Duo Debuts at Gulfstream

"They're off!" at the Village at Gulfstream Park. The restaurants, that is. 

Close on the heels of the recent opening of III Forks come the debuts of two more eateries at the sprawling Hallandale shopping-entertainment-residential complex, Cantina Laredo and Tonino Lamborghini's Caffe Corsa. 


The Gulfstream Cantina (501 Silks Run, 954-457-7662) is the second South Florida location for the 30-site chain of ersatz Mexican restaurants. The formula is hardly original, but it seems to work: hot and cold running margaritas, designer tequilas, yupscale ambiance that's more gringo chic than recognizably Mexican, and a menu that fluffs up traditional dishes by doing things like filling enchiladas with goat cheese and Portobello mushrooms and stuffing our friend the sautéed chicken breast with shrimp and napping it with chipotle-wine sauce. 

Caffe Corsa (501 S. Federal Highway, 954-456-4500) brings the kind of uber-chic vibe to Italian cucina as you might expect from its owner, whose family is, in fact, the Lamborghini of the fabulously expensive, ridiculously fast, breathtakingly gorgeous four-wheeled sports rockets.


Like the cars, the restaurant is as sleek and contemporary as only the Italians know how to do it, with a red, black, white, and silver color palate, leather banquettes, onyx table tops, and lots of modern art and pix of the Lamborghini clan. Housemade pastas and Neapolitan pizzas are on the menu, as are specialties like branzio with lemon, artichokes and asparagus, and veal Milanese.

Now if the folks at Gulfstream could only put one of those screaming yellow Gallardos on their racetrack against the ponies, we'd really have something.