It's a truism of the restaurant business that when the world goes to shit, diners' taste for Indo-Peruvian Tuscan burrito sushi gratins vanishes, replaced by an intense craving for the culinary equivalent of a pat on the head, a glass of warm milk, and a thick, soft blankie to tuck ourselves in with. In other words, comfort food. The restaurants here all dish up food that's as comfy as a pair of old shoes but a lot better-tasting.
Clematis Street newbie doesn't go for the full monty of
Kobe-Wagyu-truffle-foie gras burgers, it does kick up the usual slab o'
ground beef on a bun by serving fat, ten-ounce patties of grass-fed
beef, ground fresh daily, with optional adornments ranging from half a
dozen types of cheese to applewood-smoked bacon, roasted portobello
mushroom, and even a fried egg.
stint on Top Chef a few years back may have had chef/partner Carlos
Fernandez living high on the local foodie chain, but at Hi-Life, he
celebrates decidedly homier pleasures than those wacky-ass creations
shown on television. Fried chicken, braised short ribs, or penne with
sausage in tomato-cream sauce may not make Tom Colicchio's beady little
eyes light up, but you didn't want to be eating frog legs with peanut
butter and corn flakes anyway.
we stipulate that everyone under age 60 is hard-wired to the internet
and that we'll all give up our iPhones when they're pried from our
cold, dead fingers? Progress is a wonderful thing. Except if it ever
comes to Jack's hamburgers. There's nothing trendy about these meaty
discs -- nor about Jack's, which has been serving them since 1972 --
just lean beef, ground twice daily, cooked to perfection, and
self-garnished to taste. Progress is sometimes overrated.
food puts on a tux and tails and occasionally a clown nose at Michael
Wagner's stylish-but-relaxed downtown Hollywood restaurant, where its
chef/owner's take on comfy classics reveals both good humor and serious
culinary chops. Potato skins are purple spuds loaded with sun-dried
tomato crème fraîche, bacon bits and caviar; "burgers" are made with
shrimp, poblano chilies, and green onions; beef ribs are basted with
tangy Coca-Cola barbecue sauce. Haute dog!
grape leaves, gyros, moussaka, kebabs, baklava. Stiff drinks and cold
beer. Table dancing, bar dancing, belly dancers gyrating like jelly
jackhammers. Greek music blasting loud enough to bring down the rest of
the Parthenon. If all that doesn't give you the warm 'n' fuzzies, you
really are in deep doo-doo there, Jim. It must work for somebody, as
the Lake Worth Ouzo was quickly followed by another in Palm Beach
Gardens and a third coming to Coconut Grove.
folks behind the City group of restaurants (City Cellar, Big City
Tavern, City Oyster) struck gold with this yupscale suburban taqueria,
dishing all the usual (and thoroughly familiar) Mexican culinary
suspects -- nachos, quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas, burritos, tostados
-- with the added fillip of guacamole prepared tableside and 150
tequilas. It may be more about fun, margaritas, and hooking up than
authenticity, but that combination has spawned another Rocco's soon to
open in Boca Raton.
Vinczencz may have made his reputation serving roasted wild mushroom
short-stack with sun-dried tomato butter and duck three ways with baby
carrots, but that doesn't mean he's above turning out meat loaf, fish
'n' chips, barbecued baby backs, and burgers, all on the menu at his
nouveau comfort-food eatery. After a rough start, a recent visit found
the jagged edges smoothed out, good news to budget-minded Las Olas
crawlers.
