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.

The folks at Forest Trace, a senior retirement community in Fort Lauderdale got a great event planned for March 22, 2012—eight of South Florida’s top “delis” going head to head (mano y mano) -to decide whose matzah ball is the best. From what I gather, a blue-ribbon panel of local celebrity judges will make the call– There is also an on-line contest for the general public—so, if this kinda stuff is your bag, check www.foresttrace.com for details.

Amazingly, Jeff Eats has fressed and has reviews for all of the contestants.

In no particular order they are…

Zinger’s Delicatessen (8/18/11)
Too Jay’s Gourmet Deli (4/28/09)
Ben’s of Boca (3/8/08)
Sage Bagel & Restaurant (5/22/08)
Ally’s Comfort Cafe (12/26/11)
Mo’s Bagel & Deli (8/14/08)
The Pastrami Club (5/3/08)
Mitch’s Westside Bagels (2/9/09)

Let’s see how this one turns out.

May the best ball-win!!!!

PS…to the wise-guys out there, I know that there are something like 22,000,000 different spellings for the word matzah.

***** March 22, 2012 ‘Contest Results’ *****
Press Release:

Eight South Florida restaurants threw their matzah balls in the ring today at Forest Trace, a luxury retirement community in Lauderhill, for the chance to win the title of “Best All Around Matzah Ball” and $500 to the charity of choice in the Third Annual Golden Matzah Bowl. This pre-Passover main event for matzah balls packed quite a punch with the 150 residents and guests that attended this bout.

Ben’s Kosher Deli scored a unanimous decision with the judges by winning “Best All-Around Matzah Ball” and donated $500 to Jewish Community Services of South Florida. In addition, SAGE Deli, Hallandale Beach, scored a technical knockout (TKO) with the attendees by winning the People’s Choice Award.

Some of the judges included Sam Cohen, VP of the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame, and Matt Baiamonte, co-owner of the world famous Angelo Dundee 5th Street Gym. Matt presented a title belt “Turn Back Time” award to Sam Cohen for changing the stereotype of aging and proving that 80 is the new 60.

Chef’s Choice-Pastrami Club

Most Like Mom’s-Ally’s Comfort Café

Best Floater-Mo’s Bagel’s and Deli

OOH IT’S SO GOOD!! Zinger’s Deli

Knock Out: Best Out of the Box Award-Josh’s Deli (Surfside, opening April 2012)

Best of Broward-TooJay’s

People’s Choice-Sage Deli

Best All-Around Matzah Ball-Ben’s Kosher Deli

A couple of you guys-suggested that I give Long Island Bagel & Deli in Boca Raton a try…so I did.

Just got back from Long Island Bagel & Deli–suffice it to say, I won’t be back.

The joint which opened about 1-month ago, looks like your typical bare-bones bagel restaurant. My friend Mike and I ordered, 2 cups of coffee, 1-toasted everything bagel with cream cheese and 1-everything bagel with chicken salad—with the waitress being told to make sure that the everything chicken salad “bagel” had extra mayo on it and absolutely-positively no lettuce or tomato on it.

30 minutes that’s right THIRTY MINUTES after placing the order, 1-toasted everything bagel with cream cheese and 1-everything bagel with chicken salad-tomato-lettuce and no mayo arrived.

While waiting those 30-minutes, I noticed that the owner was busy sitting/talking with a couple at another table…while his two counter men, were filling orders and handling the register. In all fairness, the restaurant was busy (not crazy busy) but busy—that said, there is absolutely no way that a “small” order like the one my table placed- take 30 minutes to prepare and then find that the order was done wrong. Look! I’m sitting there 30 minutes twiddling my thumbs—same “boredom” for others sitting there and the owner “sits” yapping away at a table. Give me a freaking break…the guy should have been behind the counter, doing whatever-to get food out to customers.

I’ve been to a ton of bagel joints down here…why anyone would pick Long Island Bagel & Deli over nearby competitors is beyond me. Just off the top of my head, I can name at least 6 bagel-delis in the area that run absolute circles around this joint. Let’s try Bagel City, Bagel Works, Utopia Bagels, Nestor’s, Zinger’s and Westside Bagels just for starters.

By the way, the bagels were nothing special—same for the chicken salad. To flesh the food out a bit, the bagel was extremely thin and had the consistency of white bread. The chicken salad, chicken chunks in mayo–if anything else was in the mix, it wasn’t dectectable to this palate. Trust me on this one, this was by no stretch of the imagination “good” chicken salad. This little fiasco before tip was $12.50—trust me, not even close to being worth anything even close to that amount.

Long Island Bagel & Deli is open 6:30am-3pm and Sunday 7am-3pm.

Tremendous! That’s the best way to describe this “hole in the wall” Italian Deli in Coral Gables. You can check menu/prices/photos at www.gustofinodeli.com.

Just so you know, this is basically a “takeout”…the joint does have a handful of tables. The menu has some absolutely terrific sandwiches, salads, personal pizzas, pastas and entrees. A recent outing had me “doing” sausage & peppers—chicken parmigiana—meatball ciabatta sandwiches…off the chart. I also “did” meat lasagna and a caprese salad…delicious.

I loved this joint.

Nice break from the “typical” $5 sub joints that dot the South Florida landscape.. For those who haven’t yet checked Gusto’s website…sandwiches run $7.95-$8.95 and the most expensive item on the menu are a couple of pasta/entrees that top out at $13.95

Gusto Fino Italian Deli is open Monday 11am-4pm, Tuesday-Friday 11am-4:30pm, Saturday noon-4pm, closed on Sunday.

Got a terrific— “New York Kosher Style Deli” for you…NY’s Big Apple Deli in North Miami Beach.

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

Two recent lunch outings had me “sampling” pastrami/corned beef/brisket/turkey…some of the best stuff I’ve had down here in sunny South Florida. Also gave the joint’s chicken salad and chopped liver a shot…once again, real good stuff. I also did 2-soups, chicken matzoh ball soup and mushroom barley—both are homeruns.

Let me sum NY’s Big Apple Deli up in a nutshell…this is one of the best New York Kosher Style Delis in South Florida.

NY’s Big Apple Deli is open Monday-Thursday 8am-7pm and Friday-Sunday 7am-3pm.

If, delicious- New York Kosher Style Deli is your game—you absolutely, positively have to give Zinger’s Delicatessen in Boca Raton a try.

For you fressers out there…Zinger’s in a “former” life, was Pastrami Queen (see 9/12/08 writeup)…to make a long story short, family “matters” resulted in Pastrami Queen closing in late 2010. This past Tuesday, Zinger’s opened for business—for our purposes, SAME OWNER!–NEW “NYC” DECOR!–SAME TERRIFIC FOOD!

Last night I ate dinner at Zinger’s.

Zinger’s is located in the exact-spot where Pastrami Queen was. Gary Zinger who owned Pastrami Queen is Zinger’s owner. The restaurant’s layout hasn’t changed, but the decor has…let’s just say, that stainless steel walls/ceiling and art-deco signage rival the best-deli decor here and in NYC. The joint has 3-flat screen tvs and a takeout counter that will make you want to quit Weight Watchers.

Let’s talk food…

To be perfectly honest with you, I seriously doubt that there is a better New York Kosher Style Deli down here in South Florida. I’ll even go so-far as to say, Zinger’s Delicatessen can easily hold its own with legendary players like NYC’s- Carneige, Stage, 2nd Avenue and Katz’s delis…if you aren’t a native Nooo Yoorker, please feel free to insert your hometown favorite delis’ names.

Just so you know, I was a Pastrami Queen “regular”…so, it was absolutely impossible to eat-at Zinger’s, shall we say incognito. The meal was “on the arm” with Gary Zinger literally having me “try” everything in the joint. Take it for what it’s worth, the pastrami, corned beef, brisket, turkey off the bone are as good as it gets. The joint also makes- delicious, potato pancakes-chopped liver-tuna salad-chicken salad-matzoh ball soup-smashed French fries-Italian beef sub.

Just so we are straight…don’t want you to think that I’m a Zinger’s shill—I’ve eaten better potato knishes—like the ones I, my father and brother Andy use to get in 1958 from the pushcart stationed right outside of Fortunoff on Livonia Avenue in Brooklyn while waiting for my mother to finish shopping.

Trust me on this…Zinger’s is a homerun.

Like I said before, I tried a load of stuff. I will tell you, that the sandwiches being delivered to the tables were nice-sized… I didn’t see one group leave without a doggy bag… and no one bitched to Gary about the service/prices.

Zinger’s website is www.zingersdelicom. The site is currently under construction, so give it some-time to get up and running.

Zinger’s does breakfast, lunch and dinner…The joint is open 7 days a week 7am-10pm.

Just a heads-up…Zinger’s Delicatessen–a NYC kosher style deli is set-to-open any day in Boca Raton. Zinger’s is owned by Gary Zinger. Gary is the former owner/operator of Pastrami Queen which was located in the same location a few years.

We’ll have to wait and see…if, Gary can “reproduce” the same sensational deli-food that Pastrami Queen served. If you check my “Pastrami Queen” 12-12-08 review, you’ll get a feel for what a terrific joint Gary had.

After Zinger’s open, I’ll get over there and give you the skinny.

Can’t believe I got done-in by a 10 year old kid last night. Was talking to this kid while waiting to pickup food and I asked him…”How many 4 cent stamps are there in a dozen?—and the kid says to me, “Is that a standard dozen or is that a baker’s dozen?”

Got a really-good bagel-deli joint for you—Bagel Wit A Schmear in Boca Raton. Talk about the consummate hole in the wall—one “card table” for 4 and 8 window counter stool seats, a couple of display cases, open baking/prep area…that’s the whole megillah—under construction, an outdoor patio that seats 16.

At this stage of the proceedings check www.bagelwitaschmear.com for menu/prices.

Bagel Wit A Schmear has been around for something like 1-year. It is owned/operated by husband/wife team, Jim & Patti Higgins—she runs the counter, he runs the back of the house.

Let’s talk food.

The joint has 7,000 different types of bagels…which are “made” the correct way, that being boiled and then baked. A recent taste test had me “doing” an- everything, sesame, garlic, onion, pupernickel, cheese (asiago) and french toast. All of them were A-OK…special shout-out to the french toast bagel—toasted at home with a drop of butter and maple syrup, off the chart.

In addition to bagels, bialys, flagels…Bagels Wit A Schmear bakes its own breads and muffins. The joint’s menu is loaded with various cream cheeses, breakfast dishes, salads, sandwiches, deli meats, soups. Just so you know, I “sampled” the chicken/tuna/whitefish salads—they were absolutely delicious.

Like I told you before, Bagel Wit A Schmear is a hole in the wall. There is very limited indoor seating…so don’t plan on bringing grandma, grandpa, Aunt Rosie, Uncle Saul, your wife (or husband) and your 3 kids there tomorrow for Mother’s Day. Then again—you could order stuff and eat at home.

You now know about a really good bagel-deli joint.

Bagel Wit A Schmear is open Monday-Saturday 7am-3pm and Sunday 7am-1pm.

One final note, a baker’s dozen of bagels runs $9.50.

House of Bagels & Bialys is a “bagel-deli”—the joint is located in Miami—House is open Monday-Saturday 6am-6pm and Sunday 6am-4pm…maybe 10 counter-stools inside-outside maybe 6 tables.

The joint’s menu– breakfast stuff, sandwiches, knishes, salads, NY style deli pastries.

As expected, something like 20 million types of bagels. Absolutely loved the “everything” and “onion.” The joint also makes a real-nice bialy. As for the “tested” pastrami, corned beef, chicken salad—pretty standard goods.

Bagel Hut is a “bagel-deli”…located in Pompano Beach.

Recently did breakfast…delicious “everything” and western omelette.

Think-typcial bagel joint and you’ll know what Bagel Hut is all about… 4,000,000 types of bagels, all kinds of breakfast stuff, deli sandwiches, burgers, soups, salads.

If you live or work in Bagel Hut’s neighborhood—you can’t go wrong here.

Bagel Hut is open Monday-Friday 7am-3pm, Saturday 7am-2:30pm, Sunday 7am-2am.