***** 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.

***** Hong Kong Noodles, 1242 Northeast 163rd Street, North Miami, Florida 33162 (305) 956-5677.

Hong Kong Noodles is a “mom & pop” Chinese joint…you know exactly what its decor is/price points are/service is…so I won’t bore you with details. This joint is an interesting combination of…”Brooklyn-style/Jewish Chinese food” and “Real Authentic Chinese food.” Regular Jeff Eats’ readers know that old Jeff really isn’t a fan of fried chicken feet-roasted pig head…so, I can’t tell you how this stuff tasted, because I didn’t taste it. What I can tell you, is that… the “Brooklyn” stuff was very good. I did a roast duck that was dynamite…same goes for bbq spare ribs, wonton soup, roast pork fried rice, shrimp in black bean sauce.

Nothing fancy here…roast ducks and pigs hanging decorations…

I really liked this joint. Hong Kong Noodles is open 7 days a week for lunch-dinner.

***** The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co., 14451 South Military Trail, Delray Beach, Florida 33484 (561) 455-7491.

Yesterday morning a new “fast-food” bagel joint opened in Delray Beach…its name, The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. If you check its website www.brooklynwaterbagels.com you will find menu/prices. The “opening” garnered quite a bit of local interest, with both the Sun Sentinel and Palm Beach Post doing “cover stories” on the opening. Just so you know, the Delray Beach location is a “prototype” store for a planned franchise-chain, which is owned/operated by Steven Fassberg and Larry Feldman. You guys should also know, that I personally know both Feldman and Fassberg…Fassberg is an extremely knowledgeable restaurant man having owned a number of delis in New York and South Florida…Feldman is a “major player” in the enormously successful Subway chain. I’ll leave you guys to “Google” both Fassberg and Feldman if you want more info on them.

The Original’s “hook” is that it claims to have a patented technology that can convert “local water” into the same consistency as that of Brooklyn’s public water supply. I really don’t have the time or inclination to get into it, but many believe that “it’s the water” that makes New York City’s bagels so great. Over the years, I’ve heard more “Brooklyn water” stories than their are stories in the Haftorah (for the non Jews out there, ask your Jewish friends for a translation). Anyway, your guess is as good as mine, as to The Original Brooklyn Water Co.’s water claims.

Now…let’s talk about the important stuff, decor-service-food.

Like I said before, this is basically a “fast food” operation…order at the counter and your food is delivered to the table. The decor, is Wendy’s-Burger King-McDonald…one whole side of the 3,000 sq.ft space has a see-through window, where you can watch the “water-treatment” plant and bagel baking operation. To be personally honest with you, I found the watching-through-glass “deal” to be on the gimmicky side.

Now let’s talk food….the menu is jammed with all kinds of bagels, bialys, soups, salads, sandwiches, cream cheeses, butters, smoked fish…trust me on this, the selection is outrageous, you absolutely-positively will not be disappointed. After 4pm the joint also offers $9.95 “dinner specials” which include- entree, potato, vegetable, beverage and dessert…the entrees are–fresh turkey, roast beef, roast chicken, chicken cordon bleu, chicken francese, corned beef with cabbage.

Yesterday…I “taste tested”…everything bagel, sesame bagel, pumpernickel bagel—scallion cream cheese, tuna salad, chicken salad, ham & cheese omelet, . Now for the results…the bagels were very good–were they the best that I have had down here in South Florida? No!..but they were very good. The tuna salad and chicken salad were delicious…the chicken salad was exceptionally good with big chunks of chicken–the omelet which came with a bagel and french fries was done just right.

As for prices and service… let me ballpark this for you, omelets run $5.45-$6.45, bagels with cream cheese or butter go for $1.69-$2.99, sandwiches $4.95-$6.95…the most expensive item on the menu is a nova-whitefish-baked salmon salad at $10.95. As for service, keep in mind that you order at the counter and food is delivered to your table…so there is “no tipping”…for a brand new joint, everything ran smoothly when I was there.

I really liked The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co…it has a great menu, reasonable prices, very good food. Like I said before, the “water treatment” angle seems a bit hokey to me. I will also tell you, that Fassberg-Feldman couldn’t have picked a worse location for the first store. It is located in a miniscule-non-descript shopping center on Military Trail…if you weren’t looking for the joint, you probably wouldn’t even notice it.

Based on Day-One,The Original Brooklyn Water Bagel Co. has a shot to run circles around other “self-service counter” bagel joints like Einstein Bros. and Offerdahls Cafe. The joint is open 7-days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

***** Gramercy Bagels and Deli, 15200 Jog Road, Delray Beach, Florida 33446 (561) 496-5400.

The folks in Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and Boca Raton just got real lucky…About 2-weeks ago a “New York Style” bagel-deli joint named Gramercy Bagels opened in the Atlantic Plaza Shoppes…and I gotta tell you, based on today’s-lunch this place is going to be an absolute homerun.

At this juncture, I would suggest that you check Gramercy’s website
gramercybagels.com for menu/prices/photos.

Today, I did lunch…first off, Gramercy Bagels is 5500 square feet…for the non-carpenters out there, that’s big. When you enter the store, there is an enormous and I do mean enormous area for takeout stuff…soups, salads, sandwiches, meats-smoked fish, pastries, bagels, bialys…you name it and its probably there. There is also a dining room which seats 155. To give you some idea of what we are talking about here, the owner Andy Hopta told me that all 26 types of bagels, bialys, breads, flagels, salads, soups…are prepared in-house. Just so you know, the bagels are made the “right way”…boiled and then baked.

Anyway…if you check Gramercy’s website you will find a handful of photos which really show the joint-off. Let’s just say, that this is one of the most attractive-looking bagel-deli joints that I have been to. When you look at the takeout-cases, you’ll be like a kid in a candy store…you are going to want to try everything.

As for the old food-test…matzo ball soup (A), pastrami (B), corned beef (B+), chopped liver (A), chicken salad (B+), potato salad (A), cole slaw (A), macaroni salad (A), Israeli salad (A), cucumber salad (A), french fries (B+ only Nathan’s gets an (A), everything bagel (A), pumpernickel bagel (A), rye bread (A), raspberry ruglah (B), cinammon ruglah (B+), coffee (A). For you weisenheimers out there, I just “tasted” a-drop of everything and there were 3-of us at the table. Also note, the (A) for coffee…one of the best cups I have had in a long long long time.

Prices are neighborhood bagel-deli prices. Service, you’d never know that this joint has only been open 2-weeks…real smooth operation.

There are a ton of bagel-deli joints in South Florida. This is one of the best ones that I have eaten in.

Gramercy Bagels is open 7 days a week 7am-4pm.

***** Cafe Italia, 3471 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33306 (954) 561-3900.

First things first…no shorts.

Under normal circumstances, that “no shorts” thing would put the old kabash on this joint…but a couple of you guys so highly recommended Cafe Italia that I made an exception to my-rule.

Let’s call Cafe Italia a “semi-upscale” Italian joint. Nothing really ultra-fancy here, but it is definitely-not a neighborhood pizza joint. The prices aren’t terrible, figure 15-20% higher than the local talent that “we” usually frequent. Service is real good. By the way, the joint is located in the lobby of an office building.

Cafe Italia’s menu isn’t huge…but you’ll find something to eat. Checkout its website
cafeitaliaristorante.com for menu/photos.

Now let’s talk food. You “recommenders” were right on the money…the food is absolutely delicious. I did a veal marsala, eggplant parmigiana, penna alla vodka and meat-lasagna and this stuff holds its own–against the best that I have eaten down here.

Cafe Italia is open 7-days a week 5:30pm-10:30pm.

***** Hot Pie Pizza & Bar, 123 South Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida 33416 (561) 655-2511.

Let me start by saying that I heard about Hot Pie Pizza & Bar…by reading the Sun Sentinel’s- Judith Stocks’ “Dining finds” column (8/6/09)…and from a post that I received from Jim H. on 8/6/09 in the “comments-section” of “The 9 Best Coal Oven Joints In South Florida which was a writeup that Jeff Eats ran on May 22, 2009.

Okay…credit given.

Hot Pie Pizza & Bar is a “coal oven pizza-wing” joint…which happens to make some absolutely delicious pizza and wings. If you check the joint’s website www.hotpiepizza.com you will find a menu that in addition to pizza-wings also has 3-appetizers, 3-salads, 3-sandwiches, 3-sides, 4-entrees, 1-dessert (root beer float).

This evening I did a small wings (10-$8.95), large plain-old-pizza ($13.95), house salad (for 2-$7.95), penne with bolognaise ($11.95)…everything and I do mean everything was really-good.

Hot Pie Pizza & Bar is a winner…modern looking, pleasant service, reasonable prices and great food. Another beautiful thing about this joint, is that it has “just enough” of a selection, so that if coal oven pizza-wings aren’t your game, you won’t go home without eating…As for only having 1-dessert–let’s just say, root beer floats, don’t float my boat. I’m more a cannoli kinda guy.

Like I said before, back on May 22, 2009 I gave you guys 9 of my favorite “coal oven” joints…let’s just say, that if I had eaten in Hot Pie before I concocted that list, it would have been on it. Oh Well!

Hot Pie is open 7 days a week from 11am-11pm.

***** Two Dino’s Pizza Company, 2145 North University Drive, Coral Springs, Florida 33071 (954) 344-3441.

Last week, I was in Coral Springs…a “Grand Opening” banner caught my eye, so that’s how I “first” ended up eating in Two Dino’s Pizza Company. It’s a “mom & pop” red sauce Italian joint with a menu loaded with appetizers, salads, wings, subs, pastas, pizzas (whole and by the slice), entrees (meat-seafood-chicken).

Anyway…I did a “slice” ($2.45), 1/2 chicken parm sub, 1/2 sausage peppers & onions, 1/2 meatball sub…those 1/2 subs ran $4.95 a piece, a whole sub goes for $8.95…

Gourmet stuff? Now let’s not be silly here. What I will tell you, is that the pizza and subs were all delicious. The pizza was thin/sweet sauce…the subs were on a nice crispy hero bread.

Now for the kicker…last night I “returned” for a second outing…chicken marsala ($13.95), rigatoni ala vodka ($12.95) and clams over linguine white sauce ($15.95), garlic rolls… real good stuff, with that chicken marsala being especially good. By the way, entrees at this joint come with soup or salad and garlic rolls.

You guys now know about a “new player” in the mom & pop game. Two Dino’s is open is open Monday-Thursday 11am-10pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-11pm and Sunday noon-9pm.

***** China Cafe, 8903 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33434 (561) 482-4533.

Let’s call China Cafe the new kid on the block…this Chinese takeout/delivery joint has been open for something like 1 week..just so you know, it has 1-table for 4 for eat-in.

Did some takeout…egg rolls, pan fried dumplings, bbq spare ribs, wonton soup, sweet & sour chicken, moo shu pork, shrimp with lobster sauce, pepper steak…not bad-not bad at all. Reasonable prices and plenty of specials and combination dishes.

Like I said, this is basically a takeout joint. Now I’m not saying NYC China Town quality…but decent enough stuff.

China Cafe is open Monday-Thursday 11am-9:30pm, Friday-Saturday 11am-10pm, Sunday 3pm-9:30pm.

***** Pizza Heaven, 4420 Weston Road, Weston, Florida 33331 (954) 349-4566.

You know and I know…that “mom & pop” Italian joints are a dime a dozen down here in South Florida…they range from lousy-to-superb. I’m gonna call Pizza Heaven “good.”

Did a taste-test of… large pizza ($16), veal parmigiana ($15.50), chicken cacciatore on the bone ($14.25) and shrimp fra diavolo (16.50)…dinners come with salad, entree, pasta side, garlic rolls. I really enjoyed the pizza and the chicken cacciatore…the other two dishes were ok, but nothing to go nuts over.

Pizza Heaven is a neighborhood Italian joint…its menu is loaded with appetizers, salads, pastas, pizzas, subs and meat-seafood-chicken entrees. You can check its website www.pizzaheavenrestaurants.com for menu/prices.

The joint is open Monday-Saturday 11am-10pm and Sunday noon-9pm.