NJ2FLA

Coming to town next month. Carmines or Tony Di Napolis? Even better yet some other suggestions. I am staying on W24th in Chelsea.

This "season" I have noticed the restaurants are not as busy as they typically are. In speaking with some owners and servers they have been telling me the same. It's slammed for about an hour or so and then it's dead. I really haven't had to wait long anywhere even on a weekend evening. I am not sure if it's the economy our the market in this area of Florida. There was an article in one of our local newspapers about the restaurants struggling. -Scott

Nancy, I am going to check out the Cuban Café. I love the breaded steak that you can find a Cuban restaurants. It's not too far from where I live. I will let you know what I think. Thanks for the review! -Scott

Sorry that I replied with a good, Chinese (Ethnic), not fancy restaurant in Lake Worth. Too Jay's to answer your question is a deli where you can get dinners, soup, sandwiches, etc. They are a local chain and have many locations in the area. It's decent in my opinion. I also heard that there are some cool places to eat on Lake Avenue in the East part of town. I think Bizarre Avenue Café is there but I haven't tried it. I haven't been to Riggins Crab house as I don't fancy seafood. Enjoy your trip and let us know where you end up going.

I went to Dixon Li's on Military just about a block north of Lake Worth Road last Saturday night and really enjoyed it. The combination plates around around 15-20 each but also include soup, shrimp or two huge spare ribs, egg roll, fried or white rice with your main dish and desert. The spare ribs and the rest of the food was great. The owner Dixon has a great personality and is quite the character. For a local diner type place you could try Mom's Kitchen. Let me know if you find and try a decent Thai place. I go to one in Delray that I enjoy. Where exactly is the Taco Truck you are speaking of?

My office is in Juno Beach so I wlll have to check out Paul at the Commons on PGA BLVD. Anyone ever go to Paris in Town on the corner of PGA and US1? 11460 US Highway 1 North Palm Beach, FL 33408 (561) 626-6017

Jaxson's is the best. Been going there for years. Sometimes my friend and I will drive 45 minutes from where we live to get some ice cream fix. I usually get what others think is disgusting but Pistachio ice cream with peanut butter sauce on top. I might go early on Sunday and have a cone as we are having dinner at the Ark on Stirling Road. The Ark has a great buffet with those huge crab legs and prime rib, etc. I will be curious to see if they do uncover some great bakeries while in town. -Scott

McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's! Just kidding! You will probably want to check out what's on Atlantic Boulevard. Lots of people wandering around and restaurants and night clubs. I live in Boynton Beach which is one town up. I wish I could give you some specific recommendations but I can't seem to think of anywhere. Many people like a small place called DaDa's on Swinton Blvd. It's a neat place in an old house. I am sure others on here can be of more help! Have a great time.. the weather here has been gorgeous! -Scott

Stephen, I wish I could help you out. Years ago my aunt used to buy me some nice 7 layer cake for me at a place called the 44th Street Bakery in Lauderhill. It's is/was off University Drive and 44th street. Here is what I found on it: Doris Italian Market and Bakery 7818 NW 44TH St Lauderhill, FL 33351-6206 9547491055 Personally I can't think of any outstanding bakeries in the area. I live in Boynton Beach which is north of Ft. Lauderdale in Palm Beach County but not that far. Depending on where you are staying I am not sure that it would be worth going out of your way for. My family used to be in the bakery business when I was a kid in Passaic, NJ. I also used to love the onion pockets from the Allwood bakery in Clifton, NJ. Let's see if anyone else chimes here in and let me know how you make out when your in town! -Scott

I had one the other afternoon at a McDonalds in Keller, TX. I am back home to FL and the guy that owns most of the franchises here (West Palm Beach area) never does anything creative. Then again he never hires anyone that speaks English nor knows how to use a mop and bucket.

There is a Flakowitz complete with attitude close to where I live. It's on the S.E. corner of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Hagen Ranch Road. On the N.W. corner of Boynton Beach Boulevard and Jog road is a breakfast shop / bagel join named Bagels & ...

How were the prices? Do they give you pickles or table salads?

Sounds good to me. I am going to get my hair cut in the morning in Caldwell and then will head over. I imagine 12 - 1 pm time frame would be great. -Scott

John, I am going to be in NJ on the 26-28 of this month for a wedding on Sunday. I really want to try the Jimmy Buff's in East Hanover. Do you still work Saturdays? It might be fun to get some people together for lunch there on Saturday the 27th of October. -NJ2FLA aka Scott

I do recall the PuPu in Bloomfield. I also recall often going to the BoBo Inn in Totowa as well. I worked at Bob Ciasulli Mitsubishi & Hyundai across the street when I was 18-19 years old so that would have been in the late 80's. We knew the owner and his name was Billy. His wife was a hairdresser and when I would go in with my family we would always talk to him. He was partners with one of the guys from the PuPu in from Bloomfield. I remember both places being inexpensive and relatively busy.

Let us know what you think or when your going and we will meet up for lunch! It's more fun to share the wings with a group of people! -Scott

My brother got engaged and moved to Texas all the in same week a few years back. I will still spending most of my time working in NJ - so my folks and I along with the bride to be family did some caterer searching. We grew up in Verona and both my brother and I had our bar mitzvahs at the Manor in West Orange. Naturally we considered going there for my brother wedding but weren't impressed with the general condition of the facility and the attitude of the individual we dealt with. The building is starting to show signs of it's age and looks pretty much the same as it has for years. We also went there one year for Mothers day which is not a day to judge an establishment on but we were very unimpressed. Especially when a waiter stood on a chair in the dining room to jam a knife into an A/C vent when a customer complained about the temperature. Image a mother complaining about the temperature of a restaurant Anyhow the attitude they gave us was that of like they were going to be doing us a favor by allowing us to have my brothers wedding there. We walked out to make a long story short. They ended up having the rehearsal dinner at the Bethwood. The wedding was at the Crystal Plaza. In my opinion and that of many I asked is that the food at the Bethwood was much better than that at the Crystal Plaza. I am not sure if it was my they ordered to eat but it was not worth the hefty price tag. My brother was married on Monday - Labor day which also afforded us a reasonable per head meal price. Working with the owner of the Bethwood, Frank Pombo - what an experience, what a character. Anyone that has had an affair there is probably chuckling to themselves. Frank was fantastic and very accommodating. I am not going to say that the Bethwood doesn't look it's age and need some work here and there but the rehearsal dinner was first class and the food was fantastic. Anyone been to Sunday brunch at the Bethwood? I heard is fantastic. I have also been to affairs at the Richfield in Verona - it was decent, fair, nothing spectacular. My 2 cents worth... One thing I will say is that the caterers in NJ are a lot less expensive then those down here in Southern FL. -Scott

Out of NJ but somewhat relevant. I went with a friend of mine to 5 guys here in West Palm Beach on Village Blvd. last Thursday night. I ordered the little bacon cheeseburger with just fried onions on it. We also each ordered a small fry and drink. The difference between the little cheeseburger and the regular one is the number of patties. The little size is one patty and the regular is two patties. The price difference is $1.00 more for the regular I think it rings in at $5.85 for the Bacon Cheeseburger. The meal cost me nearly $9.00. Yes, it is served in a paper bag and yes we could of easily split the fries. I enjoyed the fries. The cheeseburger was tasty but nothing to drive out of my way for. They also had the peanuts which tasted as if they had been in open air a bit long as they were getting stale. -Scott

My office is in Juno Beach and we often go there for lunch. We always get the wings and their sauce is fantastic even if you like them hot. I also recommend the Thirsty Turtle.

What's a DD?

I was going to suggest Mario's. I have been going there since I was a kid and the place looks the same. I also like the meat filled ravioli there too.

I am always sorry to hear about people bad experiences at restaurants. I personally have not heard of this establishment. Perhaps others on the board have tried it?

I enjoy a Cuban resturant in North Miami called Little Havana. It's old school but nice and reasonably priced. The waiters are professionals and take care of you. Dinners are reasonably priced. Address & Phone: 12727 Biscayne Blvd. North Miami, FL 33181 Phone: (305) 899-9069 There is also a great web site you can check out: Three Guys from Miami There are tons of other great places in the area as well. -Scott

11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Ave. #5101 Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- They opened a Rosa Mexicano here in Palm Beach in a new outdoor mall called Downtown at the Gardens. I went there last night and wasn't that thrilled and thought it was quite expensive for what it was. I did order a pitcher of Sangria for $22. The bartender took the plastic (kind you find everywhere) and filled it over the brim with ice cubes. He then added the liquor and I sipped my drink and it was all watered down. I complained and he considerably added more liquor and it was much better. He said the ice was to keep it nice and cold. Obviously they are trained to do that to make more profit. I had a dish of what they called Taco's and it was with chicken and cheese on a hot skillet. It's served with flour tortillas that are soft. It also comes with a sweet type cole slaw with pineapple and raisins which was the best part of the meal. I believe this dish was around $17-18. The skillet was square and about 3x3 inches. There was an ample amount of chicken but thats mainly what the dish was about. It maybe would total up to one breast if that. I am not really in a rush to head back there. They also serve chips which were coated in salt. The sauce for the chips which one is green and the other brown were pretty good though. We didn't order the freshly made at your table guacamole. -Scott

They opened a Rosa Mexicana here in Palm Beach in a new outdoor mall called Downtown at the Gardens. I went there last night and wasn't that thrilled and thought it was quite expensive for what it was. I did order a pitcher of Sangria for $22. The bartender took the plastic (kind you find everywhere) and filled it over the brim with ice cubes. He then added the liquor and I sipped my drink and it was all watered down. I complained and he considerably added more liquor and it was much better. He said the ice was to keep it nice and cold. Obviously they are trained to do that to make more profit. I had a dish of what they called Taco's and it was with chicken and cheese on a hot skillet. It's served with flour tortillas that are soft. It also comes with a sweet type cole slaw with pineapple and raisins which was the best part of the meal. I believe this dish was around $17-18. The skillet was square and about 3x3 inches. There was an ample amount of chicken but thats mainly what the dish was about. It maybe would total up to one breast if that. I am not really in a rush to head back there. They also serve chips which were coated in salt. The sauce for the chips which one is green and the other brown were pretty good though. We didn't order the freshly made at your table guacamole. -Scott