Food & Drink

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• Readers' Choice

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  Best Place to Drink but Not Eat

  Mai-Kai

  Here, at one of the last remaining "Grand Polynesian Palaces of Tiki," the drinks are legendary. They are phenomenal, magical concoctions comprised of rum and fruit juices and time-tested mixology. Whether it's the "barrel o' rum," the piña colada, or the mystery drink (served on fire, with four straws and a personal Polynesian dance), these spirits will take you to… More >>

• Best Waitress

  Lori McMahon at Tequila Sunrise

  Sometimes a waitress can be so genuinely friendly and attentive that her mere presence feels like a warm hug. If you have sat in Lori McMahon's section at Tequila Sunrise, then you can probably attest to that level of waiterly affection. If you're a regular, you've probably been on the receiving end of numerous actual hugs and countless "rock-on" hand… More >>
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  Best Comfort Food

  Bash Wine Cafe & Catering

  These days, everyone could use some comforting. And what's more calming than food handcrafted with passion and care at a decent price? That's precisely what you'll get at Bash, a homey little strip-mall café in Sunrise where nothing on the menu tops $19. Chef and owner Nikki Pettineo — a private chef for the likes of football players Renaldo Hill… More >>
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  Best Restaurant When Someone Else Is Paying

  Eduardo de San Angel

  A case could be mounted that Eduardo runs the most consistently mind-blowing kitchen in Broward County. Exotic-sounding dishes — like the "Cactus Paddle Bocadillo" appetizer, herb-rubbed and stuffed with pork tenderloin — are transformed into comfort food by the house's unparalleled intimacy, the servers' incredible warmth, and the cooks' almost neurotic attention to detail. Even those dishes that gringos might… More >>
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  Best Breakfast

  Dune Deck Cafe

  You're in Florida, so if you're going to be spending Sunday morning eating French toast and sipping mimosas, shouldn't you do it on the beach? Damned right, you should. At Dune Deck Cafe, situated atop the dunes of Lantana Beach, breakfast (or brunch or lunch, for that matter) comes with a pristine view of the Atlantic Ocean, located, oh, about… More >>
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  Best Place to Dine Alone

  Callaro's Prime Steak & Seafood

  A New Times reporter was once stood up in Manalapan just before a big sushi date. Dejected, he decided to gorge on sushi anyway. No-could-do, though — the local sushi joint wasn't accepting debit cards that night. So the writer did what he hadn't done in a long, long time: He went to a steak house. Callaro's served him maybe… More >>
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  Best Restaurant in Broward County

  Marumi Sushi

  It's safe to say that most chefs know a thing or two about food. So the fact that Marumi packs up nightly with cooks who've just finished their shifts at other Asian restaurants speaks volumes. Broward's late-night Japanese izakaya (a place for beer and small plates) is run by two veterans of South Florida's sushi scene, Teruhiko Iwasaki and Tetsu… More >>
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  Best Steak Over $50

  NY Strip

  Like we said before, it doesn't take a whole heap of skill to turn an expensive piece of dry-aged prime beef into a quality steak. The difference here is you get to eat your $50-plus prime rib eye — melting with marbled fat and still hissing and popping from its Dante's Inferno-esque sear — in the company of beautiful women… More >>
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  Best Chef

  Michelle Bernstein

  She has long been Miami's gal, a sunny chef with a proclivity toward mixing Florida's tropical bounty with homey comfort food. But when this Jewish and Latin starlet made the trip up to Palm Beach last year to open her new restaurant at the Omphoy Hotel, she instantly became our lady as well. From early on, accolades have followed Bernstein… More >>
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  Best Sushi

  Sushi Simon

  Check out most sushi bars these days and you'll find nothing but overfished tuna, color-enhanced salmon, and farm-raised tiger shrimp. But not at Sushi Simon, a Boynton Beach sushi joint that rises above the typical roll. The romantic eatery features a handwritten specials menu that changes every day with what's fresh. Just grab a lychee martini or an ice-cold Sapporo… More >>
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  Best Sandwich

  Bravo Gourmet Sandwich Shop

  What makes a Peruvian sandwich at Bravo so great? It could be the chicharron: slow-roasted pork, sliced thick and served with caramelized sweet potato. Or the lomo saltado: marinated beef tenderloin, sautéed along with purple onion and grassy cilantro. Or just maybe it's the butifarra: airy-soft bread, slathered in rustic olive tapenade or rocoto pepper sauce and stacked with country-style… More >>

• Best Sunday Brunch

  Tom Sawyer Restaurant & Pastry

  Want breakfast like Grandma used to make? Hit this popular Sunday brunch spot for some delicious, artery-clogging, syrup-soaked food served on plates, in skillets, or even in pots — all for about $9 or less. Tom Sawyer takes the ordinary breakfast ensembles and re-creates them, like the decadent croissant French toast. If you're up for consuming even more after breakfast,… More >>

• Best French Fries

  Spanx Cheesesteak Factory

  There's no way this is gonna end pretty, so let's just define our terms, bloody our lips, and get on with it: French fries are not supposed to be brown, bumpy things with intact skins. They are not supposed to be big. Those are steak fries. A French fry should be thin, almost noodly, and yellow. It should taste light,… More >>
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  Best Chicken Wings

  Johnnie Brown's

  Chicken wings are sort of like political candidates: What the people really want is choice! Good thing Johnnie Brown's in Delray Beach recognizes that. The bar-food haven rose from the ashes of Elwood's just this past December. Since then, it's picked up where the old joint left off, offering good tunes and stick-to-your-ribs eats to go with its wide selection… More >>
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  Best Entertainment in a Restaurant

  LOLA Restaurant and Ultra Lounge

  This west Delray hot spot entertains throngs of hungry revelers with live music emanating from its bar-side dance floor on Friday nights a week. While the music — mostly contemporary R&B covers — is delivered expertly and with plenty of soul, it serves only as backdrop to the really entertaining part: people-watching. The plush, low-back seats by the bar are… More >>

• Best Gluten-Free Eats

  At's-A-Pizza

  Pizza is one of dining's great pleasures. Unfortunately, its traditional form is built on a foundation of gluten as its crust. For those who can't eat wheat, At's-A-Pizza provides a tasty and remarkably chewy alternative built with a rice flour crust. For the same price as a gluten-based pie, the wheat-averse can enjoy a pizza crust that has ne'er a… More >>
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  Best Vietnamese Restaurant

  Saigon Cuisine

  No other Vietnamese joint around has mastered the art of banh mi like Saigon Cuisine. That's because, in its previous life, Saigon Cuisine was a humble deli, serving those Vietnamese-style submarine sandwiches by the rickshaw load. But even after upgrading to an expansive, modern dining room replete with a well-equipped stage, Saigon Cuisine still serves the finest banh mi around.… More >>

• Best Neighborhood Bistro

  Tropics

  There is no such thing as stability in the restaurant biz , especially among those restaurants unwilling to change with the times. That's a big part of what makes the three-decade run at Tropics so special. If they've updated their menu, décor, or clientele since the '70s, there's no sign of it. What may be Wilton Manors' eldest gay establishment… More >>
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  Best Restaurant for Out-of-Towners

  Brunch at the Hyatt, Pier 66

  Fort Lauderdale ain't what it used to be. Take it from us: It used to be funky. There were more diners than fine dining establishments back in the day, and the enclaves of the ancien riche were few and far between. None was lovelier than the lounge atop Pier 66, which rotated every 66 minutes, giving the assembled a panoramic… More >>

• Best Waterfront Dining

  Blue Moon Fish Co.

  It's no secret that Blue Moon Fish Co. is a more-or-less perfect seafood restaurant with a more-or-less perfect location on the Intracoastal. What's harder to understand is how there is any gainfully employed Floridian who doesn't spend every Sunday morning sitting on Blue Moon's deck for brunch. They serve unlimited entrées! We're talking about salmon strudel! Mahi in vanilla-rum butter!… More >>
• 

  Best Romantic Restaurant

  Mustard Seed Bistro

  As far as boutique bistros go, the Mustard Seed is definitely a romantic spot. The dim lights, muted walls, and high-back leather benches ensure as much, as do the hushed service and tinny 1940s jazz tunes buzzing softly from the speakers. But the real love affair is between the owners — handsome power couple Timothy and Lara Boyd — and… More >>
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  Best Restaurant Décor

  Tryst

  A well-designed restaurant should mean something to everyone who eats there, and that's just what happens at Tryst. The bistro and bar is laid out as mercurially as its menu of eclectic small plates, inexpensive wines, and intriguing craft beer. Inside, the space runs from cool and comforting to chic and sultry. The winding, dark-wood bar glows with candlelight, slipping… More >>
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  Best Coffee Shop

  Brew Urban Café

  It's a majestic coffee shop that also serves wine and beer — perhaps that's why Brew Urban Café is appropriately nestled in the slew of bars of downtown Fort Lauderdale. Tucked behind Tarpon Bend off Second Avenue, silver tables and chairs are planted on the sidewalk — usually filled with folks who can carry conversations. Inside, among the plush chairs… More >>
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  Best Place to Nurse a Hangover

  E.R. Bradley's Saloon

  An outfit that truly understands how to get you hammered ought to be able to manage the aftereffects. Bradley's does: No sooner have they cleaned up from their raucous late-night blowouts than a new shift arrives to serve gargantuan breakfasts and brunches. Seven days a week from the crack of dawn, this is food calculated to soak up whatever booze… More >>
• 

  Best Beer Selection

  Brother Tuckers

  Thanks to great strides in the craft beer revolution, finding quality brews at restaurants all across South Florida has been a lot easier this past year. But one place in particular makes seeking out rare and unique beers a way of life. That would be Brother Tuckers, a Belgian-style beer hall hidden away in Pompano Beach. The place is somehow… More >>

• Best Guacamole

  Rocco's Tacos and Tequila Bar

  Simplicity is the key to avocados, and Rocco's understands this. They don't mess with mayo or blenders or any such absurdity. A waiter wheels out a cart loaded with fresh avocados and a mortar and pestle. He throws in some cilantro, tomatoes, onions, and a dash of Rocco's secret spice mix, which includes paprika and other goodies. Everything is mashed… More >>

• Best Predinner Cocktail

  The Lobby Bar at the Ritz-Carlton

  Ignore for a moment that the Ritz-Carlton is arguably the best place in Manalapan to experience how the other half lives — though it's hard, what with that dark, Mediterranean patio just beyond the gleaming bar, where you can see soft tropical winds rolling off the ocean and through the gauzy white curtains that hang there, for no other reason… More >>
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  Best Service

  Sette Bello

  The dapper servers at Sette Bello know the importance of empathy. That's because they aren't just glorified food runners trucking out your linguine with clam sauce or slow-braised osso buco. They're professionals who can feel the ebb and flow of a meal and somehow know your every whim almost before you do. Sit in that romantic dining room with blush… More >>
• 

  Best Barbecue

  Art's BBQ

  The walls at Art's BBQ in Coral Springs are covered with posters of blues artists like B.B. King, Robert Johnson, and John Lee Hooker. You gotta figure even legends like them are happy to have a place at Art's, a suburban smokehouse with deep reverence to tradition. The emphasis is on Southern barbecue — slowly smoked ribs, pork, and chicken… More >>
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  Best Milk Shake

  California Burgers & Shakes

  For four weeks in 2003, the blissful concoction we call a milk shake got a bad rap. The simple partnering of milk and ice cream became synonymous with Kelis' ubiquitous song about boys flocking to a yard — for her "Milkshake." Whatever that means, we gather it's not the creamy heaven we're celebrating with this category. And despite how many… More >>
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  Best New Restaurant in Broward County

  D'Angelo

  Italians know the value of impeccable ingredients — when you have something as beautiful as a freshly shaved piece of Prosciutto de Parma, what could you possibly do to make it taste better? That's the MO at D'Angelo, a hip new spot for Italian small plates from beloved South Florida restaurateur Elia Angelo. The menu is vast but simple, full… More >>
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  Best Taco

  El Guanaco Taqueria y Antojitos

  The secret to a great taco is in the tortilla, and the ones made at Salvadoran/Mexican restaurant El Guanaco are topnotch. In typical Salvadoran style, the tortillas are prepared thick and made to order. The soft little discs of masa come out a quarter-inch thick and almost creamy on the inside, with a perfectly griddled exterior that folds lovingly around… More >>
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  Best Place to Renounce Meat Eating

  The Whole Enchilada

  The vegetarian option at most restaurants often seems like an afterthought. Either you get just rice and beans or they pile in veggie trimmings to fill the void left by the absence of protein. You're left feeling as empty as your burrito. But with tofu seared on the grill and prepared with the same diligence and attention to taste as… More >>
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  Best Outdoor Dining

  Le Patio

  Things move so fast here in South Florida. We're always rushing from one appointment to another, caught up in some never-ending stream of obligations that somehow seem to impede us from enjoying the wonders of this tropical paradise. Which is why a place like Le Patio is so important. This boutique French restaurant in Wilton Manors is no bigger than… More >>
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  Best Steak Under $10

  Taurus Steakhouse

  It doesn't take a whole heap of skill to turn an expensive piece of dry-aged prime beef into a quality steak — just apply enough heat to sear, then serve. But transforming cheaper cuts like picanha (top round) and vacio (flank steak) into tender, mouthwatering morsels takes extreme know-how. That's where Taurus, a Peruvian-style steak house in Tamarac, comes in.… More >>
• 

  Best Hamburger

  Charm City Burgers

  The folks at Charm City sure do have it sweet for hamburgers. Stop into their sunny, mural-painted storefront and you can taste that love firsthand. It's present in the concoctions that change daily, like the torta burger, a Mex-inspired sandwich with guacamole and queso fresco, or the Cajun burger, a sesame-studded bad boy layered with tasso ham and a fried… More >>
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  Best Italian Restaurant

  Talia's Tuscan Table

  Talia's ain't afraid to showcase its Italian-American 'tude. The cramped deli looks like a Bronx tenement lifted up and slammed into East Boca. Almost every spare inch of wood and brick is covered with Polaroid photos of patrons (many of them female, many of them staring at the camera luridly) posing beside massive plates of pasta. There are a half-dozen… More >>

• Best Diner

  The Pelican

  The Pelican is to diner as tandoor is to microwave. There's a relationship there, but you have to engage some creativity to nail it. The place looks diner-like enough: beach-themed thrift-shop art on the walls, wooden stools lining the counter, Formica tables, laminated menu. There's the cheerful, white-haired, coffeepot-wielding waitress who can recite every breakfast special on the board too.… More >>
• 

  Best Pizza by the Slice

  Nino's Restaurant & Pizzeria

  The secret is in the sauce. Real herbs, fresh tomatoes, a hint of spice. Warm, melting cheese that will burn the roof of your mouth in the most pleasing way. Thin, crunchy, hand-tossed crust. And you never have to mop pools of grease off the top. Unlike the average slice — baked under a warming lamp until it's a mass… More >>

• Best Vegan Restaurant

  The Soma Center Cafe

  Strands of zucchini decorated with "meatballs" made from portobello mushrooms. Quinoa topped with bananas and almond butter. A raw pâté coaxed from soaked, dehydrated walnuts. The menu items at Soma require a slight suspension of disbelief. But once you muster the courage to order them, you will be rewarded. The walnut pâté, for example, turns out to be creamy, garlicky,… More >>
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  Best Roti

  Lovey's Roti

  Roti, that West Indian flatbread served with island-style curry, can be tricky to order. But here are some tips for getting it done at Lovey's Roti, West Broward's roti haven: First, decide what type of curry you want. Lovey's makes spicy, cilantro-flecked chicken, conch, goat, veggie, and even beef. Next, choose your roti. Dhalpourie roti has cumin-forward lentil flour laced… More >>
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  Best Cold Treat on a Summer Day

  Vanilla Frozen Custard at Rita's Water Ice

  Most days, the sweat begins to prickle your neck as soon as you open the front door. The four steps to the car feel like a jaunt in a swampy Sahara. By 2 p.m., the only escape is inside a freezing ice cream parlor, preferably one with quaint wooden benches and vehemently Italian décor. Unlike the tin-can-flavored, nonfat frozen crap… More >>

• Best Late-Night Dining

  Havana Hideout

  Let's be honest: There's no good reason to eat a fat-ass fish taco at 1 o'clock in the morning. The human body doesn't physiologically need beef empanadas or chocolate chili pepper ice cream before it's content to go to sleep. So if you're eating hot-pressed Cuban sandwiches or ceviche with avocado around the same time Craig Ferguson signs off for… More >>
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  Best Pizza

  Sicilian Oven

  It's all about the wood here. In a marketplace dominated by coal-fired pizza, Sicilian Oven bakes its gourmet pies in an oven heated with smooth-burning, sweet-smelling wood. Coal heats to over 1,000 degrees and can leave a scorched, acrid-tasting char around the crust. Wood, though, cooks slightly slower and more consistently, giving Sicilian's pizzas a golden crust with just a… More >>
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  Best Croissant

  La Bonne Bouche Bakery

  Butter folded into dough begins life as manna from heaven. Baked into a pastry that's light and flaky, with a hint of crispiness, it's enough to make a person swoon. The man who creates these delectable treats every morning is undeniably French — gruff, impatient, always breaking a sweat. But that only adds to the café's street cred. Everything on… More >>
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  Best Raw Food Restaurant

  Green Wave Cafe

  The Green Wave Cafe makes raw food fun. The restaurant and market prepares all of its daily specials without ever putting food to fire, which means that its sustainable, organic ingredients have the maximum health benefit. But healthful doesn't mean flavorless here. Chef Lisa Valle creates a wide range of raw dishes that actually satisfy. She whips up crisp lettuce-leaf… More >>

• Best Caribbean Restaurant

  Bamboo Fire Cafe

  Visit a typical Caribbean restaurant in South Florida and you'll find oceans of aluminum warming trays holding wrinkly jerk chicken and greasy curry. But not at Bamboo Fire, where every island specialty is made to order. Owners Beverly and Donald Jacobs bring a personal touch to Caribbean cookery, crafting home-cooked meals that speak to their passion for food. Within minutes… More >>
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  Best Waiter

  Jared Kearney at 101 Ocean

  You're likely to see the same endearing grin across the face of Jared Kearney whether he's zipping down A1A on his scooter or flying through the often-packed 101 Ocean in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. Kearney is a cool cat who's masterful at what he does. The New York transplant has been down here for nine or ten years (he can't really remember), has… More >>
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  Best Desserts

  Mona Lisa Coal Oven Pizza

  Many a wiseguy has killed for a cannoli. And judging by the dozens of photos of axed mobsters that adorn Mona Lisa's red brick walls, here's where they come to collect. They utter their last words (likely "fuhgeddaboudit") as they eat dense pastry shells piped with cinnamon-enhanced ricotta. They make amends for their sins as their lips touch orange-scented sfogliatelle… More >>
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  Best Restaurant in Palm Beach County

  Michelle Bernstein's at the Omphoy

  Slip up the steps to the third floor inside the dark and mysterious Omphoy Hotel and you'll find yourself at Michelle Bernstein's, the fourth restaurant from the eponymous star chef herself. The striking dining room full of backlighting and mirrors is like another dimension in which nothing else is visible but the meal you're about to eat. Start with a… More >>
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  Best Hot Dog

  Los Perros

  You haven't seen a hot dog in all its heart-stopping glory until you've witnessed a super perro, the Colombian version of the universally popular street food that adopts an everything-including-the-kitchen-sink methodology. Piled with bacon, cheese, sour cream, "pink" sauce, puréed pineapple, and crushed potato chips, these messy franks should probably come with labels warning off small children, pregnant women, the… More >>
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  Best New Restaurant in Palm Beach County

  The Office

  We've poured on many superlatives already about the Office, so we may as well give it a nickname. How about "The Notorious P.I.G."? The newish gastropub in Delray Beach is like an ode to all things porky and excessive. From the confines of its Madison Avenue-inspired digs, the Office turns out so many dishes infused, whorled, and studded with bacon… More >>

• Best Street Food

  Swanky's Low 'n' Slow BBQ

  Let's face it, street food isn't easy to find in South Florida. But that doesn't mean Swanky's, a barbecue cart that operates from West Palm Beach to Miami, wins just by default. Owners Steve Russo and Armand Ignelzi take ultimate care with their homespun 'cue, putting in as much attention to detail with their killer pulled pork as a tattoo… More >>