Many coffeehouses pretend to be “literary” by setting up in bookstores, promoting poetry readings, or inviting authors to give lectures. Then they install couches and claim that the decor is the same as you’d find in your house. Well, unless you live with a poet who’s always gesticulating at a…

In the food of American folklore, the hamburger has gotten short shrift; it’s overshadowed by the ever-present hot dog. While the wiener has come to represent our nation as surely as baseball and apple pie, the burger stands for nothing more than greasy spoons. The exclamation “Hot dog!” has positive…

The latest trend in Latin cuisine is really beginning to bug me. Some folks out there are actually trying to make the stuff healthy. The idea is for Cuban, Caribbean, and South American chefs to ease up on the use of lard as shortening, to cut out the deep-frying, to…

There are green markets, delis, bakeries, grocery stores, specialty stores. And then there’s the Epicure Market, a combination of all of them, and a front-runner of the gourmet food emporium. A long-time destination in Miami Beach, Epicure is about to become the latest draw in Boca Raton: Wolfie Cohen’s Rascal…

Unless you live with one, it’s easy to forget that babies dine out, too. But they’re more likely to eat off the table — literally — than a plate. And most of us are never quite sure where the dishrag used to wipe a tabletop has been. Well, you can…

The weather people predicted it, and for a change they were right: A couple weeks ago, a cold front swept through South Florida, edging out the sunshine and reminding us that it is indeed flu season. The clouds rolled in, and the wind was the kind that makes you want…

Of all the restaurant rows in Broward and Palm Beach counties — Harrison Street in Hollywood, Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Clematis Street in West Palm Beach — Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach appears the most successful, at least on one recent weekend evening. The two-lane street was so…

The Delray Green Market (W. Atlantic Avenue at NW First Avenue, Delray Beach, 561-276-7511) is partly what it sounds like: a forum for local produce growers and florists to show off their wares. But it’s also entertainment for the entire family, and incorporates outdoor art shows, theater performances, and children’s…

Winter may still be here, but it’s never too early to prepare for summer. In other words, check out your barbecue grill to see if it still actually works. Mine didn’t, so I headed over to Lee’s BBQ Grill Center (19575-5 State Rd. 7, Boca Raton, 561-451-0099). Talk about choices…

Here’s a riddle: When is a new restaurant not a new restaurant? Answer: When it’s Nick and Max’s. See, Nick and Max’s, a “new” restaurant in Crocker Center in Boca Raton, was formerly Maxaluna, a creative, upscale, Italian place that had been in operation for almost 13 years. And while…

It was only a matter of time before the information superhighway took a right turn into the restaurant industry. At the two-month-old Bulls & Bears Wall Street Pub (110 Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, 561-274-8050), you can actually trade stocks online at one of the 13 computer stations while you eat…

A restaurant that lacks business can do several things to remedy the situation. It can a) close down and remodel, then have a splashy grand reopening for the press; b) change its name, hoping to pass itself off as a new eatery and attract unwitting customers; c) revamp and lower…

Sounds like Delaware Chicken Farm & Seafood Market (4191 N. State Rd. 7, Hollywood, 954-983-6831) should be located in, well, Delaware. But the rustic atmosphere of this old-fashioned country market makes me think Old South, which is precisely what Hollywood was 46 years ago, when this place opened. Almost a…

I live in an Alice-in-Wonderland world of restaurants. Some eateries are so big that I don’t feel like a welcome patron but an insignificant ant, searching for crumbs to carry away. Others are small enough to make me feel like a large, important presence, my fork wedged against the ceiling…

According to Advertising in America: An Introduction to Persuasive Communication, a textbook I recently unearthed in the piles of disorganized books in my office, “the three kinds of symbols most commonly used to communicate written ideas from person to person” are numbers, words, and pictures. Of the three, words are…

‘Tis no longer the season for Santa, but as far as I’m concerned, ’tis always the season for Sauvignon Blanc. Not to mention Cabernet Sauvignon, chardonnay, merlot, and zinfandel. One of the best wine shops in the region, Gordon’s (21214 St. Andrews Blvd., Boca Raton, 561-338-0675), offers good vintages at…

Having a good reputation must be irritating. When you have a bad rep, folks don’t expect much of you. So while attempts to reform and prosper are initially met with skepticism, any hint of success wins approval. But when your reputation is spotless, the pressure is on to keep it…

Fine dining has always carried a hefty price tag. World-class chefs know that those of us addicted to upscale fare will shell out just about anything for it; I for one never truly mind paying for my pleasure. But recently chef-proprietor Dick Cingolani of the renowned Lighthouse Point restaurant Cafe…

Sometimes rifling through the produce bins at the local Publix or Winn-Dixie just doesn’t cut it for me. So when I tire of bruised tomatoes, unevenly ripening apples, and rotting cukes, I head over to West McNab U-Pick (7800 W. McNab Rd., North Lauderdale, 954-726-5028). An old-time farm and fruit…

I adore eating at new restaurants. I’m intrigued by the possibilities: How will this place present itself? How will it compare with the others already on the market? How will it go where no restaurant has gone before? And afterward I enjoy advising other diners where (or where not) to…

How to scam a table at the restaurant of the moment: Be a celebrity, or just look like one. Stars always get star treatment. You can also try to pass yourself off as a restaurant reviewer. If you’re not tossed out of the place on your keister (some eateries don’t…

“Life’s passions” is the motto at the new food emporium Dancing Bear (333 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, 954-779-7374), and it’s apropos. The enormous gourmet bakery/deli/eatery, which practically takes up a city block, offers everything from fragrant roses to sumptuous chocolates to fine wines (ask the full-time sommelier for…