The other day in the mail, I got a FREE “discount” coupon book from a Boynton Beach based company named Prestige Coupons, 36 Meadows Place, Boynton, Beach, Florida 33436, (561) 573-8404.

To make a long story short, the coupon book had something like 100 coupons offering discounts at all kinds of businesses in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, Lake Worth and Lighthouse Point. For our purposes, there were quite a few “restaurant” coupons–and I will tell you, coincidentally-a number of the restaurants had favorable Jeff Eats’ reviews.

If coupons are your game, it may pay to give Prestige Coupons a call or contact at it at www.prestigecoupons.net and have your name put on its mailing list for future coupon books.

For our purposes a “small” sports-bar chain…there are currently 3-South Florida locations, Wellington, Lighthouse Point, Port Saint Lucie.

If you are over the age of 2, you know the drill…tons of tvs, Florida Keys’ decor, indoor and outdoor patio seating, full bar, menu jammed with reasonably priced half-way decent appetizers- burgers- salads-sandwiches-wraps- meat/chicken/seafood entrees, pleasant young servers. You can check www.bonefishmacs.com. for menu/prices/locations.

For the purposes of this discussion, I “tried” the Wellington joint…Gotta be frank here, the cheeseburger-french fries-chopped house salad-Greek shrimp salad were ok, but absolutely, positively nothing to write home about. The best way to describe the food, think TGIF or Applebees and you’ve got the picture. Would I eat there again? Sure, but based on the outing, I won’t be racing back.

Now for the “mystery” here…as I mentioned a few seconds ago, there are 3 locations…Wellington, Lighthouse Point and Port Saint Lucie. Anyway, friends of mine who live in Port Saint Lucie rave about that location’s food. Believe it or not, I also have friends who have eaten at the Lighthouse Point outpost and they found the food to be very good sports bar food. So which is it–Wellington is the odd man out, the Port Saint Lucie friends don’t know squat, the friends who ate at the Lighthouse Point store don’t know squat, or Jeff Eats doesn’t know squat?

If you have eaten at any of the Bonefish Mac’s joint, write to me and help solve the “mystery.”

Bonefish Mac’s Sports Grille is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

The last time I checked–Jeff Eats had been in something like 260 different South Florida Italian restaurants. Math was never my strong suit, suffice it to say, that equates to a whole lot of pizzas, pastas, veal parms, eggplants, chicken cacciatores…Now nothing for nothing, the truth be told, the exact details about any-one particular “meal” is probably just a hazy memory.

Anyway…last night I gave 6 week old Ernie’s Italian Chophouse in Lighthouse Point a shot. By the way, I’m familar with Ernie’s location, in that over the years–it has housed several restaurants like Giulio Cesare Italiano Ristorante. The point I’m gonna make here, is that the “restaurant” that I knew, has been totally reconfigured-remodeled. Just so you know, when you walk into Ernie’s there is a separate bar area where you can eat–then walking a short corridor, there is a second room for dining with a pass-through window that allows you to watch the “chefs” work. The walls are white, there is a handful of “modern” scultpures on the walls, and both rooms have blue wall lights that give the joint an upscale South Beach look. From the decor, there is absolutely no tipoff as to the what type of food dominates the menu. For the record, Mrs. Jeff Eats and the couple we were with loved the decor—personally, I thought the lighting was too dark and the walls on the boring side—and since this blog is called Jeff Eats, I win! By the way, the joint’s website www.erniesitalianchophouse.com in addition to menu/prices has a few dining room photos, so you’ll see what the controversy is all about.

Now let me tell you about Ernie’s food.

The menu is not exactly huge, but there are enough appetizers, salads, pastas, Italian entrees, steaks/chops, desserts—so nobody is going to go home hungry.

At the top of this “review” I told you guys how I’ve been in so many Italian joints–that a haze has set in…well let me tell you, I will absolutely positively remember Ernie’s Italian Chophouse’s food. Let me make this as simple as I can, the chicken on-the-bone scarpariello that I “tried” was probably the best that I’ve ever eaten. Other entrees consummed- veal parmigiana, chicken milanase, broiled veal chop were absolutely top-notch—appetizers – meatballs, fried calamari were delicious and Caesar and fenel/beets/arguela salads were real good. For desserts, we stuffed our faces with in-house-made cannoli, flourless chocolate cake and cheesecake—I really enjoyed all three, but the cannoli and chocolate cake were worth the price of admission alone.

Let me sum the food up this way…this was one of the best Italian outings I have had in South Florida.

Now we- talk, prices and service. The prices aren’t neighborhood pizza joint prices—but surprisingly this “white table” cloth joint didn’t burn us. Now I’m just thumb nailing this–but maybe the whole shooting match was 7-8 bucks a head more than pizza joint fare. Trust me here, your favorite neighborhood pizza joint in a million years doesn’t come close to the goods that Ernie’s is turning out. On service–think competent “sports bar” folks and you got the picture. Just a thought, if Ernie’s makes fresh pasta daily, don’t you think that-should be used as a selling point? Or maybe that the salads and sides are big enough to feed two maybe even three people. Well I do! I will tell you- owner Ernie was all over the joint–visiting- from what I saw every table and trying his best to make sure that the kitchen and servers were doing shall we say…the right thing. Now, being a kind hearted soul, Jeff Eats is going to mix into the equation the fact that Ernie’s has only been open for something like 6 weeks.

By the way, for those of you who maybe wondering…yes, Ernie’s is located in a non-descript half empty South Florida strip center so parking was a snap.

I really enjoyed Ernie’s Italian Chophouse.

On a final note, every so often Jeff Eats finds a joint that has a shot at being a home run. Look, I’m not trying to tell Ernie what to do because I got no skin in this game… But, if you ask me…if he gets his service up to snuff and pipes in some tunes by guys like Frank Sinatra, Jerry Vale, Steve Lawrence and doo wop groups—The Duprees, The Passions and The Skyliners he’ll get a vibe going that will have the joint constantly packed.

Ernie’s is open Monday-Thursday 5:30pm-10:30pm, Friday-Saturday 5:30pm-11pm, Sunday 5pm-10pm.

If you like “mom & pop” neighborhood diners, you will definitely want-to-try the Red Fox Diner in Lighthouse Point. For sure, the joint must be doing something right-as its been around for something like 40 years. You can check menu/prices/loads of photos at www.redforxdiner.com.

Regular readers know, that “diners” like this hold a special place in old Jeff Eats’ heart. For some reason, joints like the Red Fox take me back to a time when America wasn’t so complicated. Maybe I’m getting old, but I kinda think that the America of the 50′s without all of the big box stores, shopping malls, McDonald’s, cable stations and facebooks—was a much nicer place to live…You do recall ABC, CBS, NBC, WOR, WNEW, WPIX (for you New Yorkers out there) and that was about it, don’t you?

The Red Fox Diner does breakfast/lunch. The joint is open Monday-Friday 6am-3pm and Saturday-Sunday 6am-2pm.

Over the years, I must have eaten in the Red Fox Diner something like 10 times. The joint’s menu has loads of breakfast stuff, sandwiches, salads, burgers, meat/chicken/fish entrees. Absolutely nothing fancy going on here…I will tell you, that the Red Fox’s 1/2 lb cheeseburger is one of the best “diner” burgers I’ve had- same goes for the joints’ chicken philly cheesesteak sub.

The Red Fox Diner is located “in-line” in a non-descript Lighthouse Point strip center. Some of you guys may disagree, but I find sitting outside at one of its three outdoor tables–to be far more enjoyable than people watching from some uptown joint’s patio on West 73rd Street and 9th Avenue in Manhattan on a sunny day.

If you are looking for the way breakfast and lunch use to be and should still be, you gotta checkout the Red Fox Diner.

Got a real-good- casual-Greek joint for you…Kosta’s Greek Eatery in Lighthouse Point.
Check menu/prices/photos at www.kostasgreekeatery.com.

Tried Kosta’s for dinner the other night… delicious, chicken and pork souvlaki–pastitso–moussaka–grilled lamb chops.

I really enjoyed Kosta’s. The food was terrific and the service was as friendly as could be.

Just so you know, Jeff Eats ate there last Saturday night arriving around 8pm. The joint was jammed with something like a (no big deal) 20 minute wait…I did notice, that the staff appeared to “know” many of the customers, so I’m gonna-figure that Kosta’s has a huge local following.

This joint is a winner. If casual-Greek stuff is your game…play Kosta’s Greek Eatery.

Kosta’s is open for lunch Tuesday-Friday 11:30am-2pm and for dinner Tuesday-Thursday & Sunday 4:30pm-9:30pm and Friday-Saturday 4:30pm-10:30pm…the joint is closed on Monday.

Got an absolutely terrific “wood fired Italian” joint for you…Sicilian Oven, located in Lighthouse Point. 

Gave this joint a shot last night and got-to tell you, that the food is dynamite. The menu is packed with appetizers, salads, pastas, ciabattas, wings and pizzas. My “taste test” (somebody has to do it)… sicilian salad ( a combination of mixed greens, roasted peppers, roman tomatoes, red onions, garbanzo beans & something like 5 other ingredients), wood oven roasted chicken wings, wood fired pizza, “no pasta” lasagna (eggplant & vegetables), meatballs and fried calamari…everything was delicious.

Sicilian Oven is owned by two guys, Andrew and Ralph. From what I can tell, Andrew “handles” the action in the open-kitchen and Ralph “handles” the dining area. Although the joint was packed, these boys were efficiently cranking-out some heavy duty orders. Sicilian Oven is a real modern looking joint, with just enough flat-screen tv sets to make it interesting for sports-afficianados. The prices are neighborhood “pizza joint” prices. Service is excellent & your tee shirt/shorts’ ensemble will work here.

Just so you know, although Sicilian Oven has only been open for something like 4-months, it already has a loyal-following… Giving credit where credit is do, Sun Sentinel food critic Judith Stocks gave the joint **** (four stars: excellent) on March 13, 2009…so, old Jeff Eats can’t claim to be the “discoverer” of this one…as a matter of fact, it was Stocks’ review that alerted me to this joint.

Give Sicilian Oven a try, it really is that good. For menu/prices, check its website www.thesicilianoven.com.

Sicilian Oven is open Monday-Saturday 11:30am-10pm and Sunday 4pm-10pm.

Papa Hughie’s is a “real-casual seafood joint” which seats something like 75…in addition to its 20 or so tables, Papa Hughie’s has a seafood market where both fresh and frozen stuff is sold. If you take a look at this joint’s website at www.seafood-world.com you will find menu/prices and photos which will give you some idea as to what this combination restaurant/market looks like.

Just so you know…if you are not a fish/seafood eater, this joint is probably not for you…Papa Hughie’s has exactly 3 things on its menu for you guys…filet mignon, chicken fingers and blackened chicken. On the other hand, seafood-lovers, will be like “pigs in sh@t.”… appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, entrees.

A recent food “sampling” found…delicious crab-cakes, conch fritters, calamari marinara, snapper franciase and fried oysters. Entrees come with a house salad, vegeatble and potato/or rice.

If you like great seafood and enjoy eating it in tee shirts and shorts…you got to try Papa Hughie’s. The joint is open Monday-Saturday 11:30am-10pm and Sunday 3pm-9pm.

To paraphrase the great comedian Soupy Sales, “There are more sports-bars in South Florida than there are Chins in a Chinese phonebook”…you know the game, there’s this Ale-House and that Duffy’s and this Flanigan’s and that…

Anyway…I recently found Wahoo’s Sports Bar & Grill in Lighthouse Point, which was like a breath of fresh air from the other joints. Wahoo’s has only been opened something like six weeks, so not too many people know about it yet. Just so you know, a poster named Mike on October 2, 2008 under the C.R. Chicks review (10/1/08) gave me the “heads-up” about this joint.

Take a look at Wahoo’s website at www.wahoossportsbar.com. The site has menu/prices/and plenty of photos which should give you a pretty good idea as to what this joint is all about.

Like I said before, sports-bars with large menus and loads of flat screen tvs on the walls are “a dime a dozen” down here in South Florida. For sure, Wahoo’s has the large menu (tons of appetizers, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, meat/seafood/chicken/pasta entrees, desserts) and tvs…but what makes this joint stand-out from the others, is that its nautical-decor is very “interesting” and its food is terrific. A recent outing resulted in my “tasting” (someone has to do it) mini burgers, onion straws, french fries, roast chicken, parmesan chicken wings, coconut shrimp, chili, meatloaf, chicken francais and lobster/crab ravioli…I am telling you, most sports-bars don’t even come close to making stuff this good. As for service, ”very pleasant and efficient” sports-bar-service… My party of 4 (you knew that I didn’t eat all of that food by myself, didn’t you?) had a waitress named Michele who was absolutely terrific. As for prices, Wahoo’s “is not” and I emphasize the word “not” a $10.95 salad/baked potato/22 oz. ribeye steak sports-bar…that said, you won’t go broke eating at this joint, but a bowl of that chili is going to run you $5.95…chicken francais $14.95…lobster/crab ravioli $21.95.

You now know about a sports-bar that is heads and shoulders above its competition. The joint is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-11pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-midnight.

Got an absolutely great seafood joint for you, Cap’s Place Island Restaurant. It is absolutely imperative that you check Cap’s website at www.capsplace.com for menu/prices/photos/details…the site “tells” you the whole story about this joint which has been around for something like 80 years.

Great food. Great service. Moderate prices (you get what you pay for, but this joint ain’t exactly running bargain basement deals). Real low-keyed ambiance, tee shirts/shorts are just fine. If you have already gone to Cap’s website, you know that you have to take a short boat ride to get to the joint…that’s part of the fun of eating at Cap’s.

Cap’s menu is loaded with seafood stuff…it is a bit light on chicken/meat dishes…but non-fish eaters should be able to handle the situation…

Cap’s is a famous “joint.”…Winston Churchill, FDR, JFK, Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, Casey Stengel, The Temptations, were all customers…so be smart and make a reservation. The joint opens at 5:30pm for dinner 7-days a week.

For the the “uneducated,” Offerdahl’s Cafe Grill is owned by Johnny Offerdahl who played for the Miami Dolphins in the 1990s. While playing, Johnny started a retail bagel store business which was fittingly called Offerdahl’s Bagels…In 1995 Johnny retired from football and also sold his 10 Offerdahl’s Bagels stores to Einstein Bagels. Fast forward to the year 2000 and Johnny  now decides to get back into the “bagel business” and opens a new joint called Offerdahl’s Cafe Grill, which is a bagel store that not only does bagels/breakfast but lunch and dinner salads/soups and hot entrees…Today, Johnny has 9 locations in South Florida. Check Offerdahl’s website at www.offerdahls.com for menu/locations.

You know what a “just okay” joint is?…well, Offerdahl’s is just that. Think a minature Panera Bread and you got Offerdahl’s. Your favorite neighborhood bagel joint has better bagels…better breakfasts…better everything. Like I said two seconds ago, think a smaller version of Panera Bread and you know the whole story here…the food is okay but nothing that you have to run-out for.

So…why is old jeffeats giving Offerdahl’s the revered *****?…because old Johnny was one of hell of a middle linebacker and old Jeff Eats is a Dolphins’ fan.

Finally, some of the inquisitve folks out there may just be wondering why Johnny Offerdahl decided to get back into the bagel business (2000) in the first place. Now don’t hold me to this, but I suspect that somewhere along the line Einstein’s Bagels defaulted on some part of its original buyout deal, which then allowed Johnny to get back into the game, I mean bagel business…or, Johnny had a 5 year non-compete agreement with Einstein’s which expired in 2000…Anyway, Johnny is back.