Coral Way restaurant of the 60s-70s (Miami, Hialeah: house, bankruptcy)

[Miserere]

A Miamiam franchise (the first was in MB) was LUMS. It was a quality restaurant with healthy food, I remember one near FIU and the only place you could eat to eat food not based on flour, rice or junk food.

I believe they are gone, quite a pity.

[valicky]

Loved Lums. They are all gone now. There was a sort of Lums in Davie but that's gone now too even though the new owners say they have a few Lums menu items like the Ollieburger. I haven't tried it so I can't say for sure.

[cholo57]

There used to be a Lums a few blocks from the Miami High area....used to have breakfast now and then there.

[spyderman33]

Used to go to LUMS with my parents at least once a week to the one on 107ave across from FIU.. It was awesome.. They had a Ms PacMan machine which I loved because I could play a game or two until the food showed up.

[Awsi Dooger]

Interesting thread. In particular I appreciate the list of old restaurants. Some of them were family favorites when I was a kid, like Tastee Inn, The Blue Grotto and Jimmy's Hurricane. At Tastee Inn we always had the London Broil. It was indeed tasty but as I grew into a teenager I wanted bigger strips and more of them. Moving to Las Vegas in my 20s was the remedy, even if I quickly went from 175ish to 200ish.

Blue Grotto was our pizza joint of choice after Canes games on Friday night in the Orange Bowl. I couldn't figure out how they always managed to have 2 inch air bubbles in their pizza. Not one. Several per pizza.

That building is still there. Last I checked it was painted in a loud color scheme and is a sports bar.

I don't even remember what we ordered at Jimmy's Hurricane. That was always a Sunday visit. It was a longer drive than we typically made, and for whatever reason it seemed more formal to me, certainly beyond my preference. If the waiter feels need to introduce himself or herself, that's too formal for me. I remember there was split level seating and we always chose a booth in the higher tier in the center. It allowed a view of the traffic at the angled intersection of Bird Road.

There's still no mention of the burger joint at Westchester, the isolated building at the southeast corner of Coral Way and 87th Avenue, the building that later became Miami Subs. In the early '70s it was a burger joint with a separate condiment bar, the first time I had ever seen that. I loved the place because I love relish. I could spoon as much relish as I wished. It wasn't a Burger Chef or any well known chain.

BTW, I'm not surprised there's dispute toward the quality of food at Sweden House. That was the case in real time. My family occasionally ate at the one on South Dixie Highway. Whenever that restaurant was proposed we had delight mixed with agony. I'm somewhat proud that I learned at a relatively early age to default to the wishes of others when appropriate. I couldn't stand Sweden House. But my elderly grandmother was originally from Poland and for whatever reason she loved the food. It was her favorite spot in town. I remember being subdued when we headed there but then watching my grandmother eagerly head to the displayed dishes and grab plenty of her favorites. I never ate much. But as we left my nana would invariably ask, "Wasn't it good, shug?" I always nodded and smiled in agreement. I still think of nana whenever I drive past that building, as recently as last week.

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by Awsi Dooger

Blue Grotto was our pizza joint of choice after Canes games on Friday night in the Orange Bowl. I couldn't figure out how they always managed to have 2 inch air bubbles in their pizza. Not one. Several per pizza.

That building is still there. Last I checked it was painted in a loud color scheme and is a sports bar.

I grew up a few blocks away from Blue Grotto and still go back to that neighborhood as my parents are still in the same house. That sports bar didn't last long and is long gone. It was a pretty stupid idea to open a sports bar just a few blocks down the road from Duffy's.

But back to Blue Grotto....the building is still painted that garish green from the former sports bar, but it's currently vacant.

[valicky]

Originally Posted by Awsi Dooger

Interesting thread. In particular I appreciate the list of old restaurants. Some of them were family favorites when I was a kid, like Tastee Inn, The Blue Grotto and Jimmy's Hurricane. At Tastee Inn we always had the London Broil. It was indeed tasty but as I grew into a teenager I wanted bigger strips and more of them. Moving to Las Vegas in my 20s was the remedy, even if I quickly went from 175ish to 200ish.

Blue Grotto was our pizza joint of choice after Canes games on Friday night in the Orange Bowl. I couldn't figure out how they always managed to have 2 inch air bubbles in their pizza. Not one. Several per pizza.

That building is still there. Last I checked it was painted in a loud color scheme and is a sports bar.

I don't even remember what we ordered at Jimmy's Hurricane. That was always a Sunday visit. It was a longer drive than we typically made, and for whatever reason it seemed more formal to me, certainly beyond my preference. If the waiter feels need to introduce himself or herself, that's too formal for me. I remember there was split level seating and we always chose a booth in the higher tier in the center. It allowed a view of the traffic at the angled intersection of Bird Road.

There's still no mention of the burger joint at Westchester, the isolated building at the southeast corner of Coral Way and 87th Avenue, the building that later became Miami Subs. In the early '70s it was a burger joint with a separate condiment bar, the first time I had ever seen that. I loved the place because I love relish. I could spoon as much relish as I wished. It wasn't a Burger Chef or any well known chain.

BTW, I'm not surprised there's dispute toward the quality of food at Sweden House. That was the case in real time. My family occasionally ate at the one on South Dixie Highway. Whenever that restaurant was proposed we had delight mixed with agony. I'm somewhat proud that I learned at a relatively early age to default to the wishes of others when appropriate. I couldn't stand Sweden House. But my elderly grandmother was originally from Poland and for whatever reason she loved the food. It was her favorite spot in town. I remember being subdued when we headed there but then watching my grandmother eagerly head to the displayed dishes and grab plenty of her favorites. I never ate much. But as we left my nana would invariably ask, "Wasn't it good, shug?" I always nodded and smiled in agreement. I still think of nana whenever I drive past that building, as recently as last week.

Was it Wuvs?

Great post, btw!

[miamian in nc]

Haven't been on here for a while but you all got me thinking some more. Does anyone remember Yumbrella? It wasn't anything special but in thinking about it, it was the beginnings of the food courts of today on a small scale. I noticed it on Ray's list. Great list, by the way! Then, a real favorite growing up was Roma on Lejeune Road right by Gables High. Nothing fancy but a good mom and pop Italian restaurant.

Oh, and then on Red Road that pie place. What was that place called?

I think now that the place I was thinking of (lettuce wedge) in my original post was The Pub. That was on the list and somehow it seems familiar. I noticed Monk's Inn on there too. Who went there? They had these huge rounds of Swiss cheese you could slice yourself into whatever size chunks you wanted. And then they had Swedish meatballs too. Both were served there while you were waiting for your table. Back then restaurants used to have happy hours too and you could have a drink and load up on free appetizers they served. Do they still do that anywhere? Probably not given the high cost of food.

[Kait Carson]

I remember Yumbrella - of course, I was at UM at the time. All UM students went to Yumbrella from time to time. It was a great change from the school cafeteria and affordable. The pie restaurant was Pie Fair (two words or one? I don't remember). I waited tables at Holsum restaurant - the early shift and we often went to Pie Fair after the shift for pie. Went to the Monk's Inn for my anniversary - had steak tartare it was wonderful.At least in my memory. Felt very grown up for a 21 year old to be served wine with dinner!

Originally Posted by miamian in nc

Haven't been on here for a while but you all got me thinking some more. Does anyone remember Yumbrella? It wasn't anything special but in thinking about it, it was the beginnings of the food courts of today on a small scale. I noticed it on Ray's list. Great list, by the way! Then, a real favorite growing up was Roma on Lejeune Road right by Gables High. Nothing fancy but a good mom and pop Italian restaurant.

Oh, and then on Red Road that pie place. What was that place called?

I think now that the place I was thinking of (lettuce wedge) in my original post was The Pub. That was on the list and somehow it seems familiar. I noticed Monk's Inn on there too. Who went there? They had these huge rounds of Swiss cheese you could slice yourself into whatever size chunks you wanted. And then they had Swedish meatballs too. Both were served there while you were waiting for your table. Back then restaurants used to have happy hours too and you could have a drink and load up on free appetizers they served. Do they still do that anywhere? Probably not given the high cost of food.

[looking4paulyoung]

Does anyone know anything about Paul YOUNG who owned a restaurant in Miami with word "Wheel" in it? BIG WHEEL? He had a wife named Reney (Irene?) and children. This would have been in the 1950's....