The name conjures water, sun, and with a little imagination, a splashy oceanside oasis, but Aquasol Restaurant and Bar is located behind Wendy’s and a Chevron gas station in the decidedly lackluster VPC Center, a faceless shopping mall off Congress Avenue. There’s no ocean in sight, but the nearby sprawl…
Michael’s Chicago Style Red Hots (1100 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-765-DOGS) just opened about a month ago, but Michael Hoffman’s mildly spicy red hots have been big shots in the Windy City since 1977. There are four questions you’ll need to answer pretty quickly after entering the shiny-tiled frankfurter…
America’s hunger for sushi has clearly mushroomed since the 1980s, but I didn’t recognize just how thoroughly it had been assimilated into our culture until I saw it for sale at Costco. Of course, as any immigrant can tell you, assimilating and being understood are two different things. Did you…
As I walked into La Granja Pollo a la Brasa, my eyes were drawn toward a sizable rotisserie with dozens of rotating chickens. The fat from the birds’ skins was hissing and spitting about, and the robust roasting aromas pervaded the room. The sight reminded me of a somewhat ominous…
Leo and Mona Kamil must be interesting people. What other adjective could you possibly use to describe a couple who, since opening their Euro Pizza (232 S. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton, 561-347-6420) six years ago, have offered more than 100 over-the-top toppings to their “gourmet European-style” pies? I mean what…
No need to be alarmed, but it’s quite possible that you are suffering from the June Swoon Syndrome and don’t even know it. Does it feel sometimes like a dull lethargy has taken over your body? Tempted to take an afternoon nap on your day off? Feel hot when you…
Red Star Tavern,
I know what you’re thinking: Pancakes, shmancakes. What about waffles? I’m glad you asked. Harbor Café (1396 SE 17th St. Cswy., Fort Lauderdale, 954-467-0363) serves a thick, Belgian-sized beauty with butter pats and glass jar of faux maple syrup ($3.75). Add a hot cup o’ joe and you’ve got yourself…
Let’s start with a few clarifications on the heading: 1. What is a Flapjack Flip-off? It’s a contest to determine who makes the best plain buttermilk pancakes in town (no blueberries, bananas, buckwheat, chocolate chips, chewing gum, or any other additions allowed). The main criterion is the quality of pancake…
Café Bistro (1862 N. Young Cir., Hollywood, 954-920-9299) doesn’t serve pancakes, and thus won’t be a part of next week’s exciting Flapjack Flip-Off, our first contest to see who makes the best buttermilk pancakes in town. It does serve quite a nice breakfast otherwise, however, including fluffy four-egg omelets, a…
I would venture to say that Blue Anchor Pub has a more storied history than any other Delray Beach dining or drinking establishment. The first story begins in 1865, when the William Younger Brewery opened the Blue Anchor off London’s Chancery Lane. It is said that two of Jack the…
Café 1451 at the Norton (1451 S. Olive Ave., 561-366-8500) is located in the enclosed west courtyard of the Norton Museum of Art, a soaring space filled with natural light, leafy palm trees, and museumgoers munching on sophisticated contemporary American food. The café, managed by the museum’s in-house caterer, Lyon…
Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors’ main drag, is lined with gay-oriented restaurants, clubs, and businesses; it seems a short stretch of San Francisco has fallen from the sky and landed intact. Of course, in most ways, the city is just like any other — it simply has more men. Likewise, Costello’s…
Johnnie and Nestor Solari opened Argie’s Grill (300 SW First St., Fort Lauderdale, 954-463-2686) just prior to 9/11, and the Argentine brothers claim that business was way off because of the timing. (I’m not sure how this works — were people headed out for an empanada, then said to themselves,…
South Florida and the Mediterranean region are separated by the vast Atlantic Ocean, yet on either side, one can observe the same ritual in approaching that body of water: People wearing bathing suits, timidly dipping their toes in, gauging the temperature, methodically working their way up to the ankles, then…
I once got Paul Prudhomme so upset that his large, round, bearded face turned as red as a kidney bean. It occurred while I was interviewing him, in his K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in New Orleans, and mistakenly referred to a certain Cajun dish as Creole. Prudhomme chastised me with so…
The nation’s largest outdoor Cajun/zydeco music festival does not take place anywhere in Louisiana but right here at the Fort Lauderdale festival site every Mother’s Day weekend, which this year falls May 7 to 9. More specifically, the 12th Annual Fort Lauderdale Cajun/Zydeco Crawfish Festival (954-828-5934, 866-352-3378) offers three stages…
Each spring, more than 60 cities across the United States and Canada organize Taste of the Nation food and winetastings, seated dinners, brunches, barbecues, and all manner of gastronomic extravaganzas. Since 1988, these events have raised nearly $50 million, which has helped to support more than 450 organizations working to…
Everything about Nikki Marina is pretty. For instance, the marina provides a lovely Intracoastal backdrop for al fresco dining or sitting with a drink at a tiki-ish gazebo bar in the tranquil courtyard. This outdoor lounge area boasts a gurgling fountain, carved wooden crocodile benches padded with plush white pillows,…
The Florida Marlins have been hot-dogging it up on the field this year, so far looking every bit like a proud world-championship team. Pro Player Stadium (2269 Dan Marino Blvd., Miami, 305-623-6100), in tandem with Boston Concessions, enters the season with a less impressive record regarding the food served from…
The first things you notice about Chitralada Thai Restaurant are the glowing reviews it has received from various Broward County publications. You can’t help it — they’re posted on the storefront windows, plastered on walls by the entrance, and slapped atop every tabletop, with sheet of glass above and wrinkled…
If you haven’t yet paid your taxes, you’ve already pretty much botched things, so at this point, the best thing to do is avoid unnecessary fretting. Relax. Have something to eat, like a soothing, scrumptious bowl of chicken matzoh-ball soup at the Odyssey Diner (15200 Jog Rd., Delray Beach, 561-638-9393)…
