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Meet Your Distant Lunch Date Half Way: Your Client is in Downtown Miami. You're in Fort Lauderdale. Where Do You Go for Lunch? An Easy Answer is The Village Cafe in Miami Shores

Posted on: Monday, 3 April 2006, 06:00 CDT

By John Dorschner, The Miami Herald

Apr. 3--In sprawling South Florida, with all its mind-numbing traffic problems, one business lunch problem seems never-ending: Where does a Broward exec meet a Miami person for lunch?

One answer that's more than adequate: The Village Cafe in Miami Shores.

Just a mile east of I-95, it offers sparkling service, better-than-decent food and easy street-side parking without the hassles of negotiating downtown Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

To test it out, I invited Linda Quick, president of the South Florida Hospital and Healthcare Association. Her office is in Hollywood. Mine is just north of downtown Miami. It was less than a 30-minute trip for each of us.

The ambience is that of an upscale-neighborhood bistro: linen table cloths and a counter for lone diners and overflows.

MODERATE PRICES

The prices are decidedly moderate -- $6.95 or $7.95 for sandwiches or wraps, $6.95 to $8.95 for large salads. In Miami Shores, you can do a whole lunch for what an appetizer or two might cost on Brickell or in the Gables.

If you want to go all out, you can get the salmon oriental plate (grilled filet and stir-fry vegetables) for $10.95 or a Greek salad with shrimp for $12.95.

We decided to split an $8.95 caprese salad -- balsamic syrup covering fresh mozzarella, tomato, basil and arugula. When the waiter divided it onto two plates before he brought it over, Linda asked: "Are you sure these are just halves?"

The waiter said he was sure.

Then we tried paninis -- Italian sandwiches squished in a press. Linda wanted something she would have a hard time finding elsewhere -- smoked French ham with brie, with a side order of sweet potato fries (95 cents extra). I opted for a tangy southwestern chicken with corn chips.

Our table wasn't in an ideal location -- near the service counter area -- but the noise was no worse than moderate and neither of us had to raise our voices as we discussed the status of South Florida's healthcare industry.

In fact, the noise was just enough -- as well as the distance between the tables -- so that power lunch types don't have to worry about being overheard. And the wait staff was attentive but didn't hover or intrude.

JUSTIFYING DESSERT

At this point, our bill was under $30, and I was fairly full. But a certain journalistic expense-account ethos was at work: If I didn't spend a decent amount, it might lower the bar, putting pressure on the next Miami Herald writer doing a business lunch to spend a bit less than had been the previous norm.

How about that for an excuse to pile on calories? I asked for a crme brulee. And after some urging from me, Linda decided to sample the pecan pie. The portions were so huge that Linda groaned when she saw it, especially since hers included ice cream and slices of strawberries.

The desserts were fabulous, and they ran up our bill to $40, plus tax and tip.

As we walked out, Linda said she really liked the location and would remember the place the next time she discussed with someone in Miami what would be a convenient lunch spot for the both of them.

APPETIZERS, TOO!

I had asked for a menu to take with me, and as I looked at it walking to the car, I realized I had missed the first page -- the appetizers. There were more than a dozen of them, including wild black mussels ($8.95) and a blue crab cake ($10.95).

When I got back in the office, I looked up a two-year-old review on the cafe and found Miami Herald reviewer Kendall Hamersly had dubbed the crab cake "excellent."

Frankly, in retrospect, I was so full I'm glad I missed the page.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Miami Herald

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Source: The Miami Herald

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