I rarely have the good fortune to walk into a restaurant so new that the paint looks wet, discover this is the first day it’s open, order a meal, and have a terrific experience. But that is indeed what happened at Roberto’s Gelato Café (416 Via de Palmas, Boca Raton;…
Despite record heat, nothing says spring in South Florida more than sitting outside at a café with a croissant, coffee, and newspaper. Thanks to Crocante Bakery Café (1948 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 954-923-1280), we can celebrate the season in style and keep in mind our economics at the same time. This…
Unlike single-vocation restaurateurs, celebrities who open eating establishments have primary work schedules and commitments to which they must first attend. A restaurant bearing a celebrity’s name, then, must by necessity come second — or third or fourth — on said star’s things-to-do list. Purveyor didn’t show? OK, but I’m on…
Angelo of Mulberry Street
Given that Share Our Strength’s “Taste of the Nation” fundraiser broke the $1 million mark last year, it is probably not surprising that the 2003 party is being billed as the “Million Dollar Celebration.” On April 2, at the Fort Lauderdale/Broward Convention Center, 50 of the region’s top restaurants, including…
Forget cleanliness, and don’t even mention godliness — when it comes to restaurants, flexibility is the topmost virtue. Indeed, I know some colleagues who put such stock in a staff that is not just willing but delighted to accommodate last-minute reservation changes or a chef who will gladly leave out…
I know there’s something contradictory about a supermarket chain endorsing artisanal products. By definition, artisanal goods are handmade, minuscule-scale production items. But since Whole Foods Market (1400 B Glades Rd., Boca Raton, 561-447-0000) has always been committed to providing the general public with organic goods and quality produce, I suppose…
Like the attenuated Mexican cuisine in the magical realist novel Like Water for Chocolate, expertly handled Thai food seems to arouse certain predictable emotions to which no one is immune. I find, for example, that tangy, lemon grass-infused soup soothes away stress. A well-balanced curry, containing the precise amount of…
The only thing not new at Brasserie Las Olas (333 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-779-7374), it seems, is the name of the restaurant. Everything else has changed, from once-major player and proprietor Mark Soyka to the chef in charge of menu development. These days, restaurateur Doug Zeif, who…
After calling the eight-month-old Cohiba Brasserie in Pembroke Pines, I wasn’t too jazzed about my forthcoming visit there. I’d phoned for two reasons — to find out if reservations were required, given that it was a Saturday evening, and what type of cuisine was served. You know, the normal questions…
Sick of stone crabs? I know that’s right. So here’s an alternative: Louisiana crawfish. It’s the season for them too, and one of the best places in town to catch some live — until they’re cooked, of course — is Rosey Baby (4587 N. University Dr., Lauderhill, 954-749-5627). Now you…
A commercial on TV for an eyeglass boutique makes an interesting connection between authenticity and value. A female customer points out to the clerk that she just saw the same pair of frames in another store for less money. He replies that the frames aren’t exactly alike because his “speak…
Thanks to the cold weather, harvests have been a bit delayed here in South Florida. But as of last week or so, strawberry season has officially arrived. And the best place to get plump, ripe, aromatic berries is at Batten’s Strawberry Farm (5151 SW 64th Ave., Davie, 954-792-0068), where the…
Seems like just about everyone I know comes back from some leisure or mental-health days off saying the same thing: “I need a vacation from my vacation.” Yeah, poor you, so exhausted from doing all that fun stuff you don’t get to partake of at home, like sipping umbrella drinks…
Michael Mondavi, chairman of the famed Mondavi winery, has gone on record saying that women have better palates than men. Apparently, Virginia Philip, sommelier of the Breakers Hotel (1 S. County Rd., Palm Beach, 561-659-8455) has known this all along. She was just awarded Master Sommelier status, a level to…
Whoever said children don’t like to follow in their fathers’ footsteps? Certainly not Tony Sindaco, chef-owner of Sunfish Grill, whose daughter Paula was a finalist in the recent recipe contest cook-off benefiting the Children’s Home Society. Her Italian-style cauliflower made Papa proud, despite the fact that the winner in her…
Where can one find the answers to such diverse questions as: In what body part can you find the tarsal bones? How many wives has Mick Jagger had (so far)? And from what musical does the song “Oh What a Beautiful Morning” come? Not Jeopardy!, but at the Frog &…
And you think I’m cynical about fine dining? Check out the recent story in SmartMoney Magazine by Michael Kaplan called “Ten Things Your Restaurant Won’t Tell You.” His list, which is fleshed out by real-life examples of how restaurants have ripped off their customers, includes categories such as “Our Food…
If your eyes are watering, your nose is twitching, and your scalp is itching, you may have noticed that the mango trees are in full bloom. And if the extensive golden-pink crowns these babies are wearing are anything to go by, this season is going to bring us more mango-daiquiri…
No doubt it was bound to happen: Like Lincoln Road in Miami, Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard is no longer an unchained melody. The past two years have brought us Samba Room and Timpano Italian Chophouse, both national concepts owned by Carlson Restaurants Worldwide, a company that specializes in such…
Love a farmer’s market, hate the early-morning hours required to get the best stuff? Harvest Gourmet Market (8177 W. Glades Rd., Boca Raton, 561-487-3535) has the solution: Market veggies available every day, all the time. Love those fruits and vegetables, hate to cook? This new gourmet supermarket, located just a…
What I learned from attending the 20th-annual Food & Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen, Colorado: Festivals can make for some terrific all-inclusive minivacations. Once you pay for your travel expenses, lodging, and tickets to the events, you’re pretty much guaranteed no additional costs, simply because you’ll be so well-sated by…
