*****  Sage Bagel & Restaurant Company, 800 East Hallandale Beach Boulevard, Hallandale Beach, Florida 33009, (954) 456-7499.

Sage Bagel has been around since 1972. I have been stuffing my face at this kosher-style deli since 1972…Governor Crist should declare this joint a State Landmark…Pumpernick’s—gone. Rascal House—gone. Sage is one of the few old-timers still around.

Great bagels. Great appetizing. Great deli meats. Great ambiance. Great everything.

Unfortunately…Sage is about 30 miles from my home, so I can’t “spend” as much time as I would like eating at this joint. I try to get down to the Sage at least 5-6 times a year for breakfast. Today, I was down in Hallandale checking out the Gulfstream Park casino-development and that gave me the perfect opportunity to stop in at the Sage.

This joint is a throw-back to another time. I am telling you, be smart and make it your business to eat breakfast/lunch at the Sage. It will remind many of you of the days long gone, when there were appetizing stores, neighborhood delis and mom & pop diners.

Sage is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

*****  Regency Grill, 3011 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33434, (561) 998-3336.

Ate dinner tonight in a new joint named Regency Grill. Regency has been open about 6 weeks and calls itself a “contemporary bistro.” This is a very nice looking joint, with blond wood floors, black ceilings, upholstered booths and black wood tables. There is an open kitchen and a large bar with a couple of flat screen tvs. This is a  casual joint with an upscale atmosphere (if that makes any sense), but you can wear  tee shirts/shorts and be right at home. Young energetic staff in black shirts/black pants.

Regency is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week.

This joint (for my taste) has a somewhat limited menu. That said, I will tell you, that everyone should be able to find an entree to order. The dinner menu’s entrees include…salmon, veal meatloaf, char-grilled chicken breast, filet mignon, hamburger, pork chop, tuna, skirt steak, veal chop milanese, NY strip, fillet of mahi-mahi and tender tips of beef. There are also 5 different salads, 2 soups, 7 side dishes, 7 appetizers and 5 desserts.

 Just so you know, the lunch menu is basically the same as the dinner menu but the prices are “reduced”  and there are 1-or-2 “specials” thrown in, like a chicken salad sandwich or one-half of a chicken sandwich+cup of soup+ a small mixed green salad.

Tonight I “tried” the burger, marinated double chicken breast and grilled double cut pork chop. I also had a caesar salad. Everything was absolutely delicious.

As for price points…appetizers run $8-14…entrees run $12-29…salads run $5-12…soups run $5-6…sides run $4-5…and desserts run $6-7.  You get a couple of sides with your entree, but no salad.

Tonight’s service was friendly and extremely efficient. Like I said before, this joint has only been open a few weeks…amazingly it already has its act together. Good food, good service and the prices are  fairly reasonable.

If you live in the Boca Raton area, Regency is worth a try.

       Campagnolo Italian Restaurant, 3013 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33434, (561) 989-1990.

Campagnolo has been open for about 3 months. This Southern Italian joint serves both individual/family style…for example, a half order of spaghetti & meatballs runs $11.95 and a full order costs $19.95…a half order of chicken scarpariello runs $18.95 and a full order is $31.95…a half order of chicken piccata runs $13.95 and a full order is $24.95…

I ate dinner twice at this joint and took-out a pizza another time. Just so you know, in addition to that pizza, I “sampled” a fried zucchini appetizer, a baked clams appetizer, a chicken scarpariello entree, a chicken parmigiana entree, a veal pizzaiola entree, a calamari marinara entree and an order of rigatoni a la vodka.

Over-all I would rate the food as  borderline FAIR… Let me give you the actual scorecard… The zucchini was good…The baked clams were fair…The chicken scarpariello was fair…The chicken parmigiana tasted like the chicken parmigiana that Saga Food served me at Ithaca College, circa 1970, horrendous…The veal pizzaiola was fair…The calamari marinara was fair…The rigatoni a la vodka was good…The pizza was lousy.

The service was good. You do get plenty of food for the money whether you order half/full portions…then again, if the stuff is no good, you don’t need a ton of it.

Let’s put it this way…Your favorite neighborhood joint is better than this latest South Florida Italian restaurant entry.

Campagnolo is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner

***AT THE REQUEST OF CAMPAGNOLA’S OWNER (July 15, 2011)…PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED.

*****  TW Steak & Seafood, 7104 Beracasa Way, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 391-6525.

TW opened for business about three months ago. I have eaten dinner there twice, the last outing being last night.

TW is my kind of place…just imagine an upscale Chinese retaurant, that also does non-Chinese  steak-seafood-chicken-pasta. Trust me on this, the food is absolutely terrific. During my two dinners, I “sampled” such entrees as New York Strip, BBQ Baby Back Ribs, Crab Cakes, Orange Chicken and Grilled Shrimps…I also managed to down such appetizers as Pot Stickers and Spicy Crispy Chicken Wings.

Just so you know the game here…TW, is owned and operated by the same family that owns Delray Beach’s Tony Wu’s, which is a very successful Chinese-American combination restaurant. Tony Wu’s is so well known in South Florida, that many of its sauces are carried by local supermarkets.

TW’s doesn’t promote itself as a Chinese joint… as a matter of fact, the decor is devoid of “standard” Chinese signage/furniture. TW’s has a full bar and  a very upscale look. That said, you can wear tee shirts/shorts here and feel right at home.

TW’s menu is loaded with appetizers, soups, salads, steaks, seafood, chicken, beef and pasta dishes. Entrees come with an absolutely terrific house salad/or soup of the day and two side dishes and range in price from $15-27. There is also a discounted lunch menu.

Like I said before, this joint’s food is terrifc. TW is open 7 days a week for dinner and Monday-Friday for lunch.

*****  Talia’s Tuscan Table, 4070 North Dixie Highway, Boca Raton, Florida (561) 362-0874.

If you live in the Boca Raton area, I have a great take-out joint for you…Talia’s Tuscan Table.

Talia’s is a “hole in the wall” Guaranteed, that if you aren’t looking for this joint, you won’t find it…just so you know, it is actually located on the N.E. Corner of Dixie & Spanish River Boulevard.

Talia’s is open Monday-Saturday for lunch/dinner from 11:30 am-8:00 pm. This joint has all kinds of appetizers, salads, soups, wraps, risotto, hero-sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, meat-seafood entrees and desserts. Just so you know, the emphasis is on Italian stuff, but there are plenty of other items to feed your face with.

Last night I picked-up a Caruso Hero, which is a combination of sausage and meatball parmigiana…a Michelangelo Hero, which is a combination of herb chicken cutlet, eggplant and mozzarella & roasted peppers…and a Galileo Hero, which is a combination of roast beef, cheddar cheese, onion, organic greens and Russian dressing…All of the heros are on ciabatta bread…cost $9…feed 2 people…are absolutely fantastic…AND NO, I DIDN’T EAT ALL 3 SANDWICHES BY MYSELF.

I have been getting stuff from this joint for about 5 years and I have to tell you that the  pastas and pizzas are great…as a matter of fact, everything Talia’s makes is terrific.

Talia’s is a fabulous take-out. The joint has something like 50 lunch and dinners for under $11 and a large pizza is going A to run you $12.

Don’t miss this one.

*****  Renzo’s Restaurant, 5999 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33487, (561)994-3495.

This year’s Mother’s Day Dinner (yesterday) was spent at Renzo’s Restaurant in Boca Raton. There were 18 of us and the final bill was $1,300. Everything and I do mean everything was served…steak, veal chop parmigiana, lobster tails, minestrone soup, pastas…Everyone ordered straight from the menu and there were some hefty doggie-bags. Do the math, eating like pigs the whole meal ran something like $72 a head and I am telling you that was soup-to-nuts.

Over the years, I have eaten at Renzo’s at least 20 times. The food has always been terrifc and the staff is as efficient and accomodating as can be. Renzo’s is an upscale joint, but you can wear tee shirts/shorts and no one is going to say boo. Just so you know,  that if you order like “normal people” you will spend far less than $72 for a complete meal. You can get away for $35-40.

In a previous writeup, I told you about Renzo’s Cafe & Pizzeria which is located at 6900 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida. Renzo’s Cafe does the pizzas and more casual stuff. By the way, Renzo’s also has a take-out “only” joint at 1906 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton, Florida. With these 3 joints, Renzo’s has all of the bases covered.

Renzo’s 3 joints are all terrific…

Renzo’s Restaurant is open 7 days a week for dinner.

*****  Thick & Thin Restaurant & Pizzeria, 23062 Sandalfoot Plaza Drive, Boca Raton, Florida, (561) 482-7020.

Thick & Thin has been around since 1979.

There is an old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind.” When I first moved down to South Florida 16 years ago, Thick & Thin was one of the regular “mom & pop” red-sauce joints that got my business at least once or twice a month. Over the years, for one reason or another, Thick & Thin became an “out of sight, out of mind joint.” Now don’t hold me to this, but until last night, I think the last time I was in Thick & Thin was something like 7-8 years ago. Why I forgot about this joint?…I don’t know.

Anyway…last night I ate dinner in this hole-in-the-wall and I have to tell you, that the food is as good as when I was a regular customer. Great pizza…veal parmigiana…veal francese…veal marsala…You know the drill, soup or salad, entree, side of pasta and garlic rolls…

Thick & Thin is located in a shopping center on 441 in Boca Raton. The CVS is out of business…The Winn Dixie is out of business…Many other vacancies, yet this little joint which seats about 50 was jammed and the take-out business was booming.

This is a real casual joint, so tee shirts/shorts are the dress of the day. Like I said before, Thick & Thin has been around for something like 29 years, so obviously even without my patronage it has been doing just fine.

This joint is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner and by the way, in the center there is a great car wash Express Car Wash that for 8 bucks gives you one of the best exterior washes going.

Great NY Style Pizza and a Great Car Wash…courtesy of Jeffeats.com

*****  Strip House, 1701 Lake Victoria Gardens, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33410, (561) 296-4900.

Before jeffeats.com “crashed,” it had a writeup about the Strip House. In that review, I told you folks that the Strip House was one of the best “upscale” steakhouses in all of South Florida if not the best one. Anway…last week the Sun Sentinel had a 4-star review on the Strip House which confirmed everything that I already knew, namely that the food and service are absolutely top-shelf.

Last night, I had dinner at the Strip House and I am happy to report that this joint is still at the top of its game. Great food and great service. Just so we are clear, you pay for everything at the Strip House…salad, entree, sides…nothing comes with nothing…and a steak dinner with salad, sides, dessert, non alcohol drink and taxes/tips is going to run you close to $85-100 a head.

This joint is open 7 days a week for dinner. One other thought, unlike most of the upscale steak joints, the Strip House doesn’t take itself too seriously. It is done-up in a red wallpaper decor which features very tastefully done black/white photos of female strippers of the 1930s-1940s…and the wait-staff is as friendly and helpful as can be…none of this haughty attitude that many of the other joints generate.

***** The Pastrami Club
5240 North University Drive
Lauderhill, Florida 33351
(954) 748-0001

The Pastrami Club is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. The Pastrami Club (which has been around since 1985), is one of the “best” New York “Kosher Style Delis” in South Florida. Over the years I have “fressed” on this joint’s pastrami, corned beef, turkey (off the frame) and brisket sandwiches and loved each and every bite.

Cardiologists tell you to stay away from joints like this… last week I saw mine stuffing his face with a fatty corned beef on rye with a potato knish. “Do as I say, don’t do as I do.”

I am telling you, that you “gotta” try this joint. The combination of great food and “old” deli decor (red booths and formica tables), will remind you of what delis are “suppose to be all about.”

Check-out this joint’s website at www.pastramiclub.com for menu/prices.

End of story.

*****  Okeechobee Steak House, 2854 Okeechobee Boulevard, West Palm Beach, Florida 33409, (561) 683-5151.

The Okeechobee Steak House has been in business since 1947. The joint is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

The Okeechobee Steak House is not a fancy schmancy upscale steakhouse. That said, the food is terrific and the menu is priced right. For around 35-40 bucks a head, you get salad, entree and side dishes. A similar meal at a fancy schmancy joint- which is maybe a 1/2 a notch higher in quality and service would run you $55-60.

The Okeechobee Steak House serves top quality steaks and seafood. Like I said a few seconds ago, it isn’t a fancy schmancy joint with tee shirts/shorts being pretty common there. What makes this a “beautiful” place is that it doesn’t take itself seriously like “upscale” joints do. The game here is good food and good service in a real-easy atmosphere.

Look…you don’t stay in business for 61 years without doing something right. Try this joint, you will really enjoy the food.