MB's at Omphoy Ocean Resort falls short of Palm Beach standards

MB’s at Omphoy Ocean Resort

2842 S. Ocean Blvd.

Palm Beach, Florida 33314

561-540-6444

Breakfast, lunch and Sunday Brunch

http://www.omphoy.com/indulge/mb-terrace/

By Jane Feehan

The best thing going for MB’s terrace and patio at the Omphoy Ocean Resort is the ocean.  Lunch at this former Hilton property didn't make waves.

MB is short for Michelle Bernstein, acclaimed Miami chef who edged out Bobby Flay in a Food Network Iron Chef matchup. Breakfast, lunch and brunch are served on a semi-enclosed terrace that opens to the patio – and a fabulous view of the ocean.  Dinner upstairs at Michelle Bernstein’s also comes with an ocean view, and hopefully, better food.                                           

Lunch offerings had me turning the menu over to find more choices. Caesar salad, fish and chips, vegetables in cream sauce, burgers, roasted chicken and wild salmon seem pretty ordinary for a place claiming to house a chef that “bested” Bobby Flay. Stewed mussels and skirt steak (and the half roasted chicken for that matter) would have appealed to us for dinner but not a mid-day meal on an outdoor patio.

We ordered wild salmon a la plancha (cooked on a metal plate), which was good, not exceptional ($19) and fish and chips, terrible ($16).  Greasy and tasteless the fish was, with fries unfit for McDonald’s. A sticky, dirty bottle of Heinze malt vinegar was delivered as a condiment, the final blow.

For a resort that tries to capitalize on its Palm Beach address, the Omphoy has a long way to go to catch up to its neighbors, the Four Seasons and The Ritz Carlton. With bread crumbs covering table bases, missing salt and pepper shakers, sticky bottles, and mediocre food, I can't recommend lunch at MB's at the Omphoy. Service: fair. Very casual dress                 

Tags: Palm Beach dining, Palm Beach hotels, Palm Beach brunch, Palm Beach lunch, Palm Beach

Il Mulino Cucina Italiana in Fort Lauderdale - a steam-powered downhill slide

Il Mulino Cucina Italiana

1800 E. Sunrise Blvd.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida

954-524-1800

Daily – Lunch 11:30 a.m. - 4 pm.

Dinner 4-11 p.m.

http://www.ilmulinofl.com

By Jane Feehan

Italian restaurants abound in Fort Lauderdale.  With stiff competition, most of them should be good. The popular Il Mulino Cucina Italiana disappointed recently.

I’ve enjoyed many meals here since it opened years ago but noticed a big slide on my last visit. First, no one was there to seat me when I arrived a little after 5 p.m.; I had to walk into the rear toward the kitchen to find a server, though there were plenty of seated patrons.  It was downhill from there.

After I was seated, a staffer decided to replenish wine racks in the dining room. He noisily hoisted a box of bottles onto a booth table, then climbed the seat and began stocking a few feet from my table.  Couldn’t he do this at 3 or 4 p.m. before dinner customers started to arrive?

Then the main course came less than two or three minutes after a drink, rolls (terrific garlicky creations) and a salad were delivered. Bad timing. I ordered Penne Trapanese ($13.95), a mix of pasta, asparagus and chicken in marinara sauce. Enough steam was lifting from it to power an engine. The pasta wasn’t rinsed with cool water, a basic in preparation, so it kept cooking while sitting. Pasta mush.  The “marinara” was more like a brown hoisin sauce served in a Chinese restaurant. Nothing tomato about it. I was ready to return the plate when I saw another steam cloud rising from a bowl of spaghetti, forcing the man who ordered it to leap aside. He paid his bill and left within minutes. Someone in the kitchen didn’t know how to cook - no sense in returning a dish to the void.

They claim pasta is house made. I doubt it. Who would go to the trouble and then not know how to cook it? No quality control on a Wednesday night in high season doesn't bode well for other days, other months. Let’s hope they do a better job with pizza. 

Service: Too fast is worse than too slow. Free parking in the rear of the building.

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Tags: Fort Lauderdale restaurants, Italian restaurants in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale pizza places, dining in Fort Lauderdale

III Forks in Palm Beach Gardens - They show the beef

III Forks

4645 PGA Blvd.

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida 33418

561-630-3660

http://www.iiiforks.com

Monday-Thursday: 5-10 p.m.

Friday and Saturday: 5-11 p.m.

Sunday: 5-10 p.m. (Closed Sundays July and August)

By Jane Feehan

 III Forks throws off a masculine aura with its dark woods and sophisticated, imperious-looking bar at the center of the dining room. The décor declares it’s a steak house and that business is conducted here.

USDA Prime steaks and a great selection of wines (there’s a walk-in wine room) serve as the two pillars of III Fork’s reputation. New York Strip, rib eye, filet mignon, rack of lamb and double cut pork chops headline the menu ($30-40). The kitchen does a command performance with meat. They claim the same expertise with seafood but that’s another matter.                                                              

Seafood ($28-32) includes lobster, salmon, sea bass, shrimp, scallops and other dishes. Lobster bisque is flat tasting, thin and devoid of lobster meat. Crab cakes don’t live up to III Forks’ claims of excellence. They do a fair job with fish filets but steaks and chops reign.

For the price conscious, there’s an interesting bar menu with popcorn shrimp, burgers, Kobe sliders, and salads. During the summer, III Forks offers complete dinners for $30 – a really good deal.

Full bar with a good choice of single malt Scotches. Quiet, understated sophistication earns my return visits.  Service: Good

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Tags: Palm Beach Gardens restaurants, Palm Beach Gardens steak house, fine dining in Palm Beach Gardens, Three Forks Restaurant 

Vic and Angelo's in Palm Beach Gardens - Grandiose Italian

Vic and Angelo’s

4520 PGA Blvd.

Palm Beach Lakes, Florida 33418

Brunch, lunch and dinner daily

561-630-9899

http://www.vicandangelos.com

By Jane Feehan

Vic and Angelo’s has that chain-restaurant look and feel with noise bouncing off white-tiled floors. It’s a modern departure from the neighborhood Italian eatery with its glass-enclosed kitchen decked out in bright pans hanging from the walls for effect.

Most everything about Vic and Angelo’s is bold, brash, dramatic. Crusty bread is delivered on long-handled boards fresh out of the oven. “Grand” pizzas are served in large rectangular pans. Salads are heaped high, appetizers are oversized. An Eggplant Parmigiano antipasto, slightly dry and short on sauce, is enough for two or three as a starter. Same goes for the more interesting ¼ lb. Shrimp Scampi Toast - a tasty choice.  

Main courses are huge, sharable – with prices to match. Traditional pasta dishes (excellent linguini and clams here) average $22, while beef, veal and seafood push well past $30.  Wine is a good buy. Italian varieties dominate the selection; they’re generously poured into a glass and a small decanter for one serving.

Vic and Angelo’s is as much about the experience as it is the food. It’s for special occasions but not romantic ones. A twosome would do better to dine at the bar inside or on the patio.

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Tags: Italian restaurant in Palm Beach Gardens, dining in Palm Beach Gardens, pizza in Palm Beach Gardens

Pan' e Dolce - That's Amore on Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale

Pan’ e Dolci

613 East Las Olas Blvd.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301

954-306-2028

(there’s another at Oakland Park and A1A, near Matoranos)

By Jane Feehan

Pan’ e Dolce Italian Bakery lured us inside with a beautiful display of sweets. This new (and much-needed) addition to Las Olas Boulevard should do well here. Across from the Riverside Hotel, they’re attracting nearby restaurant owners, shoppers, neighborhood residents and business types.

 

Sweets, edible pieces of art, are as delicious as they look.  I’m a fan of Italian desserts because they’re not loaded with sugar but rely on the richness of flavors from fruit, chocolate, liqueurs, nuts, creams held together with an array of understated pastry. Fellow shopper and I walked out with two bags of goodies and couldn’t find fault with any.

Pan’ e Dolce (bread and sweets) also bakes breads – olive, ciabatta - and serves simple panini (sandwiches). Espresso and an appetizing variety of gelato round out the offerings. Seating is limited but flavors loom large. The photos here say it all. Located near Le Café de Paris, parking is available in a lot behind the building. Seventy-five cents in the lot buys an hour, enough time to indulge in a little food art.

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Tags: Fort Lauderdale bakeries, Italian bakery in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Lauderdale dining, Fort Lauderdale restaurants

Casablanca Café - moon light, love songs, not food - Fort Lauderdale

Casablanca Café

3049 Alhambra Street

Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33304

954-764-3500

Open seven days, lunch and dinner

Happy hour Monday-Saturday: 4-7 p.m.

http://www.casablancacafeonline.com

Use search box at right to find other "Fort Lauderdale" restaurants

For some history about the building, see: http://janesbits.blogspot.com/2011/07/florida-history-fort-lauderdales-1920s.html

By Jane Feehan

  

Casablanca Café occupies a restored house built in the 1920s. Sitting on the patio, one can appreciate the view early occupants had without busy A1A (Fort Lauderdale Beach Boulevard). It still has a great view of the ocean, especially from a second floor porch, but vehicular traffic is an interloper.

That said, Casablanca is a good place to go for drinks or a meal, as long as expectations are lowered; above all, this is a tourist spot. I’ve eaten dinner and lunch here a few times and have always left underwhelmed. Luncheon salad entrées tend to be a safe bet; they’re ample and tasty. House made hummus is above average quality and they serve lamb sandwiches, a rarity. Pick your pleasure from standard choices of burgers, seafood and pasta but I don’t recommend a chicken salad sandwich. It’s drippy and served on what seems to be an oversized hotdog roll. Dinner is also hit and miss. Most of the fish is frozen, but the menu is appetizing and they do an adequate job pulling ingredients together. With beef, chicken, pork, lamb and pasta choices, there is bound to be something pleasing.

View from Casablanca

My suggestion is to visit Casablanca for happy hour, eat from the bar menu, enjoy the view, the piano or other live music that plays Wednesday-Saturday (check times). Or stop by for an after dinner drink and music. Most of the seating in Casablanca Café is open air, which in the hot and humid summer can be a drawback.

Proprietor Peter Beck also owns the popular H20 Café down the street and the Aruba Beach Café in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. His knack for blending food, entertainment and above all, a beach view, has been a winning business formula for years. Service: Good. Parking is available in a dedicated lot west of the restaurant on Alhambra ($4). Dress is casual.

Tags: Fort Lauderdale beach dining, Fort Lauderdale waterfront dining, Fort Lauderdale live music, Fort Lauderdale restaurants

Pep's Island Grill in Tequesta: positively palatable, positively priced

Pep’s Island Grill (CLOSED)

1556 N. US Highway 1

Tequesta, FL 33469

561-575-5977

http://www.baystarrestaurantgroup.com/peps/peps.html

Open daily at 5 p.m. for dinner and Sunday Brunch, 11:30 a.m.- 3 p.m.

CLOSED - TO REOPEN AS ANOTHER RESTAURANT OCTOBER, 2012

There’s lots to like at Pep’s Island Grill. The food is fresh, prices right and the menu breaks the mold of  Caribbean fare that often is in name only.

Sides such as black bean hummus, Lobster Mac and Cheese, roasted corn potato croquette and coconut rice provide tasty accents for fresh fish, beef, chicken, pork, and rice bowl entrées. Their Bimini salad – super fresh greens topped with a toothsome mix of mango, walnuts and a light dressing - was terrific. Conch chowder, though not loaded with conch meat, was sedately spicy.

Pep’s crab cakes are better than average, as is their fresh catch kebab. What’s unique here, other than the dishes, are the pricing options. They’re noted for their $10 dinner deals and a deal they are. The portions are not large but entirely satisfying; one of these dinners comes with a salad or soup, main course with a side of black beans and rice or garlic mashed potatoes. Dessert with this is not just a tag along.  Though diminutive, they’re original.  Sweet Potato Beignet with a dollop of vanilla ice cream was as good as it sounds.

Small plates at small prices (less than $10), flat bread pizzas, and bar food round out the regular menu of items that average $17. A glass of wine at Happy Hour runs $3, something that’s hard to find these days. The interior of Pep’s lacks ambiance; its outdoor deck provides the best surroundings to enjoy a meal.  Full bar located on the deck but there’s a small one inside. Service: fair.

Tags: South Florida dining, Tequesta restaurants, Jupiter dining, seafood in Tequesta, Tequesta brunch

E.R. Bradley's Saloon - West Palm Beach's waterfront draw

E.R. Bradley’s Saloon

104 S. Clematis Street

West Palm Beach, Florida 33401

Breakfast (Mon-Sat, 7:30-10:30 a.m.) lunch, dinner, Happy Hour and Sunday Brunch (8 a.m.-1 p.m.)

561-833-3520 – Call for hours not listed

http://www.erbradleys.com

By Jane Feehan

E.R. Bradley’s Saloon sits as an anchor to Clematis Street, entertainment central for West Palm Beach. It’s a large, mostly open air establishment with a youngish, party ambiance at night. During weekend days the place pulls in all ages – and families.  An enclosed area with a bar and tables serves as a staging area for their popular Sunday brunch (about $16) and as an air conditioned refuge during the sweltering summer months.

Lake Worth Lagoon with Flagler Museum (reddish roof) 

Food is not primarily what draws patrons to E.R. Bradley’s; a stop here is also for the view of Lake Worth Lagoon with its boat traffic, an outdoor venue to meet and party with friends or a place to enjoy a drink or two (don't forget the saloon part in its name). Mixed drinks tend to be pricey, starting at $10, the norm for a place that attracts tourists. The menu, some items with a hint of Mexico and the Caribbean, presents a mix of bar food (nachos, quesadillas), good burgers, a small selection of sandwiches, standard steak and chicken options and the obligatory Florida seafood dishes. Most of the menu is fairly good – not gourmet.  Stay away from the Caesar salads; they’re meager and tasteless.

 E.R. Bradley’s Saloon is not Palm Beach. If you’re looking for something more sedate and upscale, with the clientele to match, drive across one of the bridges to “the Island.” Some restaurants there are not much more expensive.

Service at E.R. Bradley’s is fair. Parking is available in one of the many lots along Datura, a short walk to the restaurants. Cost is $5 for two hours with each additional hour at $2.

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Who was E.R. Bradley? 

Tags: West Palm Beach dining, West Palm waterfront dining, outdoor bar, Sunday brunch, breakfast in West Palm Beach