The Comeback Drink
In his 12 years as a mixologist, Joel Mesa has learned that people cower in fear at the prospect of a gin cocktail. These days, it’s slowly making its way back to the forefront of the bar scene, a trend that Mesa, who runs the beverage program at Bulla Gastrobar (2500 Ponce de Leon Blvd.,
Musical Paradise
While many teenagers form bands with dreams of making it big, only a few manage to make a lifelong career out of music. South Florida resident Jimmy Stowe is one of those few. As a teenager, he joined a band named Horse and found success performing throughout New England in the 1970s, opening for big-name
7 questions with Graham Wood Drout, Musician
1 What is your artistic background? I am an artist, musician, poet, songwriter and bon vivant, but I am best known as the founder and band leader of Tobacco Road’s legendary house band, Iko-Iko. My band rocked that house for over 30 years starting in 1980, sharing the stage with a who’s who of the best
Fresh and Sweet
Though bartender John Lermayer admits he isn’t good with computers, walking into an Apple store makes him feel like a better version of himself: smarter, younger, richer, cooler. That feeling is what he’s trying to perfect at Sweet Liberty Drinks & Supply Company, 237-B 20th St., Miami Beach, the cocktail bar he co-owns and helped
A world apart
Junior Achievement of South Florida changes students’ lives with interactive business education Like many fifth-graders, Zaidi Fearon wanted to be just like her parents, who run successful businesses in Jamaica. Her mother and father operate a mall and her father runs a zoo. But Fearon didn’t have an idea what running a business would be
For the Fun of the Game
Doug Mox’s team of Parkland All-Stars were on the verge of making local Little League baseball history. Still, he didn’t let the pressure keep his squad of 12- and 13-year-olds from having some fun 3,000 miles away from home. However, not every coach at the Little League Intermediate World Series, held this August in Livermore,
7 questions with Lakeisha Frith
Assistant executive director, Greater Miami Youth Symphony 1 Music was a part of your life since childhood. When did you know you wanted to teach? I’ve always been a teacher in some regard. When I started playing at school, once I got to sixth grade, we were helping the fifth-graders. When I was in high school,
Lifting a Weight
The co-owner of a local CrossFit gym turns her battles with food into a life-altering example for others By Keren Moros | Photos by Eduardo Schneider Rachel Batista is the first to admit that the most tumultuous relationship in her life is the one she has with food. As a teenager, she developed unhealthy habits
Wonder Women
Lead photo by Luccia Photos Though Janell Bantz has been a member of the Women’s Club of Coconut Creek for two years, she has been involved with it since 1991, when she was 18 and moved to Coconut Creek from Michigan. Within two weeks of moving, she met the man who would become her husband,
Better Than Sliced
Variety is the spice when it comes to Bar Louie’s renowned flatbreads By Keren Moros Kitchen manager Kelvin Hutchinson calls the flatbreads at Bar Louie “the best in town”—a contention that few if any patrons of the popular restaurant at The Promenade at Coconut Creek would argue. According to Hutchinson, who’s worked with the company
Students and Moms Unite for Ecuador
Local moms and students led a campaign to help victims of the April 16 magnitude-7.8 earthquake in Ecuador. Initiated by Pinecrest residents Laura Munilla and Genny Verdezoto and Gabriela Zenoz, a student from Westminster Christian School, Miami Moms for Ecuador started as a network of mothers coordinating donation drives at 10 private schools in Pinecrest
7 Questions with Sgt. Sigfredo Badillo
Pinecrest Police Department 1 Who has had the biggest impact on your life? My two children. Once I had my kids, it changed my outlook on life—how I see things and how I focus on my career. I want to make sure that I do the best that I can so I can provide for them
