Boca Raton is teeming with worthy newcomers.
For 75 years, the Boca Raton Resort & Club has been making history, and this year it has taken on a special glow, thanks in no small measure to executive chef James Reaux and chef de cuisine Gregory Waters. They're taking a bunch of bows for the new-look Top of the Tower, which the resort started running again in December.
The indomitable Nick Nickolas had been in charge, and he's still running Nick's Fish Market at the Resort Beach Club with its sensational seafood buffets. With a new name -- 27 Ocean Blue - and a new menu, the Top of the Tower is setting new standards with a reworking of the classics and such headliners as gorgonzola-stuffed chateau-briand, perfectly sauteed sea scallops and show-stopping desserts. But such treats are only for hotel guests and club members. No problem in Boca. There have never been so many easy-to-recommend restaurants.
In the shadow of the resort's Tower are The Boulevard Grille and Ristorante Sapori in Royal Palm Plaza, La Vieille Maison, La Petite Maison and Trattoria Romana on Palmetto Park Road, all on the 200 Best list, and close by is Mizner Park with a stunning selection of winners.
Mark's is my favorite, but Gigi's has a great raw bar, a popular late-afternoon attitude-readjustment hour and the best oyster stew in south Florida.
Max's Grille is still a marvelous magnet, and its new executive chef, Hank Hawley, an alum of the Boca Raton Resort, is adding his own Asian accents to the Dennis Max signature specialties, the kind that are spelling success in his newest creation opened in March, Max's WaterEdge, in Manalapan, where chef David Kono holds forth.
Some newcomers are finding success, led by the incredibly popular P.F. Chang's China Bistro in the newly opened University Commons Shopping Center across from Florida Atlantic University, With similarly packed outlets in Miami, North Miami Beach and Winter Park, Chang's is doing the kind of numbers that are the envy of the trade, but then the presentation is perfect with the sauces made before your very eyes and the worked-to-order specialties covering the culinary landscape of China.
THERE ARE OTHER NEWCOMERS IN BOCA WORTHY OF A NOTE:
AFFAIR BY PREZZO
Prezzo chef Mennan Tekeli is running the show in this much-used space, working with executive chef Doug Barnhill from Mark's Las Olas.
Together they have produced a menu with both Asian and Mediterranean excitement, everything from cumin-flattered hummus and pot-stickers to miso-glazed fillets of fresh fish, herb-roasted balsamic chicken, horseradish-chive crusted salmon and house-made linguine with shrimp. Dinner entrees range from $12 to $25 and are served nightly.
CUCINA D'ANGELO
Cucina as in kitchen, Angelo as in Angelo Elia, whose Casa D'Angelo in Fort Lauderdale won its first Golden Spoon this year and serves as model and inspiration for the new Cucina. With the apparently irresistible urge to multiply and clone taking command, Angelo now has to spend each morning in Boca, setting up his menu specials, firing up the ovens and the staff and making sure all is in order before returning to his Casa to take charge there with his customary vim and vigor.
Here, too, there's a fine selection of Italian wines and a team of professionals who know precisely what the boss wants to achieve -- basically, a slightly simpler version of what has worked so well for him at his Casa. Starting with complimentary bruschetta and focaccia -- best with a few small chunks of parmigiano reggiano -- as a prelude to a selection of grilled veggies, a signature selection he somehow does better than anyone else.
That's followed by whatever your captain swears is fresh from the sea or one of the veal knockouts. The veal chop grilled in the wood-burning oven is usually my choice, but I'll settle for some scaloppine with wild mushroom sauce with some of the perfectly al dente pasta on the side.
For dessert there could be nothing more fitting than his mama's tiramisu or the homemade ricotta cheese cake. There's only one short-coming: Angelo's better half, Denise, is not out front charming guests with her smile and grace. She's at the Casa. Lunch is served Monday through Friday, and dinner, with entrees $15 to $48, nightly.
SOPRANO'S BISTRO
Opened in July in the space where Reecie's Ristorante Italiano struggled for survival, this theme exploiter features an outstanding-value-for-the-money luncheon buffet, superior pastas.
Including "Fuggedaboutit" spaghetti and Carmela's gnocchi with a fine veal sauce sprinkled with mushrooms and showered with shaved Reggiano; red snapper treated with respect, large Gulf shrimp sauteed in garlic with splashes of white wine and lemon juice; grilled baby lamb chops, chicken breast rolled with goat cheese, prosciutto and sage finished with cream, and a Bistecca alla Pizzaiola worthy of its name - Gaeta olives and all.
Lunch is served Monday through Friday, and dinner, with entrees $16.95 to $28.95, nightly.
There's also an early dinner menu from 5 to 6:30 p.m. with entrees $10.95 to $16.95, nightly.
ZEMI
Opened in January last year by two ambitious alums of Max's Grille, executive chef John Belleme and manager Allison Barber.
Belleme started in south Florida working for star chef Mark Militello, and Barber put in a tour at the Boca Raton Resort before they banded together to create what they call "A New Style American Restaurant," one which combines the best of several worlds with such zingers as Prince Edward Island mussels with Thai chilies softened with coconut and accented with basil; jumbo lump crab cakes with vanilla rum butter and green mango slaw.
Great starts for the mains of East Meets West Paella with clams, mussels, shrimp, chorizo and Israeli couscous; pan-seared day boat scallops with braised oxtail, sweet potato-parsnip mashers and pea shoots.
For lunch, served Monday through Friday, I like the pizzas, tiger eye shrimp tempura with pickled ginger salad or the calamari-Florida rock shrimp salad. Dinner entrees range from $18 to $38 and are served nightly.
