Archive for May, 2007

Eating in Homestead – The White Lion Cafe

May 29th, 2007 Categories: Dining

If you want to eat someplace unique, affordable and delicious, try The White Lion Cafe in Homestead. The White Lion Cafe is more than just a restaurant with good food. It is filled with antiques that spark interest and lively conversations.

In addition to the open dining area thats indoors, theres an outdoor area where larger parties can be accommodated. Thats where we sat the last time. The flies had not been invited but they crashed the party anyway. In spite of this, our lunch was most enjoyable and the food scrumptious.

I enjoyed a shrimp picatta served with fresh spinach and mushrooms over angel hair pasta. The capers made it just right. At $9.95 I found this most affordable. One item on the menu that I found memorable is touted as the worlds largest PB&J sandwich, big enough for two with a complimentary bottle of Dom Perignon. At $200 I realize the œcomplimentary part is tongue-in-cheek but it gives folks something to laugh about as they peruse the menu trying to select just one item.

The dessert selection is made daily on the premises. I had a mango cobbler that I found quite good. It was extremely sweet, but whats a dessert if not sweet? There were 5 or 6 choices so if extra-sweet is not your style, Im sure theres something else youll find enjoyable.

The staff at the White Lion Cafe is friendly and the service prompt. We enjoyed a lively conversation with our waitress, particularly when discussing dessert.

The White Lion Cafe does have an outdoor bar where you can enjoy a drink and live entertainment on certain nights as well as karaoke on the weekends for those who dare.

The White Lion Cafe is located at 146 NW 7 Street in Homestead, just west of Krome Avenue. They are open for lunch and dinner and theres always plenty of parking!

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McMansions… Do You Want Fries With That?

May 14th, 2007 Categories: Market Trends

The Redland area of Miami is a great place for real estate. It’s intermingled with single family residences and nurseries growing and selling all kinds of beautiful plants. Most homes are on at least one acre. Considering that most new construction in other areas of Miami is being built on lots of about 5,000 SF, an acre, at 43,560 Square Feet, provides plenty of elbow room. But said elbow room doesn’t come cheap in Miami.

I’ve seen one acre homesites for sale at $289K in the area, while 5 acres are listed at about $700K. Land only.

I’ve noticed some interesting construction going up in the Redland area. These homes are interesting because they’re HUGE! There are two in particular that have always caught my eye. They’ve been under construction for about 2 years now. The first one is situated on just a little less than 5 acres. I can only guess that the main house is about 9,000 square feet. That’s a lot of dusting! I can barely keep up with my 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. Behind the main home is a guest house. I would venture a guess that the guest house is as big as my home, if not bigger. Here’s a picture of the front of the main house. You can get a pretty good feel for the size of the house itself fom the many windows.

The second home is being constructed on over 14 acres. Hooo-weeee, that’s a lot of land! The main home is being built in the back part of the parcel.

Imagine having to drive through 7 acres to get to your doorstep. The front gate and entrance are reminiscent of a luxurious hotel/spa. When I first drove past the construction site 2 years ago, I thought that’s what they were building. I now think it’s just a lavish family residence. Here’s a picture of the work in progress. This is a picture of the front gate. Notice the long drive with a traffic circle and interesting architecture in the middle of the driveway. I can only venture a guess that the main home will end up being gorgeous. I wasn’t about to venture past the gates and risk being arrested for trespassing.

I really wasn’t serious about the McMansions label for these homes. Locally, we (real estate agents and consumers alike) have been referring to homes that are about 4000SF+ (2 stories) and sitting on postage stamp size lots as McMansions.

The 2 homes highlighted here definitely do not fall into that category. These are truly mansions! I can’t wait ’til they’re finished. The fact that they’ve pulled out all the stops in the construction tells me their landscaping will probably be breathtaking. It’s been rumored that these are the new digs for the Bacardi empire and Shaq. Not sure whose is whose. It’s interesting to note that most of the surrounding homes are modest, single family residences. A small percentage of them are higher end homes. It makes me wonder what these homes will do to property values in the area. Hmmm….stay tuned for updates.

Tags: mcmansions, miami+redlands+real+estate

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Miami Redlands Orchid Buying

May 14th, 2007 Categories: The Redland

Living in the Miami Redlands makes it easier for me to sell real estate here. Easier because I don’t just sell real estate in the Redlands, I live it, know it and love it.

The Miami Redlands area is a historic agricultural community. As such, you can’t beat it for finding wonderful plants, be they for landscaping, windowsill-sitting or gifts. There are many plants to be found here. One of my favorites is the orchid.

Next time you’re in the market for some orchids try Remarkable Homes and Gardens at 20990 SW 147 Avenue. They are known for their $7 orchid sales. Yes, you read that right. Only seven dollars.

If you’ve been to the local home improvement giant’s garden department, you know orchids are pricey. Yes, Remarkable has orchids that are priced a lot higher than $7, but their selection of $7 plants is pretty big and there’s always something pretty in the mix. The one in the picture was from the $7 selection.

I stopped there yesterday and purchased 3 pretty orchids for only $7 each. The guy waiting to pay right behind me paid $125 for his 2 gorgeous plants, and they really were exquisite.

In addition to orchids you can also find bromeliads, foliage, palms and landscape plants there. They have some great hanging planters made from real coconuts that make a great display piece if you’re keeping your orchids indoors. Kevin, the proprietor, also pointed out a smaller vessel made of gourds that are ideal to display their coconut orchids. The coconut orchids, by the way, are very fragrant and smell like chocolate!

Remarkable Homes and Gardens can be found on 20990 SW 147th Avenue. Just head south on 147th, past the 4-way, red-light Stop at 200th Street. It will be on the right hand side. They are only open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 8am – 6pm and you can follow the signs that say $7 Orchid Sale all the way there. Tell Kevin Maggie the Realtor sent you.

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Miami Eats – Cheap and Yummy

May 14th, 2007 Categories: Dining

I love living and selling real estate in the Miami Redlands. And while there are great places to eat in the Redlands, and I will post about them, I am not posting about a place that is right in the Redlands right now.

Latin American Cafeteria has several locations throughout Miami. The closest one to the Redlands is the one on Eureka Drive (Just a few minutes east at 11370 SW 184th Street). I still can’t figure out if all the Miami Latin American restaurants have the same owner or are even related, but the two I’ve eaten at (this one and the one on Sunset) seem to have the same menu and generally the same atmosphere. It’s a no-frills type of place with a large counter and tables. Fill your tummy quickly and pretty cheaply.

If you’re ever visiting Miami, make sure you stop at a Latin American Cafeteria. They have Cuban sandwiches not to be missed. Their entrees are mostly between $5-$10.

Hungry for breakfast? They have quite a few selections and most won’t set you back more than a few dollars. For only $2.99 you get eggs (tell them how you like ‘em), bacon, ham or sausage, tater tots (not typical Cuban fare but still yummy) and toast. Now, get this about the toast: it is not dry (has lots of butter on it) and it is not your traditional white bread. Instead it is a huge piece of Cuban bread that has been split and toasted on the sandwich press. Quite a treat…crunchy and delicious. My kid added a cafe con leche ($1.35) so she could dunk her bread in it. I’m not a dunker. I ate it straight and crunchy. Be prepared to skip lunch if you eat your whole breakfast.

If you don’t speak Spanish you may have to work a little harder to order, but it’s totally worth the effort!

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Living In The Miami Redland And Loving It

May 14th, 2007 Categories: The Redland

I love Miami. It’s a vibrant city and the weather is right up my alley. But it’s a busy city. I won’t lie and sugarcoat the traffic conditions. It’s hectic. But the Miami Redlands area is further Southwest than Miami proper and we don’t suffer from traffic congestion.I live on almost an acre and half of land. It’s sweet. I can’t stick my arm out the window and touch my neighbor’s home. If I want to visit him, I can. All my neighbors are lovely. But I’m not stuck in his face. And he’s not stuck in mine. Anyway, that’s not why I’m writing this. I’m writing this because of the porch. I was sitting on the porch enjoying the balmy breeze and watching the effect it has on the palm trees in our yard. Then I closed my eyes and realized that the birds were singing something fierce. Boy, were they happy.

There must have been at least a hundred birds singing. I just sat there with my eyes closed and took in all the sounds they were making. A singing bird can make my heart soar. Imagine a hundred. It made me think how blessed I am to live in the Miami Redlands. There’s enough room all around that birds come visit all the time. I am sure many live here too. I opened my eyes and tried to spot them. A lot of them were easy. There were the quakers over on the feeding post in my neighbor’s lawn. There were black birds and grey birds up on the utility lines. And upon further inspection I could see some grey ones with colorful blue feathers throughout the live oak trees. I realized that I don’t know the names of the birds, except for the quakers. I can spot those little green parrots a mile away…and hear them too. They have a distinct chatter.

I ordered a bird identifying book last week. I can’t wait to get it. It’ll help me find out more about my little friends that are sharing this space with me in my Miami Redlands home. Maybe I can even learn to sing with them. I doubt I’ll sound as sweet, but with a little practice maybe just as enthusiastic.

Spoken by Jason Benesch | Discussion: No Comments »

Learning More About The Historic Redland, Homestead And SW Miami Areas

May 14th, 2007 Categories: For Buyers, For Sellers

I’ve been blogging on ActiveRain for a while now and love it. It is obvious to me that today’s savvy real estate consumer has tons of information available on the internet. A blog helps to bring our local area to you, so you can learn more about it. I sincerely wish you will return here time and again to learn more about our great communities. As a local realtor and resident, I am sure I can give you a view of our communities that only those most familiar with them can provide.

I not only work in the Southwest area of Miami known as the Redlands, I also live here. It is a beautiful area where homes sit on acre homesites and neighbors are oftentimes nurseries as often as “real people.” It is not unusual to see folks riding horses to the local stores or waiting patiently behind a tractor hauling a nursery’s latest crop of flowering plants across the street to be shipped off to numerous places throughout the States.

Please return to visit and learn more about the Redlands!

Spoken by Jason Benesch | Discussion: No Comments »