If you’ve been reading the newspapers, you’ve probably assumed that restaurateur Dennis Max has been taking a beating. His private life looks to be a shambles — wife Patty departed after catching him cheating on her one too many times. Word is Patty got a hefty settlement because of a…
My parents, who love Italian food, went to try a new place they’d heard about in New Jersey, close to where they live. The pasta and meat dishes were fantastic, they were told, and best of all, the place was often featured in HBO’s Mob soap opera The Sopranos. My…
If you need any more proof that all of South Florida — not just Miami — has become Hispanically enriched, look to the De Nuestra Mesa cookbook. Published by New Hope Charities in West Palm Beach, the compilation of Latin recipes, narratives, and humorous bits recently won first prize in…
Aside from left to right and up to down, when it comes to reading menus and deciding what you want to eat in a restaurant, you have two choices. You can set your mind before you even glance at the bill of fare, going on what type of cuisine the…
It may not be as ironic as a kosher delicatessen would be, but the luncheonette located in Heavenly Ham (298 S. Federal Hwy., Deerfield Beach, 9544287933) is still pretty odd — it’s a café and French bakery. For starters you can expect your sandwiches to come on French baguettes or…
I write a lot about what diners should and can expect from restaurants. Most of the qualifications are givens: decent fare at reasonable prices in inviting surroundings. And when an eatery fails to live up to my, and subsequently your, expectations, I make sure to let readers (and restaurateurs) know…
You’ve done just about everything for that special event — booked a venue, hired a band or DJ, arranged for exotic flowers. But somehow you just can’t shake the feeling that you’ve overlooked some detail. Ice Occasions (2800 SW Fourth Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 9547670607) knows what it is. You’ve forgotten…
Years ago I used to wander into an eclectic shop called the Culinary Bazaar, on Ponce de Leon Boulevard in Coral Gables. Located next to Caffe Baci, it was the ideal place to wile away a wait for your table (and there was always a wait at Baci). Culinary Bazaar…
Short of robbing a liquor store, when and where can you even imagine having the opportunity to taste more than 100 wines in one sitting? On March 6, that’s when, at the Holiday Inn on Fort Lauderdale Beach (999 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., Fort Lauderdale). That’s when Share Our…
When it comes to steak houses, one fact is immutable: The primary focus is beef. Every restaurant has its own way of serving it (à la carte or accompanied by side dishes), its own methods of pricing (inexpensive to horrifyingly exorbitant), and its own ethnic accents (American to French to…
So the Terrace Oceanside (1960 S. Ocean Dr., Hallandale Beach, 954-454-9444) offers dishes such as potato gnocchi with smoked duck sausage; rib steak marinated in bourbon and juniper berries; and frozen macadamia nut soufflé with fresh tropical fruit. Big deal in this age of fusion-global-interplanetary cuisine, right? Well, yeah, if…
A couple of years ago, the Japanese girl-group Shonen Knife put out a CD called Happy Hour. The disc has several songs about food on it, including “Gyoza,” “Banana Chips,” and “Hot Chocolate,” so of course I bought it. I figured at the least it’d be an amusing dinner-party piece…
A lot of patrons frequent Sloan’s (112 Clematis St., West Palm Beach, 561-833-3335) for its roughly 30 flavors of gourmet ice cream. Some like to check out the four shades of sorbet, the three types of yogurt, or the soup of the day. And a few even go for the…
Bid farewell to American fusion cuisine, that tired trend, as you know it. Say hello to Latin fusion cuisine because, well, you’re going to get to know it. The place where you’ll begin to get acquainted, folks, is the Samba Room on East Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. The…
This winter Las Olas Riverfront is looking to the past to create a future for itself. As of February 6, the Riverfront features a weekly Farmers’ Market (300 SW First Ave., Fort Lauderdale, 954-522-6556), celebrating the era when farmers and craftspeople would traverse the New River, bringing their products to…
Used to be when you wanted good, cheap eats, you went ethnic: Chinese, Thai, Indian. The problem was that the reasonably priced food was usually accompanied by a distinct lack of décor. The meal might’ve been tasty, but the experience, for serious diners, wasn’t really complete. In recent years, though,…
I find it easy to laud Atlanta Bread Company (301 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-522-0888). Not because the gourmet breads are baked fresh daily, though they are. Not because the meats and cheeses they use for their sandwiches are prime quality, though they are. Not because the soups…
My sister-in-law had an interesting experience at Darrel & Oliver’s Café Maxx in Pompano Beach the other week. She and her husband had gone to celebrate her birthday. They ordered a three-course meal and then, not feeling up to wine or champagne, decided to have a beer. But they changed…
Is it possible the culinary ghost town Hollywood has become is about to be reincarnated? Check out the newest soul on the block: Ginger Bay (1909 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, 954-923-1230), an upscale pan-Caribbean joint owned by Jimmy Banks and his chef-wife, Sharon Banks. The menu includes some expected dishes, such…
The phrase “90 miles” needs no explanation in Miami. Anyone from Elian Gonzalez, the Cuban boat/poster boy, to Toni Takarada, the infamous restaurateur who was recently fined thousands of dollars for discrimination against an African-American diner, knows what it means. But if you toss around those words in any other…
Drop into Michael’s Kitchen (433 E. Sheridan St., Dania Beach, 954-926-5556), and there’s no doubt who wears the apron in the restaurant — chef-proprietor Michael Blum. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Blum has shunned the high-profile kitchens of other chefs in order to make his own name,…
So despite the hype and fuss, Y2K came and went, and basically it was glitch-free. The only trouble I noticed was a brief power outage in my neighborhood that kept the traffic lights from functioning on New Year’s Day. Bet those survivalists camping in bunkers feel pretty stupid right now…
