***** WHO IS WORSE COMCAST OR SIRIUS XM ? *****

Just curious, who do you guys think has “worse” customer service, Comcast or Sirius XM?

Maybe I’m crazy, but literally, every time I turn on my television there is a problem with the Comcast cable service. The latest “event’ was a total loss of cable last night around 9pm for over an hour. In addition, it was absolutely impossible to “call” Comcast as there was a recording to try later.

On the Sirius XM front, it seems that although they are a merged company, they don’t have merged business account records, so if one of your cars has XM and the other has Sirrus, you can’t just make one call to handle issues. In addition, after the “free” trial runs out on new cars, Sirius/XM tries to bang the customer with ridiculously high monthly rates, which if you are persistent can be negoiated down to virtually pennies a month.

Just curious what you guys think of these companies and their services.

***** Spot Coffee, 44 East Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida 33444, (561) 455-4041.

Spot Coffee (for a point of reference, think Starbuck’s) is a small-chain…Delray Beach, Florida– Buffalo (3), New York–Williamsville, New York (wherever the hell that is?)–Rochester, New York– Toronto, Ontario.

Now, I’m not exactly sure as to who likes these kinda joints…Generation X or is it Generation Y–what I do know, is that nothing and nobody is ever going to beat Chock Full O’ Nuts’ lunch counters circa 1960 with their $.10 coffee, whole-wheat-donuts and nut-and-cream-cheese sandwiches—However…

If you are a member of Generation X, Generation Y or like Mrs. Jeff Eats someone who doesn’t dwell on the past—you will absolutely love Spot Coffee’s coffees, breakfast items, pizzas, sandwiches, salads. Today- at the Delray joint had an ice coffee that was perfectly made, a grilled cheese on focaccia bread and a belgian waffle that almost made me forget about Chock Full O’Nuts’ stuff.

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

Brick Yard Microbrewery, 7050 West Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33433, (561) 544-0001.

Wanna be one of the first people to try a new joint?–Well if you do, you might want to check-out Brick Yard Microbrewery which opened about 2-weeks ago in Boca Raton. Just so you know, I haven’t eaten there yet, but yesterday I “took” a tour of this new restaurant which features all kinds of beers on tap, burgers, salads, pizzas and sandwiches–and the joint looks absolutely dynamite with a light-brick indoor decor and a great looking outdoor patio with its own bar.

I got Brick Yard Microbrewery on my list of joints to “try”–so look for a review in coming weeks. I will tell you, four people that I know have already tried it and they thought that the burgers, fries and pizzas were delicious. Now, I will tell you, that two of those folks years ago told me and I quote, “Ford’s Edsel is going to be a huge seller.” So…

From what I understand, Brick Yard Microbrewery is open Sunday-Thursday 4pm-11pm, Friday-Saturday 4pm-2am.

* Blue Bell Creameries

Having eaten in- my fair share of Chinese Restaurants since my 1949 Brooklyn birth–I can unequivocally say, that I am an expert on pistachio ice cream.

If you want to eat an amazingly delicious pistachio ice cream–then you gotta try the one that Blue Bell Creameries makes. I get mine at Publix and it’s usually something like $6.98 for a 1/2 gallon. If you play your cards right, every so often, Publix runs a 2–1/2 gallons for $9.

For more information on Blue Bell Creameries which has been around since 1907—www.bluebell.com.

***** Tabitha’s Bistro, 5511 South University Drive, Davie, Florida 33328, (954) 252-1551.

Got a really-good “mom & pop” lunch-dinner joint for you…Tabitha’s Bistro in Davie. Handful of tables indside, couple outside.

You can check the menu/prices of pita melts, sandwiches, salads, wraps, panini at www.tabithasbistro.com.

Now, I could get real cute here and start yapping about Tabitha-daughter of Samantha and Darren, but I won’t. You tv show-“experts” know where I could have gone with that whole thing.

Anyway…tried Tabitha’s out for lunch and I gotta tell you that I was impressed…this little strip center hole in the wall- makes some dynamite stuff. Tried– turkey meatball pita melt, grilled chicken breast caesar wrap, grilled eggplant panini–like I intimated two seconds ago, really delicious. If I got one bitch, the menu is kinda limited (not a single burger in sight), but if “this” old reincarnated truck driver made it through, most of you guys will too.

Now, don’t start bombarding me with “sexist” comments, but you ladies out there are gonna love this joint.

Tabitha’s Bistro is open Monday 11am-4pm, Tuesday-Saturady 11am-8pm, closed on Sunday.

***** Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint ****

You know that I like to keep you guys-up to date on all kinds of stuff related to food and the food industry.

When you get a chance, check-out Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joint www.unclemaddios.com.

Real simple pizza-franchise concept…make your own pizzas. You go to the joint, there is a “huge” selection of pizza toppings etc.—the guy/gal behind the counter puts the pizza “together” for you–and it gets delivered to your table within something like 6 minutes.

Trust me on this one, you will soon see these “make your own” pizza joints popping up all over South Florida, not to mention all over the United States. They sort of remind me of the Yogurt by the ounce joints.

Uncle Maddio’s is just one player in this “new” business segment. There are a number of guys-getting into this business, including publiclly traded Pizza Inn.

For right now–as far as I know, there aren’t any Uncle Maddio’s Pizza Joints in South Florida. Betcha a buck, that sometime within the next 6 months, a version-of-this-concept will be in your neighborhood.

Just thought you guys would enjoy hearing about what the food industry is cooking up for you.

***** THE BEATLES MEET THE ROLLING STONES *****

A reader, recently sent me the following email about an event scheduled to be held at the Woodfield Country Club in Boca Raton.
—

Saturday, January 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Grande Ballroom
$59 Members Pre-Registration before January 21; $68 Members Thereafter; $81 Guests

Amazingly, as two of rock’s most iconic bands, The Beatles and the Rolling Stones never shared a bill during the height of their careers. Well, that all changes as national tribute acts Anthology and Roll The Stones take the Woodfield stage for an unforgettable night as these bands create the sounds, mood and vibe that started a cultural revolution! Members and guests begin the evening with a cocktail hour followed by dinner in the ballroom prior to Anthology taking the stage to play all your Fab Four favorites. Then, Roll The Stones will capture the power and excitement straight from the Rolling Stones legendary stadium tours during their set. A signature bar will be available.
*This event will feature assigned seating for everyone. Members may request seating arrangements and all requests will be considered and granted when possible, however, requests are not guaranteed. In the event that this event reaches sell-out capacity, all tables will consist of 12 people to maximize seating. Any group that is smaller than 12 will be seated at a “club table” in which Woodfield will put groups together to form a table of 12. There is a 72-hour cancellation policy for this event.
**Kids Korner will offer complimentary babysitting on this evening for those members attending this event

—

If you check past reviews, I have seen both Anthology (10/1/08—www.anthologytheband.com) and Roll The Stones (9/9/2011—www.rollthestones.com) in action and both groups are absolutely terrific. From the email, it seems that this event is only open to Woodfield Country Club members and their invited guests…trust me on this—if you like The Beatles/The Rolling Stones, see if you can “make” friends real fast with a Woodfield member and get yourself a ticket to this “party”…it will be like watching the real-guys in action in sunny Boca Raton, Florida.

***** Ally’s Comfort Cafe, 13674 West State Road 84, Davie, Florida 33325, (954) 476-4343.

Ok-Davie!!! Here’s a real good “mom & pop” diner for you guys…Ally’s Comfort Cafe. Maybe 40 seats (handful of booths/handful of tables). You can check menu/prices at www.allyscomfortcafe.net.

Ally’s Comfort is open Monday-Friday 7am- 2pm, Saturday 8am-2pm, closed on Sunday.

As for the menu, breakfast stuff galore, burgers, sandwiches, salads.

Recently did–western omelette, chocolate chip pancakes, bacon cheeseburger, chicken salad on rye toast, turkey club—everything right on the money. A special shout out to–the chicken salad—chicken salad aficianados won’t be disappointed.

Look, America’s “mom & pop” diners aren’t trying to cure cancer…joints like Ally’s Comfort Cafe bring “neighborhood” back into the eating equation.

If, like me- you are into the “diner” concept, you will definitely enjoy Ally’s Comfort Cafe.

***** OpenTable *****

Got a really cool company/site for you guys to check-out…OpenTable– www.opentable.com.

Now, I know that most of the joints that Jeff Eats frequents or shall we say peruses-wouldn’t know a “reservation” from a basketball, however, every now and then, one of these joints does require that you call-in-advance to make sure that when you get there-they have a table for you–what a novel idea!

To that end, you might like to check-out OpenTable. The Company’s site allows you to book reservations online. The site covers restaurants all over the United States, with a fair dosage of joints in South Florida. In addition to the booking of tables, there are coupons and deals…there are also loads of readers’ comments and other good stuff–that may point you in the right direction and end up with you eating some really good food.

***** Football Sandwich Shop, 8484 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33138, (305) 759-3602.

Gonna let you guys in on a little secret…I’ve never met a “sub” that I didn’t love. Now for sure, there are varying degrees of love, some passoniate beyond belief and others where it’s a borderline love-hate relationship. You do know that I’m trying to be clever here, but for some reason it ain’t working…

So, let me tell you about Football Sandwich Shop in Miami…order at the counter/pickup at the counter–indoor and outdoor seating. The joint’s menu has loads of hot/cold subs, sandwiches and salads. The other day I “did” a meatball sub, chicken salad sub, philly cheesesteak sub, chicken parmesan sub and I’m going on- record right here and now, Football’s subs are right-up there with the best I’ve had in South Florida. For those who might be interested-various football terms and Miami Dolphin players’ names find their way into the sandwiches’ nomenclature. For those who might also be wondering “Did Jeff Eats eat all 4 subs?”–There were three of us and I ate the whole meatball sub and sampled the others.

Getting back to that “love” thing I started out with…I absolutely loved Football’s subs.

Football Sandwich Shop is open Monday Friday 8am-6pm, Saturday 9am-5pm, closed on Sunday.