***** Donut King, 208 South Highway 27, Minneola, Florida 34715, (352) 243-4046.

No! Not Mineola, New York…but rather Minneola as in about 25-miles west of Orlando (MapQuest it).

Anyway…

Last week Jeff Eats “found” Donut King- a terrific donut joint in Minneola, Florida.

For what it’s worth, Jeff Eats knows donuts better than anyone else–except for two New York City cops (now retired)-that I’ve known since 1975–one currently resides in Staten Island, the other in Bonita Springs.

Let me make this one short and sweet…

Donut King makes some of the most delicious donuts that Jeff Eats has ever-ever eaten. Check www.thedonutking.com for donut selection/menu/video/photos.

Now for the kicker, this “hole in the wall” (maybe 4 tables) also “does”- breakfast stuff, subs- (Donut King calls them po-boys), wings, burgers…

Now for the ultimate kicker, this “hole in the wall” makes “Castle Burgers”—when Jeff Eats was eating them, I could have sworn that they were White Castle Burgers…delicious!!

Now for the ultimate-ultimate kicker, this “hole in the wall” is open 24/7.

Now for the “You Won’t Believe This Award”–this “hole in the wall’s” website spells Minneola wrong…you figured right, its got MINEOLA.

Finally, Donut King is absolutely amazing. If you live, work, visit the Minneola-area, make it your business to stop at Donut King.

***** Waffy’s, 2370 East Sunrise Boulevard (Galleria Mall), Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304, (561) 251-5921.

Here’s a story for you guys…

About 2-months ago Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats decided to do some home renovations…a real good friend- Dave recommended a GC named Joe Tinneny. When we first met Joe- we could tell right away that he was a guy that knew his business and would do a great job at a very fair/reasonable price. Right up front, Joe told us that-he would take our job but that at the same time- would also be handling some work for Dave as well as Waffy’s, a brand new fast food chain that had an outlet in the Galleria Mall and a corporate office/distribution center in Pompano Beach. To make a long story short, Joe did a terrific job for us–finishing this afternoon. Rather than dragging this Joe story out… during the past 2-months, he and his crew kept telling me about how great Waffy’s- Belgian waffles/paninis were–blah, blah, blah! Between you, me and the bedpost, Jeff Eats was more interested in getting our roof/driveway/pool deck fixed-up that hearing about Waffy’s food, corking, drywall, plastering and flooring projects.

Anyway…

Last Saturday night, Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats attended the 7th Annual Sweet Dreams event at the Seminole Casino Coconut Creek. Great time, with all types of vendors serving-up some of the most delicious desserts imaginable…and low and behold, one of the vendors was Waffy’s…talk about coincidence! After telling the two folks behind the display table that we shared a “common” contractor blah, blah, blah—Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats sampled waffles covered with Nutella/fresh strawberries/whipped cream, waffles topped with melted caramel, waffles filled with Belgian chocolate/ topped with whipped cream…and I gotta tell you, these desserts were off-the chart. Absolutely amazing-delicious and definitely some of Sweet Dreams’ best offerings.

Joe’s raves and Sweet Dreams got Jeff Eats thinking…and this afternoon I took a ride down to the Galleria to check Waffy’s out. Huge kiosk setup, with all kinds of waffles/toppings/waffle paninis/soft serve ice cream. Now we are talking Monday afternoon, around 1pm -and during the half- hour that I watched- there was a constant line waiting to order stuff. True-true…it’s Christmas time, but I’m telling you, that this Waffy’s-thing was much busier than most of the mall’s food court outlets. By the way, Waffy’s isn’t in the food court, but is right in front of the Macy’s in the Galleria.

Check Waffy’s website www.waffys.com for menu/prices/photos. From what I can tell, the Galleria joint is Waffy’s only- retail location. The website has a load of franchise information and a list of planned Waffy’s outlets. The site also indicates that Waffy’s does private off-premises catering.

Look! Waffy’s is a relatively new company- it’s been in business since 2010. Does this “waffle” concept have legs? Your guess is as good as mine. What I do know, is that the stuff I ate was awesome and if Joe does the GC work- Waffy’s outlets will look great.

Waffy’s is open Monday-Saturday 10am-9pm, Sunday noon-6pm.

* Boca Village Square-An Early Christmas Present For You Guys!

Just this minute heard- that two of my favorite joints to “fress in” (linquists look it up) are coming to Boca Village Square, 21116 St. Avenue Boulevard, Boca Raton…namely BurgerFi (see review 4/6/11) and Sicilian Oven (see review 3/14/09)…no more schlepping (linquists look it up) for this Boca-boy to Delray Beach and Lighthouse Point—now, if Jeff Eats could only talk Dairy Queen into taking a spot in that center. Look for Grand Openings in January 2014.

***** The Pink Submarine, 2041 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors, Florida 33305, (954) 566-2219.

Got a real-good sub joint for you…The Pink Submarine in Wilton Manors.

You know the deal order at/pickup at the counter…on the décor front, “think” The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine cartoon–and you’ll be on the right page.

Between Jeff Eats, you and the bedpost (ever wonder where this saying came from?) subs shops in South Florida or for that matter the entire United States are literally a dime a dozen (ever wonder where this saying came from?)–what separates “some” from the pack is- the quality/quantity of the ingredients and the bread that those ingredients get stuffed into …with this formula in mind, I gotta tell you that The Pink Submarine makes some of the best subs that Jeff Eats has eaten-here in South Florida.

The other day, Jeff Eats “tried”–a meatball sub (white-$8), a roast beef sub (multigrain-$8), a turkey sub (whole wheat-$8)…and like I said 9 seconds ago, all of the 8″ subs were top-shelf. You can check menu/prices at www.thepinksubmarine.com.

One final thought, the lady who made Jeff Eats’ subs was as pleasant as could-be and had a nice heavy-hand while loading the ingredients.

The Pink Submarine is open Monday-Thursday 11am-7pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-2am, Sunday 11am-5pm.

* Burger Beast’s Top 25 Burgers In South Florida.

One of Jeff Eats’ favorite South Florida food blogs is ‘Burger Beast’ www.burgerbeast.com…I’ve been reading this-guy for years and he has turned me-onto some really good joints/events. Now we all-know that there is ONLY-one Jeff Eats, but trust-me…Burger Beast really knows his stuff when it comes to burgers and other ‘comfort-foods.”

With all of the above in mind, on December 10, 2013 Burger Beast published his ‘Top 25 Burgers In South Florida’ list…

Now nothing for nothing, Jeff Eats has already got a-lot of the Burger Beast’s “burgers” done up (pun intended) but there are a handful that I’ve yet to try…

Anyway…checkout www.burgerbeast.com, it’s a real nice companion piece to Jeff Eats.

Bistro Gastronomie (Boca Raton).

Let Jeff Eats do a “mitzvah” here…

To the owner of Bistro Gastronomie which is currently under construction at the intersection of Long Lake Boulevard and Yamato Road in Boca Raton…unless you are planning on washing money or something like that in the upscale French restaurant that you have been spending money like crazy on during the past 8 months or-so…stop everything right now and cut your losses.

Now this is just an opinion, but the demographics for the area tells-Jeff Eats that there is no way in hell that an upscale French restaurant in “your” location has any chance whatsoever of making it. The spot that you are building in ~originally housed a Moe’s Bagel joint and Back Street a moderately priced “American-Style” joint-that had 1-2-3-4 owners before finally calling it a day. Now! If “they” couldn’t move enough bagels/coffee or 4-sliders with French fries for $8.95 to pay the rent, then logic tells me -that your braised rabbit ain’t exactly gonna be flying off the shelf-either.

Sorry I didn’t get to you sooner, but I’ve been busy “studying” why the bay two doors down from yours has had something like six different businesses during the past 3-4 years.

Anyway…good luck!
*****
UPDATE: January 13, 2014

This evening Jeff Eats received an e-mail from Bistro Gastronomie’s owner, William Walden. In addition the Jeff Eats’ site received a number of “Comments” from the same William Walden.

Suffice it to say, Mr. Walden believes that his new restaurant- scheduled to open in February is going to be an extremely successful endeavor.

Since Jeff Eats has no skin in-the Bistro Gastronomie game…how the restaurant fares is of no real concern to me.

Jeff Eats really does wish Bistro Gastronomie and Mr. Walden all the best…that said, Jeff Eats stands by his opinions expressed in my 12/13/2013 story.

Mr. Walden’s e-mail is printed below.
From: William Walden
Subject: Bistro Gastronomie
Message Body:
Hello Jeff and Happy New Year! Bistro Gastronomie is slated to open this coming
February. Hopefully you received one of our flyers in the mail this past week. I
just discovered your Blog from a colleague that emailed me the link. WOW. I hope
to get a chance to meet you in the coming weeks and I certainly hope that you
will try my restaurant. Noteworthy is that it has taken an extremely long time
to build out due to the extensive renovations. We plan on being here for years.
Until shortly, Thank you! Executive Chef/Owner William Walden–
This mail is sent via contact form on Jeff Eats http://jeffeats.com

***** Santino’s Pizza-Pasta, 18267 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, Florida 33029, (954) 441-0080.

“Look what they did to my boy. Look what they did to Santino!”

Anyway…

Got a real-good- Pembroke Pines’ “mom & pop” red sauce Italian joint for you…Santino’s Pizza-Pasta. You can check menu/prices/photos/other stuff at santinospizzaandpasta.com.

Now, straight up I’m telling you that…Santino’s Pizza-Pasta has definitely not reinvented the wheel-here! With that in mind, Jeff Eats really enjoyed the large pizza ($12.95)-gnocchi with meat sauce ($11.75)-veal marsala ($14.95)-zuppa di pesce ($20.95) that made their way to the Eats’ table. Throw in the fact, that all of the entrees came with a house salad/or soup, pasta side and delicious garlic rolls and you gotta-know that Jeff Eats was an extremely happy camper.

Santino’s is what I call a no-brainer…tons of good solid red sauce stuff and loads of Coca Cola (ice tea or is it iced tea?- in Mrs. Jeff Eats’ case) for tops 50 bucks a couple…and of course, your tee shirt/shorts ensemble will be in fashion.

Santino’s Pizza-Pasta is open Monday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm, Sunday 1pm-10pm.

* Kings Point Theater– “Voices Of Legends.”

Got something for “some” of you guys…

On Saturday Night, January 18, 2014-at 8pm…”Voices Of Legends” is in concert at the Kings Point Theater in Delray Beach.

The show’s headline act…

The Dubs who in the 50s-60s charted with the hits “Could This Be Magic”–“Chapel Of Dreams”–“Don’t Ask Me To Be Lonely.”

The show also features former Mystic- Johnny T…one of America’s top-50s/60s Rock N Roll tribute artists—who covers such greats as Dion, Paul Anka, Bobby Darin…you can check www.johnnytunes.com for videos/schedule.

Now, for the real kicker here…

Also on the bill, Michael D’Amore—one of Jeff Eats’ all-time favorite “Adult Contemporary” artists. Right about now, you may (or may not) be saying…”Who the hell is Michael D’Amore, I never heard of the guy?” To which Jeff Eats replies…”Go to www.michaeldamore.com and click on the videos and you’ll see–actually hear why I absolutely love this guy. Nothing for nothing, New Jersey based D’Amore rarely-if-ever plays South Florida, so you gotta know that Jeff Eats will definitely be at this show.

The particulars on venue/tickets:

Kings Point Theater Voices Of Legends
Concert Series 8pm Show
7000 W Atlantic Ave, Delray Beach, FL
For tickets call (561) 499-3335 Ext 225
Residents: $15, Non-Residents: $18.

***** I Love Tacos Restaurant & More, 17722 Pines Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, Florida 33029, (954) 447-6262.

Got a really good “hole in the wall” Mexican joint for you…I Love Tacos Restaurant & More in Pembroke Pines. The reason for the hole-in-the-wall designation, maybe there are 10 tables that seat 4 each–and a small bar that handles maybe 7…One other piece of business, I Love Tacos blah blah–has another location in Weston- 2203 North Commerce Parkway (954) 515-0120. Jeff Eats’ tale is about the Pembroke Pines’ joint…

I Love Tacos looks like every other “mom & pop” Mexican joint that you’ve ever been in…I’m assuming, that you know what I’m talking about décor-wise, if not…when you check menu/prices at www.ilovetacosrestaurant.com you’ll also find a photo or two on the décor front.

I love Tacos does breakfast Monday-6am-11am, breakfast Saturday & Sunday 8am-11am…lunch Monday-Sunday 11am-3pm…dinner Monday-Sunday 4pm-10pm. So if Jeff Eats got this right, you’re plum out of luck if you want to get something to eat Monday-Sunday from 3pm-4pm.

Anyway…

Like I said 34 seconds ago, I Love Tacos is a really good joint—A recent dinner outing had me “doing”- guacamole & chips ($9.90), shrimp taco (3-$11.90), steak quesadilla ($10.50), Mexican lasagna ($12.90)—and I got to tell you, Jeff Eats absolutely loved the food. For the record, I’ll even go as far-and say, the stuff I ate- was right up there with the best that I have had in sunny South Florida.

For you inquisitive minds…I Love Tacos has the full-boat of tacos, tostadas, flautas, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, tortas—so if Mexican food is your bag, you’ll definitely find what to eat.

To close, Jeff Eats highly recommends that you give I Love Tacos Restaurant & More a shot, it’s really good.

One final note, Joey the guy who turned me on to this joint, told me that every so often on Friday-Saturday nights the joint has a Mariachi band. If that’s the case, you may want to have a few singles in your pocket–to give “them” so they’ll go over to another table. Just a thought!.

* The Manhattans’ New Year’s Eve Concert (Mardi Gras Casino, Hallandale Beach)

Got something terrific for you guys…”The Manhattans'”-New Year’s Eve Concert at the Mardi Gras Casino is a FREE EVENT…
Starting at 7pm on December 31st- Reserved Seat Tickets will be available on a first come, first served basis at the Will Call Desk.

Just a suggestion, you guys should keep a close-eye on Mardi Gras Casino’s website (www.mardigrascasino.fl.com) so that you can follow the Casino’s entertainment schedule. This way, you won’t be-beholden to Jeff Eats when “you” get cheap tickets or free tickets to some absolutely terrific concerts/events.

Here’s a PR piece from Mardi Gras Casino’s website.
The Manhattans
December 31, 2013, 10:30pm – In the Grandstand
Legend has it that George “Smitty” Smith, Edward “Sonny” Bivins, Winfred “Blue” Lovett, Kenneth Kelly and Richard Taylor came to call themselves the Manhattans because, as teenage singers in Jersey City, New Jersey, they’d dream about the big time while gazing across the Hudson River at the Manhattan skyline. It’s a nice story, but unfortunately it is not true. In fact, the quintet took its name from a cocktail known as the Manhattan that’s made from whiskey, vermouth, and bitters. Still, the name suggested class, something the Manhattans have epitomized throughout their long career. First tenor Bivins, who characterizes the group’s elegant style as “progressive doo wop,” first got together with baritone singer Taylor while they were serving with the Air Force in Germany during the late 1950’s. After being discharged, Bivins, Lovett and Smith formed the Dulcets in 1960. In 1961, The Dulcets recorded “Pork Chops” on the Sue Label. In 1963, with the addition of Kelly and Taylor, they formed The Manhattans.
Although they began making records in 1963, the Manhattans didn’t strike it big until the mid-1970’s, when they successfully bucked the disco trend with a series of romantic ballads for Columbia Records. They had eight songs in the R&B Top 10 between 1973 and 1978, with the composition “Kiss And Say Good Bye” going to Number One on both the R&B and Pop Charts in 1976 and placing in the top five in England and Australia. “Shining Star”, which won The Manhattans their first Grammy Award in 1980, made it to number five on the Pop Charts, staying on the charts for 14 straight weeks.
The Manhattans continue to bring their smooth, classy live sound to their fans, with over 100 shows worldwide last year alone. With Edward “Sonny” Bivins at baritone, Al Pazant at bass, Lee “The Reverend” Williams at lead vocal and Charles “Charming Charlie” Hardy and Harsey “The Candyman” Hemphill sharing 1st and 2nd tenor, The Manhattans continue to be one of the most sought after live R&B units of the day.