I don’t often go to fish markets expecting to buy Japanese bread crumbs. But hey, if the panko’s there, as it is at the Islamorada Fish Company Retail Market (220 Gulf Stream Way, Dania Beach, 954-927-7737), I’ll take it. After all, the coarsely ground crumbs are ideal for coating the…
Chefs and restaurateurs tend to prepare for Saturday nights as carefully as brides primp for their weddings. They check and double-check food deliveries for quantity and quality. They prep the hostess on who and what to expect. They make sure the best servers are on shift for that evening. On…
OK, so you don’t trust the local critics enough to give you an idea of what exactly a restaurant offers. Don’t worry. I won’t be insulted if you consult the Florida Menu Guide Website (www.FloridaMenuGuide.com). In fact, I encourage it. Not only can you log on to read about 35,000…
An unwritten rule about dining out: Don’t eat in an otherwise empty restaurant. Chances are, there’s good reason your party is the only one. Of course, my job doesn’t allow me the luxury of bolting when I’m surrounded by empty tables. As a result, I sometimes have the unpleasant experience…
Don’t be fooled by the emptiness of Avila’s (1823 E. Sample Rd., Lighthouse Point, 954-942-7700). The deli case in the front might have nothing in it. The two scarred table-and-chair sets might have no one sitting at them. The tortillería might have no guacamole, depending upon avocado season. But you…
Like the French, Greeks have specific names for different types of restaurants and the cuisine served in them. In Greece, restaurateurs generally conform to what is expected of their establishments. For instance, an estiatorion, or upscale restaurant, has tablecloths. A psistaria features a spit for barbecuing pork, lamb, and chicken…
Though it sounds like the name of a train station, Key West Crossing (617 Lake Ave., Lake Worth, 561-588-9900) is actually just as you’d expect: an ice cream parlor. Yeah, OK, I didn’t know what it was either, given the plethora of crafts and artsy objects crowded into the windows…
When I was living in Southern California, I worked in a seafood restaurant located at the end of a pier. During my shift, I occupied my time with waiting tables, doing sidework, and watching the fishermen bring in their catches of bottom-feeders: rays, crabs, the occasional soda can washed in…
Even if we weren’t in a recession, we’d still be watching our wallets: Now that it’s post-holiday season, the credit card bills have started to bring us back to fiscal reality. But there is a wonderful way to indulge and pamper ourselves without spending any more than we would during…
If the anonymous author in The Quotable Cook is correct and it’s true that “The hostess must be like the duck — calm and unruffled on the surface, and paddling like hell underneath,” then we need to turn the hostess at Gary Woo Asian Bistro upside down. As it stands…
Don’t call Baja Fresh Mexican Grill (7036 W. Palmetto Park Rd., Boca Raton; 561-620-9922) fast food. Yes, items like the Baja fish taco, chicken torta, steak burrito Mexicano, and side order of cebollitas (seasoned, roasted green onions) are available almost immediately. True, it’s counter service, and you can eat in…
People often ask me how I choose the restaurants I’m going to review. I give ’em the old party line: I do extensive research; I vary the reviews by city, ethnicity, and price range; I look for a good back story. At least, that’s how it’s supposed to work. The…
Now here’s a great idea for St. Valentine’s Eve: On February 13, Whole Foods Market (1400 Glades Rd., Boca Raton; 561-447-0000) is hosting its first “Find Your Heart in the Cart,” a date-matching game for singles. Entrants will be given a shopping cart and a five-minute time limit, during which…
Talk about the ghosts of future pasts.It’s one thing to go to a new restaurant and be able to remember the eatery that occupied the site before. It’s another to recognize so many elements left over from the previous restaurant that it feels like the second one is haunted. Take…
You have to read the fine print to know that the new steak house Tusk (3411 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale, 954-396-6960) is actually adjacent (as in connected) to the Pure Platinum nudie bar — sorry, make that nightclub. But even if you tend to overlook details, you don’t have…
Well as it turns out, Fatboys Gourmet Grill (4115 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale, 954-568-5004) has confirmed what I’ve long — and I do mean long — believed: Size does matter. In fact, this burger-and-dog joint, which has its origins in the Jersey shore, takes that credo as its slogan,…
Is there any point in summing up the past year? It doesn’t seem to matter what we’re talking about — dining, music, politics — all trains of thought lead to the wreck of September 11. For most of us, it’s as if the first eight months of the year didn’t…
You know a social trend is on the way out when the restaurant industry gets hold of it.Remember Smoke in Fort Lauderdale? Probably not. That’s because the steak house-cum-cigar lounge, which intended to capitalize on the newfound joys of sucking on stogies in public dining rooms, opened after the habit…
I know you’ve been wondering, as I have, exactly what a few million bucks buys you these days. Well, for one thing, it gets you a high-concept, modern, Italian restaurant like Sopra (110 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, 561-274-7077), which after a long delay has finally opened its costly doors…
Tim Zagat is an opinionated man.Perhaps that’s not surprising, given the fact that in 1979, he and his wife, Nina, founded the Zagat New York Restaurant Survey. Started as an informal restaurant rating system, derived from detailed questionnaires distributed among a group of friends (including the Rubell family, of Studio…
Whaddaya mean, you’ve never had monkfish liver? Roy Villacrusis, sushi chef at Mark’s CityPlace, claims it’s the “foie gras of the sea.” Of course, you’ll have to taste it to believe it, and now you can do that not only at CityPlace but at Mark’s Mizner Park (344 Plaza Real,…
Question: How do you score a table at Pearl by the Sea, a popular Russian restaurant and cabaret in Hallandale Beach that also goes by the name Club Pearl? A. Speak Russian or English with a Russian accent, or have a Russian surname. B. Know that “semi-formal attire is required”…
