Perhaps it’s the Miamian in me, as I reviewed restaurants for Miami New Times for five-plus years before taking on Broward and Palm Beach. Or maybe it’s the purist in me, or the nitpicker in me, or even the snob in me. But when I walk into a Latin-American restaurant…
Like a good man, a good chicken wing is hard to find. Unless you seek out Wings ‘N’ Ale 2 (10115 Cleary Blvd., Plantation, 954-577-3669), where the poultry pickin’s are more plentiful than slim. In fact not only are the pleasantly plump wings available both Buffalo-style and grilled with your…
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…
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…
Now here’s a first: Just about anything I can complain about my most recent dining experience is most likely my fault. For instance, I didn’t appreciate the lack of ambient dining music during this meal. While I’m never overly fond of, say, loud house beats vibrating my plate — and…
If you ask the staff at 12-year-old Chinese restaurant Toa Toa (4145 NW 88th Ave., Sunrise, 954-746-8833) what the name means, they look at you oddly, as if it were obvious. Finally they say something like, “You know, Toa Toa, good food, like dim sum.” Ah, that clears everything up…
I’m always wary when I call a new restaurant to inquire about its cuisine and whoever answers the phone says something like, “Uh, hang on a minute” and passes the phone to someone else. A stunt like that usually means one of two things. Either the quicker-picker-upper on the other…
Here it is, the newest definition of overindulgence: the white chocolate martini. At Angelo and Maxie’s Generation 2 Steakhouse (651 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach, 561-833-6550), you can order a martini glass dipped into melted white chocolate, then filled with vodka so cold it hurts your teeth. Sip it as…
The bare midriff is making me insane. I admit I first thought the trend of displaying tight, tanned little tummies, with or without belly ring installed center stage, kind of cutely risqué. But after pop princesses like Christina Aguilera took it to such extremes that they now present themselves naked…
Finding some action can be pretty easy in South Florida. Scoring a piece of it for yourself is significantly harder. And despite the plethora of good pizza pies out there, to find yourself a real New York-style slice — extra-large, oozing with oil from the high-quality mozzarella, and just sprinkled…
So you’re youngish, you think you’re pretty darn cool, and you’re shopping for dinner at the Publix in the Village Square Plaza in Boynton Beach when you notice Sonoma Grille. You’re surprised, because the high-ceilinged bistro, with its widely spaced oil paintings on the walls and closely spaced tables on…
So you say you like a little Scripture with your conch fritters and curry goat? Good thing Annie’s Fresh Fish & Baked Goods (1100-02 NE Fourth Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 954-763-9774) is in the book — the phone book, that is, not the Good Book. Along with the Caribbean and American…
Dinner. Mezzanotte. CityPlace. Ohmygod. Dinner being the meal we like to eat in the evening. Mezzanotte being the sixth installment of a popular Italian restaurant that got its ’80s start in a groundbreaking South Beach location where models once spontaneously danced on the tables (and snorted coke in the bathrooms,…
What does a restaurateur do with a location that had become known more for scandal than for food? Capitalize on it, of course. The owners of Gryphon (10076 Griffin Rd., Cooper City, 954-252-1411) recently sent out press releases acknowledging that the restaurant preceding the new eatery and nightclub, the erstwhile…
Aloha,” says the valet attendant. “Aloha,” says the hostess who pulls open the door. “Aloha,” says the busboy who fills your water glasses even before you sit down. If you haven’t figured out where you are by now, let me give you a few more hints: The ukulele. The lei…
If any executive chef can make the food at the River House (301 SW Third Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 954-525-7661) worthy of the place’s great location, it’s Doug Riess. Like owners Tim Petrillo and Peter Boulukos, Riess worked with the king of the gastronomic diaspora ’round these parts, Mark Militello, at…
In our seasonal, fickle dining market, a high-end restaurant opening to unanimous rave reviews is usually an accomplishment in itself. When said restaurant is credited with revitalizing or turning around a neighborhood, well, that’s flattering too. And when, after several years in business, it has developed such a loyal crowd…
Restaurant bargain hunters usually have to settle for early-bird specials. Well, not this year. In honor of its 20th year in business, the Nicaraguan steak house Los Ranchos (2604 Sawgrass Mills Cir., Sunrise, 954-851-9665) is offering a different four-course meal every month for the rest of 2001. The cost? Just…
The waitress at Moon Thai & Japanese, a month-old restaurant in Coral Springs, approached us as we were still getting settled in our bistro-style seats. “We don’t have white tuna tonight,” she informed us, looking directly at my father-in-law. My husband and I laughed — his father, Joel, is addicted…
Some folks like their lasagna cooked in a casserole pan. Please. Why opt for the norm when you can have that classic dish baked in a whole new way — like on top of pizza dough? The “Little Italy,” a New York¯style gourmet pie enhanced with lasagna, Italian sausage, meatballs,…
Serious readers, writers, and general workaholics know about Levenger, a catalog that offers stylish tools designed to make literary endeavors easier. Most of us didn’t know that Levenger has an outlet store (420 S. Congress Ave., Delray Beach, 561-274-0904 or 888-592-7461), where items such as pens, portfolios, briefcases, and office…
Picture a prototypical tavern. Envision the dark, scarred wood, the frayed seat cushions, the rotund bartender pulling a draft. Smell, through your mind’s nose, the cigarette smoke vying with char-grilled burgers and ancient fried onions. Listen to the squawks and yawps of casual, unrestrained conversation. Are you there? Good. That…
