***** Neil Zirconia *****

On Friday night (8/28/09) I saw NEIL ZIRCONIA a Boynton Beach based Neil Diamond impersonator who was working at Ellie’s 50’s Style Diner (7/15/08) in Delray Beach. For 30 bucks which included tax and tip…you got a buffet dinner and a 2-hour show in Ellie’s catering room which is located in the rear of its 50’s diner. Gourmet food? Now let’s not get dopey here…but decent enough. I counted 80 people sitting at tables of 10. On this particular outing, Zirconia was doing a “track show”…I understand that in bigger rooms, he does a straight-up live music show backed by local band Whitestone. If you check “You Tube”, there are a couple of Zirconia-Whitestone performances. By the way, Whitestone is one of the best 1950s-1970’s rock n’ roll-disco cover bands currently working the South Florida club-bar-party circuit (www.whitestoneband.com).

Before the show, I met “Neil” and his wife Laurie and they are super pleasant people. I will tell you, that “Neil’s” natural voice has that grainy-Neil Diamond tone to it. This “Neil” has a resemblance to Neil Diamond age 40. Trust me, it all works.

The show was terrific…THE GUY SOUNDS JUST LIKE NEIL DIAMOND. The performance covered all of the hits and was really enjoyable. Checkout– Neil Zirconia’s website www.neilzirconia.com for information/dates of future performances.

When you check the website, you will find a number of upcoming dates, where his show is “free”…you just have to be in the restaurant or pub when he is working.

So…if you like Neil Diamond’s music, you now know about a local guy who does an amazing “copy” of the original.

***** “Real NY Style Delis” *****

Over the years, people have asked me…”Hey Jeff, what’s the best deli down here in South Florida?”

If you do some checking…Jeff Eats got tons of bagel-deli joints listed. Most of them are pretty-good—for what they are, BAGEL-DELI joints. Now, I am not going to name names, but most of these joints “sell” just passable deli…pastrami, corned beef, tongue, turkey, brisket. Most don’t use top-shelf stuff… face it, that’s the game down-here in South Florida…very budget oriented crowd. Now don’t get me wrong, these joints are just fine…but if you are looking for OUTSTANDING stuff, most of them just don’t pass muster ( or is it mustard?).

What constitutes great deli, is a very personal thing. What I do know, is that pre-packaged meats that are heated, don’t qualify. I’m looking for the guys who make their own stuff…trust me on this, very few of the joints down here “make their own stuff.”

Now…I am going to give you the names of 5 joints that could compete with any NYC deli. These 5 have outstanding deli meats…these 5, are the joints that you want to go to when you crave a great… pastrami-corned beef-turkey off the bone-tongue-brisket sandwich…not to mention chopped liver, tuna or chicken salad.

Now…I could try and put them in some type of order, but that’s really impossible…because, one joint may have better brisket than another, while its corned beef isn’t as good.

What I do know, is that these 5 joints sell top notch stuff. Like I said before, in no particular order: Pomperdale (Fort Lauderdale, 6/18/08)—Pastrami Queen (Boca Raton, 12/12/08)—Sage (Hallandale Beach, 5/22/08)—Ben’s of Boca (Boca Raton, 3/8/08)—Pastrami Club (Lauderhill, 3/3/08).

You guys know that I eat all over. What I can tell you, is that when I want the best, these are the 5 joints that come to mind.

***** Dean Anthony’s Express, 1449 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33431 (561) 988-2202.

The folks in Boca Raton just-lucked out…let me explain.

Dean Anthony’s is a “mom & pop” red sauce Italian joint which currently has 1 full- restaurant in Wellington and 1 full-restaurant in Boynton Beach. Two days ago…in a real-small Boca Raton strip center a Dean Anthony’s Express opened… which if you forget about a few window-counter seats, is a takeout-only joint.

Over the years, I must have eaten in the Dean Anthony’s restaurants at least 10 times…I rank these joints right up there with the “best” in the mom & pop South Florida Italian category. By the way, before the Jeff Eats’ website crashed a few years ago, there was a very favorable review on the full-restaurants. On my to do list, is a revisit for an updated “opinion”…

Last night, I tried Dean Anthony’s Express…the menu is loaded with appetizers, salads, pastas, sandwiches, chicken wings (something like 12 different sauces), entrees, pizzas… I did a plain pizza, penne alla vodka, chicken parmigiana, greek salad, garlic rolls, cheese calzone, chicken wings (honey garlic), meatballs-spaghetti…everything I “sampled” was real-good. Gourmet food? Now, let’s not play dopey here! This is a takeout red- sauce -joint, but I am telling you, that give or take a handful of restaurants, this Dean Anthony’s Express is as good as neighborhood takeout gets. One thing that I gotta single out here for special treatment, the pizza…plain old slice with sauce/cheese—one of the best slices I have had down here in South Florida…let’s call it a real NY slice.

As for prices…strictly neighborhood prices. 10 wings $7.99–Greek salad (enough for 2) $9.99–a large pizza goes for $13.99. You definitely won’t go broke ordering from this joint.

You folks in Boca Raton really lucked out…I am telling you, that the next time you want takeout, you want to give Dean Anthony’s a try.

The joint is open Monday-Sarurday 11am-9pm and Sunday 3pm-9pm.

***** Liquori’s Fired Up! 5810 South Uniiversity Drive, Davie, Florida 33328 (954) 434-2378.

Liquori’s Fired Up! is a modern decor “wood-oven pizzeria”…

The joint’s menu has loads of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, pizzas and a handful of entrees. You can get details on menu/prices at www.firedupdavie.com.

Did a “taste test” of roasted wings (10 go for $8.75), chicken parm focaccia sandwich (7.95), 8 oz. meatball appetizer ($6.95) and a large plain pizza ($16.95). The verdict— loved the wings with the carmalized onions…juicy and not overdone. Chicken parm was good but I have eaten better, same goes for the meatball…now don’t get me wrong, nothing terrible, but I found the parm and the meatball to be a bit on the bland side. Absolutely loved the pizza, to my “trained” palate…the sauce was the perfect-sweet, the cheese was mild and the crust was thin-crispy.

Service…pizzeria friendly. Prices…same as your favorite neighborhood joint.

Let’s rate Liquori’s a good neighborhood joint. The wings and pizza are worth the trip alone.

Liquori’s is open Monday-Wednesday 11:30am-9pm, Thursday-Saturday 11:30am-10pm and Sunday 12:30pm-9pm.

***** Bobo’s Restaurant, 2938 East Grant Road, Tucson, Arizona 85716 (520) 326-6163.

Yesterday I told you about a terrific Tucson bbq joint named BrushFire BBQ Co. Indulge me one more time…and let me tell you about another absolutely-great Tucson joint… “mom & pop” 5:30am-2pm 60 seat diner–Bobo’s Restaurant.

In a million years, unless you were looking for it… would you ever notice no less stop at this maybe 50-year old hole-in-the wall. The joint is in a non-descript freestanding building in an industrial-setting. Those guys from meal plan ZonaBucks (www.zonabucks.com) took me to this joint, as they were looking to add Bobo’s to their student dining network and thought that I would enjoy this local breakfast-lunch landmark.

Didn’t get a detailed Bobo’s history…but according to current owner Debbie, Bobo passed away years ago.

Anyway…Bobo’s is my kind of a joint. Something like 60 table seats and a handful of counter seating. From every seat in the joint, you can see short-order cooks at the grill working like madmen turning out all kinds of breakfast stuff, sandwiches, burgers, salads, soups, and lunch specials like chicken fried steak and ham steak.

I did breakfast and the western omelette was one of the best that I have ever had as were the home fries…the rye toast, nothing to write home about. I also sampled a sausage-american cheese-onion omelette which was also great. The pancakes are “off the chart” not to mention off the plate…the pancakes hang over the 12″ plates that they are served on. I tried a banana pancake, which was probably the best pancake that I have every eaten. Not sure of how this concoction was made, but this “thing” was amazingly just-right sweet. I didn’t sample the burgers, but I saw the short order guys banging out cheeseburgers and fries that looked absolutely diner-perfect…you know, that “greasy spoon” look that makes you want to load on the ketchup.

I did a quick “survey” of the crowd…and found that on Saturdays and Sundays the all-day line is packed with locals and college students…during the week, local workers/business people keep the joint packed from open to close.

Bobo’s is the perfect joint. It’s got the formica look, staff in Bobo’s tee shirts (if you are wearing one, your soft drink is on the house), hustle and bustle, short order cooks, diner ambiance, easy going crowd, great food, and diner prices…a burger w/fries runs $4.50, omelettes $4.95-$6.95, pancakes $3.50-4.50.

You now know where to eat breakfast-lunch in Tucson.

***** BrushFire BBQ Co., 2745 North Campbell Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85719 (520) 624-3223.

You guys gotta indulge me here…I know Jeff Eats is suppose to be all about South Florida joints, but I got to tell you about BrushFire BBQ Co. in Tucson, Arizona…because it’s that good.

I was recently in Tucson to “consult with” a new “off campus meal plan” which was started in 2009 by two-University of Arizona undergraduates. These guys, about 6- months ago created a company called ZonaBucks (www.zonabucks.com) and contracted with various Tucson restaurants, national chains and basic need merchants to “feed and service” students at the University of Arizona. From what
I can tell, The U of A has a “food court” on campus which isn’t very appetizing or diversified, so ZonaBucks quickly found a huge student- following in that its network has the restaurants-supermarkets-drugstores-haircutters that students frequent. Although it is relatively-new, the company received inquiries from all over the United States to “nationwide” the concept…and the students are now planning to “rebrand” as CampusBucks with national expansion plans. Checkout the website as it is really amazing how “kids” came up with a better student meal plan than the bureaucrats at the U of A did…but then again, we have all heard about Bill Gates and Michael Dell, haven’t we!!

Anyway…on the ZonaBucks network, is a fast-food bbq joint named BrushFire BBQ Co. You order at the counter and the food is then delivered to your table.

Now here’s the story…this little hole in the wall joint…serves some of the best bbq that I have ever tasted. I did bbq beef ribs, bbq pork ribs, bbq chicken, french fries, corn on the cob, mac and cheese, fried chicken wings…incredible. The joint works with 6 sauces (I tried– sweet molasses and honey mustard) so your “order” can be flavored anyway that you like. Checkout BrushfFre’s website www.brushfirebbq.com for menu/prices. The prices are neighborhood sports-bar type prices…real reasonable. How this joint puts out such “high quality” stuff- so cheaply is a mystery to me.

Brushfire is open 7 days a week from 10am-9pm.

So…if you ever get to Tucson, you now have a “must try” place.

***** Henry’s, 16850 Jog Road, Delray Beach, Florida 33446 ( 561) 638-1949.

Got a real-nice “American-style” joint for you…Henry’s, which is located in Delray Beach.

We can make this one real simple…check the joint’s website www.henryofbocaraton.com for menu/prices/photos.

The joint has a beautiful menu…nice selection of appetizers, salads, sandwiches, entrees. Not bad prices–Plenty of specials and price fixe dinners ($19.95 range). Real good waitstaff

Let’s talk food…did a turkey meatloaf, bbq ribs, chicken marsala, veal parmigiana, crab cakes. Absolutely nothing to complain about.

This is a real good joint to know about, when you are looking for “old style” comfort food. Now keep in mind, this isn’t some roadside dump-diner (which happens to be old Jeff Eats’ establishment of choice) but rather, a nice looking but not too fancy joint…if you check that website, you’ll see photos that will tell you the whole story in about 1 second.

Henry’s does lunch Monday-Friday 11:30am-2:30pm and Saturday noon-2:30pm and dinner Sunday-Thursday 5:30pm-9pm and Friday-Saturday 5:30pm-10pm.

***** Gary Woo Express, 9874 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33498 (561) 483-4889.

Let me be straight-up with you guys…years ago, Gary “Woo” was a neighbor of mine…best friends, nope, but I know the guy. I remember when he opened his first joint- China Dumpling (Boynton Beach), his second joint-Gary Woo’s Asian Bistro (Boca Raton)…if you check, I rated China Dumpling one of the best Chinese restaurants in South Florida. To date, I have not reviewed the Asian Bistro.

Anyway…a few months ago a new strip center opened in Boca Raton…Gary Woo Express is the Chinese “anchor”…this is a takeout -only joint.

Let me start off by saying, that the food that this joint is cranking out is top-notch. Now, in most likelihood, I haven’t gotten stuff from your favorite neghborhood haunt, but based on 2-takeout outings…I’m gonna bet that Gary Woo’s food is better than the food you have been schleping home.

Recent taste-tests of…wonton soup, egg rolls, bbq ribs. pan fried dumplings, roast pork fried rice, sweet sour pork, general tso’s chicken, shrimp in lobster sauce…top-notch. I couldn’t find one item to really complain about.

At this stage of the game…checkout Gary Woo Express website www.garywooexpress.com for menu/prices.

I do have one problem with the joint…some of the prices are off-the chart…waaaaay tooo expensive.

So…you guys now know about a top-notch Chinese takeout joint.

Gary Woo Express is open Monday-Friday 11:30am-10pm and Saturday-Sunday 3pm-10pm.

***** Slice & Ice, 3024 Southwest 27th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33133 (305) 461-9190.

Let me take you back to Brooklyn circa 1965…15 cents slices, 5 cents Cokes, 10 cents single scoop of Italian ices…now if that isn’t heaven, I don’t what is…or shall I say, was.

Slice & Ice is located in Coconut Grove…not sure how long this freestanding hole in the wall Italian joint has been around, so I’m gonna guess 20 years. Order at window, pickup at another window. You are not going to be eating-in at this joint.

Slice & Ice has a “what you would expect menu”…the game here is PIZZA & ICES.

Great slice of pizza…crispy with a real nice sweet sauce. Handful of different flavored ices. Almost Nirvana…but the slices arent 15 cents…the Coke isn’t 5 cents, the ices aren’t 10 cents.

Don’t worry, you won’t need a second job to pay the tab.

The next time you are in the Grove, grab a slice and ice…and enjoy the “people traffic flow”…The joint is open, Monday-Thursday 11am-1am, Friday 11am-4am, Saturday noon-4am and Sunday 11am-11am.

***** Orient Diner, 1725 South Federal Highway, Delray Beach, Florida 33483 (561) 243-2688.

Orient Diner is a “mom & pop” Chinese joint…aren’t they all? I know all about P. F. Chang’s …this is a relatively new 28-seater having opened in March, 2009. Modern decor, with a glass wall that let’s you watch your food being prepared. Neighborhood prices and service.

Now…I’m a bit confused as to its owners’ “history”…some kind of connection to the Oriient Palace Restaurant that use to be in Delray Beach—the Orient Palace (takeout) in Boca Raton—5 Spice Asian Street Market in Boca Raton …anyway, you sort it out, but the Orient Palace Restaurant had real-good food, the Orient Palace (takeout) has lousy food and 5 Spice Asian has horrendous food.

Anyway…first things first, check Orient Diner’s website www.orientdiner.com for menu/prices. Now, let’s get down to the “taste test”…wonton soup (good), egg rolls (good), pan fried dumplings (good), bbq ribs (good), general tso’s chicken (very good), moo shoo pork (very good), shrimp in black bean sauce (very good), roast pork fried rice (good).

As I mentioned before, something like 28 seats…so it’s a real small joint. I think the “plan” here—as it is in most Chinese joints—lots of takeout.

So my friends, if you live in Boca Raton-Delray Beach…you now have a decent-enough Chinese joint to do business at. China Diner is open Tuesday-Friday 11am-9:30pm, Saturday noon-9:30pm, Sunday 4pm-9:30pm, closed on Monday.