***** Ryan and The Rockers *****

If classic 1950’s-1960’s Rock N’ Roll is your bag…I got an absolutely great– local cover-band for you…Ryan and The Rockers

I recently caught these guys in action at one of my favorite English pub joints…John Bull English Pub in West Palm Beach (see review: Other: 1/24/09) and they are absolutely sensational. Great–Beatles, Elvis, Holly, Righteous Brothers’ covers.

Check Ryan’s website myspace.com/ryanandtherockers1 to see some real good video and to check their calendar.

Ryan and The Rockers works all over South Florida…bars, restaurants, hotels, private clubs. Lead by Ryan (that makes sense) these 4-guys will take you back to the 50’s-60’s. Great dance band.

Like I said, if 1950’s-1960’s Rock N’ Roll is your game…then you definitely want to catch Ryan and The Rockers.

One final thought…when groups like Ryan and The Rockers work bars-restaurants…there are usually no cover charges to watch them.

***** Restaurant.Com *****

I recently came across Restaurant.Com (restaurant.com).

This company sells “discount” dining certificates. There are loads of South Florida restaurants listed and my “checking” has found that the company is 100% legit. There are all kinds of “deals” offered…with most saving you at least 50%…you know, buy $50 for $25.

Check this site out.

***** Bagels & Co., 11064 Biscayne Boulevard, Miami, Florida 33161 (305) 892-2435.

I-now do you a solid–one of the best bagel-deli joints in all of South Florida…Bagels & Co.

Take a look at this joint’s website www.bagelsandcompany.com for menu/prices/photos.

Now, we could sit and debate “who” makes the best bagels in South Florida…and never ever agree. Is it Sage? Is it Bagel City South? Is it Way Beyond Bagels? Is it???????

What I do know…if a bagel ain’t hand rolled, boiled and then baked…it absolutely-positively can’t be considered “best” of anything.

The bagels at Bagels & Co. are hand rolled, boiled and baked. Now, I am not saying they are the best…but they are RIGHT UP THERE WITH THE BEST!!!

This is a terrific joint. Great bagels. Really good “NYC Jewish Style” deli meats, appetizing. Just so we are straight, this is “still” just a bagel-deli joint, so I don’t want you to confuse it with the top-notch DELIS out there like, Pastrami Queen, Pomperdale’s, Ben’s, Pastrami Club. But…Bagels & Co. does a real good job, in the bagel-deli “arena.”

I am telling you, the bagels alone make this joint…which just happens to be open 6am-4pm 365 days a year…a must try.

***** Duffy’s Diner, 925 Cypress Creek Road, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33334 (954) 491-3584.

By now, you guys know or should know, that I love diners…for sure, some diners are better than others, but nothing beats, that formica look—those greasy burgers, fries covered in ketchup, omeletes-sausage links-bacon, open faced roast beef sandwiches and glass cabinets filled with huge chocolate cakes and cigar-pastries.

Got a real good one for you…Duffy’s Diner in Fort lauderdale. The joint’s menu is loaded with breakfast stuff, salads, soups, sandwiches, entree specials.

The “only” problem…this joint doesn’t do dinner. Duffy’s is open Monday-Friday 6:30am-3pm, Saturday 6:30am-2:30pm and Sunday 6:30am-1:30pm. Doesn’t anyone down here eat breakfast after 3pm? I know that I do.

Anyway…the joint serves breakfast “all-day”…perfect diner food. As far I am concerned, Duffy’s can hold its own against -NYC diners, of course that all ends at mid-afternoon.

This one is a keeper…If you are looking for a DINER, Duffy’s is for you.

***** Hash House Diner, 1602 South Cypress Creek Road, Pompano Beach, Florida 33060 (954) 788-6388.

Got a really good “mom & pop” diner for you…Hash House Diner in Pompano Beach.

From what I understand, this 45 red/white checkerboard table-cloth seater started out 2-years ago as a Hungarian restaurant…then, in April, 2009 a fellow who goes by the name “Chef Quinn” bought it and converted it into a DINER.

Anyway…this fellow Chef Quinn sure knows what he is doing. I did both a breakfast and lunch “outing”…and I got to tell you, the food was really-good.

On the breakfast visit…I sampled a western omelete ($6.49), 2 scrambled eggs-2 pancakes-2 strips of bacon-hash browns ($5.99)…For lunch I “did” 1/4 lb hamburger ($5.99), caesar salad (7.99), chicken parm sub ($6.99). Like I said before, really-good.

I don’t know about you, but I love finding these “strip-center” hole in the walls…the help is great, the prices just right…I think that the most expensive thing on the menu is 11 bucks…and the food “takes me back” to Brooklyn circa 1960.

I definitely want you to try the burgers…The joint does 1/4-1/2-1lb burgers… and I am telling you — the 1/4 pounder I had was diner-perfect. You diner-fans out there, know what “diner-perfect” means.

Hash House has a real nice menu…it isn’t huge, but it has enough breakfast stuff, soups, salads, sandwiches burgers, wings, and dinners…so nobody’s gonna starve.

One thing that needs “correcting”…no way, no how do you serve Hunt’s Catsup…it’s Heinz allll the waaay!

Hash House Diner is open Monday-Saturday 7am-8pm and Sunday 8am-3pm.

If neighborhood diners are your game, this joint will be right up you alley.

***** Teal Bistro Americana, 1103 East Las Olas Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 (954) 712-8933.

Let me start by saying…shorts/tee shirts ain’t gonna work at this semi-upscale-white tablecloth “American-Style” joint. At this juncture, check Teal’s website www.tealbistro.com for menu/prices/photos.

Teal’s is a great looking joint. Save me the trouble of trying to describe the decor and just look at the photos on the website. To my taste, the menu is kind-of limited, but there are enough appetizers, salads and entrees…so no one is gonna starve…At first blush, the prices look a-bit high, but based on how delicious the food is…and how professional the service is…you get your money’s worth. Don’t worry, you won’t need a second job, to pay the bill.

Teal only does-dinner…7 days a week starting at 5pm.

I recently “sampled” the house-chopped salad, aruguela salad, crab cake appetizer, grilled salmon, grilled lamb chops and bone-in rib-eye steak. Every item was delicious. In particular, that 14oz cowboy rib eye, was as good as I have eaten down here in S. Florida… and I thought that the cheddar smashed potatoes that came with it, hit the spot…the $36 price-tag was a bit up there.

This joint has a full-bar…and like I said, a great looking semi-upscale decor. Vibrant crowd…and a terrific hustle-bustle to it, that just adds something to the whole dining experience…

If you can get past the “no shorts” bit…I did…then you definitely want to give Teal Bistro Americana a shot.

***** Sir Pizza, 4231 South LeJune Road, Miami, Florida 33146 (305) 448-4040.

Got an absolutely dynamite “pizza-sub-salad” joint for you…Sir Pizza in Coral Gables.

If you go to the joint’s website www.sirpizzamiami.com you will find menu/prices/photos. Trust me on this one, the “pictured” food tastes as good as it looks and the joint is as “cool looking” as well.

The website has a “whole big story” about Sir Pizza’s original Key Biscayne location…and how this Coral Gables’ spot came to be. Just thought you historians out there would be interested.

The pizza is thin-crisp–just right sweet—cut into little square pieces. I also did a meatball sub, philly cheese-steak sub, sausage stromboli. I am telling, real reasonable prices and really good food.

Sir Pizza is a real easy-going– low key joint. Shorts/tee shirts… I really enjoyed the food and ambiance. The menu has salads, pizzas, subs, burgers, pastas.

The next time you are in Coral Gables… try this joint.

Sir Pizza is open Sunday-Wednesday 10am-11pm and Thursday-Saturday 10am-2am.

***** 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.