You can't move the soul of a restaurant.

​When you're favorite restaurant closes down. you miss intangibles. You can usually find comparable food, but the aura of an iconic restaurant cannot be easily duplicated. Part 2 of our list makes has as much affect on our heart as our belly.

Pacific Time, South Beach
Pacific Time reopened in the Design District (and later closed there) but something went missing in the trip over the Venetian Causeway. The original location on Lincoln Road might have lost its luster in the years before it closed, but something about a place can't be transferred. Lee Klein said it best about the original Pacific Time: "It is a tragic truth that when a neighborhood loses its soul, its restaurants go to hell." Ain't that the truth Lincoln Road.

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They don't make them like Rascal House anymore.

​It's one of the great tragedies of life. A favorite restaurant, diner, eatery or even a hot dog stand disappears -- sometimes in its prime. There's nothing to do about it. Nobody to complain to. There's only heartfelt reminiscing with others who share your longing. Time will heal those wounds. And just when you think the pain has finally subsided, here we come to make it fresh again. You're welcome!

This is part one of our take on those restaurant that should have never closed.

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Sushi House
15911 Biscayne Boulevard, Aventura
305-947-6002 / sushihousenmb.com

The Deal: Everyday, 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
​
Sushi House's new happy hour includes $5 specials on hot sake, all beer selections, Merlot St. George, and Chardonnay St. George. There are also two-for-ones on Flor De Cana Rum, Jim Beam, Cutty Sark, Cosmos, Apple Martinis, all house liquors, and more. Food specials include various rolls ($4.50 - $6), Seaweed Salad ($5), and Ceviche ($7).  If fresh seafood is your heart's desire, you're in luck; choose from among scallops, crab, tuna, squid, and octopus.

Get a feel of the the vibe after the jump.


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via Miami New Times archives November 23 - 29, 2009. Click for fullsize.

​Tiger Tiger Teahouse opened on Biscayne Boulevard in 1969. The restaurant then moved to South Miami, the location the ad at right advertises, closed for a year, and then reopened on the 79th street causeway in North Bay Village.

A 1992 Miami New Times review of the restaurant at its 79th Street location by Jen Karetnick said "The food itself epitomized poor preparation from a disinterested kitchen. And time seemed to stand still."

Woah, harsh.

Even worse, in 1996, 40-year-old Chef Gouquiang Situ, a Chinese immigrant who had worked his way up from dishwasher to head of the Tiger Tiger kitchen, was killed walking home from work while carrying take-out soup and Chinese newspapers.

In a mysterious case documented by the New York Times the chef was killed by a bomb blast set off by a trip wire strung between a metal bus shelter and a chainlink fence near WSVN Channel 7. At the time of the incident no motive or suspect was determined.

Anybody have any other Tiger Tiger Teahouse memories?

via Miami New Times Archives week of November 16 - 22, 1988

click image for full size

​Coffee gum. It sounds like a million dollar idea. Miami's Gregory Paul Inc. tried to capitalize on it back in 1988 by advertising in the New Times.

The company's ad reads, "Each delicious piece of coffee flavored chewing gum contains caffeine equal to 1/2 a cup of coffee. Now you can enjoy a coffee break anytime, anywhere."

Portable, instant energy sources are big business. Consider the trillions of dollars generated by the sale of energy drinks, shots, pills, herbal supplements, and crystal meth, not to mention coffee.

So it's surprising that Gregory Paul Inc's coffee gum didn't catch on, or at least it doesn't seem to have. We can't find any web reference to the product.

Has anybody out there ever heard of or tried coffee gum? Leave a comment.

via Miami New Times archives week of November 9 - 15, 1988

​Full time, nights, bilingual, new club...guess in some ways Miami Beach hasn't changed much at all since 1988.

The classified clipping at right was pulled from a November 1988 issue of the Miami New Times. The first two listings don't name the place that's hiring, but maybe somebody out there on the worldwide information superhighway remembers a joint named Scratch.

If so leave a comment, tell us a story.

On a different, but related note, old Dade County comments, stories, and the like can be found on an excellent local website out up by a dude named Don Boyd.

Click here for old Miami-Dade memories of this sort "The opening of Dadeland Shopping Center with a grocery store (Food Fair, later Grand Union) on the north side just west of Burdines. It was enclosed and air-conditioned years later."

Enjoy.

Miami New Times archives November 2 - 8, 1988.

That shrimp in a chefs hat is trademarked.

​Dick Cami opened Cami's Seashells in 1986. That budget seafood house is the blueprint for upscale-casual-cheap seafood chains in South Florida that have been a mainstay ever since. But before Cami's Seashells there was Peppermint Club, the legendary NYC and Miami rock and roll clubs famous for the twist, that were also opened by Dick Cami.

Additionally, Dick Cami is responsible for the hilariously named Crabby Dick's in Key West, which he opened in 1996. His sons Richie and John have opened restaurants around Florida as well, namely Oar House in Davie, and Islamorada Fish Company in Dania. The three Camis came together in 2004 to open Grumpy Dick's Seafood Grill in Plantation.

Dick Cami's name also pops up on the website for singer Lawrence Branchetti. The copy reads, "Dick Cami (Former owner of the original Peppermint Clubs, first rock and roll clubs in the United States, Danny De Vito, and Robert De Niro. are currently making a movie featuring Dick Cami's life story -- Larry your voice has that something special keep up the good work."

via Miami New Times archives week of October 19 - 25, 1988

​This week we bring you an event write-up in an old section of the Miami New Times called The Wave. The above promotion is for a 1988 barbecue that served chicken and ribs in memory of a murdered cop, and to benefit the Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis.

Detective Cheryl Weiner Seiden, a seven-year veteran of the force, was murdered in 1982 by a purse snatcher who followed her car from 8th street to Kendall as she and two friends returned home from dinner. Seiden pulled her gun and was shot twice. One bullet lodged in her neck and paralyzed her. She died two weeks later from respiratory complications.

The Marc Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis is still around today, they are a force, and they recently raised $6.3 million (and an additional $10 million for the Miami Project) at the 24th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner.

Miami New Times archives week of October 12 - 18, 1988

Somethin's fishy here.

​"Doris close yer legs, all I smell is fish!"

We're not sure who the marketing genius was that came up with having a seafood special at Scarlett's On The Bay for their grand opening in 1988, but it seems like they should have known better than to make a strip club -- OK, "exotic lingerie" club -- smell like a fish house.

In any case, this seems to be an early outpost of the infamous Scarlett's, now in Hallandale. We can't find info on the place anywhere, and aren't sure why tonga dancing in "the most intimate and elegant restaurant and club in Florida" didn't succeed. Maybe they did and we just don't know it. Got any insight or info? Leave a comment.

Here's the full ad as it appeared in the Miami New Times way back in 1988.
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Miami New Times archives week of October 5 - 11, 1988

Click For Full Size

​Free beer!

That rallying cry is a valued, age-old method to draw a crowd. Like:

"Dude, my little sister's hamster passed away and she's having a funeral and burial ceremony for it. Do you wanna go?"

"Uhhm, nah that sounds lame I'll pass"

"There's gonna be free beer."

"Right. I'm in. And I'm telling everybody."

So it is with an eye toward our current economic plight that I suggest restaurants engage their value cannons and fire off as many rounds of free beer as their pockets will support.

Check out this Luigi's Cafe Bistro (10121 Sunset Drive) ad from a 1988 issue of the New Times. Not only do they redub happy hour as "Be Happy Specials," they offer "For drinkers...Every 3rd beer free," and also, "With every $4.95 munchie plate, you get a free beer."

That's two "free beer" and one "munchies" reference on the same page. If this place was still open I'd go there right now.

Anybody ever heard of it or been there? Leave a comment.