The server was explaining this and that about the dessert tray at Truluck’s in Fort Lauderdale when I made some comment about how perfect they all looked. “They’re not real,” he said. Then he slapped the chocolate cake. It made a sound like smacking a basketball. I swear, I had…
Although Clean Plate Charlie is the only food blog you really need to read daily, some people just can’t get enough. Here are some highlights of other food blogs, this time with a local focus.Dinner Reviews focuses on Broward, Palm Beach, and Dade counties and… well reviews restaurants. The best…
No self-respecting foodie should let Bastille Day go by without some kind of celebration. Say what you want about French culture (normally a bunch of overblown cliques anyway); there is simply no denying French influence on cuisine. Some of the finest breads, cheeses, and desserts in the world are distinctly…
I remember my time spent eating school lunch fondly. My favorite was Mexican pizza day, when the lunch ladies would roll out crumbly, cracker-crusted pizzas topped with hardened American cheese, sweet and spicy taco sauce, and delectable little pellets of “meat.” What’s even better was Mexican pizza day, part two,…
If you’re not a subscriber to our weekly Café Bites dining newsletter for Broward and Palm Beach counties, here’s a taste of what you missed this week. Click here to subscribe. Fort Lauderdale isn’t exactly the most dog-friendly city, so any time the rules relax enough for locals to bring…
It begins before I even cut into my burger at Grease Burger Bar in West Palm Beach: A nervous swelling fills my stomach, the same mixture of fear and anxiousness I get every time I order a hamburger at a restaurant I’ve never been to before, knowing it’s probably going…
It’s getting so the best gauge of a new restaurant’s success is how many years the proprietors have already been in the business. The team that opened Wild Ginger in CityPlace a couple of months ago certainly has the creds: Lirim Jacobi owns Taverna Opa and City Pizza; his partner…
There’s no sugar-coating this one. I knew from the moment I saw it on my desk it was going to be bad. I feared eating this so much, in fact, that I “accidentally” forgot to bring a can opener into the office for three straight weeks. The boss stopped putting…
I stopped by the Lake Worth farmers’ market recently and ran into Jodi Swank, whose (with husband Darrin) Swank Specialty Produce is to the trash at your local supermarket what a Bugatti Veyron is to skateboarding with square wheels. She’ll be at the market on J Street at Lucerne Avenue…
The world’s most omnivorous, omnipresent purveyor of junk food is now crashing the rather more upscale salons of junque cuisine. That would be McDonald’s, which last week spat up a trio of 100 percent Angus beef burgers. Launched to compete with the tonier patties of eateries like Five Guys, Fuddruckers,…
Sometimes spending under seven bucks on lunch can leave you feeling… well, hungry. That is not the case with Sal’s Italian Ristorante’s lunch specials. For a penny less than six bucks, Sal’s hooks you up with a cup of soup or a house salad, a slice of cheese pizza, and…
This week’s column had me trekking alongside local pizza blogger Lapp of Worstpizza.com as we took on three pie-slinging joints in one night. You can check out the article for my conclusions on La Fontana Pizzeria in Coral Springs, Nino’s Restaurant & Pizzeria in Boca Raton, and Tucci’s Fire N…
There’s not another restaurant that works like Sublime. It’s not just the vegan menu, but owner Nanci Alexander donates proceeds from the place to the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida. So we sent freelance photographer Michele Sandberg in to get a look at just how this place runs. Click here…
One of the world’s unique and most interesting wines has long been one of its most mysterious. The wine is Carmenere, today made almost exclusively in Chile, though until a dozen or so years ago, even the people who made it thought they were making Merlot. Carmenere was once one…
Although Clean Plate Charlie is the only food blog you really need to read daily, some people just can’t get enough. Here are some highlights of other food blogs, this time with a focus on July 4 themed posts:Taste of Home has a list of their top ten Patriotic Dessert…
Tired of the rubber-ball tomatoes, wilted corporate greens and vegetables older than Michael Jackson’s last hit at your local giant-mega-supermarket? It’s not like you have many options, because most farmers’ markets close during South Florida summers, when the only thing that grows is mold. Well, on July 4 the Oceanside…
Several Northwood Village restaurants are offering to pack up your favorites to add some extra sparkle to your 4th festivities. Head to Café Centro/Allora (2409 N. Dixie Hwy, 561.514-4070) to pick up sandwiches, salads, pastas and pizzas off its lunch menu before you venture over to the park on Dixie to…
Months after it first kicked off, Angelo & Maxie’s Thursday night craft beer tasting hosted by Fresh Beer Inc.’s Chris Montelius is still going strong. And tonight’s holiday-centric entry should be particularly fun. Everybody knows that beer and barbecue go together like Schlitz and a hangover. Shoot – you’re not…
Honestly, you should be all caught up on this by now. It’s been a whole month, plenty of time to read the single greatest food blog in South Florida. But just in case you haven’t been a super-faithful reader, here’s some of the best blogging of June on Clean Plate…
Pizza expert Craig “Lapp” Agranoff sits across from me at La Fontana Pizzeria in Coral Springs, inspecting a warm cheese-only slice. He lifts the thin triangle by its crunchy lip with one hand and pokes at the underside of the crust with the other. It sags in the middle like…
There’s nothing like a top five list to get the juices flowing on a Wednesday. Today, we’re listing five great places to grab sandwiches in Broward and Palm Beach counties. The list is in no particular order, but you can bet that you’ll be pleased with the results at any…
Clean Plate Charlie is obsessed with burgers. Hey, it’s better than sneaking out of the governor’s mansion to rub the bacon with former Argentine TV reporters or performing unnatural acts on small farm animals. Charlie’s burger fetish plays itself out by coming up with patties that channel the tastes, textures,…
