Ceviche

University Drive is in Coral Gables, which means that it's pretty, shady, neat, and boring, e.g. just like every other residential street in Coral Gables. Oddly for Coral Gables, you can often get away with parking on the side of the road next to the library. The library is useful to many outside of Coral Gables, because it's a Miami-Dade Library, and therefore provides Miami residents with the same level of service that Coral Gables residents get. This must drive the Coral Gables city commissioners nuts.

University Drive north of Bird Road is useful for getting directly to the Youth Center and the Coral Gables Library, and getting anywhere in the Gables directly is indeed a useful thing. One place that this University Drive will not get you is the University (of Miami). It will get you to University Park, which, as you may have guessed, is also nowhere near the University. You can use Bird Road to get to the University Drive that goes to the University, but, of course, it is not connected to the University Drive that leads to University Park.

Coral Gables does this sort of thing on purpose.

Coral Gables is (intentionally) difficult to navigate. There a diagonal roads, obstacles, and numerous forking paths. But Coral Gables is a tall, narrow, neighborhood, and as one of only two major north-south road, Granada Blvd connects most of the major points of interest. On Granada, you will pass by the University of Miami, Doctor's Hospital, the Biltmore golf course, the Granada golf course, and Venetian Pool. This is a great help after you've been lost for half an hour in the Coral Gables street maze, which happens even to natives. Of course, the entire trip is standard Gables fare: immaculately landscaped and kept, safe, toney, and incredibly boring.

Though primarily a residential road (except for when it crosses South Miami at Dixie), Red Road is important as a commuter road. It collects the southbound traffic from Coral Gables's westbound streets (because the Gables has few north-south roads), and distributes it to the University of Miami, Dixie Highway, South Miami, the Pinecrest residential neighborhoods, the Pinecrest schools, and Old Cutler Road. By Miami standards, it is a pleasant and scenic road. Which is a good thing, because if you are there when the many, many schools let out, you will be stuck in the school zones for a long, long time. The canal on the eastern side of the road south of Dixie guarantees no escape.

Commuting through Miami (or even through Coral Gables) often means driving down roads that would not qualify for the glamor shots in CSI: Miami. Alhambra Circle is a beautiful, sweeping, tree-lined, mansion-lined alternative for getting from the residential areas of eastern Miami to the commercial areas to the south. It also has a nice bike path, which is nearly unheard of on any Miami road that actually leads to anywhere.

Aragon Ave is a commercial street in Coral Gables that's parallel to and one block away from Miracle Mile. One shop on the street makes it memorable: Books and Books, a bookstore/cafe that is the location for many cultural events in the Gables (putting to shame the nearby, much larger, and better-funded Barnes and Noble). Books and Books hosts book release parties, book signings, and talks by famous authors. It is one of the few places to go to for such events in culture-starved Coral Gables.

There is a large municipal garage across the street from Books and Books, and a few small shops on the same street, including a pricey chocolate shop, a stationary place, and yet another furniture store.

Commodore Plaza is a restaurant-filled side street off of Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove. Oddly, and apparently without any coordination on the part of the city or the business owners, it has a cluster of location-themed restaurants. There's Moe's, a BBQ restaurant set in a Great White North log-cabin theme, complete with moose lamps, animal heads on the wall, and a grizzly bear diorama. Next door is a New Orleans-themed restaurant that looks like it was transported from the French quarter (if there were any restaurants in the Quarter with enormous fish tanks in the lobby). Across the street there's a tudor-styled English pub (now closed). These restaurants are actually very well themed; the street reminds me a bit of the World Showcase in Disney's Epcot theme park.

McFarlane Road, is one of the three main roads in Coconut Grove. It has a number of small shops and restaurants (though the Starbucks recently moved across the treat to the Cocowalk mall on Grand ave.) This street clearly shows the competing influences of the upscale, flashy Miami influence (which has taken over Grand Ave.) and the old funky Grove atmosphere.

Shops include a surf shop and a "life is good" shop. Restaurants include a Johnny Rocket's burger joint, a new york pizza take-out (that serves enormous slices of pizza) and a more upscale bar and restaurant called "Teepee" that's next to a fancy high-rise hotel. A branch of the Miami-dade county library is at end of the street closest to Biscayne Bay. The road borders Peacock Park, which often features musicians and a drum circle.

Bayshore Drive runs along the Biscayne Bay waterfront in Coconut Grove from Peacock Park (in the heart of the Grove) to the Rickenbacker Causeway. Because of the many marinas, public access to the waterfront is limited. It's hard to even get a view of the bay in Coconut Grove, but some access is available at Peacock Park and at the municpal boat ramp. Waterfront dining is available at the Chart House restaurant (highbrow), Scotty's landing (lowbrow), and Monty's (middle-brow). There's a lot of pedestrian activity, especially on the weekends. There is a bicycle trail that parallels the road.

If you're looking for a restaurant in downtown Coral Gables and stay on the main streets - Miracle Mile or Ponce de Leon, you'll miss the biggest concentration of restaurants in Coral Gables. Giralda, which runs parallel to and two blocks to the north of Miracle Mile, is the Gables' Restaurant Row. There's enough variety here to satisfy anyone in your party. The choices include upscale pizza, Thai, and nouveau Latin.

Coral Way east of Miracle Mile begins at Douglas Road on the border with Coral Gables to the west, and extends to a residential area known locally as The Roads. The street is shaded along its entire length by enormous banyan trees, and dotted with numerous restaurants (many with outdoor dining), and block after block of small shops. Sounds like a perfect place for a pedestrian, right? Think again.

It is a major thoroughfare for traffic moving to and from the downtown area from the more inland parts of the city. The heavy traffic (and its associated noise, pollution, and dangerous crosswalks) prevents this otherwise lovely street from challenging its upscale sister to the west, Miracle Mile, as a tourist destination for a leisurely stroll.