Uncensored Former Yelper(s) Back from the Dead

I’m impressed that you can get to many parts of Miami on a free trolley. The trolleys serve 13 neighborhoods:

Allapattah

Biscayne

Brickell

Coconut Grove

Coral Way

Flagami

Health District

Liberty City

Little Haiti

Little Havana

Overtown

Stadium

Wynwood

The City of Miami Trolley app shows the routes and where the trolleys are in real time. Trolley stops are clearly marked. Look for the orange and green signs that say Miami Trolley. The trolleys run from 6:30 AM – 11 PM Monday – Saturday, 8 AM – 8 PM on Sundays. The frequency varies from every 15 – 45 minutes.

Trolleys are air-conditioned and equipped with a wheelchair left and bicycle racks. I waited for about 20 minutes for the Little Havana trolley, which took me through Little Havana all the way to downtown Miami’s Brickell neighborhood. It even passed by a froyo shop, Yuzu.

The orange and green trolleys look like old streetcars. The interior has brass rails, wooden benches, and wooden ceilings.

5 out of 5 stars

I wanted to stay close to the airport. The location was convenient as it only took 5 minutes to get to the airport. The complimentary airport shuttle is available 24 hours a day, every 20 minutes.

The hotel is older, but renovated and clean. It didn’t smell bad, so that was a big plus. The hallway areas actually smelled pleasant. The room was large with a huge, comfortable bed (pillow-top mattress), a writing desk, chest of drawers, two small side tables, large flatscreen TV and the usual amenities: coffeemaker with coffee and tea, ice bucket, alarm clock, hairdryer, clothes steamer/iron, Archive toiletries (nice green tea scent), plenty of towels (they weren’t soft though), safe, mini fridge, complimentary water bottles, etc. The balcony was a nice feature. You could step outside and get some fresh air.

The lobby area had a small market with drinks and snacks, an Italian restaurant, business center, ATM, books you could borrow, and a pool table. There was a pool in the back. The second floor had some meeting rooms. There were six floors.

The main negatives were the customer service (the front desk staff didn’t tell you where the gym was, the ice machine – anything). Second, the planes flying overhead were very loud and went on well past midnight.

The gym was very small with a few cardio machines and free weights. The hotel is pet-friendly with a small outdoor smoking area.

The area had a few restaurants and was 0.5 miles to Target, a supermarket, and more restaurants. It seemed like a safe neighborhood for walking.

4 out of 5 stars

This is a large supermarket with covered garage parking and everything you’d expect and more. They had a café/coffee bar with Cuban pastries, deli, sushi, made to order sandwiches, lots of prepared foods (e.g., fried chicken, soups), fresh produce, bakery, pharmacy, ATM, check-cashing, free wi-fi, curbside pick up, delivery, online ordering, etc.

It was the only store that I visited in Miami with local kombucha brands. The store was clean and well-lit with wide aisles. They had their own brand of products, including Publix frozen yogurt. They also carry Yasso Greek froyo bars. Their website has froyo recipes.

My picks:

Plantain chips

4 out of 5 stars

Located inside MIA Market, the upscale food hall in the Miami Design District, Jaffa specializes in Mediterranean street food. The chef is Israeli. Choose from starters, pita sandwiches, platters (falafel, shawarma, kibbeh), and rice bowls. Look for the Happy Hour specials from 5 PM – 8 PM, including a side of falafel with tahini and fresh pita for $12. Order at the counter and get a buzzer. The food is Glatt Kosher. There are some vegan options like falafel.

Sabich pita sandwich ($17): crispy fried eggplant, sliced hard-boiled egg, amba, hummus, tahini, Israeli salad and zhoug in a thick Israeli pita, served with a crunchy sour pickle spear. I didn’t eat it till over an hour later, so I’m not sure how crispy the eggplant was. The eggplant was thinly sliced, as was the hard boiled egg. The green zhoug brought everything together. The creaminess of the egg,  tahini and hummus, the freshness of the Israeli salad, the soft and chewy pita, the spicy zhoug, the soft eggplant – so many flavors and textures. Every bite was a delight.

The kiosk has some counter seating with additional seating inside MIA Market.

5 out of 5 stars

Versailles, which calls itself the World’s Most Famous Cuban Restaurant, includes the sit down restaurant, Café Versailles (a coffee and pastry stand), and Versailles Bakery. There was a 20  minute wait for a table at Versailles Restaurant, so I decided to check out the bakery.

The bakery serves Cuban sandwiches, Cuban coffee, empanadas, desserts (ice cream, cakes), cookies, cupcakes, and pastries (e.g., croquetas, pastelitos, merengues, papa rellena). The items in the pastry case were not labeled.

Cubano sandwich, $9.25: Served hot, it had thin layers of ham and roast pork with melted Swiss cheese, dill pickle slices, mustard and mayo on Cuban bread. The sandwich was pressed and cut in half. It had all the proper components and was balanced. However, the bread was surprisingly tough (I assume that they baked it themselves) though it had a hot and crispy exterior. The ham was sweet.  The pork seemed lean like tenderloin.

Café con leche, lightly sweet: this was pleasant and went well with the sandwich

The bakery looks older but clean. Take a number and order when your number is called. There is indoor and outdoor seating.

4 out of 5 stars

I like the concept – an all-day, casual Cuban bakery café. The monkey mascot smoking a cigar gives it a bit of an edge. You can order at the register or use the self-service kiosk. Or order online. There were sweet pastries (e.g., pop tarts, monkey bread, cinnamon rolls, cookies) and savory pastries (empanadas, pan de bono, croquetas). You can order pixas, sandwiches, wraps, bowls, soups, acai bowls, toast, breakfast sandwiches, coffee drinks, shakes, smoothies, juices, etc.

Spinach & cheese croqueta ($1.49): the log shaped croqueta had been rolled in crumbs, the spinach and cheese mixture was soft and mushy

Ropa vieja empanada ($3.79): a baked shell filled with shredded beef in a sweet tomato sauce, the shell was thin and didn’t have much flavor, the beef filling was tasty but I took one bite and all the filling came out

Pan de bono ($2.49): these were my favorite, chewy round golden balls with a touch of glutinous flour, a buttery and cheesy flavor

Café Cubano ($1.69): espresso with sugar – strong and small

The place was busy in the morning. It’s colorful inside (those purple walls). Merch for sale included the plush monkey mascot, tumblers, bags of coffee, and t-shirts. They have a rewards program.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Fro-yo girl here. Pharos is a bit hard to spot as it shares a space with Sandwich Qbano. Look for the counter to the left of the entrance.

There were two froyo flavors available, Plain Greek Yogurt and Hazelnut.

The toppings were displayed in white and blue ceramic bowls on the counter. The toppings are healthier and include fresh fruit, nuts, granola, coconut, cacao nibs, crumbles, zero sugar spreads, kataifi pistachio crunch, honey, olive oil, matcha powder, etc.

Prices: Small, one topping, $7.99/ Medium, two toppings, $9.99/ Large, 3 toppings, $11.99

Plain Greek Yogurt with chopped pistachios, small: The froyo was smooth, creamy, and had more air than average. It also tasted sweeter than Tata’s, Meli, Plants & Bowls, and Myka. There was a bit of an icy edge. It tasted like yogurt but also had a distinctive taste. It was moderately tangy. The texture was softer, and it melted quicker.

The hazelnut froyo had a mild hazelnut flavor and was also creamy and sweet.

The décor is Greek-inspired with lots of white and blue. There is limited seating inside (two small tables). Pharos opened in November 2025. It is counter-serve.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

3.5 out of 5 stars

I’ve been to a few Book-Off locations, some larger, some smaller. The one in Monterey Park is really good. It seems better organized. Book-Off is the largest used bookstore chain in Japan. You can buy, sell, or trade a wide variety of merchandise, including books, music, games, DVDs, electronic devices, toys/collectible figurines, etc.

There was also a long row of Japan trinket vending machines. Some of the merchandise comes from Japan. The sale books were $1 and the sale DVDs were $2.

While books, music, and DVDs were organized by genre and title, the titles are not alphabetized beyond being grouped by letter. However, prices are lower than other used bookstores. I didn’t feel like browsing but I did like the selection of used foreign movie DVDs though it was a small selection.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Opened by the owner of Little Fatty which is around the corner, Fatty Mart is an Asian bodega with a hot food/BBQ bar, grab & go sandwiches and cold dishes, coffee, ice cream, and snacks. You can order dumplings, Fatty Folds, banh mi sandwiches, popcorn chicken, smash burgers, breakfast burritos, salads, and noodles.

Fatty fold (like an Asian taco) with popcorn chicken ($10): crispy, flaky scallion pancake topped with chili crisp, hoisin mayo, pickled mustard greens, cucumbers, green onions, and cilantro. This took awhile but they assembled it with care. The scallion pancake was extra hot, crispy and chewy. It was too hot to hold. The popcorn chicken had a thin batter. The chicken was dry but tasty. The cucumbers fell out. Sauces were tasty combined with the pickles and fresh herbs. It was about three times to size of a street tacos but even more filling because of the thickness of the scallion pancake.

The groceries include Asian snacks, (candy and chips) noodles, drinks,  condiments, etc. You can get most of what they have at H Mart or 99 Ranch for less, but I don’t think either are close. There is a Mitsuwa less than a mile away but the products tend to be more Korean and Chinese than Japanese. There’s also Fatty Mart merch, cookbooks, wine and spirits and frozen foods like Fatty Mart’s dumplings and garlic noodles.

Look for daily specials like 15% off the hot bar on Thursdays and $10 breakfast burritos on Fridays.

Online ordering is available.

4 out of 5 stars

Fro-yo girl here. Go Greek quietly opened yesterday in Larchmont Village. I expect they’ll have a grand opening at a later date.

It’s an attractive shop in the heart of Larchmont Village. You’ll find six self-serve froyo flavors and toppings for $1.35/oz, classic (non-frozen) Greek yogurt, sweet and savory Greek yogurt bowls, and smoothies made with froyo ($13.25 each). The yogurt is kept in big terracotta bowls, like you’d see in a yogurteria in Greece. The yogurt is imported from Greece.

The toppings are healthy, for the most part. Some of the toppings cost extra, including the Greek spoon sweets, honey, shaved chocolate, and even peanut butter. It seems stingy to me when the yogurt is already expensive.

Before entering the shop, I saw a sign that said sorry, we do not offer samples. I think that’s just bad practice. Have employees dispense the samples to avoid sampling abuse.

Froyo flavors of the day:

Plain

Greek honey

Chocolate

Strawberry

Mango

White Chocolate

I decided to try a savory bowl, the Greek salad ($14.99). Mr. Froyo pointed out that the sign did not specify that the Greek salad came with yogurt. The Greek salad wound up being 50% plain Greek yogurt and 50% sliced Persian cucumbers, grape tomatoes, Kalamata olives, and olive oil. I did not see or taste the oregano, salt, or pepper. The salad was fine though it didn’t feel like a salad. It was fresh but very plain. The yogurt was silky, rich, and smooth. It wasn’t sour. It was good yogurt and the ingredients were fresh, but it felt like there wasn’t much effort put into the bowl for $14.99 plus tax. I wanted more salt and pepper at least and would have also loved some feta, onions, and fresh herbs.

This location is owned by a franchisee.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Changan Kitchen is in soft opening mode. The new Chinese restaurant specializes in handmade noodles and Shaanxi (Northwestern China) cuisine. You’ll find soups, stir-fries, noodles, cold appetizers, and dumplings. And did I emphasize that the noodles are handmade?

Biang biang hot oil noodles with minced garlic, green onions, Sichuan chili peppers ($9.99 with a choice of wide or hand-pulled noodles, option to add proteins) topped with stir-fried cumin lamb ($6.99). I should have gone with the traditional wide noodles. The hand-pulled noodles were excellent (round, long, chewy), but they were so long that it was hard to separate the noodles for sharing. I asked for extra spicy, and they did pile on the dried chilies. Combined with all the garlic, it was a flavorful, highly spiced bowl of noodles. I liked how the sauce had some acidity from vinegar. The noodles also came with some bok choy and bean sprouts for texture and flavor. The cumin lamb was tender. It was a huge bowl of noodles, enough for two people. I did find it to be saltier than I prefer but not crazy salty.

The interior looked elegant with neutral colors but large TVs. Service was good. They brought water to every table. All of the diners were Chinese.

4 out of 5 stars

Ten Thousand Coffee was founded in Sydney, Australia. The franchise has cafes in Seoul, Manila, NYC, Taipei, and Hanoi. Ten Thousand refers to the amount of time it takes for their team to create a perfect cup of coffee (not sure what that means exactly). The offerings feel more Korean than Australian.

For drinks, they have standard espresso drinks, pour over coffee, cold brew, drip coffee, signature drinks (einspanners). The mini pastries (croissants, Danish, cinnamon rolls) are baked on site. They also had cakes, cookies, and macarons (not sure of the source). Order at the register. They use Monin flavor syrups rather than making their own syrups.

Flat white ($5.50): no foam art, quite weak. A flat white is supposed to be stronger than a latte. This tasted like a latte. It wasn’t bitter though.

Ham & cheese croissant ($5.50): this was okay, the filling was mushy and the croissant barely had any layers. It was expensive for a small croissant that wasn’t good quality.

Free wi-fi. Parking was easy to find in the shared parking lot but is limited to two hours. The interior is mostly white with some touches of black and light wood chairs. You can buy coffee beans and merch.

3 out of 5 stars

I’m happy to see new premium banh mi shops open in the SGV. The Bread Spot opened a few months ago. They bake their own bread and have much more than 15 kinds of banh mi sandwiches. They also have appetizers like sticky rice, egg rolls, summer rolls, coffee (Vietnamese, matcha lattes, milk tea, and teas. Order at the counter.

Bread Spot special (dac biet) banh mi, $8.99: Made to order on their fresh rolls (they look like footballs or torpedos), the large sandwich was stuffed with cold cuts, pate, and pork sung. The veggies (cilantro, jalapenos, cucumbers) and pickled veggies (carrots and daikon) came in separate plastic bags. The meat was on the gelatinous side (more head cheese than anything else) and some bites were too salty. The bread was thin and chewy with a crispy exterior. The pickled veggies were sweeter. The veggies were fresh and crunchy. I enjoyed the sandwich but would get a different kind next time.

Special egg rolls (4 for $5.50): these were wider and the filling was looser and drier than average, they were also on the greasier side.

The credit card minimum is $10. The place looked clean and had plenty of seating. Easy parking.

4 out of 5 stars.

The newest Smoking Tiger just opened at the Arcadia Hub shopping center (anchored by Vons). Since it’s a Coffee Lab, they don’t have as many pastries as a regular Smoking Tiger, but there’s still plenty of choose from, like cakes, croissants, Dubai chewy cookies, scones, butter mochi, etc. You can also order breakfast and chicken sliders.

Choose from espresso drinks, drip coffee, cold brew, signature drinks, Jeju matcha, and Korean drinks like the banana milk latte and sweet corn latte. They roast their own coffee beans and seem to take coffee seriously. Milk options include whole milk, oat milk, and almond milk.

Organic Jeju matcha latte ($6.25, 0% sweetness): ceremonial grade Jeju matcha with milk. The latte isn't mixed (I guess you do that yourself). The Jeju matcha is grassier, a bit bitter, and tasted more powdery. I prefer Japanese matcha.

It’s a larger space than the San Gabriel branch and about the same as Monterey Park. Laptop campers have already found the spot and taken over.

Service was friendly. They sell coffee beans, tea, and cute branded merch.

4 out of 5 stars

Miami Beach is a true tourist destination, attracting visitors from all over the world. They come to see South Beach with its white sand and turquoise waters, Ocean Drive Art Deco buildings, nightlife, and sidewalk dining.

I was surprised that you couldn’t see the beaches clearly from Ocean Drive because of the plants that they placed to obscure your view. That was disappointing. Maybe it’s to keep the sand from blowing onto the buildings and pedestrians. One side of Ocean Drive has lots of boutique hotels and restaurants with sidewalk dining. As you walk by, employees will try to get your attention and encourage you to dine at their establishment. The area is also very crowded. I didn’t like it.

Miami Beach has more souvenir shops than any other part of Miami and the merchandise looks cheap and tacky.

However, I did like the Miami Beach Botanical Garden (free admission), city parks, and museums. The Miami Beach trolley is free. Lincoln Road was also a pleasant outdoor mall where you can find Myka Greek Frozen Yogurt.

4 out of 5 stars

Miami has good public transportation, including the free trolleys and the Metrorail, Metromover, Tri-Rail (which serves three counties), and the Metrobus. The latter four serve the Miami International Airport. Metrobus single rides are $2.25 each way. You can buy tickets and day passes from the machine.

I took bus 150, the Miami Beach Airport Express. It’s a popular bus line that operates from 5 AM – midnight every 30 minutes. It took about 40 minutes to get from the Miami International Metrorail Center to my destination in Miami Beach.

The bus looks like other city buses. The seats are plastic. It has luggage racks. The app tracks the buses. I like how the next three stops were listed on the screen inside the bus, with approximate arrival times.

Bus stops were clearly marked.

4 out of 5 stars

This is a very cute gift shop with an emphasis on design. The merchandise is attractively displayed, e.g., a shelf devoted to cat merchandise and another to marine creatures. I did notice that most of the merchandise was cutesy and geared towards children, while the museum is geared towards adults. Also, most of the merchandise wasn’t local but could be found at other gift shops.

You’ll find cute stickers, puzzles, toys, design books, greeting cards, tote bags, Jellycat plushies (including rare ones), keychains, vases, jewelry, etc. There’s also a coffee bar inside and seating.

4 out of 5 stars