If you weren't at the grand opening of LoKal, the Burger & Beer place last night, you were probably the only one. It seemed like the whole village was out, and then some. Hundreds showed up to celebrate LoKal, which actually has been open since December 24. Here's our story about their opening day, with more details about the menu.
Politicians and the movers and shakers of Coconut Grove came out last night to enjoy burgers, chili, beer and wine, which were all handed out throughout the night. Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado gave LoKal a proclamation and then cut the big ribbon. We had suggested he cut into a burger, but they didn't go for that plan.
We have a ton of photos on our Facebook Fan Page. Check 'em out and tag yourself if you're there! And "like us" and become a fan while you're there! We plan on putting most of our photos there in the future, it's more social media-ish. You don't have to have a Facebook account to see the pictures, just click the link.
(To share this story, just click on the time under it and a permalink will open, where you can copy that URL for this story only, works with all stories).
Congrats to my friend Riley Smith. This marks the second consecutive year that his team at The Riley Smith Group has sold the most number of homes in Coconut Grove!
I run into Riley almost daily somewhere in the Grove, I am all over the place and apparently so is Riley, out there, selling homes!
More on Riley at: http://www.rileysmithgroup.com/
More congrats to the Sandbar Grill, who won "Miami's Best Sports Bars" in Miam New Times' recent Best of Miami contest. Here's the list of bars.
The New Times has been spreading out the awards over the past few months.
Tavern In the Grove came was in the Best Dive Bar category.
Le Bouchon du Grove was one of the best in Best French Bistros.
The Grapevine got honorable mention in the Blog category. The Crespogram Report won Best Blog. Here's the list.
So many places are closing in the Grove because people are not visiting. The main reason I hear is lack of parking or problems parking, even my friends who live in the Grove complain about parking. I don't think it's the fact that people can't find the 4800 spaces all around the area, I think it's the fact that they do not want to pay to park.
I was at a couple of arts festivals over the weekend and I didn't have to park at either one. I went to the Miami Beach Art Deco Festival and parked at a lot without meters and I went to the Pinecrest Gardens Fine Arts Festival and again, we parked for free.
But then again, Brickell and S. Miami are thriving and you do have to park in lots, at meters or in garages there, too. So maybe the parking issue is not the problem, although that is the top reason I hear from most people -- lack of parking (or the idea that they have to pay for parking).
But then I see a lot of restaurants on Commodore Plaza that are packed to the rafters -- Bombay Darbar, LoKal, Lulu and Greenstreets are usually mobbed, especially on weekends. So I guess people will find and pay for parking when there is somewhere they are interested in being. Go figure.
STOP CENSORSHIP.
We're on Strike today - read this.
Help Stop SOPA/PIPA - read this.
Explanation in Washintgon Post here
Olympic Gold Medalist Magnus Liljedahl and US Sailing Team members will talk about what they did as teens to train in their sport at an open house event at MCA Academy on Friday, January 20. Sponsored by SailLaser and the MCA Academy, the reception will also have student sailors from around the world who are in Miami for the Rolex Miami OCR Regatta.
Liljedahl, who won the Gold Medal at the Sydney games, overcame many obstacles in his drive to achieve greatness in his sport. His appearance will enlighten young athletes and others who have talents outside of school and need to know how to balance education and the demands of their passions. The open house is ideal for student athletes, and students who are pursuing other activities like acting or the performing arts but desire a high-quality education.
After the talks by the Olympic team, prizes including a $500 Sail Laser Summer Camp award and $500 MCA Tuition Vouchers will be given away at a reception that also includes music, refreshments and raffle prizes for sailing gear. The US Sailing Team and the Olympic Sailors will mingle and talk with guests at the party. A 14-foot Sail Laser Olympic boat will be on display.
The event is free and open to everyone. It will start at 5 pm at MCA Academy at 2911 Grand Avenue, back by the fountain, off of Florida Avenue.
Sandy and I were at Pinecrest Gardens over the weekend for the annual arts festival. As we were walking around the lush, winding paths, she tripped on the uneven bricks, she didn't fall, just stumbled. We both laughed and imagined that they would have to possibly change the bricks out at the park and in doing so, remove all the trees, just like the plan in Coconut Grove.
Remove the bricks, take all the trees with them. As if. I'm sure if anyone tried to remove one limb of one tree in Pinecrest, their heads would be served on a platter. Here in the Grove, it's the plan on the books.Coconut Grove TreeWatch has filed an appeal to stop the removal of two trees at the corner of SW 27 Avenue and US1. They were slated for removal as part of the renovation project, then taken off the plans for removal, now they are back on the plans to be removed. There was no notice given and now TreeWatch has filed an appeal. You can read the appeal here at the TreeWatch Facebook page.
Our friends at Dharma Yoga Studio are featured on Groupon today. Get up to 77% off as part of the deal.
You can get five yoga classes for just $17 (a $75 value) or one month of unlimited yoga classes for just $35 (a $155 value). These are great deals for beginners or more seasoned yoga vets.
Anusara sessions are included, where instructors teach sequences of poses that focus on proper spinal alignment and focused concentration to increase body awareness. There are also Vinyasa classes and Yin yoga.
You can purchase a groupon for yourself or purchase them as gifts. This is what one City Search reviewer said about Dharma: "It is perfect: Friendly, knowledgeable and a serene environment. It is everything that I imagined a real yoga studio should be."
And while I don't do yoga (and I should), I do like to stop by and hang out with Natalie and Loree, who are great people and fun to be with. I stop in at almost during almost every Gallery Walk when they change the yoga studio into an art gallery for the night, too.
Dharma Studio is at 3170 Commodore Plaza, they may be reached at 305-461-1777. The groupon may be purchased here, under today's Miami special. The deal is only today, but the groupon is good until next January. So you have a year to use it.
