***** Umberto’s of Long Island Pizza & Restaurant, 23001 State Road 7, Boca Raton, Florida 33428 (561) 477-2500.

Way back, on April 25, 2008 I told you guys about a terrific pizza joint that I had found—Umberto’s in Pompano Beach. Over the past 2- years I’ve been to “this” Umberto’s maybe 5-6 times and the pizza has always been terrific. Real NYC styled pizza, thin-crisp-sweet sauce-oil drips out of the slice when pointed down.

If you do some Googling…you will find that there are literally more Umberto’s in Florida than there are Chins in a Chinese phonebook. Sort of like, Ray’s Pizza in NYC, with everyone claiming to be the “original”…

Anyway…since my writeup in April 2008, the Umberto’s that I am talking about, added 3 more locations. I’ll give you all of the addresses at the end of this story.

Last night I had a “Grandma” pizza…square (but not as thick as a Sicilian pizza) at the Boca Raton joint. Absolutely delicious. One of the best pizzas I’ve had down here in South Florida.

So…I thought I’d remind and update you guys on where you can get some heavy duty delicious pizza. By the way, Umberto’s does salads, pastas, calzones, and other stuff—but the real game here, is outrageously good pizza.

Now for the addresses:

Boca Raton: 23001 State Road 7 (I know that the address is at the top of the writeup, but I’m making a list here for you guys).

Pompano Beach: 2780 East Atlantic Boulevard, (954) 784-7110.

Fort Lauderdale: 3051 East Commercial Boulevard (954) 776-0258.

Deerfield Beach: 233 Northeast Avenue (aka North Ocean Drive) (954) 421-7200.

***** Village Tavern, 1880 North Congress Avenue, Boynton Beach, Florida 33426 (561) 853-0281.

Last night I gave Village Tavern an “American Style” joint located in Boynton Beach a shot…there is also a Village Tavern in Pembroke Pines—when you check the joint’s website www.villagetavern.com for menu/prices you will find that there are a handful more in several other states.

Village Tavern seats something close to 300. There is a dining room and separate bar area.

The best way to describe Village Tavern’s decor—think Cheesecake Factory, Houston’s, J. Alexander’s and you got the picture.

Last night, this joint was jammed. I will tell you, that an 8pm reservation for 4–was honored.

Now let’s talk food…the menu is loaded with appetizers, salads, pastas, sandwiches, burgers, pizzas, meat-seafood-chicken entrees. This evening I “did” bbq pulled pork sliders (3-with french fries $8.50), bacon cheeseburger ($9.95), grilled talapia ($16.95), grilled chicken & penne ($14.50), shrimp scampi ($15.95)…I enjoyed all of the food, except the french fries which were on the “limp” side.

Village Tavern is a WINNER. Nice sized portions. Very reasonable prices. Pleasant and competent waitstaff.

Village Tavern is open Monday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-11am, Sunday 10am-11pm.

***** Philippe, 2305 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida 33139 (305) 674-0250.

Philippe is a VERY UPSCALE WHITE TABLECLOTH CHINESE RESTAURANT…this joint is 2-floors, seats 400 and is located in the Gansevoort Hotel. You can check www.philippechow.com for menu/prices/photos.

Got some good news and bad news here…first the good news, the food is very good…now for the bad news, the prices are obscene, that’s right OBSCENE. I recently did, wonton soup ($10), 3 spring rolls ($22), spare ribs ($18), 6 pork fried dumplings ($12), sweet & sour chicken (for 2-$44), sweet & sour pork (for 2-$52), roast pork fried rice (for 2-$12), chicken & broccoli (for 2-$44). Like I said before, VERY GOOD.

Now– I don’t know what your favorite South Florida Chinese joint is…but, I’ll bet that Philippe’s food is as good if not better…that said, I’m also willing to bet, that your favorite “mom & pop” is at least half the price per “dish”– and that you get a whole lot more food for your money.

By now it should be obvious, that Philippe isn’t your typical “Special $7.95”–appetizer-soup-main dish-white rice-dessert… neighborhood Chinese joint. That said, Monday-Saturday from noon-4pm you can get soup/or appetizer, entree, white rice, dessert for $20.10…not exactly a bargain basement type deal, but a vast improvement over the dinner-menu prices.

So…do we spend the cash at the upscale joint–or do we stay with the neighborhood joints? I say, what the heck, you only go-round once, so give Philippe a shot…but not too often, now!!

Philippe is open for lunch- Monday-Saturday noon-4pm…for dinner- Monday-Saturday 6pm-midnight & Sunday 3pm-midnight.

***** New York New York Restaurant, 11011 Southwest 104th Street, Miami, Florida 33176 (305) 595-8000.

Let me start off by saying, that New York New York is my kind-a of joint…other reviewers have labeled it a “New York Style Deli”…personally, I’d call it “New York Style Deli Meets New York Style Greek Diner.” The joint has been around since 1978 and if you check its menu at www.newyorknewyorkrestaurant.com you will find that it literally has everything from bagels & cream cheese–to pastrami on rye–to blackened grouper– to fettuccini alfredo–to shrimp creole. That my friends says NY DELI-GREEK DINER.

Anyway…the food is very-very good. If I lived near this joint, I’d be there at least twice a week and end up weighing around 527. Then again, I could always buy one of those “Spanx” undershirts and eat there every day. New York New York does breakfast-lunch-dinner. A recent outing had me “sampling”… pastrami on rye, chicken salad on white toast, bacon cheese burger, rumanian skirt steak, stuffed cabbage, potato pancakes, matzo ball soup, chopped chicken liver. Special mention goes out to the potato pancakes and the chicken salad…outstandingly delicious.

New York New York is open Monday-Thursday 7:30am-11pm, Friday 7:30am-midnight, Saturday 8am-midnight, Sunday 8am-11pm.

***** Eats Good 33, 6882 Northwest 20th Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309 (954) 956-4480.

Got a really good “hole in the wall” breakfast-lunch joint for you…Eats Good 33 in Fort Lauderdale. You can check eatsgood.com for menu/prices.

Just so we are straight, Eats Good 33 isn’t a bagel-deli joint. For sure, you can get scambled eggs with bacon or a cheeseburger—but a great selection of wraps, salads, soups, panini, arepas, makes this joint worth the drive.

A recent outing had me doing—arepa (roast pork-ham-swiss cheese-avocado–$6), panini (steak, cheese, onion–$8), bacon cheeseburger–$8.50, spaghetti carbonara–$7…the food is absolutely terrific.

Eats Good 33 is open Monday-Friday 7:30am-4pm.

La Stella’s Restaurant & Catering, 159 East Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33432 (561) 544-2081.

Just got back from eating dinner at La Stella’s…a 30 seat “mom & pop” Italian joint in Boca Raton. Wanna talk about mom-pop?… the lady owner is both waitress/bus-girl…same goes for a family guy-friend who is both waiter/bus-boy. You can check La Stella’s menu/prices/photos at www.lastellasrestaurantandcatering.com.

This evening my “selected” entree was chicken scarpiello (on the bone)—the dish was so loaded with cherry and fried peppers that it was borderline inedible. A guy at the next table, told me-he also thought that the chicken scarpiello was way-way too spicy and that he would need some Rolaids when he got home.

Lucky for me, “my table” also ordered—house salad, gnocchi, eggplant parmigiana, grilled chicken, meat-balls and fresh mozzarella flatbread—which I got to taste… all very good. So, in total—we had 7 dishes, 6 were just fine and 1-was a disaster, which is an .857 batting average.

Just so you know, I found the service to be super-friendly but amateurish…it sort of reminded me of children-stars Shirley Temple and Mickey Rooney “doing a show.” The portions were ok…but too pricey for what showed up. The entrees came with NOTHING…no salad, no pasta side…and get-this, no bread. That’s right, no BREAD. Humor me, take an hour or two…give me the name of the last Italian restaurant that you ate at that didn’t serve you garlic knots or garlic bread or any type of bread. Go for it, I’m looking forward to hearing from you guys.

Let’s sum La Stella’s up this way…a “no-liquor” $142 bill for 4 people was not a good deal. If the owner gets real-waiters, has garlic bread when you sit down, throws in soup or salad–and a pasta side with entrees, gets rid of those “peppers”—Jeff Eats will be back for a second go-round.

La Stella’s is open Tuesday-Saturday 5pm-10pm and Sunday 5pm-9pm.

***** Two Brothers Pizzeria, 13740 Southwest 84th Street, Miami, Florida 33183, (305) 403-7552.

Two Brothers Pizzeria is a “mom & pop” red sauce Italian joint…or is it a “two brothers” red sauce Italian joint? Not sure, but you guys know exactly what I am talking about… by the way…there are 2-of these joints, the other is located at 8424 Mills Drive, Miami, Florida 33183 (305) 595-7559. Finally, this review is about the 13740 joint…haven’t been to the other one.

As you know…there are more “mom & pop” red sauce Italian joints down here in South Florida, than there are Chins in a Chinese phonebook (thank you Soupy Sales). I have eaten in tons and I do mean tons of these joints and…most are just a blur to me. To be honest with you, most of these red sauce places are basically the same…save me some time here, you know the routine—garlic knots, minestrone soup, pasta side, “veal parm” entree—18 or so-bucks.

Let me make this real simple…Two Brothers Pizzeria is one of the better “red sauce” joints down here in South Florida. A recent outing had me doing—pizza, veal parmigiana, chicken marsala, shrimp scampi, penne alla vodka. The pizza was thin-crispy-sweet sauce—delicious. For sure, this is a mom & pop joint—but I am telling you, that Two Brothers for some reason-is better than most of the joints that I have been to. Is it the delicious sweet sauce on the veal parm, the huge portions, reasonable prices, the dynamite garlic knots baked just right and not overly drenched–I just don’t know. What I do know, is that I’ll remember Two Brothers the next time I’m down in the Kendall area.

Give this joint a shot…it’s real good. Two Brothers is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

***** The Original Lots of Lox Deli, 14995 South Dixie Highway, Miami, Florida 33176 (305) 252-2010.

The Original Lots of Lox Deli which has been around for 30-something years, is a “NY Style Bagel-Deli”…located in Palmetto Bay.

First things first, yes–I tried the joint’s nova and it was delicious…with that out of the way, let, me tell you that this 7 days a week 7am-9pm joint is one of the better “bagel-deli” joints that I have eaten in down here in South Florida.

Great selection– of bagels, all kinds of appetizing, breakfast items, salads, sandwiches, burgers, dinner entrees. Take a look at The Original’s website www.originallotsoflox.com for menu/prices/pictures.

I recently did a corned beef on rye, chicken salad on white toast, sweet and sour stuffed cabbage, bacon cheeseburger, meat loaf, brisket on a kaiser roll, matzo ball soup…I liked everything.

The Original Lots of Lox Deli is a winner. If you live or work in the area, give it a shot.

***** Jet Runway Cafe, 5540 Northwest 21st Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309 (954) 958-9900.

I am now going to do you a solid and tell you about “breakfast-lunch” joint, Jet Runway Cafe. I am willing to bet, that you would never hear about or for that matter find this joint without old Jeff Eats’ help.

Jet Runway Cafe is located right next to Fort Lauderdale’s Executive Airport. You can watch airplanes/helicopters takeoff and land while you eat breakfast or lunch. Take a look at Jet’s website www.jetrunwaycafe.com for menu/prices…you will also find photos of this joint and directions on how to get to it.

Jet Runway Cafe is not…I repeat NOT some “mom & pop” neighborhood diner. Let’s call it a semi-upscale breakfast-lunch joint, but your shorts/tee shirt ensemble will work just fine.

During the past 2 weeks, I did both a breakfast and lunch. The food is terrific…my sampling included– western omelet ($8.95), almond crusted french toast ($8.25), cheeseburger ($9.50), meatloaf ($11.95), crab cake sandwich ($10.50).

On the pricing front, not exactly bargain basement stuff, but nothing too terrible. Service was very pleasant and efficient.

Like I said before, not– a “mom & pop” joint…the place is really cool in that it is basically an upscale diner with an airport runway as background decor.

You got to check this one out.

Jet Runway Cafe is open Monday-Friday 7:30am-3pm and Saturday-Sunday 7:30am-2pm.

***** Mike’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant, 4254 Southwest 152nd Avenue, Miami, Florida 33186 (305) 551-2040.

Recently had dinner at a Kendall “mom & pop–red sauce” Italian joint…Mike’s Pizzeria & Italian Restaurant.

Did pizza, veal parmigiana, chicken milanase, eggplant parmigiana—food was A-okay, fairly priced.

If I lived in the neighborhood, I’d definitely consider it for eat-in/takeout.

You can check its website www.mikespizzaonline.com for menu/prices/photos.

Mike’s is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm.