*****  Ben’s of Boca Raton, 9942 Clint Moore Road, Boca Raton, Florida 33496–(561) 470-9963

Ben’s is a KOSHER DELI. This joint opened about 2 years ago and every time that I have been there,  there have been lines waiting to dine in and take-out. You native New Yorker’s probably know, that this is the same Ben’s which currently has 6 Long Island locations and 1 Manhattan spot.

DELI is a very funny thing…some people like fatty corned beef and some have to have it extra lean… The point to be made, is that you will have to try Ben’s  and decide for yourself as to whether or not you like-love-hate this joint’s food.

Last night I had a great Rumanian Steak smothered in sauteed onions, a piece of stuff derma and a potato pancake. The derma’s gravy was a bit salty, but everything else that I ordered was delicious.  I also “sampled” a hot-dog with mustard and sauerkrat, corned beef, brisket, turkey off the bone, pastrami and tongue…all absolutely perfect.

Ben’s is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner. Like I said before, “deli” is a personal call, so try this joint and decide for yourself if it’s for you. Personally, I love the joint and try to get there once or twice a month.

*****  Lester’s Diner, 250 West State Road 84, Fort Lauderdale, Florida–(954) 525-5641

Lester’s Diner has been in business for something like a 1,000 years. It is open 24 hours a day 365 days a year. Gourmet food? Now- let’s be serious! This joint “was” made for the truck-drivers of the world. I really enjoy this place for a late night chicken salad sandwich or burger/fries/Coke. This is also a great joint for breakfast.

IF you are in the airport-area it is a great joint to know about. 

*****  John G’s–10 South Ocean Boulevard, Lake Worth, Florida 33460–(561) 585-9860

On February 15th 2008 I wrote up  Dune Deck Cafe. Do me a favor and read that writeup and where/when ever I mention Dune Deck Cafe (for this current writeup) substitute John G’s. You now have John G’s review.

John G’s is one of the best joints in all of South Florida to have a casual breakfast/lunch with the Atlantic Ocean as background scenery. The food is great. The service is great.

By the way, it is a toss-up between John G’s and Dune Deck as to which one is better. In any event, both are terrific that’s why there are always long lines waiting to get in.

*****  Mott Street Chinese Restaurant–1295 Hallandale Beach Boulevard, Hallandale Beach, Florida 33009–(954) 456-7555

Mott Street is a good no frills  Cantonese Chinese Joint. You know the drill, soup-appetizer-main dish-rice-dessert—$7.95 (plus or minus).

Mott Street is a neighborhood joint, so “don’t be driving” 15-20 miles to get to it. Over the years, I have eaten at Mott Street numerous times and never had a bad meal. Unless you live in the area, the next time that you are down at Gulfstream Park or the Aventura Mall consider giving this joint a try.

By the way, I especially like Mott’s spare ribs, General Tso’s Chicken and pan fried dumplings.

The joint is open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner.

*****  Bagel City South–6006 SW 18th Street, Boca Raton, Florida 33433–(561) 393-5383

Bagel City South makes some of the best New York styled bagels and bialys in South Florida. The stuff is made the old fashioned way, that being hand rolled, boiled and then oven baked.

The joint is open 7 days a week for breakfast and lunch. Great place for appetizing, burgers, deli, eggs and of course those fantastic bagels/bialys.

Sassy waitresses and talkative countermen add to the New York flavor. This is a real good one.

*****  Dune Deck Cafe, 100 North Ocean Boulevard, Lantana Florida–(561) 582-0472

Over the years, I have eaten breakfast in this breakfast-lunch joint at least 20 times. Located directly on the beach, this tee shirt/shorts joint has great food, great service and beach atmosphere which is why we all live down here in South Florida. Don’t miss this one.

*****  Brooklyn Boys Pizza & Pasta, 9967 Glades Road, Boca Raton Florida 33434–(561) 477-3663

Yesterday had two delicious slices and a Coke at Brooklyn Boys. This joint is as close to a neighborhood Brooklyn  pizza joint circa 1950-1960 that you will find down here in South Florida. You order from a counter and the joint has a few tables where you can sit. I try to get over to Brooklyn Boys at least once a month. It reminds me of the days, when I would stop for 2 slices and a large Coke on my way home from Erasmus Hall High School. Of course, back then a slice cost 15 cents and a large Coke was a dime!

You can check meny/prices/info at- brooklynboysboca.com.

*****Steak N Shake Co.

Steak N Shake is a “steakburger” chain that has been around since 1934. The company’s stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under symbol SNS and goes for about $8.20 a share. This retro 1950’s hamburger/shake joint has inside wait-service/ and drive thru service. There are about 450 restaurants, most located on free standing real estate pads. The food is pretty decent. The service is borderline horrendous. The bulk of the stores are located in the southeast/midwest.

SNS’ common stock is currently trading close to it’s  8 year low. Based on MY due diligence, with the operative word here being, MY, the management of this company is totally incompetent. Of the 450 locations, 50 are franchised and 400 are company owned. Personally, I think that  the aforementioned numbers should be reversed with franchisees owning most of the restaurants. In addition, the real estate which is being carried on SNS’ books at acquisition cost, is not adequately being monetized through sale/leasebacks.

If you do some due diligence here, you will find that a proxy fight is currently underway, in which a young 30 year shareholder activist named Sadar Biglari who owns about 8.5% of the common stock is trying to secure 2 out of 9 Board of Directors seats. This guy Biglari had two recent  great “hits” when his shares in Friendly’s were bought-out by Sun Capital and his Applebee’s shares were bought-out by IHOP.

SNS could prove to be a very interesting stock situation. MY due diligence indicates that “if” the right guys were running this business and “if” the stock market was stronger and “if” the general economy was in better shape, this $8.20 stock could be worth well north of $20 a share. Then again,  “if” my father was my mother…

If you like this sought of stuff, do some reading and studying and maybe SNS will prove to be more than a steakburger joint for you.

*****  Granger’s Bar & Grill, 215 NE 6th Avenue, Delray Beach Florida (561) 276-7881

Granger’s is a 38 seat bar-grill located on Federal Highway. The joint has something like 10 seats at the bar and  a handful of booths and tables…one waitress-one busgirl-3 in the kitchen and that’s the whole shooting match. By the way, the waitress and busgirl are also the bartenders. The bathrooms are out-houses in the parking lot.

Granger’s food is absolutely great. Appetizers, burgers, salads, main dishes everything is delicious. How that little kitchen bangs out so much delicious food is beyond me, but in the 30-40 times that I have eaten at Granger’s everything was right on the money.

I am telling you, that this little joint is a MUST for you. Wear tee shirt/shorts so you don’t look stupid. The joint is open Monday-Saturday for lunch and dinner. The prices are also dirt cheap and if you are there on a Saturday Night you have to try the brick of meatloaf that is one of this joint’s specialities.

From the outside, Granger’s looks like a D U M P. Try it, you will love it.

*****  Renzo’s Cafe & Pizzeria

This joint is located in Boca Raton, Florida. Back on September 19, 2006 I wrote Renzo’s up. That writeup was lost in the debacle when this site crashed. The other evening I had dinner at Renzo’s and it is as good today as it was back in 2006. To save me the time and effort of doing another writeup from scratch, just go to www.renzosofboca.com and you will find my original September 19, 2006 article. Obviously, it was very positive as Renzo’s uses it to advertise the joint.