***** The Over Easy Cafe, 341 East Oakland Park Boulevard, Oakland Park, Florida 33334, (954) 561-1177.

The Over Easy Cafe–“mom & pop” diner located in Oakland Park.

Let me start by saying, that everyone has an Over Easy Cafe…

It maybe called- George’s in Brooklyn, Tom Sawyer’s in Boca, Good Egg in Tucson, or Cozy Corner in Chicago—that small, neighborhood, formica table/booth joint (the grill is right behind the counter seating) that you go to—for breakfast/lunch. Absolutely impossible to get a count, but I’ll betcha that there are literally thousands of these mom & pop owned/operated restaurants in America.

You know the drill…menus- loaded with breakfast stuff, sandwiches, salads, burgers, dinner specials, desserts. Nothing gourmet (whatever gourmet means) seemingly happens at the -Over Easy Cafes of the world—Just decent food, pleasant waitresses, loads of coffee, endless conversation.

Like most of you, I absolutely love these kind of joints.

For the record, I have eaten 3 breakfasts and 1 lunch at the Over Easy Cafe. Can’t recall ever having had- a bad western, pancake, cheeseburger, chicken salad on toasted rye. You can check menu/prices at www.theovereasy.com.

The Over Easy Cafe is open Monday-Friday 6am-3pm, Saturday 6am-1pm, Sunday 7am-1pm.

One final item for you…The Over Easy Cafe makes some of the best home-made pies that this Brooklyn boy has ever tasted. Try the dutch-apple and I’ll betcha a buck, that the next time you’re in Costco- you’ll think twice about bringing home that 20 pounder (well it feels like it’s 20 lbs) that they have in the baked goods area.

***** Papa Piccolo Pizzeria, 8016 Southwest 81st Drive, Miami, Florida 33143, (305) 270-1020.

On February 7, 2012 I did a “review” on Papa Piccolo Pizzeria…Last Saturday night, I ate at Papa Piccolo and I gotta tell you that the original review didn’t do justice to this terrific red sauce mom & popper. So here’s a drop more about the joint.

You know and I know that “mom & pop” red sauce Italian joints are literally a dime a dozen down here in South Florida. Give or take a trellis here and there, they basically look the same—similar menus, price points…and, they usually get the job done with decent enough pizza, pastas, garlic rolls etc. For sure, every so often, you catch a really delicious dish–but generally, the stuff at best is just ok. The bet here, if blindfolded–most of you (me included) couldn’t differentiate one joint’s veal parm from another’s.

So with the “above” in mind… I was absolutely blown away by a recent dinner at Papa Piccolo Pizzeria. Now there is absolutely no way for me to make a sensible “pecking order” of moms & pops–because we aren’t just talking 1-item like a burger, or fries, or a slice—one joint may have great pizza but crap chicken parmigiana, while another may have great calzones but garbage penne ala vodka. Capice!

Anyway…trust me here—Papa Piccolo Pizzeria has amazingly delicious food. Everything that I “tried”- pizza, veal parmigiana, chicken marsala, shrimp scampi, lobster ravioli, penne ala vodka was right on the money. Throw in huge portions, really reasonable prices and a garlic bread that alone is worth the price of admission—and you got one of the best mom & pop joints that I’ve been to. Now for sure, the failure to make chicken cacciatore and chicken scarpiello “on the bone”—is a negative, but I’ll live.

If you live or work in Papa Piccolo’s neighborhood–you gotta try this joint.

Papa Piccolo is open Monday-Thursay 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm, closed on Sunday.

****** THIRD ANNUAL GOLDEN MATZAH BOWL ******

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

***** Brick House Tavern + Tap, 1451 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304, (954) 537-5344.

Brick House Tavern + Tap is a “sports bar” with 16 locations—for our purposes, there is currently one in Fort Lauderdale and another in Oralndo. You can check menu/prices/photos/locations at www.brickhousetavernandtap.com.

Let me make this one short and simple…Fort Lauderdale joint is great looking, it has both indoor and outdoor patio seating—pleanty of beers and booze—flat screen tvs galore– based on “sampled” cheeseburger, bbq ribs, roast chicken, grilled mahi mahi, philly cheesesteak sub, french fries-food definitely isn’t one of Brick House’s strong suits…nothing terrible, but nothing even close to really good going on here.

Hopefully, the above gives you the picture.

Brick House is open Sunday 11am-midnight, Monday-Thursday 11am-1am, FRiday-Saturday 11am-2am.

***** Philly Pretzel Heaven, 5021 South State Road 7, Davie, Florida 33314, (954) 584-5168.

Real simple—“hole in the wall” fast food joint that makes amazing Philadelphia style- soft pretzels.

You guys do know, don’t you?–that Philadelphia, among-other things is famous for its cheesesteaks and pretzels. Well! You don’t have to drive (give or take) 1,000 miles to find out what the pretzel part of the equation is all about.

Just for the record, I love mine with mustard.

You can check www.phillypretzelheaven.com for menu/prices.

The joint is open Monday-Friday 8am-5:30pm, Saturday 8am-4pm, Sunday 9-2pm.

***** Franco & Vinny’s Pizza Shack, 2884 East Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304, (954) 565-6000.

Now I’m not 100% sure here, but if you go to Webster’s Dictionary–and look up “mom & pop red sauce Italian joint” you’ll find Franco & Vinny’s Pizza Shack in Fort Lauderdale listed.

Not going to mince words here, I absolutely loved this joint. Tried it out the other night for dinner…and Franco & Vinny’s is firing on all cylinders. At this stage of this game, you can check menu/prices at www.francoandvinnys.com.

Now nothing for nothing–we aren’t talking gourmet/fancy schmanzy Italian stuff here. We are talking pizzas, pastas, garlic rolls, subs, loads of napkins and more Coca Cola than any normal human should consume at any given time.

Just for the record, on my “outing” there were eight of us…tried– large plain pizza, veal parmigiana, chicken marsala, shrimp scampi, chicken cacciatore, clams & mussels/linguini/red sauce, fried calamari, meat lasagna, baked clams oregenata, eggplant parmigiana—like I said a few seconds ago, Franco & Vinny’s was firing on all cylinders.

Neighborhood pizza joint prices & service.

I am telling you, if “red sauce” joints are your game, you will absolutely-positively love Franco & Vinny’s. Now for sure, some dishes were better than others, but the pluses and minuses are too small to even be concerned with. If I got one bitch, I personally like chicken cacciatore to be on the bone and Franco & Johnny’s uses boneless white meat–but the garlic bread with cheese is worth the price of admission alone.

Franco & Vinny’s is open 7 days a week 4pm-11pm.

***** THE GRIND—MIAMI’S BURGER BATTLE *****

Just heard about “The Grind–Miami’s Burger Battle”—sounds like it could be a-load of fun.

Printed below, is a copy of the sponsor’s press release about this “best burger” contest scheduled to be held on Saturday, March 31, 2012 in Miami, Florida.
******************
Wars have been won, but a battle never tasted so good!

A burger showdown will ensue on March 31st, where only the best of the best burgers in South Florida will compete under one roof for the coveted Golden Grinder and title.

South Florida has never seen a burger battle quite like The Grind. Taste 30 of the best burgers in town while washing it down with complimentary open bar including Blue Moon craft beer, wine and spirits. Guests and local celebrity judges will vote for their favorite burgers provided by restaurants in the 954 and 305 area codes. An online competition will also take place where cooking enthusiasts will submit their own recipe for the “Best Backyard Burger”. Judges include TV personalities Belkys Nerey, Adam Kuperstein and Jeff Berardelli; James Beard award-winning chef and director of The Miami Culinary Institute, Norman Van Aken; world-class restaurateur, Steven Haas; food critic, The Burger Beast; co-chair of The Miami Dolphins Foundation, Stan Rudman and Commissioner Marc Sarnoff.

The Grind is proud to have the Miami Culinary Institute on board as a partner. Students will be given the opportunity to work side-by-side with Miami’s top restaurants and chefs as they help prepare the evening’s main attraction – Burgers! For those who want to start sampling, voting and mingling an hour before general admission, VIP tickets are available and on sale now!

WHEN:
Saturday, March 31, 2012
VIP: 6:00 PM – 10:00 PM
General Admission: 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

WHERE:
Miami Entertainment Complex (MEC)
50 NW 14 Street
Miami, FL 33136

Purchase tickets by visiting www.TheGrindMiami.com or at (305)461-2700.

Advanced Tickets – $75.00
Door Tickets – $85.00
VIP Tickets – $125.00

*****************

***** Piccolino Italian Ristorante, 78 South Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida (561) 395-8858.

Piccolino is a “mom & pop” Italian joint in Boca Raton. It has been around since March, 2011. The entire “staff” consists of an owner/ husband-wife team (Roberto & Leonora) and 1-waiter. Maybe, there are 40 seats inside and 10 outside.

Back in May, 2011 Jeff Eats recieved an email from Owner:Roberto–asking me to come to the restaurant to try the food, blah, blah, blah. Being a “busy” man…I finally got over there with Mrs. Jeff Eats and another couple- this past Saturday night and here’s the skinny.

Let’s call this one a sleeper. I seriously doubt that a-whole lot of Boca folks or for that matter other-folks know about this restaurant. It’s an inline “hole in the wall” on Federal Highway. There is extremely limited foot-traffic in the area…As for walk-ins, the bet here, not many. Did some checking, a few months back–Piccolino did some couponing on LivingSocial–but that’s about the extent of its advertising game. The point I’m trying to make…very few- really know about this joint.

At this stage of the this story you can check menu/prices at www.piccolinoboca.com.

The aforemetioned husband, wife and “waiter” were very friendly-personable people. Amazingly, a staff of three was able to handle (with a few minor rough spots) about 35 people from the 8pm-9:45pm that I was there. For those of you looking for a $11.95- red sauce joint (soup/salad–garlic rolls–entree–pasta) look elsewhere. Piccolino’s entrees ($16-$21) come with pasta or vegetable. Pastas run $15-16. If I have one bitch with this joint’s menu—it’s kinda limited. A handful of appetizers–same for entrees/pastas–a few personal pizzas–a few specials. Now, nothing for nothing, everyone in my party of 4 found something to eat–but trust me, a few more menu items wouldn’t hurt…but then again, with a total staff of 3–I guess the joint may have to limit itself in the selection department.

Let’s talk food.

An eggplant parmigiana appetizer was absolutely sensational. I’m talking, one of the best versions that I have ever eaten.
The veal parmigiana entree was good. It would have been real-good, but it had a drop too much salt in the mix.
The sole francese was delicious as was the chicken paillard, penne alla vodka and spaghetti bolognese.

Now you know and I know, that “taste” is purely a subjective thing…with that in mind, all four of us really enjoyed the meal-and agreed that Piccolino would definitely be a joint that we would eat at again.

One final observation–Piccolino serves what I call a “standard” room temperature Italian bread. It comes in a basket with little plastic “tubs” of butter. You know—those little tubs, where you have to peel the paper off the top to get to the butter. Not Good! A joint like this, should have delicious garlic bread-or garlic rolls-or hot Italian bread with oil/garlic on the side-or hot Italian bread with large plentiful tubs of butter…Now, I know that many restaurants actually try not to serve “good” bread because they don’t want you to fill-up on the bread—and as a consequence not order “lots” of appetizers/entrees, etc.—that said, Roberto & Lenora step-up-the-bread!

Like I said before, this is a hole-in-the-wall. Nothing fancy going on here, but it’s definitely not a formica-pizza joint. It’s got a bunch of “old world” looking paintings on the wall—but like I just said, nothing fancy going on-so you don’t have to dress-up, or nothing.

To sum it up. Except for the veal parm and the bread—Piccolino hit every dish out of the park.

Piccolino is open Monday-Friday for lunch 11:30-3pm, Monday-Saturday 5pm-10pm, closed on Sunday.

***** Biergarten, 309 Via de Palmas, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 395-7462.

Last Saturday night around 10pm my wife and I- and another couple stopped by a German “bar-restaurant”—Biergarten in Boca Raton. The joint has indoor seating/huge outdoor patio seating. Real simple concept–tons of different beers, wines, specialty drinks—menu loaded with appetizers, burgers, salads, sandwiches, tacos, German style wursts-schnitzels-and other dishes—local bands and djs. The joint looks like “what” I guess a German beer garden in Germany is suppose to look like and the staff wears’ German beer garden costumes (I think!) You can check menu/prices at www.biergartenboca.com.

What a cool place!. It was JAMMED and I do mean JAMMED! I’m gonna bet here, that half the crowd was FAU/Lynn students. Although it was approaching “my” bedtime, I still “tried” a steak slider, bbq pork slider, pastrami slider, kielbasa, potato pancakes—and I’m telling you straight up, the food was absolutely dynamite. Absolutely some of the best “bar” stuff I’ve had in a very very long time. A great dj was spinning all-types of music and I understand that the bands that work the joint, play classic rock, reggae and new stuff.

Suffice it to say, the “kids” there were having an absolute blast–and us 4 old geezers did the same. Boy! If Ithaca, New York had a joint like Biergarten back in 1966-1970–just maybe, I wouldn’t have been so anxious to graduate from Ithaca College-to get back to Brooklyn. In all fairness, Bobby Comstock & The Counts was a great band, but if memory serves me right, the food at the Dewitt Clinton Hotel where they worked- wasn’t even in the same breath as Biergarten’s grub.

Biergarten hasn’t been around for very long. I’m guessing here, but I think something like 6 months. The joint is located in the “Pink Plaza” in Boca Raton…the spot that it’s in- has over the years-housed more restaurants than you can shake a stick at. I maybe going out on a limb here, but I think that the landlord has finally found a long-term tenant.

Let me close by saying, no matter how old or for that matter young you are—you gotta try Biergarten.

Biergarten is open Sunday-Monday 11am-midnight, Tuesday-Saturday 11am-2am.

***** MLT Cheesesteaks and Grilled Cheese, 1541 Washington Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida 33139, (305) 672-1541.

I finally found it…heaven on earth…and who would have thunk- that it would be in Miami Beach, say hello to MLT Cheesesteaks and Grilled Cheese.

At this stage of this game, you can check menu/prices/photos at www.themelt.com.

MLT’s menu is loaded with–cheesesteak subs, grilled cheese sandwiches, sliders, waffles, mac & cheese, salads, desserts. Order at/pickup at the counter.

Now you gotta trust me here, I had a philly cheesesteak sub (rib eye, grilled onions, Cheez Whiz) which was right up there with the best that I can ever recall eating. I also “tried” a grilled cheese sandwich (American cheese/bacon/fried egg on egg challah) that was absolutely off the chart. Being a total pig, I also “did” a bbq short rib slider and a Krispy Kreme bread pudding—that sealed the deal for me-that being, that MLT must be what heaven is all about.

Let me close by saying…you gotta try this joint!

MLT is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-4:30am.