The White Folk's Restaurant? By Default, Yes...

North Miami has seen a substantial racial and ethnic shift over the past couple of decades. We've had an influx of mostly Haitians, some Jamaicans, and quite a few mostly Central American Hispanics. They all share a penchant for spicey food, whether too much curry like the Jamaicans, or WAY too much hot pepper like the rest of them. Another turn-off for many of the old guard is goat meat, a staple of Carribean cuisine. I never really understood that one because I grew up eating lamb on a regular basis and I'd eaten horse meat with some French Canadian friends. I've had rabbit and squirrel and deer meat and I'm still alive and kicking. I've even eaten racoon, opossum, and back when it was still legal I dined on alligator a few times. Then there was armadillo and a couple species of turtles. What's so sacred about sticking to just eating cow meat?

Little by little the "typical American diner food" type places closed up, turned into Chinese restaurants, or started serving Carribean food, although for the most part the Haitians eat in their restaurants and the Jamaicans in theirs. Awhile back a Haitian guy bought the Atlantic Chinese Restaurant but kept everything the same, including the cooks and the waitresses. The place kept its customers and does a good take-out business. Another traditional American style restaurant went Haitian all the way. I used to eat breakfast there a few times a week. I walked in one morning after the new owners took over and they asked me if I'd made a mistake. I said "no" but I never went back. I guess they pulled that with a lot of former regulars because they soon closed for good.

Well, Jimmies Place is still there, they still make you feel right at home, and a fair number of American blacks that don't like Hispanic or Carribean fare are eating there on a regular basis. There are some blacks working in the kitchen and a black waitress. Their corned beef on rye is fantastic and you can get great grits with your fried eggs, but they don't offer Cuban coffee.

Chef Creole Trumps Carvel Ice Cream

Somebody came up with the idea of having all of the businesses and art galleries and restaurants along West Dixie Highway in North Miami having a day of celebration for no particular good reason at all beyond just being there and inviting the community to come join them, eat some good food, explore the shops, and enjoy themselves!

Chef Creole set up this huge barbeque grill in the parking lot and I was drawn there by the smell drifting down the street. I've always been a sucker for barbeque and it wasn't disapointing in the least, hot and peppery as only the Haitans can make it.

The building itself dates from the late 1950's when it opened as a Carvel Ice Cream shop. Both the Jr. and Sr. high schools were located within a couple of blocks and business was great. By the 1980's the area had started to atract more blacks, mostly Haitians. Haitians had no tradition of eating ice cream, and blacks in general avoid milk products as adults. Their systems produce no lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactose, the type of sugar found in milk. Within a few years Carvel closed and was replaced by Chef Creole.

It's strange how people from various ethnic groups can live on the same block and never get to taste the wide variety of foods that their neighbors cook and enjoy. This was a day when we all had the chance to try those tastes of other folks' cooking. Some people were brave enough to try goat for the first time while others got to eat things cooked differently than they were used to. New spices greeted their tongues. Perhaps meats stewed rather than roasted. And in some cases we got to really meet our neighbors on a deeper level than just a friendly wave from across the street.

Memorable Nights, Good Years

Back in the days (nights?) when Saturday Night Live was on television it was like the entire world stopped! Just about everyone that I knew was either at home watching it or with a group of friends watching it. Refreshments, perhaps some beer or wine, a few tokes from a joint being passed around, that was all part of the Saturday night ritual. That and laughing your ass off.

The skits, the jokes, the one liners were topics of conversation for days afterwards. Of course a lot of the humor was based on world events then current, and without knowing what we now refer to as the "back story" many wouldn't be the least bit funny. At the time, though, they were hilarious!

So the City of North Miami started some free outdoor concerts on the last Friday of the month, called Jazz at MOCA, and bought a portable stage and tons of lighting and sound equipment.

The next step was to do something similar, yet different, along a stretch of West Dixie Highway a few blocks to the north. It's an area with a number of West Indian restaurants and stores. It was decided to hold it every Saturday night, at least through the summer, and from 133 Street south to about 128th Street there's music at every intersection. Some is live and some is with a DJ. Some fantastic reggae! Most of the shops are open, as are all of the restaurants. You're not likely to see men with longer dreadlocks anyplace else in the United States.

There's fresh barbeque wafting enticing its enticing smell down the street, ribs and chicken, and if you're adventursome you can find some curried goat. It's really good. The Jamaican cuisine leans towards curry while the Haitian is mostly just really spicey hot (and I mean HOT!) and peppery. There's also a sampling of Cuban cooking, along with delicacies from other parts of the Carribean.

I was chatting with Councilman Jacques Despinosse a few days ago about ways for attracting more people. There's no shortage of nearby parking and it's easy to get to from the Beaches and I-95. Most of the people I see there are island folks who make their home here in North Miami. The local whites seem to ignore the opportunity to enjoy the food and the music just five minutes from where they live. The exact same people who spend piles of money on Carribean vacations and cruises so they can eat the same food and listen to the same music as we have right here. Crazy, huh? I always have a great time. I always eat too much also.