***** Joe’s Pizza & Pasta, 1410 Coral Ridge Drive, Coral Springs, Florida 33071, (954) 757-9090.

Yesterday, Jeff Eats gave “red sauce”- Joe’s Pizza & Pasta in Coral Springs a shot…for the record, Joe’s also has a joint in Pembroke Pines and another one in Miramar.

Absolutely- positively nothing fancy going on here. Last night, I didn’t spot even one person in long pants.

Those of you over the age of 1 month, know exactly what Joe’s decor looks like…the menu has the expected appetizers, pizzas, pastas, subs, chicken/meat/seafood entrees. A no brainer here, entrees come with soup or salad and loads of garlic rolls. You can check www.joespizzaandpastaonline.com for menu/prices/photos.

Now to be perfectly straight with you guys..I’ve done Joe’s before. Well actually, until last night I’d never been in Joe’s Pizza & Pasta—but, I’ve eaten in tons of joints “identical” in decor/menu/prices. If you are confused, let’s just leave it that yesterday was my first time at Joe’s.

Anyway…Jeff Eats “tried”— plain pizza, veal parimigiana, chicken cacciatore, meat lasagna, shrimp scampi, ziti marinara, minestrone soup, house salad, garlic rolls. Let me play judge and jury here…I really liked Joe’s food. Are we talking best of breed. Nope!–but Joe’s Pizza & Pasta definitely got the job done. Good- solid red sauce stuff (try and say that one 10 times real fast), big portions, good prices, pleasant wait-staff. If I had to single out one item for a shoutout, the large 16″ plain pizza at $13.55 gets the call—it was just right… thin crust and a real delicious sweet sauce.

Joe’s Pizza & Pasta is open every day 11am-10pm, except Friday when it closes at 11pm.

Finally, if you check Joe’s website it has a whole bunch of discount coupons.

***** Mandolin Aegean Bistro, 4312 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33137, (305) 576-6066.

Got an absolutely terrific casual-reasonably priced Greek/Turkish-joint for you…Mandolin Aegean Bistro in Miami.

Before I get going here, take a look at www.mandolinmiami.com for menu/prices/photos.

Mrs. Jeff Eats, I and another couple gave Mandolin a shot the other night…just so you know, there is inside and outdoor patio seating…the decor will have you “thinking” that you are in the Greek Isles. Real cool and relaxing!

The “sampled” items included…fried calamari, arugula salad, gyro, moussaka, grilled lamb chops, chicken kebab, french fries, orzo pilaf…now you gotta trust me here—the food was delicious. A special shoutout to the fried calamari and the gyro…by the way, the tzatziki that came with the dishes was worth the price of admission alone.

Let me wrap Mandolin Aegean up this way…if you are looking for a real-easy going lunch/dinner in a beautiful setting—you gotta try this joint.

Mandolin Aegean Bistro is open Monday-Saturday noon-11pm and Sunday noon-10pm.

***** The Potter’s House Soul Food Bistro, 5310 Lenox Avenue, Jacksonville, Florida 32205, (904) 394-0860.

The Potter’s House Soul Food Bistro…let’s call this one a “soul food” cafeteria-joint.

You guys can check menu/prices/photos at www.thesoulfoodbistro.com.

Let me start by saying, Jeff Eats absolutely loved The Potter’s House Soul Food Bistro. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a huge-fan of “cafeteria style” setups….maybe it takes me back to P.S. 179 in Brooklyn circa 1956—I just don’t know…but I really enjoy the whole business of sliding/picking-up food with a tray. Now I know- that some of you guys maybe thinking that I’ve totally cracked-up…but I loved the whole tray “vibe” of The Potter’s House Soul Food Bistro.

For the record, Jeff Eats “sampled”…fried chicken, roasted chicken, baked tilapia, smothered pork chops, mac & cheese, corn bread, candied yams, collard greens, sweet potato pie, peach cobbler. Trust me on this one, every item was delicious and the prices were dirt cheap.

Look! I was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1949. The Ocean Parkway Jewish Center was 5 blocks from my apartment building. Waldbaum’s and Bohack were the supermarkets of choice. The point—Jeff Eats wasn’t exactly “raised” on southern soul food. As a “kid” the closest I got to the stuff was Raynors Cabin in Baldwin, Long Island—and I think the owners of that joint were Irish.

Anyway… based on the above “personal history”…I’m telling you, that The Potter’s House Soul Food Bistro makes fabulous southern-soul food.

The Potter’s House Soul Food Bistro is open Saturday-Sunday, Wednesday 10:30am-6pm, Tuesday Thursday-Friday 10:30am-8pm, closed on Monday

***** Beach Road Chicken Dinners, 4132 Atlantic Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida 32207, (904) 398-7980.

Gonna make this one short and sweet…

Beach Road Chicken Dinners makes some of the best fried chicken that Jeff Eats has ever eaten.

The joint has been in business since 1939.

You can check www.beachroadchickendinners.com for menu/prices/photos.

Beach Road Chicken Dinners is open Sunday,Tuesday-Thursday 11am-8pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-8:30pm, closed on Monday.

***** Kostas Pizza Italian, 1053 Park Street, Jaclksonville, Florida 32204, (904) 355-3820.

If you check Webster’s Dictionary– under “mom & pop–red sauce–dirt cheap– Italian joint” you should find a picture of Kostas Pizza Italian-located in Jacksonville, Florida. For the non-regular Jeff Eats’ readers, I’m making believe here, so don’t go running to your bookcase or nothing!

Kostas Pizza Italian (go figure, the owner Gus Margaridis is Greek) bangs out some of the most delicious- dirt cheap “red sauce” stuff you ever tasted… You can check www.pizzaitalian5points.com for menu/prices/history/photos.

Kostas has been around for something like 40 years and its menu has the expected appetizers, salads, pastas, pizzas, subs, meat/chicken/seafood entrees. Jeff Eats just recently found this joint, but I’d bet you a buck. that the outside and inside “decor” hasn’t been changed since Day One.

Now let me see if YOU are a careful reader or not? Now be honest, how many of you guys picked up on my using the term DIRT CHEAP?

Anyway, to the point…

If you check Kostas’ menu, I think you will find that the most expensive dinner (entree/salad/garlic bread) runs $9.50, with many dishes in the 5s and 6s…a large 15 inch pizza goes for 9 bucks.

Now, I know if you are reading Jeff Eats, you probably aren’t stupid, then again–…so we are all are gonna agree, that just maybe the “finest” veal isn’t in that $8 veal parm dinner. Capice!

I absolutely loved and I do mean loved, the veal parm patty, sausage & peppers, meat lasagna, tortellini alfredo that I “sampled”…the joint’s garlic bread was also delicious.

Just so we are straight, sometimes Jeff Eats likes to “play” that he is back at Ithaca College- 1966 “eating” with my friends. You guys do remember Saga Foods don’t you?

If you like nostalgia as much as I do, give Kostas Pizza Italian a shot…you’ll swear that your 18 all-over again.

Kostas is open Monday-Thursday 11am-8pm, Friday 11am-9pm, Saturday 11am-8pm, closed on Sunday.

***** Shorty’s Bar-B-Q, 9858 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33498 (561) 487-0024.

Way back on July 10, 2008 I told you guys about South Florida bbq-chain Shorty’s Bar-B-Q…The original “review” is printed below.

Anyway…about 2-months ago a new Shorty’s Bar-B-Q opened in Boca Raton…9858 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33498 (561) 487-0024. During the past 2-weeks Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats have eaten there twice and I gotta tell you, the bbq ribs, bbq chicken, french fries, onion rings were delicious. The joint gives you a great bang for the buck and the portions are nice sized. Now, I haven’t been to “all” of Shorty’s locations, but I think that the Boca Raton location’s “design” is a bit different than its bretheren…in that, the Boca Raton joint (unlike the others) has a full bar/separate area…just so you know, prior to “becoming” a Shorty’s—the location was home to a seafood restaurant and a Mexican restauarnt and the “bar” layout was in both of them.

To update the original review, Shorty’s currently has 3-Miami locations, 1- Davie location, 1-Boca Raton location.

For those of you unfamilar with Shorty’s…don’t think “smoked” bbq—think Bobby Rubino’s or Tony Roma’s, or Houston’s—for those of you who aren’t familiar with Rubino’s-Roma’s-Houston’s, just don’t think!

Posted on July 10th, 2008

***** Shorty’s-Bar-B-Q, 9200 South Dixie Highway, Miami, Florida 33156 (305) 670-7732.

Shorty’s is a South Florida bbq-chain…Its original location on South Dixie Highway has been around since 1951…Shorty’s website is www.shortysbbq.com …check the site for locations/menu/pricing.

Shorty’s Bar-B-Q is a terrific-casual restaurant… the menu is loaded with delicious appetizers, sides and top-notch pork/beef/chicken bbq…big portions at really reasonable prices. In the South Dixie joint, “you” sit at long tables next to total strangers…at the other 6 locations, Shorty’s gives “you” your own table or booth…that’s called progress.

Over the years, I must have eaten in the Dixie Highway location at least 10 times. Most recently, I have been eating in Shorty’s Deerfield Beach store which opened about 1 year ago. Same delicious food…same portions…same prices…booth and table seating…By the way, the Deerfield Beach joint (if I have read all of the locations’ menus correctly) is the only Shorty’s that has bbq beef ribs…I have to tell you, that those beef ribs are not just good, but are fantastic…why Shorty’s doesn’t have them in its other stores is beyond me.

Like I said before, Shorty’s is a casual joint…be prepared to get really messy in this joint, because the bbq sauce is all over the place…Shorty’s has plenty of paper towels…

Shorty’s is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

Damiano Italian Restaurant, 3011 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33434, (561) 613-6460.

Damiano Italian Restaurant is a “semi-upscale” Italian joint which opened in Boca Raton something like 4-days ago.

Look! I know that new restaurants have to “have” shakeout periods, during which they try and get their service–food up to certain acceptable levels.

With that in mind, “maybe” Damiano Italian Restaurant- sometime in the future will have its service and food up to acceptable levels…but I will tell you, that the dinner that I had there this evening was a totally unacceptable disaster. I’m gonna let you do the “google” on the joint’s owner– his connection to Frank & Dino’s Restaurant in Deerfield Beach and how the restaurant’s location hasn’t been the luckiest spot for other eateries. To get your search started you can check www.damianorestaurant.com.

Let me tell you a bit about Jeff Eats’ outing.

Last night at 7:30pm–the joint was very busy and the noise level was beyond absurd…you could barely hear yourself talk. What really amazed me, was that in addition to the restaurant’s “regular” noise level, the general manager allowed some female lounge singer with pre-recorded tracks to belt out song after song…maybe the guy is deaf or something.

The food ordered–fried calamari, fried zucchini, grilled pork chops, filet of sole, chicken scarpariello on the bone, ziti pompodoro were all second rate…and over priced. I would rate the calamari, zuchinni and ziti right up there with some of the worse that Jeff Eats has ever had–that is unless you like oversalted/hard, rubbery/tasteless and cold/tasteless…the two thin grilled pork chops had no taste whatsoever and were as tough as could be…The filet of sole and chicken scarpariello were barely passable–. Two other items, a chopped house salad for 10 bucks was good but way too small…and the pasta fagioli soups that arrived “after” the entrees were on the table weren’t touched. Now I’m no fancy guy, but Damiano should know that when you SERVE SOUP THE SOUP BOWL IS SUPPOSE TO BE ON TOP OF AN UNDERPLATE—so Damiano, go and buy some underplates…and while your out buying those plates, find a baker or distributor who can make you some decent bread–the stuff you had was lousy and had absolutely no taste whatsoever.

As for the wait-staff, confused—but you could definitely see that they were trying.

For those of you guys who like more “particulars”–trust me, this was 192 bucks for four people, just pissed away.

Just for the record, Damiano is in my “neighborhood.”…as a matter of fact, it’s maybe 2 minutes from my home. Last night, I spotted at least 14 people that I personally know—and everyone one of them wasn’t too thrilled with their Damiano outing.

The owner of this mess should be ashamed of himself.

I’m not going to beat a dead horse…for right now Damiano Italian Restaurant is a DISASTER…so you’ve been warned!

***** D’Apple Cafe, 10645 Wiles Road, Coral Springs, Florida 33076, (954) 341-5850.

D’Apple Cafe…”mom & pop” 7 days a week 7am-3pm diner in Coral Springs. You can check menu/prices/pictures at www.dapplecafe.com.

You regular readers know that Jeff Eats is a huge fan of “mom & pop” diners…personally “they” are right up there with my favorite places to eat breakfast and lunch. You regular readers also know, that America literally has 22,000,786 joints just like D’Apple. For sure, some are better than others…but over the past 6 years or so, only a handful of South Florida “diners’ didn’t get the job done for Jeff Eats.

D’Apple’s menu has loads of breakfast stuff, salads, sandwiches, burgers, “special” entrees and desserts.

A recent outing had me doing breakfast at D’Apple…western omelet ($6.79), corned beef hash ($6.49), French toast ($4.49), home fries hash browns. Everything was A-OK…Nice sized portions, very friendly wait-staff, reasonable prices, decent enough coffee. D’Apple delivered a good solid diner-breakfast.

The advertisers of this world want you guys to believe that America runs on Dunkin’…trust me it doesn’t. It’s joints like D’Apple that make America-America…Hopefully you can appreciate Jeff Eats’ sentiments here.

One final thought, to the owners of D’Apple (not that you care)–but I don’t like the D’Apple name. Names like Z Best Pizza, Da Best Sandwich just don’t ring right to this boy’s ears.

***** Pizzarium A Slice Of Rome, 69 East Flagler Street, Miami, Florida 33131, (305) 381-6025.

Pizzarium…real simple concept— order at/pickup at counter–pizza by the slice, handful of salads-calzones-desserts.

The “hook” the pizza slice is “squarish” and there are something like 25 different toppings available.

You can check www.pizzarium-usa.com for menu/prices/pictures.

Like I said a few seconds ago, real-simple concept. Tried the “plain” slice ($3) and enjoyed it. When you check Pizzarium’s menu you’ll see all kinds of “fancy-schmanzy” toppings…personally not Jeff Eats’ bag—that said, the plain slice was very good. This joint with its “combinations” reminds me of Starbuck’s. Whatever happened to–black, black with sugar. with milk, with milk and sugar, end of story?

Let me opine about pizza toppings…first of all, Jeff Eats could swear that small-chain Pizza Rustica (review 8/6/08) basically has the same square-topped concept, so nothing super original going on at Pizzarium…As far as toppings go, Jeff Eats thinks that pizza is dough, tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese—maybe sausage, maybe pepperoni, maybe meatballs- but that’s it. No way is a pizza suppose to be topped with pineapple, or fried dumplings, or scrambled eggs, or roast chicken. Call me a purist, but that’s the way I see this one.

Pizzarium is open Monday-Saturday 11:30am-10pm, closed on Sunday.

***** Rooster’s Restaurant, 7370 West Atlantic Boulevard, Margate, Florida 33063, (954) 971-6044.

Got a good sports bar for you…Rooster’s Restaurant in Margate. Of course it has loads of flat screen tvs and a full bar. The joint also has plenty of outside tables.

Rooster’s menu has the full-boat of appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, wings–handful of chicken/meat/seafood entrees….you can check menu/prices at www.roostersmargate.com.

Tried Rooster’s last Sunday “doing”—teriyaki buffalo-style wings, philly cheesesteak sub, bacon cheeseburger, pulled pork bbq sandwich, french fries and corn fritters.

Now, you regular readers know that Jeff Eats has done his “fair” share of sports bars…and I gotta tell you, that Rooster’s food was good- now nothing off the chart, but good solid bar stuff…the only “negative” the sub bread was a bit too soft for my taste.

If you live in Rooster’s neighborhood, you now know about a good joint to watch “the game” at.

Rooster’s Restaurant is open Sunday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm.