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We're Go For Expansion: The Palm Beach city council gave Taboo permission yesterday to go ahead with its expansion plans. So we're looking at 36 outdoor seats, a new roof dining section and a second kitchen. The council waived the zoning requirement that would've forced the restaurant to add fourteen parking spaces and nixed any ideas of live entertainment in the patio for fear that it'll get too loud. [Palm Beach Daily News]

Wild Ginger Asian Bistro has been serving diners for a couple of weeks in CityPlace, but this Saturday the restaurant is celebrating its official grand opening with a family-friendly party from noon until 3 p.m. The food won't be free, but you will get karate demonstrations, face painting and a clown for the kiddies, hourly drawings for free giveaways, and a traditional dragon dance at 2 p.m.

The Original Pancake House is taking over the old RJ Gator's spot at 4364 Northlake Boulevard in Palm Beach Gardens and should be open sometime next month. The reason the company can afford to expand? They waited out the real estate boom. Steven Kamelhair, a managing partner of the company that owns nine of the twelve franchises in Florida, told the Palm Beach Post that the company didn't do much in terms of expansion in the past few years; now, the rents are coming back down considerably, so it's a good time to lock in a lease. Smart move.

Breakfast picks up where Gators left off: Original Pancake House to open in former R.J. Gators location [Palm Beach Post]

Photo: mamamusings/flickr

Expansion Plans: Other restaurants are suffering, but Taboo in Palm Beach is looking to expand: the restaurant's landlord is asking the city council to approve a 74-seat expansion, including an outdoor patio. According to the Palm Beach Daily News, the 68-year-old restaurant used to occupy a 10,000-square-foot space, so this expansion would bring it back to its original size. An owner of the restaurant admitted that this past season wasn't so great, but he thinks it's a "temporary dip." [Palm Beach Daily News]

• Elwood’s Dixie BBQ is closing. A blog post on the restaurant’s MySpace page says only “yes its true….elwood’s is sold 4-30-09’…..to be continued??????” and a local chowhound reports that the restaurant is no longer serving food. [MySpace via
Chowhound]

• The Legal Sea Foods in Sawgrass Mills is closed as of yesterday. The West Palm Beach location is already shuttered, so it looks like the only branch of the chain that’s left is the one in Boca Raton. [Chowhound]

• And while we’re on the subject of closings, we might as well mention the fact that the owner of Spoto’s Restaurant Group was sued by National City Bank for failure to make payments on two loans, one of which is a $1.5 million loan for Spoto's Oakwood Grill. The restaurant is doing a brisk business, but with that much debt, it might be difficult to stay afloat. [Palm Beach Post]

That's Not Salt: A diner at Sonny's Real Pit Bar-B-Q found something besides barbecue on his plate: hydrochloric acid. Which is so toxic that "it could have killed anyone who ingested more than a crumb." The powder came from the powder used for cleaning the deep fat fryer. This poor man ended up with second-degree burns on his tongue and throat. [WFLX]

The Royal Palm Ale House has come under fire from the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida for its game where diners can pay to use a mechanical claw to catch a lobster in a tank. Catch the lobster, and the chef cooks it for you. The Animal Rights Foundation claims its cruel and inhumane, while the machine's manufacturer says the claws are "extremely gentle" and don't cause limbs to be pulled off or anything awful like that. It looks like there might be a standoff on May 22 — the organization says it'll stage a two-hour protest that day if the machine isn't gone by then, and the owner has no intention of removing the machine.

This could actually be a really great deal for those who are particularly adept at those mechanical hand machine games at arcades. It's only $2 per 30-second attempt, so if you get it on your first try, that's a very inexpensive lobster.

Lobster game roils activists [Palm Beach Post]

Photo: mahalie/flickr

29/29/29: Here's another good dining deal on the island. Cafe L'Europe is celebrating its 29th anniversary by taking 29 percent off the (food) tab through May 29, except Saturdays and Mother's Day. [SUP]

Ritzy Deals: Palm Beach is jumping on the restaurant month bandwagon: the deals begin June 1. Three-course lunches will be $20.09, and dinners are $35. Eleven restaurants on the island are signed on so far. Among them: Cafe Boulud, Temple Orange, Cafe L'Europe and Coco Palm Beach. [Clean Plate Charlie]

Knishes and Corned Beef: Tune in to the Food Network tonight — Flakowitz Bake Shop will be featured on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. You'll get to see exactly how the restaurant makes its stuffed cabbage, potato knishes and pastrami and corned beef sandwiches. The show airs at 10 p.m. tonight. [Sun-Sentinel]

Some sad news in the local restaurant scene today: Serena Kaytmaz, who co-owned Cafe Centro and Le Pizza Allora in West Palm Beach with her husband, was killed in a horseback riding incident late last week. According to her husband, she was trotting on her horse when she slipped off and the horse's knee hit her chest. "It's a one in a billion not one in a million...It's a freak accident," he told WPTV.

Horse-riding accident kills WPB restaurant order [WPTV]

B.B. King's Blues Club just signed a deal to open in the old Legal Sea Foods spot in CityPlace, according to the Palm Beach Post. Not only will you get live music there — blues rock, soul and R&B — but you'll also find a restaurant serving Creole and Southern food. The club promises two venues, one of which is dedicated to acoustic music, and outdoor seating. Should be a while though — the restaurant isn't planning to start the hiring process until August.

Thrill is here: B.B. King club plans local site [Palm Beach Post]

Photo: Rebel Sights/flickr

Tickets are on sale now for the Legacy Place Food & Wine Experience, which will feature food from a number of Palm Beach Gardens restaurants like Entre Nous, Ironwood Grille, Leila Restaurant, Ouzo Blue, Petit Marmite, and The Capital Grille. In addition to food, there will of course be wine, music, and entertainment. And all proceeds go to the American Lung Association's Florida chapter — it's always fun when we're given a good excuse to eat and drink. The fun happens on Thursday, April 23 from 7 to 9 p.m.; tickets are $40 in advance or $50 at the gate.

Legacy Place Food & Wine Experience [Official Site]

L.L. Bean's granddaughter is trying to bring Maine lobster rolls to the rest of the country, and she's starting with Delray Beach. The first location of Linda Bean's Perfect Maine Lobster Roll outside of Maine will be opening on Atlantic Avenue in June. The restaurant started last year inside the L.L. Bean store in Freeport; this summer, the company is opening five more locations throughout Maine, and is looking at a few other locations in Florida: St. Augustine, St. Petersburg and Naples.

The Delray Beach spot will be a sit-down, upscale fast-food spot with a small, focused menu:: a lobster roll with a quarter-pound of lobster meat on a toasted bun, a shrimp roll, a salad topped with either lobster or shrimp, and hot dogs for those who aren't seafood-inclined. The drink menu will be Maine-centric: beer from Maine microbreweries, Maine wines and Maine Root sodas.

According to company spokeswoman Caryn Harris, they chose South Florida because of the snowbird factor, figuring lots of people down here would be familiar with lobster rolls. They also wanted a spot with lots of foot traffic, which shouldn't be hard to come by on Atlantic Avenue. Opening at the beginning of the low season wasn't the company's plan, said Harris, but they're hoping the locals will develop a taste for Maine lobster.

Check out MP: Boston's post about how Linda Bean wants to be the "Frank Purdue of lobster."

The steakhouse craze continues. The newest entry into the fray is Boca Dolce, an Argentinean-style steakhouse in West Boca. All of the usual suspects are there in the beef section of the menu: lomo, bife de chorizo, vacio and entraña. Other options include lamb, veal, salmon and chicken, and, of course, mollejas (sweetbreads), chorizo and morcilla. Veggies? Well, there are potatoes, mushrooms, and a nod to greens with some lettuce and asparagus, but they clearly seem like an afterthought.

As steakhouse-saturated as we are down here, West Boca actually doesn't have too many good options in that category (Roadhouse Grill, anyone?), so this could fill a nice little niche in the neighborhood.

Meat Cravings Satisfied at Boca Dolce Steakhouse [Short Order]

Elevation Burger, the Virginia-based chain that prides itself on making burgers with organic grass-fed beef and other environmentally-friendly ingredients, is coming to South Florida this year. The company has signed a franchise agreement with two entrepreneurs who plan to open at least three units in Broward and Palm Beach Counties.

The menu is concise: there are beef or vegetarian patties, which you can even mix together in a double stack burger. Sides are fries (fried in olive oil), salads, mandarin oranges and cookies. Add a shake or malt and that sounds like a good meal.

Elevation Burger to enter South Fla. [Fast Casual]

The Maritime Museum is pushing for a restaurant on undeveloped Peanut Island, eight years after the last proposal was voted down by coastal towns fearing increased traffic and parking headaches.

Peanut Island, which was created by the sediment dug out to make the Port of Palm Beach, is popular with boaters and has a much-used campground. The Maritime Museum, also on the island, would like to add a restaurant to give boaters a spot for some food and drink. A private company made a similar proposal in 2001 — for a 4,000-square foot restaurant — and promised to give a portion of the earnings to the museum. There's also some concern that one restaurant will lead to more development on the island and completely change Peanut Island.

Unless the museum plans to bring in a great chef and make the island a dining destination, it's probably not going to attract extra people to Peanut Island, which is already very crowded as is. So we can't imagine a small museum restaurant would cause an increase in traffic in coastal towns, and it might be a good way for the museum to make some extra money by feeding the people who are already there.

What do you think? Have you been to Peanut Island, and would a restaurant there be helpful?

Peanut Island restaurant plan revives debate over development [Sun-Sentinel]
Palm Beach County considers restaurant on Peanut Island [Palm Beach Post]

Foodies are in luck this weekend, what with the plethora of food festivals going on around here. Here are the details on food events for Saturday and Sunday:

Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show
The South Florida Fairground's Americraft Expo Center hosts the first-ever Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show in West Palm Beach, with cooking demonstrations, workshops, food samples and celebrity appearances. Bobby Flay, Paula Deen and the Neelys will be around to sign cookbooks, entertain the crowds, etc. The event runs Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., respectively. Tickets are $20/$10 adults/children in advance and $25/$12 on site, but if you want to see the big celebrities, you'll have to pay $80 ($30 for kids) for that ticket.

Taste of MiMo
This Miami Modern food festival is back this Saturday. From noon to 5 p.m., walk up and down Biscayne Boulevard between 67th and 78th Streets for food samples from 11 different restaurants, like Che Sopranos Pizza & Pasta, Moshi Moshi, Moonchine Asian Bistro and Red Light, among others. The event is free, but the food samples will cost between $2 and $5 each.

Deering Seafood Festival
Head over to the Deering Estate on Sunday for lots of local seafood: lobster, blue crabs, crawfish, conch, shrimp and dolphin. Chefs from Ortanique on the Mile, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, Bizcaya Grill and 3030 Ocean will be on hand for cooking demonstrations and to offer samples of seafood dishes. And when you're done eating, there's a rock climbing wall and a pontoon boat tour. (Come to think of it, those activities are probably best done before lunch.) Entrance to the festival is $15 for adults and $5 for kids ages 4-14, although keep in mind that it doesn't include food, drink, pontoon boat or rock climbing wall. All that will cost you extra.

Backstage secrets of the cooking show celebs [Palm Beach Post]
Metropolitan Cooking & Entertaining Show [Official Site]
A Taste of Mimo [Official Site]
Deering Seafood Festival [Official Site]

The owner of the old 251 Sunrise in Palm Beach is returning to the exact same spot with a new lounge called 251 Palm Beach. It opens tonight with a VIP reception at 9 p.m.; if you're not on the VIP list, you can head over after 11 p.m. For now, it's just a lounge, but owner Gus Renny, who also co-owns Grease Burger Bar in West Palm Beach, expects to add a restaurant in another few weeks, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Renny points out that there's a need on Palm Beach for a swanky place to go. The problem? All of these trendy people are about to fly away home to their summer retreats.

"Is this really the right time, especially on the island that is so seasonal?" asks bartender J.P. Bowles. "You're not really going to have a summer crowd, but we're confident it's the right time, even though it's not the right time."

251 Sunrise lounge transforms into 251 PB, aims for trendy, chic crowd [Palm Beach Post]
New lounge opening in tough times [WPTV]

Florida Table magazine and the Delray Downtown Marketing Cooperative are joining forces for Savor the Avenue, an event that will feature 13 restaurants along Atlantic Avenue tomorrow evening. Each restaurant will be offering a four-course prix fixe meal — prices and menus vary by restaurant — and serve diners in a row of tables set up in the middle of Atlantic Avenue. Want to be a part of it? Just make a reservation at one of the participating restaurants, like Boston's on the Beach, Caffe Luna Rosa, or City Oyster. For a full list of restaurants and a pdf of the prix fixe menus, check out Florida Table's event site.

Table Talk: 13 Delray restaurants serve up 'one loooooooong table' [Palm Beach Post]
Savor the Avenue [Florida Table]

After 58 years, the The Olde Lighthouse Restaurant in Jupiter has shut its doors. According to the Palm Beach Post, the restaurant's last day was Saturday. It's tough when a bad economy counts a piece of history among its victims.

Jupiter's landmark Olde Lighthouse Restaurant shuts its doors [Palm Beach Post]

Patricia Gatti, co-owner of 264 The Grill, won't be charged for attempting to influence an employee's vote in the presidential election. Gatti allegedly threatened to fire all of the restaurant's black employees if Obama won. Turns out that the evidence didn't support beyond a reasonable doubt that she corruptly influenced voting.

So, basically, Gatti threatened to fire employees over something they had little to no control over — a handful of votes would not have changed the results of the election. And she apparently wrote "KKK" on at least one employee's timecard. Isn't this less about influencing voting and more about harassment, and don't the employees have a real case there? And the crazy thing is that the restaurant's co-owner is black. How that business partnership came to be is a mystery.

Election influence charges dropped against Palm Beach restaurateur [Palm Beach Daily News]
264 The Grill [MenuPages]

TooJay's chocolate cake coupon [Official Site]
Coupon for free chocolate cake slice at Toojay's [Sun-Sentinel]
TooJay's [Official Site]

SouthFloridaDines.com, the source for half-off dining coupons for restaurants in Broward and Palm Beach counties, is offering a half-off sale on its remaining inventory of certificates today only. So, for example, you would like a certificate for Mythos Greek Taverna. Normally, you'd pay $10 for a $20 dining certificate. Today, however, you'll pay just $5. Sounds like a pretty good deal. Just enter the word "SALE" in the promotional code box at checkout. You've got until midnight to place your order.

South Florida Dines [Official Site]
Mythos Greek Taverna [MenuPages]
Mythos Greek Taverna [Official Site]

New Times is asking readers to vote for its Best of Broward and Palm Beach issue, and this year, the magazine promises to count your votes. In the food categories, vote for your favorite bar, restaurant, hamburger and pizza. Vote here!

"Best of" Readers' Poll [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

The Madoff scandal is beginning to hit us where it really hurts: ice cream. Sloan Kamenstein, owner of the four ice cream parlors in Palm Beach county, is on the list of Madoff investors — as are his sister and parents. Here's hoping the ice cream parlors stick around.

Sloan's Ice Cream owner on the Madoff list [Palm Beach Post]
Sloan's [Official Site]

Photo: miami fever/flickr

The Jupiter town council is making an effort to fashion the town's waterfront into a Key West-style area of restaurants, stores and public boat docks called Jupiter Inlet Village. Seems that it's been at least fairly successful, as now residents are complaining about the noise coming from Guanabanas and Square Grouper. Who knew that becoming more like Key West would lead to lots of noise?

Jupiter Inlet Village: relaxed nightlife or noisy nuisance? Depends on who you ask [Palm Beach Post]
Guanabanas [MenuPages]
Square Grouper [MenuPages]
Square Grouper [Official Site]

Here's an unorthodox Valentine's Day idea: head to the Delray Beach Garlic Festival, which starts today and runs through Sunday. Just make sure to bring the breath mints. Check out the list of foods available on "Gourmet Alley:" blackened garlic mahi mahi, flaming garlic shrimp scampi, garlic curry chicken kebabs, garlic roast pork sandwich, roasted garlic pizza, roasted garlic bruschetta, and many more creations featuring the stinking rose.

There's also music, a children's education area, and Garlic Chef Stadium, where chefs will demonstrate garlic recipes and compete in a two-day garlic cook-off.

Delray Beach Garlic Festival [Official Site]

Photo: Iburiedpaul/flickr

If you're willing to eat a bit later than your fellow Palm Beach residents, you can save a bit of cash at Taboo: make a reservation for a seating between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. and get 25 percent off the food portion of the bill with this coupon. It's good until the end of the month, so start making those reservations. The promotion is valid on Valentine's Day, and there's still limited availability at 9:30 p.m. for dinner that night.

Taboo [MenuPages]
Taboo [Official Site]

Here's a little reminder of exactly how crazy this state we live in is:

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — Authorities in South Florida say a man was arrested after calling 911 to complain that a fast food restaurant had run out of lemonade.

Boynton Beach police say Jean Fortune, 66, has been charged with abuse of 911 communication.

Police say Fortune called the emergency telephone number and told authorities that a Burger King in Boynton Beach did not have any lemonade.

No Lemonade Caused Florida Man To Dial 911 [WPBF.com]

Is the economic downturn really affecting the local service sector so much? The shuttered restaurant doors everywhere seem to indicate yes. But this article takes a more upbeat (or, really, less bleak) view of the situation:

In regard to the service sector, the slowdown in consumer spending hasn't really hit the local restaurants as hard as you would think, said Ryan Bialek, assistant manager of a Rotelli's in Boynton Beach.

"Things have slowed the past year, but not as much as you would expect," said Bialek.

"Volume really hasn't fallen much; it's more in the check size. People are still coming out to eat, but they're just not spending as much.

The consensus seems to be that the local public is still enjoying their weekend, it's the weekdays that have slowed down noticeably, said Matt Caso, a bartender at Bar Louie in Boynton Beach.

"The weekends are still my moneymaker, people are still coming out and having a good time," said Caso.

"During the week, there is less casual drinking, so we rely on dinner checks more and those have been less in number and in size over the past few months."

Feature: The Economic Recession And The Local South Florida Economy [All Headline News]
Rotelli's [Official Site]
Bar Louie [MenuPages]
Bar Louie [Official Site]

Have you tried calling the Rosa Mexicano location in Palm Beach Gardens lately? You get this message:

You have reached Rosa Mexicano Restaurant. We are closed. As of New Year's, Rosa Mexicano has closed. We thank all of our guests and wish you all a happy and healthy new year.

Both Spoto's locations ranked among the top 50 restaurants in the Zagat Palm Beach Restaurants 2008 guide. Spoto moved employees from the West Palm Beach location to his Spoto's Oyster Bar and Oakwood Grill on PGA.

"We tried to hold on as long as we could," Spoto said. "The lunches were still fine, but for whatever reason, we just weren't getting the dinner business."

Rosa Mexicano, Spoto's Oyster Bar close their doors [Palm Beach Post]
Rosa Mexicano [MenuPages]
Rosa Mexicano [Official Site]
Spoto's Oyster Bar [MenuPages]
Spoto's Oyster Bar [Official Site]

Morimoto is, apparently, too cool for the press. Someone from The New Times called to make a reservation, but was told that no reviews were necessary.

Last week we made a call down to the resort to see if we could snag a table at the month-old sushi bar and restaurant, Morimoto. Normally, one would have to be either a member of the Boca Resort or a guest of the hotel to dine there. But we were hoping with a drop of a business card here and a wink of the eye there we'd be able to leverage our supreme press status into a couple seats at the bar. Turns out that we're not so special. A representative of the resort informed us that Morimoto doesn't need to be reviewed, nor should it be, because it's essentially not open to the public.

Zed 451, a sort-of steakhouse with locations in Chicago, Orlando and Boston, has opened up a fourth spot in Boca Raton's Mizner Park. There's no set menu (which means, alas, that it cannot be listed on MenuPages); instead, you help yourself from the "harvest table," which has soups, salads, veggies, cheese, charcuterie and bread. The proteins — steaks, ribs, seafood, poultry, game — are brought to you tableside. Basically, it's similar to rodizio, but without the Brazilian bent and with more seafood options. Here's what one chowhound had to say about the experience:

as we sat we were directed to the 'harvest tables' which are filled with fresh breads, charcuterie, an assortment of cheese, grilled vegetables, and a number of beautifully presented sides. i sampled the grilled mushrooms, asparagus, squash, tomato and mozzarella, focaccia, roasted beets, tomatillos and perhaps a few others i can't recall. everything was perfectly fresh and well seasoned. upon returning to the table our 'sides' were presented; a moist and flavorful corn bread, tender sauteed spaghetti squash and rich goat cheese scalloped potatoes. now the real food begins to arrive, delivered by 'chefs' . . . top sirloin, moroccan chicken, mahi mahi, seared tuna, grilled wahoo and salmon along with various other items. everything was perfectly cooked and simply seasoned. prices will be about $55 for the full experience plus drinks and dessert, around $35 for the 'harvest tables' only plus drinks etc.

Zed 451 [Official Site]

There's been some confusion, mostly on my part, about the opening date of Morimoto at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. There were tales of food at Chowhound, but everything else (including phone calls to the club) pointed to a January opening date. Today, however, someone at the restaurant informed me that it has been open for the past 10 days for lunch and dinner. The menu is on its way.

In the meantime, here's what themaddiner had to say about it:

it's a beautiful small space with a long marble bar where you can get up close and personal with the friendly sushi chefs and be hypnotized by the videos shown on the array of flat screens behind the bar. an extensive and expensive menu of traditional sushi / sashimi along with a wide assortment of innovative offerings. morimoto offers his own line of sake and beer to pair with your selections. our server was well out of her depth and lacked knowledge of the menu and available sake selections. each seat at the bar was ready for service with the appropriate dishes and chopsticks . . . but of course not where i chose to sit . . . and i had to ask the server to bring chopsticks etc. when our food arrived. i took the opportunity to watch our chef prepare our items and discuss the freshness of the seafood selections. they have items rare for south florida; all grades of tuna > otoro, maguro, chutoro along with suzuki, tai, kinmedai etc. i enjoyed a beautifully displayed appetizer of otoro, sake, kani, hamachi, and aji, a kanpachi carpaccio served with hot ginger infused oil along with kinmedai, aji and far too much junmai daiginjo sake

Morimoto at Boca Resort Hotel [Chowhound]
Boca Raton Resort & Club [Official Site]
Chef Masaharu Morimoto [Official Site]

Photo: panduh/flickr

Is anyone else feeling like it's a delivery night tonight? On some nights, cooking feels like so much work. The delivery options in West Palm Beach are very pizza-heavy, but there are a few other spots that'll deliver. Here are a few options:

• Chopsticks offers all of the standard American Chinese favorites and the delivery is fast. The spring rolls come recommended.

• I had to include one pizza option, so here it is. De Napoli also offers free delivery and some reasonably priced New York-style pizza. Try the artichoke pizza for more traditional toppings, or go with the Hawaiian if you're into the whole ham-and-pineapple thing.

• Up for something a bit more spicy? C J's Caribbean Restaurant offers roti with chicken, shrimp, fish, conch, oxtail, duck and goat, all for $7-10 each.

Chopsticks [MenuPages]
De Napoli [MenuPages]
De Napoli [Official Site]
C J's Caribbean Restaurant [MenuPages]

After a three-year battle, the legal issues between the New York City Police Department and the Florida-based NYPD Pizzeria chain are over. The restaurant can keep the name, but the logo has to be redesigned so that it doesn't resemble a police uniform's patch, and the company cannot open any restaurants in the New York tristate area.

The three NYPD restaurants in South Florida (Boynton Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, and Royal Palm Beach) don't appear to be affiliated with the restaurant chain, despite the shared name. Perhaps they're too small to register on the NYPD's radar. Or maybe they're up next. Might want to purge any police-related decor stat.

Florida-based NYPD pizza chain can keep its name [The Guardian]
NYPD Pizzeria [Official Site]
NYPD (Boynton Beach) [MenuPages]
NYPD (Palm Beach Gardens) [MenuPages]
NYPD Pizza III (Royal Palm Beach) [MenuPages]

Looks like Boca Raton is having a bit of difficulty defining a "restaurant" and a "nightclub:"

The difference between a nightclub and a restaurant may seem obvious. But in Boca Raton, it gets complicated.

Months ago, police wanted to stem a string of shootings that involved clubgoers. They set out to write tougher restrictions on clubs, from requiring security guards to controlling the sale of alcohol. Central to that effort is what defines a nightclub — and therein lies the problem.

Those who run eateries and dance halls, and those who attend them, are calling the city's ordinance too much of a broad-brush attempt to crack down on crime. They say it could cost these businesses money and spoil their atmosphere. City officials, meanwhile, are revising the proposal based on feedback from restaurants.

"It's not like fights break out," said Judy Miller, 65, who dances at the Pavilion Grille every week. "Maybe over handicap parking spots."

The restaurant in the atrium of a bank building on Yamato Road attracts an older crowd of more than 100 dancers most nights of the week. Being called a nightclub would go against its license as a restaurant and what's allowed in the bank building, said manager Kevin Bingham.

"It would be detrimental," he said. "It would change the entire scope of the business."

After posting the Review Digest, I went back and read Charles Passy's article about Flavor Palm Beach more closely. He mentions Forte Di Asprinio's awesome wine flight that can accompany the Flavor menu:

Drink options: Forte has taken the Flavor concept to the next level with its addition of a wine pairing for a modest $20. In our case, that meant we got to sample five unusual wines, from a sparkler from New Mexico to an after-dinner sweet wine from Greece, all accompanied by thoughtful commentary from the extraordinarily knowledgeable sommelier.

Savor the Flavor at a slice of the price [Palm Beach Post]
Flavor Palm Beach [Official Site]
Forte Di Asprinio [MenuPages]
Forte Di Asprinio [Official Site]

Just noticed something funny while updating the menu for Morgan's Country Kitchen:

Sharing Charge $4.00....Whining Charge $5.00

Morgan's Country Kitchen [MenuPages]

Chocolate chocolate chocolate. That's the theme this month at Rosa Mexicano, which is offering a special chocolate menu additions until October 5. Here's what's cooking this month:

• Empanaditas de mole (appetizer): mini chicken empanadas with mole
• Camarones empapelado con salsa del diablo (appetizer): baked shrimp with fall veggies in a chocolate sauce
• Ensalada de hojas verdes (appetizer): mixed greens with kohlrabi, apples and almonds and a vanilla, chocolate and orange dressing
• Filete con salsa de chocolate y vino tinto (entree): beef filet sauteed with porcinis, chocolate and cabernet sauvignon
• Guisado de pato (entree): roasted duck breast with an achiote chocolate sauce
• Estallido del sol chocolate (dessert): chocolate hazelnut bombe over a chocolate sunburst cookie on a warm chocolate chipotle brownie

You can go all out and order the special chocolate tasting menu for $65, which comes with the shrimp and salad appetizers, a choice of one of the entrees, and the dessert. Or order a la carte. And if you want to learn how to make some of this stuff, check out the chocolate cooking class on Saturday, September 20 at 10 a.m. in the Miami location. Reservations for the class are required, so e-mail comments@rosamexicano.com to request a spot.

6th Annual Chocolate Festival [Official Site]
Rosa Mexicano (Palm Beach Gardens) [MenuPages]
Rosa Mexicano (Miami) [MenuPages]
Rosa Mexicano [Official Site]

A new cooking school is coming to Abacoa Town Center in Jupiter this November. John Carlino, the chairman of culinary education at the Florida Culinary Institute, is opening Cooks Inc: Culinary Solutions Center, which will be geared towards non-professionals.

It's going to be a gourmet store and training facility, Carlino said. The center component is a large square where I'll be doing training, and having wine and food sampling, and cooking demonstrations.

The center is being filled with state-of-the-art cooking equipment. Instead of an overhead mirror, overhead cameras and large screens will provide a view of preparations by Carlino and guest chefs. Carlino said he also will provide continuing education classes to professional chefs.

Carlino, who also owns three restaurants in Connecticut, will stock restaurant-quality gourmet meals as grab-and-go dishes, gourmet groceries and fresh, local produce in the market.

Shelley Owens: Chef Carlino plans culinary solutions through Abacoa store and classes [TCPalm]
Florida Culinary Institute [Official Site]
Cooks Inc: Culinary Solutions Center [Official Site]

Palm Beach County will now be hosting its own restaurant month in September called
Flavor Palm Beach. You know the routine: an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert for one low fixed price: $20 for lunch and $30 for dinner. The list of participating restaurants won't be released until August 15, but in the meantime, you can get on the mailing list and register to win a Flavor meal for two.

Flavor Palm Beach [Official Site]

There are two things that I love to do — eat and sing. Give me a way to put those two together and I'm in heaven — which is why I'm a karaoke junkie. Am I a good singer? I've been told "NO," but singing karaoke fulfills my need to be on stage performing in front of a live audience, whether they like it or not. If you're like me and want to enjoy some good food in between belting out power ballads, then head to one of your local eateries for "Karaoke Night." Here are a few ideas for every night of the week:

Mondays: Neighborhood Sports Grill, from 8:55 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Tuesdays: Bru's Room Sports Grill from 8:55 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Wednesdays: Quarterdeck Seafood Bar from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Thursdays: Duffy's Sports Grill from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Fridays: Upper Deck Ale & Sports Grill from 9 p.m. to midnight
Saturdays: Landlubber's Raw Bar & Grill starting at 8 p.m.
Sundays: The Coffee Scene (15955 Pines Blvd in Pembroke Pines, (954) 441-2364) from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Always call the night of to confirm. Fill your bellies and sing your hearts out!

Photo: Suzanne Gaudet Benefit

Deborah Hartz-Seeley over at the Sun-Sentinel's food blog Chew on This let us know about an interesting deal at Coal Mine Pizza in Boca Raton: spend $25 or more per table and get a free gallon of gas. Or rather, a reimbursement in the amount of the day's average cost of a regular gallon of gas. The program continues until the end of August. It's an interesting idea, and one that might actually bring in crowds during the slow summer months.

Will eat pizza for gas/ Coal Mine Pizza pay you for a gallon of gas [Chew on This]
Coal Mine Pizza [Official Site]

We love the name. We're a bit...ambivalent...towards anchovies, but it wasn't long ago that we were in the vehement "no anchovies!" camp. The restaurant isn't new to northern Palm Beach County residents, but it's just re-opened in its new spot on Alt A1A in Lake Park. No seats here; it's strictly take-out. They pack enough food for two, unless you specify for more, and come with detailed cooking instructions. The menu is filled with Italian-American standards; the best options, we think, are the baked pastas (ziti, stuffed shells and lasagna) and dishes like chicken or eggplant parmesan would likely hold up well to reheating. We also like the idea of "take & bake" pizzas, which are prepared on-site and cooked at home. Pizza is always best right out of the oven anyway. And you can even get anchovies on it!

No Anchovies! To Go, 9339 Alt A1A in Lake Park, 561-840-7771

We've got two openings of note today. First, the much-anticipated Philippe is now serving food at the new South Beach hotel Gansevoort South. It's fitting that the southern outpost of this posh Manhattan hotel would also feature a New York restaurant. The menu will most likely very closely resemble that of the original restaurant in New York, which specializes in peking duck.

The Capital Grille also opens today in Palm Beach Gardens. The steakhouse chain already has locations in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, so with this new opening, it's saturated the South Florida market.

Menus for both restaurants should be online tomorrow.

Philippe, 2305 Collins Ave in Miami Beach, 305-674-0250
The Capital Grille, 11365 Legacy Ave in Palm Beach Gardens, 561-630-4994

Gansevoort South [Official Site]
Philippe Chow [Official Site]
The Capital Grille [Official Site]

The last remaining Mark's is gone:

Mark's at the Park in Boca Raton's Mizner Park unexpectedly closed its doors Thursday, the last of four restaurants led by award-winning chef Mark Militello to shutter in the past two months.

The much-heralded South Florida chain has disappeared quietly. Both Militello and the restaurant's owner, Michael Freundlich, are mum on the reason for the closings.

Freundlich, managing partner of the Mark's restaurant group, on Monday referred calls to Militello, who in turn, directed questions to Freundlich's corporate offices in Boca Raton.

"Mark was the operator. He was responsible," Freundlich said.

Militello's response: "They made all the decisions."

Mark's Restaurant no longer at park [Palm Beach Post]
Afternoon Roundup: Mark's South Beach Closing Tonight [MP: South Florida]
Closed: Mark's Las Olas [MP: South Florida]
Mark's Mizner Park [MenuPages]

Things are not looking good for the West Palm Beach-based Roadhouse Grill. Yesterday the company got court approval to liquidate its assets, which mainly include the leases of its 20 remaining restaurants.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paul Hyman granted a motion by Roadhouse to use liquidation provisions of Chapter 7 of the federal bankruptcy law, according to court papers filed Wednesday.

"There remains no ability for the debtor to continue operations as the debtor's only asset was the remaining 20 leased stores," Roadhouse said.

The company said it failed to cure defaults on the leases by May 9 in accordance with a May 5 court order allowing it to assume the leases. Roadhouse said a $1.3 million loan from MCF Development LLC didn't come in time to make the payments.

Roadhouse and RHG Acquisition Corp., owner of 85.5 percent of Roadhouse Grill shares, filed for court protection for the second time on Oct. 7. It listed assets and debt of less than $100 million in a Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in West Palm Beach.

Roadhouse Grill gets court OK to liquidate [Bloomberg News via Palm Beach Post]
Roadhouse Grill [Official Site]

Photo: edublogger/flickr

It's Cinco de Mayo. We hear it's not a huge holiday in Mexico, but on this side of the border, you're pretty much obligated to consume Mexican fare and drink as much beer as possible on this day. It's a Monday this year, so it's probably best to not overdo it on the beer front, since the office is not the best place to nurse a hangover. Here, we offer a few good places to get your fill of Mexican food tonight:

• Don Burrito in Kendall serves up some great taquitos and fajitas, and tonight they've got mariachis after 8:30 p.m. and a special on the Coronas: six for $15.

• Rosa Mexicano in Palm Beach Gardens is doing a special Cinco de Mayo menu that will have eight choices of appetizers, 10 entrees and a handful of desserts, all a la carte. The regular margaritas will be available, but tonight you can get them prepared tableside, just like the guacamole.

• The party starts at 5 p.m. at Cantina Laredo in Plantation. There will be a tent, a deejay, lots of food and plenty of drinks: $7 margaritas and $2 beers.

• Cheen Huaye is also hosting a party outside with a mariachi band after 8 p.m. and plenty of beer. They're also featuring a special menu with tuna shrimp ceviche, homemade chicken tamales and carne asada, among other things.

Photo, of the pomegranate margarita at Rosa Mexicano: yummyinthetummyblog [Flickr]

That lunchtime burger just seems like it tastes better when delivered in a brightly painted fuel-efficient little car, don't you think? The cars in the photo are the ScootCoupes — little two-seaters that top out at 35 mph and get 80 mpg — owned by Roxy's Pub in West Palm Beach. The restaurant uses them for local deliveries, according to this Sun-Sentinel article. We find them absolutely adorable.

South Floridians seek cheap wheels as gas prices soar [Sun-Sentinel]
ScootCoupe [Official Site]
Roxy's Pub [MenuPages]
Roxy's Pub [Official Site]

Photo: Scott Fisher for the Sun-Sentinel

The Hungry Man informs us that the CityPlace location of the famed Columbia Restaurant is closing its doors. In fact, it's already been deleted from the company's official website; the West Palm Beach location is no longer listed on top. Here's what Charles Passy had to say about it:

I can’t say I’m surprised. Or disappointed.

I made it only once to the West Palm Columbia. I loved the airy space — and I loved the wine list (probably the deepest collection of Spanish wines in all of the Southeast, if not all of the United States) — but the food was no great shakes. A Spanish restaurant lives and dies by its paella. Columbia’s version was middling at best. In fact, it wasn’t as good as the paella I’ve had at Cabana, the hip Cuban eatery in downtown West Palm.

Moreover, I’m not so certain that Columbia’s other locations are worth the hype. I haven’t been to the Tampa original, but I did visit a Columbia in Clearwater once. The food was so bad I ended up writing management a letter of complaint. Methinks there’s been a fair bit of coasting-on-the-legend going on…

Another CityPlace casualty: Columbia crashes [The Hungry Man]
Columbia [MenuPages]
Columbia [Official Site]

The former owner of the Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurants in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Lake Worth pleaded guilty on Friday to stealing $177,390 in sales taxes, according to the Sun-Sentinel:

Paul Darrow, 52, must perform 480 hours of community service and spend the next 20 years on probation, according to court records. He also must repay $177,390.

Darrow owned three Cheeburger Cheeburger restaurants — in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Lake Worth — when in 2006 authorities charged him with failing to file tax returns and pay taxes. The Florida Department of Revenue said that between 2003 and 2005 Darrow failed to send the state all of the sales tax he had collected.

Former restaurant owner owes state $177,000 [Sun-Sentinel]
Cheeburger Cheeburger [MenuPages]
Cheeburger Cheeburger [Official Site]

Photo: dgphilli [Flickr]

Slainte Irish Pub opened in Boynton Beach just in time for St. Patrick's Day. They've been partying all weekend with music, Irish dancing and tons of bangers and mash, corned beef sandwiches and fish and chips, but you can still catch the tail end of the festivities today.

Slainte [MenuPages]
Slainte [Official Site]

Who doesn't love free pizza? Even bad pizza is still pizza, which is inherently awesome. We've never tried the pizza at Grotto in Palm Beach, but it does have something going for it: it's free during happy hour. The chef makes thin-crust pizzas with different toppings, and the slices are then handed out to those enjoying the drink specials: $2.50 draught beer (Moretti and Peroni), $5 house wines (a cabernet, a chianti, a pinot grigio and a chardonnay), and half-priced well drinks. And this happens every day between 3 and 7 p.m.

Grotto [MenuPages]
Grotto [Official Site]

Photo: Grotto Restaurants

We just stumbled upon this photo of the coconut creme brulee at Dolores, but you can call me Lolita, and we were reminded of just how much we adore creme brulee and its Spanish cousin crema catalana. Most of the creme brulees at restaurants are pretty standard versions, but we looked around and found a few interesting takes on it:

• Max's Grille in Palm Beach Gardens serves a mixed berry creme brulee in pie form. We're not quite sure how that works.

• At Prime One Twelve in Miami Beach, the Tahitian vanilla creme brulee comes with a stack of peppermint brownies.

• Talula in Miami Beach serves a sweet potato creme brulee with burnt marshmallows.

• And if dessert isn't quite your thing, Le Bistro serves a dinner entree of sea bass creme brulee that's caramelized on top with champagne cream underneath.

Dolores, but you can call me Lolita [MenuPages]
Max's Grille [MenuPages]
Prime One Twelve [MenuPages]
Talula [MenuPages]
Le Bistro [MenuPages]

Photo: Flickr

We just got our first review for Forte Di Asprinio, the much-anticipated restaurant from Top Chef Season 1 cheftestant Stephen Asprinio:

I have just tried Forte Di Asperinio on Clematis Street. I was hoping for something really great. While the concept is there (sort of) the vibe is very lacking. The stark white combined with cool purple and pink tones is simply not comfortable or hunger inducing. I found it hard to "indulge my senses" with the uptight vibe coming from the obviously stressed out (and over dressed) staff. This restaurant was clearly thought out in exact detail. I think the problem is with the (immature) perspective. The owner is obviously very young, stark and uptight himself. His presence made me uncomfortable. The food was pretty tasty. However, I would have enjoyed it more if the dining room wasn't so uncomfortable. The tables are too close together and the service is too in your face. This place needs to soften up and relax. Maybe then the food could stand out.

Forte Di Asprinio [MenuPages]
Forte Di Asprinio [Official Site]

If you have a valid voter registration card, Hurricane Grill & Wings has some free wings for you. Five free wings, in fact. The restaurant's Florida locations are serving registered voters a free appetizer portion of wings in support of re-holding the Democratic presidential primary in this state.

"We just want to do our part to show our fellow Floridians that their vote counts with us," Lori Cuonze, a spokesperson for the company, told the Jacksonville Business Journal. Which is a noble idea, really, but ... this isn't the general election, right? If the Democratic Party wants to re-hold the Florida primary, that's the party's prerogative; there is, unfortunately, no inalienable right to vote for a party's nominee. The whole idea behind this promotion strikes us as odd.

Anyway, hooray for free wings!

Hurricane Grill offers free wings to voters [Jacksonville Business Journal]
Hurricane Grill & Wings [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

It is scary out there. One minute you're heading back into Wendy's because the kid's meal you got for your four-year-old is missing, and the next minute you get a bullet to the head. That's what happened to the firefighter who took a lunch break at a Wendy's in West Palm Beach with his wife and son at the most inopportune moment:

Sandra Jackson of Palm Springs was filling her tank at the Cumberland Farms gas station across the street when the frantic customers began running out of the restaurant. Jackson said a woman rushed out with her young son, screaming that her husband, a firefighter, was still inside.

"I said 'what happened? what happened, its going to be ok,'" she said.

"She said, 'No there is a guy in Wendy's shooting and my husband hasn't come out.'"

The victim's wife works for the Palm Springs Police Department. She was hired in 2000 as a dispatcher for Palm Springs Police. In 2005, she became a corporal and now runs the midnight shift. She was uninjured. She had just stepped outside to put their 4-year-old son in the car. Apparently she was at the front door. After hearing gunshots, she took cover behind another car farther from the shooting. The couple has a number of children.

Two killed in shooting at Wendy's near West Palm Beach [Palm Beach Post]

The long-awaited restaurant from former Top Chef contestant Stephen Asprinio finally opened this past Saturday in Palm Beach. Forte Di Asprinio offers

We just got a copy of the menu -- it's extensive. There are two lunch menus, a "pronto" and a "prezzo fisso." The former has more options and is $15; you choose one antipasti, an entree (from paninis, salads and pizzas) and a dessert, and they're served all at once. The "prezzo fisso" is $25 and includes three courses, which are served one after the other. No sandwiches or pizza on this menu.

On to dinner. There's an a la carte menu as well as a "menu degustazione" for $65 or $95 with wine. Here's the "menu degustazione:"

• Kona kampachi with sunchokes, oregano-caper salsa verde, and pear
• Quail saltimboca "Lyonnaise" with pomegranate, guanciale croutons, and sage leaf
• Risotto al Chianti, with black truffle, porcini, and parmiggiano espuma
• Berkshire pork duet with almonds, golden beets, and borlotti beans
• Cioccolato: Amedai Tuscan torta, banana-dulce de leche gelato, and malt foam

But wait! There's more! The menu continues with an after hours selection of mussels, fish and chips, sliders, pizzettes, pork belly frites (!!!!), fries, popcorn and sweets to accompany your cocktails. We'll have the whole menu online tomorrow morning.

Forte Di Asprinio [Official Site]
Stephen Asprinio [Official Site]

In case you didn't drink enough at last weekend's South Beach Wine & Food Festival, there are two more wine events this weekend. Ready?

• The Boca Bacchanal begins today and continues until Sunday. It's like the South Beach festival but without the celebrities: wine seminars, a grand tasting, vintner dinners and a cooking demonstration. And like the other more well-known festival, these tickets won't come cheap; the grand tasting is $85 at the door, the cooking demonstration is $125, and everything else starts at $250.

• The second annual Dan Marino Weston Wine and Food Festival is a much smaller event. It's only on Sunday, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., and while they'll take your money ($40 general admission/$50 at the door/$1,000 for VIP access), at least it's going to a good cause; 100 percent of the proceeds go directly to the Dan Marino Foundation.

Photo: Flickr

We were in the process of updating Who's Restaurant & Lounge when we came across the restaurant's MySpace page. Here's the message that greeted us:

Who’s is Closed Due To CHEAP and NON LOYAL people

Who's Lounge [MySpace]
Who's Restaurant & Lounge [MenuPages]
Who's Restaurant & Lounge [Official Site]

L'Anjou in Lake Worth offers a $20 dinner every day of the week during the season, but you've only got a 45-minute window to get it. Show up between 5 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. and make sure to bring cash; no cards are accepted for the early dinner. Here are your options (choose one for each course):

First Course
• soupe du jour
• vichysoisse
• onion soupe gratinee
• pate de canard
• rillettes de canard
• tomato and blue cheese tart
• fresh fruit cup
• house salad

Second Course
• pasta of the day
• veal francaise
• veal cordon bleu
• sole meuniere
• tilapia a l'estragon
• seafood crepe
• snapper and seafood en croute
• beef bourguignon
• chicken basquaise
• veal liver lyonnaise
• NY bordelaise ($24)
• duck a l'orange ($26)

Third Course
• house dessert with coffee or tea

We're pretty impressed by the number of options. Even if the portions are on the smallish side, if you order correctly (i.e. don't get the house salad or the pasta of the day), it could be a really great deal.

L'Anjou [MenuPages]

Spring training games at Roger Dean Stadium kick off on February 26 with the now-annual Marlins-University of Miami game. We're hoping the fish can duplicate their win from last year.

Both the Marlins and the Cardinals play at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, which means that when they play each other, they take turns being the home and away teams. If you're headed to a game this spring to see either (or both!) teams play, here are a few places you might want to consider for a meal nearby. The most obvious place to eat is the Abacoa Town Center, which is pretty much next door to the stadium and hosts a number of restaurants:

• JJ Muggs, a sports bar that serves the usual wings, burgers, nachos and sandwiches.

• Thai Grand Palace lacks atmosphere, but the food is solid, and they offer a lunch special under $7.

• If you're looking for an Irish-themed pub, Rooney's Public House is a good bet. They've got some tasty-looking burgers and a good selection of fish sandwiches.

• Jumby Bay Island Grill is a good place for drinks, if you're into the loud, raucous crowd, which you very well might be after a good ballgame.

JJ Muggs [MenuPages]
Thai Grand Palace [MenuPages]
Rooney's Public House [MenuPages]
Jumby Bay Island Grill [MenuPages]

Photo: Flickr

Post columnist Frank Cerabino has a humorous take on how to get the golden arches onto the island, despite the Palm Beach City Council's recent vote to ban chain restaurants. Just imagine: Cafe Ronaldo, with valet parking and McCaviar.

Big Mac can use sneak attack to elbow onto island [Palm Beach Post]
Palm Beach Bans Chain Restaurants, Fun [Palm Beach Post]

We prefer to stay home on Valentine's Day and cook a lovely meal for our sweetie (on the menu this year: coffee-marinated bison short ribs). But if you prefer to head out on the town, here are a few good options for treating your valentine:

• Blue Door at Delano is having a four-course dinner for $95 per person between 7 and 11 p.m.

• If you're going the vegan route, there's Sublime of course. Their dinner is $59 per person and includes three courses; for the entree, you can choose between artichoke tofu quiche or seitan steak wellington. There's also a champagne and sea caviar supplement for an extra $20.

• At Kavanagh & Morrissey's, they'll be serving fresh oysters, three special entrees, and a special dessert of a frozen heart-shaped mousse topped with cherries and white chocolate truffle. YUM.

• If you're in the mood for steak, Morton's has a $69 per person menu that includes a salad and an entree of filet mignon and Alaskan king crab or filet mignon and Australian lobster tail.

• The price is a little higher, $150 per person, at 3030 Ocean, but the menu looks really good. Oh, and that includes one glass of champagne. You get oysters or shrimp, bison tenderloin carpaccio or Maryland crab, Tasmanian salmon or Hawaiian mero, grilled beef tenderloin or roasted rack of lamb, and if you're still not full, you can choose a cheese plate, a winter lemon tart or chocolate fondue.

• If you'd rather stay at home but not cook, L & L Market Bistro will do the cooking for you for $50 per person. You get beef, lamb chops or Chilean sea bass with polenta 'hearts' (awww) and chocolate-covered strawberries.

• Social Miami at Sagamore is offering a special tasting menu in addition to its regular menu for $75 per person. That gets you three courses; the entree options include pan-seared duck breast with candied pecans and butter poached rock lobster tail with jumbo lump crab gremolata.

• And finally, Andu Restaurant & Lounge, which just opened yesterday, will also be offering a Valentine's Day menu that will include four courses, an amuse and a glass of champagne, all for $80 per person. The goat-cheese crusted lamb loin caught our eye. Sounds good.

All right, so they're not really banning fun. But the city council is considering a zoning ordinance that would ban televisions and recorded or live background music in restaurants after 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10:45 p.m. every other night. Which fits in nicely with the moneyed fuddy-duddy image we have of Palm Beach.

The council also unanimously voted yesterday to ban any restaurant with more than three locations and a standardized menu:

The ban is an effort to "lock the barn before any more horses get out," as William Guttman, chairman of the planning and zoning board, said in December.

The horse that got out is Starbucks, which operates a 25-seat shop at 150 Worth Ave. The coffee giant opened in March amid worries of the flip-flop-wearing crowd it would attract.

The move to preserve the town's character would have prevented the upscale Italian eatery Grotto Ristorante from opening on Royal Poinciana Way last year.

The restaurant is one of at least four of the same name operated by Dallas-based Landry's Restaurants.

The change in the zoning code that the council approved defines "formula" restaurants as three or more of a chain with either similar names and trademarks; standardized menus and food; or similar architecture, interior design or uniforms.

Still, a chain operation could move into town in disguise, as Houston's did in 1999 by tweaking its menu and changing its name in town to the Palm Beach Grill.

The ban must be approved by two votes on an ordinance in April and May.

Palm Beach moves to bar chain eateries to protect character [Palm Beach Post]

There's a new California Pizza Kitchen down here, this one in Boca Raton's Town Center. It opened yesterday at 4 p.m. and is already quite busy, or so we gathered from the cacophony of noises in the background when we called. We're sure they serve the favorite barbecue chicken pizza, pictured here. We will never understand the appeal of chicken on pizza, but, well, if that's your thing, head on over there.

California Pizza Kitchen [MenuPages]
California Pizza Kitchen [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

Ready for this weekend's Garlic Fest in Delray Beach? We have never been to a garlic festival (we've always thought it would be fun to visit Gilroy, Calif. during garlic festival time), but we are huge fans of the odiferous bulb, so festivals that celebrate garlic are all right in our book. There will be cooking demonstrations and even a Garlic Chef Competition featuring some local chefs. Add tribute bands, games for the kids and, of course, lots of garlicky dishes. It sounds like fun on paper (or rather, on the computer screen), but the chowhounds didn't seem too enthusiastic about it; there are complaints about underwhelming food, expensive food and a $2 charge per kid per ride in the bounce house. So go, but understand that it might strain the wallet a bit.

Delray Beach Garlic Fest [Official Site]
Garlic Festival, Delray 2/8-10 [Chowhound]

Every year, sometime in February, our parents would drive us down to the Homestead area to pick tons and tons of strawberries. We'd usually get two big boxfuls of red, juicy berries, most of which wouldn't even last past dinner that night. We were just thinking about those wonderful berries today, so we thought we'd make a few calls and find out if the strawberries are ripe yet. Turns out that they are, at every single farm we called. Lots of local farms have strawberries, but unfortunately fewer and fewer are doing U-Pick, likely because of higher insurance rates. Most u-pick farms also let you pick other fruits and veggies, like tomatoes, lettuce and eggplant. Here's a good list with which to start:

• Knaus Berry Farm 15980 SW 248th St in Homestead, 305-247-0668. Our personal favorite, if only because you can finish an afternoon of berry picking with a sticky cinnamon bun and a thick strawberry milkshake. The u-pick strawberries are $2.25 per pound.

• Beefy U-Pick Farm 9865 Boynton Beach Blvd in Boynton Beach, 561-441-9721. U-pick strawberries are $2.10 per pound.

• Hydro Delight U-Pick Farms 15550 Okeechobee Blvd in Loxahatchee Groves, 561-792-4800. The strawberries here are organic and grown hydroponically, which means they're kind of stacked one on top of the other. It uses less land, less energy and less water, and involves a lot less stooping and crouching for the picker. (We couldn't get someone on the phone, so we don't have any idea about the price.)

• The Girls Strawberry U-Pick 14466 S Military Trl in Delray Beach, 561-496-0188. When we called and asked if the strawberries were in, the person on the phone chuckled and said, "We've got a ton of them." These are also hydroponic, so no bending necessary. (On the site, it's advertised as "senior citizen friendly.") Berries are $4.99 per pound.

UPDATE: JD told us about another u-pick place, which seems to be smack-dab in the middle of Kendall. It's called U-Pick Fresh Produce, and there are two locations: at 137th Ave and 95th St and at 167th Ave and Kendall Dr. They have an ad in The Miami Herald, and if you can find it and bring it in, you get a 10 percent discount on the produce.

Photo: Flickr

We saw this photo in miami fever's Flickr recently. Blue ice cream isn't really our thing, but that photo still makes us want to dig right in. We love ice cream, and we always like learning about new places that do it right. You know, the kind of place where the ice cream is thick and creamy and .... mmm. Yum. Anyway, this particular cone comes from Sloan's, which we are ashamed to admit we had never heard of before. The fact that the four-location ice cream chain (all in Palm Beach County) has a Wikipedia page makes us think we probably should have known of it and should schedule a visit sometime soon. Other things we learned, thanks to Wikipedia: Sloan's was ranked #4 in a list of the most unique ice cream parlors in the country and was ranked #10 by the Travel Channel on its list of the top best bathrooms in the world.

The bathroom has clear glass doors that look right into the parlor. When you turn the door handles, the glass fogs up and becomes completely opaque. The doors are made of two panels of glass. Between the panels is a mixture of polymer and liquid crystals. A constant electrical current keeps the crystals in line and the glass transparent. But when the door handle is locked, the current is stopped, the crystals fall, and the glass looks clouded.

Sloan's Ice Cream [Official Site]
Sloan's Ice Cream [Wikipedia]

Photo: miami fever's Flickr

We have a pretty great system of gathering menus, but sometimes, we just can't get some of them, for a variety of reasons. And we have only so much time on our hands to canvass the large area from Jupiter to Key West asking for menus, so this is where you guys come in. If you happen to dine at one of these establishments and can send a menu our way (fax 561-892-5771), we'd appreciate it. A lot.

• Cafe Frankie's, 640 E Ocean Ave in Boynton Beach
• Abacoa Snack Bar, 105 Barbados Dr in Jupiter
• Acapulco Restaurant, 10419 Southern Blvd in Royal Palm Beach
• Swampgrass Willy's Smokehouse, 9910 Highway A1A Alt in Palm Beach Gardens

We apologize for being a bit slow on the blogging front; we've been doing lots and lots of work on the site, updating menus, and adding new ones. Here are a few that we've added just recently:

• Good Eats Deli, 645 NE 79th St in Miami, 305-757-2731

• Metronome, 5090 PGA Blvd in Palm Beach Gardens, 561-775-1919

• Foxy's Ice Cream & Dessert Cafe, 12 SE 5th Ave in Delray Beach, 561-276-9379

• Five Guys, 7268 W Atlantic Blvd in Margate, 954-975-4818

• Cafe Le Glacier, 7295 Biscayne Blvd in Miami, 305-754-6551

We'd been keeping an eye on
Bonefish Grill, which has been expanding at a breakneck pace. The newest location, in Boynton Beach, was supposed to open last fall, but you know how these things go. We have yet to see a restaurant open anytime near its scheduled date. But we did just learn that the Boynton location will be open for business at 1880 N Congress Avenue on February 11.

Bonefish Grill [Official Site]

Oh my goodness, there's a SPAMMOBILE at the South Florida Fair in West Palm Beach. It's the brainchild of one woman who is making it her mission to re-convert people to Spam, all from a big blue RV:

[Sharen] Walker can tell you how SPAM holds a special place in the hearts of Hawaiians (they make sushi with it) and how it helped inspire a Broadway show (the Monty Python musical Spamalot).

Then again, what else do you expect from the woman who steers the SPAMMOBILE, a bright blue RV in the shape of - what else? - a SPAM can? Walker and her curiously decked-out vehicle, with the "SPAMMY" license plate were parked at the South Florida Fair this weekend (and will return next weekend), just one of many stops on the 40,000-mile annual trail of spreading the name of America's best-known canned meat.

"What I have found out is that 98 percent of the population are closet SPAM fans," Walker said Monday during a quick breather from her fair duties.

And the other 2 percent? Walker won't talk much about them, except to note that SPAM may have been a victim of its own post-World War II popularity. As a generation raised on SPAM grew into adulthood, they decided they had had their fill. Now, Walker's job is to reintroduce them to it, plus welcome a new generation of SPAM lovers to the fold.

She does that by passing out samples - "SPAMwiches," she calls them - from her vehicle-turned-makeshift commercial kitchen, replete with slicing and grilling stations staffed by five temporary employees.

As of late Monday afternoon, Walker, whose marketing company is contracted by SPAM manufacturer Hormel, had given out nearly 7,000 SPAMwiches, not to mention some prepacked SPAM Singles and the occasional SPAM magnet.

'Mystery meat' on the midway [Palm Beach Post]

Photo: Flickr

Pollo Campero seems to have made a big splash in Boynton Beach, where Central American immigrants are flocking to get chicken from the popular chain. We thought Boynton Beach was an interesting choice for the first location in Florida, but it doesn't look like it'll be the only one for long; the company is planning to open four more sites in Miami-Dade later this year.

The Pollo Campero on Congress Avenue, in the new Boynton Town Center shopping development, was packed on Friday as community leaders, residents and company officials from the United States and Guatemala celebrated the chain's Florida debut.
...

Pollo Campero, the largest Latin American chicken restaurant chain, is on the cusp of a global explosion.

The family-owned fast-food franchise has more than 260 restaurants with 10,000 employees in 11 countries, including 37 locations in the United States.

Its goal is to reach 2,000 stores worldwide by 2013, including 500 in the United States, said Chief Executive Officer Juan Jose Gutierrez, whose father, Dionisio, founded the company in 1971.

It's an ambitious plan, Gutierrez said, but he's confident in the recipe his father concocted in the family's kitchen years ago.

It is still the chain's mainstay today.

"He didn't visualize what he really created," Gutierrez said of his father, who died in 1974. "In the next five years, we're going to have a lot of work to do."

The company hit $380 million in sales last year, with 2008 projections of $435 million, he said.

We have yet to try the chicken. Has anyone gone? What did you think of it?

Guatemalan sensation brings flavor of home [Palm Beach Post]
Pollo Campero [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

A few days ago we wrote about Shawn Anderson, the man who was kicked out of Roxy's Pub in West Palm Beach for sporting gold teeth. Anderson complained that it was discrimination against black people; pub management said it was just a dress code. Today, we learned a bit more about the story in the Palm Beach Post:

Anderson talked about suing, but he didn't have much of a case.

"If the owner doesn't like grillz he can stop people from coming in the bar with grillz," said James K. Green, Palm Beach County's lead lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. "But if it's just done as a pretext for racial discrimination, then he can't."

Anderson, though, was going to Roxy's to meet black friends, who were already inside.

And [John] Webb, the bar owner, said Anderson would have been fine if he had been dressed like his friends.

"He walked in with his butt hanging out of his pants," Webb said. "He was asked to pull up his pants."

And then he started shouting after being told he also had to remove the gold from his mouth, Webb said, and that's when Anderson was told to leave.

"It's how you react when you fail to comply," Webb said.

But maybe that reaction was because of Anderson's claim that the gold in his mouth was affixed permanently, not removable grillz.

"He said, take your teeth out," Anderson told the TV news station. "I said, sir, my teeth don't come out."

West Palm bar, would-be patron won't be toasting grillz together [Palm Beach Post]
Man Kicked Out Of Pub For Sporting Gold Teeth [MP: South Florida]
Roxy's Pub [MenuPages]
Roxy's Pub [Official Site]

We've been busy collecting menus and adding them to the site, so here are a few that have gone live this week:

• Sushi Club, 6542 Collins Ave in Miami Beach, 305-868-7760

• The Village Chalet Restaurant, 12312 SW 224th St in Miami, 305-258-8900

• Yard House, 11701 Lake Victoria Gardens in Palm Beach Gardens, 561-691-6901

• Casimir Bistro, 416 Via de Palmas in Boca Raton, 561-955-6001

• Taqueria Dona Raquel, 793 S Dixie Hwy W in Pompano Beach, 954-946-4490

First we've got the much-anticipated Forté di Asprinio, the restaurant of Top Chef contestant Stephen Asprinio. It'll feature upscale contemporary Italian cuisine, although given Asprinio's sommelier background, we imagine the appeal here will be the wine list. It was supposed to open in late 2007, but it looks like the opening, at 225 Clematis Street in West Palm Beach, was pushed back until February.

If you're a fan of Novecento in Brickell or the beach, you'll be happy to know that a third location is opening in Coral Gables at 121 Alhambra Plaza. They're hiring now, and we were told by someone at the Brickell location that the new restaurant should be open around mid-February.

And finally, we just learned of a new restaurant called Melao Cafe opening sometime this week in the old RJ Gators location at 18415 S Dixie Highway in south Dade. We don't know much else, and we couldn't find a phone number, but we'll update as soon as we learn something new.

Forté di Asprinio [Official Site]
"Top Chef" Stephen Asprinio Seeking Skilled Employees [Craigslist]
Novecento [MenuPages]
Novecento [MenuPages]
**NOVECENTO RESTAURANT JOB FAIR** [Craigslist]
NOW Hiring! New Restaurant! [Craigslist]

Casimir Bistro opened about two weeks ago in the old Kameleon Bistro space in Boca Raton. The menu will be online tomorrow, but we'll give you a sneak peek at it now:

From the lunch menu:

• Chicken Casimir Salad: grilled key lime marinated chicken breast, coconut curry sauce, mixed greens and endive $11

• Salmon Duo Salad: gravlax and smoked salmon, melon, mixed greens, whipped dill cream cheese on toasts, sun-dried tomato vinaigrette $12

• Parisian Sandwich: baguette, smoked ham, Swiss cheese and butter $9.75

From the dinner menu:

• P.E.I. Mussels & French Fries: You can get these either "Mariniere" with garlic, shallots, parsley and white wine, or "Bombay" with garlic, shallot, tomato and cilantro in a yellow curry broth. $18

• Caribbean Style Free Range Chicken: grilled chicken breast in horseradish tarragon sauce served with sauteed zucchini, yellow squash and sauteed potato $17.50

• Crispy Duck A L'Orange: roasted Long Island duck, in orange sauce, sauteed provencale mushroom and potato $26

So it's not groundbreaking stuff, but if prepared well could be very tasty.

Kameleon Bistro [MenuPages]

Yes, it's a little early in the morning for tuna, but we wanted to share anyway. This is certainly an interesting take on the typical spicy tuna roll from Yardhouse in Palm Beach Gardens. The only seaweed seems to be those green shavings, and we certainly hope that the green layer on top isn't all wasabi; it would be ridiculously spicy. We definitely think it looks tasty.

Yardhouse [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

We really feel for this poor Subway franchisee in Boca Raton. The restaurant has been robbed twice in eight days. That has got to suck.

BOCA RATON — Police are looking for a man who robbed a Subway restaurant on West Palmetto Park Road Sunday while armed with a large knife.

The same Subway was robbed by a man wielding a knife about 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 31. The store clerk said a man entered the store and ordered a sandwich before drawing a knife and demanding money, police said. He got away.

In Sunday's robbery, a man walked into the store at 1295 W. Palmetto Park Road, pointed a knife at the clerk, and demanded the money from the register, police said.

Boca sandwich shop robbed again [Palm Beach Post]
Subway Robbers Becoming Less Polite, More Aggressive [MP: South Florida]

Florida Trend released its 20 best new restaurants in the state. Here are the South Florida ones that made the cut:

• Boca Raton: Cafe Joley, Chops Lobster Bar, Nick's Fishmarket of Hawaii

• Coconut Grove: Christabelle's Quarter

• Hollywood: Lola's on Harrison

• Miami: Bourbon Steak, Casablanca Seafood Bar & Grill, DeVito South Beach, Grimpa Steakhouse, Michael's Genuine Food & Drink

• Palm Beach Gardens: Amazonia Churrascaria, III Forks

Wow. That's a lot of steak. We see a few interesting restaurants (Michael's, Cafe Joley, Lola's, Casablanca), but really, the rest of the list just seems so...boring.

20 Best New Restaurants [Florida Trend]

The theme for today is restaurant exclusion. First, we had Disney banning children from its most expensive restaurant. Now, we've got a story about a man kicked out of Roxy's Pub in West Palm Beach for sporting gold teeth:

A man is filing a discrimination suit against a popular downtown West Palm Beach bar. He claims it's an issue about race and teeth. Shawn Anderson says he was asked to leave Roxy's on Clematis Street Wednesday night because of his gold teeth.
The manager explains, Roxy's dress code bans 'grills' - which are gold teeth covers.

Anderson feels this rule intentionally targets the black community.

He explains, "I think it's discrimination against me because I'm black and a lot of black people have gold teeth now."

John Webb, the owner of Roxy’s, tells NewsChannel 5, "No, it's not discrimination. He just didn't comply with the dress code."

Anderson says he plans to file the lawsuit in the coming weeks.

Teeth discrimination downtown? [WPTV]
Roxy's Pub [Official Site]

File this under "things we wish would happen to us at restaurants." A couple, George and Leslie Brock, dining at Dave's Last Resort & Raw Bar discovered a rare pearl potentially worth thousands in their plate of steamers:

"Few are round and few are a lovely color, so this is rare," said gemologist Antoinette Matlins. "I think they have found something precious and lovely and valuable."

The gems occur most frequently in large New England quahogs, clams known for violet coloring on the inside of their shells. The clams in the $10 plate came from Apalachicola in the Florida Panhandle, said restaurant manager Tom Gerry.

The Brocks, of Royal Palm Beach, plan to have the pearl appraised and said they may sell it if it is valuable.

Diners Fine Rare Pearl in Plate of Clams [Palm Beach Post]
Dave's Last Resort & Raw Bar [MenuPages]
Dave's Last Resort & Raw Bar [Official Site]

There are outlets in California, Chicago, New York, Texas and DC and its suburbs. So now, finally, the most popular chicken chain in Central America is expanding to South Florida; Guatemala-based Pollo Campero will be opening a branch in Boynton Beach sometime this month. After that, the chain is planning to open at least four more restaurants in the area: three in Dade (Little Havana, Cutler Ridge, and near Dolphin Stadium) and one in an unspecified Broward location.

Campero has been making headlines with restaurant openings in Los Angeles and other U.S. areas with large Central American communities, drawing crowds and posting record sales from immigrants seeking a taste of home.

But debuts in Boynton Beach and South Florida could be different, as the chain appeals more to a crossover market including Cubans, Puerto Ricans and many non-Latin Americans who don't know the brand, Denegri said.

Already, Campero has adjusted its menu to reach out.

The South Florida locales will offer black beans popular among Cubans, not just pinto beans popular in Central America. And the U.S. outlets will highlight grilled chicken for the first time — partly to take on Pollo Tropical, the Miami-based chain known for its grilled dishes.

"We knew we needed grilled chicken to compete in Florida," Denegri said.

Central American chicken chain comes to South Florida [Sun-Sentinel]
Pollo Campero [Official Site]

• Dolores, but you can call me Lolita is apparently the Ikea of the restaurant world: high fashion, low prices. Good food too. [Miami Herald]

• Alta Cocina, unfortunately, disappoints. [Miami New Times]

• Go to Lemon Fizz Cafe for the fruit shakes, stay for the great wraps. [Miami New Times]

• I scream, you scream... get your ice cream at Grandma's French Cafe in Fort Lauderdale. [Miami Herald]

• Gail Shepherd visits The India Palace, and now we've got a serious Indian food craving. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• Italy, by way of Brazil, at Deco Gourmet. We must admit, we're intrigued. [Miami Herald]

• We are oohing and aahing over Christmas cookies. Those cookies with the cream-cheese dough and chocolate-nut filling look good. [Palm Beach Post]

• Maison D'Azur gets a great three-and-a-half stars from Victoria Pesce Elliott, who really enjoyed the top-notch French cuisine there. Also, we should mention the $76 Dover sole. Just because, wow, that's a boatload of money for a fish we don't find all that exciting. [Miami Herald]

• Lee Klein visits the new Ouzo's Mediterranean Bistro and finds that compared to the old Ouzo's, quality has dipped and prices have increased. Not a good combination. [Miami New Times]

• Not only does Larry Buffington use organic flours, butters, sugars, etc. in his cakes, but he also makes his own vanilla by steeping beans in vodka. Mmmmm... [Miami Herald]

• The portions at Graziano's "run from enormous to 'Oh, God, I think I hurt myself.'" Heh. [Miami New Times]

• Dear Rochelle Koff: We understand that the food is the main point of the review, of course, and your descriptions of the South Indian fare at Woodlands sound lovely. But when your first sentence mentions a local American Idol-based live concert somehow sponsored by the restaurant's owner, the very least you could do is throw another sentence in about it, for those of us who are a little bit curious and a bit confused as to why you dropped the entire subject with no explanation. Also it was in the lede. [Miami Herald]

• Gail Shepherd opened her review of Canyon Southwest Cafe with a description of our favorite pizzeria ever, which is awesome. Whenever in New York, a visit is necessary. Anyway, Canyon is like DiFara's in that sense, because both involve long waits and both reward the patient with an excellent meal. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• Normally, we love the Watering Holes features, but this one, on the Lantana Ale & Sports Bar, bored us a little. [Palm Beach Post]

• Back in Lantana, at Riggin's Crabhouse , where blue crab is king. Don't bother with a steak or chicken or any other fish. Just go for the crabs.[Palm Beach Post]

This story is just a teensy bit old, as in it came out in late November, but we've been so preoccupied that we forgot to write about it. And it's a fairly big deal, we think. Florida will get its first LEED-certified restaurants when two branches of Pizza Fusion open in Palm Beach Gardens and Weston this month. The Fort-Lauderdale-based eco-friendly company is also planning additional new restaurants in Atlanta, Pittsburgh and northern New Jersey; each of these will also be the first LEED-certified restaurants in their respective states.

For those of you who don't know what all this LEED certification business is all about (don't feel badly; we had to look it up), we'll give you a quick summary: it stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The program provides an independent third party verification that the building does, in fact, comply with "green" standards. It all goes hand-in-hand with Pizza Fusion's motto of "Saving the earth, one pizza at a time."

Pizza Fusion Addresses Organic Demand with LEED Expansion into South and Northeast Markets [Franchising.com]
Pizza Fusion [MenuPages]
Pizza Fusion [Official Site]

• The Herald leads with an interesting roundup of wine tastings at different wine shops and restaurants/bars in the area. And for once, the few comments left on the article are actually helpful, in that they offer additional places to taste wine and refrain from devolving into racist/ignorant/idiotic drivel. [Miami Herald]

• Linda Bladholm visits Sushi Cafe, which is actually a Korean restaurant known as Shilla. Oh, and they serve hot pot! Yum! [Miami Herald]

• Victoria Pesce Elliott is at Moonchine Asian Bistro this week, and she gives the Thai-sushi spot two-and-a-half stars. Sushi is creative, although not necessarily authentic, and the garlic stir fry is excellent. [Miami Herald]

• Not everything on the Upper Crust Cafe menu is great, but if you stick to the recommended dishes (Cap'n Crunch mahi mahi, ravioli, osso buco), you'll have an excellent meal. [Miami Herald]

• The only things you really need to avoid at Maison D'Azur are the dinner rolls. That should be easy enough. [Miami New Times]

• So few Korean restaurants in South Florida, yet two are reviewed on the same day. John Linn visits New Soul Korean Restaurant in Lake Worth and has to practically drag his parents in to try it. They left singing the praises of Korean cuisine. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• Watering Holes time! Go take a peek inside Little Munich in Lake Worth, where the food and beer are both decidedly German. [Palm Beach Post]

• From Charles Passy's review of III Forks: "Yup, another steakhouse. It's hard to believe there's enough demand to support so many of these local shrines to sirloin." We don't understand it either. Anyway, at this particular steakhouse, the steak is excellent, but the menu is "traditional to the point of tedious" (isn't that the case with most steakhouses?) and the non-steak items are fairly lackluster. [Palm Beach Post]

We're all about the cooking on Thanksgiving. We cannot wait to one day have our own place someday (an apartment with three roommates doesn't count) and invite the whole family for a dinner we cooked ourselves. No potluck -- we're kind of control freaks like that. But we understand that most other people aren't quite as neurotic, and some might even enjoy -- gasp! -- a night out at a restaurant. So we've cobbled together a list of places that will be open, featuring turkey specials, etc. It's pretty long, so long that while our original intentions were to do all in one post, we've decided it'll be best to split them up. This time, Palm Beach County.

• Gigi's Tavern: $26.95 per adult, $10.95 for kids under 12. That includes pumpkin soup or salad, turkey breast with cornbread stuffing, sweet potato casserole, green beans amandine, mashed potatoes, apple cobbler or pumpkin pie and a glass of wine or a non-alcoholic beverage. That sounds like a lot of food for under $30. Perhaps there's a catch? Or perhaps we're just too jaded?

• Bogart's Bar & Grill: soup or salad, roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, green beans, pumpkin cheesecake or pecan pie will set you back just $24.95 for those 21 and older. We're not sure if it costs less for young 'uns, or if they eat for free or not at all. And if you're not so much into the turkey, you can order from the regular menu too.

• La Cigale: This one's a little pricier at $32 per person, half that for kids under 12, and there are seatings at 3 p.m., 5 p.m., and 7 p.m. You get butternut squash soup, Caesar salad or smoked salmon salad, roast turkey with chestnut stuffing, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Or for the turkey-phobic (don't laugh -- we have a cousin like this), there's leg of lamb or wild Atlantic salmon. And for dessert, apple tart or cranberry pie or ice cream, and coffee or tea. (Wonder if an ice cream + cranberry tart is an option.)

• Sundy House Restaurant has something going on for Thanksgiving. If only they'd answer the phone. Perhaps try after 6 p.m., when they open for dinner.

• Banana Boat: They'll have the regular menu, but starting at 11 a.m., you'll be able to get a turkey or ham dish for $15.95, with mashed potatoes, stuffing and a vegetable.

• Poppies Restaurant & Deli: they've got two seatings, at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., for which you need reservations. You've got three main course choices: turkey with the trimmings, poached salmon, or sliced beef brisket. With that, you get a salad, fresh green beans, dinner rolls, stuffing, sweet or mashed potatoes, a non-alcoholic drink and a special holiday dessert, all for $21.95 for adults or $16.95 for kids 10 and under.

Palm Beach County restaurant happenings [Sun-Sentinel]

Photo: Lucky Oliver

The Palm Beach Post printed the winners of its Thanksgiving pie haiku (pieku!) contest yesterday. They're all pretty great. One of our favorites:

Bless this festive meal.
Please let these Thanksgiving pies
Not go to my thighs.

Blueberry filling
drips from my fork to my shirt
whipped cream will follow.

We asked readers to wax poetic about Thanksgiving pies – in a 17-syllable poem, of course! [Palm Beach Post]

It's Book Fair Time!

• Padma, apparently, is not actually the ice princess she appears to be on television. Also, her cookbook sounds like it's got some tasty recipes. And avoid the article's comments section; any mention of Padma brings the sleazeballs out of the woodworks. [Miami Herald]

• More books! This time: poems about cooking. Sometimes they're recipes, sometimes they're not. [Miami Herald]

• Wait, more books! A profile of Molly O'Neill, who will also be at the book fair this weekend. [Miami New Times]

• Two-and-a-half stars from Victoria Pesce Elliott for Barchetta on the Bay. The food is "pretty good" and the view is "stunning." Also, she saw a dolphin just a few feet from her table! [Miami Herald]

• Vito's on Key Biscayne is deemed a great neighborhood Italian restaurant. We now have a sudden craving for tiramisu. [Miami New Times]

• Gail Shepherd extols the virtues of stone crab, as both an environmentally-friendly and delicious product. And the stone crabs at Nick's Fishmarket of Hawaii are particularly delicious. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• The Whale Raw Bar & Fish House, opened up by the same people who owned the now-defunct Whale's Rib in Deerfield Beach, earns two-and-a-half stars. [Miami Herald]

• Watering Hole time! McCarthy's Restaurant & Pub in Tequesta re-opened with new owners, but the same Irish spirit. [Palm Beach Post]

• French Corner Bistro & Rotisserie in West Palm Beach wins over Charles Passy. [Palm Beach Post]

• FunKey Nutz claims that some of "South Florida's best singers" show up to karaoke nights on Tuesdays. We've never been to a karaoke event that featured people who could remotely qualify as some of an area's best singers, but we're willing to allow that perhaps the crooners at FunKey Nutz are an exception. Anyone willing to find out for us? Karaoke starts tonight at 8:30.

• Casa Toscana is hosting a tasting of wines from Sicily, Apulia, Tuscany, Veneto and Piedmont this Thursday at 7 p.m. It'll cost you $15 per person, but you get complimentary appetizers with the wines. Call 305-757-4454 to RSVP.

We're doing something a little different today, as we're bored with the old review roundup formula of going by county. Instead, we're just going to run down Thursday's best restaurant-related reviews/features for you in one concise post:

• Enrique Fernandez gives a rundown of classic Cuban restaurants that have stood the test of time and that haven't watered down the food. All good choices, although we wondered at the absence of Las Culebrinas; it wasn't even in the newcomers list. He's got a list of standard Cuban restaurant menu items, with descriptions, for those unfamiliar with the cuisine.

• Lee Klein is also in roundup mode, as he writes a review about three restaurants that serve very different, although equally delicious, food: the student-run restaurant at FIU's School of Hospitality & Management, Lula Kebab House, and Orale Taqueria Mexicana, otherwise known as the taco truck that sets up in Douglas Park.

• Gail Shepherd goes to Il Mulino in Fort Lauderdale and gets stuffed. The two things you must eat there: burrata and the walnut-encrusted sea bass with risotto.

• Two-and-a-half stars to Pancho's Backyard in Dania Beach, one of the few Mexican-Cuban restaurants that actually work, apparently.

• The Post has an interesting price comparison [pdf] between Whole Foods and the new Publix GreenWise; we didn't count, but we think GreenWise won by just a bit. Mostly, it's a wash -- the prices tend to be pretty even.

• And of course, we have to mention the Beer Guy's Watering Holes feature: Harry's Banana Farm in Lake Worth, which has been there since 1954. It used to be named Harry's Open Door, but it became Harry's Banana Farm in order to sponsor a Little League team that couldn't take money from a bar. So, now it's the oddest banana farm in Florida.

Photo: A pan con bistec at Islas Canarias. By Donna E Natale Planas, Miami Herald.

Ah, Facebook. It's become an invaluable tool for stalking former classmates, all of whom seem to be getting engaged/married now. Each time we logged on this summer, we were greeted by another blushing bride in a veil and white dress. Today, thankfully, we encountered only photos of Halloween costumes, plus several groups for South Florida restaurants and chains that people hope to bring to SoFla. (Note: the links will only work if you're a Facebook member.)

ANDU Restaurant/Bar Miami Fl. FAN CLUB: We blogged about this one before in September; sadly, nothing about the group has changed since then. The same construction pictures are still up, and the same notes about liquor licenses and permits are there. Either something has gone terribly wrong with the restaurant, or the owners are far too busy for the 455 devoted members who keep leaving messages like "Cuando abre esta Wiga?!?!?! I'm hungry!"

Petition to Bring Sonic to Miami: We didn't realize Sonic had such a following. Several of the 117 members complain about seeing the Sonic commercials while being unable to partake of the on-screen deliciousness. (See what a good ad campaign does? The kiddies start clamoring for your product.) One member says that it's worth the drive to Ft. Pierce or Fort Myers for a Sonic; another describes a visit to an Orlando Sonic as "amazing." We've eaten at Sonics before, and while we cannot agree with the "amazing" assessment, we'd like to point out that there's a Sonic in Boynton Beach, significantly closer than the others mentioned.

Flanigans is the best restaurant ever: Members of this group (just 18) "wish that they would open nation wide." Don't they know that quality gets diluted when you're so big?

We want a Krystal in Jupiter, Fl: These poor folks (48 of them) are unhappy that they have to drive all the way to Ft. Lauderdale for a Krystal burger. Best comment left on the wall: "I NEED IT. SO I CAN GET 20 BURGERS FOR MY MUNCHIEEEESSSS."

Karu-Y Restaurant Miami: Not much going on here. The most interesting part is the "Related Groups" section: "Victoria Secret Fan Club," "The French-speaking people who live in Miami and around!" and "I wish my life was a Disney movie!" Don't we all?

Evidently, they're staying in their summer homes for a while longer. Up until very recently, the weather up the east coast has been mild and warmer than usual, which means grandma and grandpa haven't been in any rush to get down to Palm Beach. According to restaurant owners in those areas most frequented by snowbirds, this October has been slow:

“This is the slowest October we've had since 2002,” Judy Davis, opera singer turned entrepreneur and business owner of Diva Duck says.

Peak time for the diva, between mid-December and Mother’s Day pulls sold-out tours two to three times a day. While it's still more than a month away, not even Davis' opera-trained voice over the loud speaker can fill the seats. But not only are there empty seats on the Diva, but benches and outdoor dining areas throughout City Place are barren. Restaurants and retail stores say snowbirds, aren't flying, locals aren't buying and sales are stalled.

But the good news is that the temperatures in New York have begun to dip below 60, so the retirees will soon make their way south for the winter.

Where are the snowbirds? [WPTV5]

It seems like quite a few California chains are making their way here. Now we've learned of California Tortilla, which offers burritos, fajitas, tacos and quesadillas and has been open in Wellington for a little over a week. Also, the restaurant serves "Mexcellent Deals," although we're unsure what those are. This is the first California Tortilla in Florida, although another one is planned for Coral Springs in Spring 2008.

California Tortilla is located at 2465 State Road 7 in Wellington. They're open Monday through Saturday 11am-10pm and Sunday 11:30am-9pm. We'll have the menu online in another day or so.

UPDATE: Thanks L2M, for pointing out that California Tortilla is not, in fact, from California. We were a bit hasty when we wrote this post and failed to notice that all of the locations are on the east coast. According to Wikipedia, the chain is originally from Washington, DC.

California Tortilla [Official Site]
Quick bites [Palm Beach Post]

The party this week is at Boston's on the Beach in Delray, where Red Sox fans have been gathering during the team's postseason run. It's a Boston haven in an area dominated by ex-New Yorkers who cling to their love for the Yankees and/or Mets. (Someday, hopefully, we'll be able to call the region "Marlins Country," but unfortunately, as it is now, there's more blue and orange than teal at the stadium formerly known as Joe Robbie when the Mets play the Marlins.) So if you're looking for a good World Series party, we'd suggest heading over to Boston's on the Beach; they can seat 500, so there's plenty of room. Just don't wear any purple.

Anyone know of any Denver-friendly sports bars for those of us who are rooting for the Rockies? (We feel a sort of kinship with fans of 1993 expansion teams.) Let us know in the comments!

Boston fans flock to Delray eatery to get a taste of home [Palm Beach Post]
Boston's on the Beach [MenuPages]
Boston's on the Beach [Official Site]

We learned yesterday, from the ever-helpful Jan Norris at the Palm Beach Post, that a new gourmet burger chain from California called The Counter is coming to Royal Palm Beach sometime in November. At first, we thought it would be something akin to In-N-Out, but after perusing the website, we're far more excited.

Looks like it's actually closer to Chipotle, judging from the menu [pdf]. We're big fans of the type of menu that offers a few items in a variety of different ways. With this one, you choose a meat, (beef, turkey, chicken or veggie) and a size (1/3 lb, 2/3 lb, 1 lb), and then choose from an assortment of cheeses, toppings, sauces, and buns. Included in the price is one cheese, four toppings, one sauce and a bun. And for those on the South Beach Diet, you can have a "Burger in a Bowl" — a burger without the bun. It looks like an incredibly yuppie place, and you could easily spend upwards of $10 on a burger and fries, but still, it sounds tasty.

Quick bites [Palm Beach Post]
The Counter [Official Site]
In-N-Out [Official Site]
Chipotle [Official Site]

Thanks to some "connections" Chef John Suley, of Cafe Joley, is fortunate to have, South Floridians can be some of the first in the nation to taste fresh white truffles from Italy this year. The first shipment of this season's truffles from Alba landed at only two places in the entire country: Cafe Joley and Masa in New York City. Sure, there will be more arriving in the coming weeks, but for now, only South Floridians and New Yorkers get to enjoy. Here's what you can expect to enjoy there:

"We'll have white truffles on the menu throughout the season. Right now, I'm running a Napoleon of sea scallops, in between each layer of sliced scallop is blanched spinach and white truffle; the sauce is a spinach-brown butter sauce with shaved white truffle on top of that."

He's also got a braised veal cheek with white truffle risotto on the menu. "You never want to get too crazy with what you do with them," [Suley] said. "When you have a perfect food, you don't have to do much to it. It should shine."

Another dish, taken from a recent trend, is spinella - the top cap of the rib eye cut of beef. "They shave the top off; it looks like a flat-iron steak. But the taste is amazing. They're doing it with Kobe beef - that's how it got started. Ours isn't Kobe, but it just melts in your mouth anyway. We're doing the spinella with twice-baked Yukon gold potato, and a truffled sautéed romaine."

First white truffles in Boca [Palm Beach Post]
Cafe Joley [MenuPages]
Cafe Joley [Official Site]

Photo: Flickr

We received this today in our inbox. We'd never realized there was such a philosophy behind the Jetsetter Lounge, but well, apparently there was. After about two years, the owners had to close their doors, although they seem hopeful; perhaps they'll re-open in a new location.
Jetsetter Lounge [MenuPages]
Jetsetter Lounge [Official Site]

• It appears that karaoke had once left the FunKey Nutz, but it has now returned. On Tuesdays (that's tonight!) at 8:30 at the dueling piano bar in Boca Raton, you too can sing loudly and poorly into a microphone.

• Costume party! Naturally, as it's getting close to Halloween. The Falcon House in Delray Beach is hosting its sixth annual costume party on Saturday. The best costume wins a $100 gift certificate.

• There will be another costume party at Nicole's Village Tavern in Wellington on Saturday as well, with drinks and dinner specials, dancing and, of course, a costume contest. Prizes are unclear. Oh, and the appetizers are free after midnight!

Something called the American Fine Wine Competition is going on this week at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. This is its first year, and according to this article (scroll down), it's the first juried American wine competition in South Florida. Which sounds like a big deal, except we really don't know much more about it. Perhaps, when the results are announced, it'll get more coverage?

Unfortunately for you, the public, the judging, which we assume is happening today through Thursday, is open only to a select few — namely, the judges. They'll get to taste 350 wines throughout the course of the week; each wine will be judged against other wines of the same varietal.

But there is good news for you: the public is invited to the gala dinner on Thursday, October 25 at 6 p.m. at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. The four-course dinner with wine pairings will set you back just $250 per person or $2,500 per table (which isn't really a deal, as there are 10 to a table). There will also be a silent auction for charity, live entertainment, and a tasting, with wines poured by "wine angels." Here's our question: do wine angels have to wear wings and a halo?

South Florida's First Juried American Wine Competition to Benefit Kids in Distress [Entertainment News & Views]
American Fine Wine Competition 2007 Presented by RRA [South Florida Business Journal]

We thought there was more of this article when we first noticed it on Friday afternoon, but apparently it's available only for subscribers. Oh well. We gleaned enough out of it to learn that the six current Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza locations will expand to 15 in South Florida by the end of 2009. Three are currently under construction in Palm Beach County, but we don't know where the other six locations will be.

Once Anthony's reaches its goal of 15 South Florida stores by the end of 2009, founder Anthony Bruno says his pizza will be unaltered by expansion. The ovens will continue to burn coal, the menu will stay simple and, hopefully, the customers will stay satisfied.

"It's the pizza. It's all about putting out a good pizza," Bruno said.

It's the norm for chains to begin to deteriorate after too much expansion, but let's hope this isn't the case with Anthony's.

Entrepreneur plans 15 South Florida restaurants [South Florida Business Journal]
Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza [Official Site]

• Gail Shepherd pleads, in her very awesome way, with Taverna Yiasou in West Palm Beach to buy a pot of fresh herbs and taste the food before it leaves the kitchen. [New Times]

• Sushi Yoshi in Boca serves a "Miami Dolphin roll," which features blue marlin. So the marlin's doing all the work, but the Dolphins name is splashed on the menu. How appropriate. [Sun-Sentinel]

• The Post's Peg San Felippo compiled quite a few interviews with local sommeliers, who all shared their love for wine and basically advised people to drink whatever they want to drink. [Palm Beach Post]

• The Beer Guy visits the "den of zen" at the Funky Buddha in Boca Raton. If you go on Wednesday, be forewarned that it's open mic night. [Palm Beach Post]

• Charles Passy loves Havana in West Palm Beach. So too, apparently, do many locals. [Palm Beach Post]

There's a chance that bikers may soon be barred from driving their motorcycles down Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. Why, you ask? So that those eating outdoors at the many cafes and restaurants along the street can enjoy their meals in quiet. Patrons have apparently complained to restaurant owners, so the city commission is attempting to resolve the issue with a proposed ordinance that would ban motorcycles from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. (why not just ban them all day?) on Atlantic Avenue between Swinton and US1. The commissioners plan to discuss the ordinance tonight, and several local motorcycle groups will be there voicing their complaints.

[Louie Louie Too general manager Greg Emeric] and several other restaurant managers fear local customers and even tourists will opt for quieter dining venues.
"It's not good for business," Emeric said. "It's not good for our image. It's not good for anybody. Motorcyclists come and park in front of the restaurant, and they sit there and go vroom-vroooooom!, revving up their motorcycles while people are trying to enjoy their dinner."

Motorcyclists oppose the proposal, stating that most adhere to the noise ordinance and should not be punished for a few violators.

"Most of us are responsible drivers," said Michael Serra, whose Yamaha YZF is his primary transportation. "If noise is the issue, then I believe that they just need they need to enforce the noise ordinance rather than ban motorcycles."

Mayor Rita Ellis said it's difficult to implement the noise control ordinance because police officers are on foot patrol and can't possibly chase motorcycles.

Free-wheeling cycle fight expected [Palm Beach Post]

• We're not sure why, but we love Dan Oliver's Watering Holes feature. Maybe it's the intro music. Maybe it's that everything looks so appetizing. At any rate, this week he's at The Blue Anchor in Delray, which is haunted. SPOOKY! [Palm Beach Post]

• The fish is fresh at Prime Catch in Boynton Beach, just avoid the crab bisque. [Sun-Sentinel]

• St. Patrick's Episcopal Church in West Palm Beach is hosting its annual International Food Fest tomorrow from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The food should be very Caribbean; think conch fritters, roti, jerk pork, coconut bread and pigeon peas and rice. For $25, you can sample as much food as you like. St. Patrick's is located at 418 N Sapodilla Ave in West Palm Beach. For more information, call 561-833-1903.

• After the festival at St. Patrick's, head over to restaurant row on Mizner Blvd in Boca Raton for the San Gennaro festival, featuring plenty of sausage and peppers and zeppole and a cannoli-eating contest.

• Remember when we wrote about Taste America? Yep, that's this weekend. Check the website for event information.

• The Hollywood Beach Clambake festival is this weekend, featuring fresh seafood and free concerts on the broadwalk. Tonight, there's a classic car show, a chowder contest, and a beach bonfire. For the rest of the weekend's activities, check the festival's website.

Amid all of the excitement about Whole Foods coming to the Gables, we've neglected the organic and natural foods store opening a bit farther north: Publix's first GreenWise Market. The store opens its doors tomorrow at 9 a.m. in Palm Beach Gardens and will feature a healthier, more environmentally friendly selection of products. Publix has also taken a cue from Whole Foods and added a lot of prepared, healthful foods that busy customers can take home.

Because those private labels are typically more affordable, GreenWise is poised to take on competitors, said Marcia Mogelonsky, a senior analyst with Chicago-based market research firm Mintel International Group.

"Prices really draw in consumers. Most consumers can't go out and spend their whole paycheck on natural products," she said.

The 39,000 square-foot Palm Beach Gardens store carries meats with no added hormones and a produce section that has 50 percent organic products compared with roughly 10 percent in conventional stores. It will also have hundreds of other products not available in conventional Publix locations.

Publix also hopes to appeal to health food buffs and gourmands with prepared foods like Italian stuffed shrimp, low carb mashed cauliflower and Japanese-style tempeh. The prepared fare also includes an Asian fusion hot bar with vegetarian options, cold salad bar, a gelato and organic coffee bar, a Mediterranean pizza oven and a grill and carving station.

Did you catch that "whole paycheck" dig at the store's biggest competitor, which has a location in Palm Beach Gardens? The new GreenWise Market is located at 11231 Legacy Avenue; a GreenWise makeover is planned for the Boca Raton Publix at 21230 St. Andrews Blvd, although there's no set opening date yet.

Publix opening organic store [BusinessWeek]
Publix [Official Site]
Whole Foods [Official Site]

Another day, another steakhouse. At least this one isn't in downtown Miami or South Beach. No, this time Broward County is picking up the steakhouse slack. Deborah Hartz tells us that Federal Grille opened recently in Lighthouse Point and features the typical meat, meat, more meat, and creamed spinach offerings. There is also a barbecued pork belly appetizer, which we must admit sounds delicious. We're working on procuring a menu; it should be online in another day or two.

Federal Grille
3150 N Federal Hwy in Lighthouse Point
954-786-3113

Federal Grille opens -- a new steakhouse [From The Test Kitchen]

Due to those technical difficulties last week, we didn't get to doing our usual roundup of restaurant reviews/articles in the local papers. So we're condensing the most interesting ones into a single post today.

• Lee Klein re-visits Pascal's in Coral Gables and finds the food "bloomed and unblemished." We took that way out of context, we know. Suffice it to say that the food is excellent. [Miami New Times]

• Some mild disappointments at Blacktip Reef, but overall, there's great, innovative food, says Gail Shepherd, who has quickly become a huge fan. [Broward-Palm Beach New Times]

• Linda Bladholm discovers a six-month-old vegan restaurant in Hollywood that sounds lovely, despite the lack of meat on the menu. [Miami Herald]

• A Fort Lauderdale guide to brunch. How about an NFL brunch? [Miami Herald]

• We weren't quite so excited about The Beer Guy's trip to Rooney's Public House. Perhaps it was the emptiness of the bar. We like to see bars full; it makes us think that lots of people like going there. However, we must say that the Irish bartender is a plus. [Palm Beach Post]

Soon, South Floridians can sample the same mediocre pizza that the rest of the country (or at least large parts of it) enjoys at Uno Chicago Grill! So we're not big deep-dish fans. We spent four cold years in Chicago, and we avoided deep dish as much as one could in that city. But we ate enough to know that the pizza at Uno Chicago Grill is a not-so-great imitation of the real stuff. But, then again, we can't think of anyplace else that serves Chicago-style pizza — probably because of the large number of New Yorkers in the area — so if you've got a hankering for deep dish, it'll do to satisfy a craving.

The new restaurant is headed to Royal Palm Beach, where the chain paid $1.7 million for a two-acre parcel of land at the corner of US 441 and Okeechobee Road. Expect a restaurant in the spot by the first quarter of 2008.

Uno Chicago Grill Developing Restaurant in Royal Palm Beach [CoStar Group]
Uno Chicago Grill [Official Site]

Ever dreamed of buying your favorite watering hole? Two men did just that last week when they bought RJ Gators for $2.02 million to pull it out of bankruptcy. Kevin Dalton and Timothy Jeffrey, two friends who used to be regulars at one of the restaurant's locations, have taken it upon themselves to turn the franchise around.
According to the Palm Beach Post, all of the restaurants currently open will stay that way. The two friends also plan to re-open the Palm Beach Gardens location. They even hope to expand very slowly in a few years, but the priority right now will be updating the menu.

R.J. Gators brings $2 million [Palm Beach Post]
R J Gator's [Official Site]

• This Thursday at Premier Wine Club: a tasting of seven new wines from California, Chile, France, Argentina and Italy. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. and costs $20 per person ($10 of that is credited to the purchase of any wine).

• Also on Thursday: a Spanish wine tasting at Casa Toscana. Wines featured will be from Vierso, Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Toro. The event starts at 7 p.m. on Thursday night. For reservations, call 305-757-4454.

• The first wine dinner at La Sirena is tomorrow, Sept. 19 at 6:30 p.m. Six courses, six wines, all for $79 per person, plus tax and tip. For reservations, call 561-585-3128.

Yesterday we suggested FAU students check out Red Rock Coal Fired Pizza in Boca Raton. We based this on some research from some trusted sources; try as we might, we simply can't get to every restaurant in the area. But after seeing this photo, we are moving Red Rock higher up on the "to dine" list. From the char on the crust (just the right amount) to the proportions of cheese and sauce, that looks like an excellent pie. Next time a New Yorker tells you there's no good pizza down here, just point him or her in the direction of Boca Raton.

Red Rock Coal Fired Pizza [MenuPages]

Photo: Flickr

Students returned to South Florida campuses recently, so we thought we'd help the freshmen out with a little guide to where to go to escape dining hall food. This is the final post in a series of six that cover each local university. This time: Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

Pizza: If proximity is a priority, check out Ruby's, which offers your basic salads, subs, and pizza, both by the slice and whole pie. If you've got a bit more time, Red Rock Coal Fired Pizza is a short drive from campus and offers some of the best pizza in the county. There's not much besides pizza, and it's pricier than your average pizza joint, but they've offer more than your standard toppings to layer on that thin crust.

Late Night: Not too many options nearby, but there is Nippers Restaurant & Lounge (21069 S Military Trl, 561-338-4111), where you can get subs, pizza and bar food until 5 a.m. And they deliver until 3:30 a.m.

Cheap Eats: Señor Burrito is nearby, cheap and filling. Oh, and it's tasty. Yeah, that's important. There are also 50 different varieties of burgers for under $7 at Lindburgers.

Chinese: Gary Woo Asian Bistro comes highly recommended, and while the prices are reasonable, it's definitely not the type of place you'd go to looking for take-out. For that you've got House of Cheung and Mai-Mai.

On Mom & Dad's Dime: You get seven delectable courses for $90 at Six Tables, where, naturally, there are just six tables, there's only one dinner seating each night, and it's reservation only. Or try Positano for some good Italian.

We stumbled upon a great photoset on Flickr called Florida Postcards, a collection of old postcards from the Sunshine State. Here we share a shot of Leon & Eddie's, a restaurant/nightclub with locations in New York and Palm Beach. A Google search turned up several mentions of the New York location, but not much about the Palm Beach one. The address listed is now home to a law firm. Anyone know anything about this place? We're intrigued.

Photo: Flickr

• Gail Shepherd had the waiter from hell at Tulio's Italian Fusion in Boca and still managed to enjoy her meal. [New Times]

• Jan Norris chats with one of the partners at the new Palm Beach Gardens steakhouse III Forks, open just two weeks after two-and-a-half years of work. [Palm Beach Post]

• At Vic & Angelos in Palm Beach Gardens (not far from III Forks actually), bottles of New York City tap water line the window to the kitchen. We don't know if it's that or the other ingredients that make the pizza great, but regardless, it is good. [Sun-Sentinel]

The shuttered restaurant doors in Palm Beach County are opening up again, now that the oppressive heat has passed. La Sirena, which closes each offseason, will open again tomorrow night for dinner for the first time since May. The menu is much the same, with a few tweaks — an extra veal dish here, an altered clam dish there. For reservations, call 561-585-3128.

And Miami Beach welcomed a new Indian restaurant this past weekend, the much-anticipated ISHQ (530 Ocean Dr, 305-532-4747). Rumors are that the restaurant boasts two tandoori ovens. The menu is forthcoming and should be online shortly.

La Sirena [MenuPages]
La Sirena [Official Site]
Best Indian in Miami or So Flo in general? [Chowhound]

The West Palm Beach police chief arrested a woman on Tuesday who was being accused by City Place Publix employees of stealing a bottle of wine, which was stashed in her purse. Turns out she had also taken a sushi tray into the bathroom, where she'd feasted before trying to abscond with the wine.

Several of the commenters over at the PB Post's crime blog claim to see this kind of stuff all the time: people eating yogurt in the dairy aisle, empty containers found on shelves, etc. We've never seen anything like this, but then again, we're not great at noticing these kinds of things. Have you seen people trying to score some free food at the supermarket? Let us know!

WPB police chief nabs suspect [Palm Beach Post]
Police chief Delta Bush caught this woman... [Behind the Yellow Tape]

The last Krispy Kreme in Palm Beach County is closed. The county used to boast three stores: one in Boynton Beach (closed in 2006), one in West Palm Beach (closed last April), and now finally the sole holdout, the Boca Raton store, is gone. According to the Post, the chain has lost money for the last 11 quarters.

If you're still craving a hot Krispy Kreme doughnut, there are two outposts left: one at 590 NE 167th Street in Miami and another at 2401 N Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale.

County's last Krispy Kreme shuts doors [Palm Beach Post]
Krispy Kreme [Official Site]
Photo: Flickr

• The Post visits Grotto in Palm Beach, where the seating is tight, the lighting is harsh, and the food is average. [Palm Beach Post]

• The Beer Guy takes a break from the watering holes, but he does suggest some liquor stores with excellent beer selections. [Palm Beach Post]

• There's more than just noodles at Uncle Tai's, a nicer-than-average Chinese restaurant with superb crispy red snapper and crispy beef. [Sun-Sentinel]

• We tried finding a nice thing about the new Palm Beach Gardens Cantina Laredo in Gail Shepherd's review, but it was impossible. If you go, don't order the mole. [New Times]

If you had a limitless supply of money, how much do you think you could spend on food each day? Joe (well, we think it's Joe) at Boca Joe's Catering tried to come up with the most extravagant meals he could possibly think of. Total spending for the day: $1,675,000, although we should note that most of that came from a diamond-encrusted fruit cake that sells for $1.65 million. The menu includes a caviar-topped frittata, a cup of Kopi Luwak (the coffee made from beans that have been passed through the digestive system of a small mammal), a Wagyu beef sandwich with foie gras and black truffle mayonnaise, and Tahitian vanilla ice cream topped with 23-carat edible gold leaf. And there's a 10-course dinner with wine pairings too; the cake is the spectacular finale.

Sure, you'd be spending $1,675,000 million on food in one day, but you likely wouldn't have to eat for the next week. So it's more like $239,285 per day. Clearly a bargain.

How much could you spend in one day on food? [Boca Joe's Catering]
Boca Joe's Catering [Official Site]

• Tomorrow at Mr. G's Rock & Roll Bar & Grill in West Palm Beach catch reggae band Bradley Brown and Rhythmation. The show starts at 10 p.m., and ladies drink free 9-11.

• There will be a large party at Jetsetter Lounge in Lake Worth this weekend; that much is clear. We're trying to parse the rest of the information from this e-mail, but the bright colors (think aqua, purple and lime green) are giving us a headache. There will be drink specials, artwork, music (the above-mentioned Bradley Brown will be there on Sunday), and a Polynesian menu. If you want more information than that, go to the restaurant's website.

• There's a huge sale going on at Premier Wine Club in downtown Miami; the owners are liquidating the entire store's stock. In this process, they've also discovered a few rare and unique wines hidden among the other bottles, and they're inviting people to come have a taste. This Thursday, from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m., for $20 you can taste these wines, some of which never make it to the retail market. For a reservation, call 305-416-5187.

We've got four brand-spanking new menus for your enjoyment today:

• Boteco, 916 NE 79th St in Miami, 305-757-7735

• Bangkok Palace, 4345 N State Rd 7 in Lauderdale Lakes, 954-733-0069

• Taverna Eros, 8 E Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach, 561-272-8220

• The Lunch Room, 7957 NE 2nd Ave in Miami, 305-722-0759

A friend of ours went to Dada in Delray Beach last night and told us about a storytelling project going on there called VOX. On the last Sunday of each month at 8:30 p.m., anyone can sign up for a 5-7 minute slot and basically just get up there and tell a story. Which sounds terrifying to us, as we're not big on the whole public speaking thing. But we enjoy a good story. And a good story with good food and drink sounds like a great night to us.

At the end of the night, the first- and second-place storytellers get $50 and $25, respectively. The program is run by Florida Atlantic University and often hosts storytelling slams in other venues as well, but the Dada one seems to be the only regularly occurring one. So head over there next month, do your thing, and see if you can win any cash. Check out the South Florida Storytelling site for tips on how best to tell your story.

South Florida Storytelling Project [Florida Atlantic University]
Dada [MenuPages]
Dada [Official Site]

• Gail Shepherd thinks Taverna Kyma in Boca is the only one of the new Greek restaurants that will be able to challenge Taverna Opa, at least in the food department. Taverna Eros and Avra Taverna, on the other hand...well, just don't go for the food. [New Times]

• Three new places in Broward for pizza, burgers, and wings. First there's New River Pizza Cafe (1970 Sawgrass Mills Circle in Sunrise), the third branch — and the first sit-down one — of the original New River Pizza in Fort Lauderdale. Five Guys (1818 Cordova Rd in Fort Lauderdale, with six more locations planned in South Florida) serves up tasty burgers and fries. And Hurricane Grill & Wings, visited by the Beer Guy last week, just opened a new branch in Plantation. [Miami Herald]

Continue reading "Review Digest: Broward & Palm Beach" »

Pete's, the 20-year-old restaurant in West Boca, has closed to make room for an upscale seafood market/restaurant. Owner Pete Boinis looks to be headed toward a restful fish-filled retirement.

"I've been here 20 years, it's been a good enjoyable run," said Boinis, who has owned restaurants from Fort Lauderdale to Ocean City, Md., but now plans to spend some time relaxing, including deep-sea fishing. "I feel we've established a landmark. We've been part of the Boca Raton landscape. The governor has been here, President Bush was in here, several football players, [retired Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan] Marino. All sorts of people, Pete Rose."

Pete's closes in West Boca, to be replaced by fish restaurant [Sun-Sentinel]
Pete's [MenuPages]
Pete's [Official Site]

The owner of 14 Florida TGI Friday's franchises declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy for each of the restaurants, including four in Palm Beach, according to the Palm Beach Post:

At issue is $1.2 million in unpaid franchise fees and royalties owed to Carlson Restaurants Worldwide Inc., the Texas-based corporate parent of T.G.I. Friday's.

The filings, one for each restaurant, came just 24 hours before T.G.I. Friday's said it would sever its franchise agreement unless it was paid. Had that happened, writes Cosentino through his attorney, he would have had to shutter the restaurants and lay off 891 Florida workers.

According to the article, things started going downhill for the Florida restaurants after the busy 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. Add to that the public's decreased appetite for casual dining chains, and you've got yourself one big debt-filled mess.

Creditor shield sought for 18 TGI Friday's [Palm Beach Post]
TGI Friday's [Official Site]

• Get to the Whole Foods in Palm Beach Gardens for a "Brews 'n' Blues" event tonight from 5 to 8 p.m. A donation of $20, to benefit the Lighthouse Center for the Arts in Tequesta, will get you a mini beer mug and food and drink.

• Chef Allen Susser's Summer of Spice cooking class, held every Tuesday in August and September, is focusing on Mediterranean spice this Tuesday. The menu will include pan spiced mahi-mahi with clams and cava and green lentils with chorizo and almonds. Class starts at 6 p.m. at Chef Allen's and costs $10.

• What would a Saturday be without Cooking at the Cellar events at Macy's? In Aventura, we have Jose Luis Flores, the pastry chef at Ola, and in Dadeland, Chef Alton Forbes of GNU Restaurant & Lounge will be cooking a dish from his Miami Spice menu. Both events start at 1 p.m. and are free.

• The Beer Guy is back! He heads to Hurricane Grill & Wings in Royal Palm Beach, where he meets his match in a set of very hot wings. We liked the guy who said "Perfect, not too crispy, not too rare." Given that it's chicken, we'd hope it wasn't rare! [Palm Beach Post]

• Pastrami, rugelach, babka — all are good bets at 3 G's Gourmet Deli in Delray Beach. [Sun-Sentinel]

Just a few new menus added to the site yesterday:

• Six Tables, 112 NE 2nd St in Boca Raton, 561-347-6260

• Myung Ga Tofu & BBQ, 1944 Weston Rd in Weston, 954-349-7337

• El Gran Inka, 606 Crandon Blvd in Key Biscayne, 305-365-7883

• Ouzo's Greek Taverna & Bar, 940 71st St in Miami Beach, 305-864-9848

• A La Folie Cafe, 516 Espanola Way in Miami Beach, 305-538-4484

• Tonight at La Cofradia: the Peruvian/Mediterranean fare will be paired with Antorini wines from Tuscany. Five courses, $95 per person, not including tax and tip. Dinner starts at 7, so don't be late! [La Cofradia]

• If you're free August 15, 22 or 29, you might want to check out the Bordeaux classes at Vino Miami. For $50, you get to taste six wines and sample French cheeses. The first class (tomorrow) starts at 7:30 p.m. [VINO Miami]

• The Falcon House, a tapas restaurant in Delray Beach, is celebrating its sixth anniversary with party on Friday. There will be passed appetizers 4-6 p.m. and happy hour 4-7 p.m., but that's all we know, and the restaurant's website doesn't offer any details.

Here's a business proposition: how about buying a restaurant chain that's mired in debt? If that sounds like your cup of tea, you should know that RJ Gator's will be up for auction on August 31.

On Thursday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida in West Palm Beach set the chain restaurant's auction date for Aug. 31, with closing expected for mid-September.

Bidding for the assets of the company's eight restaurants and its Jupiter headquarters will begin at $1.65 million, the amount offered last week by Golden Restaurants Inc.

According to Robert Charbonneau, counsel for the creditor's committee, Gator's has $1.5 million in secured debt, such as bank loans and an additional $3 million to $4 million in unsecured debt, such as bills from vendors and suppliers.

RJ Gator's auction date set: Aug. 31 [TCPalm]

Yet another week without Dan Oliver's Watering Holes feature. We're just a bit ashamed to admit how much we like it.

No reviews to report in the Palm Beach Post, so we'll move on to the Sun-Sentinel, which visits Cafe Veri Amici in Delray Beach, where the pasta is al dente and the pizza is made with buffalo mozzarella. (They points from us for that.) From the review:

Or, snack on a trio of house pizzas, $11-$13.95 for 10-inchers that start with made-on-premises pizza dough. Have one margherita style with buffalo mozzarella and tomato sauce; napoletana style with fresh plum tomato sauce, oregano and roasted garlic; or a veri amici with fresh tomatoes, buffalo motz, and arugula luxuriously draped with long, lean slices of fine prosciutto for a final Italian accent. It's worthwhile pizza with a good, chewy, bubble-edged slightly charred crust, complemented by toppings applied with a generous hand.

Cafe Veri Amici/Delray Beach [Sun-Sentinel]

• Things we know: RJ Gator's is bankrupt. A company called Golden Restaurants has offered to buy RJ Gator's for $1.65 million, which is $180,000 less than what RJ Gator's owes to creditors. What we don't know: anything about Golden Restaurants. [TC Palm]

• As of today, Frank Crupi of Frankie's Big City Grill is the managing partner of Andiamo Pizza. Soon, Andiamo will be adding some cheesesteaks and other popular menu items from Frankie's. [Miami Herald]

• There's a pretty little feature on Dogma Grill in the Herald, which mentions that there will be a new location in North Miami opening soon. But what really interested us were the comments, none of which was positive towards either the article or the restaurant chain. [Miami Herald]

This week, or at least we think it's this week but there's no date posted with the review, the Post visited Rustico Italiano, a small southern Italian eatery in Lake Worth where the chicken is memorable. Actually, from the glowing description of the dishes, everything else seems to be memorable too.

Mark Schwed didn't get much for two at Rosa Mexicano for under $25. He and his dining companion ordered two appetizers: flautas de pollo and grilled quesadillas with wild mushrooms and cheese. Is that a meal? He said they were full, so I guess so. They spent $22.34, including tax and tip, but were unable to partake of the restaurant's famed margaritas.

Rustico Italiano [Palm Beach Post]
Two dine for $25: Rosa Mexicano [Palm Beach Post]

We're a little late to ballgame here, but we'll post it anyway, for the benefit of anyone heading for a mid-afternoon coffee run. Broward and Palm Beach Dunkin' Donuts are offering free iced tea today as a promotion for their new original, raspberry, and peach-flavored teas.

Dunkin' Donuts to offer free iced tea [Sun-Sentinel]

A post on Chowhound by someone with a desire to cook gator meat (and also with the Caps Lock firmly in place) reminded us of the first time we were offered this Florida delicacy. We were sitting with our parents for lunch years ago at Doc Dammers (remember that place?) and ordered the gator burger. We thought it was just named for the UF Gators, until the waiter kindly leaned over and explained that the burger was actual gator meat. We switched orders then, but a few years later, when we were more adventurous eaters, we tried gator chili elsewhere and found it quite satisfying.

Continue reading "How To Tackle An Alligator Without Risking A Limb" »

"Ending homelessness is as easy as eating lunch." That's the slogan of The Lord's Place, a homeless shelter that offers an upscale soup kitchen, where homeless men and women can eat meals on linen-covered tables. They've also run a chef's apprentice program since 2001, and now, they've unveiled a catering service, offering wraps, sandwiches, salads and cookies, all prepared by the people in the apprenticeship program. The Palm Beach Post has a short story and a nice video about the program.

Cafe Joshua adds catering [Palm Beach Post]
The Lord's Place

• Tere bemoans the lack of independent coffee shops in downtown Coral Gables. Also, she's not a fan of Cafe Demetrio. [Coral Gables]

• Paula, predictably, loved the mango festival at Fairchild. [Mango&Lime]

• Deborah reports that the Benihana in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea has re-opened after its renovations, mainly the addition of an elevated sushi bar. [From the Test Kitchen]

• Lee Klein reports that Indomania, which opened a few months ago on Miami Beach, will be closed all of August. [Riptide 2.0]

• It was love at first sip for Charles Passy and Metromint. [The Hungry Man]

We'll start where we left off, with the Sun-Sentinel's Judith Stocks, who visits Mississippi Sweets in Boca Raton (there's also one in Lake Worth). There, she feasts on ribs, Brunswick stew, okra, and an assortment of other barbecue delicacies. Rotisserie fans beware: the rotating rotisserie is broken for now.

Continue reading "Review Digest: Palm Beach" »

• It's Caribbean Carnival this weekend at Jetsetter Lounge in Lake Worth. There'll be a special Islands menu on Saturday and Sunday. [Jetsetter Lounge]

• Spain is taking over Vino Miami in Miami Beach tomorrow night. Sip on Spanish wine and pick at tapas while watching some of Pedro Almodovar's finest films. Actually, we're not sure exactly what you'll be watching (details are sketchy), but it will definitely involve Almodovar. Tickets are $20 per person. [Vino Miami]

• Local poet Howard Camner, who was once nominated to be the state's poet laureate, will be at North One 10 in North Miami for an evening of food, wine, music, and of course poetry. The menu item names are a hoot. "Uncensored wild salmon on the road of wheat, mango chutney" anyone? [North One 10]

• Cucina D'Angelo's Chef Angelo Morinelli presents Cigar-B-Que on July 12, where diners will sip on cognacs and smoke cigars in between their three food courses. Tickets cost $100. For more information, or to buy tickets, check the restaurant's website.

• This Thursday at Premier Wine Club the Argentine malbecs will be flowing at an evening tasting. The event starts at 6:30 and costs $20 per person; $10 of the entry fee will go towards a purchase of a featured wine.

• It's still a few days off, but we can't wait until the mango festival at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. The event kicks off this Friday with the Pirate's Ball, at which costumes are encouraged.

How do we get all those menus, you ask? It's a complicated process, one that involves carrier pigeons who dutifully bring menu after menu to our front door. Lately, we've been inundated with new menus, so we thought we'd give you a little sample of what went onto the website yesterday:

• Prichard's Restaurant & Bar, 957 Park Ave in West Palm Beach, 561-845-9003

• Marios Latin Cafe, 1020 N Homestead Blvd in Homestead, 305-247-2470

• Temple Orange, 100 S Ocean Blvd, at the Ritz Carlton in Manalapan, 561-533-6000

• Paraiso Asturiano Cafeteria, 225 SW 17th Ave in Miami, 305-631-9262

• Lola's on Harrison, 2032 Harrison St in Hollywood, 954-927-9851

• The ninth annual Festival Argentino starts this Sunday at noon at Tamiami Park. There will be plenty of bands playing tango, cumbia and folkloric music, which is all very nice, but really, what we go for is the food: parrilladas, chorizos, empanadas, and all manner of sweets doused in dulce de leche. We recommend going on an empty stomach.

• For just $12, you can get a three-course lunch from FIU students in the hospitality program at the school's North Miami campus. Call 305-919-4500 to reserve for July 10, 17, 19, or 31 at 11:45 a.m.

• Celebrate 7-7-07 with a seven-course meal paired with seven wines from seven countries at Pelican Hotel and Restaurant in Miami Beach. It starts at 7 p.m. (naturally), and will set you back $77.

• Taste of Summer, Broward and Palm Beach's restaurant promotion program, features prix-fixe menus throughout July and August at participating restaurants.

Forest Hills, NY-based Knish Nosh opened its first South Florida outpost yesterday in Delray Beach. The middle of the summer seems like an odd time to open, given that one would usually want to capitalize on the influx of New York snowbirds in the winter months, but apparently permits and health inspection problems forced the opening to move from March to July. In addition to knishes, they serve cocktail franks, latkes and rugelach. A MenuPages menu is forthcoming; for now, check out Knish Nosh's site, which features plenty of photos of their tasty-looking specialties.

Knish Nosh [Official Site]
Grotto open in old Chuck and Harold's [Palm Beach Post]

Royal India in Fort Lauderdale gets three stars from the Sun-Sentinel for its fairly standard Indian menu.

Also featured: Bogart's Bar & Grill, a 21-and-over restaurant on top of a movie theater. You can either dine in the restaurant or somehow take your food into the movie theater. We're thinking that could get messy.

The Palm Beach Post's Scott Simmons takes over for regular restaurant critic Charles Passy, who's vacationing in (and blogging from) New York, and looks favorably upon pan-Asian Jinja Bar & Bistro.