A Night at Merrick Park
Cocktails, A Med/Japanese Mix, And Plush Movie Seats
Considering the profusion of restaurants and activities on and around Miracle Mile, we rarely leave downtown Coral Gables for our nights out on the town. However, this time we looked to the Shops at Merrick Park, which has everything necessary for a night out: walkability, things to do, places to eat, and the advantage of free parking. To that latter, you might ask, “How do you manage that?” In the service of our readership, we’ll reveal our secret: park in the Merrick garage, head to the third floor of Nordstrom, and go to the order pickup kiosk. There, you will find two tablets where you can input your license plate and receive three hours of free parking. Huzzah!
After my date dragged me away from an insanely cute Free People sweater that he swore I didn’t need (I disagreed), our night really began downstairs at Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille, where we grabbed a couple of drinks at the bar. We love the ambience here, which is sophisticated without being stuffy and lends itself to socializing. My date chose a gin and tonic, but, feeling more adventurous, I went with the Cucumber Blueberry Martini ($17), a signature Perry’s cocktail that was both refreshing and emboldening. Enough said.
Left: Cocktails At Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille Top: On Weekend Nights From 8:30 To 10 PM, A Belly Dancer Performs On The Sawa Patio Above: Catching a Night Movie With Drinks At Landmark Theatres
Shops At Merrick Park
358 San Lorenzo Ave.
Shopsatmerrickpark.com
Having sufficiently libated ourselves, we walked a few steps over to Sawa, where we had a dinner reservation. We sat outside since the night was vaguely chilly and were treated to a show as well as dinner – on weekend nights from 8:30 to 10 pm, a belly dancer makes her way through the restaurant’s outdoor tables, fluidly dancing and flinging her silks to a percussive beat.
As we watched, we helped ourselves to a meal from Sawa’s inexplicably varied menu, a mix of Mediterranean and Japanese food with a few random dishes thrown in from other cuisines. Here, you can get fettuccine alfredo, sushi, and beef kefta, along with kebabs, steaks, and lo mein. We ordered tapas-style, sharing the pork belly yakitori ($17.49), fried kibbe ($14), vegetarian grape leaves ($14.49), and a filet mignon kebab ($36). We were surprised at the speed with which our dishes arrived – though everything was delicious, we suspect a microwave may have been involved for at least some of what we sampled.
We adored the pork belly yakitorki, which was extremely crispy, rather than fatty, yet still flavorful. The kebab, meanwhile, came with a side of tzatziki sauce for dipping and was extremely fresh; though t’s one of the more expensive menu items, it’s easily shared between two people. We paired everything with a Greek lager called Alfa, which we had never seen before and loved.
Finally, we ended our night with a late-night showing at Landmark Theatre on the third floor of the mall. We bought our tickets to “Gladiator II” in advance, so we had a good view and access to the theater’s plush recliner seats. Before heading in, we stopped at the bar inside, which was surprisingly packed, and picked up one more round of drinks for the show. Though not incredibly impressed with the film (could have seen “Wicked”!) We thoroughly enjoyed our night at the mall, which made date night easy and fun.