***** Big Bear Brewing Company
1800 University Drive
Coral Springs, Florida 33071
(954) 341-5545

You do know what “a variation on a theme is” don’t you? Well if you don’t, Big Bear Brewing Company is a perfect example, of a T. G. I. Fridays or a Chili’s Grill & Bar with a “slight tweak.”

I’ll bet you, that if I blind-folded you and had you “taste food” from joints like Chili’s, Fridays, Ruby Tuesdays, Flanigan’s, or (You Name It) Ale House, you couldn’t in a million years tell me which burger, pasta, fajita etc., came from which restaurant.

In my (humble) opinion, all of these “casual dining” kind-of-joints are basically the same. Other than for “different decors,” they are all cut from the same cloth.

Big Bear Brewing Company “fits” the above described mold. You know the drill: Tons of appetizers, salads, soups, burgers, “personal” pizzas and entrees to chose from. Decent food. Fair prices. Cogenial service.

The next time you are “looking” for that easy-going lunch or dinner, keep Big Bear in mind. This joint is not worth a special trip, but like I said before, “is a nice variation on a theme” (if you are in the Coral Springs area). Oh, by the way, the “tweak” is that this joint brews a “few” of its own beers. Big steel tanks are “part” of the decor.

Big Bear Brewing Company is opened 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

***** Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries
871 Village Boulevard
West Palm Beach, Florida 33409
(561) 640-9555

Let me put this to you as simply as I can…if you like HAMBURGERS & FRENCH FRIES…you absolutely have to try Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries.

Five Guys is a fast-food chain. The last time I checked, it had 118 units (located predominantly in the northeast USA). Five Guys is planning a “major push” into South Florida, so don’t be shocked to see “one” opening in your neighborhood real soon.

Five Guys makes one of the best fast-food hamburgers that you will ever taste. The same goes for its fries. The same also goes for its hot-dogs. Just so you know, this joint’s menu has burgers, hot-dogs, fries and a grilled cheese sandwich on it “and that’s it.”

I am telling you, that you don’t want to miss this one. For “right now” the only Five Guys in “our” South Florida area is in West Palm Beach. This joint is open 7 days a week, 11am-10pm.

    Bubba Gump is a small “casual dining” chain, which just happens to have a location in the Bayside Marketplace, in Miami (which is located directly across the street from the American Airlines Arena which is the “home” of the Miami Heat). Last night, before the Heat’s SEASON OPENER, (for convenience sake) I had dinner at Bubba Gump.

This is a tourist trap. The food stinks. The service stinks. The food is overpriced.

Stay away.

***** Vivo Participacoes S.A.

Vivo Participacoes is not “some” Brazilian Steak joint in Miami.

If you do some DUE DILIGENCE you will find that VIVO is one of the largest cellular phone companies in Brazil. Its stock is traded on the NYSE under symbol VIV and is currently sitting around $3.53 a share. Your DUE DILIGENCE should also reveal, that VIVO was “created” a year or so ago, by the merger of a number of companies into one entity.

My, and I repeat the word “MY” due diligence, leads me to believe that VIV is ” c h e a p” at $3.53 a share. Just maybe, it takes a little time to get things running “right” after a major merger-consolidation.

Do your own homework.