quality time somewhere in Palm Beach County
Happy (belated) New Year! Unbelievably, I’m on week 3 of 4 in the U.S. I feel I’ve taken every plane, train and automobile on the East Coast by now, and I’ll be spending this week in Boston before returning to London, where I hear there’s lots of snow.
Because there’s definitely no shortage of cold and snow in Boston, I’m looking back very fondly on my week of sunshine in south Florida, where Jon and I mooched off stayed with Jon’s parents for New Year’s.
Much as I appreciate warmth and sunshine in the dead of winter, Palm Beach County’s dining scene seems to leave much to be desired. For years, our restaurant experiences have tended to be expensive and mediocre, so we try to eat at home as much as we can. But sometimes you just gotta leave your gated golf community, so below are the best and worst of what we ate this December 2009, for the next time you find yourself in Palm Beach/West Palm Beach. At least you’ll know what to avoid (and if you have recs, please leave a comment below – this was our fourth year in the area and we still can’t find a consistently-yummy resto to love).
fish tacos at Grand Lux Cafe at Sawgrass Mills
It speaks volumes that the best of our south Florida restaurant meals was at a Vegas-like chain in Sawgrass Mills (the world’s most overwhelming outlet mall). Grand Lux Cafe is owned by the Cheesecake Factory people, which tells you what to expect: enormous portions and ridiculously-lengthy diner-style menu. Still, if you keep your order simple (salads, mostly) and stick to appetizer or “lunch menu” items, the plates won’t be too big, and the ingredients will taste fresh. I greatly enjoyed my Southwest salad, which was packed with black beans, avocados, Monterey Jack and smoky bits of chicken, and Jon and I loved our fish tacos, which were hot from the fryer and accompanied by a zippy salsa. There are some scary-looking items on the menu, of course, but use your best judgment. Most lunch items were $15 or less, and the place is close to the upscale outlets of the Colonnade.
good enough crab cake sandwich at Charley's Crab in Palm Beach, FL
Two more (small) chains tie for the title of “OK-but-not-great” dining in the area: Charley’s Crab in Palm Beach and Matteo’s Ristorante in Jupiter.
Charley’s Crab‘s primary selling points are its location overlooking the water in Palm Beach and its free valet parking. But the food is uneven. The “lobster spring rolls” highly recommended by our server had the thick, tough skin that could only have come out of a box, but the coconut shrimp was miraculously not overcooked and deliciously crispy, and my crab cake sandwich really hit the spot. Our lunch would’ve been a 100% positive experience had the starters not cost $15 and the mains upwards of $20. I know it’s Palm Beach, but I expect much fresher food at these prices.
Matteo’s Ristorante sits in a strip mall a stone’s throw from Juno Beach, and it’s typical of “family style” Italian restaurants: enormous plates of chicken- and veal-based dishes designed for sharing. Everything on the menu seemed to cost $25, but because each dish feeds about ten thousand people, a meal there can be relatively inexpensive if you don’t over-order. The fried calamari, chicken parm and planet-sized meatballs were hits. The chicken paillard, chopped salad and the spaghetti that accompanied the meatballs were extremely eh. Still, a fun place to go with your family or a large group of friends.
The worst meal this December was at Spoto’s Oyster Bar, which has served us well in years past, so I’m not sure what happened this time around. Again in a strip mall, but an upscale one. And again serving seafood, but with a nod to a mishmash of global cuisines (so American). Fried oysters were under-cooked, though Thai mussels were served in a moreish, light, coconut curry sauce. The prawns in my angel-hair pasta were severely overcooked, and everything was drowning in butter. At $20+ for pasta, you expect a lot better. And our server seemed incapable of remembering our drinks order.
And that’s the sad story of my dining out in Palm Beach County this December. Next year, I’ll stick with Cuban food: Padrino’s Cuban gets my vote based on my meal there last December, and thanks to a friend’s rec, Havana Cuban is now also on my list.
I’ll be back in London next week, and with my luggage full of Ziploc, tortillas, Goya products and Skippy, I can’t wait to get home and back to business as usual.
Grand Lux Cafe, 1780 Sawgrass Mills Circle, Sunrise, FL 33323; +1 (954) 838-9711
Charley’s Crab, 456 South Ocean Blvd, Palm Beach, FL 33480; +1 (561) 659-1500
Matteo’s Ristorante, 4300 S US Highway 1, Jupiter, FL; +1 (561) 627-8515
Spoto’s Oyster Bar, 4560 PGA Boulevard, Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33418; +1 (561) 776-9448
Padrino’s Cuban, Mission Bay Plaza, 20455 State Rd. 7, Suite AA-1, Boca Raton, FL 33498, +1 (561) 451-1070
Havana Cuban, 6801 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach, FL 33405; +1 (561) 547-9799
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Happy new year! Can’t wait until you’re back!
Have you been to Carmine’s in Palm Beach Gardens? (The area of PB, not the mall. But not too far from the mall either.) My mom and I had lunch there and it was nice. I liked the deli, particularly. The wine selection was awesome…definitely not the Publix stuff. http://www.carmines.com/ Would be a great place to pick up a lot of prepared food for an easy brunch/lunch.
Hi Krista,
Carmines sounds great (esp the part where you can take-away prepared food for quality poolside time). I’ll look forward to trying it out next year, so thanks for the tip.
As for the PBG mall – this year’s sales were disappointing, no?
[…] Ironically, one of the greatest things about living in London is how easy it is to leave the country. From January to December last year, I traveled to New York, the Ribera del Duero in Spain, Madrid, New York again, Barcelona, Paris, Istanbul, Paris a second time, the Loire Valley in France, Paris a third time, Los Angeles, San Diego, Provence, Paris a fourth time, Munich, New York again, Boston and Palm Beach, Florida. […]
Fort Lauderdale early March — windy and chilly but better than DC. Agree that it’s not particularly sophisticated, but a couple of recommendations: SoLita on Las Olas bills itself as an “ultra lounge.” We’re not particularly “ultra,” but pretty good food, particularly the grilled romaine Caesar — I don’t generally get excited about salad, but it was phenomenal. Very good pizza as well; crust is more like a flatbread than a true Neapolitan pizza, but tasty. Service downright weird: first neglectful, then after a word with the totally pneumatic barmaid, we got Tony Soprano apologetically tending to our needs. Waiters sit down at your table to discuss your dining experience. Still, good eats.
HIGHLY recommend Brew Urban for outstanding coffee; two locations, we go to the one at 2nd and 2nd off Las Olas. I believe they use Intelligentsia brand, which is one of the finest in the US. The barista’s great. Get a cortado if you want a well-brewed kick in the head.
Grand Forno is a pretty decent bakery for breads and sweets…
Genius Locus – You know, in all the years we’ve spent December holidays in south Florida, we’ve never gone into Ft. Lauderdale. Thanks for the recs. This will be the year we check out Ft. Lauderdale. (I’ve been there once before on an overnight layover to get to the Bahamas but don’t remember anything except being dragged by my husband to the Swimming Hall of Fame).
[…] market and guzzled the gluhwein in Munich. Jon and I then headed to the US for Christmas and ate huge portions of generally-mediocre food in Palm Beach County, Florida. Back in London, I somehow managed to have a so-so dinner at Chilli Cool, finding their food way […]
You need to try Food Shack in Jupiter, FL. Best restaurant in Palm Beach county…for seafood.. Fresh, caught that day… with an eclectic spin on things… Try the sweet potato crusted grouper with greens, mangoes, etc… Everything is great.
It’s my favorite restaurant in Palm Beach!