It’s been rather the star-studded week on The Blog post’s dining establishment beat:
• Jon Bon Jovi appeared at Benny’s on the Coastline for a fish and shellfish lunch. (Right here’s what he contended the beachfront dining establishment.)
• The renowned author behind Red wine Viewer, Stogie Connoisseur and also various other magazines revealed a collaboration with the Hand Coastline Food and also A Glass Of Wine Event. He and also celebration supervisor David Sabin state it will certainly broaden the fest in essential methods.
• As well as 4 Hand Coastline Region dining establishments are still aglow from current check outs by Food Network celeb Individual Fieri, that has actually begun to include them this period on his collection “Restaurants, Drive-Ins and also Dives”.
As component of Fieri’s “DDD” family members of America’s faves, those dining establishments definitely will obtain an increase, perhaps even destination-dining standing.
As in their check outs to regional dining establishments in recent times, Fieri and also his manufacturing group have actually picked well — and also, surprisingly, they’ve chosen some locations that are not restaurants, drive-ins or dives. Primarily, they are community treasures and also regional principles worth discovering.
So perhaps a “DDD” mini-guide remains in order. Consider the deliciousness that waits for at Fieri’s formerly included dining establishments, like cook Tim Lipman’s Coolinary in Hand Coastline Gardens, cook Clay Carnes’ Cholo Soy in West Hand Coastline and also cook Eric Baker’s Rebel Home in Boca Raton. (If Rebel Home remains in your strategies, maintain checking out for an essential statement concerning that dining establishment.)
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What to buy at the ‘DDD’ dining establishments?
There are community treasures in Fieri’s latest set of highlighted dining establishments. Right here’s what I would certainly buy at this period’s Hand Coastline Region quits:
• AtRose’s Little girl in Delray Coastline, a couple of exceptional Pineapple Grove dining establishments by the skilled chef/restaurateur Suzanne Perrotto, I’d start with the spinach dumplings. These fluffy orbs of spinach and homemade ricotta are seasoned with cracked black pepper and served upon luxurious pecorino cream sauce. And I might order one of Perrotto’s handmade pasta dishes, like the frutti di mare (one of Fieri’s featured dishes), which tops squid ink pasta with jumbo shrimp, scallops and clams in an nduja-tomato broth with a bit of saffron aioli.
• At TheButcher and the Bar in Boynton Beach, I’d have what Fieri had: the Italian-style porchetta sandwich by butcher and executive chef Logan Gates. The chef lavishes attention and flavor on the pork roll, which he rubs with fennel, garlic and lemon. He serves it on locally baked ciabatta bread with gremolata, shaved fennel and preserved lemon vinaigrette.
• At La Cosinita Latina inPalm Springs, there’s no doubt what I would certainly order: the shrimp mofongo. Owner/chef Max Lucena serves the plantain mash with large shrimp in a creole sauce. It’s one of at least 10 mofongo dishes he offers at the authentic Puerto Rican restaurant.
• At the Cheffrey Eats food truck in Boca Raton, I’d definitely order one of chef/owner Jeffrey “Cheffrey” Lemmerman’s cheesecake jars. Lemmerman, who has a permanent parking space at the Barrel of Monks brewery, layers the cheesecake batter with other flavorings and also batters and also poaches them in individual jars.
The “Diners, Drive-Ins and also Dives” episode featuring The Butcher and also bench and Cheffrey Eats airs at 9 p.m. tonight on Food Network. Next Friday’s episode will feature La Cosinita Latina.
Farewell, Rebel House
You may want to hurry if Rebel House is in your “DDD” exploration plans. The Boca Raton space will transition into another concept by executive chef and co-owner Eric Baker. He and partner David Bouhadana are moving AlleyCat, their Japanese izakaya presently at Royal Palm Place on Southeast Mizner Boulevard, into the Rebel House space, the owners announced via Instagram this week.
Rebel House will take reservations through March 26. AlleyCat makes its debut in its new, expanded space on April 3. According to the announcement, parts of Rebel House will remain there in spirit:
“Although Rebel House will not be operating as it has for the past decade, many of the Rebel House’s best features will survive.”
• Rebel House/AlleyCat: The new AlleyCat will be at 297 E. Palmetto Park Rd., Boca Raton, 561-353-5888.
Also on the news buffet
Brightline restaurants. With Brightline on the verge of opening an eagerly awaited route to Orlando, its West Palm Coastline station is about to get busier. Here’s my new guide to restaurants near the station, a handy list for when your out-of-town guests descend on the station, asking “where’s a good place to eat?”
Burlesque brunch. This new restaurant in Lantana is doing a cheeky Sunday brunch throughout March. But that’s not the only thing to know about Ravish Off Ocean.
Honolulu-Mex? You’ve had Tex-Mex, but have you tried Hawaiian-Mex cuisine? That’s the concept at the new Bear’s Food Shack and also Tequila Bar in Lake Worth Beach.
Feliz St. Patrick’s Day!
I had to laugh when both WalletHub and also LawnStarter listed Hialeah, my childhood city, as “least Irish” in America and also second-least-best city for celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, respectively in separate studies. Hialeah is where I fell in love with Irish culture and also stories, thanks to the Irish nuns at Immaculate Conception Catholic School, hailing from Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.
They were immigrants from a lush, green island, just like my fellow Cuban-born classmates and me. At home, we may have had Cuban picadillo, rice and plantains for dinner on plates devoid of anything green, but at school we were the Celtics (“the mighty, mighty Celtics!”).
For those Sisters of Mercy and the Irish-Hialeah memories they spark, I raise a toast today, the most Irish of days. Sláinte!
Have a delicious weekend!
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Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and also dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and also Blog post on Food Facebook. She can be gotten to by e-mail at lbalmaseda@pbpost.com.