It’s been three weeks since New Year’s, and you know you’re not going to spend the rest of your life — as per your resolution — without ever again experiencing sublime French pastry, so it’s time to get reasonable and decide the best means of breaking that regrettable pledge. Let…
Location, location, location are indeed three big factors in determining the success of a restaurant — if, by success, you mean that the restaurateur makes a lot of money. When searching for an eatery that’s successful in putting out great food, however, location, location, location are three things you should…
Boca will no doubt adore Bocadoro (Shops at Boca Center, 5150 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton, 561-338-4808), which will debut this month. Subtitled “A Mediterranean Village Feast,” Bocadoro is the second South Florida project for ex-Cheesecake Factory executive Doug Zeif and his restaurant company, Fifth Taste Concepts, following Brasserie Las…
Jai alai was invented by a bunch of mountain-dwelling Basques back in the 15th century. Though derived from handball, it has more in common with modern-day racquetball — the racquet in this case being a cesta, or curved wicker basket attached to the player’s right arm (this is not a…
Since opening in Aventura’s Loehmann’s Plaza 18 years ago, Chef Allen’s Restaurant has raked in prestigious dining awards the way most of us accumulate bills: rated “best restaurant in South Florida” by Gourmet magazine, voted “best food in Miami” in the 2003 Zagat Guide, winner of Wine Spectator’s Award of…
Shirts are soaked, salt is clumped, and the hot Latin beat on the street is wilting. It’s summer in South Florida, prime time to chill at Sonny’s Gelato Café (2151 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton, 561-362-0447). Gelato contains a lower ratio of butterfat and air than regular ice cream, which…
We will start, you and I, at the top of this page and the top of Tsunami, a six-month-old Asian fusion restaurant at CityPlace in West Palm Beach. To our left, we see the gracefully curving stairway that took us up to this fifth tier, known as the “mezzanine bar,”…
It is advised to take the name Louie’s Tequila Cantina quite literally: The spacious and sprawling 160-seat restaurant is designed cantina-style (read: Mexican saloon), and tequila is its forté. The décor is dominated by promotional marketing for various brand-name alcohols — it’s on the walls, over the bar, and strung…
When Fran’s Chicken Haven (1925 NW Federal Hwy., Boca Raton, 561-395-0781) closed last April, fans of her famous fried chicken could find no solace at Publix, Popeye’s, or KFC: That would be like losing Jennifer Lopez and rebounding with Christine Whitman. Then Stacey Haywurst-Fuentes bought the rights and recipes for…
Some people pooh-pooh the notion of big-name chefs lending their expertise and big names to luxury hotels, cruise ships, airplanes, Vegas, Disney World — any venue that offers enough money. Personally I’d lobby these culinary wonder boys to apply their golden touch even to the food concessions at sports arenas…
It’s a storefront room with a couple of tables and chairs, a swivel rack of Portuguese CDs, one large wooden crate of whole dried codfish, and shelves sparsely filled with a few edible imports from Portugal — mostly wines (including ports, of course) and olive oils. Yet since owners Tony…
Thanksgiving isn’t just about turkeys. Our craving for pies runs deeper now than at any other time of year, especially for seasonal favorites like pumpkin, pecan, and mincemeat. The pies themselves run deeper at Upper Crust Bakery (2015 N. Dixie Hwy., Lake Worth, 561-586-5456), which means that their 9-inch treats…
Mark Soyka has always been something of a pioneer. In Miami-Dade County his News Café jump-started Ocean Drive in 1988, his Van Dyke in 1994 became the first outdoor café with any real presence on Lincoln Road, and his namesake neighborhood eatery opened last year as the would-be savior of…
When Barbara Straub and partners opened 32 Eats (Shoppes at Addison Place, 16950 Jog Rd., Delray Beach, 561-638-0432) last May next door to their well-regarded 32 East restaurant, they brought in two players from the winning New York City takeout team of Dean and Deluca as general manager and head…
Lucille and Otley’s landmark restaurant in Boynton Beach closed a few years back but has resurfaced as L&O on the Go (302 NE Fourth St., Delray Beach, 561-274-3085), owned and operated by their grandson Steve Scott and his wife, Lori. The petite space dictates this being primarily a takeout joint;…
Hi-Life Cafe made a better impression on me than it had a right to. Don’t get me wrong, the food was quite tasty and well priced, the wait staff friendly, efficient, knowledgeable about the menu. The place is good-looking, too: a small, elegant, and understated dining room with seductively dimmed…
Because Shootersville Billiards (600 N. Congress Ave., Delray Beach, 561-243-0422) is basically a sports bar, let’s break it down by the numbers. Start with 30-foot-high ceilings, 21 custom-designed pool tables ($3.50 per person per hour), two 70-inch TV screens broadcasting football, and a large bar lined with 21 more sets…
Ramada Inns don’t vary much from city to city. Sure, some are newer and spiffier than others, and the accents of workers will differ among regions, but a single corporate philosophy guides them all — and unfortunately their respective dining establishments as well. The philosophy is based solely on the…
A great restaurant, like love and immortality, is one of those things that money just can’t buy. Then again, witnessing the winter/spring couples cooing around Palm Beach leads me to believe that maybe money can buy love, but I’m still pretty sure it can’t buy a great restaurant. That doesn’t…
You won’t find anything resembling a hobo’s fish joint at Hobo’s Fish Joint in Coral Springs. For one thing, hoboes traditionally hang out around railroad depots, not strip malls. They have also, throughout their colorful history, tended to avoid handsomely designed restaurants with cherry-wood floors, warm mahogany highlights, and two…
Steep steps in the kitchen of the French restaurant Prunelle led up to a plush, plum-color dining room. Actually it was down those steps that Wolfgang Puck and Jeremiah Tower came to thank us, the chefs and culinary staff, for a job well done. It was in New York City,…
New River Groves (5660 Griffin Rd., Davie, 954-581-8630) is a five-acre citrus grove, a fudge factory, a mega-fruit stand, and a mecca for what many consider to be the best key lime pie around. Bob and Terry Roth opened the stand in 1963, primarily as a means of selling their…
