Gap fans who’ve noticed the latest ad campaigns (khakis a-go-go, anyone?) might think Khaki’s is a good place to stock up on pants and shorts. But Boca Raton folks have long known Khaki’s to be a great place to fill up on casual American fare, like enormous caesar salads topped…

Pop culture continues to enthrall me. This week I’m obsessed with Ally McBeal. Not because I like the series so much, but because of the show’s disregard for setting. McBeal takes place in Boston, but you’d never know it. Unlike the cast of the Chicago-set ER, which is always going…

Some people are just tomato freaks; they’ll do anything for a good, juicy tomato. Like my dad, who has been on a lifelong mission to find the world’s perfect tomato. Good thing he lives in New Jersey, where many of the country’s summer tomatoes are planted. This time of year…

Against my better judgment, I’m a fan of Ricky Martin. I used to watch the World Cup soccer games because I enjoyed the sport, but in 1998 I watched for the sole pleasure of hearing Martin’s limb-stirring, pop-Latin tune “La Copa de la Vida,” which the World Cup Federation selected…

There are a few ways to get your hands on rich, creamy, New England clam chowder from Legal Sea Foods, which is so delicious it’s been served at every Presidential inauguration since 1981. (1) You can fly up to Boston, where the first Legal fish market and restaurant opened in…

Think African safari — giraffes and zebras thundering across the grassy plains, cheetahs outrunning jeeps, lions flinging themselves on wildebeests. After a long, hot day of pursuing photo opportunities of Masai hunters, you relax in a lodge where fans lazily stir the dusty air. Then you dine on boiled peanut…

It’s about time somebody came up with the idea: fast-food Italian fare that tastes good. Pasta on the Run (3345 W. Hillsboro Blvd., Deerfield Beach, 954-427-9887) serves spaghetti-on-the-spot, super-fast subs, and breakneck lasagna, each for less than $4. And the drive-thru is open till 1 a.m. Italian mothers are probably…

I’m a little bit confused about Sunday, which, for many, is supposed to be a day of rest. Long ago, before the ’80s economy inspired those folks to bypass houses of worship and head straight for the malls, stores and restaurants closed, shop owners and restaurateurs enjoyed well-deserved breaks, and…

I usually don’t consult my baby sitter about where to dine, but maybe I should. When I recently returned home from an evening out, she asked where my husband and I had eaten. “Mark’s at the Park,” I told her. “Oh,” she sniffed. “That place is highly overrated.” A month…

When it comes to Italian markets, you pretty much know what to expect: mozzarella at the deli counter, pinot grigio in the wine section, an assortment of dried and fresh pastas, a couple of loaves of Italian bread. But Carmine Giardini’s (2401 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens, 561-775-0105, and 6282…

I participate in an ongoing debate with a colleague of mine. How many visits, we ask each other, should a critic make to a restaurant before judging it? At least three, she insists. That’s the only fair way to rate it. A meticulous reviewer will even order the same dish…

Most of us dread April 15. But this year I’d been looking forward to it, because that’s the day the Ghirardelli Soda Fountain and Chocolate Shop opened in Sawgrass Mills (2602 Sawgrass Mills Ave., Space 1219, Sunrise, 954-835-0680). The legendary San Francisco chocolate company was born in 1852, when Domingo…

To pizza purists the last decade or so has been a nightmare. First pizza was taken out of Italian pizzerias and put into shopping mall food courts and kiddie arcades. Then chain restaurants like Pizza Hut, Little Caesar’s, Papa John’s, and Domino’s began competing with each other intensely, offering novelties…

A cafe called Dumbell’s (7895 W. Sample Rd., Coral Springs, 954-753-2649) doesn’t necessarily ring the gourmet bell, or so you might think. But this cute little juice bar and eatery, while oriented toward the healthier side of life, doesn’t neglect its customers’ tastebuds. And while it does cater to weight-lifting…

At this time of year my fancy turns to… live Maine lobster, of course. Springtime is when northern lobsters begin to shed their shells and grow new ones. That means in a month or so the soft-shell lobsters will be that much easier — and more delightful — to eat…

Here in South Florida, we all have our ways of noting the arrival of spring. Some return to the beach, and others, like my husband, hide in the house to avoid hay fever. As for me, I dig up one of my favorite poems by Jane Kenyon. It’s called “Philosophy…

“Feed your brain” is just an expression, but the folks at Brainfood! (6521 N. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 954-928-0909) seem to take it quite literally. And appropriately so; the eclectic bookstore features a yummy little coffeehouse called Ghirardelli Cafe, named for the famous San Francisco chocolate maker. The best-selling item?…

In many respects, country club restaurants resemble hotel restaurants: Both have reputations for serving mediocre fare to captive audiences in staid surroundings. Prevailing dining logic demands that these eateries should be avoided. After all, why visit a hotel unless you’re staying in one? As for country clubs, most are private,…

I’ve always wondered how a married couple could work in the same place without killing each other. I wouldn’t even be able to have the same profession as my husband. If we were both writers, we’d be competitive. If I were a doctor, as he is, we’d probably have conflicting…

My sister and I used to call the last day of the weekend “Eating Sunday,” which means that we would stuff our faces all day long in anticipation of a fresh week of dieting. I’ve recovered from the binge-and-purge lifestyle, but I still enjoy the theory behind “Eating Sunday.” Lately…

It’s Park Avenue, Chinatown, Little Italy, and Central Park rolled into one. It’s a movie set worthy of Woody Allen. It’s It’s New York, the strangest theme restaurant yet to debut in Fort Lauderdale, and it’s downright scary. South Florida has been the testing ground for many a conceptual eatery,…

I’m a sucker for homemade pasta, but I don’t necessarily want to (a) go out to a restaurant to get it, or (b) unearth the difficult-to-use pasta machine I received for my wedding. So I was delighted to discover Four Star Ravioli (2143 N. State Rd. 7, Margate, 954-974-2444), which…