Il Mercato: White Tablecloth Dining Without the Tablecloth

Il Mercato is a white-tablecloth restaurant without the white tablecloths. Or any tablecloths, for that matter. But don’t let its lack of table coverings fool you: This cozy café-wine bar is dishing the kind of simple yet sophisticated food you can eat every day… at prices you can afford. Credit…

Cat-Astrophe: Chipotle’s Facebook Hacked

The “likes” and comments on Chipotle’s Facebook page have exploded since someone hacked into an employee’s account.The hacker posted a status update on the Mexican restaurant chain’s page. Here’s a screen shot courtesy of allfacebook.com.Check after the jump for our best guess on who the “status-offender” was. …

Recipe: 4 Orange Sugar ‘n’ Spice Sidecar

A few years ago, agricultural officials tried to chop down every backyard orange tree in the state. Yours probably got the axe. Too bad — you could have started your own distillery.4 Orange Premium Vodka is the first vodka made from four different Florida orange varieties. According to its press…

$10 Lunch: ZaZa’s in Boynton Beach

Where can you stop for lunch that’s fast and fresh, with a made-to-order assembly line of locally bought ingredients? It’s not Chipotle, Moe’s or Qdoba. And it’s certainly not Subway…

Reindeer: It’s What’s for Dinner

Despite rumors that Bojangles, North Carolina’s fast-food underdog, was finally rolling out their revolutionary reindeer nuggets this month, that has not come to pass.However, other restaurants are disregarding convention (and the cries of children) as they opt to roast Rudolph rather than sing about his…

New Jersey Housewife Teresa Giudice to Visit South Florida

It’s not easy being a housewife, especially when that housewife is Teresa Giudice. With four daughters and filming the latest of a hit reality TV show, she barely found a little time to chat with Clean Plate Charlie. And by “barely,” I mean it was while she was eating dinner…

Vegan Potluck Party and Storytelling at Sweat Records Saturday

Whether it involves sifting out the gravelish bits of ham hock from “meatless” baked beans or finger flicking the bacon bits from the community salad, holiday potluck parties can be disappointing and dodgy territory for vegans. This is why, if there’s ever a time when vegans can get together for a potluck of…

10 Under $10: Gourmet Gifts for Your Favorite Foodie

It’s been a rough year for Santa.  He’s underwater on the mortgage on his North Pole digs, and Mrs. Claus had to take a job at Walmart to make ends meet. He laid off 20 percent of his elves because of slack demand for toys and outsourced his gift fulfillment…

Free Fries at Boca’s New Boardwalk Burgers Today

Need a fry fix? Get ’em free, in a grand-opening offer, at the new Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries in Boca Raton – a Maryland chain dropping into Florida.What started as a french fry chain (Boardwalk Fries) became in 2007 Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries, a chain with six other…

Where We Were Eating: The Green Gourmet in Delray Beach

Yesterday’s “Guess Where We’re Eating” challenge featured the Green Gourmet in Delray Beach. Open just over a year, the little eatery features fresh prepared organic foods. The restaurant is owned by Joseph Giannuzzi, who was the executive chef at Henry’s before stepping out on his own. Giannuzzi has a fresh…

Cook and Eat Your Own Face This Christmas

If the urge to make a gelatin mold of your own face and then chow it down is eating you up, fret no more. The Eat Your Face Gelatin Mold Kit is here to help.Mike Samonek, author of a crazy tome called The Special Effects Cookbook, came up with the…

U.S. Army Culinary Arts Team Takes World Cup Gold

Great food and the US military are rarely mentioned in the same sentence. In fact, Army mess hall dinners and Meals Ready to Eat are associated with the worst eating experiences for good reason. Imagine everyone’s surprise, then, when the Army’s Culinary Arts Team (didja even know they had one?) came…

Guess Where We’re Eating!?

Okay, kids, fire up your guessing machines — it’s time for our weekly installment of “Guess Where We’re Eating!?” This lovely little eatery is located in southern Palm Beach County and has a focus on locally-sourced and organic eats. Lunch is brisk business here, but it’s also open for dinner…

The 12 Freaky Gingerbread Houses of Christmas

Construction permits on new gingerbread homes are not issued until the first week in December, after which the confectionary edifices spring up everywhere.  Gingerbread houses were first built in Germany, Scandinavia, and Russia, and popularized in the 17th and 18th centuries. Gingerbread men, as they were later called, drew up…

Recipes for Holiday Drinks at Texas de Brazil

If you are in the mood for the flavor of Brazil to go along with your holiday festivities, then Texas De Brazil is the place for you. This Brazilian Steakhouse is now offering holiday martinis with great names such as Mistletoe Delight, Christmas Dream, and Candy Cane Martini to go…

Restaurant Roll Call for November-December

RESTAURANTS/VENUES OPENING Apicius, 210 E. Ocean Ave., Lantana Deck 84, 840 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach Bongos Cuban Cafe, 1 Seminole Way, Hollywood  Andrews Restaurant, 99 SE Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., 4403 Northlake Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens Amici Market, 155 N. County Road, Palm Beach…

Crazy Greek Café: $50 for Unlimited BOGO for 90 Days

The Crazy Greek Café in Deerfield Beach offers a menu of Greek and American favorites that are big on flavor and freshness. Brothers Stan and Greg Prakas opened the Crazy Greek in August and have been cultivating a local following since. Greg, a Harvard Law School graduate, traded in his…