ItalianPizzaSubs/Salads

Two Guys Pizzeria (Miami)

Posted on December 19th, 2010 · Italian Miami Pizza Subs/Salads · 5 Comments »

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***** Two Guys Pizzeria, 9515 South Dixie Highway, Miami, Florida 33156 (305) 667-1761.

Two Guys Pizzeria is a ” neighborhood-mom & pop–red sauce” Italian joint.

Let me make this one short and simple, Two Guys Pizzeria food is decent enough…that said, the odds are, your favorite “momma & poppa” has better stuff. Now don’t get me wrong, the thin crusted pizza, veal parmigiana, garlic rolls, baked ziti, meat lasagna were just fine…but nothing reached “boy, that was delicious” status.

Two Guys is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

AmericanFast Food

Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries (Boca Raton)

Posted on December 15th, 2010 · American Boca Raton Fast Food · 41 Comments »

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***** Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries, 21077 Powerline Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33433, (561) 482-1561.

Just got back from Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries…a fast food burger joint (surprise, surprise!) that literally just opened for business in Boca Raton…actually, it opened yesterday—and I gotta tell you, that Five Guys (one of my favorites) better watch out—because this miniscule chain (they currently got something like 8 stores in 6 states-Boca is the only Florida location) makes terrific burgers and fries. Throw in some salads, wraps, chicken items, hot dogs, milk shakes and desserts—and this joint may convert some of Five Guys’ legendary fans. Like Five Guys-the grill is in the open and there is no drive-thru, but the Boca location, in addition to indoor seating–has a great looking outdoor eating patio.

From what I can tell, based on the “open kitchen”–price points–daily delivered fresh hamburger meat–handcut french fries–Boardwalk plans to go head to head with Five Guys. Like I said before, for right now Boardwalk only has 8 stores…that said, the owner of the Boca franchise, Irene Jung, told me, that she plans on opening 50 Florida stores over the next “few” years and that a second joint is scheduled to open in Orlando later this week.

Now you and I know, that restaurants come and restaurants go. Only time will tell, if Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries will actually develop into a large national chain. What I do know, is that the cheeseburger & fries that I had this evening were as good as the stuff that Five Guys makes.

Not sure if it is fair or not, to compare Boardwalk to Five Guys…but, my gut tells me, that the guys who created the Boardwalk concept spent many hours studying the Five Guys’ playbook. These guys think that they have a more diversified mouse-trap…

You can check www.boardwalkfreshburgersandfries.com for menu/locations.

Let me wrap this one up this way…I thought that the food was delicious.

Boardwalk Fresh Burgers & Fries is open Monday-Sunday 11am-10pm.

AmericanBreakfastDelicatessen

Bagel Bar East (North Miami)

Posted on December 14th, 2010 · American Breakfast Delicatessen North Miami · 9 Comments »

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***** Bagel Bar East, 1990 Northeast 123rd Street, North Miami, Florida 33181, (305) 895-7022.

Got a very good “bagel-deli” joint for you…Bagel Bar East located in North Miami. If you are over the age of 2—you know exactly what the decor of this Monday-Sunday 6:30am-3pm joint looks like. You can check menu/prices at www.bagelbareastmiami.com.

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Rather than telling you about the delicious—toasted everything with a schmear and pastrami omelette that I had, let’s turn our attention to a more immediate and pressing matter…Is there a Bagel Bar West?

Stocks

FX REAL ESTATE & ENTERTAINMENT INC.

Posted on December 10th, 2010 · Stocks · 33 Comments »

***** FX REAL ESTATE & ENTERTAINMENT *****

Every so often, I like to “give” you guys a stock-situation that I am looking at. That said, you might like to take a gander at FX REAL ESTATE & ENTERTAINMENT INC. (FXRE: $.21 (bid)–$.28 (ask)).

As I always tell you, YOU GOT TO DO YOUR OWN DUE DILIGENCE.

Just so you know…I recently bought shares in this “pennystock”…my average price is about $.27 a share.

The primary reason I like this company…it is controlled by Robert FX Sillerman. Do some homework on this guy…sometimes he wins and sometimes he loses.

To get you started, FX REAL ESTATE & ENTERTAINMENT INC apparently is going into the ferris wheel business. I know it sounds “nuts”…but, the way I see it, a multi-millionaire like Robert FX Sillerman may see-something that common folks don’t.

Anyway…FX REAL ESTATE & ENTERTAINMENT INC is what I call a “trades by appointment” stock—which means, there is usually very little daily trading action in the stock…so if liquidity is your game, this one may not be for you.

DessertsFast Food

ChicBerry (Miami)

Posted on December 7th, 2010 · Desserts Fast Food Miami · 10 Comments »

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***** ChicBerry, 1689 Southwest 107 Avenue, Miami, Florida 33165, (305) 227-6792.

There is an old saying…”When it rains, it pours.” Got ANOTHER–self-serve yogurt joint for you, ChicBerry in Miami. The drill is simple, 12 “rotating” flavors and a topping bar—you fill your cup and it gets weighed. This joint gets 49 cents an ounce…

Regular readers know that old Jeff Eats sees FAD written all over the self serve yogurt business. Gonna be a nasty ending for most of the “players” in this arena. Best guess here, this game of musical chairs is going to end sometime during the next 2 years.

The other day I gave ChicBerry a shot. Tried green tea, chocolate, vanilla, strawberry…In defense of that 49 cents an ounce which is expensive for self-serve stuff—the yogurt was absolutely delicious. Not really a big fan of yogurt, that said, the flavors- matched up against the stuff that most of the “other” joints are selling is far superior.

You can check menu/flavors at www.chicberryusa.com.

I suspect, actually I know—in coming weeks and months, we’ll be “talking” about other self-serve yogurt joints. You do remember the “mom & pop” video store craze of a few years ago, don’t you? Seemingly, a video store or two on every corner. You also know how that one ended. Even a guy like Blockbuster collapsed. No question in my mind, same-thing is coming for the self serve folks.

Well—until the game ends, with maybe a handful of survivors…we’ll enjoy this latest fast food craze.

ChickBerry is open, Monday-Friday noon-11pm and Saturday-Sunday 1pm-11pm.

DessertsFast Food

Froyolicious (Royal Palm Beach)

Posted on December 3rd, 2010 · Desserts Fast Food Royal Palm Beach · 5 Comments »

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***** Froyolicious, 11081 Southern Boulevard, Royal Palm Beach, Florida 33411, (561) 753-4890.

Froyolicious…self serve yogurt joint with 10 daily “rotating flavors”…by now, you should know the drill at this-type of joint…fill your cup with yogurt and various toppings—cup gets weighed—this joint gets 45 cents an ounce.

These self-serve yogurt joints are seemingly opening all-over South Florida. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…FAD. This “thing” is gonna end up like a bad game of musical chairs for most of the players. I’m gonna give the “concept” 24-months before the vacancy signs start to pop up in the storefronts where they are currently rushing to get in. For sure, there will be a winner or two in the game, but then again, Blockbuster also thought it was king of the road.

Anyway…I gave Froyolicious a shot the other day. Besides having a ridiculously hard name to pronounce and the fact that 45 cents per ounce is waaaaaay–too-high, the joint’s vanilla, chocolate and green tea yogurt flavors were very good. Please keep in mind, that Jeff Eats is far from being a yogurt connoisseur—but I did find Froyolicious’ (try and say that 3 times real fast) yogurt better tasting than most of its South Florida competitors. Once again, a DQ chocolate/heath bar blizzard would be my game of choice.

You can check Froyolicious’ flavors at www.myfroyolicious.com.

You now know about another contestant in the self-serve yogurt category. If yogurt is your game, enjoy the players before the inevitable shakeup takes its toll.

Froyolicious is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-10:30pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm.

AmericanBreakfastSubs/Salads

Philly Steak Sub Shop (Miramar)

Posted on December 1st, 2010 · American Breakfast Miami Subs/Salads · 2 Comments »

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***** Philly Steak Sub Shop, 6025 Miramar Parkway, Miramar, Florida 33023, (954) 964-8686.

Let’s start the month of December off with…Philly Steak Sub Shop located in Miramar.

Was down to Philly Steak Sub a couple of days ago and I gotta tell you that this joint makes some dynamite 6″ and 12″ subs…if I counted correctly, Philly Steak Subs has something like 89 different subs on its menu—they also have a half-dozen or so salads, for you non-sub lovers out there. I was just thinking, that if some of the subs were combined with some of the other subs, that 89 could be something like 1,000,000…but math was never one of my strong suits.

Just so you know, there were 3 (including Jeff Eats) on this taste-test mission…don’t want you guys to get the impression that old Jeff Eats devoured 8–6 inchers all by his lonesome. Included in the “sampling”…philly cheese steak, chicken parmigiana, hot pastrami, honey mustard chicken breast, chicken salad, tuna salad, bbq pork, bacon cheeseburger. To be perfectly honest with you, I really couldn’t pick a “favorite” because all of the subs were really-good.

Philly Steak Sub Shop is a winner. Delicious sub bread, terrific fillings, super prices—figure, the most you are gonna spring for is 7 bucks or so for a 12-incher.

Philly Steak Sub Shop is open Monday 9am-9pm and Sunday 10am-8pm.

Chinese

Chef Tai’s (Boca Raton)

Posted on November 30th, 2010 · Boca Raton Chinese · 6 Comments »

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***** 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.

DessertsFast Food

Tutti Frutti Frozen Yogurt (Sunrise, Orlando, Port St. Lucie, Winter Park)

Posted on November 29th, 2010 · Desserts Fast Food Orlando Port Saint Lucie Sunrise · 17 Comments »

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***** 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.

Music/Events/Other

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

Posted on November 26th, 2010 · Music/Events/Other · 9 Comments »

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***** 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.