Just because it’s spendy doesn’t make it good, as the series of “Mummy” movies keeps hammering home again and again. But the reverse is true as well: it doesn’t have to cost a ton of money to not suck. Witness the $15,000 film Paranormal Activity for example. What does this…
• Remember the pie-eating contest scene from the ’80s classic Stand By Me? Now picture that, but with raw fish. (I’ll give you a moment to compose yourself.)All better? Good. Because you’ll need your strength for Sushi Jo’s second annual sushi-eating contest, going down on Saturday at 5080 PGA Blvd.,…
This week’s post is purely the product of catchy packaging and weird wording. Clearly advertised as Jerky from the Jar, despite the fact it was in a plain plastic bag just like the 43 other varieties at the gas station, Wild Bill’s still jumped off the shelf. Perhaps it’s the…
Unrepentant beer drinkers, rejoice! Each week, Clean Plate Charlie will select one craft or import beer and give you the lowdown on it: How does it taste? What should you drink it with? Where can you find it? But mostly, it’s all about the love of the brew. If you…
Now that stone crab season is upon us, you gotta see the Captain. It’s Florida lobster season too, so you gotta see the Captain. And if you want live softshell crabs, fresh Cape Canaveral shrimp, pumpkin swordfish, spear-caught hog snapper and more, you gotta see the Captain. “The Captain” would…
It was about 7 on a Wednesday night when we arrived at Bamboo Fire in Delray Beach. We picked out a cozy seat near the restaurant’s front window looking out on Fourth Avenue. Fifteen minutes later, we were still waiting to be recognized by someone other than the riotous five-top…
This fishbowl restaurant off Broward Boulevard brings inexpensive Southern cooking to a shopping complex already inundated with lunch options. But with home-style food this fast and fresh, Peniel’s Palace may yet find its crowd among the express-lunch set. A daily special of catfish is plunked into the deep fryer to…
With all the restaurants closing their doors lately, it’s easy to get a little jaded. But it’s a shock when a powerhouse like Bova Ristorante quits, which, according to employees at the restaurant, is just what happened Saturday night.The restaurant, at 1450 N. Federal Highway in Boca Raton, closed for…
Pete’s Tuscan Hibachi Grill was the Joey Bishop to Cafe Bella Sera’s Sinatra: classy, oddly entertaining, a good sense of humor. But now, the unique concept that fused Japanese hibachi-style cooking with Italian-American eats is officially closed.The Parkland restaurant, which sat right next door to owner Pete Lombard Jr.’s successful…
If Palm Beach is known for anything its as an enclave for the rich and powerful, a place where the Rush Limbaughs of the world can duck into their mansions like shells on a crab’s back. But halfway across the world, Palm Beach is known as the birthplace of one…
Can the folks behind Rocco’s Tacos do for seafood and rum what Rocco’s did for tacos and tequila? We’re about to find out with the debut of Reef Rd Rum Bar, which opened right across Clematis Street from the wildly popular nouveau taqueria. Local moguls Big Time Restaurant Group, Rocco…
Do me a favor: take a look at that plate of curried Florida golden crab pictured above and imagine a scenario in which you can eat it and stay clean. Then I’d like you to please share your findings with me. Because after I was done the savory, spicy dish…
• In our all Todd English, all the time news format, word comes that the Boston top toque’s latest foray into South Florida, originally said to be Figs and set to take over the CityPlace spot once held by Italian Oven Café, will now be called Wild Olives and is…
If you’re not a subscriber to our weekly Café Bites dining newsletter for Broward and Palm Beach counties, here’s a taste of what you missed this week. Click here to subscribe. Take one Bean, many boatloads of succulent Maine lobster, and a smart-looking little eatery on Delray Beach’s Restaurant Row…
A few days have passed since YOLO’s Moonlight, Meatballs, and Martinis event last Thursday, and I’m still blown away by the judging results. It wasn’t who won — Noodles Panini took first, followed by YOLO at second, and Mancini’s at third.But what I couldn’t believe: Johnny V’s didn’t even place.I…
Dozens of local bakeries and chocolate shops participated in the Aventura Mall Chocolate Festival over the weekend, the gathering a monument to the world’s greatest sweet. There were contests, fashion displays, and, of course, gobs and gobs of decadent chocolate — on cupcakes, in truffles, and baked into all manner…
Pictured: Winter seasonal salad with mixed greens, sliced pears, spiced pecans, dried cranberries, roma tomato, and Gorgonzola cheese. Serve with roasted apple vinaigrette.Roasted apple vinaigrette: Sliced apples. Roast. Pulse. Olive Oil. Salt. Pepper. Dijon mustard. Champagne vinegar.Enjoy. …
I know many of you were looking forward to celebrating Festivus this year, but Slow Food has an even better winter holiday to take part in. Terra Madre Day is being held around the world on December 10 with the basic goal of celebrating food diversity. The grassroots campaign is…
Familiarity, sometimes, breeds content. Take Castello di Gabbiano. The wines of this 900-year-old Tuscan winery are as ubiquitous as bad drivers on I-95, stocking the shelves of just about every place from mass-market grocers to tiny neighborhood wine shops. So it’s easy to look down our long, snooty wine noses…
This week according to Chucky:Troy’s Bar-Be-Que in Boynton Beach has great ribs and pork, but skip the sides.Women love the Frenchified eats at Mustard Seed Bistro in Cooper City.More eateries hit the skids this week, as Italian Oven Cafe and Frankies 124 shove off.Riki greasy spoons with her new beau…
Although Clean Plate Charlie is the only blog you need to read every day, some people just can’t get enough. Here are some highlights of other food blogs.How can you possibly look at the picture above and not start craving snickerdoodle cupcakes? Lucky for you, you can click here and…
Jackie SayetThe Presidente flowed as Chef John Critchley laid the culinary smackdown on Giancarla Bodini for the 2009 Iron Fork title. Critchley’s on a winning streak, with his seafood-celebrating Area 31 having been recently named one of Esquire magazine’s best new restaurants this year.Our focus, however, was the side show…
