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.

What a great idea…put a”fast food” joint with a Latin Flair– with limited seating in a gas station/car wash. Sounds real appetizing doesn’t it? Trust me, old Jeff Eats was on the same page as you guys, until I tried Panna Cafe Express in Weston. By the way, in addition to the Weston outpost, there are two other Panna joints one in Doral and one in Hollywood.

At this stage of the proceedings you can check www.pannacafe.com for
menu/prices/sundry items.

Let me make this one short and to the point…Panna Cafe Express is a “homerun”…The joint has a menu loaded with breakfast stuff, salads, wraps, subs, burgers, baked goods, empanadas, cachitos. A recent “outing” had me trying…1/2 lb cheeseburger/french fries/beverage ($8.49), tuna salad wrap ($6.59), beef empanada (2-$1.49), turkey sub ($8.49)…now, I may be going out on a limb here, but the burger was as good as the ones I get at Five Guys. The wrap and sub were delicious–same goes for those beef empanadas.

The beautiful thing here…tank of gas, upscale car wash, great food.

The Weston location is open 24 hours a day/7 days a week. Hollywood is open Sunday-Thursday 6am-midnight and Friday-Saturday 4am-midnight. Doral is open Monday-Wednesday 6am-midnight, Thursday-Saturday 6am-4am and Sunday 8am-10pm.

Chef Carlin- is a real good, casual, very reasonably priced, “mom & pop” Cuban joint, located in Sunrise, Florida. Check www.chefcr.com for menu/prices. The website also has a short video that gives a nice-tour around the restaurant.

Now, despite what you might think, Jeff Eats is far from being an expert on Cuban food…I know it’s hard to believe, but what is, is! I think, that my aversion to Cuban and other “forms” of Latin food—goes back to those “D’s” in Spanish, that I got at Brooklyn’s J.H.S. 62 & Erasmus Hall High School. Actually “aversion” maybe too strong of a term…let’s just say, that Latin food wouldn’t be on my “last meal” list.

Anyway…sometimes compromise is in order—so when friends wanted to try Chef Carlin… diplomat-Jeff Eats acquiesed.

Now…if I wasn’t- biased, I would tell you, that the black bean soup ($1.95), chicken noodle soup ($1.50), breaded steak ($8.50), shrimp creole ($9.95), roast chicken ($7.95), flan ($2.00)—were absolutely delicious…by the way all entrees come with, rice-black beans-sauteed plantains.

If Cuban food is your bag, you’re gonna love Chef Carlin.

Chef Carlin is open Monday-Saturday 11am-8pm. The joint is closed on Sunday.

Got a really good “hole in the wall” breakfast-lunch joint for you…Eats Good 33 in Fort Lauderdale. You can check eatsgood.com for menu/prices.

Just so we are straight, Eats Good 33 isn’t a bagel-deli joint. For sure, you can get scambled eggs with bacon or a cheeseburger—but a great selection of wraps, salads, soups, panini, arepas, makes this joint worth the drive.

A recent outing had me doing—arepa (roast pork-ham-swiss cheese-avocado–$6), panini (steak, cheese, onion–$8), bacon cheeseburger–$8.50, spaghetti carbonara–$7…the food is absolutely terrific.

Eats Good 33 is open Monday-Friday 7:30am-4pm.

Got something different for you…a fast-food Cuban joint…Padrino’s Cuban Express…located in the Festival Marketplace’s (Flea Market) food-court.

Padrino’s makes some heavy-duty delicious stuff. Although its an “order-at-counter” joint, its menu is loaded with appetizers, wraps, soups, salads, sandwiches and meat-seafood-chicken entrees. Padrino’s also has a breakfast menu.

Like I said before, Padrino’s is in the food-court…you order at the counter and eat in “general population” seating. The joint also has its own 20-or so seat dining room with table and counter seating.

The prices are dirt-cheap…breaded minute steak hoagie sandwich ran $5.49…seafood creole was $5.99 and grilled pork chops $8.49, both came with rice, beans and plantains…These dishes were delicious. From what I can tell, there are three people running this joint…absolutely amazing how they are able to bang-out such amazingly good food from a miniscule kitchen.

So…the next time you find yourself wandering the Festival flea-market in search of bargains, you now have a terrific Cuban fast-food joint to hit.

Padrino’s is open Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm and Saturday-Sunday 8:30pm-6pm.

Let’s call Pancho’s a “Mexican” joint that also makes a handful of Cuban and Argentinian dishes. Take a look at its website www.panchosbackyard.net for menu/prices.

Pancho’s is a casual restaurant…so feel free to wear your tee shirt/shorts ensemble. The menu is packed with quesadillas, empanadas, burritos, tacos and fajitas…you will definitely find something to eat.

This joint’s food is very good. I recently “sampled”…pork and shrimp fajitas, fried steak, grilled chicken breast, grilled pork chops and broiled chicken. Prices are reasonable and the service was just fine.

Now mind you… “we” wouldn’t be driving 20-30 miles to get to this joint, but if you live in Pancho’s Backyard (pun intended)…this is a good bet for a casual/reasonably priced Mexican-latin  lunch or dinner.

The joint is open Monday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm and Sunday 2pm-9pm.

Enriquesta’s is an absolutely great Cuban Diner…This joint has been around for something like 30 years and does breakfast-lunch… Monday-Friday 6am-4pm and Saturday 6am-2pm. Its menu is loaded with all kinds of breakfast items-sandwiches-platters. Just so you know, the menu is in Spanish…but…it has English translations for those of you who are “language-challenged.”

The “game” for me is…the grilled chicken or grilled steak sandwich, both are topped with tomato/grilled onions/cheese/potato sticks. Throw in a large glass of fresh squeezed orange juice and a cafe con leche (two Rolaids) and I am good to go.

Enriquesta’s has counter/booth/table seating and has the obligatory takeout/eat-at window…By the way, those sandwiches run about 5 bucks a piece.

Another great joint…

Havana is a terrific Cuban joint. Check its website at www.havanacubanfood.com for menu/prices/details.

I have been stuffing my face at this joint for years. Not certain on the number, but I probably have eaten at Havana something like 10 times. Havana which has been around since 1993, has a 2-story dining room which is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-11pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-1am…The joint also has a take-out window that is open 24 hours.

Havana’s menu is loaded with appetizers, soups, sandwiches, entrees and desserts. I can’t remember them all… but the chicken fajitas, flank steak, Cuban sandwich and spicy hamburger are some of my favorites.

Havana’s food is terrific…The prices are right…The decor is Cuban (whatever that is?)…The service is good…Tee shirts/shorts are just fine…The joint’s hours are great.

One of my favorite “American-Style” restaurants in all-of-South Florida is Phyllis G’s Engima. Over the past few years, I must have eaten in this joint at least 25 times. Just so you know, this is not a fancy joint and tee shirts/shorts are just fine…Phyllis G’s in a former life, was a gas station.

This joint’s menu is packed with soups, burgers, meat/chicken/seafood entrees. I am telling you…the food is as good as the stuff served in some of South Florida’s finest-famous-expensive joints. Last night I had grilled lamb-chops ($22) that came with salad, potato and vegetable side, that were absolutely incredible… I also “sampled” the chicken marsala, onion soup and snapper francaise…all terrific.

You “have to”…make that you “must try” Phyllis G’s. This is a very casual joint, that gives you tons of great food, at very reasonable prices. Super pleasant owners, easy going servers… complete the package.

Phyllis G’s is open 7 days a week for dinner.

Sergio’s Restaurant is a Cuban-diner. There are 4 locations…all in Miami. Yesterday, I had lunch at the Coral Way joint which is a free-standing building, that must seat something like 150 inside and maybe 50 on an out-door patio. When I arrived at 1:30pm every table was taken and there was a 10 minute wait. All 4 locations are open Sunday-Thursday 6am-midnight and Friday-Saturday 6am-3am. From any seat in the house, you can see the open-kitchen area. Suffice it to say, there were so many cooks, waitresses, busboys, counter people working, that I lost count. This joint really bangs out (that’s a compliment) tons of food.

If you check, on July 28, 2008 I did a writeup on another Cuban joint named El  Rey de las Fritas. In that review, you will find that I fell in love with that joint’s Las Fritas, which is Spanish for Cuban hamburgers. Anyway, I was told by a parking lot attendant in Coconut Grove (go figure), that the Cuban hamburgers served by Sergio’s were as good if not better than El Rey’s burgers…so the challenge was on.

First let me tell you, that Sergio’s has a menu that is as long as your arm…it has all kinds of breakfast items, appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, salads, entrees and desserts. The menu is written in Spanish…with English translations provided in small print under each item. Our waitress spoke Spanish, our busboy spoke Spanish, the hostess spoke Spanish…everyone in the joint spoke Spanish. Lucky for me and my party… that I got a “D” in High School Spanish and the fact, that most if not all of the staff is bi-lingual, so ordering was no problem.

Now for the Cuban hamburgers…incredible. They were right up there with El Reys’ burgers…mildly spicy, with a dab of ketchup and mustard and covered in a ton of potato sticks. I had 2 of these really nice size burgers which go for $3.50 a piece. The joint also has a big-old-fashioned “orange juicer” converyor-belt  driven machine which makes fresh juice all-day long…so I had 3 glasses of juice with my burgers. Don’t ask me why, but I also sampled 2 scoops of fresh-made chicken salad….delicious.

Anyway…Based on the crowds…Based on the fact that there are 4 of these joints…Based on the long hours that these joints are open every day…Based on the fact that most entrees are no more than 8 bucks…Based on the incredible Las Fritas…I think that Sergio’s is a joint that you will absolutely positively want to try.