*****  Carrabba’s Italian Grill, 6909 SW 18th Street, Boca Raton, Florida 33433 (561) 544-8838.

Unless you have been living under a stone, you know that Carrabba’s Italian Grill is a national-chain with locations all over the United States. Check Carrabba’s website at www.carrabbas.com for menu/pricing/locations…Trust me on this, if you live in South Florida, there is a Carrabba’s joint close to where you live or work. For those that like to know their facts, Carrabba’s is owned by the same parent-company which owns/operates Outback Steakhouse, Bonefish Grill and Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Last week I ate dinner at the Carrabba’s Boca Raton location. This particular restaurant has indoor/patio seating…an open kitchen…full bar area…and is done-up in dark woods…very attractive looking joint, yet tee shirt/shorts fit in beautifully here.

The menu has six categories…Antipasti, Zuppe & Insalte, Brick-Oven Pizza, Wood-Burning Grill, Pasta Specialties and Family Classics. You will definitely find something to eat in this joint.

Last week I “sampled”…fried zucchini, crab cakes, minestrone soup, chicken marsala, griilled salmon, linguine with claims, chicken parmigiana and lasagna…don’t be a wiseguy…I know what you are thinking…there were 3 of us.

Anway…I have to tell you that the food and service were very-very good. I would rate Carrabba’s right up there with some of my favorite neighborhood “mom and pop” red sauce joints. As for price…no more expensive than what the local joints get.

Like I said before, the Boca Raton location has indoor/outdoor patio seating…this location must be doing something very right, as both areas had people waiting for tables…the nice thing about the Boca joint is that the outdoor patio overlooks a beautiful man-made-lake and on the evening that I was there, a 2-man combo was playing some very pleasant background music…Now, “your” Carrabba’s may not be set-up like this…but the menu/service are probably identical to what my party had.

Carrabba’s is open Monday-Saturday for dinner…Sunday for lunch-dinner.

Give Carrabba’s a try.

       First Watch, 21210 Saint Andrews Boulevard, Boca Raton, Florida 33433 (561) 544-8875.

First Watch is a breakfast/lunch chain. It has a ton of stores in Florida, Missouri, Virgina, West Virgina, Kansas, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Maryland. Think…IHOP and PERKINS and you pretty much got First Watch’s story. The Boca Raton joint, reminds me of the coffee shops which are attached to many of the motels in the Disney World area.

There is absolutely nothing special or very good about First Watch’s food/service/pricing. Check its website at www.firstwatch.com for details.

No need to try this place. Your favorite neighborhood bagel joint is better. If you don’t have a favorite bagel joint, then your favorite IHOP or PERKINS will suffice.

*****  Romano’s Italian Restaurant, 3571 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33431 (561) 368-9229.

Romano’s is a red sauce Southern Italian  “hole-in-the-wall” joint located in Boca Raton. Maybe it seats 50 people. Romano’s years ago, use to be called Papa John’s…I got a sneaking suspicion that Papa John’s the national pizza chain somehow “got” Romano’s to change its name.

Romano’s does a good job in the pizza, pasta, veal-meat-fish-chicken entree arena…not great food, but good stuff nicely presented and very fairly priced. This is a real casual joint, so get your tee shirt/shorts ready. If you give Romano’s a try, keep an eye on the front door and you will be amazed at how much takeout this little joint pumps out.

Just a bit of local history…right after Hurricane Wilma hit Boca Raton, Romano’s was up and running using propane gas tanks to cook and rope- Christmas lights powered by a small generator for indoor-lighting. There was a line a block long waiting to order for food.

Romano’s is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

Davie location.

*****  Laspada’s Original Hoagies, 4346 South Grape Drive, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida 33348 (954) 776-7893.

Laspada’s is a “sub-grinder-hoagie-heroes”!(or whatever you call them) joint. There are currently 3 South Florida locations…Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Davie and Coral Springs. The Lauderdale joint is the original location…I must have gotten stuff there at least 20 times…I have also been to the Coral Springs location twice…Never been to the Davie store.

The guys who own Laspada’s are “masters” at making phenomenal-fantastic hoagies. Take a look at Laspada’s website at www.laspadashoagies.com for menu/pricing…also take a look at the photos of the stores and sandwiches being made.

If you want to eat absolutely incredible stuff, then you absolutely want to get to a Laspada’s. The joints are open 7-days a week for lunch and dinner. Keep in mind, that there is very limited seating and the game is primarily takeout.

    Kitchenetta, 2850 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33306 (954) 567-3333.

Kitchenetta is an Italian Restaurant…I have to tell you, that I have eaten at this joint exactly 3 times and each time had the exact same results…the food is absolutely delicious…but the service is so bad, that you really don’t enjoy the food…The wait-staff and the kitchen for some unknown reason can’t work together, like bringing out all of the appetizers at the same time/bringing out all of the entrees at the same time…in addition, the wait-staff doesn’t even know how to perform even such basic chores, as refilling water glasses and bread baskets without being asked…to put it bluntly, the wait-staff absolutely stinks.

Kitchenetta is an absolutely gorgeous “super modern” stainless steel joint…It is housed in a free standing building and has inside and outdoor patio seating… A  poster at “yelp.” described it as a “Jetson” looking joint, which really describes the decor perfectly.

Like I said before, Kitchenetta’s food is terrific…individual pizzas, pastas, meatball appetizer…name it and it’s delicious…the only problem being, is that your meatball appetizer may show up when the folks you are eating with are already on dessert.

Like I said before…I did Kitchenetta 3 times…that’s it for me. I hate being aggrevated when I eat out.

Kitchenetta has a big following…I guess some people are more forgiving than I am…so if you want to try it, call ahead for a reservation. The joint does lunch and dinner 7 days a week.

*****  Char- Hut, 2601 North University Drive, Sunrise, Florida 33322 (954) 749-0671.

Char-Hut is a  South Florida fast-food “burger” chain…that currently has 4 locations, Davie, Sunrise, Tamarac and Pembroke Pines. The food is absolutely incredible…burgers, hot dogs, pork, chicken, sausage, tuna, french fries, onion rings…the chain has a cult-like following…Over the years, I have eaten in every one of Char-Hut’s joints and not one of them is within 20 miles of my home.  Check Char Hut’s website  www.charhut.com for menu/pricing/details. Just so you know, Char Hut has all kinds of “meal combination specials” and its prices are no more expensive than the big fast food chains.

Char-Hut does lunch and dinner 7 days a week. Guranteed, after you eat at Char-Hut, you will be a member of the CULT.

        Fuddrucker’s, 14532 SW 5th Street, Pembroke Pines, Florida 33027 (954) 436-9011.

Last night I ate dinner at a recently opened Fuddrucker’s in Pembroke Pines. By the way, there are also 4 other South Florida locations…Hialeah, Orlando, Miami and Wellington. Fuddrucker’s website is www.fuddruckers.com where you can check menu/pricing/details.

 For those that don’t already know, Fuddrucker’s is a national hamburger chain. In addition to burgers, this joint has chicken, fish, salads, baked goods.  

Fuddrucker’s is an order-at/pickup-at counter operation.

The Pembroke location is an absolutely gorgeous store…it must be at least 8,500 sq feet…it is done-up in a rock n roll/1950’s diner decor with pictures/posters of famous musicians all over the joint. There are a few arcade games scattered throughout the store. There is booth and table seating inside…there is also outdoor patio seating. The store has “tons” of employees manning the counters, kitchen and cleaning.

Last night the food wasn’t too good…”well done” ordered burgers came out “raw.” The french fries were limp and absolutely tasteless. The onion rings were over- fried and were as hard as a rock. The grilled chicken breast sandwich was okay, but nothing great. At least, the chocolate chip cookies were fresh. By the way, figuring on spending about 10 bucks a head for a “meal” and beverage.

I’ll bet you that this joint cost at least $1,500,000-$2,000,000 to build…

You would think, that after spending a fortune in money to build and run a joint…that you would make sure that your food was top-notch, but it isn’t even close.

The guys at Fuddrucker’s should learn from the guys at Five Guys Burgers & Fries how to build-staff-run a burger joint.

*****  Fratelli’s Italian Restaurant, 1684 South Federal Highway, Delray Beach, Florida 33483 (561) 243-4800.

Fratelli’s is a red sauce Southern Italian joint. What makes Fratelli’s a “beautiful thing” is the fact that it is located a couple of feet away from Regal Cinemas (1668 South Federal Highway) in Delray Beach. Fratelli’s food is one-notch above the stuff served in the “small-local-chains” that dot the South Florida landscape…I am not going to name names…Sal’s, Rotelli’s, Bilotti’s.

Fratelli’s pizza, pasta and meat-fish-veal-chicken entrees aren’t half bad. Over the past years, I must have done Fratelli’s and a movie at least 5 times. With gas well over 4 bucks a gallon, I think you know exactly where I am going with this Fratelli’s writeup.

In all seriousness, Fratelli’s food is quite decent.

Fratelli’s is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

*****  Philomena’s Italian Subs and Pastas, 906 South Powerline Road, Pompano Beach, Florida 33069 (954) 917-7778.

Philomena’s is an absolute 9 table hole in the wall…Before you go there, call for directions, or have a real good GPS unit in the car…or run a MapQuest. Don’t even attempt to eat dinner at this joint unless you have a reservation.

An elderly Italian lady, Philomena owns Philomena’s (that figures)…The menu in this Southern Italian joint is ever changing…but she does some amazing things in the pasta, fish-meat-veal-chicken entree departments.

Philomena’s is open Monday-Friday 11am-4pm for lunch. In addition to eat-in, the joint does a tremendous amount of takeout…people absolutely go nuts for the subs and takeout pastas.

Just so you know, Philomena’s is open for dinner only on Friday and Saturday…the joint is open from 5:30pm and usually closes around 10pm…the game here, is Philomena’s tries to get 2 dinner seatings during the evening, something like 5:30pm to 7:45pm and then 8pm to 10pm (or whenever you finish eating). In any event, “nobody rushes nobody” while they are eating.

Philomena’s has a grand total of 9 tables, so you sort of get friendly with total strangers while you are eating…The last time I was there (late seating), Philomena had her boom-box blasting 1960’s music and for something like an hour, the entire joint was singing and dancing to The 4 Tops, The Temptations, Leslie Gore, just to name a few…I had no idea that my friend Barry sounded like Smokey Robinson.

Philomena’s food is terrific. Like I said before, the menu constantly changes…maybe you’ll get lucky and Philomena’s will be serving stuffed grilled porkchops,  baked ziti with meatballs, rice balls and fried cheesecake. Trust me, it’s all good.

Philomena’s decor is American Gangster Movie Posters-Pictures.

This is a joint that you have to try. Terrific food. Terrific ambiance. Terrific service. Figure a soup to nuts dinner…around 45-50 bucks a head.

One final note, Philomena is from the old school…cash only!!

    Moonlite Diner, 6201 North Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309 (954) 938-1116.

The Moonlite Diner is a faux 1950’s free-standing-stainless steel diner. Inside the joint has the obligatory red vinyl booths, checkerboard floor and counter seating. I have to tell you, that over the past 5 years or so, I have eaten in the Moonlite Diner exactly 4 times…the food is not half bad…the problem with this joint or maybe it’s just me, is that I get the sense that the joint isn’t clean. For some reason, whenever I have been in the Moonlite I just feel as if it is covered in a thin coat of grease. Maybe I am crazy, but that’s the story.

Moonlite does breakfast-lunch and dinner 7 days a week…Sunday-Thursday 6am-midnight and Friday-Saturday 6am-2am. It’s got the full range of diner stuff. Like I said before, the food isn’t half-bad…but that greasy feeling prevents any further visits by me.