Friday Night Live!
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THE GABLES COMES ALIVE THE FIRST FRIDAY OF EACH MONTH
The first Friday of each month in Coral Gables is known as Gallery Night, a name that made sense years ago when there were more than two dozen art galleries here. Most of those have since fled for cheaper digs, leaving only a handful of stalwarts behind. The name persists, however, but should be changed to Friday Night Live, since it’s live music that marks the night more than visual art.
We started our evening at the Americas Collection, one of the art galleries that survived the diaspora. It occupies a large space on South Ponce, a half block up from Nordstrom, and participates in every Gallery Night. As the name implies, proprietor Sylvia Ortiz specializes in artists from Central and South America. The show on the evening we attended (and through March) was called “Hues of Desire” in honor of Valentine’s Day; lady visitors were offered a rose and a chocolate dipped strawberry. The exhibit featured dreamy cloud paintings by Gables-based artist Liv Dockerty and still-life paintings by Chilean artist Francisco Mery, among others.
With good red wine and a cheese board, Americas Collection was a calm and pleasant place to begin what turned out to be a raucous evening. We drove from there to a miraculous parking spot on Galiano, and then walked to Giralda Plaza, where a band called The Groove Brothers was playing for Giralda Live!, the music event from 7 to 11 pm on first Fridays. Not far from the band, a kiosk served free samples of Ron Zacapa rum.
That braced us for a walk down Giralda, which was alive with people despite the chilly temps. Toward the west end of the street, a saxophonist blew melodic jazz next to another free sample station, this one by Ketel One. Another shot and we were ready for the Coral Gables Museum, which was holding an avant-garde dance event in one of the galleries. In their back courtyard (with a cash bar!) We watched pop-rock band GLASS BLOCS play “White Wedding” by Billy Idol, their lead singer (dressed in white) doing a fine punkish snarl.
Our last stop of the evening took us back down Giralda, past The Groove Brothers (now playing “Free Bird”), to Sra. Martinez, the Spanish-influenced restaurant by celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein. We ordered two of her legendary starters – the carbonara croquetas (made with pecorino cheese, smoky pancetta, and béchamel sauce) and her chicken liver paté (served with sugar-powdered beignets and marmalade). For a main course, we split a rich and flavorful oxtail paella (with bone marrow) accompanied by roast beets and patatas brava. All excellent.
Sra. Martinez occupies the space formerly inhabited by the legendary Open Stage, adjacent to Graziano’s marketplace on Galiano. Partly in deference to her restaurant’s previous life as a music club, Bernstein installed a small stage where a live band plays classic Son Cubano music Friday and Saturday nights starting at 7 pm. We ate and drank leisurely, imagining we were in Havana. The restaurant had a warm, glowing vibe, the perfect place to end a night on the town in Coral Gables.