Many of our local Brazilian markets and eateries serve food, but they all seem to specialize in soccer. Only Padaria 2000 (1051 Sample Rd., Lighthouse Point, 954-781-1594) seems to be more about the bread than the ball. Unless, of course, you’re talking about bolinhos de queijo, or cheese balls, which…
When it comes to receiving even the most constructive criticism from people like me, most restaurateurs have the rule of the three Ds: decry, deny, defend. First vilify the reviewer to anyone who will listen: Oh, that critic has a lousy attitude. I hear she’s a lonely and miserable person…
Don’t let the name fool you. Flakowitz Bagel Shop (2410 W. Boynton Beach Blvd., Boynton Beach, 561-742-4144) isn’t just for breakfast anymore. A couple of months ago, the bakery and bagel shop expanded into a full-service restaurant. The proprietors say their new nightly dinners are great, so c’mon by. But…
I’ve always operated on the assumption that it’s easier to dine in the summertime than the winter. After all, high season is over. The tourists are gone, and we locals get to reclaim our restaurants, which means reservations are not a necessity, waits for tables are shorter even in the…
I’m a sucker for anything that smacks of poetry, so Delectable Edibles (2811 E. Commercial Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-772-6411) had a pretty good shot at impressing me from the get-go. Aside from the slant-rhyming name, I found the fare in this gourmet market-and-catering facility, run by co-executive chef-proprietors Peter J…
You don’t need to use your head to locate a good chocolate shop. Not the whole thing, anyway. Your nose will infallibly lead you in the right direction — straight to Richard Everett’s (3085 E. Commercial Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-772-8856). In this carpeted strip-mall shop, which has the bare-bones charm…
In February, Restaurants & Institutions published a report about the growing popularity of drive-thru dining. “More than eighteen percent of all restaurant dining occasions (both quick- and full-service) involved a drive-thru window in 2000, up four percentage points from 1990, according to NPD Foodservice Information Group, Rosemont, Illinois,” editor Deborah…
This summer is going to be a test of survival for our restaurants. Labor costs have gone up. Food costs have gone up. Utility costs have gone way, way up. What has gone down? Disposable income. So smart restaurateurs, those who have eateries that will make it in the long…
If you think the drive-thru is all about typical all-American fast food, what would you say to jerk tilapia and fried yuca? Those are the Caribbean goodies you can receive through your power window at the new fast-food restaurant Island Grill (4003 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Lauderdale Lakes, 954-717-1858). In…
The bookstores have let you know about it with displays of hardcover tomes that feature grinning males spanking lobsters with tongs. The department stores have clued you in, too, selling Dad’s Day with special markdowns on steak knives and spatulas. And the supermarkets have gotten into the act — with…
It might sound like a kid’s movie, but the George & Dragon (4140 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale, 954-568-2207) is an upscale British pub. In fact the owners call this whopping new place a “superpub” — perhaps because it includes 4200 square feet of space and about 1000 pieces of…
One of the primary objections to the existence of food critics is that no two critics operate alike. Some review anonymously; others do not. Some accept freebies; others do not. Some visit a restaurant numerous times; others do not. When the range of practice varies so widely, restaurateurs want to…
You’ve hit upon a grand money-raising scheme for your nonprofit organization — putting together and selling a community cookbook. Only now that you’ve gone to the trouble of soliciting recipes, entering them into your computer, doing a little desktop publishing, and getting the whole thing printed, you’re not quite certain…
Every once in a while, I’m reminded that the rest of the nation’s food media simply don’t understand the South Florida eating scene. For instance, a couple of seasons ago, Epicurious.com contacted me about reporting on our farmers’ markets for a special countrywide feature that would run from May to…
I guess you could call it buffet taken to a new level. The brand-new BD’s Mongolian Barbecue (101 Clematis St., West Palm Beach, 561-655-1433), which has been hyped in recent weeks by its mascot Mongo Man — a nine-foot-tall Mongolian warrior walking around West Palm Beach frightening small children –…
The Best of BrowardPalm Beach issue: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee for the breadth and depth of your pages, for your biblical proportions, for your wise(-ass) advice. I love thee to the level of everyday’s most quiet need to find the best…
Perhaps it’s the Miamian in me, as I reviewed restaurants for Miami New Times for five-plus years before taking on Broward and Palm Beach. Or maybe it’s the purist in me, or the nitpicker in me, or even the snob in me. But when I walk into a Latin-American restaurant…
Like a good man, a good chicken wing is hard to find. Unless you seek out Wings ‘N’ Ale 2 (10115 Cleary Blvd., Plantation, 954-577-3669), where the poultry pickin’s are more plentiful than slim. In fact not only are the pleasantly plump wings available both Buffalo-style and grilled with your…
Some people pooh-pooh the notion of big-name chefs lending their expertise and big names to luxury hotels, cruise ships, airplanes, Vegas, Disney World — any venue that offers enough money. Personally I’d lobby these culinary wonder boys to apply their golden touch even to the food concessions at sports arenas…
When Fran’s Chicken Haven (1925 NW Federal Hwy., Boca Raton, 561-395-0781) closed last April, fans of her famous fried chicken could find no solace at Publix, Popeye’s, or KFC: That would be like losing Jennifer Lopez and rebounding with Christine Whitman. Then Stacey Haywurst-Fuentes bought the rights and recipes for…
Now here’s a first: Just about anything I can complain about my most recent dining experience is most likely my fault. For instance, I didn’t appreciate the lack of ambient dining music during this meal. While I’m never overly fond of, say, loud house beats vibrating my plate — and…
If you ask the staff at 12-year-old Chinese restaurant Toa Toa (4145 NW 88th Ave., Sunrise, 954-746-8833) what the name means, they look at you oddly, as if it were obvious. Finally they say something like, “You know, Toa Toa, good food, like dim sum.” Ah, that clears everything up…
