Today we stopped by Bedner's Farm Market in Boynton Beach, FL. Our goal was to have some lunch from the Rolling Stove food truck that's become so popular in our area but we played golf this morning and got to Bedner's too late. So we "settled" on having barbecue from Porky & Beth's. We were pleasantly surprised!
Because we barbecue ourselves, we're a bit fussy about the barbecue we eat in restaurants. Porky & Beth's is definitely high up on our list of places we'd choose! They cook & serve from a brand-new beautiful trailer, and there are many picnic tables under a large canopy for you to sit and enjoy your meal. "Porky", whose given name is Robert, stops by every table and asks how you like the food. He's very proud of their product and he should be.
We had a "Three Meat Plate" which comes with two sides. We chose beef brisket, pulled pork, and ribs, and our sides were macaroni & cheese and collard greens. We also got an ear of grilled corn, husk attached. The brisket was good, although Carol would have preferred the "point" rather than the "flat" section that we were given...we'll have to ask next time if that's an option. The "point" is a bit fattier and more tender. The pulled pork was very good but we wished it had more "bark" (crunchy outside crust). The ribs were the best-tasting of the three meats and were so tender they had fallen off the bones. Paying customers like ribs this tender although judges in barbecue competitions are a bit hard on contestants who turn in ribs like this. Sauce options were sweet and hot, tomato-based, and were very tasty! The mac & cheese was just OK, and the collards were a little bitter. We liked the corn.
We talked a bit with "Porky" afterward and got a close look at their Lang smoker. Lang calls their smokers the "#1 BBQ smoker" and they do manufacture a great product. Porky uses oak for all his meats, and while he uses a bit of restraint so that his meats don't taste too "oaky", we prefer oak for beef and fruitwoods like apple & cherry for pork.
We'll go back to "Porky & Beth's BBQ" to see if we can't get a little of the brisket "point" and talk more barbecue with Robert!
http://www.porky&bethsbbq.com/
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Bogart's Bar & Grill
Bogart's Bar & Grill is housed on the second floor of the Cinemark Palace 20 Theater here in Boca Raton. It is a great place to go for dinner just before or after a movie. We often pair this with the Premier movie experience at the theater. Tonight the Premier was booked so we went downstairs to see Secretariat. Great movie by the way!
We called early for reservations and they had none at the time we needed so we were quite pleasantly surprised to find we had only a 10 minute wait for a table. Ryan was our server and he was excellent. He was very attentive to our needs.
Carol had the Barbecue Chicken Pizza. She thought it was great. It had cheddar-Monterey jack
cheese, roasted peppers, fresh tomatoes, red onion and house made barbecue sauce.
I had the Organic Lemon Roasted Chicken which came with wild rice pilaf, broccoli and lemon thyme jus. So often when you get roasted chicken it comes quite bland. This had a ton of flavor. The rice pilaf was nutty and quite good as well.
We have frequented this restaurant in the past and we always find the food exceptional and the service great. Since it is a restaurant in a theater, they are always mindful of when your movie starts and get you out in time for the show.
We got there early thinking we would have quite a wait to get a table. Since we got in rapidly, we had enough extra time to have dessert so we shared the Turtle Ice Cream Sandwich which is layers of chocolate cake, vanilla ice cream, Heath Bar pieces topped with hot fudge and caramel sauce. The portion was enormous so we had more than enough to share. It was quite wonderful!
We think this is an exceptional restaurant that may be missed by many because of its venue. It is a wonderful treat to go with your movie. Do not miss it.
http://www.bogartsofboca.com/
Great Food at Duffy's Sports Grill!
We've been to several links in the Duffy's Sports Grill chain; yesterday we visited the Deerfield Beach, FL location for lunch.
Duffy's has a wide variety of choices on the menu, ranging from appetizers like Loaded Potato Skins to Coconut Crusted Dolphin Fingers and Mini Crab Cakes. If you're going for a full meal you can choose from sandwiches (Carol likes the Buffalo Chicken), salads, and specialties such as steaks, pork chops, and pasta dishes.
On our visit yesterday, Lisa had the Angus Cheeseburger (her cheese of choice was Cheddar). She had sweet potato fries as a side ($1.50 extra). The burger was cooked to her liking at medium-well, and although she said it wasn't the best burger she's ever had, it was very good. The sweet potato fries were crinkle-cut and a bit bland...a cinnamon-sugar dip would be nice!
Carol went for a special...the Island Wrap. It contained blackened shrimp, lettuce, tomato, & chopped avocado, and she enjoyed it. She chose onion rings as a side (again, $1.50 extra). They had already cooled a bit by the time they arrived at the table.
Stop by a Duffy's next time you're hungry...you'll leave satisfied!
www.duffyssportsgrill.com
Duffy's has a wide variety of choices on the menu, ranging from appetizers like Loaded Potato Skins to Coconut Crusted Dolphin Fingers and Mini Crab Cakes. If you're going for a full meal you can choose from sandwiches (Carol likes the Buffalo Chicken), salads, and specialties such as steaks, pork chops, and pasta dishes.
On our visit yesterday, Lisa had the Angus Cheeseburger (her cheese of choice was Cheddar). She had sweet potato fries as a side ($1.50 extra). The burger was cooked to her liking at medium-well, and although she said it wasn't the best burger she's ever had, it was very good. The sweet potato fries were crinkle-cut and a bit bland...a cinnamon-sugar dip would be nice!
Carol went for a special...the Island Wrap. It contained blackened shrimp, lettuce, tomato, & chopped avocado, and she enjoyed it. She chose onion rings as a side (again, $1.50 extra). They had already cooled a bit by the time they arrived at the table.
Stop by a Duffy's next time you're hungry...you'll leave satisfied!
www.duffyssportsgrill.com
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Pear Clafouti
Not easy to say but fairly simple to make, this is Ina Garten's recipe. I just did a google search for pear clafouti (fortunately it finished spelling clafouti for me). There are three pears inside along with a batter that is a lot like a pancake batter. We will put either a glaze or a caramel on top with homemade ice cream that Carol is making, a vanilla ice cream with a salted butter caramel swirl. Looking forward to dessert tonight.
Carol's mom is cooking, Italian! It promises to be an excellent eating evening.
Cheesecake Factory
One of our most favorite places to go for dinner out is the Cheescake Factory. We are fortunate in that there is one right down the street from us.
Last night's meal was exceptional. We started with the Cream of Chicken, Mushroom and Artichoke soup which was excellent. Be sure and try it if you are there when it is the soup of the day. Carol ordered the, Asian Carmel Chicken which was a special and not on the online menu. They have served it before when we were there so she knew she loved it. Lisa had her old standby, the Factory Burrito Grande. It used to be served with the rice and beans on the plate beside the burrito but recently the chef has been putting the rice inside the burrito. When she asked about it, our server Michelle said they could put the rice on the side. It was much better that way. It comes with chicken, onions, and many other things inside and a fresh tomato salsa, sour cream and guacamole on top. It was wonderful as usual.
We noticed last night that they were paying much more attention to service. They have always been good but last night, they went overboard. DeeDee, another server pitched in and brought us drinks when she saw we were below half way. A gentleman also came and asked if everything was ok. Several apologized for the slow service. It was not that slow but it was nice that they were concerned about it. We also noticed there was a staff member in the restroom helping out with anything that was needed.
We are almost always too full when we finish with our meal to even think about eating cheesecake and last night was no exception. However when we do order dessert, I LOVE the Warm Apple Crisp. I know, its Cheesecake Factory, but none of the cheesecakes hold a candle to the apple crisp. Try it sometime, you'll understand.
All in all, over the top service along with wonderful food made for a great evening out.
Champs Americana
Friday night we had dinner with some friends from the Florida Library Association who were down to conduct several sessions discussing the new FSU program for in person classes for their Masters Degree Program. We met them at Champps Americana in North Fort Lauderdale.
Sam, our server was very good. He kept our drinks filled without us having to ask and was quite attentive to our needs.
Carol had the Bleu Cheeseburger with melted bleu and cheddar cheeses, topped with two
strips of apple wood-smoked bacon. She of course asked for medium rare and it was cooked very nicely. She loved the stake fries which were quite crispy on the outside and nice and fluffy inside.
Lisa had the Shroom Burger, a juicy burger loaded with sauteed mushrooms and
Swiss cheese. She had onion rings on the side. The meal was great. The batter an the onion rings was thicker and crispier than most and was very nice. She of course had her burger cooked medium well. There was no pink inside but she was ok with that.
All in all it was a very nice meal.
http://www.champps.com/
Sam, our server was very good. He kept our drinks filled without us having to ask and was quite attentive to our needs.
Carol had the Bleu Cheeseburger with melted bleu and cheddar cheeses, topped with two
strips of apple wood-smoked bacon. She of course asked for medium rare and it was cooked very nicely. She loved the stake fries which were quite crispy on the outside and nice and fluffy inside.
Lisa had the Shroom Burger, a juicy burger loaded with sauteed mushrooms and
Swiss cheese. She had onion rings on the side. The meal was great. The batter an the onion rings was thicker and crispier than most and was very nice. She of course had her burger cooked medium well. There was no pink inside but she was ok with that.
All in all it was a very nice meal.
http://www.champps.com/
Friday, October 1, 2010
Tomasso's Pizza & Subs
Tomassos, one of the best pizza places we know of just happens to be right around the corner from us. It has been in business for MANY years and we have frequented it probably more than any other restaurant.
Tonight was a special night. They held a raffle to raise funds for breast cancer and the money went to the Boca Raton Regional Hospital's "Go Pink" Challenge. They raised $5000. The grand prize winner (not us) won a year's worth of pizzas; 52 pizzas throughout the year. The second prize winner (also not us) won an Italian dinner for 10. The third prize winner (again, not us) won an office pizza party for 10. There were several other prizes, none of which we won but that is ok. We did get a free large 2 topping pizza for buying a raffle ticket. They offered sausage peppers & onions in sauce, stromboli, cookies, cupcakes and sodas for free.
We met our friend Kathy there and ordered a large pizza half pepperoni and the other half ham, a gorgonzola salad, and garlic rolls (without the garlic). As always it was excellent.
We often go there for a quick lunch as they sell GREAT subs, salads and everything else.
We had a great evening supporting a good cause.
Tonight was a special night. They held a raffle to raise funds for breast cancer and the money went to the Boca Raton Regional Hospital's "Go Pink" Challenge. They raised $5000. The grand prize winner (not us) won a year's worth of pizzas; 52 pizzas throughout the year. The second prize winner (also not us) won an Italian dinner for 10. The third prize winner (again, not us) won an office pizza party for 10. There were several other prizes, none of which we won but that is ok. We did get a free large 2 topping pizza for buying a raffle ticket. They offered sausage peppers & onions in sauce, stromboli, cookies, cupcakes and sodas for free.
We met our friend Kathy there and ordered a large pizza half pepperoni and the other half ham, a gorgonzola salad, and garlic rolls (without the garlic). As always it was excellent.
We often go there for a quick lunch as they sell GREAT subs, salads and everything else.
We had a great evening supporting a good cause.
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