Don’t rock the vote, baby. Eat it. That’s what Wilton Manors mayor and Stork’s Bakery and Café owner Jim Stork wants you to do. On November 4, he sponsored a dessert reception at Religious Science Fort Lauderdale (1550 NE 26th St., Wilton Manors, 954-566-2868) to earmark the Eat the Vote…
“We have rights too, ya know,” a would-be smoker grumbled as he was escorted directly past our table at the Gourmet Diner in Weston and out the front door. He shot a glance that could spark a match at my father, the tattletale who had first spied the other customer…
Knowing nothing else about a restaurant but its menu, you’d be forgiven for thinking “Daisy,” “Mermaid,” and “Cinderella” were items at a Disney-themed restaurant. But add in the name Monet Café (7040 W. Palmetto Park Rd., Boca Raton, 561-368-1740), the Garden Shops at Boca location, and the cozy luncheonette setting…
If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that the three-month-old Cafe del Rio was a setup. Some kind of a test. Or maybe even a warning, the subtitle “True Tex-Mex” culinary code for “All Hope Abandon, Ye Who Enter Here.” The first of a Texas chain to open…
Get ready, get set, get your mouthwash. The fourth-annual Delray Beach Garlic Fest kicks off November 1 at 5 p.m. in downtown Delray, between the Old School House campus and NE Second Avenue, and doesn’t end till 6 p.m. November 3. What to expect: three days of garlic-oriented activities, events,…
This is the way to promote an event: Throw four or five pre-event parties for the sole reason of garnering enthusiasm. The Boca Raton Historical Society is doing just that with Boca Bacchanal, a wine fest and auction that will take place in March. Once a month, leading up to…
Here are some things I just don’t see in every restaurant: A new hire shadowing an experienced server in order to learn the velvet ropes. A waitress who doesn’t need for me to point out the wine I order from the list but rather nods in recognition at the name…
The alligator lay sprawled across the entranceway to the walking path at Shark Valley, as stopped and unmovable as a battery-dead wristwatch, absorbing the distant warmth of the winter sun. The only way around the six-foot creature, if we wanted to even start our stroll through this part of Everglades…
South Floridians have long known the meaning of “casual upscale” dressing; in fact, given our climate, both literal and cultural, we practically invented the style. But it’s been far too long since that concept has been applied to the actual restaurant rather than what patrons wear to it. That’s where…
If I could sum up the newly opened Tarpon Bend in Weston with one onomatopoeic word, it would be a no-brainer: burp. And that’s not because the food at this month-old eatery is indigestion-inducing, though items like the Jamaican-style conch fritters, which were more like conch patties, needed a wrap…
Of course it’s been a burning question: Now that restrictions and trade boycotts stemming from the 1979 hostage crisis have been lifted, where exactly can you get Persian caviar? Turns out it’s easy. For fish eggs and all your other imported Middle Eastern food needs — Turkish coffee, Israeli couscous,…
The politicians and the service staff in South Florida seem to have one terrible habit in common: blind endorsement. In both cases, the perennial bluff has gotten so bad that it’s impossible to believe a recommendation that either makes. Local politicos no doubt can speak for themselves — or have…
Perhaps the last thing you’d expect to see next to a coffeehouse might be a Bounce House — you know, the puffy plastic piece of playground equipment that kids like to jump up and down in. But Cheryl Chamely, proprietor of the Trinidadian coffee shop Café Juvay (9395 W. Sample…
The flamenco guitarist stands on a small podium between sidewalk tables at Café del Mar. The fingernails on his right hand resemble Lee Press-Ons, thanks to a talon-sharp file and a bottle of clear nail polish, and he uses them to pick complicated patterns while alternately holding the instrument over…
If you need more proof that Broward County’s demographics have become increasingly South American, head to La Bodega (3800 N. University Dr., Sunrise, 954-741-2626). This family-oriented Peruvian grill and market provides a whole rotisserie chicken with French fries, salad, and Inca cola for $8.99. But this clean, quick-service eatery has…
No doubt it was a fluke that during a random sampling, the Food and Drug Administration found salmonella bacteria in some cumin packaged by Miami-based American Spice Co. Probably it was coincidence I came down with a stomach malady the same evening a batch of the spice was recalled from…
Take Lox Haven (5715 Margate Blvd., Margate, 954-977-7300) at its word. This Jewish grocery store is a veritable treasure chest — or ice chest — of smoked, pickled, and cured fish. Lake Michigan whitefish, kippered salmon, hand-cut sable, Nova Scotia salmon, and a terrific assortment of herring beckon those who…
“Jaboticaba.” Johnny Vinczencz says the word as if he’s chewing it, standing in what can only be described as Delray Beach’s singular tropical Eden. “Jaboticaba.” Or, perhaps he says it as if he’s getting used to uttering it. The latter’s probably the more apropos metaphor, since he’s now picking that…
So you think your kids can cook. Now’s the time to prove it. The Children’s Home Society of Florida is sponsoring the Caring Chefs for Kids Recipe Contest. From September 1 to November 1, children ages 5 to 15 are eligible to enter in three categories: main course (chef); side…
At the risk of sounding like a food snob, I too often find German cuisine in South Florida to be akin to writer’s block: a big, empty space where creativity and inspiration should be. It’s as if our local German-American chefs and restaurateurs invest both hearts and stomachs in dour,…
Of the dozen or so definitions for jerk in the dictionary, only one concerns me. OK, I lied. Actually, three kinds of jerks have captured my attention: the jerk chicken, jerk pork, and jerk fish that will be available and in abundance September 1 from noon until 8 p.m. That’s…
Sure, it’s still summer, but football fanatics have been officially inducted for the season. That’s right, Monday Night Football has been launched, and the question of the year already has been posed. No, it’s not Will the Dolphins make the playoffs?, or even, What the hell happened to Dennis Miller?…
