*****  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.

*****  Pastrami Queen, 7132 Beracasa Way, Boca Raton, Florida 33433 (561) 391-8989.

My computer’s search engines tell me that “this” is the first review of Boca Raton’s newest “kosher-style deli”…so say hello to Pastrami Queen. Let me start by saying, that this joint has a pedigree history…that being, it is owned by the same family which owned/operated the famous (and I do mean famous) Pastrami King in Queens, New York and Pastrami Queen in Manhattan. Just so you know, over the years, I must have eaten in the two New York locations something like 50 times…the food was absolutely delicious and the portions enormous.

Last night, I gave the newest location a try…Pastrami Queen has only been open 1 week and  based on my first outing, this restaurant has a shot to develop into a Boca Raton landmark. Pastrami Queen looks like an old New York deli circa 1960-1970…there are large take-out display cases and maybe seating for 60. The joint is still being “decorated” but it has a very warm-simple- neighborhood feel to it. Pastrami Queen’s menu is 7 pages long and is literally packed, with every “dish” that your little heart (and not your cardiologist’s) could desire…soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, knishes, potato pancakes, eggs, chicken/meat/fish entrees…like I said, you name it and this joint probably has it. Last night I “sampled” a meat platter of brisket-pastrami-corned beef which came with a side of french-fries ($14.99)…the meats were delicious and the fries gave Nathan’s Famous a run for the money…by the way, there was enough meat, cole slaw and rye bread to feed 3 hungry people. I also tried the roast chicken and sweet potato fries… they were also terrific.

Like I said before, this joint has only been open 1 week…but you wouldn’t know it. The wait-staff was efficient and the food was prepared exactly as ordered. I guess it doesn’t hurt having owners Gary and Denise in the “front-of-the-house” and Paul ( formerly Ben’s Kosher Deli’s dining-room manager) keeping a close eye on the kitchen-staff.  Pastrami Queen hit the ground running…and the food is as good as the stuff that the New York joints served.

Although Pastrami Queen is basically a neighborhood deli, it goes the extra mile in the “food-presentation department”…art deco plates, fries served in cannisters lined with faux newspaper, fried chicken delivered to the table in buckets a la Colonel Sanders… matzoh balls the size of softballs.

Just so we are straight…Pastrami Queen is not and I repeat not, a “bagel joint”…it is a deli-restaurant. Pastrami Queen is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner 11am-9pm.

I am telling you…Pastrami Queen is going to develop an absolutely huge following…you now know about a terrific joint long before the masses do.

*****  Randazzo’s Little Italy, 150 Giralda Street, Coral Gables, Florida 33134 (305) 448-7002.

Got a terrific Italian Restaurant for you to try…Randazzo’s Little Italy. In addition to having delicious food…efficient wait-staff…large portions…reasonable prices…Randazzo’s has an owner who if you piss him off, could actually knock you out…the joint is owned/operated by former cruiser-weight boxing champion Marc Randazzo.

The best way to describe Randazzo’s decor-ambiance is ADRIAN’S…let me explain. Rent yourself a copy of Sylvester Stallone’s latest Rocky film, “Rocky Balboa”…in the film, Rocky is a retired boxer who owns/operates a restaurant named after his late wife, Adrian…Rocky’s joint is decorated with a combination of stuff which includes boxing memorabilia and Rocky walks around the joint “schmoozing” the clientele.  Randazzo’s which has a red/white table cloth setup, is decorated with all  kinds of photos of “this and that” and boxing memorabilia… it is owned/operated by a retired boxing champion, who likes to “schmooze”…sound familiar?

Anyway…this is a terrific place. It has limited seating and the two times that I ate dinner there, it was jammed with “tons” of folks waiting for tables. This joint has all of the usual dishes and many portions are enough to feed two or more…ask the server when ordering…no need to over-order/over-spend. By the way, if you don’t like the food, keep it to yourself, as Marc had one of the best left-hands in his divsion.

Randazzo’s is open for lunch Monday-Friday 11:30am-2:30pm, Monday-Saturday for dinner, closed on Sunday.

You can check menu/prices at randazzoslittleitaly.com.

*****  Mamma Leone’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria, 7100 Fairway Drive, Palms Beach Gardens, Florida 33418 (561) 694-8184.

Mamma Leone’s is a “hole-in-the-wall-red-sauce” joint which has been serving some-pretty decent stuff for something like 15 years.  Mamma’s menu is loaded with pizzas, pastas, meat/chicken/seafood entrees. Just so we are straight, as if you didn’t know, Mamma’s is not serving gourmet food…but is a very good neighborhood joint, that turns out decent-enough food at very reasonable prices.

Over the years, I have eaten in this joint exactly 3 times…I have “sampled” the tortellini alfredo, baked ziti, chicken parmigiana, chicken cacciatore, veal marsala, shrimp scampi and veal piccata…like I said, we are not talking gourmet stuff here, but each dish was as good as that served by the local joints in my neighborhood.

Mamma Leone’s prices and service are right in-line with what you would expect from a neighborhood Italian pizzeria joint.  If you live in the area, this is a very good joint to know about for eat-in and take-out. By the way, Mamma always runs a handful of specials…the latest being– $8.95 “Sunset Special” that includes entree, glass of wine and cannoli dessert…

Mamma Leone’s is open Monday-Saturday 11am-10pm and Sunday 3pm-10pm.

*****  Tony’s Authentic Brooklyn Pizza, 23269 State Road 7, Boca Raton, Florida 33428 (561) 483-6464.

Call it coincidence…during the past two months, four people who don’t know each other…told me that Tony’s Authentic Brooklyn Pizza made one of the best slices in South Florida.

Tonight,  I gave this “hole in the wall” joint which seats maybe 16 inside and 6 outside a try.  Guess what?…Tony’s makes one of the best slices in South Florida…the crust was thin and crispy, the sauce just sweet enough and the right amount of oil dripped when the slice was folded/and pointed down. In addition to the pizza, I had a small-tossed salad ($3.99) that was big enough to feed two and was as fresh and crisp as can be. By the way, a slice goes for $2.25, with a large pie running $12.99.

In addition to pizza and salads, Tony’s has a full lineup of subs, pastas…the joint also has wings and burgers… For some unknown reason, Tony’s doesn’t have the usual “stable” of  soups or veal parmigiana. Based on the pizza and salad, my money says that Tony’s other stuff is also very good.

I have to tell you, that Tony’s slice reminded me of my Brooklyn days and and all of those 15 cents slices that I devoured on my way home from Erasmus Hall High School…Like I said before, the pizza was absolutely delicious.

If you live in Boca Raton or near-by, give this joint a try. Tony’s is open Monday-Saturday noon-9pm and Sunday 5pm-9pm. By the way, Tony’s as you would “expect” is located in an obscure neighborhood strip-center…so get some directions before you make the trip.