Let’s do this one together…

In recent months- Jeff Eats has been “watching” Shula Burger being built at the Delray Marketplace in Delray Beach….this burger chain is “fronted” by Don Shula who was the Miami Dolphins’ quarterback in 1970-1973…strike that, Bob Griese and Earl Morrall were the quarterbacks and Shula was the head coach.

Anyway…

This guy Shula- who incidentally was born on Januray 30, 1930 currently has his name on a “ton” of different restaurants here in South Florida and around the USA. In addition to the aforementioned (the lawyer in me) Shula Burger, Shula is involved with Shula’s Steak House, Shula’s 2, Shula’s 347 Grill, Shula’s Bar & Grill and Shula’s On The Beach. For the researchers out there, you can check www.shula.com for details/menus/locations about the Shula restaurant empire.

Now back to Shula Burger which currently has 4 locations…Tampa, Kendall- Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Islamorada-Florida Keys…and a new location scheduled to open on June 10, 2013 in the Delray Marketplace, Delray Beach, Florida..

Now nothing for nothing…although Shula Burger has 4 locations, Jeff Eats has never eaten in one, nor met anyone who has eaten in one, nor met anyone who has talked about plans to eat in one.

Now to the point…

This afternoon, I stopped by the Delray Marketplace and took a close look at the physical layout of the almost finished restaurant. It’s– a you order at the counter/they bring it to the table deal. The store looks absolutely dynamite with inside and outdoor patio seating. The menu features burgers with all kinds of toppings, fries, hot dogs, salads, shakes, beer & wine. Take a look at www.shulaburger.com for menu/prices/locations/photos–this way you’ll know what Jeff Eats considers a dynamite-look, because you may not—different strokes for different folks!

Anyway…here’s the plan.

1. For those of you who have already eaten in a Shula Burger, please give Jeff Eats the skinny on it (before June 10, 2013 would be nice).
2. Jeff Eats is gonna try #5 right after it opens.
3. For those of you who haven’t eaten at a Shula Burger, either eat at one of the first-4 or try #5 right after it opens on June 10, 2013.
4. We all meet back here on June 15, 2013 to compare notes.

And…should you be captured, Jeff Eats will deny any knowledge of this mission.

One final note…since Coach Shula will soon be celebrating his 84th birthday to give you some perspective, I thought you guys would like to know that the first White Castle opened in 1921, the first MacDonald’s opened in 1940, the first Burger King opened in 1954, the first Sonic Drive-In opened in 1953, the first In-N-Out opened in 1948 and the first Wendy’s opened in 1969…and you thought that Jeff Eats was just another pretty face.

If you’re like Mrs. Jeff Eats “grocery shopping” in South Florida is basically Publix, Target, Costco and Brothers Farmers Market in Boynton Beach. As far as she is concerned, Winn Dixie…too shabby-dirty looking. Walmart…too “bright-sterile looking. Whole Foods…too expensive and full of itself.

If you “are” on the same page as Mrs. Jeff Eats I got something that may interest you…Okey-Dokey Grocery Markets. A year or so-old chain with stores that run about 7,500 square feet. For those non-builders out there your “small” Publix probably runs about 30,00 square feet…

For right now, Okey has 11 South Florida locations…with 10 more scheduled to open in the next few months.

You can check www.okeydokeymarkets.com for locations/products/daily specials.

I’m not going to kill time telling you guys about how compeitive/small margined the grocery business is. If you are interested you can “search” Okey-Dokey Grocery Markets and you’ll find a billion articles about this “new” chain and the Russian billionaires who are behind the business.

Now assuming that these “guys” aren’t washing-money or doing some other nefarious things…

Jeff Eats absolutely loved the “small” grocery store concept that he and Mrs. Jeff Eats just happened-into in Hollywood, Florida the other day. Now nothing for nothing, Coca Cola 2 liter sodas $.97 vs. Walmart’s Deerfield Beach store’s $1.38…Blue Bell chocolate ice cream 64oz. $4.99 vs. Walmart’s Deerfield Beach store’s $6.28.

Now, Jeff Eats knows and you know that…you get way more products into 30,000 sq. feet than you do in 7,500 sq. feet…and you get even more products in those “billion” sq. foot super stores that help make up the Publix, Walmart, Target, Costco empires—the point of this exercise, is that there is an alternative to the huge-box stores where you can find very competitive prices.

On a final note…Jeff Eats hasn’t yet figured out how this “newcomer” plans to successfully challenge the major grocery chains in South Florida. This one should be interesting to follow…

By the way…The savings on the above mentioned items almost paid for a 1/2 gallon of gas… You guys can run the numbers!

Before Jeff Eats gets started here…let me state without equivocation- I’m not a shill for “gourmet” fast-food burger chain Shake Shack. Unfortunately, I don’t “have” a piece of this deal.

With that out of the way, let me reprint the two articles that Jeff Eats has already run on this up and coming chain.

***August 1, 2010
Shake Shack… “order at/pickup at counter”…burgers, fries, hot dogs, custard, shakes.
There are 5 Shake Shacks in New York City…1-in Saratoga, New York…1-in Miami, Florida.
This is “fast food” at its best.
Check www.shakeshacknyc.com for menu/prices/locations/pictures.
The next time you are down in South Beach, this joint is an absolute-must-try…Just so you know, Shake Shack has a cult-like-following…so don’t be surprised by some heavy duty crowds and lines.
Shake Shack is open Sunday-Thursday 11:30am-midnight, Friday-Saturday 11:30am-1am.
***August 12, 2012
Back on August 1, 2010 Jeff Eats told you about Shake Shack which had just opened in South Beach..
In that “review”–I told you guys that Shake Shack a fast-food burger joint was “fast food at its best.”
Regular Jeff Eats readers know, that there is no doubt in my mind- that the fast-food burger “business” is totally oversaturated with players—that one day, in the very near future-this gigantic game of musical chairs is gonna end very badly for most of them. There is also no question in my mind, that when all is said and done, Shake Shack will be one of the few players left standing.
————–
This evening, Jeff Eats, Mrs. Jeff Eats, and another couple “attended” a “Friends & Family Practice” at the newest Shake Shack which is scheduled to open in Boca Raton at 11am this coming Monday–April 22, 2013. We were there roughly from 6:45 pm to 8pm and I would guess that something like 150 got to try Shake Shacks’ stuff… being a party of four, we made sure to order all types of “items”— double cheeseburger, french fries, cheese french fries, grilled hot dog, chocolate custard cone, coffee shake, chocolate toffee “concrete” (think Dairy Queen’s Blizzard and you’ll be on the right page), grilled chicken dog,

Let Jeff Eats make this as simple and as clear as possible…Shake Shacks’ food is delicious. That said, to give you guys a fair shake (pun intended)-the only item that needs improving are the french fries…Shake Shack uses a “frozen” product which is very good but it’s definitely not on the same level as the “fresh” cut fries that competitors like Five Guys and BurgerFi turn-out.

As I mentioned 3 seconds ago, this “practice” session was held in the new Boca Raton store. Talk about a great location—Shake Shack’s free standing building (which has both indoor and outdoor covered patio seating) is located right across the road from FAU’s campus and is in walking distance of Boca Raton High School, a half-dozen hotels, Boca Town Center and loads of office buildings. At this stage of the conversation check www.shakeshack.com for menu/prices/locations and loads of photos that will give you some idea as to what this really cool joint looks like.

Normally on his sojourns, Jeff Eats doesn’t sit/stand around talking to a joint’s management…that said, the “Friends & Family Practice” presented an opportunity to chat with Zachary Koff (VP of Operations), Greg Waters (Manager, Marketing & Communications), Josh (Boca’s Assistant General Manager), Dustin (Boca’s General Manager) and Peggy (Director of Training)…suffice it to say, those conversations made it quite obvious why Shake Shack is such a well-run business. No crapping around here, these folks know the fast food business inside and out and seem to have one single goal–that being to present the guest with an outstanding dining experience. Secure in the fact that I’m not a Shake Shack shill—Jeff Eats is telling you that my fast food operations background with Hardees, Discovery Zone and Johnny Rocket’s—kinda gives me a real good point of reference on how things are suppose to work…and Shake Shack comes as close to operational perfection as I’ve seen on the fast food level.

Let me end this thing by saying…

If you like burgers/hot dogs/fries/shakes and haven’t been to a Shake Shack (which currently has… 9 New York, 2 Connecticut, 3 Florida, 2 Washington DC, 1 Massachusetts, 1 Pennsylvania locations) you now have 3 South Florida locations to try and— find out if Jeff Eats knows what he’s talking about or is just a blabbering idiot.

***One final note, to Shake Shacks’ management do Jeff Eats a huge-gigantic favor and add a chicken burger to the menu…so he can get Mrs. Jeff Eats off his ass. Thanks,

Con Sabor is the “ultimate” hole-in-the-wall taco shop. Maybe 4 seats at the indoor counter and a handful of outdoor foldup tables (Jeff Eats’ mother use to call them canasta tables).

Now follow me…Con Sabor only makes TACOS…Now your’re gonna have to do some homework here—maciza, cuerito, buche, oreja, lengua, campechano, surtida, tripa, pollo, bisteck.

Last week-good friends Larry Boychick and Shlomo Schmendrick (both native born Mexicans) took Jeff Eats to this Little Havana joint for lunch…I gotta tell you, the tacos were absolutely amazing. Served with fresh-warm tortillas—I “sampled” the chicken (pollo), pulled pork/rinds (campechano), steak (bisteck)—accompanied by a “tray” of toppings–salsas, cilantro, onions, limes.

Just a heads up…the joint only takes cash. On the language front, all the “help” and seemingly all the other patrons were speaking Spanish. Just for the record, Jeff Eats with his high school and college Spanish “Ds” got-through the meal just fine…and the bet here is that Jeff Eats’ intelligent readers will do the same. By the way, the tacos run $1.75 a piece. They also sell the “fillings” by the pound…figure 14 bucks or so for the fillings-tortillas-toppings. One other thing, they got a handful of bottled Mexican sodas and Mexican Coca Cola with pure cane sugar—Jeff Eats had a Jarriots’ Mandarian and it was delicious.

Let me wrap this one up by saying, I absolutely loved Con Sabor.

Con Sabor is open Tuesday-Sunday 10am-9pm, closed on Monday.

Got a real good ice cream joint for you guys…Azucar Ice Cream Company in Miami.

Last week I had a chance to “try” Azucar’s stuff out and I gotta tell you, some of the best tasting ice cream and sorbet that Jeff Eats has had in a very-very long time. Beautiful thing about this joint which has a “Cuban/Latin” flavor (pun intended) to it—is that all of the ice cream and sorbet are made in-house.

Strictly an order at/pickup at the counter operation…handful of tables inside/outside.

Jeff Eats didn’t do the math, but the joint has something like 50 ice cream and 8 sorbet flavors. During the year, Azucar rotates various flavors in and out of the lineup. For you diabetic folks, dieting folks, anti-sugar folks—Azucar has a handful of sugar free ice creams. For those who aren’t strictly “purists”—Azucar has something like 30 different toppings. Personally, I like my ice crean “unencumbered” except every so often Jeff Eats can handle some chocolate sprinkles (you may know them as jimmies)…Just in case “we” ever go on the Newly Wed Game, Jeff Eats really isn’t a fan of multi-colored sprinkles.

You can check flavors/video at www.azucaricecream.com.

Jeff Eats’ recent “taste test” included…strawberry–mint chocolate chip–Cuban coffee & oreo–Belgium chocolate–double cherry–heath bar crunch ice cream….lemon–watermelon–mango sorbet. Trust me on this one, all of the flavors were delicious with a special shout out to the Cuban coffee & oreo concoction.

Look! Jeff Eats is no ice cream-sorbet expert. Got no idea about fat-content or even a clue concerning other “scientific” measuring-sticks. What I do know, is that Azucar’s stuff was right on the money…and that the ice cream and sorbet that I had was right up there with the best of breed.

Azucar Ice Cream Company is open Sunday-Wednesday 11am-9pm, Thursday-Saturday 11am-11pm.

Jeff Eats knows and you guys know that “sub” joints are a dime a dozen down here in South Florida…Like anything else, you got some great ones, some good ones and some crap ones. Well! Hungry Bear Sub Shop is one of the great ones. Just so there is no confusion, there are 2-of them in Miami. Now nothing for nothing, Jeff Eats recently “tried” the 10521 Southwest 109th Court outpost—so I can only talk-on that one…

Now for background noise—I’m going to assume that you guys know exactly what this joint looks like and how it works. For you folks who just came in from Venus or Mars—handful of tables, order at/pickup at the counter—sign board with loads of small/large hot and cold subs, handful of salads/sides.

Sampled “items” included…honey mustard chicken sub, tuna salad sub, cheese steak sub, cheese burger sub. As I intimated about 9 seconds ago, Hungry Bear Sub Shop makes some absolutely dynamite subs. Real-nice crispy sub bread and the “fillings” were all delicious.

You guys do know that this food “reviewing” business is 1000 percent subjective…What Jeff Eats might like–you guys might hate and vice versa. So–I’ll leave it up to you to decide if the right “call” was made here.

Hungry Bear Sub Shop is open Monday-Saturday 10am-8pm and Sunday 10am-5pm.

Got a real-good Chinese takeout joint for you guys who live/work in Kendall…Lee’s Chinese Food Take-Out.

Let me make this one short and simple…

Jeff Eats has eaten his fair share of South Florida Chinese food—and Lee’s Chinese has to be rated as one of the best Chinese takeout joints that I’ve had the pleasure to come across.

The other evening Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats visited with some friends “down” in Kendall—we picked-up some stuff from Lee’s Chinese…won ton soup, egg rolls, fried dumplings, bbq ribs, roast pork fried rice, beef with oyster sauce, shrimp with black bean sauce, honey garlic chicken, roast pork lo mein, mushu chicken—now nothing for nothing, I’m telling you that Lee’s Chinese food was right up there with best of breed. Look! Jeff Eats was born in Brooklyn in 1949—and as a result, I am an absolute expert on what constitutes good-great New York-Jewish Chinese food. For the record, from 1949-1991 Jeff Eats fressed (non Jews look-it up) his way through “countless” Brooklyn-Queens-Manhattan-Long Island Chinese joints–so I “say” I know my stuff…and I am telling you, that Lee’s Chinese is real-good. For those looking for some sort of pecking order…my favorites were the beef with oyster sauce and the honey garlic chicken—that said, every dish was delicious.

While I’m pontificating here…You guys do know, that there really is no such thing as “bad” Chinese take-out, don’t you? This kinda food is just a matter of incremental degrees. A liter of Coke and a plate loaded with Chinese stuff in front of a tv—and there really isn’t too much to bitch about, is there? Be honest, who here hasn’t eaten cold Chinese food right out of the frig the next morning–or for that matter, just combined Chinese left-overs and then reheated for 90 seconds in the microwave? Everybody does it…and unless your from Mars or something, the “next” day stuff always tastes great.

Anyway…before I go off on another Chinese tangent—let’s just say that Jeff Eats really enjoyed Lee’s Chinese Food.

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

Lee’s is open Monday-Thursday 11:30am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11:30am-11pm, Sunday noon-10pm.

Got an absolutely terrific “Greek” joint for you…Maria’s Greek Restaurant in Miami. Absolutely-positively nothing fancy going on here, so your tee shirt/shorts/flip flop ensembles will do just fine.
Just so you know, if this joint wasn’t something like 106 miles round trip from my house–I’d be a real-regular customer. To be honest with you, if the round-tripper was-like 40 miles, I’d be there twice a month.

A recent “dinner” netted Jeff Eats–mousaka, keftedes, gyro, lamb chops, tilapia. Now trust me here, the food is outrageously good. The tzatziki and pita bread were worth the 106 mile trip alone. Big portions, pleasant enough service, reasonable prices– most platters go for around 14-15 bucks…

Like I said a few seconds ago, Maria’s Greek Restaurant is a terrific joint.

Maria’s is open Monday-Friday 11am-10pm, Saturday 5pm-110pm, closed on Sunday.

Got a really good Chinese “takeout” joint for you guys…Gourmet Gourmet in Miami.

Let me make this one short and simple…

Applying the world-famous Jeff Eats’ “1959 Brooklyn-Jewish Chinese Taste-Test”—wonton soup, egg rolls, bbq ribs, roast pork fried rice, general tso’s chicken, beef with broccoli, mu shu pork…Jeff Eats has to tell you, that Gourmet Gourmet is one of the better Chinese takeout joints that I’ve encountered down here in sunny South Florida. Just so you know, the food was picked-up at the store and was eaten at a friend’s apartment about 5 minutes away…For those of you who like a pecking order, I thought that the mu shu pork and egg rolls were the best items, closely followed by the bbq ribs—the rest of the stuff “tied.”

Like I said a few seconds ago, Gourmet Gourmet is a TAKEOUT—so that precludes a ton of you readers from playing this “game.” For those of you who live or work in Gourmet’s neighborhood—this is a good joint to know about.

You can check Gourmet Gourmet’s menu/prices at www.gourmet-gourmet.net.

The joint is open Monday-Saturday 11:30am-9:30pm and Sunday 5pm-9:30pm.

Marino’s- decent enough “mom & pop–red sauce” Italian joint in Miami. You can check menu/prices at www.marinospizzakenall.com

Let me do this one, this way…Marino’s has the full boat of appetizers, pastas, pizzas, subs, calzones, meat/seafood/chicken entrees…A recent outing “down” in Kendall had me doing a plain pizza, meat lasagna, veal parmigiana, mussels marinara, sausage & peppers, ziti marinara, minestrone soup, garlic rolls. The food, was as I said a few seconds ago…decent enough. Just so we are on the same page, Jeff Eats thought that the thin crusted pizza with a sweet sauce was right on the money–same for the garlic rolls, right on the money…the rest of the stuff was “standard” mom & pop goods.

Look! Over the past 20 years or so, Jeff Eats has eaten in so many Italian joints down here in South Florida that “sometimes” they seem to literally run together….Marino’s is shall we say, mid-pack. Defintely got the job done…tons of food, reasonable prices, pleasant service, un-ending Coke refills—but nothing that I haven’t seen/or tasted before.

Now- that I’m proof-reading what I just wrote, just maybe Jeff Eats is being “too” hard on Marino’s…the way I’m now thinking, mid-pack ain’t really all that bad—based on the fact Jeff Eats graduated 571 out of 592 in his Brooklyn Law School class of 1973.

Marino’s is open 11am-11pm 7 days a week.