***** New York Pickle Co., Festival Marketplace, 2900 West Sample Road, Pompano Beach, Florida 33073, (954) 935-6019.

One of life’s simple pleasures…walking around the Festival Marketplace eating a sour pickle on a stick…don’t knock it till you’ve tried it…and it only costs 60 cents, 2 for a buck.

New York Pickle Co. is a “stand” located in the Festival Marketplace. The joint has been around for 18 years and has some of the most delicious sour–half sour–tomatoes–sauerkrat–peppers–olives in all of South Florida. The stuff is shipped in weekly from New York City and is sold from “old fashioned” barrels.

For you “old time” New Yooorkers…New York Pickle Co. is as close to Guss’ Pickles as you are gonna come. By the way, Guss’ which was around for close to 100 years (on the lower eastside) closed a few years ago.

Like I said before, one of life’s simple pleasures. Personally, I’d rather walk around a flea-market with a sour pickle on a stick than a cup of yogurt, any day of the week.

Trust me on this one—to paraphase Mikey’s brother…”Try it, you’ll like it.”

New York Pickle is open Monday-Friday 9:30am-5pm and Saturday-Sunday 9:30am-6pm.

***** Four Star Ravioli Deli & Bakery, 10786 Wiles Road, Coral Springs 33076, (954) 974-2444.

Got a real-good Italian Deli Bakery…Four Star Ravioli located in Coral Springs. The joint has a couple of tables—so let’s consider this joint a takeout. You can check menu/prices at www.fourstarravioli.com.

Four Star is a throwback to the Italian delis which dotted the NYC landscape circa 1950s-1960s…for those of you old enough to remember, back then—literally every “neighborhood” in the 5 boroughs had some type of mom & pop deli(s) where your mom sent you to pickup food when you were a kid. In my Brooklyn neighborhood, there was a kosher deli—there was a German deli–there was an Italian deli…all within 7 blocks of each other. In that same radius–the supermarkets were A & P, Waldbaum’s and Bohacks. There were also 5 bakeries and 9 candy stores. There was also 6 “grocery stores”—I can still picture Mr. Goodman sitting behind the register. Not to mention a Chinese hand laundry—and 4 pizza joints and 2 “full” Italian restaurants. Also–let’s not forget those darkly lit bars…my neighborhood had 4 of those guys…and I almost forget butcher shops, there were 3–and fruit stores there were 2 in my neighborhood.

Anyway…Four Star has the full boat of hot-cold subs, pizzas, soups, salads, pastas, meat/seafood/chicken dishes, cheeses, breads, baked goods.

I recently had some folks over to the house—and picked up the following… 2-17″ sicilian pizzas, 2-16″ plain round pizzas, 3-10″ chicken parmesan sub, 3-10″ sausage/peppers/onion, 3-philly cheese steak subs, 3-10″ prosciutto & mozzeralla subs, caesar-antipasto-mozzarella caprice salads, minestrone and Italian wedding soups. The food was delicious and very reasonably priced.

To be honest with you, Four Star is not exactly in my neighborhood…that said, every so often, I think you gotta change it up from the neighborhood momma & pop red sauce pizza joints…after awhile, at least to me, all of the food that these joints make– begins to taste all the same. Four Star is not a restaurant and is more “caterer like”—if that makes any sense to you folks!

Four Star is open Sunday-Monday 9am-3pm, Tuesday-Friday 9am-6pm and Saturday 9am-5pm.

***** Canton Palace Chinese Restaurant, 7980 Southwest 8th Street, Miami, Florida 33144, (305) 264-9444.

Now I’ve seen it all…a Chinese restaurant that “translates” its English menu into Spanish…I’ve been in Chinese joints where wontons are “called” kreplach but last night was the first time that I ever encountered…pan fried dumplings (empanadas fritas)—egg rolls (rollitos de huevo). If you like, you can guess what– carnaribes en salsa de frijoles negros and carne con cebollas y pirrento are.

Anyway…the point of this discussion—Canton Palace Chinese makes some of the best Chinese food that I’ve had down here in South Florida. Last night’s dinner had me doing, wonton soup, pan fried pork dumplings, egg rolls, roast pork fried rice, shrimp with black bean sauce, pepper steak, honey garlic chicken, mu shu pork. This is a “mom & pop” operation—if you are over the age of 2, you know exactly what the joint looks like. You also know that there all kinds of specials—soup-appetizer-main dish-white rice-dessert for 9-10 bucks. For you dim sum eaters, dim sum is served all day.

No fooling here…Canton Palace Chinese is really good. You can check menu/prices at Urbanspoon (a great restaurant review source) www.urbanspoon.com.

Canton Palace is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm.

***** Antonio’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant, 619 East Dania Beach Boulevard, Dania Beach, Florida 33004, (954) 923-5151.

I love good—pizza, shrimp scampi, veal parmigiana, baked manicotti, fettuccini alfredo and meat lasagna…so I’m gonna tell you about Antonio’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant in Dania Beach.

Antonio’s is a really good-reasonably priced “mom & pop red sauce” joint. Perfect for your tee shirt/shorts’ ensemble. The joint’s menu has the full-boat of appetizers, calzones, pastas, pizzas, hot & cold subs, meat-seafood-chicken entrees. You know the game, the entrees come with soup or salad-pasta side-garlic rolls…the shrimp scampi was $18.95…the lasagna went out at $11.95…the veal parmigiana ran me $17.50…the baked manicotti set me back $10.50…the fettuccine alfredo was $13.95…and the the 16″ pizza goes for $17. Like I said before, the food is really good. I especially liked the lasagna and manicotti.

Now—if we live in West Palm Beach or Wellington are we gonna make a special trip to eat at Antonio’s? I don’t think so. But—if we live or work in or near Antonio’s Dania Beach neighborhood we now have a real good joint to eat at or takeout from.

Antonio’s Pizzeria is open Tuesday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday 11am-11pm, Saturday noon-11pm, Sunday 3pm-10pm. The joint is close on Monday.

***** Lucarella’s, 4165 North Dixie Highway, Oakland Park, Florida 33334, (954) 630-8855.

Lucarella’s is a red sauce Italian takeout “pizzeria-deli-bakery”…don’t let the joint’s “dumpy” storefront scare you off—trust me on this one– some of the best pizzas, calzones, hot/cold subs, salads, pastas, meat/chicken/seafood dishes, baked goods that you will ever bring home.

Check Lucarella’s menu/prices at www.lucarellas.com.

I recently did… 18″ plain pizza ($12.99), chicken parmigiana calzone ($5.25), 6″ sausage-peppers-onion sub ($6.50), 6″ chicken salad sub ($6.50), caprese salad ($8.99), meat lasagna dinner (includes entree, garlic roll, house salad, pasta side $9.99), large chocolate cannoli ($3.95) and the stuff was absolutely delicious.

For you speed-readers out there…THIS IS A RED SAUCE TAKEOUT JOINT. If “mom & pop” stuff is your game (it’s mine)– you gotta give Lucarella’s a shot.

Lucarella’s is open Monday-Saturday 9am-9pm. The joint is closed on Sunday.

***** Sweeter Days Bake Shop, 1497 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304, (954) 396-3979.

Well it’s that time of the year…when Publix, Costco and Walmart “start” the HURRICANE SEASON…if you’ve been down here in old-South Florida for any length of time, you know exactly what I’m talking about…all of a sudden the weathermen start talking about this possible– tropical depression and this possible tropical storm and this possible hurricane—and us-guys run out to Publix-Costco-Walmart and loadup on bottle waters-batteries–candles–and God only knows what else…

Anyway…this year, I’m “doing it” another way…when the weathermen start talking–I’m going to Sweeter Days Bake Shop and loadup with some absolutely delicious cupcakes-cookies-cakes-brownies–gelato…and get ready to ride the weather-out.

A recent outing to Sweeter Days Bake Shop had me “doing” a chocolate chocolate fudge cupcake, a boston cream cupcake and key lime cupcake (they run $2.95 each)—and I gotta tell you, it’s real easy to get hooked on these freshly baked creations.

Take a look at www.sweeterdaysbakeshop.com for menu/prices.

Now I know, some of you out there are “wondering”…What happens if you take home gelato–put it in the freezer and a storm really does hit and you lose power?

Anyway…Sweeter Days is open Monday-Saturday 10am-6pm and is closed on Sunday.

***** Mr. M’s Sandwich Shops, 1975 Stirling Road, Dania Beach, Florida 33004, (954) 925-6400.

Mr. M’s…order at/prickup at the counter sub shop…plenty of indoor seating.

Mr. M’s Sub Sandwich Shops makes outrageously delicious subs. Check www.mrmssubs.com for menu/prices.

A recent outing had me “doing” tuna salad sub, chicken salad sub, philly cheese steak ,chicken parmesan sub…like I said, outrageously good. The joint has the full gamut of hot and cold subs– sandwiches and salads.

This is one of the best sub shops that I’ve been to- down here in South Florida.

Mr. M’s is open Monday-Saturday 8am-8pm and Sunday 11am-6pm.

***** Shake Shack, 1111 Lincoln Road, Miami, Florida 33139, (305) 434-7787.

Shake Shack…”order at/pickup at counter…burgers, fries, hot dogs, custard, shakes.

There are 5 Shake Shacks in New York City…1-in Saratoga, New York…1-in Miami, Florida.

This is “fast food” at its best.

Check www.shakeshacknyc.com for menu/prices/locations/pictures.

The next time you are down in South Beach, this joint is an absolute-must-try…Just so you know, Shake Shack has a cult-like-following…so don’t be surprised by some heavy duty crowds and lines.

Shake Shack is open Sunday-Thursday 11:30am-midnight, Friday-Saturday 11:30am-1am.

***** Confucio Express Gourmet, 1810 Southwest 3rd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33129, (305) 860-7747.

Confucio Express is “basically” a takeout Chinese joint…they got some outside seating, but takeout-delivery is the real game here.

I did a “basic” Brooklyn taste-test on this one…wonton soup, egg rolls, bbq ribs, fried dumplings, roast pork fried rice, sweet & sour pork, pepper steak, shrimp with broccoli—you can check www.confucio-express.com for menu/prices.

The verdict—Confucio is one of the best Chinese TAKEOUT joints that I’ve tried down here in South Florida. Good food. Reasonable prices. Huge portions. By the way, I thought that the egg rolls, roast pork fried rice and pepper steak were absolutely delicious.

Just so you know, since I’m not from the hood…I ate at one of its outside tables—and took a ton of left-overs home.

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

***** Stephen’s Restaurant & New York Style Deli. 1000 East 16th Street, Hialeah, Florida 33010, (305) 877-8863.

Let me make this one short and simple…

Stephen’s with its formica tables–and formica counter seating has been around for something like 60 years. Sort of like entering a timewarp…NYC diner/NYC deli circa 1950’s-60’s.

Stephen’s which is open Monday-Friday 7am-3:30pm has the full gamut of breakfast dishes, sandwiches, burgers, deli meats-plates, “blue plate specials” like meatloaf–but only on Tuesdays.

I recently did lunch “trying” pastrami on rye, corned beef on rye, brisket with potato pancakes…and I gotta tell you, if I squint my eyes, I’m at… Sam’s Candy Store & Deli, Cortelyou Road & East 7th Street, Brooklyn, New York— 1957. I absolutely loved the food and “the place.”

I don’t know about you, but joints like Stephen’s hold a special place in old Jeff’s heart (now I’m going all sentimental on you)…