Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Now open: Clay Conley’s Buccan Sandwich Shop in West Palm Beach, Memphis Garrett’s Point Break in Plantation
Stay up to date with South Florida dining news: Sign up for our twiceweekly Eat Beat newsletter, filled with restaurant news, guides and recipes. Go to SunSentinel.com/newsletters to sign up.
Join our Let’s Eat, South Florida Facebook group.
Now open
Buccan Sandwich Shop, West Palm Beach
Clay Conley, arguably one of Palm Beach County’s most-decorated chefs (and a multiple James Beard Award nominee), has quietly created the Buccan Sandwich Shop takeout window into the side of Grato, his elegant Italian eatery in the Flamingo Park neighborhood. The sandwich counter is a spinoff of the lunchtime menu at Buccan, his small-plates bistro in Palm Beach, where fresh-sliced hot and cold meats are served on long rolls, along with soups and salads. There are handhelds stuffed with Grato’s meatballs, plus corned beef Reuben, prime N.Y. strip cheesesteak, Buffalo chicken, turkey club, falafel pita and double-cheeseburgers topped with remoulade. The takeout window (look for the giant pink flamingo on Buccan’s Kanuga Drive side) opened for delivery-only this week, with plans to debut the full takeout window experience by mid-March. 1901 S. Dixie Highway, West
Palm Beach; BuccanSandwichShop.com
Point Break, Plantation
With a name like Point Break, you might expect Keanu to show up at the restaurant and nod approvingly at your choice of healthy lunch. But no, the name is really a rechristening of Poke House, a lunchonly poke shop from local restaurateur Memphis Garrett (Fort Lauderdale’s Ya Mas! Taverna, No Man’s Land) that opened without fanfare a year ago. The 1,300-square-foot storefront will host its grand opening on March 4 in the Shoppes at Cleary plaza. Now that Point Break is a fast-casual eatery serving pan-Asian street food for lunch and dinner, Garrett ditched half the poke menu in favor of tuna tacos, Hawaiian fried rice, tonkotsu ramen, poke gyoza, coconut shrimp and chicken karaage. 8970 Cleary Blvd., Plantation; 954-999-5758; EatPointBreak.com
Bagels With Deli, Delray Beach
A sister location to its flagship New York-style deli on Linton Boulevard, this bakery registered to owners Robert and Dawn Bloom debuted Feb. 5 on West Atlantic Avenue, sharing a strip mall with Joseph’s Classic Market. Along with noodle kugel and potato latkes, there are appetizing cases selling spreads and salads by the half-pound (including hummus, macaroni, Greek orzo, chicken and tuna), plus 14 fresh-baked bagel flavors, bialys and flagels (aka flat bagels). The breakfast-lunch menu also offers housemade corned beef hash, egg sandwiches, LEO omelets, wraps, salads bowls and 14 deli sandwiches filled with everything from hot pastrami to honey almond chicken. 8854 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; BagelsWithDeli.com
Smoke Shack BBQ & Burgers, Royal Palm Beach
Born in New Jersey, Timothy Jensen and Greg Stouffer’s smokehouse pub debuted its first South Florida outpost in early February in the Cobblestone Village plaza. The sports-themed restaurant serves barbecue sandwiches, footlong hotdogs, beef brisket and baby back ribs by the pound, along with 10 styles of hamburgers on brioche. But Smoke Shack’s bestsellers are its specialty sandwiches like Three Little Pigs, packing roughly a pound of 14-hour smoked pulled pork, 4-hour smoked pork belly and whole-hog bacon into a brioche bun, somehow managing to save room for lettuce, tomato and onion on top. A second location is planned for Delray Beach, at 13900 Jog Road, sometime in April. 10233 Okeechobee Blvd., Royal Palm Beach; 561-437-1121; SmokeShackBBQandBurgers.com
Le Colonial, Delray Beach
This luxe time capsule to 1920s French Colonial Vietnam, under restaurateurs Rick Wahlstedt and Joe King, soft-opened on Feb. 15 within the new Atlantic Crossing shopping village. At 7,500 square feet, this restaurant-bar is accented with tropical furnishings, breezy verandas, leather banquettes, mahogany millwork and framed period photographs. Its classic Vietnamese menu, by chefs Nicole Routhier and Hassan Obaye, offers crunchy green papaya salad dressed in tangy nuoc cham (a sweet-sour-spicy dipping sauce), moist dumplings garnished with ginger, half roasted duck and suon nuong, or lemongrass-marinated baby back ribs. Wahlstedt and King — who operate other locations in Chicago, Houston, Atlanta and Lake Forest, Ill. — are planning another Le Colonial in Naples later in 2023. 601 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; LeColonial.com
Scoops & Beyond, Wellington
This dessert destination at The Mall at Wellington Green specializes in frozen treats such as ice cream, gelato, milkshakes, sundaes, banana splits and iced coffee. They also have some kosher, sugarfree, lactose-free-fat-free options. 10300 Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington; shopwellingtongreen.com
Bubbakoo’s Burritos, Miramar
Customizable Nashville hot chicken burritos, barbecue shredded pork quesadillas and General Tso’s crispy chicken tacos are on the menu at this fast-casual Tex-Mex franchise born on the Jersey Shore, which debuted Feb. 10 in the Miramar Park Place plaza. The location, operated by franchisee Suresh Patel, offers buildyour-own burritos, bowls, tacos, quesadillas, nachos and something called a “chiwawa” (basically panko-breaded, fried rice balls topped with nacho cheese plus other burrito add-ons). This is the third Bubbakoo’s location in South Florida, joining outposts in Deerfield Beach and Coral Springs. 11225 Miramar Parkway, Suite 230; 954-589-0737; Bubbakoos.com
New River Cafe and Bakery, Fort Lauderdale
Her tantalizing red-andgreen velvet cake smeared in coquito cream cheese won Netflix’s “Sugar Rush Christmas,” and now Sabrina Courtemanche has opened her downtown Fort Lauderdale bakery in late January. Courtemanche, the executive pastry chef at Riverside Hotel, opened the shop in a retail space near the hotel, where she bakes confections such as
snicker brownies, chocolate-chip sourdough loaves, cinnamon rolls and pumpkin tiramisu. 420 SE Sixth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; Facebook.com/NewRiverCafeBakery
Napoli Now! Pizza Napoletana, Cooper City
This Neapolitan-style pizzeria from owners Gaetano and Guy Sperduto quietly debuted in early December In the Cooper Square plaza, across the street from Cooper City High School. The pizzeria dishes 14 pies topped with Italy-imported mortadella, salsiccia and nduja sausages, thin-sliced prosciutto, spicy pepperoni and broccoli rabe, along with housemade meatballs, five sandwiches and four salads. 9630 Stirling Road, No. 102, Cooper City; 754-888-9966; NapoliNow. com
DB’s Pizza, Deerfield Beach
This slice shop registered to owner Chris Wilber (of Canyon Southwest Cafe in Fort Lauderdale fame) replaces the former Michael’s Pizzeria inside the Cove Shopping Center, the Deerfield Beach landmark that’s halfway through its multimillion-dollar facelift. The menu is standard New York-style, with pepperonis as big as silver dollars and a slim non-pizza menu of three sandwiches (eggplant, meatball and chicken parms), spaghetti and fettuccine alfredo, along with tiramisu and cannolis. 1645 SE Third Court, Suite 103, Deerfield Beach; 754-227-7791; Facebook.com (search for “DB’s Pizza”)
Cookiehead Bakery, Coral Springs
If you remember Bagelmania, then you might want to know that the Schwartzberg family is back in the bakery biz. Their new sweet shop, Cookiehead Bakery, had a soft opening Jan. 26 in Coral Spring’s Royal Eagle Plaza. Owners Margie and Gary Schwartzberg decided to open their latest venture at the behest of their grandchildren who — during the pandemic shutdown — wanted to see two generations of recipes (Gary’s father was also a baker starting in the 1930s) get some props. Margie and Gary themselves are bakery veterans with 52-plus years of experience. Back in 1978, they moved Bagelmania down to SoFlo from Brooklyn, N.Y. With Cookiehead, the crowd favorites so far are the “traditional 1931 Chocolate Chip recipe originated by my dad,” says Gary, before adding that other popular cookies include “the Strawberry Cheesecake and Fiona’s Buttercream Funfetti
Sugar Cookie. Yum!” 9162 Wiles Road, Coral Springs; 754-225-5858; cookieheadbakery.com
Spadaro of Deerfield Beach
Antonio Spadaro’s original namesake restaurant is in New Rochelle, N.Y., while the South Florida location is “more like a delicatessen,” he told the Sun Sentinel. “Our customer in New York also comes to ... this area and we wanted to bring a piece of Italy to Florida with our unique Italian specialty products.” Grand-opening activities are planned this month: a free sample buffet on Feb. 17 and a 50% discount on the entire menu. 1330 S. Federal Highway, Deerfield Beach; 954-596-5330; instagram.com/spadaro_dinein_ takeout
Rosalia’s Kitchen, Miramar
This Mediterranean-Italian fusion restaurant registered to owner Rafael Brazon-Di Fatta opened in late January in the Miramar Square plaza. The uncommon mashup results in dishes such as Bolognese arancini balls and roasted eggplant ravioli, as well as gnocchi cheese alfredo. There is also a variety of hummus platters, spanakopita, Greek salads, vegan chickpea sambusak and Israeli crispy chicken sliders. For dessert, there’s Israeli cheesecake with butter cookie crumble and a tower of cream puffs drizzled with bourbon caramel and chocolate sauces. 12130 Miramar Parkway; 954-5892411; RosaliasKitchen.com
Maggie’s Favorite Coffee and Bakeshop, Oakland Park
Crepes, cupcakes, muffins, breakfast sandwiches — and plenty of Italian java — are the stars of this breakfast-lunch cafe, which soft-opened in mid-January on Oakland Park Boulevard. The bakery, owned by Magdalena “Maggie” Amaro and partner Milan Lazic, offers a chill menu to match its carnation-pink walls adorned in cursive “coffee” signs and floral murals. There are cakes by the slice and avocado toast, cinnamon rolls and acai bowls, prosciutto and fig jam and savory chicken bacon ranch crepes, and turkey pesto and barbecue pulled-pork sandwiches. Amaro tells the South Florida Sun Sentinel that a grand-opening party is planned for Feb. 18. 830 E. Oakland Park Blvd., Suite 101, Oakland Park; 954-2821190; MaggiesFavorite.com
Alpen Bakery Store, Pembroke Pines
Two married bakers hoping to provide a better life for their two daughters relocated from their native Chile to Cooper
City and plan to open their new Austrian-Latin fusion bakery in Pembroke Pines sometime in February.
The pastry shop, owned by Anja Frings Uribarri and Ruben Molina Lobos, specializes in fruit tartlets and chocolate muffins but also tantalizing exotic pastries, including Austrian-style sachertorte (a denser, chocolate-glazed chocolate cake layered with fruit jam), alfajores (dulce de leche sandwich cookies) and moka cake (topped with mocha buttercream). 8937 Taft St., Pembroke Pines; 954-646-7100; Facebook.com (search for “Alpen Bakery Store”)
World of Beer Bar & Kitchen, Royal Palm Beach
This chain emporium of craft-beer suds, wine, cocktails and pub fare debuted its latest South Florida taproom on Feb. 4 on Southern Boulevard, roughly 3 miles west of the iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre. The beer hall touts a mind-numbing variety of draft and bottled brews (there are hundreds, from saisons and stouts to hard seltzers and mead), and its menu features soft-baked pretzels, chicken wings doused in eight sauces and
dry rubs, salads and tacos, six styles of hamburgers and four flatbreads, and entrées including steak frites and grilled Atlantic salmon brushed with India Pale Ale glaze. 11121 Southern Blvd., Royal Palm Beach; WorldofBeer.com
Just Pizza & Wing Co., Coral Springs
After months-long permitting delays, this Buffalo, N.Y.-born franchise opened its first South Florida pizza-wing stop on Feb. 1 under local franchisee Noel Morreale. The eatery’s name, to be fair, sells short its sheer number of specialty configurations, such as the 3 Cheese Steak Pizza with a mozzarella-Swiss-white American blend atop thin-sliced sirloin steak, and wings with intriguing (bourbon whiskey, blackberry barbecue, Cajun honey) and scald-your-mouth-out flavors (“lethal hot” Buffalo style). 2359 N. University Drive, Coral Springs; 754-240-4887; JustPizzaUSA.com
Ramen Lab Eatery, West Boca Raton
Ramen Lab Eatery opened Jan. 30 at Boca Raton’s Mission Bay Plaza. But if you’re looking for something splashier, a grand opening event has been planned for 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Feb. 9, with Japanese drummers and lion dancers, aerialists, a 360 photo-booth, fire dancers and sketch artists from artNEST. Known for handmade ramen noodles, handwrapped dumplings, Asian tapas and donburi (rice bowl), the restaurant is part of the Lemongrass Hospitality label, which also owns Lemongrass Asian Bistro, The Sea Kitchen, Ganzo and Eat District — all in Palm Beach County. This new Ramen Lab Eatery in West Boca Raton measures 1,900 square feet and has seating for 50 indoors and 20 outdoors. 20449 State Road 7, No. A5, Boca Raton; 561-617-1903; ramenlabeatery.com
SoBol, Lauderdale-by-theSea
This New York-spun franchise seizing on the build-your-own-bowl trend debuted its newest location on Jan. 31 in the Sea Ranch Village Shopping Center. The shop offers customizable bowl blends, along with specialty acai, green, pitaya and mango pineapple bowls filled with granola, strawberry, banana, blueberries and strawberries. There are also six varieties of smoothies. 4759 N. Ocean Blvd., Lauderdale-by-the-Sea; 954-678-2224, MySoBol. com
Jugo Boss, Lighthouse Point
This detox juicery from Mariana and Diego Uribe debuted its first brickand-mortar with a grand opening on Jan. 28 in Lighthouse Point’s Shoppes at Beacon Light. The shop began its life at the Alton Food Hall before migrating into the Yellow Green Farmers Market this summer. Jugo serves
six cold-pressed juices including “Nut mylk” (raw almonds, cinnamon, vanilla bean, honey), along with immunity ginger shots, acai bowls and smoothies. 2438 N. Federal Highway, Lighthouse Point; 954-773-4300; JugoBossDetox.com
Kava Jive, Wilton Manors
Billing itself as Wilton Manor’s “elite elixir bar,” Kava Jive debuted with a grand opening on Jan. 28 and offers a variety of specialty botanically infused teas and, of course, kava. Owners Anthony Kessler and Vincent Russo say Kava Jive is “an upscale bar conducive to productivity during the day ... where you can vibe and jive at night.” The space, located in the people-magnet Shoppes of Wilton Manors strip mall, features local art and live entertainment (bands, DJs, spoken word artists). 2242 Wilton Drive, Wilton Manors; 754-2063895, kavajive.com
Closed
Blue Moon Diner, Cooper City
This suburban stripmall hub for down-home classics — bacon-stuffed omelets, tuna cheese melts, bison hamburgers — has closed in the Pine Lake Plaza on Griffin Road after 13 years. The eatery abruptly shut in mid-January without fanfare or social-media updates, and its phone number and website have been taken down. Last year, the diner was renovated by new owners Shaune and Sarah Walter, who took over Blue Moon in 2021. The diner was also known for its collision of high-end and low-end dishes, such as breakfast burritos, lobster quiche, avocado egg rolls and Atlantic salmon. 10076 Griffin Road, Cooper City
Holy Mackerel Small Batch Beers, Wilton Manors
The signs are down and the phone line is disconnected at this brewpub near Five Points Plaza that abruptly closed without fanfare in late January after nearly three years in Wilton Manors. Owner Frank Barecich told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the brewery, which closed to make way for a new condo development, plans to relocate this year, although no new lease has been signed. Holy Mackerel, which began its life in 2008 under brewer Bobby Gordash, opened its first taproom in 2017 in a Pompano Beach warehouse. Then it migrated in 2020 to Wilton Manors under new owner Frank Barecich, who bought the naming rights and recipes from Gordash. Despite the many stainless-steel tanks adorning this brewhouse, the (sometimes controversial) brewery did not brew beer on premises, instead outsourcing its suds to South Carolina’s Thomas Creek Brewery, which made Holy Mackerel recipes including Special Golden Ale, Panic Attack and Café Cubano.