***** Chaser’s Sports Bar & Grill, 2107 10th Avenue North, Lake Worth, Florida 33461, (561) 623-0509.

During the past 20 South Florida years, I have eaten in more SPORTS BARS than there are Chins in a Chinese phonebook (credit: Soupy Sales- 1956). You know what a blur is? Let’s just say, that give or take a “handful”—the game is basically the same…bar, tvs, wood decor, young energetic waitstaff, huge menu loaded with just passable food, reasonable prices.

Now…every so often I come across a “sports bar” which kinda breaks the mold. For sure, Chaser’s got the bar, tvs, wood decor, young energetic waitstaff, reasonable prices—now get this, the food was realy-really good. Just so you know, the menu is not “huge”-but it definitely gets the job done. Where most of these joints are “microwave” city, a recent outing had me doing… 1/2 lb. charbroiled bacon cheeseburger ($8.95) that was right-up there with the best stuff served by the so-called gourmet burger outlets—delicious grilled garlic wings (10-$8.95), the penne ala vodka and philly cheese steak were also-right on the money.

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

Another cool thing about this joint, it has a “band-schedule” which features some of the top local- rock/pop/blues/folk bands in South Florida. You can check that schedule at the previously mentioned website.

I really enjoyed Chaser’s.

Chaser’s is open Sunday-Wednesday 4pm-midnight, Friday-Saturday 4pm-2am.

*By the way, www.southfloridadines.com has one of those $15 gets you $30 coupon deals going…if that’s your game!

***** Grease Burger Bar, 213 Clematis Street, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401, (561) 651-1075.

The next time you find yourself wandering aimlessly around the CityPlace/Cleamtis Street “region”- I got a really-good “American Style” joint for you to eat in…Grease Burger Bar.

The best way to describe Grease Burger…upsacle sports- bar (its got 14 flat screen tvs), full bar and over 100 beers on tap/bottle—soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers “galore”–bratwurst, wings, desserts.

Let’s talk food…This afternoon, I “tried” beef sliders (4-$10.95), 10 oz. cheeseburger ($8.95), french onion soup ($5.95), chicken caesar ($10.95), french fries (large-$2.75), chocolate milkshake ($4.95). The result, like I said before—Grease Burger Bar is a really good joint to know about. Everything was right on the money.

If burgers are your game, you won’t be disappointed. The selection (toppings) is huge…the burgers are “upscale” and right up there with the best “gourmet” stuff old Jeff Eats has eaten down here in South Florida and elsewhere. The french fries, were also delicious—they weren’t “fresh hand cut”…but they were fried and salted perfectly.

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

This is a really cool place for lunch, dinner or just plain old socializing.

Grease Burger Bar is open 7 days a week.

***** Yogurt Zone, 8903 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33434, (561) 483-4521.

“Sur-prise, sur-prise, sur-prise!” (courtesy Gomer Pyle)…another self-serve yogurt joint recently opened in Boca Raton…say hello to Yogurt Zone.

Not gonna belabor the point…the self-serve yogurt business is a FAD. It’s gonna end sooner rather than later and a whole bunch of moms & pops who own these joints ain’t going to be happy campers.

The skinny on Yogurt Zone—12 flavors, toppings, 42 cents an ounce. Tried the coconut and “no sugar added” vanilla and strawberry. Glad- to report, that the yogurt is absolutely delicious.

Yogurt Zone flavor-wise, is one of the best self-serves that old Jeff Eats has tried. Not that it really matters (because the store is already open), but the location in “my humble opinion” is piss-poor. Not certain on this, but if memory serves me correctly, two former businesses in the exact same storefront where Yogurt Zone now resides, 1 an ice cream/yogurt store and 1 a gelato franchise failed miserably. I only wish the owner the best, but “I don’t think so.” Doesn’t anyone know that businesses like this, need…cheap rents and huge foot traffic and cheap rents and huge foot traffic and cheap rents and huge foot traffic to survive? I guess not!

Anyway…Like I said before, Yogurt Zone has a real good yogurt product.

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

***** Ruby’s Chen’s, 913 West State Road 84, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33315, (954) 525-2533.

Ruby Chen’s is a Chinese takeout joint…it has the obligatory Chinese takeout joint “handful” of tables, but the game here is TAKEOUT.

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

Based on a recent “outing” of wonton soup, bbq ribs, fried dumplings, egg rolls, sweet & sour chicken, shrimp with lobster sauce, beef with black bean sauce, roast pork fried rice…I can safely report that Ruby’s food isn’t half bad. Nothing to go nuts over, but if you live or work in the neighborhood, you could do far worse.

Ruby Chen’s is open Monday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm, Sunday noon-10pm.

***** Panna Express Cafe, 2620 Weston Road, Weston, Florida 33331, (954) 217-6907.

What a great idea…put a”fast food” joint with a Latin Flair– with limited seating in a gas station/car wash. Sounds real appetizing doesn’t it? Trust me, old Jeff Eats was on the same page as you guys, until I tried Panna Cafe Express in Weston. By the way, in addition to the Weston outpost, there are two other Panna joints one in Doral and one in Hollywood.

At this stage of the proceedings you can check www.pannacafe.com for
menu/prices/sundry items.

Let me make this one short and to the point…Panna Cafe Express is a “homerun”…The joint has a menu loaded with breakfast stuff, salads, wraps, subs, burgers, baked goods, empanadas, cachitos. A recent “outing” had me trying…1/2 lb cheeseburger/french fries/beverage ($8.49), tuna salad wrap ($6.59), beef empanada (2-$1.49), turkey sub ($8.49)…now, I may be going out on a limb here, but the burger was as good as the ones I get at Five Guys. The wrap and sub were delicious–same goes for those beef empanadas.

The beautiful thing here…tank of gas, upscale car wash, great food.

The Weston location is open 24 hours a day/7 days a week. Hollywood is open Sunday-Thursday 6am-midnight and Friday-Saturday 4am-midnight. Doral is open Monday-Wednesday 6am-midnight, Thursday-Saturday 6am-4am and Sunday 8am-10pm.

***** White Crescent Burgers, 5023 Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach, Florida 33147, (561) 681-0799.

If you are a fan of White Castle burgers—you will be a fan of White Crescent Burgers.

Rather than trying to make a long story short…check menu/prices at wwwhitecrescentburgers.com.

The basic story here is, back in 1957 in Bloomfield, New Jersey—White Crescent Burgers opened a “hamburger joint” that looked and tasted like White Castle. At the above website, there is a photo of the original-joint (back in the day) so you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. The original joint did sliders and fries.

Anyway, a year or so ago, White Crescent opened a location in West Palm Beach. Just so you know from the get-go…the Florida outpost doesn’t have the “cool-crisp-white castle” look that the ’57 joint had…but it does have absolutely delicious sliders and fries. In addition to those sliders/fries-White Crescent has other stuff like- 4oz and 8oz burgers (beef, turkey, vegetable), hot dogs, wings, sandwiches, salads.

Like I said before, if you are a White Castle fan, you’ll be a White Crescent fan. A recent outing had me doing the $8.99- 4 sliders/fries/soda “special.” I was in slider heaven.

Not to bore you guys with old Jeff Eats’ tales…but, back in 1977-Jeff and his brother-in-law Chuck, devoured 31 White Castle burgers while driving from Sunrise Highway/Lynbrook, L.I. to the Sands Beach Club in Atlantic Beach, L.I. For those unfamiliar with the area, the
“drive” in a gold-colored 1975 Ford Granada took about 35 minutes. Suffice to say, the days of eating 16 sliders in one session are now long “behind” me.

As mentioned, White Crescent’s menu has loads of fast food staples. As a “purist” my game… sliders-fries, but I guess by having larger burgers, hot dogs- etc, White Crescent figures that it can draw a wider audience.

To all slider lovers: You gotta try this joint.

White Crescent Burgers is open Monday-Thursday 11am-8:30pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-9:30pm, Sunday 11am-7pm.

***** Luigi’s Coal Oven Pizza, 1415 East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301, (954) 990-8647.

Luigi’s Coal Oven Pizza…coal oven pizza, coal oven chicken wings, salads, a handful of appetizers/calzones/sandwiches/desserts—based on the menu, Luigi’s which opened a couple of weeks ago, obviously- isn’t trying to cure cancer or re-invent the wheel.

Let’s talk food—A recent dinner had me “testing”- house salad ($9.95-enough for 3), chicken wings (10 wings $8.95), 16″ tomato pizza pie ($13.95), sausage/peppers/onions panini ($8.95)…Trust me here, everything old Jeff Eats had-was right up there with the best stuff served up-by South Florida’s “other” coal oven pizza joints.

Luigi’s is so new, that it doesn’t-yet have a website. So, sorry…can’t send you anywhere for menu/prices/pictures. Just so you know, it looks “just” like all the rest and its price points, just like all the rest.

Luigi’s is open Monday-Thursday 11am-11pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-3am, Sunday 11am-10pm.

***** Kelly’s Landing, 1305 Southeast 17th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33316, (954) 760-7009.

Got an absolutely terrific casual-seafood joint for you…Kelly’s Landing in Fort Lauderdale.

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

Kelly’s Landing has been around for something like 25 years. Best way to describe its decor–almost looks like a neighborhood Irish pub. Your tee shirt/shorts ensemble will definitely work here. Kelly’s is located in a nondescript strip shopping center- so don’t plan on watching boats while you eat on its outdoor patio.

Just so we are straight, this is a seafood restaurant…but the landlubber or allergic crowd will find enough chicken/meat dishes so nobody’s gonna go home hungry.

I really enjoyed Kelly’s. A recent dinner had me “trying”—crab cake (appetizer-$7), new england clam chowder (bowl $6), lobster roll ($16), fried shrimp ($16), sea scallop scampi ($19), cheeseburger ($8.50). Trust me on this one, the food is outrageously good.

Every so often old Jeff Eats comes across a HOMERUN…this was one of those times.

Kelly’ Landing is open Monday-Thursday 11:30am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm, Sunday 11am-10pm.

La Fontana Pizzeria Restaurant, 2890 North University Drive Coral Springs, Florida 33065, (954) 575-5502.

Just off the top of your head: How many days of rain do you think Coral Springs gets on average in any given year? My “Google” says 65!

This afternoon I had lunch at La Fontana Pizzeria–wood oven pizza, appetizers, salads, panini, calzones, pastas, meat/chicken/seafood entrees, desserts. You can check menu/prices at www.LaFontanaPizzeria.com.

La Fontana has NO indoor seating. It does have 60 outdoor seats under various umbrellas and canopies– if it rains, this joint is up “sh@t’s” creek. In addition, if it’s really cold or really hot, this joint is up “sh@t’s” creek. Don’t exactly get the business model here, but one of the owners did tell me that if the Quizno’s next-door to La Fontana goes out of business, La Fontana Pizzeria will rent the space for inside seating.

Okay—let’s talk food.

Based on the fact that La Fontana is a pizzeria and highlights “wood oven pizza” on its menu—I decided to try a 12″ margherita pizza ($8.50). Let me be kind, it was edible, but that was about it. The pizza had a thin crust that was soggy and had virtually no taste. I also had meat tortellini alla boscaiola ($16.95)—it was good but nothing to get hysterical about. I also found the pasta dish at almost 17 bucks on the skimpy side.

Now, I know that my “taste test” was sort of on the limited side—but based on this brief outing—I won’t be back.

Not that it really matters, but on May 12, 2011 the Sun Sentinel gave this joint 3 1/2 stars (food only- 4 stars). Based on my 2-out-of 2 dishes…”Dining Correspondent” Judith Stocks must have eaten in a different joint than I just got home from.

I will tell you that brothers/owners Spartico and Tony Tare were as pleasant and helpful as could be. Hopefully for their sake, it doesn’t rain too much this coming Summer– or for that matter this coming Fall, Winter and Spring. One other quick thought, hopefully the 3- flies that were annoying the crap out of me while I was trying to eat, aren’t permanent restaurant fixtures.

La Fontana is open 7 days a week 11am-11pm.

***** Scorch Grill House/Wine Bar, 13750 Biscyane Boulevard, North Miami Beach, Florida 33181, (305) 949-5588.

Scorch Grill House/Wine Bar…”American Style” pub-joint located in North Miami Beach. You can check menu/prices/photos at www.scorchgrillhouse.com.

Now you figure this one out…Scorch Grill House/Wine Bar is Houston’s minus the steroids. I absolutely loved this joint’s indoor/outdoor patio seating hip-retro diner look. The joint does both lunch and dinner…its menu—appetizers, salads, burgers, meat/chicken/seafood has enough stuff so no-body in your party is gonna go home hungry.

I recently did dinner at Scorch. The “test” chopped steak ($16.95), roast chicken (1/2- $13.95), St. Louis Ribs (full rack-$18.95), grilled salmon ($17.45), beef kebob ($14.95), cheeseburger ($10.95)…every dish was right on the money. Of the group–my favorites were the St. Loius Ribs and the cheeseburger, both- really delicious.

Scorch is owned/operated by two guys originally from Colombia (for you wise-guys out there, no, not Columbia, North Carolina!) so don’t be surprised to see words like tostones, ceviche, chimichurri on the menu–like I said before, the menu has everybody covered.

Scorch is open Monday-Thursday 11:30am-10:30pm, Friday 11:30am-11:30pm, Saturday noon-11:30pm, Sunday noon-10pm, Sunday brunch noon-3pm.