Generations ago, émigrés from Warsaw skulked along the sidewalks of New York in search of decent pierogi. That same desperate wanderlust can today be observed among South Florida’s Big Apple transplants in their ceaseless quest for pizza on par with pies from their homeland. Well, listen up, all youse seekuz…
La Piazza Pasta Cafe doesn’t need this review. On a recent Saturday evening, there was a 30-minute wait to get into the Hollywood newcomer, followed by a harrowing, hostess-led trek through narrow aisles chaotically gridlocked with diners and waiters squeezing — and I mean squeezing — by. Our crowded push…
If books are food for thought, let it also be said that food is reading for the stomach. Charcuterie Too! (100 S. Andrews Ave. Fort Lauderdale, 954-463-9578) located on the second floor of the Broward County Main Library, offers a short selection of fresh breakfast and lunch items that are…
Johnny Vinczencz glides among venues like a cat burglar, stealing the hearts of diners from Miami-Dade to Palm Beach counties, leaving behind only discarded aliases and wistful memories of his bold kitchen antics. Vinczencz, a.k.a. “Johnny V,” was first noticed in the early ’90s as sous chef at Max’s South…
You’re so thoughtful to think about giving your sweetie a heart-shaped gift filled with Valentine’s Day chocolates. But keep in mind, it’s what’s inside the box that counts — meaning, you’re not going to arouse much passion with goo-filled chocolates picked up at Walgreens no matter how bright red the…
Chez Laurent
The first thing you must ask yourself when planning a Super Bowl menu is: “What goes well with beer?” If you’re thinking crudités, you’re running the ball in the wrong direction. For a super spread that will crunch any appetite, call up Grinder’s Hot Grill (1198 N. Dixie Hwy., 561-620-0099)…
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…
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…
A heralded, old-fashioned ice cream parlor, general store, and “country kitchen,” Jaxson’s opened in 1956 on South Federal Highway in Dania Beach. The specialty of the house can be taken quite literally. It is the “kitchen sink,” an actual basin complete with plumbing attachments and filled with dozens of scoops…
In addition to being everyday heroes, firefighters are also Iron Man competitors, calendar models, and cookbook contributors. Wait, cookbooks? Actually, cooks and firefighters aren’t such strange bedfellows, since both strive to control the heat. And “firehouse chili” often wins chili contests. So perhaps it’s not so strange that John Wilson,…
In early December, food writer Raymond Sokolov shocked the gastronomic world when he published his Wall Street Journal article titled “The Overrated Restaurant.” In it, he wrote, “We live in a world in which overrating restaurants is as rife as grade inflation in the Ivy League, thanks to what seems…
If tomatoes could sing, what would their songs be about? Sunshine, rain — tomatoes like a lot of water — and Tayfun and Taner Gokalp. That’s because the two brothers, natives of Turkey, opened a market-cum-eatery called Singing Tomatoes (677 N. Federal Hwy., Pompano Beach, 954-782-1434). The place is an…
What’s the difference between a successful restaurateur and an arrogant one? Listening skills, such as those possessed by Mon Ami Brasserie (1400 Glades Rd., Boca Raton, 561-394-2428) proprietor Burt Rapoport, who recently determined that pursuing a French-themed restaurant wasn’t necessarily a good idea right now. “At the onset of the…
Nothing irks me more than a mishandled dining trend. Cuisine, it seems, tends to react like adults who were abused as children — it grows up, identifies with the attacker, and makes us diners feel like the victims. Red Coral is a case in point. The two-month-old Fort Lauderdale restaurant…
Important things to remember during this flu season: Cover your mouth when you cough. Wash your hands often and well. And, as Hippocrates said, “Leave your drugs in the chemist’s pot if you can heal the patient with food.” Clearly, given the violent nature of this year’s virus, that last…
When it comes to reinvention, historic properties are limited by their past, which must be preserved. Within those guidelines, though, the imagination can be unfettered, as the Addison, home office of renowned architect Addison Mizner, demonstrates. First opened in November 1999, the Addison has recently been relaunched as the Banyan…
I was attending a Rutz Cellars Chardonnay and Pinot Noir tasting at Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach the other day when talk turned to Palm Beach. Another guest had asked winery owner Keith Rutz where he planned to display his signature wares next, and he mentioned heading to West…
Since 1951, the Laurenzo family business — a gourmet market and café in North Miami Beach — has been considered the premier South Florida venue for imported Italian ingredients such as olive oils and caviars, aged and smoked meats and fish from salami to salmon, stuffed pastas, and eggplant casseroles…
Even in South Florida, it’s possible to have a snowball effect in late fall. Just after Thanksgiving, bunches of family members — a veritable My Big Fat Greek Wedding’s worth — were clamoring for a place to eat. It started with just one or two people, and then the ball…
Peruvians grow something like 35 kinds of maize, from which they’ve developed more than 50 products. Likewise, Colombia boasts many types of potatoes; Brazil and Argentina have more uses and cuts for beef than a Texas rancher; and nearly every South American country raises an astonishing variety of peppers, beans,…
Selling a specialty item and hoping to make a profit is iffy business. Whether it’s empanadas or egg rolls, Jamaican patties or arepas, chicken wings or gyros, establishing a successful restaurant that revolves around a single dish requires a client base large enough to fill seats every day of the…
