Outdoor Dining Delights

Ally Lopez takes the food order at Deli Lane Restaurant. Photo: Charlotte Southern.

 

Jodi Mailander Farrell1/26/2010

Winter is the best time to people-watch in South Florida, and these three outdoor dining spots in Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and South Miami offer not only affordable al fresco food, but prime viewing for our favorite spectator sport.

19-year-old sidewalk mainstay Greenstreet Café owns the streets of Coconut Grove. You're likely to spot prominent politicians, artists and a professional athlete or two among the colorful locals and college students dining under green umbrellas on this bustling, oak-lined corner. Don't let the red velvet couches for the bar crowd on the adjacent sidewalk fool you; it's casual, and servers are genuinely pleasant. Eleven salads, big enough to be a meal, range from spinach, Greek and Caesar classics to leafy combos incorporating figs, cheese, caramelized pecans and beans. Straightforward pastas join a respectable lineup of entrees that includes chicken, fish, veal, duck and skirt steak. The go-to favorite is the sirloin cheeseburger with thin fries or grilled vegetables ... not a bargain at $14, but thick, juicy and a challenge to finish. A key attraction: the large wine-by-the-glass selection ($8-$12), with more than 20 choices to sip on from your streetside perch.

The tomato-basil bruschetta and warm country bread come complimentary at the slightly formal and traditional Italian trattoria, Villagio, located on the Village of Merrick Park’s ground floor. Secure a seat on the sprawling patio so you can watch the Christian Louboutin-shod shoppers, the purposeful spa-and-gym devotees and the fickle young dating crowd at Yard House next door. Villagio is part of the mini Italian empire (Carpaccio, Calamari, Bella Luna) that has won restaurateur Tom Billante respect for dependable service and dishes. Budget watchers will want to skip the stuffed artichoke and other antipasti as well as some of the higher-priced veal and steak entrees and stick with the tasty pastas and risottos. It's not on the menu, but spaghetti and meatballs is always available if you ask ... which you should. An order of the soft, golf-ball-size meatballs, a hit with my kids, can be split to easily feed two for $7 each. The veal piccata is reliable, but the real wow is the Risotto Dolce Vita, a fresh, generous combo of shrimp, spinach and goat cheese in creamy Italian rice, a deal at $16.25.

Set under a green awning on a cobblestoned side street, the patio at the 29-year-old South Miami Deli Lane Café seems always to be filled. Just off nerve-jangling Sunset Drive, Deli Lane lets you chill while the world ... or at least this Wisteria Lane-like suburb's version of it ... rushes by. Along with a positive vibe, The Lane serves up healthful salads, soups, wraps, smoothies, burgers and sandwiches, including one of the area's best reubens. Its version of comfort food: a Swiss apple melt with sliced, cinnamon-grilled apples on raisin pumpernickel with bacon strips and Swiss cheese ($9.95). The kids' menu wins points for having grilled salmon and veggies. A smattering of Asian and Italian offerings includes balsamic pasta, diced tomatoes and portabella mushrooms tossed with a pesto-balsamic sauce and noodles du jour (usually bow tie or penne), a vegetarian bargain for $11.

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Posted on Wed, 01.27.2010 @ 14:16

The California Dreamin' quesadilla at Deli Lane is my all-time fave!

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