Miami offered its fair share of delights. My fave? Not a hard call. It could have easily been the view from my hotel room's balcony (pictured above). It could have been the decadently deep marble tub, where I enjoyed several luxurious baths (pictured below).
Or, it easily could have been South Beach's party scene (Sunday night at the Raleigh most definitely qualified as a scene.) Or it could have been the district's glorious art deco architecture.
But, no. I found my most pleasurable Miami experience in a legendary Cuban diner in Little Havana - Versailles.
From squeezing wedges of mouthpuckering lime into a traditional Sopa de Platanos to the last flavorful bite of Ropa Viejo on my mixed platter of Cuban specialties, I was soothed and sated.
OK - I was more than soothed and sated. I was stuffed.
But that didn't stop me from sipping on a Cafe con Leche and taking a few bites of the restaurant's sweet, luscious Dulce De Leche Flan. Mmmmmm...
The manager called me a cab. I plunked into the backseat and the cabbie instantly recognized my soul-satisfied expression as we pulled out of the restaurant's parking lot.
"Good. No?"
Most decidedly "yes."
"I haven't eaten there in a while. Such great food!"
I agreed and then regaled him with a blow-by-blow of my evening repast.
The cab came to a screeching halt.
"Are you telling me that you didn't have the Queso Flan?!? That's wrong! Just wrong!"
Suddenly he hit the gas and made a U-turn. We were back in the Versailles parking lot in seconds.
"You cannot leave Miami without trying the Queso Flan!"
I adored this man. This man whom I would learn is named Baldo. This man who had a weak spot for melt-in-your-mouth desserts - and for the women who adored them too.
The manager was so taken aback by Baldo's tale of Queso Flan worship that he promptly brought over the off-menu treat and refused payment. He knew true love when he saw it. And, Baldo was a man most certainly in love with Versailles' Queso Flan (pictured below - Yes, I know it's fuzzy! I didn't have it in me to focus - on several levels).
So, was the real Miami delight Versailles or Baldo or the Queso Flan?
I'll never tell.
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