A Nerdy Mom’s Guide to Miami

If you’re a nerd who also happens to be a mom, then you’re in luck, because this nerdy mom has compiled a list – a guide, if you will – of nerdy things for nerdy moms to do in Miami.

Aw, here it goes…

1. Cafés.

My favorites are:

• Capital One Café

  • For when you want sit down with some tea or coffee, color or play dominoes with a friend, or do some work on your laptop. You know, whatever. There are usually professionals hanging out there too, so you might do some unintentional networking while you’re sitting there pondering the meaning of life and blowing on your latte to cool it down.

• Books & Books

  • This is the place to go to enjoy some coffee, a nice meal, and peruse some books. They have a nice children’s books section, so you can bring the kids! Or you can leave the kids at home, and come for a delicious, locally-sourced dinner from their seasonal menu. One night a week they have live musicians playing some music, so you can get all romantic or just enjoy some music while you have dinner with your other nerdy girl friends. I’ve gone to Books & Books for a date/girl’s night or ten.

• Barnes and Noble

  • A great place to go with the kids! They have a Starbucks in every Barnes and Noble, so I grab a coffee, then let my wild child run amok in their well-stocked toy section or pick out a few books she wants me to read her. Momma gets her coffee, and kiddo gets to play/learn – everyone wins!

• Tea and Poets

  • Perfect for a chill night out of the house. They have several card, and board, games available for you to just pick up and play while you sip on some tea. They have events and live music too! And if you ask really nicely, they can spike your tea with sake – nah, just kidding, they do it for anyone who wants it. Buzz buzz, know what I’m sayin’? Forget that, I don’t even know what I’m sayin’. Point is, Tea and Poets is a nice place to chill on a night out of the house.  

2.  Arcades.

• Arcade Odyssey

  • By far my husband’s and my favorite arcade in all of Miami. We go almost every date night. They have only retro arcade cabinets where you have to put actual tokens in the machine to play. They expanded fairly recently, and now serve alcohol, a variety of teas, a few quick meals (e.g., several types of prepackaged soups), and they still have fun Japanese candies, drinks, and snacks. This is a nostalgia nerd’s paradise! Definitely a must-experience for any nerd in Miami.

• Game Time or Dave and Buster’s

  • I lumped these two together because they’re kind of in the same thing. You can go to these places with your kids for a meal and some the games, or on a date night for some dinner, drinks, and games. Unlike Arcade Odyssey, they have mostly newer games and you have to swipe cards to play the machines; you might find a few retro-style arcade games hidden among the new machines, but they’re very few, and you really have to look to find them. 

 3. A comic book store.

• Tate’s Comics, Toys, and More

  • Tate’s is a sometimes treat because their “Main Headquarters” is in Lauderhill, but it’s totally worth the drive! They have family-friendly events throughout the year, sell interesting toys of various fandoms, have a full stock of comic books, sell artwork by local artists, and they have a gaming satellite that hosts tournaments and sells tabletop, board, and card games. 

• Multiverse Corps Comics 

  • Multiverse Corps Comics only sells comic books, but the main selling point is that the owner has an extensive knowledge of comic books and is always willing to help customers their next read. He also carries books by local comic book artists. If you like comics, you need to check this place out.

• Korka Comics, Games, and Collectibles

  • Their 8th Street location has two very important perks: (1) it has a large collection of Funko Pop! figures (if you’re into collecting those, man, do they deliver); and (2) there’s a Night Owl Cookies right next door. Comics and cookies?! Yes, please! 

4. Comic book and [insert fandom here] conventions.

I’m not getting into too much detail about the many comic book/fandom conventions there are in Miami, but I will just name a few comic book conventions that I’ve been to and enjoyed:

• Florida Supercon (Coming in July 2019)

• Ultracon of South Florida

• Tate’s Not at Comic Con (Coming in July 2019)

There you go nerdy mom, if you didn’t know what to do this weekend in Miami, you have plenty of ideas right here.

May the force be with you, lovely.

xo,

Did I miss any nerdy mom activities in Miami?  Let me know in the comments below!