“The days, weeks and months ahead will be a test of our resolve, a test of our trust in science and a test of our solidarity,” World Health Organization director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said this week. He acknowledged that crises on the order of a pandemic will bring out the “best and worst in humanity.”
All the grousing about the general lack of courtesy ingrained in daily life in South Florida obscures a wealth of folks who exude a perpetual warmth and gracious charm. I think of Chef Marco Vico, of Fort Lauderdale’s Café Vico, for instance.
Café Vico has, of course, closed its dining room, but remains open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily for app delivery services and curbside pickup, with a 20 percent discount on the latter. (Visit Facebook.com/CafeVico.vico.) Missing from the equation will be that moment when Chef Marco greets you at the door as if you were a long-lost family member.
With kids and other trials, I have gone as long as five years between visits, but it’s always the same — he recognizes a face (probably my wife’s) and makes us feel like the most important people in the room. The fact that he seems to cast this spell over all who enter makes me feel no less important.
Everyone has that local place in the neighborhood — a restaurant, a brewery, a coffee shop — that makes them feel at home, remembered and appreciated. This 30-day shutdown of bars and nightclubs, along with the closing of restaurant dining rooms in Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and other cities, is a time to pay it back and forward.
Using services such as Delivery Dudes and UberEats is one way to go. But why not pick it up yourself? Going in to grab your order allows you the opportunity to leave an encouraging word and, critically, an even more encouraging tip.
In the words of Shuck ‘N Dive owner Danny Stasi, another one of the good dudes in the business: “Don’t buy from a chain. They can hold on. If you like your local restaurant, support your local restaurant.”
In a crisis, or when there is just a day-to-day need in the community, Julian and Lisa Siegel have always been among the first to help, including their extraordinary efforts last year to organize humanitarian flights and boat shipments of goods to the Bahamas in the wake of Hurricane Dorian.
The Siegels, of course, run four restaurant-bars that could use our help: Tarpon River Brewing, the Riverside Market and Riverside Market South in Fort Lauderdale, and Riverside Market Plantation.
What can we do? Pick up a takeout box and you’ll get 20 percent off, and their 32-ounce crowlers of beer are buy-one, get-one half-off. The couple also is developing a meal plan, allowing you to order complete meals tailored for multiple diners, including comfort food such as lasagna and meatloaf.
And you can still dine in at their Plantation location, 6900 Cypress Road (off Broward Boulevard, east of Westfield Broward Mall), where they are serving a full menu until 10 p.m. daily. The beer selection there is also broad and deep.
“Support your favorite places, order takeout, come in and say ‘Hi’ to people, grab beer to go, whatever it is,” Lisa Siegel says. “Really focus on that, instead of buying all the toilet paper at Publix. Buy food to go, keep line cooks and bartenders employed to the point that at least they can bring home some of portion of a paycheck.”
Visit Facebook.com/RiversideMarket.
Digital dance party
The Rhythm Foundation on Thursday (March 19) will live-stream a closed-set performance by Miami electro duo Afrobeta from the North Beach Bandshell. The show was scheduled to be part of the monthly North Beach Social series, also a stop on the City of Miami Beach’s Culture Crawl. The free Quarantine Jam can be seen on the Rhythm Foundation Facebook page at 8 p.m. — and an Afrobeta show is an irresistible good time. Remember, no dancing on the sofa! Visit Facebook.com/AfroBetaFan.
Tip your guitarist
Popular Fort Lauderdale blues-rock guitarist Joel DaSilva, another one of the truly good guys on the local scene, will perform a Facebook Live concert 8-11 p.m. Saturday, replacing a major festival gig that has been canceled. The Soul-O Acoustic show will include originals, covers and requests, with links for “tip jar” donations. “Anything will be greatly appreciated,” he says. Visit Facebook.com/JoelDaSilvaMusic.
Sounds good
Radio-Active Records in downtown Fort Lauderdale this week decided it was best to close the shop temporarily, but they know you may be cooped up and in need of new sounds. So they’ll be there 11 a.m.-5 p.m. daily taking orders for free curbside pickup. And they’ll still be interested in buying your old stuff. Get details at Facebook.com/RadioActiveRecords.
Sweat Records in Miami is open with reduced store hours (noon-5 p.m. daily), but has just launched the Sweat webstore (Shop.SweatRecordsMiami.com), offering a 15 percent discount with the code SWEAT15. You may have heard Sweat recently celebrated its 15th anniversary. They ship locally and will arrange curbside pickup. On its Facebook, the shop also points out that the nonprofit MusiCares is providing musicians and others who work in the industry grants of up to $1,000 for basic living assistance. At the same time MusiCares is taking donations for its COVID-19 Relief Fund. Visit Facebook.com/MusiCares.
Drive-in movies
You can still watch movies from the comfort of your car at the Thunderbird Drive-In at the Swap Shop in Lauderhill. Both the market and the theater remain open for business, with multiple screenings of escapist thrillers and comedies through the weekend. They include “The Invisible Man,” “Bad Boys for Live,” “Bloodshot,” “Queen & Slim,” “Black and Blue,” “Just Mercy,” “Gretel & Hansel,” “The Hunt” and, for young viewers, Pixar’s animated, PG-rated “Onward.” Admission: $7, $2 ages 5-11, younger kids free. Visit FloridaSwapShop.com.
Drive-through beer
Due South Brewing in Boynton Beach will be open 3-7 p.m. daily through Sunday (when they will re-evaluate), selling beer to-go from a window in the warehouse. No consuming on the property. The brewery also has created a new online storefront at DueSouthBrewing.com/store, where you can place an order for pick-up. Give them 30 minutes to put it together, then call or text them at 561-453-2337 when you arrive, and they will bring it to your car (have an ID). Tip liberally.
