Our local chefs aren’t exactly a deck of cards, but they tend to get shuffled anyway. For instance, there’s Michael Schwartz, former Miami chef-proprietor of Nemo, Big Pink, and Shoji Sushi (all on South Beach), who has shipped up to Boca Raton to take the helm at Zemi. As for…
If Harpoon Harry’s were a television pilot script and I had to write a tag line to sell it, I’d sum it up with something like this: Mel’s Diner meets the CIA. The CIA, as in the Culinary Institute of America. And Mel’s Diner, of Alice fame. In fact, the…
He’s irrepressible, he’s talented, and he’s back. Not that he ever really left us since he started making a name for himself as the Caribbean Cowboy down in Miami, but Johnny Vinczencz has indeed quit the employ of the Sundy House in Delray Beach. After developing De La Tierra there…
Bored with Boca? No reason to be. Now locals can spice up their days with Moroccan Nights (21073 Powerline Rd., Boca Raton, 561-483-0666). The dining experience here is different from the get-go — seats are actually sofas, positioned next to low tables; fabrics rich in color and texture are the…
Yup, it’s the real thing. And it’s really, really good. I was a bit skeptical when I heard that the 18-month-old Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza on South Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale used an authentic coal-burning brick oven to bake its pies. Not too long ago, I learned that in…
The first thing you notice when you pull off North Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale into the arched entranceway of Sublime restaurant might not be the enormous spotlighted marquee announcing the place. It might not be the stationary sign, a towering green monstrosity that advertises the restaurant’s “world vegetarian cuisine”…
There’s only one way to order the famous, 100 percent, all-beef hot dog at Vic & Irv’s Hots & Burgers (900 S. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale; 954-462-7255). That’s with “the works,” of course: mustard, onions, and “Vic’s signature meat sauce.” Sound a little hard on your digestive tract? Try the…
You think you’ve got job stress? Try this on for size: You work at a Fort Lauderdale sports bar that oozes old South Florida from every warped piece of paneling, it’s game six of the World Series, and your hometown team, conveniently named after the stuffed billfish that is the…
Boca will no doubt adore Bocadoro (Shops at Boca Center, 5150 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton, 561-338-4808), which will debut this month. Subtitled “A Mediterranean Village Feast,” Bocadoro is the second South Florida project for ex-Cheesecake Factory executive Doug Zeif and his restaurant company, Fifth Taste Concepts, following Brasserie Las…
You might be confused about Gotham City. To comic book aficionados, it’s home to Batman; Yankees believe it to be modeled after and therefore a nickname for greater New York City. Shoppers on eBay, however, have bookmarked “Gotham City” as a dependable site for trendy stuff, where proceeds from the…
Prediction for Halloween evening: a tidal wave of ghoulish good times. But only if you attend the Tsunami (651 Okeechobee Blvd., CityPlace, West Palm Beach, 561-835-9696) party. The first wave starts at 5 p.m. (children welcome till 6:30 p.m.), and the tide goes out at 2 a.m. In between, revelers…
When I made a reservation for dinner at the Japanese Village Steak House on Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, the hostess asked me a question that struck me as peculiar. “Is it a special occasion?” she wanted to know. “Why?” I thought but didn’t say, in return. “Does it…
There’s always been one significant problem when ordering a six-foot sub, be it for a kid’s birthday party or a special ball game: getting it into the car. Unless you own something along the long, long lines of a truck, chances are you’ll be driving with the tip of hero…
If you’ve been wondering about the much-anticipated late summer 2002 opening of Taverna Opa (3051 NE 32nd Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 954-567-1630), sibling to the popular Hollywood waterside Greek restaurant and nightspot, and its subsequent sudden mysterious closing a mere four months later, query no more. The Lauderdale location was shut…
Jai alai was invented by a bunch of mountain-dwelling Basques back in the 15th century. Though derived from handball, it has more in common with modern-day racquetball — the racquet in this case being a cesta, or curved wicker basket attached to the player’s right arm (this is not a…
Since opening in Aventura’s Loehmann’s Plaza 18 years ago, Chef Allen’s Restaurant has raked in prestigious dining awards the way most of us accumulate bills: rated “best restaurant in South Florida” by Gourmet magazine, voted “best food in Miami” in the 2003 Zagat Guide, winner of Wine Spectator’s Award of…
If you’re not driving too fast, you’ll probably notice the numerous dancing dogs (actually, facsimiles thereof) in front of Hot Diggity Dogs & More! (2641 Griffin Rd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-981-7827), an otherwise-inconspicuous little roadside stand where for nearly a dozen years Browardites have streamed in for steamed Sabrett all-beef frankfurters…
When creating poetry, scribes often dabble in a technique called “writing off the subject.” This means simply that a poet starts a piece musing about one topic and ends it philosophizing about another. But it’s not deliberately misguiding; it’s a way of freeing the mind. For the truest barometer of…
Praise Bacchus: The god of wine’s inaugural namesake celebration, Boca Bacchanal Winefest & Auction, was a big success last year, attracting more than 1,600 guests over three days. As a result, the festivities leading up to the 2004 Boca Bacchanal, which will take place March 19-21, are starting early. The…
South Florida has long been considered the test market for the initial models of theme-oriented chain-gang eateries. I’m not sure why — perhaps because land has been traditionally cheaper and more abundant here, giving rise to the large generic shopping plazas that cater to the discretionary funds of the chain…
Farewells to Footie’s may not be fond, but hey, at least they’re farewells. The eatery marqueed by Y-100 (WHYI-FM 100.7) morning radio personality Footie has morphed into Jensen’s American Grill (8320 W. Sunrise Blvd., Plantation, 954-423-1610.) The décor has changed slightly to reflect a more sports-oriented theme, but folks loyal…
During my teenage years, I waited on patrons at a gourmet grocery store. The shop featured then-exotic products like caviars, cheeses, and mustards — and was attached to a popular local restaurant. It was the first of its kind in the area. Since then, I have tended to judge every…
