Miami (Day 2): Miami Rice

Miami. Land of sunshine, Gloria Estefan, pink flamingos, over-toasted elderly white people, and slicked-back-hair dudes who wear big medallions and shorts with dress shoes without socks. Or at least that's how I kinda pictured Miami to be... with a Jan Hammer theme song perpetually playing in the background, of course. Everything I know about this place I learned from watching Miami Vice.

So imagine my relief to discover a little bit of culture in Little Havana, Miami's Cuban neighborhood [or as my friend, Tony Montana would say, "coo-ban"]. The main drag is 8th Street, or Calle Ocho as the "natives" call it, and it's a bit reminiscent of a... say... Chinatown for Cubans, if you will. Instead of Chinese kitsch, there's Cuban kitsch. Instead of herbal shops, there's cigar shops. Instead of restaurants, there's... umm, restaurants... which is pretty much the main reason why we're here, despite the crazy rain. We're at a local joint called Exquisito Restaurant, where the Exquisito Especial Cuban Sandwich is aptly named, and the Stuffed Chicken Breast will leave me craving for more come dinnertime. Add a side of plantains [fried bananas], moros rice [rice stewed in black beans], and creamy smooth flan for dessert, and you can pretty much slap yo' momma silly. Yum. I think I've died and gone to Cuba!

So far, I've likened Miami to be a splash of Hawaii with a dash of New Orleans, a pinch of LA, a sprinkle of Tijuana, and a touch of Rio... and with the torrential downpour today, maybe even a hint of Seattle. Sunshine State, my ass. Though, there are a ton of palm trees all over the place. The worst part is trying to convince the wifey that I'm Crockett and she's Tubbs... not the other way around.

Random Stuff:

• We found a Winn Dixie! We've always heard about this store on TV shows like Mama's Family, but never actually been to one. Pretty disappointing, really... it's just like a Safeway, or more like a Lucky. The wifey was hoping to run into Mama, but I guess she's probably busy shopping at the Piggly Wiggly. [Yes, we used to watch Mama's Family. Don't act like you didn't.]

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Picture of the Day
Watermelon Soda. No Comment.