The best way to combine a cruise with a visit to Miami is to add a few days onto the beginning or end of your trip. When that's not possible, you still may have time to selectively experience Miami on your layover.
Whether you're traveling on one of the world's largest cruise ships, or something smaller, make time in your itinerary to see Miami!
Our experience with cruise schedules is that your 10-hour layover can dwindle down to eight hours or less -- weather delays, time needed to embark/disembark and so on. So our advice is to focus on one or two activities.
Is your main goal to get a good Cuban meal? Or do you want to see the sights?
- The Lincoln Road Mall is
- a short walk from Miami Beach.
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If you have only a short time, you may want to focus on South Beach/Miami Beach. We recommend a stroll down Ocean Drive with its Art Deco buildings, wild people, trendy boutiques and so on. You can eat at Larios on the Beach -- great Cuban food from Gloria Estefan and Husband.
Another attraction is the Lincoln Road shopping area. Stroll down this shady mall for shopping and restaurants.
The Bayside Marketplace, just across the causeway from Miami Beach has typical mall type shops but with a real Latin flavor -- music, entertainment, food, etc. There is a Latin American Cafeteria here -- the best Cuban sandwich in Miami. There also is a Los Ranchos restaurant at Bayside -- it's Nicaraguan food in a fancier atmosphere than the Latin American Cafeteria... (more) 
Sometimes a CD comes along that just makes you want to party.
Kinito Mendez has a great salsa album that will have everyone at your place getting up to dance! Mendez has long been a big start in his native Dominican Republic. True fans of merengue will really like this album. We like this guy's sense of humor! (more)
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- Another Appearance on the Food Channel
- The Three Guys from Miami with Food Network
- star and professional chef Tyler Florence.
We just finished taping a new show with Tyler Florence of the Food Network in Miami. It's called the Ultimate with host Tyler Florence. Our episode will be called the "Ultimate Paella." They had already taped someone cooking paella in Spain before they came to Miami.
We then showed Tyler how the Three Guys make our own paella. That involved two long days of taping at Jorge's house and locations around Miami. It took eight hours just to film us preparing one paella!
We had so much starting and stopping so that they could get all of the right camera angles, etc. Then we had to do it all over again, exactly as we did it the first time. This time so they could get all of their close-ups! The last scene, which they will film at Tyler's apartment in Manhattan, will have him returning to his own kitchen to apply the things he learned on his trip, and make his own paella with a few twists of his own.
The show is tentatively scheduled to appear on the Food Network in March. We will keep you updated so everyone can see the show!
Classic Cocktail Brings Back Memories of 50's Havana
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Here's a great memory of Cuba in the 50's -- a drink with a slightly risqué origin that was an after dinner favorite. The "doncellita," or young maid, is made with Crème de Cacao, a liqueur made with cacao (chocolate) beans. It's served in a liqueur glass with an equal amount of heavy cream floated on the top, and a bright red maraschino cherry.
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The end result is the most delicious chocolate milk you've ever had -- with a kick!
The drink brings back some wonderful memories of Cuba for Lourdes Antiga Price Gee of Charlotte, North Carolina. "My mother's help was off on Sunday after lunch, and we would go out to dinner as a family," she says. "Even when we were children, Mother would let us have the "doncellitas."
Gee has fond memories of her mother and father and the life they had in Cuba.
"My mother was a lovely, beautiful, and elegant woman. She was a natural "flirt," but never self-conscious about it. She and my father were absolutely crazy about each other," Gee says.
After Gee had her own family, and people became more aware of the effects of alcohol, she began to wonder if her memory was accurate. "I said to her one day, 'Mami, how could you have given us an alcoholic drink when we were as young as eight or ten? I'm sure it made us very sleepy.'
"Her answer, with a really mischievous smile: 'That was the whole idea! Besides, it was like having chocolate..."(more)
Three Guys, Three Moms
Ever wonder where the Three Guys From Miami got their great love of food? We all have moms who are great cooks! They all have a passion for food, with no fear of calories!
These wonderful ladies have been the inspiration and help on many of our recipes. We know we have gotten it right when it tastes HALF as good as mom makes! We are lucky that our mothers have been blessed with long lives. (They don't like us to mention their ages, but they are all past 80!)
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Fufú
Fufú is a delicious dish, similar to mashed potatoes, but made with plantains. It has a delicious garlic flavor with a hint of lemon or lime. Delicious pieces of roast pork are mashed into the plantain.
Some cooks use green plantains, some use very ripe plantains for this dish. We like to use something in between. We use medium ripe plantains -- not black, but a little softer texture...(more)
This poster from the 40's helps keep the spirit of Cuba alive. Click here for more information.
- Ensalada de Aguacate y Piña
We know it sounds strange, but this great Cuban salad blends the sweetness of pineapple with the sour flavor of oil and vinegar.
Many people don't think that salad needs salt, but this one truly does. An extra virgin olive oil with its lighter taste, is the best choice for this salad. You want to emphasize the sweet and sour -- not the olive taste... (more)
Papas Brava
Cubans are known for eating many type of root vegetables: yucca, malanga, boniato. But they also enjoy potatoes, the number one root vegetable of Americans!
This is an old Spanish recipe for potatoes. The onions and green peppers really complement the flavor of the potatoes. There's nothing like the aroma of sautéing potatoes and onions!
Papas Brava makes a great side dish for any meat entrée. We also like to eat them in the morning with breakfast eggs... (more)
Check Out the Back Issues
We have a new home page each month!
Catch up on previous issues by clicking HERE!
Jorge Castillo and Raúl Musibay attend Viernes Cultural: Cultural Friday. On the last Friday of every month local businesses turn several blocks of Calle Ocho into one big Latin street party...(more)
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