*****  Casa Maya Grill, 301 SE 15th Terrace, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441 (561) 570-6101.

Got a real good-cheap Mexican joint for you…Casa Maya Grill in Deerfield Beach. Absolutley nothing fancy here…just, good food, big portions and a menu loaded with burritos, tacos, enchiladas and fajitas … with the most expensive item in the whole joint running 14 bucks. For menu/prices check the joint’s website at www.casamayagrill.com.

A recent outing had me “sampling”  some very good…shrimp fajitas, spinach enchilada, grilled steak and grilled chicken taco.

Got one problem with Casa Maya… while eating, had a flashback to 1966 and saw myself getting ready for the NYS Spanish Regents Exam…scary stuff. To this date…still have dreams (nightmares) about that Spanish teacher, Mr. Cohen (go figure) and how he was going to fail me, unless I passed the Regents.

Anyway…Casa Maya is open for lunch and dinner…Monday-Friday 11:30am-10pm and Saturday-Sunday noon-10pm.

*****  Peppino’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria, 1290 North Military Trail, West Palm Beach, Florida 33409 (561) 681-6575.

Peppino’s is a ” neighborhood-mom & pop–red sauce”–Italian joint. Operative word here NEIGHBORHOOD…like you live or work in Peppino’s neighborhood.

Peppino’s food, shall we say… is quite good. The menu is loaded with appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, pizzas, subs and chicken-seafood-meat entrees. This joint isn’t exactly trying to cure cancer here…You know the drill…the entree comes with soup or salad, pasta side and garlic knots. The most expensive entree runs 15 bucks and a large pizza is going to run you $11.

A recent taste-test had me sampling, sausage parmigiana sub, veal parmigiana, veal marsala, shrimp scampi, pizza, manicotti, pasta fagiolli and those garlic knots. Like I said before, quite good for a neighborhood joint. By the way, the service is as friendly as can be.

Now…if you live in Peppino’s neighborhood, you have a real good joint to eat-in/take-out from. Peppino’s is open 7 days a week 11am-9pm.

*****  Clarke’s, 840 Front Street, Miami Beach, Florida 33139 (305) 538-9885.

Let’s start this one off, by immediately sending you to Clarke’s website at www.clarkesmiamibeach.com. where you will find menu/price/photos about what some would call an Irish Pub…

Let me put it to you this way…Clarke’s in no way, shape or form is anything like most of South Florida’s Irish Pubs which usually have borderline-horrendous food. For sure, Clarke’s has the “requisite” shepherds pie, bangers & mash, corned beef & cabbage and fish & chips…but that’s where any similarity with these other joints end.

Clarke’s has very-good food. Clarke’s is a great looking-upscale  joint. Clarke’s has great service. Clarke’s prices are NOT local-pub prices, but you won’t need to get a second job to eat there.

I recently had dinner at Clarke’s and “taste-tested”…cheeseburger, shrimp scampi, chicken curry, crab cakes, grilled pork chops, french fries and onion rings…everything was right on the money, with that cheeseburger being in the “terrific” category.

The next time, one of your buddies wants to “do” the Irish Pub thing…you know where to go. Clarke’s is open Monday-Friday 11:30am-midnight, Saturday 5pm-midnight and Sunday 11am-11pm.

*****  Gables Diner, 2320 Galianos Street, Coral Gables, Florida 33134 (305) 567-0330.

There are diners and then there diners…first, you got the “truck-driver diner.” Close your eyes and I am sure that you can conjure-up a pretty good version of this type of joint…if you are having trouble, think counter-service, seedy looking and charmingly surly waitresses…Then, you got diners that I call “yuppie diners.” If you are still here, go to Gables Diner’s website www.gablesdiner.com and you will find menu/details/photos of an “excellent” example of a yuppie-diner…full bar, gorgeous wood tables and booths, modern artwork, “tad too pricey” menu…For sure there are hybrids between the two diner-types, but that’s a whole other story for another day.

Anyway…Gables Diner is a great place for breakfast, lunch or dinner. The joint is open Sunday-Thursday 8am-10:30pm and Sunday 8am-11:30pm. I recently did lunch and a “taste-test” of chicken pot pie, country fried chicken, bacon cheeseburger, crab cakes and caesar salad…had me looking forward to trying this joint out for both breakfast and dinner. I am telling you, the food is really good.

Now let’s talk “prices”…the prices are not truck driver diner prices…no $2.99 breakfast specials…no 1/2 sandwich & soup $5.99 deals. If you check Gables’ website, there are breakfast-lunch-dinner menus/prices. Nothing that’s going to send you to the poor-house…but I just wanted you to know, that this ain’t a bargain-basement joint.

To sum this joint up…a menu packed with delicious breakfast stuff, appetizers, soups, salads, pizzas, pastas, burgers, sandwiches, meat-chicken-seafood entrees and desserts. Great decor. Good service. Yuppie-diner prices.

*****  Lakeside Diner, 7028 Charleston Shore Road, Lake Worth, Florida 33467 (561) 432-0018.

Found you guys another terrific diner…Lakeside Diner in Lake Worth. The joint is open 7 days a week 7am-2:30pm. Dynamite “hole in the wall” for breakfast, salads, soups, burgers and sandwiches.  Good food. Big portions. Reasonable prices. Very pleasant service.

One big problem here…God forbid you want a burger after 2:30pm…no can do.

Anyway…If you live or work in Lakeside’s neighborhood, you now know where to go for diner-food.

*****  Boynton Diner, 500 East Woolbright Road, Boynton Beach, Florida 33435 (561) 364-1819.

Maybe it’s the water or something… but, why in the world aren’t South Florida diners open 24 hours a day?…For sure, you got your Lester’s (see review 3/3/08) in Fort Laudredale, but give or take, most of these diner-joints are packing-up by 3pm. Maybe it’s a southern thing.

That aside…the Boynton Diner which is open 7 days a week 6am-3pm, is a real good joint to know about. Let me send you to Boynton’s website www.boyntondiner.com for menu/prices. The menu is loaded with breakfast stuff, salads, burgers, sandwiches, meat/chicken/seafood entrees and desserts. If you squint your eyes…you’d think that you are in a Brooklyn store-front diner. By the way, if you aren’t a Brooklyn native, feel free to insert your own hometown…

Good food. Diner service. Reasonable prices.

One other thing, in addition to not being open 24 hours, the joint only takes cash…which makes me think, that just maybe there is hope for the guys who own Boynton…if you know what I mean?

*****  Cafe Ragazzi Restaurant, 9500 Harding Avenue, Surfside, Florida 33154 (305) 866-4495.

Got a very-very good Italian restaurant for you…Cafe Ragazzi, located in Surfside. This 96-seater is basically a neighborhood-joint, but if you want to “make a trip” to eat there, I won’t laugh at you. Yes…your tee shirt/shorts ensemble will do just fine.

Cafe Ragazzi has the full-expected “compliment” of appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, pizzas, meat/seafood/chicken entrees. Cafe Ragazzi’s prices… maybe a buck-or-two higher than pizza joint prices. The service is just fine.

The food like I said before, is very-very good. A recent outing with 3-others resulted in my “taste-testing” (someone has to do it) fried calamari & zucchini, linguine in white clam sauce, meat lasagna, chicken marsala, bone-in chicken scarpariello, veal parmigiana, zuppe di pesce…everything was right on the money.

With gas back under $2 a gallon…you just may want to consider a “road-trip” to Cafe Ragazzi (assuming you don’t live in the neighborhood)…The joint is open for lunch & dinner Monday-Saturday 11:30am-midnight and dinner-only Saturday 5pm-midnight.

       Nick’s Restaurant, 105 East Hallandale Beach Boulevard, Hallandale, Florida 33009 (954-458-0363.

Nick’s is a neighborhood “diner”…it has been in business since 1962.

Had breakfast there the other day.

Got a big problem here…this morning when I called Nick’s to get some “pertinent” information for this review, the lady who answered the phone (although she was told that I was preparing a writeup) told me that she was too busy to talk and hung-up. Now, I know that people are “busy”…the way I see it, she should have asked me to call back at a more convenient time or asked for my number so that she could get back to me. By the way, all of my questions could probably have been answered in under 60 seconds.

Like I said before, I had breakfast there the other day.

Obviously, this lady doesn’t want me telling you about Nick’s…now, I’m going to assume that this lady (I am starting to sound like Jerry Lewis here) is the owner or at least works at Nick’s…so I won’t.

Good food, bad food…there are plenty of fish in the sea. I won’t be back.

***** Vinnies Restaurant & Lounge, 4599 South University Drive, Davie, Florida 33328 (954) 727-0035.

“The early bird catches the worm”…I see, that last week my friends at the Sun Sentinel gave Vinnies Restaurant & Lounge a very favorable writeup…Anyway, here’s my take on this joint.

Vinnies is my kind of a “red-sauce” Italian joint…From the get-go, Vinnies is not (and I repeat) NOT your typical neighborhood Italian restaurant. For sure, it has a menu loaded with appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, meat-chicken-seafood entrees and desserts…but most evenings– Vinnies is much more than just a joint where you stuff your face with real-good fried calamari, baked clams, mozzarella en carozza, shrimp scampi, chicken marsala, veal parmigiana, steak pizziola, zuppa di pesce.

Vinnies is a throwback… to the Italian joints circa 1950’s-60’s, that populated the five boroughs… almost upscale (and I repeat) ALMOST…white table cloths, full bar, bandstand and dance-floor.

I love joints like Vinnies… Friday-Saturday night…bunch of couples. You eat, you drink, you dance to the band in the lounge… you “people watch.” Now trust me on this, guys like P. Diddy (or whatever name he’s now going by), Usher and Snoop Dog ain’t going to be stopping by…you’ll probably see a ton of folks who look like HBO Soprano extras…you may also spot guys like Frankie Valli (The Four Seasons), Joey Dee (The Starliters), Jimmy Gallagher (The Passions) jamming at Vinnies, as this joint is a “mecca” with the doo-wop/1950’s-60’s-70’s rock n’ roll crowd. Personally, I’d rather listen to Jimmy Gallagher croon “I Only Want You” or Joey Dee sing “Shout” than hear that rap-stuff that is now passed -off as being “music”…but that’s a whole other story for another day.

Like I said before, Vinnies has white-table cloths, but it really isn’t all that fancy. Your tee shirt/shorts ensemble isn’t going to work here (unless its lunch-time). Vinnies is a restaurant with, shall we say “attitude”…what else would you expect from a guy named Paulie running the joint?  The food is very good and reasonably priced…for example a dinner time- veal parmigiana entree with a spaghetti side runs $24 and chicken marsala will set you back 22 bucks.  In addition to all of the “standard” stuff, Vinnies’ menu is loaded with steaks-chops-lobsters for guys who had a good day at Gulfstream.  By the way, on the nights that there is live entertainment (check with Vinnies for the schedule) there is no cover- charge to catch some of the best tribute-cover bands/acts in South Florida… not to mention an occassional “guest-star” appearance.

Vinnies is open 7 days a week for dinner…and does lunch Monday-Friday.

*****  Arnold’s Royal Castle, 12490 NW 7th Avenue, North Miami, Florida 33168 (305) 681-5346.

I really don’t have the time or inclination, to tell you the history of the Royal Castle fast-food hamburger chain which first opened for business in 1937…or how it eventually went bankrupt leaving just a couple of South Florida outlets open…not to mention, the convoluted story about the “subject” Royal Castle which opened in 1956–was bought by Wayne Arnold in 1982–burned down on August 30, 2005–reopened on January 16, 2009…nor the phenonemenal birch-beer or breakfasts that this 24 hours-a day counter-joint serves.  Nor, am I going to tell you about the “Castleburger”… one of the most delicious sliders “mini-burgers” that you will probably ever eat.

Just not going to do it!