Florida Agenda

Rick Dion is no stranger to the hospitality arena. The owner of Wilton Wings— on Northeast 4th Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, just on the outskirts of the Gayborhood—Dion worked at the Las Olas Café for almost a decade. When it came time to renew the lease, owner Paula Pace instead decided to open the Mason Jar on North Federal Highway.

“I chose to move along with Paula, because we had a great working relationship. I worked with Chef Ernesto Rand, who was the chef at Las Olas Café, for over 10 years. As a matter of fact, “Chef” is our chef at Wilton Wings.” Really? A wings joint with its own chef? “You wouldn’t think that a simple wings restaurant would have a chef,” Dion acknowledges. “But we are so proud to have him on staff.” The quality of the food reflects that hiring decision.

Dion describes the restaurant’s journey to ringing (winging?) reviews and raves. “When ‘Wings and Things’ on Wilton Drive closed, we purchased all of the owners’ recipes. We knew they had a terrific business, and we wanted to continue that tradition. I purchased the business in November 2011, and my entire goal has been to make money and to give back to a community that I love,” he adds.

Dion says that the food at Wilton Wings must stand out, something he is proud to have accomplished in less than a year. “I wanted to make sure that our wings were our signature, since it’s in our name. Without a doubt they are the best. And all of our sauces are homemade— fresh and never frozen.” For specials, the prices are as much a value as the portions.

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“We offer a half rack of ribs and wings for lunch for only $9.50,” Dion notes. “On Friday, we offer our Fish and Chips, which features an 8-ounce portion with homemade coleslaw and fries. Saturday, you will find me in the kitchen making homemade New England clam chowder,” he adds proudly. “We also feature fresh tuna and fresh tilapia—the only way it could be fresher is if I were on a boat and caught it myself.” After a momentary thought, he adds “I am way too busy to do that, although it sounds pretty good,” flashing a grin.

“One of the things that I am so proud of is our service. I am proud of all of my staff. They are dedicated. We grind our own hamburgers, and we always try to have as much on the menu that is homemade. Chef Ernesto really puts his heart and soul into every meal that we prepare,” Dion says.

About his hands-on style, “I am the sort of owner that you may find me bussing tables or helping to serve the food. It always makes me smile when I watch people come in and look at the Specials Board: Their eyes literally light up when they see something that they didn’t expect.”

For more information, visit wiltonwings.com, and stop in to Wilton Wings, at 1428 NE 4th Ave., Fort Lauderdale. Tell them you read about them in Florida Agenda. You won’t be disappointed.

By Jean Doherty

Crème brûlée, French for “burnt cream,” (in Spanish, “crema catalane,” and in English “Trinity cream”) is a dessert consisting of a rich custard base, topped with a layer of hard caramel. Most people assume that crème brûlée is a French dish, since the name is French. Chances are, crème brûlée is another version of a custard recipe that was passed around during the Middle Ages. It’s almost impossible to trace its exact roots to a specific origin, so the “Battle of the Brûlée” still goes on between French, English, and Spanish adherents.

The only hard part about making this recipe is that it requires you to caramelize the sugar topping just before serving. (I do this directly at your table at Le Patio.) The aim is to get a “hard” finish without warming the cream underneath, and this can be difficult without the right tool.

I suggest you splurge on a blow torch. (I love using the blow torch: I actually think I was a plumber in another life!)

It’s well worth it, because crème brûlée is so easy and delicious, you’re going to want to make it again and again

Ingredients:

• 10 egg yolks

• 8 oz. of sugar

• 1 liter of heavy cream

• 1 vanilla pod

• Brown sugar (for “finish”)

Preheat the oven at 205°. Open the vanilla pod, remove the grains out, and put them in the cream. Place on the stovetop, and start heating slowly. “Whiten” the eggs: Mix the egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl, beating them like mad until the mixture becomes a “whitish,” light yellow color. Add the boiling vanilla cream, mixing SLOWLY, making sure that the mixture does not become too bubbly. Delicately pour this new mixture into small individual porcelain or terracotta molds. (You should make from six to eight, depending on the size of your dishes) Cook for 1 hour and 15 min; the crème should come out wobbly. Cool well.

Before serving, cover with brown sugar, get the blow torch out, and start caramelizing it. C’mon baby light my fire: You are the chef!

Although born in Dublin, Ireland, chef Jean Doherty spent most of her life in Lyon, France, the gastronomical capital of the world. Together
with Vero, her partner of 25 years, Jean has owned and run multiple restaurants including Fort Lauderdale’s Le Patio.

Although our minds recall France when we eat moules marinières (“mariner’s mussels”), this classic dish is originally a specialty from Belgium. It was made famous in Lille, a French city on the Belgian border, where they have a huge “Moules Frites Fest” every year. During this festival, held the first weekend in September, attendees create mountains of mussel shells in the streets. Serve this in deep soup bowls with home-made frites (French-fried potatoes), or lots of crusty bread.

Ingredients:
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 sprigs of thyme (optional)
• Lemon zest (optional)
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 handful of fresh parsley, chopped (reserve about
half for garnish)
• 200 ml of dry white wine
• 1kg of fresh mussels, washed and scraped

Place the butter, onion, shallot, and garlic clove in a large pan with a lid. Make ’em sweat. Add the mussels and white wine, thyme, parsley, lemon zest, and bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper.

Cover. Shake the pan occasionally, and cook for two to three minutes, or until the shells open. (Do not overcook: Seafood tastes terrible when it is overdone, so watch it like a hawk.)

Remove mussels from pan and set aside. You’ll see the “liquor” will have doubled: You can strain if you don’t like the onions and shallots in your sauce, or use as is—but be careful, there will be some grit in the bottom of the pan. (I usually add some heavy cream to thicken it, or you can add a dash of curry or saffron, depending on the flavor sauce you want. As always, you are the chef!) Reduce on a high heat, and then the sauce pour over the mussels already in the serving dish—or directly into the individual serving bowls. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately.

(Any shells that are unopened should be discarded.) Enjoy with a dry white wine, or, as in Belgium, with a beer. Cheers!

Although born in Dublin, Ireland, chef Jean Doherty spent most of her life in Lyon, France, the gastronomical capital of the world. Together with Vero, her partner of 25 years, Jean has owned and run multiple restaurants including Fort Lauderdale’s Le Patio.

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN

Whoever said size doesn’t matter has never walked through the front door of Primanti Bros., a Pittsburgh institution since 1933, and a local Fort Lauderdale favorite since 1970. While many know the place for its pizza—along with Humpy’s in Wilton Manors, it’s easily the best pizza in town—the big attraction at Primanti Bros. are its huge Almost Famous Sandwiches.

Legend has it that when the brothers Primanti (Joe, Dick, and Stanley) opened their original location on Smallman and 18th Streets in the warehouse district of Pittsburgh, they created a sandwich that included side dishes of fries and slaw between two super thick slices of Italian bread. The concept suggested that the sandwich and sides could be eaten by truckers with one hand after unloading their beds and getting back on the road.

This behemoth of an item comes in the usual assortment of flavors: Genoa salami, Italian sausage, bacon and egg, cappicola, turkey breast, roast beef, tuna fish, pastrami, corned beef or your basic burger—all mounded with provolone cheese. The resulting sandwich is easily three-inches thick, with the slaw and fries alone accounting for a good inch. It’s messy and gooey and heaven on earth. The sandwich ranges in price from $6.29-$6.69, so it’s easy on the pocketbook, especially considering that it’s a two-meal serving.

Less popular but definitely worth considering: the Lotsa Mozzarella Cheese Oven-Baked Hoagies. Served on a crispy crust 9” Italian bun, our favorite from this group is the Sicilian Cheesesteak ($6.99).

This traditional favorite includes premium cut sliced beef with grilled onions, mushrooms, and a ladle of marinara sauce, all smothered in mozzarella. The sauce is what makes it Sicilian, but the taste is what makes it our favorite.

As if to prove that it’s more than just a pizza joint, Primanti’s offers up full course meals with housemade bread and a side salad. These are definitely not the Bros. specialty, and as if to prove the point, they make you wait extra long to receive your meal. However, when you do, there is a whopping portion with equally great taste.

Recommended here is the Chicken Marsala ($11.79), served with a pasta. The chicken is sautéed in Marsala wine with mushrooms, extracting a flavor that’s both subtle and defined.

In an unusual treat, the Home-Style Baked Cheese Raviolis deliver a delightful spin on the Italian standard. In the Primanti version, the raviolis become akin to mini lasagnas with their ricotta cheese filling. The fresh marinara sauce is prepared with fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers and onions, and all for $10.99. Mamma mia!

Primanti Bros. has a 24-hour location on the beach, at 901 N Atlantic Blvd. as well as branches at 516 E Oakland Park Blvd. in Oakland Park. (954-565-7100) and 2019 N University Dr. in Sunrise. (954-578-3900).

At the non-beach locations, Tuesdays and Thursdays are boys-night-out Family Pizza Event from 5 p.m. to closing. On those nights, $16.99 gets you an 18” pizza with three-toppings and a pitcher of soda pop. (A pitcher of beer costs $1.50 more.)

The delicious single Big Slice Pizza ($2.49) may just be the best bargain not only in Primanti Bros. but in all of Fort Lauderdale and Wilton Manors. It measures a full 12-inches along the top crust, and only the most gluttonous will be able to consume two. Try anyway, and tell them Agenda sent you.

I have been browsing different recipes proposed by various well-known cooks or chefs, and I’m amazed at the amount of blah-dee-blah going on! I mean Boeuf Bourguignon in 45 steps: Would you please gimme a break?! You mean that you have to be on vacation or knock a whole day off from your weekend to make this dish? So I am giving you my recipe. A lot of you love it at Le Patio, and come in for it again and again. My point being that easy is not bad. For 6 servings you’ll need:

Ingredients:
• 3 lbs of sirloin tip
• 2 big onions
• 1lb bag of baby carrots
• 2 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 4 slices of smokey bacon
• 3 tablespoons of flour
• 1 tin of button mushrooms
• 1 bouquet of garni
• 1 bottle of red wine
• 1 beef stock cube

Choose a thick, large saucepan or a “Le Creuset” dish. Cover the bottom of the pan with olive oil and throw in the two big onions, which you have chopped coarsely. Place it on the stove and brown it. Scoop out all the browned onions with a slotted spoon and set aside. Throw in the bacon and brown. Using the slotted spoon, scoop them out and set aside with the onions. Brown the meat on all sides and sprinkle with the flour. Pour in the wine. The wine should cover all the meat: Open another bottle and add more if necessary. Add the carrots, the crushed garlic cloves, and the bouquet of garni. Add the beef stock cube, and plenty of black pepper. Throw in the browned onions and the bacon. Stir it all up with a wooden spoon, rubbing the bottom to get up all the good stuff. Yum!

Leave to cook on high heat until it boils. Give it a stir every now and then. You can add a tin of button mushrooms at this stage if you like (as I always say, you are the chef). Lower the heat and leave it simmer for two to three hours, or until the meat is tender. Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes or, even better, fresh pasta. Bon appétit!

Jean Doherty

Although born in Dublin, Ireland, chef Jean Doherty spent most of her life in Lyon, France, the gastronomical capital of the world. Together with Vero, her partner of 25 years, Jean has owned and run multiple restaurants including Fort Lauderdale’s Le Patio.

“Any treatment [for alcoholism] must be directed first toward behavior modification— including a diet that is alcohol free”

By Andy Kress

Alcoholism is a chronic disorder, and a growing issue within the LGBT community. Since this is a progressive disease, there is a fine line between being a heavy drinker and a compulsive one—the textbook definition of an alcoholic. The World Health Organization has listed alcoholism as one of the three most deadly killer diseases of the 20th century.

Alcohol, by its very nature is foreign, since it is not a product found in nature. It results from decomposition of fruits, grains and vegetables, and as such belongs to a family of poisons. Ethyl alcohol, the main intoxicating ingredient in wine, beer, and distilled liquor is a toxic drug that depresses the brain and nervous system. Although alcohol is fattening, it isn’t a food and is not changed or digested in any way. It is quickly absorbed in the blood stream and then travels to every part of the body, adversely affecting vital organs like the brain and liver.

There are a few tell tale signs of a true alcoholic, a puffy face and red blood-shot eyes among them. The alcoholic’s voice will be very hoarse and raspy, and they tend to have a rapid pulse, due to the alcohol’s thinning effects on the blood. Often irritable and over-emotional in their actions, many tend to be very suspicious of others. Bouts of delirium and black-outs of time are another chronic symptom. So, too, is repeated vomiting throughout the day.

Since the true alcoholic would rather drink than eat, it is easy for them to become very emaciated, with their skin becoming dehydrated and wrinkled. Because alcoholism is principally a psychological disease, any treatment must be directed first toward behavior modification— including a diet that is alcohol-free. In its place, the drinking of orange juice multiple times a day serves three purposes: One, the habit of drinking is satisfied; two, the juice helps rehydrate the body; and three, orange juice provides needed vitamins and minerals. A simple multivitamin taken with massive amounts of leafy vegetables are essential, as well, to provide fiber and reintroduce the stomach to processing solid food.

Legumes, starches, pastas and other carbohydrates provide long-lasting energy between meals. Enriched cereals and breads fill the stomach and are a good source of foliate and thiamine. Poultry is low in saturated fats and is a good source of lean protein to help build and repair muscles that have been damaged through inactivity. Poultry is often mild in taste and easy to digest.

Seafood is another protein that is lower in fats and cholesterols; this will help aid in the body’s muscle retention. Seafood is also loaded with many vitamins and minerals lost in the over consumption of alcohol. Lean pork is another fine choice when fighting the effects of alcoholism. Pork has a variety of different vitamins and minerals than chicken or seafood, as well as being a good source of healthy protein.

If you know or are related to an alcoholic, remember there is a good chance that they won’t be reading this article, since their word-mind association process is impaired by their disease. Share the information freely, knowing that you are helping to save someone’s life. You may even be saving lives more than you know, since drunk drivers are a major threat to innocent victims on our highways.

Andy Kress is a certified fitness trainer, yoga instructor and nutritional counselor in Fort Lauderdale, FL. For more nutritional tips or inspired exercise routines, reach him at 954-789-3930 or via email at andyfitnesstrainer@gmail.com

Ingredients:

• 3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

• Knob of butter

• 1 tablespoon of flour

• 1 small onion, chopped

• A good pinch of black pepper

• ½ pint of chicken broth

• ½ cup of milk

• 12 ounces of frozen mixed peas and carrots,

or sliced mushrooms

• 2 refrigerated pie crusts (I prefer to use puff

pastry)

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Take out the pie crusts, so they’ll come to room temperature. In a saucepan, simmer butter and onion until soft. Stir in flour and pepper, and cook until bubbly. Slowly stir in broth and milk, a little at a time. Heat to boil, stirring constantly.X

Boil one minute. Congratulations—you have just made a béchamel sauce.

Add the chicken and the veggies. Unroll first pie crust using the lid of your cocotte, and cut around it with a paring knife. Spoon the chicken filling into the little cocottes. Place the pastry on top of each one, making sure to cut a few holes with your knife so it’ll breath. Bake for approximately 20 minutes, and serve with a salad. You are the chef!

Although born in Dublin, Ireland, chef Jean Doherty spent most of her life in Lyon, France, the gastronomical capital of the world. Together with Vero, her partner of 25 years, Jean has owned and run multiple restaurants including Fort Lauderdale’s Le Patio.

RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN

SEAWATCH ON THE OCEAN
6002 North Ocean Boulevard
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308
954-781-2200

There was always something so relaxing about SeaWatch on the Ocean, a local favorite since 1974. The nautical ambiance of heavy dock rope, ship lanterns, 12-spoke wheels, and dusty ancient maps and books competing for wall space was a home-away-from- home for many Floridians, who found the restaurant’s fresh seafood as comforting as its sagging red banquettes.

All that changed about a year ago, when the popular place closed its doors for months, as its owners remodeled the eatery in what was its first update in its 38-year history. The menu received a full fluff-and-fold as well, with the resulting transformation as sophisticated as it is complete.

The restaurant sits on the sand some 50 yards from the Atlantic, and on nights of the Full Moon, the joint is packed to capacity to celebrate the lunar experience, as it creeps over the horizon and showcases the jubilant crowd. (The next full moon party is August 30th.) During those parties, there’s an outdoor barbecue and DJ Alex spinning in the booth.

While SeaWatch has a multipage menu featuring some top-notch house specialties— Bouillabaisse, a rich soup of lobster, shrimp, scallops, calamari, white fish, mussels, clams, and saffron-chicken broth, with a hint of Pernod ($29.00); a Seafood Paella, heavy with king crab, chicken, shrimp, spicy chorizo, clams, salmon, and mussels served on a bed of Spanish rice ($28.00); and a slow-roasted 16-ounce Prime Rib with a zesty horseradish sauce and flavorful au jus, plus a side of Yorkshire pudding ($32.00)—it’s the lunch specials that have lately kept us smiling.

In an off-season promotion running daily between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., SeaWatch offers Sail the $7 Seas, a host of $7 lunch items, including some extremely good paninis. The grilled and pressed sandwiches range in choice from Salmon BLT with smack-your-lips applewood bacon on multi-grain bread to a Classic Corned Beef Reuben, with sauerkraut, swiss cheese on delicious sliced caraway seed loaf. All the paninis are served with a dill pickle wedge and a bag of Miss Vickie’s Simply Sea Salt Potato Chips.

Not in the mood for a Panini? Try Maria’s Tortilla Salad, sliced lean sirloin steak mixed with iceberg lettuce, tortilla chips, beans, chopped tomatoes, and cheddar cheese with a creamy Italian dressing—Maria’s special contribution. Also priced at $7: An amazingly flavored Shrimp Penne Pasta, with grilled pancetta, sun-dried tomato and arugula.

SeaWatch also has a very nice grilled Cheeseburger and Fries with caramelized onions, sliced pickles, tomato and a secret sauce, or a forget-the-calories Grilled Hot Dog with catsup, mustard and sweet relish. That one comes with fries as well, and plenty of them.

For dinner, the vast daily menu is available from 6 p.m. until closing. For those special few who want to see the place as the moon comes up, try Dinner at Dusk from 5-6 p.m. For $20.95, select your choice of 1¼ pound Broiled Lobster, Blackened Mahi Mahi, Roasted Half Chicken, Slow-Roasted Prime Rib, or the Broiled Combination Platter that features shrimp, scallops, and mahi mahi in a garlic, herb and butter sauce that’s a two-napkin taste treat.

Be sure to say hi to Mary at the upstairs bar, Jeannette at the door, and Beth, who manages the joint as if it’s her own nightly party. And, as always, tell them Agenda sent you.

By JEAN DOHERTY

Eggplant’s lovely purple skin adds a colorful punch to many healthy recipes, and it’s great texture is sturdy enough to stand up to the fire of a grill!

You’re most familiar with it here in the States served up breaded and fried, and covered in melted cheese—NOT healthful fare! Chunks of eggplant can be roasted and pureed into a silky, smooth dip known in the Middle East and elsewhere as Baba Ganoush, which in Arabic means “father of coquetry,” or flirting—which has been interpreted that it was invented by a member of a harem, although “ghanoush” may have come from a personal name, too.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium eggplants

• 4 cloves of garlic

• ¼ cup of lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds

• 2 tablespoons of tahini

• 1-and ¼ teaspoons of salt

• Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and lightly grease a baking sheet. Place eggplant on baking sheet, and make holes in the skin with a fork. Roast them for 30 to 40 minutes, turning occasionally, or until soft.

Remove from oven, and place into a large bowl of cold water. Remove from water, and peel the skin off.

Place the eggplant, lemon juice, tahini, sesame seeds, and garlic in an electric blender, and puree. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer eggplant mixture to a medium-sized mixing bowl, and slowly mix in olive oil. Refrigerate for 3 hours before serving.

Enjoy with pita bread, chips, raw veggies, or whatever tickles your fancy, after all—you are the chef!H Although born in Dublin, Ireland, chef Jean Doherty spent most of her life in Lyon, France, the gastronomical capital of the world. Together with Vero, her partner of 25 years, Jean has owned and run multiple restaurants including Fort Lauderdale’s Le Patio.

Although born in Dublin, Ireland, chef Jean Doherty spent most of her life in Lyon, France, the gastronomical capital of the
world. Together with Vero, her partner of 25 years, Jean has owned and run multiple restaurants including Fort Lauderdale’s Le Patio.

By RICHARD DAVID CHAMBERLAIN

STORK’S BAKERY, COFFEE HOUSE & CAFÉ
2505 NE 15th Ave.
Wilton Manors, FL 33305
954-567-3220

We admit it. We’re a sucker for a Pilgrim Wrap. Although we were first introduced to the sandwich years ago while living in Provincetown, Massachusetts, land of the Mayflower, we recently reacquainted ourselves with the joy of this taste treat at Stork’s Bakery, Coffee House & Café in Wilton Manors. The local variety serves up a delicious sliced oven-roast turkey combo with cornbread stuffing, cranberry vinaigrette, chutney, beefsteak tomato, lettuce and mayo in a spinach wrap. At $8.49, it’s the signature sandwich of Stork’s, a local institution for the past 15 years. Over that time, there’s been a few changes to the menu, but the Pilgrim Wrap has always made the cut.

In case you’re new to the neighborhood, or haven’t stopped by recently for a fast, wholesome meal, Stork’s blends a menu of salads, sandwiches, soups, and quiches with their famous housemade desserts. This day, we tasted our way through a fresh-from-the-stove Creamy Veggie Soup ($8.95), a smack-yourlips Caprese Salad with field greens, tomato, mozzarella, basil, chives, and cracked black pepper ($7.99), a Baked Eggplant Lasagna ($10 per pound) that had just the right amount of heft to counter the light tomato sauce, and a large slice of Storkberry Pie, which, if you haven’t tried it, is heaven between a crust. The Storkberry, which should have its own patent, is a unique blend of strawberries, cherries, blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries, with a flaky lattice-work oatmeal crust, at $4.00 per slice. At breakfast, the spotlight is on Stork’s 13 different whole bean blends of coffee, with Snickerdoodle Decaf our vote for the moment, though they’ve got an equally large variety of fresh brewed teas. Where else could you find a tea called Get Gorgeous, which, when consumed, promises to produce the clearest skin this side of Snow White? At breakfasttime, it’s an aroma orgy inside the shop, as coffees fence with baked goods for bragging rights to um-um good.

Yet as great as the café and coffee are, Stork’s shines when the bakery is placed front and center.

There is nowhere else in town with as consistently a great German Chocolate Cake: Moist chocolate with coconut sweetness, tempered with a sprinkle of pecan at $4.15 a slice. Another favorite, which is often out of stock, is the White Chocolate Pistachio Cheesecake ($4.15). It should be illegal, and maybe it is, since it seems to vanish from the display case as soon as it arrives. It’s a white chocolate pistachio ganache that’s made sinful with the addition of pictachio pieces that circle the rim of the outside of the cheesecake. The first bite will tell you you’re in big trouble.

Those who know such things swear by the Kahlua Marble Cheesecake ($4.15), with its coffee swirl atop a dark chocolate crumb crust. While it’s too adult for us to even try, the baker insists it’s a winner.

So, too, is Stork’s within the community.

It is not unusual to see the company logo on charity fundraisers for not-for-profit organizations, particularly within the LGBT arena. They continue to be a major presence during the annual SmartRide (this year, it’s November 16-17), as well as the monthly Tea Cruise benefiting the Brian Neal Fitness and Health Foundation. Thank them for that when you next drop by, and, of course, tell them Agenda sent you.