*****  Pellegrino’s Ristorante, 847 SE 8th Avenue, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441 (954) 418-0611.

Pellegrino’s Ristorante is a white table cloth-hole in the wall Italian joint located  in a non-descript Deerfield Beach strip shopping center. This is one of the best Italian Restaurants in South Florida, so make sure that your GPS system is working…so that you can find it.

Take a look at Pellegrino’s website at www.pellegrinosrestaurant.com for menu details. Also take a look at the joint’s history and picture gallery. In the “history” you will find that Bobby Pellegrino (Pellegrino’s owner) is a nephew of the owners of Harlem’s world-famous Rao’s Restaurant. Folks who have eaten at Rao’s have told me that the Pellegrino’s and Rao’s food is very similar as is the total dining decor/ambiance. All I can tell you (having never eaten at Rao’s) is that Pellegrino’s sets the right mood, that being that you are eating at a family run NYC Italian joint circa 1950 by having an old juke box playing doo wop records when you enter the joint.

I have eaten in Pellegrino’s exactly 4 times. The food is absolutely terrific… delicious veal chop valdostano, veal parmigiana, shrimp scampi, zuppa  di pesce.

Like I said before, this joint is a hole-in-the-wall, so you are going to need a reservation. As for pricing, this joint ain’t cheap…but “you get what you pay for.”

Pellegrino’s is open Tuesday-Sunday for dinner…closed on Monday.

*****  Bamboo Wok, 9181 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Florida  (561) 218-6003…12040 South Jog Road, Boynton Beach, Florida (561) 742-0123…4660 West Hillsboro Boulevard, Coconut Creek, Florida (954) 427-1888.

Bamboo Wok currently has 3 South Florida locations…Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Coconut Creek.

Bamboo Wok is a take-out-only joint.

Bamboo Wok’s food is excellent. The food is as good as your favorite South Florida Chinese take-out…in fact, Bamboo Wok’s food could compete quite nicely with most of  NYC’s Chinese eat-in/take-out joints. A few of my favorite dishes are…boneless bbq spare ribs, pan fried dumplings, moo shu pork, beef with mixed vegetables. Trust me on this, if a Bamboo Wok is in your neighborhood,  after you order food the first time, you will make this your regular take-out Chinese joint.

Check out Bamboo Wok’s website  www.bamboowok.com for menu/pricing details. Bamboo Wok is open 7-days a week.

*****  Orient Palace, 7875 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida (561) 997-7889.

Go figure…

Orient Palace serves up solid Chinese Food. The joint (located on North Federal Highway) ain’t doing NYC Chinatown quality, but all in all the food is-pretty good. A recent dinner…wonton soup, roast pork fried rice, spare ribs, egg roll, sweet & sour chicken was just fine!.. Orient Palace is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

Now for the “go figure” part of the story…Orient Palace also has a take-out only joint located at 3013 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, Florida (561) 241-9933 which makes food that is borderline inedible and I really mean that.

Go figure…

*****  Mom’s Kitchen, 7478 Lake Worth Road, Lake Worth, Florida 33467 (561) 964-4931.

Mom’s Kitchen is located in a small free-standing “house” right on Lake Worth Road.  Simply put, this joint is a neighborhood diner that does breakfast-lunch and dinner 7 days a week.

Mom’s interior is rural America, with wooden tables/chairs and counter seating…the walls are adorned with cutsey little Americana signs/pictures.

This joint’s menu isn’t gigantic, but I guarantee that everyone will find something to eat. The food is terrific and the service is as friendly/efficient as can be. The prices are diner prices and there are daily specials that will fit everyone’s budget.

Just so you know, this is a very popular joint, so be prepared to wait on line for Saturday-Sunday breakfasts and dinner most nights.

If more moms cooked this way, we would have less runaways in America.

Try this joint.

   Gourmet Deli House, 7117 Lake Worth Road, Lake Worth, Florida 33467 (561) 965-1605.

The Gourmet Deli House has a “big reputation” in South Florida. This New York City “kosher” style deli has been around for years and does breakfast-lunch-dinner 7 days a week. The place is always jammed.

Over the years, I have eaten in this joint maybe 3 times.

The Gourmet Deli House is a perfect example of people confusing quality with quantity/price. This joint’s food is just average…but the portions are large and very reasonably priced.

There really is nothing more to say…other than if you are willing to sacrafice quality for quantity/price, then this joint is for you.

Not one of my favorite places.

       Sonny’s Real Pit B-B-Q, 10200 Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach, Florida 3341 (561) 792-8881.

Sonny’s is a chain operation, with locations all over South Florida and various Southern states. The company’s website is www.sonnysbbq.com . Just off the top of my head, I know that in addition to the West Palm Beach spot, Sonny’s has stores in Davie and Greenacres.

Sonny’s food isn’t very good. Actually, it is borderline crap. Pass this chain operation by.

    American Rock Restaurant Bar & Grill, 1600 East Hillsboro Boulevard (Cove Shopping Mall) Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441 (954) 428-4539.

If you are 21 years old and like Rock n Roll karaoke, cover bands and beer, then you will enjoy this joint. Check its menu/entertainment schedule at www.americanrockbar.com.

 Last night I and 7 others ( all of us well over the age of 21) gave this joint a try… American Rock has a  tyrpical “bar” menu loaded with appetizers, burgers, sandwiches and entrees…to be kind, let’s just say that the food is fair and the service extremely spotty. Trust me, we won’t be back for the food.

Last night Crazy Fingers a Grateful Dead tribute band had the joint rocking…the group is extremely talented…

American Rock is for a young-drinking crowd. Booze and Rock N Roll music are the game here…Food is just an afterthought.

 American Rock is open 7 days a week.

You now know what you need to know about this joint.

     Antonio’s Ristoranti Italiano, 1636 SE 3rd Court (Cove Shopping Mall), Deerfield Beach, Florida (954) 427-4871

If Antonio’s is anything, it’s consistent…lousy food…lousy service…dirty with a mildew odor.  Sounds like the perfect place to eat…Throw in owners who don’t know how to treat customers…and you got a joint that you will want to stay away from.

To be perfectly honest with you, I found the owners’ behavior to be so “over the top” that I did a Google Search to see if any other customers had witnessed the same behavior. Suffice it to say, that various “comments” had mixed opinions on the food/service and a number of customers singled out the nasty-erratic behavior by the owners. Rather than going into detail, let’s just say that there is absolutely no reason whatsoever for you to spend your hard earned money in a joint like this.

*****  U.S.A. Pizza, Festival Flea Market Mall, 2900 West Sample Road, Pompano Beach, Florida 33073 (954) 979-4555.

If you want a terrific slice of New York Style Pizza…then you have to try U.S.A. Pizza which is located in the Festival Flea Market Mall’s food-court.

This joint makes one of the best slices that I have eaten down here in South Florida. Yeah yeah…I know that U.S.A. is located in a food-court, but that’s where the joint just happens to be.

The slice folds real nice…and when you point it down, drops of brown colored oil drip right out. Nice sweet sauce, thin crust…I am telling you that the pizza is delicious.

The Festival Flea Market Mall is opened Monday-Friday 9:30am-5pm and Saturday-Sunday 9:30am-6pm.

By the way, one bay to the right of U.S.A. Pizza is a knish “guy” who makes some of the most delicious knishes that you have ever eaten. For the moment, the name of this joint slips my mind, but you can’t miss it…the display case is filled with all different kinds of knishes…the kasha knish and the potato knish are my favorites and are as good as anything that the 5 boroughs ever served.

       New York Roma Pizza, 2985 McFarlane Road, Coconut Grove, Florida 33133 (305) 476-6018.

Was down in the Grove this afternoon.

Tried a joint called New York Roma Pizza which sells pizza by the slice. The joint has one table inside and something like a half-dozen outside. In addition to pizza it also sells calzones and stombolis. The joint opened at 10am this morning and stays open well passed midnight most evenings. This is strictly an order at the counter joint.

There is an old saying “location location location.”  New York Roma Pizza definitely has a great location, that being in the heart of Coconut Grove where most of the pedestrian/car traffic passes.

The pizza stinks. It had absolutely no taste whatsoever.