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A French Café, Better than France in South Florida's Coral Gables

Dining in Miami just keeps getting better. Just this morning, on the way back from an appointment, we were looking for a place to have a quick, simple lunch, and settled on a French café that opened not too long ago on Miracle Mile, in the heart of chichi Coral Gables (one of the few parts of South Florida that feels like a real city and not a suburb). We knew the Rendez Vous French Café and Wine Shop would be good as we stepped in the door and the aroma of fresh-baked quiches and café au lait welcomed us to a warm, intimate space that wouldn't look out of place in Mandelieu, the little town on the Riviera where owners Loïc and Dorothée hail from.

Choosing wasn't hard: it's a simple café menu, but oh, what delights. We shared two generous portions of quiche (Lorraine and tuna), which were accompanied by a very Mediterranean-tasting salad of greens, tomatoes, and black olives with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. The great surprise was that, even with the gen-mod, hybridized, hormone-injected raw ingredients the American food industry foists upon those of us who can't afford to eat 100% organic, this young French couple is able to whip up delicious fare that truly transported us to France. For wine lovers, there is an ample selection, and I swore to myself that next time, I would try the rum baba, which looked scrumptious.

French Cooking, For a Song

So just how is this outpost of French culinary pleasures "better than France?" Look closely at the menu on the left: prices are more reasonable than anything you'll find in the real France, not to mention most of South Florida. Breakfast starts at $3.19 (don't ask how they arrived at that figure!), lunch at $3.75, and dessert at a stunning $1.50. There's even a "frequent eater" card, where after ten lunches, you get one free. Obviously, the Rendez Vous Café is a labor of love for Loïc and Dorothée, and they want to share that love at a price everyone can afford. I just don't know how they do it, in the middle of one of Miami's fancier 'hoods.