*****  Primanti Bros. 516 Oakland Park Boulevard, Oakland Park, Florida 33334, (954) 565-7100…&…901 North Fort Lauderdale Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304, (954) 565-0605.

 You folks from Pittsburgh already know all-about Primanti Bros. which has something like 13 joints in Pittsburgh…Thus far there are 2 Primanti spots in South Florida.

Imagine the most laid-back neighborhood pizza joint in the whole world that not only makes great pizza, but great subs, Italian dishes, burgers, wings, and deli sandwiches…and you got Primanti Bros.

Over the past 3 years, I have eaten in the Oakland Park location at least 20 times, the last time being lunch yesterday. I am telling you, the food at this joint is absolutely incredible and dirt cheap. One of my favorite “items” is the peppers/onions/sausage/melted parmigiana sub that goes for a measely $5.95.

Just so you know, the Oakland Park joint is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner…The Fort Lauderdale joint is open 24-hours a day.

Great food. Great prices. Large portions. Great service. Tee shirt/shorts is the dress of the day.

Do yourself a big favor and check the Primanti website at www.primantibrothers.com for menu and assorted details.

This joint is an absolute homerun. Don’t miss it.

       Cafe Bellino, 180 South Federal Highway, Boca Raton, Florida 33432, (561) 393-2844.

A few years ago, I ate dinner at this Southern Italian joint and thought that the food was mediocre at best. Last night, I gave it another shot and have to report that the food is still overpriced and second rate. The service is also horrendous. Rather than going into gory detail about the meal, suffice it to say that I won’t be giving Bellino a third chance.

Just in case you don’t believe me on this one, Cafe Bellino is open 7 days a week for dinner.

The joint’s website is at www.cafebellinoristorante.com. Don’t be fooled by the quaint and attractive European style decor and out-door dining patio…your favorite neighborhood pizza joint has better food, better prices and better service…actually, it has better everything.

A total waste of time and money.

*****  Scarfone’s Coal Fired Pizza, 6240 Coral Ridge Drive, Coral Springs, Florida 33076, (954) 345-3888.

Regular Jeff Eats’ readers know by now, that coal fired pizza/chicken wings are two of my favorite dishes. Over the past few years, I have reviewed such joints as Anthony’s, Coal Mine, Carolina’s, Red Rock and Giovanni’s in my “quest” to eat as much coal fired pizza/wings as humanly possible.

Now, thanks to reader Mike Powell, I found another great coal fired pizza joint…SCARFONE’S COAL FIRED PIZZA to tell you about.

This evening I “dined” at Scarfone’s and I have to tell you that the coal fired pizza/wings were absolutely delicious. Throw in the obligatory Italian salad which was also right on the money and I had a meal fit for a king.

Scarfone’s is a great looking retro-joint done up in a red, black and white color scheme. In addition to salads, pizza and wings, the joint also features 6 regular dishes like meatballs and ricotta, meatballs and spaghetti, cheese ravioli, egg plant rollatini, sausage with peppers/onions and spaghetti with butter or marinara sauce.

Do yourself a favor and check www.Scarfones.com for menu, pricing and pictures.

Scarfone’s has been open since August, 2007. If you live in the Coral Springs’ area this is a great place to know about. The joint is tee shirt/shorts friendly and is open Tuesday-Sunday for lunch and dinner.

*****  Hurricane Grill & Wings, 3438 West Hillsboro Boulevard, Deerfield Beach, Florida 33442, (954) 596-5990.

If you like wings…then I got a terrific joint for you…HURRICANE GRILL & WINGS which recently opened in Deerfield Beach.

Hurricane Grill is a small chain that currently has something like 25 locations in Florida, one in Georgia and three in Las Vegas. The company’s website indicates that in the coming months a number of additional stores will be opening in South Florida and other states. Check the website at www.livewithflavor.com for locations and menu.

Last night, I ate dinner at the Hurricane Grill in Deerfield and  the food was terrific. Although the joint is only about 2,200 sq. feet in size, it has a menu loaded with appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, salads and of course wings.

The name of the game at this joint is WINGS…they are grilled and are available with 40 different sauces. Last night, I “sampled” teriyaki glaze, honey mustard, garlic & parmesan, lemon pepper glaze and cajun…all were terrific.

The pricing is what you would expect from a wing joint…10 pieces $8; 15 pieces $12; 20 pieces $15; 50 pieces $35…The rest of the menu is also very reasonable, with burgers-sandwiches-salads in the $7-9 range.

Tee shirts/shorts are the dress of the day.

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

Like I said before, if you like wings, this joint is a winner.

*****  Mootz’s Italian Ice, 19585 State Road 7, Boca Raton, Florida 33498, (561) 4857-2822.

Italian Ices are one of  my favorite “food things.”

There is a joint in Boca Raton named Mootz’s Italian Ice which has something like 60 flavors which include both water and cream ices. Mootz’s also has about a half- dozen sugar free choices.

Mootz’s doesn’t make its own ices. Mootz’s is a distributor for Flava Shack Italian Ice which is one of the top manufacturers in the United States.

Like I said, something like 60 flavors. I have to tell you, that the vanilla chip and pistachio cream ices were absolutely terrific and the cherry water ice reminded of my kid-days back in Brooklyn. Mootz’s even has the old-fashioned “push-up” cups to enhance the experience.

If you don’t like Italian Ices, don’t go to this joint. If you like Italian Ices this is a great place to know about.

Mootz’s is open 7 days a week.

Delray Beach

*****  Big Al’s Steaks, 450 East Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida 33483, (561) 819-1888…&…5607 Regency Lakes Boulevard, Coconut Creek, Florida 33073, (954) 480-8550.

First let me give you this joint’s website…www.bigalssteaks.com.

Big Al’s has 2 South Florida locations. Big Al’s is basically a take-out, but a few outdoor tables are available.

This joint’s name says it all…Big Al’s Steaks—Authentic Philly Steak Sandwiches.

When you bite into one of Big Al’s steak hoagies you’ll swear that you are in  South Philadelphia eating at  the lengendary Pat’s  King Of Steaks or Geno’s Steaks. The sandwiches are incredible.

Big Al’s Coconut Creek location  is open 7-days a week from 11am-10pm.

Big Al’s Delray Beach location is open 7 days a week…Sunday-Wednesday 11am-Midnight…Thursday 11am-2am…Friday-Saturday 11am-3am. 

Figure that a steak hoagie is going to run you something like 7-8 bucks. Big Al’s also has other types of hoagies, but the game here is STEAK.

Don’t miss this one.

*****  Carolina’s Coal Fired Pizza & Pasta, 9 S.E. 7th Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida 33483, (561) 278-1913.

As most of you know, over the past 3-4 years COAL FIRED PIZZA JOINTS have been popping up all over South Florida… joints like Anthony’s, Red Rock, Coal Mine, Vic & Angelo’s and Giovanni’s immediately come to mind.  Rather than going into esquisite detail, the usual  menu game at these joints is family style salads-coal fired pizza-coal fired chicken wings covered in carmalized onions/garlic-individual bottles of soda. For sure, almost everyone of these joints has some sort of variation on the above theme, but all-in-all, the pizzas and chicken wings are the stars of the game.

Readers of jeffeats know that I love good coal fired pizza/wings. Past rave revues for Anthony’s, Red Rock and Giovanni’s should convince “you” of that love.

Now let me tell you about…Carolina’s Coal Fired Pizza & Pasta.

Last night I ate dinner at Carolina’s which is located in Delray Beach. The joint is housed in a “house” and seats about 60 inside and 60 on an out-door patio. Like the other joints previously mentioned, Carolina’s is in the coal fired pizza business….however, there isn’t a chicken wing  in sight. Carolina’s spends as much time on its pastas and salads as it does on its pizzas…coal fired pizza is just one of many dishes….Anyway, last night 5 of us “dined” at Carolina’s. We had pizza, salad,  fried zucchini appetizer, 3 family sized pasta dishes and 5 sodas (no bottles) unlimited refills… I have to tell you that everything was absolutely delicious.

Now I am not looking to “have” any hard feelings here, but I have to tell you, that the coal fired pizza I had last night, was the best I have eaten since I have been down here in South Florida. As a matter of fact, it is as good as some of the “famous” pies that I had in New York City’s  John’s of Bleeker Street  and Coney Island’s Totonno’s Pizzeria. The pastas and salad are equally top-notch and are as good as any I have eaten in South Florida. As for the fried zucchini, Matteo’s makes the best (as far as I am concerned), but Carolina’s was a close runner-up.

Carolina’s is a tee shirt/shorts joint. I am telling you that the food is great. By the way, the bill for 5 and there was plenty of food, was $110 (tax and tip included). Carolina’s is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

You don’t want to miss this joint…it really is that good.

*****  Wowies Sports Grill, 7036 West Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33433, (561) 392-5040.

 As everyone knows, South Florida’s landscape is literally covered with sports bars…there is this Ale House and that Ale House…this Duffy’s and that Duffy’s… this Hooters and that Hooters…now let me tell you about WOWIES SPORTS GRILL which puts these other joints to shame.

Wowies which opened in March 2008 is located in Boca Raton. The joint has the obligatory “usual” 25 giant flat screen tvs, juke box, large bar and cute waitresses dressed in referee shirts & short shorts. Wowies also has live bands/DJs “performing” on weekend evenings. The joint also has a  canopied out-door dining patio.

 WHAT SEPARATES WOWIES FROM THE COMPETITION IS ITS FOOD…TONS OF APPETIZERS, PIZZAS, SALADS, SOUPS, SANDWICHES, PASTAS, FISH-MEAT-CHICKEN ENTREES, DESSERTS. Now get this…the food is absolutely terrific. Wowies doesn’t serve “bar food.” Wowies’ food is quality stuff, on the same level as The Cheesecake Factory and Houston’s Restaurant.

 Just so you know, Wowies’ prices are exactly what you would expect from a neighborhood sports bar…let’s call them extremely reasonable.

Do yourself a favor and visit www.wowiessportsgrill.com and take a look at this joint’s menu, daily food/drink specials, entertainment schedule and growing photo collection.

Wowies is not your typical sports bar. It really is a great restaurant that just happens to be themed as a sports bar. Wowies is open 7 days a week for dinner…lunch is served Monday-Friday.

You now know about a relatively new joint that has yet to be discovered by the “masses.”  If you are wondering what type-age crowd  Wowies draws, a recent Friday night had ages 18-90. The juke-box covered the latest hits and cover band  1 Trac Mind did fantastic versions of “Heat Wave-White Rabbit-Ticket To Ride-American Band-Brown Eyed Girl” just to name a few.

 One final note… Wowies has a dessert that you absolutely-positively must try…ZEPPOLES which basically are fried dough-balls covered in confectioner’s powdered sugar. Every order is made fresh. Zeppoles are normally found at fairs and carnivals not in restaurants. Wowies goes out of its way, to differentiate itself from the run-of-the-mill joints.

Try Wowies…it is a terrific place!!!

***** 3 G’s Gourmet Deli, 5869 West Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach, Florida, (561) 498-3910.

Before Jeff Eats’ website crashed, it had a writeup about 3 G’s Gourmet Deli. The jist of that review, was that this New York “kosher-style” deli was a joint that’s for the budget-crowd who would rather sacrafice quality for quantity.

This evening I gave 3 G’s Gourmet Deli another try. Sorry to say, same result. 3 G’s food is fair at best. You literally get tons of food for your money, but not one single item stands-out as being really good. For something like 13-14 bucks, you get an appetizer, entree, 2 sides, beverage and dessert…and the portions are LARGE.

If you are looking for quantity over quality this joint is for you. The food is just okay.

Finally, just so there is no misunderstanding between you guys and Jeff Eats- this food “reviewing” gig is purely a subjective call, you know, what I like you may hate and vice versa…

With the above in mind, I’m looking forward to reading your comments on this joint!

3 G’s is open 7 days a week for breakfast-lunch-dinner.

*****  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.