We diners sure know how to get ourselves into a Catch-22. We like Chilean sea bass (real name: Patagonian toothfish) so much, we’ve endangered it the point that there’s a distinct possibility the species will be extinct in five years. Now, if we want to continue eating it, we have…
“First time here, huh?” remarked the bartender at Dinopete’s as he handed my kids a pair of Cokes. “You picked an interesting night to come in.” “How so?” we wanted to know. We’d sampled Dinopete’s signature chicken wings, bathed in a butter/whole-peppercorn sauce, at a child’s first birthday party the…
Say it three times fast: Lucille’s Bad to the Bone BBQ debuts in Boynton Beach (6691 W. Boynton Beach Blvd., 561-742-7449). Lucille’s Bad to the Bone BBQ debuts in Boynton Beach. Lucille’s… You get the point. But the message isn’t just tongue-twisting; it’s tongue-tingling. This haven of barbecue ribs, chicken,…
I should know this by now: Never trust a restaurant whose written history has more mythological quantity to it than the Greeks and Romans combined. Chances are the quality of food is similarly a figment of somebody’s overwrought imagination. I’m not exactly sure what led me to Iguana Mia in…
It’s true that Roll-a-Round is actually a collectible Fisher-Price toy — the company never made that many of the sets, and as far as toys go, these are fairly rare. But now it’s also a sliced-roast-beef-sandwich joint, which in these parts is also fairly rare. Roll-a-Round (1530 E. Commercial Blvd.,…
A reader recently wrote to me, disagreeing with my somewhat-critical review of Madras Café. If I’d eaten in other Indian restaurants around town, he wrote, then I’d know that Madras Café is much better than they are. My response? In short, I don’t grade on a curve. That said, of…
Every ethnicity has its own type of sandwich, and the French are no exception. Indeed, some — myself included — regard French subs to be the rule. Trouble is, few places make authentic ones. Enter Chez Andrée (1000 N. Broadwalk, Hollywood, 954-922-1002). This enterprising beachside spot offers traditional sandwich fare…
The liquor store in Naples was a pretty impressive comment on just how ignorantly the American public buys wine: One section was labeled “Chardonnay,” another was called “Merlot,” and then there was a sign pointing me in the direction of “Other Varietals.” A member of the ABC — Anything But…
Warning: If you have a tough time making decisions, do not, I repeat, do not go to Flip’s Ice Café (2233 E. Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach, 954-782-1414). This new ice cream parlor offers 120 flavors and will even make custom flavors to order. Best of all, the café has frozen…
As a poet, I’ve always believed there are as many ways to turn a phrase as there are waves in the ocean. As a critic, though, I’ve lived by limitations. After reviewing the 200th sushi bar of my career, I am the fish on the hook: In what new way…
Long-time residents may remember the Downtown Kitchen Café (60 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton, 561-394-4243) as a Moroccan pizza joint. But new owners have been slowly turning this tucked-away bistro into a New York-style pizzeria, with blackboard pasta specials, homemade gravies, and fresh, authentic ingredients. For Sunday football-inspired munchies, check…
Politically speaking, this may not be the best time to launch a restaurant called The Knife, where the spring break-influenced drink menu offers slogans like, “At the Knife We Shoot You Too;” shots called “Red Death” (vodka, Triple Sec, sloe gin, Southern Comfort, orange and cranberry juices); and cocktails named…
I rarely have the good fortune to walk into a restaurant so new that the paint looks wet, discover this is the first day it’s open, order a meal, and have a terrific experience. But that is indeed what happened at Roberto’s Gelato Café (416 Via de Palmas, Boca Raton;…
If what cookbook authors Carol Selva Rajah and Priya Wickramasinghe propose in The Food of India is true — that our Indian restaurants almost unilaterally offer a “very successful [Punjabi] menu formula” — then call Madras Café the exception that proves the rule. The approach is simple in this 40-seat,…
Unlike single-vocation restaurateurs, celebrities who open eating establishments have primary work schedules and commitments to which they must first attend. A restaurant bearing a celebrity’s name, then, must by necessity come second — or third or fourth — on said star’s things-to-do list. Purveyor didn’t show? OK, but I’m on…
Despite record heat, nothing says spring in South Florida more than sitting outside at a café with a croissant, coffee, and newspaper. Thanks to Crocante Bakery Café (1948 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 954-923-1280), we can celebrate the season in style and keep in mind our economics at the same time. This…
Given that Share Our Strength’s “Taste of the Nation” fundraiser broke the $1 million mark last year, it is probably not surprising that the 2003 party is being billed as the “Million Dollar Celebration.” On April 2, at the Fort Lauderdale/Broward Convention Center, 50 of the region’s top restaurants, including…
Angelo of Mulberry Street
I know there’s something contradictory about a supermarket chain endorsing artisanal products. By definition, artisanal goods are handmade, minuscule-scale production items. But since Whole Foods Market (1400 B Glades Rd., Boca Raton, 561-447-0000) has always been committed to providing the general public with organic goods and quality produce, I suppose…
Forget cleanliness, and don’t even mention godliness — when it comes to restaurants, flexibility is the topmost virtue. Indeed, I know some colleagues who put such stock in a staff that is not just willing but delighted to accommodate last-minute reservation changes or a chef who will gladly leave out…
The only thing not new at Brasserie Las Olas (333 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-779-7374), it seems, is the name of the restaurant. Everything else has changed, from once-major player and proprietor Mark Soyka to the chef in charge of menu development. These days, restaurateur Doug Zeif, who…
Like the attenuated Mexican cuisine in the magical realist novel Like Water for Chocolate, expertly handled Thai food seems to arouse certain predictable emotions to which no one is immune. I find, for example, that tangy, lemon grass-infused soup soothes away stress. A well-balanced curry, containing the precise amount of…
