Got a “fast food” breakfast-lunch joint for you…Bennett’s Fresh Roast in Fort Myers.

Let me flesh this out a bit for you…Bennett’s roasts its own coffee–and has a handful of breakfast and lunch items. Order/pickup at the counter. Sorry I can’t tell you “how” the joint’s tuna salad or chicken salad are…same for its scrambled egg pita round or its vegetable soup–the only items “sampled”–1/2 dozen freshly baked (honey glazed, almond coconut, cinnamon twist, boston cream, peanut butter chocolate, maple walnut) donuts that were right up there with the best that Jeff Eats has ever devoured.

Like I said a few seconds ago, I only did donuts (and most of them were “done” in the car), so I have absolutely no idea how the rest of Bennett’s food is. That said, when I was there on a recent Monday morning at 9:15am, every table was taken and there were 6 people ahead of me on line to order. Just a guess here, but based on the donuts–my money says that the breakfast and lunch items are also top-stuff.

Bennett’s Fresh Roast is open 7 days a week from 6am-3pm.

You can check menu/prices at www.bennettsfreshroast.com.

If a 1950′s “looking” diner located in a Miami Springs pharmacy is your game…get ready to play.

Last week I had lunch at Johnny’s Soda Fountain & Luncheonette which is located in the Miami Springs Pharmacy. You can do the Googling here, but back in 1946 a guy named John Stadnik opened a drug store in Miami Springs…and like many of its brethern of the time, it had both a pharmacy and luncheonette in it. To make a long story short, the pharmacy “survived” but the luncheonette closed in 1965. Fast forward to 2010- the Miami Springs Pharmacy is still owned by the Stadnik Family– and Carol, John Stadnik’s daughter decides to “re-open” the luncheonette naming it Johnny’s Soda Fountain & Luncheonette.

So- you know what this joint is all about, the PHARMACY still has the original 1946-look…while-Johnny’s is 1950′s faux-stuff ala Johnny Rockets. For our purposes, this is a mom & pop diner—with an interesting “story” in a really cool location.

Johnny’s menu isn’t huge, but I’m sure you’ll find something to eat…handful of breakfast items–same for salads/sandwiches/burgers/hot dogs/entrees/daily specials/sundaes & shakes. Like I said a few seconds ago, I did lunch…cheeseburger, grilled chicken breast sandwich, french fries, vanilla ice cream/heath bar shake.

Now for the results…I loved the look of the whole joint. The pharmacy and luncheonette are separated by a half-wall divider. Now I know and you know (because I told you)–that the diner decor is a faux-deal, but it’s still cool and real mom & popish…if Johnny Rockets’ decor is a Bentley, Johnny’s is a really used Honda. As for the food, imagine if you made the stuff at home. I appreciate that we may get some-waaaay different results here, but I do make a real good cheeseburger and Mrs. Jeff Eats can muster up a decent enough grilled chicken breast…as for the fries, Johnny’s were ok– like mine- they came out of a frozen package. The shake wasn’t exactly in the league of a Dairy Queen’s Blizzard, but I definitely could handle 2-3 of Johnny’s a week. For the record, over the years Jeff Eats has tried to “duplicate” blizzards at home and has failed miserably.

Johnny’s Soda Fountain & Luncheonette is my kinda of a joint…I’m a sucker for black & white tiled floorr, yellow counter stools and red & white checked tablecloths.

Johnny’s is open Monday-Saturday 8am-8pm, Sunday 9am-3pm.

Lily’s Cafe is a “mom & pop” neighborhood diner that does breakfast/lunch Tuesday-Friday 7am-3pm, Saturday-Sunday 8am-2pm, closed on Monday. You can check menu/prices at www.lilycafefl.com. The site also has a handful of pictures which will “tell” you as to exactly what you are getting into here. Not really sure how to explain this, but there are mom & pop diners and then again, there are MOM & POP diners. For the record, Lily’s Cafe is a MOM & POP…remember- those movies from the 30s and 40s where some kids would yell, “hey, let’s put on a show”?

Anyway…Lily’s is a fabulous joint, imagine your mom and your aunts making and serving the stuff. For you wiseguys out there, my mom was a tremendous cook and my aunts though not in her league also got the job done. Just to go off on a tangent for a minute–when I see restaurant signs/menus boasting “home cooked” food, my mind always says whose “home.” All I know, is that back in Brooklyn in the 50s and 60s I had a friend Michael R. whose mother was the worse cook maybe in the world, well at least Brooklyn—I guess that’s why Michael R. use to “run away” from home so often.

I recently ate at Lily’s…the menu isn’t huge-but there is enough breakfast stuff, soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, wraps, pies/muffins–so nobody’s gonna go without eating. I tried the french toast, western omelet, chicken salad wrap, patty melt (burger, swiss cheese, grilled onions–on rye toast), french fries. Trust me here, everything was delicious. If I had to put the stuff in-pecking order…the french toast was terrific, the omelet-wrap-melt were also terrific but not as terrific as the french toast was, the french fries were good but weren’t terrific. Now if memory serves me correctly, my mom’s french toast didn”t come close to Lily’s, same for her chicken salad (mom use to add chopped dill pickle to the mix, never really liked that!)–mom never made western omelets- but she did make a mean scrambled eggs with American cheese/ham, her patty melt was as good as the one Lily’s dished up, Lily’s and mom’s french fries were a total tossup (too bad Nathan’s wasn’t my mom or dad or whatever!).

The final result, “assuming” that there really is a Lily back in the kitchen–Lilymom, I’m home from college!!

Lily’s Cafe is a homerun!

Got a real good sub-joint for you, Mr. Nick’s Sub Shoppe in Fort Lauderdale. Freestanding building, order/pickup at window–tables outside under a canopy…not exactly the fanciest joint going. You can check menu/prices at www.mrnickssubshoppe.com. Mr. Nick’s is open Monday-Friday 8:30am-6pm, Saturday 9:30am-3pm, closed on Sunday.

Like I said a few seconds ago, this is a “real good” sub joint…

Mr. Nick’s has all kinds of hot/cold subs (6″ & 12″), sandwiches, burgers, franks, salads.

For the record, Jeff Eats forced himself to “try”–philly cheesesteak sub, chicken parm sub, chicken salad sub–now trust me here, the subs were all delicious, with a special shoutout to the philly cheesesteak which came with cheese-mushrooms-grilled onions-green peppers. Now I know-we could debate sub/hoagie bread here all day long…some of you guys like hard crust and some of you guys like a real soft outside— as for “me” I like it both ways–just as long as it tastes good. For the record, Mr. Nick’s goes with a delicious soft sub.

By the way, did you hear about the guy who ordered a turkey sandwich at a lunch counter. The waitress told him that they were out of turkey, so he ordered a chicken sandwich. The waitress replied, if we had chicken I would have brought you a turkey sandwich.

Anyway…If you’re like me and enjoy eating a sub under a roadside canopy…Mr. Nick’s Sub Shoppe is for you.

Johnny’s Diner…inline-strip center “mom & pop” diner—plenty of formica going on here–cash only! The joint is open Monday-Saturday 6am-3pm, Sunday 7am-3pm. Full boat of breakfast stuff, burgers, sandwihes, salads, meat/chicken/seafood dishes.

A bit too early this morning–to get into a full blown discussion as to how the Johnny’s Diners of this world are the “fabric” of American society—how there are literally thousands of them all over the United States—how every town has its own “version” etc.

Johnny’s Diner is my kinda of place. Absolutely nothing fancy going on here. Good solid food at a reasonable price.

Recently did a Johnny’s Diner lunch—chicken salad on rye toast, meatloaf on a toasted bun, grilled cheese & bacon pita, french fries, Coke. Chicken salad ok-but not going to be running from Boca on a regular basis for it. French fries, same deal. The meatloaf which was recommended by a guy sitting next to me and Mrs. Jeff Eats at the counter—now, we’re talking-something really delicious–same for the pita. If gas wasn’t hovering around 4 bucks a gallon, I’d might be tempted to make Johnny’s a monthly episode. For those of you who aren’t shall we say “regular” readers…just kidding on that monthly episode thing.

Let me close by saying, America has “tons” and I do mean “tons” of Johnny’s Diners. Your favorite joint maybe called Joe’s or A-1 or Kitty’s–what they all have in common…mom & pop owners, hardworking waiters/waitresses, decent enough food and local customers like you and me who appreciate a “place” where we can go to- talk and enjoy our friends-family seated at a formica table or counter.

There is an old saying…”One picture is worth a thousand words.”—With that in mind, I need you guys to go to www.dannysallamericandiner.com—when you get there- in addition to menu/prices, you will find photos/videos which will “explain” this joint in detail. Basically, you order from a small building’s window and pickup your own food—you eat outside on picnic tables. Just so you know, Danny’s was featured on tv’s ‘Diners, Drive-ins & Dives’–that “segment” is on Danny’s site…for good or bad, thanks to Guy Fieri, Danny’s customer base is now just not limited to townies.

For you purists out there, Danny’s really isn’t a diner—actually, it’s a hole in the wall-fast food joint that does breakfast stuff, burgers, franks, sandwiches, salads, fries, ice cream, shakes.

Before we go any further, I absolutely loved Danny’s. No lying, if Danny’s was by-my house, I’d eat there at least once a week.

The other day I did lunch at Danny’s…”tried”-bacon cheeseburger, french fries, onion rings, chocolate shake. For what’s it worth, I would match Danny’s “flat-top” grilled burger/fries/onion rings/shake against the best that I’ve had down here in South Florida. There really isn’t too much more that I can say about this joint other than–its food is tremendous, its dumpy roadside building has a tremendous retro-vibe (watch the video), its prices are reasonable and Danny- a former marine (who cooks everything) captures the essence of what American roadside food is suppose to be-and not what the McDonald’s of the world have pushed on us.

I highly recommend Danny’s All American Diner & Dairy Bar.

Danny’s is open Monday-Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday 10:30am-3pm, closed on Sunday.

Let’s call Boston’s On The Beach…American Style–sports bar–that does breakfast, lunch and dinner…the joint has been around for something like 35 years… has 2 floors… has indoor and outdoor seating…is really-really casual…is literally a “landmark”…has loads of flat screen tvs (Do they still make “fat” tvs?)… is always packed…has blues/rock/classic bands-artists galore…menus that got everyone covered…decent enough food…full bar…food & drink prices a drop on the high-side–but nothing too terrible…typical sports bar type service, that every so often gets-shall we say-flustered by the crowd…Boston sports teams’ theme (Keep in mind, “they” did sell Babe Ruth to “us”–so there!!)

You can check-out all of the above at www.bostonsonthebeach.com.

Boston’s On The Beach is one of the reasons–we all live down here in sunny South Florida.

Boston’s is a cool place. Take your visiting ‘from up north” relatives and friends there…they’ll be jealous.

Boston’s is open Monday-Saturday 7am-2am and Sunday 7am-midnight.

The following article by Larry Barszewski appeared on today’s cover of the “Sun Sentinel”…

Brooklyn nets best bagels-from Boca

A major Brooklyn sports and entertainment venue has found the essence of Brooklyn bagels and tap water-in Boca Raton.
New York’s famed bagel shops may be miffed, but Barclays Center has chosen Boca Raton’s Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Company as its bagel vendor.
The $1 billion center opens in September as home to the NBA’s renamed Brooklyn Nets. The 10-store bagel company, including eight from Miami Beach to Jupiter touts a 14-step treatment for the water it uses to make bagels.
Its operation at Barclays Center will take Brooklyn’s New York City Tap water and turn it into-Jerry Seinfield couldn’t make this up-Brooklynized water.
“They’re going to turn it into better Brooklyn water,” said company attorney Robert Mayer. “It’s only going to have the good stuff.”
And if that’s not enough, a sister Boca Raton company, the Original Brooklyn Water Bottling Company, is the center’s exclusive provider of bottled water, coming from company facilities in the Northeast.

—–
I know Phineas T. Barnum didn’t say it, so I will…”There’s a sucker born every minute.”

Now, do you really think that the folks in Brooklyn are gonna “buy” into this one? Nothing for nothing, but the Brooklyn that I left in 1991 would be pissing its pants in laughter…but then again, that was 21 years ago.

By the way, back on 8/11/2009 Jeff Eats reviewed The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Company.

Got a real good “bagel-deli” joint for you…Nosher’s Deli in Tamarac. You can check menu/prices at www.noshersdeli.com.

If you are over the age of 13 months, you know exactly how this “concept” works… formica tables galore, breakfast & lunch Monday-Thursday 7:30am-3pm, breakfast/lunch/dinner Friday-Sunday 7:30am-8pm—14 types of in house baked bagels—all types of breakfast stuff served all day—soups—sandwiches—burgers—salads—”special” entrees.

For the record, over the past 3 months I “did” 1-breakfast and 1-lunch. Real simple, really enjoyed the western omelette and everything bagel that I had—for $5.99 which included coffee, this was a super-duper bargain. On the lunch end, I “tried” pastrami on rye ($7.99), corned beef on rye ($7.99), chicken salad on rye toast ($6.75) and a bowl of matzo ball soup ($2.99)—everything was A-OK.

Just so we are straight…Nosher’s Deli is a BAGEL-DELI joint. Like most of its brethern, it turns out decent reasonably priced stuff—with the word “reasonably” being the operative word here. For what it’s worth, Nosher’s Deli is located virtually in Kings Point- a gigantic senior citizen community. The bet here, the crowds that were there on my outings, were probably 70-80% seniors. Got nothing against seniors–but I do want you to know the game that is being played here. Good–not great stuff—at very reasonable prices.

So…to sum things up–a real good, reasonably priced bagel-deli joint.

Earlier today, I told you guys about a real-good “mom & pop” neighborhood diner…Over Easy Cafe located in Oakland Park—here’s another real-good one, The Plantation Diner in Plantation (that figures).

Look-I could go into detail, but suffice it to say, The Platation Diner is a terrific place for breakfast/lunch. When you really think about it, breakfast here in South Florida is pretty much dominated by the fast food chains and bagel-delis. I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer eating a western omelette or some pancakes with a hot coffee in a neighborhood diner than getting food at the two “aforesaid” type venues. Call me crazy, sentimental, but these mom & pop joints give me a Mayberry vibe…Now, I could go into “Greek” diners vs. “mom & pop” diners—for sure, there are differences and then again some same-ness. Suffice it to say, I’ll bet that you guys know exactly what a neighborhood diner smells and looks like.

The Plantation Diner has a menu loaded with breakfast stuff, salads, sandwiches, burgers, desserts. You can check menu/prices at www.dinerplantationfl.com.

Over the years, I’ve probably had breakfast/lunch at The Plantation Diner something like 4-5 times. Just so you know, old Jeff Eats is a creature of habit when it comes to diners—I love western omelettes, home fries, french toast, bacon cheeseburgers made on a grill, chicken salad with extra mayo on toasted rye, apple pie, Coca Cola. I’ve had all of the “mentioned” at The Plantation Diner and I am happy to report that everything was A-OK. I also love to kibbutz waitresses and owners–and my latest breakfast (about 1 hour ago) was a kibbutz -fest.

The Plantation Diner is open Monday-Saturday 6am-3pm, Sunday 6:30am-2pm.