, fish, churrasco, or roast turkey homemade chicken salad on a bed of mixed greens. with all the trimmings are all prepared fresh. Big burgers Sandwiches (cold baguette subs, hot pressed paninis, or and steak dinners are always good. A limited late-night wraps, all accompanied by side salads) include a respect- menu provides pizza, wings, ribs, and salad till 3:00 a.m. able Cuban and a veggie wrap with a deceptively rich- $-$$ tasting light salad cream. $-$$ Orange Café + Art Lime Fresh Mexican Grill 2 NE 40th St., 305-571-4070 Shops at Midtown Miami The paintings hanging in this tiny, glass-enclosed café Buena Vista Avenue, 305-576-5463 are for sale. And for those who don’t have thousands of www.limefreshmexicangrill.com dollars to shell out for the local art on the walls, less than Like its South Beach predecessor, this Lime was an ten bucks will get you art on a plate, including a Picasso: instant hit, as much for being a hip new Midtown hangout chorizo, prosciutto, manchego cheese, baby spinach, as for its carefully crafted Tex-Mex food. The concept and basil on a crusty baguette. Other artfully named and is “fast casual” rather than fast food – meaning nice crafted edibles include salads, daily soups, several pastas enough for a night out. It also means ingredients are (like the Matisse, fiocchi pouches filled with pears and always fresh. Seafood tacos are about as exotic as the cheese), and house-baked pastries. $ menu gets, but the mahi mahi for fish tacos comes from a local supplier, and salsas are housemade daily. Niceties Out of the Blue Café include low-carb tortillas and many Mexican beers. $ 2426 NE 2nd Ave. 305-573-3800, www.outofthebluecafe.net Lost & Found Saloon Forget impersonal chain coffeehouses. This artist-friendly, 185 NW 36th St. independent neighborhood café serves a full selection 305-576-1008 of coffee drinks made with the award-winning beans of www.thelostandfoundsaloon-miami.com There’s an artsy/alternative feel to this casual and Continued on page 56

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 55 Dining Guide

Restaurant Listings lengthwise, and medium-thick -- sturdy enough to support respectable beer and wine list is a welcome addition, as toppings applied with generous all-American abandon. Upper Eastside is the housemade sangria. Top price for entrées is about Continued from page 55 Take-out warning: Picking up a whole pie? Better bring $14. $-$$ the SUV, not the Morris Mini. Andiamo Intelligentsia, a roasting company that works directly with 5600 Biscayne Blvd. Captain Crab’s Take-Away artisan growers to encourage sustainable agriculture. Sake Room 305-762-5751, www.andiamopizza.com 1100 NE 79th St. Also served: breakfast and lunch sandwiches, imaginative 275 NE 18th St. Sharing a building with a long-established Morningside 305-754-2722 salads, soups, homemade pastries, and creamy fresh-fruit 305-755-0122, www.sakeroom.com car wash, Andiamo is also part of Mark Soyka’s 55th The drive-through window says “fast food,” and so do smoothies. With tables, sofas, and lounge chairs inside an Sake takes a back seat to sushi – and sophisticated Street Station – which means ditching the car (in the this long-lived seafood shack’s low prices. But there old Midtown house, plus free wireless Internet access, the décor – at this small but sleek restolounge. Among the complex’s free lot across the road on NE 4th Court) is no the resemblance ends. For about the price of a bucket space is also just a pleasant place to hang out. $ seafood offerings, you won’t find exotica or local catches, problem even if you’re not getting your vehicle cleaned of the Colonel’s chicken you can get a bucket of the but all the usual sushi/sashimi favorites, though in while consuming the brick-oven pies (from a flaming open Captain’s savory garlic crabs. The King’s burger meal or Pacific Time more interesting form, thanks to sauces that go beyond oven) that are this popular pizzeria’s specialty, along with the Captain’s similarly priced fried (or garlic boiled or New 35 NE 40th St., 305-722-7369 standard soy – spicy sriracha, garlic/ponzu oil, and many executive chef Frank Crupi’s famed Philly cheese steak Orleans-spiced) shrimp meal? No contest. Also popular: www.pacifictimemiami.com more. Especially recommended: the yuzu hamachi roll, sandwiches. Also available are salads and panini plus rea- crab cakes and conch. For fish haters, spicy or garlic Everyone knew Jonathan Eismann’s original Pacific Time, the lobster tempura maki, and panko-coated spicy shrimp sonably priced wines and beers, including a few unusually chicken wings are an option. $-$$ for many years Lincoln Road’s only serious restaurant. with hot-and-sour mayo and a salad. $$-$$$ sophisticated selections like Belgium’s Hoegaarden. $$ How different is its new incarnation? Very, and it’s all Casa Toscana good, starting with far superior acoustics, an admirably S & S Diner Anise Taverna 7001 Biscayne Blvd., green ecological policy, and a neighborhood-friendly 1757 NE 2nd Ave., 305-373-4291 620 NE 78th St. 305-758-3353, attitude. While the addition of Mediterranean influences Some things never change, or so it seems at this classic 305-758-2929 www.casatoscanamiami.com to the Pacific Rim menu may sound confusing, trust us: diner. Open since 1938, people still line up on Saturday www.anisetaverna.com Tuscan-born chef/owner Sandra Stefani cooked at A meal that includes a butter-grilled asparagus with pro- mornings, waiting for a seat at the counter and enormous The new owners of this river shack are banking on Greek Norman’s before opening this Upper Eastside jewel, sciutto, soft-cooked egg Milanese, and preserved lemon; breakfasts: corned beef hash or crab cakes and eggs food and festivity for success — a good bet, judging from whose 30 original seats have been supplemented by a plus an Asian-accented creamy corn/leek soup with Peeky with grits; fluffy pancakes; homemade biscuits with gravy their wildly popular previous eatery, Ouzo. The mainly wine room/garden for tasting events and private dining. Toe crab dumplings, coriander, and mustard oil makes and Georgia sausage – everything from oatmeal to eggs mezze menu ranges from traditional Greek small plates to Stefani travels regularly to Italy to find exciting, limited- perfect sense on the tongue. $$-$$$$ Benedict. The lunch menu is a roll call of the usual sus- creative Mediterranean-inspired dishes like anise-scented production wines and inspiration for truly Tuscan specials pects, but most regulars ignore the menu and go for the fish croquettes with spicy aioli. But don’t neglect large with honest, authentic flavors, such as grilled wild boar Pasha’s daily blackboard specials. $-$$ plates like whole grilled Mediterranean fish (dorade or sausages with lentil croquettes. Menu favorites include 3801 N. Miami Ave., 305-573-0201 branzino), filleted tableside. The interior is charming, and pear and ricotta raviolini, grilled eggplant slices rolled (See Brickell/Downtown listing) Sra. Martinez the outdoor deck on the Little River is positively romantic. around herbed goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, and 4000 NE 2nd Ave., 305-573-5474 $$-$$$ a light ricotta tart with lemon and rosemary. $$$ Pizzavolante No Biscayne Corridor resident needs to be told that this 3918 N. Miami Ave., 305-573-5325 lively tapas bar is the second restaurant that Upper Bistro 82 Chef Creole At this tiny pizza/mozzarella bar, Jonathan Eismann’s Eastside homegrrrl Michelle Bernstein has opened in the 8201 Biscayne Blvd., 305-403-2995 200 NW 54th St. inspired topping combos and astonishingly high-quality area. But it’s no absentee celebrity-chef gig. Bernstein As with Latin American food, much Middle Eastern res- 305-754-2223 ingredients prove that star-chef skills are not wasted on is hands-on at both places. Her exuberant yet firmly taurant fare blurs borders, making it hard to pinpoint Sparkling fresh Creole-style food is the star at chef/owner humble fare. Carnivores must try the Cacciatorini, an controlled personal touch is obvious in nearly four dozen individual countries’ culinary characteristics. Here, though, Wilkinson Sejour’s two tiny but popular establishments. ultra-thin and crispy crust with indescribably rich guancia- hot and cold tapas on the menu. Items are frequently national identity is strong. Virtually all dishes, from savory While some meatier Haitian classics like griot (fried pork le (cured, unsmoked pork cheek bacon), pungent artisan reinvented. Keepers include wild mushroom/manchego falafel to sweet k’nafeh (a traditional cheese breakfast chunks) and oxtail stew are also available – and a $3.99 pepperoni, grana padano, locally made mozzarella, and croquetas with fig jam; white bean stew; crisp-coated pastry that doubles as dessert), are crafted from the roast chicken special – seafood is the specialty here: Italian tomatoes. For meatless pies, we recommend the artichokes with lemon/coriander dip; and buttery bone authentic Lebanese recipes of owner Mona Issa’s mom. crevette en sauce (steamed shrimp with Creole butter Bianca, a thyme-seasoned pizza whose plentiful cheeses marrow piqued with Middle Eastern spices and balanced Casually exotic décor makes the spot dateworthy too, sauce), lambi fri (perfectly tenderized fried conch), pois- are beautifully balanced by bitter arugula. Bring a crowd by tiny pickled salads. $$$ especially on Saturday nights when belly dancing is fea- son gros sel (local snapper in a spicy butter sauce), garlic and taste half-a-dozen different mozzarellas. $$ tured. $$ or Creole crabs. The Miami branch has outdoor tiki-hut Tony Chan’s Water Club dining. $-$$ Primo’s 1717 N. Bayshore Dr., 305-374-8888 Boteco 1717 N. Bayshore Dr., 305-371-9055 The décor at this upscale place, located in the Grand, 916 NE 79th St. DeVita’s The imposing, cavernous lobby of the Grand doesn’t looks too glitzy to serve anything but politely Americanized 305-757-7735 7251 Biscayne Blvd., 305-754-8282 have that “do drop in” locals’ hangout vibe. But this lively Chinese food. But the American dumbing-down is minimal. This strip of 79th Street is rapidly becoming a cool alt- This Italian/Argentine pizzeria, housed in a charming bun- Italian spot is actually a great addition to the neighbor- Many dishes are far more authentic and skillfully prepared culture enclave thanks to inviting hangouts like this rustic galow and featuring a breezy patio, covers multicultural hood. The pizzas alone – brick-oven specimens with than those found elsewhere in Miami, like delicate but indoor/outdoor Brazilian restaurant and bar. Especially bases. If the Old World Rucola pizza (a classic Margherita toppings ranging from classic pepperoni to prosciutto/ flavorful yu pan quail. Moist sea bass fillet has a beautifully bustling on nights featuring live music, it’s even more fun topped with arugula, prosciutto, and shredded parmesan) arugula – would be draw enough. But pastas also please: balanced topping of scallion, ginger, cilantro, and subtly on Sundays, when the fenced backyard hosts an informal doesn’t do the trick, the New World Especial (a Latin diners’ choice of starch, with mix-and-match sauces and sweet/salty sauce. And Peking duck is served as three tra- fair and the menu includes Brazil’s national dish, feijoada, pie with hearts of palm and boiled eggs) just might. Also extras. And the price is right, with few entrées topping ditional courses: crêpe-wrapped crispy skin, meat sautéed a savory stew of beans plus fresh and cured meats. available are pastas, salads, sandwiches, dinner entrées $20. The capper: It’s open past midnight every day but with crisp veggies, savory soup to finish. $$-$$$ But the everyday menu, ranging from unique, tapas-like (eggplant parmigiana with spaghetti, lomito steak with Sunday. $$ pasteis to hefty Brazilian entrées, is also appealing – and Argentinean potato salad), and desserts (tiramisu or W Wine Bistro budget-priced. $$ flan). $ Primo Pizza Miami 3622 NE 2nd Ave., 305-576-7775 3451 NE 1st Ave., 305-535-2555 Both bistro and retail wine shop, this Design District spot Le Café Dogma Grill www.primopizzamiami.com is run by Florent Blanchet, an energetic young Frenchman 7295 Biscayne Blvd., 305-754-6551 7030 Biscayne Blvd. Just a few years ago, chain pizza joints were dominant who was previously a wine distributor. His former gig led For anyone who can’t get over thinking of French food as 305-759-3433, www.dogmagrill.com most everywhere. Today many places now offer authen- to connections that mean if wine lovers don’t find the intimidating or pretentious, this cute café with a warm What could induce downtown businessmen to drive to tic Italian or delicate designer pizzas. But a satisfying bottle they want, Blanchet can probably get it within 24 welcome, and family-friendly French home cooking, is the Upper Eastside to eat at a few outdoor-only tables Brookyn-style street slice? Fuhgedit. Thankfully that’s hours. Food is sophisticated light bites like a shrimp club the antidote. No fancy food (or fancy prices) here, just just feet from the busy Boulevard? From the day it the speciality of this indoor/outdoor pizzeria: big slices sandwich with pancetta and sun-dried tomato aioli, and classic comfort food like onion soup, escargot, daily fresh opened, people have been lining up for this stand’s with chewy crusts (made from imported NY tap water) smoked duck salad with goat cheese croutons and a oysters, boeuf bourguignon (think Ultimate Pot Roast), that aren’t ultra-thin and crisp, but flexible enough to fold poached egg. At night there are tapas. $-$$ Nicoise salad, quiche, and homemade crème brûlée. A Continued on page 57

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56 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Dining Guide

Restaurant Listings almond-garnished Chinese chicken salad; H&H bagels, Jimmy’s East Side Diner Forbidding from the outside, on the inside it’s like a time- the world’s best, flown in from NYC. And the car cleanings 7201 Biscayne Blvd., 305-754-3692 trip to a cabaret in pre-WWII Berlin: bordello-red décor, Continued from page 56 are equally gentrified, especially on Wednesdays, when Open for more than 30 years, Jimmy’s respects the most romantically dim lighting, show-tune live piano bar enter- ladies are pampered with $10 washes and glasses of important American diner tradition: Breakfast at any tainment, and to match the ambiance, elegantly updated sauce-garnished, all-beef, soy veggie, turkey, and chicken sparkling wine while they wait. $ hour. Admittedly the place closes at 4:00 p.m., but still. retro food served with style and a smile. For those feeling hot dogs. The 22 varieties range from simple to the elabo- There are blueberry hot cakes and pecan waffles; eggs flush, home-style fried chicken is just like mom used to rate (the Athens, topped with a Greek salad, including Garden of Eatin’ any style, including omelets and open-face frittatas; and make — in her wildest dreams. $$$ extra-virgin olive oil dressing) to near-unbelievable combi- 136 NW 62nd St., 305-754-8050 a full range of sides: biscuits and sausage gravy, grits, nations like the VIP, which includes parmesan cheese and Housed in a yellow building that’s nearly invisible from the hash, hash browns, even hot oatmeal. Also available are Metro Organic Bistro crushed pineapple. New addition: thick, juicy burgers. $ street, the Garden has the comfortable feel of a beach traditional diner entrées (meat loaf, roast turkey, liver 7010 Biscayne Blvd., 305-751-8756 bar, and generous servings of inexpensive Afro-Caribbean and onions), plus burgers, salad platters, and homemade Big changes have come to Karma the car wash, the first East Side Pizza vegan food. Large or small plates, with salad and fried chicken soup. $-$$ being a separate new name for the revamped restaurant: 731 NE 79th St., 305-758-5351 sweet plantains (plus free soup for eat-in lunchers), are Metro Organic Bistro, an all-organic fine-dining restaurant Minestrone, sure. But a pizzeria menu with carrot ginger served for five or seven bucks. Also available are snacks Kingdom where simple preparations reveal and enhance natural soup? Similarly many Italian-American pizzerias offer like vegetarian blue corn tacos, desserts like sweet potato 6708 Biscayne Blvd. flavors. An entirely new menu places emphasis on grilled entrées like spaghetti and meatballs, but East Side also pie, and a breakfast menu featuring organic blueberry 305-757-0074 organic meat and fish dishes. Try the steak frites — has pumpkin ravioli in brown butter/sage sauce, wild waffles with soy sausage patties. $ This indoor/outdoor sports bar serves low-priced but high- organic, grass-fed skirt steak with organic chimichurri and mushroom ravioli, and other surprisingly upscale choices, quality steaks, plus more typical bar food that’s actually far fresh-cut fries. Vegetarians will love the organic portabella including imported Peroni beer. As for the pizza, they are Gourmet Station from the usual processed stuff. Philly cheese steak sand- foccacia. Dine either inside the architect-designed restau- classic pies, available whole or by the slice, made with 7601 Biscayne Blvd. wiches, big enough for two, are made from hand-sliced rib rant or outdoors on the patio. Beer and wine. $-$$$ fresh plum tomato sauce and Grande mozzarella (con- 305-762-7229 eye; sides include fries and beer-battered onion rings, but also sidered the top American pizza cheese). Best seating for Home-meal replacement, geared to workaholics with lightly lemony sautéed spinach. And the burgers rule, particu- Michy’s eating is at the sheltered outdoor picnic tables. $ no time to cook, has been popular for years. But the larly the Doomsday, a cheese/bacon/mushroom-topped two- 6927 Biscayne Blvd., 305-759-2001 Gourmet Station has outlasted most of the competition. pound monster that turns dinner into a competitive sport. No Don’t even ask why Michele Bernstein, with a top-chef El Q-Bano Palacio de los Jugos Main reason: deceptive healthiness. These are meals hard liquor, but the beer list makes up for it. $$ résumé, not to mention regular Food Network appear- 8650 Biscayne Blvd., 305-758-2550 that are good for you, yet taste good enough to be bad for ances, opened a homey restaurant in an emerging but In case you were wondering if it’s too good to be true you. Favorite items include precision-grilled salmon with Luna Café far from fully gentrified neighborhood. Just be glad she -- it isn’t. El Q-Bano’s owners are indeed related to the lemon-dill yogurt sauce, and lean turkey meatloaf with 4770 Biscayne Blvd. did, as you dine on white almond gazpacho or impossibly family that operates the original three Palacios de los homemade BBQ sauce – sin-free comfort food. Food is 305-573-5862 creamy ham and blue cheese croquetas. Though most Jugos -- which means no more schlepping way out west. available à la carte or grouped in multimeal plans custom- www.lunacafemidtown.com full entrées also come in half-size portions (at almost Recommended are moist tamales, tasty sandwiches ized for individual diner’s nutritional needs. $$ The ground floor of the Wachovia Bank building may not halved prices), the tab can add up fast. The star herself is (especially the drippingly wonderful pan con lechon), rich seem a particularly evocative locale for an Italian eatery, usually in the kitchen. Parking in the rear off 69th Street. flan, and the fresh tropical juices that justify the afore- Go To Sushi but once inside, the charming décor and the staff’s ebul- $$$-$$$$ mentioned excesses. For even heartier eaters, there’s a 5140 Biscayne Blvd., 305-759-0914 lient welcome indeed are reminiscent of a café in Italy. changing buffet of daily specials and sides. $-$$ www.gotosushimiami.com The kitchen’s outstanding feature is a brick oven, which Moonchine This friendly, family-run Japanese fast-food eatery offers turns out designer pizzas and crisp-skinned roast chick- 7100 Biscayne Blvd. Europa Car Wash and Café original surprises like the Caribbean roll (a festively green ens. Otherwise the menu holds few surprises – except 305-759-3999 6075 Biscayne Blvd., 305-754-2357 parsley-coated maki stuffed with crispy fried shrimp, avo- the prices, unusually low for such a stylish place. No dish Like its Brickell-area sibling Indochine, this friendly Asian Giving new meaning to the food term “fusion,” Europa cado, sweet plantain, and spicy mayo), or a wonderfully exceeds $22. $$-$$$ bistro serves fare from three nations: Japan, Thailand, serves up sandwiches, salads, car washes, coffee healthful sesame-seasoned chicken soup with spinach, and Vietnam. Menus are also similar, split between with croissants, and Chevron with Techron. Snacks rice noodles, and sizable slices of poultry. Health ensured, Magnum Lounge traditional dishes like pad Thai and East/West fusion match the casual chicness: sandwiches like the Renato you can the enjoy a guiltless pig-out on Fireballs: fried 709 NE 79th St., 305-757-3368 creations like the Vampire sushi roll (shrimp tempura, (prosciutto, hot cappicola, pepper jack cheese, red dumplings of chicken, cabbage, and egg, crusted with It’s a restaurant. It’s a lounge. But it’s decidedly not a peppers, and Romano cheese dressing); an elaborate quills -- really a delectable crunchy noodle mix. $ typical Miami restolounge, or like anything else in Miami. Continued on page 58

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 57 Dining Guide

Restaurant Listings with sweet corn sauce) to comfort (crispy-breaded Old slaw, a wild mushroom/smoked mozzarella pizza, or a perishable offerings from a salsa bar. For the heath-mind- South fried green tomatoes). Not surprisingly, the chef- Cobb salad may not be revolutionary fare, but Soyka ed, oils are nonhydrogenated, and sauces/seasonings are Continued from page 57 driven menu is limited, but several signature specialties, continues to thrive while more ambitious, nationally pub- all housemade and free of preservatives. $ if available, are not to be missed: BBQ shrimp in a tangy licized restaurants have come and gone. Take-out orders tomato, cilantro, roasted garlic). But it also carves out its Worcestershire and cayenne-spiked butter/wine sauce, and breakfast are now available. $$-$$$ Yiya’s Gourmet Cuban Bakery own identity with original creations, including yellow curry- irresistible mini conch fritters, and homemade ice cream. 646 NE 79th St., 305-754-3337 spiced fried rice. Nearly everything is low in sodium, fat, $$-$$$ Sushi Siam A true community jewel, this bakery is also a most wel- and calories. A large rear patio is inviting for dining and 5582 NE 4th Ct., 305-751-7818 coming café, serving lunch specials from chef Delsa entertainment. $$-$$$ Revales Italian Ristorante On the menu of sushi-bar specialties plus a small selec- Bernardo (who co-owns the place with attorney Abbie 8601 Biscayne Blvd., 305-758-1010 tion of Thai and Japanese cooked dishes, there are a few Cuellar) that are homemade right down to the herbs Moshi Moshi Owned by two couples (including former Village Café chef surprises, such as a unique lobster maki that’s admittedly grown on the bakery’s window sills. Bernardo’s pan con 7232 Biscayne Blvd., 786-220-9404 Marlon Reyes), this eclectic eatery occupies the former huge in price ($25.95), but also in size: six ounces of lechon sandwiches and flaky-crusted Cuban pastries are This offspring of South Beach old-timer Moshi Moshi is space of Frankie’s Big City Grill, and fulfills much the crisp-fried lobster chunks, plus asparagus, avocado, let- legend. But she also crafts treats not found at average a cross between a sushi bar and an izakaya (Japanese same purpose in the neighborhood as an all-day, family- tuce, tobiko (flying fish), masago (smelt) roes, and special Cuban bakeries, like pizzas using housemade Indian naan tapas bar). Even more striking than the hip décor is the friendly place with affordable prices. The menu includes sauces. Thai dishes come with a choice of more than a bread. Additionally Bernardo carries unique treats pro- food’s unusually upscale quality. Sushi ranges from wraps and elaborate salads of all nations. But simple dozen sauces, ranging from traditional red or green cur- duced by a few friends: candies, cupcakes, and exotically pristine individual nigiri to over-the-top maki rolls. Tapas yet sophisticated Italian specialties like spaghetti ai ries to the inventive, such as an unconventional honey flavored flans. $ are intriguing, like arabiki sausage, a sweet-savory pork fiume (with pancetta, tomato, garlic, basil, and a touch of sauce. $$$ fingerling frank; rarely found in restaurants even in Japan, cream) or yellowtail française (egg-battered, with lemon- they’re popular Japanese home-cooking items. And rice- caper-wine sauce) are the must-haves here. $$-$$$ UVA 69 NORTH BAY VILLAGE based plates like Japanese curry (richer/sweeter than 6900 Biscayne Blvd. Indian types) satisfy even the biggest appetites. $-$$$ Royal Bavarian Schnitzel Haus 305-754-9022; www.uva-69.com Bocados Ricos 1085 NE 79th St., 305-754-8002 Owned and operated by brothers Michael and Sinuhé 1880 79th St. Causeway News Lounge With Christmas lights perpetually twinkling and party nois- Vega, this casual outdoor/indoor Euro-café and lounge 305-864-4889 5582 NE 4th Ct. es emanating from a new outdoor biergarten, this German has helped to transform the Boulevard into a hip place to Tucked into a mall best known for its Happy Stork 305-758-9932, www.the55thststation.com restaurant is owner Alex Richter’s one-man gentrification hang out. Lunch includes a variety of salads and elegant Lounge, this little luncheonette services big appetites. Mark Soyka’s new News is, as its name suggests, more a project, transforming a formerly uninviting stretch of 79th sandwiches like La Minuta (beer-battered mahi-mahi with Along with the usual grilled churrascos, there’s bandeja friendly neighborhood hangout and watering hole than a Street one pils at a time. The fare includes housemade cilantro aioli and caramelized onions on housemade foc- paisa, Colombia’s sampler platter of grilled steak, sau- full-fledged eatery. Nevertheless the menu of light bites sausages (mild veal bratwurst, hearty mixed beef/pork cacia). Dinner features a range of small plates (poached sage, chicharron, fried egg, avocado, plantains, rice, and is — along with other lures like an inviting outdoor patio bauernwurst, spicy garlicwurst) with homemade mustard figs with Gorgonzola cheese and honey balsamic drizzle) beans. Don’t miss marginally daintier dishes like sopa de and rest rooms that resemble eclectic art galleries — part and catsup; savory yet near-greaseless potato pancakes; and full entrées like sake-marinated salmon with boniato costilla, if this rich shortrib bowl is among the daily home- of the reason visitors stay for hours. Especially recom- and, naturally, schnitzels, a choice of delicate pounded mash and Ponzu butter sauce, and crispy spinach. made soups. Arepas include our favorite corn cake: the mended are fat mini-burgers with chipotle ketchup; a brie, pork, chicken, or veal patties served with a half-dozen dif- $$-$$$ hefty Aura, stuffed with chorizo, chicharron, carne des- turkey, and mango chutney sandwich on crusty baguette; ferent sauces. $$-$$$ mechada (shredded flank steak), plantains, rice, beans, and what many feel is the original café’s Greatest Hit: Ver-Daddys Taco Shop and cheese. $-$$ creamy hummus with warm pita. $ Soyka 7501 Biscayne Blvd, 305-303-9755 5556 NE 4th Court At this soulful taco shop, the menu descriptions are in The Crab House Red Light 305-759-3117, www.soykarestaurant.com common English (“cinnamon puffs” drizzled with honey 1551 79th St. Causeway 7700 Biscayne Blvd., 305-757-7773 This expansive, contemporary hangout was often credited and lime, not “buñuelos”). But taco fillings range from 305-868-7085 From the rustic al fresco deck of chef Kris Wessel’s inten- with almost single-handedly sparking the revitalization of ground beef and shredded chicken to more unusual pork www.crabhouseseafood.com tionally downwardly mobile retro-cool riverfront restaurant, the Biscayne Corridor’s Upper Eastside. Soyka remains a in chili verde or Baja battered fish (authentically gar- Established in 1975, this Miami fish house was acquired you can enjoy regional wildlife like manatees while enjoy- solid neighborhood restaurant that is a perfect fit for its nished with Mexican crema and cilantro-spiked cabbage). by Landry’s in 1996 and is now part of a chain. But ing eclectic regional dishes that range from cutting-edge area. Comfortably priced yuppie comfort food like meat- And all offerings can be loaded with other garnishes (sour-orange-marinated, sous-vide-cooked Florida lobster loaf with mashed potatoes, crab cakes with spicy-sweet from the kitchen (refried beans, cheese, crema) or less Continued on page 59

58 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Dining Guide Shuckers Bar & Grill MIAMI SHORES NORTH MIAMI Restaurant Listings 1819 79th St. Causeway, 305-866-1570 Continued from page 58 “Cheap eats and a million-dollar view” is the sound bite Iron Sushi Los Antojos manager Philip Conklin uses to describe this outdoor beach 9432 NE 2nd Ave. 11099 Biscayne Blvd., 305-892-1411 the classic décor (knotty pine walls, tile floors, booths, bar, hidden in back of a bayfront motel. The joint dates from 305-754-0311 If it’s Sunday, it must be sancocho de gallina, Colombia’s outdoor waterfront deck) still evokes the good old days. South Beach’s late 1980s revival, but the kick-off-your-shoes www.ironsushi.com national dish. If it’s Saturday, it must be ajiaco. Both are Though the all-you-can-eat seafood/salad buffet ($20 vibe couldn’t be farther from SoBe glitz. The food ranges With three Biscayne Corridor outlets (plus several branch- thick chicken soups, full meals in a bowl. For Colombian- lunch, $30 dinner) is a signature, freshness fanatics from classic bar favorites (char-grilled wings, conch fritters, es elsewhere in town), this mostly take-out mini chain is cuisine novices, a bandeja paisa (sampler including rice, will be happiest sticking to à la carte favorites like the raw or steamed shellfish) to full dinners featuring steak, fast becoming the Sushi Joint That Ate Miami. And why do beans, carne asada, chicharron, eggs, sautéed sweet All-American fisherman’s platters, or global specials like homemade pasta, or fresh, not frozen, fish. $-$$ Miamians eat here? Not ambiance. There isn’t any. But plantains, and an arepa corn cake) is available every day, Szechuan shrimp, that change seasonally. $$$-$$$$ when friends from the Pacific Northwest, where foodies as are antojitos – “little whims,” smaller snacks like cho- Sushi Siam know their fish, tout the seafood’s freshness, we listen. rizo con arepa (a corn cake with Colombian sausage). And Japanese Market and Sushi Deli 1524 NE 79th St. Causeway There are some surprisingly imaginative makis, like the for noncarnivores there are several hefty seafood platters, 1412 79th St. Causeway 305-864-7638 Maharaja, featuring fried shrimp and drizzles of curry made to order. $$ 305-861-0143 (See Miami / Upper Eastside listing) mayo. And where else will you find a stacked sushi (five Inside a small market that is widely considered Miami’s assorted makis) birthday cake? $-$$ Bagels & Co. premier source of Japanese foodstuffs, the “Sushi Deli” 11064 Biscayne Blvd., 305-892-2435 restaurant component is nothing more than a lunch coun- NORTH BEACH Côte Gourmet While this place is often referred to as Guns & Bagels, ter. But chef Michio Kushi serves up some sushi found 9999 NE 2nd Ave., #112 one can’t actually buy a gun here. The nickname refers nowhere else in town. Example: traditional Osaka-style Café Prima Pasta 305-754-9012 to its location next to a firearms shop. But there’s a lot of sushi – layers of rice, seasoned seaweed, and marinated 414 71st St., 305-867-0106, www.primapasta.com If only every Miami neighborhood could have a neighbor- other stuff aside from bagels here, including a full range fresh mackerel, pressed into a square box, then cut into Opened in 1993 with 28 seats, this family-run landmark hood restaurant like this low-priced little French jewel. The of sandwiches and wraps. Breakfast time is busy time, lovely one-bite sandwich squares. While raw fish is always has now taken over the block, with an outdoor terrace menu is mostly simple stuff: breakfast croissants, crêpe, with banana-walnut pancakes especially popular. But impeccable here, some unusual vegetarian sushi cre- and multi-roomed indoor space whose walls are full of soups, sandwiches, salads, sweets, and a few more sub- what’s most important is that this is one of the area’s few ations also tempt, as do daily entrées. $ photos of their clientele, including national and local stantial specials like a Tunisian-style brik (buttery phyllo sources of the real, New York-style water bagel: crunchy celebs. Particularly popular are homemade pastas, pastry stuffed with tuna, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes) outside, challengingly chewy inside. $ Mario the Baker sauced with Argentine-Italian indulgence rather than with a mesclun side salad. But everything is homemade, 1700 79th St. Causeway Italian simplicity: crabmeat ravioletti in lobster cream including all breads, and prepared with impeccable ingre- Bulldog Barbecue 305-867-7882 sauce, black squid ink linguini heaped with seafood. dients, classic French technique, and meticulous atten- 15400 Biscayne Blvd., 305-940-9655 (See North Miami listing) Though romantic enough for dates, the place is quite kid- tion to detail, down to the stylish plaid ribbons that hold www.bulldog-bbq.com friendly — and on the terrace, they’ll even feed Fido. $$$ together the café’s baguette sandwiches. $-$$ The BBQ master at this small, rustic room is pugnacious Oggi Caffe Top Chef contender Howie Kleinberg, whose indoor elec- 1666 79th St. Causeway Tamarind Thai Village Café tric smoker turns out mild-tasting ’cue that ranges from 305-866-1238 946 Normandy Dr. 9540 NE 2nd Ave. the expected pulled pork, ribs, brisket, and chicken to hot- www.oggicaffe.com 305-861-6222, www.tamarindthai.us 305-759-2211 smoked salmon and veggie plates. There are also creative This cozy, romantic spot started back in 1989 as a pasta When an eatery’s executive chef is best-selling Thai cookbook After closing for several months in early 2009, this comfort food starters like BBQ chicken flatbread, salads, factory (supplying numerous high-profile restaurants) as author Vatcharin Bhumichitr, you’d expect major media hype, café, spruced up to look like a bistro rather than a lun- and sweets. Sides include refreshing slaw; beans stud- well as a neighborhood eatery. And the wide range of bud- fancy South Beach prices, and a fancy SoBe address. Instead cheonette (but with the same bargain prices), has been ded with “burnt ends” (the most intensely flavored outer get-friendly, homemade pastas, made daily, remains the Bhumichitr joined forces with Day Longsomboon (an old Thai reopened. The kitchen has also been rejuvenated, with barbecue chunks); and sweet potato or chipotle-spiced main draw for its large and loyal clientele. Choices range school pal who’d moved to Miami) at this unpretentious, head honcho Adam Holm (Whitticar’s original sous chef) fries. The cost is comparatively high, but such is the price from homey, meaty lasagna to luxuriant crab ravioli with authentic (no sushi) neighborhood place. Some standout dishes serving up new, globally influenced dishes like mint/ of fame. $$-$$$ creamy lobster sauce, with occasional forays into creative here are featured in the chef’s latest tome, but with Tamarind’s pistachio-crusted lamb or tuna tartare with sriracha aioli, exotica such as seaweed spaghettini, with sea scallops, very affordable prices, you might as well let the man’s impecca- plus reviving old favorites like pork tenderloin with ginger- shitakes, and fresh tomatoes. $$-$$$ bly trained kitchen staff do the work for you. $$-$$$ caramel sauce. $$-$$$ Continued on page 60

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 59 Dining Guide

Restaurant Listings Casa Mia Trattoria Miami’s first, there’s a full stock of vitamins and nutritional bacon vinaigrette; truite Grenobloise (trout with lemon/caper 1950 NE 123rd St., 305-899-2770 supplements. But the place’s hearty soups, large variety sauce); consommé with black truffles and foie gras, covered Continued from page 59 Tucked away, off to the side on the approach to the Broad of entrées (including fresh fish and chicken as well as by a buttery puff pastry dome; perfect pommes frites, and Causeway and the beaches, this charming indoor/outdoor vegetarian selections), lighter bites like miso burgers with equally perfect apple or lemon tarts for dessert. $$$ Burritos Grill Café trattoria seems to attract mostly neighborhood regulars. secret “sun sauce” (which would probably make old sneak- 11717 Biscayne Blvd., 305-891-1041 But even newcomers feel like regulars after a few minutes, ers taste good), and daily specials are a tastier way to get Sara’s www.burritosgrillcafe thanks to the staff’s Italian ebullience. Menu offerings healthy. An under-ten-buck early-bird dinner is popular with 2214 NE 123rd St. Originally a friendly little 125th Street hole-in-the-wall that are mostly classic comfort foods with some contemporary the former long-hair, now blue-hair, crowd. Frozen yogurt, 305-891-3312, www.saraskosherpizza.com garnered raves for its limited menu of terrifically tasty items as well. Housemade pastas are good enough that fresh juices, and smoothies complete the menu. $-$$ While this mainly vegetarian kosher place is best known treats, Mario and Karina Manzanero’s café is now in low-carb dieters should take a break, especially for the for its pizza (New York-style medium crust or thick-crusted more sizable and atmospheric quarters. But the friendly, tender gnocchi with pesto or better yet, delicate fagottini — Le Griot de Madame John Sicilian, topped with veggies and/or “meat buster” imitation family-run (and kid-friendly) ambiance remains, as do the “beggar’s purses” stuffed with pears and cheese. $$ 975 NE 125th St., 305-892-9333 meats), it’s also offers a full range of breakfast/lunch/dinner authentic Yucatan-style specialties. Standouts include When Madame moved her base of operations from her Little vegetarian cuisine of all nations, with many dairy and sea- poc-chuc, a marinated pork loin; tacos al pastor, stuffed Chéen-huyae Haiti home to a real restaurant (though a very informal one, food items too. Admittedly the cutesie names of many items with subtly smoky steak, onion, cilantro, and pineapple; 15400 Biscayne Blvd., 305-956-2808 and still mostly take-out), she began offering numerous tra- – baygels, bergerrbite, Cezarrrr salad, hammm, meat-a-ball, sinful deep-fried tacos dorados; and signature burritos, Diners can get some Tex-Mex dishes here, if they must. ditional Haitian dishes, including jerked beef or goat tassot schmopperrr – may cause queasiness. But the schmopperrr including the Maya, filled with juicy cochinita pibil, refried But the specialty is Mayan-rooted Yucatan cuisine. So why and an impressive poisson gros sel (a whole fish rubbed with itself is one helluva high-octane veggie burger. $-$$ beans, and pickled onions. $$ blow bucks on burritos when one can sample Caribbean salt before poaching with various veggies and spices). But Mexico’s most typical dish: cochinita pibil? Chéen’s authen- the dish that still packs the place is the griot: marinated pork Steve’s Pizza Canton Café tically succulent version of the pickle-onion-topped marinat- chunks simmered and then fried till they’re moistly tender 12101 Biscayne Blvd., 305-891-0202 12749 Biscayne Blvd. ed pork dish is earthily aromatic from achiote, tangy from inside, crisp and intensely flavored outside. $ At the end of a debauched night of excess, some paper-thin 305-892-2882 bitter oranges, and meltingly tender from slow cooking in designer pizza with wisps of smoked salmon (or similar fluff) Easily overlooked, this strip-mall spot serves mostly a banana leaf wrap. To accompany, try a lime/soy/chili- Little Havana doesn’t do the trick. Open till 3:00 or 4:00 a.m., Steve’s has, Cantonese-based dishes. However, there are also about spiced michelada, also authentically Mexican, and possibly 12727 Biscayne Blvd., 305-899-9069 since 1974, been serving the kind of comforting, retro pizzas two dozen spicier, Szechuan-style standards like kung po the best thing that ever happened to dark beer. $$-$$$ www.littlehavanarestaurant.com people crave at that hour. As in Brooklyn, tomato sauce is shrimp, ma po tofu, and General Tso’s chicken. And there In addition to white-tablecoth ambiance, this place features sweet, with strong oregano flavor. Mozzarella is applied with are a few imaginative new items, like the intriguingly Chef Creole live Latin entertainment and dancing, making it a good abandon. Toppings are stuff that give strength: pepperoni, christened “Shrimp Lost in the Forest,” Singapore curried 13105 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-893-4246 choice when diners want a night out, not just a meal. It’s sausage, meatballs, onions, and peppers. $ rice noodles, crispy shrimp with honey-glazed walnuts, (See Miami listing) also a good choice for diners who don’t speak Spanish, but and Mongolian beef (with raw chilis and fresh Oriental don’t worry about authenticity. Classic Cuban home-style Tokyo Bowl basil). Delivery is available for both lunch and dinner. $$ D.J.’s Diner dishes like mojo-marinated lechon asado, topped with 12295 Biscayne Blvd., 305-892-9400 12210 Biscayne Blvd., 305-893-5250 onions, and juicy ropa vieja are translated on the menu, This fast-food drive-thru (unexpectedly serene inside) is Captain Jim’s Seafood Located in a Best Western motel, this place, run by a not the plate, and fancier creations like pork filet in tangy named for its feature item, big budget-priced bowls of rice or 12950 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-892-2812 Chinese-American family, serves mostly basic American tamarind sauce seem universal crowd-pleasers. $$$ noodles topped with cooked Japanese-style items like teriyaki This market/restaurant was garnering critical acclaim diner fare – burgers, sandwiches, about a dozen dinner fish (fresh fish sautéed with vegetables), curried chicken and even when eat-in dining was confined to a few Formica entrées, fresh-baked apple pie, and, oddly, a whole section Mama Jennie’s veggies, spicy shrimp, or gyoza dumplings in tangy sauce. tables in front of the fish counter, owing to the freshness of Caesar salad variations. But it’s also a secret source for 11720 NE 2nd Ave., 305-757-3627 There’s also an all-you-can-eat deal – sushi (individual nigiri or of its seafood, much of it from Capt. Jim Hanson’s own Chinese food, mostly chow mien/chop suey-type dishes, For more than 35 years this beloved red-sauce joint has been maki rolls) plus tempura, teriyaki, and other cooked items for fishing boats, which supply many top restaurants. Now but also a few dishes such as eggplant with garlic sauce drawing students and other starvation-budget diners with $14; three bucks more for sashimi instead of sushi. $-$$ there’s a casual but pleasantly nautical side dining room and ma po tofu that are a step up in authenticity. $-$$ prodigious portions of lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs (the with booths. Whether it’s garlicky scampi, smoked-fish latter savory yet light-textured), veal marsala topped with a Venezia Pizza and Café dip, grilled yellowtail or hog or mutton snapper, perfectly Here Comes the Sun mountain of mushrooms, and other Italian-American belly- 13452 Biscayne Blvd., 305-940-1808 tenderized cracked conch or conch fritters, everything is 2188 NE 123rd St, 305-893-5711 busters. All pasta or meat entrées come with oil-drenched gar- No frozen pizza crusts or watery mozzarella here. No deftly prepared and bargain-priced. $$ At this friendly natural foods establishment, one of lic rolls and either soup (hearty minestrone) or a salad (mixed imported designer ingredients either. The pies are New greens, tomatoes, cukes, brined olives, and pickled peppers) York-style, but the dough is made fresh daily, and the that’s a dinner in itself. Rustic roadhouse ambiance, notably cheese is Grande (from Wisconsin, considered America’s the red leatherette booths, add to Mama’s charm. $-$$ finest pizza topper). Also on the menu are Italian- American pastas, a large selection of hot an cold subs, Mario the Baker simple salads, and a few new protein adds – grilled 13695 W. Dixie Highway chicken breast, fried fish, or a steak. $-$$ 305-891-7641, www.mariothebakerpizza.com At this North Miami institution (opened in 1969) food is Wong’s Chinese Restaurant Italian-American, not Italian-Italian: spaghetti and meat- 12420 Biscayne Blvd., 305-891-4313 balls, lasagna, eggplant parmigiana, and hot or cold subs. The menu reads like a textbook on how to please everyone, No imported buffala, arugula, or other chichi stuff on the with food ranging from traditional Chinese to Chinese- New York-style medium-thin-crusted pizzas; the top top- American to just plain American. Appetizers include honey ping here is the savory housemade sausage. And no one garlic chicken wings or Buffalo wings. A crab-claw starter leaves without garlic rolls, awash in warm parsley oil and comes with choice of pork fried rice or French fries. smashed garlic. New branches are now open in Miami’s Seafood lovers can get shrimp chop suey, or salty pep- Midtown neighborhood and in North Bay Village. $ per shrimp (authentically shell-on). And New Yorkers will find a number of dishes that are mainstays of Manhattan Petit Rouge Szechuan menus but not common in Miami: cold sesame 12409 Biscayne Blvd., 305-892-7676 noodles, Hunan chicken, twice-cooked pork. $$ From the mid-1990s (with Neal’s Restaurant and later with Il Migliore), local chef Neal Cooper’s neighborhood-oriented Woody’s Famous Steak Sandwich Italian eateries have been crowd-pleasers. While this cute 13105 Biscayne Blvd., 305-891-1451 32-seat charmer is French, it’s no exception, avoiding The griddle has been fired up since 1954 at this indie pretense and winning fans with both classic and nouvelle bistro fare: frisée salad with lardons, poached egg, and Continued on page 61 ORIGINAL BAVARIAN BIERGARTEN OPEN DAILY FROM 5:00PM TO 11:00PM FRIDAY &SATURDAY TO MIDNIGHT

TEL: 305-754-8002 www.schnitzelhausmiami.com 1085 N.E. 79th Street/Causeway, Miami, FL 33138

60 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Dining Guide

Restaurant Listings in the world won’t scratch the itch. So the menu here, contain- Hanna’s Gourmet Diner spinach, chilled and dressed in sesame sauce), garlic ing every authentically inauthentic Chinese-American classic 13951 Biscayne Blvd., 305-947-2255 stem and beef (mild young shoots flash-fried with tender Continued from page 60 you could name, is just the ticket when nostalgia strikes – When Sia and Nicole Hemmati bought the Gourmet Diner steak bits), or perhaps just-caught grouper with hot/ from simple egg rolls to pressed almond duck (majorly bread- from retiring original owner Jean-Pierre Lejeune in the late sweet/tangy chili sauce. Open till around 3:00 a.m. $$ fast-food joint, and new owners have done little to change ed boneless chunks, with comfortingly thick gravy). $-$$ 1990s, they added “Hanna’s” to the name, but changed little the time-tested formula except to stretch operating hours else about this retro-looking French/American diner, a north Heelsha into the night and expand its classic menu to include a few Chipotle Mexican Grill Miami-Dade institution since 1983. Customers can get a 1550 NE 164th St. health-conscious touches like Caesar salad, plus a note 14776 Biscayne Blvd. cheeseburger or garlicky escargots, meatloaf in tomato sauce 305-919-8393, www.heelsha.com proclaiming their oils are free of trans fats. Otherwise the 305-947-2779, www.chipotle.com or boeuf bourguignon in red wine sauce, iceberg lettuce and If unusual Bangladeshi dishes like fiery pumpkin patey famous steak sandwich is still a traditional Philly. Drippin’ Proving that national fast-food chains don’t have to be bad tomatoes, or a mushroom and squid salad with garlic dress- (cooked with onion, green pepper, and pickled mango) or good burgers, too. And unlike MacChain addicts, patrons for either diners or the environment, Chipotle serves what ing. For oysters Rockefeller/tuna-melt couples from Venus and Heelsha curry (succulently spiced hilsa, Bangladesh’s sweet- here can order a cold beer with the good grease. $-$$ the company calls “food with integrity.” The fare is simple, Mars, it remains the ideal dinner date destination. $$-$$$ fleshed national fish) seem familiar, it’s because chef/owner basically tacos and big burritos: soft flour or crisp corn Bithi Begum and her husband Tipu Raman once served such tortillas stuffed with chipotle-marinated steak or chicken Hiro Japanese Restaurant fare at the critically acclaimed Renaisa. Their menu’s mix-and- NORTH MIAMI BEACH chunks, bolder shredded beef barbacoa, or herb-scented 3007 NE 163rd St., 305-948-3687 match option allows diners to pair their choice of meat, poul- pork carnitas. But these bites contain no evil ingredients One of Miami’s first sushi restaurants, Hiro retains an amusing try, fish, or vegetable with more than a dozen regional sauces, Bamboo Garden (transfats, artificial color/flavor, antibiotics, growth hor- retro-glam feel, an extensive menu of both sushi and cooked from familiar Indian styles to exotica like satkara, flavored with 1232 NE 163rd St., 305-945-1722 mones). And the food, while not the authentic Mex street Japanese food, and late hours that make it a perennially popu- a Bangladeshi citrus reminiscent of sour orange. $$-$$$ Big enough for a banquet (up to 300 guests), this vet- stuff dreams are made of, is darned tasty, too. $ lar after-hours snack stop. The sushi menu has few surprises, eran is many diners’ favorite on the 163rd/167th Street but quality is reliable. Most exceptional are the nicely priced Iron Sushi “Chinatown” strip because of its superior décor. But the Christine’s Roti Shop yakitori, skewers of succulently soy-glazed and grilled meat, fish, 16350 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-945-2244 menu also offers well-prepared, authentic dishes like 16721 NE 6th Ave., 305-770-0434 and vegetables; the unusually large variety available of the last (See Miami Shores listing)? peppery black bean clams, sautéed mustard greens, Wraps are for wimps. At this small shop run by Christine makes this place a good choice for vegetarians. $$ and steamed whole fish with ginger and scallions, plus Gouvela, originally from British Guyana, the wrapper is a far Jerusalem Market and Deli Chinese-American egg foo young. Default spicing is mild more substantial and tasty roti, a Caribbean mega-crepe Hiro’s Sushi Express 16275 Biscayne Blvd., 305-948-9080 even in Szechuan dishes marked with red-chili icons, but made from chickpea flour. Most popular filling for the flat- 17048 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-949-0776 Specialties like shawarma, spinach pies, kebabs, hummus, don’t worry; realizing some like it hot, the chefs will cus- bread is probably jerk chicken, bone-in pieces in a spiced stew Tiny, true, but there’s more than just sushi at this mostly and kibbeh (a savory mix of ground lamb and bulgur) are tomize spiciness to heroic heat levels upon request. $$ of potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, and more chickpeas. take-out spin-off of the pioneering Hiro. Makis are the native to many Middle East countries, but when a Lebanese But there are about a dozen other curries from which to mainstay (standard stuff like California rolls, more complex chef/owner, like this eatery’s Sam Elzoor, is at the helm, you Blue Marlin Fish House choose. Take-out packages of plain roti are also available; creations like multi-veg futomaki, and a few unexpected can expect extraordinary refinement. There are elaborate 2500 NE 163rd St., 305-957-8822 they transform myriad leftovers into tasty, portable lunches. $ treats like a spicy Crunch & Caliente maki), available à la daily specials here, like lemon chicken or stuffed cabbage Located inside Oleta River State Park, this casual outdoor carte or in value-priced individual and party combo platters. with a variety of sides, but even a common falafel sandwich is eatery is a rare surprise for nature lovers. The featured item is El Gran Inka But there are also bento boxes featuring tempura, yakitori special when the pita is also stuffed with housemade cabbage still the house-smoked fish this historic venue began produc- 3155 NE 163rd St. skewers, teriyaki, stir-fried veggies, and udon noodles. and onion salads, plus unusually rich and tart tahina. $-$$ ing in 1938, available in three varieties: salmon, mahi mahi, 305-940-4910, www.graninka.com Another branch is now open in Miami’s Upper Eastside. $ and the signature blue marlin. But the smokehouse now also Though diners at this upscale Peruvian eatery will find cevi- Kabobji turns out ribs and delectable brisket. Other new additions ches, a hefty fried-seafood jalea, and Peru’s other expected Hiro’s Yakko-San 3055 NE 163rd St., 305-354-8484 include weekend fish fries. Entry is directly from 163rd Street, traditional specialties, all presented far more elegantly than 17040 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-947-0064 www.EatKabobji.com not through the main park entrance. No admission fee. $ most in town, the contemporary Peruvian fusion creations After sushi chefs close up their own restaurants for the This place makes a very good tahini sauce. In fact that are unique. Especially recommended are two dishes adapted night, many come here for a rare taste of Japanese home alone is reason enough to visit. We prefer ours with this China Restaurant from recipes by Peru’s influential nikkei (Japanese/Creole) cooking, served in grazing portions. Try glistening-fresh bright, cheery eatery’s delightfully oniony falafel or a veg- 178 NE 167th St., 305-947-6549 chef Rosita Yimura: an exquisite, delicately sauced tiradito de strips of raw tuna can be had in maguro nuta – mixed garnished wrap of thin-sliced marinated beef schwarma. When you have a yen for the Americanized Chinese fusion corvina, and for those with no fear of cholesterol, pulpo de with scallions and dressed with habit-forming honey-miso dishes you grew up with, all the purist regional Chinese cuisine oliva (octopus topped with rich olive sauce). $$$-$$$$ mustard sauce. Other favorites include goma ae (wilted Continued on page 62

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 61 Dining Guide

Restaurant Listings gourmet market’s packed shelves and crowds has depleted Oishi Thai PK Oriental Mart your energies, it’s a handy place to refuel with eggplant 14841 Biscayne Blvd. 255 NE 167th St., 305-654-9646 Continued from page 61 parmesan and similar Italian-American classics, housemade 305-947-4338, www.oishithai.com Unlike other Asian markets on this strip between I-95 and from old family recipes. Just a few spoonfuls of Wednesday’s At this stylish Thai/sushi spot, try the menu of specials, many Biscayne Boulevard, PK has a prepared-food counter, serv- They also do a beautifully spiced, and reassuringly fresh- hearty pasta fagiole, one of the daily soup specials, could of which clearly reflect the young chef’s fanatical devotion to ing authentic Chinatown barbecue, with appropriate dipping tasting, raw kibbi naye (Middle Eastern steak tartare). It’s keep a person shopping for hours. And now that pizza mas- fresh fish, as well as the time he spent in the kitchen of Knob: sauces included. Weekends bring the biggest selection, hard to resist putting together a grazing meal of starters ter Carlo is manning the wood-fired oven, you can sample broiled miso-marinated black cod; rock shrimp tempura with including barbecued ribs and pa pei duck (roasted, then and wraps, but there’s also a roster of full entrées (with the thinnest, crispiest pies outside Napoli. $-$$ creamy sauce; even Nobu Matsuhisa’s “new style sashimi” deep-fried till extra crisp and nearly free of subcutaneous soup or salad plus starch), including tempting vegetarian (slightly surface-seared by drizzles of hot olive and sesame fat). Available every day are juicy, soy-marinated roast chick- and seafood meals for noncarnivores. $$ Little Saigon oil). The specials menu includes some Thai-inspired creations, ens, roast pork strips, crispy pork, and whole roast ducks – 16752 N. Miami Ave., 305-653-3377 too, such as veal massaman curry, Chilean sea bass curry, hanging, beaks and all. But no worries; a counterperson will Kebab Indian Restaurant This is Miami’s oldest traditional Vietnamese restaurant, and sizzling filet mignon with basil sauce. $$$-$$$$ chop your purchase into bite-size, beakless pieces. $ 514 NE 167th St., 305-940-6309 but it’s still packed most weekend nights. So even the Since the 1980s this restaurant, located in an unatmo- place’s biggest negative – its hole-in-the-wall atmosphere, Panya Thai Racks Italian Kitchen spheric mini strip mall but surprisingly romantic inside not encouraging of lingering visits – becomes a plus since 520 NE 167th St., 305-945-8566 3933 NE 163rd St. (Intracoastal Mall) (especially if you grab one of the exotically draped booths) it ensures fast turnover. Chef/owner Lily Tao is typically in Unlike authentic Chinese cuisine, there’s no shortage of genu- 305-917-7225 has been a popular destination for reasonably priced the kitchen, crafting green papaya salad, flavorful beef noo- ine Thai food in and around Miami. But Panya’s chef/owner, a The complexity of the Racks concept makes a sound- north Indian fare. Kormas are properly soothing and dle pho (served with greens, herbs, and condiments that Bangkok native, offers numerous regional and/or rare dishes bite description impossible. It’s part Italian market, with vindaloos are satisfactorily searing, but the kitchen will make it not just a soup but a whole ceremony), and many not found elsewhere. Plus he doesn’t automatically curtail salumi, cheeses, and other artisan products plus take-out adjust seasonings upon request. They aim to please. Food other Vietnamese classics. The menu is humongous. $-$$ the heat or sweetness levels to please Americans. Among prepared foods; part enoteca (wine bar, featuring snacks arrives unusually fast for an Indian eatery, too. $$ the most intriguing: moo khem phad wan (chewy deep-fried like addictive Portobello fritti with truffle aioli, especially Mary Ann Bakery seasoned pork strips with fiery tamarind dip, accompanied by enjoyable on the waterfront deck); part ristorante (pastas King Palace 1284 NE 163rd St., 305-945-0333 crisp green papaya salad); broad rice noodles stir-fried with and other Big Food); part pizzeria. What’s important: All 330 NE 167th St., 305-949-2339 Don’t be unduly alarmed by the American birthday cakes eye-opening chili/garlic sauce and fresh Thai basil; and chili- components feel and taste authentically Italian. Just don’t The specialties here are authentic Chinatown-style barbecue in the window. At this small Chinese bakery the real finds topped Diamond Duck in tangy tamarind sauce. $$-$$$ miss the coal-oven pizza. Superior toppings (including (whole ducks, roast pork strips, and more, displayed in a glass are the Chinatown-style baked buns and other savory unusually zesty tomato sauce) plus an astonishingly light case by the door), and fresh seafood dishes, the best made pastries, filled with roast pork, bean sauce, and curried Paquito’s yet chewy crust make Racks’ pies a revelation. $$ with the live fish swimming in two tanks by the dining room ground beef. Prices are under a buck, making them an 16265 Biscayne Blvd., 305-947-5027 entrance. There’s also a better-than-average selection of sea- exotic alternative to fast-food dollar meals. There’s one From the outside, this strip-mall Mexican eatery couldn’t Roasters & Toasters sonal Chinese veggies. The menu is extensive, but the best table for eat-in snackers. $ be easier to overlook. Inside, however, its festivity is 18515 NE 18th Ave., 305-830-3354 ordering strategy, since the place is usually packed with Asians, impossible to resist. Every inch of wall space seems to be Attention ex-New Yorkers: Is your idea of food porn one of the is to see what looks good on nearby tables, and point. $$ The Melting Pot covered with South of the Border knickknacks. And if the Carnegie Deli’s mile-high pastrami sandwiches? Well, Roasters 15700 Biscayne Blvd. kitschy décor alone doesn’t cheer you, the quickly arriving will dwarf them. Consider the “Carnegie-style” monster contain- Lime Fresh Mexican Grill 305-947-2228, www.meltingpot.com basket of fresh (not packaged) taco chips, or the mariachi ing, according to the menu, a full pound of succulent meat 14831 Biscayne Blvd. For 1950s and 1960s college students, fondue pots were band, or the knockout margaritas will. Food ranges from (really 1.4 pounds; we weighed it), for a mere 15 bucks. All the 305-949-8800 standard dorm accessories. These days, however, branch- Tex-Mex burritos and a party-size fajita platter to authentic other Jewish deli classics are here too, including perfectly sour (See Midtown / Wynwood / Design District listing) es of this chain are generally the only places to go for this Mexican moles and harder-to-find traditional preparations pickles, silky hand-sliced nova or lox, truly red-rare roast beef, eating experience. Start with a wine-enriched four-cheese like albóndigas – spicy, ultra-savory meatballs. $$-$$$ and the cutest two-bite mini-potato pancakes ever — eight per Laurenzo’s Market Café fondue; proceed to an entrée with meat or seafood, plus order, served with sour cream and applesauce. $$ 16385 W. Dixie Hwy. choice of cooking potion (herbed wine, bouillon, or oil); Pasha’s 305-945-6381, www.laurenzosmarket.com finish with fruits and cakes dipped in melted chocolate. 14871 Biscayne Blvd., 786-923-2323 Sang’s Chinese Restaurant It’s just a small area between the wines and the fridge Fondue etiquette dictates that diners who drop a skewer www.pashas.com 1925 NE 163rd St., 305-947-7076 counters – no potted palms, and next-to-no service in this in the pot must kiss all other table companions, so go (See Miami: Brickell / Downtown listing) Sang’s has three menus. The pink menu is Americanized cafeteria-style space. But when negotiating this international with those you love. $$$ Chinese food, from chop suey to honey garlic chicken. The Paul Bakery Café white menu permits the chef to show off his authentic 14861 Biscayne Blvd. Chinese fare: salt and pepper prawns, rich beef/turnip 305-940-4443, www.paulusa.com casserole, tender salt-baked chicken, even esoterica like From one rural shop in 1889, the French bakery known simply as abalone with sea cucumber. The extensive third menu offers Paul has grown to a worldwide chain, which fortunately chose to dim sum, served until 4:00 p.m. A live tank allows seasonal open its first U.S. outlet in our town. One bite of the crusty peasant seafood dishes like lobster with ginger and scallion. Recently loaf, the olive-studded fougasse, or another of the signature artisan installed: a Chinese barbecue case, displaying savory items Buena Vista Bistro breads transports you right back to France. As authentic as the like crispy pork with crackling attached. $$$ boulangerie breads are, the patisserie items like flan normande are just as evocative. For eat-in diners, quite continental soups, salads, Shing Wang Vegetarian, Icee & Tea House and sandwiches are equally and dependably French. $$ 237 NE 167th St., 305-654-4008 www.shingwangrestaurant.com Pizza Fusion At this unique Taiwanese eatery, run by a trio of Taipei- 14815 Biscayne Blvd. trained female chefs, all seafood, poultry, and meats 305-405-6700, www.pizzafusion.com in the budget-priced entrées ($6.95) are mock – imita- “Saving the earth one pizza at a time” is the motto at this tions made from wheat gluten, tofu, and vegetables. But franchise of the only pizza chain to require third-party don’t mock it till you try the quite beefy pepper steak, or organic restaurant certification at all locations. Their gluten- smokin’ duck, with slices that mimic the charcuterie item free crusts make it mighty friendly to pizza fanatics with food down to convincing faux fat. Other main dishes feature allergies. Starters, salads, desserts, and organic wines/beers recognizable veggies or noodles. As for the rest of the are also served. And delivery is available — in hybrid cars, name: icee is shaved ice, an over-the-top dessert that’s a of course. Specials unique to this NMB franchise include sort of a slurpee sundae, with toppings that vary from the Sunday-Thursday happy hours, a free Kids Organic Club familiar (fresh fruits) to the weird (grass jelly, sweet corn, class on Saturdays, 10:00-11:00 a.m., and varied Monday- Wednesday freebies. $-$$ Continued on page 63

Open Lunch & Dinner: 11AM – Midnight Sunday Brunch: 11AM - 3PM

Patio Open Weekends

4582 NE 2nd Ave ● 305.456.5909

62 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010 Dining Guide

Restaurant Listings minutes, a pie with the classic thin, crisp-bottomed, beauti- will find that the 20th anniversary menus also offer new Pilar fully char-bubbled crust that fans of the above legendary excitements like tandoori-spiced rock lobster, along with 20475 Biscayne Blvd. Continued from page 62 pizzerias crave. Expect neither bargain-chain prices, a what might be the ultimate mac’n’cheese: lobster crab 305-937-2777, www.pilarrestaurant.com huge selection of toppings, nor much else on the menu. macaroni in a Fris vodka sauce with mushrooms, scal- Chef/owner Scott Fredel previously worked for Norman kidney beans, rice balls, chocolate pudding). And the bub- Anthony’s does just a few things, and does them right. $$ lions, and parmesan. The famous dessert soufflé’s flavor Van Aken and Mark Militello. He has been executive chef ble tea is a must-not-miss. Using housemade syrup, the changes daily, but it always did. $$$$$ at Rumi, and cooked at NYC’s James Beard House. Armed cold, refreshing boba comes in numerous flavors (mango, Bagel Cove Restaurant & Deli with those impressive credentials, Fredel and his wife taro, even actual tea), all supplemented with signature 19003 Biscayne Blvd., 305-935-4029 Il Migliore launched Pilar (named for Hemingway’s boat) aiming to black tapioca balls that, slurped through large-diameter One word: flagels. And no, that’s not a typo. Rather these 2576 NE Miami Gardens Dr., 305-792-2902 prove that top restaurants can be affordable. Consider straws, are a guaranteed giggle. $ crusty, flattened specimens (poppy seed or sesame seed) Chef Neal Cooper’s attractive trattoria gets the food right, as well it proven. Floribbean-style seafood is the specialty: fresh are the ultimate bagel/soft pretzel hybrid -- and a special- as the ambiance. As in Italy, dishes rely on impeccable ingredi- hearts of palm slaw and Caribbean curry sauce, rock Siam Square ty at this bustling Jewish bakery/deli, which, since 1988, ents and straightforward recipes that don’t overcomplicate, cover shrimp spring rolls with sweet soy glaze, yellowtail snap- 54 NE 167th St., 305-944-9697 opens at 6:30 a.m. -- typically selling out of flagels in a up, or otherwise muck about with that perfection. Fresh fettuc- per with tomato-herb vinaigrette. Forget its strip-mall loca- Open until 1:00 a.m. every day except Sunday (when is closes couple of hours. Since you’re up early anyway, sample cine with white truffle oil and mixed wild mushrooms needs noth- tion. The restaurant itself is elegant. $$-$$$ at midnight), this relatively new addition to North Miami Beach’s elaborately garnished breakfast specials, including unusu- ing else. Neither does the signature Pollo Al Mattone, marinated “Chinatown” strip has become a popular late-night gathering ally flavorful homemade corned beef hash and eggs. For in herbs and cooked under a brick. And even low-carb dieters Pizza Roma spot for chefs from other Asian restaurants. And why not? The the rest of the day, multitudes of mavens devour every happily go to hell in a hand basket when faced with a mound of 19090 NE 29th Ave., 305-937-4884 food is fresh, nicely presented, and reasonably priced. The other delectable deli specialty known to humankind. $$ potatoes alla Toscana, herb-sprinkled French fries. $$-$$$ Despite its name, this homey hidden eatery serves not kitchen staff is willing to customize dishes upon request, and Rome’s wood-cooked, crunchy-crusted pizzas but New the serving staff is reliably fast. Perhaps most important, kara- Bar Rosso Mahogany Grille York-style pies with medium-thick crusts pliable enough to oke equipment is in place when the mood strikes. $-$$ 19004 NE 29th Ave., 305-933-3418 2190 NW 183rd St., 305-626-8100 fold in half for neat street eating. Unlike chains, though, www.barrosso.com Mahogany Grille has drawn critical raves and an interna- this indie is accommodating, so if you want your crust Scorch Grillhouse and Wine Bar Bar Rosso calls itself a “vinoteca,” and we’d agree the tional clientele since retired major league outfielder Andre thin and crisp, just ask. Also featured are Italian-American 13750 Biscayne Blvd., 305-949-5588 snappy, made-up word suits this casually stylish wine Dawson and his brother transformed this place in 2007. entrées like baked manicotti (that’s “mani-goat”, for those www.scorchgrillhouse.com bar and restaurant, where the fare is Italian, American, Today it’s white tablecloths and, naturally, mahogany. not from NJ) big enough to share, and sub sandwiches, Though some food folks were initially exasperated when and Italian-American. There are plenty of pastas and The menu is a sort of trendy yet traditional soul fusion of here called “bullets,” to put you in a Sopranos frame of yet another Latin-influenced grill replaced one of our area’s wood-grilled meat and fish entrées, but artfully garnished food from several African diaspora regions: Carolina Low mind. $$ few Vietnamese restaurants, it’s hard to bear a grudge at a cured meat or cheese selections and small plates are the Country (buttery cheese grits with shrimp, sausage, and friendly, casual neighborhood place that offers monster ten- best way to sample chef Josh Medina’s creativity, from cream gravy), the Caribbean (conch-packed fritters or The Soup Man ounce char-grilled burgers, with potatoes or salad, for $8.50; espresso-braised short ribs to salad specials like fresh salad), and the Old South (lightly buttermilk-battered fried 20475 Biscayne Blvd. #G-8, 305-466-9033 steaks, plus a side and a sauce or veg topper, for nine bucks golden beets with grilled radicchio, goat cheese, arugula, chicken). The chicken is perhaps Miami’s best. $$-$$$ The real soup man behind this franchise is Al Yeganeh, an at lunch, $15 to $18.75 (the menu’s top price) at night; and and a unique cumin-raisin vinaigrette. $$-$$$ antisocial Manhattan restaurant proprietor made notori- three-dollar glasses of decent house wine. $-$$ Mo’s Bagels & Deli ous, on a Seinfeld episode, as “the soup Nazi.” On the Bella Luna 2780 NE 187th St., 305-936-8555 menu: ten different premium soups each day. The selec- Sushi House 19575 Biscayne Blvd. Aventura Mall , While the term “old school” is used a lot to describe this tion is carefully balanced among meat/poultry-based and 15911 Biscayne Blvd., 305-947-6002 305-792-9330, www.bellalunaaventura.com spacious (160-seat) establishment, it actually opened in vegetarian; clear and creamy (like the eatery’s signature In terms of décor drama, this sushi spot seems to have If the menu here looks familiar, it should. It’s nearly identical 1995. It just so evokes the classic NY delis we left behind shellfish-packed lobster bisque); chilled and hot; familiar taken its cue from Philippe Starck: sheer floor-to-ceiling to that at the Upper Eastside’s Luna Café and, with minor that it seems to have been here forever. Example: Lox and (chicken noodle) and exotic (mulligatawny). All soups drapes, for starters. The sushi list, too, is over the top, fea- variations, at all the rest of Tom Billante’s eateries (Rosalia, nova aren’t pallid, prepackaged fish, but custom-sliced come with gourmet bread, fruit, and imported chocolate. turing monster makis like the Cubbie Comfort: spicy tuna, Villaggio, Carpaccio), right down to the typeface. But no argu- from whole slabs. And bagels are hand-rolled, chewy cham- Also available are salads, sandwiches, and wraps. $-$$ soft-shell crab, shrimp and eel tempura, plus avocado, jala- ment from here. In a mall – a setting more accustomed to pions, not those machine-made puffy poseurs. As compli- peños, and cilantro, topped with not one but three sauces: food court – dishes like carpaccio al salmone (crudo, with por- mentary pastry bites suggest, and the massive size of the Sushi Siam wasabi, teriyaki, and spicy mayo. Hawaiian King Crab con- tobellos, capers, parmesan slices, and lemon/tomato dress- succulent, sufficiently fatty pastrami sandwiches confirm, 19575 Biscayne Blvd., 305-932-8955 tains unprecedented ingredients like tomatoes, green pep- ing) and linguine carbonara (in creamy sauce with pancetta generous Jewish Mo(m) spirit shines here. $$ (See Miami / Upper Eastside listing) pers, and pineapple. Boutique wines, artisan sakes, and and shallots) are a breath of fresh, albeit familiar, air. $$-$$$ cocktails are as exotic as the cuisine. $$$-$$$$ Bourbon Steak Tuna’s Raw Bar and Grille 19999 W. Country Club Dr. 17850 W. Dixie Hwy. (Fairmont Hotel, Turnberry Resort) 305-932-0630, www.tunasrawbarandgrille.com 786-279-0658, www.michaelmina.net The reincarnated Tuna’s has gained new owners, a new At Bourbon Steak, a venture in the exploding restaurant name, a dazzling outdoor bar and dining area, and a newly empire of chef Michael Mina, a multiple James Beard award impressive selection of raw-bar specialties: cold-water oys- winner, steakhouse fare is just where the fare starts. There ters from the Northeast, plus Blue Points, Malpecs, Island are also Mina’s ingenious signature dishes, like an elegant Creeks, and more. Traditional house favorites remain, and deconstructed lobster/baby vegetable pot pie, a raw bar, and the emphasis is still on fresh fish from local waters. Open enough delectable vegetable/seafood starters and sides for daily till 2:00 a.m., the place can get rather festive after noncarnivores to assemble a happy meal. But don’t neglect midnight, but since the kitchen is open till closing, Tuna’s the steak — flavorful dry-aged Angus, 100-percent Wagyu draws a serious late-night dining crowd, too. $$-$$$ American “Kobe,” swoonworthy grade A5 Japanese Kobe, and butter-poached prime rib, all cooked to perfection. $$$$$ AVENTURA / MIAMI GARDENS Chef Allen’s 19088 NE 29th Ave Anthony’s Coal-Fired Pizza 305-935-2900, www.chefallens.com 17901 Biscayne Blvd. After 20 years of success in the same location, many 305-830-2625, www.anthonyscoalfiredpizza.com chefs would coast on their backlog of tried-and-true Coal is what it’s all about here — a coal-fired oven (like that dishes. And it’s doubtful that kindly Allen Susser would at Lombardi’s, Patsy’s, John’s, or Grimaldi’s in New York) freak out his many regulars by eliminating from the menu producing the intense 800-degree heat to turn out, in mere the Bahamian lobster and crab cakes. But lobster-lovers

March 2010 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 63 64 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com March 2010