***** Saquella Caffe, 410 Via De Palmas, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 338-8840

The other day I was in the Royal Palm Plaza…Boca Ratonians “know” this outdoor shopping center as the Pink Plaza. The landlord and unfortunately many of its tenants, know that this mediterranean style center- which happens to be Boca Raton’s oldest center, is an absolute white elephant…suffice it to say, over the years, tenants have come and gone–at an amazing rate…but, that’s a whole-nother story for another day.

Anyway…Saquella Caffe is one of the very few “Pink Plaza” businesses that has successfully managed to build an enormous-steady clientele. The joint has both indoor and outdoor patio seating and does breakfast-lunch-dinner. If you check www.saquella-usa.com you will find a reasonably priced menu of breakfast items, sandwiches, flat breads, salads, meat/chicken/seafood entrees, desserts.

As I mentioned before, I was there the other day…tried, blueberry waffle ($6.99), chicken waldorf/muesli toast ($9.99), greek salad ($10.95), nova smoked salmon salad ($11.99)—let me go out on a limb here, the food served-the decor-the service…ran absolute circles around most of my favorite South Florida bagel-deli “close” at 3pm joints.

Rather than racking my brain to describe the decor-atmosphere…conjur up a Woody Allen Italian/French cafe-bistro and you’ll be on target. By the way, at the website that I just gave you, there are decor-photos/video, so if you are from Mars or Pluto and have never caught a Woody Allen film–you won’t be out of the loop. Just so you know, your shorts/tee shirts work here as this is one cool-easy going joint.

Let me wrap this up…I absolutely loved Saquella.

Saquella Cafe is open Monday-Wednesday 7am-9pm, Thursday=Saturday 7am-11pm, Sunday 7am-4pm.

Zinger’s Delicatessen, 7132 Beracasa Way, Boca Raton, Florida 33433.

Just a heads-up…Zinger’s Delicatessen–a NYC kosher style deli is set-to-open any day in Boca Raton. Zinger’s is owned by Gary Zinger. Gary is the former owner/operator of Pastrami Queen which was located in the same location a few years.

We’ll have to wait and see…if, Gary can “reproduce” the same sensational deli-food that Pastrami Queen served. If you check my “Pastrami Queen” 12-12-08 review, you’ll get a feel for what a terrific joint Gary had.

After Zinger’s opens, I’ll get over there and give you the skinny.

***** Fatso’s Pizzeria, 205 Southeast 1st Avenue, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 368-8443.

Fatso’s Pizzeria…basically a takeout joint located in Boca Raton…maybe a handful of tables inside–same oustside, but like I just said, TAKEOUT.

Picked-up a large cheese pizza ($15), ricotta/mozzarella calzone ($7.95), chicken parm sub ($7)…trust me here, the stuff is real-good. Nice thin crust/sweet sauce pizza. Now nothing for nothing– but this hole-in-the-wall’s stuff is as good as most of the “full” sit down red-sauce joints that I frequent. Just so you know, Fatso’s menu is kinda on the limited side–pizzas, calzones, strombolis, 4-cold subs, 4-hot subs, 4-salads. If pasta is your bag, this place ain’t gonna work for you. You can check menu/prices at www.fatsospizzeria.com.

Fatso’s Pizzeria is open Monday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-Late, Sunday 11am-9pm.

***** Fleming’s Bistro, 6060 Southwest 18th Street, Boca Raton, Florida 33433, (561) 3471117.

Fleming’s Bistro…neighborhood “American Style” joint located in a small strip center in Boca Raton. Over the past few months, I’ve been “hearing” nothing but good stuff about Fleming’s, so I gave it a shot last Friday night.

Here’s the “call”—I enjoyed the food and Joel the waiter so much, that I will definitely be back. My party of 4-had me trying- house salad, caesar salad, sweet potato soup, roast duck, chicken marsala, grilled salmon, broiled shrimp. Everything was A-OK. You can check menu/prices at www.flemingsbistro.net.

Just so you know, the menu is pretty eclectic…meat/chicken/seafood eaters are all covered…that said, the bias is seafood. On the price front, the most expensive entree goes out at $27.95…the above mentioned chicken marsala with 2-sides and choice of soup or salad ran $17.25

Like I said before, this is a “neighborhood” thing. The owner Fleming greets and seats everybody…even though “we” had never set foot in the joint before, we were greeted and treated by him and his waitstaff as if we were old-friends. Usually, this “act” wears thin on old Jeff Eats, but Fleming and his crew convinced me, my wife and our 2-friends that we really-counted.

By the way, if Early Bird is your game…Fleming’s throws in dessert and coffee 7-days a week to those who are seated and have ordered by 5:30pm.

Fleming’s is open Tuesday-Sunday 5pm-10pm…closed on Monday.

***** Brock’s Surfside Grille & Pizzeria, 10545 South Ocean Drive, Jensen Beach, Florida 34957, (772) 229-9885.

Got a terrific “burger/pizza” hole-in-the wall-for you…Brock’s Surfside Grille & Pizzeria in Jensen Beach.

Let me make this one short and simple—tee shirts/shorts are considered formal-wear in this joint. Absolutely delicious burgers and pizzas. For sure, Brock’s got salads, sandwiches and other stuff (so nobody is gonna bitch) but the game here-burgers and pizzas. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed. As for decor-small bar, handful of wood tables, Florida tourist-stuff on the walls.

If you check www.restaurant.com—its got a $10 will get you $25 deal going. The site also has a handful of pictures of this hole-in-the-wall.

Brock’s is open 7 days a week 11am-9pm.

***** Corelino’s Coal Oven Pizza & Cucina, 6346 Lantana Road, Lake Worth, Florida 33463, (561) 968-8200.

Back on August 28, 2010…I did a writeup on Corelino’s Coal Oven Pizza & Cucina located in Lake Worth…www.corelinoscoaloven.com.

For those of you looking for DEALS and who isn’t?…if you are on Corelino’s “mailing” list—every so often, you will receive a morning-email with a DEAL. For example, last week, I-got the following email…

“Come in this week and enjoy our delicious specials: -“Linguine Pescatore” Fresh mussels, clams, shrimp and calamari sauteed in a spicy light marinara sauce – Fresh mussels sauteed in a red or white sauce. – Don’t forget our delicious home made desserts! We look forward to serving you!! P.s. HALF OFF all glasses of house wine tonight!! * print this email and get 15% OFF your order of any 2 entrees or 2 large pizza’s!!!! * This offer is valid from 6/22 through 6/23. * can not be combined with any other offers.
*DON’T FORGET TO JOIN US EVERY TUESDAY & SATURDAY FOR BUY 1 GET 1 HALF OFF ALL DRINKS FROM OUR FULL BAR!!!”

CORELINO’S COAL OVEN PIZZA & CUCINA
6346 Lantana Road
Lake Worth, FL 33463
561-968-8200
—
Like I said before, you gotta be on Corelino’s email list to get future offerings.

***** Menchies Frozen Yogurt, 11057 Pinese Boulevard, Pembroke Pines, Florida 33026, (954) 495-4044.

Holy Moly!!!—just what we need, a-n-o-t-h-e-r self-serve yogurt joint. Say hello to Menchies Frozen Yogurt…franchise chain with loads of locations all over America… When you check its website–www.menchies.com you will find, that (for our purposes) it currently has outlets in Pembroke Pines, Davie, Hialeah and Tamarac. Menchies also has spots in Orlando, Lake Mary, Kissimmee and Winter Park- Florida. The chain’s website has a “huge” list of furture South Florida-locations with addresses and phone numbers…so, if Pembroke Pines, Davie, Hialeah and Tamarac don’t “work” for you, don’t cha worry, you’ll soon be able to fill a cup at 44 cents an ounce with 10 rotating flavors and loads of toppings.

For the record…yesterday (Sunday), I tried the Pembroke Pines’ joint out. Got there about 3:30pm and there must have been at least 20 people on-line waiting to load their cups up. You regular Jeff Eats’ readers…know that I am not a big-yogurt-fan…give me a Dairy-Queen Chocolate Heath Bar Blizzard, any day. With that in mind, I found the chocolate-vanilla-original tart “samples” to be delicious. To be perfectly honest with you, I gotta rate Menchies right-up there with the best self-serve joints that I’ve been to. The yogurt was right on the money…the toppings bar literally had “tons” of offerings (check website for list), the joint was as clean as a whistle and the toppings bar was constantly being tended to by an employee who was as pleasant and helpful as could be.

You-regular readers know, that I consider the self-serve yogurt business to be a huge FAD…which will soon have loads of unhappy owners and franchisees. That said, for as long as this party lasts, from what I can tell…Menchies has a terrific product and knows how to operate stores on the ground level.

If self-serve is your game, you will really enjoy Menchies.

Menchies is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-11pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-midnight.

***** CG Burgers, 4320 North State Road 7, Coral Springs, Florida 33067, (954) 510-4801.

Yesterday afternoon a “new” fast food burger joint CG Burger opened in Coral Springs. Soooo…I decided to give it a shot-getting there about 7pm. Before I go further, CG Burgers in addition to the Coral Springs location has… 1-store in Fort Lauderdale, 1-store in Jupiter and 1-store in Miami. CG’s website- www.cgburgers.com indicates that new stores are set to open in Coral Gables and Palm Beach Gardens. By the way, you can check menu/prices/photos at the site.

The best way for “me” to explain CG Burgers…Five Guys Burgers meets You Name It Sports Bar with a dose of “whatever” medicine Barry Bonds used- to hit all of those homeruns- thrown into the mix.

I absolutely loved the Coral Springs joint. Just so you know, CG Burgers (order at counter/food is delivered to your table) does burgers, fries, sandwiches, roasted wings, milk shakes and has a salad bar. Of note, the Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter and Miami stores also have coal-oven pizza…not sure why Coral Springs doesn’t do pizza, but it doesn’t.

Yesterday I “tried”—cheeseburger ($6.25), french fries ($2.50), zucchini fries ($4.50), roasted wings (10-$8), side salad ($3.95—“all you can eat” $9.95). Everything was delicious. The cheeseburger “using” Five Guys as a point of reference–was a good as the one Five Guys produces…same for the hand cut fresh french fries. The salad bar, must have had 20 or so items to load up on. The wings which were topped with carmalized onions and grated cheese were as good as the best that I’ve had the various coal-oven pizza & wings joints that dot the South Florida landscape. The zucchini fries, were long strips lightly fried—dipped in a great ranch dressing, they were right on the money.

Like I said before, I loved CG Burgers…definitely one of the best fast food “burger” joints that I’ve tried.

CG Burgers is open 7-days a week, 11am-10pm.
*****

August 8, 2012 UPDATE…

Just wanted to give you guys a “quick” update on CG Burgers…

Since my inital 6/21/12 “outing” to the Coral Springs’ store–Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats have been back to that particular store something like 5-6 times. Each time, the food and service have been right on the money. In addition, to the Coral Springs’ outings, we have been to the Fort Lauderdale store twice–and those meals were a whole nother thing. Both times, we found the “exact” same burger, chicken breast, zucchini fries to be absolutely lousy. We also found on both visits, the outside area to be–dirty. The bottom-line as far as Jeff Eats goes…Coral Springs YES!, Fort Lauderdale NO! One other item, Jeff Eats and others have applied on-line for the various “discounts” and “cards” advertised—and to date, have never received anything back from the Company.

My gut feeling tells me, that CG Burgers may have bitten off more than it can chew. Just maybe, the “big” menu it offers is causing it to compromise on service and food quality issues. As I mentioned before, Coral Springs seems to be doing just fine—which I suspect has a lot to do with its GM (Mike) who seems to know how to really run things…as for Fort Lauderdale, Jeff Eats and Mrs. Jeff Eats will absolutely positively not be returning for a third go-round.

CG has other locations in addition to the Fort Lauderdale and Coral Springs’ joints—I have no idea as to what they are like.

If CG’s management reads this:
You guys better be careful here.
You have an interesting business that may soon end-up in the “crapper” because you didn’t operate it correctly.

***** The Grille on Congress, 5101 Congress Avenue, Boca Raton, Florida 33487, (561) 912-9800.

“Out of sight, out of mind.”

The Grille on Congress is a real good-casual-reasonably priced “American-Style” restaurant, located in the back of one of the worst layed-out strip centers probably ever built. Trust me on this…make sure, your GPS system is working- if you haven’t been there before.

Way back when…not exactly sure when, I ate in this joint a handful of times. Suffice it to say, its crap location, actually made me forget that it even existed. Anyway…friends. Harvey and Judy “picked” The Grille on Congress last night, refreshing my memory.

Now, let’s talk about the joint…separate bar area, upscale wood interior…like I said before, casual, really good food and reasonable prices. You can check menu/prices/photos at www.thegrilleoncongress.com.

Last night I got to “sample”– bbq ribs ($24), asian glazed salmon ($23), New York strip steak (16oz-$30), baked stuff shrimp ($24)–entrees came with a salad and two sides.
Everything was absolutely delicious. A special shout-out to the “biscuits” that promptly arrive when seated—sensational. To be perfectly honest with you, 1-maybe-2 of those suckers with butter—and this joint will have you hooked, before your salad or entree hits the table.

For those of you too lazy to check The Grille’s online menu—the joint has meat/chicken/seafood eaters covered. You will definitely find something to eat with entrees running $15-$30…so nobody is gonna need a second job to pay the bill.

As a point of reference, if joints like Houston’s, J. Alexander’s, J. Mark’s are your style…then, you will really enjoy The Grille on Congress.

The Grill on Congress is open Monday-Friday 11:30am-9pm, Saturday 5pm-9pm, closed on Sunday.

***** Hong Kong Palace, 22191 Powerline Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33433, (561) 338-5887.

Don’t ask! Hong Kong Palace a “takeout only” Chinese joint has been around for something like 30 years and although it’s about 6 minutes from my house, I didn’t know that it existed until last night around 7:30pm. Mrs. Jeff Eats couldn’t “find” a red paper party bag that she needed at Party Supermarket so she dragged me to Party City (where she normally doesn’t shop) in her quest for that red paper party bag…and low and behold, while she was in Party City, I just happened to “notice” Hong Kong Palace which is right next door. Twenty minutes later…she had the red paper party bag and I had two plastic bags filled with…wonton soup, egg rolls, pan fried dumplings, white rice, bbq ribs, shrimp with lobster sauce, mu shu pork, sweet & sour chicken, beef with broccoli, a handful of fortune cookies.

You know what good fortune is? Well, a quest for a red paper party bag—resulted in me coming-upon a good Chinese takeout. Just for the record, the bbq ribs were 6-of the best that I’ve had in a very long time. Everything “else” was A-Ok, but nothing to get hysterical about. The beautiful part of this story, is I now know as do you, where you can get absolutely delicious Chinese bbq ribs.

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

Hong Kong Palace is open Monday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-10:30pm, Sunday, 2:30pm-10pm. If you pay cash over $15-$25-$40 they throw some items like spring rolls, egg rolls, krab rangoon, fried rice in the bag for nothing. One other thing, Party City has red paper party bags for $1.99 and is open Monday-Wednesday 9:30am-8:30pm, Thursday-Friday 9:30am-9:00pm, Saturday 8:30am-8:30pm, Sunday 10am-6:00pm.