Deli in South Florida

[ulterior epicure]

my parents, for whom this trip is really for...

Well, I don't mean to be indelicate here, but by any chance, any stretch of the imagination, are they interested in Jewish food? Would they by any chance (not prying you realize ) enjoy a meal of chopped liver, stuffed cabbage, etc. at one of the remaining Jewish places...?

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What's with all this 'ing? LoL!

Jewish food is always of interest in my household (read as much or little into that as you will ). Why? Where's good noshin' to be had in Miami?

u.e.

[markk]

Jewish food is always of interest in my household (read as much or little into that as you will ).

Vell, I tink I may have your number, then .

Why?  Where's good noshin' to be had in Miami?

u.e.

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Well, Jewish food has always been an important part of Miami Beach vacations for me. In times as recent as the 90's, I'd take all my dinners at Rascal House, which went hideously down hill after Jerry's Deli bought it, and I'm told that the property has already been demolished as announced recently, though I didn't think it would happen this soon. I'd eat stuffed cabbage, boiled beef flanken in the pot, etc. every night and pretend I was back in the 1950's on the "meal plan" somewhere.

Since then I have discovered Mo's Bagels in Aventura, but have only had great lunches there, i.e. "eggs, onions, and lox", etc. They have the same dinner items I crave, but they close too early for me - I will get to try dinner there next month because I have to eat at the ungodly hour of 6:30 one night.

And I am told by a person I'm very fond of that the Sage Deli on Hallendale Beach Blvd. is great, though I've never been, and I don't know if they serve the dinner food I'm looking for. The same source tells me to check out "Harriet & Bob's Bagel Cove" in Aventura, but I just learned that they won't start serving dinner until October 1 and don't yet know what the menu will be, and they will be closing at 8 pm - still too early for me to have dinner really.

Rascal House was open 24 hours at one point, and then until 2 am at another point, so it always fit my 10:30 dinnertime. And if they had stayed open and stayed great, I'd probably still be dining there, and wouldn't have discovered the restaurant whose thread this is, or any of the other places I now eat in Miami.

[ulterior epicure]

markk... so here's the real question: chopped liver and matzo ball soup... where? You've given me bagel and deli selections, but honestly, I'd rather just get my fill of pastrami, lox and bagels in NYC.

[markk]

markk... so here's the real question: chopped liver and matzo ball soup...  where?  You've given me bagel and deli selections, but honestly, I'd rather just get my fill of pastrami, lox and bagels in NYC.

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At the moment, the only place I can vouch for is Mo's Bagels, which is actually a large, full-service restaurant that looks a lot like Rascal House inside, and serves a full dinner menu. Based on how good their lunch items are, I myself am going back for dinner. It's all the standards, and I've seen the dinner specials being posted as I've finished lunch there, and they call to me. And Mo's is open till 9, so of the other places I mentioned above but haven't been, they're actually the only one open at what could be dinnertime, since Sage closes at 4 and Harriet's will close at 8. Sorry if I got your hopes up; Mo's may be it, though that might not be bad at all. I'm getting my first dinner at Mo's next month as I said, and if it's as good as the lunch was, maybe I'll bite the bullet and eat early another night as well so as to get another dinner there.

Does that help you at all?

[CaliPoutine]

And I am told by a person I'm very fond of that the Sage Deli on Hallendale Beach Blvd. is great, though I've never been, and I don't know if they serve the dinner food I'm looking for. The same source tells me to check out "Harriet & Bob's Bagel Cove" in Aventura, but I just learned that they won't start serving dinner until October 1 and don't yet know what the menu will be, and they will be closing at 8 pm - still too early for me to have dinner really.

Rascal House was open 24 hours at one point, and then until 2 am at another point, so it always fit my 10:30 dinnertime. And if they had stayed open and stayed great, I'd probably still be dining there, and wouldn't have discovered the restaurant whose thread this is, or any of the other places I now eat in Miami.

I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale and I have fond memories of the Rascal House. I'm sad that its gone.

I love Sage Deli, but its more for bagels/breakfast early lunch food. There bagels are really great, they've won a few awards. I'm not a fan of their matza ball soup though. They put spagetti in it which to me is just plain wrong. I don't eat red meat, so I havent tried their pastrami or corned beef,but I've heard its good. They're a Kosher style deli so no bacon/pork products are to be found. My SO is very fond of their turkey sausage though.

[ulterior epicure]

Okay, we've so gotten far off topic (Michy's), but I can't resist making this comment:

... I love Sage Deli, but its more for bagels/breakfast early lunch food.  There bagels are really great, they've won a few awards.  I'm not a fan of their matza ball soup though.  They put spagetti in it which to me is just plain wrong.

WHAT?

Edited September 6, 2007 by ulterior epicure (log)

[annecros]

Sage certainly has a nice chopped liver. Nova, belly lox, etc. I wasn't real keen on the Matza ball soup either. The thing about Sage is the nice people behind the counter. You may have to wait a while, but when you are at the counter there is no rush and you have undivided attention. They treat the Nova by hand as well, pliers and a sharp knife. Very skilled hands there, sussing out the fine bones.

Harriet and Bob's is on the list, that is growing ever longer every day.

There can't be too many winks in a topic.

[ulterior epicure]

annecros, thanks for splitting off this thread and giving it one more wink.

Well-prepared Nova is a favorite.

Sage sounds like an all-around winner, although I guess I'll have to fill up on matzo balls elsewhere. Absolutely no spaghetti in my chicken schmaltz and mazto meal!! Blasphemy.

[CaliPoutine]

Okay, we've so gotten far off topic (Michy's), but I can't resist making this comment:

... I love Sage Deli, but its more for bagels/breakfast early lunch food.  There bagels are really great, they've won a few awards.  I'm not a fan of their matza ball soup though.  They put spagetti in it which to me is just plain wrong.

WHAT?

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I agree!! I've mentioned it to them numerous times, but they just dont give a crap.

In regards to the service, I will say this. I was there in May and I wanted a 1/4lb of lox. I asked the older gentleman behind the counter for exactly that and he gave me an eyeroll and a big sigh. I said to the other dude behind the counter" excuse me, whats with the eyeroll and audible sigh. The dude told me to just ignore the guy, he said give him a break cause he's old!! Puhlease. The measly 1/4lb cost me almost 9 bucks. It was good though!!

I understand the attitude because I grew up around it, but still, it wasnt pleasant.

Oh and there Black and Whites are notorious for being stale. I always ask if they're fresh and when they were delivered.

The bagels are so freaking good. I forgive the attitude for the bagels.

[annecros]

Okay, we've so gotten far off topic (Michy's), but I can't resist making this comment:

... I love Sage Deli, but its more for bagels/breakfast early lunch food.  There bagels are really great, they've won a few awards.  I'm not a fan of their matza ball soup though.  They put spagetti in it which to me is just plain wrong.

WHAT?

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I said to the other dude behind the counter" excuse me, whats with the eyeroll and audible sigh. The dude told me to just ignore the guy, he said give him a break cause he's old!! Puhlease. The measly 1/4lb cost me almost 9 bucks. It was good though!!

I understand the attitude because I grew up around it, but still, it wasnt pleasant.

Oh and there Black and Whites are notorious for being stale. I always ask if they're fresh and when they were delivered.

The bagels are so freaking good. I forgive the attitude for the bagels.

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Heh. I know that guy. He calls me "girlie" and goes in the back to pull my bagels from the cooling bin. The paper bag is too hot to handle sometimes. He can be quite the curmudgeon.

[Miami Danny]

First of all, being an annoying/sarcastic/wiseass counterman is a tradition in Jewish delis (maybe all delis-I seem to remember the Italian guys were crazy, too). It's called being a smart-aleck, as in 'what are you, a smart-aleck? Of course the pastrami's lean. It's been leanin against the counter all day. Now how much do you want, I ain't got all day." I learned all my bitter humor from some very irritable counter guys, often named Sam. If you are treated with smiles and kindnesses, you probably want to go somewhere else.

Just for the record, while, sadly, Wolfie's on Collins and 21st closed some time ago, the Rascal House at 171st and Collins in Sunny Isles is still open. Same huge menu. I've never eaten there, but it's always packed with beautifully dressed alta cockers. Pleasant half-hour drive up Collins, if you're in the mood. Zi Gesunt.

[annecros]

Are you sure about the Rascal House? I never even ventured that way after I read this:

Best Landmark Restaurant to Bite the Dust

I think there may be another in West Dade?

Confusing...

ETA: I tried calling this listing this morning and a FAX machine picked up. The mystery deepens...

[Mr. Delicious]

Are you sure about the Rascal House? I never even ventured that way after I read this:

Best Landmark Restaurant to Bite the Dust

I think there may be another in West Dade?

Confusing...

ETA: I tried calling this listing this morning and a FAX machine picked up. The mystery deepens...

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There was one off of Glades in Boca, formerly a California Pizza Kitchen, but I havent been in that area in years, how sad, their pastrami rueben was my favorite, I could never finish it in one sitting though. Me and some friends would go whenever in the area (when attending Florida Culinary we had field trips in the area) my friends would be the only now jewish people and hands down we were a third of the age of everyone in there.

[annecros]

Well, got through on the phone, and the Rascal House is indeed still there! Miami Danny was right, and I was wrong.

(I was one who provided Markk with bad information. I'll just point the finger at the Miami New Times in my defense. I really must get out and ride around more...)

So now the Rascal House is still there, and now I have to put it on my big fat list!

Anyway, Ulterior Epicure, you might want to consider Rascal House now, all things considered.

There's a TooJays ("Kosher Style") around here as well. I've eaten in their Wellington, I think downtown Lake Worth? (it was a downtown location somewhere in Palm Beach County), and at the Palm Beach Garden's location. Great stuff, loved the pastrami and cup of soup. We used them for corporate catering quite a bit as well. Chicken ala Toojays, not quite kosher, but great sandwich!

Mr. Delicious: Which FCI did you attend? We ate lunch regularly at Cafe Protege in West Palm off of 45th Street.

ETA: Toojays does have a Plantation location:

Toojay's South Florida locations

[Miami Danny]

Are you sure about the Rascal House? I never even ventured that way after I read this:

Best Landmark Restaurant to Bite the Dust

I think there may be another in West Dade?

Confusing...

ETA: I tried calling this listing this morning and a FAX machine picked up. The mystery deepens...

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Hey, confusion is the order of the day in Miami, Anne! They are still open, and are in fact doing a special Rosh Hashanah menu for the holiday. I was assured they will be "fully staffed". They're not going to close until at least next year or the year after. So get your halkas now!

[markk]

Anyway, Ulterior Epicure, you might want to consider Rascal House now, all things considered.

If you do consider it, I think I need to add a bunch of caveats for your consideration, especially if you're like me, and think of a vacation trip as a certain number of meals, and get really annoyed if one of them is lousy - well, isn't that why we do so much advance research before a trip?

I can tell you that in the years before Jerry's deli bought Rascal House, it was great. I'd eat there every night for a week when I was in Miami, as I've said earlier.

Though this may not be the most appealing photo, it was one of the most delicious Flanken in the Pot dinners I've ever had, and it's from 2002, which is probably from before RH was bought, but might be from that period just after they bought it, but before things went downhill:

And though the top is burned in the reheating, this was a stuffed cabbage every bit as good as my grandma Ethel used to make:

Since then, I can remember several visits on several different trips that didn't go well. I remember one November trip where I had to send back two orders of Flanken in a row because they were stringy, tough, inedible, undercooked, and full of gristle. Not in any way pleasant, not the original one, not the one served as the replacement. But we went back the next night and I ordered a Pastrami sandwich, and got one that was equally horrible. Rubbery and elastic and unchewable, instead of crumbly, and when I complained to the waitress, she said she'd get me one from better, fattier batch. A few minutes later she returned with the original sandwich, bite missing, and said "the kitchen says take it or leave it, that's all we have". That same night, I heard another table fighting with their waitress over not getting the famous bread basket (onion rolls. etc.) with their dinner, and their watiress saying "The new owners don't care any more".

I can flash forward to about two years ago, giving it one more try. I had called in the afternoon to ask the manager if they were still making the Flanken at all, and if it would be better avoided, after telling him my previous experiences, and he said that though he was new, he'd promise me a good piece. And when I got there and called him over to remind him, I did get a very delicious order of Flanken, and my companion got a delicious order of stuffed cabbage. It was like eating in a mausoleum, though. In a place that seats hundreds, we were two of only six people dining there. It was early in the evening, too, and we guessed that they had at that point driven away most of their customers.

So I don't know what to tell you. At this point, it's a pig in a poke.

As I said upthread, I'm going to give Mo's in Aventura a try for dinner rather than go back to Rascal House at this point even if it is still open.

[Miami Danny]

Stopped in Arnie and Richie's on 41st St on Miami Beach on Monday-I was under the weather so I got some pastrami and chopped liver to go. The CL was excellent, slightly chunky and homestyle, and the pastrami was not bad. I'm more of a corned beef man anyway. But because I got the pastrami to go from the deli, I was able to avoid the small gristly spots which can ruin the whole sandwich eating experience. On the whole, though, pretty moist and flavorful-they steam it on order. Place smelled like pickles and was packed for lunch. Oh, and the counterman was a major wise-ass, and the lady at the register was an old-school doll.

And if you want to know about a special Jewish holiday treat, see below.

[DTBarton]

I don't profess to be an expert, but I've had some good meals at a bagel/deli/restaurant place on Biscayne Blvd. in north Miami at about 109th street or so, on the west side of the street. Nice bagels, smoked fish, sandwiches and a bevy of neat Jewish ladies that sound like they just got off the boat from Krakow.

[Miami Danny]

I don't profess to be an expert, but I've had some good meals at a bagel/deli/restaurant place on Biscayne Blvd. in north Miami at about 109th street or so, on the west side of the street.  Nice bagels, smoked fish, sandwiches and a bevy of neat Jewish ladies that sound like they just got off the boat from Krakow.

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I believe you're thinking of Bagels and Company-decent bagels and black-and-whites. They do bkfst and lunch-cozy neighborhood diner atmosphere-closes about 3PM. Next to the gun store.

[Mr. Delicious]

Mr. Delicious: Which FCI did you attend? We ate lunch regularly at Cafe Protege in West Palm off of 45th Street.

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Thats the school I attended, however the restaurant had very little to do with the school, basically just shared ingredients, I graduated in 2003 and now own a bakery in my hometown in North Dakota.

[annecros]

Mr. Delicious: Which FCI did you attend? We ate lunch regularly at Cafe Protege in West Palm off of 45th Street.

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Thats the school I attended, however the restaurant had very little to do with the school, basically just shared ingredients, I graduated in 2003 and now own a bakery in my hometown in North Dakota.

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Coolness. I would have been eating there when you were attending. I thought I saw people taking care of the buffet who would be the right age to be in Culinary School. It was right across 45th street from where we worked in Northpoint. Convenient, and the food quality was high enough to impress clients.

Kudos on the bakery ownership. We do graduate some successes here in South Florida.

[markk]

markk... so here's the real question: chopped liver and matzo ball soup...  where?  You've given me bagel and deli selections, but honestly, I'd rather just get my fill of pastrami, lox and bagels in NYC.

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At the moment, the only place I can vouch for is Mo's Bagels, which is actually a large, full-service restaurant that looks a lot like Rascal House inside, and serves a full dinner menu. Based on how good their lunch items are, I myself am going back for dinner. It's all the standards, and I've seen the dinner specials being posted as I've finished lunch there, and they call to me. And Mo's is open till 9, so of the other places I mentioned above but haven't been, they're actually the only one open at what could be dinnertime, since Sage closes at 4 and Harriet's will close at 8. Sorry if I got your hopes up; Mo's may be it, though that might not be bad at all. I'm getting my first dinner at Mo's next month as I said, and if it's as good as the lunch was, maybe I'll bite the bullet and eat early another night as well so as to get another dinner there.

Does that help you at all?

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Well I guess I'm replying to my own message, but I am in Miami at the moment, and just as planned, we did eat an early dinner at Mo's before our concert at the Carnival Center. It was outstanding - better even than our memories of Rascal House dinners. I indeed had the Boiled Beef Flanken in the Pot of Matzoh Ball Soup, and it was out of this world. The meat was meltingly tender and rich, and the broth, matzoh balls, and noodles were perfect. My other half had the Stuffed Cabbage, and indeed it was as good as my grandmother used to make.

We didn't make it back for any more dinners, sadly, because we're on a very late schedule here and haven't been leaving for dinner until long after Mo's has closed for the night. But I have taken out many things to nosh on, and they've been exemplary: the whitefish salad, the shrimp salad, and the baked salmon salad. One day I took out a large chunk of a Large Whitefish, and let it come to room temperature, and it was in fact one of the best pieces of whitefish I've had in many (many) years, and better than the last few I've bought in NYC, which have been way too salty, and too dry. Mo's whitefish was moist and juicy, and absolutely not salty at all.

So I can say that if you're in Miami and craving Jewish food, Oy is this the place for you!

[Chantilly Bob]

my parents, for whom this trip is really for...

Well, I don't mean to be indelicate here, but by any chance, any stretch of the imagination, are they interested in Jewish food? Would they by any chance (not prying you realize ) enjoy a meal of chopped liver, stuffed cabbage, etc. at one of the remaining Jewish places...?

←

What's with all this 'ing? LoL!

Jewish food is always of interest in my household (read as much or little into that as you will ). Why? Where's good noshin' to be had in Miami?

u.e.

←

I was just to recommend that you take a drive to the Flakowitz Bakery in West Boca for outstanding babka, onion pletzel, and other gut-busting old world treats but I just googled it to get the address and I have found that it closed earlier this year.

Fortunately, you can still get some of their baked goods -- the babka, I'm sure of -- at the Flakowitz Bagel Inn on N. Federal at 20th St in Boca, along with all your favorites, like lox, eggs, and onions. Portions are generous, prices are moderate. Plus you get a bowl of baked goods that could ruin your appetite before your meal arrives.

I hope by using the expression "ruin your appetite" my bona fides have been confirmed.

N.B. The bagels at Flakowitz are considered good for the area but like almost all bagels in Boca they are made for the dentally-challenged crowd.

[annecros]

Oh man, Flakovitz closed in West Boca? Sad, the lines were around the building when they opened the doors in the AM on the weekend.

I had a hard time finding a bagel with a decent crust in Palm Beach county when I was living up there as well. I guess I blamed it on the water or something, but you may have a point about the dentally challenged.

The Deli Counter at "The Boys" up in Boynton used to be decent for carryout - but they of course carry a more PanEuropean selection than they do Jewish Deli.

[NJ2FLA]

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 & ...