Vicky’s House is the latest undertaking by the Kush Hospitality Group. Founder Matt Kuscher enlisted the help of his director of operations, Laurie Grasty, who birthed the idea of serving milkshakes. The result is a 12-seat waiting area for his Lokal restaurant in Coconut Grove in honor of Kuscher's mother’s house, kitchen towel and all.
“I wanted to pay tribute to my mom and really go back to my roots of where I came from. I had an unbelievable childhood growing up, and that period of my life just generated great memories,” Kuscher says. “I thought it would be cool to try to re-create that. What better place to do that than next to Lokal? It’s my first baby, and I’ll never forget how lucky I am, what I have, and where I came from.”
The menu boasts over-the-top milkshakes such as the Golden Girls, a banana milkshake with cream cheese frosting, Golden Grahams cereal, a vanilla wafer, toffee bits, a Twinkie, a homemade blondie, and a cherry on top. There's also the Breakfast Club, a vanilla shake with a peanut butter rim, Cap'n Crunch cereal, Miami Smokers bacon, a glazed doughnut from Salty Donut, and a shot of espresso.
Vicky’s House also offers floats, ice-cream sandwiches from the Wynwood Parlor, locally made ice cream from Dasher & Crank, and Café La Llave Cuban coffee.
In the works are dairy-free milkshake options plus a vegan ice-cream sandwich from Wynwood Parlor.
Kuscher recalls how long it took him to open the new joint but says the sweetest part was when his mom walked in. “I can’t believe I saved this shit,” she said of the Norman Rockwell print that hangs on the wall, her reaction caught on video.
“Then she got extremely emotional and started crying all over the place,” Kuscher says.
“Now that we’re open and in full swing, out of all the concepts we’ve created, it’s the one that makes me feel the most comfortable and obviously most at home.”
Vicky’s House
3190 Commodore Plaza, Coconut Grove; 305-442-3377; vickyshouse.com. Open Monday through Friday 6 to 10 p.m., Saturday and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.
