***** Pa’ DeGennaro’s, 4331 North Ocean Drive (A-1-A), Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Florida 33308 (954) 351-0310.

First things first…let me get you to Pa’ DeGennaro’s website at  www.padegenarros.com  for menu/pricing/ details.

Pa’ DeGennaro’s is an upscale-white-tablecoth Italian Restaurant. It is located in a non-descript strip shopping center on A-!-A. Leave the tee shirt/shorts ensemble at home, but jeans are just fine.

I have been eating at Pa’ DeGennaro’s for something like 10 years. This joint is one of the top Italian joints down here. Take a few minutes and look at Pa’ DeGennaro’s menu…as you can see, it isn’t a gigantic list, but it has enough variety to please everyone. I am telling you, that the food is incredible…this joint (just to name a few) makes an outrageous meatball appetizer… an  absolutely incredible veal chop milanese… and a pistachio pound-cake that has to rank as one of the great desserts of all time. As for pricing, Pa’ DeGennaro’s isn’t a bargain-basement joint…but it won’t send you to the poor-house either. In the service department, the wait-staff doesn’t take itself too seriously, but knows it business and menu inside and out.

Pa’ DeGennaro’s is open 7 days a week for dinner. This joint has a very loyal clientele, so be smart and make a reservation.

       Morton’s The Steakhouse, 5050 Town Center Circle, Boca Raon, Florida 33486 (561)392-7724.

Morton’s is a national chain of “upscale-white-table cloth steakhouses.” There are currently 7 Florida locations.

I have eaten in the Boca Raton joint twice. The food is fair. The service is as phony as a 3-dollar bill. The prices…are upscale steakhouse prices, figure a complete meal runs somewhere around 100 bucks a head. Morton’s like every other upscale steakhouse prides itself on having tip-top service. Morton’s is also “big” on tableside presentation…having its wait-staff show/explain “raw cuts of meat” during the ordering process. The wait-staff also “shows” desserts before ordering.

In my most recent outing, the waiter during the meat-showing told my party, ” My personal favorite is the 24 oz porterhouse.” Amazingly…near the end of the meal, the very same waiter (I guess feeling a bit comfortable with our group) told me that he was “a vegetarian.”

Like the waiter, Morton’s is nothing but a scripited joint. The wait-staff could all work as tour-guides at Disney World…”watchout for that shark on the right side of the boat…boy that was sure close.”

If you still want details, Morton’s website is www.mortons.com.

*****  Maggiano’s Little Italy, 21090 St. Andrews Boulevard, Boca Raton, Florida 33433 (561) 361-8244.

Let’s start this review off by getting you to Maggiano’s website at www.maggianos.com.

Maggiano’s is a national chain of “up-scale-looking” Southern Italian Restaurants. The website will give you menu/pricing/locations…If I have read the “map” correctly, Maggiano’s is currently in 22 states which includes 4 locations in Florida…Boca Raton, Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa.

Maggiano’s decor is as “handsome” as most of South Florida’s “top-notch” Italian and steakhouse restaurants…the website has photos which will give you some idea as to what I am talking about.

Now let’s talk food. Maggiano’s menu is loaded with all kinds of appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, meat-veal-seafood-chicken entrees and desserts…sorry, no pizza. The food (now get this) is absolutely delicious. There are 2-ways that you can order…individual…or family style. Hopefully “individual” speaks for itself…Maggiano’s has a “Family Style Lunch” and a “Family Style Dinner.” Now stay with me…when you order “Family Style” the whole table picks various appetizers, pastas, entrees, desserts, etc., which are then shared and (here’s the great part) the amount of food is all-you-can-eat. Trust me, Maggiano’s has this Family Style-All-You-Can-Eat thing down to a science…it is basically a variation on the old Chinese proverb: 1 from column A, 2 from column B.

On my two outings to this joint, I “sampled”…fried zucchini, lasagna, chicken marsala, veal parmigiana, chicken cacciatore, shrimp oreganata…everything was absolutely delicious.

Now for the kicker…this joint makes a dessert called Apple Crostada that is absolutely fantastic…you can read the website for details as to how it is actually made… but for right now, “think” McDonald’s “fried apple pie” covered in vanilla ice cream…by the way, McDonald’s replaced the “fried apple pie” with “baked apple pie” in 1992. Anyway…this dessert is incredible and it alone is worth the price of the meal. One final thought…if you order “Family Style” you can have all of the Crostadas that you want.

Although Maggiano’s is done-up as a fancy looking joint, tee shirt/shorts are just fine. Individual prices are no more than your favorite neighborhood “mom and pop” joint…”Family-Style” ordering is going to run you about 25 bucks a head.

Maggiano’s is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. It is always jammed.

*****  GG’s of New York, 5440 N. State Road 7, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33319 (954) 484-0400.

You know and I know, that South Florida has more “mom and pop” Italian joints “than you can shake a stick at.” Some are good…some are lousy…some are terrific…and some are just okay.

GG’s is a red-sauce “mom and pop” Italian joint…for the purpose of this exercise, let’s rate it REAL GOOD.

Over the years, I have eaten in GG’s something like 10 times. Real good pizza, pastas, veal-meat-chicken-seafood entrees. You know the game here…garlic rolls, salad, entree with a pasta/vegetable side.

Take a look at GG’s website www.ggsofny.com for menu/pricing/details. What I especially like about this joint, is that it has a very extensive menu…it is absolutely loaded with appetizers, subs, soups, salads, pastas, pizzas, entrees and desserts…you will definitely find something to eat at GG’s.

To be perfectly honest with you, GG’s is probably as good if not better than 90% of the “mom and pop” red sauce joints that I have eaten in…and trust me, there have been a ton of them. GG’s is not close to my home…if it were, I would eat there more often.

If you live in GG’s neighborhood…this is a real good place to know about.

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

     New York Prime, 2350 NW Executive Center, Boca Raton, Florida 33431 (561) 998-3881.

This evening I ate dinner at New York Prime an upscale steakhouse…you know exactly what this kind of joint is all about…where a  22 oz. bone-in-ribeye goes for $42…where a baked potato goes for $7.50. Personally, if I closed my eyes and just ate, I couldn’t tell you if I was in New York Prime, Abe & Louie’s, Chops, Morton’s, Ruth’s Chris… as they all play the same tune, give or take a different “note” here and there. As for tonight’s food, it was okay, nothing great…the steak was very fatty…the hash browns bland, your neighborhood bagel-deli makes better ones and doesn’t charge $11…the onion rings and sauteed onions sides were good,  but pricey at $8 and $11 respectively. 

For information about menu/prices/hours… check this joint’s website at www.centraarchy.com.

Just for fun…Do a bit of homework here…look at the menu prices and figure out what “your” theoretical meal would cost. I think your calculator will show, that unless you eat like a bird… a no alcohol-no appetizer-no dessert meal is going to run you something like 60-85 bucks a head. 

Last night, my party of 4 dropped $300+…everyone agreed that the food was just fair and was way overpriced.  For that kind of money, you would expect at least one “Boy! that sure was delicious” comment…don’t you think?

I know people who swear by this joint…Personally, I think it’s “a- big- to-do-over-nothing.” The same goes for most of the upscale steak joints in South Florida, with one exception that being the Strip House (see review 5/9/08) in Palm Beach Gardens which doesn’t take itself all that seriously.

*****  Big Louie’s, 1990 East Sunrise Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (954) 467-1166.

Big Louie’s is a local red sauce Southern Italian chain…there are currently 7 locations. Check Big Louie’s website at www.biglouies.com for menu/prices/locations. Over the years, I have eaten in 3 of the 7 locations…and all of the joints’ menus were basically the same.

You know and I know, that South Florida has more “mom and pop” red sauce chains than there are Chins in a Chinese phonebook…I am not going to name names, but you know that, 9 times out of 10 the food is average at best. Anyway…somehow Big Louie’s has managed to break the mold. Now we aren’t talking gourmet stuff here, but most of the pastas and chicken-veal-meat-entrees are a step or two above chain “quality.” In addition, Big Louie’s makes a nice pizza pie.

 Now, no one is telling you to dump your favorite red-sauce joint for Big Louie’s…What you now have, is “another” place to enjoy half-way decent pizza and other standards.

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

*****  Kyojin Buffet, 3485 North Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33306 (954) 568-2208.

Kyojin Buffet is a Japanese/Chinese buffet-joint…which currently has 4 locations,  Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, Miami and Lauderhill…I have eaten in the Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale restaurants a combined total of 9 times… If sushi is your game, the buffet is loaded with choices…plenty of soups, meat-seafood-chicken dishes, not to mention desserts…there are also guys working habachi grills, who will make you all the bbq ribs-chicken-steak-shrimp that your little heart desires. The food is pretty decent… but it won’t make you forget your favorite Japanese or Chinese joint…the joints are kept exceptionally clean and the buffet is constantly replinished.

Take a look at Kyojin’s website www.kyojinbuffet.com for menu/pricing/locations. Kyojin is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner…by the way, this isn’t one of those “bargain” buffets…lunch and dinner prices differ, but figure on spending around 25 bucks or so for the dinner buffet. One final observation…everytime I have eaten at Kyojin, it has been packed…which leads me to believe that a whole lot of people like the food and consider it a bargain for the money.

*****  Palm Beach Bagel Bakery & Restaurant, 9858 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33496 (561) 883-3535.

Palm Beach Bagel Bakery & Restaurant has literally taken Boca Raton by storm…in 2 short years, this bagel-deli has opened 3 terrific joints. The original location is on Clint Moore Road…the second and third locations are at, 21065 Powerline Road, Boca Raton (561) 477-7077 and 1200 Yamato Road, Boca Raton (561) 998-8868.

Down here in South Florida, you don’t get away with opening 3 joints in record time, without having the goods…Palm Beach’s bagles/bialys are terrific… not to mention delicious appetizing, deli meats, sandwiches, wraps, soups and salads.

Palm Beach Bagel’s 3 locations are open 7 days a week from 7am-3pm.

*****  Roasters’ n Toasters, 9465 South Dixie Highway, Miami, Florida 33156 (305) 251-4848.

Roasters’ n Toasters “official name” is…Roaster’ n Toasters New York Deli & Bagels… you  now know exactly what Roasters’ n Toasters is all about.

Roasters’ currently has 4 South Florida locations…the address listed above is the original joint. Take a look at Roasters’ website at www.roastersntoasters.com  for menu/pricing/locations…notice that all 4 locations do breakfast and lunch…in addition the Davie joint does dinner on Friday-Saturday.

Roasters’ n Toasters is an excellent NY-kosher style deli. Give this joint a try…good bagels, deli, appetizing…

***** Augy’s Pizza Restaurant
1501 Northwest Boca Raton Boulevard
Boca Raton, Florida 33432
(561) 368-1330

Augy’s Pizza Restaurant is literally a Boca Raton landmark…it has been feeding local families, businessmen and FAU and Lynn University students for years.

Let me make this brief…About 2 years ago, Augy’s got new owners… The guys who took over Augy’s “changed” a pretty good pizza joint into one of the best red-sauce joints in South Florida. Just so you know, the decor is still “pizza joint,” but the food is absolutely terrific. Prior to the “new owners” I had eaten in Augy’s maybe  5 times… since the change-over, something like 15 times. I am telling you, that the pizza, pasta, meat-fish-chicken entrees are top-notch.

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