*****  Rosalita’s Tex-Mex Grill, 5949 Congress Avenue, Atlantis, Florida 33462, (561) 964-5747.

Last night, I ate at a Tex/Mex joint aptly named Rosalita’s Tex-Mex Grill…and I have to tell you, that the food, service and ambiance were absolutely terrific. This family-owned joint, has been around something like 13 years and I am sorry that I didn’t “get there” sooner…Take a look at Rosalita’s website www.rosalitas-tex-mex-grill.com  for menu/prices/photos/details.

Just so you know, tee shirts/shorts are just fine… reasonable prices…plenty of  good food for the money…very pleasant wait-staff…and a very relaxed easy going decor.

Last night I got to practice my Spanish…ordering, tortilla soup, taco salad, chicken quesadilla, beef taco, chicken taco, cheese enchilada and shrimp fajita. Amazingly, the waitress got the order perfect…so there is still hope for folks (like me) who got a “D” in high school espanol.

Rosalita’s is open 7-days a week for lunch and dinner.

*****  Hong Kong Cafe’, 2100 45th Street, West Palm Beach, Florida 33407 (561) 845-6698.

Hong Kong Cafe’ is an “all-you-can-eat-Chinese-buffet” joint. Large selection of soups, seafood/beef/pork/chicken dishes, sushi and desserts…clean, well run…decent food…lunch $7.25…dinner $10.25 (Monday-Thursday) $11.25 (Friday-Sunday).

If I counted correctly, there were 40 different face stuffing items. Gourmet food?…not exactly, but the food for a buffet joint was quite good. The won ton soup, bbq ribs, snow crab, honey chicken and egg rolls had me going back for seconds.

If you live in Hong Kong’s neighborhood, this is a good place to know about. Tons of decent food for dirt cheap money.

Hong Kong Cafe’ is open for lunch Monday-Friday 11am-2:30pm, Saturday noon-2:30pm and Sunday noon-4pm…and for dinner Monday-Thursday 5pm-9pm and Friday-Sunday 4:30pm-9pm. By the way, the snow crab is only served at dinner-time.

*****  Christina Wan’s Mandarin House, 644 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304 (954) 527-0228.

Christina Wan’s is an “upscale” Chinese joint… but don’t worry, you can wear your tee shirt/shorts ensemble. Check Christina Wan’s website www.christinawans.com for menu/prices/photos/details.

Let me do it this way…wonton soup (4/5)…pan fried pork dumplings (4/5)…barbeque ribs (3/5)…sweet & sour chicken (3/5)…broccoli beef (4/5)…mu shu pork (4/5)…shrimp with lobster sauce (4/5)…chicken chow mein (4/5). I could run the averages, but math isn’t my strong suit…so let’s just say, that Christina Wan’s will definitely be seeing me again.

Pretty looking joint…decent service…good food…menu prices that aren’t exactly bargain-basement, but they won’t send you to the poorhouse.

Christina Wan’s is open Monday-Thursday 11:30am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11:30am-10:30pm and Sunday 1pm-10pm.

*****  New Chinatown Restaurant, 5958 South Dixie Highway, Miami, Florida 33143, (305) 662-5649.

My “on-going quest” to find good New York Chinese Food down here in South Florida brought me (last night) to a joint named New Chinatown Restaurant in South Miami. Now hear this…the round-trip car ride of 110 miles was worth the $3.89 per gallon.

Not exactly upscale…but probably nicer looking than your neighborhood favorite, New Chinatown has been in business something like 25 years. The menu is loaded with all of the standards and I have to tell you that the wonton soup/egg roll/roast pork fried rice/ spare ribs/General Tso’s chicken/lobster cantonese/pepper steak were all very good…this was some of the best Chinese food that I have eaten in South Florida. Would this joint make it in New York City’s Chinatown?…I think it would.

New Chinatown is open Monday-Thursday 11:30am-11pm, Friday-Saturday 11:30am-11:30pm and Sunday noon-11pm.

This “one” is a rare find…

*****  Phyllis G’s Engima, 2717 North Federal Highway, Delray Beach, Florida 33483 (561) 243-6372.

One of my favorite “American-Style” restaurants in all-of-South Florida is Phyllis G’s Engima. Over the past few years, I must have eaten in this joint at least 25 times. Just so you know, this is not a fancy joint and tee shirts/shorts are just fine…Phyllis G’s in a former life, was a gas station.

This joint’s menu is packed with soups, burgers, meat/chicken/seafood entrees. I am telling you…the food is as good as the stuff served in some of South Florida’s finest-famous-expensive joints. Last night I had grilled lamb-chops ($22) that came with salad, potato and vegetable side, that were absolutely incredible… I also “sampled” the chicken marsala, onion soup and snapper francaise…all terrific.

You “have to”…make that you “must try” Phyllis G’s. This is a very casual joint, that gives you tons of great food, at very reasonable prices. Super pleasant owners, easy going servers… complete the package.

Phyllis G’s is open 7 days a week for dinner.

*****  Original Big Tomato, 12447 South Dixie Highway,  Pinecrest-Miami, Florida 33156 (305) 233-3344.

Got a great “fast-food” pizza joint for you…Original Big Tomato, which is located in Pincrest-Miami. This joint which has been around since 1994 makes some absolutelty delicious pizzas, wraps, salads, and panini sandwiches. The system is real- easy… order at/pickup at the counter and grab a table.

Check this joint’s website at www.bigtomatopizza.net  for menu/prices/details.  The website also has photos of the above mentioned pizzas-wraps-salads-panini…I can attest, that the food you get looks exactly like the stuff shown…and it’s terrific.

If you live in Pinecrest, the odds say that you already know about this joint…anyway, Original Big Tomato is open Monday-Thursday 11am-9pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-10pm and Sunday noon-9pm.

*****  The Fab Faux, Parker Playhouse, 707 NE 8th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304 (954) 462-0222… September 27, 2008.

If you like-love The Beatle’s music, you owe it to yourself to see The Fab Faux which in my opinion, is the #1 Beatles’ tribute act in the world. That’s right, I said “world.” Of course, I haven’t seen “all” of the tribute-cover acts out there, but I am telling you that The Fab Faux is a different kind of cat.

Unlike the “millions” of Beatle tribute-cover bands that roam the planet, The Fab Faux doesn’t try to look like the original Beatles physically or by donning costumes. As a matter of fact, The Fab Faux has 5 musicians…and that should tell you something.

Do yourself a big favor and go to the Parker Playhouse’s website at www.parkerplayhouse.com and check The Fab Faux’s ticket listing. You should also checkout The Fab Faux’s videos listed on YouTube www.youtube.com. The Fab Faux also has a website www.thefabfaux.com which will provide you with everything that you need to know about this group.

I am telling you…the music played by The Fab Faux is as close to “hearing” The Beatles live as you will ever come. The Fab Faux’s Parker Playhouse September 27, 2008 appearance is an absolute don’t miss event.

*****  Sun-Sentinel.com/diningdeals

The “Sun Sentinel” has a terrific deal going…selling various restaurants’ gift certificates for 50 cents on the dollar…$50 for a $100 certificate…$25 for a $50 certificate.

Various restaurants are listed…new restaurants are added on Fridays at 9am…there are a limited number of certificates for each restaurant…you pay on-line by credit card. This is strictly a FIRST COME-FIRST SERVED deal…so it pays to check the website often and buy certificates as soon as they are listed.

This is a terrific way to save 50% on your restaurant-check.

Check… www.SunSentinel.com/diningdeals for details.

*****  Primavera Restaurant, 830 East Oakland Park Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33327, (954) 564-6363.

Got a real nice “semi-upscale” Northern Italian joint for you…Primavera Restaurant. You’ll need a pair of long-pants to eat here, but the food/service/ambiance/reasonable prices are worth the sacrafice.

Take a look at Primavera’s website at www.trueitalian.com for menu/prices/photos/other details. This website covers all of the bases…so you will know everything about this joint. I have to tell you, that Primavera’s veal chop milanese, chicken marsala and yellowtail snapper  are  absolutely incredible.

Primavera has been around something like 23 years and has an enormous following…so be smart and make a reservation. The joint is open 7 days a week for dinner 5:30pm-10:30pm.

*****  Times Square Pizzeria, 6006 Southwest 18th Street, Boca Raton 33433, Florida  (561) 393-6757.

For the past 15 years, Time Square Pizzeria was a “neighborhood-hole in the wall pizza joint” where I practiced speaking Italian, “Two slices and a large Coke.” The joint made a decent slice…end of story–almost.

About six months ago, Times Square closed…and started a construction project which resulted in its demolishing its existing space and combining it with an empty store next door. The “new” Times Square re-opened for business a few weeks ago and is now a “real” Italian Restaurant…it has large booths and redwood tables for dining…and a wait-staff.

Last night I gave this joint a try… and I have to tell you, that Times Square is probably as good if not better than your favorite neighborhood joint. The menu is loaded with pizzas, pastas, subs, appetizers, chicken/meat/seafood entrees. Just so we are straight, we are not talking gourmet stuff here…we are talking, soup or salad/garlic rolls/ pasta side/shrimp scampi $16.95…veal parmigiana $16.95…chicken marsala $15.95.

If you live in the Boca Raton area, you now know about a “new” joint for eat-in and take-out. Times Square is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.