***** California Burgers & Shakes, 5441 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33308, (954) 533-4679.

California Burgers & Shakes—fast food hamburgers/fries/hot dogs/shakes/handful of other stuff (so the non-meat eating members of the family won’t be pissed.)

The double charbroiled cheeseburger ($4.49)– handcut fries ($1.99)–banana shake ($2.99)–chocolate shake ($2.99) were all delicious. Mom & Pop decor, that makes Five Guys’ interior look like the Taj Mahal. I liked the whole “neighborhood” vibe. Nice change from the sterile-cookie cutter models floating around South Florida…not even one peanut in sight.

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

The joint is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-9pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-10pm.

***** Joanna’s Marketplace, 8247 South Dixie Highway, Miami, Florida 33143, (305) 661-5777.

There are actually some people in this world who think that Papa John’s–Domino’s–Little Caesar’s make “real pizza”…same goes for Publix in the baked goods-prepared meals-appetizing arenas—ditto on Subway in the sub/hero/sandwich department.

I’m gonna make this one real simple…Joanna’s Marketplace is a terrific joint for appetizing, sandwiches, baked goods, prepared foods. Their fresh roasted turkey breast, tuna salad, sliced flank steak sandwiches are off the chart…same goes for the chocolate croissants, rye breads…the orange glazed chicken, outstanding.

If you live or work anywhere near Joanna’s Marketplace, this is an absolutely great place to know about. You can check menu/prices at www.joannasmarketplace.com.

Joannas’ is open Monday-Saturday 7:30am-7pm and Sunday 7:30am-6pm.

***** The Crittters *****

Regular Jeff Eats’ readers know, or should know by now, that I love 1950s-1960s Rock N’ Roll music. I am also a huge fan of 1970s Disco music. Whenever I come across a terrific “cover band” down here in South Florida, I like to give you a heads-up about them and where you can see them in action.

Last night, the Woodfield Country Club in Boca Raton had a terrific event in its Clubhouse O’Bar…from 6:30pm-9:30pm a crowd of about 250 was treated to the sounds of The Critters. Simply put, this was one of the best 1950s-2011 cover bands that I have ever seen. Of note, The Critters in the 1960s had three Billboard charters “Mr. Dieingly Sad”–“Younger Girl”–“Don’t Let The Rain Fall Down On Me.” Not only did this 4 peice band do dead on “versions” of their own hit records, but absolutely killed-it with Motown-Disco–and stuff right up to 2011. Another thing that impressed me, was that the band took one 10 minute break during the entire 3 hour performance.

As I mentioned, I saw The Critters at a private event—only members and their invited guests. Now for the good news, The Critters who are based out of Port St. Lucie have a very active “public” schedule. If you check their website www.thecrittersband.com you can catch some video/history/performance dates-locations. A fast-look at their February public schedule has them in Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Port Salerno, Jensen Beach, Fort Pierce.

Do yourself a favor—Plan on spending an evening with The Critters…they really are that good.

***** Landlubber’s Raw Bar & Grill, 1851 North Pine Island Road, Plantation, Florida 33322, (954) 473-2884.

Now- you and I both know, that it is virtually impossible to reinvent the wheel…the wheel in this case-the American “sports bar.” So, when you visit a joint like Landlubber’s Raw Bar & Grill in Plantation, the hope is, that the wheel has decent enough food, good/friendly service, twenty two thousand flat screen tvs (do they still make non-flat screen tvs?), reasonable prices.

The report…Landlubber’s www.landlubbersrawbar.com is a good sports bar. Its got loads of flat screen tvs, good food, good/friendly service and reasonable prices. A recent outing had me sampling—lobster & crab bisque ($4.49), conch fritters ($6.99), wings (8 garlic-8 raspberry $11.59), BLT on Texas toast ($6.79), bacon cheddar cheeseburger ($8.29), 1/2 bbq chicken & 1/2 rack bbq ribs ($16.99), 1 dozen oysters (6 steamed, 6 raw $9.79), french fries, cole slaw. As I previously mentioned GOOD FOOD…the only item that I could have done without was the bbq ribs.

One really “cool” thing about Landlubber’s is that its kitchen stays open–late. The joint’s complete menu is available until 20 minutes before closing.

Landlubber’s is open Monday-Saturday 11am-2am, Sunday 11:30am-1am.

Ruven’s of Long island, 13800 Jog Road, Delray Beach, Florida 33484.

Here’s a heads-up for you…sometime in February, Ruven’s of Long Island–a kosher-style NY deli serving breakfast, lunch and dinner is scheduled to open in the San Marco Plaza in Delray Beach. The owner/operator of this new venture is Steve Ratinetz–who years ago owned Ruven’s, a terrific kosher deli in Plainview, New York. From what I understand, Steve recently relocated to South Florida and apparently the “bug” to own another joint bit him.

Check Elbaum’s review (May 31, 2009)…Ruven’s will be located in the same spot where Lox Around The Clock and Elbaum’s Gourmet Deli–both kosher-style NY delis were dismal and I do mean dismal failures. Not really sure why both of these “businesses” failed…could have been location, could have been prices, could have been the food, could have been the demographics, could have been the service—COULD HAVE BEEN ANYTHING!

What I do know, is that Steve Ratinetz back in New York, knew how to run a deli-restaurant, with great food, good service and reasonable prices.

Let the game begin…

Look for a Ruven’s of Long Island review, once the joint is up and running.

***** Wingstop, 4570 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Florida 33073, (954) 935-9464.

Wingstop is a “national” WING chain. For our purposes, there are currently 7 South Florida locations. You can check www.wingstop.com for menu/prices/locations.

Wingstop is a real-easy concept to comprehend… non breaded wings, breaded boneless wings, breaded white meat chicken strips…9 flavors…handful of sides.

A recent outing had me trying—breaded wings/breaded strips/boneless wings/french fries…hawaiian, teriyaki, garlic parmesan flavors. Loved all of the offerings/flavors. Also really enjoyed the fresh hand cut french fries. From what I can tell, everthing is made to order…the stuff came out of the kitchen piping hot.

If you like wings and fries, you’ll like this joint.

Like I said, there are 7 joints in our area, so check Wingstop’s website for a close-by location and its hours.

***** Lo De Lea Argentinean Grill, 7001 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida 33138, (305) 456-3218.

Lo De Lea Argentinean Grill is a “hole in the wall” Argentine joint—in Miami.

My knowledge of Argentina is limited to Colonel Juan Peron, his wife Eva Peron, their Broadway show and hit single “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina.”

Anyway…recently had dinner at Lo De Lea and I gotta tell you, that this joint makes some absolutely delicious stuff. My “sampling” included, grilled skirt steak–roast chicken–sesame seared tuna–like I just said, delicious.

Rather than knocking myself out, telling you about this joint, let’s just say, that Lo De Lea is one of the best Argentine restaurants that I’ve eaten in. Now for sure, there hasn’t been a load of them, that said, I enjoyed the food, ambiance, service so much, that I definitely will be back for another go-round.

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

Lo De Lea is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

***** Wing Loon, 3520 North Andrews Avenue, Oakland Park, Florida 33309, (954) 561-8100.

Wing Loon is a Chinese takeout/delivery joint that you guys should know about!. A recent outing had Jeff Eats trying- wonton soup, egg rolls, pan fried dumplings, bbq ribs, roast pork fried rice, honey garlic chicken, shrimp with black bean sauce, pepper steak—and I’m telling you guys everything was right on the money good!

Wing Loon has both walkup & drive thru service- the joint also has a small covered outdoor patio with a handful of tables- for you guys who want to eat “there.”

The joint is open Tuesday-Saturday 11am-10pm and Sunday 3pm-10pm… closed on Monday.

***** ROK: BRGR, 208 Southwest 2nd Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301, (954) 525-7656.

Let me start by saying, that I loved ROK:BRGR—an upscale hamburger joint, which opened about six weeks ago in Fort Lauderdale. I suspect, that Only- seriously committed vegetarians are gonna have a problem with this joint. Check www.rockbrgr.com for menu/prices/pictures.

Just so you know, BURGERS are the primary game at this cool looking- 1920’s brick pub decor/full bar joint. That said, ROK also has a “nice” handful of comfort items like mac ‘n cheese, chili, meatloaf, blts and a few salads, so no-one in your party is gonna be pissed off.

My 10 oz. bacon cheeseburger with hand cut french fries ($10) was absolutely off the chart. Same, for the mac ‘n cheese ($8)–sweet potato fries ($5)–onion rings ($6)–meatloaf ($14) that I “sampled.”

I am telling you, the food was delicious. ROK has a real cool look, reasonable prices and the service is as pleasant as can be.

To sum it up, WINNER!!!

ROK is open Sunday-Thursday 11:30 am-2am and Friday-Saturday 11:30am-4am.

***** Yokohama Sushi, 9168 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33434, (561) 451-1707.

Yokohama Sushi is a Japanese-joint located in Boca Raton. Actually, there are two Boca locations, one at 9168 Glades Road and another at 60 North Federal Highway (561) 392-9328.
You can check menu/prices at www.yokohamasushi.net.

Tried this joint for dinner the other night. To be perfectly honest with you, Japanese food isn’t my favorite cup of tea (you now know why, there are so few reviews on the subject)…that said, sometimes to keep peace with various friends and family members, old Jeff Eats gives in. So here goes–thought that the miso soup, fried dumplings, steak stir fry, fried rice, shrimp teriyaki were delicious. Not a fan of sushi or sashimi, so when you try this joint, you can let me know how this “stuff” is. As a point of reference– My friends, Linda & Bob and my wife thought that the crunchy salmon-spicy tuna-shrimp tempura rolls were excellent. These same folks also advised me not to buy Google’s IPO at $85 in 2004. So, like I said before—I look forward to your thoughts on this joint’s sushi-sashimi offerings.

Not sure as to who exactly owns Yokohama. The bet, a “husband & wife” team…in any event, the nicest and most pleasant people run the Glades’ location.

Yokohama Sushi is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.