MiamiHerald.com: Coral Gables

Beth Am kids enjoy fruits (& veggies) of their labor

Sat, 26 May 2012 13:52 EDT

Nineteen students from Vicky Koller’s Temple Beth Am Day School 4^th grade science class recently returned to Deering Bay Yacht & Country Club to celebrate the harvest of the community’s vegetable garden.

The kids got hands-on experience learning about soil cultivation, composting, harvesting, seed collection, the beneficial role of insects and healthy eating.

In the second annual Battle of the Dips competition, guacamole was the overwhelming selection of the class. In a much closer race, the golden beet edged out pineapple by a nose as the favorite offering from the Deering Bay Club Community Garden.

Last chance to enjoy Farmers Market on the Plaza

Thu, 24 May 2012 09:30 EDT

The inaugural season of Farmers Market on the Plaza comes to a close Saturday, May 26, at the Coral Gables Museum.

In addition to farm-fresh produce, special events for the finale include a performance by the Miami String Project — a wonderful children’s group – and a drawing of a gift certificate for lunch for two with wine at Seasons 52. The drawing will be at the Seasons 52 cooking demonstration at 11 a.m.

Visitors will find all this and much more from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the museum plaza, located at the corner of Salzedo Street and Giralda Avenue. Admission is free.

Miami Children’s Hospital removes trees as part of campus growth

Thu, 24 May 2012 00:00 EDT

What happened to the trees?

That was the question for some neighbors of the Miami Children’s Hospital recently, after five mature ficus trees and overgrown hedges were removed from the hospital’s south and east borders two weeks ago.

County regulations required the hospital to remove the invasive ficus trees as a condition for approval of new buildings on the campus, which is off Red Road, south of Coral Way, in the Schenley Park neighborhood. The trees also were diseased, creating a risk of limbs falling on vehicles or pedestrians, according to Ralph Rodriguez, the manager of facilities planning at Miami Children’s Hospital.

The 40-foot ficus trees, which were on 60th Court and 33rd Street , will be replaced with 75 25- to 30-foot live oaks and other native trees and shrubs . Live oaks’ mature height is between 40 and 50 feet. As of Monday, 25 oaks already had been planted.

“I am glad we are addressing why the hospital acted responsible and not be answering questions on why a knowingly diseased tree was not removed,” Rodriguez said in an email.

Rodriguez said that landscape architects and horticulturists developed a tree mitigation plan for the hospital that was approved by the county.

The perimeter project started in 2010 and is part of the hospital’s master plan. The plan also includes the new Northwest Tower parking garage and office space that was completed in 2010, as well as a new ambulatory care building that is set to open in 2014.

The 6-foot aluminum perimeter fence will be screened by five landscaping layers, from smaller ligustrum trees to 30-foot high bamboo plantings. The fence, which has already been installed on the north and west sides of the hospital, will “create a consistent, beautiful and functional landscape environment,” said Rachel Perry, a hospital spokeswoman. Also, the hospital will be creating a butterfly garden on the southeast corner of the campus.

Rodriguez said some Schenley Park residents were also concerned that the project would include the creation of a new hospital entrance. However, Rodriguez said, the only entrances will be the two now in place — one on 62nd Avenue and the other on Devonshire Boulevard.

Perry said residents living in the area by the hospital’s perimeter were notified about the south and east landscaping project two weeks before it began.

The design of the landscaping project incorporates “Florida Friendly Landscaping” principles. Guidelines involve choosing and planting native flora that require little or no supplemental irrigation, are more resistant to local diseases, pests and cold snaps, and provide a livable habitat for urban wildlife.

The fence project should be completed by July 30, Perry said.

“Once this project is complete, the perimeter of the hospital will have a clear and safe walking area in a park-like setting,” Rodriguez said. “At Miami Children’s Hospital we are proud of our continuous enhancements of our green areas and we will continue to improve in years to come.”
Coral Gables

Coral Gables Commission to discuss pick-up trucks on June 5

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:54 EDT

Coral Gables residents who want a say on proposed changes to the city’s pick-up truck ordinance should plan to attend the June 5 City Commission meeting.

Coral Gables Commissioner Maria Anderson moved to schedule a commission vote on the Planning and Zoning Board’s recent recommendations to modify the city’s longstanding rule that bars pickup trucks from parking overnight on residential streets or driveways.

The commission is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. on June 5 at City Hall, 405 Biltmore Way.

“We need to hear this and vote it up or down, but this is taking way too long,” Anderson said at the end of Tuesday’s commission meeting. “This is important that it’s done before July,” she said, also urging for a lean agenda on that day so people will know that the controversial issue is up for discussion and may offer public comment.

“I think it’s an important enough item,” she said.

Anderson has long been of the opinion that the original ordinance needs to be modified. The Planning and Zoning Board recommended last month that the city allow pickup trucks in driveways with several conditions: the vehicle would have to be parked with the front facing the street, no vehicles with advertising would be allowed, and the bed would have to be completely covered.

In other action on Tuesday, the City Commission voted unanimously to support continuation of the Business Improvement District, a special taxing district that helps promote business downtown.

To continue the BID, the group, formed in 1997, must undergo a petitioning process to ascertain whether a majority of the property owners along the Mile and the adjacent blocks want to keep it going. The commission’s approval allows the process to move forward, a task undertaken every five years, said Mari Gallet, executive director of the BID.

“The goal is to ensure the commercial viability of the area,” she said. “Every five years we go back to the property owners to ensure that they want to continue the BID.”

Commissioner William Kerdyk Jr. stressed the importance of the BID, especially if a possible revamping of the Mile gets underway in the future.

In another unanimous decision, commissioners approved a final reading of an ordinance detailing their staff’s recommendation to accept revisions to the University of Miami’s University Campus District Master Plan. The changes will permit two additional buildings within the Campus Transitional Area along San Amaro Drive on the northwestern perimeter of the Coral Gables campus.

The additions will not increase total building square footage but will preserve three existing buildings that were deemed historically significant by the city’s Historical Resources Department. These buildings, the Rehearsal Center, Arnold Volpe Music Building and Bertha Foster Memorial Music Building were previously slated for demolition.

The improvements are a part of the university and the city’s 20-year plan for future development on campus and a number of new cultural, athletic and medical programs that would be made available for city residents.

To accommodate some of the historical department’s recommendations, a second phase design of a classroom/recital hall building will be reduced from 35,000 to 28,857 square feet.

The commission also voted to accept City Manager Patrick Salerno’s plans to refinance certain debt obligations at a savings of $230,000 annually thanks to a reduction in interest from 3.5 to 2.67 percent.

Follow @HowardCohen on Twitter.
Coral Gables

South Miami’s Chocolate Fashion isn’t just for lunch

Wed, 23 May 2012 00:00 EDT

Tidy and petite, with fresh-baked bread daily, Chocolate Fashion is known as a breakfast- and lunch-only spot at its year-old South Miami location and the original in Coral Gables. Carb and dessert lovers, however, know that if you get there by 6:30 p.m. weekdays, you can get one of those heavenly sandwiches to go for dinner.

The roasted turkey and swiss cheese with lettuce, tomatoes and mustard butter on a French baguette is a classic, with a crisp crust and chewy interior to the bread and real turkey breast. The same aromatic bread is used for a prosciutto and fresh mozzarella sandwich with a drizzle of balsamic dressing.

A small mesclun salad with kalamata and manzanilla olives and cornichons accompanies sandwiches. If you’re eating in, a few wooden tables line the narrow, artisanal bakery.

Breakfast is served until 1:30 p.m. on weekends. Everybody raves about the fluffy brioche French toast, but it’s the perfectly poached eggs on hot, buttered, whole wheat bread with a sausage link on the side that has me smitten.

For dessert? Chocolate, of course. Our top choice: Chocolate mousse cake, a tiny, four-bite treat encased in shiny ganache.

Chocolate Fashion, 5868 Sunset Dr., South Miami; 305-661-7200, chocolatefashiononline.com; sandwiches and salads $6.75-$10.75, desserts $1.60-$5; 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday.

Coral Gables

Exotic animals snarl traffic, delight kids in Coral Gables

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:22 EDT

What happens when you put a giraffe, a zebra, a camel and a tiger near a main street during rush hour?

George’s restaurant brought in a travelling zoo that slowed traffic on Sunset Drive in South Miami and Coral Gables Monday afternoon.

“There is the baby tiger, papi,” a little girl screamed. “I told you it was here.” Her dad, Samuel Parker of Kendall, was driving by and was forced to park his car so that his six-year-old daughter, Samantha, could take a closer look.

“I could not believe my eyes,” Parker said, referring to the caged exotic animals on display on Miami-Dade County property across the street from the restaurant, 1549 Sunset Drive, and in front of the Tropical Audubon Society Botanical Gardens.

“Some little kid is having a hell of a party,” Giancarlo Sopo, of Coral Gables, posted on Facebook.

The promotional African party with balloons and face painting for the kids cost about $10,000, said the restaurant’s co-owner Herve Huncetler. Co-owner George Faurge painted his face for the occasion and dressed up in a colorful costume with big feathers on his head to greet costumers.

Sandra Maria Lozano, who was having dinner at the restaurant, described his costume as “ridiculously funny.” The Miami Herald’s Dave Barry said he looked like a character in the “1932 Tarzan movie.”

“The strategy worked. We were busy the whole night,” said Huncetler.

The restaurant also provided raw filet mignon for the Bengal tiger, as people crowded around. The cages were so small the animals were knocking their drinking water over, and the caregivers had to refill it regularly.

Not everyone was happy to see the animals, which traveled from Homestead for the 6-to-10-p.m. event.

Nearby businesses like Boca Tanning Club salon were having issues with clients who were late to their appointments, and there was lack of parking.

Drivers were using their mobile phones to share photos of the “only in Miami” scene.

“A typical drive home in Miami,” Manny Varas posted on Facebook. He was on his way home in Coral Gables, where he himself has had Bengal tigers and other exotic animals for private parties.

“Flashy people rent those in Miami all the time, but putting them next to a main street is just crazy,” Carolina Velez, of South Miami, said. “I’m stuck in traffic because of a giraffe!”

Jill Rapperport said the small cages were causing some havoc.

“We love nature and peace around here,” said Rapperport, who teaches yoga at the botanical garden.

South Miami resident Antoinette Fisher said that the restaurant should be hiring people for promotional events – not “renting” animals that “can’t move freely.”

“To me is just something that should not be happening,” said Fisher. “Personally I feel that is inappropriate to bring those kinds of animals specially a giraffe and a tiger that need room to move around.”

But six-year-old Samantha was oblivious to animal rights issues or traffic delays. She said, “I had never seen a horse with lines up close. This is the best!”
Coral Gables