Where to Dine in Palm Beach/West Palm Beach

[Rachel Perlow]

We're going on vacation to Palm Beach at the end of May. (I hope we don't miss Stone Crab season!) I am pretty familiar with the area south of there (Ft Lauderdale & Miami & in between), but not Palm Beach and its environs. All suggestions welcome.

Specifically, we will be on Palm Beach Shores, east of Riviera Beach, north of Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, but are willing to drive - I'm sure we'll be hitting Versailles in Miami and Billy's in Hollywood.

[Rosie]

32 East Atlantic

Delray Beach

Norman's in Coral Gables-it's a drive but worth it

[Beachfan]

It's a bit south, but Zemi's in Boca Raton is a big favorite of mine.  Wine friendly too.

[Deacon]

Cafe Chardonnay

Cafe L'Europe (?)

Chez Jean-Pierre

100 South Ocean (?)

Renato's (?)

for hotel restaurants:

Ritz-Carlton

Four Seasons Ocean Grand

anything at The Breakers

Best leads I can think of. Hope they will be of some help.

[larry11565]

The Sun-Sentinel puts their fairly reliable reviews on line at

http://www.showtimeinteractive.com/top....00.html

If any problem with this link, go to www.sun-sentinel.com and follow the Entertaining - Dining links to Palm Beach listings.

(Note: although the Breakers offers a grand setting for dining, we've never felt the preparation was equal to the decor or the price.)

[Sandra Levine]

Good fish and wide choice of interesting beer at a dive called the Oar House in Lake Worth, one town south of W. Palm Beach.

[Rachel Perlow]

Jason's parents are taking us to The Breakers for Sunday Brunch. I don't think we'll be doing much northwards driving as I'll be visiting my uncle in the hospital in Miami a couple times during the week. Any more suggestions?

[Beachfan]

Cafe Abracci in Coral Gables is a new favorite of mine.  Right near the airport, open late. Highly recommended middle tier place.

The pasta with asiago/pear filling is other worldly.  And the tuna carpaccio was fantastic the first couple of times.  Once they served it without enough olive oil on it; so if it doesn't seem fantastic, see if that isn't the problem

Poor wine list but reasonable corkage fee.

[Rachel Perlow]

I’m sorry to say we didn’t make it to any of the restaurants recommended to us above. We didn’t make it back to any of the places we had been to before either. However, we had a very enjoyable, relaxing vacation, and managed to find quite a few very good places to enjoy a meal. Please note that there are several links embedded in this post, so move your curser over anything you’d like more information on.

Saturday night we went to Riggin's Crabhouse & Seafood Market, 607 Ridge Rd, Lantana, (561) 586-3000. It is a local place, not at all touristy. Family friendly, but they have a good bar. We had fun with the all you can eat (AYCE) crab special. But after discussions with the waiter during & after our meal we realized the best way to go is to order the Maryland style or Garlic blue crabs by the half or full dozen. The AYCE special gives you the smaller crabs, for about the same money and less work you can get a similar amount of the large sized ones. Oh, and they had the best Key Lime Pie we had last week.

We were to have brunch at The Breakers, but logistically it didn’t work out with our other plans for Sunday, so we ended up at the Holiday Inn, 2809 S Ocean Blvd in Highland Beach, (561) 278-6241. They have a surprisingly good Sunday Champagne Brunch. In addition to the expected breakfast items like an omelet station and eggs benedict, they had sushi, seared tuna sashimi, shrimp and langoustine cocktail, poached salmon. The chafing dish items were also very good and refreshed frequently so they weren’t overcooked. Jason got something from the stir fry station and the cook even went back into the kitchen for his requested hot peppers.

Sunday evening we went to a Thai restaurant for dinner. Forget the name, it wasn’t worth remembering. Jason read in the Sun Sentinel that it was one of the best Thai places in the area. From this and other Florida Thai restaurant experiences, I have determined to never go to a Thai restaurant in Florida again. Eventually we may move there and then it’ll be worth hunting to find a good one, but when you are just there for a week it isn’t worth the effort. Especially when you see that Vietnamese cuisine is just beginning to sprout; it hasn’t been over assimilated yet, but more about that later.

Monday was Memorial Day and we had the darnedest time trying to find a restaurant that was even open, let alone good. We ended up at Mondos, 713 US Highway 1 in North Palm Beach, (561) 844-3396. I spied a big red tomato on their sign and it felt like kismet (there is a good Italian restaurant near us in NJ called The Big Red Tomato, with a similar sign). As suspected it is Italian, and also a sports bar. But the pasta was fresh made, the bread baked on premises (and available to take out by the loaf), as were the desserts (although we didn’t get any). I had a seafood chipino (that’s what they called it. It was somewhere between Fra Diavolo and marinara in actuality) while Jason had chicken & Italian sausage with a similar sauce. The pasta portions were huge, I had to take half of mine home.

On advise of one of the resort activity directors, we went to Park Ave BBQ & Grille, 525 US Highway 1 in North Palm Beach, (561) 842-7427, for their Tuesday night AYCE ribs, available in babyback or spare ribs. I’m no barbecue afficianato, but these seemed like pretty good ribs to me. If you can get over the music which sounded like my high school record collection (Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran, etc.), this is a great casual spot for families, tourists and locals for lunch or dinner. Cheap too. Sandwiches average $5, dinners $7-15. Their Key Lime Pie was too heavy, but their buttermilk cake was so good (we would get desserts to go usually). We enjoyed the ribs so much we went back for lunch on Thursday. Jay had a BBQ Beef sandwich and I had the BBQ Chicken Caesar salad. Oh, and hot and sweet sauces are served on the side, rather than gooping up everything, so you can sauce to your taste.

We made it out of the resort for lunch on Wednesday, to a relatively new Vietnamese restaurant called Viet House, 4047 Okeechobee Blvd, in the Habitat Shopping Center in West Palm Beach, (561) 684-8688. Unlike the mediocre Thai food we had earlier in the week, we have always had good experiences with Vietnamese food in Florida. I think the immigrants just haven’t been in the country as long, so the food doesn’t seem to have fused with Chinese the way Thai has. We were there a little late for lunch and after a while the mother/daughter cook/waitress team sat at the next table chatting with us. They appeared quite happy that we enjoyed their food and were going to recommend it to our online friends. In addition to Viet House, we have also enjoyed Dong Huong Vietnamese Restaurant, 6672 NW 57th St in Tamarac, (954) 726-9728, on previous Florida trips.

Jason had been reminiscing about going to Jupiter Crab as a kid so we headed there on Wednesday night. We arrived at the location (thanks to the Hertz Never Lost Magellan GPS system – totally worth it BTW), to find it burned down a couple years ago. The gas jockey next door recommended Charley's Crab, 1000 N U S Highway 1 in Jupiter, (561) 744-4710. This was a very nice place with a view of the lighthouse; but sitting outside was a little buggy. Jason’s favorite was the coconut shrimp while I enjoyed the wild Alaskan salmon. Charley’s is part of the Muer Seafood Restaurants group. They have several restaurants in Florida and in other states as well.

Thursday night we finally had Cuban food. We originally planned to go back to Versailles in Miami on Sunday, but that didn’t work out. So, we ended up at Don Ramon's, 502 S Military Trail in West Palm Beach, (561) 687-0161. I had stopped in to pick up their take out menu earlier in the week and it looked good. We returned for their marinated steak and camarones ajillo. The only thing I didn’t like there was the ham croquettes appetizer, too potatoey. They also had run out of mint so Jason couldn’t get his mojito. Very upsetting. However, the food and service was good so it served its purpose.

On our last day we had lunch at Crazy Buffet, 2030 Palm Beach Lakes Blvd in West Palm Beach (561) 616-9288. We kept hearing the radio ads, and when asked where to go for sushi, more than one person mentioned this place. Plus we were hungry. It is a better than average mixed Asian buffet. Hibachi prepared to order, a large variety of nigiri and maki sushi, salads, soups, common buffet Chinese stuff, tempura they managed to keep crispy, edamame (fresh soybeans), ice cream sundae bar & fruit for dessert (plus boring cakes & cookies). Lunch seems to be the best deal, but dinner includes a lot more seafood (crab, shrimp, crayfish).

Finally, by Friday night I was back in a shellfish mood, so we headed to Long Island Shellfish Co, 11603 US Highway 1 in North Palm Beach, (561) 622-7200. The waitresses and chef/owner were very friendly, and happy to show off the beautiful lobsters. Jason and I opted to share a 5 lb monster, split and filled with a crabmeat & lobster roe stuffing. I had also had a beautiful salad of baby greens and blueberries with a raspberry vinaigrette, topped with several grilled scallops (perfectly cooked). Jason’s appetizer was a vegetable chowder (they called it minestrone) served in a bowl the size of one of those huge latte cups. It was a very delicious ending to such pleasant vacation.

PS – we stayed at the Marriott Ocean Pointe in Palm Beach Shores on Singer Island. This is a beautiful time share resort with many more amenities than any other timeshare we have stayed at. If anyone is interested in viewing this, or any other Marriott Vacation Club property (we own in Atlantic City, NJ), please email me your name/address to rperlow@hotmail.com, so I can officially refer you to them to get my referral bonuses. Thanks.

[Susan in FL]

My friend and I have decided upon the plan for when she comes to visit in April. We're going to the Palm Beaches area for a three-day girls-night-out. We're staying on Singer Island. I'm researching quite in advance, I know, but for me the planning is almost as much fun as the trip. Please give me your recommendations, ideas, and info on where to eat and other things to do. The most important thing is good food and wine, and some decent microbrews would be fine too, if there is such a thing there. We're interested in upscale, or not. Wonderful ambience and entertainment, etc. would be a great bonus, but we don't want to compromise the quality of the food for a good view.

[Jason Perlow]

Susan: I merged the thread with comments about OUR trip to West Palm (we stayed on Singer as well) about a year ago.

[Susan in FL]

Thanks, Jason!

To those reading this, if you know any of the restaurants have closed during the past year, please mention.

[flacoman]

If you really want the real deal , go to La Casita on SW 8 th street , just east of Le Jeune . Versailles is a pale imitation . If it's good enough for Mom it's good enough for me .

[Susan in FL]

If you really want the real deal , go to La Casita on SW 8 th street , just east of Le Jeune . Versailles is a pale imitation . If it's good enough for Mom it's good enough for me .

Thank you for the reply, but I might have missed your points. Real deal?

I've been researching on Zagat, Mobil, Wine Spectator, etc., and haven't seen many of those mentioned on this thread since a year ago. I did read about Charley's Crab which did not sound too impressive to me... too much like what I can get all the time here. Also, I've read good reviews on a couple that Deacon listed. So far, I am leaning toward Cafe L'Europe, L'Esacalier At The Florentine, The Restaurant, and Cafe Chardonnay, but I always like to hear what someone says who has dined at restaurants recently, besides the reviews. Anybody know of these?

[flacoman]

La Casita is just a simple family run Cuban place ,mostly frequented by natives . Versailles is the touristy, mass marketed place . You'll find things like stewed goat ( chilindron de chivo) as well as several regional dishes and all the usual suspects (picadillo , ropa vieja et al.) Kid friendly and low buck (10-15 dollars tops ). Whenever my mom needs a night off from cooking ,off they go to La Casita

HTH

Jorge

[Susan in FL]

La Casita sounds great. It's on my list now. Thank you very much!

[robyn]

My friend and I have decided upon the plan for when she comes to visit in April.  We're going to the Palm Beaches area for a three-day girls-night-out.  We're staying on Singer Island.  I'm researching quite in advance, I know, but for me the planning is almost as much fun as the trip.  Please give me your recommendations, ideas, and info on where to eat and other things to do.  The most important thing is good food and wine, and some decent microbrews would be fine too, if there is such a thing there.  We're interested in upscale, or not.  Wonderful ambience and entertainment, etc. would be a great bonus, but we don't want to compromise the quality of the food for a good view.

I don't know how much of the weekend you want to spend battling traffic on I-95 (it's murder) - but I suggest staying in the north and central Palm Beaches area if you want to have a reasonably relaxing time. There's certainly enough there to keep you busy for a weekend. Don't even think about Miami unless you want to spend at least 90 minutes driving each way. We get to south Florida about 3-4 times a year. I usually visit my parents near Boca - and have some business in Miami. The traffic has become so bad that we split up our hotel stays (a few days in the Palm Beaches - a few days in Miami).

You didn't say how old you are - what kind of atmosphere you're looking for - or what you feel comfortable spending. So I'll dash off some comments. Feel free to ask specific questions.

Of those restaurants you've mentioned - I've been to L'Escalier, Cafe L'Europe, and Chardonnay within the last couple of years. L'Escalier had a new chef when we were there last fall, and we thought it was excellent (best meal we had last trip). The room has a very formal feel - but the staff was very friendly. Cafe L'Europe is also very good - also pretty formal. In Palm Beach proper - you should also take a look at the new Cafe Boulud (it probably isn't in the guidebooks yet - but it has a web site). Didn't think the food was as good as that at L'Escalier -although it was very good - but we liked the ambience more (didn't hurt that they were having a fashion shoot in the courtyard the night we were there).

We also enjoyed Echo in Palm Beach. It is more of a casual Asian fusion type place. Not sure you'd want to make it your "night in Palm Beach" restaurant. Haven't been to Charlie's Crab in a long time. There are better places in my opinion.

Chardonnay is more of a high end "local" restaurant in a strip shopping center (in Palm Beach gardens or North Palm Beach - can't remember the exact town). It is fine - but it has never been as good as - for example - Mark Militello's original strip shopping center restaurant in Miami. Isn't in the same class as the Palm Beach restaurants in my opinion.

For a fun girls night out - and especially if you're 20ish to maybe 40ish - you might spend some time at City Place in West Palm Beach. Lots of restaurants and places to have drinks. No great food - but a fun high energy place. If you plan to spend an evening in that area (and I recommend doing that) - also take a look at what might interest you in the Clematis street area in Palm Beach (restaurants/bars/clubs/etc.).

Further north - we like Carmine's in Palm Beach Gardens (casual but not inexpensive neighborhood place) - and for good deli for breakfast/lunch if you hanker for some - TooJay's in either Palm Beach Gardens or Jupiter (the one in Palm Beach Gardens is right down the block from the Palm Beach Gardens mall - very nice mall - and what would a girl's weekend out be without at least a little trip to the mall).

As for microbreweries - haven't found one that's worth a detour - much less a trip (we have much better in Jacksonville). I think you can safely skip Brewzzi's and Hops. We've found a couple of "Irish pub" places in the area that are ok - but none that is worth a detour if another is closer to you.

By the way - you definitely want to spend a little time in the Norton Museum. After its recent expansion - it is now probably the best art museum in Florida. Robyn

Whoops - Clematis Street area is in West Palm Beach - not Palm Beach.

Edited January 22, 2004 by robyn (log)

[flacoman]

Have you tried Big Bear Brewing Company in Coral Springs ??

Whenever I see folks recommending Versailles in Miami , I try to set 'em right ;-) My equally foodie (non Hispanic ) neighbor hasn't been back to Versailles since . I'll have to make the slog up to some of the recommeded places in Balm Peach

[robyn]

Have you tried Big Bear Brewing Company in Coral Springs ??

Whenever I see folks recommending Versailles in Miami , I try to set 'em right ;-) My equally foodie (non Hispanic ) neighbor hasn't been back to Versailles since . I'll have to make the slog up to some of the recommeded places in Balm Peach

Nope - never been to Coral Springs except passing through heading east.

I lived in Miami for 20+ years - and I liked Versailles - especially when all the politicians came tromping through during election season. But I don't think any restaurant in Miami is worth a 3 hour round trip from northern Palm Beach county. Robyn

[Susan in FL]

Hi, Robyn. Great info, thanks. First of all, we have NO intentions whatsoever of spending ANY time on I-95 except for getting there! In fact, I'm thinking we will do the A1A thing on the way home. No Miami during this trip. We already have our reservation made for Singer Island, and plan to spend the whole time at the Palm Beaches. I've been reading about Clematis Street... sounds good and we'll definitely spend some time there, and I'm glad you mentioned the mall, too.

You didn't say how old you are - what kind of atmosphere you're looking for - or what you feel comfortable spending. So I'll dash off some comments. Feel free to ask specific questions.

I am one of the what-seems-to-be-a minority on eG who has year of birth displayed publicly, so that's why I didn't mention my age. To keep you from having to look... I am 50-ish. Like I said, good food and wine is more important to us than a certain kind of atmosphere. My friend and I will be willing to spend the money for expensive dinners if we get what we pay for, and also will be happy to find less pricey spots if they are good. Thus, the researching ahead of time... and so your comments and recommendations were well taken. And glad you mentioned the museum, too.

Have you tried Big Bear Brewing Company in Coral Springs ??

I have been to Big Bear. It was a few years ago, and my Hibernation Pale Ale t-shirt is now soft and comfy , but I still have it, raggety as it is. I recall that it was pretty good, for Florida beer. If we don't make it to a brew pub this trip, that will be OK.

[Jason Perlow]

Have you tried Big Bear Brewing Company in Coral Springs ??

Whenever I see folks recommending Versailles in Miami , I try to set 'em right ;-) My equally foodie (non Hispanic ) neighbor hasn't been back to Versailles since . I'll have to make the slog up to some of the recommeded places in Balm Peach

I don't know, I thoroughly enjoyed Versailles... I wouldn't exactly call it a "touristy" place, I mean its not like Calle Ocho is a huge tourist trap to begin with. Its a big restaurant to be sure, but I thought their cuban sandwiches and other things they had were pretty authentic. And I know plenty of Cubans who will swear by the resraurant as well.

Here is a web site with some pictures of the restaurant and an accompanying writeup by a bunch of Cuban guys:

http://icuban.com/3guys/versailles.html

Some of their comments indicate that for a while the food at Versailles was tired and had deteriorated, but in the last several years the food has experienced something of a "renaissance".

BTW, the 3 Guys From Miami site is a great resource for Cuban and Miami food in general.

http://www.icuban.com

[robyn]

I am one of the what-seems-to-be-a minority on eG who has year of birth displayed publicly, so that's why I didn't mention my age.  To keep you from having to look... I am 50-ish.  Like I said, good food and wine is more important to us than a certain kind of atmosphere.  My friend and I will be willing to spend the money for expensive dinners if we get what we pay for, and also will be happy to find less pricey spots if they are good.  Thus, the researching ahead of time...  and so your comments and recommendations were well taken.  And glad you mentioned the museum, too.

Took a look. You're a little younger than I am - but you have the same hair cut. Maybe even the same glasses .

I read a couple more write ups about the places I mentioned. In light of what I read - I'd probably go to Boulud for a big deal restaurant on Palm Beach proper (if I had to choose one). All of the restaurants seem to be somewhat inconsistent - but I know the room at Boulud is pretty. That's not going to change. If you've never been to the Breakers though (where L'Escalier is) - you have to take a look around - just for the building and the architecture. Tour the Flagler Museum too. Flagler is probably the most important figure in Florida history - and the landmarks he left from one end of the state to the other are always worth some time.

I can't recall whether you moved to the Daytona area from another state. If so - I recommend buying a copy of the Michelin green guide to Florida. Lots of great history (for a state that sometimes doesn't seem to have any). Robyn

[Susan in FL]

Took a look.  You're a little younger than I am - but you have the same hair cut.  Maybe even the same glasses  .

Cool! (Don't you just love not having bad hair days anymore?)

I can tell that it's going to be tough deciding because of the usual so-many-restaurants, too-little-time thing, but what a wonderful problem to have. Boulud is definitely on our short list.

Thanks, Robyn. Please, if you read any more write-ups or think of anything else, keep your good information coming.