Breakfast at the Gables Diner

Is fucking expensive. Six fucking dollars for a kid's cup of fruit. (We ordered from the kids' menu, where it was listed as $2.99). Five bucks for a regular glass of OJ, no refills.

WTF?

I've been a regular at the Diner for 10 years now. I've watched the prices go up and up, so that we don't go as often as we used to. Still, I have a loyalty thing, and everyone is so incredibly nice to us, so I'm usually o.k. with it.

But breakfast on Saturday was just too much. The dish that brings everything (eggs, pancakes, bacon, toast, etc.) is $11, and we both got it. So we figured breakfast would be in the $30 range. But between the fruit and OJ, plus a side of bacon Ben asked for ($3, and he actually asked them to not give him grits or home fries and sub with bacon instead), with tip, we paid $50. Fifty fucking dollars.

The food was good, people, but not that good. For that, I would've spent double and gorged myself at the Biltmore Brunch. Nothing about the meal or service made me feel like, "Wow, $50, but so worth it." At all.

I'm still shell-shocked over that bill. The Gables Diner serves good food, but I really don't think it's ever good enough to merit the prices. And breakfast, for me anyway, is usually a cheap meal when I go out.

So yeah. No more breakfast at the Diner for me. Ever.



(cross-posted at the fabulous Foodtastic!)

My Review of California Pizza Kitchen

Has been posted to my über-cool food blog, Foodtastic!

Get thee there right away and read all about it!

Restaurants that Deliver or Provide Take-Out

Great Gables has this cool page on their site that provides a great service: it lists eateries that provide take-out and delivery.

I'm loving it because I've long wished for this exact information. And here it is, one quick click, and you can find out who will bring food to your door or where you can do pick up.

One neat feature: you can filter by take-out or delivery alone.

And who knew? Cold Stone Creamery delivers. Mmmm.... perfect for those ice cream emergencies and I'm too lazy to leave the house...

Check out who else is on the list.

This is definitely one to be bookmarked!

Changó Would Not Be Pleased

With the folks in one CG neighborhood where some residents have been practicing Santeria. Though sacrificing animals for religious purposes is a Constitutionally protected right, it doesn't mean the neighborhood is happy to have the dead animals around.

It's old news, but the video's a hoot, so what the hell?

(via MVB and CM)

Gables Radio

Interesting. The City of Coral Gables has its own radio station. Tune in to 1620 AM and check it out.

What do you think? You know, I've always wanted a career in radio. Think they'd take me on?

Saturday Evening the Gables

This past Saturday, I had what's become a rare treat in my life: an evening out with my girlfriends.

We started out in the late afternoon with pedicures at Portfolio Salon. It could have been a total disaster, and for a while it kinda was, but I'll give credit to Luis for pulling through. The thing is, I had asked for an appointment for three of us, specifying that we wanted to sit together so we could talk and all that. But when we got there, two of the three chairs were available, and they got right to working on my friends while I sat like an asshole waiting. I was told that the other client (the one in the third chair) had arrived late (or something like that, someone was running late, the client or the manicurist), and for whatever reason, I had to pay for it even though we were on time. Meanwhile, the woman who was in my spot had tremenda cara de tranque (I'm sorry, no other phrase perfectly describes it), and I kinda wanted her to be moved somewhere far from us.

After sitting around for about 10 minutes, watching my friends get their pedicures, they took me to a corner to start on mine. Seriously, not only could I not talk to my friends, but my back was to them, too. At this point, Luis came over to apologize, which I appreciated. I certainly think I deserved that apology. And to his credit the minute the other woman left, they moved me back so I could continue with my friends.

That snafu aside, we had a good time. All three ladies did a great job. I personally appreciated how mine did not at all rush through my pedicure.

Luis once again apologized as we paid our bill and was very gracious about it. Still, I think that if someone arrives late for their appointment, the ones who follow and arrive on time should not be inconvenienced because of them. If that client did in fact arrive late, her ass should have been moved, not mine. I don't care how rich or special she is.

From Portfolio, we indulged in some Cold Stone ice cream and then headed to Starbucks, where some more friends were waiting for us (we had arranged to surprise my girlfriends). After a nice gossip/catch-up session there, we all realized we were hungry and settled on trying California Pizza Kitchen. Except that we arrived to find a 30+ wait and were too hungry to wait. So we settled on John Martin's.

I hadn't been there in years - but it was as great as I remember it. Our server, a short blond, was efficient and friendly (her dark-haired co-worker who had her hair held up with a clip? Not so much. Another cara de tranque). The live band was playing some great stuff, a wide variety of songs, from folk to modern rock. And the food: wow! My burger was delicious, perfect. And everyone else was raving about their dishes (salads and tuna, I believe).

All in all, a lovely Saturday. Need more of those in my life...

MenuPages Hits SoFla

Back in Oct/Nov, when I was preparing for my trip to NYC, I visited MenuPages in search of cool places to eat. It's neat site where you can read user reviews and get restaurant info.

And now, they've got a South Florida section up. It's still in its early stages, but restaurants are listed with basic descriptions. The coolest feature is that for most (all?) listings, you can access the menu. Which, awesome. Saves me lots of trouble.

Check it out and feel free to submit reviews. And because I'm such a good little blogger, here's the Gables section, all nice and pretty and ready for you to peruse.

Other local bloggers have posted on this, too.

Summer Shorts for Kids

Got info on an event the kids will enjoy: from the Summer Shorts Festival, this year there's also Shorts for Kids! These short plays (between 5 and 20 minutes) are selected to appeal to a young audience (10 and up).

From the release:
"Shorts for Kids! was developed by City Theatre to complement the Summer Shorts Festival for adults, and to introduce younger audiences to exciting new plays in bite-size morsels. The series will feature a free performance of “Hold for Three” by Sherry Kramer, “The Invisible Elephant” by Emitte Hall, “Piece of the Sky” by Jonathan Bernstein, “The Echolocators” by Lucas Leyva and “Regina Spector Wins the Science Fair” by City Theatre Literary Manager Marco Ramirez. The tour features South Florida actors Megan Blanchette, Niki Fridh, Christopher Kauffman and Dusty St. Amand under the direction of Shorts for Kids! Coordinator and Director Matthew Glass and Director Stuart Meltzer."

There are a few performances across So Fla, but in the Gables, the schedule is as follows:

Sat., June 16 & 23, 2007 @ 1:00 p.m.
Coral Gables War Memorial Youth Center
405 University Drive, Coral Gables
Tickets: $5

For questions and reservations, contact City Theatre at (305) 365-5400 or info@citytheatre.com.

Gables "Best Of" Winners

Congratulations to our friends and neighbors, Robert Burr, and the ladies at Mama Lila's Bistro, for being named Best Tour Guide and Best Bistro, respectively, in this year's edition of the Miami New Times' Best of Miami awards. Both are well-deserved honors!
Blogger: Coral Gables - Create Post

Other winners in the Gables are as follows:

Best Radio Station: UM's WVUM
Best Set Design: Lyle Baskin for Fat Pig (Gablestage)
Best Supporting Actress: Marcus Davis in La Cage aux Folles (Actors' Playhouse)
Best Supporting Actor: Matthew Glass in Romance (Gablestage)
Best Public Restroom: Tarpon Bend (that's oddly comforting)
Best Caesar Salad: Christy's
Best Ice Cream: Swensen's Restaurant and Ice Cream
Best Risotto: Caramelo Restaurant
Best Deal in Coral Gables: Burger Bob's
Best Restaurant To Bite The Dust: Restaurant Brana
Best Wine Selection in a Restaurant: Maroosh
Best Beauty Store: GBS

If I missed any, my apologies!

Oh, and props to Personal Touch Body Waxing for nabbing Best Bikini Wax. It is, indeed. I'm not just a blogger, I'm also a client.

Bye, Bye Norman's

This Thursday's your last chance to eat at Norman Van Aken's popular, award-winning, fantastical wonder of "New World Cuisine" restaurant, Norman's.

This is one of those places that was always on my list of restaurants to check out, but I could never come to terms with the sky-high prices vs. the actual amount of food on the plate (which, so everyone on earth has told me, is tiny; and while I'm not into Cheesecake Factory-like portions, a girl's gotta eat, and morsels just don't cut it).

From the reports, it looks like Norman has been trying to unload Norman's for a couple of years, placing it for sale in 2005. It looks like the decision was made just to close it. He's got other projects in the works, though: a hotel here, a couple of restaurants in Key West.

Since I never ate there, there's not much I can add here. How about you? Have you been? How was your experience? Are you going to miss it?

That Scandal at City Hall (UPDATED)

For those of you following the story, the Herald provides an update on the status of the City employee who was allegedly caught faking time sheets.

I don't care to cover politics in this blog, but there's been talk that this scandal has had deeper implications for the City and several high-ranking employees. Do you think that's true? If so, what are the implications or longer-lasting effects of this situation?

*****************************************************************

Looks like a guilty plea on some charges and a promise to testify against other City workers. He's expected to provide details of "official misconduct, grand theft, organized scheme to defraud, fraud, bid tampering and all acts of money laundering, and all persons or entities involved in racketeering". In exchange, he's getting a sentence way lighter than the 70 years in jail he previously faced.

Coral Gables Postcards

Sorry for the lack of posting, lovies. Hectic life, exhaustion, blah, blah, blah.

Anyhow.

The UM Library has, as part of their Florida Postcard Collection, a number of old postcards of Coral Gables. They're really quite lovely:




Take a look at the Gables postcard collection here.

The Gables of Old

Fun discussion over at SOTP: What Was There Before?

Try to see if you can guess the answer before reading it in the comments.

Thank goodness I got it right and can maintain my claim as THE Coral Gables blogger!

Update on Whole Foods

It's been ages since I last wrote about the Whole Foods Market that will be opening in the Gables soon, so how about an update?

If you're not aware, the new Whole Foods will go up across Sunset Place on Red Road and San Remo - the building that housed the comic shop and Substantial was torn down for a new building that's been under construction for over a year now.

I got word straight from a Whole Foods rep that the market is scheduled to open in late summer. They weren't more specific than that, so I would guess late August or September.

If you're interested in working for Whole Foods, positions will be posted on their website and hiring will be done in June. And as my contact helpfully pointed out, WFM has been ranked for ten consecutive years as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by Fortune Magazine. So hey, if your current place of employment is run by a bunch of jerks, Whole Foods may be a nice change for you!

I'm personally very excited about WFM coming to the Gables. I love them. But I hate how friggin' far I have to drive when I want to be all natural and organic. So this will indeed be a welcome addition as far as I'm concerned.

National Children's Theatre Festival

This weekend at the Actors' Playhouse: the National Children's Theatre Festival!

Your faithful Gables blogger is a big ol' theater geek, so anything that exposes kids to the pure awesomeness that is the theater is damn cool for me.

The festival includes performances of Understood Betty and Seussical Jr., as well as a bunch of fun activities like magic shows, face painting and balloon art. Wow, this makes me wish my son was old enough to really participate in these kinds of things, because then I'd have a good excuse to be there and be all stage mother on his ass. Oh well... I'll get my chance one day!

The festival actually start tonight at the CG Library. The whole schedule is available here.

-- Thanks to Chris for the info!

No 4th of July Celebration at Biltmore - Blame Golf

Damn you, golfers!

The renovations to the Biltmore's golf course has forced the city to cancel its spectacular Fourth of July celebration. You know, the one with all the cute family activities? With music? With the awesome fireworks?

The golf course is being resodded and must be protected. And having hundreds of people trampling all over it isn't really conducive to such a plan, is it?

So, NO Fourth of July Celebration at the Biltmore this year. I have a feeling the city will come up with something before then, but the article makes a good point: it has to be a place large enough to have a safe distance between people and fireworks.

Aren't there at least a handful of estates in Coral Gables that qualify?

What the Neighbors are saying.

Dead Blue Bird visits the new California Pizza Kitchen.

Book Clubbing at Books & Books

Books & Books is doing a book club mixer next Saturday. Behold:

1st Annual
Book Club Mixer

Saturday, April 21 at 4 pm
Books & Books, Coral Gables

• Meet potential, new book-club buddies. Or find the right books for your current club.
  

• Swap stories with other book lovers. Share the secret to a great book club meeting.

• Chat with other folks, find common book interests, exchange email addresses, start a new club.
  

• We’ll have refreshments, dessert, Books & Books staff recommendations, and a club atmosphere befitting the guest of honor – books!
  

• If you haven’t joined the South Florida Book Club Registry, sign up at our website, booksandbooks.com

I filled out the book club registry a while back ago and, based on my responses, have been assigned to "Group G". Anyone else in that group, or any group for that matter? I'm kinda worried that I by myself make up all of Group G.

If I can get a babysitter or my child is up for some clubbing, I'll see you there.

Books & Books:
265 Aragon Avenue
Coral Gables, FL 33134
305-442-4408

Coral Gables Easter Celebration

I totally love this: the Gables is doing something special for seniors for Easter!

From Robert's e-mail:

"The Senior Egg Hunt will take place at Merrick Park across the street from City Hall at 10am with games and prizes, including the hunt for the Golden Egg. Senior gals are encouraged to wear their Spring Bonnet."

How cute is that? And sweet!

At the same time, the Egg-Stravaganza Hunt for Children will take place across 19 other parks in the city. (which means that this too starts at 10am).

Back over at Merrick Park, a carnival - with rides and games - starts at 11am.

Don't know about you, but this sounds like a great event. And bonus: it's free!

For more info, call 305-460-5600.

Coral Gables - in Michigan?

So I'm perusing teh internets in search of interesting info on Coral Gables when I stumble upon this: Coral Gables is also in Lansing, Michigan.

Not as a city, though, but as a restaurant. A restaurant that, just like our fair city, dates back to the 1920's. Go figure!

It looks like what I imagine typical American restaurants look like, and the menu seems to carry a bit of everything, including some Greek and pasta dishes.

What they don't explain, which is all I really care to know, is how they came up with the name. It'd be kinda quirky if it had any relation to us. Weird, but quirky.