Doggy Bag: This Week in Charlie

Here are some tips to duplicate Scott Conant’s $24/bottle tomato sauce, touted as the best in the world.Celebrate National Homebrew Day at BX Beer Depot this Saturday.Rack’s Downtown Eatery is hosting a five-course beer pairing dinner featuring Rogue Beers.There’s a new top chef at PGA National Resort.Take heart, veggie lovers:…

All-You-Can-Eat Stone Crab: Two Deals for Claw Lovers

Stone crab season — at least one of the top five reasons to live in South Florida — kicked off in mid-October. If you’re a fan of the meaty, jewel-like claws, you know that they’re often as expensive as they are delicious. Which is a problem if you’re into pounding…

Carl Sagan Day Pre-Event Dinner Tonight at Marumi Sushi

Like Darwin Day but with a better sense of humor, the second annual Carl Sagan Day takes place tomorrow at Broward College Central Campus. Hundreds of scientific minds with gather to celebrate the life and times of Sagan, the renowned astronomist, author, and pot smoker. Sponsored by the Center for…

Get to Know Your Food Producers at Localecopia Meet ‘n’ Greet

Who grows your vegetables? Who produces grass-fed beef? Catches your wild shrimp? Anyone…?Get to know local farmers, ranchers and others who get the foods from their sources to our tables at Monday’s Localecopia Meet & Greet in West Palm Beach. Tastings and information for products like herbs, beef, breads, fruit…

I’m Eating What?! Kwas Chelbowy

​Before we had the chance to try and explain what we thought was inside the bottle, our beautiful blonde buddy had already popped the top, sucked some of the contents down, and exclaimed, “Oooh! What an interesting flavor! What kind of soda is this?”The truth was, we had no idea…

Sweet Greens Opens in Palm Beach Gardens

Looking to hit that “gourmet but affordable” sweet spot, according to proprietor Tim McGowan, is Sweet Greens Market (4807 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens, 561-624-0857), which snuck open on Wednesday but is hosting a weekend grand opening party this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 6 and 7.  The indoor market will…

John Offerdahl’s Gridiron Grill-Off Pits Chefs Against Football Stars

Do you know the Gridiron Griller? That’s John Offerdahl, former Dolphin’s linebacker and owner of Offerdahl’s restaurants. For a few years now, the backyard cook has been producing small segment videos for local TV and his website that shows home cooks how to do their thang on the grill.On November…

Health Inspectors Crack Down on Unlicensed Restaurants

Better check yourself before you wreck yourself, eateries. Inspectors seem to be cracking down more and more on what they deem unlicensed activity, which could be as simple as not properly displaying licenses to serving food without a license at all. Two local digs were shut down last week for…

Brew Masters Premieres on Discovery Channel

They’ve got reality programs about food innovators, food trucks, and farm-to-table restaurants. Now Discovery Channel is bringing craft beer into the reality mix with its new show Brew Masters.  Brew Masters debuts on November 21 at 10 p.m. and stars none other than Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione. The premise…

Dogs Allowed! Five Pet-Friendly Restaurants in Broward/Palm Beach

After the umpteenth time of dealing with a parsimonious pal who uses a calculator to divvy up the bill, you may imagine a more pleasant dining experience with anyone else — even your dog. After all, your furry friend doesn’t nickel-and-dime you. Heck, he doesn’t even complain when he’s in…

Chipotle and Sweet Tomatoes Make Local Debuts

The “fast casual” segment of the local restaurant market just keeps on growing with the opening earlier this week of a new Chipotle Mexican Grill (4220 N. State Road 7, 954-960-4000) in Coral Springs and the debut next week of another Sweet Tomatoes (1100 N. Congress Ave., 561-369-0666) in Boynton…

Manny’s Bakery: Awesome Empanandas for $2 or Less

All hail the empanada, that self-contained foodstuff so popular in Latin cafés, bodegas, convenience stores, and bakeries. Every country has its own interpretation of the pocket-sized meals: Colombia offers a crisp, fried corn shell stuffed with rice and chicken or beef and potatoes. Argentine empanadas — like the kind produced…

Restaurant Roll Call For October

Season is gearing up here in touristy South Florida, which means new restaurants will be opening now in order to get a leg up on competition during the busy holidays. We had a lot of notable restaurant openings in October, including some places that look rather interesting, like Market 17…

Best of Boca Thursday, November 11 — Bites From 30-Plus Restaurants

A fashionable group will gather at the Shops of Boca Center on November 11 for the annual Best of Boca party. Guests will be able to stroll and sample appetizers and desserts from 30 area restaurants, including Brewzzi’s, Truluck’s, Capitol Grille, Absinthe, III Forks, Arturo’s, Le Bistro, Sundy House, Green…

Top Five Restaurants Even Randy Moss Wouldn’t Snub

Yesterday it was revealed that Randy Moss’ exclusionary attitude wasn’t the only reason he was cut from the Minnesota Vikings just four weeks after being traded there. Apparently, his finely developed sense of taste was to blame as well.During a team meeting Friday, Moss blew up on players, coaches, and a catering…

Jazz Brunch at Michelle Bernstein’s Begins This Sunday

This just in: Michelle Bernstein at the Omphoy is now offering a jazz brunch every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. And there’s a perk: After eating, you receive a one-day pass to lounge around the swanky hotel; this includes lounge chairs and towel service. (Gotta love Bernstein’s uptown/downtown…