A yummy Miami tradition

Versaille's Restaurant
Cuban food (with a French name)

Looking for some authentic Cuban food in the heart of the Cuban district of Miami? It does not get any more authentic than this! The Sunday buffet at Versaille’s restaurant has been a long-standing Miami tradition that you should not miss.

An all you can eat buffet including eggs, French toast, hash browns, juices, cereals, fruit salad and more! You even get loads of fresh Cuban bread and a caffe' con leche, the deliciously smooth yet potent and invigorating Cuban coffee drink. All this for a great low price of $6.95 per adult.

You can of course, order from a breakfast menu as well, if the buffet is not to your liking.

To get there take I-95 (from the north) to exit 2A. Make a right and go over the bridge (Miami river). Then look for SW 8th Street (Calle Ocho) and head West (make a right). They are on the right between 35th and 36th. Their main parking lot is relatively small, but they have another one across the street that has guarded security (granted they looked bored and not too intimidating, but it is guarded nonetheless).

Inside is very spacious with a (French) decor that is white, green and wood, with chandeliers. It sounds somewhat tacky, but it is very comfortable, open and spacious. The wait staff is friendly and mostly speaks Spanish. The waitresses are all attractive and the waiters have that handsomely brooding Latin look.

The building is actually L-shaped. One part is a bakery where you can order some of your favorite Cuban desserts. They even specialize in wedding cakes should you desire. Based on the structure, it must have been expanded to accommodate the growing business (don't quote me on this). I suppose that's what happens when you're in business for over 30 years.

You can expect it to be crowded, but you will get served right away. We only had to wait approximately 5 minutes to be seated. They also serve lunch and dinner, which I heard can even be more crowded. Traffic in this part of Miami can be bad around dinner time, so plan accordingly. It is probably best to make a dinner reservation.

Their address is:

3555 SW 8th Street
Miami, Fl. 33135
Phone 305-444-0240

Next time you’re in Miami, then definitely take advantage of this Miami tradition.

Larry

Latin dancing, Sunday nights in Sarasota, Florida

Looking for a place for some live Latin music and dancing on a Sunday night? Then look no further than 15 South Ristorante, on the lovely St. Armand's Circle in Sarasota, Florida.

The place is actually an Italian restaurant (with excellent Italian style pizza baked in a brick over) on the lower level, and a bar / nightclub on the top level. On Sunday, Voces Libres, a local Latin band will play a lot of your favorite Latin music including Salsa, Merengue, Bachata, and Chacha. They mix it in nicely with live music, and pre-recorded music from other artists. And unlike other clubs, they will usually play one salsa, then one merengue, one bachata, and then on to a chacha. For me it is very annoying when a club plays 3 merengue songs in a row, and then I have to wait a whole hour before they start playing salsa (my favorite) again. Not many clubs will play chacha, which is a shame, because it is such a beautiful latin dance. But this place plays mixes in a nice selction of chacha music.

The decor is very Spanish oriented with many beautiful paintings hanging on the wall. It almost looks like a Spanish museum inside a redone warehouse. Yes, it does have a nice funky appeal. You can dance on the marble-like dance floor, but get there early because the dance floor is not that big, and does get crowded later on during the evening. There is even a patio deck that overlooks St. Armand's so you can hang outside, or have a cigarette.

Don't know how to dance? Then don't worry, from 7PM to 9PM there are dance lessons by Salsa con Pasion.

Or you can join after 9PM and pay a $5 cover....a great value for a good night of Latin entertainment.

Phone number for club is 941-388-1555

Thursday nights are also Latin Night, with dance lessons as well.

Frankie Negron, concert review

Hello Friends,

This is a review of a concert I saw in Tampa back in February 2005.

I just saw an awesome concert last night at a local nightclub here in Tampa and Frankie Negron, salsa singer, played many of his popular songs.

It's amazing, I think the guy's voice is getting more and more powerful as he gets older. To see the emotions and expressions on his face as he sings, and to see the muscles of his neck, you know he is really passionate about what he does.

He started with "Comerte a Besos" and played "Hasta que te enamores", "Por tu placer", "No quiero verte mas llorar", etc. He played for about an hour and a half. (I don't know how his voice holds up that long).

And finally he played a nice tribute to Frankie Ruiz (can't think of the name of the song), who he explained had such a large influence on him regarding his salsa music career, since they're both from Puerto Rico.

I don't know if they didn't publicize this event too much, because for a star of that talent, the place should have been packed with thousands and thousands. But it was great to see him up close interacting with his fans, signing autographs (once on someone's breasts LOL), dancing with a fan onstage, taking pics, etc. (I wish I brought my camera – I would have happily posted the pics to this blog). Just a normal guy with an amazing, amazing talent. How does he belt out such tunes?

If you ever get a chance to see him...definitely go!

Larry Aiello