Ethnic and Regional Cuisines

SAIA at B Ocean Fort Lauderdale: Modern Asian Fusion Arrives on the Beach

100 Favorite Dishes: No. 48 -- Falafel Sandwich from Falafel Bistro

Photo: Misha Grosvenor​As a countdown to the Best of Broward Palm Beach 2011, coming in June, Clean Plate Charlie is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in South Florida. Send your own nominations to Deirdra.Funcheon@BrowardPalmBeach.com.No. 48: Falafel Sandwich from Falafel Bistro It's no ... More >>

Deal of the Day: $10 for $25 Worth of Food & Drink at Cancun Mexican Grill in Fort Lauderdale

​Cancun, Mexico: the name alone suggests a good time, with resorts dotting the lengthy beaches that span the distance of this popular tourist destination on the country's easternmost coastal state. Now, Cancun can also mean a good deal on some incredibly good food at the Cancun Mexican G ... More >>

Dos Caminos at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel: Overpriced and Underwhelming Mexican Food

​Cancun, Mexico: the name alone suggests a good time, with resorts dotting the lengthy beaches that span the distance of this popular tourist destination on the country's easternmost coastal state. Now, Cancun can also mean a good deal on some incredibly good food at the Cancun Mexican G ... More >>

Indus Indian Herbal Cuisine in West Palm Beach: The Lamb Is Delicious, but God, the Veggies Are Exquisite

​Cancun, Mexico: the name alone suggests a good time, with resorts dotting the lengthy beaches that span the distance of this popular tourist destination on the country's easternmost coastal state. Now, Cancun can also mean a good deal on some incredibly good food at the Cancun Mexican G ... More >>

Deal of the Day: $8 for $20 Worth of Food & Drink at La Fiesta Cafe in Delray Beach

La Fiesta Cafe​La Fiesta Cafe  in Delray Beach is everything you want a Mexican Grill to be. They have fajitas and flautas; burritos and tacos; chimichangas and quesadillas.But unlike the other Mexican pit stops -- where you order fast, fresh and make-as-you-go -- at Fiesta Cafe, things ... More >>

Fiorentina in Lake Worth: It's the Small Plates That Shine at This Trendy Osteria

La Fiesta Cafe​La Fiesta Cafe  in Delray Beach is everything you want a Mexican Grill to be. They have fajitas and flautas; burritos and tacos; chimichangas and quesadillas.But unlike the other Mexican pit stops -- where you order fast, fresh and make-as-you-go -- at Fiesta Cafe, things ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: No. 76 -- Linguine Vongole From Il Bellagio

As a countdown to the Best of Broward Palm Beach 2011, coming in June, Clean Plate Charlie is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in South Florida. Send your own nominations to Deirdra.Funcheon@BrowardPalmBeach.com. No. 76: Linguine with White Wine Clam Sauce from BellagioNicole Danna​

SAIA Opens in Ft. Lauderdale

Laine Doss Sushimi Platter at SAIA​SAIA, the new South Asian-inspired restaurant at the B Ocean Ft. Lauderdale Hotel opened this weekend. The restaurant features modern decor and a direct oceanfront view.  The menu is an ecclectic mix of sushi, hot and cool dishes, getting much inspir ... More >>

St. Pat's Recipe: Irish Potato Nachos From Maguires Hill 16

Maguires Hill 16 is known for its traditional Irish fare, but it has fun and unique menu items too.  Before you dig into your shepherd's pie, cook up these easy-to-make nachos. Irish potato nachos, that is.

For Vegetarians: Four Corned-Beef-Free Dishes to Make for St. Patrick's Day

Foxtongue via Creative CommonsIt doesn't have to be this way!​ Irish cuisine isn't really known as being super veg friendly, what with all the adorable, fuzzy lambs that are turned into decidedly less adorable stews and such. Any vegetarian who's ever traveled the Emerald Isle -- or stopped by a S ... More >>

FYI: The ABCs on SAIA at B Ocean in FLL

​In the fun-with-acronyms department, Fort Lauderdale's new B Ocean resort will open its high-end sushi-Southeast Asian restaurant, SAIA (999 Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd.; 954-302-5252), this Friday. Named for its location on the corner of Sunrise Boulevard and AIA, the contemporary Asianesque rest ... More >>

Q&A With Apicius Ristorante e Enoteca Owner Leopold Balestrieri

Nicole DannaApicius Ristorante e Enoteca Owner and Chef Leopold​Chef Leo Balestrieri is larger than life - and so is his new ristorante and enoteca, Apicius, in Lantana.His vision is unique, his dishes extravagant, his style flamboyant -- and his taste -- arguably incomparable. We sat down wi ... More >>

Luigi's Opens on Clematis

​Clematis Street's challenge to Atlantic Avenue as Palm Beach's premier Restaurant Row calls and raises one more with the debut of Luigi's Italian Restaurant (118 Clematis St., 561-833-4456) in the former Cabana space a meatball's throw from West Palm's revitalized waterfront.  Proprietor Gle ... More >>

Top Chef Recap: Fuggedaboudit! Cooking Family Style At Rao's

NBC Universal Cheftestants​Last episode we had Marcel pack his knives after he led his team to defeat in restaurant wars.  Quickfire Round The Cheftestants walk into the kitchen to find Padma and Isaac Mizrahi. It's fashion week and Padma is plugging her jewelry line and Isaac is ha ... More >>

Tequila Sunrise in Oakland Park adds Vegan and Vegetarian Options

Not fancy, but tasty!​Maybe it's the newborn baby-sized deep fried chimichangas.  Or ice creams that aren't quite ready for consumption until they are dipped in batter, coated in Corn Flakes, fried then lathered in chocolate syrup and whipped cream. But restaurant style Tex-Mex cuisine ... More >>

Greek Festival at St. Mark's Church in Boca Raton This Weekend, January 20-23, 2011

Flickr, Blondie5000 Delicious Greek Pastries ​St. Mark Greek Orthodox Church is hosting its 29th Greek Festival this weekend in Boca Raton. From Thursday - Sunday, you can gorge yourself on authentic Greek food and enjoy traditional Greek dance performances.  If you're curious abou ... More >>

Fish Tacos in South Florida: Six Places to Find Them

Photobucket: tipt544 Yum, fish tacos! ​Ever since your recent trip to the West Coast, Cali has you smitten. The perfect weather, the beautiful people, the sightseeing, and -- most important -- the fish tacos!  So what is a Baja-loving Floridian to do? You need look no further! Listed a ... More >>

84 Thai: What's in a Name

Photobucket: tipt544 Yum, fish tacos! ​Ever since your recent trip to the West Coast, Cali has you smitten. The perfect weather, the beautiful people, the sightseeing, and -- most important -- the fish tacos!  So what is a Baja-loving Floridian to do? You need look no further! Listed a ... More >>

Fort Lauderdale's Tokyo Blue Could Exercise a Little Restraint

Photobucket: tipt544 Yum, fish tacos! ​Ever since your recent trip to the West Coast, Cali has you smitten. The perfect weather, the beautiful people, the sightseeing, and -- most important -- the fish tacos!  So what is a Baja-loving Floridian to do? You need look no further! Listed a ... More >>

China Beach Bistro Debuts in West Palm Beach

​Real Chinese cuisine in Palm Beach County?  Well, stranger things have happened.  At least they will if all goes according to plan at the new China Beach Bistro (409 Northwood Rd., 561-833-4242), an upscale restaurant dedicated to 

Kubo Debuts in North Palm Beach

​Pan-Asian-slash-fusion cuisine inspired by izakaya--the casual, tapas-style Japanese bistro--is what's coming out of the kitchen at Kubo Asiatic Cuisine (1201 Hwy. 1, 561-776-7248), a newly opened eatery in North Palm Beach from former Mark's CityPlace sushi chef Roy Villacrusis.  With a spa ... More >>

Bluejay's Cafe in Fort Lauderdale: Southwestern-Inspired Dishes and Plenty of Charm

​Pan-Asian-slash-fusion cuisine inspired by izakaya--the casual, tapas-style Japanese bistro--is what's coming out of the kitchen at Kubo Asiatic Cuisine (1201 Hwy. 1, 561-776-7248), a newly opened eatery in North Palm Beach from former Mark's CityPlace sushi chef Roy Villacrusis.  With a spa ... More >>

Order Up: Bluejay's Cafe

The Bluejay's breakfast pairs chorizo-scrambled eggs with vibrant green chili.​View a slideshow of Bluejay's Cafe here. Mexican food and breakfast. They go together like bacon and eggs, Dean and Martin, tube tops and slap bracelets. There's nothing like a perfectly runny egg commingling with some ... More >>

Among a Crowd of Italian Restaurants, Caruso Stands Out

The Bluejay's breakfast pairs chorizo-scrambled eggs with vibrant green chili.​View a slideshow of Bluejay's Cafe here. Mexican food and breakfast. They go together like bacon and eggs, Dean and Martin, tube tops and slap bracelets. There's nothing like a perfectly runny egg commingling with some ... More >>

A Quesadilla is Not a Quesadilla at El Guanaco

A Salvadoran quesadilla isn't a tortilla filled with cheese; it's like a pancake.​Every time I eat at tiny Salvadoran restaurant El Guanaco Taqueria y Antojitos, I learn something about the country's native cuisine. Like yesterday: I took a seat at the counter facing the kitchen, and saw a basket ... More >>

Order Up: Myung Ga Tofu & Barbecue

Spicy nakjikuksu is chili-covered udon noodles with octopus, onions, carrots, and zucchini. ​This week in Dish, we look at Korean food, and what better place to sample that than Myung Ga Tofu & Barbecue in Weston? Weston? Yes, it's way the hell out there (sorry to our Weston readers). But it's ... More >>

Celebrate Oktoberfest at These Authentic German Eateries

Spicy nakjikuksu is chili-covered udon noodles with octopus, onions, carrots, and zucchini. ​This week in Dish, we look at Korean food, and what better place to sample that than Myung Ga Tofu & Barbecue in Weston? Weston? Yes, it's way the hell out there (sorry to our Weston readers). But it's ... More >>

Q&A With Chef Hans Huber From the Ambry German Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

Elsewhere on this blog, the ever-erudite eating machine John Linn proclaimed the Ambry German Restaurant his very favorite place to eat German food and drink German beer. It sure is a cool-looking place (who hasn't driven past it a million times?), and it has a dizzying array of food from the old co ... More >>

Prost! More German Eateries to Eat and Drink at!

This hideous little bugger is on display at Lake Worth's Little Munich.​My review this week covered four German restaurants in and around Fort Lauderdale where you can celebrate Oktoberfest. But there are plenty more places that I didn't cover, and some of those are worth mentioning too.Bierbrunne ... More >>

Greek Festival in Fort Lauderdale This Weekend

Loukoumades, Greek-styled donuts.   Has the economy got you so strapped for cash that you skipped your trip to the Mediterranean? There, you imagined strolling around the streets of Athens, grubbing on street food like souvlaki, meat on a stick with veggies rolled in a pita and slathered ... More >>

Cielito Lindo in Oakland Park: Tex-Mex Done Right

Loukoumades, Greek-styled donuts.   Has the economy got you so strapped for cash that you skipped your trip to the Mediterranean? There, you imagined strolling around the streets of Athens, grubbing on street food like souvlaki, meat on a stick with veggies rolled in a pita and slathered ... More >>

Indus Indian Cuisine Debuts in West Palm

​A new restaurant in West Palm that isn't on Clematis Street?  Well, yes. It's Indus Herbal and Indian Cuisine, and it's way off the eatin' path not far past the decrepit Palm Beach Mall just east of I-95.   It's a pretty swell-looking place inside, much swankier than your usual Ind ... More >>

Recipe: Risotto with Shrimp, Preserved Lemon, Asparagus and Pea

​If you have a lemon, you make lemonade.  If you have a preserved lemon, you can make just about any damn thing taste a little more interesting. Except lemonade. That would really suck.  Preserved lemons are a staple of Moroccan cooking, basically just lemons stuffed in a jar with lots o ... More >>

Fiorentina Opens in Lake Worth

Fiorentina's Joshua Santangela and Jamie Fournier​Downtown Lake Worth gets a welcome shot in the arm when one its prime restaurant locations, shuttered since Ouzo Blue went into the great beyond, is thriving once again with the debut of Fiorentina (707 Lake Ave., 561/588-9707).  Chef-propriet ... More >>

Trata Greek Taverna in Fort Lauderdale: Great Food, No Gimmicks

Fiorentina's Joshua Santangela and Jamie Fournier​Downtown Lake Worth gets a welcome shot in the arm when one its prime restaurant locations, shuttered since Ouzo Blue went into the great beyond, is thriving once again with the debut of Fiorentina (707 Lake Ave., 561/588-9707).  Chef-propriet ... More >>

How to Make Your Own Healthy, Crispy Taco Shells (No, That's Not an Oxymoron)

​One of the best reasons to cook Mexican food at home is to avoid the canned and processed foods and giant vats of grease that seem to be mandatory in all too many local Mexican restaurants.  But if you like golden, crispy tortilla shells (whether flour tortillas for tostadas or corn tortilla ... More >>

Five Reasons Why Your Sushi Chef Hates You

Neils PhotographyYep -- can't stand you. ​You only patronize the one sushi joint that you heard has the freshest fish. You sit at the bar and annoy watch the chefs while they work. You bust out your little chopsticks and mix wasabi into your soy sauce with a practiced arrogance while bor ... More >>

Five Familiar Dishes Done Right

​Everybody's a critic. Everybody's a rock 'n' roll guitar player. Everybody's an expert.  Problem is, most times, "everybody" isn't. They just can't do it. Not very well. Not very often. Not really.   Some dishes are like that, too. It seems almost every restaurant serves Caesar sal ... More >>

Over the Weekend: Checkers Old Munchen Beer Tasting

​Quaint, German restaurant Checkers Old Munchen held a good, old-fashioned bier tasting this past Friday night that saw the joint packed. A sizable crowd turned up and shoehorned in to the August installment of the restaurant's monthly beer pairing. There was barely any standing room to be had, bu ... More >>

Destination Dishes: Vegetarian Indian in West Broward

John LinnGobi Manchurian is a good reason to visit Udipi Cafe in West Broward.​Navigating the sprawling expanse of South Florida can be difficult for even the most seasoned foodie. With Destination Dishes, we're looking to make your food travels easier. Each week, we'll highlight the most interest ... More >>

Falafel Bistro Wine Bar in Coral Springs: Outrageously Good Food

John LinnGobi Manchurian is a good reason to visit Udipi Cafe in West Broward.​Navigating the sprawling expanse of South Florida can be difficult for even the most seasoned foodie. With Destination Dishes, we're looking to make your food travels easier. Each week, we'll highlight the most interest ... More >>

Kimchi Makes a Comeback: Five Korean Spots in Broward and Palm Beach

John Linn​It's odd to say, but kimchi is one of the hottest foodstuffs around the country at the moment. The Korean staple of cabbage fermented in a spicy sauce is about as unsexy and antihip as food gets. And yet, kimchi -- and Korean food in general -- is just about everywhere. In Los Angeles, f ... More >>

Mama Asian Noodle Bar: Awesome Thai Food in Coconut Creek

John Linn​It's odd to say, but kimchi is one of the hottest foodstuffs around the country at the moment. The Korean staple of cabbage fermented in a spicy sauce is about as unsexy and antihip as food gets. And yet, kimchi -- and Korean food in general -- is just about everywhere. In Los Angeles, f ... More >>

D'Angelo Pizza in Fort Lauderdale Does Everything Right

John Linn​It's odd to say, but kimchi is one of the hottest foodstuffs around the country at the moment. The Korean staple of cabbage fermented in a spicy sauce is about as unsexy and antihip as food gets. And yet, kimchi -- and Korean food in general -- is just about everywhere. In Los Angeles, f ... More >>

Restaurant News: La Bodega in Boca; BBQ at Taste Gastropub

Chef Allen Susser​Looks like barbecue has gone viral in Palm Beach County, with the recent debuts of Rib Bizz and Sheila's and the weekend smokefest at Harvest Time Market. Now Allen Susser's Taste Gastropub has been bitten by the barbecue bug, launching Monday Night Backyard BBQ, an all-you-can-e ... More >>

At Tonino Lamborghini at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, the Food Is Authentic Italian

Chef Allen Susser​Looks like barbecue has gone viral in Palm Beach County, with the recent debuts of Rib Bizz and Sheila's and the weekend smokefest at Harvest Time Market. Now Allen Susser's Taste Gastropub has been bitten by the barbecue bug, launching Monday Night Backyard BBQ, an all-you-can-e ... More >>

Rattlesnake Jake's in Deerfield: Cold Brews and Fish Tacos

Chef Allen Susser​Looks like barbecue has gone viral in Palm Beach County, with the recent debuts of Rib Bizz and Sheila's and the weekend smokefest at Harvest Time Market. Now Allen Susser's Taste Gastropub has been bitten by the barbecue bug, launching Monday Night Backyard BBQ, an all-you-can-e ... More >>

Food at Talia's Tuscan Table in Boca Raton Is Impressive

Chef Allen Susser​Looks like barbecue has gone viral in Palm Beach County, with the recent debuts of Rib Bizz and Sheila's and the weekend smokefest at Harvest Time Market. Now Allen Susser's Taste Gastropub has been bitten by the barbecue bug, launching Monday Night Backyard BBQ, an all-you-can-e ... More >>

100 Favorite Dishes: Tacos al Pastor From Taqueria Dona Raquel

​As a countdown to the Best Of Broward Palm Beach 2010, coming in May, Clean Plate Charlie is serving up a hundred of our favorite dishes in South Florida. Send your own nominations to john.linn@browardpalmbeach.com.No. 35: Tacos al Pastor from Taqueria Dona RaquelThere's something awe-inspiring a ... More >>