*****  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!

*****  John Bull English Pub, 801 Village Boulevard, West Palm Beach, Florida 33409 (561) 697-2855.

I recently had dinner at John Bull English Pub, an “English Pub” that actually breaks the mold…in that its food is absolutely delicious. I usually find, that these English (and for that matter Irish)  pub-joints have food that is borderline-horrendous. Thank God, these-British guys lost the Revolutionary War.  Anyway…at this stage of the review, take a look at John Bull’s website www.johnbullenglishpub.com for menu/prices…there is also a photo that will quickly sum up this joint’s dark-wood decor for you.

For sure, John Bull has some “English dishes” like fish & chips, bangers and mash and shepherds pie…but my “taste-test” drifted to stuff like, crabcakes, grilled pork chops, kobe beef sliders, philly cheesesteak sub, shrimp scampi, turkey pot-pie, french fries and onion rings. I got to tell you, somebody back there- in John Bull’s kitchen really knows how to cook, because the food is realy-really good. Prices are sports-bar prices (maybe a buck or two higher)…service is just fine. Your tee shirts/shorts ensemble works just fine here. By the way, the joint has live bands on Saturday nights and other “entertainment-stuff” going on during the week.

John Bull is a rare-find…like I said before, these type of joints usually don’t have great food, but John Bull absolutely-positively breaks the mold. The joint’s menu is packed with appetizers, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, meat/seafood/chicken entrees and desserts… I promise you, that you will not have to eat “English” food, unless you want to.

John Bull English Pub is open Monday-Friday 11:30am-2am and Saturday-Sunday 5pm-2am.

Thank God we had…George Washington!

*****  Flashback Diner, 3259 SE Federal Highway, Stuart, Florida 34997 (772) 286-1983.

Just so we are straight…this joint’s decor is FAUX…it really isn’t a 90 seat 1940’s-1950’s-1960’s diner…red booths, checker-board tile floor, counter-seating…faux, faux, faux.

Now about the food…Flashback has a menu that could literally choke a horse…breakfast (just for starters, this joint has 30+ omelets listed), appetizers, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, meat/chicken/seafood entrees… Not to mention,  that everything is reasonably priced and the list of “combos” and “specials” is seemingly endless.

Before I tell you the gory-eating details, let me say up-front… that Flashback is my kind of a joint.  Now, I know that it really isn’t 1957 when I eat there, but it’s fun to “make like” it is (feel free to pick your favorite year)…anyway, 3 pals and I shared…philly cheese-steak sub, country fried steak, fried clams, fried filet of sole, chicken salad on toasted rye, bacon cheeseburger, fried chicken, meatloaf sandwich and french fries…let’s just say that, we were in “pig heaven” and can’t wait for our next Flashback-meal. By the way, the service is “diner friendly”…really pleasant.

Why -o-why aren’t joints like this, closer to my home? Flashback is open Sunday-Monday 6am-2pm and Tuesday-Saturday 6am-8pm.

*****  Tentazione Ristorante, 141 North Congress Avenue, Boynton Beach, Florida 33426 (561) 731-2627.

Got a small, but very good-reasonably priced Italian joint for you…Tentazione Ristorante in Boynton Beach. Maybe, the joint has 15 tables and you can see the kitchen from every seat.

Unlike the “mom & pop” chains that dot the  South Florida landscape… this joint doesn’t have you eating in a trellis…Tentazione is a narrow restaurant, with a handful of paintings on the wall and just “regular” tables & chairs. Real casual, so tee shirts and shorts are just fine.

As for the food…very good. As for service…very good. A recent outing found me “sampling” penne alla vodka, fetuccine alfredo, chicken parmigiana, bistecca parmigiana, pizza (nice, thin crust) and lasagna…all at neighborhood pizza joint prices.

Tentazione’s menu of appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, pizzas and seafood/chicken/meat entrees isn’t gigantic, but you will definitely find something to stuff your face with.  If you live in the neighborhood, you now know about a very good joint…Tentazione is open Monday-Friday 11:30am-10pm and Saturday 4:30pm-10pm.

      Nathan’s Famous, 12801 West Sunrise Boulevard (Sawgrass Mills Mall), Sunrise, Florida (954) 846-1394.

This past Sunday, I visited the Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise. While my “better-half” shopped, I killed 3 hours (2:45pm-5:45pm) reading books in Books A Million and seeing how many free-toothpick bourbon chicken samples I could devour.

Sawgrass has 2 large food-courts…with the usual mall-tenants like, Sbarro, Panda Express, Chicken Connection, Subway, Burger King, Auntie Anne’s…One quick observation. Except for Nathan’s Famous, everyone of the food-outlets had beautifully “show-cased” food… and energetic-nimble workers “banging” orders out like crazy.

There are things that I think I know and things that I know I know…and I know for sure that Nathan’s (the chain) which has been around since 1916, serves the best hot-dogs and french fries in the world.

The Sawgrass Nathan’s is an absolute disgrace. The workers are slower than the zombies that star in those Night Of The Living Dead flicks. While watching, there were no “delicious smelling” hot dogs “sizzling” on the grill (as a matter of fact, there was nothing on the grill)…there were two lines, one filled with frustrated people waiting to place an order and another, filled with frustrated people (standing with receipts) waiting for their food. In the span of 20 minutes, I actually watched 17 people walk-away without placing orders, because they obvioulsy didn’t want to play Rip Van Winkle while ordering-picking up fast-food.

Take a look at Nathan’s website at www.nathansfamous.com for menu/details. This fast-food chain has something like 234 outlets…Whoever owns the Sawgrass location…you got “gold” but you have absolutely no idea how to run a fast-food joint.

Mr. Chen’s Hunan Palace, 5130 Linton Boulevard, Delray Beach, Florida 33484 (561) 498-4703.

Last week, I ate lunch at this neighborhood Chinese joint. Mr. Chen’s menu is packed with all of the familiar appetizers, soups, entrees…not to mention, all kinds of combo plates and lunch $6.95-$7.95 “specials.” No question about it, you get a ton of food for your lunch-money…soup, egg roll/or fried chicken wings, fried rice, entree.

Sorry to report…the food isn’t very good. This joint flunked my basic “taste-test”…I did my best to grade Mr. Chen’s on a “curve” and it still couldn’t come-up with a passing grade. Just so you know, I tried the won-ton soup, egg rolls, fried rice, sweet & sour chicken, fried chicken wings, spare ribs, pepper steak, chicken with cashews.

Rather than bore you with the gory details…let’s just say that the won-ton soup had absolutely no taste…for all I know, it could have been hot-tap water. Everything and I do mean everything I tried, literally had no flavor. Whoever was in the back preparing this crap, had absolutely no idea as to how sauces-or seasoning work.

This joint is open 7-days a week for lunch and dinner. Don’t even think about it.

*****  Dyan’s Country Kitchen, 9100 Wiles Road, Coral Springs, Florida 33067 (954) 755-7590.

A short-story for you.

Dyan’s Country Kicthen is a “neighborhood” breakfast-lunch joint…counter-booth-table seating. Take a look at Dyan’s website www.dyanscountrykitchen.com for menu/prices. Absolutely-positively nothing fancy.

Let’s call Dyan’s a real good joint…big breakfasts, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches.

Good food. Good prices. Good wait-staff.

Every NEIGHBORHOOD should have one of these!

Dyan’s is open Monday-Friday 6:30am-3pm and Saturday-Sunday 6:30am-2pm.