***** Lucille’s American Cafe, 2250 Weston Road, Weston, Florida 33326, (954) 384-9007.

Before I start yapping about Lucille’s American Cafe, do yourself a favor and check its website at www.lucillescafe.com for menu/pricing and other details about this 1940’s style diner.

This joint is terrific. It looks like a real 1940’s in-line diner. It has all of the “blue plate specials” that 1940’s diners had plus a “million” other things. It has great food. Large portions. Terrific wait-staff. Very reasonable prices.  I absolutely love this joint’s meatloaf, chicken pot pie and country fried steak.

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

*****  Doc’s All American Restaurant, 10 N. Swinton Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida 33444, (561) 278-3627.

Doc’s has been around since the 1950s…As a matter of fact, a few years ago, the City of Delray Beach actually gave Doc’s building landmark status, which means that the building can’t be torn-down etc.

Doc’s is a fast food joint. There is no indoor seating, but there is a nice-sized out-door patio with tables/chairs and umbrellas.

Doc’s is a place that you go to for burgers, fries, onion rings, soft-serve ice cream and milkshakes. There is no wait-staff…you order/pickup at the same counter.

I think that if you do some checking, you will find that in the 1950s every small town in America had its version of Doc’s…a neighborhood meeting/hangout place.

Doc’s is a throwback to another era. Just so you know, the burgers, fries etc are not gourmet stuff…this is a fast food joint.

Give this joint a try. It is real easy-going place and is a nice change from today’s modern fast-food burger joints.

Doc’s is open Sunday-Thursday 11am-11pm & Friday-Saturday 11am-1am.

*****  Jason’s Deli, 870 North Congress Avenue, Boynton Beach, Florida 33426, (561) 738-1820.

Last night I ate dinner at Jason’s Deli located in Boynton Beach.

Jason’s is a chain operation that currently has 188 oultets located throughout the United States. Check its website at www.jasonsdeli.com for other South Florida locations and menu/pricing details. By the way, #189 is set to open any day now in Pembroke, Pines.

Imagine a very large (about 4,500 sq.ft.) old fashioned  NYC “kosher style” deli circa 1950…that’s the design. You order at a huge counter and the food is delivered to your table. There is a salad bar (which you can buy alone or with a meal), beverage station and a free ice-cream bar. Jason’s menu is loaded with all kinds of soups, salads and sandwiches. There are all kinds of specials, like a 1/2 sandwich and a cup of soup for $6.99. From what I saw, you absolutely-positively will find something to eat at this joint. The salad bar had enough stuff to warrant it being a stand alone meal.

Jason’s physical layout is extremely attractive…I just love the old 1950’s look (there are a few flat screen tvs to let you know what century it really is). The Boynton Beach location has been around for about 6 months and appears to be extremely well run and is very clean. It also appears to do an enormous takeout and catering business.

 Last night, I had 1/2 pastrami sandwich and 1/2 corned beef sandwich and I have to tell you, that the sandwiches were piled high with meat and were delicious. I also tried the  beef-gumbo and potato soups and both were also very good.

This deli hybrid…self serve/almost wait-staff is a homerun of an idea. Not quite a buffet joint and not quite a sit-down restaurant, I found Jason’s to have a very novel approach to feeding people. If you try Jason’s, you’ll better understand what I am yapping about.

Like I said before, Jason’s has a huge menu. On price-points, Jason’s is in the same ballpark as your neighborhood deli or sandwich shop.

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

*****  Arbetter Hot Dogs, 8747 SW 40th Street, Miami, Florida 33165 (305) 207-0555.

Arbetter is a HOT DOG STAND. Arbetter has been in business for something like 40 years. Arbetter always has lines. Arbetter has limited seating inside and outside. Arbetter’s hot dogs (boiled or grilled) and french fries are terrific…I usually don’t say that about “boiled” dogs (grilled is my preference.) Arbetter is open 7 days a week from 10:30am-8:30pm.

You should try Arbetter Hot Dogs.

*****  Fortune House Chinese Restaurant, 9755 SW 72nd Street, Miami, Florida (305) 279-8877.

Fortune House is one of the better Chinese joints in the Kendall area. This joint’s food is pretty decent.

Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

*****  ABC Chinese Restaurant, 1919 West Hillsboro Boulevard, Deerfield Beach, Florida (954) 421-8720.

Not bad, not bad at all.

Neighborhood joint, that has decent food…You know the drill…soup, appetizer, entree, rice, dessert…for something like $7.99.

ABC passed last week’s “taste test” of wonton soup, fried rice, egg roll, bbq spare ribs and General Tso’s Chicken. I have been eating in this joint for years and haven’t had a bad meal yet. Very nice people run ABC. By the way, ABC is located in the back of a strip-center, so you really have to look for it.

Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

***** Peking Duck House, 1200 East Atlantic Avenue, Pompano Beach, Florida 33060, (954) 946-0436.

I know…I know…it is virtually impossible to find a good Chinese joint down here.

For what it is worth, The Peking Duck House serves pretty decent food.

This joint is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. It has been around for years and the food is actually quite good. Specialty of the house?…I’ll give you 2 guesses.

Just so we are straight… the food is good but it won’t make you forget about your favorite New York City Chinatown joint…I will tell you, that the Peking Duck is right on the money, as are the bbq spare ribs.

*****  China Dumpling, 1899 North Congress Avenue, Boynton Beach 33426, Florida, (561) 737-2782.

Let me make this review real simple…China Dumpling is one of the best Chinese Restaurants in all of South Florida.

This joint looks just like every other neighborhood Chinese joint…that being, formica tables, linoleum floors…you know exactly what I am talking about.

Rather than bore you with tales of “New York Style” this and “New York Style” that, check this joint out for yourself. This joint kind of reminds me of a couple of my favorite New York City Chinatown joints…like I said, try China Dumpling and decide if I am right or wrong on this call.

China Dumpling is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. On price, maybe a few $s more than your neighborhood favorite, but nothing terrible.

By the way, the guy who owns Boca Raton’s upscale Gary Woo’s Asian Bistro…started China Dumpling a number of years ago…just thought you’d like to know.

*****  Lefty’s Tavern & Grille, 5771 Coral Ridge Drive, Coral Springs, Florida, (954) 752-3525.

Tonight I checked out Lefty’s Tavern & Grille in Coral Springs, which opened for business about 6 weeks ago…not bad, not bad at all.

Lefty’s has the obligatory 40+ flat screen tv sets, huge bar area, booth and table seating… throw in a kids’ arcade-game room and you have the picture. I will tell you, that I found the joint visually boring as there are no decorations on the walls other than the tv sets…this can be easily rectified by adding memorabilia pieces and sports related artwork…but for right now, the joint is too monotone for me.

Lefty’s menu is packed with appetizers, soups, burgers, sandwiches, meat-fish-chicken entrees…for some reason, there is a major emphasis on Italian pastas/dishes, but that makes the joint all the more interesting…a spin on the common sports bar/restaurant theme.

A taste test of a patty-melt, NY strip steak, prime rib, chicken parmigiana, house salad, french fries and sweet potato all successfully past…Gourmet food?  Let’s not be silly, but for this type of joint, the food was very good…far superior to the stuff that you get at your local Ale House or Duffy’s. Very competent wait-staff…As for price points, right in-line with what you would expect your neighborhood sports bar to get.

In doing some checking, I found that the there is also another Lefty’s located at 11300 State Road 84, Davie Florida (954) 474-1410…Take a look at the Davie joint’s website www.leftystavernandgrille.com… from what I can tell, the new Coral Springs’ location appears to be a much bigger version of the original and the menu though similar is not exactly the same. A quick Google Search indicates that the Davie joint apparently has been around for a number of years and has quite a loyal following.

If you live in the Coral Springs/Parkland area, Lefty’s is a good place to know about. The joint is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

*****  Top China Buffet, 4026 West Hillsboro Boulevard, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442 (954) 458-0062.

I never met a buffet that I didn’t like…that is, if the food is half-way decent.

Over the years, I have been eating lunch at a Chinese buffet joint named Top China Buffet which is located in Deerfield Beach. Although I never measured this joint’s physical layout, I’ll bet you that it is 8,500-10,000 square feet…that’s a big joint.

Top China Buffet literally has a million items to select from…you name it and this joint’s got it (Chinese food), including sushi. The food is decent…we are not talking gourmet stuff here…we are talking decent, like “decent” stuff that you get from your favorite neighborhood Chinese takeout. I will tell you, that the bbq spare ribs and won ton soup are worth the price of admission alone, then again the sweet and sour pork is nothing to write home about. Like I said, this joint has something like a million things, so some dishes are going to be better than others.

In addition to having decent food and a very pleasant/attentive staff, Top China is a very clean and well run joint. The people who own this joint, really keep an eye on the buffet and keep everything fresh and well stocked. They also keep the seating-dining area immaculate.

Top China Buffet is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. Figure on spending about 10 bucks for lunch and $15 for dinner.

One final note…take this for what it worth…about 5 store-bays down from Top China Buffet is a Cat Hospital…