One by one, each of my dining companions illuminated the same point: Every entrée we ordered at the seven-month-old Maison Carlos, perched on the eastern end of Clematis Street in West Palm Beach, was plated with identical architecturally composed vegetable and starch. Clearly, they all thought this was something I…
Americans live in such a Starbucks-dominated world that we often forget that independent coffeehouses have their own inimitable flavor — even the ones located in shopping centers. The Coffee Scene (15955 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines, 954-441-2364) is one such place. In fact, it has more than 50 flavors. The Baskin-Robbins…
A craving for a good hamburger can be satisfied only by a good hamburger. Window dressing — or garnishes, condiments, and buns — aside, it’s a truth that should be self-evident. In much the same way a dirty pane of chipped glass can hardly provide a picturesque view, a tough…
When the Cheese Course, one of my all-time favorite shops, opened in Weston Town Center, I thought Weston couldn’t get any luckier. But as so infrequently happens, I was wrong. The Grape Merchant (1719 Main St., Weston, 954-660-0777), a chic boutique offering high-end wines and spirits, debuted about a month…
I had an extremely visceral reaction when I read “Chinese modern: Traditional fare stylish again,” one of the latest stories in Nation’s Restaurant News — I got really, really hungry. I’ve never made a secret out of my love for familiar Chinese dishes such as egg foo yung and lemon…
You may know Steve Petusevsky as the former chef of the erstwhile and oft-mourned Unicorn Village natural restaurant in Aventura. Or as the syndicated columnist who writes about vegetarian and organic foods and recipes in your local food section. Or as the author of The Whole Foods Market Cookbook: A…
Thanks to my best friend, the chef at Bizcaya Grill in the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, and my past positions as a waitress in formal dining rooms, this is what I know to be true concerning high-end hotel restaurants: They are part and parcel of a much larger corporation. As such,…
The newest development in fine dining is the co-chef — two executive chefs who collaborate on everything from recipe and menu development to purveyor contacts to kitchen duties. And with the addition of Todd Zimmer, former top toque at Mark’s in the Park (Boca Raton) and Café Maxx (Pompano Beach),…
Summertime, and the lobster is easy. Homarus americanus, belonging to the family Nephropidae and commonly called Maine lobster, can be effortlessly found these days in restaurants all over South Florida in sizes ranging from one to ten pounds. And they’re a snap to afford: Market prices reflect a sudden glut…
Burrito addict Ozzy Osbourne, who has been known to consume a Mexican specialty at every meal for days on end, should now feel comfortable visiting Fort Lauderdale. Señor Burrito (1501 E. Commercial Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-202-0010), a walk-in joint that is a slightly smaller sibling to the relatively minuscule restaurant…
Now that the scent of rotten mangoes has (mostly) ceased to waft across my yard, thanks to an early peak season, I have begun to detect other aromas in the air: The prix-fixe, all-you-can-eat, kids-eat-free, free-wine-with-entrée, early-birds-get-soup-or-salad, 20-percent-off-the-total-check,20-bucks-off-checks-over-50-bucks,buy-one-menu-item-get-one-at-equal-or-lesser-value-free special. Yup, I can sniff out just about any restaurant’s summer promotion…
Forget GameWorks, Dave & Buster’s, Chuck E. Cheese. When it’s time to entertain the out-of-school-and-on-your-nerves tamariis — Polynesian for children — take them to Mai-Kai (3599 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale, 954-563-3272). On any given night, kids age 12 and under can choose from a tamarii-friendly menu that includes Kon…
We Americans are ridiculed the world over for our use of ketchup. We put it on everything, critics say, without discretion. Probably so, but in culinary reality, just about every culture has its singular condiment. The Brits love brown sauce. The French adore aioli. The Chinese couldn’t do without duck…
Ska-punk band it’s not. A mecca for card-carrying members of the National Beef Association, it’s not. It is Sublime (1431 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale, 954-615-1431), the new vegan restaurant owned by Nanci Alexander, founder of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida, and Terry Dalton, former proprietor of the now-closed…
The scenario should be a familiar one — big-name New York City chef-proprietor decides to open South Florida outpost, wants ritzy hotel either to house it or something nearby for a given supply of upscale clientele, chooses South Beach as the likeliest location. Enough celeb chefs have followed this path…
Redfish Bluefish (906 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd., Hallandale Beach, 954-454-8878) may sound like a Dr. Seuss book, but the real story here is the subhead: “Seafood Grille & Sushi Saloon.” Think of “red” as in “red hot”; the grouper is superbly fresh and the crab-stuffed chicken breast uses the real,…
We will start, you and I, at the top of this page and the top of Tsunami, a six-month-old Asian fusion restaurant at CityPlace in West Palm Beach. To our left, we see the gracefully curving stairway that took us up to this fifth tier, known as the “mezzanine bar,”…
Shirts are soaked, salt is clumped, and the hot Latin beat on the street is wilting. It’s summer in South Florida, prime time to chill at Sonny’s Gelato Café (2151 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton, 561-362-0447). Gelato contains a lower ratio of butterfat and air than regular ice cream, which…
It is advised to take the name Louie’s Tequila Cantina quite literally: The spacious and sprawling 160-seat restaurant is designed cantina-style (read: Mexican saloon), and tequila is its forté. The décor is dominated by promotional marketing for various brand-name alcohols — it’s on the walls, over the bar, and strung…
I suppose I’m an easy sell, but I love a good promotion — especially when it rhymes. Which is why I’ll be ambling around downtown Hollywood (Tyler and Harrison streets and Hollywood Boulevard) from 6 till 9 p.m. on Wednesday, June 25, for the “Design and Wine” event. The evening…
“My dick hurts.” As far as opening lines go, yup, that’s an attention-getter. But it’s hardly an auspicious beginning to a serious poem. When it’s being shouted in a sing-song rhythm that would translate to paper as something like, “Maaahh diiick HURTS!” that elicits more titters of derision than oohs…
Innate skepticism has always prevented me from relying on religious relics in my personal life, and a loathing of clichés has long stopped me from referring metaphorically to them in my writing. But in this case, I just can’t resist: I have found the Holy Grail of chain-restaurant dining. It…
