A Clean, Well Lighted Place

Hemingway loved a good bar, a refuge from the craziness of the outside world. Unlike my Dad, who wasn't a drinker, I do, too -- a few cocktails with good friends, maybe even some live music, is a great time for me. Two of my favorite spots, Tobacco Road, and Fox's, have closed. I go to the place where my office used to be, Trulucks, but it's a little too nice for my taste. So I'm always on the look out for new spots, and last night I found one. My sister of another mother, Mirta, suggested we try a place called Neme Gastropub, which opened on Coral Way, in the old Roads neighborhood. The Roads was a mostly Jewish 'hood in the 40s through the 70s, and now mostly Cuban. Recently, there's been a gentrification and diversification of the restaurants and bars there, especially close to Brickell. Neme is part of this new wave. I got there first, as usual, and struck up a conversation with bartender Claire, a thin gringa. She told me she's a 4th generation Miamian who went to New World School, and has been a bartender 20 years. She looked to be in her 30s, but I guess she's older. She had stints in LA and Vegas, but is back home, she said. She poured a nice Ketel One martini. Soon Mirta came, and then her friend, and then Carole, my banker friend. The ladies had blackberry martinis, with fresh fruit, and the place got crowded. Mirta knows the cook, AJ, a late 20s UM grad who left his field of study, sports medicine, to pursue his passion. We moved to a table and ate, and it was delicious -- creative chicken and veggie dishes -- my dietitian D1 would approve. They have jazz Thursday through Saturday, but the music starts at 10 pm...we joked we'd all be fast asleep by then. The owner came over, and sure enough, Mirta knew him from 20 years ago -- he owned an import business near the old Miami Stadium, where Mirta worked after high school, and the stores did business. It was a nice reunion. Nene invited us back, and I plan to go. It's a 5 minute drive from my office, even in traffic, and the drinks and food are terrific. A place that gives refuge from the real world -- a true find.