Coral Gables Magazine March 2022

CORAL GABLES

THE SMASH HIT AT THE MIRACLE THEATER

One look and you know it’s The Palace.

Mayor Vince Lago on the city’s decision to run the Coral Gables Country Club Page 20

“IF WE EXCLUDE NON-RESIDENTS, I AM FINE WITH THAT. I WANT THIS TO BE A COMMUNITY HAVEN.”

Why I Give: Juan and Teresita Michelena

A retired mechanical engineer, Juan Michelena has spent much of his career developing products that make life better. Today, he continues to help improve the lives of many in our community and beyond thanks to his involvement with Baptist Health Foundation.

As a leader of Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute’s Foundation council, Juan believes that personal investment in Baptist Health can make a difference in the quality of patient care. “Working as council chair allowed me to witness how these contributions have helped Baptist Health acquire state-of-the-art equipment and provide for building expansions,” he says. “This has made the Institute one of the best cardiovascular Centers of Excellence in the country.”

For Juan and his wife Teresita, generosity and community service are values they have always instilled in their children and grandchildren. Juan hopes that his work with the Foundation, which has also included the International council, will inspire others to give back. As he says, “Philanthropy is the reward of living a successful life.”

Photo by Lynn Parks Join

“Knowing you contribute to the well-being of your community is priceless.”

HANDS ACROSS THE WATER

Coral Gables is known for its philanthropy – and not only for activities close to home. Many nonprofit organizations also help internationally, recognizing that what happens afar also affects us here. Here are profiles of some of the exemplary work being done…

THE NATURE OF BEAUTY

Not unexpectedly, Coral Gables has an abundance of doctors in the business of improving your appearance. Here are some of their thoughts on what beauty is all about.

SUMMER CAMP GUIDE

With summer on its way, the time has come to look for the right camp for the kids. Here is a guide to some selections for giving your children the experience of a lifetime.

Let the Music Play On

There was a time when all music was live, when you heard music only when musicians were playing it, right then, in the present moment. In our portable digital world, most music comes to us pre-recorded, pushed through the medium of headphones, earplugs, or speakers. But there is something about live music, about human beings playing and performing right in front of you, that is pure, magical energy.

Right now, the Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre is exploding with that energy in their production of “On Your Feet!” Forget that it’s a play about Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Purely as music by a live band onstage (most of the former Miami Sound Machine), the experience is like attending a concert. And it’s enormous fun.

Coral Gables is known for many things, including its history, restaurants, art galleries, architecture, affluence, even its canopy. It’s not known, however, as a music city, not like New Orleans, Chicago, or Austin. But live music is growing.

With the pandemic receding, old venues are returning, like Calle 23 on Miracle Mile; the Globe never stopped its Saturday night jazz, but it’s been packed since taking on Latin grounded Entre Amigos. Now the Globe is expanding jazz to Wednesday nights, starting at 6 pm, while the downtown BID is hosting free Thursday night

concerts in McFarlane Plaza, adjacent to Barnes & Noble on the Mile, bringing in UM Frost Music students. At the Coral Gables Museum, live rock bands play as part of their Twilight (first) Friday nights. And hopefully, as the pandemic recedes, Friday night music in the courtyard of Books & Books will resume, along with Thursday night blues sessions at the Titanic Brewery.

What won’t be coming back is the Open Stage, the nightly music venue on Galiano Street, struck down during the Covid. The good news is that their Monday night Miami Jazz Coop series has found a new home just outside the city, in the Westchester Cultural Arts Center at Tropical Park, set up like a night club on Monday nights. The other good news is that Miami celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein has leased the Stage space for a Sra. Martinez restaurant with a live Latin music component, albeit a year away. And one of these days Nick Sharp at Bay 13 will begin hosting live, outdoor music.

Meanwhile, don’t forget the procession of live music concerts offered at UM, in either at Gusman Hall or one of their smaller performance spaces. You won’t find better performances of classical music anywhere.

So, take heart lovers of live music. The times are sounding better. Now go see – I mean hear – ‘On Your Feet!’

JP FABER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CORAL GABLES MAGAZINE

CEO & PUBLISHER

Richard Roffman

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

J.P.Faber

EVP / PUBLISHER

Gail Scott

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

Amy Donner

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Monica Del Carpio-Raucci

ART DIRECTOR

Jon Braeley

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Toni Kirkland

VP SALES

Sherry Adams

STAFF WRITER & SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Carmen Sofia Fraga

EDITOR-AT-LARGE

Grace Carricarte

SENIOR WRITERS

Mike Clary

Doreen Hemlock

WRITERS

Andrew Gayle

Parker Gimbel

Mallory Evans Jacobson

Katelin Stecz

FILM AND VIDEO CRITIC

Michael Roffman

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Rodolfo Benitez

Jonathan Dann

Emily Fakhoury

Manny Iriarte

CIRCULATION & DISTRIBUTION

CircIntel

OFFICIAL FRAMER

Adam Brand / Frames USA

Coral Gables Magazine is published monthly by City Regional Media, 1200 Anastasia Ave. Suite 115, Coral Gables FL 33134. Telephone: (305) 995-0995. Copyright 2022 by City Regional Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photograph or illustration without prior written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited. Send address changes to subscriptions@ coralgablesmagazine.com. General mailbox email and letters to editor@coralgablesmagazine.com.

Cover: On Your Feet! Performing at the Miracle Theater. See page 38 for our review. Photo by Alberto Romeu

Each month we print letters we receive from our readers. We encourage all commentary, included criticism as well as compliments, and of course any commentary about our community. If you are interested in writing to us with your opinions, thoughts, or suggestions, please send them to letters@coralgablesmagazine.com. Letters are edited for brevity.

Get Protected

Your article in the Living section of the February 2022 issue shows 2 people bicycling without helmets. In Florida, where driving distracted is commonplace, this is very dangerous. Please encourage all bicyclists to wear helmets when they ride. My new pet peeve is people who ride bicycles outdoors with masks, and no helmets.

Aaron Philipson

News of the Biz World

Thanks for including a business quarterly section in the latest [January] edition of the magazine. As a Coral Gables resident, it is great to see what is going on in the business sector of our community and to read about the new businesses that are making Coral Gables their home, especially those in the tech and finance sectors.

Amber Seidle-Lazo

Editor’s Note: Thank you for your feedback. We agree that the business community makes up an essential part of the city’s social fabric. We now run a business quarterly at the start of each fiscal quarter, covering banking, international firms, wealth management and entrepreneurs.

Where’s Rita?

There was a nice article in last month’s [February] issue of Coral Gables Magazine lamenting the fact that Bob Maguire was hanging up his apron for the last time. After a memorable 28 years operating the popular Granada Snack Shop affectionally known as “Burger Bob’s,” the little restaurant closed its doors. Now many wonder: What is Rita doing? [Rita Tennyson, Bob’s long time No. 2]

Without skipping a beat, Rita is everywhere spreading good food and good will to all who cross her path! The restaurant closed on a Friday afternoon and, bright and early the very next morning, Rita was open for business at the weekly Farmers’ Market in front of City Hall serving typical “Burger Bob” fare! The following afternoon, she and her children hosted a going-away-party for Bob for 150+ family and friends!

Over the next few weeks, Rita will participate in Rachel Ray’s “Burger Bash” at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival;

Saturday, March 5th will find her cooking at one of the homes for the Coral Gables Community Foundation’s “Tour of Kitchens”; and on Saturday, March 12th she will be the only food vendor at the Villagers’ Spring Garden Tour in the Redland. A tea at the Merrick House in late March and a May luncheon for the Garden Club are on her calendar as well.

Rita is also catering weddings, celebrations of life, dinner, and birthday parties – all as she awaits the city’s decision on the fate of the restaurant. I think I speak for all of Rita’s supporters in saying I hope the city will decide in her favor and give this wonderful hard-working woman a chance to fulfill her dream of operating Burger Bob’s. I am confident and certain she will do a wonderful job!

Marlin Ebbert

A Choice, Please

I noted in your last issue [February] in the interview with City Commissioner Kirk Menendez, that he advocates for the city to offer at least two choices for the design of any major new public facility. Then what happened with the new Mobility Hub, which your magazine reported about in its December issue?

As far as I know, the only design option offered by the city is the giant futuristic icecube you showed in that story. What about

a Mediterranean option? Isn’t that supposed to be the look of the city? I understand that we need more parking spaces downtown, and the new Mobility Hub offers hundreds more. All good. But does the city have to make it look like something from another planet? Just look across the street to the garages that are located on Aragon. Nice Mediterranean structures, one even with a tower, with no loss of function.

Albert Fraga

Compliments on February

I just spent some time with your February issue and was thoroughly impressed with the amount of informative content that was shared. You and your team do an amazing job. Really well done.

John Underwood, CEO Tinsley Advertising

Tree Lovers

Just loved the February’s editor’s note [which took Wawa to task for chopping down oak trees opposite Carver Elementary]: “You never cut down trees in Coral Gables, period.” Never cut down our trees! Bravo!

Carlos Garcia-Barbon

Editor’s Note: One of the most wonderful things about the Gables is its tree canopy, and the nearly 40,000 trees in public spaces (swales included) that the city monitors for health, species, and location. Assault them at your own risk.

A CHOICE, PLEASE: MEDITERRANEAN OR MODERN?

Streetwise Born Again? Page 20

IN DAYS GONE BY THE CORAL GABLES COUNTRY CLUB WAS THE PLACE YOU WENT TO DINE, DANCE, MEET FRIENDS, SWIM AND PLAY GOLF.

From City Hall

AT ITS LAST MEETING IN JANUARY AND ITS ONLY MEETING IN FEBRUARY, THE CORAL GABLES CITY COMMISSION:

LISTENED TO AN ANNOUNCEMENT BY Mayor Vince Lago that henceforth, any member of the public addressing the City Commission will have three minutes to do so, with a three-light system (green for go, yellow for one-minute left, and red to stop). “This will encourage well organized and equitable opportunities for all who wish to speak on matters affecting The City Beautiful,” said the mayor, who has tried to rein in lengthy citizen harangues that have extended commission meetings by hours.

LISTENED TO A REPORT BY City Manager Peter Iglesias on the status of Burger Bob’s, the diner adjacent to the pro shop on the Granada Golf Course. Iglesias said the city is replacing the roof, installing handicap accessible bathrooms, and replacing the sanitary sewer and grease trap. Construction is set for the second quarter. Mayor Lago said he would like to see the restaurant remain “a breakfast and lunch place, like a family diner.” Commissioner Kirk Menendez agreed, saying “I too would like to see it remain neighborhood focused. I don’t want to see a chain restaurant there.” The city currently has two private proposals for the restaurant, to be reviewed before the March City Commission meeting. Commissioner Michael Mena doubted any restauranteur could see a return on investment for such a small, inexpensively priced diner, leading the mayor to suggest it become “a city run establishment, like the pro shop,” and either hire someone to run it or lease it, with the city in control.

RESOLVED 5-0 TO URGE THE COUNTY school board to create an education facility in Coral Gables for children and young adults with autism. Currently, parents of Gables public school children with autism must attend schools outside the city. Considering the amount of county school tax dollars contributed by Coral Gables, “For our residents to be underserved in this respect is not acceptable,” said Commissioner Mena. There are currently an estimated 500 Gables students between the ages three and 21 who have some form of autism.

LISTENED TO A SUGGESTION BY Mayor Lago that residents be required to use clear plastic bags when disposing of bagged vegetation on their swales or in their trash pits. The reason? Some residents are using black bags to disguise the disposal of cardboard in trash pits, rather than recycling the cardboard, which is now required by city ordinance. Code enforcement reported that more than 700 citations and warnings regarding cardboard disposal had been issued since December; fines range up to $500.

APPROVED 5-0 A $400,000 MATCHING grant to supply body cameras to all Coral Gables police officers, which should lead to a reduction in the use of force by both officers and citizens. Their use “leads to restraint and to trust by the community,” said Assistant Chief of Police Hajir Nuriddin.

VOTED 5-0 TO AUTHORIZE $1.5 MILLION for the demolition of the city parking garage behind the Miracle Theatre, to make way for the new Mobility Hub. The expense will be on top of the $42 million estimated cost for the design and building of the facility.

LISTENED TO AN ADMONISHMENT BY Commissioner Rhonda Anderson that the city’s public works department was not sufficiently training outside landscaping firms that trim the city’s trees, leaving amputated branches that lead to rot. “I know we have a shortage of the crew… but let’s not just lollypop the trees,” she said.

LISTENED TO A HALF DOZEN DISCUSSION items by Commissioner Jorge Fors, which the mayor called “the Fors show,” including improving the city’s use of Zoom for public meetings, better control over landscaping companies, a pop-up beer garden at the Farmer’s Market, and Fors’ personal donation to the city of a drone and a punching bag.

CONGRATULATED EFFORTS BY CITY OFFICIALS and private business representatives who recently went to Tallahassee to secure funding for a variety of infrastructure projects and upgrades, including the Mobility Hub, the Venetian Pool, and the city incinerator. Five out of seven city projects are currently in the state budget, for a record $3 million in state funding.

VOTED 5-0 TO APPROVE A CONTRACT with celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein to bring her Sra. Martinez restaurant to 2325 Galiano St., former home of the Open Stage. Bernstein will be granted 18-months rent-free for investing $1.3 million in the facility, which will also add Latin music to its culinary mix. The contract is for 15 years, with two five-year options to renew.

LISTENED TO A PRESENTATION BY THE city’s sustainability officer, Matt Anderson, that the new Public Safety Building and the new Trolley Maintenance Building have both won LEED Silver designation by the U.S. Green Building Council. The designation means the buildings use energy and water more efficiently, along with other benchmarks of sustainability. “We are providing examples for the private sector,” noted Mayor Lago, a proponent of environmentally friendly practices.

VOTED 5-0 TO AUTHORIZE THE city’s finance department to refinance the bond for the Miracle Mile improvement project, saving the city at least $150,000 without changing the maturity dates of the bonds. ■

Talk of the Town

The Meat on the Street

Last month saw the return of Burgerliscious, the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce annual fundraiser that pits burger flippers across the city and beyond against each other in a fired-up competition for Best in Bun. This year’s winner, determined by an impartial panel of eight beef-minded judges, went to Pincho, the Gables-based mini chain with its flagship store on east Giralda Avenue. Second place went to wagyu-heavy Clutch Burger on Giralda Plaza, with an improbable People’s Choice award going to Forte restaurant on Miracle Mile. We say improbable because they do not serve burgers at Forte – but they do have “maximum flavor” chef Adrianne Calvo at the helm.

“Burgerliscious, was a resounding success,” declared Chamber president and CEO Mark Trowbridge, who presided over the event, which was held on a stretch of Alhambra Circle cordoned off for the 13 participating restaurants that served up their best to nearly 1,000 hungry citizens. Previous Burgerliscious throwdowns took place in Ponce Circle, but the event moved this year to the street in front of the new Chamber headquarters and Visitor Center at Ponce and Alhambra. “The crowd was larger than expected, and they were voracious,” said Trowbridge. “And the breeze took that smell of cooked hamburger to heaven…”

The Trash Tour

For anyone who regularly attends (or Zooms into) City Commission meetings, Mayor Vince Lago’s relentless insistence that the city keep itself properly groomed is nothing new. So it’s not surprising that this month he will take city staffers on what amounts to a tour of trash and dead (or absent) landscaping on commercial properties. The mayor has been pushing code enforcement officers, along with the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce and the downtown Business Improvement District, to make business owners maintain their properties and sidewalks. He has decried everything from dead landscaping and rusty signage at the Shops at Merrick Park to dirty sidewalks and absent landscaping at the Bank of America. “Bank

of America is a Fortune 500 company,” he said. “They should clean their sidewalks, they should plant their landscaping, they should take pride. We have standards here in the city!” Having sent numerous photos to city staff, the frustrated mayor scheduled a go-and-see March 7 tour with staff to drive the point home. “This is a tall task, he said, “but this is a priority for my administration.”

The Slap Heard Round the World

The incident went viral in the local press and social media, and with such velocity that it spun all the way to a Coral Gables-datelined story in The New York Times. With the headline “Steakhouse Skirmish Dominates Chatter in Miami Political Circles,” the story began, “Every so often, a petty political episode consumes Miami…” The “episode” took place Feb. 9 at Morton’s Steakhouse on Ponce at Miracle Mile, when a lobbyist spotted Miami City Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla and allegedly greeted him with “Hey [expletive], do you remember me?” and slapped him on the back of his head. The lobbyist, Carlos J. Gimenez, was arrested and spent the night in Turner Gilford Knight Correctional Center.

We appreciate that the Times described us as “the upscale city of Coral Gables,” noting that Morton’s offers a two-course “power lunch” special for $37. Closer to home, local blog Political Cortadito made issue of the fact that the 2 pm arrest was made not by a Gables cop, but by a Miami police sergeant-at-arms who just happened to be part of the commissioner’s entourage. The Gables has a mutual aid agreement with Miami that permits officers to make arrests in the adjacent jurisdictions. Nonetheless, not sure that a Gables officer would have wrestled Gimenez to the ground and cuffed him for what amounted to a misdemeanor. ■

MESSY ON PONCE: THE MAYOR WANTS BUSINESSES TO MAINTAIN LANDSCAPING

Born Again?

BY J.P. FABER

At one time, the Coral Gables Country Club on the Granada Golf Course was the center of all social activity in the city. It was where every social event was held. It was the place you went to dine, dance, meet friends, swim, play golf, or simply hang out.

This vision of the past was brought to life by former mayor Dorothy Thomson, who extolled the club’s historic importance in a recent address to the City Commission. “It was always such an important part of our lives,” said the 90-yearold Thomson, who moved to the Gables in 1953. “It was so familiar to us all. We would look forward to all kinds of events… Now it is cold. We don’t do anything with it.”

Well, not quite anything, but close. Under the management of Canadian company Liberty Entertainment, the club has offered a small café, a gym, and a place to hold special events, but little else.

Now, that is all about to change. With the Liberty lease set to expire April 1, the city is taking over management of the facility, determined to remake the Country Club in its original mold. “It’s not just a gym, it’s not just an event center,” said City Manager Peter Iglesias. “The new vision is really the old vision, what it used to be, and that’s what we want to bring back.”

Iglesias said the current plan is to hand the reins to the city’s Parks & Recreation department, which now manages the War Memorial Youth Center and the Venetian Pool. Fred Couceyro, director of the department, along with assistant director Carolina Vester, outlined the city’s plans for the reborn facility.

“We are going to look at this as a public facility, accessible to the public,” said Vester.

“We really want to provide a world class country club for our community to gather, grow, and call home.”

The new plan is for an

affordable country club that offers a “social lifestyle fitness membership” for 2,000 members (single and family), which will include a fitness center, steam room, smoothie bar, pool, poolsite bites, kids club, and tennis courts. There would also be tennis and pickleball memberships, and golf course memberships, each limited to 200 family or individual members.

Mayor Vince Lago made a special point of insisting that all memberships go first to city residents. “If we exclude non-residents, I am fine with that,” he said. “I want this to be a community haven.”

The mayor’s other worry was for a smooth transition at the Liberty Café and the fitness club. “My only concern is what is happening April 1. Is your staff ready to pick up the baton?” he asked Couceyro.

That depends, said Couceyro, on the commission voting to begin the process of hiring a team that will eventually include

10 fulltime and 36 parttime employees. They voted unanimously to do so.

The next step is funding. The city had hoped to attract a private bidder willing to invest about $5 million into the facility. One such bid was made but withdrawn after residents opposed it, fearing it would shut the facility down for an extended period and make it too expensive.

How the makeover will be funded is the subject of the March City Commission meeting; the city has already spent $2.4 million repairing the roof and the AC system. Vester said any investment would be re-couped within five years, after which the facility would be profitable.

“I just want to assure residents that you will have a quality product,” said Commissioner Kirk Menendez, an advocate for the city to run the country club, who invited former mayor Thomson to address the commission. ■

THE CITY DECIDES TO RUN THE CORAL GABLES COUNTRY CLUB AND RETURN IT TO ITS PAST ROLE

“THE NEW VISION IS REALLY THE OLD VISION, WHAT IT USED TO BE, AND THAT’S WHAT WE WANT TO BRING BACK”

CITY MANAGER PETER IGLESIAS

SOCIAL DANCES WERE A REGULAR FEATURE AT THE CORAL GABLES COUNTRY CLUB

People in the News

Honors for the City Attorney

Miriam Ramos, the Coral Gables City Attorney since 2017, has been appointed president of the Cuban American Bar Association (CABA). Founded in 1974, CABA is a non-profit organization with a mission to provide pro bono legal assistance for minorities and help defend human rights in Cuba. “I am honored and humbled to receive this position, for an organization that is very near and dear to my heart,” said Ramos, who earned her law degree at the University of Miami. As City Attorney, she serves as general counsel for the city, the City Commission, city officials and city departments, providing legal opinions and interpretations. Ramos began working for the city in 2015 as deputy city attorney and city prosecutor, the same year she joined CABA.

Kudos for Classic Design

Good things come in threes, as they say, and that’s now the case with Beatrice Row, the Georgian style townhomes on Biltmore Way. Having previously received the Addison Mizner Award and the Congress of New Urbanism, the townhome row designed by Gables-based De La Guardia Victoria Architects & Urbanists has now received the Palladio Award. Winners of the award are chosen for enhancing the beauty and humane qualities of a building by creatively adapting classical design principles. Maria de la Guardia, the firm’s chief architect, said the townhouse street – running the length of the block at 744 Biltmore Way – was inspired by the English Terrace-style row homes of London and Bath, England.

Ramming it Home

For all you Super Bowl fans out there, especially those who rooted for the victorious L.A. Rams, we’re happy to pay homage to hometown winner and Rams #38, running back Buddy Howell. Born in Coconut Grove, Howell attended both Coral Gables High and Carver Middle School. The 6 ft. 1 in. athlete was originally signed by the Miami Dolphins in 2018 after going undrafted, but was only used by the Fins as a practice squad member before joining the Houston Texans that year, and then the Rams in 2021. “We are so proud to call Buddy our own – even if now we share him with the L.A .Rams,” says Tom Parker, chair of the Friends of Gables High School. “We know his work ethic, determination and integrity will lead to continued greatness.” Nothing beats a good Gables education. ■

Beatrice Row is the latest townhome project in the Biltmore Square neighborhood close to downtown. “We take great pride in all of the developments we build. They are a true labor of love,” said Alirio Torrealba, CEO of MG Developer. (Above: Alirio Torrealba, Mayor Lago and Maria de la Guardia).

Fast Track Legal

GABLES-BASED ASSEMBLY LEGAL BEGAN AS SOFTWARE

University of Miami Law School grad Robb Steinberg had a massive case to tackle back in the 1990s, involving more than one million documents. He needed better software to manage the load, so he invented it and started a company in Coral Gables to offer his product to trial lawyers like himself.

BY DOREEN HEMLOCK

Fast forward 25 years, and Steinberg’s tech company Trialworks is linked with another firm that also makes software for a lawyer niche under a new name, Assembly Legal. The combined venture is expanding fast. It added some 50 employees in 2021 to reach 130 nationwide. That total includes 35 people based at the Gables headquarters, says Daniel Farrar, CEO since March 2021.

The key to growth? A new strategy under new owners. New York investment group Ridge Road Partners bought Gables’ Trialworks and Baltimore’s Needles in 2017 to create Assembly Legal. Now, the group aims to shift their software business from selling products housed at law firms to offering a service based in the cloud. Subscriptions run about $95 per user per month, says Farrar.

The shift presents challenges, however, says Farrar. Trialworks and Needles have been selling their software to be kept on premises, offering new versions periodically. Lawyers, paralegals, and other users are accustomed to that format. Converting to a cloud-based version that updates continually requires some investment and training in slightly different software – a process that can take months. “The firms with the smoothest implementations prepare for the change,” says Farrar, scheduling time for training, and to reconfigure databases and convert unique features of their software.

Today, Assembly Legal serves some 42,000 users in 2,500 law firms nationwide.

Customers are mainly attorneys representing plaintiffs – the people initiating lawsuits. Among those clients: personal injury attorney Alejandro Uriarte, a Gables resident who leads Miami-based Uriarte Law Firm.

Uriarte adopted Assembly’s software to better organize files and simplify communication at his firm. He likes how it lets staffers work on the same file simultaneously and tag one another to show what they’ve done. And he appreciates how Assembly’s team customized his initial on-premises product and then assigned someone to train his staff and customize his new cloud-based service called Neos. “It’s been amazing so far,” says Uriarte, whose 14 staff members all use the software. “And for the migration to the cloud, there were a lot of meetings, but it was not hard at all.”

CEO Farrar says Assembly’s new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model has the potential to significantly boost users, revenues and profits. The company does not disclose financials, but he estimates the U.S. market for plaintiff-lawyer software alone at $550 million a year.

An engineer with a Harvard MBA, Farrar comes to Assembly Legal from California, with strong experience in finance and SaaS business. He’s worked with GE Capital and private-equity firm Morganthaler, led SaaS ventures OpenLane and Switchfly, and ran SaaS operations globally for telecom company Mitel.

While Farrar heads the Gables-based company from San Francisco (he visits about twice monthly) he is currently looking for a home here and other real-estate in South Florida. And though he’s hiring many SaaS specialists, Farrar says he values those who built and upgraded Needles and Trialworks for decades. Indeed, he works closely with UM Law grad Steinberg, now a strategic

CREATED BY A UM GRAD TO MANAGE CASELOADS. IT NOW SERVES 2,500 LAW FIRMS NATIONWIDE

“THE FIRMS WITH THE SMOOTHEST IMPLEMENTATIONS PREPARE FOR THE CHANGE.”

DANIEL FARRAR, CEO ASSEMBLY LEGAL, WHICH IS PREPARING A MOVE FROM SOFTWARE SALES TO LAW FIRMS, TO A SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE BASED IN THE CLOUD.

Top producer Mauricio J. Barba has been a mainstay in Miami’s uber competitive high-end real estate market since 1994. Respected in his native community by clients and colleagues alike; he has logged top honors for elite performance in his field. Mauricio is connected worldwide but specializes in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, Brickell, Village of Pinecrest, South Miami, Palmetto Bay/ Falls area and the Beaches. His expertise is demonstrated through his ability to facilitate trouble-free transactions winning him clients for life who also become friends.

Mauricio enters every room with confidence and professional approachability. But more importantly he is prepared and precise, saving you time and effort. Clients rely on him to deliver and he takes the responsibility very seriously. “People trust me with their single largest asset. It’s a role that drives me to push for excellence every day. I give 110% because my success is their success.”

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6 beds | 7.5 baths | 2-car | 6,764 adj sf

7,133 total sf| 18,750 sf lot | pool

Ceremoniously crafted in 2021 by the acclaimed Torre Companies, Villa Verano embodies a harmonious fusion of old world architecture with that of today’s modern finishes. The estate enjoys a plethora of attributes including double height ceilings, several sitting rooms, beverage centers/ wet bars, wine display, summer kitchen, fireplace and an array of windows/doors/balconies which filter light all day long. The luminous kitchen features posh appliances including a chef-worthy Wolf gas range, three sinks and a vast amount of counter space. The bedroom plan, all are en-suites, consists of 2 downstairs suites and 3 upstairs including the dreamy and expansive main suite. The north loggia path leads to the semidetached guest suite “casita” that is ideal for your guests or live-in staff. An interesting fact is that the home is flexible in its floor plan and will likely work for most family dynamics. The gated 18,750 SF lot enjoys verdant and colorful landscaping that also serves as privacy for the home’s large and romantic pool and covered patio. In addition to the 2-car garage, there is plentiful parking within the gates of the property. Villa Verano is sited in a prominent Coral Gables location and walking distance to golfing, parks, tennis, library, Venetian Pool and a stroll to restaurants, shoppes and galleries. It’s all here; call for your private tour.

Photo by Alberto Romeu

Best Bets FOR

MARCH

TOUR OF KITCHENS

The 13th annual Tour of Kitchens, presented by the Coral Gables Community Foundation, will take place Saturday, March 5, from 9 am to 11 am. Visit Coral Gables’ most exquisite private residence kitchens and try bites from our top restaurants. It all begins in the courtyard at the Shops at Merrick Park. Visit www.gablesfoundation. org/tok to purchase tickets for $100 each. Proceeds are used to fund student scholarships.

WINGS FOR WISHES

Technically not in March, but definitely worth knowing now. On April 2, from 11:30 am to 4 pm, Sports Grill will host Wings for Wishes. This Make-A-Wish charity event will take place behind the restaurant, and feature an amateur wing eating contest, signature wing tastings from South Florida’s best spots, and a special guest appearance by competitive eater Joey Chestnut. Purchase your tickets ($10-$120) at www.wingforwishesmiami.com. 1559 Sunset Drive.

SAINT PATRICK’S DAY PLAZA PARTY AT SOUTH MIAMI-DADE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER

In celebration of St. Patty’s Day, SMDCAC invites you to come to their plaza for a free evening of Irish music and dance. Bring the whole family and enjoy on March 17 at 6 pm. Food and beverages available for purchase. Visit www.smdcac.org for more information including a list of performers. 10950 SW 211 St.

FROST

LIVE! THE AMERICAN BRASS QUINTET

On March 26 at 7:30 pm, Frost Live presents The American Brass Quintet at UM’s Gusman Concert Hall. The Quintet is internationally recognized as one of the leading chamber ensembles of our time, having won multiple awards. Purchase your tickets for $35 at www.frost-music-live.miami.edu, and check out the full calendar for more live performances this month.

“THE WHITE CARD” AT GABLESTAGE

Now showing until March 27 at GableStage, “The White Card” presents a moving distillation of racial divisions as experienced in the white private and public spaces. Performances are Wednesdays through Sundays. View show times and purchase your tickets for $55-$60 at www.gablestage.org

“ANASTASIA” AT ADRIENNE ARSHT CENTER

“Anastasia” makes its way to the Adrienne Arsht Center from March 22 to March 27. The story of a brave young woman who sets out to discover the mystery of her past, transporting us from the Russian empire to Paris in the 1920s. Priced from $191 to $465. Visit www.arshtcenter.org to purchase tickets. 1300 Biscayne Blvd.

“I WILL SOAR” AT THE ARTS CINEMA

The Coral Gables Arts Cinema will host a screening of the award-winning documentary “I Will Soar” on Wednesday, March 16. Directed, written, and produced by Coral Gables native Janie Swanko, the documentary is about a South Florida inner city high school’s football program where a record number of players are becoming first-generation college students. Red carpet at 5 pm, film begins at 6 pm, Q&A with Swanko. www.gablescinema.com ■

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Back to School

PANDEMIC OR NOT, TOP-LEVEL ADULT EDUCATION CONTINUES AT UM

BY KATELIN STECZ

When Randy Letzler moved to South Florida months before the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 70-year-old actress knew no one except her daughter and granddaughter. So, to make friends and stay active, Letzler became a member of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

“Basically, for the first four months before the pandemic hit, OLLI became my home. And during the pandemic, it helped me cope with the isolation,” says Letzler.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute is a part of the University of Miami’s continuing education program. Open to anyone 50 years and older, the program offers members a variety of non-degree-based classes taught by UM faculty and other members.

Membership dues cost $55 a year, and classes range from $50 to $125 (most are $80), covering a variety of subjects from iPhone skills to constitutional law to freestyle yoga. However, the director of the program, Magda Vergara, says the most popular classes are currently Western art, Tai Chi, and history classes.

“You know it’s just such a great program, and one of the best things about it is that the students want to learn purely for the sake of learning,” says Vergara. “Everyone is engaged and adds something unique to the learning environment.”

Besides taking classes, members have the opportunity to participate in “interest group” discussions and social events, all free to OLLI members. “We have an interest group that meets every Monday morning that discusses sports, and one called ‘In the News’ where everyone discusses current events and

obviously, the news. And these discussions, they get very lively,” says Vergara. To celebrate the holiday season, OLLI even held a Christmas party over Zoom that included an ugly Christmas sweater competition, sing-alongs, and holiday-themed trivia.

“With the pandemic, we haven’t had a lot of social events. Stuff like that [Zoom party] is just a way for everyone to see each other and get a little bit of communication,” says Letzler, head of the OLLI social committee. While some classes are currently being offered in person, many will remain on Zoom until the pandemic recedes; others are hybrids of Zoom and in-person.

OLLI members can also volunteer to teach classes. Letzler, who has an extensive background in acting, choreography, and directing, started out as an OLLI student, but during the pandemic decided to teach an improvisation class over Zoom. “My students were unbelievable. I had two men and four women, and they just kept me laughing for the whole hour and 45 minutes,” she says.

Letzler isn’t the only OLLI teacher who shares this sentiment. Dr. Batia Cohen Ph.D. (in Mesoamerican studies) says that she loves teaching OLLI students because they’re so educated and engaged in learning. “It is challenging at times because they ask me things I never expect, so I get to challenge myself as well,” says Cohen, who currently teaches an art history course.

OLLI offers 350 classes a year, which run in six-week intervals. The next session will start on March 7 and continue to April 14. The last day to register for this session is March 4th. To learn more about OLLI and registering for classes, go online: olli.dcie.miami.edu. ■

A SAMPLER OF CURRENT CLASSES AT OLLI

• ACRYLIC PAINTING ADVANCED (IN-PERSON)

• ADVANCED FRENCH (ZOOM)

• BASIC ITALIAN (ZOOM)

• BRITISH AND AMERICAN CLASSICAL LITERATURE (ZOOM)

• ISLAMIC SCIENCES AND INNOVATIONS (HYBRID)

• OUR MYSTERIOUS FINE TUNED UNIVERSE (IN-PERSON)

• SOME AMERICAN NOTABLE ARTISTS (HYBRID)

• TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY: THE LIVES OF GREAT MEN (HYBRID)

• WOMEN FILM MAKERS (ZOOM)

TOP: PROGRAM DIRECTOR MAGDA VERGARA (CENTER): “STUDENTS WANT TO LEARN PURELY FOR THE SAKE OF LEARNING.”

ABOVE: CLASSES AT THE OSHER LIFE LONG LEARNING INSTITUTE. WHILE SOME CLASSES ARE CURRENTLY BEING OFFERED IN PERSON, MANY WILL REMAIN ON ZOOM UNTIL THE PANDEMIC RECEDES.

DISTINCTIVE LIVING MEETS BEST-IN-CLASS CARE

Belmont Village Coral Gables to Rede ne Senior Living

A unique collaboration between leading senior housing provider Belmont Village Senior Living and renowned Baptist Health South Florida is rede ning senior living. Belmont Village Coral Gables, opening in 2023, is the rst in a series of senior living communities coming to South Florida through this innovative partnership. Along with ve-star hospitality and amenities, rst-class accommodations, a rich social environment, and rst-rate care, Belmont Village Coral Gables will feature Live Healthy by Baptist Health on the ground oor, a wellness-focused center for its residents and seniors in the greater Coral Gables area.

4111 Salzedo Street | Coral Gables, Florida

Out Of Your Seat

BY CHRISTINE DOLEN/ARTBURSTMIAMI.COM PHOTOS BY ALBERTO ROMEU

Joy, loss and unflagging determination coalesce at the heart of “On Your Feet!,” the inspiration-filled show about Miami’s musical power couple, Gloria and Emilio Estefan.

Blending biography with the extensive catalog of Gloria Estefan/Miami Sound Machine pop hits, the jukebox musical played Broadway from 2015 to 2017, then toured the country (including a weeklong stop at Miami’s Arsht Center), with additional productions in the Netherlands and on London’s West End.

But now, after a lengthy pandemic pause and a pair of smaller shows, Actors’ Playhouse has come roaring back with its own sizzling, large-scale production of “On Your Feet!” Staged with abundant insight and finesse by Miamian Andy Señor Jr., who served as associate director of the Broadway production, the show at The Miracle Theatre pulls out all the stops in celebrating artists who forged their own path to stardom.

Alexander Dinelaris, the musical’s Academy Award-winning book writer, tracks the Estefans’ inspiring success story. He also vividly illuminates the struggles faced by immigrants and exiles trying to build new lives in the United States. Gloria Estefan’s mother, Gloria Fajardo, for example, earned a Ph.D. in Cuba but had to acquire a new set of degrees in Miami to support her family – daughters Gloria and Rebecca, and husband José, a Cuban political prisoner who developed multiple sclerosis after serving in Vietnam. Before his daughter’s music career began to soar, he died at age 47.

Emilio Estefan fled Cuba as a teenager, first going to Spain where he and his father lived in poverty. They wound up in Miami where, as Emilio recalls in the show, signs posted at hotels and apartment buildings in the late 1960s read: “No Pets, No Cubans.”

Many more obstacles are highlighted in “On Your Feet!,”

including Gloria Fajardo’s opposition to her multilingual daughter becoming Miami Sound Machine’s lead singer and marrying its ambitious keyboard player-producer; Emilio’s lengthy struggles to get American record companies to release songs the band recorded in English; a long estrangement from Gloria’s mother; and the horrible 1990 tour bus crash that fractured the singer’s spine.

And yet, “On Your Feet!” is a show filled with joy. Overriding everything is the couple’s enduring love story and the potent uplift of their music. As with any of the really good jukebox musicals (“Jersey Boys,” “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical”), “On Your Feet!” is a blend of musical theater and concert. Both musically and theatrically, the show is spectacular.

Consider its superb band, always visible upstage center. Six of the 10 musicians led by musical director and longtime Estefan collaborator Clay Ostwald have been members of Miami Sound Machine. To say they deliver the score flawlessly isn’t hyperbole. Downstage, dazzling dancers led by choreographer Natalie Caruncho and dance captain Hector Maisonet do their thing, often at breathtaking speed.

The large cast is led by Claudia Yanez as singer-songwriter Gloria and, making his professional stage debut, Jason Canela as producer-songwriter Emilio. Both actors clearly convey the strength and determination of their Grammy Award-winning, real-life counterparts, and both dynamically interpret their songs.

Former Miamian Yanez blossoms from a teen crushing on Emilio (as the shorts-wearing founder of the Miami Latin Boys) into a wife and mother certain she knows what’s best for her family. Vocally, she shines on a gloriously long list of hits, including “1-2-3,” “Conga,” “Get on Your Feet,” “Live for Loving You” and many more.

Nakai, Laureen Wheeler, Lisa Sayfie, Jeanie Vidaurreta, Connor Murray, Audrey Ross, Janet Tralins, Stefano Balli, Liliana Lopez, Cristina Cipolletti and Carolina Caraccia

The Hialeah-raised Canela has so far built his career in film and television, yet despite his newcomer status, seems equally at home onstage – commanding, even. He’s a fine dancer, an even better pop singer (crooning “I See Your Smile,” “Here We Are” and “Coming out of the Dark” with Yanez, a pained “Don’t Wanna Lose You” and, with Eileen Faxas as Gloria Fajardo, “If I Never Got to Tell You”), and a charismatic actor.

In addition to the leads, the talent in the Actor’s Playhouse company runs deep.

Alma Cuervo, who originated her role on Broadway and performed it on tour, is an absolute treasure as Gloria’s grandmother, Consuelo, a woman with abundant wisdom and a great sense of humor. Ex-Miamian Faxas combines tempered dominance and disappointed judgment in her portrayal of

Gloria Fajardo opposite ensemble member Adriel Garcia as the singer’s father, José. She sparkles in the character’s might-havebeen moment in the spotlight as she sings “Mi Tierra.” Katerina Morin sings appealingly in Spanish as young Gloria, while flashy dancer Zachary Roy plays the young Emilio and the Estefans’ son, Nayib.

Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients in 2015, the Estefans – who attending the opening night of the performance – are continuing their multifaceted careers as artists and entrepreneurs. Gloria Estefan, who became the first Cuban-American Kennedy Center honoree in 2017, will next be seen onscreen in the remake of “Father of the Bride” opposite longtime friend Andy Garcia. ■ ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit source of theater, dance, visual arts, music and performing arts news.

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TOP: JASON CANELA AND CLAUDIA YANEZ AS THE YOUNG EMILIO AND GLORIA BOTTOM: THE COUPLE, YEARS LATER, CELEBRATE THEIR SUCCESS AND FAME

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OYSTERS ARE STILL WELL PRICED DURING HAPPY HOUR AT THE BRASSERIE CENTRAL ON SAN LORENZO AVENUE

Quick (Seafood) Bites

Caviar Delight

Okay, so it’s an indulgence. But the folks at Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille (4251 Salzedo St.) have decided to up the steaks with their own Private Reserve Caviar. The caviar comes from small batch sturgeon (ethically and sustainably farmed, of course) fed an all-natural diet. It is served at a perfect 55 degrees for maximum flavor and creaminess. You can order it for two or for four (10 grams for $69 v. 30 grams for $169) and it’s served with sparklers. Exquisite.

Oyster Café

It’s no mystery that the price for oysters has skyrocketed in recent years. At The Gramercy on the Mile, for example, they are now fetching $5 apiece. Fortunately, you can still indulge your passion for the king of shellfish at Brasserie Central (320 San Lorenzo Ave.), where during happy hour – every day from 4 pm to 7 pm – you can order nice, plump oysters for $1.50 each. You can also wash them down with draft beer, house wine or house liquor at 50 percent off.

Off Menu Lobster

Fogato (325 Alcazar Ave.) is one of those off-the-beaten path places that will surprise and impress your date. Their “Western Mediterranean fusion” menu is dominated by Italian dishes (pastas, veal ossobuco and chicken Florentine). Not listed, however, is their Lobster Thermidor, a decidedly French dish in which the lobster meat is cooked in wine sauce and stuffed back in the shell with a mixture of egg yolks and Gruyère cheese, and then broiled. Served with risotto. Ask and it’s yours for $45.

Crabbiness

Another house of beef that does a fine job in the seafood department is Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse (2525 Ponce de Leon Blvd.). Their seafood tower is legendary, but our favorite is their crab cakes, a succulent departure from their tomahawks and rib eyes. Prepared with a roasted red pepper and lime butter sauce, and topped with fresh parsley for brightness, their cakes could take on the finest from Key West. $23 for 730 calories worth of crab happiness.

Nuevo Latin Seafood

Visitors to Ecléctico are familiar by now with its light, inventive pan-Latin fusion cuisine, with a Mexican overlay (and a mescal and tequila menu that won’t quit). Among our favorites is their “Forbidden Sea,” which combines lobster, shrimp, scallops, and octopus with maduros, black Indian rice, and sofrito. And you thought there was nothing new out there! $32. ■

FROM THE TOP: CAVIAR AT PERRY’S STEAKHOUSE & GRILLE OYSTERS AT BRASSERIE CENTRAL LOBSTER THERMIDOR AT FOGATO CRAB CAKES AT FLEMING’S PRIME STEAKHOUSE FORBIDDEN SEA AT ECLECTICO

T H E A R S H T E S T A T E

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T h e p r i m a r y r e s i d e n c e , I n d i a n S p r i n g , w a s c o n s t r u c t e d b y A r s h t i n

1 9 9 9 w i t h m a g n i f i c e n t l i v i n g s p a c e s i n s i d e a n d o u t f o r e n t e r t a i n i n g o n a g r a n d s c a l e , a l l w i t h s w e e p i n g v i e w s o f t h e l u s h g r o u n d s a n d B i s c a y n e B a y .

V i l l a S e r e n a , a h i s t o r i c a l l y - d e s i g n a t e d h o m e , w a s d e s i g n e d f o r W i l l i a m

J e n n i n g s B r y a n b y r e n o w n e d t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y a r c h i t e c t , A u g u s t G e i g e r . T h e r e s i d e n c e u n d e r w e n t a c o m p l e t e a n d m o d e r n r e s t o r a t i o n i n 2 0 1 2 .

P r e s e n t e d e x c l u s i v e l y b y A s h l e y C u s a c k , S e n i o r V i c e P r e s i d e n t o f B H H S

E W M R e a l t y i n M i a m i , F L .

A S H L E Y C U S A C K T E A M

Asian Eats on a Budget

Anyone who has traveled in Asia understands that much of the food eaten daily by locals, from businessmen to taxi drivers, is street food and, in general, not expensive. But let’s face it, Coral Gables isn’t known for its economically friendly meal prices. Don’t worry, because among the steakhouses, haute French, and elegant Italian eateries here, the Asian restaurants offer a slew of hearty meals at reasonable prices. We took a quick tour of Asian restaurants with dinner deals under $17 and lunch deals under $12. Here is a sample of what we found.

Khaosan Road (Thai)

Previously known as Bangkok Bangkok, Khaosan Road (157 Giralda Plaza) has an extensive menu inspired by Thai street food. We zoned in on the curry options to get a bang for our buck. All curry dinner dishes are $16, generously sized, and flavorful, with your choice of chicken or pork and a side of white rice. For an upcharge, you can get shrimp ($5) or beef ($2) as your protein. We went with a medium spice Panang Curry with chicken: panang curry paste, sweet coconut milk, ground peanut, and kaffir lime leaf.

Canton (Chinese)

If you’re looking for a satisfying lunch (and guaranteed leftovers), look no further than Canton Chinese Restaurant (2614 Ponce de Leon Blvd.) The 18 different choices on their Lunch Combo menu range in price from $9.50 to $14.50, but we stuck to our rule of under $12 and went with Sweet and Sour Chicken, which comes with a choice of starter soup (egg drop for us), fried rice (we chose veggie) and crispy wonton chips. The cost: a whopping total of $10.50.

Izakaya (Japanese)

Weekday lunch hour is always busy at Izakaya (159 Aragon Ave.), and for good reason. Their lunch specials cost just $11.95, and for this you’ll get fair-sized samples of traditional Japanese foods. The lunch box includes a house salad with ginger dressing, shrimp and vegetable tempura, a California roll, and your choice of either sashimi, sushi, chicken teriyaki, fish teriyaki, sauteed vegetables, or stir-fried garlic flavored beef. We went with the sushi. A miso soup to start is also included.

KHAOSAN ROAD (THAI)

CANTON (CHINESE)

IZAKAYA (JAPANESE)

MISS SAIGON (VIETNAMESE)

NAMASTE (INDIAN)

Miss Saigon (Vietnamese)

Considered by many to be the best Vietnamese restaurant in South Florida, Miss Saigon (148 Giralda Ave.) has been wowing customers in downtown Coral Gables for more than a decade. Their selection of spring rolls, steamed rice noodles, pho, and lemon grass dishes are tasty and refreshing. For us, however, nothing beats the shrimp with broth, onions, and noodles ($16.95), a masterpiece of flavors swirling together. And you can finish it with their unique Vietnamese drip coffee with sweet, condensed milk.

Namaste (Indian)

For authentic Indian fare at a fair price, head to Namaste (221 Navarre Ave.) Much of their menu falls under our less than $17 for dinner rule, but ask your server for their off-menu platter specials, which range from $15.99 to $17.99. We chose the chicken platter with medium spice for $15.99. This included tender pieces of chicken with a piquant masala sauce, a small house salad, white rice, crispy potato (like a hashbrown with peas inside), warm soft pita bread, and lentils. Dessert is included – rasmalai (an Indian dulce de leche) topped with pistachio. ■

FROM THE TOP:

Up on the Roof

BY JAMES BROIDA

The song “Up on the Roof” was first recorded in 1962 by The Drifters, and it became a major hit the following year. And who could resist the feeling expressed, that all your cares “just drift right into space” once you climb those stairs.

In the case of Cebada, the first and only rooftop restaurant in Coral Gables, you get there by elevator. But your cares do drift away, there above the fray of Giralda Plaza, with an extra boost from inventive cocktails and a cuisine style that Chef Jorge Ramos describes as “New American.” Our take is to call it Nuevo American, since it melds an eclectic combination of American and Latin flavors. What could be more American than corn on the cobb? Not much, except when Ramos’ tasty “Corn Ribs” – strips of the cobb roasted with tajin and crema de mojo, served with queso fresco and cilantro – creates a flavor profile straight out of Mexico.

The same goes for his fried chicken. It’s an all-American dish, except this is “Spanish Fried Chicken” that uses corn meal instead of flour (gluten free!), and is served with a coating of guava butter. Not exactly from the Deep South, but truly delicious and at $45, easily enough for two or three people.

The chicken comes from the “Sharables” part of the menu; other menu sections offer Pastas, Sea, Ranch, Farm, Spanish Cheeses, and Raw Bar selections. From “Ranch” we tried the sweet, creamy roasted bone marrow ($20), prepared with veal cheek marmalade and salsa verde, and served with toast points. Again,

American but nuevo.

The heirloom tomatoes did not overwhelm us – I’m not sure that the bed of plantains works – but the butter lettuce with avocadoes, candied walnuts and shallots is a delight ($14). So is the yellowfin tuna crudo with shallots, corn relish, serrano peppers, ponzu, and plantain chips, on a bed of mango and aji amarillo sauce ($17). The cocktails are also highly inventive with the use of ginger in several, which gives them a satisfying bite.

Overarching the experience of the food is the wonderful setting, overlooking Giralda Plaza and the city beyond. Few places are better for watching the sun set over The Gables, with its rare, open-air feeling.

The struggle to create Coral Gables’ first rooftop restaurant was not entirely smooth, however, with suspicions on the part of city officials that the new Cebada would become a raucous nightclub. Yes, there is music (a great soundtrack that moved seamlessly from Curtis Mayfield to Jamiroquai), but this is evening relaxation, not nighttime anarchy. Six months into its Gables foray, the city’s only rooftop hangout is a welcome addition to the dining mix, a great place to impress dates, bring friends, and explore new taste sensations. Where else can you order both West Coast oysters and pig ears? ■

ABOVE THE FRAY WITH “NEUVO AMERICAN” CUISINE

TOP: CHEF JORGE RAMOS ON THE ROOFTOP ABOVE: SPANISH FRIED CHICKEN RIGHT: YELLOWFIN TUNA CRUDO

CEBADA ROOFTOP RESTAURANT & RAW BAR 124 GIRALDA PLAZA 786.409.2287

A Room with a Brew

THE TITANIC BREWERY IS BACK, ALBEIT UNDERSTAFFED

Just across from UM’s Alex Rodriguez Baseball Park, Titanic Brewery and Restaurant is churning out craft beers just as it did when a 20-year-old A-Rod was still hitting home runs for the Seattle Mariners. The family-friendly restaurant and bar (5813 Ponce de Leon Blvd.) with a 25-year history still draws crowds for lunch and happy hour.

Titanic’s interior is divided into a front room, home to its inviting mahogany bar, and a backroom for dine-in customers. I settled into the backroom at a table sandwiched between two large families, who seemed frustrated by a nearly 20-minute wait time. Like a lot of restaurants, Titanic is still struggling post-pandemic to return to full staff.

Having said that, the restaurant offers a solid weeknight happy hour from 4 to 7 pm with $6 wines and spirits, and $5 tap beers. I arrived on

a Thursday night, ordering a $5 Britannic Best Bitter, “a traditional British styled ESB, brewed with imported pale ale and caramel malts,” which came out crisp, frothy, and smooth.

Titanic offers 6 tap beers, 7 white wines, and 8 red wines, a good but not overwhelming selection for the Gable’s self-proclaimed “Oldest and Finest Brewpub.” Despite a menu boasting everything from a Korean Pork Katsu sandwich to Shrimp Alfredo Pasta, I decided to keep it simple with an order of wings – happily surprised to learn a free pint comes with any such order on Thursday nights. The wings came out hot and delicious, which helped make up for the 30-minute wait time.

Models of the eponymous ship and nautical ornaments give the warm and cozy brewpub a welcoming atmosphere. Despite some speed bumps, I’ll likely be back for more. – Parker Gimbel

Shop Spring Trends Page 48

Spring Trends

THREE LOCAL TAKES ON THE LATEST

BY KIM RODRIGUEZ

March is here and so are the latest Spring fashions. This season’s collections are hitting Gables stores now, so we asked a few of our favorite local boutiques just how they’re interpreting the new trends. I use the word trend cautiously here as it’s often mistaken for a “trendy” piece of clothing, but trend means change, and in fashion, change is a seasonal inevitability. A trend helps guide us to what’s currently relevant and in fashion, but not what’s necessarily stylish for all. The trend forecast is a culmination of present industry leaders’ visions –and the past. Fashion is cyclical, usually coming around again every 20 or 30 years. So, the next big thing is already ingrained in history.

Buying trendy clothes does not suggest buying wisely or smartly. It simply means buying popular pieces that we read about in magazines or see on Instagram. In order to be authentic, we need to adapt these seasonal trends to our existing wardrobes that complement our personal style. As the ultimate visionary and talent, Oscar de la Renta once said, “Fashion is about dressing according to what’s fashionable. Style is more about being yourself.”

These are the “hot list” trends gracing the pages of magazines and the screens of social media influencers in recent months:

BOLD, GRAPHIC PRINTS (THINK ’ 70S VIBE)

FLAPPER AND FRINGE

VOLUME IN PANTS AND JACKETS (AGAIN)

SHORTS AND SHORT SKIRTS

BLACK AND WHITE

ATHLETIC WEAR WITH A COLORFUL TWIST SHOWING YOUR ABS

We’re showcasing three different boutiques with different points of view, so the trends shown may differ from what you have seen on the runways. However, there will be commonalities in how retailers choose to incorporate this vision into either their design philosophy (like Filomena Fernandez) or their choice of multiple brands, with trends that complement their existing collections and customer base (like The Showroom and Aria Rose.) ■

Kim Rodriguez is a Personal Stylist and Shopper whose clients include many Coral Gables residents. Krpersonalstyle.com

At Filomena Fernandez (4217 Ponce de Leon Blvd), local designer Maritza Fernandez is showing designs in bold neon colors, retro prints, feathers, the puff sleeve and pant suits. Filomena is known for its mixing of prints, and its variety can make it a one-stop shop. They continue to carry basics all year round to pair back with seasonal collections. “We have a pair of pants that we have been selling for over 8 years,” says Maritza. “We change the fabrics, colors and prints through the seasons but always stick to our signature style. If it fits so well why get rid of it? And you can never go wrong with a simple white button-down shirt; it should be a staple in every woman’s closet.”

BOLD, GRAPHIC PRINTS

THE SHOWROOM ARIA ROSE

At The Showroom (1401 Sunset Drive), known for its great basics and laid-back cool-girl style, clients will find a variety of sets this season that can be worn together or separately, and lots of little dresses in fun, bright colors and prints. The spring collection is perfect for day to night dressing, just by changing your shoes. Owner Marilyn Sanchez carries a great basic core collection of tees, button downs, and denim offered all year round that always work – no matter what trends come and go.

Aria Rose (305 Palermo Ave.), known for its fun, flirty dresses and sets, whimsical prints, and a store with an incredible breadth of offerings, is incorporating almost all the must-have trends for clients –but in styles that are made for everyday life, not the runways. Owner Lauren Patao will carry bright bold prints, mod prints, blazer pant sets, lots of crochet, floral blazers, and pieces with pearl embellishments. “While we love our neutrals, and will continue to have them in our launches, Aria Rose will be bringing spring essentials that will make your wardrobe and your life much brighter,” says Patao.

Don’t Stick to Your Roots

MADISON REED TEACHES YOU HOW TO AVOID THE GREY, CONVENIENTLY

If you pass by the new Madison Reed shop in Merrick Park, you can see hair stylists working on the tousled heads of clients. But this is not your ordinary salon. Here, the customers can get color treatments or learn to do it themselves.

As any woman who has graying hair will tell you, it can be expensive and difficult to keep up with color care. Fortunately, Madison Reed’s idea is to make it more convenient for women on the go to maintain their hair color in a quick and economically friendly way. They offer salon treatments, during which they teach you how to upkeep your own hair at home with uniquely designed kits they sell in store.

Madison Reed specializes in root maintenance, which you can get as a salon treatment for $65. If you sign up for Unlimited Roots Membership, you pay $60 a month and get, well, unlimited root touch-ups – either in the salon, or with a do-it-yourself kit that’s sent to your home. Their top seller is the Roots & Gloss kit, which comes with a detailed instruction manual and helps refresh hair by enhancing color and shine while removing brassiness.

The most recent addition to their salon treatment is a highlights service, which they offer for $135 at the salon or for just $35 if you buy their take-home Light Works Kit. ■

-Carmen Sofia Fraga

MADISON REED SPECIALIZES IN ROOT MAINTENANCE, MAKING IT MORE CONVENIENT FOR WOMEN TO MAINTAIN THEIR HAIR COLOR IN A QUICK AND ECONOMICALLY FRIENDLY WAY.

Surveillance Anyone?

AT

If you’ve seen “Wolf of Wall Street,” then you must remember that unfortunate scene for Margot Robbie involving a nanny cam disguised as a teddy bear’s eye. But as high tech as that may have seemed, these kinds of cameras are not hard to get – especially if you shop at Spy World on Miracle Mile.

Owner Steven Gonzalez has been in the business of sophisticated security and counterintelligence products for 37 years, starting up his store on Miracle Mile in 1993. When asked why he decided to open a shop for hidden cameras, pepper sprays, and tiny Bluetooth devices, he simply says “For fun!” Luckily, the fun he’s had at Spy World has been successful as well.

At the shop, you can buy everything from tracking devices to pens with invisible ink to

hairbrushes with hidden chambers – not to mention sunglasses with rear-view mirrors. The top sellers, however, are their tiny hidden cameras – which can be disguised as screws or buttons – and can be installed in any item of your choosing. “Visible cameras are a defense,” says Gonzalez. “But hidden cameras are security.”

Gonzalez says the top customers for these hidden eyes are lawyers, typically to accumulate evidence. “In one particular case involving insurance fraud an attorney came to Spy World to purchase a hidden camera, which he had placed on a towel to hang on a treadmill at a gym,” says Gonzalez. “Sure enough, the accused was caught lifting all sorts of weights after claiming he was injured.” Case closed! ■ –

Carmen Fraga

SPY WORLD, YOU CAN BECOME YOUR OWN INTELLIGENCE AGENT

96 MIRACLE MILE SPYWORLDMIAMI.COM 305.542.4600

OWNER STEVEN GONZALEZ POINTS TO A MICRO SIZED CAMERA DISGUISED AS A SHIRT BUTTON.

HANDS ACROSS THE WATER

“PEOPLE THINK THAT BECAUSE THEY’RE FAR AWAY, THEY CAN’T IMPACT ANIMALS AND WILDLIFE, AND THEY 100 PERCENT CAN...”

YVETTE AYALA OF RECLAIMED EARTH, A CORAL GABLES NON-PROFIT GROUP

BEING DONE AROUND THE WORLD

BY DOREEN HEMLOCK

Coral Gables is known for philanthropy and not only for activities close to home. Many nonprofit organizations also help internationally, recognizing that what happens afar also affects us here.

That’s the case with The International Seakeepers Society, which works with yacht owners and operators to mobilize private yachts for research and education in marine science. The group has conducted more than 200 marine missions since 2014, including trips to study Cuba’s thriving coral reefs.

Perhaps best known among area nonprofits active abroad is Project Medishare, founded by University of Miami doctors and helping the Caribbean nation of Haiti since 1994. Project Medishare is working to develop Haiti’s first emergency-trauma hospital, a venture

expected to cost more than $40 million. Also prominent: entrepreneurship accelerator Endeavor, which brings founders of high-growth business ventures into its nonprofit, global network for mentors, talent, capital and markets. The international nonprofit opened its Endeavor Miami office in Coral Gables in 2013 as its first U.S. outpost. Here’s a look at several nonprofits serving the world from the Gables and from Gables institutions. Many city residents support their work. For instance, Marla Ferreira sponsors two Tanzanian children to attend school through AfriKids, a group created in 2018 by her Deering Estate neighbor. That outreach benefits her Gables family too. Says Ferreira: “We’re just overwhelmed with joy that we can help these kids.”

THE WORK OF PHILANTHROPISTS IN THE GABLES IS NOT JUST LIMITED TO OUR CITY, STATE OR NATION. HERE ARE PROFILES OF SOME OF THE EXEMPLARY WORK

MEDISHARE

BRINGING HEALTHCARE TO HAITI FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

WHEN HAITI suffered its mega-earthquake in 2010 that left more than 200,000 people dead, the University of Miami and its nonprofit Project Medishare quickly mobilized. They sent in the first and largest medical team to the country, set up a 300-bed emergency center near the airport, and treated some 30,000 patients over four months before moving their support into a local hospital.

Now, they’re helping develop Haiti’s first emergency-trauma hospital, an initiative slated to cost at least $40 million and offer sophisticated services comparable to those at UM’s Jackson Health Center.

Credit neurosurgeon Barth A. Green, now executive dean of global health at UM’s Miller School of Medicine, for spearheading that expansive work. Introduced to Haiti in 1990 when he joined a friend on a faith-based mission, Green fell in love with the country’s humble and grateful people, including many who “came out of the hills dressed up to see the doctor,” he says. After some collaborations there, he co-founded Project Medishare in 1994 to help meet Haiti’s vast healthcare needs.

Since then, Project Medishare has helped train locals as health agents for pregnancy care and other primary needs; helped educate doctors, sometimes with specialty studies at UM; and mobilized assistance on repeated occasions. After last summer’s earthquake in south Haiti, for example, the group set up mobile clinics in affected areas and shipped down some 150,000 pounds of supplies and medicine, says Green.

Indeed, UM and Project Medishare have been so active in Haiti that their work attracted Haitian-American pediatric surgeon Henri Ford, a graduate of Princeton and Harvard, to leave a top post at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and become dean of UM’s Miller School in 2018.

“It’s great to be in a position to give back to an institution that has helped my native country unselfishly,” says Ford. “I’ve never seen another university become so engaged and deploy so many resources during the relief effort [in 2010.]” Ford had volunteered in Haiti then, witnessing Project Medishare in action.

Green traces his passion for helping others in Haiti and worldwide to his parents, both descendants of Russian Jews and activists for social justice. His mom

marched with Martin Luther King; his doctor dad helped integrate hospitals in the U.S. south. “I was raised to level the playing field,” says Green. His father always advised him: “You should treat every patient like family.” Indeed, that spirit of justice guided Green to help start the Miller School’s new Black Lives Matter Fellowship for blacks pursuing advanced work in neuroscience and neurosurgery.

Project Medishare is open for donations

in varied forms, from money to services to supplies. The artist Romero Britto, for instance, donated thousands of coloring books for children after the 2021 earthquake.

The project now coordinates with Haitian nonprofit and government groups to ensure its work doesn’t conflict with or hurt local efforts but rather empowers the Haitian people. Green says he learned the hard way that Project Medishare’s 2010 efforts at the airport had unintended consequences.

MEDISHARE HELPS TO TRAIN LOCALS IN HAITI AS HEALTH AGENTS AND NURSES

By not working with Haiti’s own doctors and nurses, the independent center undermined local healthcare. Now, Project Medishare focuses on partnerships and building capacity for Haitians themselves. Says Green respectfully, after 31 years in Haiti, “All they want is one thing: opportunity.”

RECLAIMED EARTH

GROWING UP IN South Florida, Yvette Ayala never imagined that one day she’d be helping rescue a rhinoceros mom and its baby stranded on an African island.

But there she was in Botswana last year, as crews on a Black Hawk helicopter lifted up each rhino by their feet and then flew the heavy animals across flood waters to safety. The nonprofit group that she created in Coral Gables raised much of the funds for the rescue.

“People think that because they’re far away, they can’t impact animals and wildlife, and they 100 percent can, by their choices and where they put their dollars and their time,” says Ayala.

Since childhood, Ayala always felt a special bond with animals and especially rhinos, the gentle herbivores that are among the world’s largest mammals. Being practical minded, however, she focused first on her studies and became an attorney, working for years in intellectual property law in Coral Gables. Along the way, she volunteered with animal rescues in Miami-Dade, fostering scores of dogs at her home. But by her mid-30s, with her career established, Ayala yearned to help out farther afield. She’d long followed various animal-rights and conservation groups on Instagram, so she decided to take a month to see some of those organizations in action and assist rhinos, elephants and other at-risk species.

In 2018, she traveled to South Africa, volunteered with two groups and met with others, using her legal skills for informal due-diligence. She particularly liked the Phinda Private Game Reserve that worked closely with scientists and managed cash well. Back in Florida, she formed the nonprofit Reclaimed Earth to support Phinda and other groups, and to organize visits to help the animals.

A year later, she led a group of eight people on Reclaimed Earth’s first official trip. Veterinarian and Gables resident Anna Diaz-Cruz took part, thrilled with the

direct contact with wildlife. The group and its guides visited two rhino orphanages and helped clear snares set on open lands. They also watched doctors “de-horn” a rhino, giving it a tranquilizer and then, shaving down its nail-like protrusion – all in an effort to keep poachers from killing rhinos to sell off their horns.

“I love to see animals in their natural habitat, and to think that people may not be able to do so in the future, it’s just so sad,” says Diaz-Cruz, referring to widespread poaching and encroachment on open lands by cities. She now serves on the board of Reclaimed Earth.

In early 2020, the nonprofit held its first big fundraiser, attracting some 150 people. But the Covid-19 pandemic squashed plans for its annual trip to Africa. The group instead offered virtual visits, including vid-

eo-chats with scientists putting bands on the legs of birds to track their migration patterns.

Then came a call in 2021 to help rescue a stranded rhino mom and baby. Within weeks, the nonprofit raised more than $50,000 to help cover most of the costs. Ayala and Diaz-Cruz also traveled at their personal expense to the Okavanga Delta to see the rhinos flown upside down to safety. “To give these animals a chance to survive, it was epic,” says Diaz-Cruz.

Ayala hopes Reclaimed Earth can raise awareness of threats to wildlife and help conservation groups to hire more rangers, preserve more land, and boost local economies to discourage poaching, among other measures. “Every individual counts,” says Ayala. “Because if wildlife isn’t here, we can’t be here. We’re all part of the same eco-system, and it has to be balanced to work.”

YVETTE AYALA OF RECLAIMED EARTH HELPING TO SAVE RHINOS FROM POACHERS

AFRIKIDS A GABLES RESIDENT HELPING TO EDUCATE THE CHILDREN OF AFRICA

IT BEGAN SIMPLY enough: Two young Americans, Samantha Evans and her boyfriend Robert Moore, went to volunteer-teach for the summer in a pre-school in Tanzania in East Africa in 2010. When they returned to South Florida, they gushed about the warm-hearted kids, decided to sponsor two students to attend classes, and encouraged their family and friends to support the children’s education as well.

Twelve years later, the effort the two kicked off is sponsoring 48 children annually. It’s also helping those students’ schools and communities with food, classroom supplies, and other basics. Laurie Evans, Samantha’s mom and a Coral Gables resident, now leads the nonprofit formed to coordinate the effort, AfriKids. And since Covid-19 began, she’s started making art that she sells to raise funds for AfriKids.

“Our goal is to have every child we sponsor make it through high school,” Evans says. Today, less than 30 percent of Tanzania’s youth enroll in secondary education, partly because of language barriers. Primary education is taught in Kiswahili and secondary education in English. Many children get little or no exposure to English in public school and can’t get free or private English help easily, says Evans.

AfriKids pays for students to attend private schools with English curriculum to prepare them for secondary education, and that costs money. The children they sponsor come from a poor, rural area near the city of Arusha, where the primary activity is subsistence farming of corn and grasses. Some kids are orphans of parents who died from HIV-AIDS or are HIV-positive themselves, Evans says.

To help the students from afar, AfriKids employs a local Tanzanian, Kitoi Majenja, who also works as a wildlife guide. He encourages travelers on his tours to donate to AfriKids. He also handles day-to-day logistics for the nonprofit, even arranging recently for a young boy to travel by bus with his mom to Kenya for a cornea transplant unavailable in his nation of some 60 million people.

Evans tries to visit Tanzania regularly – Covid permitting – to check on student progress and on community needs. She had traveled to Africa for decades before, working with an aviation business. On a trip in late 2021, families of sponsored children

gathered to thank her and AfriKids for buying them bulk rice, corn, sugar, oil, tea, and soap, when schools were closed and tourism halted early in the pandemic. Tears flowed.

Supporting the 48 children costs more than $50,000 a year, including roughly $1,400 a year for each child sponsored in a boarding school and $800 for each in a day school. Funds come from some recurring sponsorships, one-time donations and sales of Evans’ “Art for AfriKids,” available through Facebook and often at a weekend market on

Islamorada in the Keys. Donations also come from an AfriKids Club at Palmer Trinity School led by teacher Robert Moore, who’s now married to Samantha Evans.

Gables resident Marla Ferreira has been sponsoring one AfriKids’ student for years and now funds a second as well. “It’s an amazing way to make a difference in the lives of these children, who come from such poverty,” says Ferreira, a retired banking executive. “You need education to break the cycle of poverty.” ■

GABLES RESIDENT LAURIE EVANS OF AFRIKIDS IS HELPING CHILDREN GET THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL

Notions on the Nature of Beauty

BY KATELIN STECZ

NOT UNEXPECTEDLY, CORAL GABLES HAS AN ABUNDANCE OF DOCTORS IN THE BUSINESS OF IMPROVING YOUR APPEARANCE. HERE ARE SOME OF THEIR THOUGHTS ON WHAT BEAUTY IS ALL ABOUT.

Even over our backlit Zoom video call, you can tell that Dr. Laura Davila’s teeth are brilliantly white, as she continues talking and flashes a smile. They are perfectly shaped and just the right shade of ivory, a glowing ad for her own practice, Coral Gables Dentistry.

“You know a mentor once told me that you could never be tall enough, skinny enough, or have white enough teeth,” says Dr. Davila, dentist and prosthodontist. “But in reality, that’s just not the case. You can have perfectly beautiful teeth.” Her partner, Dr. Cristina

Osorio, nods in agreement and smiles, flashing her equally brilliant smile before adding that age-old notion that beauty really is in the eye of the beholder.

But is that really true? Aren’t there certain commonly held notions of what’s considered to be beautiful? And isn’t the desire to attain that kind of beauty perfectly common?

Every year, Americans spend vast sums on cosmetic procedures to achieve a specific standard of beauty. Even in 2020, during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans spent over nine

DR. LAURA DAVILA, DENTIST AND DR. CRISTINA OSORIO

billion dollars on aesthetic plastic surgery, according to The Aesthetic Society. But how exactly do plastic surgeons, cosmetic dermatologists, and cosmetic dentists define “beauty”? And what makes someone beautiful? We asked a few local leaders in the industry for their insights.

BEAUTY IN THE EYES OF THE INDUSTRY

It may be surprising, but most professionals in the medical beauty industry have a hard time agreeing on a singular definition of beauty. Standards of beauty are affected by factors that include culture, geography, upbringing, and past experiences, to name just a few. Some cultures find heavier women more attractive, for example.

However, most professionals in the industry do agree that there are some features, especially in the face, which are more attractive than others. “Beauty comes in so many shapes and varieties,” says plastic surgeon Dr. Stephan Baker. “But there are certain features that might distract from someone’s beauty. In terms of the nose, if someone has a pretty face but a rather large or oversized structure that is distracting, that could take away from their beauty.”

From a classical perspective, beauty has long been defined by proportionality and symmetry. There is the rule of three, where the distance between chin and nose, nose and eyes, and eyes and forehead hairline should be about the same. Then there is the symmetry rule, in which the eyes and cheeks should match – a sense possibly inherited from our genetics, since a lack of symmetry can reflect poor health, and hence someone you don’t want to mate with.

Size also matters. Noses and ears that are large are not considered as attractive as smaller noses and ears. The same can be said of breasts and buttocks; body parts that are too small or too large are considered unattractive.

But what about those of us who aren’t blessed with the golden proportions of beauty? That’s where plastic surgery and other cosmetic procedures come in. Breast augmentation or reduction can balance your body. Fillers can erase those pesky crow’s feet. A facelift may help you look like your younger self. A nose job may enhance whatever natural beauty you possess.

“BEAUTY COMES IN SO MANY SHAPES AND VARIETIES. BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN FEATURES THAT MIGHT DISTRACT FROM SOMEONE’S BEAUTY.”

“YOU KNOW A MENTOR ONCE TOLD ME THAT YOU COULD NEVER BE TALL ENOUGH, SKINNY ENOUGH, OR HAVE WHITE ENOUGH TEETH... BUT IN REALITY, THAT’S JUST NOT THE CASE...”

PLASTIC SURGEON DR. STEPHAN BAKER.

DR. LAURA DAVILA, DENTIST AND PROSTHODONTIST.

Photos courtesy of Dr. Carlos Wolf

BEAUTY IN THE EYES OF THE INTERNET

An important facet of beauty to consider is individuality and uniqueness. What’s beautiful or looks good on someone else may not necessarily look good on you. Everyone has a different body and a different face.

“I have a lot of patients come in and ask for a breast implant of a certain size because their friend has that size, and well, of course she looks great. But I have to remind them that their friend is unique – and that implant will look completely different on them,” says Dr. Baker.

The scenario that Dr. Baker describes – using another’s appearance as a yardstick – is not new in the medical beauty industry. For years, patients have brought in magazine cutouts of celebrities or models and asked for procedures to mimic their features. And now, doctors are seeing younger patients bring in filtered and edited selfies and asking for procedures to create the look of their edited, virtual selves – with small symmetrical noses, flawless skin, large eyes, pouty lips, and prominent cheekbones.

The phenomenon, coined “Snapchat Dysmorphia,” can cause young patients to become hyper-focused on minuscule imperfections that may be more noticeable in a picture than in the mirror, ultimately pushing them to seek unnecessary cosmetic procedures.

“When you’re constantly taking pictures of yourself and posting them, you’re likely to be more critical of yourself,” says Gables facial plastic surgeon Dr. Carlos Wolf. “You see yourself in angles that you never saw before, and then you become more critical of your appearance in the picture.” Scrolling through hundreds of edited photographs every day can even cause conventionally attractive people to seek out cosmetic procedures.

“A lot of people have false expectations about what they can achieve. They see these fake Instagram smiles and want those smiles. And I say to them, ‘I can’t make your smile look exactly like that, but I can definitely improve it and make it better,’” says Dr. Osorio.

Other local professionals agree that social media and marketing have driven younger patients into thinking that they need fillers like Botox to combat “aging,” even to their detriment. “You get some young ladies who come in, and they’ve overdone the fillers so much that they actually look older than they are. They’re in their twenties, but it looks like they’re in their thirties and forties,” says Dr. Wolf.

Gables cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Oscar Hevia echoes Dr. Wolf’s remarks. “Social media is definitely driving more young people to look a certain way, and it’s really unfortunate because you need to enjoy your youth and natural beauty while you have it,” he says.

BEAUTY IS IN THE EYES OF YOUR MIRROR

If you don’t like the way you look, there are things you can do to actually improve your appearance. The rest, however, comes down to accepting what you are born with.

“Beauty is really about self-confidence. You define what’s beautiful, and you know when you look in the mirror, you have to stop and say, ‘Damn, I look good,’ because individual beauty is based on what you see when you see yourself in the mirror,” says Gables plastic surgeon Dr. Daniel Careaga.

Having said that, for those of us who look in the mirror and see something we don’t like – tired eyes, frown lines, excess belly skin, or a disproportionate nose – there are two things we can do to become more “beautiful.” One, live a healthy lifestyle. Two, get a cosmetic procedure. And the two work in conjunction to make you look like

“BEAUTY IS REALLY ABOUT SELF-CONFIDENCE. YOU DEFINE WHAT’S BEAUTIFUL, AND YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU LOOK IN THE MIRROR, YOU HAVE TO STOP AND SAY, ‘DAMN, I LOOK GOOD, BECAUSE INDIVIDUAL BEAUTY IS BASED ON WHAT YOU SEE WHEN YOU SEE YOURSELF IN THE MIRROR.”

DR. DANIEL CAREAGA, PLASTIC SURGEON

W H E R E S A F E T Y M E E T S L U X U R Y

This powerhouse reunited one of South Florida's most professional and outstanding service providers. Careaga Plastic Surgery (CPS), located in the center of downtown Coral Gables, is a leader in the aesthetic industry, utilizing the most cutting-edge equipment and techniques for both surgical and nonsurgical procedures. Each operation and treatment at Careaga Plastic Surgery is customized to help patients accomplish their cosmetic and reconstructive goals in a safe and natural way.

Dr Daniel Careaga, the lead surgeon and founder of CPS, specializes in surgical breast and body contouring, as well as facial rejuvenation Rhinoplasty is a specialty of Dr. Paul Durand, who also does treatments on the body, breasts, and face. Reana Myers, dubbed The Injectable Queen, is a physician assistant who specializes in a wide range of non-surgical treatments and injectables. Victoria Socarras, CPS's Licensed Aesthetician, Massage Therapist, and Laser Technician, has unique skincare and massage techniques

the best version of yourself.

Consider liposuction. Liposuction usually gets a bad rap because people think of it as a lazy way to lose weight. It won’t, however, replace healthy eating to make you thinner. But it just might reduce certain fat deposits you can’t seem to get rid of. “Liposuction is generally for people that are relatively fit. It’s for the people who can’t get rid of the love handles, the inner thigh bulge, the fat that comes out of the back of your bra, no matter what they do,” says Dr. Hevia.

Dr. Careaga adds that the results of liposuction or a tummy tuck are not something you can achieve at the gym, even if you work out ten hours a day. “Exercise and a tummy tuck are not interchangeable, but they can help each other,” he says. “Exercising regularly helps maintain and enhance results from the plastic surgery, while a tummy tuck can help repair stretched out muscles that we see with pregnancy.”

“IN GENERAL, WE UNDERSTAND THE [REPAIR] PROCESS BETTER, SO CORRECTING AGING IN THE FACE HAS BECOME MORE AND MORE NATURAL. IN THE 1980S YOU COULD TELL A FACE LIFT FROM A MILE AWAY. TODAY IT’S HARD...”

THE FACE OF BEAUTY

The doctrine of health enhancing cosmetic appearance – and cosmetic procedures – also applies to facial plastic surgery. Avoiding smoking, alcohol, and sugar, while eating a balanced diet and getting enough exercise, can reduce the physical effects of aging. The simple act of drinking more water can lead to clearer and more beautiful skin, for example. Nonetheless, sometimes we need a little help.

“As we age, we lose fat and bone structure, and our skin gets thinner,” says Gables dermatologist Dr. Flor Mayoral. “So, as we age, we need help to keep looking youthful.” These include “neuromodulators” such as Botox that help reduce wrinkles from muscular contractions, and fillers – either synthetics like hyaluronic acid, or body fat – that can be used to restore lost facial volume. Then there are various skin “resurfacing” tools to restore a youthful texture, such as lasers and chemical peels.

Some things require surgery, however, such as removing sagging neck skin, or trimming eye lids that are droopy looking. “In general, we understand the [repair] process better, so correcting aging in the face has become more and more natural,” says Gables plastic surgeon Jhonny Salomon. “In the 1980s you could tell a face lift from a mile away. Today it’s hard.” Above all, says Dr. Salomon, it is important for the physician to understand what the patient considers to be beautiful. Suggestions can be made, of course, but “I always listen to the patient first,” he says. “I don’t bring my aesthetics to the conversation. They know what bothers them and I let them guide me.”

Conclusion? A triangular shaped face, with large eyes, a small nose, symmetrical features, all in the perfect proportion of “three” may represent beauty by the book, but in a world where we’re surrounded by everyone else’s definition of beauty and influenced by an industry that makes its money from socially driven concepts of what is attractive, being “beautiful” may just come down to achieving the best versions of ourselves. On the other hand, if you want to get your teeth straightened and whitened, we won’t stop you. ■

“SOCIAL MEDIA IS DEFINITELY DRIVING MORE YOUNG PEOPLE TO LOOK A CERTAIN WAY, AND IT’S REALLY UNFORTUNATE BECAUSE YOU NEED TO ENJOY YOUR YOUTH AND NATURAL BEAUTY WHILE YOU HAVE IT...”

DR. OSCAR HEVIA, COSMETIC DERMATOLOGIST

JHONNY SALOMON, PLASTIC SURGEON

Photos courtesy of Dr. Oscar Hevia

Beauty through the Ages

Beauty is a timeless subject. The ancient Greeks valued it - just look at their many sculptures and the original Olympics, showcasing the beauty of athletic, muscular bodies. Similar for Ancient Rome and its extensive sculpture history. The portrait bust of Queen Nefertiti in ancient Egypt has been an icon of facial beauty for centuries and continues to inspire. The list is endless, continuing with the rediscovery of the human body by the Italian Renaissance sculptors and painters (reaching its apogee in Michelangelo‘s ‘David‘ and Leonardo‘s ‘Mona Lisa‘) to the prolific artists of the Baroque age with Gian Lorenzo Bernini in Rome, the many artists in France (culminating in Louis IV’s grand Chateau de Versailles), the intricate portrait art by Northern masters (Jan Vermeer, for example) and onward to the exciting modern day fashion icons of Milan, Paris and New York.

Beauty universally continues to inspire, seduce and influence our lives, possibly more than ever. One characteristic is its immense variability among cultures and of course in nature. Beauty defies definition. It is said to be in the eye of the beholder, yet somehow, we always recognize it when we see it.

Many of our beauty concepts today are strongly influenced by marketing media - movies, print and the seemingly inexhaustible social versions online, saturating today’s on-liners with trends, products and procedures attempting to lure them into becoming ever more ‘beautiful’. With the plethora of beautifying options available, choosing can become quite confusing. ‘Should I try this?’, ‘Does it work?, ‘Do I need this?’ are common questions coming to mind.

So here are some thoughts to consider. First, try to be happy with yourself - there’s no one exactly like you in the universe, so everyone is unique, which is beautiful in itself. You may not realize this, or be distracted from it by recurring and stressful comparisons to others on social media. If you’re already happy, not much else is really needed - you’re fortunate. If you’re generally unhappy with yourself, work on that first, as Plastic Surgery, though powerful, is not a cure for deep seated emotional discontent.

If you do feel you could enhance yourself, and increase your happiness, with a cosmetic treatment or procedure, that is entirely OK. But research and understand what you are signing up for, it’s hoped-for benefits, limitations and potential risks. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t. Don’t overdo it - moderation is a virtue. Fillers and Botox are great but not when they’re overdone. The same is true for Plastic Surgery - too much and your natural beauty becomes distorted. You don’t want to look like a bad version of yourself. The goal of good Plastic Surgery is to add to and enhance your natural beauty while keeping you looking like YOU.

As always, proceed intelligently and, in the case of Plastic Surgery, spend time finding the doctor right for you, with verifiable credentials and experience, and whose sense of beauty aligns with yours.

...try to be happy with yourselfthere’s no one exactly like you in the universe, so everyone is unique...

SummerGuideCamp

WITH SUMMER ON ITS WAY, THE TIME HAS COME TO LOOK FOR THE RIGHT CAMP FOR THE KIDS. HERE IS A GUIDE TO SOME SELECTIONS FOR GIVING YOUR CHILDREN THE EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME.

A GUIDE TO SUMMER CAMPS

For those of us lucky enough to have attended summer camp – either close to home or farther away – the experience was life changing, combining joy of being out in nature with the empowerment of being away from our parents. It was a time to make new friends, new learn new skills and overcome our fear of cutting the apron string. We came away from the experience feeling a little older, a little wiser and a lot more in tune with what the great outdoors is all about –unless, of course, you went to math camp or theater camp. Those experiences were also rich, just different. Here, then are a few memories of our local citizens about their magical time at summer camp.

CANADIAN CANOEING

“My only camp experience was two years in Canada with a canoe ‘tripping’ camp, Camp Wabun, when I was 16 and 17. We were six canoes, 10 campers, a counselor, and George, our First Nation (Ojibwe) guide. At the halfway point, 500 miles down the Albany River (which flows into Hudson Bay), our provisions were replenished. My canoe was laden down to the gunnels with a sack of potatoes and a complete side of Canadian bacon. On the first little rapids out of the Hudson Bay post, my canoe swamped and we rolled over, losing our precious cargo. Our camp friends did not speak to us for a few days but we had lots of Kilk (Canadian Spam) so we survived. A terrific adventure and experience! I highly recommend it and of course Camp Wabun.”

Laurence Terry, former Olympic Rower

MOVIE MEMORIES

“My best memory of summer camp was the camp at the Miami Shores Theater. All the neighborhood kids seemed to be there! We would be dropped off or ride our bikes to camp and spend the day in the theater watching back-to-back movies. There was a Master of Ceremonies and a piano player who would entertain in between movies. You could buy movie popcorn and candy and sit with all your friends laughing and commenting at all the movies. It was not a quiet movie-going experience, we could walk around and switch seats to sit with different people, but it was very social. This was in elementary school and what I remember is just a feeling of total

freedom and fun. And isn’t that what summer camp is all about?”

Sara “Sarita” Courtney Baigorri, Courtney Law Firm

FAMILY CAMP

“If you know me, you know I love camp! I mean I LOVE camp! I went to Camp Greystone in Tuxedo, NC, for 11 years and loved every minute of it. When the owner, Jim Miller, would show the movies in Miami, he would do it at my house. When my daughter was little, she would always say, ‘Don’t think I am ever going there!’ I would assure her with my fingers crossed that nobody was sending her to this fabulous place. When Jim passed away, my mom and I

attended his funeral (oh yes, she was also a Greystone girl) and I learned there was a one-week session for the youngest of campers and moms could attend and act as counselors. I was so excited I immediately called my daughter and husband to give them this great news. My daughter said, ‘I am not going!’ My husband said, ‘It is not about you anymore, your mom is going back to camp!’ He was right!

That was many years ago. My daughter ended up attending for 10 years and is hoping to work at the camp this summer. We still go as a family to camp – and I mean my kids left college and drove five hours to attend family camp with us! I basically go any time I am invited, because there is nothing better than camp. If I wasn’t selling real estate, I truly believe I could have been very happy as a camp director or just life-long counselor!”

Ashley Cusack, BHHS/EWM

IN THE WILDERNESS

“I went to camp Napowon, a Boy Scout camp in Wisconsin. I went there every summer for five years, from ages nine to 14, and I would go for a seven-day session. There was a beautiful lake up there, and we do a lot of cool things, like survival in the woods or going to the shooting range. I remember once when I was shooting a nine-millimeter Barretta – the first time I’d ever shot a gun – and the top of my thumb got chopped off when I first fired it. So, I will never forget that. It skimmed off the top of my knuckle and left me with a nice scar. It always reminds me about gun safety when I look at it. And I remember one day when we got seven inches of rain. I happen to be doing my wilderness survival merit badge that night,

where I had to sleep outside in a tent that I made by myself. I was sitting there in a pool of water all night. But I survived – and got my merit badge. It was a memorable experience.”

Steve Bradley, Clutch Burger

SUMMER SCHOOL

“My favorite summer camp memory is not quite summer camp, but rather summer school. When I was going into my junior year at Gables High, a group of friends and I took AP Physics to get it out of the way. We loved it! Class was just a few hours a day and it was MUCH more relaxed than if we had taken it during the school year. I don’t think schools still permit taking elective summer school classes to gain credits, but it was a blast when we did it!”

Mary Snow, Coral Gables Community Foundation

CAMP DAD

“Growing up I went to ‘Camp Dad’ in the summer. My parents were divorced, I lived in Miami with my mom and my dad lived in Ecuador. The day after school was out, I was on a flight to Ecuador to spend the summer with my dad. Back then there was no FaceTime and calling long distance was expensive so during the school year I only spoke to my dad once a week – on Sundays for 10 minutes. I loved spending the whole summer with him. Summer was the time for me to reconnect with my dad, spend time with my siblings who still lived in Ecuador, and also visit with my loving extended family. I could not have asked for a better ‘summer camp’ experience.” ■

Rosanna Molinari Weber, PWD Law Firm

The Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe promotes high-quality inclusive School Readiness, Voluntary Prekindergarten and after school programs, thus increasing all children’s chances of achieving future educational success and becoming productive members of society.

SCHOOL READINESS PROGRAM

Provides nancial assistance to low-income families for early care and education so families can become nancially selfsu cient and their young children can be successful in school and in life.

• Provides a voucher that pays for most of the cost of child care or after school programs so parents can work or attend a job training program while children learn

• Employers bene t from reduced absenteeism and more productive employees who are less stressed and anxious about their children during work hours

• No cost to employers

• Eligibility is based on family income level, a family of four with annual income of $39,300 or less would qualify

• Children from birth to age 13 may be eligible for services

• Children can be placed at a wide range of available programs selected by the family

• No waiting list in Miami-Dade or Monroe Counties

• Online application and eligibility determination

• Participating programs utilize developmentally appropriate curriculum

• In partnership with parents, developmental screenings are available to identify potential developmental delays in young children and appropriate service referrals

VOLUNTARY PREKINDERGARTEN (VPK)

Florida was one of the rst states in the country to o er free prekindergarten for all 4-year-olds regardless of family income. VPK prepares early learners for success in kindergarten and beyond.

• Free for all 4 or 5 year-olds in Florida

• O ers school year (540 hours) or summer (300 hours) program

• Parents can choose from di erent educational settings: private child care centers, public schools and specialized instructional services providers

• Children that complete VPK are much better prepared for kindergarten

• Manageable class-sizes

• Emphasizes reading, math, science, language and social skills

Early Education. Lifelong Success.

PERFORMiNGATTHE ADRiENNEARSHTCENTER

Grades K-8

Drew Kern Closes a Sale EVERY 4 DAYS

The Miami real estate market remains fast paced and competitive. Now, more than ever, it's important for sellers to hire a knowledgeable and experienced real estate agent to negotiate the best possible deal for their home.

HOME & GARDEN

Outdoor Living Page 76

Outdoor Living

AT JANUS ET CIE, HIGH STYLES ARE DESIGNED TO BE WEATHERPROOF

BY J.P. FABER

What makes the JANUS et Cie space on Giralda Avenue so special, says showroom manager Jason Wood, is that it is split into two large areas, each 2,350 square feet. The one that faces Salzedo Street is for “contract hospitality with lower price points, which the hotels buy,” says Wood. The space that faces Giralda Avenue “is more geared toward the residential clients and the more contemporary designers with a higher price point.”

The two entrances, however, mirror each other. Both greet you with a massive bowl of plastic oranges, an arch of plastic, green topiary, and an overhead hanging golden plant-in-pot

which is the signature image for JANUS et Cie – also made, appropriately, of plastic. Appropriate because all the outdoor fabric used by the 40-year-old firm, from the tightly woven surfaces covering the aluminum frames to the cushions that provide comfort, are made either from 100 percent “solution dyed” acrylic, or a polypropylene known as “Janus Fiber.” And that’s what guarantees a lifetime of weather resistance, whether in your backyard patio or onboard a yacht.

The fabrics, which are all made in the U.S., can feel deceivingly non-plastic, like their outdoor “velvet” pillows. And their stylings, from the popular Amari

“THE SPACE THAT FACES GIRALDA AVENUE IS MORE GEARED TOWARD THE RESIDENTIAL CLIENTS AND THE MORE CONTEMPORARY DESIGNERS, WITH A HIGHER PRICE POINT”

JASON WOOD, SHOWROOM MANAGER, SHOWN ABOVE WITH CHAISE LOUNGES

IN OUTDOOR FABRICS.

chairs to the Knot collection of chairs, couches, and tables, look as though they could rest comfortably in your living room. This is high style for outdoor living.

JANUS et Cie is part of the Hayworth Lifestyle Design conglomerate, which also owns Luminaire, the Gables-based shrine to good design. Their regional showrooms, originally based in the Design District, relocated to the Gables in November. “It’s much better here,” says Wood. “The Design District has evolved to become so Instagram. Here we have real clients. Plus, you can park your car, and it’s a much more walkable area, with better restaurant choices.”

Wood said the Gables showrooms now service all of Florida, as well as clients from Mexico, Central and South America. While open to the public, “nearly all of our end consumers, the final clients, use a designer, architectural firm,

or design studio. We don’t have cash and carry here, where you can just take it home.”

If you were to buy direct, the prices for the chairs in their hospitality-marine showroom range from $350 to $1,200, with chaise lounges ranging from $950 to $3,000. On the residential side, Knot lounge chairs start at $1,500, with a threepiece couch retailing for $4,000. They also sell outdoor Eclipse rugs with different “color wave” patterns, displayed in shelves like the fabrics you would see in an upscale men’s wear store.

“The showroom is designed to be a resource for designers and their clients,” says Wood.

“We like to have large workspaces so designers can bring in their floor plans, along with clients. We can provide fabric samples, or finished samples, and put together a look right here.” ■

THE COLLECTION OF CHAIRS, COUCHES, AND TABLES, LOOK AS THOUGH THEY COULD REST COMFORTABLY IN YOUR LIVING ROOM. THIS IS HIGH STYLE FOR OUTDOOR LIVING.

“WE LIKE TO HAVE LARGE WORKSPACES SO DESIGNERS CAN BRING IN THEIR FLOOR PLANS, ALONG WITH CLIENTS. WE CAN PROVIDE FABRIC SAMPLES, OR FINISHED SAMPLES, AND PUT TOGETHER A LOOK RIGHT HERE.”

BRING YOUR VISION TO US

The experts at Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery are here to help create a home that’s as extraordinary as you are. Any project, any style, any dream—bring your inspiration to Ferguson Bath, Kitchen & Lighting Gallery. Visit build.com/ferguson to schedule your personalized showroom experience today.

What’s Hot for the Home

BY MALLORY EVANS JACOBSON

There is something about clean lines and angular details. Such design elements evoke tranquility and blend seamlessly in any home. This month, we’re rounding up five geometric items to inspire you to work this trend into your living spaces.

TALK TILE TO ME (TOP)

Envisioned by the esteemed interior designer Clodagh, the Sio collection for AKDO celebrates minimalistic style, pairing geometric shapes with calming earth tones. The Strata Hex line, shown, emulates layers of rocks formed at the Earth’s surface. Retail price available upon request. Designers Tile, 300 Palermo Ave., 305-573-2000, designerstile.com.

BOOK SMART BOTTOM)

Made from bronze-coated steel intertwined with shelving in back or walnut veneer, the Ramsy bookcase creates an instant visual impact. While it is certainly meant to display your favorite novels, it would also be the perfect piece for corralling important décor and mementos. Retail: from $3,695. Roche Bobois, 450 Biltmore Way, 305-444-1017.

MIRROR MIRROR (RIGHT)

Available at Luminaire, the Mood mirror by German designer Dorothe Mainkea doubles as a sculptural element. Offering an ethereal play on color and light, it would be a beautiful complement to any entryway. Retail: $319. Luminaire, 2331 Ponce de Leon Blvd., 305-448-7367, luminaire.com.

ON THE TABLE (BOTTOM)

British design house Timothy Oulton is known for its handmade furniture and décor. The Colosseum side table, made from rich marble, is no exception; it offers timeless sophistication with a nod to old England in its elegant details. Retail price available upon request. Timothy Oulton, 358 San Lorenzo Ave. #2020, 786-7524530, timothyoulton.com.

ANOTHER ROUND (FAR RIGHT)

Designed by Leanne Ford for Crate & Barrel, the West Natural Cane bar is a stunning piece of décor that doubles as a fully functional bar cabinet. The circular silhouette is an immediate focal point, and two doors open to offer ample storage for wine bottles and glassware. Retail: $1,999. Crate & Barrel, 358 San Lorenzo Ave., 305-460-3560, crateandbarrel.com.

TheEffectButterfly

IT’S NOT HARD TO BREED MONARCH BUTTERFLIES IN YOUR HOME. JUST FEED THEM.

WORDS AND PHOTOS BY GRACE CARRICARTE

When I was ready to buy a house in Coral Gables, my realtor asked what my dream home would be. I thought instantly of Swiss Family Robinson. She laughed saying, “I’m sure permitting would have an absolute ball with that.” At the very least she understood I wanted more green than concrete, and with my dog Benny’s approval that’s what we got – 1,500 square feet of 1930s Spanish style home on a 6,500 square foot lot.

Ready to create my outdoor retreat, I saw acrobatic squirrels, blue jays, and cardinals in my back yard. But where were my bees, caterpillars, bird nests, lizard eggs and my most sorely missed, butterflies from my childhood?

Unsure of how to proceed, I started with a vertical herb garden that has since thrived for 6 years in my narrow side yard. I then invested in a large, raised plant bed to go alongside it, with the aim of growing food. My first start, planting peppers, was met with immediate defeat.

Arriving at a local nursery I met Alex, who suggested I work backwards. What did I want to eat or attract in my yard? I was clear about the butterflies but declined his first suggestion to purchase milkweed, which appeared boring to my (then) ignorant self. Alex insisted I reconsider. I was unconvinced until a large yellow and black monarch caterpillar caught my eye. Milkweed was no weed at all, it turns out, but their sole source of food. I named the caterpillar Chunks and asked if it came with the plant. Alex said “sure,” insisting that even without my new friend, if planted, they would come.

Alex said milkweed does well planted in the ground, a pot, or a garden bed so long as it gets sunlight. Home now, I filled the bed with chemical free soil for Chunks’ new penthouse suite. Being elevated meant I could keep a watchful eye. Chunks munched away nonstop until nothing but a stem was left, with Chunks clinging to it like a life raft. The Very Hungry Caterpillar from the classic children’s book was before me so I raced to the nursery saying my plant was dead. They said it was not and with a good trim of the stem it’d grow right back. I returned home with 12 milkweed plants to stock Chunks’ new digs. To my surprise an entourage of mini-me Chunks soon arrived. It turns out female monarchs have no problem finding this their ideal nursery. With no magnifier to assist I was able to spot their pin-sized, cream-colored eggs. This marks Stage 1 of a butterfly’s life, beginning the process of metamorphosis.

Aspiring to witness all four stages, I patiently waited the 4 to 10 days for them to emerge from their eggs to Stage 2 as larva (a.k.a. caterpillars). After a first meal (their eggshell) they munched nonstop on their all-you-can-eat milkweed buffet, molting as they grew to about 2 inches in length. This takes about two weeks; the caterpillar then wanders off to a safe place to pupate for Stage 3 known as chrysalis. I was therefore not surprised when a missing Chunks was found safely underneath the garden bed. Having spun its silk pad, it hung upside down in a “J formation,” ready to form into chrysalis. For that, its skin is shed, revealing a green chrysalis,

TOP: MILKWEEDS IN THE RAISED PLANT BED

STAGE ONE: PIN SIZED CREAM-COLORED EGGS

STAGE TWO: THE LARVA (CATERPILLARS) EMERGE

STAGE THREE: THE CHRYSALIS HANGS UNDER THE BED

STAGE FOUR: THE MONARCH BUTTERFLY

an exoskeleton that begins soft and fragile before hardening to allow the adult butterfly to form inside. The exoskeleton becomes translucent a day or so before the butterfly emerges. Chunks took 12 days in chrysalis before leaving its now empty casing behind.

Chunks no longer seemed an appropriate name, as before me now was a stunning adult butterfly extending and retracting its wings. This would mark Stage 4, the final stage of an adult butterfly’s life. No flying lessons required, it flapped off to find native nectar plants from which to feed. Butterflies reach sexual maturity in 4-5 days and live for 2-5 weeks; in a future story we will cover native pollinator plants that attract a variety of butterflies, birds, and bees, like my tall firebush that even hummingbirds found.

In the meantime, get thee to a nursery and purchase milkweed plants; the Almanac 2022 reports that monarch populations nationwide have declined by 90 percent in the past 20 years, with milkweed habitats virtually gone. Up for some homework? Explore coralgables. com/pollinators and coralgablesgardenclub.org. Need more inspiration? Visit Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden’s butterfly gardens. ■

STAGE FOUR

STAGE THREE

What You Can Buy in Central Coral Gables

The dwindling supply of single-family homes in Coral Gables makes it a seller’s market. So much so that the two homes we’re showing here in Central Gables will most likely have been sold by the time you read this. “What’s going on now is unprecedented,” says Patrick O’Connell, Senior VP at BHHS/ EWM Realty. “Right now, we have an inventory supply of less than two

months.” That contrasts with last year’s supply at this time of three months – and is a far cry from the 12 months of home inventory three years ago. And while the median price of a sold Gables home is now $1.2 million, the median asking price is $2.1 million. “You can see what’s coming down the pike,” says O’Connell. “That median price is going to jump.”

Rooms to Spare

2925 COLUMBUS BLVD.

Listing Price

$3.5m

7 bed/7 bath/pool/6,330 sq. ft.

Located in the stunningly lovely neighborhood just north of the Biltmore Hotel, this contemporary home (1983) is across the street from the lovely historic Congregational Church, with arched banyan trees up and down the boulevard. Three blocks from tennis courts at Salvadore Park or at the Biltmore. New impact windows, but the exterior needs renovations. Listing Agent: Mike DeVito (RE/MAX), 305.588.6119

Mark Peck + Vinny Pyle + Ryan Danoff + Helen Wozunk

Historic Mediterranean

1248

CORAL WAY

Listing Price

$6.65m

This

6 bed/7 bath/pool 5,698 sq. ft.

1929 historic estate has been totally renovated, including a generator for the entire house, smart home technology, and a newly installed refrigerated wine room that holds 1,200 bottles. Six spacious bedrooms with walk-in closets, Chicago brick driveway, onyx kitchen countertops, Wolfe appliances, two laundry rooms, maid’s quarters, heated pool and spa. Listing Agent: Liz Hogan (Compass), 305.804.9700

Somewhere in Little Italy

YOU WON’T FIND A MORE AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCE THAN AT FRATELLINO

BY ANDREW GAYLE / FOOD PHOTOS BY MANNY IRIARTE

If you call to make a reservation at Fratellino Ristorante, don’t be surprised if every night for the next couple of weeks is booked. Just eight years old, this warm, cozy Italian eatery on Miracle Mile has created a cult-like following, and for good reason. It offers a reasonably priced, authentic experience of home Italian cooking, in an intimate space that makes you feel, as cliché as it sounds, like you are part of the family.

This is not high-end haute Italian, but rather the experience of being in New York’s Little Italy, where proprietor Beto DiCarlo’s dad started in the business after he immigrated to America. DiCarlo learned the art of Italian cooking – along with the family recipes – from his father, but not in NYC; instead he worked for 23 years at the family’s upscale restaurant in Bal Harbour, Café Ragazzi. Fratellino, however, is his place, and it feels like the Little Italy of a Martin Scorsese film from the 1970s, when places like Luna’s, Puglia and Ferrara had white tiled floors and family photos on the walls.

DiCarlo himself is a study in constant motion, greeting guests, carrying plates to tables, answering the phone, checking on the kitchen, and occasionally giving one of his waiters a friendly push to keep them moving briskly. Tall and lean, dressed in a cap and pullover sweater, he looks like he could be in an Italian classic movie, like “The Bicycle Thief” or “Cinema Paradiso.”

“People walk in and never expect this food,” says DiCarlo, which like any good Italian cuisine is made from simple but high-quality ingredients. “You walk in and think maybe this is a pizza place and then boom,” he says, gesturing with his hands. “You don’t have to overpay for good fancy food, that’s my motto. I want to serve the best food for the right price. That’s why we are booked every night.”

And that food, most priced in the low- and mid- twenties, is a marvel. Fratellino’s eggplant involtini ($18) is stuffed with fresh mozzarella, ricotta, and roasted peppers, and served in a pool of tomato sauce that is a pure delight, homemade from Italian Alta Cucina tomatoes. “We make the sauce ourselves, with a little carrot, three times a week,” says DiCarlo. “We make it and let it settle for twenty-four hours.” Likewise, Fratellino’s homemade gnocchi –

OPPOSITE PAGE

TOP

TOP

BOTTOM

ABOVE: OWNER BETO DICARLO (RIGHT) WITH CHEF CARLOS; IN THE RESTAURANT

TOP LEFT: CAPRESE BURRATA

LEFT: PAPPARDELLE WITH SAUSAGE

RIGHT: RISOTTO ALLA PESCATORA

BOTTOM LEFT: VEAL OSSO BUCO

RIGHT: HOMEMADE APPLE TART

FRATELLINO RISORANTE 264 MIRACLE MILE 786.452.0068

potato with ricotta, drenched in a piquant four-cheese sauce – is simple yet intensely vibrant ($23). Likewise, the pappardelle with homemade Italian sausage, roasted garlic, sauteed spinach, olive oil, and fire roasted pepper ($27) is richly flavorful. Another case of fine dining disguised as family cooking.

If you want to step it up a notch, try the risotto alla pescatora ($38), a stellar dish of creamy risotto with jumbo shrimp and Chilean sea bass, lobster sauce, truffle oil, asparagus and sun-dried tomatoes. Or go for their most expensive dish, the osso buco alla Milanese ($49), a veal shank slow cooked for four hours, on a bed of imported saffron risotto. A family (his dad’s) recipe that is also their top seller.

Fratellino’s menu is not vast, but offers plenty of selection, with specials each day – which you can also order off menu if you know them. We tried a plate of fried mozzarella in vodka sauce with shita-

ke mushrooms and peas – chewy, salty, and easily our favorite dish of the night (another original family recipe, according to DiCarlo).

And while there are only four desserts, they are all winners, from “Grandma’s Famous” tiramisu ($9) to our favorite, an apple tart of homemade puff pastry, with thin-sliced green apples cooked in white wine and brown sugar, laced with homemade caramel sauce and served with vanilla gelato ($12).

The setting is also comfortable, with overhead lighting dimmed just right at night, the walls peppered with family photos – including a large black and white of DiCarlo’s father and uncle as kids in Italy. DiCarlo himself is as comfortable with clientele as the seating is for diners, chatting amicably and joking about the ladies drinking wine at one table. “Be careful,” he says to the men. “The more they drink the better we look…” ■

THE BEST RESTAURANTS

BY NEIGHBORHOOD IN CORAL GABLES

Despite the ongoing pandemic (hopefully over its latest peak), the restaurant scene in Coral Gables is thriving. Maybe it’s because so many restaurants have outdoor seating, maybe because so many residents have been vaccinated. Regardless, Coral Gables’ legion of quality dining establishments are busy again. To help you choose a place to dine, we have taken a look at some of the best restaurants by neighborhood, north to south. Here are 45 of the best. We dine at all locations anonymously, and we list only the places where we love to eat.

$ ............ Under $25

$$ .......... $25-$40

$$$ ........ $35-$75

$$$$ ...... $70-$100+

Prices are per person for appetizer and entrée, no tax, tip or drinks. Prices are approximate.

ALHAMBRA & NORTH

Bachour

Maybe it was the lure of pastries by world-renowned chef Antonio Bachour, but this airy, industrial chic spot has become the new power breakfast place in town, with amazingly good eggs benedict and challah French toast. Also open for lunch and an early dinner, with great Greek salad and roast chicken breast. $$

2020 Salzedo St. 305.203.0552

Bay 13 Brewery and Kitchen

Australian pub food – salmon Rangoon, chicken skewers, meat pies, fish & chips – is the cuisine, an outdoor fountain makes the setting spectacular, and the beer brewed on premises is unbeatable at this newest hot spot. $$ 65 Alhambra Plaza. 786.452.0935

The Globe

The Globe is a Gables icon, and one of the coolest places to eat in the city – assuming you like a smart, Euro-style bistro. Decorated with classic paintings (and globes over their old-world bar), the menu is mostly American dishes – salads, burgers, fish, steaks, etc. – perfected over the years. Best conch fritters. $$ 377 Alhambra Circle 305.445.3555

Las Tapas Gables

Intimate setting in the space previously occupied by Mynt, Las Tapas is the newest entry in the category of fine Spanish cuisine. Fish flown in from the Atlantic and Mediterranean, with a special focus on dishes from Galicia in the northwest and Barcelona on the east, run by the consummate hand of chef/manager Florian Tomas. $$$-$$$$

276 Alhambra Circle.

305.381.0636

Namaste

Hidden on a side street off of Ponce, the last standing Indian restaurant in the Gables is small and humble (“namaste” means “I bow to you”) yet superb in its rendering of classic Indian dishes, from tandoris to biryanis. Our favorite is the mango curry chicken, followed by the chef’s special black pepper shrimp. $$

221 Navarre Ave. 786.534.2161

Zitz Sum

Brought to you by Chef Pablo Zitzmann of No Name Chinese fame, this “pop up” restaurant off the huge lobby of the 396 Building feels pretty solid. The result of a year-long pandemic dive into dim sum by Zitzmann, the dumplings (dinner only), hand-rolled daily, are superb. Other menu items are highly inventive and flavorful. $$-$$$

396 Alhambra Circle.

786.409.6920

Zucca

Located at the elegant Hotel St. Michel, this is a star in the galaxy of Italian eateries in the Gables. Distinctly northern Italian, with recipes that chef Manuel Garcia developed in a career that

included the legendary Casa Tua on Miami Beach. Lovely outdoor seating, modern Italian design inside, sophisticated, with great service. $$$-$$$$

162 Alcazar Ave. 786.580.3731

GIRALDA PLAZA & AVENUE

Cebada Rooftop & Raw Bar

It’s hard to pigeonhole this new rooftop restaurant by Chef Jorge Ramos (fresh from his acclaimed Barley restaurant in Dadeland). He calls it “contemporary American with a Latin overlay” which means roast bone marrow with salsa verde and baby back ribs with pimiento marmalade. A good raw bar, a great view. $$-$$$

124 Giralda Ave. 786.409.2287

Divino Ceviche

Divino Ceviche is known for, well, its ceviche. From dishes like Ceviche Tradicional to Ceviche de Mercado to Ceviche Nikkei, there’s no shortage of the stuff. The restaurant also has notable non-ceviche dishes like octopus croquetas and a tasting of three different causas (layered potatoes with chiles, avocados, tuna, boiled eggs, onion). $$

160 Giralda Ave. 786.360.3775

Graziano’s

This large, popular Gables mainstay is true Argentine. A deep selection of Argentine wines (which line several walls) go with churrasco meats slowly roasted over a quebracho wood fire, old school style. They have seafood and pasta, empanadas and salads, but come here for the meat, a carnivore’s delight. $$$

394 Giralda Ave. 305.774.3599

Khaosan Road

Formerly Bangkok, Bangkok, this Giralda Plaza mainstay – with plenty of outdoor tables – has reinvented itself as the new home for Thai street food. Think you know Thai food? Be prepared for new and delicious tastes. $$ 157 Giralda Plaza 305.444.2397

La Taberna Giralda

Routinely rated among the top tapas places in South Florida, La Taberna brings the added twist of a chef from Galicia, who puts his own regional spin on the dishes. It’s a small place with a neighborhood vibe, orange walls, string lights and live flamenco on the weekends ($5 cover), so reservations are a must. $$

254 Giralda Avenue 786.362.5677

Luca Osteria

The latest place by local celebrity chef Giorgio Rapicavoli (the Eating House), Luca Osteria became an overnight, reservations-only hit for dinner on Giralda Plaza. His inventive take on classic Italian food is fresh and new; the Pasta al Limone and mortadella toast with fig balsamic are just the beginning. Great Italian cocktails. $$-$$$$ 116 Giralda Ave. 305.381.5097

MesaMar

Some of the best – if not THE best – seafood in the Gables with inventive fusions between Peruvian and Japanese cuisine. Their fish is caught daily in local waters and brought to your table for inspection. Their whole fried fish is a marvel. Also, make sure to try the lobster tacos. $$$ 264 Giralda Ave. 305.640.8448

MAMEY

Miss Saigon

Voted the best restaurant in Coral Gables a few years back by the readers of New Times, Miss Saigon serves the kind of vegetable-rich food that makes you feel light and clean afterwards. Excellent seafood choices, and any of their crispy rolls (spring, vegetarian, shrimp) make great starters. Also, good dumplings. But their clear, hearty soups – what they call Pho – are the big winners here. $$

148 Giralda Ave. 305.446.8006.

Threefold Café

You have to love a place that is dedicated to breakfast all day long. But who needs dinner when you can get shrimp tacos for breakfast, along with salmon scrambled eggs, chicken parma, and that Millenial favorite, smashed avocado toast? The brain child of Australian Nick Sharp, Threefold is also popular for Sunday brunch – partly because of nice outdoor seating on Giralda Plaza. And the coffee is some of the best around. $$

141 Giralda Ave. 305.704.8007

TUR Kitchen

This relative newcomer to the Gables has a wonderfully inventive menu of Mediterranean cuisine. Chef Christian Chirino plates beautiful dishes that combine the flavors of Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, and Egypt. Amazing stuffed Turkish pide bread, stunning braised goat with gnocchi. Elegant seating under arches along Giralda. $$$-$$$$

259 Giralda Ave. 786.483.8014

CENTRAL DOWNTOWN

(Including Aragon, Miracle Mile and Andalusia)

Bellmónt

Modern décor meets traditional Spanish dishes. Their house specialty is the roast suckling pig. If you want the whole pig ($230 for 4) you need to order four hours in advance. If it’s just you ($49), you’ll need to wait just 50 minutes. As for the rest: authentic Spanish cuisine, with great seafood dishes, fantastic paella. $$$

339 Miracle Mile 786.502.4684

Bulla Gastrobar

As valued for its cocktails as for its tapas, Bulla is also something Coral Gables needs – an informal, smart neighborhood hangout with a young, boisterous vibe. Great “small plates” and refreshing sangria. Yes, it is a national chain, but it still feels local. $$

2500 Ponce de Leon Blvd. 305.441.0107

Caffe Abbracci

A Gables icon, Nino Pernetti’s Italian restaurant is both a power lunch favorite for the business elite and a cozy evening gathering place for families and couples. Closely shepherded by the welcoming Pernetti, Abbracci is quiet, elegant and flavorful. The food is so consistently good that Pernetti had to publish his own cookbook. He now has a new chef who hails from Tuscany, so the daily specials have a whole new spin. $$$ 318 Aragon Ave. 305.441.0700

Christy’s

Touted as Coral Gables oldest steakhouse, Christy’s was long the power lunch go-to – until it stopped serving lunch except on Fridays. Still, its aged steaks are consistently excellent, as are the seafood entrees. Their classic Caesar salad is still the best in town, and the jumbo shrimp cocktail is a house specialty. $$$

3101 Ponce de Leon Blvd. 305.446.1400

Doc B’s Restaurant + Bar

Offering a no-veto menu, meaning there’s something for everyone, Doc B’s Restaurant + Bar serves craveable American fare dishes made from scratch daily, incorporating the highest quality ingredients. Offering brunch, lunch, dinner and happy hour, signature dishes include the Wok Out Bowls, The Wedge Burger and “Hot” Chicken. $$ 301 Miracle Mile 786.864.1220

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse

Fantastic aged steaks, a seafood tower that won’t quit, and a wine cellar that appears to have no end of its depth. A place for special celebrations. Recently redecorated, but the open kitchen with its copper “sash” across the top still gives the main dining room a glow. Good menu at the bar. $$$-$$$$ 2525 Ponce de Leon Blvd. 305.569.7995

Forte by Chef Adrianne

Chef Adrianne’s new restaurant, in the former Cibo Wine Bar space, features her take on Italian food (the name comes from her Sicilian grandmother). One of the Gables’ star chefs, Adrianne punches up traditional dishes with some bold flavors. Best: Tuscan white bean soup, wagyu truffle-oil meatballs, spaghetti carbonara. $$$-$$$$ 45 Miracle Mile. 305.517.6181

Fratellino

Small, family run, with a fanatically loyal fan base, brilliant Italian comfort food. The long narrow set up with tile floors, wooden chairs and tablecloths makes it feel like New York’s Little Italy. Their calamari, in any variation, is superb, and the fettuccine with prosciutto, mushrooms and green peas is to die for. $$$

264 Miracle Mile 786.452.0068

Frenchie’s Diner

It looks like an all-American diner (which it once was) but this is pure French cooking in a small but comfy setting. Frenchie himself is usually there. Some items on the menu can get pricey (filet mignon, $34) but the onion soup ($9) and escargots ($11) are great values, and the croque monsieur ($14) for lunch is a meal unto itself. $$$

2618 Galiano St. 305.442.4554

Gustave

Launched by a couple of friends with a track record in Paris, Gustave’s a light-filled, lovely entry into the local French cuisine scene. With a good selection of baked goods, this is a Paris-style café with good coffee and solid fare. Good to know where you can get a croque monsieur for lunch and boeuf bourguignon for dinner

$$-$$$

366 Miracle Mile. 305.640.5675

Hillstone

There are very few restaurants in the Gables where clients will wait in a line outside. Hillstone is one of them. A power lunch spot, a happy hour singles anchor, and a family restaurant at night, the food and service are consistently top notch, with an elegant interior that is both comfortable and sophisticated at the same time. $$$

201 Miracle Mile 305.529.0141

Izakaya

Located across the street from the Colonnade building, this tiny, bustling Japanese restaurant serves a great bento box – along with an impressive array of daily specials that are posted on the wall in chalk. Super popular lunch spot, for good reason. $$ 159 Aragon Ave. 305.445.2584

Morton’s The Steakhouse Morton’s in the Gables is not just another Morton’s. Its setting in the Colonnades gives it a unique elegance, with outdoor seating under the arches. Dependable quality, prime-aged beef, and excellent salads. Good place to take that im-

portant client. Great happy hour with filet mignon sandwiches or short rib tacos for $8. $$$

2333 Ponce de Leon Blvd. 305.442.1662

Salumeria 104

Tratorria-style Salumeria is now two years old, with a loyal clientele, especially at lunchtime. Partly that is because the food and ambience is so authentically Northern Italian and rustic. It may also be thanks to their $10 lunch special of sandwich (with artisan cured meats) with soup or salad, always fresh and flavorful. Regardless of price or time of day, those sliced salumi meats are buono! $-$$ 117 Miracle Mile. 305.640.5547

Seasons 52

The restaurant for healthy eaters who enjoy quality as well. The menu, changing four times a year with each season, is always full of inventive treatments for fresh veggies, soups and salads. Their fish and meat dishes are great values, and the flatbread menu is really a nice touch. It’s a chain, but we forgive them. $$

321 Miracle Mile 305.442.8552

Pascal’s on Ponce

Elegant, quaint and delicious, Pascal’s is the home and culinary canvas of owner-chef Pascal Oudin, who brings authentic French cuisine to the heart of the city. Oudin excels in seafood, soufflés and foie gras. Try the diver sea scallops and tomato tartin.

$$$-$$$$

2611 Ponce de Leon Blvd. 305.444.2024

SHOPS AT MERRICK PARK

Brasserie Central

Secretly owned by Pascal’s on Ponce fame, the restaurant is half inside half in the courtyard of the Shops. A typical French bistro with wonderful onion soup, fresh bread and a superb paté. Everything on the menu is fresh, French, and all you would expect from Pascal. Lots of little French touches, though not cheap. $$ - $$$

Shops at Merrick Park 786.536.9388

Ecléctico

Brought to you by the folks at nearby Sawa restaurant, Eclectico is an open, airy Latin-fusion restaurant that serves “light” and inventive variations on Latin American small plates with a Mexican overlay – and a truly

awesome selection of mescal and taquilla. A new and fun place for dinner. $$ 320 San Lorenzo Ave. 786.615.5735

Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille

Perry’s is a Texas chain that gets its beef from the heart of the Lone Star State. Great outdoor space with fire pit and a huge interior with its own lounge area piano bar. Excellent reduction sauces for the finer cuts and their famous five-finger giant pork chop that is carved at the table and can easily feed two. $$$$

4251 Salzedo St. (Shops at Merrick Park) 786.703.9094

Sawa

Delicious take on Japanese flavors served in parallel with Lebanese Mediterranean, Sawa offers seating inside or outside at Merrick Park. A vast selection of sushi rolls and tapas that range from chicken yakitori to octopus ceviche, along with super fresh Middle Eastern comfort food. World’s best lamb chops. Also has a doggy menu. $$$

360 San Lorenzo Ave. (Shops at Merrick Park) 305.447.6555

Villagio Ristorante

Surprisingly good prices in this cavernous restaurant with lots of outdoor seating. Even the dinner menu serves pasta entrees for less than $15, and the extensive selections of meat and fish mostly run in the mid to low twenties. Also, good soups (the fresh crabmeat is a delight) and – randomly enough – perhaps the best apple pie anywhere. $$ 358 Sand Lorenzo Ave.305.447.8144.

SOUTH GABLES

Fiola

From the place settings to the artwork to the innovative cuisine, Fiola offers an exquisite dining experience. Brought to you by Washington, D.C. chef Fabio Trabocchi, their must-try dishes include the porcini mushroom soup, the sea scallops ceviche, and the signature lobster ravioli. Elegant presentations only add to this encounter with gustatory greatness. $$$$

1500 San Ignacio Ave. 305.912.2639

Fontana

The setting is as elegant as it comes: the Biltmore’s famed fountain courtyard. You can sit under

the stars, in a covered archway, or inside to enjoy classic Italian dishes. Fresh ingredients, from the salads to the pasta that is made daily. Great octopus, pastas cooked perfectly. One of the most romantic restaurants in the Gables. $$$

1200 Anastasia Ave. (Biltmore Hotel) 305.913.3189

Mamey

Chef Niven Patel, who is fast gaining a national reputation, hits it out of the park with this restaurant, heir to the creative Caribbean cuisine of Ortanique, but with its own unique and refreshing overlay of Polynesian, Thai and Indian gastronomy. If your taste buds seek a new adventure, this is the place. $$$

1350 S. Dixie Highway (Thēsis Hotel) 305.667.5611

Moon Thai & Japanese

Can’t decide between Japanese or Thai food? No problem. Here, you can have a Japanese house salad or miso soup as an appetizer and pad thai as an entrée. Truly the best of both worlds. Comfy booths inside and umbrella-covered outdoor tables. Across the street from UM’s campus. $ - $$

1118 S. Dixie Hwy. 305.668.9890

Orno

Located in the same building as Mamey (THesis Hotel), Orno is Chef Niven Patel’s latest creation, focusing on “New American” cuisine with a focus on farm-totable local produce. An eclectic menu lets Patel stretch his culinary imagination, using a wood-burning oven and a wood-burning grill. Be prepared for new and fascinating flavors. $$$

1350 S. Dixie Highway (Thēsis Hotel) 305.667.6766

Public Square

This popular re-configuration of the former Shula’s steakhouse still serves great steaks and burgers, but with lots of other options (seafood, pasta, sushi, salads) and plentiful outdoor seating on Red Road and San Ignacio Ave. $$$ 6915 Red Rd. 305.665.9661

Redfish by Chef Adrianne

The only waterfront restaurant in the Gables, Redfish was reborn last year after being closed for years from hurricane damage. With the addition of Chef Adrianne, the menu presents a stellar display of gourmet seafood. $$$$ 9610 Old Cutler Rd. 305.668.8788

Fontana | Cascade | 19th Hole Bar & Grille | The Culinary Academy

Whether you are seeking the warmth of a traditional restaurant interior, the bliss of dining al fresco, either formal or casual, or an educational challenge, the Biltmore Hotel takes you on an exceptional culinary journey in a stunning historic setting offering a myriad of award-winning options

Bringing Natural Smiles To Coral Gables

There are very few dental practices with a hyper-focus on cosmetic and implant technology. Drs. Laura Davila and Cristina Osorio have an emphasis and specialization in Prosthodontics - i.e. Full Smile Restorative Dentistry (veneers & implants) with timely dental treatment. There are very few dental practices with a hyper-focus on cosmetic and implant technology. In addition to Prosthodontics, we perform all General and Family Dentistry. Coral Gables Dentistry believes in making their patients’ comfortable and o er complimentary nitrous gas sedation as an adjunct to treatment and hygiene visits. Their philosophy is to provide comprehensive dental care along with treatment options that cater to one’s specific needs. Identifying and addressing your unique desires is often the best way for patients and dentists to share a fulfilling relationship and meaningful outcomes.

The Doors of Coral Gables

There is something about a door. As a metaphor, it’s a gateway to somewhere else. In the real world it’s the portal to our private space. As Akiko Busch writes in Geography of Home, “Although it may be unused, the front door continues to appeal to our sense of arrival.

Call it the ceremony of coming home.” A door is also a kind of calling card, a statement you make to the neighborhood. With that in mind, we present nine, magnificent Gables doorways, all captured by photographer Barbara Redondo.