Villa Paula and the Ghosts of Little Haiti Guerrilla Gardeners
Transcription
Villa Paula and the Ghosts of Little Haiti Guerrilla Gardeners
April 2008 Serving the communities along the Biscayne Boulevard Corridor, including Arch Creek East, Baypoint, Bayside, Biscayne Park, Belle Meade, Buena Vista, Davis Harbor, Design District, Edgewater, El Portal, Keystone Point, Magnolia Park, Miami Shores, Morningside, North Bay Island, North Miami, Oakland Grove, Omni, Palm Grove, Sans Souci, Shorecrest, Wynwood, and Venetian Islands www.BiscayneTimes.com Volume 6, Issue 2 Guerrilla Gardeners Villa Paula and the Ghosts of Little Haiti coffee on the white-columned front porch in rural tranquility. All the building materials for the hen Cliff Ensor bought Villa mansion, and the workers who built it, Paula in 1974, the house was were imported from Cuba. Ten rooms, in a grave state of disrepair. two baths, 18-foot-high ceilings, eleVandals had shot out the beautiful gantly hand-painted floor tiles, and stained-glass windows, graffiti was Tuscan columns are just some of the scrawled across the stucco walls outside, features Havana architect C. Freira and the county was included in the ready to order its demhome. Almost six olition. Not to menA few years after Cuban con- decades later, in tion, the ghost of a 1983, the City of sul Domingo Milord moved one-legged Cuban Miami officially into the newly constructed designated the strucwoman frequented its home, his wife Paula died ture historic. A sechallways. from a leg amputation. The exquisitely ond designation, in designed house at 1987, amended the 5811 N. Miami Ave. in original to include Little Haiti catches your eye as you drive the interior and an adjacent lot. But what really draws attention to past. It sits among ramshackle homes Villa Paula is its reputation as Miami’s and overcrowded two-story apartment most haunted home. blocks like a misplaced masterpiece. By A few years after Cuban consul the time you turn your head to get a good look, though, it’s too late. The adrenaDomingo Milord moved into the newly line-charged traffic spurs you past it and constructed home, his wife Paula died in you barely manage a glimpse of the one of the bedrooms from complications whitewashed, neoclassical gem. related to a leg amputation. The circumWhen the home was built in 1926 to stances of the amputation and of her premature death are unclear. We know, house the Cuban consulate to Miami, however, that despite the effort put into things were a little different. The neighborhood was still mostly agricultural and construction, Villa Paula ceased to serve the home’s first occupants likely sipped Continued on page 12 By Terence Cantarella Special to BT W Dining Guide Our Correspondents BT photo by Tiffany Rainey A classic old mansion, which may be haunted, awaits a new life — once the lawsuits are settled Late-night offensives, seed bombs, dig-and-run tactics — Miami’s underground green thumbs fight blight By Tiffany Rainey BT Staff Writer he parking lot behind a secondhand clothing store just north of the Design District buzzes with a group of twentysomethings, mostly clad in T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers. On this recent Friday evening, they are not drinking and carousing but busily loading shovels, bags of fertilizer, jugs of water, and an array of plants into the back of a few parked cars. Some stand nearby chatting, waiting for the caravan to roll. When T Community News Four new restaurants plus Argentine wine. A bullet a day keeps boredom away. Miami’s visual pollution gets toned down. Page 48 Page 20 Page 29 the last of the stragglers arrives, the group sets off for its clandestine destination in the Wynwood warehouse district. The coast is clear when the cars pull up just after dark to a vacant corner lot ripe with weeds and garbage. After unloading their gear on the sidewalk, the approximately 15 individuals linger for a few minutes, strategizing about how they’re going to transform this orphaned space into an urban garden oasis. A few break away, heading to an overgrown corner with shovels and a small live oak. Others Continued on page 16 Kids and the City The Alice in Wonderland you’ve never seen. Page 45 CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT - ONE FLAGLER BISCAYNE CORRIDOR BISCYANE CORRIDOR WYNWOOD OFFICE 14 NE 1st Ave. offered for lease at $25psf full service (all inclusive) 7222 Biscayne Boulevard Reduced $1,050,000 268-270 NE 68th Street Offered for sale at $724,999 120 NE 27 Street, #100 & #800 Offered for lease $20–33psf 6290sf warehouse with a 20-foot high ceiling and two street height doors This office space features an open floor plan lined with brick walls and gated parking. Space is available from 3600 to 4400 sq ft. Floor plans and tenant improvements may be negotiable. Asking price for the 3,600sf space is $22psf gross and the 4,400sf space is $20psf gross. EX CL US RE IV DU E! 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Lease to own programs available. COMMERCIAL SALES AND LEASING CE D! Free-standing corner commercial property located on busy 79th St. This commercial property is located east of Biscayne Blvd. Owner currently operates two businesses from this location. Ideal end-user commercial property for a restaurant, lounge or retail operation. The property’s roof and air conditioning have been updated in the last three years. Parking is available in the rear of the building.. Updated & improved mixed-use venue in the prime time Wynwood Arts District. This venue features three separate units that consist of office, retail, and flex warehouse space conveniently anchored by a large outdoor gated courtyard. Two stories and over 4,100 square feet, this property is unique and accommodating for various uses. DU CE D! 4BD/3BA tropical waterfront home with open spaces, large rooms, wood floors, and other updates with most rooms opening to the water/ pool. Backyard offers pool, spa, shower, large yard and deck. A must see! Will not last! This space is a unique opportunity that could accommodate various end uses that could cater to a production facility, high end office, and gallery space. This space was previously used by an artist and includes a mezzanine and restroom. Irene Dakota Tony Cho Tony Cho Tony Arellano [email protected] 305.972.8860 [email protected] 305.571.9991 [email protected] 305.571.9991 [email protected] 305.571.9991 M1 MARKETING Metro 1 is seeking serious commercial agents with experience in office, retail, industrial and hospitality properties. To learn more about this exclusive opportunity and how to join one of the only growing real estate companies in South Florida call 305.571.9991 today TH I N K | LIVE U R BAN URBAN REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE www.Metro1Properties.com 120 NE 27th Street, Bay 200 Miami, Florida 33137 T 305-571-9991 F 305-571-9661 [email protected] 2 CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT - REDUCED ARTS DISTRICT MIDTOWN SUNNY ISLES BEACH 697 N. Miami Avenue $18–24psf NNN 1749 N Miami Court Offered for sale at $350,000 527 NE 69 Street Offered for sale at $375,000 19141 N. Bay Road Offered at $4,250,000 Hip Industrial Loft w/ large balcony, 20 ft. high ceilings. Windows galore & lots of natural light. Views across Miami to Biscayne Bay. Kitchen w/ SS appliances & polished concrete counters. Full service building w/ 24-hr doorman, gym, resort-style pool & spa, electronic gated garage w/ car lifts in the heart of the Miami Arts District. Also available for lease. Free Toyota to Buyer! Stunning 2007 two-story Mediterranean Masterpiece featuring huge master bed/bath. Jerusalem stone and Brazilian cherry wood floors. Library and office rooms. Sound-system in/out w/key pad. Fireplace. Sub-zero refrigerator and Wolf appliances. Impact windows and doors. Heated pool w/ Jacuzzi. Persian rugs and central vacuum. Estate available w/furniture. RE DU CE D! 10k sf of prime retail/restaurant/ nightclub space w/4 COP license in the CBD. Asking $24NNNpsf. Second story creative office/loft spaces 10k sf divisible into 4 2500sf spaces. Asking $18NNN psf. Located blocks from Bayfront Park, State & Federal courthouses, Miami Arena, AA Arena and more. 2-story modern villa w/ Euro marble bathrooms/Jacuzzi. Euro kitchen w/ wenge cabinets and s/s appliances, wine cooler, w/d, Travertine and wood floors. 20 ft. ceilings and hurricane impact windows, recess lighting, pre-wired cable, exterior electrical privacy gate. Property comes with 1yr builders warranty. Alvaro Giraldo Amy Aronson Kristine Flook & Janet Crucet Kristine Flook & Janet Crucet [email protected] 305.571.9991 [email protected] 305.527.4769 [email protected] 305.318.6366 /305.318.6740 [email protected] 305.318.6366 /305.318.6740 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008 April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 3 C O M M E N TA R Y : F E E D B A C K PO Box 370566 Miami, FL 33137 Member of the Florida Press Association w w w. B i s c a y n e Ti m e s . c o m PUBLISHER & EDITOR Jim Mullin [email protected] STAFF WRITER Tiffany Rainey [email protected] INTERN Stephanie Palacino [email protected] CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Victor Barrenchea, Pamela Robin Brandt, Yahaira Cespedes, Christian Cipriani, Bill Citara, Wendy Doscher-Smith, Kathy Glasgow, Jim W. Harper, Lisa Hartman, Jen Karetnick, Jack King, Derek McCann, Lynn Roberson, Frank Rollason, Jeff Shimonski ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Marc Ruehle [email protected] Hasan Johnson [email protected] OFFICE MANAGER Andrea Ferro [email protected] DESIGN/PRODUCTION The Sebring Group www.sebringgroup.com The Biscayne Times welcomes proposals for articles and press releases. Submitted material may be edited for length, clarity, and content. All submitted material becomes the property of The Biscayne Times. Please be sure to include your name, address and telephone number in all correspondence. All articles, photos, and artwork in the Biscayne Times are copyrighted by Biscayne Media, LLC. Any duplication or reprinting without authorized written consent from the publisher is prohibited. The Biscayne Times is published the first week of each month. We are hand delivered to all the homes along both sides of Biscayne Boulevard from downtown and the Venetian Islands to Arch Creek. The neighborhoods we serve include: Arch Creek East, Bayside, Biscayne Park, Belle Meade, Buena Vista, Davis Harbor, Design District, Edgewater, El Portal, Keystone Point, Magnolia Park, Miami Shores, Morningside, North Miami, Oakland Grove, Omni, Palm Grove, Sans Souci, Shorecrest, Wynwood, and Venetian Islands. In addition we are distributed to select businesses in Buena Vista West, Little River Business District, Design District and Wynwood. Advertise! 305-756-6200 WE NOW ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS 4 Biscayne Times • LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SCOHOL Dazed: Spelling Is Just a Formality, No? Waht a graet hoax. Or deos Bicsayne Buolevrad raelly hvae a “SCOHOL” pianted on it (“How Embarassing,” March 2008)? Yuo mihgt ntoice, and tihs is no defnese, taht in Egnlish, it is not ncessray to splel corerctly to be cmoprehneded. As lnog as the frist and fnial lteters remian in palce, it’s sitll radeable. Tahnks for Stepahnie Placanio’s fun stroy aynway. Greg Baker Port St. Lucie Editor’s note: For mroe fun, trun to page 29. Lawncare? Ain’t My Job, Ma’am Yes, as Tiffany Rainey reported, landscaping between NE 104th and NE 123rd streets might be finished (“Tree Talk,” March 2008), but have you seen the beautiful grass — I mean weeds — growing on and around the new bus stops? I can’t tell you the last time it was cut! Who are we paying for no grass cutting? Bonnie Klimetz Miami My Neighbors Don’t Know What’s Coming! In response to Tiffany Rainey’s “Riverbank vs. Seawall” article (March 2008), the opposition to El Portal’s planned seawall design is more involved than the aesthetics of it. In order to build this wall on the cheap, it’s being supported by metal tie beams that will connect the seawall to concrete anchors buried 12 to 15 feet into residents’ yards. These tie beams will be buried in trenches dug every four feet. This kind of cheap seawall construction is too invasive for an established residential neighborhood. Many of these homes have elaborate, 200-plus-square-feet concrete landings, with built-in barbecues, small structures, wood decks, and fences that will be destroyed. Decades-old palms and other vegetation will be leveled. Most of El Portal’s residents don’t know what’s coming. I see it as eminent domain without the compensation. I’m not against seawall replacement, just poorly thought-out plans. I’d rather not have 1400 square feet of my backyard destroyed. And why is this wall being built in the first place? According to Evan Skornick, TABLE OF acting service center director for the South Florida Water Management District, it is because “people have water coming into their homes.” That sounds dramatic, but when we residents have asked at El Portal council meetings what houses have had water inside from river flooding, no example has been given. The only flooding to interiors has been from excessive rainfall, and this was remedied by an underground drainage system built a year ago. Why this wall is being forced on us I don’t know. I imagine someone is indirectly making some money from it or wants to add the project to a résumé. Slade Cole El Portal Coppertone Girl: Nice Tale, but Here’s the Real Story I hope they will be able to save and renovate the Coppertone billboard written about in Margaret Griffis’s article “Get That Girl in the Picture” (March 2008). Some of the background you’ve printed in the past about Coppertone is erroneous, and I would like to give you the accurate background. I can do this as I was married for 54 years to Charles E. Clowe’s Continued on page 6 CONTENTS COVER STORIES COMMUNITY CALENDAR Villa Paula and the Ghosts of Little Haiti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Guerrilla Gardeners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1 POLICE REPORTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 Biscayne Crime Beat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 COMMENTARY Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Miami’s King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Word on the Street . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 NEIGHBORHOOD CORRESPONDENTS Another Day, Another Barrage of Gunfire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20 If We Build It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Eulogy for Nyla . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24 What Happened to Our Pioneer Spirit? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 COMMUNITY NEWS Marvin’s Gardens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 What Parking Problem? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Visual Pollution: Less Clutter, More Cash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 SCOHOL’s Out Forever -- We Think . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Absolute Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 COMMUNITY CONTACTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 ART & CULTURE Artificial Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Art Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Culture Briefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 PARK PATROL Unchain My Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 COLUMNISTS Your Garden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Kids and the City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45 Pawsitively Pets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47 DINING GUIDE A Market-Fresh Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Restaurant Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Red, White, and You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 5 C O M M E N TA R Y : F E E D B A C K Letters Continued from page 4 daughter. He was the man who purchased Coppertone from Ben Green in 1951 and was responsible for making it the huge success it is today. He was the president and had two silent partners, R. Nitchie and George Robson, both successful men living in Miami. The company was named Douglas Laboratories by Ben and C.E. Clowe, who created the Coppertone Co. as the sales arm. Douglas Labs produced the product in a building located on NW 27th Street between 17th and 27th avenues. Ben made Coppertone in a storefront space located on NW 36th Street and sold it mainly to the cabana boys on Miami Beach and some drugstores. It was an oilbased product and had a photo of a Native American’s face on the label with the motto “Don‘t Be a Paleface.” This was dropped and replaced by the little girl and the motto “Tan Don’t Burn. Use Coppertone.” The concept of a child with a tan line as indicated in the note by my late wife was fashioned after the idea of Charlie’s first wife at their pool located at 3811 Alhambra Circle, Coral Gables. There is much more information of interest about Charley Clowe, and if you are interested I can provide some of it. He died in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1987 at the age of 83. His son, my brother-in-law, is still alive and lives in Hawaii and can also provide accurate information on the Coppertone Girl. The following is information my wife Sophia wrote on the three-by-five-foot Miami bus advertising card I have in my den. It has faded over time, and I have made this copy to preserve her record of events: In June of 1950, Charles E. Clowe and his wife Helen moved to Coral Gables with their children Sophia, Charles Jr., and Michael. It was their dream to run their own company. Coppertone Sun Tan Company was purchased from Benjamin Green, a pharmacist who invented the formula in his garage. The year was 1951. The logo at that time was the Indian Chief — “Don’t Be a Paleface.” One day at their backyard pool, our daughter, 18-month-old Deborah, was playing around the pool in her white training paints. She was as brown as a berry and her pants had slipped in the rear showing a white butt contrasted with her tan body. Mom said to Charles: “Look at that! It’s adorable. I would rather see that on a billboard than any sexy girls.” That was when the little Coppertone Girl was born. (Note by Louis Martin: This ad first appeared in 1953. Miami’s Tally Embry ad agency paid Hialeah artist Peter Porter for an oil painting of a wholesome little girl with tan lines and a frisky dog. This was refined by C. E. Clowe and the ad agency into the final ad layout. Fire destroyed the painting in 1955 and the Ocala artist Joyce Ballantyne was commissioned to redo the painting. She used stick figures and her daughter to re-create the painting.) Within six years from 1951, Coppertone became an international company. It was sold to Plough Drug Company in late 1957. Dad moved to Hawaii in 1961 and was sought out to help put Tanya, a Hawaiian Suntan product, on the national market. He did. It was then sold to Bristol Meyers. Dad truly was the “great American dream.” In Hawaii, after the sale of Tanya, Charley received a bronzed plaque with a bottle of Coppertone and a bottle of Tanya mounted, and the inscription: “TO CHARLES CLOWE, THE MAN WHO MADE LIGHTNING STRIKE TWICE.” — Sophia Jane Clowe Martin Louis Martin Miami Antiquated? ClosedMinded? Could She Mean Miami Snores? After reading Jen Karetnick’s column about Miss Jane Spinney (“Out of Tune,” February 2008), I am appalled by the antiquated and closed-mindedness of the Miami Shores Planning and Zoning Board. I have an office on NE 2nd Avenue, and this area is starved for people who think outside of the box. This is an injustice to small businesses who want to make a difference. Keep exposing it, BT. Jackie Baes Miami Shores Just Because You’ve Broken Into Our Homes Doesn’t Mean You’ll Be Arrested Editor’s note: For an update on Miss Jane’s situation, see “What Parking Problem?” page 28. Everyone in my neighborhood experienced the same degree of crime Bill Cooke wrote about in “Guns, Fear, and Videotape.” Criminals have rushed through my property and evaded police each of the five years I’ve lived in the Shorecrest area. Two years ago the police advised me to get a shotgun, so I could “shoot through the door” if I felt threatened. If the police stopped worrying about receiving free Lexus SUVs, perhaps we would get services from the city worth a fraction of what we pay in taxes. Name Withheld by Request Shorecrest Just Because You’ve Broken Into Our Homes Doesn’t Mean You’ve Silenced Us Lowbrow Art Goes Down in Flames, Literally and Figuratively In “Guns, Fear, and Videotape” (February 2008), Bill Cooke brings up a topic that concerns my wife and me a lot in our residential area. Thank you very much for it! We live in a house on 90th Street, east of Biscayne Boulevard, and we also were victims of a crime. Our house was broken into in December 2007 and our television set, among other items, was stolen. The police took our statement. I know of at least two other very similar burglaries in this neighborhood. We moved to Miami from overseas eight months ago and are now concerned about living safely here. I’d like to ask the BT to continue covering this topic. We must stand united against this kind of activity and do what is necessary to make sure these gangsters are arrested. Media coverage will help us. I believe we need to increase the awareness of people living in the area. Thank you! Timm Durkopp Lake Belmar Thank you, Nina Korman, for writing about the Harold Golen Gallery fire and its aftermath (“Up in Smoke,” February 2008). What a tragedy! Golen’s positive attitude, in spite of the huge loss he has suffered, is remarkable and inspirational to all. While not many people appreciate the impact of surrealist pop art, his gallery had some of the best. It feels like a crushing blow to lose those pieces. I hope the public someday regards lowbrow art with the same enthusiasm many of us collectors have for the artists and their movement. I applaud Golen’s push to bring this style and artistic perspective to the public. My heart goes out to him as he rebuilds his gallery, and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next. Kristin Burke Hollywood Feedback: [email protected] • COMMERCIAL • RESIDENTIAL • AUTO • SECURITY CAMERAS • ACCESS CONTROL • SAFES • HOME THEATER M IDTOWN L OCATION: D OWNTOWN L OCATION: 3531 NE 2 Ave · Miami, FL 33137 • 116 NE 1 Ave · Miami, FL 33132 P: 305.576.9320 • F: 305.576.9321 • www.aaaml.com 6 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008 April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 7 C O M M E N TA R Y : M I A M I ’ S K I N G Down the Road, Feeling Bad All across America, it’s right-wing, neo-Nazi, nutcase radio we’ll soon get past the point of skin color mattering in America. Obviously there are still a lot of scared white Christian right-wingers out there. They’re probably the same people who want constitutional amendments banning gay marriage, abortion, and flagburning. (Incidentally, I’m all for the flag-burning ban as long as it also includes a clause prohibiting the display of those oversize flags on usedcar lots.) Getting back to my trip, though, the first night I stopped in northwestern Florida, staying in the small town where I’d worked some 35 years before. I would describe it as being, in those days, “benevolently racist.” For example, back then you might have heard the mayor saying, “You know, we take care of our coloreds. They don’t have to riot.” family having dinner. I scanned the room to find numerous other tables of both blacks and whites. Nobody ’ve been on the road for the past seemed to pay any attention. I thought few months, and always find it it was wonderful, especially in North great to get out and see this nation. Florida, which is often referred to as There’s so much out there. Another South Georgia. advantage of roaming is that I get to My road trip took me all the way to listen to the radio for long periods of California. It was pretty much uneventtime while driving, something I don’t ful — except for being searched four get to do while cruising around Miami. times by Homeland Security, which I especially enjoy listening to rightwas looking for illegal aliens. I laughed wing, neo-Nazi nutcase talk radio, pareach time, wondering if there are any ticularly Rush Limbaugh and Sean Homeland Security agents in Miami. I Hannity. Not that I actually like these sure have never seen any. guys, but it gives me insight into how In California a friend invited me over the fringe is thinking — if you can call for Easter dinner with her extended it thinking. They became particularly family at her father’s house. What a interesting recently when the news family it was. Her dad is very Irish. broke about Barack Obama’s minister, The rest of her relatives include Jeremiah Wright. Hispanic, African-American, and possiNo doubt Wright’s comments scared bly some Asian kin. It truly was the the hell out of the white commugreat American party mix. The nity, and the right-wing pundits festivities were American in I began to think that during the dozens did their best to make sure everyspirit, too: noisy and happy, of hours I had listened to their drivel, one heard about it. But as soon as with constant banter. I sat back, I never once heard them say one good Obama backtracked and drank a beer, and began to feel thing about Obama or Hillary Clinton. denounced the comments, the quite wonderful about these right-wing media savaged the United States. candidate again — this time for Alas, it was time to attack the pandering to his white constituency. Obviously, after 35 years, I saw asphalt again. Getting back in the car Then, when he tried to explain his changes. They seemed to be for the bet- with the right-wing neo-Nazi nutcase comments, he was skewered for panter. I went to one of the town’s few talk radio, I settled back in for the long dering to his black constituency. Leave restaurants. The place was packed, haul and my depression returned. The it to right-wing radio to inject race thanks in no small part to the fact that nutcases were not calling the Reverend into every single vein of the presidenit’s the only spot in the county that Wright racist, but just asking if he was tial contest. serves beer. The first thing that caught a racist — 200 times an hour. That way It took only a few hours of listening my eye was a family of five sitting at a they can say later with a straight face: to this drivel before I grew really table in front. The man was black and “I never called him a racist.” depressed. I’ve spent quite a few years the woman white. Nothing stood out Obama was being smeared again too. working for racial equality and hoping about them. They were just a normal This time someone suggested he had By Jack King BT Contributor I 8 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com thrown his white grandmother “under the bus” because he was making up with the black voters. According to the radio guys, everything he did had racist overtones. But they never called him racist. Tuning them out for a bit, I began to think that during the dozens of hours I had listened to their drivel, I never once heard them say one good thing about Obama or Hillary Clinton. Is it possible that these two people have gone through their lives and never done one good thing? It is sad that the mainstream media seem to be taking a cue from the mudslingers on both radio and television. No doubt it’s the easy way. When was the last time you saw an original story in the Miami Herald or on local television? Doesn’t happen very often. I had high hopes for this nation when the election cycle began. In the beginning, I thought we had a very good chance for voting in either the first black president or the first female president. No doubt both are long overdue. As the campaign has played out, though, I now see little chance for either. So unless the United States wakes up in the next few months, there is a strong possibility we’ll have — yet again — a fat old white guy, who thinks war is a good thing, running the show. As a psychologist friend once told me: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” How sad. Feedback: [email protected] April 2008 COMMERCIAL BUILDING/RETAIL SHOWROOM 921 NE 79TH STREET -- VERY NEAR THE BAY! LOWEST PRICE IN THE AREA. ASKING $639,000 OWNER IS READY TO MAKE A DEAL NOW! POSSIBLE OWNER FINANCING WITH VERY LITTLE DOWN. 6600 sq. feet of commercial land fronting on busy 79TH Street, with thousands of cars passing daily. The building is 2400 sq. feet with private parking for 7/8 cars in the rear. Very close to the new bayfront condo development Oasis. You can feel the bay breeze from the property. Currently there are two businesses but the building can be reopened as one. Total sq. feet: 2400. One side is 800; One side is 1600 sq. feet. Separate utilities and entrances with baths. THIS IS COMMERCIAL LAND EAST OF BISCAYNE BOULEVARD. IT WILL ONLY BECOME MORE SCARCE AND MORE VALUABLE AS MIAMI GROWS. THE TIME TO BUY IS NOW. CALL JOHN GAMBLE FOR DETAILS AND TO SEE. 305.903.3331 MLS # M1121140 South Beach, Upper Eastside Miami, Wilton Manors Specialist 690 LINCOLN ROAD, SUITE 300, MIAMI BEACH, FL 33139 • [email protected] April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 9 C O M M E N TA R Y : W O R D ON THE STREET What new businesses would you like to see along the Biscayne Corridor? Compiled by Victor Barrenechea - BT Contributor Charles Rittlinger Busboy Upper Eastside This neighborhood needs things for kids. There’s nothing around here for children. Something that would let them go and participate in arts and crafts with their parents. It’d be educational. When you have more family things, the culture of the neighborhood improves. When you focus on the family, it’s a blessing to the community. 10 Jeannie Tully Waitress/Student Midtown I’d like to see a bookstore open up because I have to drive all the way to the Dolphin Mall or Aventura if I want to get books. A large corporate bookstore would be perfect because they would carry all the books that I need, but a mom-andpop store would be fine too. It’s pretty much the only priority. We already have a lot of clothing boutiques and restaurants. Tracy Hughes Restaurant Owner North Miami I’d like to see more restaurants. If this becomes like a restaurant row, it would bring new business. Not everyone is going to want a hot dog every day or a burger every day. They want variety. The more the merrier. I’d want any kind of business that would be friendly to pedestrians. I think bookstores, coffee shops, or maybe even an Internet café would work well. Terry Pfeifer Manager Biscayne Park I honestly would like to see a place with bicycle paths and a scenic walking tour with sidewalk vendors selling local and specialty cuisine — they have these in Europe. You know, it could be little taco stands and things like that. I think that would be cool. I’m a bicycling and walking kind of person, so I really wish we had something like this. Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com Melinda Pullano Waitress Downtown Some new, reasonably priced clothing stores. The little boutiques we have are really nice, but they’re a little pricey. I’d also like to see a movie theater because they don’t have one over here. It’s in Aventura. A movie theater is a good idea. I hope they do that. There’s already a lot of everything else. Joe Stiligato Business Manager Upper Eastside They really don’t have too many florists on the street. I would say more restaurants. There could be a little more variety. The demographics here have gotten more multicultural, so I think the restaurants should reflect that. I know we have the performing arts center, but it would be nice to have a bunch of little playhouses. This part of the Biscayne Corridor has the potential to be like the Village in New York. April 2008 Continued on page 12 April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 11 Villa Paula Continued from page 1 in an official capacity for the Cuban government sometime after Paula’s death. Ensor ascribes the consulate’s closing to “the troubles in Cuba,” and indeed there was trouble. President Gerardo Machado, faced in the early 1930s with growing opposition, including a burgeoning Communist movement, morphed from democratic reformer to repressive despot. Following a series of violent clashes with opponents, he resigned. Then, in quick succession, three different national leaders came and went, ending with the ascension of military strongman Fulgencio Batista. Back in Miami, Villa Paula was shuttered and sold to one Muriel Reardon, who lived there for around 30 years until her death in 1960. Villa Paula continued to change hands during the next 14 years, even serving as a senior citizens’ home for a period of time. By the 1970s, abandoned and derelict, Villa Paula was near literal collapse, and fortuitously ended up in the hands of Ensor. He says he and a few friends immediately set to work on the place — cleaning, painting, removing graffiti, landscaping, fixing broken windows, restoring the interior, eventually returning Villa Paula to a condition close to its former glory. Miami news photographer Bill Reinke took this portrait of Villa Paula in March 1976. BT photo by Terence Cantarella However, it is also with Ensor that the strange tales began. He began relating stories of a blackhaired woman who would float down the hallways in a long gown, with only one visible leg. He claimed he would often smell coffee brewing and the scent of roses when there were none. He said he heard piano music, and high heels on the back porch. His dishes and silverware, he claimed, were thrown to the floor one day and a chandelier inexplicably fell from the ceiling. A back gate would slam shut on windless days and kill Ensor’s cats — three of them in total. Ensor invited mystics and held séances in the house. Rev. Emma Tandarich, a visiting psychic, claimed five separate spirits haunted the house, including a young woman searching for the grave of her illegitimate baby — perhaps a servant who had lived in the house. The unsettling tales, plus the publicity Villa Paula received during the 1980s (notably a cover story in the Miami Herald‘s Tropic magazine), spooked local Haitians. Many would bless themselves and cross the street to avoid walking in front of the house. Ensor spent years trying to sell the place, asking $185,000. He eventually resorted to auctioning it in 1985 for $110,000. Postal worker Larry Cozart, who won the A hallway with columned grand arch and auction, immediately chandeliers. 12 backed out of the deal when he learned of the haunting. Ensor managed to sell the house two years later to Lucien Albert, a Haitian pediatrician skeptical of the supernatural claims. When contacted by telephone in March of this year, Dr. Albert, who sold Villa Paula in 2003 and now lives in Kendall, had no opinion to share on the matter. He suggested BT call the current owners. “They can tell you what you need to know,” he said. One day, when Garcia was sitting at his desk, a windowpane fell out of its frame behind him. When he got up to investigate, a 40-pound chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling onto the spot where he had been sitting moments before. “If I hadn’t moved when I did,” he says, “I would be dead.” The fortunately timed coincidence led him to believe if there were ghosts in the house, “they must have liked me.” Garcia would often hear thumping on the wooden ramp that leads up to the back door, as if someone were walking on it. The day after he brought “A professor brought a self-proclaimed his cat to the house, she disapSatanist to the house and pushed her peared. “I didn’t find it dead. I into that room. She began to choke just never found her at all,” he as if she were being strangled.” recounts. A friend of Garcia, apparently sensitive to the spirit world, began to cry after entering Public records list the current owner the former maid’s quarter. “They used to as the Villa Paula Restoration Group, beat the maid,” the friend told him. LLC. A few clicks of the mouse reveals Now 81 years old and living in North this entity has a human face — that of Carolina, Cliff Ensor, whose experiences Marc Swedroe, a real estate investor were the first to be publicized, remains and son of renowned Miami Beach resolute to this day. “The house is definitearchitect Robert Swedroe. Marc hasn’t ly haunted,” he says by phone. “Emma, spent much time in the house since buy- the medium, used to hold séances in there ing it in 2003 (sale price: $275,000) and every two weeks. This woman couldn’t says he hasn’t experienced anything play the piano at all, but one day she chanunusual. “The house is just very peaceneled a spirit and began to play like a ful,” he offers. The “restoration” in the pro.” Ensor, and others, recorded the feat company name is something Swedroe on three separate tape recorders. When and his family are serious about pursuthey played back the tapes later, all three ing, but legal entanglements concerning were blank. During another séance, she the property have delayed improvechanneled a stern spirit that admonished, ments. (See sidebar “Villa Paula Meets “I don’t like cats in my house!” Martin Siskind.”) The daughters of previous owner Cuban fashion designer Fernando Reardon, who lived in the house prior to Garcia, who rented the house for a brief Ensor, sent him a letter from Alaska when period until six months ago, had a differthey learned of his experiences. “When we ent tale to tell: “I don’t believe in ghosts, were little,” they wrote, “there was one but strange things happen in that house.” Continued on page 14 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008 Photo courtesy of Historical Museum of Southern Florida/Miami News Collection COV E R STO RY T he Mount The Mount S Sinai in a i M Medical edical Center Center Aventura Aven ntur a Emergency Emergenc y Room Room iiss d designed esigned to ttreat reat rreal eal em emergencies, ergencies, ffrom rom ssevere e ve r e abdominal pain and broken byy a tteam off em emergency a b d o m in a l p ain tto o sseizures ei z ur e s a nd b roken e bones. bones. SStaffed taf fed b e am o ergenc y trained tr ained physicians physicians aand nd a ccomplete o mp l e t e rroster oster of of on-call on-call sspecialists, pecialist s, eequipped quipped w it h a dvanced llife-saving ife-saving ttechnology, echnolog y, iit’s t’s rright ight iin n yo ur n eighborhoo od aand nd with advanced your neighborhood will with need w ill be be ready r e ad y w ith expertise e xper tise and and high high quality qualit y care care when when you you n eed it it most. m os t . % % O Open pen 24 24 hours hour s a day, day, 7 d days ays a w week eek % Acute % A cute care care for for walk-in walk-in or or ambulance ambulance arrivals a r r i v als % Free Free ambulance ambulance transport tr anspor t to to main m a in % Mount Sinai Campus necessary Mo unt S inai C ampus iiff n e ce s s a r y % Staffed % S taf fed by by eexperienced xperienced emergency emergenc y physicians p h y s i ci a n s % Care and % C are ffor or adults adult s a nd cchildren hildren On O nA Aventura ventura Boulevard, Boulevard, across across ffrom rom A Aventura ventura Mall Mall April 2008 2845 Aventura Boulevard 2 845 A ventura B oulevard 305-692-1000 3 05-692-1000 – msmc.com msmc.com Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 13 COV E R STO RY Villa Paula Continued from page 12 room that we were never allowed into.” Their mother, it turns out, was terrified of that room. “A University of Miami professor brought a self-proclaimed Satanist to the house once and pushed her into that room,” Ensor recalls keenly during the call. “She immediately began to choke as if she were being strangled.” Today a lone groundskeeper who prefers to remain nameless occupies Villa Paula. “Stuff’s always moving around in here,” he says. “I’ll put something in one spot and find it in another later.” Three bulbs in a bathroom light fixture began to flicker on and off in random order one night. That is, until the fearless custodian told “Paula” to cool it — and she did. “I’m good with spirits,” he adds nonchalantly. “I got no problem with ’em.’” He’s not scared. Even though he senses a presence, Paula has yet to actually make an appearance for him. “But I’ve only been in here since December,” he notes. “Maybe she just needs to get used to me.” Feedback: [email protected] 14 Villa Paula Meets Martin Siskind — in Court By Tristram Korten Special to BT illa Paula sprawls across more than a third of an acre, a porticoed monument to early twentieth-century grandeur. But this is the 21st Century, and the former Cuban consulate is showing signs of age, like a fading belle in a tattered dress. While its owners have grand visions for the mansion, the recent downturn in the economy and a protracted lawsuit mean changes are not likely anytime soon. The Villa Paula Restoration Group LLC, whose principal is Marc Swedroe, has owned the home since 2003. “We’ve been maintaining the property and fixing aspects to maintain its integrity,” says Swedroe. “I personally have put new roofs on some of the structures there.” The house has a caretaker who helps monitor needed repairs, Swedroe says. “Structurally it’s intact,” he adds. “The Cubans knew how to build for this climate.” But more extensive work is on hold, partially because the home’s future is uncertain. V “I envision Villa Paula as being a community center, or a historical center, something that could be important to Little Haiti and the Cuban community here,” Swedroe says. To that end he says he’s tried to attract interest from the University of Miami’s School of Architecture to see if it could become a student project. He says he is also interested in seeking out grants for restoring historic buildings. Alternately, he hopes it might appeal to the private sector. Swedroe says he’d like to find a “restaurateur or entrepreneur who wants to invest in it and create a restaurant or Cuban jazz bar.” He adds wistfully: “I envision a staff in Panama hats and guayaberas.” Right now, no plans have been finalized. “Money’s hard to come by,” Swedroe says. “The area is being gentrified slowly. It’s spreading north along Biscayne. But it’s still maybe five years off.” Further complicating matters is a fouryear-old lawsuit filed by Swedroe’s former business associate Martin Siskind, a controversial figure involved in many lawsuits. Siskind was a partner in an earlier company with the Swedroe family Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com (father Robert has his own architecture firm, where another son, Joseph, and daughter Laurie work). But the partnership disbanded when the Swedroe’s attorney (and brother-in-law), Howard Weinberg, researched Siskind’s past and discovered previous arrests in Miami (no convictions) and news reports of a conviction in England for “obtaining property by deception.” (Siskind was the subject of a recent BT cover story, “Artistic Genius Meets Artful Dodger,” March 2008, that detailed his relationship with famed outsider artist Purvis Young, a relationship that ended in court and resulted in Young losing many of his paintings to Siskind.) Siskind alleges that the partnership with Marc Swedroe and his family was improperly dissolved. “I didn’t want money,” he says. “I wanted to remain in the partnership.” The four-year-old court case has legally encumbered title to the property and thus has slowed progress on Villa Paula’s restoration. “The house is in limbo until we settle this matter,” Swedroe says. “I’m hopeful that an amicable resolution between all parties will be reached shortly.” Feedback: [email protected] April 2008 April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 15 C O V E R S TO RY Guerrilla Gardeners Continued from page 1 fan out to collect trash and debris scattered here and there in the tall grass. Someone discovers a discarded bookshelf and table, then sets the wayward furniture aside until a decision about exactly how to incorporate it can be made. The evening’s excursion is the team’s fifth. This relatively new covert gardening collective, whimsically dubbed Tree-0-5, is part of a worldwide movement of guerrilla gardeners who practice what has been termed “subversive gardening.” Their mission: to transform land left fallow by neglectful governments and absentee landlords into green spaces the community can enjoy. “The urban blight in Miami has a negative impact on people’s sense of community,” says Sara Yousuf, a practicing attorney and occasional guerrilla gardener. “These gardens create a better sense of community and make the city a nicer place to live for all residents, not just the rich ones.” Stephanie Spiegel, who owns the secondhand store where the planters gather, initiated the outings. The idea came to the 23-year-old entrepreneur on one of her many commutes through the derelict neighborhoods surrounding her shop, Rag Trade Happy Clothing Company. “Just seeing all of the abandoned lots makes you want to do something,” she explains. “I get very frustrated sometimes.” That frustration inspired her to look into how she could, literally, lend a hand. “I thought I came up with this wonderful idea,” she says. “Then I went online and started researching, only to find this whole group.” Soon after, Spiegel joined a community message board on the Londonbased Guerrilla Gardening Website, and Miami’s insurgent troop was born. Counterclockwise from top left: Nighttime preparations for Wynwood assault; hard at work; mission accomplished! Since July the loosely organized gatherings have scattered their “green graffiti” across some of the city’s most blighted canvases — Little Haiti and Wynwood in particular. “I just wanted to bring that vibe here,” Spiegel says. “Miami is like a teenager city in the way that it’s very awkward but can also be very cool.” Given that the grassroots group doesn’t have a lot of money to spend, they rely primarily on donations of native, noninvasive plants to carry out their greening campaign. Neighbors often provide clippings or unwanted yard plants, and local nurseries sometimes pitch in bags of fertilizer or mulch. Occasionally they’ll be lucky enough to get a tree, like the live oak recently planted in Wynwood. The rest of the expenses come out of their own pockets. A hole in the sidewalk transformed into a Tree-0-5 mini park. 16 “It doesn’t take a lot of money, just manpower,” says guerrilla gardener Jonathan Wilson, a local photographer. Volunteers from the group routinely check on the new plants and water them during dry spells. In addition to donning gloves and digging in, Tree-0-5 explores more creative routes for sprucing up the city. “We do different techniques,” Spiegel says. One example she cites: “seed bombs.” The guerrillas combine mud, water, and flower seeds to make germinated balls. “We went to an abandoned field in Wynwood and just threw them over the fence,” she boasts. Another tactic: Tree-0-5 members planted their own “installation” of bright pink impatiens and mondo grass in the Design District during this past Art Basel, the international art event held annually in December. They even included a sign with their moniker and the materials used “for that ‘real’ art feel,” Spiegel says. Despite the good intentions, what they’re doing isn’t exactly legal. Although there are no laws that prohibit gardening per se, there are laws against trespassing, which the group does regularly. According to Spiegel, police cruisers often drive by during their digs but rarely stop. “They have bigger fish to fry,” she says. And that’s if they even know the group is breaking the law. The young professionals wielding gardening tools look more like horticulture students Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com than criminals, making them an unlikely target for officers more concerned with drug dealers and prostitutes. The risks they’re taking may be unnecessary. Delfin Molins, the public information officer for Miami-Dade’s Public Works Department (PWD), says residents unhappy with public rights-of-way, medians, and swales maintained by the county have a few options. “The public can report dead and/or potentially hazardous trees by contacting the ‘311’ information center,” he says. “From there the complaint is routed to the appropriate staff, and remedial action is taken.” Molins says groups like Tree-0-5 also can adopt small patches of land to maintain: “Any party that is interested in enhancing the landscaping of roadways within their communities can request a permit from the PWD for the alteration of the [right-of-way]. Along with the permit, the applicant will be required to sign a maintenance agreement whereby the applicant accepts responsibility for and releases the county from any and all liability for the maintenance of the affected [right-of-way].” But Spiegel and her group place little faith in the county’s policies and promises. For her, the proof lies in all the derelict public land she sees daily. “The county doesn’t even come here!” she protests. Though the environmental shenanigans of Tree-0-5 are new to Miami, the act of subversive gardening has a long and storied history. Supporters say guerrilla gardening originally began in Continued on page 18 April 2008 ON SATURDAY, LET YOUR SENSES BE AROUSED BY + A BLOSSOM INVASION. SATURDAY / APRIL 12 / 7-10 PM / LUMINAIRE X / Luminaire X invites everyone to come celebrate good design. This pop-up community is a neighborhood within a neighborhood. Design Catalysts include Luminaire, BASE, Books & Books, Bang & Olufsen and Lavazza. Located in the Moore Building 4040 N.E. 2nd Avenue_Suite 103 / THE ANNUAL COUNTYWIDE STUDENT ART SHOW / Surprising, innovative, clever and accomplished; the annual show encompasses all styles and media. Located in the Marcy Building_3852 N. Miami Avenue / INTERNATIONAL INTERIOR DESIGN ASSOCIATES FLORIDA CHAPTER / Winning garments from Design Mix 08 competition. Come see the 12 winning designs. Located in the Buena Vista Building_180 N.E. 39th Street_Suite 120 / HAITIAN HERITAGE MUSEUM / Opening reception for Haitian American artist Max Hollant. Located in the Madonna Building_3940 N. Miami Avenue / BROSIA MIAMI RESTAURANT / A Mosaic of Mediterranean Cuisine. Be one of the first to experience the culinary work of Chef Arthur Artiles at what is sure to become a Design District landmark. Dinner served from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Located at 163 N.E. 39 Street. www.brosiamiami.com + Blossom Invasion by Jovan Villalba. Oil & enamel on steel (Detail). On view at Artformz Alternative. ART + DESIGN NIGHT 2ND SATURDAY OF EVERY MONTH IN T / 305.573.8116 N.E. 2nd Avenue [ between 39th & 40th Streets ] miamidesigndistrict.net VALET IS AVAILABLE AT 163 N.E. 39TH STREET ( IN FRONT OF BROSIA RESTAURANT ) April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 17 C O V E R S TO RY Guerrilla Gardeners Continued from page 16 Surrey, England, around 1649 with Gerrard Winstanely, the leader of a Christian communal group called the Diggers. Winstanely and his followers believed collective land ownership was dictated in the Bible, and they routinely seized public land to cultivate their own crops. John Chapman, America’s fabled “Johnny Appleseed,” was also said to have practiced a form of guerrilla gardening when he spread his famous fruit tree seeds across the unclaimed territory of the Midwest. It wasn’t until the 1970s, however, that the term was first used by environmental activists in New York. Calling themselves the Green Guerrillas, founder Liz Christy and a small band of followers waged a green war against the city’s fallow, weedfilled lots before finally creating their own community garden in Manhattan. They are now a federally recognized nonprofit organization that has propagated more than 600 gardens. This is a trajectory Spiegel hopes her Miami troop will be able to follow. “My end goal is to have a community garden 18 that the city would contribute some cash flow to,” she says, “a place where people can come to garden and give back to the earth a little bit.” But for now, Tree-0-5, whose members openly admit they know very little about gardening, is taking it one step at a time. The most threatening issue at hand seems to be how to keep their gardens in place for more than a few weeks. On every dig so far, the flowers, shrubs, ferns, and trees they’ve planted have been uprooted. “People tend to steal the plants,” says Lauren Reskin, who owns Little Haitibased Sweat Records. “It’s not crackheads. It’s shady people that want them for their own property.” The right-of-way in front of Reskin’s building was the site of the group’s October dig, but within a few weeks everything they planted had vanished. According to the Guerrilla Gardening Website (www.guerrillagardening.org), this is a pretty common occurrence. To Spiegel, it’s just further evidence the city and its residents are plant-poor. Even so, she made sure to include lots of spiky plants, like cacti, in their last dig. “We have good efforts, but there are a lot of factors when it comes to this type of gardening,” Spiegel says. *** As Miami winds itself up for another Friday night, Tree-0-5 has successfully made the Wynwood parcel its own in just under two hours. The bookshelf now serves as a makeshift planter filled with cacti and ferns. The table, placed along the wall of a neighboring warehouse, has been dubbed the “altar” and is surrounded by pink and white impatiens. Both pieces bear the group’s logo, stenciled in green spray paint. The remaining perennials form a delicately protective circle around the live oak sapling. The guerrilla gardeners proclaim the action a success. “The area was kind of dead, and it’s nice to see something growing here now,” observes gardener and student Leah Weston. A light rain sprinkles the tired but elated green thumbs and their newly planted earth as they pose for a few pictures and load up the last of the equipment. One gardener, a cartographer, wonders aloud whether the land they just planted was public or private. None of the Tree-0-5 volunteers seems to know for sure. Although they try to plant on public prop- Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com erty, it’s not always easy for them to find out who owns the many orphaned properties in the area. BT called adjacent warehouse owner Roberto Sosa to inquire. He says a couple from the island nation of Grenada owns the lot and that those working in the area use it for parking. “Those plants won’t last a day,” Sosa says. “Sometimes that lot has three or four rows of cars.” When alerted that the Tree-0-5 garden may be in peril, Spiegel doesn’t seem overly concerned: “These things happen. At least they’ll see how nice it can look, and maybe they’ll even decide to keep it,” she says. She punctuates her optimism with the notion that the garden may serve as a welcome respite for those attending monthly Wynwood gallery walks if it still exists in the coming months. At press time, the garden was still intact and thanks to abundant rain of late, it is growing rapidly. 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April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 19 NEIGHBORHOOD CORRESPONDENTS: LIBERTY CITY Another Day, Another Barrage of Gunfire This can be a intriguing place to live, as long as you don’t take a bullet By Kathy Glasgow BT Contributor f, months ago, I had allowed myself to contemplate the possibility, I might not have panicked when it happened. But ever since we moved here, I admit I’ve settled into general denial about the worst aspects of life in Liberty City. So on the morning I saw the bullet hole in our bedroom window, I sort of lost it. I didn’t scream or cry or even say anything. I just hyperventilated until my brain became a cotton ball and I couldn’t move. The gaping bullet wound in my car, several weeks earlier, had been bad enough, but now our bedroom. And I could only imagine what our neighbors might be dealing with, because at that time, late February, the shooting outside seemed to be getting worse by the day. 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Offered at: $1,350,000 1418 S 1418 SARRIA ARRIA AVENUE AVENUE 3 Bed/3Baths + huge familyy room. room BeauBeautifully renovated & professionally decorat decorat-eedd with with 3,439 3,439 ssq. q. ftft.. ooff lliving iving space. space. HeatHeated pool, 2 car garage, gate gated, ed, wonderful neighborhood. Reduced: $1,249,000 $ been home that afternoon, we learned there had been a lot of gunfire on the street that attracted several police cars. A neighbor, whose car took three shots while she crouched inside her house, counting the bullets whizzing by, later told me she saw two distinct clusters of about a dozen young men each, spraying bullets like pesticide and moving west fast, one group after the other, to NW 22nd Avenue. In the following days, there would be more gunplay outside, all of it, we know, linked to the dope boys who live and do business in and around a house across the street from us. (And we do know, because even if one of them had not told us, we have observed enough. During our first year in this house, the block was peaceful enough, despite the deft daily midstreet drug deals. And even though I knew well that guns always accompany drugs, I kept telling myself that initial absence of violence meant the problem Continued on page 21 CONSIDERING CONSIDERING MIAMI? MIA AMI? $10,000 credit on buyer closing closing costs HEARTT OF MIAMI HEAR M BEACH BISCA BISCAYNE AY YNE P PARK A ARK - MODE MODERN ERN STYLE NANCY BATCHELOR Real Estate Just Got Friendlier 305 903 9 2850 NANCY N ANCY@N NANCYBATCHELOR ANCYBATCHELOR.C COM OM WWW W WW.N NANCYBATCHELOR ANCYBATCHELOR.C COM OM 201 AQUA #904 2B Bed/2½Baths ed/2½Baths - Incredible Incredible loft loft in in the the Chatham Building on a private 8.5 ac acre cre gated island. Nearly 2,000 sq. ft. Bultha Bulthaup aup open kitchen. V Views iews of the water water.. Reduced: $875.000 20 681 NE 70 STREET 2 Bed/2Baths + sunny Florida room room, m, fam fam-ily & dining room, on a quiet cul de d sac street. 2,160 sq. ft. interior and 8,1 8,100 00 sq. ft. lot. Updated chic kitchen & baths. bathhs. Offered at: $699,000 or lease $2 $2,500 2,500 11095 NE 8TH STREET 11095 TTotally ootally redone, high ceilings - 1,747 1,747 sq. ft. interior.11,500 interior .11,500 sq. ft. corner lot la landscaped andscaped for privacy privacy.. Italian Foster kitche kitchen en with gas appliances. Heated 13’x52’ salt water pool. Reduced Reduced:: $675,000 5600 COLLINS - # 16 G Waterfront W aterfront building - Nicest 2 Bed/2Baths in the building! - 1,270 sq. ftft.t. - Professio Professio-nally staged, new carpet, sss appliances. Totally T otally o updated. Boat Boat slip slips ps available. Pets OK. Offered at: $449 $449,000 9,000 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008 NEIGHBORHOOD CORRESPONDENTS: LIBERTY CITY Gunfire Continued from page 20 wasn’t as bad on our street.) One Thursday afternoon when I was out of town, my husband called to tell me a gunfight had started up about 45 minutes earlier, right about the time he was to leave for work. “It looked like someone got killed or injured,” he said. “The police had the street blocked off. I told them, ‘Hey, I’ve got to get to work,’ and they directed me down 21st Avenue instead of letting me get on 22nd Avenue the way I always go.” According to a Miami-Dade Police report, that melee on our street quickly set off two other shootouts several blocks north. The only injury noted on the report was of a 17-year-old boy shot in the hand. Not bad considering the number of casings found at the scenes. At the March meeting of the Northside Citizens Advisory Committee a detective heading a neighborhood narcotics squad asserted that his officers are aware of the situation in my area and are investigating. He couldn’t say more. “But we’re hindered in our investigation,” he added, “because the residents don’t want to tell us anything.” Later I thought about what the detective said, knowing that no police had questioned me or my husband, or our neighbor with the bullet-ridden car, who seems to know a lot about our other neighbors. I’m not second-guessing, though; neither we nor she are native to this neighborhood, we have no blood ties here, no shared history, and there are some depths of Liberty City that we can’t fathom. Before dawn on March 15, I woke suddenly to the sound, coming from the east, of a quick but dense barrage of semiautomatic fire. I remember looking at the clock and seeing 4:49. I thought about calling the police. But unlike most of our recent outbursts of gunfire, this one didn’t repeat. So I went back to sleep. It turned out to be the drive-by on NW 79th Street that took the lives of three of the four men traveling west in a silver SUV. Looks like that atrocity put a lid on things for a little while. Just a little, because blood is going to pay for blood. Who’s next? The boys across the street? (One of theirs was killed not long ago.) I can’t guess, but I’m sure many people in Liberty City do have the answers; here are generations of intricately connected roots. I don’t know much about these wars that break out in neighborhoods like mine — neighborhoods that spawn boys Well, I’m learning. Since I want my husband and I to stay alive and thrive, I have to know how to defy all the ways Liberty City can kill. I didn’t want to be learning this. I still want to be in denial. When the police came to make a report of the bullet in our bedroom, the officers immediately recommended we move out of this house. Other cops who A neighbor, whose car took three responded to an earlier call also shots, later told me she saw two distinct told us to leave. “It will only get clusters of about a dozen young men worse,” warned one, referring to each, spraying bullets like pesticide. the guns and drugs. Maybe we will be forced out. Selling is an impossibility right selling dope or robbing, and girls having now, but there are other escape routes, babies — but I’ve seen them run their all unacceptable to me. I guess it’s the course until enough people have died or old American mindset: Nobody’s going been jailed to create the illusion of to run me off my land. peace. Occasionally someone I know But also I don’t want to be defeated by will have grown up in an area where a my bad decision. I’ll always be a forwar is going on and can explain the eigner here, and it’s a war zone, and we motives for the killing and who’s doing never should have invaded in the first it. If the murders and maimings are outplace. But I’m pretty sure this is far rageous enough, the mainstream media more interesting than living in a take note. Otherwise the cycle continues, McMansion behind barricades. As long all but invisible to outsiders — outsiders as you don’t take a bullet. like me, who look but don’t see with the eyes of experience. Feedback: [email protected] You have a family doctor and a family attorney. But do you have a personal mortgage consultant? Your family’s concerns are, no doubt, of utmost importance to you. After all, what’s more important than the well-being of those you love? When a medical emergency arises, you consult a specialist. When you face a legal issue, you turn to a trusted professional with the experience and skill to handle your needs. It’s the same when it comes to your home mortgage or refinance needs. Having the proper mortgage in place is one of the most important steps your family can take. Why trust those crucial decisions to chance? The time to choose the right mortgage consultant is before you need one. That’s where Darin Woods can help. He is one of South Florida’s leading mortgage consultants. Helping families like yours isn’t just his job; it’s his commitment. Darin says, “Your home is the most important investment you’ll ever make.” You owe it to yourself and your family to find out how Darin’s unique brand of personal service and extraordinary results can make a difference for you. Whether you’re in the market for a home loan or in need of refinancing an existing mortgage loan, Darin knows what it takes to put it all together for your success. Call Darin today. You’ll be glad you did. Darin Woods Personal Mortgage Consultant 305-528-3380 19495 Biscayne Blvd. Ste. 300 Aventura, Florida 33180 April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 21 NEIGHBORHOOD CORRESPONDENTS: MIAMI SHORES If We Build It Is there room for a synagogue in the Shores? By Jen Karetnick BT Contributor few weeks ago I attended a mandatory parents’ meeting at the Temple Israel of Greater Miami religious school, where I drag my kids every Sunday. The objective was to gather some out-of-the-box ideas to make class time more appealing for the children, so they wouldn’t feel put-upon as they learned about their culture and heritage. To be frank, though, I don’t know any kids — Jewish, Christian, or otherwise — who willingly give up a couple of hours of free time on a weekend to attend more school. Interestingly, the meeting opened with questions not about the school but about the temple itself: What, as a family, had attracted us? What had prompted us to join Temple Israel, which is just north of downtown Miami in a neighborhood that is restructuring (to put it kindly), as opposed to another institution in A Aventura or Surfside, where Jews not only congregate but also live? That hit home, literally. Although Jon and I joined Temple Israel for its Reform ethos, liberal policies, and eclectic congregation (comprising, with its more stereotypical Jews, mixed-ethnicity families, and same-sex couples), my first responsive thought was: “Because Miami Shores doesn’t have a synagogue.” ® 120 NE St. Miami, Fl 33137 www.FightClubAmerica.com Naturally, this is not a shocker. Throughout its history, Miami Shores has had a reputation, via its public leaders and its citizens, for anti-Semitism. Its former village manager, the late Elly Johnson, was a notorious Jew-hater. The Miami Shores Country Club did not allow Jews to join; my daughter’s elderly teacher at Temple Israel, in fact, recalls being one of the first Jews ever invited onto the property for a party when they # Continued on page 23 # # 20 th began to relax the rules lo those years ago. It’s no surprise that Jewish families, confronted throughout the decades with the nearly 20 church properties that are registered in the village, avoided the area, choosing to live in more welcoming places. This is no longer the case. In 2000 the population of Miami Shores was 10,380, with nearly 50 percent registered as white and just over 50 percent divided between black and Latin, with a smattering of Asian and “other” thrown in, according to U.S. Census data. There’s no real way to tell just how many of these residents are Jewish, so let’s take a look at it by averages. My extended block, counting both sides of the square, has about six “declared” adult Jews, and maybe a few more who are Jewish by birth but aren’t obvious about it for whatever reason — marriage to a partner outside the faith, for example. 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Clearly that’s enough for a temple of our own. Indeed if Miami Shores did have a temple, and if it were Reform, no doubt I would join. It’s not that I don’t really like Temple Israel; I do. And it’s not that I actually crave a place to worship. I’m not an observant Jew, and I will allow my kids to decide for themselves whether they want to continue their education after their bat and bar mitzvahs. But some common ground would be nice. I’d relish the opportunity to have one more reason to become enmeshed in my chosen community. And from the various comments of fellow resident Jews, who at times feel culturally and religiously alienated in Miami Shores, I believe they would as well. So that takes care of the “they will come” part of the cliché. What I’d like to know is, will we build it? No way in the heaven or hell that Jews don’t actually believe in. April 2008 Of course, this is only a supposition, based on gut feeling, that an officially recognized, appropriately zoned, and legally licensed Jewish temple in Miami Shores never would be allowed to happen. Again, it’s only my instinct. It has nothing to do with Miami Shores’s past, nor the recently released U.S. State Department report Contemporary Global Anti-Semitism, that states, in part: “Today, more than 60 years after the Holocaust, anti-Semitism is not just a fact of history, it is a current event.” But suppose for a second that someone a lot more devout and energetic than I am decided the time was now for a synagogue. Any plan would be shot down immediately by zoning laws, because to establish a church or school in the village, you have to secure a minimum plot size of 2.5 acres. At this point in time, that would probably require knocking down some houses. Given that the Miami Shores municipal code “recognizes the predominantly one-family residential character of the village, with all other uses of land either being incidental and convenient thereto or, if existing as a result of extraneous objectionable to some residents, or at least has been in the not-too-distant past. Take the very language of the municipal code (municode.com), for instance. When you do a search for “religious institutions,” it refers you to “see assembly,” which in turn refers you to “see church.” In the entire document, only churches and schools are mentioned. You see, Miami Shores doesn’t even allow for the possibility of a temple by putting it into print. Statistically, Miami Shores could have Perhaps someday, some 1000 possibly practicing Jews living enterprising Jews — it’s in our here. Clearly that’s enough for blood, after all — will come a temple of our own. up with a sound appeal that could be approved by the zoning board. Or a church will decide to move and we can take over the Plus, I’ve heard that the village is property. Then a hometown synagogue very opposed to installing new schools will be born, and the Jews of Miami within the limits. So assuming a temple Shores (however many of us there are) wasn’t objectionable, its religious can have a layered and complex commuschool aspect certainly would be. nity life just as the Baptists and the Besides, it’s hard to imagine a booth Catholics and even the Jehovah’s representing Village Temple Shalom’s Witnesses do. But I’m not canceling my yeshiva sandwiched between the membership to Temple Israel just yet. Presbyterian Church Preschool and the Curly Knights on Unity Day. Feedback: [email protected] But I do think the idea of a temple is factors, being secondary thereto,” this couldn’t occur. But even if you somehow hopped that little hurdle, there’s the ever-present parking issue. A building used for an assembly is required to have “1 space/3 fixed seats plus 1 space/20” lineal bench seating plus 1 space/25 sq. ft. in assembly room areas (without fixed seats).” Such compliance would be impossible. Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 23 N E I G H B O R H O O D C O R R E S P O N D E N T S : B I S C AY N E PA R K Eulogy for Nyla A beloved dog remains a noble companion to the end ast week my husband flew to upstate New York to attend his brother’s wedding while I stayed home and watched my dog die. It’s true Nyla was sick, but her death came suddenly, and I was in no way prepared for it. I’ve written about Nyla here before: A large, black dog (probably a Belgian shepherd mix) who was adopted from a local rescue organization into her “forever home.” The people who adopted her, my neighbors, didn’t care about her. They left her outside, for fear of her fleas. They did not inoculate Nyla against heartworm or parasites. They didn’t protect her from fleas. She was skinny — starved of proper nutrition as well as love. Her coat was dull, her eyes sad. She was kept tethered, tied to a stake. When we moved into this rental house just outside Biscayne Park ten months BT photo by Wendy Doscher-Smith By Wendy Doscher-Smith BT Contributor L 24 ago, Nyla became my companion. I work from home, so during the day she would dig her way under the fence to see me. I gave her treats and affection, a bandanna and fresh water. Meanwhile her “family” left her in their backyard without adequate shelter during summer’s constant sweltering heat and thunderstorms, and even during the thick Fourth of July fireworks smoke. The booming noises and lightning terrified her. Soon after I took her in, a vet told me Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com that Nyla would have lived maybe another month tethered outside. I wish I could say this part of her story is unusual, but countless dogs are kept tied up outside, helpless in the hands of ignorant or cruel owners. (The MiamiDade County Commission did not help the situation, refusing to even consider a tethering ban proposed by Animal Services back in January.) But Nyla’s life, unlike those of so many unwanted dogs, took a turn for the better. I persuaded the neighbors and my husband to let me give her a new home. She was sick from the start and we treated everything — urinary tract and ear infections, malnutrition, heartworm. The treatment for the deadly yet highly preventable heartworm disease is itself a risky series of painful intramuscular shots, which not all dogs survive. Nyla prevailed. She wrestled playfully with our other dogs and chewed on squeaky toys. Her coat grew shinier and her eyes more lively. Continued on page 25 April 2008 N E I G H B O R H O O D C O R R E S P O N D E N T S : B I S C AY N E PA R K Nyla Continued from page 24 She began to understand the concept of living as opposed to surviving. I thought the worst was over. Then in September, Nyla came down with a life-threateningly high fever. We rushed her to an emergency veterinary hospital. After a harrowing week in the ICU (I was told to prepare for her death), a surgery for spleen removal, organ biopsies, frantic consults with specialists around the country, pneumonia and a ten-grand credit card bill, we remained without a diagnosis. No matter. Nyla came home, regained her strength, and proved them all wrong. To stay healthy, she took prednisone, a steroid that regulated her body temperature. It also took a toll on her body, weakening her immune system. Right before she died, she tore her anterior cruciate ligament. Surgery was not an option, so my husband Jeremy built her a bright blue Astroturf-covered ramp to enable her to go outside more easily. The doggy wheelchair we ordered went to the wrong address hours before her death. To the very end, though, Nyla defined the word “trouper.” Every trial, every new April 2008 situation, she handled with dignity and grace. Vets said it; groomers said it. Folks on the street commented on her demeanor. She continued to amaze me with her strength and composure. It sounds sappy, but she left an impact on every person she met, even those who only heard about or saw pictures of her. She was just that kind of dog. In this world of mini-pups, where breeders are taking the canine out of the dog to create pretty petite Frankendogs for shallow owners, noble Nyla stood out. She was all dog. All big, wonderful dog — a stunning beauty, with thick black fur, massive paws, and kind amber eyes. Children would stop me on her walks to ask if she was a wolf. She certainly had lupine characteristics — she rarely barked and had a distinctive lope. And she fit our existing dog pack well. My beagle/basset cross, Franki-Jo, must have sensed Nyla’s time was near. For weeks before Nyla’s death, Franki moped and would refuse to come inside without extra prodding. The day she passed, the girls knew what was up and were on especially good behavior. However, a few days later, Franki and Halo, a terripoo — both normally very well-behaved — clashed in a bloody battle. I tried to break it up. I screamed for help but nobody came. In the end, we were all bleeding. Halo had several puncture wounds, I had two bites, and Franki suffered some bad scratches. Obviously the girls miss Nyla, too. They were grieving in their own way, but they also had dog business to attend to. They needed to re-establish placement in the pack. This loss has been unlike any other I have experienced. I cry at night because I don’t hear Nyla padding around. I cry in the morning because she doesn’t peek her head around the bedroom door. I cry when I go to the bathroom because she no longer comes in to greet me. I cry when I venture into the living room because there is no grand, black, furry mass to avoid tripping over. I cried once when the coffeemaker made a strange gurgling noise because it sounded like one of the last noises Nyla made. I cried as I crawled around on the floor the other day, picking up any stray Nyla hairs I could find. I cried when I reread all 100plus pages of her medical reports. During our seven short months with her, Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com Nyla had an excellent quality of life. With every deep, contented sigh she exhaled, I knew this to be true. When she stretched out and placed her paw on my hand, I knew this to be true. When I sat next to her and listened to her calm, steady heartbeat inside her large, post-surgery, peachfuzzed chest, I knew this to be true. There is some limited solace in this. Most important, Nyla understood what it is to be loved unconditionally before she died. I wish that for every living being. She did not die alone in a sweltering backyard. My neighbor’s trash was definitely my treasure. I wish this could be true for every dog. And while I mourn Nyla’s passing, I am thankful and blessed to have known her. Many people remarked that she was lucky to have found us. They are all wrong. We were lucky to have her in our life. Many times, when it looked grim for her, I tried to bargain with God. I wanted to go so she could stay. But none of us control that. Today, as I write this, I would give anything to have her back, to stroke her fuzzy belly once more and to tell her life is good. Feedback: [email protected] 25 NEIGHBORHOOD CORRESPONDENTS: BELLE MEADE What Happened to Our Pioneer Spirit? A few hours without power and you’d think it was the apocalypse By Frank Rollason BT Contributor hen we experienced a manmade blackout for a few hours on February 26, you would have thought the world was coming to an end. It seems a senior FPL engineer had somehow managed to turn off a switch that caused “lights out” repercussions all along Florida’s east coast. The flub affected several million people. Sort of a Horton Hears a Who! in reverse — one little switch flipped and the world totally flips out. At that climatic moment, I was enjoying lunch with fellow workers at the Village Café in Miami Shores. We received a typical momentary service interruption and then the power came right back on. Then I received a cell phone call from my wife, who was enjoying lunch with her compatriots at Karma, when their power went out and did not return. I told her I’d give her a W 26 call when we knew something more. Sure enough, within five minutes an alert about the power outage crawled across the bottom of the TV screen: It spanned from Daytona Beach south — not clear how far south. I called back my wife, Fran, to tell her the news. “Just relax,” I said. “I’ll monitor the situation, and if needed we’ll crank up our generator this evening until the power comes back on.” I finished lunch and went back to work. Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com Granted, the Miami Central Senior High School construction site where I was working had power, so my afternoon continued uninterrupted. Within a couple of hours, Fran called again to tell me our power was back on in Belle Meade. I felt a bit disappointed about not having to crank up our generator and give it a good old-fashioned hammer test — just the fireman in me, I suppose. Fire stations always have to hammer-test everything just to be sure it’ll function when “the moment” comes — even though we know from experience that all the testing in the world can’t guarantee the equipment will work when it’s needed. Meanwhile FPL did a great job, in my opinion, not only restoring power but also keeping us informed. However, by the time I sat down to watch the evening news, I was just dumbstruck at the stories that dominated the day. First, there were those who believed Continued on page 27 April 2008 NEIGHBORHOOD CORRESPONDENTS: BELLE MEADE Pioneer Continued from page 26 it was a terrorist-generated event, even after FPL identified the genesis of the outage from a West Miami power substation. Next, there was the mother who rushed to her child’s school because she could not imagine him being without air conditioning for two hours. Her face appeared fraught with anxiety, as if she had heard he had been exposed to some toxic agent and she didn’t know in what condition she’d find him. Then there were the offices that shut down operations and told workers to go home early because they had no air, no electricity, and no computers. One must wonder what those in charge could be thinking to make such a decision. Is it, “Let’s get the hell out of here just in case something bad is about to happen”? Is it, “We better all haul ass home and get our gas cans so we can run our generators”? (Of course, I don’t have that problem. Being a Capricorn, I already have a gas stash that I rotate regularly from the storage tanks into my vehicles and then refill so it’s always fresh.) Or is it as simple as, “Hey, it’s an afternoon off and I’m out of here!” Were there no leaders who thought this would be a good time to gather their employees in a conference room and discuss the work environment — a little quality time, so to speak, away from the daily BS that normally keeps all of us from taking a global look at how the operation is running? Or maybe they could have held a discussion about exactly what to do when faced with this type of situation? Nah, let’s beat rush hour! But getting back to the basic issue, as I see it: How prepared are we to be the resilient Americans our forefathers forged in building this great nation? Just what has happened to our heritage of character, individualism, self-reliance? It seems the more we move into the urban core of our community, the more we rely on government to take care of us and tell us what to do. Where is my ice, my food, my electricity, my water? When is “someone” going to clear my street because I can’t get my car out to get in line for gas so I can go nowhere? In fact Miami-Dade County and the don’t own a hammer, much less know how to use one. As we have evolved, we have lost a good bit of that pioneer spirit of selfreliance, which is at the core of who we are as a people. Depending on others is just not the American way. Or has it become the new American way? Do we literally need Uncle Sam to come to our rescue at every turn? Come on, folks! A couple of hours There was the mother who rushed to without power and it seems her child’s school because she could we just can’t handle it. not imagine him being without air Lighten up (pun intended). In conditioning for two hours. this age of technology, there are going to be failures that inconvenience us. And that is how these events should be viewed — hours without someone holding our inconveniences. hands. The initial program caused an No matter how badly you may have uproar — what gall officials had insinbeen inconvenienced during the FPL uating we bear some responsibility for blackout several weeks ago, I guarantee our own well-being. It was just not the that you still had a better day than anypolitically correct thing to say! one in Iraq. So get a grip, and think Out in our nation’s more rural parts, about how you’ll handle the next catashowever, you’ll find more of a fendtrophe, minor or major, which surely for-ourselves mentality. As Hank Williams, Jr., sings, “A country boy can will come. survive.” I am continually amazed at Feedback: [email protected] the number of people I meet here who City of Miami tried to push through a program that dared to propose to residents: “Depend on You for the First 72.” The gist of the promotion was that government can’t be expected to respond to large-scale natural or manmade disasters within minutes. Moreover, we as individuals should have the know-how to survive for 72 Yard Care Made Easy. KM 55 R KOMBIMOTOR One Powerhead. 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STIHL – 8,000 SERVICING DEALERS NATIONWIDE Joe Blair Garden Supply Since 1928 320 N.E. 79th St. Miami, FL 33138 (305)757-5554 www.joeblairlawnmower.com stihlusa.com April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 27 COMMUNITY NEWS Marvin’s Gardens BT photos by Lynn Roberson Former FIU professor Marvin Dunn cultivates community in Overtown By Lynn Roberson BT Contributor o one would ever think of looking for a garden on the corner of NW 9th Street and 3rd Avenue, but there it is, in the heart of historic Overtown. Rows of ruffled, silvery cabbages; rosettes of collard greens; and emerald beds of mustard greens are bordered with pots of violet Mexican petunias. A rosemary bush blossoms in a frothy pink. Bell peppers occupy one plot, oak leaf lettuces another. Stripes of newly sown greens peek two new leaves out of the ground. Tomatoes volunteer to grow everywhere they are allowed. Not a soul is stirring at Mount Zion Baptist Church or at the D.A. Dorsey House. Overtown’s own millionaire, D.A. Dorsey once lived on this block and walked to worship at Mount Zion. Around the corner and up the street on NW 2nd Avenue, the Mary Elizabeth Hotel once hosted touring greats like Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald, and Cab Calloway in the 1930s and 1940s. But on this day the garden sits quiet with its cabbages and memories of kings. A mockingbird builds a nest in a newly planted oak tree, singing a jazzy riff to mark the territory. Someone has trucked in rich soil for the beds. Set in black dirt, they are weeded and irrigated with aboveground PVC pip- N Marvin Dunn amid the bounty of his NW 9th Street garden. ing. Insects have made lace of many of the vegetable leaves. Collard stems lay withering in the grass, as if someone has made a selective harvest. The mystery is solved when Marvin Dunn arrives at the two-acre vegetable garden with his crew. “Okay, gentlemen, this Saturday we need to get all this cabbage up,” he announces. “We’re going to dig it, strip it down to the head, and hold a cabbage give-away from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. I want you to put up our signs in the neighborhood. Don’t forget the donation box.” Dynamic in a sunshine-yellow shirt, Dunn demonstrates cabbage stripping to his five-man team. The author of the wellregarded Black Miami in the 20th Century, Dunn retired from the FIU psychology The original 14th Street garden ablaze in color. department two years ago to concentrate on his Overtown garden project and Roots in the City, Inc., the nonprofit foundation he created to support it. Have you ever noticed the where I-395 passes over NW 14th Street? It is precisely where Dunn began his original experiment in urban-gardening, this one featuring colorful, blooming trees and shrubs instead of vegetables. On the north side of 14th, between asphalt and concrete, nestles a year-round extravaganza of deep-red China roses, electric-blue plumbago, magenta bougainvillea, fruiting pineapple, and manicured grass. Back in 1993, Dunn looked at that dismal two acres and thought of high school students walking by there each day. He remembered Overtown pre-I-95, a close-knit communi- ty of shotgun houses and gardens. “Then everybody had porch plants and a yard where they grew mangoes, oranges, sugar cane, and collards,” Dunn says. “I asked the City of Miami and the state transportation department to let me plant the overpass land. Since I-95 ripped Overtown apart in the 1960s, it seemed right to make a part of it beautiful again.” With permission secured, Dunn offered his psychology students the option of writing a term paper or working in the garden. “It was a cinch,” he laughs. “In ten years, I got three term papers and thousands of hours of free labor. The students and I cleared up the rubbish and started digging. In the beginning, we worked with donated plants, strictly trial and error. We gradually Continued on page 30 What Parking Problem? A Miami Shores music teacher’s new lesson plan advances with some creative thinking By Tiffany Rainey BT Staff Writer hough many choice words have been used to describe the Miami Shores Village Planning and Zoning Board, “impressive” is not among them, at least not recently. But that’s exactly how Jane Spinney views the board’s creative solution to her quandary. Spinney, a popular local music teacher Miss Jane Spinney, newly minted universally known as Miss Jane, was about fan of the Miami Shores Planning to realize her dream of opening a studio for and Zoning Board. young students along the Shores’s main street, NE 2nd Avenue. Then she discovtwice the number of parking spaces for her ered she had a problem. According to vilbusiness than she had. As she told BT’s Jen lage zoning codes, she needed almost Karetnick in February, she was taken by T 28 surprise: “I’m not a restaurant. Parking didn’t even occur to me.” With her dreams on hold, Miss Jane figured her only hope was to request a variance from the volunteer members of the village’s Planning and Zoning Board — a distant hope at best, she thought. The board is notorious for routinely denying such requests. Miss Jane’s pleasant surprise preceded her late-February appointment to appear before the board. “They were wellaware that I was on the agenda, so they came up with a plan,” she says. “I was very impressed.” Finding a solution for Miss Jane proved much easier than expected. It was simply a matter of switching the designation she had Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com listed on her application. She had, naturally, listed her business as instructional. However, operating under that designation would require five parking spots. Her new studio at 9636 NE 2nd Ave. only has three. After Miss Jane assured board members she also would be selling musical equipment to her students, the board suggested she switch her application to a retail designation, which only requires three spaces. Presto! The problem was solved with nary a variance in sight. “I always think of myself as an educator first and businessperson second,” says Miss Jane, a 43-year-old kindergarten music instructor at nearby Miami Country Continued on page 31 April 2008 COMMUNITY NEWS Visual Pollution: Less Clutter, More Cash By Tiffany Rainey BT Staff Writer iant outdoor advertisements strapped to the flanks of Miami’s skyscrapers and other buildings may become a vanishing, or at least rarer, species by the end of this month as city commissioners expect to approve an ordinance to rein them in once and for all. After several proposals and just as many deferrals, commissioners finally seem to have settled on language that is agreeable to everyone. “I think all the commissioners were able to put their spoon in,” said commission chairman Joe Sanchez at their mid-March meeting. Ironically, the ordinance will briefly allow residents to see their city stripped bare of advertising while building owners clear any visual transgressions in order to qualify for future advertising opportunities. After the transition phase, outdoor advertisements, referred to as murals, will return — but in a smaller sector of the city, which includes the Design District and the area surrounding Jackson Memorial Hospital. G BT photo by Lucy Orozco The City of Miami finally get tough with outdoor advertisers Design District, a small patch of land Rarely mentioned in ongoing where the Borinquen Health Care media coverage of the mural debate Center stands (NE 2nd Avenue at 36th is the fact that Miami-Dade County Street), and a large swath surrounding has ultimate authority over the City Jackson Memorial Hospital that faces of Miami’s outdoor advertising both SR836 and I-95. Those three habits. A county code passed in were last-minute additions to the 1985 expressly forbade the advertisalready-approved geographic area, ing form. Two decades later, in which was based largely on 2006, county commissioners agreed Commissioner Marc Sarnoff’s initial to revisit the issue — largely at the proposal. “There was a real desire to behest of Miami Mayor Manny have exposure to I-195,” he says. “It Diaz. Within a year they passed an was a compromise.” (For several ordinance allowing up to 45 murals Behemoths like this downtown eyesore at years the Borinquen building has been in a region that encompasses most Ten Museum Place will soon be reined in. draped with giant iPod murals, an of downtown, Brickell, and Perhaps because the green light from the additional source of income for the nonEdgewater, providing the city did its part profit medical clinic.) county essentially amounts to a trial run, to keep outdoor-advertising lobbyists in The city ordinance’s other mural manthe city’s version is more restrictive. check. The county’s current edict expires dates are also tighter than the countyin the summer of 2009. At that time, if not Miami’s ordinance was still undergoing authored document: scrutiny from the city’s legal department satisfied with what has occurred in the •Only 35 murals will be allowed, with no at press time, but one major distinction is intervening period, the county could more than 20 in any commission district. that the city’s plan allows murals only review the mural issue. (Earlier this •Only one mural is allowed on each face from the Miami River north to NE 16th decade, county commissioners went Street and from Biscayne Bay west to NW of a building, and signage is required to be through a controversial struggle trying to at least 300 feet from neighboring murals 3rd Avenue. (The county’s approved area regulate billboard advertisements.) or residences. If the residential property is encompassed everything from NE 16th With the county onboard for the time a single-family home, the minimum disStreet up to NE 36th Street.) being, Miami commissioners went to Also included in the city’s plan are the work drafting an ordinance of their own. Continued on page 31 SCOHOL’s Out Forever — We Think FDOT obliterates misspelled marker, but the culprit proves elusive By Stephanie Palacino BT Intern ess than a week after the BT published an article pointedly headlined “How Embarassing” (March 2008), the subject of the story vanished. The infamous SCOHOL road marker that has amused Biscayne Boulevard drivers for more than two years suddenly was removed. When the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) hired Horizon Contractors Inc. to paint a marker that read SCHOOL, Horizon subcontracted the job to Berlo Industries Inc., says FDOT spokesman Brian Rick, adding that Berlo accidentally stenciled the misspelled word that thousands of passersby came to know and love and mock. According to Rick, after Berlo was informed of the mistake, the company merely painted over the letters rather than remove a layer of roadway and, along with it, the nonsensical word. L April 2008 Beloved typo as it used to be, as it began disappearing, and as it is no more. Then, on a rainy Monday, March 3, FDOT crews descended on the site on Biscayne near 110th Street and literally tore up the street, expelling the jumbled letters. Rick assures BT that the marker has been “blasted off” the boulevard for good this time. But how did the prolonged spelling flub occur in the first place? “Berlo located the marking on the roadway according to the plans that were provided to them by Horizon,” Rick contends. “However, for whatever reason, Berlo did not use the revised plans supplied to Horizon, which actually eliminated this pavement marking.” Rick further explains that, after a while, the traffic ate through the cover-up paint job and exposed the offending letters once more. FDOT staff didn’t catch the newly uncovered SCOHOL. “Our project staff is Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com supposed to check the accuracies of these markings,” Rick says. “Unfortunately, mistakes happen — as in this case.” Horizon did assemble a crew to clean up SCOHOL, but by that point FDOT had already leaped into action. “Horizon had mobilized a removal crew to the job,” Rick says, “but our maintenance department had already removed it.” Continued on page 30 29 COMMUNITY NEWS Gardens Continued from page 28 found trees and flowers that would thrive in the spot, with minimal care.” As Dunn’s original I-395 overpass garden matured in beauty, he tackled urban gardening on NW 3rd Avenue, at his tree farm on NW 2nd Court, and in the medians of Martin Luther King Boulevard. To date he has transformed 60 acres of barren land in underserved communities. The land for the two-acre vegetable garden, sentineled by the Dorsey House, belongs to the City of Miami and two private owners. “I looked at this weedy, trash-filled vacant lot and saw a garden that could actually nourish the community. I just sort of commandeered the land,” Dunn says. “A year ago we started planting things that everyone here likes — greens, cabbage, callaloo. We give the harvest away on Saturdays or accept a donation. I never get to eat a mango or a SCOHOL’s Out Continued from page 29 Shortly before press time, BT managed to make contact with Berlo Industries spokesman Leonard Wooten. According to 30 tomato, because the street people get them first, and that is great. I figure that 90 percent of Overtown is eating better because of the garden.” Dunn’s Roots in the City organization reaches into the neighborhood for garden staff, hiring “people who are hard to employ among Overtown’s 8000 residents,” he says. Dunn secured a City of Miami contract to train people in urban horticulture, and uses the NW 3rd Avenue garden as his laboratory. “Our employees have a marketable skill when they complete the program,” he says. In addition to garden maintenance, the employees learn how to plot out and install irrigation and sprinkler systems. Dunn stresses entrepreneurial skills: “We plan to market our new crop of greens to stores in Overtown and Liberty City. One hundred bunches of collards, delivered fresh from the ground — who can resist that?” He is quick to credit supporters MiamiDade Commissioner Audrey Edmonson, Hands on Miami, Camillus House, the City of Miami, the Richard Lyons Nursery, and the Miami Veterans Affairs hospital. Today Dunn is glad to tell his gardening staff that a grant from the Dade Community Foundation should cover costs for much-needed wheelbarrows, hoses, and push brooms. “And Gulfstream [Park] racetrack is giving us horse manure!” he adds. Though he shakes his head and says, “I’m not a gardener; I’m a psychologist,” Dunn’s past seems to have caught up with him. He was born on a fruit and vegetable farm in Deland; his family spent five years as migrant workers, following the harvest cycle from Homestead to upstate New York. “We picked everything from beans to apples,” he says. “I grew up in the fields. When Dad saved enough money to buy a house, we moved to Overtown. I was a child in its heyday. As an adult, I wrote about it. I guess today I’m trying to put it back together again.” It may be working. All kinds of people love Marvin Dunn’s gardens. Police stop by to gaze at the neat rows of turnips. A nurse on the way to Jackson Hospital via 14th Street delights daily in the everblooming roses. Tyrone, a Roots in the City employee, claims the gardens as his “best job ever.” Countless I-395 drivers marvel at the bombax trees bursting with red shaving-brush blooms. Homeless men and women pick tomatoes and savor their juicy richness before Dunn even has a chance to harvest them. And that’s just fine by him. Wooten, FDOT’s Brian Rick is simply mistaken. Yes, Berlo was contracted for work on that part of the Boulevard, but the company had moved on to other jobs before SCOHOL hit the pavement. “That would not have been us,” Wooten insists. “We were the initial subcontractor in 2004, but around 2006 — by January or February — we were off the job. By the time they put down the asphalt, we were done on that site. “Plus,” Wooten can’t resist adding, “we know how to spell.” Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com For information, to volunteer or to donate, contact Marvin Dunn at 305389-1602 or at [email protected]. Feedback: [email protected] Feedback: [email protected] April 2008 COMMUNITY NEWS Pollution Continued from page 29 tance drops to 100 feet. •The area immediately surrounding the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts has been declared a mural-free zone. •Advertisement size is capped at 10,000 square feet and can cover no more than 80 percent of a blank wall. If the wall has windows, the mural can only cover 33 percent of it. •Illumination of the mural is allowed from 6:00 p.m. to midnight only. •The fine for illegal murals (currently $250 per day) will be $1000 per day. To be eligible for a chance to display advertisements, property owners must remove all currently illegal murals at least Parking Continued from page 28 Day School, explaining why she initially applied for an instructional occupation license. “It’s all about perception.” Board member Sid Reese says he and the other men charged with deciding the development fate of Miami Shores always try their best to accommodate new business, though they often get a bad rap for 45 days prior to a lottery that will determine the 35 winners. Undoubtedly this means a good deal of signage will be pulled from building façades during the coming weeks in a mad dash for compliance. (Miami’s ordinance does not affect freestanding billboards.) “We’ll get a peek at the city and see what she looks like undressed,” Sarnoff quipped at the March commission meeting. All this dressing and undressing will cost money. Outstanding fines and fees for murals in violation (estimated to be millions of dollars) must be paid before properties will be considered for the lottery. Fines and fees assessed under the new ordinance are to be divided among the Arts and Entertainment Trust, the Mayor’s Poverty Initiative, and the Parks and Open Space Trust Fund. Those fees, to be paid by advertising companies, include an annual base fee of $1 per square foot, plus thousands of additional dollars in administrative charges. “These are the largest fees of anywhere in the country,” complained Greenberg Traurig attorney Lucia Dougherty, who represents clients in the outdoor-advertising industry. Several city commissioners wanted to encourage even more murals, arguing that most “world-class” cities employ this kind of advertising. However, Sarnoff staunchly opposed any outdoor advertisements whatsoever. “If it were up to me, there would be no murals in the city — but I can count to three, and I know there would be three votes against me,” he conceded midMarch, when the pending ordinance was approved on first reading. Although other commissioners and those in the industry have called Sarnoff’s position extreme, it is not unprecedented. In 2006 frustrated officials in São Paulo, Brazil, voted to eliminate all outdoor advertising in the city of approximately 18 million residents. The ban, still in place, resulted in the uncovering of numerous slums and sweatshops previously hidden behind massive billboards and banners. In that case, only one councilman, an advertising executive, voted against the ban. sticking so closely to the letter of the law. “If the citizens listen and work with staff and the board, we can usually figure something out,” he asserts. “We’re working hard to improve and meet the needs [of the village], but there are some compromises that have to be made.” One of the biggest concerns the board faces, Reese says, is parking in Miami Shores’s downtown core of shops and restaurants. The village, he argues, is in dire need of more parking to accommodate those patronizing local businesses. “People say the lots are not full, but it’s because the buildings are not full,” Reese notes. “If these buildings fill up, we’ll really be in a bind.” The board is actively seeking new ways to solve the problem, he says. But as of now, the board at least can claim Miss Jane as a new ally. “They do have an interest in seeing small businesses come to Miami Shores,” she says. “They wanted me to succeed.” Miss Jane’s Music Studio is currently offering several classes weekly but won’t be in full swing until June. She is planning a schedule of 29 classes per week for students up to the fourth-grade level. Feedback: [email protected] Feedback: [email protected] GENERAL CONTRACTOR & PAINTING CONTRACTOR • Interior & Exterior • Residential & Commercial • Licensed & Insured Phone: 305-751-4447 Fax: 305-754-1851 www. fabinteriorexterior .com LIC# CGC1506675 April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com CC00BS00302 31 For e-mail information on these officials, please visit biscaynetimes.com and click on our Community Contacts link BISCAYNE PARK biscayneparkfl.gov Village Hall (Log Cabin) 640 NE 114th St. .................................305-899-8000 Mayor: John R. Hornbuckle ........................................................305-899-8000 Commissioner: Bob Anderson ....................................................305-899-8000 Commissioner: Kelly C. Mallette ................................................305-899-8000 Commissioner: Dr. Chester H. “Doc” Morris...............................305-899-8000 Commissioner: Steve Bernard ..................................................305-899-8000 Attorney: John Hearn..................................................................305-899-8000 Building/Zoning Official: Salvatore Annese................................786-306-9510 Clerk: Ann Harper .......................................................................305-899-8000 Manager: Frank Spence .............................................................305-899-8000 Code Enforcement Officer: Sira Ramos .....................................305-899-8000 Police Chief: Mitch Glansberg.........................................305-899-8000 (x228) Police Main Office: .....................................................................305-893-7490 Police Non-Emergency Dispatch:...............................................305-595-6263 Public Works Director: Bernard Pratt..........................................305 893 4346 Recreation Director: Elisa Tankersley.........................................305-893-3711 EL PORTAL (101 NW 34th St.) Parks and Recreation Director: Ernest Burkeen ...........................................................................305-416-1320 Parks Operations ........................................................................305-250-5373 Buena Vista Park ..............................................................305-795-2334 Ichimura Miami-Japan Garden .........................................305-960-4639 Legion Park.......................................................................305-758-9027 Lemon City Park ...............................................................305-759-3512 Margaret Pace Park..........................................................305-350-7938 Morningside Park ..............................................................305-754-1242 Municipal Cemetery ..........................................................305-579-6938 Planning Director: Ana Gelabert-Sanchez..................................305-416-1470 Planning Assistant Director: Carmen Sanchez...........................305-416-1417 Police Chief: John Timoney ........................................................305-603-6100 Police Deputy Chief: Frank G. Fernandez .................................305-603-6120 Police Internal Affairs Division: ..................................................305-835-2000 Police Non-Emergency: .............................................................305-579-6640 Public Works Director: Stephanie N. Grindell.............................305-416-1200 Zoning Administrator: Lourdes Slazyk ........................................305-416-1405 Zoning Information Supervisor: Aldo Reyes ...............................305-416-1493 MIAMI SHORES elportalvillage.com Village Hall 500 NE 87th St. .......................................................305-795-7880 miamishoresvillage.com Village Hall 10050 NE 2nd Ave. .................................................305-795-2207 Mayor: Mariette SanitVil .............................................................305-795-7880 Vice Mayor: Joyce Davis ............................................................305-795-7880 Councilman: Ruben Jean ...........................................................305-795-7880 Councilman: Harold E. Mathis, Jr. ..............................................305-795-7880 Councilwoman: Linda Marcus ....................................................305-795-7880 Building Official: Raul Rodriguez ................................................305-795-7880 Clerk: Albertha Patterson............................................................305-795-7880 Code Enforcement Officer ..........................................................305-795-7880 Manager: Jason Walker..............................................................305-795-7880 Police Chief: Aubry Johnson ......................................................305-795-7880 Mayor: Herta Holly ...............305-757-4679 (residence) 305-835-1934 (office) Vice Mayor: Stephen K. Loffredo ............................305-754-8620 (residence) ........................................................................................305-757-8115 (office) Councilman: Hunt Davis ..........................................305-751-1300 (residence) ........................................................................................305-691-9090 (office) Councilman: Prospero Herrera................................305-757-2473 (residence) ........................................................................................305-795-2207 (office) Councilman: JC Rodriguez......................................305-754-3891 (residence) ........................................................................................305-795-2207 (office) Attorney: Richard Sarafan .........................................................305-349-2300 Building Director: Claudio Grande ..............................................305-795-2204 Clerk: Barbara Estep .................................................................305-795-2207 Finance Director: (Temporary): Holly Hugduhl ..........................305-795-2207 Fire Department (Miami-Dade County Station #30, 9500 NE 2nd Ave.) .....................................................................305-513-7930 Library Director: Elizabeth Esper................................................305-758-8107 Manager: Tom Benton ................................................................305-795-2207 Planning and Zoning Director: David Dacquisto .........................................................................305-795-2207 Police Chief: Kevin Lystad..........................................................305-759-2468 Police Crime Watch/Mobile Patrol ..............................................305-756-5767 Police Department Non-Emergency ...........................................305-759-2468 Public Works Director: Scott Davis.............................................305-795-2210 Recreation Director: Jerry Estep ................................................305-758-8103 MIAMI miamigov.com City Hall 3500 Pan American Dr. One-Stop Call Center: 311 Mayor: Manuel A. Diaz ...............................................................305-250-5300 District 1 Commissioner: Angel Gonzalez ..................................305-250-5430 District 2 Commissioner: Marc Sarnoff.......................................305-250-5333 District 3 Commissioner: Joe M. Sanchez .................................305-250-5380 District 4 Commissioner: Tomas P. Regalado ............................305-250-5420 District 5 Commissioner: Michelle Spence-Jones ......................305-250-5390 Independent Auditor General: Victor I. Igwe...............................305-416-2044 City Attorney: Julie O. Bru ..........................................................305-416-1810 Communications Director: Kelly Penton .....................................305-416-1440 Building Department Director: Hector Lima ................................305-416-1102 City Clerk: Priscilla A. Thompson ...............................................305-250-5360 City Clerk Assistant: Pamela E. Burns .......................................305-250-5367 Civilian Investigative Panel Executive Director: Shirley Richardson .....................................................................305-579-2444 Code Enforcement Director: Mariano Loret de Mola ...............................................................305-416-2039 Code Enforcement Chief: Sergio Guadix ...................................305-416-2089 Interim Community Development Director: Hector Mirabile ..........................................................................305-416-1978 Community Relations Office Coordinator: Ada Rojas ...................................................................................305-416-1351 Finance Director: Diana M. Gomez ............................................305-416-1324 Fire-Rescue Chief: William W. Bryson .......................................305-416-5401 Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief: Maurice Kemp.................................305-416-5403 Fire-Rescue Deputy Chief: Loran Dougherty .............................305-416-5407 City Manager: Pedro G. Hernandez ...........................................305-250-5400 City Manager's Office Chief Financial Officer: Larry M. Spring ...........................................................................305-416-1011 Neighborhood Enhancement Teams (NET) NET Director: David A. Rosemond ..........................................................305-416-2091 ..........................................................................................305-416-1992 Downtown Administrator: Eddie Padilla-Morales .......................................................305-579-6007 (10 NE 9th Street) Little Haiti Administrator: Rasha Soray-Cameau ......................................................305-960-4660 (6421 NE 2nd Ave.) Upper Eastside Administrator: Maria T. Mascarenas ........................................................305-795-2330 (6599 Biscayne Blvd.) Wynwood/Edgewater Administrator: Alberto Zamorano .............................................................305-579-6931 32 NORTH MIAMI northmiamifl.gov City Hall 776 NE 125th St. .........................................................305-893-6511 Information line ..........................................................................305-891-4636 Mayor: Kevin A. Burns ................................................................305-895-9815 District 1 Councilman: Scott Galvin ............................................305-895-9815 District 2 Councilman: Michael Blynn .........................................305-895-9815 District 3 Councilman: Jacques Despinosse ..............................305-895-9815 District 4 Councilwoman: Marie Erlande Steril ...........................305-895-9815 Animal Control: Tami Fox, Sr. Code Enforcement Officer .........305-895-9876 Attorney: V. Lynn Whitfield..........................................................305-895-9810 Attorney Deputy: Roland Galdos ................................................305-895-9810 Budget Director: Keith Kleiman ..................................................305-895-9893 Building and Zoning Director: Jacqueline Gonzalez ..................305-895-9820 Building and Zoning Department ...............................................305-895-9820 Clerk: Frank Wolland ..................................................................305-895-9817 Clerk Deputy: Jacquie Vieira ......................................................305-895-9817 Code Enforcement Director: Mike Ferrucci ..................305-895-9832(x17001) Community Planning and Development Director: Maxine Calloway ........................................................................305-895-9825 Community Redevelopment Agency Executive Director: Tony E. Crapp, Sr. ......................................................................305-899-0272 Finance Director: Carlos M. Perez .............................................305-895-8991 Information Technology Director: Hortensia Machado ....................................................................305-895-9850 Library Director: Joyce Pernicone .............................................305-891-5535 Manager: Clarance Patterson.....................................................305-895-9888 Manager Deputy: Dennis Kelly ...................................305-893-6511 (x12110) MoCA Director and Chief Curator: Bonnie Clearwater ......................................................................305-893-6211 NoMi Express Community Bus Service......................................305-947-9995 Parks and Recreation Director: Terry Lytle.................................305-895-9840 Parks Operation Center:.............................................................305-891-9334 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com Police Chief: Clinton Shannon ....................................................305-891-8111 Police Department Non-Emergency Service ..............................305-891-8111 Public Information Officer: Pam Solomon ..................................305-895-9891 Public Works Director: Mark E. Collins........................305-895-9831 (x12211) Sanitation Division: .....................................................................305-895-9870 Sewer Backup: ...........................................................................305-895-9838 Stormwater/Flooding: ................................................................305-895-9878 Streets Division: .........................................................................305-895-9878 Utility Billing: ..............................................................................305-895-9880 MIAMI-DADE COUNTY Mayor: Carlos Alvarez ................................................................305-375-2202 District 2 Commissioner: Dorrin D. Rolle....................................305-375-4833 District 3 Commissioner: Audrey M. Edmonson .........................305-375-5393 District 4 Commissioner: Sally A. Heyman .................................305-375-5128 Manager: George M. Burgess ....................................................305-375-5311 Commission on Ethics and Public Trust .....................................305-579-2594 Dept. of Environmental Resources Management.......................305-372-6789 Director’s office ......................................................................305-372-6754 24-hour pollution hotline ........................................................305-372-6955 Inspector General: Christopher R. Mazzella ..............................305-375-1946 Fraud hotline..........................................................................305-579-2593 Hotline....................................................................................305-579-9093 Main Library ................................................................................305-375-2665 TDD (Telecommunication Device for Deaf) ................................305-375-2878 Culmer/Overtown Branch ......................................................305-579-5322 Golden Glades Branch ..........................................................305-787-1544 Lemon City Branch ................................................................305-757-0662 Little River Branch .................................................................305-751-8689 Water and Sewer Department ....................................................305-665-7477 Emergency.............................................................................305-274-9272 Complaints .............................................................................786-552-8970 Water quality ..........................................................................305-520-4738 MIAMI-DADE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS Superintendent: Dr. Rudolph F. Crew.........................................305-995-1430 District 1: Wilbert “Tee” [email protected] District 2: Dr. Solomon C. Stinson ..............................................305-995-1334 District 3: Dr. Martin Karp ...........................................................305-995-1334 School Police Chief: Gerald L. Darling ..........................305-995-COPS(2677) FLORIDA Governor: Charlie Crist...............................................................850-488-7146 Governor: Press Office ...............................................................850-488-5394 State Attorney: Katherine Fernandez Rundle.............................305-547-0100 State Senators: District 33: Frederica S. Wilson (D) ....................305-654-7150 (district office) ....................................................................850-487-5116 (Tallahassee office) District 35: Gwen Margolis (D)............................305-993-3632 (district office) ....................................................................850-487-5121 (Tallahassee office) District 36: Alex Diaz de la Portilla (R)................305-643-7200 (district office) ....................................................................850-487-5109 (Tallahassee office) State Representatives: District 104: Yolly Roberson (D)..........................305-650-0022 (district office) ....................................................................850-488-7088 (Tallahassee office) District 106: Dan Gelber (D) ...............................305-531-7831 (district office) ....................................................................850-488-0690 (Tallahassee office) District 108: Ronald A. Brisé (D) .........................305-623-3600 (district office) ....................................................................850-488-4233 (Tallahassee office) District 109: Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall (D)....305-694-2958 (district office) ....................................................................850-488-0625 (Tallahassee office) Dept. of Environmental Services: citizen services......................850-245-2118 Department of Transportation ..........................850-414-4100; 866-374-FDOT District 6 Public Information: Miami-Dade and Monroe.........................................................1-800-435-2368 Secretary of Transportation: Stephanie Kopelousos................................................................850-414-5205 FEDERAL Senators: Mel Martinez (R).......................................................202-224-3041 (DC office) .............................................................................305-444-8332 (Miami office) Bill Nelson (D) .............202-224-5274 (DC office) 305-536-5999(Miami office) Representatives: District 17: Kendrick B. Meek (D) ...............................................305-690-5905 District 18: Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R) ...........................................202-225-3931 District 20: Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D)..............202-225-7931(DC office) ........................................................................305-936-5724 (Aventura office) DEA (Miami Field Office) ............................................................305-994-4870 FBI (Miami Field Office)..............................................................305-944-9101 April 2008 NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS MIAMI Bayside Residents Association Louis Bourdeau [email protected] www.homestead.com/baysideresidents/ Belle Meade Homeowners Margret Tynan, president [email protected] 305-759-3848 Buena Vista Heights Evelyn Andre, president [email protected] 305-528-4148 Buena Vista East Historic Neighborhood Association Pradel Denis, president [email protected] 305-754-6781 Buena Vista West Julia Colas, president [email protected] 305-576-9403 Citizens on Patrol Fred St. Amand, chairman [email protected] 305-754-5454 Communities United Hattie Willis, president [email protected] 305-754-3993 Lake Belmar Home Owners Association Manuel Fente, president 305-379-4900 [email protected] www.lakebelmar.org Little River Neighborhood Improvement Lavon Williams, president [email protected] 305-490-3160 Magnolia Park Geoffrey Bash [email protected] 305-401-9001 Miami Neighborhoods United Grace Solares, president [email protected] www.miaminu.org Neighbors of Oakland Grove Agusto L. Newell, president [email protected] 305-751-2415 Palm Bay Condominium Inc. Bill Mathisen, president [email protected] 305-757-1922 Palm Bay Towers Jorge Bosch, president [email protected] 305-754-3870 Palm Bay Yacht Club Gary Shacni, president [email protected] 305-757-3500 Palm Grove Neighborhood Bob Powers, president [email protected] 305-299-0052 Morningside Civic Association William Hopper, president [email protected] 305-877-1479 Shorecrest Homeowners Millie Santana, president [email protected] Neighborhood of Edgewater Area of Residents Richard Strell, president [email protected] Upper Eastside Miami Council Allyson Warren, president [email protected] 305-757-9780 www.uppereastsidemiami.org Venetian Causeway Neighborhood Alliance Barbara K. Bisno, president [email protected] 305-374-2566 / 786-390-4134 EL PORTAL El Portal Homeowners Association Ana Moré, president 305-456-5788 [email protected] MIAMI SHORES Miami Shores Property Owners Association Bekky Leonard, president 305-759-2235 [email protected] www.miamishorespoa.org NORTH MIAMI Alhambra Heights Beverly Hilton, president [email protected] 305-953-1054, 305-953-1056(fax) Arch Creek East Ilana Burdick, president [email protected] 305-945-1704 Central Michael McDearmaid, president [email protected] 305-893-0566 Enchanted Place Ken Di Genova, president [email protected] 305-892-1710 Keystone Point Steven Bass, president [email protected] [email protected] www.keystonepoint.org Sans Souci Homeowner Association Ernie Long, president [email protected] 305-931-4284 Sunkist Grove Homeowners Joyce Mumford, president [email protected] 305-915-8922 Westside Neighborhood Association Clarence Merke, president 305-681-5552 Community Calendar BISCAYNE PARK April 1, 7:00 p.m. Commission meeting Recreation Center 11400 NE 9th Ct. 305-899-8000 April 7, 6:30 p.m. Planning & Zoning Board meeting Recreation Center 11400 NE 9th Ct. 305-899-8000 April 18, 7 p.m. Code Enforcement Recreation Center 11400 NE 9th Ct. 305-899-8000 April 21, 6:30 p.m. Planning & Zoning Board meeting Recreation Center 11400 NE 9th Ct. 305-899-8000 EL PORTAL April 22, 7 p.m. Village Council meeting El Portal Village Hall 500 NE 87th St. 305-795-7880 April 2008 MIAMI April 3, 5 p.m. Code Enforcement Board meeting City Hall - Commission Chambers 3500 Pan American Dr. 305-416-2030 April 7, 5 p.m. Code Enforcement Board meeting City Hall - Commission Chambers 3500 Pan American Dr. 305-416-2030 April 9, 5 p.m. Code Enforcement Board meeting City Hall - Commission Chambers 3500 Pan American Dr. 305-416-2030 April 16, 7 p.m. Planning Advisory Board meeting City Hall - Commission Chambers 3500 Pan American Dr. 305-416-2030 April 17, 9 a.m. Code Enforcement Board meeting City Hall - Commission Chambers 3500 Pan American Dr. 305-416-2030 April 21, 6 p.m. Nuisance Abatement Board Meeting City Hall - Commission Chambers 3500 Pan American Dr. 305-579-2444 April 23, 5 p.m. Code Enforcement Board meeting City Hall - Commission Chambers 3500 Pan American Dr. 305-416-2030 April 10, 9 a.m. City Commission meeting City Hall - Commission Chambers 3500 Pan American Dr. 305-416-2030 April 24, 9 a.m. City Commission meeting City Hall - Commission Chambers 3500 Pan American Dr. 305-416-2030 April 14, 7 p.m. Zoning Board meeting City Hall - Commission Chambers 3500 Pan American Dr. 305-416-2030 April 28, 7 p.m. Zoning Board meeting City Hall - Commission Chambers 3500 Pan American Dr. 305-416-2030 MIAMI SHORES April 1, 7:30 p.m. Village Council meeting Miami Shores Village Hall 10050 NE 2nd Ave. 305-795-2207 April 6, 6 p.m. Code Enforcement meeting Miami Shores Village Hall 10050 NE 2nd Ave. 305-795-2207 April 15, 7:30 p.m. Village Council meeting Miami Shores Village Hall 10050 NE 2nd Ave. 305-795-2207 April 24, 7 p.m. Planning & Zoning meeting Miami Shores Village Hall 10050 NE 2nd Ave. 305-795-2207 NORTH MIAMI April 1, 7 p.m. North Miami Planning Commission Board meeting City Hall - Council Chambers 776 NE 125th St. 305-891-4636 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2, 10 a.m. Code Enforcement Board meeting City Hall - Council Chambers 776 NE 125th St. 305-891-4636 April 8, 7 p.m. North Miami Council meeting City Hall - Council Chambers 776 NE 125th St. 305-891-4636 April 9, 12 p.m. Business Development Board City Hall - Council Chambers 776 NE 125th St. 305-891-4636 April 16, 6:30 p.m. Board of Adjustment meeting City Hall - Council Chambers 776 NE 125th St. 305-891-4636 April 17, 7 p.m. Community Relations Board meeting City Hall - Council Chambers 776 NE 125th St. 305-891-4636 April 22, 7 p.m. City Council meeting City Hall - Council Chambers 776 NE 125th St. 305-891-4636 33 POLICE REPORTS BISCAYNE CRIME BEAT Compiled by Derek McCann Give Him a Break! Maybe He Still Loves Me Belle Meade A businesswoman returned to her office to grab a check she had forgotten. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, her exboyfriend was waylaid in the lobby. Two minutes later he appeared. When she asked him to leave, he did what most spurned, mooching, trashy ex-flames do: He choked her, stole her keys (now he no longer has to wait in the lobby), and took her cell phone. The violated victim, perhaps in a state of magnanimous pity or plain codependent, I-feel-worthless insanity, refused to press charges. Officers are waiting for the woman to change her mind. Yet Another Vindictive Boyfriend 60 Block of NE 65th Street A woman was walking home when she noticed her ex-boyfriend trailing her. When she started to run, fearing her ex, she inadvertently dropped her purse and him, pulled him by the shirt, and commenced punching him in the face. Daddy threatened to kill Mr. Ex and then left the scene. Protective Papa was later arrested, and his daughter is still single. We’re tempted to publish her exact address as a warning to future lovers, but we won’t because sequels are fun. Possession and Ownership schoolbag. She entered a friend’s apartment at the end of the block and called police, but when she looked out the window, she saw her former man running down the street clutching her items. Is this bad-boy image we all seem to love becoming a bit passé? How about someone boring and responsible for a change? Nah. That would make future “Crime Beats” suck. Beware of Those Ex-Girlfriends Too Design District In the interest of fairness and gender equality, it’s not just ex-boyfriends who are troublesome. How about ex-girlfriends — or in this case, the father of an ex-girlfriend? Feeling for his hurt baby, he confronted the ex-lover at his house. They met on his patio, where the father grabbed 700 Block of NE 73rd Street Officers answering a burglary call knocked on the door of the residence to which they had been summoned. “I’ll be right there,” a breathless voice responded. Officers then heard the back door opening, so they set up a perimeter and eventually caught the man trying to flee. From the back of the squad car, the criminal spontaneously offered that he had picked up a guy named Tommy at a gay club then took him to a house “to move some stuff” and smoke some crack. The stuff they moved did not belong to them, Continued on page 35 25% OFF 5120 biscayne blvd. • miami t: 305.757.5001 • [email protected] 34 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008 POLICE REPORTS Crime Continued from page 34 but at least they got to puff the other stuff, which did belong to them — for about five minutes anyway. Police-Report Language Arts Lessons Omni Police reports can be used to report crime as well as to educate the masses about colloquial terms. In this one, a homeowner said his green City of Miami garbage bin went missing after the “One-Armed Bandit” emptied the trash. An unknown person stole it shortly after the “OneArmed Bandit” left. Note per the police report: One-armed bandits are robotic garbage trucks. The two-armed bandit is still at large. Visit From a Lilliputian? 600 Block of NE 52nd Street Man returned home to find he had been burglarized, even though there was no sign of forced entry and no one had copies of his keys. However, he discovered a very small bathroom window open when he surveyed the scene, but April 2008 told police it was not humanly possible for someone to fit through that window. We suggest neighborhood residents be like Gulliver: Watch your step and your wallet. Knockdown Pickup Lines NE 2nd Avenue and 15th Street On the way back to her office, a woman was accosted by a heavyset stranger. He bear-hugged her and violently threw her to the ground. The victim screamed for help and, luckily for her, two Miami-Dade employees came to her rescue and chased the thug down the street. They held him until the police arrived. In explaining his bizarre actions, the defendant said, “I am attracted to her, and I just wanted to be her friend.” Miami may be a lonely place for some, but there have to better ways of meeting people. Fill in Your Own Spitzer Blackmail Story Palm Grove The suspect, who was left alone at the victim’s business for several hours, had vanished along with more than $10,000 in equipment by the time the business owner returned. The proprietor reported laptops, sunglasses, cell phones, and a huge bundle of cash missing. Police were called and a report was issued, but there was a message written with lipstick on the bedroom mirror (for the record, the suspect is a male): “You have done lots of damage. Remember, I have [all] the pictures.” Shortly after, the victim signed a refuseto-prosecute form. packs of Halls cough drops (the nasty-flavored ones). She did not attempt to pay and was held by the store cashier for police. Before police arrived, though, the future defendant, perhaps thinking it would be awkward to ask to use the bathroom at this point and envisioning a prolonged sojourn in the paddy wagon, took care of nature’s calling and urinated on the floor. You Can’t Do That Here! Helping Those Less Fortunate, and the Feelings It Evokes NE 9th Street and N. Miami Avenue Gallivanting his way into the middle of traffic, this defendant was openly and unabashedly drinking an unconcealed can of beer in broad daylight. Because this is still against the law, officers arrested him. The hapless beer guzzler exclaimed that he was just celebrating his birthday. Happy birthday, my friend! Celebrate with 30 others as you snuggle up next to the toilet at county jail. Why Wait? Or, You Can’t Do That Here, the Sequel 1000 Block of Biscayne Boulevard A female subject entered this store and grabbed a Butterfinger candy bar and five Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 5900 Block of NE 2nd Avenue A business owner, in an act of kindness, hired two street vagrants to clean her store — she did not get their names or check for any identification. Several minutes later the men were gone, as was her purse. The suspects have not been arrested as the victim had trouble giving police a description. So much for the virtue of charity, but rather a clarion call for Miamians’ continuing need to live up to their necessary reputation for cold detachment. The hell with everyone! Feedback: [email protected] 35 A R T & C U LT U R E Artifical Life Cristina Lei Rodriguez’s eye-catching art evolves with a new solo show at Galerie Emmanuel Perrotin Rodriguez’s talent, starting here at home with Reclaiming Ruins, her 2004 seminal installation at the ristina Lei Rodriguez’s psyRubell Family Collection. The old chedelic, nature-themed building that housed the collection sculptures have put her on the had been torn down to make way for Miami art map. The 33-year-old artist a new one. Rodriguez gathered rubble has become increasingly successful from the demolished building and since arriving on the scene in 2003. covered it with multicolored, plastic “She is probably one of the most foliage until it was barely recognizaprominent female contemporary ble. The resulting sculpture resembled artists [in Miami],” says José Carlos a mound of ancient ruins just before Diaz, who operates Worm-Hole excavation, playing on the theme of Laboratory, a traveling curatorial art nature versus the urban environment. project. “I have never seen any other She continued to show her work sculptor make work with the materiaround the United States in group als she’s using.” shows. International attention folRodriguez’s sculptures — trippy lowed. Rodriguez participated in plastic plants, flowers, and gardens, London-based curator Hans Ulrich covered in layers of glitter, fluoresObrist’s “Uncertain States of cent paint, and other, more unusual America: American Art in the 3rd Struggling for Grandeur, Rodriguez’s recent sculpture at the Vizcaya Museum materials — are instantly recognizaMillennium” group exhibition, which and Gardens. ble. Her distinct oeuvre employs took her work all over Europe. “It’s Plexiglas and tacky thrift store items, one of the most important shows I’ve such as Mardi Gras beads, plastic plants, After graduating from Middlebury things going. We felt we could do whatev- ever been part of,” she says. “It was defiand gaudy fashion accessories. She then College in Vermont in 1996, Rodriguez nitely a huge thing for me.” er,” Rodriguez says. At the same time, dips her fake flora in epoxy to harden, traveled extensively and also spent time in She also credits her affiliation with though, she remembers keeping her eye on beginning the long construction process. Miami, working for MTV Latin America the big picture: “As a group we were inter- Emmanuel Perrotin for boosting her career. as an assistant producer. Film By 2006 Rodriguez was being represented ested in building our careers outside was her new passion and she by the Paris gallerist, who had just opened Miami. We were always very focused on She decorates the pieces with tinsel, tried her hand at it for a few his first stateside space in Miami. He prewhat was happening outside of Miami.” fabric, foam, and bright-colored paint, years. Rodriguez says she sented a solo exhibition of her work titled During the next few years, the rest of expertly coaxing them into surreal, noticed she was “really interested the art world began to take notice of Continued on page 37 artificial, subtropical settings. in films with stop-animation,” because they allowed her to spend time building sets. Once they are stiff, she decorates the Ultimately she figured out it wasn’t films pieces with tinsel, fabric, glue, foam, and she really wanted to make. “I wanted to bright-colored paint. She amasses layer make stuff,” she explains. That drive to upon layer, expertly coaxing her creations make “stuff” led her to the California into surreal, artificial, subtropical settings. College of Arts and Crafts in San These found knickknacks work doubleFrancisco, where she learned to create the time, helping Rodriguez convey both her sculptures and assemblage-based artwork work’s flamboyant flirtiness as well as its that have come to mark her signature style. not-so-subtle subtext: the struggle between Rodriguez graduated in 2002 and man and nature. Like weeds bursting returned to Miami, where the landscape of through cracks in the sidewalk, nature, the art scene was shifting rapidly, with the even in the form of art, cannot be conarrival of Art Basel Miami Beach and a quered or contained. profusion of new galleries in Wynwood. The daughter of Cuban and Japanese “People were sort of curious about what parents, the 33-year-old Rodriguez grew was happening, and things were sort of up up in Miami Lakes. She remembers being for grabs,” Rodriguez recalls. As interested in art from the beginning, but Wynwood was transforming into a cultural career aspirations didn’t come until later. hub, she worked alongside artists such as “I didn’t think it would be a practical Pepe Mar and Diego Singh, exhibiting her choice,” she says. “I felt a lot of pressure work at the now-defunct Rocket Projects that it wasn’t a realistic thing that I could and other spaces that promoted local Encantadas, early work form the Worm-Hole Lab, 2003. actually do.” artists. “We had a lot of energy to get By Victor Barrenechea BT Contributor C 36 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008 A R T & C U LT U R E Artifical meant to play off being in a room that was very visually loaded.” Its colors intentionally matched the stain-glassed windows “Endless Autumn.” It was Rodriguez’s while the base coordinated with the marmost ambitions project to date. The 20-byble floor. The result: Struggling for 20-foot garden was eight feet tall and took Grandeur, a paradox of a piece that simulseveral months to construct. She transtaneously subverted and paid homage to formed the gallery space into a Japanese the ideal of beauty at Vizcaya. garden — which Rodriguez refers to as In addition to being busy artistically, “the ultimate example of a controlled garRodriguez gave birth to her daughter Ruby last year and “I don’t think she wants to be pigeonadmits motherhood has brought holed. Her work is really distinctive. big changes. “Everything had to She’s creating a body of work that be planned out,” she explains. “I has really evolved.” had to get organized.” In other words, no more pulling marathon, all-night work sessions. It also has reduced the number of den” — expressing through it man’s pieces Rodriguez can produce, which is attempts to manipulate nature. fine with her. “I’m trying to work on one She advanced this theme again when project at a time, trying to be more she was commissioned to create a work focused,” she says. “I feel like the quality for Vizcaya Museum and Gardens in of the work is more important than quanti2007. Inspired by the rows of topiary dotting the premises, Rodriguez built a sculp- ty for me. I’d rather make fewer pieces and have them be really great.” ture that not only mirrored the dominant Rodriguez’s strategy seems to be workshape of the garden, but also combined it ing. This year she landed two important with the look and feel of the tea room inside the museum. “We did a lot of things solo exhibitions: at New York City’s Team Gallery and, this month, at Galerie to make it blend in,” she says. “It was she says. “For this show, nature is not really the subject matter. Basically I’m trying to make more abstract work.” Even though her new pieces may not be recognizable as plants, the indefinable shapes still will be organic in nature and carry over elements of her previous floral pieces, incorporating some of the same materials. “I don’t think she wants to be pigeonholed as just creating gardens,” says José Carlos Diaz. “Her work is really distinctive. Her themes might change, but she’s done a great job creating a body of work that has really evolved. It’ll be interesting to see how Miami interprets her new work.” Continued from page 36 April 2008 Cristina Lei Rodriguez’s solo show opens April 12 and runs Out of Season, which showed at the through May 24 at Galerie Moore Space in 2004. Emmanuel Perrotin, located at 194 NW 30th St., Miami. For more information call 305-573-2130 or Emmanuel Perrotin. Rodriguez says the visit www.galerieperrotin.com. latter show will be something of a departure for her. “I want to experiment and try Feedback: [email protected] some new things I haven’t tried before,” Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 37 A R T & C U LT U R E WYNWOOD GALLERY WALK & DESIGN DISTRICT ART + DESIGN NIGHT SATURDAY, APRIL 12 ABBA FINE ART 233 NW 36th St., Miami 305-576-4278 www.abbafineart.com April 12 through May 7: “Reality” by Emanuelle Cacciatore Reception April 12, 7 to 11 p.m. ALBERTINI ARTS 190 NW 36 St., Miami 305-576-2781 www.albertiniarts.com April 12 through May 3: “Out of the Blue” curated by Kris Steffner with Jeremiah Jenner, Joseph Fischer, Kris Steffner, Rachael Rendon, Tony Rosca, Timothy Leistner, Greg Morgan, and Magda Audifred Reception April 12, 7 to 11 p.m. ALEJANDRA VON HARTZ FINE ARTS 2134 NW Miami Ct., Miami 305-438-0220 www.alejandravonhartz.net Through May 3: “Dys/functional” by Silvana Lacarra Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. AMAYA GALLERY 2033 NW 1st Pl., Miami 917-743-2925 www.amayagallery.com Call gallery for exhibition information. AMBROSINO GALLERY 2628 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 305-891-5577 www.ambrosinogallery.com Call gallery for exhibition information. ART FUSION 1 NE 40th St., Miami 305-573-5730 www.artfusiongallery.com April 12 through June 26: “Embracing the World” with various artists Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. ART GALLERY AT GOVERNMENT CENTER 111 NW 1st St., Suite 625, Miami 305-375-4634 www.miamidadearts.org April 7 through June 3: “Tethered” by Frances Twombly ARTFORMZ 130 NE 40th St. #2, Miami 305-572-0040 www.artformz.net Through April 21: “The Last Picture Show” with Chieko Tanemura, Lori Acott Fowler, Glenn Fischer, Nathan Markham, Yeon Jin Kim, Venessa Monokian, Vanessa Garcia, Jovan Villalba, Michael Wyshock, Ileana Tolibia, Alette Simmons-Jimenez, Ray Paul, Rolando Dal Pezzo, Natasha Duwin, Priscilla Forthman, Alejandro Mendoza, Marlene de Lazaro, Alicia Deya, Donna Haynes, Loren Santiesteban, Kimberley Maxwell, Darek Pala, and Oscar Manuel Vargas BAKEHOUSE ART COMPLEX 561 NW 32nd St., Miami 305-576-2828 www.bakehouseartcomplex.org April 3 through April 30: “Mosaic Arts International 2008” with various artists 38 ART LISTINGS BARBARA GILLMAN GALLERY 4141 NE 2nd Ave. #202, Miami 305-573-1920 www.artnet.com/bgillman.html Through April 30: “Director’s Choice” with Bill Leech, Debbie Putnoi, Andy Warhol, Rufino Tamayo, Herman Leonard, and William Gottieb Reception April 12, 7 to 9 p.m. EUROPEAN ART GALLERY 61 NE 40th St., Miami 305-438-9006 www.euartgallerymiami.com Ongoing exhibitions by Irmaly and Elmer Hund and “Light and Water” an ongoing exhibition by Lily Wicnudel Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. BAS FISHER INVITATIONAL 180 NE 39th St., #210, Miami By appointment: [email protected] Call gallery for exhibition information. BERNICE STEINBAUM GALLERY 3550 N. Miami Ave., Miami 305-573-2700 www.bernicesteinbaumgallery.com Through April 5: “The Frozen Moment” by Fabian Peña April 12 through May 3: Solo shows by Nancy Friedemann and Raquel Quijano Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. FREDRIC SNITZER GALLERY 2247 NW 1st Pl., Miami 305-448-8976 www.snitzer.com Through April 5: Solo show by Alex Sweet April 12 through May 3: Solo show by Gavin Perry Reception April 12, 7:30 to 10 p.m. GALERIE EMMANUEL PERROTIN 194 NW 30th St., Miami 305-573-2130 www.galerieperrotin.com Through April 5: “Diary of Happiness” by Jean-Michel Othoniel and “Strange Fruit” by Johan Creten April 12 through May 24: Solo shows by Cristina Lei Rodriguez and Paul Morrison Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. CAROL JAZZAR CONTEMPORARY ART 158 NW 91st St., Miami Shores 305-490-6906 www.cjazzart.com By appointment: [email protected] Through April 12: “Place in Space” by Jen Stark April 18 through May 10: “Marry Me - Western Union” by David Rohn Reception April 18, 7 to 10 p.m. CHELSEA GALLERIA 2441 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 305-576-2950 www.chelseagalleria.com Through May 3: “Lente Latino” with Leo Matiz, Tony Mendoza, Francisco Olazabal, Christian Robotti, Eduardo del Valle, and Mirta Gomez Reception April 12, 7 to 11 p.m. CIRCA 28 2826 N. Miami Ave., Miami 305-763-1468 April 12: “Art After Dark & Experimental Innovators” with Julio Cesar Garcia, Carlos Alves, Ben Abounassif, Robiert Santana, and Vicenta Casan Reception April 12, 7 to midnight DAMIEN B. CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER 282 NW 36th St., Miami 305-573-4949 www.damienb.com Through April 7: “Streets” by Phil Stein April 12 through June 9: “Deconstructing Urban Icons” by Enrico Bacci Reception April 12, 7 to 11 p.m. DAVID CASTILLO GALLERY 2234 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 305-573-8110 www.castilloart.com Through April 5: Solo show by Wendy Wischer April 12 through May 3: “Raw Sewage” by Pepe Mar Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. DETAILS FACTORY 2085 NW 2nd Ave., Miami ETRA FINE ART 10 NE 40th St., Miami 305-438-4383 www.etrafineart.com April 12 through May 10: “Spring Group Show” with various artists Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. Gavin Perry, (No Title), vinyl tape, resin on board, 2008, at Fredric Snitzer Gallery 305-573-1729 Through April 9: “Made in Miami” with Lyn Nelson, Ricardo Raphael, Perry Tortorelli, Marcelle C. Zanetti, Nelson Viera, Adam Schrimmer, Robyn Reichek, and Scott McKinley www.dorschgallery.com April 12 through May 3: “Seuss Dynasty” by Elisabeth Condon, “Rite of Way” by Amanda Burnham, and “waiting” by Grant Haffner Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. DIANA LOWENSTEIN FINE ARTS 2043 N. Miami Ave., Miami 305-576-1804 www.dlfinearts.com Through April 5: “Historias del m_: Espacio Minimo Vital” by Graciela Sacco Through May 3: “It Gets Worse” by Clifton Childree April 12 through May 3: “Dreams & Leftovers” by Marc Hello Reception April 12, 7:30 to 10 p.m. DOT FIFTYONE ART SPACE 51 NW 36th St., Miami 305-573-9994 www.dotfiftyone.com Through April 30: “Echo, Shadow, Gravity, Distance” Andres Ferrandis Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. DIASPORA VIBE GALLERY 3938 NE 39th St., Miami 305-573-4046 www.diasporavibe.net April 10 through May 25: “women’s work” with Jacquenette Arnette, Angela Piehl, Vickie Pierre, and WuraNatasha Ogunji Reception April 10, 7 to 10 p.m. DORSCH GALLERY 151 NW 24th St., Miami 305-576-1278 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com EDGE ZONES CONTEMPORARY ART 2214 N. Miami Ave., Miami 305-303-8852 www.edgezones.org Through April 5: “On Earth” by Berta Jayo and ongoing exhibitions with various artists ELITE ART EDITIONS GALLERY 151 NW 36th St., Miami 305-403-5856 www.elitearteditions.com April 12 through April 30: “Modern Sculpture” with Cristina Giampaoli, Fabia Nitti, Luis Kaiulani, Jorge Matas, Miguel Angel Jiménez Reception April 12, 7 to 11 p.m. GALLERY DIET 174 NW 23rd St., Miami 305-571-2288 www.gallerydiet.com Through May 3: “The White Series” by Maria José Arjona April 12 through April 19: “Karaoke” by Maria José Arjona April 20 through May 3: “Dear, dear I shall be too late” by Maria José Arjona Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. GARY NADER FINE ART 62 NE 27th St., Miami 305-576-0256 www.garynader.com Through April 30: Solo show by Wifredo Lam GO GO GALLERY 2238 NW 1st Pl., Miami 305-576-0696 www.gogogallery.com Call gallery for exhibition information. HARDCORE ARTS CONTEMPORARY SPACE 3326 N. Miami Ave., Miami 305-576-1645 www.hardcoreartcontemporary.com Through May 15: Solo shows by Andres Michelena, Aisen Chacin, Pepe Lopez, and Juan-Si Gonzalez Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. HAROLD GOLEN GALLERY Temporary location: 314 NW 24th St., Miami 305-576-1880 www.haroldgolengallery.com Through April 12: Continued on page 39 April 2008 A R T & C U LT U R E Art Listings Continued from page 38 “Daisy, Blossom, and Grettl” by Mark Atomos Pilon, Attaboy, and Annie Owens, and “Postcard Diaries 2008” by Mark Mothersbaugh of Devo April 12 through May 3: “Candy Eating Contest” with Alex Meyer and Rafael Silveira Reception April 12, 7 to 11 p.m. IN-DEPENDENT GALLERY SPACE 175 NW 22nd St., Miami 305-672-1002 www.in-dependent.com Through April 9: “The Boys Collection” by Melissa Rodwell April 12 through June 14: “The Human Factor” by Jojo Corväiá Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. KARPIO + FACCHINI GALLERY 1929 NW 1st Ave., Miami 305-576-4454 www.facchinigallery.com Call gallery for exhibition information. KEVIN BRUK GALLERY 2249 NW 1st Pl., Miami 305-576-2000 www.kevinbrukgallery.com April 12 through May 31: Solo show by David Shaw Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. KUNSTHAUS MIAMI 3312 N. Miami Ave., Miami 305-438-1333 www.kunsthaus.org.mx Call gallery for exhibition information. LEITER GALLERY 6900 Biscayne Blvd., Miami 305-389-2616 Call gallery for exhibition information. LYLE O. REITZEL GALLERY 2441 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 305-573-1333 www.artnet.com/reitzel.html Through April 30: “Extended Boundaries: Latin American and Caribbean Artists in Miami” with Jose Garcia Cordero, Jose Bédia, and Edouard Duval Carrié LOCUST PROJECTS 105 NW 23rd St., Miami 305-576-8570 www.locustprojects.org Through April 26: “Synesthetics” curated by Felice Grodin with Lawrence Blough, Monica Tiulescu, Marcia Lyons, Samantha Salzinger, and Sylvan Lionni Reception April 12, 7 to 11 p.m. MIAMI ART GROUP GALLERY 126 NE 40th St., Miami 305-576-2633 www.miamiartgroup.com Call gallery for exhibition information. LUIS ADELANTADO GALLERY 98 NW 29th St., Miami 305-438-0069 www.luisadelantadomiami.com Through June 2: “En El Nombre Del Padre” with Priscilla Mongue, Marta Maria Perez Bravo, Alexander Apostol, and Milagros de la Torre Reception April 12, 7 to 11 p.m. LUNA STAR CAFÉ 775 NE 125th St., North Miami 305-799-7123 Through April 25: “Two Painters Walk into a Bar” with Susan Weiss and Susan Feliciano LURIE FINE ART GALLERIES 3900 NE 1st Ave., Miami 305-573-7373 www.luriegalleries.com Through April 5: Solo show by Carlos Quintana April 12 through April 30: MIAMI ART SPACE 244 NW 35th St., Miami 305-438-9002 www.miamiartspace.com Through June 14: “Painting, Photography, and Sculpture” by Kenneth Treister April 12 through May 10: “Havanna Nights” by Kenneth Treister Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. MIAM-DADE COLLEGE, CENTER GALLERY 300 NE 2nd Ave., Bldg. 1, Room 1365, Miami 305-237-3696 www.mdc.edu Pepe Mar, Untitled, mixed-media assemThrough April 14: “Nature and Evolution” by blage, 2008, at David Castillo Gallery Michelle Mueller Through April 26: “ABSTRACTION: New Work” with Luciana “Beyond Borders: Modernism Through a Abait, Patricia S. Gutierrez, Leonardo Selection of Artwork From the Collection Hildago, A. Dale Nally, and John La Huis of the Inter-American Development Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. Bank, Washington, D.C.” with Rufino Tamayo, Wifredo Lam, Keith Haring, Thomie Othake, Edgar Negret, Roberto Matta, Jesus Soto, José Bedia, Diego Rivera, Joaquin Torres-Garcia, Maria Luisa Pacheco, and Carlos Merida MIAMI EVENT SPACE 7820 NE 4th Ct., Miami 305-438-9002 www.miamieventspace.com Call gallery for exhibition information. MIAMI INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF ART AND DESIGN 1501 Biscayne Blvd., Miami 305-428-5700 www.mymiu.com Call gallery for exhibition information. THE MOORE SPACE 4040 NE 2nd Ave., 2nd floor, Miami 305-438-1163 www.themoorespace.org April 12 through July 1: Solo show with José Alvarez Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. PANAMERICAN ART PROJECTS 2450 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 305-573-2400 www.panamericanart.com Through April 5: Group show with Gustavo Acosta, Carlos Estevez, and Ted Larsen April 12 through May 3: “A Tale of Two Cities” with Gory and Gian Paolo Minelli Reception April 12, 6 to 9 p.m. PRAXIS INTERNATIONAL ART 2219 NW 2nd Ave., Miami Continued on page 40 RGB ENGINEERING P.A. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES P.E. LIC#60779 • Plans & Permits Processing • Code Violation • Legalization • Open Permits • New Construction (Any Type) • Interior & Exterior Remodeling FREE CONSULTING • FREE ESTIMATES • Call for an Appointment • Try Directly with Engineers PH: 305-496-6519 • Avoid the Middleman FAX: 305-971-3956 Turn an ordinary snapshot into a pop icon. MODERN PORTRAITS Custom Acrylic Paintings or Prints on Canvas For more information, visit www.mymodernportrait.com or call 305-490-8117 April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 39 A R T & C U LT U R E Art Listings Continued from page 39 305-573-2900 www.praxis-art.com Call gallery for exhibition information. SIGNATURE ART GALLERY 3326 N. Miami Ave., Miami 305-576-1645 http://signatureart.blogspot.com Through May 15: Solo shows by Anita Reyna and Felipe Herrera Reception April 12, 7 to 10 p.m. SPINELLO GALLERY 2294 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 786-271-4223 www.spinellogallery.com Call gallery for exhibition information. STEVE MARTIN STUDIO 66 NE 40th St., Miami 305-484-1491 www.stevemartinfineart.com April 1 through April 30: “Practice of Invention” by Doyle Gertjejansen Reception April 12, 6 to 11 p.m. SUYU ART GALLERY 12399 W. Dixie Hwy., North Miami 561-201-2053 www.suyucultural.com April 10 through May 10: “Suyu #4” with various artists Reception April 10, 7 to 11 p.m. TWENTY TWENTY PROJECTS 2020 NW Miami Ct., Miami 786-217-7683 www.twentytwentyprojects.com April 12 through May 3: 40 “Negative Space” by Raul Mendez Reception April 12, 7 to midnight UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI PROJECTS SPACE 2200 NW 2nd Ave., Miami 305-284-2542 Call gallery for exhibition information. UNDERCURRENT ARTS 2563 N. Miami Ave., Miami 305-571-9574 www.undercurrentarts.com Through April 5: “In the Lives of Dolls” with Aliza Augustine, Maria de la Vega, Susan Marks, Ursula Sokolowska, and Star27 April 12 through April 19: “Visual Collaborative” with various artists Reception April 12, 7 to 10:30 p.m. UNTITLED 2144 2144 NE 2nd Ave., Miami 305-576-2112 www.untitled2144.com Through April 20: Group exhibition with various artists WALLFLOWER GALLERY 10 NE 3rd St., Miami 305-579-0069 www.wallflowergallery.com myspace.com/wallflowergallery Call gallery for exhibition information. WHITE VINYL SPACE 7160 NW 2nd Ct., Miami 305-776-1515 www.whitevinylspace.com Through June 15: “Maze” by Skip Van Cel Installation location: 290 NW 72nd Terr., Miami MUSEUM & COLLECTION EXHIBITS CIFO (Cisneros Fontanals Art Foundation) 1018 N. Miami Ave., Miami 305-455-3380 www.cifo.org April 25 through June 22: “CIFO 2008 Grants and Commissions Exhibition” with Alejandro Almanza Pereda, Johanna Calle, Jonathan Harker, Mateo López, Daniel Medina, Moris (Israel Meza Moreno), Amilcar Lucien Packer Yessouroun, Luis Romero, Ícaro Zorbar Sánchez Laverde, Francisco Valdés, Pablo Cardoso, and Federico Herrero FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY FROST ART MUSEUM 11200 SW 8th St., Miami 305-348-0496 www.fiu.edu/~museum Through April 12: “MFA Spring 2008” with various artists April 25 through May 3: “BFA Spring 2008” with various artists and de Meuron Through May 18: “Wifredo Lam in North America” by Wifredo Lam Through June 29: “Parres Trilogy” with Melanie Smith and Rafael Ortega April 25 through July 20: “Quisqueya Henríquez: The World Outside: A Survey Exhibition 1991 2007” by Quisqueya Henríquez MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART 770 NE 125th St., North Miami 305-893-6211 www.mocanomi.org Through May 11: “Pivot Points (Part 1)” with Pierre Huyghe and Philippe Parreno, John Bock, Thomas Hirschhorn, José Bedia, Matthew Barney, John Baldessari, Roni Horn, and more LOWE ART MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI 1301 Stanford Dr., Coral Gables 305-284-3535 www.lowemuseum.org April 12 through June 8: “The Metro Series” by J. Tomás López and MFA exhibitions with various artists MOCA AT GOLDMAN WAREHOUSE 404 NW 26th St., Miami 305-893-6211 www.mocanomi.org April 12 through June 28: “Pivot Points II: New Mythologies” with Matthew Barney, Hernan Bas, José Bedia, William Cordova, Tracey Emin, Phillip Estlund, John Espinosa, Luis Gispert, Isaac Julien, Guillermo Kuitca, Mariko Mori, Raymond Pettibon, Ali Prosch, Matthew Ritchie, Ann-Sofi Siden, and Kyle Trowbridge MIAMI ART MUSEUM 101 W. Flagler St., Miami 305-375-3000 www.miamiartmuseum.org Through April 6: “Work in Progress: Herzog and de Meuron’s Miami Art Museum” by Herzog THE MARGULIES COLLECTION 591 NW 27th St., Miami 305-576-1051 www.margulieswarehouse.com Through April 28: “Sculpture: Selections from the Private Collection of Martin Z. Margulies” includ- Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com ing works by Isamu Noguchi, Donald Judd, Willem de Kooning, Ernesto Netto, Miro, Olafur Eliasson, Richard Long, Richard Serra, Tony Smith, George Segal, Michael Heizer, Sol LeWitt, and more THE RUBELL FAMILY COLLECTION 95 NW 29th St., Miami 305-573-6090 www.rubellfamilycollection.com Call for operating hours and exhibit information. Through November 28: “Hernan Bas: Works from the Rubell Family Collection” by Hernan Bas; “John Stezaker: Works from the Rubell Family Collection” by John Stezaker; and “EuroCentric, Part 1: New European Art from the Rubell Family Collection” with various artists WORLD CLASS BOXING Debra and Dennis Scholl Collection 170 NW 23rd St., Miami 305-438-9908 Appointment only: [email protected] Through April 11: “Death Rattle” by William J. O’Brien April 12 through May 30: “IN REPOSE” curated by Lorie Mertes with Janine Antoni, Mariko Mori, Catherine Opie, Pipilotti Rist, Carolee Schneemann, Cindy Sherman, Tanyth Berkeley, Rineke Dijkstra, Trisha Donnelly, Naomi Fisher, Jenny Gage, Anna Gaskell, Kim Gordon, Katy Grannan, Melanie Schiff, Meredyth Sparks, Helen Van Meene, and Bettina Von Zwehl Compiled by Victor Barrenechea Send listings, jpeg images, and events information to [email protected] April 2008 A R T & C U LT U R E C ULTURE B RIEFS the first of what the arts organization hopes will be many events aimed at infusing the Boulevard with a little more culture. The American Legion Post and its bar are located at 6445 NE 7th Ave., which is where 64th Street meets Biscayne Bay. Admission is $10. Call 786-201-7727 or visit www.artsatstjohns.com. Floating Holiday Strolling on the River As Miami’s oldest suburb, Spring Garden has amassed its share of juicy historical tidbits. Alligators in the basement? Early Miamians cast as savages in a silent film? Satiate your curiosity by joining local historian Paul George on April 5, when he divulges native secrets during a three-hour walking tour of this architecturally diverse neighborhood perched on the northern bank of the Miami River. Departs from the Historical Museum of Southern Florida (101 W. Flagler St.) at 10:00 a.m. HMSF members pay $20, nonmembers $25. For more information, call 305-375-1621 or visit www.hmsf.org. Celebrate Miami’s working river on April 12 when the 12th Annual Miami River Day returns to this pivotal city waterway. Take a boat tour through some of Miami’s oldest river neighborhoods, or spend the day on solid ground along the river enjoying everything from historical re-enactments and stilt-walkers to local artists and displays provided by environmental organizations and developers. The free festivities begin at noon from Jose Marti Park (351 SW 4th St.). For details call 305-644-0544. Contemporary Collaborators Artist Federico Nessi douses dormant senses with his refreshing visions of surrealist awareness in WIRE WIRE WIRE, a time-based multimedia installation incorporating music, dance, film, and sculpture. Electric Bunnies, Ana Mendez, and Alex Senf complete the contemporary collaboration hosted by Miami Light Project on April 12 from 8:00 to 11:00 p.m. at the Light Box Studio (3000 Biscayne Blvd., #100). Drinks and DJs are courtesy of Sweat Records and entry is free. Visit www.myspace.com/wirewirewire for more information. A Walk on the Mild Side Jazz Up the Boulevard Join friends and neighbors in waking the normally quiet bar at American Legion Post 29 from its evening slumber on April 5. From 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., the folks from the nonprofit Arts at St. John’s will transform this small outpost in Legion Park into a speakeasy. Absorb original jazz compositions by Asian-inspired Miami Beach trio Sonido Batido over a few cocktails from the bar. Then explore the accompanying gallery, where local artists will showcase an array of modern visual works created around a jazz theme. This is April 2008 Scotia brings new life to the various childhood characters of Carle’s unforgettable books in The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Eric Carle Favourites. Both young and old will delight in reacquainting themselves with some of their most beloved stories, including The Mixed-Up Chameleon (1975) and Little Cloud (1996) in midmorning performances on April 18 and 19 at the Arsht Center Knight Concert Hall. Tickets cost $12 and can be purchased by phone at 305-949-6722 or online at www.arshtcenter.org. Learn a little Miami Shores lore with local historian and author Seth Bramson on April 13 by joining his walking tour of the village’s most noteworthy historic sites. From Shoreland Company homes to neighborhood open spaces, Bramson’s hour-and-a-half excursion will remind residents where Miami Shores gets its quiet, small-town flair. Plus it’s free. Departs from Miami Shores Baptist Church (370 Grand Concourse) at noon. For more information, call 305-358-9572. Theater for Bookworms Utilizing black lights and the unforgettable collage-style art of children’s author Eric Carle, the Mermaid Theatre of Nova unveiled at the Shops at Midtown Miami later in the day. Meet at Fountain Plaza (3201 N. Miami Ave.) at 2:00 p.m. for this free activity. Call 305-573-3371 or visit www. shopmidtownmiami.com for more details. See the City By the Bay When you’re caught in Miami’s daily hustle and bustle, it’s easy to miss some of our city’s most elaborate architectural details. Why not change perspectives a little by hopping aboard the Heritage II and touring the city via water with historian and University of Miami professor Ari Millas? On April 20, near the end of Dade Heritage Days, remind yourself how truly spectacular the Magic City can be during this four-hour boating expedition of the Miami River, the Miami Circle, Villa Vizcaya, Fisher Island, and the Port of Miami. Brought to you by the Dade Heritage Trust, the tour sets sail from Bayside Marketplace (401 Biscayne Blvd.) at noon. DHT members pay $25, nonmembers $30. For more information, call 305442-9697 or visit www.dadeheritagetrust.org. Rhyming Is Fundamental Broadway Unbound Want to see a slew of Broadway shows but just don’t have the time or money to spend? Well, this edition of Forbidden Broadway might give you just the theater sampler you’ve been desperately seeking. Made especially for Miami audiences, this quirky take on traditional theater spoofs many a Broadway classic. From The Lion King and Wicked to Les Misérables and Hairspray, this hodgepodge of parodies and tributes packs an energetic punch for theatergoers. Created and written by Gerard Alessandrini, the production will be playing at the Arsht Center for the Performing Arts (1300 Biscayne Blvd.) through April 13. Ticket prices are $45, $50. Call 305-949-6722 or visit www.arshtcenter.org. Britto’s Butterfly Ever wondered if your child could be the next Romero Britto? On April 19, Miami’s next generation will get a chance to learn from the city’s best when the neo-Pop artist gives local children a go at re-creating a mini version of his butterfly sculpture, which will be Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com Poetry books may be gathering dust, but the literary form is far from dead — just ask the New Jersey-based Mayhem Poets. On April 21 the slam poetry trio brings its quick wit and flowing vernacular to Miami for a spoken-word performance that promises to inspire burgeoning bards to whip out their pens and practice their pronunciation. And, just like the verse of old, these hip-hop-inspired rhymes tackle some pretty heavy issues. Performances at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. at the Arsht Center Knight Concert Hall. Admission is $8. Call 305949-6722 or visit www.arshtcenter.org. Diggin’ the Graveyard Often overlooked by the living, several of Miami’s most notable (and permanent!) residents get some much-deserved attention on April 27, when the African American Committee of Dade Heritage Trust conducts a lively procession through historic Miami City Cemetery. Local dignitaries and the Progressive Cornet Band lead the way in this six-block march, now in its 14th year. Departs from St. Agnes’ Episcopal Church (1750 NW 3rd Ave.) at 3:00 p.m. There’s no charge. Call 305-6355130 or visit www.dadeheritagetrust.org for more details. 41 P A R K P AT R O L Green Spaces: A Year in Review After 12 months of patrolling parks, some lessons learned By Jim W. Harper BT Contributor arks near the Biscayne Corridor are slightly above average. That conclusion tops the findings of the first year of “Park Patrol,” which Biscayne Times established to evaluate parks in the same way critics review restaurants. Look across the United States and you’ll be hard-pressed to find any other publication with space dedicated to a parks critic. Let us take a moment to pat ourselves on our little, green watchdog backs. Read the past 12 months of reviewed parks as a call to action. The parks at the top of the list need to “keep on keeping on” by maintaining what makes them so appealing. These are the parks you must visit. The parks at the bottom of the list need to stop what is going wrong and make a U-turn into the daylight. Those parks falling in the middle ground could stand to do a little of both. Clearly one field of green sets the standard for all others: Oleta River State Park. As our list’s only state-run park — and its farthest north — Oleta truly exists in a class by itself. It is also the state’s largest urban park, and an awardwinning one at that. Now, considering this land was slated to become “Epcot South,” it’s a miracle the park exists at all. Grab your fishing pole and moun- P Margaret Pace Park tain-bike it over there, on the double. But unlike the other parks listed here, you must pay to enter. At the other end of the geographic spectrum, along Biscayne Boulevard’s southernmost reaches, is the spectacular debacle of Bicentennial Park. This orphaned parcel of waterfront land was the original Port of Miami, but now it’s Miami’s port-o-potty. The plot is surrounded by a kind of edifice fence: the Miami Herald building, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the Y EAR O NE I N R EVIEW Rating Park Administration ......... Oleta River State Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . State ........... Arch Creek Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .County ........ Enchanted Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .City of North Miami ........ Margaret Pace Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Miami ........ Morningside Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .City of Miami ........ Legion Memorial Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .City of Miami ........ Mini Parks of Miami Shores . . . . . . . . . . . .Village of Miami Shores ........ Bayfront Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .City of Miami (Bayfront Trust) ........ Biscayne Shores and Gardens . . . . . . . .County ........ Miami Shores Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Village of Miami Shores ........ Williams Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . City of Miami ........ Bicentennial Park . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .City of Miami (Bayfront Trust) Full reviews for all parks are online at www.biscaynetimes.com. 42 Arch Creek Park Freedom Tower, the American Airlines a front door to the world, a park’s entrance Arena, and those soaring condos under usually reflects what can be found inside. construction. But no neighbors live there Citizen-led associations, such as the yet — hence the neglect. Oleta River Adventure Association and Critiquing a park is not as easy or the Arch Creek Park Trust, support the straightforward as it might sound. top parks. The Bayfront Park Typically people visit parks to relax, to Management Trust is an odd bird. Under escape from a regimen, and to enjoy an the auspices of Miami Commissioner Joe unstructured experience, but reviewing a Sanchez and a nine-member board, it park is a structured process that employs oversees Bayfront and Bicentennial rigid protocol. Of course the experience is still enjoyable. Typically people visit parks to relax, After all, parks are the ultimate to escape from a regimen, and to enjoy in public art, and they provide an unstructured experience, but reviewsome of the best people-watching a park is a structured process. ing and people-meeting around. Before launching “Park Patrol,” we created measures for things we could judge. Those fall into parks for the city. It needs some help several categories, such as access to from neighbors, too — if and when they nature, cleanliness, and activities. It’s move into those downtown towers. easy enough to count the number of picThe City of Miami runs the majority nic tables in a park, but assessing how of parks along the Biscayne Corridor, comfortable it is to use those tables is and its Parks and Recreation Department another story. We try to capture that feel- enjoys a hit-or-miss record with these ing with a criterion we like to call the facilities. One of its recently revitalized “relaxation quotient.” Like a good parks, Margaret Pace, turned into an movie, a good park should take you to overnight sensation, and now breathes another place, figuratively speaking. life into the daily atmosphere of its Unlike books, however, some parks can Edgewater neighborhood. Just west, in be judged by their cover. Oleta River State Overtown, Williams Park struggles but Park, for example, has a lovely sign at its serves hordes of impoverished children. entrance, and the entire park is well-mainThe equation is unfortunate but obvitained. Bicentennial Park, on the other ous: Just like their schools, parks in hand, doesn’t even have a sign, and we’ve poor neighborhoods also tend to be already discussed the state of that park. As Continued on page 43 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008 P A R K P AT R O L Year in Review Continued from page 42 poor. Instead, these parks should receive priority for the numerous planned improvements that have gone unrealized. On a brighter note, popularity signals good news for most of these parks. Only a few are relatively empty: Arch Creek in North Miami; Biscayne Shores and Gardens, located north of Miami Shores; and Bicentennial Park in downtown Miami — none of which has a playground. Miami Shores Park and its “tot lot” may be the busiest park of Morningside Park all, but it earned a mediocre rating owing to its lack of shade and its Several public pools are closed except exclusive policies (only residents can use during the summer. Unlike the oceanic the tot lot, the tennis courts, and the athbeachfront, most of Biscayne Bay is letic fields). blocked by private residences. And forSomething else our area lacks: doggie get canals and rivers. How many spots parks. Those who run in canine circles know official dog parks are virtually do you know of that offer views of the nonexistent here, but most parks will not Miami River, Little River, or Arch Creek? The public should be able to prohibit dogs even if their signs do. access these aquatic treasures — just as Also clearly missing from these they can great expanses of the beach. Biscayne Corridor open spaces is access Some municipalities, such as North to water, which is foolish in our climate. Biscayne Shores & Gardens Park Miami and Miami, have developed extensive plans to increase or upgrade green spaces, and these proposals offer hope. Still, citizens and neighbors need to be vigilant and demand the improvements sooner rather than later. Public funding most likely will remain inadequate, so parks must follow education and the arts into the coffers of the private sector — a model that is well under way in other large cities. With so little public green space in metropolitan Miami, parks deserve their fair share from the wealthy. Miami-Dade County announced in March that it wants every child to live within a five-minute walk of a park. By that measure, our region still has a long, long way to go. In the meantime, we’ll keep patrolling. Feedback: [email protected] ENTER SPORT CLIPS PICK YOUR TICKET SWEEPSTAKES! Win 2 tickets to ANY GAME, ANY WHERE in the lower US! Enter Today at GuysWin.com or at: The Shops at Midtown 3401 North Miami Ave. (305) 576-2532 3 doors south of Target & Marshalls No purchase necessary. Must be 18 to win. Visit GuysWin.com for details! April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 43 COLUMNISTS: YOUR GARDEN A Papaya Primer BT photo by Jeff Shimonski Everything you ever wanted to know about the tropical tree’s sex, sap, fruit flies, and more body. The female inserts her ovipositor into young fruit and lays eggs, which hatch into larvae and cause he papaya makes an interestdamage to the fruit. ing, fun, and tasty addition to Originally thought to infest only any warm-climate garden. papaya, this fruit fly also has been Scientifically known as Carica spotted on mangos in Florida. papaya, this distinctive tropical tree Interestingly, papaya can be grown produces an edible fruit. Typically in certain areas of Miami-Dade there is a single hollow trunk with County without being attacked by large, flat palmate (hand-shaped) the papaya fruit fly. It is possible leaves at the top. (A papaya will that there are natural controls at occasionally produce branches if work here. injured.) It grows quickly, doesn’t If you do find the fruit fly attackPapaya foliage and fruit: A healthy papaya with ripening fruit and no fruit flies live long (around ten years), and ing your papaya fruit, pesticides (left); female flowers on a papaya. can thrive in a container. won’t solve the problem — not if There are several species of you want to eat the fruit. Prevention Carica native to the New World tropics, sun, good irrigation, and porous soil — I Besides its fruit, the papaya tree proof egg-laying is the key to controlling but papaya is the only one of economic invariably discover the problem is that duces a milky, latex-like sap that conpapaya fruit fly. It is necessary to physiimportance. Grown throughout the they are growing a male plant. tains papain, a proteolytic enzyme used cally prevent the adult female fly from tropics in well-drained, fertile soil, To distinguish between a female or as a meat tenderizer. Papain is even used depositing eggs in the fruit. This can be papaya trees exist exclusively in warm male tree you must first examine the for medicinal purposes. However, when done by bagging the fruit with a paper climates because frost can cause severe inflorescence. This is the structure that working with papaya or handling the bag or rolled up newspaper tied around damage. Freezing temperatures will kill holds the flowers. For the papaya the fruit or foliage, never allow the sap to the stem. Take care to increase the size this tree. inflorescence is produced in the axils of make contact with your face or eyes. It of the bag or paper as the fruit grows Its edible fruit often produce hunthe leaves (the leaf axil is where the stem can cause irritation and sores on the skin larger. This method is labor-intensive dreds of seeds (which are also edible) of the leaf is attached to the trunk). The and mucous membranes. Speaking from but very practical. and can have a spicy, peppery flavor. flowers are yellow and easily noticed. In experience, papaya sap in your eyes will As with all insect pest or disease manThe fruit inside ranges in color from the female, the flowers appear to be earn you a trip to the hospital! agement, sanitation is very important. salmon-orange to red, and can weigh up attached to the trunk (among the leaf Sometimes papaya fruit yellows preAny fruit found with symptoms of larvae to 15 pounds. Depending on the differaxils), whereas in the male, the flowers maturely and drops off the tree, or often or any fruit seen lying on the ground ent cultivars, the fruit can range in size are produced at the ends of long yellow a green fruit still attached to the trunk must be removed and destroyed to ensure and shape from a small baseball to a panicles (clusters). will be found with white sap dripping the larvae never develop into adults. pear to a large, oblong melon. The ripe Although there are always exceptions down its skin. These symptoms are usufruit is usually eaten raw. Unripe, green — and it is possible for the sex of the ally caused by the papaya fruit fly, which Jeff Shimonski is an ISA-certified fruit can be cooked and eaten — often tree to change — if your objective is a is the main insect pest of papaya fruit in municipal arborist, director of horticulin curries. fruit-bearing tree, it is best to sow seeds the New World. This insect looks like a ture at Jungle Island, and principal of Sometimes papaya trees bear no fruit from a plant that has produced fruit you wasp — predominantly yellow with Tropical Designs of Florida. Contact him at all. Over the years, a lot of people like. Leave the resulting seedlings in black markings — and is often called by e-mail at [email protected], have asked me why their particular tree containers until the first time they one, but it is a true fly. Female papaya or log on to his Website, www.tropicaldehas never produced fruit. After determin- bloom. You will know male from female fruit flies have a very long slender signs.com. ing if they are cultivating it under the immediately. Plant the females and toss abdomen with an elongated and curved proper conditions — full or almost-full the males. ovipositor that is longer than its entire Feedback: [email protected] By Jeff Shimonski BT Contributor T BARNETT TREE SERVICE & LANDSCAPING • Tree Removal • Ficus Whitefly Prevention and Treatment • Stump Grinding • Tree Crown Reduction • Shape & Trim • Transplant • Up-Righting & Bracing • Hedge Trimming • Land Clearing 23 Years Experience Licensed & Insured Free Estimates Member International Arborist Society PAUL WESLEY BARNETT • 321 W. Rivo Alto Dr., Miami Beach • 305-538-2451 44 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com ALL STAR TILE Complete Bathroom Remodeling Change Bathtub to Shower Shower Pan Replacement Shower Door Sales and Installation 20 YEARS SAME LOCATION Call Robert 305-525-3779 Licensed & Insured CC#0014087 April 2008 COLUMNISTS: KIDS AND THE CITY Go See Alice we as adults look to be touched by the performing arts? Right here in the Biscayne Corridor’s n my ongoing quest to give my kids a own Miami Shores, the nonprofit life filled with cultural activities of Playground Theatre is committed to doing substance, I am always looking for just that. For the organization’s current new opportunities to feed their aesthetic production, artistic director Stephanie souls. I’ve written before about our school Ansin has adapted and directed Alice’s district’s commitment to arts in education, Adventures in Wonderland, in collaborathe arts-integrated programs of Arts for tion with Fernando Calzadilla, who also Learning, and the extensive number of designed the set, costumes, and lighting. locally based cultural organizations that Ansin’s take on the traditional, and provide educational arts programs for sometimes controversial, children’s young people. But rarely do I find perstory is a dense, multimedia experience, formances I feel compelled to take my and includes an original score by Afrokids to, shows that will give them a deep, Brazilian-reggae-funk-electro-jazz multisensory experience beyond the tradimusician Luciano Stazzone, photogrational rehashing of a story in a live, threephy and videography by Maria Teresa dimensional environment. Alvarado, and choreography by Octavio Campos, who is widely known for his own multidisciplinary perAnsin’s take on the traditional chilformance works. dren’s story is a dense, multimedia Voilà! Here is a textured, layered, experience — textured, imaginative, imaginative, thoughtful, and and thought-provoking theater. thought-provoking theater experience that I am grateful to have for In the case of live theater, of course, this my kids. I can only imagine the wonder in is a valuable experience in and of itself — their eyes and minds when the show seeing stories spring to life with actors begins and launches their imaginations who share the same space and air as we with every image and sound. do. But I think children deserve even more When I asked Ansin, who is also a than a traditional dose of theater, which mother, what she thinks “kids’ theater” for kids often means dumbed-down vermeans, she said no nudity and no guns. But sions of mainstream works — or worse, she stopped there, which won me over. Disney-fied road shows that look exactly Early in my career, I worked in theater, like the animated movies or TV shows on and I used to get really annoyed when peowhich they’re based. As a result, they ple called to ask if a certain performance art leave virtually nothing to the little ones’ show or alternative theater piece was imagination or their intellect. And with appropriate for kids. “It depends on your their imaginations so wild and their minds kids,” I would tell people. “My theory is, it open to possibilities, why not give kids the either goes over their heads or they’re ready same cutting-edge work we expect when to have a conversation with you about it.” By Jenni Person BT Contributor I Photo courtesy of Playground Theatre It’ll restore your faith in the possibility of smart theater for kids But now, nearly 20 years later and a mom myself, my feelings have changed a little, and my perspective is a bit less cocky. For example, I don’t want to expose my kids to gratuitous violence (and I sort of feel like any fictional representation of violence is gratuitous), and I don’t want them misunderstanding or being uncomfortably confused by adult situations. I now understand that not everything goes over my children’s heads so easily — sometimes it gets stuck in the middle, and that can be troubling for them. However, that doesn’t mean theater (or dance or music or visual art, for that matter) should be drained of all its juice or watered down for younger audiences. Kids deserve — even need — to have their brains challenged, not to be spoonfed ideas and images. They do deserve more shows like the Playground Theatre’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, which uses new work from serious local artists to transform the original. Happily, these artists take the same kind of creative risks in they do with their adult-directed artistic endeavors. “Kids get amazing messages,” says Ansin, who told me about the time her daughter — around two years old then — unflinchingly watched a performance the whole way through, turning away only twice. “And she was right,” Ansin adds. “Those two moments of the show were missing something.” The anecdote points to the fact that kids engage in anything that is done well, and they don’t need to be talked down to in order to follow along. Children are capable of absorbing a lot from what may seem like subtle aesthetic choices. Ansin shares another story, this one about her daughter being moved to tears by one of the company’s shows, only to turn to her after and say, “Mama, I want to see it again.” Surely it was the power of real theater that touched her so deeply — the density of articulate script and creative staging combined with smart visual imagery and music. This inspires kids to Continued on page 46 Over 17 Years in Miami Shores SHORES SQUARE CLEANERS All Dry Cleaning Done On Premises P BK S.S. Cleaners Blockbuster 90th ST. April 2008 10th AVE. SAME DAY SERVICE AVAILABLE ub lix BI SC AY NE BL VD . NE 6th AVE. 96th ST. (305) 756-9875 9023 Biscayne Blvd. Miami Shores, FL 10 % OFF Prepaid Orders Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 45 COLUMNISTS: KIDS Alice Continued from page 45 feel and think beyond even the three dimensions. It opens them up cognitively, sparks creative curiosity, and likely increases their future capacity for problem-solving. Playground’s production provides another bonus for kids and adults alike: familiarity. Miami audiences will recognize the South Florida setting that carries English author Lewis Carroll’s original tale close to home. After all, Alice lives in AND THE CITY Coral Gables and attends school in Coconut Grove. Real South Florida characters make appearances and staged locations include Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and Vizcaya Museum and Gardens. “We take Lewis Carroll’s lens and look at our community,” says Ansin, a Miami native — much the way Carroll incorporated his environment in his writing, she adds. The sense of place will pull kids closer to the work and engage them more deeply while still feeding their hunger for fantasy. In addition to the extraordinary onstage work, the Playground Theatre offers a great kid-centered summer theater program. In two four-week sessions, kids ages 6 to 12 learn the craft from the inside out, creating their own narratives, developing lyrics, and addressing real-life issues. The group tends to be incredibly diverse, thanks to the support of the Children’s Trust, which underwrites 50 scholarships. In addition to performance skills, attendees learn to cope with varying themes by using art. For those lucky enough to take part in it, the drama camp can offer a very powerful and personalized growth experience. I’ll see you at the Playground Theatre. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is onstage at the Playground Theatre, 9806 NE 2nd Ave., Miami Shores, through Sunday, April 13. It plays at the Colony Theater, 1040 Lincoln Rd., Miami Beach, April 18 –20. Tickets are $15. Call 305751-9550 x223 or visit www.theplaygroundtheatre.com. Miami's Most Reliable Boarding Spa For Your Best Friend Grooming Boarding (Pickup (Pickup && Delivery) Delivery) Supplies Ph: (305) 372-2433 275 NE 18 St. Suite 108 (on Biscayne between 18TH & 19TH St.) Email: 46 [email protected] Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008 C O L U M N I S T S : P A W S I T I V E LY P E T S Socialization Matters What is it, and why is it so important to get your puppy off on the right paw? By Lisa Hartman BT Contributor y dog doesn’t like children.” “He’s protective.” “She’s wary of strangers.” “He doesn’t like other dogs.” “My Yorkie doesn’t like to leave the house.” “My Chihuahua doesn’t like to be touched, or walk on grass, or [fill in the blank].” Sound familiar? Sadly, many of our canine friends suffer from fears, phobias, and behavior problems that could have been prevented easily had the issues been addressed early enough. Unfortunately, most pet owners don’t understand how critical the first few weeks of an animal’s life are and think a dog’s behavior is based solely on its genetic makeup or “temperament.” If only! Animals are not robots, pre-programmed from birth. It is our job to be proactive, to give them the best start in life we can, so they can cope in our human world. Socialization is the process of introducing your dog to new people, places, and things. What a puppy learns about the world in its first few weeks of life may shape who it becomes. From the beginning, it is vital for your pet to have great experiences with children, babies, men, people in funny hats, other dogs, and anything else you can think. Although professional show dogs would have no career without extensive socialization, the risks for the average family dog who lacks socialization are even greater. It may be given away or euthanized if it behaves badly with people or other pets and becomes too troublesome. Still, after the puppy novelty wears off, the family dog usually settles into a routine, meets hardly M April 2008 any new people on a regular basis, and is taken to fewer places. While you cannot overdo socialization, you certainly can under-do it. It is believed the socialization window closes at four months old — three months for some breeds of dogs, mainly guarding or working types. After this, the fear responses usually develop. Because eight weeks is the youngest age advised for getting a puppy (it needs to learn to be with other dogs in the litter), by the time your new pet moves in, the clock on exposing it to lots of experiences is already ticking loudly. Where your puppy comes from also impacts its start in life. If you are going to a breeder, only deal with a reputable one who breeds for the betterment of the breed. Puppies should be whelped inside the breeder’s house, where they can get used to the sounds of home life, and where people are around to interact with them — not the backyard. Great breeders will tell you their socialization plan. They know how critical it is to a pup’s wellbeing. But if they don’t tell, ask. Some breeders even enlist neighbors’ children, babies, and adult friends to interact with the pups as soon as they are old enough. These puppies are often allowed to go to different rooms in the house and have different toys, tunnels, and other surfaces to walk on to develop confidence. As for puppy stores, beware. They are generally mass-producing poor-quality, unsocialized pups in a world where most dogs end up executed simply because there are too many pets and not enough homes. They are breeding for money. These pups usually cost far more than a pup from a rescue organization or even a reputable breeder. On the other hand, when rescuing a pup, pick one who seems friendly, confident, and sweet. Give your new pet a few days to settle in, and then bring it with you everywhere. He or she should be a social butterfly in no time! Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com Another good rule of thumb: Your dog should meet 100 friendly people by three months of age and another 100 by six months. Most of the people should be friendly men and children as these two groups are the most likely to spook adult dogs. Let strangers toss or hand-feed treats and play gently with your pet. And keep in mind, just because your dog likes little Jimmy from next door does not mean all children are in. Expose your dog to as many new friendly children as possible. Let neighbor Jimmy bring his siblings over for cookies and puppy play. If you have kids of your own, take your pup to the bus stop and school with you to meet more kids. Have your adult friends over for brunch or the Dolphins game, and let the dog hang with the whole gang. Meet friends who have dogs for morning walks. There are many ways to incorporate fun for the humans involved in your puppy’s socialization process. Which is a good thing, because the process never ends. Just as you or I may lose our people skills if we stop socializing, so can your dog. Consistent, frequent exposure to friendly, new experiences should maintain your dog’s happy meetand-greet personality and make for a welladjusted pet. Finally, liking someone or something and tolerating it are two different things. If you find your dog exhibiting nervous or reticent behavior, seek professional help. Otherwise, have fun in the world with your social and confident canine. Lisa Hartman is head dog trainer for Pawsitively Pets. You can reach her at [email protected] or www.pawsitivelypetsonline.com. 47 A Market-Fresh Family Homemade hummus, salsa, and salad creations from a fourth-generation produce-seller By Lynn Roberson BT Contributor eneath her Seeley’s Gourmet Garden canopy, Kerry Seeley has set an immaculate white tablecloth with iced containers of her signature hummus, as well her mild, medium, and hot salsas, and a black-bean salad she recently invented. A generous bowl of corn chips is at hand, and Seeley, smiling, invites a Saturday morning shopper at the Upper Eastside Green Market to “go ahead and try them all. Find what you like best.” Gesturing to a rainbow of produce artistically arranged in wicker and reed baskets, Seeley adds, “The hummus is really good with these beefsteak tomatoes. Make a sandwich and use hummus instead of mayonnaise.” The shopper says she “can’t decide which is best” while Seeley packs three hummus picks at a discounted price and weighs the selected vine-ripened tomatoes. She then pops a rotund purple and white Sicilian eggplant into the shopper’s bag. B “These are so sweet,” she says. “You just slice them and throw them on the grill. No salting, no soaking.” The 26-year-old founder of Seeley’s Gourmet Garden is the product of four farm-and-produce generations. Her greatgrandparents sold their own fruits and vegetables from a roadside stand in Michigan. Her great-aunt and great-uncle settled in Margate to cultivate a U-pick farm that fell prey to development in 1994. In Pompano Beach, her grandfather founded the open-air McNab Produce, which burned down in 2002. “After the fire, my mom and my uncle rebuilt the store six blocks away and called it By Their Fruit,” Seeley says. “The store was air-conditioned, and it had a kitchen.” There, the younger Seeley says, her roots caught up with her. “I was in Pompano, working in the food industry, but I wanted to help my mom with the store. The kitchen inspired me. I could use our fresh Florida vegetables, spices, and herbs to start my own product line. So in 2005 I quit Starbucks to concentrate on Seeley’s Gourmet Garden hummus because it’s something that I really like to eat.” Now the college-trained photographer, who focuses on “capturing motion clearly,” is in constant motion herself. Using a basic R E S TA U R A N T L I S T I N G S Restaurant listings for the BT Dining Guide are written by Pamela Robin Brandt. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, but restaurants frequently change menus, chefs, and operating hours, so please call ahead to confirm information. Icons ($$$) represent estimates for a typical meal without wine, tax, or tip. Hyphenated icons ($-$$$) indicate a significant range in prices between lunch and dinner menus, or among individual items on those menus. $= $10 and under $$= $20 $$$= $30 $$$$= $40 $$$$$= $50 and over 48 MIAMI Brickell / Downtown Abokado 900 S. Miami Ave., 305-347-3700 www.abokadosushi.com Hamachi chiles rellenos? Shiso leaf “nachos” topped with raw spicy tuna, kaiware sprouts, and other Asian ingredients? The Viva, a sushi roll that starts with standard Japanese stuff (spicy tuna, cucumber, avocado), adds typical Latin sabor (jalapeño, cilantro), wraps it all in a flour tortilla, and garnishes it with South of the Border heat (spicy snow crab mix)? Miami hasn’t tended to initiate too many food “firsts,” but this Japanese/PanLatin fusion place is surely one. Intended as the groundbreaker of an international chain, this stylish indoor-outdoor eatery features inventive makis (executed by Hiro Asano, formerly Bond Street’s sushi maestro), plus LatAmer/Asian small plates and meals like pasilla chilebraised short ribs with wasabi-shiitake grits. Prices are higher than at neighborhood sushi spots, but in keeping with Abokado’s Mary Brickell Village neighbors. $$$$ Acqua 1435 Brickell Ave., Four Seasons Hotel, 305-381-3190 Originally an Italian/Mediterranean restaurant, this comfortably elegant, upscale spot switched chefs in 2006 (to Patrick Duff, formerly at the Sukhothai in Bangkok), resulting in a complete menu renovation. Thailand’s famed sense of culinary balance is now evident throughout the global (though primarily Asian or Latin Americaninspired) menu, in dishes like yuzu/white soya-dressed salad of shrimp tempura (with watercress, Vidalia onion, avocado, pomegranate), a tender pork shank glazed with spicy Szechuan citrus sauce (accompanied by a chorizo-flecked plantain mash), or lunchtime’s rare tuna burger with lively wasabi aioli and wakame salad. For dessert few chocoholics can resist a buttery-crusted tart filled with sinfully rich warm chocolate custard. $$$$$ Azul 500 Brickell Key Dr., 305-913-8254 Floor-to-ceiling picture windows showcase Biscayne Bay. But diners are more likely to focus on the sparkling raw bar and open kitchen, where chef Clay Conley crafts imaginative global creations – many of them combinations, to satisfy those who want it all. One offering, “A Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com two-burner stove, a food processor, and minimal space, she experiments with flavor, texture, color, and taste constantly. “I get an idea from a batch of smoked Spanish paprika,” Seeley says. “I try it out to see if people like it. A meal at a Thai restaurant can send me off in another direction. Newly dug horseradish roots led to my horseradish hummus. Florida milk-and-honey corn hopped into the black bean salad along with Bulgarian feta cheese. I see. I mix. I taste. If the flavor infuses well, if I like it, then I’m happy. I refuse to sell anything that I don’t like, even if other people do.” Comparing Seeley’s products to grocery store brands, the ingredients are startlingly dissimilar. Commercial hummus, whether refrigerated or in a nonperishable jar, generally contains chemical preservatives like sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. Then there is that other suspicious ingredient: “natural flavors.” Store salsa contains the same preservatives, plus phosphoric acid, calcium chloride, sodium bisulfate, and xanthan gum. Doesn’t that sound tasty? Continued on page 62 Study in Tuna,” includes tuna sashimi, Maine crab, avocado tempura, and caviar, with several Asian sauces. Moroccan lamb is three preparations (grilled chop, harissa-marinated loin, and bastilla, the famed savory-sweet Middle Eastern pastry, stuffed with braised shank), plus feta and smoked eggplant. Finish with a vanilla soufflé your way, a choice of toppings: chocolate, raspberry, or crème anglaise. $$$$$ The Bar at Level 25 (Conrad Hotel) 1395 Brickell Ave., 305-503-6500 On the Conrad’s restaurant/lobby-level 25th floor, the expansive, picture-windowed space around the corner from the check-in desks used to be just a lobby extension. Now it’s The Bar, which is not just a watering hole with panoramic views. At lunch it’s an elegant sandwich bar; at night it’s a raw bar (with pristine coldwater oysters) and (best) a tapas bar serving pintxos. That’s just the Basque word for tapas, but as interpreted by Atrio’s chef Michael Gilligan, there’s nothing mere about the generously portioned small plates. They range from traditional items like cod fish equixada (a zingy bacalao Continued on page 50 April 2008 April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 49 DINING GUIDE Restaurant Listings Continued from page 48 salad) and saffron-sautéed Spanish artichokes to inventive inspirations like foie gras and goat cheese-stuffed empanadas, or Asian-inspired soft-shell crab in airy tempura batter. $$$ Café Sambal 500 Brickell Key Dr., 305-913-8358 www.mandarinoriental.com/miami/ Though the Mandarin Oriental Hotel describes this space as its “casual hotel restaurant,” many consider it a more spectacular dining setting than the upscale Azul, upstairs, owing to the option of dining outdoors on a covered terrace directly on the waterfront. The food is Asian-inspired, with a few Latin and Mediterranean accents (sushi, plus creative fusion dishes like tangerine-anise spiced short ribs with scallion pancake, or a tempura-battered snapper sandwich with lemon aioli). For the health-conscious, the menu includes low-cal choices. For hedonists there’s a big selection of artisan sakes. $$$-$$$$$ Caribbean Delight 236 NE 1st Ave., 305-381-9254 Originally from Jamaica, proprietor Miss Pat has been serving her traditional homemade island specialties to downtown office workers and college students since the early 1990s. Most popular item here might be the weekday lunch special of jerk chicken with festival (sweetfried cornmeal bread patties), but even vegetarians are well served with dishes like a tofu, carrot, and chayote curry. All entrées come with rice and peas, fried plantains, and salad, so no one leaves hungry – doubly true thanks to the home-baked Jamaican desserts. $ Dolores, But You Can Call Me Lolita 1000 S. Miami Ave., 305-403-3103 www.doloreslolita.com It’s hard to figure why a Mediterranean/Latin restaurant (with Asian touches) would be named after a line in a 1950s novel about a New England pedophile. But everything else about this casually stylish spot is easy to understand — and easy on the wallet. All entrées cost either $18 or $23, a price that includes an appetizer — no low-rent crapola, either, but treats like Serrano ham croquetas, a spinach/leek tart with Portobello mushroom sauce, or shrimp-topped eggplant timbales. And all desserts, from tiramisu to mango carpaccio with lemon crème, are a bargain $2.50. The best seats in this hip hangout, housed in the old Firehouse 4, are on the rooftop patio. $$$ Fresco California Bistro 1744 SW 3rd Ave., 305-858-0608 This festively decorated indoor/outdoor bistro packs a lot of party spirit into a small space, a large variety of food onto its menu, and a very large amount of informal retro California-style fusion food onto its plates. To the familiar Latin American/Italian equation, the owners add a touch of Cal-Mex (like Tex-Mex but more health conscious). Menu offerings range from designer pizzas and pastas to custardy tamales, but the bistro’s especially known for imaginative meal-size salads, like one featuring mandarin oranges, avocado, apple, blue cheese, raisins, candied pecans, and chicken on a mesclun bed. $$ Garcia’s Seafood Grille and Fish Market 398 NW N. River Dr., 305-375-0765 Run by a fishing family for a couple of generations, this venerable Florida fish shack is the real thing. No worries about the seafood’s freshness; on their way to the rustic outside dining deck overlooking the Miami River, diners can view the retail fish market to see what looks freshest. Best preparations, as always when fish is this fresh, are the simplest. When stone crabs are in season, Garcia’s claws are as good as Joe’s but considerably cheaper. The local fish sandwich is most popular – grouper, yellowtail snapper, or mahi mahi, fried, grilled, or blackened. The place is also famous for its zesty smoked-fish dip and its sides of hushpuppies. $-$$ Indochine 638 S. Miami Ave., 305-379-1525 www.indochinebistro.com Indochine has succeeded by morphing from mere restaurant into hip hangout. Copious special events (art openings, happy hours with DJs, classic movie or 50 Red, White, and You Agreeable wine for $12 or less By Bill Citara BT Contributor M albec is to Argentina what Pinot Noir is to Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon to the Napa Valley, and Sangiovese to Italy. It’s the nation’s iconic grape, and though several New and Old World vintners have produced 100 percent (or virtually 100 percent) varietal Malbecs, there’s little doubt that nobody does it quite like the Argentines. Not surprisingly, Malbec shares much the same story with another iconic grape of a South American country, Chile’s Carmenere. Like Carmenere, Malbec — one of the classic “Bordeaux blend” grapes — was introduced by immigrants and immediately began to flourish in the less hostile South American climate. Both grapes, though, took awhile longer to find an appreciative audience — Carmenere because it was misidentified for decades as Merlot, and Malbec because its stocks were almost decimated in the 1980s by a government program that encouraged winemakers to pull up their vineyards. That, as they say, was then. Today Argentine Malbecs from the best producers (Susana Balbo, Catena Zapata, Vina Cobos, and others) have put rockets on Argentina’s reputation as a fine-wine producer, and these wines are still excellent values compared to much of their high-end competition. As value is this column’s middle name, we’re all over good, affordable Malbecs like brown on rice. (Don’t get carried away by the vegetarian analogy, though. Malbec is the ideal accompaniment to Argentina’s iconic food: beef.) The first swirl and sniff of each of these wines, especially the 2005 Cruz Alta Reserve — which shows off aromas of tar, tobacco, and black olives to go along with luscious blackberry, cassis, and ripe plum fruit — reveals the slight earthiness that contributes to a Malbec’s distinctive character. At 2005 it seems young. It could benefit from another year or two of aging. On the more approachable, pull-thecork-and-drink-it side is the 2006 Malbec from Bodega Norton. One of the most widely available Argentine Malbecs, it reveals a bit of the classic funk but more rich black-and-blueberry fruit, with hints of fennel and even faint floral notes. The 2005 Trapiche Oak Cask kicks all those aromas and flavors up a notch (I can’t believe I just quoted Emeril), adding minty, toasty tones to its palate palette, as well as smooth tannins that hold the whole package together. A contrasting pair — French and Argentine — is the 2005 Georges Vigouroux Atrium and 2005 Trivento Select. The Atrium displays the lean structure, crisp berry, and tangy herbal character found in Malbecs produced in Cahors, the region where most of France’s Malbec grapes are now grown, as opposed to the Trivento, an almost New World-style, fullbodied wine loaded with rich, ripe plummyblueberry fruit and pronounced toasty oak. Whatever style you choose, Malbec is an icon worthy of your glass. Feedback: [email protected] The Cruz Alta and Atrium Malbecs are available at Total Wine in North Miami for $11.99 and $9.99, respectively (13205 Biscayne Blvd., 305-891-3737). The Biscayne Commons Publix (14641 Biscayne Blvd., 305-354-2171) carries the Bodega Norton ($7.99) and Trapiche ($9.99), while the Trivento Select can be found for $11.99 at the Aventura ABC Fine Wine & Spirits (16355 Biscayne Blvd., 305-944-6525). karaoke nights, wine or sake tastings) draw everyone from downtown business types to the counterculture crowd. Not that there’s anything “mere” about the range of food served from three Asian nations. Light eaters can snack on Vietnamese summer rolls or Japanese sushi rolls, including an imaginative masagocoated model with mango, spicy tuna, and cilantro. For bigger appetites, there are Thai curries and Vietnamese specialties like pho, richly flavored beef soup with meatballs, steak slices, rice noodles, and add-in Asian herbs and sprouts. $$-$$$ downtown; when it first opened, eating options in the courthouse area were basically a variety of hot dog wagons. With alternatives like amaretto-tinged pumpkin agnolloti in sage butter sauce, cilantro-spiced white bean/vegetable salad dressed with truffle oil, and soufflé di granchi (crabmeat soufflé atop arugula dressed with honey-mustard vinaigrette), proprietors Jennifer Porciello and Horatio Oliveira continue to draw a lunch crowd that returns for dinner, or perhaps just stays on through the afternoon, fueled by the Lawyer’s Liquid Lunch, a vodka martini spiked with sweetened espresso. $$$ La Loggia Ristorante and Lounge Novecento 68 W. Flagler St., 305-373-4800, www.laloggia.org This luxuriantly neo-classical yet warm-feeling Italian restaurant was unquestionably a pioneer in revitalizing 1414 Brickell Ave., 305-403-0900 www.bistronovecento.com For those who think “Argentine cuisine” is a synonym Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com for “beef and more beef,” this popular eatery’s wide range of more cosmopolitan contemporary Argentine fare will be a revelation. Classic parrilla-grilled steaks are here for traditionalists, but the menu is dominated by creative Nuevo Latino items like a new-style ceviche de chernia (lightly lime-marinated grouper with jalapeños, basil, and the refreshing sweet counterpoint of watermelon), or crab ravioli with creamy saffron sauce. Especially notable are entrée salads like the signature Ensalada Novecento: skirt steak slices (cooked to order) atop mixed greens coated in rich mustard vinaigrette with a side of housemade fries. $$-$$$ Oceanaire Seafood Room 900 S. Miami Ave., 305-372-8862 www.theoceanaire.com With a dozen branches nationwide, Oceanaire may seem more All-American seafood empire than Florida fish shack. But while many dishes (including popular sides like bacon-enriched hash browns and fried green tomatoes) are identical at all Oceanaires, menus vary significantly according to regional tastes and fish. Here in Miami, chef Sean Bernal (formerly at Merrick Park’s Pescado) supplements signature starters like lump crab cakes with his own lightly marinated, Peruvian-style grouper ceviche. The daily-changing, 15-20 specimen seafood selection includes local fish seldom seen on local menus: pompano, parrot fish, amberjack. But even flown-in fish (and the raw bar’s cold-water oysters) are ultra-fresh. $$$$ Pasha’s 1414 Brickell Ave., 305-416-5116 The original branch on Miami Beach’s Lincoln Road was instantly popular, and the same healthy Middle Eastern fast food – made with no trans fats or other nutritional nasties – is served at the three newer outlets. The prices are low enough that one might suspect Pasha’s was conceived as a tax write-off rather than a Harvard Business School project, which it was by founders Antonio Ellek and Nicolas Cortes. Dishes range from common classics like falafel and gyros to more unusual items like muhammara (tangy walnut spread), silky labneh yogurt cheese, and chicken adana kebabs with grilled veggies and aioli sauce. Everything from pitas to lemonade is made fresh, from scratch, daily. $-$$ Peoples Bar-B-Que 360 NW 8th St., 305-373-8080 www.peoplesbarbque.com Oak-smoked, falling-off-the-bone tender barbecued ribs (enhanced with a secret sauce whose recipe goes back several generations) are the main draw at this Overtown institution. But the chicken is also a winner, plus there’s a full menu of soul food entrées, including what many aficionados consider our town’s tastiest souse. Sides include collards, yams, and soft mac and cheese. And it would be unthinkable to call it quits without homemade sweet potato pie or banana pudding, plus a bracing flop – half iced tea, half lemonade. $-$$ Perricone’s 15 SE 10th St., 305-374-9449, www.perricones.com Housed in a Revolutionary-era barn (moved from Vermont), this market/café was one of the Brickell area’s first gentrified amenities. At lunch chicken salad (with pignolias, raisins, apples, and basil) is a favorite; dinner’s strong suit is the pasta list, ranging from Grandma Jennie’s old-fashioned lasagna to chichi fiocchi purses filled with fresh pear and gorgonzola. And Sunday’s $15.95 brunch buffet ($9.95 for kids) – featuring an omelet station, waffles, smoked salmon and bagels, salads, and more – remains one of our town’s most civilized all-you-can-eat deals. $$ Prime Blue Grille 315 S. Biscayne Blvd., Miami, 305-358-5901 www.primebluegrille.com This truly 21st-century steakhouse targets today’s health-minded gourmets by serving only certified-organic Brandt beef – antibiotic- and hormone-free, as well as dry-aged, butchered in-house, and smoke-seared by Prime Blue’s intense wood-burning grills and ovens. For noncarnivores, the menu gives equal time to fish, all caught wild, and offers dozens of cooked vegetable and salad options, including build-your-own. There’s also a raw bar and a small steak/seafood retail counter. The décor is as modern as the menu. Instead of the stuffy Continued on page 51 April 2008 DINING GUIDE Restaurant Listings Continued from page 50 men’s club look, you have a soaring, light-hued, openplan, indoor/outdoor space, with panoramic Miami River view. $$$$ Provence Gril 1001 S. Miami Ave., 305-373-1940 The cozy, terracotta-tiled dining room (and even more charming outdoor dining terrace) indeed evoke the south of France. But the menu of French bistro classics covers all regions, a Greatest Hits of French comfort food: country-style pâté maison with onion jam, roasted peppers and cornichons; steak/frites (grilled rib-eye with peppercorn cream sauce, fries, and salad); four preparations of mussels; a tarte tatin (French apple tart with roasted walnuts, served à la mode). Deal alert: An early-bird prix-fixe menu (5:30-7:30 p.m.) offers soup or salad, entrée, dessert, and a carafe of wine for $44 per couple. $$$-$$$$ The River Oyster Bar 650 S. Miami Ave., 305-530-1915 www.therivermiami.com This casually cool Miami River-area jewel is a full-service seafood spot, as evidenced by tempting menu selections like soft-shell crabs with grilled vegetables, corn relish, and remoulade. There are even a few dishes to please meat-and-potatoes diners, like short ribs with macaroni and cheese. But oyster fans will still find it difficult to resist stuffing themselves silly on the unusually large selection of bivalves (often ten varieties per night), especially since oysters are served both raw and cooked – fire-roasted with sofrito butter, chorizo, and manchego. To accompany these delights, there’s a thoughtful wine list and numerous artisan beers on tap. $$$ Rosa Mexicano 900 S. Miami Ave., 786-425-1001 www.rosamexicano.com A branch of the original Rosa Mexicano that introduced New Yorkers to real Mexican food (not Tex-Mex) in 1984, this expansive indoor/outdoor space offers a dining experience that’s haute in everything but price. Few entrées top $20. The décor is both date-worthy and family-friendly – festive but not kitschy. And nonsophisticates needn’t fear; though nachos aren’t available, there is nothing scary about zarape de pato (roast duck between freshly made, soft corn tortillas, topped with yellow-and-habanero-pepper cream sauce), or Rosa’s signature guacamole en molcajete, made tableside. A few pomegranate margaritas ensure no worries. $$$ Soya & Pomodoro 120 NE 1st St., 305-381-9511 Life is complicated. Food should be simple. That’s owner Armando Alfano’s philosophy, which is stated above the entry to his atmospheric downtown eatery. And since it’s also the formula for the truest traditional Italian food (Alfano hails from Pompeii), it’s fitting that the menu is dominated by authentically straightforward yet sophisticated Italian entrées such as spinach- and ricotta-stuffed crêpes with béchamel and tomato sauces. There are salads and sandwiches, too, including one soy burger to justify the other half of the place’s name. The most enjoyable place to dine is the secret, open-air courtyard, completely hidden from the street. Alfano serves dinner on Thursdays only to accompany his “Thursday Night Live” events featuring local musicians and artists. $-$$ Taste of Bombay 111 NE 3rd Ave., 305-358-0144 No surprise that a place called Taste of Bombay would be an Indian restaurant. And depending mostly on the predominant nationalities of downtown construction workers at any given time, Taste of Bombay has also served sushi, Philippine, and Chinese food. Best bet, though, is the all-you-can-eat Indian buffet lunch spread, featuring six changing entrées (a mix of meat, poultry, fish, and vegetable curries) plus veggie pakoras, rice, salad, chutneys, hot naan bread, and a dessert. The place looks plain outside, but it’s pleasantly exotic enough inside for a bargain business lunch. $$ Tobacco Road 626 S. Miami Ave., 305-374-1198 www.tobacco-road.com Prohibition-era speakeasy (reputedly a fave of Al Capone), gay bar, strip club. Previously all these, this gritty spot has been best known since 1982 as a venue for live music, primarily blues. But it also offers food from lunchtime to late night (on weekends till 4:00 a.m.). The kitchen is especially known for its chili, budget-priced steaks, and burgers, including the mega-mega burger, a trucker-style monster topped with said chili plus cheddar, mushrooms, bacon, and a fried egg. There’s also surprisingly elegant fare, though, like a Norwegian salmon club with lemon aioli. A meat-smoker in back turns out tasty ribs, perfect accompaniment to the blues. $$ Midtown / Design District Adelita’s Café 2699 Biscayne Blvd., 305-576-1262 From the street (which is actually NE 26th, not Biscayne) this Honduran restaurant seems unpromising, but inside it’s bigger, better, and busier than it looks. Unlike many Latin American eateries, which serve a multinational mélange, this one sticks close to the source and proves a crowd-pleaser. On weekends especially, the two casual dining rooms are packed with families enjoying authentic fare like baleadas (thick corn tacos), tajadas (Honduras’s take on tostones), rich meal-in-a-bowl soups packed with seafood or meat and veggies, and more. To spend ten bucks on a meal here, one would have to be a sumo wrestler. $ Bin No. 18 1800 Biscayne Blvd., 786-235-7575 At this wine bar/café, located on the ground floor of one of midtown’s new mixed-use condo buildings, the décor is a stylish mix of contemporary cool (high loft ceilings) and Old World warmth (tables made from old wine barrels). Cuisine is similarly geared to the area’s new smart, upscale residents: creative sandwiches and salads at lunch, tapas and larger internationally themed Spanish, Italian, or French charcuterie platters at night. Though the place is small and family-run friendly, Venezuelan-born chef Alfredo Patino’s former executive chef gigs at Bizcaya (at the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove) and other high-profile venues are evident in sophisticated snacks like the figciutto, a salad of arugula, gorgonzola dolce, caramelized onions, pine nuts, fresh figs, and prosciutto. Free parking in a fenced lot behind the building. $$ Brosia 163 NE 39th St., 305-531-8700 www.brosiamiami.com The reputation that Arthur Artile amassed after years as executive chef at Norman’s and Chispa has made the Design District’s Brosia an instant hit. The menu is Mediterranean-inspired, with a few items — like gazpacho Caprese — fusing cuisines, but most retaining regional individuality: Moroccan mussels in curry broth; shrimp and clams (with garlic, chorizo, and sherry) that scream “Spain!” The stylish space is a draw, too. Inside, all mahogany, leather, and luxuriant intimacy; outside, seating on an extensive patio shaded by a canopy of old oaks. And the convenient all-day hours (even breakfast) give it the feel of a real neighborhood restaurant. $$$ Charcuterie 3612 NE 2nd Ave., 305-576-7877 This Design District old-timer has hung on for close to 20 years as the District has gone through its mood swings. But it’s no worse for the wear. The upstairs/downstairs space looks good as new, and is still almost impossibly cute. The menu, chalked daily on a blackboard, still features well more than a dozen typical French bistro specials like chicken Dijonaise or almond-crusted trout in creamy, lemony beurre blanc. And the salads, soups, and sandwiches are still, invariably, evocative. Rough-cut pâté de campagne, topped with cornichons on a crusty buttered baguette is an instant trip to Paris. Though weekend nighttime hours were instituted several years ago, dinner is an on-again, off-again thing, so call first. $$-$$$ Continued on page 52 EAT IN • TAKE OUT • FREE DELIVERY Two Large Projection Screens - Inside & Outside • Lounge Seating • WiFi connection Now under the Management of Frank Crupi of Frankie’s Big City Grill Now serving his famous Philly Cheese Steak Sandwiches (305) 762-5751 www.andiamopizza.com 5600 Biscayne Boulevard CHOSEN BY MEN'S FITNESS MAGAZINE AS 1 OF THE 12 “MUST-TRY PIZZA STOPS” IN THE COUNTRY April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 51 DINING GUIDE Restaurant Listings Continued from page 51 The Daily Creative Food Co. 2001 Biscayne Blvd., 305-573-4535 While the food formula of this contemporary café is familiar – sandwiches, salads, soups, breakfast food, and pastries, plus coffee and fruit drinks – a creative concept differentiates the place. Signature sandwiches are named after national and local newspapers (like the Biscayne Times: tuna salad with hummus, cucumber, roasted peppers, arugula, and sprouts on multigrain bread), giving diners something to chat about. For those who’d rather Have It Their Own Way, both sandwiches and salads can be do-it-yourself projects, with an unusually wide choice of main ingredients, garnishes, breads, and condiments for the creatively minded. $ Domo Japones 4000 NE 2nd Ave., 305-573-5474 www.domojapones.com Thin-sliced, white-fish usuzukuri sashimi garnished with sea salt and blood orange sauce; a scallop sushi roll flavored with truffle oil and cured plum; miso-glazed black cod. If the fare at Domo Japones, housed in the romantically renovated old Buena Vista post office, sounds unusually inventive and trendy, there’s a logical explanation: Chefs Nao Higuchi and Timon Balloo are Nobu and SushiSamba veterans, and owner Amir BenZion partnered in Bond Street. Harder to explain are maki combinations like shrimp and prosciutto with pineapple ginger sauce, or prices more South Beach than Biscayne Corridor. But sushi till midnight Thursday through Saturday (11:00 p.m. Monday-Wednesday) is a major neighborhood upgrade. $$$$ 18th Street Café 210 NE 18th St., 305-381-8006 www.18thstreetcafe.com Most of the seating in this cool little breakfast/lunch room is in a sort of giant bay window, backed with banquettes, that makes the space feel expansively lightfilled, and quite nicely gentrifies its whole evolving 52 Midtown block. This pioneering place deserves to survive, even if just considering the roast beef sandwich with creamy horseradish – an inspired classic combination that makes one wonder why more places in this town don’t serve it. (We’ll debate later.) Other culinary highlights of the classic “Six S” repertoire (soups, sandwiches, salads, sweets, smoothies, specials) might include a turkey/pear/cheddar melt sandwich, and really sinful marshmallow-topped brownies. $ Elements 3930 NE 2nd Ave., 305-573-0444 To the relief of lunchers who loved chef Lorena Garcia’s former Design District restaurant, Food Café (which lost its lease around the time of Hurricane Wilma), this new venture is only about a block away and, despite the new name, serves many old favorites. These include the signature, slightly rechristened Food Elements Salad: baby greens with Granny Smith apples, seasonal berries, gorgonzola, and addictive candied walnuts, dressed with a raspberry vinaigrette. But there are new dishes too, such as a panko-crusted fish burger with spicy remoulade sauce. $$ Five Guys Famous Burger and Fries 3401 N. Miami Ave. (Shops at Midtown), 305-571-8345 www.fiveguys.com Like the West Coast’s legendary In-N-Out Burger chain, this East Coast challenger serves no green-leaf faux health food. You get what the name says, period, with three adds: kosher dogs, veggie burgers, and free peanuts while you wait. Which you will, just a bit, since burgers are made fresh upon order, not steam-tabled. Available in double or one-patty sizes, they’re well-done but spurtingly juicy, and after loading with your choice of 15 free garnishes, even a “little” burger makes a major meal. Fries (regular or Cajun-spiced) are also superior, hand-cut in-house from sourced potatoes; a changing sign reports the spuds’ point of origin. $ Grass 28 NE 40th St., 305-573-3355 After a couple of years in hiatus, this Design District restolounge has reopened in the same outdoor courtyard space. What’s new: “MediterAsian” chef Michael Jacobs and a menu that travels beyond pan-Asian and Mediterranean influences into the Americas. Entrées range from lowbrow comfort food (cunningly reinvented mini pot pies) to high-status extravagance (stoneseared, authentic Kobe steak). For healthy grazers, rawbar selections include ceviches and a large seafood platter (lobster, shrimp, and lump crab with housemade dipping sauces). There’s also a snack menu (pristine coldwater oysters, a crab salad timbale, parmesan-truffle shoestring fries, mini-Kobe burgers) served till the wee hours, providing a welcome alternative to the Boulevard’s fast food chains. $$-$$$$$ Lost & Found Saloon Karu & Y Mario the Baker 71 NW 14th St., 305-403-7850, www.karu-y.com When this $20 million entertainment complex opened, the aim of its restaurant, Karu, according to press releases, was to be deliberately atypical of South Florida – and indeed many Miamians couldn’t make heads or tails of the experimental New Spanish food. Since then, though, dramatic menu changes have introduced new dishes utilizing seasonal ingredients, like Florida stone crabs highlighted in an aioli soup with lemon chive ice, cilantro micro greens, and aji Amarillo pepper caviar. And while much of the fare remains cutting edge, there’s now also a steak menu (ranging from a dry-aged cowboy steak to a Wagyu skirt cut, with à la carte sides like creamy rice with Idiazábal cheese). Closed Aug. 28 -Sept. 17. $$$$$ Latin Café 2000 2501 Biscayne Blvd., 305-576-3838 www.latincafe2000.com The menu is similar to that at many of our town’s Latin cafés, largely classic Cuban entrées and sandwiches, with a smattering of touches from elsewhere in Latin America, such as a Peruvian jalea mixta (marinated mixed seafood), or paella Valenciana from Spain, which many Miami eateries consider a Latin country. What justifies the new millennium moniker is the more modern, yuppified/yucafied ambiance, encouraged by an expansive, rustic wooden deck. Delivery is now available. $$ Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 185 NW 36th St., 305-576-1008 www.thelostandfoundsaloon-miami.com There’s an artsy/alternative feel to this casual and friendly Wynwood eatery, which, since opening as a weekday-only breakfast and lunch joint in 2005, has grown with its neighborhood. It’s now open for dinner six nights a week, serving Southwestern-style fare at rock-bottom prices. Dishes like piñon and pepita-crusted salmon, chipotle-drizzled endive stuffed with lump crab, or customizable tacos average $5-$8. Also available: big breakfasts and salads, hearty soups, housemade pastries like lemon-crusted wild berry pie, and a hip beer and wine list. $ 250 NE 25th St., 305-891-7641 www.mariothebakerpizza.com At this North Miami institution (opened in 1969) food is Italian-American, not Italian-Italian: spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, eggplant parmigiana, and hot or cold subs. No imported buffala, arugula, or other chichi stuff on the New York-style medium-thin-crusted pizzas; the top topping here is the savory housemade sausage. And no one leaves without garlic rolls, awash in warm parsley oil and smashed garlic ($4 a dozen, $3 per half-dozen, which won’t even last the ride home). A new branch is now open in Miami’s Midtown neighborhood. $ Michael’s Genuine Food and Drink 130 NE 40th St., 305-573-5550 Long-awaited and an instant smash hit, this truly neighborhood-oriented restaurant from Michael Schwartz, founding chef of Nemo’s in South Beach, offers downto-earth fun food in a comfortable, casually stylish indoor/outdoor setting. Fresh, organic ingredients are emphasized, but dishes range from cutting-edge (crispy beef cheeks with whipped celeriac, celery salad, and chocolate reduction) to simple comfort food: deviled eggs, homemade potato chips with pan-fried onion dip, or a whole wood-roasted chicken. There’s also a broad range of prices and portion sizes ($4-$8 for snacks and Continued on page 54 April 2008 April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 53 DINING GUIDE Restaurant Listings small plates to $24-$39 for extra-large plates) to encourage frequent visits from light-bite as well as pigout diners. Michael’s Genuine also features an eclectic and affordable wine list, and a full bar, with cut-rate weekday happy hour cocktails. $$-$$$ are for sale. And for those who don’t have thousands of dollars to shell out for the local art on the walls, less than ten bucks will get you art on a plate, including a Picasso: chorizo, prosciutto, manchego cheese, baby spinach, and basil on a crusty baguette. Other artfully named and crafted edibles include salads, daily soups, several pastas (like the Matisse, fiocchi pouches filled with pears and cheese), and house-baked pastries. $ Mike’s at Venetia Out of the Blue Café 555 NE 15th St., 9th floor, 305-374-5731 www.mikesvenetia.com There’s no sign out front, but this family-owned Irish pub, on the pool deck of a waterfront condo building across from the Miami Herald, for more than 15 years has been a popular lunch and dinner hang-out for local journalists – and others who appreciate honest cheap eats and drinks (not to mention a billiard table and 17 TV screens). Regulars know daily specials are the way to go. Depending on the day, fish, churrasco, or roast turkey with all the trimmings are all prepared fresh. Big burgers and steak dinners are always good, and happy hour appetizers (like meaty Buffalo wings) are always half-price. Additionally, a limited late-night menu provides pizza, wings, ribs, and salad till 3:00 a.m. $-$$ 2426 NE 2nd Ave., 305-573-3800 www.outofthebluecafe.net Forget impersonal chain coffeehouses. This artist-friendly, independent neighborhood café serves a full selection of coffee drinks made with the award-winning beans of Intelligentsia, a roasting company that works directly with artisan growers to encourage sustainable agriculture – and one helluva good cup of java. Also served: breakfast and lunch sandwiches, imaginative salads, soups, homemade pastries (including a “cupcake of the month”), and creamy fresh-fruit smoothies. With tables, sofas, and lounge chairs inside an old Midtown house (and on a protected outdoor patio), plus free wireless Internet access, the space is also just a pleasant place to hang out. Owner Carmen Miranda (real name) says beer and wine will soon be available. $ Continued from page 52 Pizzafiore 2905 NE 2nd Ave., 305-573-0900 Those seeking dainty designer pizzas can fuhgeddaboudit here. At this New York-style pizzeria (which has roughly the same menu as North Beach’s original Pizzafiore, but independent ownership), it’s all about heftiness. A special slice/soda deal features two pizza triangles bigger than most Miami mini-skirts. Whole pies come medium (large), large (huge), and extra-large (think truck tire). And with fully loaded pizzas like the Supreme Meat Lover priced only a few bucks more than a basic tomato/cheese, it pays to think big about toppings too. Other Italian-American fare is also available, notably pastas and subs. $-$$ Orange Café + Art 2 NE 40th St., 305-571-4070 The paintings hanging in this tiny, glass-enclosed café Sheba 4029 N. Miami Ave., 305-573-1819 www.shebamiami.com Combining contemporary Design District chic with traditional African craft (from its adjacent art gallery), Sheba’s spacious setting is a soothing place to discover the exotic offerings of Miami’s only Ethiopian eatery. Once diners adjust to eating with their hands (using inerja, the sourdough crepes accompanying entrées, as a utensil), the food is quite accessible. Both wats (meat and poultry stews) and tibs (sautéed dishes incorporating the familiar multicultural “holy trinity” of onions, tomatoes, and peppers) tend, like Cuban cuisine, to be spiced with complexity, not fire. A Best of the Best platter for two enables diners to sample most of the menu. $$$ S & S Diner 3801 N. Miami Ave., 305-573-0201 (See Brickell/Downtown listing) 1757 NE 2nd Ave., 305-373-4291 Some things never change, or so it seems at this diner, which is so classic it verges on cliché. Open since 1938, it’s still popular enough that people line up on Saturday morning, waiting for a seat at the horseshoe-shaped counter (there are no tables) and enormous breakfasts: corned beef hash or crab cakes and eggs with grits; fluffy pancakes; homemade biscuits with gravy and Georgia sausage – everything from oatmeal to eggs Benedict, all in mountainous portions. The lunch menu is a roll call of the usual suspects, but most regulars ignore the menu and go for the daily blackboard specials. $-$$ The Secret Sandwich Co. Tony Chan’s Water Club 3918 N. Miami Ave., 305-571-9990 The spy theme applies to menu items (the Mata Hari, Double Agent, French Connection, Bay of Pig), but it could also refer to the hard-to-spot storefront housing this take-out (and delivery) lunch spot, which, for it’s small size, offers a big selection of hot and cold sandwiches, varying from char-grilled burgers to more exotic specialty items like grilled or blackened mahi mahi with mixed greens, tomato, and creamy garlic dressing. There are also daily soups, and salads with “secret vinaigrette.” But the best-kept secret is the rich, smooth, homemade flan, hidden in the chilled display case. $ 1717 N. Bayshore Dr., 305-374-8888 The décor at this upscale place, located in the Grand, a huge bayside condo/resort hotel, looks far too glitzy to serve anything but politely Americanized Chinese food. The presentation is indeed elegant, but the American dumbing-down is minimal. Many dishes are far more authentic and skillfully prepared than those found elsewhere in Miami, like delicate but flavorful yu pan quail (minced with mushrooms in lettuce cups). Moist sea bass fillet has a beautifully balanced topping of scallion, ginger, cilantro, and subtly sweet/salty sauce. And Peking duck is served as three traditional courses: Pasha’s crêpe-wrapped crispy skin, meat sautéed with crisp veggies, savory soup to finish. $$$-$$$$ W Wine Bistro 3622 NE 2nd Ave., 305-576-7775 Both bistro and retail wine shop, this Design District spot is run by Florent Blanchet, an energetic young Frenchman who was previously a wine distributor. His former gig led to connections that mean if wine lovers don’t find the bottle they want in W’s selection of roughly 200labels (which emphasizes boutique and organic growers), Blanchet can probably get it within 24 hours. Food is sophisticated light bites like a shrimp club sandwich with pancetta and sun-dried tomato aioli; smoked duck salad with goat cheese croutons and a poached egg; and chocolate fondant. At night there are tapas. $-$$ Zuperpollo Biztro Reztocafe 3050 Biscayne Blvd., 305-573-8485 www.zuperpollo.com Occasionally there’s a sign out front of the office building housing this bistro, indicating that a branch of the popular Uruguayan eatery Zuperpollo (on Coral Way, since 1986) is within. Otherwise, since the restaurant opened in 2006, locals have basically had to intuit its presence – way in back, past a guard desk and an elevator bank, behind an unmarked door. Once there, diners discover an extensive pan-Latin menu of breakfast food, salads, substantial meat and fish entrées, homemade pastas and soups, desserts, and sandwiches, including Uruguay’s famed chivito, sometimes called “a heart attack on a bun”: beef, bacon, ham, eggs, mozzarella, plus sautéed mushrooms and red peppers. And naturally, from the rotisserie, there’s the zignature zuper chicken. $-$$ Upper Eastside Andiamo 5600 Biscayne Blvd., 305-762-5751 www.andiamopizza.com Sharing a building with a long-established Morningside Continued on page 55 .com e f a c t e e hstr 381.8006 t 8 1 . w w . w ph: 305 HOURS: Mon - Fri 7 am - 6 pm / Sat 9 am - 4 pm 210 NE 18 th street, miami, fl 33132 54 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008 DINING GUIDE Restaurant Listings Canela car wash, Andiamo is also part of Mark Soyka’s 55th Street Station – which means ditching the car (in the complex’s free lot across the road on NE 4th Court) is no problem even if you’re not getting your vehicle cleaned while consuming the brick-oven pies (from a flaming open oven) that are this popular pizzeria’s specialty. Choices range from the simple namesake Andiamo (actually a Margherita) to the Godfather, a major meat monster. Extra toppings like arugula and goat cheese enable diners to create their own designer pies. Also available are salads and panini plus reasonably priced wines and beers (including a few unusually sophisticated selections like Belgium’s Hoegaarden). $$ 5132 Biscayne Blvd., 305-756-3930 When this atmospheric little neighborhood oasis opened, the formula was Cuban cooking at lunch, Catalan tapas at night. The menu is now more uniform: contemporary Spanish and pan-Latin tapas, sandwiches, salads, sides, and entrées at all hours, just a far more elaborate selection at night. The tapas list is especially impressive, with all the usual Hispanic meat and cheese favorites but also an unusually large selection of seafood and vegetarian items such as espinaca à la catalaña (spinach sautéed with pine nuts and raisins). Must-not-miss items include ultra-creamy croquetas (ham, cheese, chicken, spinach, or bacalao), grilled asparagus with aioli, and habit-forming Brazilian cheese bread. $-$$$ Boteco Captain Crab’s Take-Away 916 NE 79th St., 305-757-7735 This strip of 79th Street, formerly known for its live bait and auto repair shops, is rapidly becoming a cool altculture enclave thanks to inviting hangouts like this rustic indoor/outdoor Brazilian restaurant and bar. Especially bustling on nights featuring live music, it’s even more fun on Sundays, when the fenced backyard hosts an informal fair and the menu includes Brazil’s national dish, feijoada, a savory stew of beans plus fresh and cured meats. But the everyday menu, ranging from unique, tapas-like pasteis (shrimp and hearts of palm-stuffed turnovers) to hefty Brazilian entrées, is also appealing – and budget-priced. $$ 1100 NE 79th St., 305-754-2722 The drive-through window says “fast food,” and so do this long-lived seafood shack’s low prices. And indeed there are three Captain Crab’s Take-Aways (the others are in Carol City and Fort Lauderdale), all related to the sit-down Crab House restaurants. But there the resemblance to McFauxFood ends. For about the price of a bucket of the Colonel’s chicken you can get a bucket of the Captain’s savory garlic crabs. The King’s burger meal or the Captain’s similarly priced fried (or garlic boiled or New Orleans-spiced) shrimp meal? No contest. Also popular: crab cakes and conch (fried or in fritters and chowder). For fish haters, spicy or garlic chicken wings are an option; for kids, cut-price “first mate” meals. $-$$ Continued from page 54 Café Le Glacier 7295 Biscayne Blvd., 305-754-6551 For anyone who can’t get over thinking of French food as intimidating or pretentious, this cute café with a warm welcome, and family-friendly French home cooking, is the antidote. No fancy food (or fancy prices) here, just classic comfort food like onion soup, boeuf bourguignon (think Ultimate Pot Roast), moist, tender chicken Dijonaise, Nicoise salad, quiche, and homemade crème brûlée. And the kids can get hot dogs or grilled cheese. Top price for grown-up entrées is about $12. $-$$ Casa Toscana 7001 Biscayne Blvd., 305-758-3353 www.casatoscanamiami.com Tuscan-born chef/owner Sandra Stefani cooked at Norman’s (and briefly ran the Indian Creek Hotel’s restaurant) before opening this Upper Eastside jewel, a wine market/eatery whose 30 original seats have been supplemented by a wine room/garden for tasting events and private dining. Stefani travels regularly to Italy to find exciting, limited-production wines and inspi- ration for truly Tuscan-tasting daily special dishes with honest, authentic flavors, such as grilled wild boar sausages with lentil croquettes. Favorites that show up often on the menu include pear and ricotta raviolini with sage butter sauce, grilled eggplant slices rolled around herbed goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes, and a light ricotta tart with lemon and rosemary. $$$ Che Sopranos 7251 Biscayne Blvd., 305-754-8282 This branch of a Miami Beach Italian/Argentine pizzeria, housed in a charming bungalow and featuring a breezy patio, covers multicultural bases. If the Old World Rucola pizza (a classic Margherita topped with arugula, prosciutto, and shredded parmesan) doesn’t do the trick, the New World Especial (a Latin pie with hearts of palm and boiled eggs) just might. Also available are pastas, salads, sandwiches, dinner entrées (eggplant parmigiana with spaghetti, lomito steak with Argentinean potato salad), and desserts (tiramisu or flan). $ Chef Creole 200 NW 54th St., 305-754-2223 Sparkling fresh Creole-style food is the star at chef/owner Wilkinson Sejour’s two tiny but wildly popular establishments. While some meatier Haitian classics like griot (fried pork chunks) and oxtail stew are also available – and a $3.99 roast chicken special is a hard deal to resist – the glistening fish display that greets diners as they walk in makes it clear that seafood is the specialty here: crevette en sauce (steamed shrimp with Creole butter sauce), lambi fri (a mountain of perfectly tenderized fried conch), poisson gros sel (local snapper in a spicy butter sauce), garlic or Creole crabs. Note for ambiance-seekers: The Miami branch has outdoor tikihut dining; North Miami’s outlet, a former Carvel, has the same food but lacks the tropical charm. $-$$ Dogma Grill 7030 Biscayne Blvd., 305-759-3433 www.dogmagrill.com What could induce downtown businessmen to drive to the Upper Eastside to eat at a few outdoor-only tables just feet from the busy Boulevard? From the day it opened, people have been lining up, even in summer’s sweltering heat, for this stand’s sauce-garnished, all-beef, soy veggie, turkey, and chicken hot dogs. The 22 varieties range from simple (the Classic, with ketchup, relish, and chopped onion) to the elaborate (the Athens, topped with a Greek salad, including extra-virgin olive oil dressing) to near-unbelievable combinations like the VIP, which includes parmesan cheese and crushed pineapple. $ East Side Pizza 731 NE 79th St., 305-758-5351 Minestrone, sure. But a pizzeria menu with carrot ginger soup? Similarly many Italian-American pizzerias offer entrées like spaghetti and meatballs, but East Side also has pumpkin ravioli in brown butter/sage sauce, wild mushroom ravioli, and other surprisingly upscale choices. The East Side Salad includes goat cheese, walnuts, and cranberries; quaffs include imported Peroni beer. As for the pizza, they are classic pies, available whole or by the slice, made with fresh plum tomato sauce and Grande mozzarella (considered the top American pizza cheese). Best seating for eating is at the sheltered outdoor picnic tables. $ Garden of Eatin’ 136 NW 62nd St., 305-754-8050 Low profile would be an understatement for this place. Housed in a yellow building that’s tucked in back of a parking lot behind a small grocery store, it’s nearly invisible from the street. Inside, though, it has the comfortable feel of a beach bar, and generous servings of inexpensive Afro-Caribbean vegan food. Rastafari owner Immanuel Tafari cooks up meat and dairy-free specials, like Jamaican pumpkin/chayote stew in coconut milk, that depend on what looks good at that morning’s produce market. Large or small plates, with salad and fried sweet plantains (plus free soup for eat-in lunchers), are served for five or seven bucks. Also available are snacks Continued on page 56 Authentic Creole Cuisine 13105 West Dixie Hwy. North Miami, FL 33161 305.893.4 246 200 NW 54th Street Miami, FL 33127 305.7 54.2223 April 2008 Catering Available 305.899.2729 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 55 DINING GUIDE Restaurant Listings Continued from page 55 like vegetarian blue corn tacos, desserts like sweet potato pie, and a breakfast menu featuring organic blueberry waffles with soy sausage patties. $ Good Eats Deli 645 NE 79th St., 305-757-2731 After years of working for chichi celebrity chefs (Robbin Haas and Michelle Bernstein, among others) and catering for movie stars internationally, this place’s chef/owner decided to downsize and open a simple deli in his own neighborhood. Of course diners can get a classic grilled cheese, but many specialty items do have fun chichi-chef touches, like Cinnamon Apple Chicken Salad, or a “Godfather” sandwich, basically a Caprese combo of buffalo mozzarella, tomato, and basil, except dressed with a vanilla bean/balsamic glaze. Fortunately the prices are not at all chichi.$-$$ Gourmet Station 7601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, 305-762-7229 Home-meal replacement, geared to workaholics with no time to cook, has been trendy for years. But the Gourmet Station has outlasted most of the competition. Main reason: deceptive healthiness. These are meals that are good for you, yet taste good enough to be bad for you. Favorite items include precision-grilled salmon with lemon-dill yogurt sauce, and lean turkey meatloaf with homemade BBQ sauce – sin-free comfort food. For lighter eaters, there are wraps and salads with a large, interesting choice of dressings. Food is available à la carte or grouped in multimeal plans customized for individual diner’s nutritional needs. $$ Hiro’s Sushi Express 5140 Biscayne Blvd., 305-759-0914 (See North Miami Beach listing) Hoagie Hut Café 8650 Biscayne Blvd., 305-757-0910 Located in Antiques Mall, this cute hut (whose wroughtiron and wicker furniture actually give it more the ambiance of an old-time soda shop) is only open during weekday 9-to-5 business hours. But no worries. The leftovers from one of the place’s mammoth salads, whether simple garden or mega-meat Grand Combo, will feed you for the weekend. And the signature footlong overstuffed “hoagie submarines,” or even the relatively wee eight-inchers, might indeed feed most of a ship’s crew. Also available: big bargain breakfasts. Hoagie prices start at $2.99 for a twelve-inch bologna; nothing on the menu breaks eight bucks. $ Jimmy’s East Side Diner 7201 Biscayne Blvd., 305-754-3692 Open for more than 30 years, Jimmy’s respects the most important American diner tradition: Breakfast at any hour. Admittedly the place closes at 4:00 p.m., but still. There are blueberry hot cakes and pecan waffles for sweet-tooth eaters; eggs any style, including omelets and open-face frittatas for those preferring savories; and a full range of sides: biscuits and sausage gravy, grits, hash, hash browns, even hot oatmeal. Also available are traditional diner entrées (meat loaf, roast turkey, liver and onions), plus burgers, salad platters, and homemade chicken soup. $-$$ 56 Karma 7010 Biscayne Blvd., 305-759-1392 A real car wash with meticulous detailing takes time. But killing an hour is a pleasure at this stylish car wash/tapas bar, where the elegant light fare occasionally even outshines the hand-washed automobiles. Vegetarians do especially well, with crusty baguette sandwich combos like brie, walnuts, and honey, or another featuring grilled artichokes and buttery St. Andre cheese. Lower carb items range from an imported olive assortment to an antipasto platter with Spanish Cantimpalo chorizo, manchego cheese, and garbanzos. There are breakfast and dessert pastries too. Beverages include organic coffee and soy chai lattes, as well as wines and an extensive beer list featuring Belgian brewskis. On Thursday nights the car wash transforms into a chic lounge until 2:00 a.m. $-$$ Kingdom 6708 Biscayne Blvd., 305-757-0074 This newly renovated, indoor/outdoor sports bar serves low-priced but high-quality steaks, plus more typical bar food that’s actually far from the usual premade, processed stuff. Philly cheese steak sandwiches, big enough for two, are made from hand-sliced rib eye; sides include fries and beer-battered onion rings, but also lightly lemony sautéed spinach. And the burgers rule, particularly the Doomsday, a cheese/ bacon/mushroom-topped two-pound monster that turns dinner into a competitive sport. But even the smallest Queenburger (a half-pounder that’s no sissy) is a perfectly seasoned contender. No hard liquor, but the beer list makes up for it. $$ Luna Café 4770 Biscayne Blvd., 305-573-5862 www.lunacafemidtown.com The ground floor of the Wachovia Bank building may not seem a particularly evocative locale for an Italian eatery, but once inside, the charming décor and the staff’s ebullient welcome indeed are reminiscent of a café in Italy. The kitchen’s outstanding feature is a brick oven, which turns out designer pizzas (greater in variety, lesser in cost on the lunch menu, in effect till 4:30 p.m.) and crisp-skinned roast chickens. Otherwise the menu holds few surprises – except the prices, surprisingly low for such a stylish place. No dish exceeds $22. $$-$$$ Azul, not to mention regular Food Network appearances, opened a homey restaurant in an emerging (but far from fully gentrified) neighborhood. Just be glad she did, as you dine on white almond gazpacho or impossibly creamy ham and blue cheese croquetas. Though most full entrées also come in half-size portions (at almost halved prices), the tab can add up fast. Table-to-table conversations about the food are common, something that only happens at exciting, if not flawless, restaurants. And at this one, the star herself is usually in the kitchen. Parking in the rear off 69th Street. $$$-$$$$ Soyka Moonchine 7100 Biscayne Blvd., 305-759-3999 Like its Brickell-area older sibling Indochine, this friendly indoor/outdoor Asian bistro serves stylish fare from three nations: Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Menus are also similar, split between traditional dishes like pad Thai and East/West fusion creations like the Vampire sushi roll (shrimp tempura, tomato, cilantro, roasted garlic). But the café also carves out its own identity with original creations, including yellow curryspiced Moonchine fried rice or Popeye’s Salad (spicy tuna, avocado, spinach, masago roe, sesame seeds, and a scrumptious sweet/hot kimchee dressing). Nearly everything is low in sodium, fat, and calories – except desserts (notably the chocolate bomb). There’s also an impressive sake list, too. Coming soon: a large rear patio for dining and entertainment. $$-$$$ One Ninety 26 NE 54th St., 305-758-7085 www.oneninetyrestaurant.com When the original One Ninety, a hip Nuevo Hippie hangout in residential Buena Vista, closed because of rent increases in 2004, loyal patrons from all walks of life mourned the loss. In its new Little Haiti location, the space is much smaller but the loose vibe is the same, as are the eclectic live bands and some old food favorites: bacalao cake with onion, cuke, and tomato salad with lemony aioli sauce; ricotta-walnut agnolotti with butter and sage; and chef Alan Hughes’s unique black-pepper-spiked white chocolate mousse (now presented as one of a five-item chocolate medley). $$-$$$ Pineapple Blossom Tea Room The Lunch Room 7957 NE 2nd Ave., 305-722-0759 Hidden in Little Haiti, this Thai/Japanese spot, which opened in 2005, remains one of the Upper Eastside’s best-kept secrets. But chef Michelle Bernstein (of Michy’s) and other knowledgeable diners wander over from the Boulevard for simple but perfect pad Thai, chili grouper (lightly battered fillets in a mouthwatering tangy/sweet/hot sauce), silky Asian eggplant slices in Thai basil sauce, and other remarkably low-priced specialties of Matilda Apirukpinyo, who operated a critically acclaimed South Beach Thai eatery in the 1990s. Though the casually cute indoor/outdoor place is only open for weekday lunches, “cantina” dinners can be ordered and picked up after hours. $ 8214 Biscayne Blvd., 305-754-8328 www.pineappleblossom.com The interior of this pineapple-yellow building is a soothing oasis offering traditional full English tea service – or a more zingy tropical fruit-flavored Caribbean variation. Whether your chosen brew is steaming Earl Grey or pineapple-mint iced tea, the scones (with thick cream and jam), tea cakes, cookies, and desserts, are hometown treats. Owner Frances Brown is a pastry chef. There’s more substantial fare, too. Innovative wraps like Caribbean shrimp salad with tropical fruit salsa; salads such as warm goat cheese with fresh greens, tomatoes, dried cranberries, and candied cashews. Also offered are tempting take-out baskets like the Tea for Two (with tea, jam, scones, and cookies), great for gifts or for athome teas. $-$$ Michy’s 6927 Biscayne Blvd., 305-759-2001 Don’t even ask why Michele Bernstein, with a résumé that includes top-chef gigs at upscale eateries like noises emanating from a new outdoor biergarten, this German restaurant is owner Alex Richter’s one-man gentrification project, transforming a formerly uninviting stretch of 79th Street one pils at a time. The fare includes housemade sausages (mild veal bratwurst, hearty mixed beef/pork bauernwurst, spicy garlicwurst) with homemade mustard and catsup; savory yet near-greaseless potato pancakes; and, naturally, schnitzels, a choice of delicate pounded pork, chicken, or veal patties served with a half-dozen different sauces. $$-$$$ Royal Bavarian Schnitzel Haus 1085 NE 79th St., 305-754-8002 With Christmas lights perpetually twinkling and party Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 5556 NE 4th Court, 305-759-3117 www.soykarestaurant.com This expansive, contemporary hangout was often credited with almost single-handedly sparking the revitalization of the Biscayne Corridor’s Upper Eastside. Now that the hype has calmed down, Soyka remains a solid neighborhood restaurant that, like restaurateur Mark Soyka’s previous ventures (notably Ocean Drive’s pioneering News Café and the Van Dyke on Lincoln Road) is a perfect fit for its area. Comfortably priced yuppie comfort food like meatloaf with mashed potatoes, crab cakes with spicy-sweet slaw, a wild mushroom/smoked mozzarella pizza, or a Cobb salad may not be revolutionary fare, but Soyka continues to thrive while more ambitious, nationally publicized restaurants like OLA have come and gone. $$-$$$ Sushi Siam 5582 NE 4th Court, 305-751-7818 On the fairly standard menu of sushi bar specialties plus a small selection of Thai and Japanese cooked dishes there are a few surprises, such as a unique lobster maki that’s admittedly huge in price ($25.95), but also in size: six ounces of crisp-fried lobster chunks, plus asparagus, avocado, lettuce, tobiko (flying fish), masago (smelt) roes, and special sauces. Also popular are red and orange dragon rolls, similarly sauced makis of fried shrimp plus veggies topped with, respectively, raw tuna and salmon. Thai dishes are served with a choice of more than a dozen sauces, ranging from traditional red or green curries to the inventive, such as an unconventional honey sauce. $$$ Sushi Square 7244 Biscayne Blvd., 305-754-3100 At this tiny, trendy place, you won’t find a menu dominated by the kinds of makis offered by most Miami sushi houses: Americanized, cream-cheese-stuffed, tempura-flake-covered. Instead numerous sushi rolls are filled with Japanese ingredients: the gobo shiso (Japanese mountain burdock root and shiso leaf); the shitake maki (sweet soy-simmered shitake mushroom). And many others are uniquely imaginative, like the Key West (key lime-marinated salmon, chives, cilantro pesto, and pear). There are equally unusual soups, salads, and starters, too. But if nothing appeals, the chef enjoys a challenge. Tell him, as Diaghilev instructed Sartre, to astonish you. $$-$$$ Taj Mahal 620 NE 78th St., 305-758-2929 www.tajmahalfl.com Under new ownership, the restaurant formerly known Continued on page 57 April 2008 DINING GUIDE Restaurant Listings Continued from page 56 as Renaisa is rock-and-rolling again. The menu, now missing Renaisa’s original Bangladeshi specialties, is mostly a rundown of typical north Indian favorites, but they’re very savory, assertively spiced versions that come as hot (or mild) as you like. There’s also a sprinkling of unusual dishes: spicy/sweet fresh pumpkin vhuna, Goan salmon curry in coconut sauce, and an appealing Bombay chat (betweenmeal street snack) of spiced and chilled chickpeas, topped with tangy/sweet housemade tamarind yogurt plus a samosa turnover. $$-$$$ UVA 69 6900 Biscayne Blvd., 305-754-9022 www.uva-69.com Owned by the Vega brothers (chef Michael and artist Sinuhé) of Cane á Sucre – now defunct, but one of Midtown Miami’s first cool, contemporary cafés – this more ambitious yet casual outdoor/indoor Euro-café serves the same purpose on the Upper Eastside, helping to transform a commuter strip into a hip place to hang out. Food includes fresh-baked breakfast pastries and a nighttime tapas menu. But there’s also more substantial lunch and dinner fare, ranging from elegant sandwiches, salads, and small plates (tempurabattered Gulf shrimp with chili dipping sauce and chayote slaw) to full entrées like sake-marinated grouper with jasmine rice, shrimp/black bean sauce, and crispy spinach. $$-$$$ Ver-Daddys Taco Shop 7501 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, 305-303-9755 At this soulful new taco shop, the menu descriptions are in common English (“cinnamon puffs” drizzled with honey and lime, not “buñuelos”). But taco fillings range from the commonplace (ground beef, shredded chicken) to more unusual pork in chili verde, fried potato, or Baja battered fish (authentically garnished with Mexican crema and cilantro-spiked cabbage). And all offerings can be loaded with other garnishes from the kitchen (refried beans, cheese, crema) or April 2008 less perishable offerings from a salsa bar. For the heath-minded, oils are nonhydrogenated, and sauces/seasonings are all housemade and free of preservatives. $ NORTH BAY VILLAGE Barchetta on the Bay 1601 79th St. Causeway, 305-861-2228 Location, location, location. The truth of the old real estate cliché could not be better illustrated than at this reasonably priced Italian restaurant. While pastas like lobster ravioli in tomato/cream vodka sauce are under $20, and no meat or seafood entrée exceeds $30, the spectacular setting on Biscayne Bay is priceless. Floor to ceiling picture windows serve as the expansive indoor dining space’s rear wall, but the primo seats are outdoors, in sheltered banquettes and patio tables where the water view, and carefree tropical party feel, is unimpeded. $$-$$$$ Havana’s on the Bay 7601 E. Treasure Dr., 305-864-1787 www.havanasonthebay.com Hidden in a condo complex just off the 79th Street Causeway, this hip indoor/outdoor waterfront restolounge serves Cuban-inspired dishes, most with little Nuevo Latino touches. The masitas (fried pork chunks) are tamarind-glazed; the fish sandwich’s condiment is zingy chipotle allioli. And the house specialty, seafood mofongo (mashed fried plantains), is a chic take on the standard, minimally fish-stuffed fried plantain balls: one large mound surrounded by a plethora of shrimp, squid, mussels, salmon, and white fish, all in a creamy-smooth Creole sauce. Live Latin and jazz bands play some nights and during Sunday brunch. $$-$$$ Japanese Market and Sushi Deli 1412 79th St. Causeway, 305-861-0143 Inside a small market that is, nevertheless, widely considered Miami’s premier source of Japanese foodstuffs, the “Sushi Deli” restaurant component is noth- ing more than a lunch counter to the left of the entrance. But chef Michio Kushi, who worked for years at the Sushin, Miami’s first full-service Japanese restaurant, serves up some sushi found nowhere else in town. Example: traditional Osakastyle sushi – layers of rice, seasoned seaweed, more rice, and marinated fresh mackerel, pressed into a square box, then cut into lovely one-bite sandwich squares. While raw fish is always impeccable here, some unusual vegetarian sushi creations also tempt, as do daily entrées, like curried beef stew, that typify Japanese home cooking. $ Oggi Caffe 1666 79th St. Causeway, 305-866-1238 www.oggicaffe.com This cozy, romantic spot started back in 1989 as a pasta factory (supplying numerous high-profile restaurants) as well as a neighborhood eatery. And the wide range of budget-friendly, homemade pastas, made daily, remains the main draw for its large and loyal clientele. Choices range from homey, meaty lasagna to luxuriant crab ravioli with creamy lobster sauce, with occasional forays into creative exotica such as seaweed spaghettini (with sea scallops, shitakes, and fresh tomatoes). For those tempted by too much, ultra-accommodating servers have been known to allow half orders of two pastas. $$-$$$ Shuckers Bar & Grill 1819 79th St. Causeway, 305-866-1570 “Cheap eats and a million-dollar view” is the sound bite manager Philip Conklin uses to describe this outdoor beach bar, hidden in back of a bayfront motel. The joint dates from South Beach’s late 1980s revival, but the kick-off-your-shoes vibe – not to mention the pool tables and jukebox – couldn’t be farther from SoBe glitz. The food ranges from classic bar favorites (char-grilled wings, conch fritters, raw or steamed shellfish) to full dinners featuring steak, homemade pasta, or fresh, not frozen, fish. And since about half of the establishment is sheltered, the bites and bay view rock even when the weather sucks. $-$$ Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com Sushi Siam 1524 NE 79th St. Causeway, 305-864-7638 (See Miami listing) NORTH BEACH Café Prima Pasta 414 71st St., 305-867-0106 www.primapasta.com Opened in 1993 with 28 seats, this family-run North Beach landmark has now taken over the block, with an outdoor terrace and multi-roomed indoor space whose walls are full of photos of their clientele (including national and local celebs). Particularly popular are homemade pastas, sauced with Argentine-Italian indulgence rather than Italian simplicity: crabmeat ravioletti in lobster cream sauce, black squid ink linguini heaped with seafood. Veal dishes, such as piccata with white wine-lemon-caper sauce, are also a specialty. Though romantic enough for dates, the place is quite kid-friendly — and on the terrace, they’ll even feed Fido. $$$ Tamarind Thai 946 Normandy Dr., 305-861-6222 www.tamarindthai.us When an eatery’s executive chef is best-selling Thai cookbook author Vatcharin Bhumichitr, you’d expect major media hype, fancy South Beach prices, and a fancy SoBe address. Instead Bhumichitr joined forces with Day Longsomboon (an old Thai school pal who’d moved to Miami) at this unpretentious, authentic (no sushi) neighborhood place. Some standout dishes here (like shrimp and corn cakes with plum sauce, deep-fried sweet and sour fish, and roast duck with tamarind sauce) are featured in the chef’s latest tome, Vatch’s Thai Kitchen, but with Tamarind’s very affordable prices (especially at lunch), you might as well let the man’s impeccably trained kitchen staff do the work for you. $$-$$$ Continued on page 58 57 DINING GUIDE Restaurant Listings Continued from page 57 MIAMI SHORES Village Café 9540 NE 2nd Ave., 305-757-6453 www.villagecaferestaurant.com There’s an official Village Hall a few blocks up the road, but a popular vote would probably proclaim Village Café the community center of Miami Shores. Few residents can resist starting the workday with unique breakfast treats like a pressed panini of ham, Brie, and caramelized apples. Later locals gather over a balsamic-dressed cranberry blue chicken salad (a grilled breast on romaine with gorgonzola, walnuts, and dried cranberries), pan-fried blue crab cakes with beurre blanc and crisp cayenne-fried onions, wonton-topped salmon Oriental, or homemade pasta. As for dessert, the pastry case speaks for village residents: Let them eat (freshbaked) cake! $-$$ Côte Gourmet 9999 NE 2nd Ave., #112, 305-754-9012 If every Miami neighborhood had a neighborhood restaurant like this low-priced little French jewel, it’d be one fantastic food town. The menu is mostly simple stuff: breakfast croissants, crêpe, soups, sandwiches, salads, sweets, and a few more substantial specials like a Tunisian-style brik (buttery phyllo pastry stuffed with tuna, onions, potatoes, and tomatoes) with a mesclun side salad. But everything is homemade, including all breads, and prepared with impeccable ingredients, classic French technique, and meticulous attention to detail, down to the stylish plaid ribbons that hold together the café’s baguette sandwiches. $-$$ range of sandwiches and wraps. Breakfast time is busy time, with banana-walnut pancakes especially popular. But what’s most important is that this is one of the area’s few sources of the real, New York-style water bagel: crunchy outside, challengingly chewy inside. Those puffy half-donuts most places pass off as bagels aren’t even contenders. $ Chef Creole Bamboche 13408 Biscayne Blvd., 305-947-6339 Buried in a strip mall perpendicular to the Boulevard, Bamboche is worth the hunt on one of those head-splitting Saturdays, for a Haitian specialty not found in many area restaurants: bouillon tet cabrit, a soup packed with greens (like spinach, cabbage, cress, string beans) and root veggies that is reputed to be a miraculous hangover remedy. Along with bouillon, weekend specials include more unusual dishes like fritay, fried street snacks. Haitian standards (griot, tassot) are available daily, as are fresh-squeezed juices, lattes, and almost two dozen desserts. $ Canton Café 12749 Biscayne Blvd., 305-892-2882 Easily overlooked, this strip-mall spot serves mostly Cantonese-based dishes, ranging from all the old Chinese-American classics (chop suey, moo goo gai pan, pu pu platters) through newer Americanized fusion favorites like honey garlic chicken, teriyaki beef, and crab Rangoon. But there are also about two dozen spicier, Szechuan-style standards like kung po shrimp, ma po tofu, and General Tso’s chicken. And there are a few imaginative new items, like the intriguingly christened “Shrimp Lost in the Forest,” Singapore curried rice noodles, crispy shrimp with honey-glazed walnuts, and Mongolian beef (with raw chilis and fresh Oriental basil). Delivery is available for both lunch and dinner. $$ Captain Jim’s Seafood NORTH MIAMI Los Antojos 11099 Biscayne Blvd., 305-892-1411 If it’s Sunday, it must be sancocho de gallina, Colombia’s national dish. If it’s Saturday, it must be ajiaco. Both are thick chicken soups, full meals in a bowl. But veggies and garnishes vary, and this modest Colombian eatery is a handy spot to comparison-test such typical stews. Adventuresome eaters may want to try another Saturday special, mondongo (tripe soup, similar to Mexico’s menudo). For Colombian-cuisine novices, a Bandeja Paisa (sampler including rice, beans, carne asada, chicharron, eggs, sautéed sweet plantains, and an arepa corn cake) is available every day, as are antojitos – “little whims,” smaller snacks like chorizo con arepa (a corn cake with Colombian sausage). And for noncarnivores there are several hefty seafood platters, made to order. $$ Bagels & Co. 11064 Biscayne Blvd., 305-892-2435 While this place is often referred to as Guns & Bagels, one can’t actually buy a gun here. The nickname refers to its location next to a firearms shop. But there’s a lot of other stuff aside from bagels here, including a full 58 than Chéen’s – earthily aromatic from achiote, tangy from bitter oranges, meltingly tender from slow cooking in a banana leaf wrap. To accompany, try a lime/soy/chili-spiced michelada, also authentically Mexican, and possibly the best thing that ever happened to dark beer. $$-$$$ 12950 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-892-2812 This market/restaurant was garnering critical acclaim even when eat-in dining was confined to a few Formica tables in front of the fish counter, owing to the freshness of its seafood (much of it from Capt. Jim Hanson’s own fishing boats, which supply many of Miami’s most upscale eateries). Now there’s a casual but pleasantly nautical side dining room with booths, and more recently added, a sushi bar stocked largely with flown-in Japanese fish just as pristine as the local catch. Whether it’s garlicky scampi (made with sweet Key West shrimp), housemade smoked fish dip, grilled yellowtail (or some more exotic local snapper, like hog or mutton), perfectly tenderized cracked conch, or conch fritters (with just enough batter to bind the big chunks of Bahamian shellfish), everything is deftly prepared and bargain-priced. $$ 13105 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-893-4246 (See Miami listing) Chipotle Mexican Grill 14776 Biscayne Blvd., 305-947-2779 www.chipotle.com Proving that national fast-food chains don’t have to be bad for either diners or the environment, Chipotle serves what the company calls “food with integrity.” The fare is simple, basically tacos and big burritos: soft flour or crisp corn tortillas stuffed with chipotle-marinated steak or chicken chunks, bolder shredded beef barbacoa, or herb-scented pork carnitas, all with choice of fresh garnishes. But these bites contain no evil ingredients (transfats, artificial color/flavor, antibiotics, growth hormones). Additionally, all pork, plus a large and growing percentage of the grill’s beef and poultry, is raised via humane and ecologically sustainable methods. And the food, while not the authentic Mex street stuff dreams are made of, is darned tasty, too. $ D.J.’s Diner 12210 Biscayne Blvd., 305-893-5250 Located in a Best Western motel, this place, run by a Chinese-American family, serves mostly basic American diner fare – burgers, sandwiches, about a dozen dinner entrées, fresh-baked apple pie, and, oddly, a whole section of Caesar salad variations. But it’s also a secret source for Chinese food, mostly chow mien/chop sueytype dishes, but also a few dishes such as eggplant with garlic sauce and ma po tofu that are a step up in authenticity. $-$$ Hanna’s Gourmet Diner 13951 Biscayne Blvd., 305-947-2255 When Sia and Nicole Hemmati bought the Gourmet Diner from retiring original owner Jean-Pierre Lejeune in the late 1990s, they added “Hanna’s” to the name, but changed little else about this retro-looking French/American diner, a north Miami-Dade institution since 1983. Customers can get a cheeseburger or garlicky escargots, meatloaf in tomato sauce or boeuf bourguignon in red wine sauce, iceberg lettuce and tomatoes, or a mushroom and squid salad with garlic dressing. For oysters Rockefeller/tuna-melt couples from Venus and Mars, it remains the ideal dinner date destination. $$-$$$ Chéen-huyae Le Griot de Madame John 15400 Biscayne Blvd., 305-956-2808 Diners can get some of the usual Tex-Mex dishes at this cute spot, if they must. But the specialty is Mayanrooted Yucatan cuisine. So why blow bucks on burritos when one can sample Caribbean Mexico’s most typical dish: cochinita pibil? It’s currently LA’s trendiest taco filling (and morning-after hangover remedy). But that city couldn’t have a more authentically succulent version of the pickle-onion-topped marinated pork dish 975 NE 125th St., 305-892-9333 When Madame moved her base of operations from her Little Haiti home to a real restaurant (though a very informal one, and still mostly take-out), she began offering numerous traditional Haitian dishes, including jerked beef or goat tassot and an impressive poisson gros sel (a whole fish rubbed with salt before poaching with various veggies and spices). But the dish that still packs the place is the griot: marinated pork chunks Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com simmered and then fried till they’re moistly tender inside, crisp and intensely flavored outside. $ Here Comes the Sun 2188 NE 123rd St., 305-893-5711 At this friendly natural foods establishment, one of Miami’s first, there’s a full stock of vitamins and nutritional supplements. But the place’s hearty soups, large variety of entrées (including fresh fish and chicken as well as vegetarian selections), lighter bites like miso burgers with secret “sun sauce” (which would probably make old sneakers taste good), and daily specials are a tastier way to get healthy. An under-ten-buck early-bird dinner is popular with the former long-hair, now bluehair, crowd. Frozen yogurt, fresh juices, and smoothies complete the menu. $-$$ Ichi 13488 Biscayne Blvd., 305-944-9334 Half sushi/sashimi, half cooked Japanese dishes, the menu is relatively small but covers most of the traditional favorites and a few surprises. Popular makis include the Dream (shrimp tempura, avocado, Japanese mayo, and masago), the vegetarian Popeye spicy spinach roll, and the deep-fried Crispy, a riceless salmon and veggie roll. Among cooked items, there’s a large list of teriyakis, and a few dishes prepared with a different twist – panko-breaded pork or chicken katsu cutlets, for instance, that eschew the standard sweet sauce for curry. $$ Jerusalem Market and Deli 16275 Biscayne Blvd., 305-948-9080 Specialties like shawarma, spinach pies, kebabs, hummus, and kibbeh (a savory mix of ground lamb and bulgur, arguably the world’s most interesting meatball) are native to many Middle East countries, but when a Lebanese chef/owner, like this eatery’s Sam Elzoor, is at the helm, you can expect extraordinary refinement. There are elaborate daily specials here, like lemon chicken or stuffed cabbage with a variety of sides, but even a common falafel sandwich is special when the pita is also stuffed with housemade cabbage and onion salads, plus unusually rich and tart tahina. For home cooks, there’s also a limited selection of imported spices and staples. $-$$ Kingston Bar & Grill 12108 Biscayne Blvd., 305-899-0074 Making a quick run for photocopy toner can lead to a pleasant surprise if your destination is the Office Depot next door to this humble eatery. The storefront looks more like a derelict Laundromat than a source for authentic Jamaican fare (plus a few Haitian specialties). But the changing $3.99 lunch specials, and even cheaper Tuesday and Thursday chicken special (curry, brown jerk, fried, or stew chicken for an unbelievable $2.50), can’t be beat on the Boulevard. Breakfast, served 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., includes specialties like ackee and salt fish, callaloo, and fried or boiled dumplings. On Fridays look for goat-head soup. $ Lime Fresh Mexican Grill 14831 Biscayne Blvd., 305-949-8800 Like its South Beach predecessor, this Lime was an Continued on page 59 April 2008 DINING GUIDE Restaurant Listings Continued from page 58 instant hit, as much for being a hip hangout as for its carefully crafted Tex-Mex food. Though Lime is now franchising, the chain’s concept is “fast casual” rather than fast food – meaning nice enough for a night out. It also means ingredients aren’t canned-type crapola. Seafood tacos are about as exotic as the standard menu gets, but the mahi mahi for fish tacos comes fresh, never frozen, from a local supplier, and salsas are housemade daily. Niceties include low-carb tortillas for dieters and many Mexican beers for partiers. $ Little Havana 12727 Biscayne Blvd., 305-899-9069 www.littlehavanarestaurant.com In addition to white-tablecoth ambiance that’s several steps up in elegance from the majority of neighborhood eateries, this place features live Latin entertainment and dancing, making it a good choice when diners want a night out, not just a meal. It’s also a good choice for diners who don’t speak Spanish, but don’t worry about authenticity. Classic Cuban home-style dishes like mojomarinated lechon asado, topped with onions, and juicy ropa vieja are translated on the menu, not the plate, and fancier creations like pork filet in tangy tamarind sauce seem universal crowd-pleasers. $$$ Louie’s Brick Oven 15979 Biscayne Blvd., 305-948-3330 www.louiesbrickoven.com A pocket flashlight isn’t a bad idea if you want to read the menu in this mood-lit room. But who needs to read it? There’s a coal-fired brick oven, so order pizza, which comes out of the ultra-hot enclosure with a perfect crust – beautifully blistered, crisp outside, chewy inside. Appealing toppings include the Calabrese (Italian sausage, caramelized onions, kalamata olives, mozzarella, tomato sauce) and a more modern mix of mozzarella, tomato sauce, onion, thin-sliced prosciutto, and arugula drizzled with olive oil. For those craving more crunch than the latter pie’s arugula salad, there are flavorful veggies from a hardwood-fired grill. Wings from the brick oven (spiced with roasted garlic and Italian herbs, topped with grilled onions) are a smokin’ starter. $$-$$$ Maleewan Thai & Sushi 2224 NE 123rd St., 305-895-0393 Redecorated (tasteful bamboo-matted walls, silk flowers) since the days — many days — this space was occupied by the kosher sushi spot Tani Guchi’s Place, Maleewan is now a cozy, neighborly nook at which to enjoy all the standard Japanese and Thai selections. Cooked sushi is the strong suit here, particularly the signature mammoth-size Maleewan roll, given zing by pickled Japanese squash and savor by a crispy yellowtail tempura topping. If you’re craving more creative fare, check out the handwritten specials board on your way in. $$ Mama Jennie’s 11720 NE 2nd Ave., 305-757-3627 For more than 35 years this beloved red-sauce joint has been drawing students and other starvation-budget diners with prodigious portions of lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs (the latter savory yet light-textured), veal marsala topped with a mountain of mushrooms, and other Italian-American belly-busters. All pasta or meat entrées come with oil-drenched garlic rolls and either soup (hearty minestrone) or a salad (mixed greens, tomatoes, cukes, brined olives, and pickled peppers) that’s a dinner in itself. Rustic roadhouse ambiance, notably the red leatherette booths, add to Mama’s charm. $-$$ even Nobu Matsuhisa’s “new style sashimi” (slightly surface-seared by drizzles of hot olive and sesame oil). Formerly all Japanese-influenced, the specials menu now includes some Thai-inspired creations, too, such as veal massaman curry, Chilean sea bass curry, and sizzling filet mignon with basil sauce. $$$-$$$$ The Melting Pot La Paloma 15700 Biscayne Blvd., 305-947-2228 www.meltingpot.com For 1950s and 1960s college students, fondue pots were standard dorm accessories. These days, however, branches of this chain (originating in Maitland, Florida, in 1975) are generally the only places to go for this blast-from-the-past eating experience. Fondues are available à la carte or as full dip-it-yourself meals. Start with a wine-enriched four-cheese fondue; proceed to an entrée with choice of meat or seafood, plus choice of cooking potion – herbed wine, bouillon, or oil; finish with fruits and cakes dipped in your favorite melted chocolate. Fondue etiquette dictates that diners who drop a skewer in the pot must kiss all other table companions, so go with those you love. $$$ 10999 Biscayne Blvd., 305-891-0505 Step into La Paloma and you’ll be stepping back in time, circa 1957. Adorned with antiques (some even real) and chandeliers, the over-the-top plush décor was the American fine-dining ideal – half a century ago (though actually the place only dates from the 1970s). Cuisine is similarly retro-luxe: old-fashioned upscale steaks, chops, and lobster, plus fancier Continental fare. If you have a yen for chateaubriand, duck a l’orange, oysters Rockefeller, French onion soup, trout almondine, wiener schnitzel, and peach Melba, it’s the only place in town that can deliver them all. A huge wine list fuels the fantasy. $$$$ North One 10 11052 Biscayne Blvd., 305-893-4211 www.northone10.com For most chefs a Miami-to-Manhattan move is generally considered one of those offers you can’t refuse. But after helming several NYC restaurants for China Grill Management, the homegrown married team of chef Dewey and sommelier Dale LoSasso returned to do their own thing in their own neighborhood. The menu is “creative comfort food”: a shrimp waffle with basil butter; “steak and eggs” (a grilled NY strip with truffled goat cheese frittata, herb demiglace, and hash browns); a stone crab hot dog the chef invented for a Super Bowl party. The award-winning wine list inspires playfully themed pairing events like an Italian food/wine “Godfather” dinner. But it’s not South Beach, so prices are reasonable, and parking is free. $$$-$$$$ Paquito’s 16265 Biscayne Blvd., 305-947-5027 From the outside, this strip-mall Mexican eatery couldn’t be easier to overlook. Inside, however, its festivity is impossible to resist. Every inch of wall space seems to be covered with South of the Border knickknacks. And if the kitschy décor alone doesn’t cheer you, the quickly arriving basket of fresh (not packaged) taco chips, or the mariachi band, or the knockout margaritas will. Food ranges from Tex-Mex burritos and a party-size fajita platter to authentic Mexican moles and harder-to-find traditional preparations like albóndigas – spicy, ultra-savory meatballs. $$-$$$ Pasha’s 14871 Biscayne Blvd., 786-923-2323 www.pashas.com (See Miami: Brickell / Downtown listing) Paul Bakery Café Nuvo Kafe 13152 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-892-1441 Though the neighborhood is decidedly ungentrified, the interior of this café is an oasis of cultivated Caribbean cool and subtly sophisticated global fare. Haitian-born, Montreal-schooled chef Ivan Dorval formerly cooked at the Oasis Café in Miami Beach, as well as the Delano, and the varied background is reflected in cuisine that’s chiefly creative Caribbean but with influences from the Middle East, Asia, Greece, and Italy. Homemade, health-oriented dishes include velvety ginger pumpkin bisque, unusually refined conch fritters (light batter, monster chunks of conch), West Indies crab cakes with citrus aioli, and a signature lavish, but only slightly sinful, Citadel Raw Fruit Pie. $$-$$$ Oishi Thai 14841 Biscayne Blvd., 305-947-4338 www.oishithai.com At this stylish, dramatically minimalist Thai/sushi spot, the regular Thai and Japanese dishes are as good as anywhere in town. But the way to go is the menu of specials, many of which clearly reflect the young chef’s fanatic devotion to fresh fish, as well as the time he spent in the kitchen of Knob: broiled miso-marinated black cod; rock shrimp tempura with creamy sauce; 14861 Biscayne Blvd., 305-940-4443 www.paulusa.com From one rural shop in 1889, the French bakery known simply as Paul has grown to a worldwide chain, which fortunately chose to open its first U.S. outlet in our town. One bite of the crusty peasant loaf, the olive-studded fougasse, or another of the signature artisan breads transports you right back to France. As authentic as the boulangerie breads are, the patisserie items like flan normande (a buttery-crusted, almond-topped apple-and-custard tart) are just as evocative. For eat-in diners, quite continental soups, salads, and sandwiches are equally and dependably French. $$ ubiquitous tarte tatin, caramelized apples atop puffpastry crust. $$-$$$ Sara’s 2214 NE 123rd St., 305-891-3312 www.saraskosherpizza.com While this mainly vegetarian kosher place is best known for its pizza (New York-style medium crust or thick-crusted Sicilian, topped with veggies and/or “meat buster” imitation meats), it’s also offers a full range of breakfast/lunch/dinner vegetarian cuisine of all nations, with many dairy and seafood items too. Admittedly the cutesie names of many items – baygels, bergerrbite, Cezarrrr salad, hammm, meat-a-ball, schmopperrr – may cause queasiness. But the schmopperrr itself is one helluva high-octane veggie burger. $-$$ Scorch Grillhouse and Wine Bar 13750 Biscayne Blvd., 305-949-5588 www.scorchgrillhouse.com Though some food folks were initially exasperated when yet another Latin-influenced grill replaced one of our area’s few Vietnamese restaurants, it’s hard to bear a grudge at a friendly, casual neighborhood place that offers monster ten-ounce char-grilled burgers, with potatoes or salad, for $8.50; steaks, plus a side and a sauce or veg topper, for nine bucks at lunch, $15 to $18.75 (the menu’s top price) at night; and three-dollar glasses of decent house wine. Many other grilled meat and seafood items are also offered, plus pastas, salads, gooey desserts, and specials (events as well as food). $-$$ Steve’s Pizza 12101 Biscayne Blvd., 305-891-0202 At the end of a debauched night of excess, some paperthin designer pizza with wisps of smoked salmon (or similar fluff) doesn’t do the trick. Open till 3:00 or 4:00 a.m., Steve’s has, since 1974, been serving the kind of comforting, retro pizzas people crave at that hour. As in Brooklyn, tomato sauce is sweet, with strong oregano flavor. Mozzarella is applied with abandon. Toppings are stuff that give strength: pepperoni, sausage, meatballs, onions, and peppers. $ Sun City Café 15400 Biscayne Blvd., 305-940-6955 Super-stuffed crêpes, made to order from scratch, are the main specialty here – some sweet (the Banana Split: fresh strawberries, sliced bananas, candied walnuts, ice cream, and Nutella or dulce de leche), some savory (the Sun City Steak: beef, mushrooms, onions, red peppers, Swiss cheese, and A1 sauce). But there’s also a smaller selection of custom-crafted wraps, salads, sandwiches, and sides, plus smoothies, coffee drinks, even beer or wine. Free Wi-Fi encourages long, lingering lunches. $ Plein Sud 12409 Biscayne Blvd., 305-891-2355 The Boulevard may not be the Champs-Elysées, but diners could be fooled once inside this evocative French bistro. The ambiance is Old World, and the menu is solid and well executed. Starters range from country comfort (Lyonnaise sausage with warm, vinegary potato salad; a charcuterie platter with homemade pâté) to urban sophistication (Maine lobster tail with celery remoulade). Entrées include long-stewed, creamy blanquette de veau, or a precision-cooked steak-frites (rib eye with crisp shoestring fries). For dessert there is the Sushi House 15911 Biscayne Blvd., 305-947-6002 In terms of décor drama, this sushi spot seems to have taken its cue from Philippe Starck: Delano-like sheer floor-to-ceiling drapes, for starters. The sushi list, too, is over the top, featuring monster makis: the Cubbie Comfort (spicy tuna, soft-shell crab, shrimp and eel tempura, plus avocado, jalapeños, and cilantro, topped with not one but three sauces: wasabi, teriyaki, and Continued on page 60 ORIGINAL BAVARIAN BIER GARTEN OPEN DAILY FROM 5:00PM TO 11:00PM FRIDAY & SATURDAY TO MIDNIGHT 305-754-8002 www.schnitzelhausmiami.net 1085 N.E. 79th Street/Causeway, Miami, FL 33138 TEL : April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 59 DINING GUIDE Restaurant Listings subs, simple salads, and a few new protein adds – grilled chicken breast, fried fish, or a steak. $-$$ Continued from page 59 spicy mayo); the Volcano, topped with a mountain of tempura flakes; the spicy/sweet sauce-drenched Hawaiian King Crab, containing unprecedented ingredients like tomatoes, green peppers, and pineapple. To drink there are boutique wines, artisan sakes, and cocktails as exotic as the cuisine. $$$-$$$$ Twenty-One Toppings 14480 Biscayne Blvd., #105, North Miami 305-947-3433 A shoo-in to top many future “Best Burger” polls, this little joint serves sirloin, chicken, turkey, and white bean patties, topped with your choice of one cheese from a list of seven, one sauce from a list of twelve, and three toppings from a list of 21. And since the chef/co-owner is a culinary school grad who has trained in several cutting-edge kitchens (including David Bouley Evolution), the garnishes ain’t just ketchup. There’s Asian vinaigrette, gorgonzola, grilled portobellos, much more. If choosing is too confusing, try the chef-designed combos. Tokyo Bowl 12295 Biscayne Blvd., 305-892-9400 This fast-food drive-thru (unexpectedly serene inside) is named for its feature item, big budget-priced bowls of rice or noodles topped with cooked Japanese-style items like teriyaki fish (fresh fish sautéed with vegetables), curried chicken and veggies, spicy shrimp, or gyoza dumplings in tangy sauce. There’s also an all-youcan-eat deal – sushi (individual nigiri or maki rolls) plus tempura, teriyaki, and other cooked items for $14; three bucks more for sashimi instead of sushi. $-$$ Wong’s Chinese Restaurant 12420 Biscayne Blvd., 305-891-4313 This old-timer’s menu reads like a textbook on how to please everyone, with food ranging from traditional Chinese to Chinese-American to just plain American. Appetizers include honey garlic chicken wings or Buffalo wings. A crab-claw starter comes with choice of pork fried rice or French fries. Seafood lovers can get shrimp chop suey, or salty pepper shrimp (authentically shell-on). And snowbirds will be pleased to find a number of dishes that are mainstays of Manhattan Szechuan menus but not common in Miami: cold sesame noodles, Hunan chicken, twice-cooked pork, Lake Tung Ting shrimp, and peppery kung po squid. $$ Woody’s Famous Steak Sandwich 13105 Biscayne Blvd., 305-891-1451 The griddle has been fired up since 1954 at this indie fast-food joint, and new owners have done little to change the time-tested formula except to stretch operating hours into the night and expand its classic griddledor-fried-things menu to include a few health-conscious touches like Caesar salad, plus a note proclaiming their oils are free of trans fats. Otherwise the famous steak sandwich is still a traditional Philly – thin-sliced beef, cheese, and onions on a buttered Italian roll (with tasty housemade sour cream/horseradish sauce served on the side so as not to offend purists). Extras like mushrooms are possible, not imposed. Drippin’ good burgers, too. And unlike MacChain addicts, patrons here can order a cold beer with the good grease. $-$$ Zipang Venezia Pizza and Café 13452 Biscayne Blvd., 305-940-1808 No frozen pizza crusts or watery mozzarella here. No imported designer ingredients either. The pies are New York-style, but the dough is made fresh daily, and the cheese is Grande (from Wisconsin, considered America’s finest pizza topper). Also on the menu are Italian-American pastas, a large selection of hot an cold 14316 Biscayne Blvd., 305-919-8844 It’s appropriate that the name of this small strip-mall sushi spot refers to Japan’s first and only sparkling sake – something most Americans have never heard of, making the reference pretty much an insider’s joke. Since opening several years ago, the restaurant itself has been one of our town’s best-kept secrets. But the perfectionist chef/owner’s concentration on quality and freshness of ingredients has made Zipang the pick of sushi cognoscenti like Loews’s executive chef Marc Ehrler, who has named the unpretentious place his favorite Miami eatery, while admitting the obvious: “Nobody knows it.” $$-$$$ party combo platters. But there are also bento boxes featuring tempura, yakitori skewers, teriyaki, stir-fried veggies, and udon noodles. Another branch is now open in Miami’s Upper Eastside. $ Hiro’s Yakko-San NORTH MIAMI BEACH Bamboo Garden 1232 NE 163rd St., 305-945-1722 Big enough for a banquet (up to 300 guests), this veteran is many diners’ favorite on the 163rd/167th Street “Chinatown” strip because of its superior décor. But the menu also offers well-prepared, authentic dishes like peppery black bean clams, sautéed mustard greens, and steamed whole fish with ginger and scallions, plus Chinese-American egg foo young. Default spicing is mild even in Szechuan dishes marked with red-chili icons, but don’t worry; realizing some like it hot, the chefs will customize spiciness to heroic heat levels upon request. $$ China Restaurant 178 NE 167th St., 305-947-6549 When you have a yen for the Americanized Chinese fusion dishes you grew up with, all the purist regional Chinese cuisine in the world won’t scratch the itch. So the menu here, containing every authentically inauthentic Chinese-American classic you could name, is just the ticket when nostalgia strikes – from simple egg rolls to pressed almond duck (majorly breaded boneless chunks, with comfortingly thick gravy). $-$$ Christine’s Roti Shop 16721 NE 6th Ave., 305-770-0434 Wraps are for wimps. At this small shop run by Christine Gouvela, originally from British Guyana, the wrapper is a far more substantial and tasty roti, a Caribbean mega-crepe made from chickpea flour. Most popular filling for the flatbread is probably jerk chicken, bone-in pieces in a spiced stew of potatoes, cabbage, carrots, onions, and more chickpeas. But there are about a dozen other curries to choose from, including beef, goat, conch, shrimp, trout, and duck. Take-out packages of plain roti are also available; they transform myriad leftovers into tasty, portable lunches. $ Hiro Japanese Restaurant 3007 NE 163rd St., 305-948-3687 One of Miami’s first sushi restaurants, Hiro retains an amusing retro-glam feel, an extensive menu of both sushi and cooked Japanese food, and late hours that make it a perennially popular snack stop after a hard night at the area’s movie multiplexes (or strip clubs). The sushi menu has few surprises, but quality is reliable. Most exceptional are the nicely priced yakitori, skewers of succulently soy-glazed and grilled meat, fish, and vegetables; the unusually large variety available of the last makes this place a good choice for vegetarians. $$ Hiro’s Sushi Express 17048 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-949-0776 Tiny, true, but there’s more than just sushi at this mostly take-out spin-off of the pioneering Hiro. Makis are the mainstay (standard stuff like California rolls, more complex creations like multi-veg futomaki, and a few unexpected treats like a spicy Crunch & Caliente maki), available à la carte or in value-priced individual and 17040 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-947-0064 After sushi chefs close up their own restaurants for the night, many come here for a bite of something different. The specialty is Japanese home cooking, served in grazing portions so diners can enjoy a wide variety of the unusual dishes offered. Standard sushi isn’t missed when glistening-fresh strips of raw tuna can be had in maguro nuta – mixed with scallions and dressed with habit-forming honey-miso mustard sauce. Dishes depend on the market, but other favorites include goma ae (wilted spinach, chilled and dressed in sesame sauce), garlic stem and beef (mild young shoots flash-fried with tender steak bits), or perhaps just-caught grouper with hot/sweet/tangy chili sauce. Open till around 3:00 a.m. $$ Heelsha 1550 NE 164th St., 305-919-8393, www.heelsha.com If unusual Bangladeshi dishes like fiery pumpkin patey (cooked with onion, green pepper, and pickled mango) or Heelsha curry (succulently spiced hilsa, Bangladesh’s sweet-fleshed national fish) seem familiar, it’s because chef/owner Bithi Begum and her husband Tipu Raman once served such fare at the critically acclaimed Renaisa. Their new menu’s mix-and-match option also allows diners to pair their choice of meat, poultry, fish, or vegetable with more than a dozen regional sauces, from familiar Indian styles to exotica like satkara, flavored with a Bangladeshi citrus reminiscent of sour orange. Early-bird dinners (5:00 to 6:30 p.m.) are a bargain, as some dishes are almost halfprice. Lunch is served weekends only except by reservation, so call ahead. $$-$$$ JC Food 1242 NE 163rd St., 305-956-5677 Jumbo’s regular menu offers a large percentage of hardto-find traditional Chinese home-cooking specialties (many using fresh and preserved Asian vegetables): pork with bitter melon, beef with sour cabbage, chicken with mustard green, cellophane noodle with mixed-vegetable casserole. Still, most diners come for dim sum, a huge selection served at all hours. These small plates include chewy rice noodle rolls filled with shrimp or beef, leek dumplings, crisp-fried stuffed taro balls, savory porkstudded turnip cake, pork/peanut congee, custard croissants, and for the brave, steamed chicken feet. $$ Kyung Ju 400 NE 167th St., 305-947-3838 Star of the show at this long-lived Korean restaurant (one of only a handful in Miami-Dade County) is bulgogi. The name translates as “fire meat,” but isn’t a reference to Koreans’ love of hot chilis. Rather it refers to Korean-style barbecue, which is really not barbecued but quickly grilled after long marination in a mix of soy sauce, sesame, sugar, garlic, and more. Lovers of fiery food can customize with dipping sauces, or the eatery’s many little banchan (included side dishes, some mild, Continued on page 61 OPEN LUNCH & DINNER LUNCH EXPRESS Thai Special $8.95 KARAOKE IDOL every other Wednesday starting at 9pm Prizes & gifts to participants. Kitchen open late. w w w . m o o n c h i n e . c o m • 7 1 0 0 B I S C AY N E B LV D • T E L 3 0 5 . 7 5 9. 3 9 9 9 • F A X 3 0 5 . 7 5 9.9 1 3 9 60 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008 DINING GUIDE Restaurant Listings Continued from page 60 others mouth-searing). Pa jun, a crispy egg/scallionbased pancake, is a crowd-pleasing starter. And if the unfamiliarity seems too scary altogether, there’s a selection of Chinese food. $$-$$$ Kebab Indian Restaurant 514 NE 167th St., 305-940-6309 Since the 1980s this restaurant, located in an unatmospheric mini strip mall but surprisingly romantic inside (especially if you grab one of the exotically draped booths) has been a popular destination for reasonably priced north Indian fare. Kormas are properly soothing and vindaloos are satisfactorily searing, but the kitchen will adjust seasonings upon request. They aim to please. Food arrives unusually fast for an Indian eatery, too. $$ King Buffet 316 NE 167th St., 305-940-8668 In this restaurant’s parking lot, midday on Sundays, the colorful display of vivid pinks, greens, and blues worn by myriad families arriving for dinner in matching goingto-church outfits is equaled only by the eye-poppingly dyed shrimp chips and desserts displayed inside on the buffet table. Though there’s an à la carte menu, the draw here is the 100-item (according to advertisements) all-you-can-eat spread of dishes that are mostly Chinese, with some American input. It’s steam-table stuff, but the price is right and then some: $5.95 for lunch, $8.95 for dinner. $-$$ King Palace 330 NE 167th St., 305-949-2339 The specialties here are authentic Chinatown-style barbecue (whole ducks, roast pork strips, and more, displayed in a glass case by the door), and fresh seafood dishes, the best made with the live fish swimming in two tanks by the dining room entrance. There’s also a better-than-average selection of seasonal Chinese veggies. The menu is extensive, but the best ordering strategy, since the place is usually packed with Asians, is to see what looks good on nearby tables, and point. Servers will also steer you to the good stuff, once you convince them you’re not a chop suey kinda person. $$ Laurenzo’s Market Café 16385 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-945-6381 www.laurenzosmarket.com It’s just a small area blocked off by grocery shelves, buried between the wines and the fridge counters – no potted palms, and next-to-no service in this cafeteriastyle snack space. But when negotiating this international gourmet market’s packed shelves and crowds has depleted your energies, it’s a handy place to refuel with eggplant parmesan and similar Italian-American classics, steam-tabled but housemade from old family recipes. Just a few spoonfuls of Wednesday’s hearty pasta fagiole, one of the daily soup specials, could keep a person shopping for hours. $-$$ version made with saj, a circular Syrian flatbread similar to pita but much thinner, moister, and all-around better. Upon order, diners can watch the chef custom-cook their saj (on a scorching-hot, flying-saucer metal dome of the same name), then roll the beautifully surface-blistered bread around one of 27 stuffings, including za’atar and EVOO, brined olives and labneh (creamy yogurt cheese), falafel, steak, even dessert fillings like strawberries and Nutella. Also available: soups, salads, and substantial globally topped rice bowls, plus fresh fruit juices and smoothies. $ this strip between I-95 and Biscayne Boulevard, PK has the only prepared-food counter, serving authentic Chinatown barbecue, with appropriate dipping sauces included. Weekends bring the biggest selection, including barbecued ribs and pa pei duck (roasted, then deep-fried till extra crisp and nearly free of subcutaneous fat). Available every day are juicy, soy-marinated roast chickens, roast pork strips, crispy pork, and whole roast ducks – hanging, as tradition dictates, beaks and all. But no worries; a counterperson will chop your purchase into bite-size, beakless pieces. $ Little Saigon Sang’s Chinese Restaurant 16752 N. Miami Ave., 305-653-3377 This is Miami’s oldest traditional Vietnamese restaurant, but it’s still packed most weekend nights. So even the place’s biggest negative – its hole-in-the-wall atmosphere, not encouraging of lingering visits – becomes a plus since it ensures fast turnover. Chef/owner Lily Tao is typically in the kitchen, crafting green papaya salad, flavorful beef noodle pho (served with greens, herbs, and condiments that make it not just a soup but a whole ceremony), and many other Vietnamese classics. The menu is humongous. $-$$ 1925 NE 163rd St., 305-947-7076 Open late (12:30 a.m. most nights) since 1990, Sang’s has an owner who previously cooked in NYC’s Chinatown, and three menus. The pink menu is Americanized Chinese food, from chop suey to honey garlic chicken. The white menu permits the chef to show off his authentic Chinese fare: salt and pepper prawns, rich beef/turnip casserole, tender salt-baked chicken, even esoterica like abalone with sea cucumber. The extensive third menu offers dim sum, served until 4:00 p.m. A limited live tank allows seasonal seafood dishes like lobster with ginger and scallion. More recently installed: a Chinese barbecue case, displaying savory items like crispy pork with crackling attached. $$$ Mary Ann Bakery 1284 NE 163rd St., 305-945-0333 Don’t be unduly alarmed by the American birthday cakes in the window. At this small Chinese bakery the real finds are the Chinatown-style baked buns and other savory pastries, filled with roast pork, bean sauce, and curried ground beef. Prices are under a buck, making them an exotic alternative to fast-food dollar meals. There’s one table for eat-in snackers. $ Matador Argentinean Steakhouse 3207 NE 163rd St., 305-944-6001 With Latin parilla places spreading here as fast as kudzu, it’s hard to get excited about yet another all-youcan-eat meat spread. But Matador offers far more for the money than most. One dinner price ($24.95, $27.95 weekends) includes a salad bar of more than 30 items, unlimited grilled proteins (many cuts of beef, sausages, chicken, pork, assorted veggies, and even fish upon request), crunchy steak fries, a dessert (typically charged extra elsewhere), and even more fun, a bottle of quite quaffable wine per person. $$$ Siam Square 54 NE 167th St., 305-944-9697 Open until 1:00 a.m. every day except Sunday (when is closes at midnight), this relatively new addition to North Miami Beach’s “Chinatown” strip has become a popular late-night gathering spot for chefs from other Asian restaurants. And why not? The food is fresh, nicely presented, and reasonably priced. The kitchen staff is willing to customize dishes upon request, and the serving staff is reliably fast. Perhaps most important, karaoke equipment is in place when the mood strikes. $-$$ Tuna’s Garden Grille 17850 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-945-2567 When Tuna’s moved in 2006 from the marina space it had occupied for almost two decades, it lost its waterfront location, its old-fashioned fish-house ambiance, and its outdoor deck. But it has gained a garden setting, and retained its menu of fresh (and sometimes locally caught) seafood – some fancified, some simple (the wiser choice). Also continuing are Tuna’s signature seasonal specials, like a Maine lobster dinner for a bargain $15. Open daily till 2:00 a.m., the place can sometimes feel like a singles bar during the two post-midnight happy hours, but since the kitchen is open till closing, it draws a serious late-night dining crowd, too. $$ AVENTURA /MIAMI GARDENS Bella Luna 19575 Biscayne Blvd. Aventura Mall, 305-792-9330 www.bellalunaaventura.com If the menu here looks familiar, it should. It’s identical to that at the Upper Eastside’s Luna Café and, with minor variations, at all the rest of Tom Billante’s eateries (Rosalia, Villaggio, Carpaccio), right down to the typeface. But no argument from here. In a mall – a setting more accustomed to food court, steam-tabled stuff – dishes like carpaccio al salmone (crudo, with portobellos, capers, parmesan slices, and lemon/tomato dressing) and linguine carbonara (in creamy sauce with pancetta and shallots) are a breath of fresh, albeit familiar, air. $$-$$$ Bourbon Steak 19999 W. Country Club Dr. (Fairmont Hotel, Turnberry Resort), 786-279-0658 www.michaelmina.net At Bourbon Steak, a venture in the exploding restaurant empire of chef Michael Mina, a multiple James Beard award winner, steakhouse fare is just where the fare starts. There are also Mina’s ingenious signature dishes, like an elegant deconstructed lobster/baby Continued on page 62 Panya Thai 520 NE 167th St., 305-945-8566 Unlike authentic Chinese cuisine, there’s no shortage of genuine Thai food in and around Miami. But Panya’s chef/owner, a Bangkok native, offers numerous regional and/or rare dishes not found elsewhere. Plus he doesn’t automatically curtail the heat or sweetness levels to please Americans. Among the most intriguing: moo khem phad wan (chewy deep-fried seasoned pork strips with fiery tamarind dip, accompanied by crisp green papaya salad, a study in sour/sweet/savory balance); broad rice noodles stir-fried with eye-opening chili/garlic sauce and fresh Thai basil; and chili-topped Diamond Duck in tangy tamarind sauce. $$-$$$ Lemon Fizz 16310 W. Dixie Hwy., 305-949-6599 www.lemon-fizz.com Like wraps? Then you’ll love this Middle Eastern café’s PK Oriental Mart 255 NE 167th St., 305-654-9646 While there are three other sizable Asian markets on • KARAOKE IDOL starting April 8th every other Tuesday. Prizes & gifts to participants. OPEN LUNCH & DINNER Kitchen open late. • FRIDAY HAPPY HOURS Residence DJ starting @ 6pm til... (complimentary hors d'oeuvres served @ the bar) w w w. i n d o c h i n e b i s t r o . c o m • 6 3 8 S . M I A M I AV E • T E L 3 0 5 . 3 7 9. 1 5 2 5 • F A X 3 0 5 . 3 7 9. 1 6 2 0 April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com 61 DINING GUIDE Farmers’ Markets (Vitamin C) to retard spoilage — Seeley’s Gourmet Garden hummus travels directly to an array of Saturday and Sunday green markets. She rises at 5:00 a.m. Saturdays to load the hummus headed north for West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Wilton Manors, Delray Beach, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, and Lake Worth. She chooses to helm the Upper Eastside location on Biscayne Boulevard. On Sundays she repeats this solo performance, anchoring the popular Las Olas Green Market in Fort Lauderdale. By 9:00 on a recent Saturday morning, Seeley had already set up seven tables full of squash, fingerling potatoes, sweet onions, tomatoes, pink grapefruit, and honey bell oranges from Immokalee, flats of Plant City strawberries, baskets of mushrooms, bunches of chives and rosemary, plus three coolers of her gourmet products. After seven hours of brisk sales, when the 3:00 load-out time came, Seeley packed the unsold items into her van in less than an hour with a bit of help from a friend. “This goes back to the fridge in Pompano, and then off tomorrow morning to Las Olas,” she says. “Food is hard work,” Seeley notes. “I don’t know that I want my son to follow along in the family footsteps. But my company is really all-American in the best sense of the phrase. People ask me if I’m from Lebanon, Greece, Colombia, or France, and I love that because I’m a mix of many things, and it comes through in my food. I’m open to anything that surprises and delights.” Seeley’s Gourmet Garden products, and the produce that accompanies them, are sold every Saturday at the Upper Eastside Green Market at Legion Park and at By Their Fruit, 40A W. McNab Rd., Pompano Beach, 954-786-9695. Kerry Seeley can be reached at 954-461-1000 or by e-mail at [email protected]. grouper, the kitchen’s veterans know precisely how to cook fish. All entrées come with suitable starch and green-type vegetable, plus various other complementary freebies, so starters, salads, and sides aren’t necessary. $$$ Pilar The Soup Man 20475 Biscayne Blvd., 305-937-2777 www.pilarrestaurant.com Chef/owner Scott Fredel previously worked for Norman Van Aken and Mark Militello. He has been executive chef at Rumi, and cooked at NYC’s James Beard House. Armed with those impressive credentials, Fredel and his partners launched Pilar (named for Hemingway’s boat) aiming to prove that top restaurants can be affordable. Consider it now proven. Floribbean-style seafood is the specialty, dishes like fried Bahamian cracked conch with fresh hearts of palm slaw and Caribbean curry sauce, rock shrimp spring rolls with sweet soy glaze, and yellowtail snapper with tomato-herb vinaigrette and a potato/leek croqueta. Don’t let the strip-mall location fool you. The restaurant itself is elegant. $$-$$$ 20475 Biscayne Blvd. #G-8, 305-466-9033 The real soup man behind this franchise is Al Yeganeh, an antisocial Manhattan restaurant proprietor made notorious, on a Seinfeld episode, as “the soup Nazi.” On the menu: ten different premium soups each day (from a rotating list of about 50). The selection is carefully balanced among meat/poultry-based and vegetarian; clear and creamy (like the eatery’s signature shellfish-packed lobster bisque); chilled and hot; familiar (chicken noodle) and exotic (mulligatawny). All soups come with gourmet bread, fruit, and imported chocolate. Also available are salads, sandwiches, and wraps, à la carte or in soupplus combos. $-$$ Continued from page 48 On the other hand, Seeley sets aside a whole day for hummus-making. Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., she puts down her 16-month-old son and locks herself in her Pompano Beach kitchen. Working in batches, she creates nine flavors of the Middle Eastern garbanzo bean delicacy. Fresh garlic, dill, rosemary, coconut, lemon, horseradish, chipotle, and cilantro, plus red, green, and jalapeño peppers come straight from the fields to Seeley’s hands. When they emerge — mixed with sea salt, olive oil, tahini, garbanzos, and a tad of ascorbic acid Restaurant Listings Continued from page 61 vegetable pot pie, a raw bar, and enough delectable vegetable/seafood starters and sides (duck fat fries!) for noncarnivores to assemble a happy meal. But don’t neglect the steak — flavorful dry-aged Angus, 100-percent Wagyu American “Kobe,” swoonworthy grade A5 Japanese Kobe, and butter-poached prime rib, all cooked to perfection under the supervision of on-site executive chef Andrew Rothschild, formerly of the Forge, meaning he knows his beef. (Mina himself is absentee.) $$$$$ Chef Allen’s 19088 NE 29th Ave., 305-935-2900 www.chefallens.com After 20 years of success in the same location, many chefs would coast on their backlog of tried-and-true dishes. And it’s doubtful that kindly Allen Susser would freak out his many regulars by eliminating from the menu the Bahamian lobster and crab cakes (with tropical fruit chutney and vanilla beurre blanc). But lobster-lovers will find that the 20th anniversary menus also offer new excitements like tandoori-spiced rock lobster, along with what might be the ultimate mac’n’cheese: lobster crab macaroni in a Fris vodka sauce with mushrooms, scallions, and parmesan. The famous dessert soufflé’s flavor changes daily, but it always did. $$$$$ Fish Joint 2570 NE Miami Gardens Dr., 305-936-8333 Unless one’s mind is already made up before getting here – and stuck on steak, pasta, or some other land-based dish – loyal repeat customers know to ignore the small printed menu and wait for the tableside presentation of about ten catches-of-the-day, arrayed on a tray. Servers identify each fish, explain how it’s to be prepared, and take your order. Whether it’s a simple sautéed fillet or a slightly more complex preparation like shrimp/crab-crusted Il Migliore 2576 NE Miami Gardens Dr., 305-792-2902 Reminiscent of an intimate Tuscan villa, chef Neal Cooper’s attractive trattoria gets the food right, as well as the ambiance. As in Italy, dishes rely on impeccable ingredients and straightforward recipes that don’t overcomplicate, cover up, or otherwise muck about with that perfection. Fresh fettuccine with white truffle oil and mixed wild mushrooms needs nothing else. Neither does the signature Pollo Al Mattone, marinated in herbs and cooked under a brick, require pretentious fancification. And even low-carb dieters happily go to hell in a hand basket when faced with a mound of potatoes alla Toscana, fried herb-sprinkled French fries. Located west of Biscayne Boulevard in the Davis Plaza shopping mall, across from Ojus Elementary School. $$-$$$ Feedback: [email protected] Sushi Siam 19575 Biscayne Blvd. 305-932-8955 (See Miami Listing) Mahogany Grille 2190 NW 183rd St., 305-626-8100 Formerly Ruby and Jean’s Soul Food Cuisine, a popular but strictly neighborhood cafeteria, Mahogany Grille has drawn critical raves — and an international as well as local clientele — since retired major league outfielder Andre Dawson and his brother Vincent Brown acquired the place in early 2007. The diner décor is gone, replaced by white tablecloths and, naturally, mahogany. The food is a sort of trendy yet traditional soul fusion, heaping platters from several African diaspora regions: Carolina Low Country (buttery cheese grits with shrimp, sausage, and cream gravy), the Caribbean (conch-packed fritters or salad), and the Old South (lightly buttermilkbattered fried chicken). The chicken is perhaps Miami’s best, made even better with the Grille’s waffles. $$-$$$ HOT DOGS, BUNS AND MORE! Try our $5.95 BO CLASSIC COM Miami 7030 Biscayne Blvd. 305-759-3433 Winner: “Best Bang for the Buck” Fort Lauderdale 900 S. Federal Hwy. 954-525-1319 – Zagat 2007 & 2008 62 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008 HAVANA’S ON THE BAY Waterfront dining with a view. Latin cuisine with a twist. “The food is Cuban-inspired rather than traditionally Cuban. Replete with little Nuevo Latino attempts at elegance, this is not abuelita’s home cooking. The neighborhood needs comfy, casually stylish, reasonably priced hangouts like this one.” “Seafood mofongo, the house specialty, is a chic take on the standard, minimally fish-stuffed fried plantain balls: one large mound surrounded by a plethora of shrimp, squid, mussels, salmon, and white fish, in creamy-smooth Creole sauce.” – NEW TIMES – BISCAYNE TIMES M April 2008 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com COLLINS AVE BRIDGE 79TH ST CAUSEWAY E. TREASURE DR. BLVD 305-864-1787 WWW.HAVANASONTHEBAY.COM BISCAYNE I95 7601 E. TREASURE DR. NORTH BAY VILLAGE 33141 BRIDGE NORTH BAY VILLAGE N MARINA 63 R A N K E D # 1 F U L L S E R V I C E R E A L E S TAT E C O M PA N Y B Y The Name Your Know, The People You Trust MAGAZINE 305 677 5000 MIAMI, MIAMI BEACH, HOLLYWOOD, TAMPA BAYSIDE HISTORIC Drastically reduced to $499 K or for rent RARE FIND IN DAVIS HARBOR Offered at $595 K CHARMING UPPER EASTSIDE VINTAGE Offered @ $375 K PERFECT LIVE/WORK UPPER EASTSIDE Offered at $650 K Newly renovated w/ cutting-edge LOFT-like design. Step thru the door of a quaint historic cottage into a modern masterpiece. Brand new baths & kitchen. 2 BD / 2 BA & 1BD / 1BA guest quarters perfect for work from home or inlaws. East of Biscayne, walk to area boutiques & cafes. Minutes to downtown & beaches. Please use same text as March BBT (will send a better photo). Just add one sentence…Split floor plan perfect for family living. This can go right before Brand new gourmet kitchen. Please use same text as March BBT but add one sentence…Move right in! This can go right before Best house under $400 K. Art deco gem nestled in the heart of 79th St. causeway rapidly developing area. Meticulously restored 3 BD / 2 BA w/ beautiful original wood floors & many architectural details. Lushly landscaped garden hidden behind privacy fence. Gated parking. Currently used as hair/nail salon w/ charming home in rear. Marcy Kaplan / Lori Brandt 786 543 5755 / 786 553 1962 gimmesheltermiami.com Marcy Kaplan / Lori Brandt 786 543 5755 / 786 553 1962 gimmesheltermiami.com Marcy Kaplan / Lori Brandt 786 543 5755 / 786 553 1962 gimmesheltermiami.com Marcy Kaplan / Lori Brandt 786 543 5755 / 786 553 1962 gimmesheltermiami.com 260 EUCLID AVE # 23, SOUTH BEACH Offered @ $175 K MIMO W/ BAY/CITY VIEWS Offered at $899 K MIAMI SHORES BARGAIN Offered at $467 K ($179/SQ FT) MORNINGSIDE HISTORIC POOL HOME Drastically reduced to $999 K South of 5th studio. Walking distance to beach, restaurants the best location in Miami. Studio is super clean with Dade County pine flooring! Priced to sell, won't last! MLS# M1209308 4 BD / 3 BA MIMO completely renovated. Design combines functionality w/ aesthetic enjoyment. Open & spacious w/ modern lines, vaulted ceilings thruout. All new baths & kitchen. Over 2,400 SQ FT house w/ double lot (15,000 SQ FT). Wonderful Bayside neighborhood… steps to bay front park, walk to cafes & area boutiques.. Spacious 3 BD / 3 BA home (over 2,600 SQ FT) located in the heart of Miami Shores. Large rooms, spacious closets, 2 car garage, and desirable split floor plan perfect for family. Original hardwood floors, new barrel tile roof, fenced yard. Walk to cafes, shops, churches, & recreation. Steal this house! Incredible price for impressive 2-story historic Mediterranean. 4BD/4BA (including 1BD/1BA guest cottage) w/ gorgeous 75' heated pool & Jacuzzi w/ custom Bisazza tile. Dramatic fireplace & winding staircase. 3021 SQ FT/ 12,000 SQ FT lot. Built by L. Murray Dixon (architect) in 1934. Robert Vandenberg 305 975 7766 [email protected] Marcy Kaplan / Lori Brandt 786 543 5755 / 786 553 1962 gimmesheltermiami.com Marcy Kaplan / Lori Brandt 786 543 5755 / 786 553 1962 gimmesheltermiami.com Marcy Kaplan / Lori Brandt 786 543 5755 / 786 553 1962 gimmesheltermiami.com THE ULTIMATE URBAN LOFT Offered @ $799 K NEW YORK LOFT ON THE BAY Reduced to $549 K PENTHOUSE WITH 360º VIEWS Reduced to $2.7 M AQUA ON ALLISON ISLAND Reduced to $1.649 M Live and work in Miami’s True Urban LOFTS. Creatively designed living and entertainment space at Parc Lofts. 2,371 SQ FT corner residence with wraparound balcony overlooking pool and sundeck. 16 FT high ceilings with windows galore. East, south and west exposures. A blend of Chicago brick and stainless steel on wide plank wood flooring. No expense spared. Full service building in the heart of the Downtown Miami Arts District, steps away from the new Performing Arts Center. Priced to sell now! New York style LOFT with 180* views of Biscayne Bay, Miami Beach, Various Islands, Cruise Ships, and Sunrises. Completely finished with modern glass panels creating privacy, this LOFT also offers SubZero and S.S. Appliances, Oversized Shower, and 10' ceilings. Ready to move-in. This is a steal! Only 3 units per floor and 43 residences. Reduced to OVER $250 K less then developer like units. An outrageous 5,500 SQ FT “One of a Kind” PH with 360º views of Biscayne Bay, Ocean, City, & Sunrises/Sunsets encompasses the 22nd floor. The elevators open to your private foyer which leads you to an 2,000 SQ FT living space and enormous kitchen. The 4 BD / 4.5 BA includes 2 master suites, a theater room, four parking spaces, and over 2,000 SQ FT of terraces. It is absolutely a must see in Miami! Two story TH with 3 BD / 3.5 BA and over 3,600 SQ FT offers water views from every room. Recently featured in Architectual Digest Italy, this Extraordinary home offers SubZero, Thermador, Goggenau appliances, Dorn Bracht, Duravit, Waterworks fixtures, Bulthaup cabinetry, and 3 garage spaces. AQUA provides full service amenities. PERFECT LOCATION! VIRTUAL TOUR www.circlepix.com/home/YBGU6W Virtual Tour www.CIRCLEPIX.com/home/YBUSQ9 Virtual Tour www.CIRCLEPIX.com/home/TVWNFD Hal Taylorson PA 305 799 3100 [email protected] Hal Taylorson PA 305 799 3100 [email protected] Hal Taylorson PA 305 799 3100 [email protected] Susan Gale 305 695 GALE (4253) [email protected] W W W. M A J E S T I C P R O P E R T I E S . C O M 64 Biscayne Times • www.BiscayneTimes.com April 2008