***** Chef Tai’s, 4810 Northwest Boca Raton Boulevard, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, (561) 998-7887.

Chef Tai’s is a Chinese takeout-only joint in Boca Raton…surprise-surprise (courtesy Gomer Pyle), it is located in a “bombed-out” shopping center- that you probably wouldn’t drive into in a million years. That said…Chef Tai’s makes some delicious stuff. I heard about Chef Tai’s about 5 months ago– have gotten food four times…haven’t been disappointed even once.

Delicious- egg rolls, fried dumplings, bbq ribs, general tso’s chicken, roast pork fried rice, shrimp with black bean sauce, pepper steak.

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

Based on Jeff Eat’s patent-pending “Brooklyn Chinese Food Taste Test”- I gotta give Chef Tai’s a top-notch rating. Trust me on this, the food is really good.

Chef Tai’s is open Monday-Saturday 11am-9pm, closed on Sunday.

***** Tutti Frutti Yogurt, 12801 West Sunrise Boulevard (Sawgrass Mills Mall), Sunrise, Florida 33323, (954) 845-0881.

Yesterday–Sunday, November 28, 2010 I was in Sawgrass Mills Mall. My bride of some 35 years actually convinced me, that Sawgrass Mills Mall at 3:30pm wouldn’t be “that busy” and “parking wouldn’t be a problem.” Just so you know, in my day, I’ve also bought the Brooklyn Bridge 4 times.

Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt is a national chain (currently in 16 states)…it is in the self-serve yogurt business. The game–loads of flavors- you fill a cup with yogurt/toppings and pay by the ounce. Tutti Frutti recently opened an outlet in Sawgrass Mills Mall…for right now, for our puposes- it also has joints in Orlando, Port St. Lucie, Winter Park and has stores scheduled to open in Boca Raton and Aventura. The Sawgrass location gets 49 cents per ounce.

You can check www.tfyogurt.net for locations/flavors.

Just for the record, I had a cup of green-tea and a cup of cookies n’ cream… Let’s just say neither here nor there. OK, but not the “best” that I’ve had. Personally, I may not be the best yogurt-judge going, as I think, a Dairy Queen chocolate-heath bar blizzard is the da’ bomb…same goes for Carvel’s chocolate flying saucer.

Deja vu…These- self serve yogurt joints seemingly are popping up everywhere you look. Kinda reminds me of the video-store business that eventually was “conquered” by Blockbuster, talk about an emperor with no clothes. Hopefully your favorite “player” has some staying power, because sooner or later—there are going to be a whole load of empty storefronts waiting for the next f-a-d.

You now know about another player in the self-serve yogurt game.

***** Blues Brothers Soul Band *****

I just got home from a party which “starred” the Blues Brothers Soul Band. These 9-guys absolutely killed it, with a dead-on 90-minute tribute to the Blues Brothers made famous by Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi of Saturday Night Live fame. I am telling you…from the vocals to the dance routines, this Weston, Florida based group had the room of 250 dancing, singing and swearing that Dan & John a/k/a Jake & Elwood Blues were on that stage.

From what I understand, the Blues Brothers Soul Band is something of a staple in the Dade-Broward-Palm Beach corridor…with an enormous schedule of private and public appearances. Check www.bluesbrotherssoulband.com for appearance dates.

I am telling you, if you like the Blues Brothers, the blues, rock n’ roll…and just plain old being entertained—make it your business to see these guys in action—they are terrific.

***** Gourmet Gourmet, 4249 West Flagler Street, Miami, Florida 33126, (305) 443-8664.

Gourmet Gourmet is a “takeout” Chinese joint located in Coral Gables. Gourmet Gourmet has a handful of stools for eat-in, but the game here is pickup/delivery. You can check menu/prices at www.gourmet-gourmet.net.

Let’s talk Jeff’s opinion here…I’m gonna call Goumert Gourmet an absolutely terrific takeout joint…I’ll bet you 5 bucks that Gourmet’s —wonton soup, egg rolls, bbq ribs, roast pork fried rice, honey garlic chicken, sweet & sour pork, shrimp in lobster sauce are better than the stuff that your favorite neighborhood joint turns out. Gourmet is definitely one of the best takeouts that I have gotten food from.

Gourmet Gourmet…delicious food, big portions, reasonable takeout prices. One big drawback—this joint ain’t in my neighborhood.

Gourmet Gourmet is open Monday-Saturday 11:30am-9:30am, Sunday 5pm-9:30pm.

If you live or work in Gourmet Gourmet neighborhood, you got a homerun joint for takeout Chinese food.

***** My Market & Deli, 229 Southwest 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33315, (954) 764-5253.

My Market & Deli is a terrific “subs/sandwiches/salads” joint in Fort Lauderdale. Just so you don’t go crazy or nothing looking—the joint is located in the back of a… plain old-standard-run of the mill- convenience store. My Market has a handful of tables for you folks who want to dine-in. You can check mymarketdeli.com for menu/prices.

My Market, has a real nice selection of salads and hot/cold stuff for its rolls/breads/subs.
I recently did, 12″ sausage parm sub ($9.99), bbq pork on a kaiser roll ($5.99), 6″ turkey fra diavolo sub ($7.99)…trust me on this, absolutely sensational stuff. The only mistake I made on this “outing”- was not getting a 12-incher for $11.99 on that turkey fra diavolo—I’m talking big time delicious.

Interesting drill here. You get/eat your salad/sandwich/sub in the back…after you eat, you pay up front…so don’t throw away the empty bag until you get to the front door.

My Market is open, Monday-Friday 10am-6pm, Saturday 10am-5pm, Sunday 10am-4pm.

***** 160 Burgers Done Well, 4437 Lyons Road, Coconut Creek, Florida, Florida 33073, (954) 633-2276.

Yesterday I was walking around the “white elephant” outdoor mall known as Promenade of Coconut Creek Plaza. Talk about disasterous timing…this mall opened for business just as the current economic crisis started to hit America–talk about sucking wind…poor real estate deals is a whole other topic for another day.

Anyway, I stopped at hamburger-hot dog-fries, fast food- order at/pickup at counter 160 Burgers for—a cheeseburger with sauteed onions, french fries and a Pepsi. The joint has indoor/outdoor patio seating.

160 Degrees Burgers Done Well is “1/2” of a two prong concept. You enter the store which has 2–counters…one for The Muffuletta A Sicilian Sub House…one for 160 Degress Burgers Done Well. Two different menus—two different kitchens. Personally, I think that the TWO idea is an amazing- waste of space, causes customer confusion, requires extra labor—I could go on and on, but this business puzzle is for the owners to figure out. I will tell you, that The Muffuletta/160 Degrees menus fully cover the sandwich/burger game. Before I move on and talk about my cheeseburger and fries…let me ask you-what the hell is a muffuletta? According to the owners, muffulettas are well known “sandwiches” in New Orleans. I rest my case—I’ll bet you 20 bucks that most people seeing- The Muffuletta sign, think the joint sells muffins.

Now onto the burger…One of the best fast food cheeseburgers I have had in a very long time. Can’t put my finger on it, but the burger was perfectly “seasoned” with something that made it absolutely delicious. The bet here, a drop of garlic. The fries, let’s just say–ok, but nothing that that I would write home about. The cheeseburger-fries-soda—9 bucks. Just so you know, 160 Degrees has hamburgers-veggie-chicken-buffalo burgers.

By the way, you can check menu/prices for both 160 Degrees and Muffuletta at www.malteseholdings.com.

160 Degrees Burgers Done Well is open 7 days a week from 11am-9pm.

***** Scruby’s BBQ, 8990 West State Road 84, Davie, Florida 33324, (954) 370-2774.

Scruby’s is a… really good-casual-reasonably priced “bbq chain”…there are currently- 3 locations, Davie, Pembroke Pines and Tamarac, Florida. You can check menu/prices/locations at www.scrubys.com. This writeup “concerns” the Davie joint. Based on the website, we are going to assume that all 3 restaurants have the same menu/prices and faux-old cowboy western decor. Just for the record, over the years, I must have driven by the Tamarac joint 22,000 times and never stopped.

Anyway…last week, I finally got around to trying Scruby’s Davie store. Based on an “outing” of a full rack of babybacks ($14.99), sliced bbq pork sandwich ($5.19), fried corn nuggets ($4.99), brunswick stew ($3.99)–I should have stopped years ago. Simply put — some of the best bbq that I’ve had in a very long time. The stuff is “first” lightly smoked and then grilled with a delicious sweet sauce…As you may or may not know, I am NOT a fan of heavily smoked bbq. Scruby’s smokes, but then grills in a dynamite sweet sauce. Best way to describe the bbq stuff, “real good” Tony Roma’s and Bobby Rubino’s.

Scruby’s menu has all kinds of “specials” and “deals”…super pleasant service, big portions, and delicious food. Absolutely nothing to complain about!

Scruby’s is open Monday-Thursday 11am-9:30pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-10pm, Sunday 5:30pm-9pm

***** Trattoria Bella Cibo, 5801 Margate Boulevard, Margate, Florida 33063, (954) 969-1100.

Got an absolutely terrific Italian restaurant for you…Trattoria Bella Cibo, located in a “bombed-out” Margate shopping center. I ate dinner there last Saturday night and I am telling you, that you gotta try this casual–reasonably priced–red sauce joint. For what it’s worth, I am going to rank Trattoria Bella Cibo right up there with the best that I had over the past 19 years down here in old South Florida.

Trattoria Bella Cibo- seats maybe 165 inside and another 150 outside in a canopied patio. The joint looks like something right out of New York City’s Little Italy…loads of string-lights and the right amount of tackiness to make it really–cool. A full bar and a humongous flat screen television add to the decor.

Like I intimated before, Trattoria Bella Cibo’s food is outrageously good. Last night, I “did” meatball appetizer ($11), fried calamari ($11), caesar salad, house salad, veal parmigiana ($18), shrimp picatta ($21), tuscan swordfish ($23), eggplant rollatini ($16), baked lasagna ($16), penne ala vodka ($16), linguine white clam sauce ($17), cheese cake ($8)… I seriously doubt that your favorite “mom & pop–red sauce” joint can touch Trattoria’s food. The portions are enormous…all of the dishes were good for 2 maybe even 3 people. Nothing for nothing, but my money says that this joint bakes its own bread and cakes, mixes its own salad dressing—there is nothing “commerical” about Trattoria Bella Cibo. Just so you know, entrees come with soup/salad–pasta side–and loaves of hot fresh Italian bread that you can dip in a delicious garlic/olive oil.

For footnote purposes, other than a small ice cream display freezer—the joint doesn’t have another freezer. When I was there, owner/chef Tommy was all-over the floor– he seems to enjoy meeting-feeding his customers. On the service front, my party had an excellent waiter-Matt. The guy knew every dish cold and never let water or drink glasses “get” empty.

At this stage of the game, do yourself a favor and check Trattoria’s website www.trattoriabellacibo.com for menu/prices. By the way, the joint also has a real-nice entertainment schedule of singers, bands, poker, comedy acts—when I was there, Frank Wilson, the terrific lead singer of Motown Philly Express was entertaining the crowd with hits from 1950s-1970s.

Another beautiful thing about Trattoria Bella Cibo–your tee shirt/shorts ensemble works here.

You now know about a “must try” Italian joint that’s got you covered with pizzas, pastas, calzones, to gourmet-class— meat/seafood/chicken entrees.

Trattoria Bella Cibo is open, Sunday 4pm-9pm, Monday 11am-9pm, Tuesday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm.

***** Buena Vista Deli, 4590 Northeast 2nd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33137, (305) 576-3945.

Let’s- start this one off, with you guys checking this American/French-deli’s website www.buenavistadeli.com for menu/prices. Go ahead, I’ll wait!

Just so we are straight–although it calls itself a D E L I…Buena Vista is not like the typical schmendrick deli-joints that dot the South Florida landscape. If chocolate bobka, pastrami on rye, potato knishes, chopped liver with onions-are your game—Buena Vista is not your bag.

For our purposes, we’re gonna call this joint a YUPPIE-DELI-WITH A FRENCH FLAIR… Although Vista’s menu is somewhat limited, there are enough breakfast items, salads, sandwiches, panini, breads/pastries–so no-one is gonna go home starving. A recent outing had me doing—chicken quiche ($4.95), turkey/swiss on French baquette ($6.95), roast beef panini ($7.95), chocolate almond crossiant ($3.50), coffee eclair ($3.50). I enjoyed everything, with a special shout-out to the crossiant and eclair.

Like I said before, something different from the “standard” bagel-deli game. Buena Vista has both indoor and patio seating.

It’s good to be a YUPPIE now and then.

Buena Vista is open 7 days a week 7am-9pm.

An Open Letter To All Favorably Reviewed Restaurants

Dear Owner:

Over the years, Jeff Eats has reviewed numerous restaurants.

As you know, Jeff Eats “has” no advertising.

At this time, Jeff Eats makes the following offer to each and everyone of you.

*****If you contact Jeff Eats- and agree, that from December 1, 2010 – December 31, 2010 to give “Jeff Eats” readers a 20% discount off their tab (tax and alcoholic beverages excluded) when presented with a copy of “your” restaurant’s review, Jeff Eats will “re” recommend your restaurant on this site. Jeff Eats thinks this is what as known as a “WIN WIN” situation. Jeff Eats looks forward to hearing from you. All you have to do is “use” the CONTACT tag to send Jeff Eats a message. By the way, Jeff Eats has to hear from you by November 30, 2010 because that’s the date the re-recommendations will be published.

Sincerely,

Jeff Eats