Is there any point in summing up the past year? It doesn’t seem to matter what we’re talking about — dining, music, politics — all trains of thought lead to the wreck of September 11. For most of us, it’s as if the first eight months of the year didn’t…
You know a social trend is on the way out when the restaurant industry gets hold of it.Remember Smoke in Fort Lauderdale? Probably not. That’s because the steak house-cum-cigar lounge, which intended to capitalize on the newfound joys of sucking on stogies in public dining rooms, opened after the habit…
I know you’ve been wondering, as I have, exactly what a few million bucks buys you these days. Well, for one thing, it gets you a high-concept, modern, Italian restaurant like Sopra (110 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, 561-274-7077), which after a long delay has finally opened its costly doors…
Tim Zagat is an opinionated man.Perhaps that’s not surprising, given the fact that in 1979, he and his wife, Nina, founded the Zagat New York Restaurant Survey. Started as an informal restaurant rating system, derived from detailed questionnaires distributed among a group of friends (including the Rubell family, of Studio…
Whaddaya mean, you’ve never had monkfish liver? Roy Villacrusis, sushi chef at Mark’s CityPlace, claims it’s the “foie gras of the sea.” Of course, you’ll have to taste it to believe it, and now you can do that not only at CityPlace but at Mark’s Mizner Park (344 Plaza Real,…
Question: How do you score a table at Pearl by the Sea, a popular Russian restaurant and cabaret in Hallandale Beach that also goes by the name Club Pearl? A. Speak Russian or English with a Russian accent, or have a Russian surname. B. Know that “semi-formal attire is required”…
If you think all empanadas are created equal, then you haven’t been to Argie Grill (Las Olas Riverfront, 300 SW First Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 954-463-2686). Not only are the empanadas here a step above the standard but each one is flavored distinctively. That means the differences between the beef and…
OK, let’s set the scene: It’s Wednesday night, right before Thanksgiving, the start of a long weekend that typically means big tourist business in big tourist hangouts. At Las Olas Riverfront, a pay-to-enter party is being held on the ground floor, pushing regular ol’ customers up to the second floor,…
Just when it looked as if all the really good meal deals were happening in Miami-Dade County, Angelo and Maxie’s Steakhouse (CityPlace, 651 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach, 561-833-6550) weighs in on the subject. A new prix fixe menu offers three courses, starting with soup or caesar salad and ending…
The hibachi trend continues unabated. Like Sushi Yama, Kyojin Buffet, and Kansai in Boca Raton, Japanese Village (350 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954-525-8386), one of the oldest restaurants on Las Olas Boulevard, has joined the grill-as-entertainment club. The restaurant has just added a Japanese-style steak house, where chefs…
Forgive me, Armadillo Cafe, for I have sinned. It has been one year since my last supper. Since that time, I have displayed gluttony. I’ve had impure thoughts twice (OK, three times, tops). I have cheated on you. And I have committed the worst culinary crime of all: I lost…
Until recently, I couldn’t remember the last time I walked out of a restaurant without at least sampling the fare. I didn’t stroll out of that little German storefront in Bay Harbor Islands where the chef quit right after we’d ordered and our waiter volunteered to cook our bratwurst. I…
So you’ve been craving a chicken Marsala pizza. Who hasn’t? Good thing Cannoli Kitchen (22191 Powerline Rd., Boca Raton, 561-955-8880) has a new storefront location in addition to its Federal Highway place. Now it’s even more convenient to order out from this beloved home-meal replacement establishment. In addition to the…
Even before the terrorist attacks, our weakening economy was starting to make us consumers ask some tough questions about dining out. Do we want to spend $35 on an entree in an upscale restaurant, or do we want to use that money to buy the baby’s formula for the week?…
I’m always a bit sad when one of my favorite restaurants is sold, and I’m always a little reluctant to head back to it and see if the new proprietors have (a) changed nothing or (b) changed everything. I’m always caught in a dilemma: On the one hand, I want…
After several disappointing experiences, some of which I’ve recounted here, I confess: I’m giving up. I no longer expect food to comfort me. I don’t believe ultra-rich ice cream will soothe me. I can’t see how mashed potatoes will magically make everything all right. Hamburgers the size of my head?…
Frozen-custard lovers need grieve no more. Yes, Kohr Bros. Frozen Custard indeed vacated its spot in Riverfront. But the Double Rainbow Dessert Cafe (300 SW First Ave., Suite 131, Fort Lauderdale, 954-527-5219), brought to us by the same folks who operate Tout Sweet Ice Cream Parlor & Bakery Cafe in…
If there were a checklist for a prototypical raw-bar-and-wings joint, it would probably include all the important elements: TV, domestic beers, giveaways, happy-hour prices. In that regard the four-month-old eatery Planet Krypton Wings and Grille, located on Stirling Road in Davie, fulfills expectations. TV tuned to Monday Night Football? Check…
It was bound to happen; I’m surprised it took this long: Sage French American Cafe (2378 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale, 954-565-2299) has announced the premiere of “Moulin Rouge Nights” on October 31 at 8:30 p.m. Basing the show, which will be performed every Wednesday, on the one from the…
I suppose it was bound to happen: sushi, sushi everywhere. First it was in Thai restaurants. Then Chinese eateries. Then Vietnamese and Korean places. In the name of appealing to the public, cultures that have traditionally been at odds with the Japanese (such as the Chinese and Korean) as well…
If you’re as tired of prepackaged, supermarket pâté as I am, then head over to Euro Bread & Cafe (6874 Stirling Rd., Davie, 954-587-3876) in the newly opened The Shops at Stirling Place. Among other upscale items, including Dijon mustard blended with blue cheese and truffle vinaigrette with Meyer lemons,…
My sister called me the other day with a dilemma. “I don’t know whether to be thin or fat,” she complained. I know it looks funny on paper, but I understood her problem right away. See, my sister lives in Manhattan, and naturally, like every other New Yorker, she’s feeling…
