Florida Agenda

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN   There once was a Labrador Retriever named Bailey. While Baily died a little over a year ago at the ripe old age of 17, rumor has it that this faithful pet provided the kind of unconditional love that gives the dog breed its reputation as friendly, energetic, good-natured, and smart. [...]

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN Walk down Sunrise Blvd. in the vicinity of NE 18th Ave. on any Friday night and prepare to marvel at the line stretching around the block from the front door of Il Mulino Cucina Italiana. In what can only be described as a local tradition passed from one satisfied customer to [...]

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN   A week ago Sunday was National Earth Day, and what better way to celebrate, we thought, than eat at Energy Kitchen, an eco-friendly restaurant with a fresh approach to a healthy diet. The idea here is a simple one: everything on the menu is 500 calories or less. Nothing is [...]

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN There was a time, not too long ago, when the only way to get great Cuban food in Fort Lauderdale was to leave the city and drive down to Calle Ocho in Miami. That was BFL, of course. Before Fuego Latino, that is. The Cuban restaurant opened in a strip mall [...]

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN There’s a bucket of menus at the front door of Lime Fresh Mexican Grill, the newest entry in Fort Lauderdale’s ever-expanding freshly made South-of-the-Border-themed restaurants. That this chain started in 2004 some 40 miles away in South Beach makes its hometown ties that much stronger. By 2006, founder John Kunkel had [...]

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN The sign says “Greek Diner Gyros and Subs” in giant white letters against a blue background. Only upon careful examination do the words “Victoria Park” sneak into view. This restaurant, a one-time Miami Subs franchise, is a local favorite, and while the signage is new, the menu is a tried-and-true mix [...]

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN A funny thing happened on the way to J. Alexander’s—the outlet of the chain restaurant that’s been a fixture on Federal Highway for decades. My houseguest, who apparently is a J. Alexander’s aficionado of sorts, had just traveled into town from Tennessee, where the restaurant has its corporate headquarters and where [...]

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN When Oscar Wilde said, “After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relatives,” he must have been channeling Market 17. This elegant eatery located in the Portside Yachting Center is the brainchild of siblings Kirsta and Aaron Grauberger, who in any other life would have been born in [...]

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN As a friend of mine loves to say, “you’re a shucker for oysters,” after which she usually supplies a mock drum roll by tapping her hands on the table and smiling her toothy grin. And so it was recently at G & B Oyster Bar, the sister restaurant to its more [...]