1207 S.E. 17th Street

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316

Phone: 954-764-3333

If you really enjoy New York Strip steak, Chuck’s makes a delicious Black Angus beef cooked to order.  There have been several Chuck’s locations in Florida that are no longer around. The first Florida location was opened in 1973 in Ft. Lauderdale and has thrived throughout the years. Lunch is served on Saturday and Sunday and music is played on Friday and Saturday evenings. Chuck’s takes reservations, especially for parties of 10 or more.  They have happy hour Monday through Friday from 4pm to 6:30pm.

The decor is dark inside with a big bar area where the music is played. My family and I were at Chuck’s Ft. Lauderdale location with relatives last Friday night. We had around 18 people in our party so we had two long tables set up towards the back area of the restaurant. We were able to hear the music and see the bar. The menu is varied and the prices are moderate for steak and seafood dishes. Some people ordered seafood and others ordered Prime Rib and the New York Strip. The Prime Rib was tasty, but too rare for me. The New York Strip really looked good and lean. I ordered their famous Salad Bar and delicious Manhattan Clam Chowder soup.

The service was efficient and timely for our dinner party.  Being a Friday night, it got crowded.  I have not been there in many years so I really enjoyed it. Chuck’s is a great place to take the family, go as a couple, or for a larger party or event.

COLUMBIA RESTAURANT – THE PIER

800 2nd Avenue N.E.
St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Phone: 727-822-8000

http://www.columbiarestaurant.com

colpier@columbiarestaurant.com

This restaurant is a Florida tradition since 1905. You will find waterfront views and outstanding Spanish/Cuban cuisine at the Columbia at The Pier in downtown St. Petersburg. A panoramic 360 degree 4th floor waterfront view of sailboats drifting by and dolphins playing in Tampa Bay complement their award-winning family recipes, fresh seafood from the Gulf of Mexico and other specialties. They are open 365 days a year serving lunch and dinner. There are several other successful Florida locations in Ybor City, Sarasota, St. Augustine, Clearwater Beach, Celebration, and Riverwalk Tampa.

Columbia at the Pier is centrally located in downtown St. Petersburg. Close to the Pier is an impressive collection of cultural centers that include the St. Petersburg Museum of History, the Museum of Fine Arts, Florida International Museum and the world-renowned Salvador Dali Museum. There are also several waterfront parks to enjoy.

There is an on-site gift shop for a selection of unique gifts, fine cigars & accessories. You can take home “A Taste of Columbia” with their World Famous “1905″ Salad TM Dressing, sangria mix, Cuban and American roast coffee, hot sauce and Columbia seasoning. You’ll also find a wide variety of unique hand-made and hand painted ceramic pieces imported from Spain.

The service is very prompt and efficient. Our waitress commented on how much she liked working there for over four years. My husband and I were there for dinner on a week night around 8:00pm so there was not a wait for a table. Sitting overlooking the water was really nice. The lights on the outside of the building would change from dark pink, blue, green, and yellow which really looked pretty. We started out with white wine before our main dinner.  I ordered a shrimp dish with crabmeat that was delicious. My husband ordered a snapper dish that was also very tasty. The food presentation was nice and everything was fresh.

I would recommend this restaurant to others that have not been there before.  It is great for a romantic dinner or with a family. I look forward to going back there the next time we are in the area.

19595 State Rd 7, Boca Raton, FL 33498         Phone: 561-479-2526

Outback Steakhouse is best known for their grilled steaks, chicken, and seafood dishes. They also offer salads, soups, and appetizers.  New creations and grilled dishes are served fresh daily. There are many locations all over South Florida. It is a great place for families and parties.  Online ordering and crubside take-away ordering is available. There are two separate locations in Boca Raton alone. I was with a friend at the West Boca Raton location recently during the week on a Wednesday night around 8:00pm. It was not packed, but there were many tables filled. There is a bar on the right side. It has a casual atmosphere.

The menu is varied. There are now gluten-free dishes and Spanish dishes available as well. We ordered two appetizers to share and had one of their peach flavored specialty drinks called Wallaby Darned. The Gold Coast Coconut Shrimp was good and so was the Alice Springs Chicken Quesadillas. Many of their portions are large enough for two people to share. We also had their signature dark bread. Our server was very accommodating and also helped us in our appetizer decision.

Because there are always new and exciting additions to their menu, I look forward to coming back again soon and trying them.

2901 Clint Moore Road
Boca Raton, FL 33431
Phone: 561-995-9940

http://www.rotellipizzapasta.com

If you are looking for a good neighborhood family Italian Restaurant with a variety of food and moderate pricing, you should try Rotelli’s.  There are many locations throughout South Florida. My husband and I went to the Central Boca Raton location listed above on a Saturday night. It was crowded at 7:00pm when we arrived. The service is prompt and the atmosphere is friendly and comfortable. There are coupons online and ones that we received in the mail that can be used towards lunch or dinner there.

The menu is varied and includes seafood items as well. There are dinner specials for $9.99 daily and complete early bird dinners daily. The regular prices are moderate and the portions are generous. Each of us had a glass of house wine which was very good. We ordered a gorgonzola salad and a large pizza with spinach, extra cheese, and roasted red peppers. Everything was delicious and we had some pizza to bring home.

We will go back again to try their many dinner dishes soon.

We enjoyed the Sushi Lunch Box with four pieces of California roll, six pieces of tuna roll and three other pieces of sushi  for $10.95 including miso soup.  Another fresh and tasty dish  was the Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables with Chicken and Jasmine rice for $7.95 including miso soup.

Tee-Jay Thai Sushi has locations in Fort Lauderdale, Coral Springs, and Wilton Manors.

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner. For more information and a menu, please visit their website, tjthaisushi.com.

5975 North Federal Highway
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308

(954) 771-4447

Max’s Grille has a wide variety of food and wine. You may enjoy full entrees, sandwiches or tapas. Max’ Grille now serves breakfast.

On Friday, from 11:30am to 4:00 pm, $5 hamburgers are available.

For more information and menus, please visit maxsgrille.com.

404 Plaza Real
Boca Raton, FL 33432
(561) 368-0080

APPLEBEE’S www.Applebees.com 561-279-2666

1720 S. Federal Highway, Delray Beach, FL 33483

You feel welcome when you go to Applebee’s restaurants. There are  many locations nationwide. It is a geared to all ages and accommodating to families and large groups with a casual atomosphere.  They now have the Carside to Go orders which is very convenient when you are in a hurry. There is a bar with daily happy hour specials. They regularly advertise their 2 for $20 dinner specials and also offer several dinners for 550 calories and under. I was there with a friend for dinner on a Wednesday night around 7:30pm at the Delray Beach location and waited only a few minutes for a table. It was still busy at that time. The hostess was friendly and the waitress was as well.  Looking through the menu, everything looked good!  The menu changes every season with new dishes.  It was a tough choice.

We shared a spinach dip appetizer. We both had iced tea to drink and got a chicken and shrimp dinner platter. It was brought out hot and delicious tasting! Afterwards, we shared a black cake and ice cream dessert. All and all, it was a nice dinner for a reasonable price. The atmosphere was not too noisy and I did not feel cramped. I have been there before for lunch and had salads. This time for dinner I was able to try one of their popular dishes. Looking forward to trying others when I return.

From 12:00pm to 4:00pm every day, P.F. Chang’s offers Lunch Bowls on their menu. You may choose from a variety of chicken, beef, shrimp, fish or vegetarian dishes. Each lunch bowl  is severed with a choice of brown or white rice, and egg drop or hot and sour soup. Today we had Sesame Chicken and Pepper Steak. The Sesame Chicken was excellent. It consisted of stir-fried chicken, broccoli, red peppers, onions and ginger in a sesame sauce. This lunch bowl item was $8.50. We also had Pepper Steak which was excellent. It consisted of  quickly cooked steak with red and green bell peppers, yellow onions, garlic and black pepper for $9.50.

After our main dish, we enjoyed the mini desserts, chocolate cake with berry sauce and a cheese cake for $2.25 each.

We had a pot of a very tasty sweet ginger-peach tea with our meal, $2.50 for the two of us.

In addition to the Lunch Bowl items, other great deals are the Happy Hour specials from 3:00pm to 6:00pm.  Discounted small plates and drinks are served.

We dined from 3:00 to 3:45 pm and there were plenty of people in the restaurant. According to our waitress, during the dinner hour there is a long wait for those without a reservation.

A few months ago we did a review of our meal at the Sunrise location which can be found at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Sunrise, Florida Review

P.F. Chang’s
University Commons
1400 Glades Rd. Bay 220
Boca Raton, FL 33431
(561) 393-3722

http://flavorsofitaly.com

1933 N. University Drive

Coral Springs, FL 33071

This Italian restaurant recently relocated from one area of Coral Springs to another spot, however, they did not update their website as of yet.  Their old address and phone number are still listed on their current website.  The old phone number is disconnected.  Their new location is where Mambo Jambo used to be. The outside has nice tables set up and you can hear music playing as you walk in. They advertise live entertainment in the bar lounge on Friday nights.  Reservations for dinner are suggested.

I was there with my girlfriends last week on Thursday night and was surprised at how quiet the restaurant was at dinner time during season.  We had a round table for eight of us.  Their  menu items are made with the finest ingredients and are made to order.  The menu was extensive so there was a lot to choose from. The prices are moderate to expensive as everything is ala carte.  We had had a gourmet salad before our main course.  Some had wine before.  There was plenty of bread and marinara sauce to share.  Some of us had the eggplant and zucchini lasagna as our main dish. It was highly recommended and it was delicious!  The portions were nice.  Others had salmon and some had chicken parmagiana. Everyone enjoyed their food and the presentation.  Then a few had coffee after the meal. We did not order dessert as the one recommended was not being served that evening. That was disappointing.

Our only valid complaint was with the service. It took awhile to get our food and then there was a misunderstanding about making separate checks and taking a advertising discount coupon of theirs with the meals. We had to call the manager and she did not stand by what she had said previously.  We would have appreciated her being honest with us. As it turned out, we all got separate checks and a few of us got the discount for our meals.

I don’t know if we would go back there so fast again. Being that the food was so good, one might wander why they were not busier for dinner. Perhaps one too many did not get served properly or in a reasonable amount of time.