This is a monument dedicated to the Cuban people, Located in Downtown Miami with lovely sea views…read more This is what it stands for - In December 1994, a public monument, called the Liberty Column, was inaugurated in Miami commemorating the journey and suffering of Cuban rafters. Designed by sculptor Enzo Gallo, the statue consists of hands raised to the sky and a round marble column set in a fountain. It is located at Bay Front Park in Miami in front of the Hotel Intercontinental. The statue was vandalized in 2004 and restored by Cuban-American sculptor Marc Andries Smit. The plaque beside the monument reads, "Since 1959, thousands of Cubans have perished anonymously while fleeing tyranny in small boats and makeshift rafts although their names, like martyred refugees of other nations, are written solely on the pages of the sea, this column is a permanent testimony of the human need to be free."

This is actually for part of the Pub Crawl, as I joined in a little more than halfway through…read more (Sorry the intro isn't as elaborate as my usual reviews, as I am still recovering from the food coma :) I heard about the Croqueta Crawl through the talk threads and on Twitter. There was a little bit of confusion about the RSVP, but our hostess Liza W. was great in keeping those of us interested that there was enough space. I met up with the group at El Brazo Fuerte. Besides meeting up with Tom W., Vanessa S., Will and Jax, and George, I tasted a "meh" ham croquette. So in the words of the great Sean Carter, "On to the Next One". ..which was Ricky Bakery. Although unassuming from the outside, the interior of the bakery si a cozy spot with wood framed ceilings, little tables and a dessert selection as well. My tasting consisted of both ham and chicken croquettes. I had two of each since it was hard to decide between the two. In the end, both were 5 stars along with a passion fruit mousse I got for myself. The owner (Ricky) also came out to talk to the group and from what I hear was a hit with the ladies. Gilbert's was also 5-star worthy. The owner socialized with us as well, but at least for me the "Bocadito" (bread with ham spread) was better than the croquertas. Certainly a fun Sunday alt-brunch, and a great way to absorb last night's "grown up grape juice"!

I've got to start this review by congratulating Liza Walton (http://twitter.com/lizawalton) for…read moreputting this whole thing together after her, my wife and a few other instigators started a debate on Twitter, "Who has the best croquetas in Miami?". We embarked on a mission to try them all; or at least the big hitters starting in Little Havana. We've been promised a Part Deux to explore some bakeries in Hialeah but I'm sure that Isla Canarias will still take the croqueta. We've even had a convert who came into this stating that a particular place in Hialeah had the best croqueta's around. Once he bit into a jamon piece of heaven from Islas Canarias, he retracted his previous statement. Starting at Versailles (http://www.yelp.com/biz/versailles-bakery-miami) we were provided with traditional jamon, pollo and bacalao croquetas which were served with tartar sauce. What? Yeah, tartar sauce, WEIRD. I've heard Versailles is the place to be in MIA for all things Cuban and while I thought their offerings were good it was definitely over-rated. So we all piled into our GM sponsored Escalades, Regals, Malibus, Denalis and Cruzes and OnStar locked us onto our next stop, Islas Canarias (http://www.yelp.com/biz/islas-canarias-restaurant-miami-2). Their only offering was jamon (you've gotta venture out west to their main location [http://www.yelp.com/biz/islas-canarias-restaurant-miami] to get the full spread [and I *LOVE* the full spread!]). In my book, Islas rocked it and won best croqueta of all the bakeries we invaded. Their meat pastries are obviously handmade, HUGE and tasted friggin' perfect. They even gave us lime, crackers and Tabasco to bathe in, I mean enjoy them with; just the way a croqueta is supposed to be enjoyed! Next stop was at the massively underwhelming El Brazo Fuerte (http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-brazo-fuerte-bakery-miami). I think there is something wrong with a bakery that also sells knock-off Power Rangers (Who even still makes those? Didn't Power Rangers go out of style in like 1995???). Just how authentic can your croquetas be when you're touting Official Twilight Eclipse cupcakes in the same display? I won't even get into how disappointing these blatantly machine made, perfectly round, probably frozen croquetas were that they tried to pass off on us. Ricky's Bakery (http://www.yelp.com/biz/rickys-bakery-miami) saved us from El Brazo Fuerte by serving up delicious pollo, jamon, spinach, bacalao, and cheese versions of (can you guess what?) CROQUETAS (Good guess! Next time you're riding in the short yellow Escalade!)! By this point my gut was asking me how many more of these I was planning on stuffing down my fat mouth and I told it to STFU or else I was going to start over at the beginning again. Ricky's took second place in my book. A *very* close second to Islas, but second place none the less. My favs at Ricky's were the jamon (because who doesn't like tasty dead pig), spinach because it was über tasty and a cool variety I've never had before, and bacalao which was delicious without being overly fishy *looking at you Versailles*. Our final resting place, post croqueta heart failure, was Gilbert's (http://www.yelp.com/biz/gilberts-bakery-miami). I give them the prize for most unique offerings as they pumped out quite interesting versions of jamon, romesco and piquillo treats. I liked that the romesco had a little capsaicin bite and was served with a delicious aioli sauce but the croquetas were really small, kind of weird and a little soft. So soft in fact that I couldn't even pick up the jamon with my hands as they would just fall apart. Gilbert's and Brazo Fuerte are still arguing about who gets 4th place because neither of them wants to be last. The people were amazing, our GM rides were sweet and the croquetas were colon-clogging. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got to go try out this enema before I hit the box for a solid WOD (http://www.yelp.com/biz/crossfit-coral-gables-coral-gables).

When I first moved into Isles at Oasis over three years ago, I fell in love. I fell in love with my…read morehome and the community I moved into. We had 24 hour a day, manned security guard, I lived in front of a beautiful lake with breathtaking sun sets, an active HOA which enforced the rules and great neighbors. By the time I left: 1)the manned security was replaced by remote security. They hired this company called Envera, which operates a remote security. In order to get in, you have to have you car use a sticker which allows a scanner to read your a resident or use the visitor box at the entrance and have your drivers license scanned. Allegedly anyway, tons of people tailgate to get in (especially people in Caribbean isles)... and sometimes the company just has the bars raised at random parts of the day including nights sometimes and all holidays. I never felt secure. Plus it was a pain to get Uber eats or other services to get thru. And good lord the lines to get in! This never happened with manned security. 2) neighbors... had mostly good ones but I got some to the right of me that were a piece of work. The kids were jerks. They purposefully did things to piss us off including riding their bikes through our front yard including when we had Christmas lights in order to unplug our extensions cords 3) Capri never had a fountain... why? All the other subcommunities got one 4) The sign to Isles at Oasis was always lighted and beautiful... not so much by feb this year This is why, although it pained me to move out... kinda glad I did... neighborhood just wasn't the same anymore.

I'm a little over Overtown. It's just sad AF…read more It's a sad place, kind of heartbreaking, especially when you consider the fact that there are a lot of cats and dogs and humans around here, and if you look not-even-that-closely, you can see their bones sticking out from all over their bodies, and it looks like they've been the victims of a famine - and essentially they have if you like. The Capitalism Famine. It's a part of town that's so depressing that it makes me ashamed to be part of capitalism. You should come and see it for yourself before telling me that capitalism works for everyone, because it only works for very few, and then a whole bunch of us are getting by decently, and then a whole bunch more are living like this. Starving bodies in alleyways, lying on the ground, disabled people with ribs sticking out living along the streets, and little starving cats and dogs wandering around them. I literally cried. I've seen bad stuff in other countries and in this country, but this area looked like pure famine. And yet it's one of the trendiest holiday cities in the richest country on earth. It made me think that I'm a monster. It made me think that we all are. But the House Of Wings located in Overtown, is wing paradise. Better than anywhere outside Buffalo. So get on over here and get these wonderful wings, and stop on the nearby streets and feed some of the poor souls who aren't even strong enough to stand up and ask for money. And maybe while we're enjoying these perfect wings we can do a double take on capitalism and what it means, and leads to, because I'm not sure what else to do about it than write this about it. What about you? Any ideas? 5 stars for the wonderful wings and the fight of the people here. Minus 1 star for the people who run the city (and country) for allowing these people to suffer.

Yes, Overton is gentrifying! There were some beggars, we passed some with their wares outdoors…read more We felt safe, people were friendly and there was a lot to see. I'm sure Overton's real estate will be priced out in a few years!

Midweek gallery openings like these are a perfect break from the week's routine. The fact that old…read moreschool hiphop music was the "muzak" made it that much more enjoyable. The exhibit welcomed you with an inspirational quote (see the pic), as well as photographs of those famous in both the world and within themselves. The Hennesy was flowing and I even had the pleasure of seeing Michelle Z and Sabrina M! All in all a very welcome break for moi!

The name Allapattah comes from the Seminole word for "alligator". It's a rapidly evolving…read moreneighborhood in Miami that has transitioned from a historic, working-class industrial area into a vibrant, artistic hub. It is Known as "Little Santo Domingo," because there is a strong Dominican & Caribbean influence. It's entrally located near Wynwood & downtown, it boasts attractions like the Rubell Museum and Superblue. There are impressive art galleries & venues: Mindy Solomon Gallery, Galleria La Cometa, Voloshyn, Andrew Rad, KDR305, El Espacio 23 & Marquez Art Projects. The Plaza Seafood Market is a Latin Food Hall here. We enjoyed lunch at Leku in the Rubell. Street parking & walking around during the day feels safe as there is a lot of traffic & security. I would not walk alone at night but I would stick to well-lit and populated streets whenever possible.

I asked the Muslim God for some French meat spread and I was given some Allah-pate. This has…read morenothing to do with that. Gorgeous and amazing up-and-coming neighbourhood which means that it's "in the process of being gentrified" but it still has a lot of rough edges and amazing charm. I hope it doesn't become the next Wynwood which is the next neighbourhood over and is Bouge Central and Hipsterfood City, because there's still so much great real food here - especially Latin food and Caribbean food in these neighbourhoods. I love hanging out here and it's the location of the very first Palace Of Juices that I ever went to. It's quite a large neighborhood and it has a lot to offer. Hopefully they don't keep destroying its soul.

Driving through Miami I couldn't help but pull over for this stunning 10763 sq foot mural on the…read moreside of the Megacenter Self-Storage and Office Suites. Al filo de la Conciencia translates to On the edge of Consciousness. It was created during Art Basel in 2019 by Chilean artists Inti Castro and Alejandro (Mono) González. The artists are known for their large scale street murals that bring awareness to the rich art culture of Latin America and Chile. Often there is a political statement in the art which shines a light on important issues and the socially and economically marginalized. Through this art piece the artists wish to convey a call for climate change. They ask for all generations to care the the welfare, environment, and preservation of the planet. Al filo de la Conciencia was created through the the executive management of VitrinaLab, produced and curated by Galeria Lira, and sponsored and financed by Mega Centerus.

While driving into Tropical Park, I couldn't help but notice a large bronze statue that appeared to…read moredepict Ronald Reagan alongside a horse. Curious, I set out to learn more about it. The sculpture's official title is A Man and His Horse. This life size bronze work portrays Reagan holding a horse's muzzle with both hands. It was created by Carlos Enrique Prado, a contemporary Cuban artist known for his ceramic sculptures and public art installations. Prado lives in Miami and serves as a professor at the University of Miami. The Ronald Reagan Equestrian Monument was commissioned by Miami-Dade County in 2018 and installed at Tropical Park to welcome visitors to the Equestrian Center. The sculpture pays tribute to Reagan's well-known love of horses and his enduring popularity among many residents of Miami-Dade County. The project was championed by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Javier Souto, who participated in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion as a young man. While the statue commemorates Reagan's personal affinity for horses, it also symbolizes his strong anti communist stance and opposition to Fidel Castro's regime, positions that have long resonated with South Florida's Cuban exile community.