*****  Scully’s Restaurant, 2005 South Federal Highway, Boynton Beach, Florida 33435 (561) 733-4782.

Scully’s is the perfect “diner” joint. If you go to Scully’s website at www.scullysrestaurant.com you will find menu/prices/pictures which will give you a pretty good idea as to what this place is all about.

Whether you eat inside or dine on the “gorgeous out-door patio” (I am being facetious here)…as speeding cars on Federal Highway go-by…Scully’s is a great joint for breakfast, lunch and dinner. This neighborhood restauarnt has been around for years and has a huge local following. Its menu is loaded with breakfast specials, appetizers, burgers, salads, soups, sandwiches, seadood/chicken/meat entrees and desserts all at very reasonable prices.

I am telling you…looking at this joint from the road, you wouldn’t give it a second thought. Over the years, I am sure that literally millions of people have driven by not realizing that they have passed up some of the most delicious burgers, prime ribs, crab-cakes and fried shrimp down here.

You now know about one of the best roadside diners in all of South Florida.

Scully’s is open Sunday-Thursday 7am-9pm and Friday-Saturday 7am-10pm.

*****  Times Square Pizza Parlor, 2304 East Oakland Park Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33306 (954) 566-7772.

First…Times Square Pizza Parlor located in Fort Lauderdale is owned/operated by different people than those who own/operate Times Square Pizzeria (Boca Raton) which was reviewed on September 14, 2008.

In the never-ending quest to find great “New York Style” pizza in South Florida, I recently had a couple of slices and a large Coke at Times Square Pizza Parlor…by the way, I also had a meatball sub…and I have to tell you, that the slice and sub were terrific. Times Square is an absolute hole-in-the-wall, but does have tons of dishes to stuff your face with.

Now…I am not suggesting a special road-trip down to/up to Times Square, but if you live in the area or just happen to be in the neighborhood…you now know where you can grab a great “thin” slice and a great meatball sub.

Times Square Pizza Parlor is open 7 days a wwek 11am-11pm.

*****  Tedescos Restaurant & Pizzeria, 218 East Commercial Boulevard, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida 33308 (954) 493-9233.

Got a  “mom & pop” red-sauce Italian joint for you…Tedescos Restaurant & Pizzeria. The joint is located about 2-blocks from the beach and makes a real-good thin-slice. Tedescos’ other stuff like chicken/veal parmigiana are also pretty decent.

Now…I am not suggesting a special trip to Tedescos. But if you live or are in the neighborhood, you could do far worse.

Tedescos is open 11am-10pm Monday-Saturday and 1pm-10pm Sunday.

*****  Wahoo’s Sports Bar & Grill, 3128 North Federal Highway, Lighthouse Point, Florida 33064, (954) 786-2569.

To paraphrase the great comedian Soupy Sales, “There are more sports-bars in South Florida than there are Chins in a Chinese phonebook”…you know the game, there’s this Ale-House and that Duffy’s and this Flanigan’s and that…

Anyway…I recently found Wahoo’s Sports Bar & Grill in Lighthouse Point, which was like a breath of fresh air from the other joints. Wahoo’s has only been opened something like six weeks, so not too many people know about it yet. Just so you know, a poster named Mike on October 2, 2008 under the C.R. Chicks review (10/1/08) gave me the “heads-up” about this joint.

Take a look at Wahoo’s website at www.wahoossportsbar.com. The site has menu/prices/and plenty of photos which should give you a pretty good idea as to what this joint is all about.

Like I said before, sports-bars with large menus and loads of flat screen tvs on the walls are “a dime a dozen” down here in South Florida. For sure, Wahoo’s has the large menu (tons of appetizers, soups, salads, burgers, sandwiches, meat/seafood/chicken/pasta entrees, desserts) and tvs…but what makes this joint stand-out from the others, is that its nautical-decor is very “interesting” and its food is terrific. A recent outing resulted in my “tasting” (someone has to do it) mini burgers, onion straws, french fries, roast chicken, parmesan chicken wings, coconut shrimp, chili, meatloaf, chicken francais and lobster/crab ravioli…I am telling you, most sports-bars don’t even come close to making stuff this good. As for service, “very pleasant and efficient” sports-bar-service… My party of 4 (you knew that I didn’t eat all of that food by myself, didn’t you?) had a waitress named Michele who was absolutely terrific. As for prices, Wahoo’s “is not” and I emphasize the word “not” a $10.95 salad/baked potato/22 oz. ribeye steak sports-bar…that said, you won’t go broke eating at this joint, but a bowl of that chili is going to run you $5.95…chicken francais $14.95…lobster/crab ravioli $21.95.

You now know about a sports-bar that is heads and shoulders above its competition. The joint is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-11pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-midnight.

*****  Jim Belushi & The Sacred Hearts, Hard Rock Live, 5747 Seminole Way, Hollywood, Florida 33314.

Actor/singer/comedian Jim Belushi will be making a rare appearance at Hard Rock Live on Friday night, Decmber 12, 2008 at 8pm with his band The Sacred Hearts. I am telling you, that if you like rock n’ roll and rhythm & blues…you don’t want to miss Jim Belushi & The Sacred Hearts. You can order tickets through Ticketmaster. Belushi’s website is www.jimbelushi.ws…check the site for details about The Sacred Hearts.

Don’t miss Belushi…I caught this act a few years ago in the Hard Rock Hotel’s ballroom (long before Hard Rock Live was built) and Belushi and his band of 8 singers/musicians rocked the house for something like 2 1/2 hours. Yes…Belushi does the “whole” Blues Brothers’ thing with hat and props…If you happen to get lucky with seats near the stage, get ready to personally dance with Belushi in the aisles.

This is an ACT that you don’t want to miss.

*****  Old Key Lime House, 300 East Ocean Avenue, Lantana, Florida 33462 (561) 582-1889.

Old Key Lime House has been around since 1989…This joint is an absolute “must try”…for those seeking a very reasonably priced–very casual seafood joint. Tee shirts/shorts are the dress of the day. Old Key Lime is what Florida is all about…that being, eating in a tiki-hut located on the Intracoastal Waterway. Take a look at its website at www.oldkeylimehouse.com for menu/photos/details.

Just so we are straight here… most of the appetizers, salads, sandwiches and entrees are… shall-we-say, for fish/seafood lovers. There are enough meat/chicken items so that nobody goes home starved…but the game here is seafood.

Just a suggestion…Take your out of state friends to Old Key Lime for lunch or dinner and I’ll bet that after eating they put down a deposit to buy a condo here in old South Florida.

The joint is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

*****  Havana, 6801 South Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, Florida 33405 (561) 547-9799.

Havana is a terrific Cuban joint. Check its website at www.havanacubanfood.com for menu/prices/details.

I have been stuffing my face at this joint for years. Not certain on the number, but I probably have eaten at Havana something like 15 times. Havana which has been around since 1993, has a 2-story dining room which is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-11pm and Friday-Saturday 11am-1am…The joint also has a take-out window that is open 24 hours.

Havana’s menu is loaded with appetizers, soups, sandwiches, entrees and desserts. I can’t remember them all… but the chicken fajitas, flank steak, Cuban sandwich and spicy hamburger are some of my favorites.

Havana’s food is terrific…The prices are right…The decor is Cuban (whatever that is?)…The service is good…Tee shirts/shorts are just fine…The joint’s hours are great.

*****  Alligator Alley, 1321 East Commercial Boulevard, Oakland Park, Florida 33334, (954) 771-2220.

Alligator Alley calls itself a “Taproom & Music Hall.” The best way to handle this one, is for you to go Alligator’s website at www.alligatoralleyflorida.com …after reviewing the site you’ll know whether or not this “hole in the wall” joint is for you.

I found Alligator Alley to be an absolutely great joint… its menu is loaded with terrific appetizers, salads, wings, burgers, sandwiches, bbq, seafood/meat entrees…Alligator has won local “awards” for its gumbo…BUT food isn’t this joint’s only game…

Alligator Alley which is open Wednesday-Saturday 7pm-2am is the home to local and national recording artists who play every night…the schedule includes, blues-jazz-rock-punk-funk…Sometimes there is a cover charge and other performances are free.

Alligator Alley is a joint where you come to eat, drink and enjoy top-notch music and performances. If this sounds like your type of place, plan on spending the evening…

*****  Cap’s Place Island Restaurant, 2765 NE 28 CT, Lighthouse Point, Florida 33064, (954) 941-0418.

Got a real- good seafood joint for you, Cap’s Place Island Restaurant. It is absolutely imperative that you check Cap’s website at www.capsplace.com for menu/prices/photos/details…the site “tells” you the whole story about this joint which has been around for something like 80 years.

Delicious food. Great service. Moderate prices (you get what you pay for, but this joint ain’t exactly running bargain basement deals). Real low-keyed ambiance, tee shirts/shorts are just fine. If you have already gone to Cap’s website, you know that you have to take a short boat ride to get to the joint…that’s part of the fun of eating at Cap’s.

Cap’s menu is loaded with seafood stuff…it is a bit light on chicken/meat dishes…but non-fish eaters should be able to handle the situation…

Cap’s is a famous “joint.”…Winston Churchill, FDR, JFK, Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, Casey Stengel, The Temptations, were all customers…so be smart and make a reservation.

The joint opens at 5:30pm for dinner Tuesday-Sunday, closed on Monday.

       Rita’s, 9858 Glades Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33434 (561) 479-1740.

Rita’s is an “ices-custard” chain which currently has locations in 18 states…for right now, South Florida has joints in Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Pembroke Pines, Royal Palm Beach and Tamarac, with plans to open loads more. Take a look at Rita’s website www.ritasice.com for locations/menu/details.

The other night around  7pm, I stopped by the “newest” Rita’s in Boca Raton. The joint had a line of about 15 people…Give or take, one or two people, every person had a “buy one get one free coupon.”…so we’ll have to wait and see if the “following” is for real or not.

I will tell you, that I found the Rita’s signage to be very confusing…the joint has a ton of products and supposedly makes 4 flavors of ices fresh each day…there is low-calorie stuff, sugar-free stuff. After getting my ices (lemon), I hung-around a for 20 minutes or so and noticed that almost every person on line had to have the counter-people explain the menu-offerings…this is not a good sign to me (pun intended)…After-all, Rita’s isn’t trying to do brain surgery here.

I will tell you, that the the ices that I had were no big deal and I found absolutely nothing so spectactular at this joint, that would make me run back real soon.

I could be wrong here, but I think that I would rather be the franchisor of this concept than the franchisee who has to make his/or her daily living from this business.