It’s getting so the best gauge of a new restaurant’s success is how many years the proprietors have already been in the business. The team that opened Wild Ginger in CityPlace a couple of months ago certainly has the creds: Lirim Jacobi owns Taverna Opa and City Pizza; his partner…
There’s no sugar-coating this one. I knew from the moment I saw it on my desk it was going to be bad. I feared eating this so much, in fact, that I “accidentally” forgot to bring a can opener into the office for three straight weeks. The boss stopped putting…
I stopped by the Lake Worth farmers’ market recently and ran into Jodi Swank, whose (with husband Darrin) Swank Specialty Produce is to the trash at your local supermarket what a Bugatti Veyron is to skateboarding with square wheels. She’ll be at the market on J Street at Lucerne Avenue…
The world’s most omnivorous, omnipresent purveyor of junk food is now crashing the rather more upscale salons of junque cuisine. That would be McDonald’s, which last week spat up a trio of 100 percent Angus beef burgers. Launched to compete with the tonier patties of eateries like Five Guys, Fuddruckers,…
Sometimes spending under seven bucks on lunch can leave you feeling… well, hungry. That is not the case with Sal’s Italian Ristorante’s lunch specials. For a penny less than six bucks, Sal’s hooks you up with a cup of soup or a house salad, a slice of cheese pizza, and…
This week’s column had me trekking alongside local pizza blogger Lapp of Worstpizza.com as we took on three pie-slinging joints in one night. You can check out the article for my conclusions on La Fontana Pizzeria in Coral Springs, Nino’s Restaurant & Pizzeria in Boca Raton, and Tucci’s Fire N…
There’s not another restaurant that works like Sublime. It’s not just the vegan menu, but owner Nanci Alexander donates proceeds from the place to the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida. So we sent freelance photographer Michele Sandberg in to get a look at just how this place runs. Click here…
One of the world’s unique and most interesting wines has long been one of its most mysterious. The wine is Carmenere, today made almost exclusively in Chile, though until a dozen or so years ago, even the people who made it thought they were making Merlot. Carmenere was once one…
Although Clean Plate Charlie is the only food blog you really need to read daily, some people just can’t get enough. Here are some highlights of other food blogs, this time with a focus on July 4 themed posts:Taste of Home has a list of their top ten Patriotic Dessert…
Tired of the rubber-ball tomatoes, wilted corporate greens and vegetables older than Michael Jackson’s last hit at your local giant-mega-supermarket? It’s not like you have many options, because most farmers’ markets close during South Florida summers, when the only thing that grows is mold. Well, on July 4 the Oceanside…
Several Northwood Village restaurants are offering to pack up your favorites to add some extra sparkle to your 4th festivities. Head to Café Centro/Allora (2409 N. Dixie Hwy, 561.514-4070) to pick up sandwiches, salads, pastas and pizzas off its lunch menu before you venture over to the park on Dixie to…
Months after it first kicked off, Angelo & Maxie’s Thursday night craft beer tasting hosted by Fresh Beer Inc.’s Chris Montelius is still going strong. And tonight’s holiday-centric entry should be particularly fun. Everybody knows that beer and barbecue go together like Schlitz and a hangover. Shoot – you’re not…
Honestly, you should be all caught up on this by now. It’s been a whole month, plenty of time to read the single greatest food blog in South Florida. But just in case you haven’t been a super-faithful reader, here’s some of the best blogging of June on Clean Plate…
Pizza expert Craig “Lapp” Agranoff sits across from me at La Fontana Pizzeria in Coral Springs, inspecting a warm cheese-only slice. He lifts the thin triangle by its crunchy lip with one hand and pokes at the underside of the crust with the other. It sags in the middle like…
There’s nothing like a top five list to get the juices flowing on a Wednesday. Today, we’re listing five great places to grab sandwiches in Broward and Palm Beach counties. The list is in no particular order, but you can bet that you’ll be pleased with the results at any…
Clean Plate Charlie is obsessed with burgers. Hey, it’s better than sneaking out of the governor’s mansion to rub the bacon with former Argentine TV reporters or performing unnatural acts on small farm animals. Charlie’s burger fetish plays itself out by coming up with patties that channel the tastes, textures,…
With comfort food being the rage these days, the hot dog is among the formerly forgotten foods that have made a comeback. And we’ve got our share of some fine frankfurters. So in honor of the Fourth, here’s a list of the best local joints serving up the all-American dog.*…
It was 6 p.m. the night before a long weekend, and so far my getaway trip was going smoothly. I’d made it through the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport security screening line with half an hour to spare before boarding time. Now, I was starving. But where the hell could I…
You’ll have to do a little ordering at Carini’s to get a filling “meal” for under $7, but it’s worth the effort. Carini’s is a New York-style pizza joint on Federal Highway in Hallandale Beach worth visiting for the cheap appetizers alone. The mini rice balls (which are about the…
Is there any wine that goes better with barbecue than rosé? I think not. Barbecue is hot, rich, spicy, fatty. Rosé (that doesn’t suck) is chilled, lean, fruity, refreshing. It’s a marriage meant to be celebrated in backyards and consummated over a rack of baby backs smeared with tart-sweet-fiery barbecue…
Last night, Share Our Strength hosted the South Florida edition of Taste of the Nation with a mission to end childhood hungry in America. Local participating restaurants included 3030 Ocean, the Addison, Bulldog BBQ, Cafe Maxx, Chef Allen’s, China Grill, Johnny V, Lola’s on Harrison, Taverna Opa, YOLO and more…
Although Clean Plate Charlie is the only food blog you really need to read daily, some people just can’t get enough. Here are some highlights of other food blogs, this time with a focus on food disaster blogs:Cake Wrecks has countless pictures of cakes with the best of intentions gone…
