Day# 10 - Week ii - 2010

Miami - when it rains, it pours

So by Sunday, we realized that bad weather doesn't last long in Miami. Although it was raining and cold (44 F for Miami is cold), a liquor store owner (reliable source?) confirmed to us that this is the kind of weather you see once every 50 years in South Beach.

We were inclined to believe the man. So we decided to rent a car after we realized that it would only cost 44$ for a Dodge Charger - vrrroooommmm! - and that we could return it to the airport, immediately saving on our 45$ ride from the hotel to MIA. Since it was my "birthday weekend", we got an upgrade to a schweet Acadia GMC - silver with black leather interior. The tank was 7/8th full though, one of Dollar's many exquisite tricks to rip you off.

 So we took off and started driving north on Collins Avenue all the way to Aventura blvd. where lied the famous Aventura Mall.

What a life changing experience. Not. Just another mall... we didn't last more than 30 minutes before we realized that we should take Dexter's advice and start looking for what South Beach is known for: pork sandwiches and Cuban food.

A few Google searches yielded a first address. So off we drove all the way (about 30 min believe it or not) down i95 to Papo Llega Y Pon.
As you can imagine, it was in Miami's ghetto town. Very ghetto. On a Sunday afternoon, around 4:00, we made it there, just to find the joint was closed on Sundays. Little did fate know that we were the tough kind to surrender.

So we looked up the next best alternative. Versailles Restaurant - a weird name for one of the best pork sandwiches and Cuban restaurants at the same time - was on 8th and 36th avenue. So we drove for another 30 minutes until I ran into the holly grail: on 7th and 36th Ave. a fairly large building with a big sign that said Cuban Crafters Cigars caught my eye immediately slowing my car.

Pulled over pretending to my girlfriend I just want to ask for directions, only to come out later with a tab of 134$, a free cigar, a big humidor and 15 cigars. One of my best cigar experiences to date. It will be a long while before I forget that place. Wow...

Then with our directions we went out and drove down to Versailles where we had some crazy awesome Cuban food for very cheap! The place was crowded and there was a 25 min line anytime you walked into the place, not to mention another massive line for take-away. And so dinner happened - in magnificent Cuban tradition: fried cassava yuca for appetizers (along with my girlfriend's healthy green salad with French (not-so-healthy) dressing; and one classic Cuban sampler for me and another Criollo sampler for my g/f. What a royal feast!