Boca Raton Nov. 2015 by JES Media

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GREAT BOCA RATON HOMES DON’T FIND THEMSELVES. Whether it’s a relaxing getaway or an oceanfront estate, dream homes in South Florida are ubiquitous. Home to sun, sand, and breathtaking views, it is no surprise that South Florida draws buyers from around the world. Palm Beach to Miami Beach, when it comes to South Florida, Douglas Elliman agents are the experts. Let Douglas Elliman guide you in your search from beginning to end.

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ASKELLIMAN.COM © 2015 Douglas Elliman Real Estate. All material presented herein is intended for information purposes only. While, this information is believed to be correct, it is represented subject to errors, omissions, changes or withdrawal without notice. All property information, including, but not limited to square footage, room count, number of bedrooms and the school district in property listings are deemed reliable, but should be verified by your own attorney, architect or zoning expert. Equal Housing Opportunity.

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Boca Central 561.994.8886 | Boca Downtown 561.391.9400 Boca Resort & Beach 561.395.2233 | Boynton Beach 561.736.2400 Delray Beach 561.278.0300 | Jupiter Beach 561.744.2500 Palm Beach Gardens 561.622.5000 | Port St. Lucie 772.344.7279 Stuart 772.286.1300 | Wellington 561.793.3400 West Palm Beach Intracoastal 561.832.4663

The property information herein is derived from various sources that may include, but not be limited to, county records and the Multiple Listing Service, and it may include approximations. Although the information is believed to be accurate, it is not warranted and you should not rely upon it without personal verification. Agent and office numbers for the Coldwell Banker Previews International program include all Coldwell Banker-branded offices in the Coldwell Banker franchise system as of December 2014. ÂŠ2015 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. All Rights Reserved. Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act. Operated by a subsidiary of NRT LLC. Coldwell Banker, the Coldwell Banker logo, Coldwell Banker Previews International and the Previews logo are registered and unregistered service marks owned by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. 11233FL_9/15

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Where Boca Comes Ashore Stay and Play the Boca Way Meet the new jewel of the Boca waterfront, the Waterstone Resort & Marina, a AAA Four Diamond award-winning boutique hotel with a chic, modern decor. Featuring two new restaurants, Waterstone Bar & Grill and Boca Landing, spectacular event space and easy beach access, Waterstone Resort & Marina is the best way to experience all the fun Boca has to offer. 999 EAST CAMINO REAL

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Helping you achieve your goals has always been ours Congratulations to Eric S. Glasband for being recognized on the Barron’s Top 1200 in 2012, 2013 and 2014. For more than 100 years, our clients have been at the center of everything we do. That’s how we measure success — today, and in the years ahead.

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Life’s better when we’re connected® Source: Barron’s magazine, February 20, 2012, February 16, 2013, February 22, 2014, America’s Top 1200 Financial Advisors list. Advisors considered for the “America’s Top 1200 Financial Advisors list” ranking have a minimum of seven years financial services experience and have been employed at their current firm for at least one year. Quantitative and qualitative measures used to determine the Advisor rankings include: client assets, return on assets, client satisfaction/retention, compliance records, and community involvement, among others. Barron’s does not receive compensation from Advisors, participating firms and their affiliates, or the media in exchange for rankings. Barron’s is a trademark of Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. The Bull Symbol, Merrill Lynch and Life’s better when we’re connected are registered trademarks or trademarks of Bank of America Corporation. Merrill Lynch Wealth Management makes available products and services offered by Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“MLPF&S”), a registered broker-dealer and member SIPC, and other subsidiaries of Bank of America Corporation (“BAC”). Investment products: Are Not FDIC Insured Are Not Bank Guaranteed © 2014 Bank of America Corporation. All rights reserved.

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MON - FRI: 10AM - 5PM | SAT - SUN: 11AM - 5PM 561.396.2787 | TOWER155.COM This residential development TOWER 155 (“Project”) is being developed 155 Boca Raton Road, LLC ("Developer"), which has a limited right to use the trademarked names and logos of Compson. Any and all statements, disclosures and/or representations shall be deemed made by Developer and not by Compson, and you agree to look solely to Developer (and not to Compson and/or any of its affiliates) with respect to any and all matters relating to the marketing and/or development of the Condominium and with respect to the sales of units in the Condominium. ORAL REPRESENTATIONS CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS CORRECTLY STATING THE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DEVELOPER. FOR CORRECT REPRESENTATIONS, MAKE REFERENCE TO THIS BROCHURE AND TO THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED BY SECTION 718.503, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO BE FURNISHED BY A DEVELOPER TO A BUYER OR LESSEE. These materials are not intended to be an offer to sell, or solicitation to buy a unit in the condominium. Such an offering shall only be made pursuant to the prospectus (offering circular) for the condominium and no statements should be relied upon unless made in the prospectus or in the applicable purchase agreement. In no event shall any solicitation, offer or sale of a unit in the condominium be made in, or to residents of, any state or country in which such activity would be unlawful. This is not intended to be an offer to sell nor a solicitation of offers to buy real estate to residents of CT, ID, NJ, NY and OR, unless registered or exemptions are available, or in any other jurisdiction where prohibited by law, and your eligibility for purchase will depend upon your state of residency. For correct representations, reference should be made to the documents required by section 718.503, Florida Statutes, to be furnished by a developer to a buyer or lessee. All images and designs depicted herein are artist’s conceptual renderings, which are based upon preliminary development plans and are subject to change without notice in the manner provided in the offering documents. All such materials are not to scale and are shown solely for illustrative purpose.

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Siemens Group is excited to announce that Akoya is now under construction; the most highly anticipated real estate offering to hit Boca Raton in two decades. Akoya is ideally located on the grounds of the Nation’s #1 Private Residential Country Club – Boca West. New buyers can immediately take advantage of club membership with Boca West’s unequalled resort-style amenities. Akoya residents will enjoy the 120,000 sq. ft. club expansion which will be completed just in time for move-in day at Akoya, with no assessment. Act now so you can have it all, limited pre-construction pricing from the 800’s.

561.362.2719 • AkoyaBocaWest.com SALES GALLERY & DESIGN CENTER located in the Sports Center at Boca West | 20583 Boca West Drive | Boca Raton, FL 33434 FOUR CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF COURSES • AWARD-WINNING CLUBHOUSE • SPORTS AND AQUATICS CENTER • WORLD-CLASS SPA AND TENNIS • FITNESS AND AEROBICS • SIX DINING VENUES ORAL REPRESENTATIONS CANNOT BE RELIED UPON AS CORRECTLY STATING THE REPRESENTATIONS OF THE DEVELOPER. FOR CORRECT REPRESENTATIONS, MAKE REFERENCE TO THE DOCUMENTS REQUIRED BY SECTION 718.503, FLORIDA STATUTES, TO BE FURNISHED BY A DEVELOPER TO A BUYER OR LESSEE. ALL DIMENSIONS ARE APPROXIMATE. PLANS, MATERIALS AND SPECIFICATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO ARCHITECTURAL, STRUCTURAL AND OTHER REVISIONS AS THEY ARE DEEMED ADVISABLE BY THE DEVELOPER, BUILDER OR ARCHITECT, OR AS MAY BE REQUIRED BY LAW. BOCA WEST COUNTRY CLUB, INC. IS A PRIVATE CLUB. ALL PARTIES WHO INTEND TO PURCHASE REAL PROPERTY LOCATED WITHIN BOCA WEST MUST APPLY TO AND BE APPROVED BY THE CLUB TO OBTAIN A CLUB MEMBERSHIP. ALL PARTIES APPROVED AS AND WHO BECOME CLUB MEMBERS SHALL BE SUBJECT TO AND MUST COMPLY WITH THE CLUB’S ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION, BYLAWS AND RULES AND REGULATIONS.

NOVEMBER 2015

VOL. 35, ISSUE 7

features

124 VIVA LA FRANCE!

Two hundred and fifty years after the first restaurant opened in Paris, the influence of French cuisine remains as strong as ever— including in Boca. by libby volgyes

132 HIRE CALLINGS

Meet five South Floridians who find something rewarding about their career choices beyond the paycheck. by emily j. minor

140 FALL GUY

Calling all men: Elevate your style game with this lineup of sophisticated clothing and accessories. photography by aaron bristol

AND THE 148 NEEDLE DAMAGE DONE

Boca Raton speaks to former addicts, local law enforcement and others about the countywide spike in heroin-related deaths. by eric barton

MEET THE ARTIST

AARON BRISTOL

No one rises to a challenge quite like Stephanie Steliga. Not only did the pastry chef at La Nouvelle Maison create something sweet for our cover story on French cuisine, she produced an edible masterpiece. Here’s what went into the work of art on our November cover: ✔ The project took two full days. ✔ The Eiffel Tower, with mimicked macaroons as a design element, is made primarily out of chocolate. ✔ The wheel of cheese, suitcase, pictures, bread rolls, maps, etc., are made with wafer paper, fondant, gum paste and edible imaging. Stephanie dedicates the creation to her mom, Gail, who is battling ovarian cancer in New Jersey.

BOCAMAG.COM follow the leader

NOVEMBER 2015

VOL. 35, NO. 7

departments

48 MAIL

Readers comment on articles in recent issues of Boca Raton.

104

155 BACKSTAGE PASS

Boca Raton adds to its rich legacy thanks to an identity that distinguishes it in the regional publishing world.

The 2015-16 cultural season promises highlights in categories ranging from art exhibitions and local theater to dance and lectures. Our award-winning A&E editor breaks it down with 30 must-see events.

by kevin kaminski

by john thomason

HOME TOWN

171 DINING GUIDE

We’ve spiced up the opening section of the magazine with more community-oriented insights— including some insider buzz, a peek at the great outdoors and a local nonprofit leader’s favorite dish.

Don’t leave home without it—our comprehensive guide to the best restaurants in South Florida, including new reviews of Max’s Grille in Boca and Hudson in Delray.

reviews by bill citara

by kevin kaminski, marie speed and john thomason

209 OUT & ABOUT

SHOP TALK

Mix-and-match your makeup colors with the help of a Boca expert, ease your kitchen concerns with Turkey Day cooking gadgets—and meet the fashion designer who will have the runway buzzing at this year’s Woman Volunteer of the Year event.

by taryn tacher

75 FEEL GOOD

Boca’s menu of unconventional fitness options includes a stick-pounding workout and a gluteus-sculpting booty call. by lisette hilton

The president of the Palm Beach Human Rights Council, Rand Hoch, speaks candidly to Boca Raton about fighting the good fight on behalf of LGBT rights. by john thomason

50 EDITOR’S LETTER 53

120 THE BOCA INTERVIEW

FLORIDA HOME

The seasons may not change in Florida the way they do up North, but that doesn’t mean you can’t spruce up your interior spaces with autumn touches. by brad mee

You might just see some familiar faces in our snapshots from talked-about social events in and around Boca Raton. by kevin kaminski and taryn tacher

223 SPEED BUMPS

The quest for clutter-free order leads the author into the closet. by marie speed

224 MY TURN

For FAU to continue building on the foundation set by John Kelly, the numbers must add up in more ways than one.

The traditions may change through the years, but the message remains the same when it comes to giving thanks.

by randy schultz

by john shuff

93 CITY WATCH

100 FACE TIME

Meet a rabbi making a difference in the community, an old-school educator at Lynn University and a local teen turning heads with her stellar play on the links. by kevin kaminski, marie speed and taryn tacher

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Aaron Bristol

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bocamag.com From left: Lindsey Swing and Lilly Robbins

WEB EXTRAS Check out these bonus items unique to bocamag.com, related to stories in the November issue of Boca Raton or pertaining to events in our area: MAKING THE SCENE: Boca Raton is stepping up its glam game this season with the help of two local style mavens. Lindsey Swing and Lilly Robbins, founders of the South Florida fashion and lifestyle blog LLScene (ll-scene.com), have joined our online and print teams to give readers insights into the trends that are turning heads when it comes to women’s clothing and accessories. Twice each month, the ladies will weigh in at bocamag.com about everything from seasonal style to fashion-related events. Look for LLScene’s contributions to our Shop Talk pages starting in December. MORE FROM MOORE: We asked Daniel Moore, executive chef at Burt & Max’s in Delray Beach, to deconstruct his irresistible chicken-nwaffles dish (page 194). Not only did he deliver six insider cooking tips, but he also gave us the step-by-step recipe—which you can check out by visiting Web Extras at bocamag.com.

GET THE LOOK: Did the fall fashion in our September/October issue catch your eye? Thanks to local fashionista Dana Ross, readers can add the looks found in Boca Raton magazine to their own closet. We’ve partnered with the founder of Lilly List, who scours mostly national magazines for buzz-worthy style—and then provides links to specific items for one-stop online shopping. In addition to featuring fashion from our magazine at lillylist. com, Dana also will provide readers with “Lilly-approved” fashion and beauty selections as part of her monthly blog under the Shopping link at bocamag.com. CITY WATCH: In addition to his award-winning commentaries in each issue of Boca Raton (page 93), Randy Schultz continues to cover the community like no other local reporter. Don’t miss his “City Watch” blog every Tuesday and Thursday for the latest city, regional and state news.

MUST-SEE TV

With high season in high gear, it’s time for BocaMagTV to take viewers behind the scenes at some of the area’s most popular social events. Expect to see our cameras out and about the next several months at galas, celebrity appearances, food festivals and other community affairs. This month, we’ll have coverage of the Junior League’s 28th annual Woman Volunteer of the Year spectacular (Nov. 6) at Boca Raton Resort & Club.

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Don’t miss Boca Raton on everything from Facebook (facebook.com/bocamag) and Instagram (instagram.com/ bocamag) to Pinterest (pinterest.com/bocamag) for community news, insider tips, beauty trends, behind-the-scenes images, fashion inspiration—and much more. Follow us on Twitter (@bocamag) for restaurant and retail updates, as well as special-event coverage.

bocamag.com T Emily Senderey

Med-School Diaries

An aspiring doctor at FAU’s College of Medicine shares her journey. When the first graduating class to receive Doctor of Medicine degrees exited the stage this past April at Florida Atlantic University, it forever altered the identity of more than just the 53 students who officially became physicians. Thanks to the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at FAU, the city of Boca is producing doctors. Think about that. Two decades after gaining notoriety as the fictional South Florida home to Jerry Seinfeld’s parents, our town is now producing the next generation of health-care professionals. Emily Senderey is one of those aspiring physicians. The 22-year-old was the first per-

son to graduate from FAU’s prestigious Wilkes Medical Scholars Program, which grants early admission to the College of Medicine; Senderey actually completed her inaugural year of medical school during her senior year of undergraduate work. As part of its ongoing “How Does It Feel?” series, Boca Raton asked the second-year med student to contribute an online diary to give readers insights into her pursuit of a White Coat dream. The daughter of Ruben and Beatrice Senderey, longtime owners of Senderey Video Productions in Lauderhill, will blog each month at bocamag.com. Here is an excerpt from her first entry.

hroughout college I was labeled the “non-partier,” which to me was like being labeled as “lame” or “not fun.” I was never interested in spending the night out with large groups or having superficial conversations. At the time, minimizing my social life was contributing to my undergraduate success, which meant everything to me. I justified my “lameness” by thinking that all of my future medical school classmates also would have no social life. To my surprise, they did. Many go out on weekends, they party—and they manage to do extremely well! Their stellar work-life balance made me question my own. Was I doing something wrong? Did I need to change my grandma habits of going to bed at 9 and waking up before the sun rises? Medical school has pushed my boundaries, not just academically but socially. And in doing so, I accepted that not being a partier did not define who I was; it’s just part of who I am. And who I am is why I live a life filled with love, happiness and success. As long as I can remember, I wanted to study medicine; my parents used to call me their “little doctor.” … My older brother and sister both pursued the family business. Not me. I think about that sometimes. Why me? The only person in our family with a medical background was my mom’s father, who was a physician in the military, an anesthesiologist. He died when my mom was in her 20s, but she had the most profound respect for him and his career. I think, subconsciously, that may have been a stimulus for my interest in medicine; his spirit is definitely part of this journey.

BLOG CENTRAL: STAY CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY WITH OUR TEAM OF BLOGGERS A&E: John Thomason takes readers inside the arts with concert, exhibition and movie reviews, cultural news and special profiles every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

bloggers Amanda Jane (dishing on seasonal finds and recipes) and Alina Z., aka, “The Green Goddess” (bringing you the latest on healthy eating options).

DINING: Lynn Kalber breaks down the tri-county restaurant scene every Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Also, on Wednesdays and Thursdays, look for foodie

HEALTH & BEAUTY: Lisette

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

Hilton delivers local news from the worlds of exercise and medicine every Wednesday in her “Fit Life” blog.

SHOP: Discover upcoming trunk shows, store openings, moneysaving tips and fashion trends throughout the week with our style specialists, including the ladies from LLScene and a monthly contribution from Dana Ross of Lilly List. COMMUNITY: Randy Schultz brings a reporter’s eye to Boca

and beyond every Tuesday and Thursday with his “City Watch” blog; Michelle Olson-Rogers explores the family scenes with “Boca Mom Talk” every other Wednesday; and our in-house team keeps you on top of local events and happenings—including our popular “Staff Picks” each Friday to kick off your weekend.

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marie speed

editor

kevin kaminski

managing editor

john thomason

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taryn tacher

senior art director

lori pierino

assistant art director

nancy kumpulainen

photographers

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valentine s. fracassi

contributing writers

eric barton, lisette hilton, emily j. minor, rich pollack, randy schultz, john shuff, libby volgyes

editorial interns

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ron elkman, scot zimmerman

video production/customer service

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bill citara

home editor

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advertising consultants

gail eagle, georgette evans, bruce klein, ginie meadows, rebecca valenza marketing and events director

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Boca Raton magazine is published eight times a year by JES Publishing. The contents of Boca Raton magazine are copyrighted and may not be reproduced without the expressed written consent of the publisher. Boca Raton magazine accepts no responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts and/or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. Boca Raton magazine reserves the right to edit, rewrite or refuse material and is not responsible for products. Please refer to corporate masthead.

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JES publishing

president/publisher group editor-in-chief controller circulation director subscription coordinator

margaret mary shuff marie speed jeanne greenberg david brooks kat algeo

JES Publishing produces:

Boca Raton magazine Delray Beach magazine Mizner’s Dream Worth Avenue Boca Raton Chamber Annual Salt Lake magazine • Utah Bride and Groom Utah Style & Design • The Canyons Salt Lake Visitors’ Guide

FLORIDA MAGAZINE ASSOCIATION 2015 CHARLIE AWARDS charlie award (first place) best department (Boca Raton) best column (Boca Raton) best feature (Boca Raton) best feature design (Boca Raton) best overall use of photography (Boca Raton) best custom publication (Worth Avenue)

silver award best feature (Boca Raton) best public service coverage (Boca Raton) best overall design (Boca Raton)

bronze award best overall online presence (Boca Raton) best editorial/commentary (Boca Raton)

2014 CHARLIE AWARDS charlie award (first place) best overall magazine (Boca Raton) best overall writing (Boca Raton) best overall use of photography (Boca Raton)

silver award best redesign (Boca Raton)

bronze award best overall online presence (Boca Raton) best feature (Boca Raton) best cover (Boca Raton) best custom consumer magazine (Worth Avenue)

PAST FMA HONORS (2008 to 2013) charlie awards (first place awards) 2013: best overall online presence (Boca Raton) 2013: best department (Boca Raton) 2012: best overall magazine (Boca Raton) 2012: best feature (Delray Beach) 2012: best photographic essay (Boca Raton) 2011: best new magazine (Delray Beach) 2011: best custom publication (Worth Avenue) 2010: best overall magazine (Boca Raton) 2010: best overall design (Boca Raton) 2009: best overall magazine (Boca Raton) 2009: best overall design (Boca Raton) 2009: best feature (Boca Raton) 2008: best overall magazine (Boca Raton) 2008: best feature (Boca Raton) 2008: best single, original B&W photo (Boca Raton) Plus: 10 silver awards (2008-2013) 7 bronze awards (2008-2013)

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services [ DIRECTORY ]

Youth With Experience. The Next Generation of Wealth Management.

Boca Raton magazine is published eight times a year, with January, February, March/April, May/June, July/ August, September/October, November and December issues. If you have any questions or comments regarding our magazine, call us at 561/997-8683. We’d love to hear from you.

[ subscription, copy purchasing and distribution ] For any changes or questions regarding your subscription, to purchase back issues, or to inquire about distribution points, ask for circulation director David Brooks at 877/553-5363.

With more than 18 years of experience, Keith Heller of The Heller Financial Group of Wells Fargo Advisors is proudly helping affluent clients meet all their Investment needs, servicing them at his Boca Raton and New York offices. Keith A. Heller, MBA The Heller Financial Group of Wells Fargo Advisors Senior Vice President - Investments

Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC

5355 Town Center Road Suite 600 Boca Raton, FL 33486 561-347-3880 280 Park Avenue, 29W New York, NY 10017 212-338-4859

[ advertising resources ] Take advantage of Boca Raton magazine’s prime advertising space—put your ad dollars to work in the premier publication of South Florida. For more information, contact group advertising director Tim Schwab (tim@ bocamag.com).

[ custom publishing ] Create a magazine tailored to fit the needs and character of your business/organization. Ideal for promotions, special events, introduction of new services, etc. Contact Marie Speed (editor@bocamag.com).

[ story queries ] Boca Raton magazine values the concerns, interests and knowledge of our readers about the community. Please submit story and profile ideas by e-mail to Kevin Kaminski (kevin@bocamag.com). Due to the large volume of pitches, the editor may not respond to all queries. Boca Raton does not accept unsolicited, ready-for-print stories.

[ web queries ] Submit information regarding our website and online calendar to Web editor Taryn Tacher (taryn@bocamag.com).

[ letters ] Your thoughts and comments are important to us. All letters to the editor may be edited for style, grammar and length. Send letters to the address listed below, or to Kevin Kaminski (kevin@bocamag.com). Letter to the Editor Boca Raton magazine 1000 Clint Moore Road, #103 Boca Raton, FL 33487

[ arts & entertainment ] Where to go, what to do and see throughout South Florida. Please submit information regarding galas, art openings, plays, readings, concerts, dance or other performances to A&E editor John Thomason (john.thomason@ bocamag.com). Deadline for entries in an upcoming A&E section is three months before publication.

[ dining guide ] Our independent reviews of restaurants in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. A fine, reliable resource for residents and tourists. For more information, contact Marie Speed or Kevin Kaminski.

Toll Free 844-791-6109 Keith.Heller@wfadvisors.com

Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, Member SIPC, is a registered broker-dealer and a separate non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. Trust services available through banking and trust affiliates in addition to non-affi liated companies of Wells Fargo Advisors. Wells Fargo Advisors and its affiliates do not provide legal or tax advice. Any estate plan should be reviewed by an attorney who specializes in estate planning and is licensed to practice law in your state. NOT FDIC-Insured

NO Bank Guarantee

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[ people ] A photo collage of social gatherings and events in Boca Raton and South Florida. All photos submitted should be identified and accompanied by a brief description of the event (who, what, where, when). E-mail images to people@bocamag.com.

services [ DIRECTORY ] THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBING TO BOCA RATON MAGAZINE! We appreciate your business, and we want you to get the most from your subscription. This customer guide will help you contact us for all your subscription needs.

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[ first issue ]

MARSELL GIORGIO BRATO

Your first issue will be mailed four-to-six weeks after receipt of your order. Subsequent issues will arrive every other month and monthly from November to February.

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[ missing or late issues ] Once in a while, production, transportation or the postal service may delay delivery. If you don’t get an issue, or if your magazine is repeatedly late, please call and report your problem to our subscription department at 877/553-5363, or send an e-mail to: subscriptions@bocamag.com.

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If you have already paid your bill and then receive a new bill, here’s what you should do: 1. If you have paid your bill within the past four weeks, ignore the new invoice. (The computer simply has not given your account credit quickly enough.) 2. It’s most likely that your payment and our notice just crossed in the mail; check the date on the notice to see when we mailed it. 3. If you get another bill or renewal notice, call our subscription department at 877/553-5363, or send an e-mail to subscriptions@bocamag.com, and we will straighten out the problem.

[ change of address ] PERMANENT: If you are changing your address, send us your complete old address, complete new address, including ZIP code, and the effective date of the change. You can also leave us a message with your old and new address by calling 877/553-5363. You can also change your address online at bocamag.com.

A lifestyle you’ll love from your head to between your toes.

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[ back issues ] If you are interested in purchasing any back issues, please call 877/553-5363, ext. 222, indicating the issue date you would like. The cost of each issue including shipping and handling is $9.95.

[ gift subscriptions ] You’ll find a subscription to Boca Raton magazine makes a thoughtful and useful gift that lasts throughout the year. If you’d like more information about giving a gift subscription, please call our subscription department at 877/553-5363.

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[ for any of the above services, please contact our subscriptions services department ] Call TOLL FREE: 877/553-5363 E-mail: subscriptions@bocamag.com Write: Boca Raton magazine Subscription Department 1000 Clint Moore Road, #103 Boca Raton, FL 33487

9/28/15 6:06 PM

mail MORE HEROES I enjoyed reading your story about the Boys & Girls Club of Boca Raton [July/August issue, HomeTown]. It made me realize that the Faulk Center for Counseling graduate students also are local heroes. Since 1973, the Faulk Center (formerly the Faulk Center for Group Counseling) has provided counseling services to people of all ages at its facility on Boca Rio Road and at outreach locations throughout Palm Beach and northern Broward counties. Free and low-cost mental health services are provided by graduate students pursuing master’s degrees or doctoral degrees in psychology, social work or mental health counseling, as well as clinical volunteers who hold advanced degrees in a mental health field. All graduate students and volunteers are trained and supervised by the center’s staff of licensed psychologists. Students in training come from local colleges such as FAU, Lynn University and others. Through our program of mental health intervention, education and outreach, the Faulk

Center for Counseling ensures that economically disadvantaged, underserved and at-risk children and adults are not denied services because of an inability to pay. In this atmosphere, children and adults become empowered to solve life’s challenges and live healthy lives. We have our graduate students and licensed professionals who provide supervision to thank for this community resource promoting emotional well-being. —Ali Rubin Boca Raton

MORE MEMORIES I was just loafing by the pool and catching up on a stack of magazines, and I read “The Way We Were” [in the May/June issue]. I enjoyed the [trip] down memory lane; thank you. When I moved here from New York, I lived in Wilton Manors. (Boca was a little too vanilla for me back then; they rolled up the sidewalks far too early.) I ended up moving to Boca because of where I worked.

There are many with whom I enjoyed the early years at IBM, “the best years,” as many still refer to them. We were living large in Boca Raton in the 1970s! Most live elsewhere now. I am very fortunate to have been able to settle here. Many I have recently heard from, on LinkedIn, have shared the same experience. —Kathy and Paul Aguirre Boca Raton

DEVELOPMENT DEBATE In his Aug. 27 “City Watch” blog, Randy Schultz wrote about a proposed city ordinance, later withdrawn, that would have increased the number of residential units allowed in the city’s northwest section (under Boca’s Planned Mobility Development regulations). One of the city council members involved in the discussion weighs in on the forum for such debates. Council workshops are the only avenue available for the free exchange of ideas under the restrictions created by Florida Sunshine. As long as the electorate understands how

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this vehicle is utilized—and refrains from branding members who introduce subjects for frank discussion as having “gone rogue”— the workshop will continue to be a valuable tool for fleshing out ideas and building consensus for possible future action, as a body. I see the discussions on planned mobility and development as a necessary and valuable exercise for the council and, likewise, the electors, the developers and staff. —Robert Weinroth Deputy Mayor, Boca Raton

EVENTS

CARFEST 2015 When: Nov. 7 Where: Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton What: Motor-heads will want to check out the variety of four-wheeled beauties on display. Along with plenty of automotive eye candy, expect additional festivities and entertainment, as well as gourmet bites from a few of the area’s top food trucks.

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THE DELRAY BEACH WINE & SEAFOOD FEST

CHRIS EVERT PRO-CELEBRITY TENNIS CLASSIC

When: Nov. 7-8 Where: A1A, near Boston’s on the Beach What: The fourth annual street festival moves closer to the ocean this year for a weekend that celebrates seafood dishes in all their incarnations, not to mention some fine wine, arts and crafts, seminars and much more. Contact: dbwineandseafood.com

When: Nov. 20-22 Where: Delray Beach Tennis Center; Boca Raton Resort & Club What: Join the Boca resident and tennis legend at her annual fundraising weekend, which raised $700,000 last year alone for programs that assist at-risk children. The three-day affair includes a yearly gathering of celebrities for some lighthearted tennis action, as well as a black-tie gala at the Resort. Contact: chrisevert.org

WOMEN OF GRACE LUNCHEON When: Nov. 11 Where: Palm Beach What: The 16th annual luncheon that benefits the Center for Women and Children at Bethesda Hospital will celebrate five of the community’s most benevolent women. Expect more than 600 attendees at The Mara-Lago Club for an event that, over the years, has raised more than $1 million. Nilsa McKinney is this year’s chairwoman. Contact: Visit bethesdahospitalfoundation. org for ticket information.

CORRECTION One of the handbags featured in the “ShopTalk” section of the September/October issue included an incorrect retail connection. The “Paris Rocks” bag is available at longchamp. com or at Longchamp boutiques nationwide.

BOCAMAG.C O M 9:09 AM 9/28/15 follow the leader

editor’s letter

[ by kevin kaminski ]

Who We Are

ome people thrive on change. An artsy acquaintance of mine used to dye her hair a different color every six weeks in an effort to “keep it real,” even though, to my hipster-less way of thinking, that was the literal opposite of what she was doing. Other people can’t function without consistency. My teenage son has gone 247 consecutive days without making his bed. I want him to reach 300 before shipping him off to military school— because life is all about having goals! Here at Boca Raton, we’ve built our reputation on the best of both worlds. For more than 35 years, we’ve been steadfast in our commitment to a sophisticated audience that understands and appreciates the nuances that distinguish Boca and its surrounding communities. We’re not a stereotype. We’re rich in ways that exceed the figures in a financial portfolio. To that end, Boca Raton has been a touchstone for its loyal readers. We’ve celebrated your achievements. We’ve lent context to the city’s history—and offered talking points regarding its future. We’ve pointed you in the right direction when it comes to fashion, retail, fine dining, entertainment and other high-end lifestyle essentials. We’ve helped to raise funds for countless deserving charities. We’ve introduced you to the next generation of difference makers. Our group editor even cut some serious rug for you a few years back at Boca’s Ballroom Battle. Then again, we’re not above throwing our readers a curveball from time to time. Over the past three decades, Boca Raton, in the tradition of renowned city/regional publications around the country, has shed serious light on numerous South Florida issues with tentacles that, invariably, reach and impact local residents. We keep it real, in that sense, because a readership like ours—one so invested in the community—doesn’t just deserve more from its hometown magazine. It demands it. We’re more than happy to oblige. We’re also deeply honored that our industry peers recognize Boca Raton as a publication that educates as much as it entertains. At this year’s annual Charlie Awards outside of Orlando, hosted by the Florida Magazine Association, our editorial and art teams earned 10 major awards in various consumer categories—including five first-place Charlies for Best Department (Backstage Pass, by John Thomason), Best Feature (“The Naked Truth,” by Lisa Lucas), Best Feature Design (“Cheap Eats,” by art director Lori Pierino), Best Overall Use of Photography and Best Column (Editor’s Letter, by yours truly).

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

Boca Raton also brought home Silver Awards for Best Feature (“Tunnel Vision,” by John Thomason), Best Public Service Coverage (“Is South Florida in Hot Water,” by Eric Barton) and Best Overall Design, as well as Bronze Awards for Best Editorial/ Commentary (“The Seat of Power in Boca,” by Randy Schultz) and Best Overall Online Presence. Over the past two years, Boca Raton has captured 17 different FMA honors, the variety of which speaks to our ability to deliver compelling work across multiple platforms. The same magazine that draws online and social media interest from all over the world, or that induces a Pavlovian response thanks to the mouthwatering images in a food feature, can lead readers down unexpected corridors—like the aforementioned investigative efforts that explored the worlds of adult entertainment (“The Naked Truth”) and near-death experiences (“Tunnel Vision”). This first high-season issue of Boca Raton continues that storied tradition. On the one hand, we celebrate the impact that French cuisine has on our local dining scene (page 124), plus we present a comprehensive breakdown of the 2015-16 cultural calendar (page 155). On the other, reporter Eric Barton speaks to everyone from law enforcement officials and rehab specialists to recovering addicts about the reasons behind the deadly stranglehold that heroin is having on Boca’s backyard (page 148). We thank our business partners, our community partners and our faithful readers for not only supporting our magazine’s awardwinning identity—but for embracing it. Enjoy the issue.

WELCOME TO MY WORLD

In the lead role: John Travolta, movie legend and aviation aficionado. Guest star: the legendary North American X-15 that smashed all speed and altitude records and opened the gateway to space. Production: Breitling, the privileged partner of aviation thanks to its reliable, accurate and innovative instruments â&#x20AC;&#x201C; such as the famous Chronomat, the ultimate chronograph. Welcome to a world of legends, feats and performance.

CHRONOMAT 44

Lynn University expresses its profound gratitude to Board of Trustees Chair and loyal friend Christine E. Lynn for her extraordinary gift of a $15 million challenge grant to construct the Christine E. Lynn University Center at Lynn University. This magnificent addition to our campus will enhance the experience of Lynn University students for generations to come. Lynn University invites other visionary individuals to participate in this momentous project. Help meet our challenge. To learn more, visit give.lynn.edu.

hometown [ 54 boca by the numbers • 56 my favorite dish • 58 boca chatter • 60 great outdoors ]

NOSE TO THE GRINDSTONE Not everyone was born to work

EDUARDO SCHNEIDER

behind a desk from 9 to 5. In fact, as we learned while putting together this issue’s “Hire Calling” feature, some people want to be as far from a desk as possible. Others, like Ashleigh Kandrac— an animal curator at Lion Country Safari—take life (and their careers) by the horns. Either way, as you’ll find out on page 132, Palm Beach County has its share of intriguing and fulfilling jobs.

BOCAMAG.COM follow the leader

home town [ BOCA BY THE NUMBERS ] SPECIAL BOCA RESORT EDITION

What does the start of high season mean for our city’s world-renowned retreat, the Boca Raton Resort & Club? The following numbers tell part of the story.

40,000: At the height of season, the Resort’s laundry facility will clean and dry this many pounds of sheets, towels, etc.—every single day.

$6 million:

If you think your FPL bill is high, check this out: The Resort pays more than $6 million each year to cover its kilowatt usage.

1,850:

The Resort employs this many people; their backgrounds encompass 27 different nationalities.

4,000:

The 13 onsite bars/restaurants will go through approximately this many eggs ... each day.

60,000:

The valet team handles this many cars in a given year.

600:

During season, the Resort will serve upward of this many breakfasts per day.

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

1,000: Boca Raton Resort & Club caters this many events—from over-the-top weddings to charity galas—each year.

home town [ MY FAVORITE DISH ] FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Do you have a favorite local restaurant dish? Send it to kevin@bocamag.com—and we may feature you in an upcoming issue!

THE DISH: Asian Ahi Tuna Salad WHERE: J. Alexander’s WHY IT’S HER FAVORITE: “This salad is so refreshing! It’s light, but it’s also filling because they top it with lots of perfectly seared tuna. I love the cilantro vinaigrette dressing on the side, and the wasabi has just the right kick to it. This dish never disappoints.” ABOUT DONNA: The co-founder of Best Foot Forward continues to make a difference in the

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

lives of foster youth through her Boca-based nonprofit that provides an array of much-needed academic support programs. This past April, Impact 100 awarded one of its four $100,000 grants to Best Foot Forward for its “Grounded for Life” program. For more information, visit bestfoot.org. ABOUT THE RESTAURANT: J. Alexander’s, 1400 Glades Road, Boca Raton, 561/347-9875; jalexandersholdings.com

EDUARDO SCHNEIDER

Donna Biase

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home town [ BOCA CHATTER ]

November Buzz Slip into some fun this month with our curated roundup of what’s hot and happening.

NIGHT MOVES DID YOU KNOW?

MICHAEL CURRY, FAU BASKETBALL COACH

1 The second-year coach of the Owls

played for six different NBA franchises during his 11-year career, which ended in 2005, including two stints with the Detroit Pistons.

Crysten, one of Curry and wife Katrina’s four children, is a redshirt junior on the volleyball team at Georgia Southern—the same college that inducted her father, a hoops star and team captain from 1988-90, into its Athletics Hall of Fame in 2001.

3 FAU, coming off a 9-20 campaign, opens its 2015-16

season at Michigan State on Nov. 13. Curry’s son, Deon, was an All-Big Ten wideout for the Spartans in the mid2000s—and also played one season of hoops for MSU head coach Tom Izzo (2006-07).

STEPHANIE SOLOMON, fashion director of Lord & Taylor, clues us in on this season’s eveningwear trends. ✓ BACK IN BLACK: Boca’s going all dark with sheer fabrics, velvet, lace, you name it. Lighten things up with a shorter hemline—mid-calf or tea length can be formal with the right fabrics and shapes. ✓ HIGH SHINE: Metallica is in (and we’re not talking about the band). Opt for dresses with sequins or glitter embellishments, brocade and jacquard fabrics, and metallic leathers and patents. Jewel tones work well with these textiles—think hunter green, gold, purple, and dark, dusty pinks. ✓ THE LOOK OF LOVE: High necklines, ruffles and bows are adding a more feminine feel to eveningwear. Look for wallpaper florals, tapestry prints and paisleys. If you prefer a solid, go with red.

BOURBON PICKS

With that first nip in the air, our hearts and minds turn to spirits—and especially to bourbon. Bob Leone, C.W.S. (Certified Wine Specialist) and manager of the Boynton Beach Crown Wine & Spirits, gives us his top three picks for fall 2015: ■ Jefferson’s Reserve, cast in Groth Reserve Cabernet barrels, “has a little more sweetness and a more layered bouquet” than mere mortal bourbons. Very limited and very pricey, at about $80 a bottle. ■ High West bourbon from Park City, Utah, is also big and “really wonderful stuff,” ranging from $45 to $80 a bottle. ■ Angel’s Envy is a sipping and tailgate fave, with a “smoother, rounder flavor than lesser bourbons,” at about $50 per bottle.

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

Talking Turkey Why not bypass the grocery store bird this Thanksgiving and instead reserve a heritage (historical breed) turkey? Heritage Hen Farm in Boynton Beach is featuring pasture-raised Narragansett turkeys (as in the cousins of the original turkeys that sailed over with Columbus) from Linda Hart’s (pictured) Crazy Hart Ranch in Fellsmere, north of Vero Beach. Here are five reasons to buy one:

1 Heritage turkeys are real turkeys—not manmade big-breasted factory-raised antibiotic-stuffed charlatans.

The dark meat on heritage turkeys is the best dark meat, ever.

By buying one, you are building a market for these historic breeds.

You are helping to stave off “superbugs” associated with antibiotics in livestock.

You are supporting a free-range humane livestock program. These turkeys are not cheap (about $10 a pound), but people swear you’ll never go back to the conventional variety once you’ve tried a heritage turkey. Heritage Hen Farm will start taking preorders Nov. 3, and pickup is Nov. 21 at the farm (8495 Haverhill Road) from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Call 561/767-9000 for more information.

4 Don’t-Miss Events 1 3 “The Nutcracker”

WHEN: Nov. 27–29 WHAT: Adding a new flavor to the familiar taste of one of the most iconic ballets of all time is a tough nut to crack, but choreographer Dan Guin will attempt his own reimagining for Boca Ballet Theatre. More than 100 dancers will bring to life Clara, the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Nutcracker Prince and all the colorful supporting characters of the Tchaikovskyscored classic—with a special assist from two guest dancers from the American Ballet Theatre. WHERE: Olympic Heights Performing Arts Theater, 20101 Lyons Road, Boca Raton CONTACT: 561/995-0709, bocaballettheatre.org

“Nature Connects”

WHEN: Opens Nov. 14 (through mid-February) WHAT: These sculptures by Sean Kenney—made entirely from LEGO bricks (like the dragonfly below)—constitute the largest exhibit in the 30-year history of Mounts Botanical Garden. A Bonsai tree, a girl with a watering can and a wheelbarrow add ambience to the animal kingdom, with the total number of displays reaching a baker’s dozen.

WHERE: 531 N. Military Trail, West Palm Beach CONTACT: 561/233-1757, mounts.org

Chris Evert Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic

WHEN: Nov. 20–22 WHAT: Former “Weekend Update” anchor Dennis Miller will compete in the annual weekend charity event for the first time alongside returning celebs Alan Thicke, Timothy Olyphant, singer-songwriter David Cook, tennis hall of famer Pam Shriver and many others. WHERE: Delray Beach Tennis Center, 201 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; Boca Raton Resort & Club, 501 E. Camino Real, Boca Raton CONTACT: 561/394-2400, chrisevert.org

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival

WHEN: Nov. 6–22 WHAT: The festival celebrates three decades of premiering independent, art-house, documentary and short films to South Florida audiences with a screening of more than 100 titles, including several foreign-language movies. Four-time Academy Award-nominated actor Ed Harris, Academy Awardwinning director Michael Moore, actor Christopher Lloyd and other celebs are expected to attend. WHERE: Cinema Paradiso, 503 S.E. Sixth St., and other theaters and locations in Broward County CONTACT: fliff.com

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home town [ GREAT OUTDOORS ]

FOWL TERRITORY

LOCAL BIRDMAN SANDY KOMITO TRAVELS NEAR AND FAR IN SEARCH OF FEATHERED FRIENDS. WHAT’S THE ATTRACTION: Sandy Komito’s fascination took flight at age 8 when he saw a red-winged blackbird, similar to one in a book about birds that he read in school. In the years since, the Boynton Beach resident, now 84, has gone to unimaginable lengths to follow his passion. In 1998, he recorded documented sightings of 748 different bird species in North America, a calendar-year record that stood until 2013. Komito, who once traveled more than 220,000 miles over 12 months in search of rare sightings, was one of the subjects of the book The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession, written by Mark Obmascik; he was played in the 2011 film adaptation by Owen Wilson. ONLY IN SOUTH FLORIDA: More than 500 species of birds— including about two dozen you won’t find anywhere else—either visit or make their homes in Florida, according to Komito’s calculations. Species you’ll find only in South Florida include the limpkin and the purple swamphen, both common in Palm Beach County wetlands. Others found in this area include raptors such as the snail kite and the short-tailed hawk. The spot-breasted oriole also can be seen on rare occasions in South Florida, mostly in Broward and Miami-Dade counties. —RICH POLLACK

Purple swamphen

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

Elliot Lach, MD

Renowned plastic surgeon and hormone replacement specialist Elliot Lach, MD, has a unique medical philosophy. Dr. Lach believes that patients benefit best when their doctor has a healthy pair of ears. Yes, you heard that right.

eginning with the first consultation, Lach puts the focus on the individual, encouraging his patients to express each of their concerns. For him, it’s the key to properly diagnosing ailments. “Typically doctor’s appointments are rushed,” said Dr. Lach. “Patients tend to be put into a cookie cutter algorithm based on their age and symptoms. You have to listen to a patient and see what’s really bothering them.” He ought to know, Lach has been listening to his patients for nearly 35 years.

AN IVY LEAGUE OF HIS OWN

Listening is where it starts, but where it really began for Dr. Lach was in training. He trained with the best of the best in these acclaimed institutions:

EDUCATION:

Dr. Lach received his undergraduate Bachelor’s of Science degree from the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA. While still an MIT student he completed coursework at Harvard Medical School and also performed lab research in surgical nutrition, renal, pulmonary and cellular physiology. He attended Yale University School Of Medicine where he received his Doctorate of Medicine in 1981 and he completed his post doctoral fellowships at Harvard Medical School in 1987.

RESIDENCY:

Dr. Lach honed his skills at some of the most distinguished and highly regarded medical teaching hospitals in New England. His rigorous residency training program included rotations in General Surgery, Cardiac Surgery, Pediatric Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hand Surgery, and Microsurgery. He completed the program in six years training at the Yale New Haven Hospital, Yale Medical School, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital, Beth Israel Hospital, and the Plastic Surgery residency training Program at Harvard Medical School.

GETTING THE TOTAL PICTURE - ESPECIALLY FOR MEN

Dr. Lach recognizes the unique psychological, physiological and chemical differences between men and women, especially when it comes to medical care. “Woman have had the socially acceptable expectation that their bodies are changing throughout life,” said Lach. He explained that traditionally women are more comfortable discussing these changes with their doctors. “With men it’s a matter of pride,” said Lach. “They assume that as long as they can father a baby ‘till they’re 100, everything’s okay.” In other words, men typically won’t complain about changes in their aging bodies like weight gain, fatigue and lack of libido, instead, they’ll accept it as a normal part of the aging process. Big mistake.

BOCA: 101 Plaza Real, Suite A, Boca Raton, FL 33432 • 561.571.3321

Lach once sent a 30 year-old for a colonoscopy based on listening closely to the patient’s symptoms. It was a little unusual because most people won’t be directed to getting a colonoscopy until they’re 50. But as the patient spoke, pieces of a puzzle began fitting together. Because he took the time, Lach ended up getting the patient an early colon cancer diagnosis — something that could have gone on for years undetected. Instead, it saved his life. It’s that kind of care, that individual attention, that Lach uses when he treats his patients using Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

“As men age their thinking risks becoming fogged, they retain fat on their bellies, they become more easily fatigued — they’re not as strong as they were when they were younger. Their cholesterol gets elevated their bones can become brittle. If you dig deeper you realize that they’re not unlike women — they do develop hormone deficiencies which with relative simplicity can be recognized and resolved.” So the question Dr. Lach asks is, why not look and feel your best? “Healthy bodies look good and feel good when the person’s hormones are optimally balanced,” said Dr. Lach. “ A patient feels healthier, they’re rejuvenated and restored to where their body was 20 years ago, but it’s not going to happen without paying attention to where their hormone status is.” Can restoring the health of one individual change the world? It may not be as crazy at it sounds. Dr. Elliot Lach believes that it can, like one big happy chain reaction. “If I’m helping somebody everyday, it’s going to cascade down the road,” said Lach. “If my patients are happy, then their spouses are happy, their children are happy, their employers or employees are happy. Their improved mood can only improve their relationships with significant others and improve their performance in their day-to-day life.” And isn’t that what we all want? Dr. Lach is affiliated with teaching and community hospitals. Awards: • Patients’ Choice 5th Anniversary Award (2012 - 2014) • Patients’ Choice Award (2008 - 2014) • Compassionate Doctor Award - 5 Year Honoree (2013 - 2014) • Compassionate Doctor Recognition (2009 - 2014) • On-Time Doctor Award (2009) Dr. Lach has contributed to numerous publications including: • The New England Journal of Medicine • Encyclopedia Britannica • Annals of Plastic Surgery • Life Sciences • Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences • Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

DELRAY: 1200 NE 2nd Ave., Suite 105, Delray Beach, FL 33444 • 561.243.1219

Florida: coremedicalgrp.com • New York: coremedicalny.com • Massachusetts: corenewengland.com

RO AL PALM PLACE TM

Your Style For Life

PETS WELCOME!

[ by taryn tacher ]

shoptalk IF LOOKS COULD THRILL

Rebecca Taylor’s inspired take on the modern woman has drawn fashion raves from the likes of Reese Witherspoon and the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. You can catch the New Zealand-born designer Nov. 6 at the Junior League’s annual Woman Volunteer of the Year event—and you can read all about her by turning to page 68.

Pieces from Rebecca Taylor’s 2015 fall-winter collection; visit Saks Fifth Avenue at Town Center for more selections from Rebecca Taylor’s line.

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shop talk [ GADGETS ]

Turkey Treats

[1] [2]

Thanksgiving may be a time to celebrate life’s blessings, but that’s easier said than done when you’re the one stressing out over the Turkey Day feast. Take the edge off this year with the help of these kitchen helpers. 1 CHEF’N BUTTERCUP BUTTER MAKER Dish: Rolls Function: Jazz up your rolls with homemade flavored butter. This butter maker lets you create sweet or herbed butter with some heavy cream and extra ingredients of your choice. Or, simply make plain butter. Price: $14.95 Available at: Crate & Barrel, Town Center at Boca Raton 2 WORLD’S GREATEST POTATO MASHER Dish: Mashed potatoes Function: The name says it all. This potato masher presses potatoes into a typical wired masher followed by a ricer to eliminate all of the lumps. Your mashed potatoes will be smooth and creamy without the hassle. Price: $16.95 Available at: Crate & Barrel, Town Center at Boca Raton

[3]

3 PREPARA ROASTING LAUREL Dish: Turkey Function: Place the laurel under the turkey, so it doesn’t soak in its drippings. Your turkey will be greasefree—and cook quicker. The roasting laurel is nonstick and can withstand temperatures of up to 500 degrees.

[4]

[5]

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

Price: $20 Available at: Sur La Table, Mizner Park 4 APPLE PEELER WITH VACUUM BASE Dish: Apple pie Function: Preparing everyone’s favorite pie just became easier. This peeler speeds up the process with a turn of the handle. It also cores and slices apples, so they’re pie-ready. A vacuum base secures the peeler to the countertop to keep it steady. Price: $19.99 Available at: Bed, Bath & Beyond, Shadowood Square or University Commons 5 PUMPKIN BAKING GIFT SET Dish: Pumpkin bread Function: The set includes spiced pecan pumpkin quick bread mix, botanical pumpkin loaf pan, pecan pumpkin butter and a spoonula. It’s one-stop shopping for the perfect Thanksgiving treat. Price: $69.95 Available at: Williams-Sonoma, Town Center

T O P S T O H N O I H S A F W E N BOCA’S Clothing + Handbags + Jewelry + Children’sClothing

9212 Glades Road, Boca Raton, FL 33434 (Boca Lyons Plaza)

561-674-0031

www.FashionScoopUSA.com www.facebook.com/fashionscoop

shop talk [ BEAUTY ]

COLOR YOUR WORLD

Let’s face it: Too much tone in your makeup can be daunting. But as a local expert demonstrates, that doesn’t have to be the case.

he warm tones of autumn may not pertain to the leaves on South Florida trees, but they can make a significant difference in your approach to makeup this fall. In fact, earthier hues can be the perfect launching point when it comes to gradually adding more color to your makeup repertoire. “Color in makeup can be a scary concept for some people,” says Boca-based makeup artist Danielle Cane (our model for the photos down the right of the page). “But I’ve learned that adding color can highlight certain features—and amplify your look.” For those hesitant about using color, Cane, who works at the Nordstrom MAC counter inside Town Center at Boca Raton, suggests starting off with a pop on the cheeks; try working with a pink, coral or berry-toned blush to add a pretty, feminine touch to any makeup look. But that’s not all. Here are a few more of Cane’s color suggestions.

OLIVE EYE

—TARYN TACHER

GET THE LOOK OLIVE EYE HOW: Start by using a neutral green shadow

in the crease of the eye, and then apply a shimmery green shadow on the entire eyelid. Add a darker matte green shadow to the outer corner of the eye. Pair with a pale lip. WHY IT WORKS: “Olive is a great way to wear color without being over the top,” Cane says. “It is sultry on the eyes, so pairing it with a nude lip ensures the eyes are the focus of the look.”

BERRY CHEEKS HOW: Apply berry blush to the apples of the

cheeks and blend upward. Pair with neutral eyes and lip. WHY IT WORKS: “Berry-colored blush gives a natural flush to the cheeks without looking overdone. Pairing this with a more subtle lip will make the look more natural.”

CRIMSON LIP HOW: Start by lining the lips with a deep-red

lip liner, and then fill them in. Cover with a similarly colored lipstick. Pair with neutral eyes. WHY IT WORKS: “A red lip is classic and makes a bold statement. Pairing it with minimal eye makeup makes the lip pop.”

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

EYE

Nordstrom’s Finest eye shadow palette by MAC, $85, Nordstrom, Town Center at Boca Raton; Retrospeck (in the crease), Greensmoke (on the lid) and Felt (in the outer corner)

BERRY CHEEKS

CHEEK

Love Joy mineralize blush by MAC, $27, MAC, Town Center

LIP

Burgundy lip pencil by MAC, $16.50, MAC, Town Center; Diva lipstick by MAC, $17, MAC, Town Center

CRIMSON LIP

Boca Center – everything you need, close to home. From shopping to fine dining, quick errands to an afternoon of pampering, we invite you to check out the best of Boca – in the heart of Boca. Shop. Dine. Relax. You’re in Boca Center.

BocaCenter.com

5150 TOWN CENTER CIRCLE • MILITARY TRAIL, JUST NORTH OF PALMETTO PARK BRIO TUSCAN GRILLE

TAP 42

MORTON’S THE STEAKHOUSE

ROCCO’S TACOS

STARBUCKS

SUSHI RAY

UNCLE TAI’S

shop talk [ DESIGNER TALK ]

REBECCA TAYLOR

The colorful New Zealand-born designer brings her spring collection to Boca for the Junior League’s annual fundraiser.

s Rebecca Taylor explains the Kiwi tradition, New Zealanders like herself are presented with a backpack and a sleeping bag on their 21st birthday—essentials for the coming-of-age travel experience on which they’re expected to embark before returning to their homeland in the southwest Pacific Ocean and settling down. After completing fashion school, Taylor fulfilled the first portion of that custom by taking her backpack and sleeping bag to New York City at age 22—with all of $600 in her pocket. As for the return-home part of the bargain, it’s not looking good. “My game plan was to come to New York first and maybe end up working in Paris,” says Taylor, 46. “But [New York] sucks you in. You can’t get out. It’s like quicksand.” Some two decades after launching her line of spirited, chic and flattering clothing for the contemporary woman, she remains firmly entrenched in the Big Apple, a worldrenowned fashion designer whose name conjures visions of unconventional color combinations and prints. Those visions will come to life at the Junior League’s annual Woman Volunteer of the Year luncheon thanks to Saks Fifth Avenue at Town Center, which has invited Taylor to Boca to showcase her spring 2016 collection at the event (think botanical-inspired prints, denims and patchwork chambray jackets). The Saks connection is a special one for Taylor; the high-end retailer placed the first major order she ever received (“Actually, someone down the hall from my office handed me the order because we didn’t have a fax machine,” she says). Boca Raton caught up with the mother of three, who weighed in on everything from her celebrity connections to her appeal in South Florida. —Taryn Tacher and Kevin Kaminski

What part of your New Zealand upbringing is prevalent when it comes to your designs and business? New Zealanders don’t really take “no” for an answer. We’re very lateral thinkers, like my staff knows better than to say to me, “We can’t do something,” because I can think of three ways that we can do something. We also have this very cando attitude, and I think that’s very much in my blood. When [we launched the] business, I built my own tables, and I made my own curtains.

You’re in New York 20 years ago, and you’re trying to get your name out there. Do you remember what that feeling was like? It’s hard for me to really relax and enjoy where I’m at, so today feels very similar to the beginning— except I have a lot more people helping me, which is awesome. That part is amazing. I won’t say every day is a struggle, but it is a challenge. … If you’re doing well, and people want you to get better, better and better, there’s definitely mounting pressure that comes along with that.

How has your aesthetic evolved over the last few decades? I think the core elements of Rebecca Taylor are still there. I love prints. I love history, and I love old Victorian novels. I love England. I love the Bloomsbury movement. I love William Morris. So, all of those references are still very much prevalent in the collection. I think [the brand] has grown up as I’ve grown up.

IF YOU GO WHAT: Woman Volunteer of the Year luncheon WHEN: Nov. 6 WHERE: Boca Raton Resort & Club HONORARY CHAIRS: Deb Tarrant (chair); Debbie Abrams and Elizabeth Kelley Grace (co-chairs) THE LOWDOWN: For the 28th year, the Junior League of Boca Raton celebrates the standout female volunteers in our community at, what has become, one of the hottest tickets of the season. This year’s festivities include a runway show featuring spring 2016 designs from Rebecca Taylor.

Rebecca Taylor

I see young designers today, like 23, coming out with these fully realized collections. I think it’s pretty remarkable that they can do that at that age.

The celebrities wearing Rebecca Taylor range from Cameron Diaz to Kate Middleton. Are you starstruck when you get to meet some of these people? I don’t want to take away the mystery or the glamour, but I don’t actually meet them. It’s not cool, right? A few I know, like Rashida Jones I’m very friendly with, and Sarah Michelle Gellar and Sarah Jessica Parker. But I’ve never met [the Duchess of Cambridge]. I’d love to meet Catherine Middleton.

You would think with all the celebrities swirling about the runway shows that you’d bump into at least someone. You would, wouldn’t you? The thing is that I’ve only ever been to one runway show that isn’t mine, so I’m always backstage at my show—I’m busy working. I also like to make sure that people who are invited are people who really resonate with the label. I’m not into celebrity association just for celebrity sake. I think it has to feel very solid with the collection and really feel right.

How do you think your line resonates with South Florida women? I’m so looking forward to coming down [to Boca]. Let me tell you. I love it down there. The women are so welcoming, so friendly and kind and generous. I think the collection resonates with them because of the use of color [and] prints. Our girls like to feel sexy but not necessarily slutty. I feel like the customer we have down there is very body conscious because they work out. They get a lot of sun, so they want to show off their bodies. Our collection is feminine but not too overtly sexy. I think it sits somewhere in the middle.

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Premature birth is the #1 cause of death in children under 5. Alfred survived. Each year, more than a million babies don’t. World Prematurity Day November 17

Photo by Anne Geddes © CMYK BLUE C-100% M-44% Y-0% K-0% GRAY K-56%

“I enjoy my work and strive to help each individual find the right procedure to recapture a radiant self-image that reinforces their confidence and self-esteem.” – Vivian Hernandez, M.D., F.A.C.S. P

INJE

C RT INJE

• Board Certified Plastic Surgeon • Dedicated solely to facial procedures for the past decade • Specialist in face, neck, brow and eyelid surgery • Expert Injector: facial fillers, volumizers and Botox® • Accredited surgical facility with overnight suite • Trained at Cornell: North Shore University Hospital • Advanced specialized facelift training, two fellowships with renowned surgeons at: - Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital - Baker and Gordon in Miami

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561-750-8600

4799 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton

Devoted to Healing, Defined by Results

Expert Diagnosis Progressive Treatment Complete Privacy

Photography by Lemore Zausner

Depression, Anxiety Bipolar Disorder Eating Disorders, Addiction, DBT

Raul J. Rodriguez M.D.

The Delray Center Clinical Team

Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology Diplomate, American Board of Addiction Medicine

DELRAY CENTER FOR HEALING 888-958-1059 â&#x20AC;˘ DelrayCenter.com 403 S.E. 1st St., Delray Beach, FL 33483

Faces. It’s what we do ... naturally. - Rafael C. Cabrera, MD, FACS

• Board Certified Plastic Surgeon • Cornell / NYU School of Medicine • Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital • Four Fully-Accredited Operating Rooms • Private Overnight Suite • Over 15 Years in Private Practice • Specializing in Face / Neck / Eyes • Recognized as a Master Injector

561.393.6400 | 951 NW 13th Street, Suite 4A, Boca Raton, FL | www.pssbocaraton.com

Know what questions to ask.

Gaining knowledge starts with asking the right questions. Cancer Treatment Centers of America® (CTCA) has compiled a list of 10 questions to help newly diagnosed patients understand the nature of their disease, and be more prepared, knowledgeable, and better able to understand the recommended approach to their treatment.

Tremendous advances have recently been made in the treatment of cancer. Breakthroughs unimaginable a generation ago are now saving lives as a matter of course. And the one consistent enabling truth in the fight against cancer throughout the years has always been this: Knowledge is power.

Get a second opinion.

A patient needs to be aware of all treatment options and to feel confident and informed about his or her treatment decision. Initial diagnoses are not always right. A second opinion is a chance to gain more knowledge and insight into the accuracy of the initial diagnosis and to better understand additional needs like nutritional planning, the management of side effects, and the power of family support during cancer treatment.

The complete set of questions and a richer discussion of the benefits of getting a second opinion may be found at: cancercenter.com/secondopinion

Stay strong for the fight.

If you’re a cancer patient, your body is not only fighting the disease, but coping with potentially difficult side effects. The stronger you remain during treatment, the more prepared you will be for the fight. The side effects of treatment Mind-Body can make eating difficult, which affects the patient’s Therapy Pain ability to fuel the healing process. A dietitian on Find the right doctors. Management the care team is therefore critical to monitor Spiritual Support Getting advice from top cancer doctors nutrition and prescribe a plan to build muchMeditation about what to do when diagnosed, especially needed muscle mass. Cancer care that integrates with advanced-stage cancer, is a critical traditional treatments like chemotherapy, Chemotherapy Nutritional step in developing the right treatment radiation and surgery where indicated, with Therapy plan. Fully one out of five patients who additional therapies that boost energy Radiation Therapy receive a cancer diagnosis learn their and strengthen the immune system, Acupuncture Surgery disease is already in an advanced helps patients tolerate treatment as they stage. Advice from physicians fight their disease. Diagnostic Imaging Naturopathic experienced in treating the specific Medicine type of cancer is especially important Advanced Genomic for these individuals. Pet Therapy Testing

CTCA® is a national network of five hospitals in the U.S. with expertise in treating patients who are fighting complex or advanced-stage cancer, although many patients with an early-stage diagnosis seek our expertise as well. We combine world-class treatment with an integrative approach to care to reduce side effects and maintain quality of life during cancer treatment. If you or someone you love has advanced-stage or complex cancer, call 855-587-5528 or go to cancercenter.com. © 2015 Rising Tide

Philadelphia Chicago Atlanta Tulsa Phoenix

[ by lisette hilton ]

feelgood In the Spotlight:

TACKLING NEW CHALLENGES

Colin McCarthy no longer chases down National Football League quarterbacks for a living, but the former Tennessee Titans linebacker still has a few targets in his crosshairs. A standout during his years at the University of Miami, where he twice earned All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors, the Boca resident has returned to UM to earn his master’s degree in business administration. In addition, McCarthy, who retired in June after four seasons with the Titans, is training for a triathlon. Still in game-day shape, he attributes his strength and agility to crosstraining, weight lifting and plyometrics (jump training). McCarthy, 27, also eats healthy and clean— compared to his NFL days, when pizza was a staple— by adhering to an antiinflammatory diet that features lean proteins, lots of greens and no alcohol.

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feel good [ FITNESS ]

GADGET of the MONTH We’ve all heard about devices that monitor our running and cycling efforts, but what about one that tracks how well (or not) we hit a tennis ball? Sony’s Smart Tennis Sensor, released earlier this year, attaches to the butt end of a racket and tracks the stroke type, impact location, ball speed, swing speed and more. Using Bluetooth, you can record it all in real-time on your smartphone. “It’s cutting-edge technology, and it’s so much fun!” says Carol Virga, coowner of Tennis Anyone? in Boca (3197 N. Federal Highway, 561/361-1970). “It counts every forehand, backhand, volley and overhead; best of all, it shows the exact contact point of the ball on your racket strings.”

Bang the Drum The latest fitness craze has Boca residents keeping a frenzied beat.

he Pound Rockout classes taught at Organic Movements in Boca (2400 N.W. Boca Raton Blvd., Suite 12, 561/392-6111) may not be the fitness version of the movie “Whiplash.” But the popular full-body workouts that combine light resistance training and simulated drumming are guaranteed to have you rushing and dragging. For the better part of 45 minutes, participants maintain an up-tempo rhythm—and constant upper-body work—using a pair of “Ripstix.” The fusion of cardio, Pilates, isometric movements, plyometrics and constant drumming burns several hundred calories per class. “In one Pound class, you will complete 15,000 reps, perform more than 30 extended aerobic interval peaks and perform some 70 different techniques without even realizing it,” says Connie Mullen, who is certified in Pound and teaches at Organic Movements. Single classes are only $15. Student discounts, as well as reduced rates for purchasing multiple classes, are available. For more about Organic Movements, visit organicmovements.com; for more about Pound, go to poundfit.com.

Pound Rockout class at Organic Movements

3 MORE UNCONVENTIONAL FITNESS CLASSES 1. Hoop Core workouts: The hula hoop, this one weighted for maximum fitness impact, returns to the spotlight at Defy Gravity in Boca, where owner Lisa Midlarsky offers classes that she learned under the tutelage of Betty Hoops—a five-time Guinness World Record holder for running while hooping. (5821 N. Federal Highway, 561/866-6001)

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

2. SHREDmill: Tony Villani, founder of XPE Sports in Boca, created this to whip his NFL clients into shape—but the rest of us can benefit from the treadmill-style device that boasts up to a 30-percent incline. The machine also collects data, including running form, power, stride length and more. Classes are $25 each or $200 per month. (51 Glades Road, 561/504-7424, xpesports.com)

3. Booty Sculpting: Gabriel Saavedra, a personal trainer at the Institute of Human Performance (IHP) in Boca, teaches classes that focus on building/lifting the gluteus maximus through squats, lunges, kick backs, medicine ball leg curls and more. Walk-ins pay $20 per class; package pricing is available. (1950 N.W. Boca Raton Blvd., 561/6209556, ihpfit.com)

Before she calls to RSVP, she calls Dr. Dardano.

Anthony n. DArDAno D.O., F.A.C.S.

not an actual patient

Excellence in Aesthetic and Reconstructive Plastic Surgery

DOUBLE BOARD CERTIFIED 951 NW 13th St., Suite 4D • Boca Raton, FL 33486 (561) 361-0065 •drdardano.com Become a fan of Dr. Dardano @DrDardano

feel good [ HEALTH ]

A New Way to Rebuild A pre-med student at FAU undergoes a preventive mastectomy, followed by a revolutionary breast reconstruction.

lizabeth Hopkins carries a BRCA2 genetic mutation, which puts her at high risk for the same breast and ovarian cancers that claimed the lives of other women in her family. The 32-year-old mother of one, a pre-med student at FAU, made the decision to undergo a double mastectomy to decrease her cancer risk. She then turned to Hilton Becker, a Boca-based plastic surgeon and a faculty member at FAU’s College of Medicine, to reconstruct her breasts using an innovative new approach. Unlike the standard two-stage procedure, Hopkins with Dr. Becker

which involves the placement of expanders under the pectoral muscle, Becker’s reconstruction can be done in one stage with an adjustable implant placed over the muscle. The new version of the procedure preserves the nipple, areola and surrounding skin. Also, Becker uses a vertical incision, as opposed to a horizontal one. The result, as Hopkins attests, is a less invasive surgery with fewer complications and a better cosmetic result. “I’ve lowered my risk of early onset breast cancer from approximately 87 percent down to maybe 2 percent,” Hopkins says. “And … the technique that Dr. Becker uses gives me the appearance of having a breast lift, or a breast augmentation. … For a woman, that means [you don’t have to be] afraid to look in the mirror, [or] to be with a man or have self-esteem issues.” For more of our interview with Elizabeth Hopkins, go to Lisette Hilton’s “Fit Life” blog at bocamag.com.

BEATING THE BLUES

Anything from simple stress to family issues can trigger a case of the holiday doldrums. Boca psychologist Lori B. Gleicher (4800 N. Federal Highway, Suite A205, 561/789-1661) offers five ways to combat those feelings. Gleicher advises to seek help from a mental health professional if the feelings persist.

1 Spend time with friends/socialize: This distracts us from negative thoughts and helps to decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation. 2 Volunteer. It’s hard to feel depressed while bringing happiness to the lives of others. 3 Be realistic with your expectations: Plan ahead to avoid feeling anxious and overwhelmed. 4 Take time for yourself: Enjoy a spa day, take a walk, read a book. 5 Acknowledge your emotions: It’s OK to feel what you feel. Reframe your thoughts and tell yourself that the holiday season will soon be over.

THE BIG NUMBER

20.4%

TURKEY DAY TREAT

Alina Z., known to Boca Raton online readers as the Green Goddess, shares a delicious, yet healthy, Thanksgiving appetizer. For more recipes, check out the Green Goddess’ blog under the Dining link at bocamag.com.

STUFFED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS INGREDIENTS

10 medium-sized Portobello mushrooms 2 cups walnuts, soak 12 hours and drain 1/2 cup Brazilian nuts 1/2 cup almonds, soak 12 hours and drain 2 tablespoons fresh sage 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary 2 tablespoons fresh thyme 2 cloves garlic 2 teaspoons sea salt Red pepper for garnish PREPARATION

Remove stems from mushrooms and marinate in 5 teaspoons of sea salt and 1/2 cup of lemon juice for 2 hours (or overnight). Place garlic in food processor and chop well. Add nuts, salt, thyme, sage and rosemary, processing well. Drain mushrooms and place them cap-side down on paper towels. Place filling inside mushrooms. Garnish with fresh herbs and red pepper and serve.

The latest government statistics suggest that we need (as a nation) to get off the couch. Less than half of adults meet the Physical Activity Guidelines for aerobic activity, and less than a quarter of American adults meet the guidelines for muscle-strengthening activity. When you combine the two—aerobic and muscle fitness—less than 21 percent of U.S. adults make the cut. (Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

When you’re counting the best hospitals in Florida, you can count on us. There are nearly 300 hospitals in Florida. And when U.S. News & World Report issued its latest listing for Best Regional Hospitals, our numbers were quite impressive. In fact, Boca Raton Regional Hospital was ranked 12th in the entire state and 4th in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area, earning us a Best Regional Hospital designation. Only 520 of the nation’s 5,000 hospitals received such a prestigious accolade. It’s another in a growing list of national honors for Boca Regional. And another way of knowing that if you’re in need of advanced, high-quality healthcare, you can count on us.

For more information, visit us at BRRH.com.

BODY CONTOURING

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FALL FORWARD

Autumn in Florida may not mean falling leaves and dramatic temperature drops, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change things up inside. Spruce up interior spaces with touches that add warmth and coziness to your surroundings—from tones and textures to furnishings and finishes.

SWITCH OUT GLASS

Autumn’s palette includes hues ranging from teal and copper to amber and grape—so play up that richness by swapping out clear glass objects with colorful replacements. Everyday pieces, including bowls, vases and glassware, can help launch a rich, seasonal palette that soothes and surprises.

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TASTE OF AUTUMN Celebrate the season and enrich your home with all that fall has to offer.

WARM YOUR METALS Gold, copper, brass— warm metals elevate the style factor this fall, and you’ll find countless ways to make them at home. Here’s how: Look for polished nickel or chrome pieces and swap them out with golden metals. Lamps, metalframed furniture, shimmering-woven fabrics, small accessories and everyday tableware all offer opportunities to heat up your decor with haute metals.

PUT SOME WEIGHT ON Remember when you placed your interior on a summer diet to lighten and brighten its decor? It’s time to reverse that strategy. This fall, add some weight with hides, textured textiles, grained woods and pottery. Think layers, just as you do with your autumn wardrobe. Without creating clutter, stage and stack decorative elements and accessories. W Featured decor from jonathanadler.com

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MIX PATTERNS Stark and simple may be fine for summer, but autumn calls for more complexity. Pile on the patterns. Mix all-the-rage paisleys, fierce florals, hybrid tribal patterns and masculine plaids. Select a common color to unite them; begin with a daring favorite and complement it with dissimilar, less dominant patterns. Save demure for next spring—now is the time to be bold. W Featured textiles from Ethan Allen, Boca Raton

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TOSS PILLOWS (AND THROWS) Placing pillows is good. Piling them on is not. The same holds true for throws. To add luxe without adding litter, restraint is key.

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BACK TO EARTH Autumn is a living season and offers so much for decking out decor. Start with the season’s organic materials and natural forms: twigs, seedpods and leaves put a textural twist on decorating, as do animal-based accessories like shells and leather. Gather and mix them with stone, raw wood and iron. Too heavy? Add shimmering gold or glittering geodes. Each is elemental in its appeal. W Featured Bankun Raffia wall covering from Thibaut, thibautdesign.com

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HIT THE MARKET Load up on decorative accents during your next trip to the farmers’ market or grocery produce aisle. Fall’s bounty of shapely squash and gourds, fragrant apples and colorful pomegranates make for striking displays and are just a few farm-to-tabletop options that capture fall’s beauty with absolute ease and simplicity. W Featured Riker table and Loden chairs from Ethan Allen, Boca Raton

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city watch [ by randy schultz ]

Running Up the Score

WHEN IT COMES TO SECURING FUNDS FROM TALLAHASSEE—AND LEADING FAU TO THE PROMISED LAND—THE NUMBERS MUST ADD UP FOR PRESIDENT JOHN KELLY.

ou can see the future of Florida Atlantic University on a video monitor mounted around the corner from President John Kelly’s office. At FAU, they call it “the dashboard.” It displays the grade point average of the university’s freshman class—3.7 for those who started in August. The GPA is just one number, but it’s a key one, and at FAU these days almost everything is about numbers. How many students are graduating within six years? How much are those graduates earning? How much does it cost the university for each bachelor’s degree? How many degrees will FAU award in science, technology, engineering and math? University presidents once told Tallahassee that they had more students and thus needed more money. Today, Tallahassee, through the Board of Governors, doesn’t want to hear those numbers. Tallahassee wants to see other figures. Money for the 11 state universities depends on how they score on 10 metrics, which are similar to those U.S. News and World Report uses in its college rankings. Each metric has a maximum of five points. Score well—against yourself, against the other universities—and you get more money.

Score poorly, and you get less. “If your cost for producing a degree,” Kelly says, “is $100 more than where a point is given, you lose that point. If it’s $100 less, you get that point. That point may be worth $3 million.” Given the new system, which started two years ago, you could argue that FAU’s most important employee is not Kelly or the provost (Gary Perry) or the head football coach (Charlie Partridge) but the associate vice president for technology, Jason Ball, whose office produces the numbers. Perry estimates that FAU has spent “thousands of hours” compiling data since Kelly started in March 2014. For the second time in a quarter-century, FAU must reinvent itself because of demands from Tallahassee. Now, as then, that reinvention matters to Boca Raton as much as it matters to FAU. Many remember former FAU president Anthony Catanese for the Corvette he received in 2002 as a retirement gift. The car was purchased with illegal donations to the FAU Foundation. Before that scandal, however, Catanese saved FAU as we know it. When Catanese arrived in 1990, FAU was a provincial-thinking college that had been accepting lower-division students for just five BOCAMAG.COM follow the leader

city watch [ by randy schultz ] years. Some FAU employees didn’t want to think past the Boca Raton campus. But Broward County legislators, who then were some of the most powerful, wondered why their county (unlike Palm Beach and Miami-Dade) didn’t have its own university. They wanted to downsize FAU and create that new university. Catanese responded by increasing FAU’s offerings in Broward, at the Davie and Fort Lauderdale campuses. He also expanded FAU from Broward to the Treasure Coast. Though Catanese annoyed some of the provincials, his strategy worked. The Broward delegation backed off. As Frank Brogan discovered when he became president in 2003, however, Catanese’s quantity had come at the expense of quality. FAU needed better students. FAU degrees needed to mean more. Outside factors increased the push to streamline and improve. During the Great Recession, when the state cut funding, FAU eliminated 45 majors. More budget cuts in 2012 led FAU to close the Fort Pierce campus. FAU still operates two well-regarded marine research

facilities in Dania Beach and Fort Pierce (Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute), and it’s starting a biotechnology-focused program at the Jupiter campus with tenants Scripps Florida and the Max Planck Florida Institute. The main campus in Boca Raton, though, remains FAU’s hub. About 2,200 of the uni-

For the second time in a quarter-century, FAU must reinvent itself because of demands from Tallahassee. versity’s roughly 2,700 employees work there. Nearly 19,000 of the roughly 25,000 students take classes there. Boca Raton is what Kelly wants to make more of a “traditional” campus, with lots of four-year students living on campus or nearby. About 4,200 will be in dorms this year. Kelly and the city want to transform

20th Street just east of the campus into Boca Raton’s version of University Avenue in Gainesville or Tennessee Street in Tallahassee. To thrive in the data-driven world of higher education in Florida, however, FAU must become a different university than what the state envisioned a half-century ago.

PLAYING BY NEW RULES As noted, FAU began as an upper-division institution for commuter students. Even today, about 70 percent of FAU students come from Palm Beach and Broward counties. Only about 5 percent are from outside the state. At Clemson, where Kelly worked previously, 35 percent of students were from outside of South Carolina or the U.S. Kelly intends to market FAU as a national university, using the beach, the climate, the new Boca Raton Bowl, the Everglades and all of South Florida. “We have to do a more pointed job on recruiting,” Kelly says. “We need to know where our best students come from, down to the high school.” While FAU can’t control all the factors behind someone graduating, “We can

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control the type of student we admit.” Better students will be more likely to choose majors sooner, thus improving their chances of graduating. Better students will have more direction. They will be less likely to linger, to the point where Kelly says they are “hurting the university” and need to get better or get out. After the Board of Governors penalized the university $7 million in 2014, FAU revamped its adviser system. Under Kelly, FAU prods students, seeking to remove all excuses—as much as the law allows. “I might call their mother,” Kelly says during an interview. “I hate to tell you, Mr. President,” Perry responds, “you can’t do that.” Some at FAU might grumble that the university is becoming too corporate. Yet at Clemson, Kelly says, “We tracked ourselves all the time.” Given the 40 percent graduation rate in six years that Kelly inherited at FAU, he understates when he says, “We had room for improvement.” Nor can FAU or any other state university

Randy Schultz, former editorial page editor at the Palm Beach Post and a Boca resident, reports on city, county and statewide issues twice a week at bocamag.com. Catch his popular “City Watch” blog every Tuesday and Thursday for the latest buzz about Boca and beyond.

in Florida swim against the political current. In the last decade, state revenue per student is down 20 percent. Meanwhile, per-student revenue from tuition and the lottery has doubled. Those out-of-state students will pay much higher tuition. How is Kelly doing in his quest to make FAU “the nation’s fastest-improving university?” According to a spokesman, FAU received 22,158 freshman applications this year, an increase of about 13 percent. FAU got back that $7 million—and qualified for more state money. But while the graduation rate is up to about 47 percent, FAU remains far behind the University of Florida (87 percent) and Florida State (79 percent). Also, FAU’s current fundraising capability can’t support Kelly’s ambitions. As of late August, FAU remained several major donations short on the Schmidt Family Complex for Academic and Athletic Excellence, and Kelly hadn’t hired a vice president of advancement.

Yet Boca Raton must pull for Kelly and FAU to succeed. Only Boca Raton Regional Hospital, at 2,600, employs more people in the city. With Lynn University and Palm Beach State College, FAU gives Boca Raton a higher education network that helps to attract business. Kelly brings a CEO attitude. Soon, he hopes that the dashboard will show FAU’s 10 metrics “in real time.” If the university is underperforming, he wants to ask, “Why are we slipping?” Still, he also has the soul of an academic. During a 75-minute interview, he became most animated when discussing the June hire of James Galvin for the medical school faculty. Galvin, who taught previously at New York University, is an expert in Alzheimer’s disease and also will work at Boca Regional’s Marcus Neuroscience Institute. Galvin’s presence won’t show up on the dashboard, but if FAU gets more talent of that caliber, you’ll see it in the numbers.

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Gordon runs a medical group that helps patients optimize their health through hormone-replacement therapy, supplements and diet.

Gordon spends as much time as he can with his young daughter but he also finds time to compete in a number of sports, from bicycle racing to high-level Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. “I love to compete. Anything that’s competitive, I just love it. That’s why I love business.”

Since 2012, the business—which operates under the guidance of Dr. Elliot Lach—has grown exponentially and now has close to 5,000 patients. As part of its commitment to the community, Core Medical Group funds a number of local organizations in the Delray Beach and Boca Raton areas. Gordon and his business partner also select three people annually to receive free services for an entire year.

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Josh Broide

A ROCK-LOVING RABBI STRIKES ALL THE RIGHT CHORDS WHEN IT COMES TO BRINGING TOGETHER THE LOCAL JEWISH COMMUNITY.

rom Africa to the Northeast to South Florida, Josh Broide has immersed himself in communities around the globe that have enriched his faith. “We don’t know why we’re born in a certain place, and why we end up in another,” Broide says. “Each experience I had in each one of the communities I lived in was certainly a unique Jewish experience.” The same can be said about spending time with Broide, who is anything but your garden-variety rabbi. This Howard Stern-admiring, rock music enthusiast is an onion of a man, someone whose layers delve far beyond the ancient texts he studies. Above all else, the founder/director of the Boca Raton Jewish Experience loves people, and he strives to help them find what they’re looking for, whether or not their beliefs align with his own. Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Broide was surrounded by a passionate Jewish community devoid of denomination. In 1985, when apartheid began taking its toll, his family left for the states, moving to Elizabeth, N.J., where they had relatives. Broide, only 10 at the time of the move, grew up appreciating Jersey’s rock icons—Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. In high school, he dreamed of being a drummer in Guns & Roses; the idea of becoming a rabbi was nowhere on his radar. It wasn’t until he spent a gap year in Israel, after graduating from high school, that his curiosity for Judaism grew. For the first time, he met rabbis who were invested in him, and he wondered if he could pursue a rabbinic path, despite his lack of Hebrew skills. Coming from South Africa, he’d been behind since fifth grade and had just squeezed by in high school. Still, he would go on to attend rabbinical school in Baltimore while simultaneously earning a master’s degree in both special education and school administration. It was through his studies in special educa-

tion that he learned the importance of teaching to the person as opposed to the masses. “Everyone is unique. Everyone is an individual,” Broide says. “That was the best lesson ever—a lesson for my kids; a lesson for my career.” Broide and wife Simone moved to South Florida with their two daughters in 2000 for what he thought would be no more than a twoyear hiatus from Maryland. He began as the youth director at the Boca Raton Synagogue; 15 years later, he still calls South Florida home. Now the father of six, Broide is working in conjunction with the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County as its director of community engagement to open the lines of communication between Jewish leaders and the unobserving Jewish population. “The idea is to give Jews in the community a Jewish experience on their terms,” Broide says. “We’re sort of changing the mind-set of how to deal with those who are not connected.” Through Jewish Pride Films and Internetbased Jewish Pride Radio, he is using new mediums to start a conversation that encourages Jews to join in. He aims to focus on the positive aspects of Jewish life—a break from the turmoil that usurps almost every news item pertaining to Judaism. He sees the potential for a flourishing Jewish community in Boca—a community that is welcoming and open to change. In striving to create a sense of belonging, Broide isn’t trying to change the individual. Judaism is multifaceted, as are the people who practice it, and he is no exception. He may be an Orthodox rabbi, but Judaism hasn’t altered the person he was before his religious inclination—as much as it has elevated the person he has grown up to be. “I think as a rabbi and someone who is very involved in the community, [moving from place to place has] helped shape me,” he says. “I’ve seen so many different perspectives, and I can appreciate where people are coming from.”

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AARON BRISTOL

“I’ve seen so many different perspectives, and I can appreciate where people are coming from.”

Did You Know? The Forward, the national newspaper published out of New York City for a JewishAmerican audience, named Broide one of the 33 most influential rabbis in the United States.

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facetime [ by marie speed ]

Greg Cox

CliffsNotes PROUDEST MOMENT: Children FAVORITE OFF-DUTY PASTIME: Golf ACADEMIC/PROFESSIONAL HERO: I had a blind calculus professor at Florida, Dr. T.O. Moore. PERSONAL HERO: Wife DREAM VACATION: Rent a fully stocked house on a Caribbean island for a week with my children and their spouses GUILTY PLEASURE: Captain Morgan LITTLE-KNOWN FACT: I donated two ponytails to Locks of Love, and they were both 14 inches long.

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very college has at least one: the teacher whose classes are always booked, the teacher who is “cool,” who inspires students to really think, to go that extra mile. Dr. Greg Cox, now vice president of academic affairs at Lynn University, was one of those teachers—and even if he works now in a more administrative role, his reputation as MVP at Lynn is legendary. With a degree from Florida in chemistry, a master’s in math and a Ph.D. in education from FAU, Cox was hired in 1981 to teach math at what was then the College of Boca Raton. Over the years, the gig seems to have stuck; he has since been a department chair, women’s golf coach, the dean of three colleges, academic dean and now this, the grand poobah of all deans. And he’s been voted Teacher of the Year three times. Still, he’s the same Dr. Cox who puts on his hat and shades and sits on a random bench on campus now and then, so he can talk to students on their own turf. “I tell students when you see me on the bench, stop and talk to me. And it’s amazing what they talk about.” he says. “At first they would keep their heads down and act like they didn’t see me, but I call them out when they walk by. I think it works.” Here’s what Greg Cox had to say the day we called him out. On being a science guy: People tend to fall in one of two categories. Their brain works really well in math/science or it works really well in the arts/ philosophical side. I’m sort of a linear thinker— let’s get to the answer and make sure it’s the right answer. I’ve always liked that about math. I don’t mind philosophical discussions, but I don’t many times find them terribly rewarding. Like when people have meetings with me, I like by the end of the meeting for everyone to know what has got to be done. With the arts it’s “Let’s talk about it some more, let’s think about it some

more, you’re right and I’m right and we’re all right.” Generally I think I’m right and everybody else is wrong. Favorite part of teaching: The payback is the little light that goes on. There’s a look on a student’s face when you know that they know. On his image: People have said on my evaluations that “I have never enjoyed failing a class more.” I think they know I care and I’m trying. But I’m also realistic. I explain to them, “This is not like being an 8-year-old on the soccer team where everybody gets a trophy. If you can’t solve these problems, you can’t pass this class.” Biggest challenge in teaching today: The kids come in with a greater expectation that you will do more for them. Their parents have done too much for them, in my opinion, and they have created this expectation that the world revolves around them. … Most of these kids have never been allowed to fail at anything, and some of the greatest lessons you learn in life are through your failures, not through your successes. How he stays cool: I do not stress out over a lot of things. I’ve accepted that it’s an absolute waste of energy to worry about something you have no control over. A problem is like a puzzle, and I really enjoy solving puzzles, so what I spend my time thinking about are solutions—how can we make this better? On dressing the part: When I took this job I said to the president that I’d do it on an interim basis. I’ve got my own kind of way, and I said, “Do you expect me to wear a suit and tie every day?” He laughed and said, “You wouldn’t be you if you did that. ... But will you wear one sometimes?” Words to live by: I am not one of these people who believe you can be anyone you want to be, or you can do anything you want to do. It’s not true. It’s nice to say that to your children, but at a certain point you have to say, “It’s important to keep as many options open as you can for as long as you can, because the older you get, the fewer options you are going to have.”

EDUARDO SCHNEIDER

ONE OF LYNN UNIVERSITY’S HIPPEST ACADEMICS TRIES TO KEEP HIS COOL IN HIS NEWEST POSITION.

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Taylor Roberts

he latest Boca-based golf prodigy in a succession that includes professionals Morgan Pressel and, most recently, Jaye Marie Green, has yet to earn her LPGA Tour card. Then again, she’s also more than a year away from being eligible for her learner’s permit. In both cases, however, it only seems to be a matter of time for Taylor Roberts. As evidenced by her 230-yard darts off the tee, the 13-year-old who plays out of Woodfield Country Club already knows a thing or two about driving. The rest of her game isn’t so shabby either. Over the past two-plus years, the daughter of Marc and Cheryl Roberts has won more than 40 sanctioned tournaments, including a 2014 campaign that led to Taylor being named National Player of the Year by U.S. Kids Golf. But what has those familiar with the sport taking notice—and what makes her parents most proud—are the intangibles not found in her golf bag. “Her mental toughness, at this age, is unbelievable,” Cheryl says. “She’ll have a bad hole and then come right back. I see so many kids her age who throw fits on the course, who throw clubs, who cry and yell at their caddy. It’s not that you can’t see that she’s upset, but she holds it together. And then she plays strong. To me, that toughness is better than her winning any tournament.” Nowhere was that grit more on display than last year on one of the famed tracts at Pinehurst in North Carolina, when Taylor (then 12) and her playing partner rallied from six strokes down with eight holes remaining at the U.S. Kids World Cup. Taylor’s 6-foot putt on the final hole clinched the title for the United States against a team of top international players. “Honestly, if I could spend every single second playing golf, I would,” says Taylor, who finished fourth overall and was the top American golfer at the 2014 U.S. Kids World Championships at Pinehurst. Both Cheryl and Marc, who played college baseball at Indiana University, felt that the lessons learned from sports would add to the

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foundation on which Taylor (introduced to golf by her grandmother about age 9) and sister Casey (11, who plays travel lacrosse) were being raised. But, by her own admission, golf also has become a “peaceful place to go” for Taylor, who’s been homeschooled since sixth grade. “School wasn’t so easy for me, [as far as getting] along with other girls,” Taylor says. To her classmates, Cheryl says, Taylor was the “oddball.” While they were having play dates, Taylor was on the practice range with her swing coach. Or training in the gym. Or watching the Golf Channel (which both parents admit she has on 24/7). “There was drama with other girls because she didn’t want to go along with the crowd,” says Marc, a regional vice president for the Patrón Spirits Company. “But that’s Taylor. She knows what she wants. She’s always been a leader, not a follower.” “All my friends now are golf friends,” says Taylor, whose low round is a 67 shot at Frenchman’s Reserve. “They understand why I want to play tournaments on the weekend instead of hanging out by the pool.” At an age when some teens lack the self-motivation to make their own beds, Taylor brings an uncommon diligence to her daily schedule. Her early-morning exercise routine, which now includes yoga, transitions to time on the range, where she enjoys wearing her wireless Beats and listening to her favorite songs, like “Lose Yourself” by Eminem, while practicing. Taylor then tends to her schoolwork (she’s an A student)—followed by an afternoon round of golf. The investment continues to pay dividends. At press time, despite missing eight weeks earlier this spring with a broken ankle, Taylor was leading the race for South Florida Junior PGA Player of the Year. Asked if he feels his daughter is missing out on any part of her youth by pouring so much into the sport, Marc doesn’t hesitate. “If she didn’t have golf, she’d be missing out,” he says. “Taylor’s commitment is something you can’t teach. You either have it or you don’t. “She has it.”

EDUARDO SCHNEIDER

BOCA’S NEXT BREAKOUT GOLF STAR PLAYS WITH PASSION AND PERSISTENCE THAT BELIES HER YOUTH.

Sour on “The Short Game” Boca’s contributions to the future of golf don’t end with Taylor Roberts. At the tender age of 8, Chloe Kovelesky not only has three world championships to her name—she also has a reality TV show on her résumé. But the inaugural season of “The Short Game” that appeared on the Esquire Network this past spring wasn’t anything like the premise originally pitched to Chloe’s parents, Rich and Tina Kovelesky. Writer Casey Farmer spoke with the Koveleskys about the experience earlier this summer. Check out the blog under the Community link at bocamag.com.

Opposite page: Sister Casey, and parents Marc and Cheryl, with Taylor

BOCAMAG.COM follow the leader

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FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY

IF YOU’RE READY TO BE A PART OF SOMETHING THAT CHALLENGES YOU, INSPIRES YOU AND AWAKENS YOU TO NEW ADVENTURES, FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY IS YOUR SPRINGBOARD.

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BUSINESS

PROFILES Wri t t en by Ri ch Po l l a ck | P h ot ography by M i ch e le Eve S a n dbe rg

Cendyn Spaces Boca Nursing Services

Weinstein Wealth Management Miller & Sons

Fit Foodz Cafe

DurĂŠe and Company Palm Beach Pediatric Dentistry

PrediQ Media

Hospice by the Sea Foundation and Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation

Boca Veterinary Clinic Sklar Furnishings

Vianna Brasil

TrustBridge Health

The Buzz Agency

BUSINESS PROFILES

Cendyn SPACES & M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom Charles Deyo, George Patti and Thomas Smith ON THE JOB: Charles Deyo,CEO and founder of Cendyn, an Internet marketing company for the hospitality and travel industries, set out to create a unique business experience when he purchased an office building on the Internet in July, 2013. Deyo was looking for a company office as well as shared member-based office

space. But he wanted something more. For starters, he wanted to include a unique restaurant experience as part of the concept, so he partnered with George Patti and Thomas Smith, who had successfully operated the critically acclaimed M.E.A.T. restaurant in Islamorada since 2008.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Cendyn SPACES is an innovative member-based hybrid workplace geared toward everyone from business professionals who need a virtual office to others looking for coworking spaces or private office space. M.E.A.T. is a unique gastropub open to the public. CLAIM TO FAME: What makes Cendyn SPACES unique is the collaboration between businesses in a common area called the Cazbah in the building’s atrium. It is there that tenants and SPACES members can interact with one another, sharing ideas over a burger or a brew from M.E.A.T. or getting together for one of the frequent events hosted in the Cazbah. REASON TO GO: The food and beverages at M.E.A.T. are worth the trip, even if you don’t work in the building. The restaurant has been voted the Best Burger Restaurant in the

country by TripAdvisor members and Thrillist. The Juicy Lucy burger—stuffed with pimento cheese and housemade bacon—has won local and national acclaim. M.E.A.T. has a smoke house on property, and the restaurant also offers an assortment of unique craft beers and organic, sustainably farmed wines. WORDS OF WISDOM: “We wanted an environment that was fun, productive and focused, and that’s what we’ve created here. We’re a community—we have fun together, we do business together and we succeed together.” HOW TO FIND THEM: Cendyn Spaces: 980 N. Federal Highway Boca Raton 561/419-2503 cendynspaces.com M.E.A.T.: 980 N. Federal Highway Boca Raton 561/419-2600 meateateryboca.com WHEN TO GO: Cendyn Spaces: Mon - Fri: 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m.

“We wanted an environment that was fun, productive and focused, and that’s what we’ve created here. We’re a community – we have fun together, we do business together and we succeed together.”

M.E.A.T. hours: Mon – Fri: Breakfast: 8:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. Lunch and dinner: 11 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Sat – Sun: 12 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

BUSINESS PROFILES

Weinstein Wealth Management Bruce M. Weinstein, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™

“We offer independent thinking from an independent adviser to help our clients attain their financial goals.”

ON THE JOB: Bruce Weinstein is an award-winning CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ with close to 30 years of experience in the industry. He holds a Series 7 license from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which enables him to offer a wide range of investment strategies. CFP® certification is generally recognized as the highest standard in personal financial planning, allowing financial planning professionals to provide their clients with comprehensive financial advice. Only a select group of planners have met

the rigorous requirements necessary to call themselves CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professionals. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Weinstein Wealth Management is a full-service financial-planning firm that offers a variety of services, including investment planning and wealth management, college planning, retirement planning, estate planning and insurance planning, including life and long-term care insurance. The firm has offices in Boca Raton as well as in Princeton, New Jersey.

CLAIM TO FAME: Weinstein Wealth Management works closely with its clients, through consultation and collaboration, to help plan their financial future. “There are a lot of roadblocks and obstacles that keep us from getting to the finish line we call retirement,” Weinstein says. “We help clients find ways to avoid those obstacles and best prepare for the issues that lie ahead.” REASON TO GO: Bruce Weinstein works proactively, not reactively, to help his clients make clear, logical decisions so they achieve

their financial objectives. He emphasizes communication, education and commitment to ensure his clients receive the personal service they deserve. WORDS OF WISDOM: “We offer independent thinking from an independent adviser to help our clients attain their financial goals.” HOW TO FIND THEM: 11906 Preservation Lane, Boca Raton 844/PLANMAN (844/752-6626) bweinstein@sterneagee.com weinsteinwealth.com

“Securities and brokerage services are offered through Sterne Agee Financial Services, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC. Advisory services may be offered through Sterne Agee Asset Management, Inc. and/or Sterne Agee Investment Advisors, Inc., each an SEC-registered investment advisor. The Sterne Agee entities are direct subsidiaries of Sterne Agee, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corporation.”

BUSINESS PROFILES

Durée & Company Durée Ross ON THE JOB: Since falling in love with public relations as a 19-year-old college intern, Durée Ross has become an award-winning PR entrepreneur with a broad spectrum of experience spanning the corporate, agency and nonprofit arenas. A valued PR, marketing and special events

expert and speaker, Ross is frequently requested to lecture at various professional events and has served on a range of marketing panels. In April 2013, Ross expanded her business with the purchase of a 1,540-squarefoot custom-designed Fort Lauderdale office. Just two years later, she purchased the

space next door to nearly double the size of the firm’s offices. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Durée & Company is a public relations, marketing and special events agency founded in 1999 that represents a variety of clients including those in the lifestyle, hospitality and restaurants, real estate, legal and nonprofit communities. The firm has experienced tremendous growth and has mastered the “new” rules of public relations and marketing, using new and expanding social media platforms. It also offers superb design services, as well as crisis management and corporate communications. CLAIM TO FAME: Durée & Company is an awardwinning agency recognized for personalized service, strategy and results. As president and founder of the firm, Ross brings a hands-on approach to each client’s public relations and marketing needs. She and her team seek out innovative approaches to serve each client.

“Don’t do anything the ‘typical’ way — think outside of the box to go above and beyond the client’s expectations in each and every situation. This creates unsurpassed client relationships, and everyone is successful.”

The firm not only delivers a strong return on investment for its clients, but also consistently delivers results above clients’ expectations. REASON TO CALL: Durée & Company is a multilingual firm serving local, regional, national and international clients. With a staff of 10 experienced PR and marketing professionals, Durée & Company creates long-lasting relationships with clients, working together with them to deliver groundbreaking results. WORDS OF WISDOM: “Don’t do anything the ‘typical’ way—think outside of the box to go above and beyond the client’s expectations in each and every situation. This creates unsurpassed client relationships, and everyone is successful.” HOW TO FIND THEM: 10620 Griffin Road, Suite 208, Fort Lauderdale 954/723-9350 dureeandcompany.com

BUSINESS PROFILES

Boca Veterinary Clinic Dr. Lesley Hack ON THE JOB: Dr. Lesley Hack, owner and medical director of Boca Veterinary Clinic, has been practicing veterinary medicine for close to 30 years. She opened the clinic in 2010 with a staff of five, which has expanded to 35 as the practice continues to grow. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: At Boca Veterinary Clinic, patient care comes first.“Nothing is more important than the total health and well-being of our patients,” Hack says. The clinic offers a wide range of services, from wellness care to diagnosing and treating complicated medical and surgical cases. CLAIM TO FAME: Boca Veterinary Clinic is frequently described as a perfect blend of advanced medical and surgical care provided with kindness and compassion. Clients discover a sophisticated level of excellence offered by experienced and caring veterinarians and technicians and driven by attention to detail. Courtesy is paramount, but there is also a warmth and honesty that makes you feel comfortable the minute you walk in the door. The clinic

also offers doggie daycare, grooming and boarding services. REASON TO GO: Open seven days a week with extended hours, the clinic offers veterinary emergency services in addition to routine veterinary and wellness services. Challenging medical and surgical cases are welcomed, and each patient is treated as a unique individual. Clients are encouraged to communicate and be involved in their pet’s care. WORDS OF WISDOM: “We take pride in building a relationship of trust with our patients and their families. That ensures our patients receive the highest quality of care, which is always our first priority.” HOW TO FIND THEM: 22191 Powerline Road, Suite 14 A & B, Boca Raton 561/392-6540 bocavetclinic.com WHEN TO GO: Mon – Fri: 7:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Sat: 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sun: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

“We take pride in building a relationship of trust.” with our patients and their families.”

BUSINESS PROFILES

“Our patients are like family to me, and we treat them with love, concern and, most of all, respect.”

Boca Nursing Services

Rose Glamoclĳa, R.N. ON THE JOB: Rose Glamoclija founded Boca Nursing Services 22 years ago while working as a private nurse and recognizing a need for an agency that provided the personalized level of care she believes every patient needs and deserves. With more than 35 years of nursing experience, Glamoclija makes it a point to get to know her patients personally and hand-selects members of the Boca Nursing Services team. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Boca Nursing Services, a familyoperated private-duty home health agency, offers concierge nursing services through carefully and thoroughly screened care managers, RNs, LPNs, CNAs, aides and therapists. Boca Nursing Services also offers a

care management program to help reduce the time, stress and additional costs of caring for an older adult, as well as a medication management program. “We’re a one-stop shop,” Glamoclija says. CLAIM TO FAME: At Boca Nursing Services, personalized service is more than just a phrase; it is the foundation on which the business is built. Each patient’s requirements are carefully evaluated, and a custom-tailored care plan is then developed to address the specific needs of the clients and their families. With a sharp focus on details and the understanding that every patient is different, Boca Nursing Services helps provide peace of mind to family members who can have confidence their loved ones are receiving the

highest quality of care. “It’s the personal touch that makes the difference,” Glamoclija says. REASON TO CALL: In addition to offering one-on-one attention, Glamoclija personally screens all nurses, aides and other staff she provides. Boca Nursing Services also offers a detailed medication management program that includes weekly, biweekly or monthly skillednursing visits designed to help clients take medications properly— and without complications.

WORDS OF WISDOM: “Our patients are like family to me, and we treat them with love, concern and, most of all, respect. We provide individualized care that patients need and deserve.” HOW TO FIND THEM: 342 E. Palmetto Park Road, Suites 1 and 2, Boca Raton 561/347-7566 or 340 Royal Poinciana Way, Suite 322-B, Palm Beach 561/833-3430 bocanursing.com HHA# 20196095

BUSINESS PROFILES

Miller & Sons Office Furniture John and Karen Miller ON THE JOB: After 23 years in the office furniture industry, covering just about every facet of the business, John Miller decided to strike out on his own in March when he opened Miller & Sons Office Furniture with his wife, Karen. Starting out in the business right after college, Miller began his career as a manager for a national furniture rental company. Prior to opening his own store, he worked as an international furniture buyer for Office Depot. Karen Miller has extensive experience in sales and customer service with companies such as Continental Airlines and Cardinal Labs. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Miller & Sons Office Furniture is a full-service office furniture business selling new and preowned office furniture. Miller uses the contacts he developed over the years to find quality furniture— often made available by companies going through transitions—that is on display in his 5,000-squarefoot showroom. The company also rents office furniture and works closely with designers to help develop floor plans. CLAIM TO FAME: Miller & Sons Office Furniture is one of the few dealerships in Palm Beach County that offers new and used office furniture

in the same location. The store fills a gap between big-box office stores and large officefurniture dealerships, complementing its high-quality product with affordable prices. REASON TO GO: An active community member who has served on several boards in Delray Beach and who is a champion of historic preservation, Miller takes pride in offering buyers quality, value and a higher level of customer service. WORDS OF WISDOM: “When you come to Miller & Sons Office Furniture you’ll find personalized service that comes from dealing directly with the owner. Our name is on the building for a reason.” HOW TO FIND THEM: 1200 S. Rogers Circle, Suite 2, Boca Raton 561/922-9726 millerandsonsofficefurniture.com WHEN TO GO: Mon.-Fri.: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Weekends and evenings by appointment.

“When you come to Miller & Sons Office Furniture you’ll

find personalized service that comes from dealing directly

with the owner. Our name is

on the building for a reason.”

BUSINESS PROFILES

Palm Beach Pediatric Dentistry Dr. Saadia Mohammed ON THE JOB: Dr. Saadia Mohammed has been practicing pediatric dentistry in South Florida since 1998. On the dean’s list at New York University College of Dentistry, Mohammed received her pediatric dental specialty training at University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine. She spent a year doing her Fellowship in Pediatric Dentistry at Yale New Haven Hospital and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, Conn. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: At Palm Beach Pediatric Dentistry patients discover a perfect blend of high-quality professional dental care matched with a child-friendly environment designed to put patients—and their parents—at ease the minute they walk in the door. It’s not just a dental office; it’s designed to be a dental home. CLAIM TO FAME: Mohammed was the first female board-certified pediatric dentist in Boca Raton. She is the only pediatric dentist in South Florida to use iPlus laser technology, which incorporates energized water and light to safely perform a number of dental procedures. The laser allows Mohammed to treat 90 percent of the cavities she sees without shots. She also uses the laser to release tongue-

tie and lip-tie in newborns and children of all ages, eliminating the need for general anesthesia. iPlus laser technology enables all procedures to be minimally invasive and virtually painless, with a quick recovery time. REASON TO GO: Mohammed and her team have a passion for making each child feel special and for building trust, which leads to a lifetime of positive dental care. Palm Beach Pediatric Dentistry offers individualized care where children look forward to going to the dentist.

WORDS OF WISDOM: “We recognize that every child is different. Once you find the key that fits that child, you unlock the door to their trust.” HOW TO FIND THEM 9250 Glades Road, Suite 212, Boca Raton 561/477-3535 pbpdcares.com WHEN TO GO: Call 561/477-3535 for an appointment.

“We recognize that every child is different. Once you find the key that fits that child, you unlock the door to their trust.”

BUSINESS PROFILES

Sklar Furnishings Rick and Pat Howard ON THE JOB: Rick Howard’s love of fine design led him to open a furniture manufacturing business in 1970, with plants in Toronto and Dallas that produced only originaldesign pieces for the commercial furniture market. After selling the furniture business and entering the packaging business, he only retired for a short time before he and his wife, Pat, used their knowledge of design and furniture manufacturing to open Sklar Furnishings in Boca in 2002. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Sklar Furnishings is an unusual hybrid between a design center and a furniture store, offering a unique and varied selection of contemporary high-end furniture, accessories and lighting from North America, Italy and Scandinavia. With 23,000 square feet of showroom space and a staff with significant design skill and experience, Sklar Furnishings makes it simple for customers to find pieces that can easily be customized to match their lifestyles. The store provides complete solutions and assists customers with everything from concept selection to choosing flooring and window coverings. CLAIM TO FAME: Winner of the Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year Award in 2014, Sklar Furnishings

is committed to being a good neighbor and is an environmentally friendly “green” business that promotes sustainable practices among furniture manufacturers and retailers. Rick Howard currently serves as Chairman of the North American Home Furnishings Association, North America’s largest organization devoted specifically to the needs and interests of independent home-furnishings retailers. REASON TO GO: Integrity and honesty are important to Rick and Pat Howard, who offer only high-quality products and stand behind them. “Our focus is on ensuring our customers receive the care and consideration they deserve,” Rick Howard says. “The golden rule is a big thing with us.” WORDS OF WISDOM: “Our whole philosophy can be summed up in our tagline: Your Space. Your Lifestyle. Your Choice.” HOW TO FIND THEM: 6300 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton 561/948-1351 sklarfurnishings.com WHEN TO GO: Mon - Sat: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sun: 12 p.m. - 6 p.m.

“Our whole philosophy can be summed up in our tagline: Your Space. Your Lifestyle. Your Choice.”

BUSINESS PROFILES

Fit Foodz Cafe Susan Klein

ON THE JOB: Susan Klein brought 23 years of restaurant experience to Fit Foodz Café, a cozy restaurant she opened four years after setting out to lose weight and discovering a lack of restaurants serving healthy food that tasted good. Tapping into her knowledge of the restaurant business, Klein created a restaurant specifically designed to meet the needs of those who want quick, healthy and tasteful meals. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Fit Foodz Café offers healthy

WORDS OF WISDOM:

“We pride ourselves on making sensible eating simple and enjoyable. Healthy eating doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice foods you love.”

options for breakfast, lunch and dinner that are innovative and creative. “We took a lot of gourmet dishes and made them healthy,” Klein says. With a warm and welcoming environment, where Klein knows many of her customers on a first-name basis, Fit Foodz Café has become the “Cheers” of health-food restaurants in Boca Raton.

shaped zucchini—with chicken or salmon. Those who also want comfort food will find it on the menu, with choices that include shepherd’s pie (made with mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes) and turkey meatloaf.

CLAIM TO FAME: Fit Foodz Café offers specialties such as spaghetti squash turkey Bolognese and Zoodles—pasta-

REASON TO GO: Fit Foodz Café may be one of the only restaurants of its kind in South Florida with a bakery

PrediQ Media, Alex Oliveira ON THE JOB: Alex Oliveira is an entrepreneur who has owned and operated several companies in the digital marketing industry. He opened PrediQ Media in 2011 after seeing a void in the Internet marketing space for an agency capable of delivering quality results for small and medium-sized businesses. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: PrediQ Media is a digital and creative marketing agency that specializes in integrating technology with interactive Web design to maximize online and social media exposure for its clients. The agency provides customized Web strategies and

case filled with delicious— and healthy—desserts baked right on the premises. HOW TO FIND THEM 9704 Clint Moore Road, #A108, Boca Raton • 561/451-1420 fitfoodzcafe.com WHEN TO GO: Mon – Fri: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sat – Sun: 9:30 a.m. –7 p.m.

WORDS OF WISDOM: “We take pride in offering businesses the expertise and the resources of an in-house digital marketing agency without the expense.”

offers a wide variety of services including responsive Web design, mobile marketing, search engine marketing and search engine optimization, social media marketing, video marketing and e-mail marketing campaigns.

REASON TO CALL: Serving small businesses as well as large multinational companies, PrediQ Media uses a creative and integrated approach to help clients grow while keeping existing customers.

CLAIM TO FAME: PrediQ Media puts a priority on education, not only for its team members but also for its clients. The agency’s staff regularly attends seminars and conferences to ensure awareness of the latest industry advances–while at the same time working to keep clients abreast of how those advances are being applied to their businesses.

HOW TO FIND THEM: 652 S. Military Trail, Deerfield Beach 561/402-7227 prediqmedia.com CONNECT WITH THEM: Twitter: @prediq_media Facebook: prediqmedia YouTube: prediqmedia LinkedIn: prediqmedia Instagram: @prediqmedia

BUSINESS PROFILES

VIANNA BRASIL

Ricardo and Luciana Vianna ON THE JOB: Ricardo and Luciana Vianna are jewelry veterans who run a thriving business started decades ago by Ricardo’s grandfather, a skilled jeweler who crafted a piece that is on display at the Vatican Museum. The family still operates a factory in Brazil where stones are cut and jewelry is designed before being sent to high-end jewelry stores in more than 40 countries around the world. The brand Vianna Brasil opened a corporate office in Boca Raton four years ago in order to grow business in the United States. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: In an effort to build additional recognition for the brand and to be closer to retail clients, Ricardo and Luciana opened Vianna Brasil, their first flagship store, last December. The store carries a wide range of jewelry—with prices ranging from $500 to $500,000—all coming from the factory in Brazil. Gemstones featured in jewelry, usually accented with diamonds, include Blue Topaz, Amethyst, Citrine, Green and Pink Tourmalines, Paraíba Tourmaline, Morganite, Aquamarine and Imperial Topaz.

CLAIM TO FAME: The store is designed to be a gallery of fine art, whether it is artistic jewelry that you wear or art that you collect and display in your home. The store features artwork from well-known artists including paintings and sculptures. REASON TO GO: Vianna Brasil is the place in South Florida where you can find jewelry made with Paraiba Tourmaline, which is found in Brazil. The store prides itself on having a wide selection of jewelry for a variety of occasions. “We have everything from jewelry you could wear every day, all the way up to showstoppers.” WORDS OF WISDOM: “The jewelry you’ll find at Vianna Brasil is jewelry that’s not already in your jewelry box.” HOW TO FIND THEM: Royal Palm Place 300 Esplanade, Suite 51, Boca Raton 561/826-7174 viannabrasil.com WHEN TO GO: Mon–Thurs: 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. Fri–Sat: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Closed Sunday

“The store is designed to be a gallery of fine art, whether it is artistic jewelry that you wear or art that you collect and display in your home.”

BUSINESS PROFILES

Hospice by the Sea Foundation and Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation Jennifer Thomason

ON THE JOB: Jennifer Thomason brings close to 20 years of donor development and eventplanning experience to her role as gift manager for the foundations that support Hospice by the Sea and Hospice of Palm Beach County. She works closely with families to help them honor loved ones through financial support and strengthens relationships with philanthropic community leaders.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: The foundations are the philanthropic arms of Hospice by the Sea and Hospice of Palm Beach County, which joined together last year as TrustBridge Health. CLAIM TO FAME: The foundations provide funding for a variety of programs not funded by Medicare, Medicaid and insurance, including music therapy, clinical massage therapy and a children’s camp called Camp Good Grief.

REASON TO CALL: Funds raised by the foundations make it possible for the hospice organizations they support to admit all who need services regardless of their ability to pay for care. HOW TO FIND THEM: Hospice by the Sea Foundation and Hospice of Palm Beach County Foundation 1531 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton 561/395-5031 hpbcf.org

WORDS OF WISDOM:

“Everyone equates hospice with end-of-life care, but it’s really about quality-of-life care. Our services are available to clients with a variety of life-threatening illnesses. We often hear from families, ‘I just wish we had asked for help sooner.’”

TrustBridge Health Kendra McDonald, RN, BSN

WORDS OF WISDOM:

“I began my nursing career helping family members as they welcomed a new life. Now I have the privilege to help families as they say goodbye to a loved one. Hospice isn’t about giving up, it’s about comfort and quality of life.”

ON THE JOB: As director of patient care for an area including parts of both Palm Beach and Broward counties, Kendra McDonald oversees three home teams and three inpatient units with a staff of 150 caregivers caring for about 450 patients daily. A registered nurse with 19 years of experience, McDonald started her career in the newborn nursery and eventually went into management. Five years ago she decided to go back to working with families through hospice care.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Hospice by the Sea and Hospice of Palm Beach County and Broward County were each founded exactly 35 years ago, at the start of the nation’s hospice movement. Last year, they joined efforts as one not-for-profit, TrustBridge Health. CLAIM TO FAME: TrustBridge Health offers not just hospice care, but home health and palliative care. It is also one of only four percent of hospice organizations in the country offering medical treatments needed for quality of life but not covered under the Medicare hospice benefit.

REASON TO CALL: “Taking care of a declining family member can be so overwhelming. We’re here to help navigate the path.” HOW TO FIND THEM: TrustBridge Health Boca Care Center 1531 W. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton 24-7 Admissions 844/422-3648 trustbridge.com

BUSINESS PROFILES

The Buzz Agency

Julie Mullen and Elizabeth Kelley Grace ON THE JOB: Public relations professionals Julie Mullen and Elizabeth Kelley Grace have seen The Buzz Agency grow rapidly since they launched it in 2009. Mullen’s extensive career has spanned more than 25 years, including six years as director of marketing and public relations at the Boca Raton Museum of Art and the opportunity to represent the Dalai Lama during a two-week visit to the United States. Grace, who also has more than 25 years in the industry, started her career in Washington, D.C., working with a number of international clients, including the Republic of Georgia. TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: The Buzz Agency is an award-winning full-service communications firm specializing in public relations, social media and event management. The agency, which started with just Mullen and Grace and $500, now employs nine full-time communications professionals and is a certified women-owned small business. It represents clients locally and nationally across multiple industries. CLAIM TO FAME: The Buzz Agency is ranked among the top 20 public relations firms in South Florida based on annual billings and is known for its integrative approach to helping

its clients tell their stories. Using a strategic approach, the team at The Buzz Agency works together to develop goals specifically tailored to each client’s needs. REASON TO CALL: It’s the energy—blended with extensive enthusiasm and experience—that sets The Buzz Agency apart. “We have a really dynamic and passionate team—all with different skill sets—working together to provide results for our clients.” Mullen says. WORDS OF WISDOM: “Several of our clients have been with us since the very beginning six years ago, because they know we have their best interests in mind and trust us to get results.” HOW TO FIND THEM: 104 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach 855/525-2899 thebuzzagency.net WHEN TO GO: Mon–Fri: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

“We have a really dynamic and passionate team—all with different skill sets—working together to provide results for our clients.”

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theBOCAinterview [ by john thomason ]

And Equality for All THE PERSONAL HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE POLITICAL FOR RAND HOCH, FOUNDER OF PALM BEACH COUNTY HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL.

AARON BRISTOL

and Hoch collects things—modern art, good wine and especially political buttons. Jasper Johns’ iconic “Three Flags” painting hangs on the wall of his home office, but the stars and stripes are buried by a collage of hundreds of campaign pins that spans several eras. There are buttons for Jesse Jackson, John McCain, Palm Beach mayor Jeri Muoio, Richard Nixon and Bernie Sanders. Some of the buttons are relics, punch lines or both: “Dan Quayle for President,” “Anita Bryant Sucks Oranges.” He doesn’t support all of the candidates and issues behind these buttons and slogans. But they constitute an appropriate collection of memories for this longtime LGBT activist, judge and Democratic Party delegate, whose success has depended upon reaching across political aisles to effect positive change for South Florida’s gay community. Hoch, 60, has been involved with politics since age 13, joining political campaigns in Massachusetts, Washington, D.C. and Florida, where the Stetson Law School graduate relocated in 1978 as a budding litigator. He founded the nonpartisan gay advocacy group the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council (PBC HRC), in part as a reaction to the discrimination he faced as a law clerk for a real estate firm in North Palm Beach. When he came out to his managing partner, he watched “the color drain from his face.” Before admitting he was gay, Hoch had received an offer from the company with a $1,000 advance; after the admission, he was quickly denied the job. This eventually led to the launch of the PBC HRC in 1988; under Hoch’s leadership, the organization has been responsible for enacting 95 laws and policies extending equal rights to LGBT people in Palm Beach County, from domestic partnership benefits to antidiscrimination protections in workplaces and public accommodations. Along the way, he made history as Florida’s first openly gay judge, appointed by Gov. Lawton Chiles in 1992. His notoriety has engendered inevitable backlash, both from within his professional community—he was defamed at a series of secret legal seminars, which he fought and eventually settled for “a substantial amount of money”—and in his personal life. As he discusses with Boca Raton, fighting the good fight for LGBT rights occasionally requires self-defense.

WHAT WAS YOUR COMING-OUT EXPERIENCE LIKE? I went to school in Washington, D.C., and at the time, I was involved with government. I thought, I really can’t be involved with government at the level I wanted to be involved with, being gay. And that didn’t make sense to me. I look back now, and Capitol Hill has always been run by gay men. I just didn’t see it. Friends of mine were actually “dating,” if that’s the proper word, members of Congress, people at the different embassies. But I was on the down-low when I was there. Once I moved away from Washington to Florida, literally as I crossed the border from Georgia to Florida, I decided I was going to live as an openly gay man. Life is a lot easier that way.

DID YOU EXPERIENCE BULLYING? Not really. Growing up, I was always tall. And when you’re bigger than somebody else, it’s very likely nobody’s going to be bullying you. Here in Florida, it was a little different. I’d been called a fag many times, even before I was doing political stuff, simply because I’d be out with a bunch of friends and we were being ourselves. There were parts of the state back then, and probably still now, [where bigots] just want to put someone else down.

THERE WAS A TIME, DURING THE ANITA BRYANT CAMPAIGNS, THAT SOUTH FLORIDA WAS GROUND ZERO FOR THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT, FOR EVENTS THAT BOTH SET IT BACK AND PUSHED IT FORWARD. WHY HAS THIS REGION BEEN SO PIVOTAL? There’s always been a significant gay population in Broward County and Miami-Dade County. In Broward, when the activists started saying, “We should do something,” they were outsiders. They had not done what we did here; we worked side by side with elected officials and candidates. We didn’t change the hearts and the minds of everyone in Palm Beach County; we needed a majority vote on the county commission, so that’s where we focused our efforts. I think that’s why we’ve been successful, because we’re not out to change the world. We’re out to change the laws. BOCAMAG.COM follow the leader

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theBOCAinterview But still in Florida, there’s no statewide law to protect LGBT people, and we have a huge population of LGBT people. I’ll get calls from somebody who has a decent job, and a new manager comes in, and all of a sudden their hours are being cut, or instead of being out front, they’re in the back. [And] if they’re calling from Martin County, I can’t do a thing for them. If they’re calling from 50-something other counties, there’s nothing we can do. In Palm Beach, Broward, Monroe and MiamiDade, the laws are in place. But it shouldn’t be that way. Civil rights should be a national set of laws, and we’ve been trying since 1974. People say, “look how quickly gay marriage came to America.” Well, that’s wonderful, but it’s not really that quickly when you realize that it shouldn’t have been a problem to begin with. And it was a good 10 or 12 years between Massachusetts [legalizing marriage equality] and the Supreme Court decision this summer.

BEING A JUDGE YOURSELF, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF JUDGES WHO ARE RESIGNING FROM THEIR JOBS RATHER THAN ISSUING MARRIAGE LICENSES TO SAME-SEX COUPLES? I am glad they’re resigning. Because if you’re not going to do the job you’re elected or appointed to for any reason whatsoever, you should get out. The problem I have is with someone like this clerk in Kentucky saying, “I’m not going to marry you because it’s against my religious beliefs.” Did she ever say to someone, “I’m not going to marry you because you were married previously and you’re divorced, and that’s against my beliefs?” You don’t get to make these decisions. You are a functionary of the court. And when the Supreme Court of the United States says this is marriage equality, you have to say, “I’m either going to do the job, or I’m going to quit.” And I have respect for those who quit. I think they’re wrong, but they take their job seriously.

WHEN YOU PASSED THE 95 LAWS THROUGH THE COUNTY, DID YOU FACE STRONG OPPOSITION? The first time, we had some opposition; it was mainly the religious zealots and real estate professionals, because it was a real estate law. But we had established ourselves as a group of people that was actually doing things methodically. We had rational ideas. And the sky didn’t fall. So after that, almost every time we approached elected officials, they said, “It makes sense. And we don’t need to wait.” Now, we’ve got domestic partner benefits. It went from sick leave and bereavement leave to health insurance, then it went to other benefits. In West Palm Beach, if you die in the line

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of duty, your surviving spouse is entitled to health insurance and other benefits; that law was amended to include domestic partners.

THIS ALL SEEMS LIKE A PAINSTAKING, INCREMENTAL PROCESS JUST TO ATTAIN WHAT STRAIGHT PEOPLE HAVE TAKEN FOR GRANTED SINCE THEY’VE BEEN BORN. Absolutely. In the LGBT movement, a lot of my colleagues don’t like incremental-ism. Maybe it’s because of my background working in politics, but you take what you can get and fix the rest of it when you can. But we’ve had people demand, “You have to do this and that, and include this group.” We’re not there to impose 100 percent right now. It would make our jobs a lot easier if they did that, but the fact is, these are the people who are elected to make changes in the law. They’ve got to share with us what their comfort level is, and eventually they’ll move forward with that.

“No one should be prevented from doing what they want to do simply because of who they are.” HAVE YOU EVER FELT PERSONALLY THREATENED, BECAUSE YOU’VE BEEN SO ACTIVE ON THESE ISSUES? I wouldn’t say threatened. I have former clients who won’t give me business—not because I’m gay but because I’m an advocate. When I first came back here having been a judge, I went back into mediation. When I got back into doing advocacy for the transgender community, a few of the firms drew a line: “We don’t need to be hiring Rand, and helping him go forward with all of this,” as if their share of the income was going to prevent me from doing what I feel is necessary and worthwhile. So there’s still that level of discrimination.

BUT YOU’VE BEEN DEFAMED PERSONALLY ON THE INTERNET. Well, no good deed goes unpunished: You Google me, and one of the first things that comes up is [an unsubstantiated 2013 complaint by a delinquent mother whose] son aged out of foster care. He was a student at Dreyfoos [School of the Arts] who had been living with his grandmother down in Coral Springs or something like that. It was an hour and a half to get him to school on the Tri-Rail.

His grandmother was on Social Security, living in a 600-square-foot apartment. And the kid was already accepted to college. All he needed was a safe place to live for that threemonth period. His dad had been in prison since he was about 3; his mom had been in and out of jail and other “places of safekeeping” off and on for years. So he called up the Human Rights Council to see if we had any people that could take him in. You could walk to Dreyfoos from [my apartment,] and I’ve got a guest bedroom. He stayed here for about three months, and from time to time, his mother would freak out. She’d go to the police here and in Boca. They said, look, he’s 18. She tried to make me out as this person who was trying to take advantage of her son. She didn’t even show up to his graduation. I took him to music lessons, I went with his grandmother and aunts, we gave him as much of a normal life as possible, and I actually drove him to college in Illinois. But she put this stuff out there, and it bothers me that she [posted on a website] that is there to report people in business who are cheating people. I contacted them, and they said, “It’s first amendment, not our thing.” Look, it’s another badge of honor I can wear—because if people read through the whole thing, there is an explanation on there. It’s just a sad situation. Had I known his mother was going to do this, I might have had second thoughts—but I probably would do it anyway.

WHEN YOU BECAME FLORIDA’S FIRST OPENLY GAY JUDGE, DID YOU BREAK A GLASS CEILING FOR OTHERS IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION? Absolutely. I had a really good relationship with Lawton Chiles. And it wasn’t about my being gay; it was about being politically active in his campaign. So when the opportunity came up, and there were judges to be appointed, he said, “If you can get through the nonpolitical part of the process, no problem.” So I got to be the first one. There were other judges out there who were gay, but they were closeted. Partly because of me, other people realized that with Lawton Chiles not being averse to appointing the most qualified person—even if that person’s gay or lesbian—then they should try it. And at one time I think we had about 12 openly gay or lesbian judges in Florida. No one should be prevented from doing what they want to do simply because of who they are, whether it’s because you’re black, you’re a woman, you’re Muslim or you’re gay. It should have nothing to do with your ability to do the job. And anything that gets in the way is something I’m going to fight.

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Clockwise from left: Crispy duck a l’orange and moules marinieres from Casimir French Bistro; and croissants from Cote France Café

The artistry and precision of French cuisine, in all its rich and delicious menu incarnations, is celebrated by an array of talented chefs and restaurateurs in Boca. Story and photography by Libby Volgyes

egend has it that the world’s first restaurant, Boulanger, opened its doors 250 years ago, courtesy of a Parisian soup maker by the same name. Back in 1765, vendors had to belong to a guild, which held monopolies. To work around that, as the story goes, Monsieur Boulanger decided to sell soup that had health benefits. In his window, he displayed a sign that declared, “Boulanger sells restoratives fit for the Gods,” thus giving birth to the first restaurant marketing campaign in the process. Among the other items on that first menu: sheep’s feet in a white sauce. Along the way, Boulanger endured a made-for-TV saga in the courts. Spoiler alert: He won. Though a researcher at Indiana University is questioning Boulanger’s spot in culinary history, at least one foodie fact remains unchallenged. The French certainly know their way around a kitchen.

In this era of ethnic cultivation, when everything is a fusion of something, it’s easy to forget that chickens sautéed or flambéed; ingredients chopped ahead of time and set in little bowls; delicacies from croissants and macaroons to escargot, soufflés and stinky cheeses; that they all owe something to the French culinary gods who paved the way years before. Even the current garden-to-plate movement, which originated from a trip Alice Waters made to Provence (the rest is Berkeley infamy), as well as “celebrity chefs” past (Auguste Escoffier) and present (Alain Ducasse, Georges Blanc, etc.), speaks to a form of cooking that, as Julia Child learned, is about precision, perfection and discipline. Here in Palm Beach County, we have the privilege of dining amid our share of French-inspired kitchen royalty. In addition to Daniel Boulud, the Lyon-born master whose influence graces the menu at Café Boulud in Palm Beach, restaurateurs and chefs in Boca and beyond are adding their own bit of history to the lineage that may (or may not) descend from Boulanger. To that, we can only say: Bon appétit! BOCAMAG.COM follow the leader

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Chef Spotlight

ROB NELSON

From top: Greg Howell; steak tartare Napoleon

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Gregory Howell, La Nouvelle Maison

on’t let the fact that Gregory Howell isn’t French concern you. The Australian-born chef has spent enough time in French kitchens to earn his beret—and to cook French dishes with authority and beauty. “In French cooking, you have a complex basis of recipes that you can build upon, with strong technique and very high standards,” Howell says. “It’s all very much drilled into you as a child. Growing up, that’s all we ever practiced. … French cooking is about the way you prepare, it’s about paying attention to the quality of the ingredients.” Howell, who is married with three children (including twins!), spent four years at Café L’Europe in Palm Beach before working at the Naples Yacht Club (also a French restaurant). In the year since La Nouvelle Maison opened, Howell and his standout team of culinary experts have drawn raves for weaving together elements of traditional French fare with a modern playlist. The roster of French classics includes twice-cooked “Jurgielewicz Farms” duckling, steak tartare and Hudson Valley duck foie gras. Howell works tirelessly with his team to make all the dishes appealing and familiar, always with exquisite presentation. “Comfort is one of those amazing things,” Howell says. “It is something that takes you back to your childhood and to your grandmother and to your upbringing. You’ll see a lot of those comforts on our menu. It’s more American French because we don’t want to [put everything] in French and scare off everyone.” Howell comes from a lineage of chefs with exacting standards, chefs who understand that it can take years and years to perfect a dish. “Nothing is ever good enough, that’s the biggest thing,” Howell says. “You always keep refining your art.” At the same time, Howell believes that, at the end of the day, cooking has to be fun. “I love the environment; I love the thrill of putting out good food and getting great results,” he says. CONTACT: 455 E. Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton, 561/338-3003

Don’t touch that lighter if you’re not sure what flambé means. We’re here to help with a few terms, courtesy of The Food Network, that any lover of French cuisine should know.

Bouillabaisse with pan-seared Chilean sea bass, shrimp and mussels

Cooking Spotlight Chez Marie French Bistro

n a tradition as deeply rooted as French cuisine, even small deviations can be difficult when every corner bistro relies on comfortable traditions as familiar as your mother’s Boeuf Bourguignon. But don’t forget: This is the country that offered the world Paris, the epitome of perfect globalization. So while the canard might always be served orange, that doesn’t mean the rest of the dishes aren’t bursting forth with new colors. For Marie Gattacieca, whose restaurant demurely bears her name at an equally demure little strip mall in Boca, French food is about traditions. But there’s also room to elaborate, to offer new spins, to take the classics on which everyone was raised in new directions. “For me, French cooking is a heritage,” Gattacieca says. “What makes it traditional is that someone teaches you how to make it, whether it’s your

Béchamel: A classic French white sauce made with milk, bound with a cooked flour and butter mixture called a roux, flavored with bay leaves, nutmeg and sometimes onion.

Deglaze: A technique by which a liquid, usually wine, is added to a pan that has been used to roast or sauté, in order to pick up the bits that have caramelized on the bottom of the pan.

Charcuterie: Cured meats and pâtés.

En Croute: Food that is wrapped in pastry dough, and then cooked (like beef Wellington).

Marie and Stéphane Gattacieca

mother, or whether you found it in a famous cookbook. There are dishes that have been [around] for generations. It’s like fashion; some things are [stylish] for a period of time, and then people no longer care. Then, all of a sudden, somebody rediscovers it. And it takes the light again.” At Chez Marie, the spotlight often shines on the classics that Gattacieca and husband Stéphane (who does all the cooking) present—with a twist. For example, there’s the sea bass bouillabaisse, created with a beautiful chunk of flavorful sea bass rather than rockfish from the Mediterranean. This is important because traditional bouillabaisse from Marseilles never would be made with sea bass. Then there’s the pan-seared foie gras, which is as French as it gets. Only that Gattacieca serves foie gras on top of house-made gingerbread with fig and balsamic reduction, a small pile of thick sea salt and beautiful pink peppercorns. By her own admission, Gattacieca likes to “go play” when it comes to spinning the classics. As a result, customers at Chez Marie also have fun discovering which flavor combinations most delight their palates. “I think traditional cooking is a base from where you can elaborate and bring in flavors, textures and ingredients,” she says. CONTACT: 5030 Champion Blvd., Boca Raton, 561/997-0027

En Papillote: Food that is cooked in a parchment (or sometimes aluminum foil) wrapping.

Roux: A mixture of butter and flour, cooked together, and used as a thickener.

Flambé: A technique by which alcohol is added to a dish and ignited, both for effect, and to burn off the alcohol.

Sauté: From the French verb “sauter,” to jump, a technique by which food is cooked quickly in hot fat.

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Clockwise from bottom left: Fruit tart, Napoleon, chocolate mousse, succès (made with praline and macaroon), and strawberry shortcake

Pastry Spotlight

Cote France Café

iven South Florida’s obsession with health these days, it’s far easier to find a green juice than a perfect éclair. But that hasn’t stopped Nicolas Bolo from delivering sweet perfection to Boca. For the co-owner of Cote France Café at Royal Palm Place, pastry making is, in part, about keeping a promise he made to his mother at age 4. “When I was a kid, I would say to my mom, ‘When I get older, I want to be a pastry chef so that I can make a beautiful cake for you,’” Bolo says. True to his word, Bolo and his pastry team can create over-the-top cakes for all occasions (and all tastes, including gluten-free offerings). In addition, the café features a mind-numbing display of napoleons and éclairs, macaroons and bread, and delicate, tiny mouth-watering petite fours. Despite the complicated appearance of the pastries, Bolo maintains that the hardest thing to make is the French bread. “Making the bread is a nightmare because the main ingredient is water,” he says. “If you don’t have good water, you don’t have good bread. The pastries are quite easy because we find the same ingredients: flour, sugar, milk, eggs, cream, butter—that’s the basic foundation, and we have quality ingredients.” Everything at Cote France, including the ever-popular éclair, is made in-house except for the macaroons—which are imported directly from France. Bolo’s bakers start creating the tiny works of edible art at 2 every morning. “The thing that makes a big difference compared to American pastries is that we’re not overloaded in sugar,” Bolo says. “If you have too much flavor the sugar takes over, the sugar is too strong. With our pastries, you can [taste the difference].” CONTACT: 4100 Plaza Real S., Boca Raton, 561/955-6021

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s s a i nts o r C ve S

A Lo

tory

t’s hard for some patrons to say what they love more about Loïc Autret’s Artisan French Bakery in Delray Beach: the buttery, authentic French croissants or Autret’s own Hollywood-like love story. It’s a story, as all good ones do, that begins with a glass of wine in France. Autret, who had been injured in Cambodia while serving as a French paratrooper, was blowing off steam with friends in Paris. He caught the eye of a tall, beautiful American girl, and just like that, the course of his life changed. The American girl, a Florida State student named Pauline, spent the next three weeks in Paris with Autret. “I knew she was going to be my girlfriend; I knew she was going to be something more,” Autret says. “I was in love with her already.” Though he didn’t speak one word of English, Autret knew he had to figure out something to do in America; he was determined to follow his love anywhere. So, naturally, he learned how to bake. Autret attended the Ecole de Gregoire Ferrandi, a prestigious baking, cooking and pastry school in Paris, and perfected the art of making those famous croissants. He would move to Florida, reconnect with Pauline, and snag his first job at Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach. The couple married in 1999.

Flash forward to 2013 at the Delray Beach Green Market. That’s where Autret met the other significant person in his journey, future business partner Christian Backenstrass. The two started talking about their vision for a Delray-based bakery: a spot where sunlight streams through the windows, guests linger long over coffee, and display cases are filled with croissants, tarts, cookies and French breads. Last March, that vision became reality when Autret opened his namesake French Bakery (814 N.E. Sixth Ave., 561/2663516). The bakery, which provides bread to Gazebo Café, Max’s Social House and Max’s Harvest, offers everything from brioche and sandwiches to Autret’s specialty, a Raspberry Almond Croissant. “I respect the ingredients the way they should be together, and I respect my food the way it should be served,” he says. “You do that with all your love, all your passion and you take care of each creation. For me, it’s [all about] heart.”

Above: Loïc Autret

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recipe Spotlight Chef Paul Collange, Le Rivage

egardless of how frequently he prepares yellowtail snapper in potato crust, French-born chef Paul Collange never tires of feasting on one of his restaurant’s signature dishes. The owner of the lovely French restaurant Le Rivage, which just celebrated its 10th (and busiest) year, can easily turn over 300 tables on a bustling Saturday night. And it’s no wonder, given the reputation of Collange and his experienced team of kitchen standouts.

“Here I try to keep it classic,” Collange says. “I try to work with the best ingredients from the kitchen [and present it] to the table.” If you’re lucky, you’ll visit Le Rivage on a night when Collange is serving up his specialty snapper. Trust that, long after his customers have gone home, he’ll likely be savoring a few bites himself. CONTACT: 450 N.E. 20th St., #103, Boca Raton, 561/620-0033

Le Rivage’s Yellowtail Snapper

Ingredients:

8 ounces yellowtail snapper 1 large Idaho potato 1 large egg 1 tablespoon olive oil or clarified butter 1 tablespoon basil, chopped 1 tablespoon tomatoes, diced Lemon butter: 1 lemon, juiced; 4 ounces of butter

Chef Paul Collange and his famed yellowtail snapper

Preparation:

( 1 ) Cut the potato very thin, with a mandolin slicer. (At Le Rivage, Collange creates a plaid pattern using his mandolin slicer; at home, create the thinnest slice possible.) ( 2 ) Lightly beat the egg and create an egg wash. Wash the potato in egg wash. Display a layer of potatoes that look like scales in a pan. Place the fish on top; season with salt and pepper. Arrange a layer of potatoes on top. ( 3 ) Add clarified butter or olive oil in a pan, and brown the potato and fish on one side. Turn over when golden brown and repeat on the other side. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the finished dish in a baking dish; cook in the oven for 12 minutes. ( 4 ) Create the lemon butter. Whisk the lemon over low heat and add the butter to it in small pieces until incorporated. ( 5 ) Add chopped fresh basil, diced fresh tomatoes (and one bunch of fresh arugula, if desired) to the lemon butter. Plate the fish and serve with the sauce.

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er e t o h W ine D Looking for a French restaurant in your neighborhood? Along with the ones mentioned in this story, also check out one of these spots from Boca to West Palm Beach. PALM BEACH/ WEST PALM BEACH

Chez Jean-Pierre

WHERE: 132 N. County Road, Palm Beach, 561/833-1171 THE STORY: For almost 25 years, Chez Jean-Pierre has been preparing classic bistro food (we love Monsieur Robert’s beef short ribs and the Dover sole meuinere). The wine list has more than 350 bottles, ranging from $15 to $1,400.

Pistache French Bistro

WHERE: 101 N. Clematis St., West Palm Beach, 561/833-5090 THE STORY: A rare mix of casual Parisian and upscale chic, Pistache dazzles with small plates (Burgundy escargots) and main plates (moules frites “Mariniere,” coq au vin).

Café Boulud

WHERE: 301 Australian Ave., 561/655-6060 THE STORY: Nestled inside the historic Brazilian Court, Café Boulud softly mimics its New York counterpart with echoes of Daniel Boulud’s kitchen legacy gracing the menu.

Café Boulud

Mussels from Casimir

Le Rendez-Vous

WHERE: 221 Datura St., West Palm Beach, 561/766-1095 THE STORY: While you can order traditional French bistro fare here, you also can delve into a seared foie gras burger or pad thai with foie gras.

BOCA RATON

Monet Café Dessert from Pistache

WHERE: 7050 W. Palmetto Park Road, 561/368-1740 THE STORY: This local mainstay, a perfect little French café in which to lunch with the ladies, serves traditional dishes from croquet monsieur to salad niçoise.

Bistro Provence

WHERE: 2399 N. Federal Highway, 561/368-2340 THE STORY: For the past 15 years, this beloved local spot has celebrated traditional Provençal cooking. You’ll still find escargots on the menu, but you’ll also find more seafood to whet your appetite. Escargot with wild mushrooms from Casimir

Paris Bakery and Café Bakery of France WHERE: 212 S. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach, 561/820-9281 THE STORY: In addition to breakfast sandwiches and soups, think wraps and sweet crêpes. Try the Festival: brie, prosciutto, spinach, tomatoes, walnuts and strawberries all bathed in a seductive balsamic dressing.

WHERE: 625 N.E. Spanish River Blvd., 561/361-4490 THE STORY: This family-owned spot delivers fresh-baked love in the form of French breads and pastries that range from the traditional to over-the-top specialty treats.

Casimir French Bistro

WHERE: 416 Via De Palmas, Suite 81, 561/955-6001 THE STORY: The menu has held true over the years—that’s because the regular clientele has its favorites, such as the crispy duck a l’orange and tarte Tatin.

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Like Careers with Critters? Check out these other jobs available in the animal world here in South Florida. ✓ Animal caretaker ✓ Dog trainer ✓ Pet stylist ✓ Marine biologist ✓ Veterinary pathologist ✓ Animal welfare lawyer

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Ashleigh Kandrac and her long-necked friend

Hire Callings Who says “job” and “happiness” have to be mutually exclusive terms? Meet five South Floridians who use joy, passion—and even adventure—to pay the bills. By Emily J. Minor • Photography by Eduardo Schneider WE’RE NOT HAPPY AT WORK. At least that’s what the so-called experts have been saying for years about Americans earning a paycheck. (Beware, it’s a tad depressing.) A 2013 study out of Harvard found that 70 percent of U.S. workers hate their job. Hate. “Unhappy workers outnumber happy workers two to one,” wrote Forbes last year. Gallup recently chimed in, claiming almost half of all American workers are dissatisfied with what they do. Sad really. But then we got to thinking. For every yin, there’s a yang. What about the people who are mostly happy? What makes someone whistle while they work? What makes work interesting?

Into the Wild

ASHLEIGH KANDRAC, animal curator, Lion Country Safari

s a young woman, just out of college, Ashleigh Kandrac was known for having weird stuff in her bathroom shower. Like the time she was nursing a great blue heron back to health. “My parents got used to it,” Kandrac says. Indeed, Kandrac was always that kid in the neighborhood, the girl who loved puppies and kittens and teeny baby birds. But her work today extends far beyond a child’s enthusiasm. At Lion Country Safari in Loxahatchee, where she’s been for the past 13 years, Kandrac

So, off we went. And what we found were some regular people in some very unusual jobs. Work, you see, doesn’t have to be performed inside a cubicle, the receptionist announcing there’s an angry customer on Line 1, the fluorescent lights making your skin all green and weird-looking. It doesn’t have to be a 9 to 5 gig, the highlight of which is an afternoon cherry yogurt at your desk. There are people right here in Palm Beach County who get paid for doing all sorts of things—nice things, scary things, things that go bang in the night. Here are a few of our favorites.

has 260 acres and 1,000 animals—from parakeets and water buffalo to zebras and spider monkeys—on her radar. She helps to coordinate animal health, happiness and safety at the nationally renowned drive-through zoo, doing everything from herding 100 horned blackbucks for their annual physicals to putting in a DVD for the chimps. (FYI: They like cartoons and any animal kingdom shows.) She knows weird stuff the rest of us do not. For example, rhinos are finicky about sex; it just takes so much effort when you’re a 5,000-pound male. But tortoises? “They will attempt to make babies all day, every day,” she says. It’s possible to convince a lion to submit to blood work, but you have to know what you’re doing. “The lions are very food-motivated,” says Kandrac, who says they give the big cats

a special treat, coax them into a cage, and then start threading their tail through an opening. The sample is taken from the tail. Kandrac, 38, considers this her dream job, but it’s not always laughing hyenas and cute animal babies—although there is a super adorable baby giraffe named Ashleigh, after her. She and her team deal with pregnancy, fatal illnesses, feisty personalities, broken fences (literally), animal boredom and, of course, some very coyly planned vet visits. After all, a zebra doesn’t just slide into the backseat and let you drive it to the doctor’s office. “Every day is different,” says Kandrac, whose first job after graduating in biology from Tennessee’s Lincoln Memorial University was working with injured animals at a rehab center. She’s been talking to the animals ever since. BOCAMAG.COM follow the leader

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Jeff Abbey with a honey of a find

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Nuisance Patrol JEFF ABBEY, owner, JDA Trappers

his wasn’t the plan. Jeff Abbey was 18 when he started with IBM. First, he tested software. Then, voice recognition systems. It was an exciting and lucrative adventure, and Abbey, living the good life in the mid-1970s, fully intended to be a company lifer. But in 1988, with the early writing on the walls, Abbey opted for one of those (now) famous IBM buyouts. “They were the largest packages anyone had ever seen,” he says. Abbey stayed in tech for a while. Eventually, though, it all dried up. That’s when he saw the ad: Animal trapper. $40/hour. All you need is a truck. Abbey drove his Toyota 4Runner to the interview, deliberately leaving his pride back at the house he could no longer afford. “I was so embarrassed,” he says. “I was only going to stay for a year or so.” Fourteen years later, he owns his own company, JDA Trappers, and Abbey, 53, is pulling in six figures. It can be unpleasant work, although never dull. Indeed, he has more stories than one man can handle. There’s the sheriff’s deputy who called because there was an iguana in the house. “It was like a 12-inch canopy lizard,” he says. “The kind that crawls up a tree.” Abbey trapped it in the trashcan, made a big noise like he’d accomplished something major, and took the cop’s money—the man’s dignity untarnished. There was that time he worked with a guy nicknamed “Ratrick,” because rats were his specialty. He’s seen boa constrictors get in through dryer vents, family pets sealed up during re-roofing jobs, and thousands of bats fly free from an attic crawl space. He’s dragged himself on his belly through dark, disgusting crawl spaces to retrieve the putrid remains of heaven knows what. These days he has a bit of a reputation as the killer bee man. “I love animals,” he says, rather plaintively, explaining he tries to catch everything live. “I’ve even saved little mice from those glue traps.”

What’s It Pay?

Here’s a sampling of some everyday jobs, and what they pay in South Florida. First-year public school teacher:

$38,000

School teacher (25 years experience): $71,000 Assistant public defender:

$42,000

Executive assistant:

$45,000

Registered nurse:

$54,000

Computer tech:

$16 an hour

Private chef:

$52,000

Hotel clerk:

$18,000

Maitre d’:

$54,000

Architect (entry level):

$44,900

Starting newspaper reporter:

$31,000

Personnel director:

$57,000

Sources: salary.com; techexams.net; palmbeachschools.org; payscale. com; co.palm-beach.fl.us, indeed.com; glassdoor.com. Unless noted, salaries are estimated medians for workers with less than five years experience. Individual numbers may vary.

Like Yuck?

Check out other local jobs that aren’t for the squeamish. ✓ Dead animal removal for the county ✓ Cloth diaper delivery service ✓ Crime-scene cleanup ✓ Portable toilet operator ✓ Junk removal ✓ Sewer worker

DID YOU KNOW?

■ The average Baby

Boomer (born 1957 to 1964) held 11.7 jobs between the ages of 18 and 48. Nearly half of those jobs occurred between the ages of 18 and 24. ■ Male Baby Boomers

without a high school diploma held 12.9 jobs between the ages of 18 and 48. Men with a bachelor’s degree held 11.2 jobs during that same period. ■ Female Baby Boom-

ers without a high school diploma held 9.6 jobs between 18 and 48. Women with a bachelor’s degree, meanwhile, held 12.5 jobs between those ages. —Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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Cone of Influence SLOAN KAMENSTEIN, founder, Sloan’s ice cream parlors

loan Kamenstein likes thinking about the vacation he took before opening his first store in 1999. It was several years after culinary school in London, and he was on a cruise ship with his mom, dad and sister—everyone dreaming up flavors for Kamenstein’s new ice cream parlor in West Palm Beach. “There wasn’t any of the business pressure yet,” he says. “Just everybody sitting around, having fun.” Today, Kamenstein, 47, owns five stores, including one in Boca Raton’s Mizner Park. While his fun, cheeky shops are big business, he still relies on his family for tasting and testing new flavors. The process, of course, is super scientific. He collects everyone, sometimes even inviting his twin nieces, and then he lays out his lab materials: Little paper cups, the kind you might spit in at the dentist’s office, mediumweight plastic spoons, and a marker to number the bottom of each little paper cup. “I don’t want anyone to know which one they’re tasting,” he says. Because one of the franchise owners in Delray Beach says customers have been asking for it, this particular experiment involves something salty, something caramel. For most taste sessions, Kamenstein doles out three samples. Same flavor, slightly dif-

Sloan Kamenstein with a double scoop of heaven in a waffle cone

While his fun, ch business, he still eeky shops are big relies on his fam ily for tasting and te sting new flavors . Like Foodie Jobs?

Check out other jobs in and around Boca with ties to the culinary world. ✓ Chef on a yacht ✓ Food truck operator ✓ Caterer ✓ Food safety/quality coordinator ✓ Nutritionist ✓ Food stylist/photographer ✓ Purchasing manager ✓ Food broker

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ferent recipes, all from the Sloan’s kitchen. In the old days, Kamenstein himself would have mixed up the batches in the rear kitchen of the Clematis Street store, but they’ve outgrown that system. What they haven’t outgrown, though, is the basic recipe: sugar, vanilla and egg yolks. After that, it’s time for the stuff that makes Sloan’s ice cream Sloan’s ice cream. For the coffee and doughnuts flavor, they use big hunks of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, added at the end. Kamenstein puts homemade chocolate chip cookies in the cookies and cream flavor. The real trick to perfect ice cream? You need a freezing cabinet, so your mixture freezes quickly, thus avoiding any ice crystals. It also helps to have an outspoken family that likes its sweets. “Sometimes it’s a little tricky, because everybody likes all three,” he says. “How bad can any of it be?”

It’s Better to Give TIM SNOW, president, The George Snow Scholarship Fund

ood things can happen from tragedy. Tim Snow found this out after his father, George, disappeared 35 years ago somewhere over the Bahama islands. “We spent that whole first year looking for him,” Snow remembers. But George Snow, a high school math teacher turned big-time builder who also flew choppers in his spare time, was never found. No crash site. No helicopter parts. No wallet or paperwork or briefcase. Eventually Snow and his two sisters and brother inched forward with their lives, within two years starting a scholarship fund in their father’s name that to date has helped 1,540 students and awarded $7.3 million in college scholarships. Yep. You read that right. $7.3 million. Tim Snow gives away money, lots of it. And it’s hard work. That first year, with the loss of their father still raw, Snow and his siblings threw a Kentucky Derby Party— his father always had thrown a humdinger of a Derby party—and raised enough money for two scholarships. Their goal, Snow says, was to eventually get so big they could say they’d given away $1 million. On a warm Florida evening this past June, they gave away more than $600,000 in just one night. Snow, 58, takes pride that the scholarship program “is a little different than all the others.” For starters, “we treat these kids as our own,” he says. During college finals week, more than 70 volunteers bake cookies and put together care packages. Aside from the actual scholarship money—which helps “rock star” students attend whatever college is a good fit, even MIT if that’s the right choice—the folks at George Snow provide emergency travel funds and help pay for things like dental work and physicals. “Many of our students are orphans or caregivers,” says Snow, who often stays in touch with students, a few of whom now sit on his board. “It’s very hard for me to get through the (awards ceremony) without getting emotional. These kids are many times victims of circumstances they just don’t have control over.”

Tim Snow with some of the many students who have received scholarships thanks to his organization

g, n i n e v e ida r o l F m r On a wa ore than ym ht. a g w i a n e e v n a o they g 0,000 in just $60

Like Charitable Work?

Check out these other jobs available in the local nonprofit world. ✓ Executive director ✓ Grant writer ✓ Donor development ✓ Volunteer coordinator ✓ Communications/event specialist ✓ Administrative support ✓ Staff accountant

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Don't blame Chris Liberatore for having a short fuse.

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Things That Go Boom CHRIS LIBERATORE, regional sales manager, Pyrotecnico

hen you grow up near New Castle, Pa., you’re pretty much expected to love fireworks. After all, New Castle, north of Pittsburgh, is considered the fireworks capital of America. Of course, in the interest of full disclosure, New Castle also is considered one of the hot dog capitals of the world. But the hot dog was not Chris Liberatore’s career path. Which explains why he hasn’t had a Fourth of July off in 15 years. Liberatore, 32, is the Southeast regional sales manager at Pyrotecnico Fireworks, family owned since 1889 in, you guessed it, New Castle. He was 18 when a neighbor, a bit of a pyro, hired Liberatore to help with a show in Philadelphia. The neighbor rented him a car, and told him where to report. “My mom was like, ‘What?’” he says. But the kid from Cecil Township, Pa., walked away that night intact, soon getting hired full-time with Pyrotecnico. “It’s amazing how many people touch a show before it’s over,” says Liberatore, who works out of the company’s Pompano Beach office. There are people who load the mortars, number the mortars, put the mortars on the truck. There are guys who put together the wooden frames, so the show can be bundled in the right order. There’s often a choreographer. (The music is always decided first.) Then there’s the science: strontium compounds make red; barium, green; copper compounds make blue, and sodium, yellow. The designs? It’s all about how the shell is packed, and with what. Liberatore still runs many of the big South Florida shows. Miami Marlins games. West Palm Beach’s Fourth on Flagler. On those big nights, once it’s showtime, he hits an electronic fuse, which sends a minivolt, which pops the squib head, which ignites the display. The rest is oohs and ahhs. But there is one important thing Liberatore tells all the new guys. No polyester. Too flammable. “All our work shirts are 100-percent cotton,” he says. “If we got a shipment of T-shirts that were even 30-percent polyester, we’d have to send them back.”

The Startup Challenge

A graduate of the MBA program at Harvard Business School, Sarah Lucas recently took a position with the Tech Runway program at Florida Atlantic University, which helps new entrepreneurs launch a business and then pairs them with financing and mentoring. The initiative, launched in October 2014, is highly competitive. You first have to be chosen to pitch your idea; from there, you have to win the hearts and minds of the program’s directors. Once you’re in, it’s a whole new world—as this fall’s class, featuring four budding business owners, will soon discover. “What’s great about our program is we have this incredible mentor network,” says Lucas, who is Tech Runway’s assistant director. “Our (entrepreneurs) are able to have candid discussions with people who have been through this before.” Lucas offers the following words of wisdom for aspiring entrepreneurs. ■ Don’t fear failure. “Obstacles can be your assets,” Lucas says. Sometimes

you have to go with the flow, she says, even if the water’s running quickly. And when you get up, take a moment to really look around and learn. ■ Get the right team. Entrepreneurs need a set of trusted advisers. “You don’t necessarily want every discussion to be a group exercise,” she says. But you need key people to “help you get through the tough decisions.” ■ Test your market. Talk to people, gather opinions on your product or service, and then adjust based on what you’re hearing. ■ Establish benchmarks. “It sounds basic,” Lucas says, “but if all you’re doing is moving forward blindly, on your gut instincts, you’re going to miss a lot of opportunities to pivot.” Adopt a plan, establish metrics that will keep you focused on your goals and deadlines, and don’t blow off your own benchmarks. ■ Work smart. Here’s a little technique Lucas says really works: Every day, ask yourself about yesterday. Did my activities—computer time, phone calls, meetings—did those activities align with what I’m trying to do? If not, readjust. “Working harder isn’t always smarter,” she says. Don’t be the rat on the wheel. ■ Use community resources. In addition to its Tech Runway program, FAU offers an Entrepreneur Boot Camp. If you’re a student, you can learn to write a business plan for under $200. Non-students will pay closer to $500. For information, visit business.fau.edu/bootcamp

ts an i h e h , s t h nig g i b e s o h t a s d On n e s h c i d, h a w e , h e s b i u f u c q i s electron t, which pops the y. mini-vol ignites the displa ahhs. nd a s which h o o s i t The res

Like Danger?

Check out other local jobs that have the potential to get your heart racing. ✓ Demolition expert ✓ Electrician ✓ Commercial diver ✓ Construction laborer ✓ Police bomb squad unit ✓ Roofer

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style

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FALL GUY The seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hottest fashion and accessories raise the style stakes for the well-dressed man. PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON BRISTOL

From left: Salvatore Ferragamo velvet blazer, $1,530, from Saks Fifth Avenue, Town Center at Boca Raton; shirt, $225, from Guy La Ferrera, The Shops at Boca Center; plaid blazer, $1,550, and shirt, $895, from Guy La Ferrera; Hugo Boss blazer, $595, from Saks Fifth Avenue; shirt, $235, from Swatches & Rags, Delray Beach

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style

Montblanc bag, $1,845, and Armani Collezioni tie (middle), $165, from Saks Fifth Avenue; navy sweater, $149, from Lord & Taylor; snakeskin boots, price upon request, from Quintessentials, Worth Avenue, Palm Beach; striped blue tie, $135, from Swatches & Rags; red tie, $225, from Guy La Ferrera

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style

Versace collection black belt, $350, charcoal Fendi belt, $550, navy South American caiman belt, $475, and black Hugo Boss belt, $135, all from Saks Fifth Avenue; brown checkered belt, $225, from Swatches & Rags; black textured belt, $150, and shoes, $375, from Guy La Ferrera

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style Red Todâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s shoes, $495, and navy Versace shoes, $645, from Saks Fifth Avenue; brown shoes, $575, from Guy La Ferrera; blue snakeskin Mezlan shoes, $625, from Swatches & Rags

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Leather duffle bag, $1,175, from Swatches & Rags; navy sweater, $149, grey cardigan, $89, and grey cashmere sweater, $199, all from Lord & Taylor, Mizner Park, Boca Raton; Cappello Classico hat, $125, from Saks Fifth Avenue

style

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style

STYLING: Hot Pink Style ART DIRECTION: Nancy Kumpulainen

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Blue Fendi wallet, $400, from Saks Fifth Avenue; amber cuff links, price upon request, from Quintessentials; camel wallet, $135, onyx cuff links, $425, sunglasses, $389, tortoiseshell glasses, $79, and money clip, $249.95, all from Swatches & Rags

Needle and the

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Damage Done With diminished access to pharmaceuticals, people you might never suspect in Palm Beach County are turning to heroin. In this special report, Boca Raton sheds light on an epidemic that’s challenging local law enforcement—and killing users—in our own backyard.

By Eric Barton

ike and Helana Cabral are your neighbors. Like so many South Floridians, they moved to the Sunshine State from up North. They were middle-class kids from small-town Acushnet, Mass., when they met on the dance floor of a nightclub in 1999. They were both 17 and still in high school. Mike kissed Helana for the first time, right there, as they danced. They got married on the five-year anniversary of that night. The Cabrals spent their honeymoon in a Cape Cod hotel with a heart-shaped bed and a whirlpool bath in the room. They had to call the front desk that night for extra towels when they added way too much bubble bath to the jetted tub. They bought a house. Helana took a job in auto claims at Allstate. Mike started a small construction business. They also had this habit of taking pills. It was only on weekends at first. But Oxycodone and Vicodin soon became staples in their life. By the summer of 2006, their habit crept from one pill a day up to two dozen. When it was just Oxy, they could go to work Monday through Friday and pay the bills on time. Then Mike went to buy pills one Friday in the winter of 2008, and the dealer was out. “Nobody in town has any Oxy,” the dealer told Mike. “But I can get you the blue bag.” Mike bought the blue bag and snorted heroin for the first time. “The high I got, that rush, I was never able to sustain that again,” he recalls. “But I tried, boy, did I try. It changed everything. “Things spun out of control so fast.” BOCAMAG.COM follow the leader

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For the overwhelming majority of us who have never tried heroin, it’s hard to imagine it, let alone to understand its stranglehold over nearly every single person who uses it. But try to think of it in these terms: Heroin is a master of deception. An opioid synthesized from morphine, the drug tricks the human body by forcing the brain to produce dopamine, the same chemical that tells us when to eat and sleep and even breathe. Imagine, after a two-week hunger strike, the overwhelming desire to eat. Or try holding your breath for nearly too long, your head pounding, demanding you to pull air to your lungs. It’s that kind of desperate urge—only exponentially worse. As heroin users describe, every body part, every muscle and bone, every single strand of DNA screams for one more hit. It’s also far cheaper than pills—sometimes as little as $3 a hit compared to 10 times that for Oxy.

Mike and Helana Cabral

Helana quickly joined her husband in this new addiction. Instead of pills just on the weekend, they could do heroin every day. Soon, the more mild high from sniffing wasn’t enough. So Mike and Helana started shooting up. Up until that point, they held down jobs. They’d shoot up all weekend, then just a little during the week to get by. When paychecks came in, they’d pay off the people they owed, feed the dog and buy a little food. But as the addiction became all-consuming, the paychecks went to nothing but heroin. Before long, the electric company shut off their power. The bank foreclosed. They’d go to work and come home to a dark house without heat or running water. Just two regular kids from small-town Massachusetts, shooting up by candlelight, like the rock-bottom scene from some movie. “All I could think about is shooting up,” Helana recalls of those dark days. “I would close my eyes to go to sleep, and all I could see were needles.”

The Front Lines: Revisited

AARON BRISTOL

Mike and Helana’s story may have started in another state, but it’s a drama playing out right here in our backyard, where heroin is being called an epidemic in South Florida. People once addicted to pills are turning to cheaper and easier-to-get heroin, leading to an increase in overdoses and deaths and all the problems that come with addiction. For the police, it’s a complicated problem. Detectives who had become experts in the whitecollar laws used to shutter pill mills are now being retrained in the old-school detective work used to bust heroin dealers. Those who work with addicts also have struggled to help this new kind of heroin addict, often white, often middle class, often from families who would never suspect one of their own would end up shooting up. To figure out how the region’s heroin epidemic began, look back to 2011. South Florida, at that time, was the Wild West for pain clinics. Anyone could own one, even convicted felons. Of the nation’s hundred biggest prescribers of Oxy, 99 of them were in Florida. Dealers arrived regularly from Kentucky, Tennessee and New England, filling their cars and vans with bags of pills obtained from dozens of clinics. For Capt. Eric Coleman, commander of the narcotics division at the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, it was a time of uncertainty. Streetsmart drug cops had been trained in undercover stings and the hierarchy of cartels. What they needed instead were experts in zoning laws and the writing of new statutes. So they retrained their staff to act more like lawyers. Coleman’s department helped lobby state lawmakers for changes and

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HEROIN: HOW DOES IT FEEL? That first hit, that first time doing heroin, is like stripping away every single bad thing in your life, recalls Rob Park. The executive director of Hanley Center at Origins in West Palm Beach, clean since 2004, began his drug addiction by smoking pot in 1994. A decade later, he moved on to Xanax and coke and eventually heroin. “It’s oblivion,” Park says of shooting up for the first time. “Everything just melts away. It’s blissful, it’s erotic, it’s seductive. You nod out, asleep but not really, in a dream-like state. All your problems just go away.” That’s because opioids, including heroin, trick the brain, says Melinda Campopiano, medical officer for the Center

for Substance Abuse Treatment at the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration. They take over chemical pathways in the brain that produce dopamine, a drug that tells the body when to do crucial things, like breathe or eat. Soon, heroin interrupts the brain’s ability to enjoy anything but heroin. The only urge is to use again. It’s not just an addict’s brain. Heroin makes its way through every part of the addict’s body, right down to the nervous and digestive systems. When an addict tries to quit, the body can react to the sudden lack of heroin. But the brain takes far longer to react, sometimes weeks or months.

did intense background checks on the owners of the clinics. Since then, the 850 clinics in Palm Beach County have decreased to 350. “And they’re probably mostly legit,” Coleman says. It’s a success story, no doubt. But the crackdown on pain clinics didn’t include help for addicts. Instead, Mexican drug smugglers brought in new shipments of heroin to Palm Beach and MiamiDade counties to meet the demand. Broward County has largely been left out of the heroin problem, says Sgt. Ryan Hyatt, a narcotics unit supervisor at the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. The area has few Mexican immigrants, meaning there isn’t the same pipeline as with Mexican populations in Miami, Lake Worth and West Palm Beach. “It’s a drug we see maybe every two months or so,” Hyatt says. “It’s nothing like when we had pill mills.” The heroin made from poppy plants in Mexico is far cheaper than the drugs that used to be on the market here. It’s sometimes as low as $3 a hit, compared to the $15 that it once cost. Mexican heroin, though, is far weaker than stuff coming out of Asia, Coleman says, and that presents a problem. Someone who became addicted on Mexican heroin could easily overdose from shooting up with more potent drugs from Asia. Dealers have also been lacing Mexican heroin with fentanyl, a painkiller often used before surgeries that’s 50 times more potent. Earlier this year, 14 addicts overdosed and one died in Brevard County when dealers started selling pure fentanyl in place of heroin.

“Your gut can reset itself, but your brain has these programmed pathways that need to be re-programmed to life without this extra opioid,” Campopiano says. When Park got clean, he suffered the same initial flulike withdrawals that all heroin addicts face. Now, however, he doesn’t have the urge to use. “For addicts, drugs and alcohol are not their problem,” Park says. “They use because it makes them whole inside.” Park figured out how to fill that hole by trying to help other people detox, which he does at Hanley Center. Now, he says, “I have no interest in going down that road again.”

Rob Park

—ERIC BARTON

“In many ways, doing heroin is a game of roulette,” Coleman says. “Is this hit going to get you high or kill you? You won’t know until you do it.” In Florida, the number of people dying from heroin overdoses nearly doubled from 2011 to 2012, from 62 to 117, according to statistics gathered by Jim Hall, co-director of the Center for Applied Research on Substance Use and Health Disparities. In 2013, heroin deaths in the state reached 199. The problem is especially prevalent in Delray Beach, where heroin overdoses have spiked dramatically, from three in 2012 to 27 in 2013, the most recent figures available. And it’s getting worse. In August, three people in Delray died from overdosing on heroin in one 24-hour span. Heroin-related arrests also have increased, as agencies retrain officers to go from pill-mill work to street-level busts. In February, a multi-agency task force took 36 into custody on heroin charges, the result of a yearlong effort called Operation Check Mate. Two dozen of those arrested were associated with the Latin Kings, a gang that used heroin proceeds to buy guns, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. But there are plenty more arrests that don’t make the papers, Coleman says. That’s because police now have to force low-level dealers to talk, and that can’t always happen when the busts make the press. “With cocaine and heroin, our goal is to trace them to the origin, as high up as we can go. In some cases, it’s all the way back to the country where it came from,” Coleman says. “The goal is to move up the ladder, up the hierarchy to the top people.”

“In many ways, doing heroin is a game of roulette,” Capt. Eric Coleman says. “Is this hit going to get you high or kill you? You won’t know until you do it.”

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The Human Toll DID YOU KNOW?

Heroin isn’t just a Florida problem. Heroin-related deaths in the United States quadrupled from 2010 to 2013, to 8,257, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. In 2012,

156,000 people used heroin for the first time,up

from 90,000 in 2006, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

She watched as her friend used a lighter and a spoon to cook down a Roxy pill. In liquid form, shot up with a needle, it’s just like heroin. Things went sour quickly after that. 152

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Addicts are the victims at the bottom of that ladder. At age 30, “Cara White” was diagnosed with endometriosis, a condition involving tissue that grows outside the uterus, causing crippling pain. Doctors gave her a prescription for Roxycontin, one 30-milligram pill every four to six hours. White, a Sunrise resident who asked us to use a pseudonym for this story, has a history of addiction in her family. She was hooked quickly. “It got to the point that it became one pill every couple hours, then it was every hour. It was 16 pills in 24 hours at the height of it. That was for six months.” She had a hysterectomy to rid herself of the endometriosis. Blaming post-surgery pain, White went to several doctors so that they’d all write her the same Roxy prescription. Three years in, she went over to an old friend’s house and watched as her friend used a lighter and a spoon to cook down a Roxy pill. In liquid form, shot up with a needle, it’s just like heroin. Things went sour quickly after that. She swapped pills for heroin occasionally. She lost the business that she owned. She dropped to 70 pounds. Her friend, the one who showed her how to cook up a pill, committed suicide at age 45 by taking 250 Roxys at once. The reason for killing herself? Cara White

The skin over her veins had become so hardened that she could no longer shoot up. “You’d be surprised how many people are conservative, wealthy, white—and on the streets using. There are so many people struggling to get help,” White says. White finally did. She entered rehab, where she met doctors and nurses and dentists, middle-class people who took the same route to heroin, starting with pills prescribed by a doctor. That’s how it is nowadays, says Dr. Maureen Esposito, executive vice president at Transformations Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Delray Beach. “We see ordinary kids, middle-class kids, wealthy kids, shooting heroin,” she says. “People don’t expect their kids or their neighbors to be using heroin, so they’re not looking out for it.” At Transformations, 35 percent of their clients are from Florida. Many others come from New England and the Midwest. It’s like that at the dozens of treatment centers that have opened in the past decade in Palm Beach County, especially Delray, an epicenter of drug treatment facilities. Relapse rates are high. Some clinics, with good post-treatment follow-up programs, claim 40 percent of their clients use again. Other clinics admit to a number as high as 90 percent—that’s nine in 10 addicts who will use again. Some of those go back home, but many of the people who wash out end up on South Florida streets, adding to the local heroin epidemic. Rob Park, executive director of the Hanley Center at Origins in West Palm Beach, has been around long enough to remember what it used to be like with heroin. It began in the 1970s, in part thanks to punk and club culture. It went away in the ’80s, replaced by cocaine and crack, then ecstasy in the ’90s, and meth in the 2000s. Through all that time, heroin remained, until recently, an inner-city drug. “Now, middle-class kids from the suburbs are shooting up heroin,” Park says. “That’s just not what we saw years ago.” Like with Mike and Helana, many of the addicts begin with pills, then start snorting heroin. When money runs low, they’ll mix “monkey water,” cheap brown tar heroin with water. Or “cheese,” heroin thinned out with crushed-up Tylenol PM or Benadryl. For most people, heroin addiction is short-lived. Nobody stays on it for years. “The heroin addict either sobers up or dies,” Park says. “That’s the only way this ends.” Because of that, it’s likely the heroin epidemic will taper off, says Jeff Kadel, executive director of the Palm Beach County Substance Awareness Coalition. Now that pills have become harder to find, more

TO DETOX OR NOT TO DETOX For a heroin addict, or an addict’s family, finding a detox facility can become a quagmire, a bottomless pit of assessing facilities, debating methods of treatment, and, the hardest part, deciding what it’s worth to get clean. Most facilities call for at least 30 days of residency and can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $80,000. That range represents the salaries of staff but also how comfortable the centers will be, from jail-like bunk rooms to private suites with holistic healing included. Adding to the confusion is the fact that finding real information about centers can be tricky, says Rob Park of

Hanley Center at Origins. “The Internet is a horrible treatment resource,” he says. “Bad centers can have great websites.” Instead, look for referrals, Park says. If that’s not possible, ask to speak to alumni of the facility. Inquire about how often the patient will have access to a doctor and what kind of services will be available after the first 30 days. Someone new to treatment might think success rates are the key. Those statistics aren’t regulated, meaning treatment facilities often produce their own numbers. The stats also can be discouraging: Some studies suggest that nine out of 10 recovering heroin addicts will relapse within a year.

people will turn to heroin. The current addicts will either get clean or die. And then, in a few years, the cycle will stop. After washing out a few times, White has been sober almost six years now. She’s working on a book about what happened to her. She talks about being one of the lucky ones. “I’m not like most addicts,” she says. “Some crave it for the rest of their lives. Not me. I don’t want any of it again.”

There’s also debate about how long anti-addiction drugs should be used. Many treatment centers, including Park’s, believe in a traditional abstinence model. That means addicts will receive the anti-addiction drug Suboxone for only a few days to help with initial detox side effects. But some addiction experts, including the White House’s Office on National Drug Control Policy, advocate long-term use of anti-addiction drugs, sometimes for a year or more. The reason is that studies have continually shown this anti-addiction drug maintenance is far more effective, says Mary Jeanne Kreek, senior attending

—ERIC BARTON

Maureen Esposito from Transformations

HOW TO GET HELP

There’s no single clearinghouse of information for heroin addicts looking to get clean or family members hoping to help them. Instead, it’s about gathering info from trusted sources to figure out what’s next. Visit the In the Mag link at bocamag.com and click on Web Extras for some general direction regarding where to begin.

Survivors’ Story

Mike and Helena’s arms were scarred and filled with holes during those final dark days. They burned every friend and family member, borrowing and stealing from them. When they ran out of money— when, at long last, there was nowhere to turn—they decided together to choose life over death. In February 2009, Mike and Helana enrolled in a detox facility and came to South Florida. They were given horrible odds of success. It’s not just that a vast majority of heroin addicts fail out of rehab, it’s that almost no couples stay together. “They said somewhere like 1 percent of couples make it through intact,” Helana recalls. “We had pretty much resigned ourselves to the idea that [our marriage wasn’t] going to make it.” One morning, during the start of their detox, Mike kissed Helana for what they both figured would be the last time. They were at Transformations, which, like most treatment centers, allows no intimate contact betwesen its clients. “I was like, ‘Are you telling me I can’t kiss my wife? Not even hug her?’” Mike recalls. There’s good reason for it. Like most addicted

physician at Rockefeller University’s Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases and one of three scientists who helped develop methadone treatment in the 1970s. She argued that treatment centers benefit from addicts who relapse. “The people who run treatment centers are entrepreneurs,” Kreek says. “They’re misinformed.” People on both sides of the abstinence versus anti-addiction drug maintenance agree on one thing: It’s crucial for addicts to try something. Says Kreek: “The diseases are there, and those addicted need treatment, no matter what method it’s going to be.”

couples, Mike and Helana fed off each other. It was likely that if one broke down, so would the other. Not only was contact forbidden, but they weren’t supposed to talk about their recovery. This, too, is crucial to making it, because addicts are supposed CONTINUED ON PAGE 222 BOCAMAG.COM follow the leader

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25 Years of magic! Marleen & Harold* Forkas present

The Nutcracker

Fri., Nov. 27, 2015 at 7:00pm Sat., Nov. 28, 2015 at 2:00pm & 8:00pm Sun., Nov. 29, 2015 at 2:00pm Featuring: Cassandra Trenary Soloist American Ballet Theatre

Artistic Directors Dan Guin & Jane Tyree

Grayson Davis American Ballet Theatre

PERFORMANCES

Marleen & Harold* Forkas present The Nutcracker

Michael & Madelyn Savarick Trust presents 25th Anniversary Gala Performance March 19, 2016

EVENTS

Spring Mix Repertory Dance Concert May 7-8, 2016

A Princely Affair Performance and Luncheon November 1, 2015

Giselle July 29-31, 2016

25th Anniversary Post Performance Celebration March 19, 2016

Boca Ratonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ballet Company - bocaballet.org Photos by: Silvia Pangaro & Tim Thomas

Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Dept. of State, Div. of Cultural Affairs, Florida Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Performances, guest artists and dates subject to change

backstagepass [ 156 season preview • 166 take 5: jeffrey kaye ]

[ by john thomason ]

On With the Shows The 2015-16 cultural season kicks off this month at venues throughout South Florida, and the Novemberto-June schedule promises entertainment that runs the gamut from classic to kitschy. For those partial to the latter, look no further than February’s performance by a one-time Starfleet captain who continues to boldly go where no man has gone before.

William Shatner

MORE A&E COVERAGE AT BOCAMAG.COM Visit BOCAMAG.COM for all your local A&E coverage, including John Thomason’s Monday breakdown of the upcoming week’s cultural events; movie, concert and theater reviews; interviews with local entertainers— and much more.

backstage pass

2015-16

Season Preview

And now for something completely different: Instead of 10 cultural season highlights to consider from November through June, Boca Raton has put together 30 offerings—in categories ranging from theater and dance to classical music and lectures (there is no category for popular music, because touring bands don’t announce their dates on a seasonal schedule). The results include everything from Warhol and Waters to an Arthur Miller masterpiece and a symphonic ride on the Starship Enterprise. All we can say is, beam us up.

TOP 5 PLAYS “STRIPPED” AT ZOETIC STAGE at Arsht Center WHEN: Nov. 5–22 WHAT: One of this play’s protagonists, Masha, is a Russian immigrant, a mother and stripper—ahem, we mean exotic dancer— who, because of her profession, is consequently stripped of her child by the state. A world premiere by award-winning Miami playwright Christopher Demos-Brown, “Stripped” takes an insider’s view of the complicated structure of child custody laws. CONTACT: 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305/949-6722

“IT’S ONLY A PLAY” at GableStage WHEN: Jan. 23–Feb. 21, 2016 WHAT: Terence McNally’s recent Broadway hit is set in a Manhattan home immediately following a play’s opening night, as the actors, producer, director, playwright and gathered friends wait for the overnight reviews. The plot is thin, but McNally’s inspiration brings out the best of his caustic, scabrous wit. CONTACT: 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables; 305/445-1119

“LONG DAY’S JOURNEY INTO NIGHT” at Palm Beach Dramaworks WHEN: Jan. 29–Feb. 28, 2016 WHAT: Eugene O’Neill based this four-act magnum opus at least in part on his own family, presented here as a mother, father and two sons, whose demons are released

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over the course of one sweltering night in August. Apparently, when O’Neill was writing this granddaddy of all dysfunctionalfamily dramas, the actions scraped so close to the bone that his wife would find him weeping over the typewriter. CONTACT: 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach; 561/514-4042

“SMOKE” at the Theatre at Arts Garage WHEN: March 26-April 17, 2016 WHAT: A 31-year-old intern and a soonto-be college dropout, only 20, meet in the kitchen at an uptown New York sex party in this edgy comic thriller by Kim Davies. Nipping at the kinky heels of BDSM-themed plays like “Venus in Fur” and “Trust,” “Smoke” examines shifting tides of power and sexuality, capping Keith Garsson and Genie Croft’s first libidinous season as the Theatre at Arts Garage’s new artistic directors. CONTACT: 180 N.E. First St., Delray Beach; 561/450-6357

“DEATH OF A SALESMAN” at New Theatre WHEN: May-June 2016 WHAT: Who needs spoiler alerts? The conclusion of Arthur Miller’s titanic 1949 masterwork is revealed in its title, but that hasn’t dampened the anticipatory tingle every time it shows up in a season. The play’s themes of the loss of the American dream, mental illness and income equality feel perennially relevant. CONTACT: South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center, 10950 S.W. 211th St., Cutler Bay; 786/573-5316

TOP 5 MUSICALS “BILLY ELLIOT: THE MUSICAL” at Maltz Jupiter Theatre WHEN: Dec. 1–20 WHAT: A motherless child eschews boxing for ballet, breaking with tradition while coal miners in Northeastern England likewise challenge the status quo by striking in County Durham. An inspirational story and a socially conscious pulse will hopefully carry the South Florida regional premiere of this award-winning musical, with tunes by Elton John. CONTACT: 1001 E. Indiantown Road, Jupiter; 561/575-2223

“SOUTH PACIFIC” at The Wick WHEN: Jan. 7–Feb. 14, 2016 WHAT: Rodgers and Hammerstein’s lavish musical, set on a South Pacific island during World War II, includes such transcendent numbers as “Some Enchanted Evening” and “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair.” That “South Pacific” manages to entertain while delivering a potent message about prejudice has led to its designation as one of the greatest musicals of the 20th century. CONTACT: 7901 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; 561/995-2333

“PASSION” at Zoetic Stage at Arsht Center WHEN: Feb. 18–March 13, 2016 WHAT: A homely, ailing woman manages to cast an unbreakable spell on a young soldier in 19th-century Italy in this operatic work from Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine. The hauntingly complex musical boasts all the themes of great theater—love, sex, obsession, illness, beauty, power and manipula-

tion—from the company that recently won a Carbonell Award for Best Musical for its production of Sondheim’s “Assassins.” CONTACT: 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305/949-6722

“MATILDA” at Kravis Center

JOAN MARCUS

WHEN: March 1–6, 2016 WHAT: This touring Broadway smash owes its origins to the Roald Dahl novel about a titular, imaginative 5-year-old who changes the lives of those around her while overcoming obstacles. Controversial English humorist Tim Minchin reined himself in to provide the music and lyrics. CONTACT: 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 561/832-7469

“HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL” at Slow Burn Theatre WHEN: June 9–26, 2016 WHAT: The creators of “Legally Blonde: The Musical” and “Reefer Madness” collaborated on this 2014 adaptation of “Heathers,” the ahead-of-its-time cult satire about the dangers of high school cliques. A cast of nearly 20— playing parts such as “Young Republicanette” and “Beleaguered Geek”—makes “Heathers” one of Slow Burn’s most ambitious productions to date. CONTACT: Broward Center, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954/462-0222

Also including Liam Scarlett’s Viscera and Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free PROGRAM ONE Ft. Lauderdale, Nov. 7 - 8 West Palm Beach, Nov. 13 - 15

Tickets available from $20! 305.929.7010 877.929.7010 toll free

miamicityballet.org Lourdes Lopez, Artistic Director

Swan Lake is made possible by the generous support of Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson, P.A. Tricia Albertson in Swan Lake, choreography by George Balanchine © The George Balanchine Trust. Photo © Alberto Oviedo.

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backstage pass [ SEASON PREVIEW ] TOP 5 CLASSICAL/JAZZ DELRAY STRING QUARTET’S PROGRAM 3 at Colony Hotel WHEN: Jan. 3, 2016 WHAT: In a landmark performance from this virtuoso foursome, the Delray String Quartet (DSQ) will present the Palm Beach County premiere of American composer Richard Danielpour’s Quartet No. 7, a work commissioned specifically for the DSQ. This contemporary piece joins a program of classics: romantic composer Anton Arensky’s “Quartet No. 2” and contrapuntal selections from Bach’s “Art of the Fugue.” CONTACT: 525 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; 561/213-4138

“THE MUSIC AND TIMES OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG AND KURT WEILL” at Wold Performing Arts Center WHEN: Jan. 10, 2016 WHAT: As part of Lynn’s American Songbook Series, Marshall Turkin and his Classic Jazz Ensemble will celebrate the music and influence of two 20th century greats, born oceans apart and thriving in different genres: Kurt Weill, the socially conscious German composer and future art-rock influencer; and Satchmo, the scat singer and innovative trumpeter who famously adapted Weill’s “Mack the Knife.” CONTACT: Lynn University, 3601 N. Military Trail, Boca Raton; 561/237-9000

“STAR TREK: THE ULTIMATE VOYAGE” at Broward Center WHEN: Jan. 19, 2016 WHAT: The display of Vulcan peace signs will join traditional audience applause at this oneof-a-kind combination of orchestral performance and Trekkie confab. A live symphony will perform iconic music from the “Star Trek” canon—from “The Original Series” to “Voyager”—while video clips spanning five decades of sci-fi innovation will beam from a 40-footwide screen. CONTACT: 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954/462-0222

RUSSIAN NATIONAL ORCHESTRA at Kravis Center WHEN: March 7, 2016 WHAT: American violin phenom Stefan Jackiw will solo under the baton of Ukrainian maestro Kirill Karabits, across Borodin’s evocative “In the Steppes of Central Asia,” Stravinsky’s iconic “The Firebird” and Prokofiev’s “Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor.” CONTACT: 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 561/832-7469

MECCORE STRING QUARTET at Flagler Museum WHEN: March 8, 2016 WHAT: This playful quartet’s tour arrives on the heels of a celebrated 2015 American jaunt that saw the group sell out of its debut CD and perform celebrated interpretations of three vastly different musical periods. The performance by the awardwinning Polish ensemble is the last of the Flagler’s five-show music series for 2016. CONTACT: One Whitehall Way, Palm Beach; 561/655-2833

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backstage pass [ SEASON PREVIEW ] TOP 5 LECTURES/ COMEDY/SOLO THEATER

MARGARET HOOVER at Society of the Four Arts

Margaret Hoover

WHEN: March 29, 2016 WHAT: This political analyst and great-granddaughter of President Hoover earned her conservative bona fides by serving as George W. Bush’s associate director of intergovernmental affairs. But by the time she left Fox News for CNN, Hoover succeeded in alienating her former base by taking socially liberal positions. This self-proclaimed “reform Republican” will discuss branding her party with the millennial generation, as outlined in her book American Individualism. CONTACT: 2 Four Arts Plaza, Palm Beach; 561/655-7227

“AN EVENING WITH GARRISON KEILLOR” at Broward Center

JESSE EISENBERG at Miami-Dade College WHEN: Nov. 22 WHAT: Since emerging onto the art-house movie circuit with the 2002 cult comedy “Roger Dodger,” Eisenberg has been the favored casting for socially awkward, preternaturally brilliant brainiacs like Mark Zuckerberg (“The Social Network”) and Rolling Stone writer David Lipsky (“The End of the Tour”). But the Oscar-nominated actor is also a deft writer of short comic fiction, and his appearance at this fall’s Miami Book Fair will support his debut collection Bream Gives Me Hiccups. CONTACT: 401 N.E. Second Ave., Miami; 305/237-3258

“SHATNER’S WORLD” at Kravis Center WHEN: Feb. 2, 2016 WHAT: The idiosyncratic William Shatner, he of the Starship Enterprise captainship, staggered speech patterns and questionable cabaret albums, returns to his original passion, the proscenium stage. The Shakespearean thespian-turned-TV icon-turned self-effacing popculture jester will combine anecdotes, standup comedy, live music and poignant reflections into this one-man show, complete with professional lighting, sound and scenic design. CONTACT: 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 561/832-7469

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WHEN: April 25, 2016 WHAT: Keillor is one of the few modern radio hosts for whom the word “controversial” is never desired. The host of NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion” is a foremost progenitor of Minnesota nice, a nostalgic relic of the era when radio waves were a portal to the imagination, and a best-selling author and storyteller whose comedic and sonorous lectures jump from his childhood to wry comments on the news of the day. All that’s missing is rhubarb pie. CONTACT: 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954/462-0222

“A JOHN WATERS CHRISTMAS” at Arsht Center WHEN: Dec. 14 WHAT: It’s been nearly 12 years since cult filmmaker John Waters directed a movie, but Hollywood’s pencil-mustachioed Pope of Trash has been plenty busy: acting, hitchhiking across America, writing a best-seller about hitchhicking across America, creating morbid digital art, and now touring a Christmas monologue, promised to “put the X in X-mas.” Topics will include his love of yuletide DON’T MISS disaster stories, his Boca Raton’s evangelical worship exclusive of Santa Claus, and interview with John his twisted urge to reWaters in the make his trashy films December issue! into seasonal classics. CONTACT: 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305/949-6722

Photography By Troy Tacket 215.917.9368 houseoflijon.com Florida Representative Robin Babitt peaceandharmony37@gmail.com

In a world of mass production when do any of us really get to feel especially unique in style and appearance? This was a key factor that led me on this chainmailing journey. I prefer to look at this journey from an imaginative fantasy standpoint. A type of a modern day Rapunzel locked away in an urban brick tower in the city of Philadelphia chainmailing away with my magical hands. Anything from fabric apparel, shoes, jewelry, architecture, to paintings can inspire me. I’m actually showcasing my closet so you’ll notice that my personal style varies. Leaning more toward look’s that are sexy, sophisticated, edgy, to tomboy chic. Metal and crystal are already sexy and glamorous materials to work with. I’ve always been drawn towards ancient royal and regal things in which some of my pieces give off that kind of flare. Whether it’s architecture or the colors that intrigue my creativity, I feel like I have endless ideas for this fine arts craftsmanship in fashion. I want my clients to be overcome with powerful confidence when wearing my work. As if they were warriors suiting up for a “Fashion Battle”. I’ve been told from many people that it makes them feel a strong sense of confidence when they are wearing my “Armor”. Perhaps it’s an energy that the elements of the metal and crystal exude, but that could just be the fantasy of it all. As a naturally creative individual I’ve always been open to try various art forms, but never quite felt a real passion for any. I was lead by destiny into chainmail crafting when the yearn to create with metal transpired out of nowhere. So after researching the ancient medieval craft and looking at what was being created out there in the art and fashion world, the idea to revolutionize the look was inevitable. As an artist I wanted to stand out and amaze! I wanted to do something different, and this was pretty much the obvious most unique and challenging thing for me to attempt. No one was really making chainmail to look like everyday fabric apparel. I want to create customized chainmail armor for clients. The option to construct a piece based off of ones likes and personality inserted into a creation allows every individual to be uniquely styled in their own right. I love that my artwork is worn and not hung. They are true conversation pieces that have invited many new people into my life, whether they be fellow artists, fans or clients of my work. I AM not just a Couture designer in fashion, but also a Jeweler or Metalsmith in Fine Arts. Combining the Art forms just make it even that more special! There is no doubt when wearing Li-Jon Sculptured Couture, women will feel like Contemporary Princess Warriors and men like Contemporary Knight’s.

“Don’t just hang art when you can wear it” – Lia Mira

backstage pass [ SEASON PREVIEW ] TOP 5 ART EXHIBITIONS “WARHOL ON VINYL” at Boca Raton Museum of Art WHEN: Jan. 25–April 30, 2016 WHAT: Andy Warhol’s most famous album cover—the vivid yellow banana on a white backdrop, adorning the Velvet Underground & Nico’s essential debut—barely scratches the surface of the Pop artist’s nearly four-decade relationship with record art. “Warhol on Vinyl” unpeels more than 100 signature selections, from classical and jazz to soul and avant-rock, including designs for John Lennon, the Rolling Stones and Diana Ross—and a handful that have never been exhibited. CONTACT: 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; 561/392-2500

“BEATRIZ SANTIAGO MUNOZ” at Perez Art Museum WHEN: Jan. 28–Nov. 13, 2016 WHAT: The term “art cinema” only begins to describe the films and videos of Puerto Rican artist Munoz, whose visual experiments find common ground between documentary and fiction, film and theater, ethnography and performance art. Employing nonprofessional actors and spotlighting environmentally fragile milieus, Munoz’s films comment on subjects as complex as her approach, from an interview with a controversial Puerto Rican artist—interpreted through dance—to explorations of an anarchist collective in San Francisco and an indigenous burial ground in her native country. CONTACT: 1103 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305/375-3000

KENTON PARKER: “EVERYTHING COUNTS IN SMALL AMOUNTS” at Art and Culture Center WHEN: June 10–Aug. 21, 2016 WHAT: Considering his successful track record at Art Basel Miami Beach, it’s about time this slyly subversive Los Angelino artist received a solo museum exhibition in South Florida. Parker, an imaginative self-proclaimed “one-man machine” who works in paint, sculpture, pen and ink, installation and video, produced a 4-foot-by-4-foot wooden tree

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house called “My First Kiss”—complete with stepladder and hatching cocoons—for Basel 2014. The year before, his “Contender” series subverted self-portraiture in the age of the selfie. If the title of his Art and Culture Center debut is any indication, he’ll be exploring miniatures in his trademark immersive style. CONTACT: 1650 Harrison St., Hollywood; 954/921-3274

“CHUCK CLOSE PHOTOGRAPHS” at NSU Art Museum WHEN: March 20–Aug. 28, 2016 WHAT: Preeminent portraitist Close (pictured) has been paralyzed from a spinal artery collapse since 1988, but it hasn’t prevented him from producing innovative work over what is now a 40-year career. The NSU Art Museum’s comprehensive survey will showcase 90 images from this recent appointee to President Obama’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities, from his hyperrealistic “portrait paintings” of the human face to his intimate daguerreotypes and monumental tapestries based on Polaroids. CONTACT: 1 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 954/525-5500

“RAW: NJIDEKA AKUNYILI CROSBY” at Norton Museum of Art WHEN: Jan. 28–April 25, 2016 WHAT: The subject of Nigerian-American artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby’s mixedmedia artwork is usually Crosby herself, completing domestic functions alongside her immediate family: sleeping, dancing, eating dinner, conversing in a café. It’s the context and choice of materials that lend the pieces thematic heft. She repurposes images from family albums and Nigerian lifestyle magazines, combining them with charcoal, pastel, pencil and acrylic to symbolize the duality between her native country and her adopted home. The Norton exhibition, part of the museum’s “Recognition of Art by Women (RAW)” series, is her first solo museum showcase. CONTACT: 1451 S. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach; 561/832-5196

Left to right: Samuel Rothbort, Jewish Windmills [detail], 1956. Terry Berkowitz, Veil of Memory, Prologue: The Last Supper [detail], 2014. Shimon Attie, The Neighbor Next Door [detail], 1995. Izhar Patkin, You Tell Us What to Do [detail], 2010. Renata Stih & Frieder Schnock, Rosie Won the War [detail], 2015.

ON VIEW THROUGH JAN. 10, 2016

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backstage pass [ SEASON PREVIEW ] TOP 5 DANCE/ OPERA WHEN: Nov. 27 WHAT: Celebrating its 25th anniversary next year, this acrobatic, spectacle-rich dance company founded by Moses Pendleton has simulated thematic tableaux ranging from baseball fields and arid deserts to the craters of the moon. For this tour, MOMIX will perform its acclaimed piece “Botanica,” which represents the dancers’ immersion into an ever-changing world of nature. Expect copious animal costumes, snakelike appendages and duets with dinosaur skeletons, as the performers transform into a myriad of flora and fauna. CONTACT: 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954/462-0222

MAX PUCCIARIELLO

MOMIX: “BOTANICA” at Broward Center

ROY BEUSKER FOTOGRAFIE

PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY at Duncan Theatre

“BLAZE: THE INTERNATIONAL DANCE SPECTACULAR” at Kravis Center WHEN: Feb. 2–3, 2016 WHAT: Nightclub meets concert hall at this energetic showcase of street dance. Fueled by the popularity of “So You Think You Can Dance,” “Blaze” features

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styles such as breaking, tapping, popping, locking and hip-hop, performed in front of shifting, inventive backdrops by multicultural dancers who have hoofed alongside Michael Jackson, Madonna and Rihanna. CONTACT: 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 561/832-7469

WHEN: Feb. 26–27, 2016 WHAT: An appearance by this internationally acclaimed company, whose founder danced under Balanchine and later taught Twyla Tharp, always promises to be a highlight of the regional dance season. The troupe’s 2016 repertoire had not been announced at press time, but its 2015 dances spanned 45 years of choreographic ingenuity, and reviews lauded the dancers’ lyricism, muscularity and ambiguity. CONTACT: Palm Beach State College, 4200 Congress Ave., Lake Worth; 561/868-3309

MIAMI CITY BALLET: “A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM” at Kravis Center WHEN: April 1–3, 2016 WHAT: The cherry on top of Miami City Ballet’s glittering 2015-2016 season is homegrown in the best way possible. The company will reimagine George Balanchine’s full-evening ballet, discovering local avenues in which to explore Shakespeare’s timeless comedy of fairies, amateur actors and a sparkling marriage. Two international artists with Miami ties will help to stage “Midsummer” as a reflection of South Florida: costume and set designer Michele Oka Doner, and playwright/director Tarell Alvin McCraney. CONTACT: 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 561/832-7469

FLORIDA GRAND OPERA: “THE PASSENGER” at Arsht Center WHEN: April 2–9, 2016 WHAT: Written in the late 1960s but suppressed for more than 40 years, Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s provocative opera is set on a luxury ocean liner, where a diplomat’s wife, who served as an SS overseer during the Holocaust, thinks she spots a survivor among the vessel’s passengers. The encounter resurrects memories of pain and shame, and, with the aid of a staggering two-tiered set, the time-shifting action rotates between the opulence of the cruise ship and the squalor of a death camp. Sung in no less than seven languages, from English to Yiddish to Czech, this South Florida premiere is being justifiably hyped as one of the season’s don’t-miss musical events. CONTACT: 1300 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305/949-6722

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“Audiences are very loyal to the programming they’re getting. They know it’s not just going to be warhorses. They know it’s going to be entertaining, but with a little spice.”

Season and individual tickets are available for the Symphonia’s next season at the Roberts Theater, with afternoon concerts slated for Dec. 6, Jan. 10, Feb. 7 and March 20. Alastair Willis, David Kim, Alexander Platt and Gerard Schwarz will conduct compositions by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Piazzolla, Copland, Mendelssohn and many more. For tickets, call 866/687-4201 or visit thesymphonia.org.

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EDUARDO SCHNEIDER

IF YOU GO

backstage pass

take5 Jeffrey Kaye

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND PRINCIPAL TRUMPET, SYMPHONIA BOCA RATON

effrey Kaye has been performing music since he was 9, when he visited Key West and discovered how to blow into a conch shell. A year later, against the admonitions of his parents—he had buckteeth, they said—he picked up the trumpet and hasn’t put it down since. The grandson of a pianist and the great-grandson of a trumpeter in the Ziegfeld Follies, Kaye has been keeping music in his family for decades. The New Jersey native graduated with a master’s in music performance from Manhattan School of Music and moved to South Florida in 1989 to play in the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. He stayed with the beloved FPO for 14 years, until its dissolution. He navigated the fallout like most players, through teaching gigs, freelance work and pickup orchestras. The Symphonia Boca Raton, originally saddled with the unwieldy name “The Boca Raton Philharmonia Symphonia,” was one of a handful of phoenixes to rise from FPO’s wake, and Kaye quickly saw its potential as a mobile, economically prudent orchestra. A founding board member, he soon became personnel manager and eventually artistic director. Ten years later, the Symphonia is the region’s premier symphony orchestra, with a history of luring world-class conductors—James Judd, Philippe Entremont, Gerard Schwarz—to its four or five “Connoisseur Concerts” hosted each season at the Roberts Theater at Saint Andrew’s School. Lunch and Learn programs, children’s concerts, “Instrument Petting Zoos,” special jazz programs and its annual showcase at Festival of the Arts Boca have increased the symphony’s stature. Looking ahead to its next decade, the Symphonia hopes to raise its profile even more, aiming for its own permanent building and possibly a principal conductor. As its 11th anniversary season approaches, Kaye reflects on life at the top of South Palm Beach County’s symphonic powerhouse.

Where is the Symphonia today compared to 10 years ago? I think we’re still as exciting as we were for our first concert. We still have the energy. I think what we’ve gained in 10 years is we have a great reputation. I can pick up the phone, call conductors, call soloists, call managers, and get top artists to come down. The concert [that concluded] last season … I still have players calling me, telling me that was the best concert they played down here in years.

Have you discovered a science to programming a season? We have an artistic committee, and we look at what we did before, we look ahead, and we frame it. We’ll look at next season, and say, what Mozart symphonies haven’t we played in a while? Then I’ll invite a conductor and say, what symphony would you like to do? He’ll throw five or six pieces at you. Typically we’ll approach a soloist, and we’ll say, ‘We’d like you to play x.’ Sometimes you might give them a choice, but if you have too many chefs in the kitchen, then it can get crazy.

Knowing that the Florida Philharmonic couldn’t sustain itself, do you ever look at the books and wonder if there will be another Symphonia season? [What’s] unique about the Symphonia is that we’re very lean. I look at us as a real agile SUV. We can go from seven players to 60. When you come to a Connoisseur Concert, our typical orchestra is about

35 players. That’s less than half the size of what the Florida Phil was trying to sustain. Our staff is basically volunteer, our budget is lean, and I think we’re sustainable because we have a loyal audience.

Do your administrative duties ever keep you from focusing on your trumpet? It really has turned into a balancing act. To be any top-level classical player, you have to be razor-sharp all the time. You owe it to your audience to be 100 percent. As an artist and as a player, that’s where the dilemma comes. A typical day for me is at 9 or 10 at night, I’ll go into the bedroom with a mute, and I’ll practice when my stepson goes to bed. That can be my second or third session of the day. When I feel overloaded, I have to remind myself that I’m lucky to be in the situation where I have to balance.

Anything you hope to accomplish over the next 10 years? To keep the love of music alive. The one thing that has to happen is that the old format of overture/concerto/symphony is going to become a relic. That we know. I definitely think, looking forward, of incorporating certain elements. There’s so many connections we could have, whether it’s with movies, TV, art, theater, dance, that can bring in people that typically think, I don’t understand this [music]. I would say the goal of the next 10 years is building new audiences and children so that we keep the next generation going. That’s paramount. BOCAMAG.COM follow the leader

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diningguide [ 172 max’s grille review • 174 hudson review • 180 the boca challenge • 194 deconstructing the dish ]

Mixologist Nicholas Mantzaridis from Caffé Martier

for starters CAFFÉ MARTIER 411 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, 561/450-6169

IF YOU GO PRICES: $7–$12.95 HOURS: Sun.–Wed. 8 a.m.–10 p.m., Thurs.–Sat. 8 a.m.–11 p.m.

hat does a Boca-born New York investment banker with zero restaurant experience do when his mother asks him to move to Delray Beach and help her put together a Mediterranean-style coffee shop in an upscale boutique on Atlantic Avenue? Opens Caffé Martier, of course. In 2010 Eli Kamholtz and his mother, Penina, did just that, taking over part of Martier Boutique and turning it into a cute little spot selling coffee and croissants. This little slice of the South of France or the Greek Isles in downtown Delray grew from there, turning out waffles, omelets, salads and panini for a sophisticated clientele who appreciated not only the stylish food but the casual European ambience. In January, Eli and Penina took over the space next door (once home to the Brazilian steak house Gol!), gutted the interior, refurbished the original teak ceiling and antique bars, hired chef Phillip Licuissi and began serving dinner—everything from coconut curry chicken to braised short rib with mushroom ragout. Up next is a redo of a back room to create a classy kind of speakeasy, a place for Kamholtz to indulge his passion of mixological cocktails. Turns out you can go home again. And eat and drink very well. —BILL CITARA

WEBSITE: caffemartierdelray.com

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dining guide

review MAX’S GRILLE

404 Plaza Real, Boca Raton, 561/368-0080

IF YOU GO PRICES: Entrées $16–$38 HOURS: Mon.–Thurs. 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri. 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m., Sat. 11 a.m.–11 p.m., Sun. 11 a.m.–10 p.m.

Above: Alaskan salmon Inset: Crème brûlée pie

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crush of weekend diners. Executive Chef Patrick Broadhead stands at the head of the kitchen “line” like a captain at the helm of a ship, calling out orders, checking plates, keeping everything on course as the energy and noise levels build to their nightly crescendo. At times like this Max’s has the feel of a confident big-city restaurant firing on all cylinders. Classic. The food is classic too, less about reinventing the culinary wheel than keeping it turning smoothly. It’s not the kind of food you want to tweet about but the kind of food you really want to eat. A trio of artichoke halves arrives lightly charred from the grill (if slightly undercooked), still steaming under a snowfall of breadcrumbs, herbs and Parmesan—and

Classic Secret

You can’t have a classic restaurant without classic dishes. And Max’s certainly has its share. Chopped salad, for one, or the update of Mom’s home cookin’—bacon-wrapped meatloaf with hoisin barbecue sauce. Then there’s the crème brûlée pie. Our good-humored waiter agreed that customers might storm the restaurant with pitchforks if it were ever taken off the menu. So we feel especially fortunate that executive chef Patrick Broadhead shared its secrets with us. Search for “crème brûlée” at bocamag.com, and check out the stepby-step recipe for Max’s legendary dessert.

ready for each leaf to be plucked off and dragged through a garlicky aioli. Duck spring rolls, a nod to the fusion-y cooking whose 15 minutes of notoriety have long since passed, are good enough to make you wish for a 15-minute extension. Crispy wrappers that barely suggest their bath in hot oil give way to big chunks of tender duck and crunchy vegetables, with a plummy dipping sauce and tangle of lightly dressed soba noodles providing contrast. Wild-caught Alaskan salmon has none of the greasy, fetid character of the farm-raised stuff. It comes with a gorgeous golden crust and rosy, moist flesh; citrus beurre blanc, truffled potato purée, baby veggies and sautéed kale (Oh god, please, enough with the kale!) complete the plate. An enormously tender and flavorful Wagyu flat-iron steak gets a sweetish Asian marinade that it hardly needs (though it doesn’t hurt, either), plus giant, crusty-creamy steak fries and simply perfect arugula salad. Then there’s crème brûlée pie. Oh, dear. There goes the diet. “Wicked” doesn’t begin to describe how luscious this thing is: pillow-y sweet crust, silken vanilla custard, a mix of ripe berries, and a brittle caramelized sugar hat. It probably gleams like a new Mercedes in local cardiologists’ eyes, but it tastes so good you really don’t care. It’s a classic. Just like Max’s Grille. —BILL CITARA

AARON BRISTOL

t may seem a bit of a stretch to call something 24 years old a “classic.” After all, a 24-year-old human is barely old enough to realize he doesn’t know everything. A 24-year-old car is likely in the junkyard. A 24-year-old painting is a mere puppy in the immense arc of art history. A 24-year-old house is just a structure in need of renovation. But a 24-year-old restaurant? Well, that’s a little different. Restaurant years are like dog years. They count two or three or five or six or 10 or 12 regular people years, especially in flighty, fickle South Florida. It’s not just age that makes a classic either. (Edsel, anyone?) It’s timeless style and consistent quality. It’s capturing the essence of a time and place, even as those times and places keep changing. It’s that elusive intangible, something that just looks, smells and feels right. It’s Max’s Grille. After 24 years in Mizner Park, Dennis Max’s groundbreaking modern American bistro is indeed a classic. Its look is very bistro-esque— earth tones, dark woods, tile accents—with dangling chandeliers, barreled and coffered ceilings, and an open kitchen that spans almost the entire length of the main dining room. It’s a space that’s at once comfortable but stylish, masculine but not macho. Service just purrs; neither the wait staff nor kitchen crew seemed fazed by the endless

WEBSITE: maxsgrille.com

“IF YOU M A K E GR E AT i ta l i a n FOOD T H E Y W IL L COM E ” Offering Complimentary Transportation To & From Area Hotels Open For Dinner Nightly Private Rooms Available for Parties of 6–45 499 East Palmetto Park Road, Boca Raton • 561-393-6715 www.trattoriaromanabocaraton.com

dining guide review HUDSON AT WATERWAY EAST 900 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, 561/303-1343

Clockwise from left: Paul Niedermann; golden and red beet salad; mahi fish tacos

IF YOU GO

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PRICES: Entrées $17–$36 HOURS: Sun.–Thurs. 11 a.m.–10 p.m., Fri.–Sat. 11 a.m.–11 p.m. WEBSITE: hudsondelray.com Speaking of which, an ice cream sandwich arrived as garden-variety vanilla ice cream plopped between two cookies as dry and hard as concrete blocks. Key lime bars had a soggy crust and bland filling. Entrées were a different story. There were no complaints, only raves, about a tender, perfectly grilled slab of skirt steak slathered with a mild, herbal chimi and crispy whisps of fried plantain. Roasted chicken tests a kitchen’s core competence, and Hudson’s kitchen passed it with colors flying. Burnished golden skin, moist and tender meat, a pool of citrusy jus and a pile of Israeli couscous—the careful and precise execution was impressive. Even more impressive were fillets of local snapper, their skin seared potato-chip crisp, perched on creamy polenta with wilted arugula, sunny tomato fondue and puttanesca-style tomato compote. If the Midas touch shown here makes it to the rest of the menu, Hudson really will be golden. —BILL CITARA

PAPPHOTO

f location were measured in gold bars, Hudson would be King Midas. The restaurant’s enviable setting in the former Old Calypso space offers 80 feet of frontage along the Intracoastal Waterway, where an expansive covered outdoor patio offers stunning views of the water and sunsets that glitter like light off a stack of gold bullion. And did I mention parking? A giant lot right in front of the restaurant? Given the vehicular roulette that is Delray Beach parking, that’s a gold-plated perk just by itself. The food also has its medal-worthy moments. Chef Paul Niedermann, who emerged victorious from the blast furnace of Gordon Ramsey’s “Kitchen Nightmares” culinary cage match, was still working on the makeover of Hudson’s menu at the time of our meal. While the entrées rock, the appetizers and desserts need work. Lobster potato skins proved to be the best of our apps, the kind of upscale, fun-to-eat pub grub that’s a staple of restaurant menus everywhere. If you tasted more bacon and cheese than lobster, well, it’s still fun to eat. Fish tacos would have been better had the fish been fresher. Fig and goat cheese flatbread was so egregiously sweet that it could (and should) have been served for dessert.

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located in the 5 Palms Building

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open for dinner nightly A French Restaurant

dining guide DINING KEY

$ Inexpensive: Under $17 $$ Moderate: $18–$35 $$$ Expensive: $36–$50 $$$$ Very Expensive: $50 +

PALM BEACH COUNTY BOCA RATON 13 american table —451 E. Palmetto Park Road. Contemporary American. This cozy, artfully rustic spot is one of the few restaurants in the U.S. that has a Josper oven, a pricy, charcoal-fired grill-oven hybrid that cooks foods quickly at high heat to retain maximum flavor and texture. It works like a charm on chicken, resulting in remarkably crisp skin and tender meat, as well as on fist-sized shrimp you can customize with one of several sauces. Don’t miss feather-light profiteroles filled with caramel and pumpkin mousse. • Dinner nightly. 561/409-2061. $$

abe & louie’s —2200 W. Glades Road.

Kosher Convenience

Butcher Block Grill will cater Shabbat for up to 8 people—and it’s all kosher.

Steaks. This outpost of the Boston steak house cooks up slabs of well-aged, USDA Prime beef like nobody’s business. Two of the best are the bone-in rib-eye and New York sirloin. Start with a crab cocktail, but don’t neglect side dishes like steamed spinach and hash browns. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner nightly. Brunch Sun. 561/447-0024. $$$

arturo’s ristorante—6750 N. Federal Highway. Italian. Arturo’s quiet, comfortable dining room; slightly formal, rigorously professional service; and carefully crafted Italian dishes never go out of style. You’ll be tempted to make a meal of the array of delectable antipasti from the antipasti cart, but try to leave room for main courses like fresh jumbo shrimp grilled in hot marinara sauce. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner daily. 561/997-7373. $$$ biergarten—309 Via De Palmas, #90. German/Pub. Part vaguely German beer garden, part all-American sports bar, this rustic eatery offers menus that channel both, as well as an excellent selection of two-dozen beers on tap and the same number by the bottle. The food is

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basic and designed to go well with suds, like the giant pretzel with a trio of dipping sauces and the popular “Biergarten burger.” • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/395-7462. $

boca landing—999 E. Camino Real. Contemporary American. No Hollywood celebrity has gotten a better face-lift than Boca’s aging Bridge Hotel, now the sleek, contemporary Waterstone Resort & Marina. The hotel’s new signature restaurant, Boca Landing, is equally stunning, showing off its prime waterfront location and views. The mostly small-plates menu features Asian-inflected tuna tartare, green curry mussels and fried calamari. Probably the best dish, though, is the thoroughly continental filet mignon with crab and béarnaise, with wickedly luscious house-made hazelnut gelato coming in a very close second. • Dinner daily. 561/368-9500. $$ bonefish grill—21069 Powerline Road. Seafood. Market-fresh seafood is the cornerstone—like Chilean sea bass prepared over a wood-burning grill and served with sweet Rhea’s topping (crabmeat, sautéed spinach and a signature lime, tomato and garlic sauce.) • Dinner nightly. Lunch on Saturdays. 561/4834949. (Other Palm Beach County locations: 1880 N. Congress Ave., Boynton Beach, 561/732-9142; 9897 Lake Worth Road, Lake Worth, 561/9652663; 11658 U.S. Highway 1, North Palm Beach, 561/799-2965) $$ brio tuscan grille—5050 Town Center Circle, #239. Italian. The Boca outpost of this national chain does what it set out to do—dish up big portions of well-made, easily accessible Italianesque fare at a reasonable price. If you’re looking for bruschetta piled with fresh cheeses and vegetables or house-made fettuccine with tender shrimp and lobster in a spicy lobster butter sauce, you’ll be one happy diner. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner daily. Brunch Sat.–Sun. 561/392-3777. (Other Palm Beach County locations: The Gardens Mall, 3101 PGA Blvd., 561/622-0491; CityPlace, 550 S. Rosemary Ave., 561/835-1511) $$

butcher block grill—7000 W. Camino Real, #100. Steak house/Contemporary American. This casual steak house with a Mediter-

ranean twist and a local, seasonal, sustainable ethos gives the stuffy old-fashioned meatery a swift kick in the sirloin. Beef here is all-natural and grass-fed, delivering big, rich, earthy flavor; the New York strip is 12 ounces of carnivorous pleasure. Seafood, whether raw (tuna crudo) or simply grilled (wild-caught salmon), is palatepleasing as well. Don’t miss the fresh mozzarella, made and assembled into a salad at your table. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/409-3035. $$$

the capital grille—6000 Glades Road. Steaks. This is one of more than three dozen restaurants in a national chain, but the Boca Grille treats you like a regular at your neighborhood restaurant. Steaks, dry-aged if not Prime, are flavorful and cooked with precision, while starters from Wagyu beef carpaccio to a lighter version of the hardy chopped salad are nicely done too. Parmesan truffle fries are crispy sticks of potato heaven; chocolate-espresso cake a study in shameless, and luscious, decadence. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner daily. 561/368-1077. $$$

casa d’angelo —171 E. Palmetto Park Road. Italian. Angelo Elia’s impeccable Italian restaurant is a delight, from the stylish room to the suave service to the expansive wine list, not to mention food that’s by turn elegant, hearty, bold, subtle and always delicious. Dishes off the regular menu make excellent choices, like char-grilled jumbo prawns with artichoke, arugula, lemon and olive oil. But pay attention to specials like pan-seared snapper and scallops in a spicy, garlicky cherry tomato sauce. • Dinner nightly. 561/338-1703. $$$ the cheesecake factory—5530 Glades Road. American. Oh, the choices! The chain even has a Sunday brunch menu in addition to its main menu, which includes Chinese chicken salad and Cajun jambalaya. Don’t forget about the cheesecakes—from white chocolate and raspberry truffle offerings. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/393-0344. (Other Palm Beach County locations: CityPlace, West Palm Beach, 561/8023838; Downtown at the Gardens, Palm Beach Gardens, 561/776-3711) $$

chops lobster bar—101 Plaza Real S., Royal Palm Place. Steak, seafood. Steaks are

We believe in sourcing our ingredients locally. We believe in perfecting the smallest details. We believe in the environment. We believe in craft. And atmosphere. And people.

We stand for the lost art of dining.

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dining guide aged USDA Prime—tender, flavorful and perfectly cooked under a 1,700-degree broiler. There’s all manner of fish and shellfish, but you’re here for the lobster, whether giant Australian tails flash-fried and served with drawn butter or sizable Maine specimens stuffed with lobster. • Dinner nightly. 561/395-2675. $$$$

although there are more than 40 nationwide. It’s one of the hottest lunch spots in town, hosting business types and power shoppers. The menu is straightforward—big burgers on sweet egg buns, Caesar salad, roasted chicken, filet mignon—but it’s not lacking in ingenuity. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/998-0550. $$

cuban café —3350 N.W. Boca Raton Blvd.

josef’s table —5030 Champion Blvd.

Cuban. Diners pack this traditional Cuban restaurant for lunch specials that start at $7.95, including slow-roasted pork served with white rice and black beans. Other highlights include the Cuban sandwich and (on the dinner menu only) lechón asado. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/750-8860. $

Continental. Though the kitchen does have a timid hand with sauces and seasonings, there’s no quibbling about the execution, whether a light, refreshing “tower” of lump crabmeat with mango, cucumber and tomato; rosy-rare double-cut lamb chops with port wine-mint sauce; pan-seared hogfish with orange beurre blanc; or the richly decadent half-moon chocolate tart. • Dinner nightly. Lunch Mon.–Fri. 561/353-2700. $$$

dorsia—5837 N. Federal Highway. Continental. The simple pleasures of the table—good food, personable service, comfortable ambience—are what this modestly stylish restaurant is all about. The menu has a strong Italian bent, evidenced by dishes like a trio of fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with an airy three-cheese mousse, and a cookbook-perfect rendition of veal scaloppine lavished with artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes and a tangy lemon-white wine sauce. • Dinner nightly 561/961-4156. $$ farmer’s table —1901 N. Military Trail. American. Fresh, natural, sustainable, organic and local is the mantra at this both tasty and health-conscious offering from Mitchell Robbins and Joey Giannuzzi. Menu highlights include flatbreads, slow-braised USDA Prime short rib and the popular Buddha Bowl, with veggies, udon noodles and shrimp. • Breakfast Mon.–Fri. Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner nightly. Brunch Sat.–Sun. 561/417-5836. $

Worth the Dough

Peter snd Suzie Donovan’s The Grille on Congress is always good, but the biscuits here have achieved cult status.

grand lux cafe —Town Center at Boca Raton. American. The Cheesecake Factory’s sister brand is an upscale take on the original formula, with an atmosphere inspired by the great cafes of Europe. The menu offers a range of international flavors, and the specialty baked-to-order desserts are always a big hit. • Lunch and dinner daily; breakfast on Saturday and Sunday. 561/392-2141. $$ the grille on congress—5101 Congress Ave. American. Dishes at this longtime favorite range from tasty chicken dishes and main-plate salads to seafood options like Asian-glazed salmon or pan-seared yellowtail snapper. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/912-9800. $$

houston’s—1900 N.W. Executive Center Circle. American. With rustic features like butcher-block tables and comfy padded leather booths, Houston’s has created a “nonchain” feel,

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josephine’s —5751 N. Federal Highway. Italian. Tradition trumps trendy, and comfort outweighs chic at this Boca favorite. The ambience is quiet and stately but not stuffy, and the menu is full of hearty dishes to soothe the savage appetite, like three-cheese eggplant rollatini and chicken scarpariello. • Dinner nightly. 561/988-0668. $$

RAFINA GREEK IN BOCA: Say “Greek cuisine” and the first thing most people think is noise, commotion, dancing on tables and “Opa!, opa!, opa!” Not at Rafina Greek Taverna (6877 S.W. 18th St., 561/409-3673). This refined, elegant eatery in Boca’s newly renovated Boardwalk at 18th Street shopping complex delivers more than just a raucous good time, something evident in the sleek, contemporary dining room, that juxtaposes panoramic water views with a stylish white and dark wood decor.

kapow noodle bar—431 Plaza Real. PanAsian. This wickedly stylish Asian-inspired gastropub delivers a delicious and inventive punch to the taste buds. Among the hardest hitters is tuna poke with sesame citrus soy-marinated ahi tuna, crispy wontons and habanero cucumber cream—not to mention cheesecake springrolls with a banana caramel dipping sauce. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/347-7322. $

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davinci’s of boca—6000 Glades Road. Italian. Expect carefully prepared Italian fare that will satisfy both traditionalists and the more adventurous. The former will like crisp, greaseless fried calamari and hearty lasagna made with fresh pasta. The latter will enjoy creamy burrata with prosciutto, tomato jam and arugula and a branzino served with spinach, clams and shrimp. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/362-8466. $$

BUZZ BITES I

kathy’s gazebo café —4199 N. Federal Highway. Continental. This local stalwart smoothly rolls along with its signature blend of French and Continental dishes. The ornate, formal dining room and equally formal service are anomalies these days but are comforting nonetheless. Classic dishes like creamy lobster bisque, house-made duck paté, broiled salmon with sauce béarnaise and dreamy chocolate mousse are as satisfying as ever. • Lunch Mon.– Fri. Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/395-6033. $$$

ke’e grill—17940 N. Military Trail. American. The attraction here is carefully prepared food that is satisfying, flavorful and reasonably priced. The fist-sized crab cake is a good place to start, followed by sea bass with a soy-ginger-sesame glaze. • Dinner nightly. 561/995-5044. $$$

la ferme—9101 Lakeridge Blvd. French/ Mediterranean. Classic style and classically oriented French cuisine come together at this elegant yet comfortable restaurant in a west Boca shopping mall. Though there are a few Asian and Italian-inflected dishes on the menu, at its heart Le Ferme (“the farm”) is as French as the Eiffel Tower. Start with gougères, cheesy pastry puffs filled with béchamel; don’t miss the unconscionably savory cassoulet; and finish with a tux-n-tails version of pineapple upsidedown cake that takes a classic one better. • Dinner daily. 561/654-6600. $$$

As for the food, chef Janis Mucollaris’ menu is a lengthy journey through Greek culinary classics, plus a handful of modern variations on the Greek theme. What that means on your plate are everything from dolmades, moussaka and spanikopita to lemon-glazed “lollipop” chicken wings, empanadas filled with shredded lamb and feta, and sole stuffed with a mixture of spinach, feta, onions and garlic. The bar menu features a roster of craft cocktails and designer martinis, plus more than a dozen Greek wines and a longer list of wines from both Old and New World vintners. “Opa!” if you must. Just stay off the tables. —BILL CITARA

dining guide the boca challenge

Doughnuts

he haute-ification of once-humble foods is an idea whose time has come, put its feet up on the coffee table and decided to stick around for a while. Pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, popcorn—they’ve all seen the application of chefs’ creativity and technique, smoothing the rough edges off their blue-collar roots and giving them an upscale, white-tablecloth sheen. So too with the common doughnut, a circle of fried dough thought to have been brought to the U.S. in the 1800s by Dutch settlers, who introduced Manhattan-ites to something called olykoeks, or oily cakes. How the doughnut got its hole is a bit of a mystery, though some stories credit a 16-year-old American sailor with punching out the uncooked center of an olykoek, thereby allowing it to cook more evenly and making the world safe for Krispy Kreme. In any event, this issue’s Challenge has taken on the upscale (and not so upscale) doughnut. Since there wasn’t a single offering common to our three contestants, we sampled multiple doughnuts from each shop. Judging criteria, like the product itself, stuck to the basics: dough, toppings, taste and value, all averaged to come up with a total score. Just remember that bit of ancient wisdom: “Keep your eye upon the olykoek and not upon the hole.” —BILL CITARA

DOUGH

TOPPINGS

TASTE

VALUE

TOTAL

THE DISH

DUNKIN’ DONUTS

There was nothing wrong with the selections at this ubiquitous national chain. But there wasn’t much right, either. They tasted sweet and artificial, though at least not too greasy. $2.97/3.

RELISH

High hopes for these made-to-order salted caramel doughnuts were dashed at first taste. The dense, heavy dough tasted mostly of salt and old oil; the caramel sauce was the only saving grace. $7.99/5.

RHINO

Who says gentrification is a bad thing? It’s not when it comes to Rhino’s quality offerings. Light and clean-tasting dough and excellent toppings (especially the dulce de leche) make these doughnuts the breakfast of champions. $8.99/6.

ratings:

fair

good

Dunkin’ Donuts: 1200 Yamato Road, Boca Raton, 561/994-3888

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very good

Relish: 401 Northwood Road, West Palm Beach, 561/629-5377

excellent

Rhino Donuts: 126 N.E. Second St., Boca Raton, 561/372-9362

R I S TO R A N T E

For 31 years the family tradition continues...

DISTINGUISHED RESTAURANT OF NORTH AMERICA

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN CUISINE NEW ELEGANT OUTDOOR PATIO AVAILABLE PERFECT FOR AFTER DINNER DRINKS + CIGARS

Open daily for dinner and lunch (M-F) and special events for parties of 6-150. Live music nightly.

6750 North Federal Highway, Boca Raton | 561-997-7373 | www.ArturosRestaurant.com

dining guide A Peruvian appetizer from La Rosa Nautica

ticated flavors and textures of traditional and contemporary Vietnamese cuisine. A house signature, shrimp tossed with coriander curry pesto, is an inspired riff on Vietnamese classics. Service and wines match the refinement of the cuisine. • Dinner nightly. 561/392-4568. $$

la villetta—4351 N. Federal Highway. Italian. This is a well-edited version of a traditional Italian menu, complete with homemade pastas and other classic dishes. Try the signature whole yellowtail snapper encrusted in sea salt; it’s de-boned right at tableside. Shrimp diavolo is perfectly scrumptious. • Dinner nightly. (closed Mon. during summer). 561/362-8403. $$

le rivage —450 N.E. 20th St. French. Don’t overlook this small, unassuming bastion of traditional French cookery. That would be a mistake, because the dishes that virtually scream “creativity” can’t compare to the quiet pleasures served here—like cool, soothing vichyssoise, delicate fillet of sole with nutty brown butter sauce or perfectly executed crème brûlee. Good food presented without artifice at a fair price never goes out of fashion. • Dinner nightly. 561/620-0033. $$

madison’s —2006 N.W. Executive Center Circle. American. This location is something of a Bermuda Triangle for restaurants, with at least four eateries preceding this local outpost of a Canadian chain that styles itself a “New York grill and bar.” What Madison’s has going for it is an exceedingly handsome and capacious space, as well as service that is as professional as it is personable. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/994-0808. $$

maggiano’s —21090 St. Andrews Blvd.

la nouvelle maison—455 E. Palmetto

Float Your Boat

During Happy Hour at Ninja Spinning Sushi Bar, sushi plates are only $3!

Park Blvd. French. Elegant, sophisticated French cuisine, white-glove service and a trio of (differently) stylish dining rooms make Arturo Gismondi’s homage to the Boca’s storied La Vieille Maison the home away from home to anyone who appreciates the fine points of fine dining. The cuisine showcases both first-rate ingredients and precise execution, whether a generous slab of silken foie gras with plum gastrique, posh lobster salad, cookbookperfect rendition of steak frites and assortment of desserts that range from homey apple tart to bananas Foster with chocolate and Grand Marnier. • Dinner daily. 561/338-3003. $$$

la rosa nautica—515 N.E. 20th St. Peruvian. Expect no ambience, no pretensions, low prices and food that satisfies on a very high level. Good starters include antichuchos, chunks of grilled beef heart, and causa, a terrine-like layering of mashed potatoes and chicken salad. Ceviche and the lomo saltado are among the best in South Florida. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/296-1413. $$

la tre —249 E. Palmetto Park Road. Vietnamese. For almost two decades, this elegant little spot has been celebrating the delicate, sophis-

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Italian. Do as the Italians do and order familystyle, sit back and watch the endless amounts of gorgeous foods grace your table. In this manner, you receive two appetizers, two salads, two pastas, two entrées, two vegetables and two desserts. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/361-8244. $$

mario’s osteria—1400 Glades Road. Italian. This popular spot is swanky in its reincarnation, but the rustic Italian and ItalianAmerican fare keeps with an osteria’s humbler pretensions. Signature dishes like the garlic rolls, lasagna and eggplant “pancakes” are on the new menu, as are butternut squash ravioli and thick, juicy rib-eye served “arrabiata” style. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/239-7000. $$ matteo’s —233 S. Federal Highway. Italian. Hearty Italian and Italian-American food, served in giant “family style” portions, needs no reinventing. Though there is no shortage of local restaurants cooking in that genre, it’s the details of preparation and service that make Matteo’s stand out. Baked clams are a good place to start, as is the reliable chopped salad. Linguini frutti di mare is one of the best in town. • Dinner daily. 561/392-0773. $$ max’s grille—404 Plaza Real, Mizner Park. Contemporary American. Though its signature California-influenced cookery and “Ameri-

can bistro” ambience are no longer furiously trendy, this stylish restaurant is as popular as ever due to consistently tasty and well-prepared food. Dishes run haute to homey, from seared-raw tuna to meatloaf wrapped with bacon. And don’t miss the luscious crème brûlée pie for dessert. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Brunch Sat.–Sun. 561/368-0080. $$

merlino’s —39 S.E. First Ave. Italian. Promising to bring a little South Philadelphia swagger to the local dining scene, this handsome but not ostentatious restaurant got its initial buzz from the sometime involvement of reputed Philly mob boss Joey Merlino. The more long-lasting buzz should be about its first-rate Italian/Italian-American cuisine, which can satisfy both delicate (cheese-stuffed zucchini blossoms, simply roasted whole branzino) and hearty (classic pasta fagioli, lusty veal South Philly). • Dinner daily. 561/756-8437. $$$

morton’s the steakhouse —5050 Town Center Circle. Steak house. There’s seemingly no end to diners’ love of huge slabs of high-quality aged beef, nor to the carnivores who pack the clubby-swanky dining room of this meatery. The star of the beef show is the giant bone-in filet mignon, which trumps with unusually deep and meaty flavor. The side of Grand Marnier soufflé is a cloud of luscious, citrus-y beauty that says while beef may be what’s for dinner, I am what’s for dessert. • Dinner daily. 561/392-7724. $$$ new york prime —2350 N.W. Executive Center Drive. Steak house. This wildly popular Boca meatery packs them in with swift, professional service, classy supper club ambience and an extensive wine list. And, of course, the beef—all USDA Prime, cooked to tender and juicy lusciousness over ferocious heat. The bone-in rib-eye is especially succulent, but don’t neglect the New York strip or steak-house classics like oysters Rockefeller, garlicky spinach and crusty hash browns. • Dinner daily. 561/998-3881. $$$$ nick’s new haven-style pizzeria—2240 N.W. 19th St., #904. Italian. Cross Naples (thin, blistered crust, judicious toppings) with Connecticut (fresh clams and no tomato sauce), and you’ve got a pretty good idea of the pies coming out Nick Laudano’s custom-made ovens. The “white clam” pizza with garlic and bacon is killer-good; Caesar salad and tiramisu are much better than the usual pizzeria fare. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/368-2900. $

ninja spinning sushi bar—41 E. Palmetto Park Road. Japanese/sushi. “Whatever floats your boat” isn’t just a saying at this hipster sushi bar. Your sushi really does float on a boat, one of many bouncing along a channel cut into the top of the restaurant’s large, square sushi bar. High notes are the Mexican roll with tempura shrimp and avocado, and the sneakily fiery jalapeño-laced tuna tartare. If sushi doesn’t float your boat, gingery gyoza and crispy fried shrimp with a drizzle of spicy mayo probably will. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner daily. 561/361-8688. $$

Burger & Brew Mondays Burger, beer & fries

Only $13!

(Available ALL Night!)

Taco Tuesdays

Wine Down Wednesdays

$3 Tacos

$13 Bottomless Wine

$7 Tequila

1/2 Off All Bottles

(Bar Only)

(Entire Restaurant)

(5pm-7pm Bar Only)

(All Night, Entire Restaurant)

451 E. Palmetto Park Rd. 路 Boca Raton 路 561-409-2061 Open Daily at 5pm

FOOD & DRINK FOR ALL! Find us on Facebook Badge

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dining guide pellegrino’s —3360 N. Federal Highway. Italian. The bold, brash flavors of New Yorkstyle Italian-American cuisine are as in your face as a Manhattan cabbie at this low-key favorite of chef-owner Bobby Pellegrino, nephew to the clan that owns the legendary Rao’s in East Harlem. Pungent smells of garlic, anchovies, tomatoes and peppers fill the air; dishes like the rarely seen spiedini alla Romana, chicken Scarpariello and seafood spaghetti in Fra Diavolo sauce fill your belly. • Dinner Tues.–Sun. 561/368-5520. $$$ p.f. chang’s —1400 Glades Road. Chinese. There may have been no revolution if Mao had simply eaten at the Boca outpost of P.F. Chang’s—the portions are large enough to feed the masses—and the exquisite tastes in each dish could soothe any tyrant. We particularly like the steamed fish of the day, as well as the Szechuan-style asparagus. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/393-3722. (Other Palm Beach County location: 3101 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens, 561/691-1610) $$ piñon grill—6000 Glades Road. Contemporary American. The menu seemingly lists every recent trendy dish to come out of modern American restaurant kitchens, but Piñon succeeds with spot-on execution, mammoth portions and reasonable prices. Try the grilled artichokes with a zippy Southwestern-style rémoulade, a pair of giant crab cakes with more of that good rémoulade or a chocolate waffle with raspberry sauce that is the irresistible definition of lusciousness. • Lunch and dinner daily. Brunch Sat.–Sun. 561/391-7770. $$ racks downtown eatery + tavern— 402 Plaza Real. Contemporary American. Though the menu generally falls under the heading of modern American comfort food, that can mean anything from elegant presentations like the jaw-dropping lobster cobb salad to homier offerings like burgers and pizza, fiery Buffalo-style calamari, succulent chicken roasted in the wood-fired oven and an uptown version of everyone’s campfire favorite, s’mores. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/395-1662. $$ renzo’s of boca—5999 N. Federal

My Big Fat Greek Saturday Night

Taverna Kyma’s “Bouzouki Nights” on Saturdays feature live music, belly dancers and two-for-one drinks from 10 p.m. to midnight.

Highway. Italian. The buzzword is fresh at Renzo’s. Fish is prepared daily oreganata or Livornese style, sautéed in white wine with lemon and capers or grilled. Homemade pasta is artfully seasoned, and Renzo’s tomato sauce is ethereal. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner nightly. 561/994-3495. $$

ristorante sapori—301 Via de Palmas, Royal Palm Place. Italian. Sapori features fresh fish, veal and chicken dishes imbued with subtle flavors. The grilled Italian branzino, the veal chop Milanese and the zuppa di pesce served over linguine are especially tasty, and the pasta (all 17 kinds!) is available in full and half orders, with your choice of 15 zesty sauces. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner nightly. 561/367-9779. $$

ruth’s chris steak house—225 N.E. Mizner Blvd. Steak house. This is a refreshing departure from the ambience common to many

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steak houses; the room is comfortable, and conversation is possible. Naturally, we come here for the steak (they are sublime), but the lobster and fish are great. All your favorite sides are here, too. • Dinner nightly. 561/392-6746. (Other Palm Beach County locations: 661 U.S. Highway 1, North Palm Beach, 561/863-0660; CityPlace, West Palm Beach, 561/514-3544) $$$

BUZZ BITES II

sapphire indian cuisine —500 Via de Palmas. Indian. Raju Brahmbhatt’s modern, sophisticated restaurant will smash any negative stereotypes of Indian cuisine or the restaurants that serve it. It’s sleek and stylish, with a well-chosen wine list and a staff that’s eager to please. The food is elegant and refined and alive with the complex blend of spices that makes Indian cuisine so intriguing. Try Bagarey Baigan, plush-textured, thumb-sized baby eggplants in a lush coconut-curry sauce. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/362-2299. $$

seasons 52 —2300 Executive Center Drive. Contemporary American. The food—seasonal ingredients, simply and healthfully prepared, accompanied by interesting wines—is first-rate, from salmon roasted on a cedar plank to desserts served in oversized shot glasses. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/998-9952. (Other Palm Beach County location: 11611 Ellison Wilson Road, Palm Beach Gardens, 561/625-5852) $$

sushi ray—5250 Town Center Circle. Japanese/Sushi. Impeccably fresh and exactingly prepared sushi and other Japanese specialties are on display. The Nobu-esque miso sea bass gives a taste of this modern classic at a fraction of the price of the original, while the chef’s sushi assortment offers a generous arrangement of nigiri and maki for a reasonable $20. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner daily. 561/394-9506. $$

tanzy—301 Plaza Real. Italian. Part of the swanky iPic Theater complex (though it does not service the theater), this handsome spot relies on quality ingredients and careful preparation instead of culinary special effects and car chases. The Parma Bar, a sort of sushi bar for meat and cheese fanatics, also does terrific quattro formaggio fiocchi and spiced pear. Savory grilled skirt steak and massive bone-in veal chops are excellent, as are the braised Angus beef short ribs with toasted pearl barley and collard greens. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner daily. Brunch Sat.–Sun. 561/922-6699. $$$ taverna kyma —6298 N. Federal Highway. Greek/Mediterranean. Few present Greek cuisine better. Expertly prepared dishes cover the spectrum of Mediterranean cuisine, from cold appetizers (dolmades—grape leaves stuffed with rice and herbs) to hot starters (spanakopita, baked phyllo with spinach and feta cheese) to mouthwatering entrées like lamb shank (slow-cooked in a tomato sauce and served on a bed of orzo), massive stuffed peppers or kebobs. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/994-2828. $$ trattoria romana—499 E. Palmetto Park Road. Italian. This local mainstay does Italian classics and its own lengthy list of ambitious specials with unusual skill and aplomb. The

HABIT BURGER IN DELRAY: Our appetite for gourmet burgers apparently just cannot be satisfied. Or at least that’s what the folks behind the new Habit Burger (1801 S. Federal Highway, 561/265-0934) in Delray Beach are hoping. The first South Florida location for the California-based chain, which operates 115 burger joints in four western states, is part of an ambitious expansion plan said to add several more Habits in south, central and west coast Florida cities in the coming year. Following in the footsteps of other “fast casual” spots like Chipotle, Habit touts its fresh, highquality foods, from never-frozen burgers grilled over an open flame to fresh-made salads and dressings to trans-fat-free fries and onion rings. In addition to several styles of “Charburgers,” from teriyaki to avocado and cheese, there are also sammies made with housemarinated chicken and tri-tip, plus line-caught tuna, along with side and entrée-sized salads. Habit also features a complimentary condiment bar where diners can jazz up their burgers and sandwiches. —BILL CITARA

service is at a level not always seen in local eateries. Pay attention to the daily specials, especially if it includes impeccably done langostini oreganata and the restaurant’s signature jumbo shrimp saltimbocca. • Dinner daily. 561/393-6715. $$$

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dining guide Chinese restaurants than cookies, Uncle Tai’s stands out for the elegance of its decor, the professionalism of its service and its careful preparation of familiar and less-familiar dishes. The “specialties” section of the menu has exciting dishes, like the Hunan vegetable pie, finely minced veggies sandwiched between sheets of crispy bean curd skin, and Hunanstyle lamb, whose seared and succulent meat shows off the kitchen’s skill in the use of wok qi. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/368-8806. $$$

villagio italian eatery—344 Plaza Real. Italian. The classic Italian comfort food at this Mizner Park establishment is served with flair and great attention to detail. The reasonably priced menu—with generous portions— includes all your favorites (veal Parmesan, Caesar salad) and some outstanding seafood dishes (Maine lobster with shrimp, mussels and clams on linguine). There is a full wine list and ample people-watching given the prime outdoor seating. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561-447-2257. $$

vino —114 N.E. Second St. Wine Bar/Italian.

Panzanella salad from 3rd and 3rd

truluck’s —351 Plaza Real. Seafood.

Thinking of You

One more thing we love about Truluck’s: The maître d’ has been known to call the next day to see how your experience was.

This stylish and sophisticated Mizner Park restaurant applies the steak house formula of classy, clubby ambience, formal service and an extensive wine list to seafood from across the nation, with great and consistent success. Crab is the specialty here and there are myriad versions—stone, Dungeness, Alaskan, soft-shell and more. Crispy soft-shells stuffed with crab and andouille are very good, if served without a drizzle of ketchup-y sauce on top. • Dinner nightly. 561/391-0755. $$$

twenty twenty grille—141 Via Naranjas. Contemporary American. You’ve probably licked postage stamps that are larger than Ron and Rhonda Weisheit’s tiny jewel box of a restaurant, but what it lacks in space it more than makes up for in charm, sophistication and imaginative, expertly crafted food. Virtually everything is made in-house, from the trio of breads that first grace your table to the pasta in a suave dish of tagliatelle with duck and chicken confit. Don’t miss the jerk pork belly and grilled veal strip loin. • Dinner daily. 561/990-7969. $$

uncle julio’s —449 Plaza Real, Mizner Park. Mexican. Taking Tex-Mex cuisine gently upscale with better-quality ingredients and more skillful preparation, this colorful restaurant offers more than the usual suspects. You can get honey chipotle chicken fajitas, as well as beef fajitas, and one of the only palatable tamales around. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/300-3530. $

uncle tai’s —5250 Town Center Circle. Chinese. In an area with more cookie-cutter

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An impressive wine list of some 300 bottles (all available by the glass) offers a multitude of choices, especially among Italian and California reds. The menu of “Italian tapas” includes roasted red peppers with Provolone, as well as ricotta gnocchi with San Marzano tomatoes. • Dinner Tues.–Sat. 561/869-0030. $

WEST BOCA city fish market—7940 Glades Road. Seafood. A multimillion-dollar remodel of the old Pete’s has turned it into an elegant seafood house with a lengthy seafood-friendly wine list, impeccably fresh fish and shellfish cooked with care and little artifice. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner daily. 561/487-1600. $$ sybarite pig—20642 State Road 7. Contemporary American. A labor of love, pork and beer, everything at the Pig but the coarse-grain mustard is made in-house, from the bread for sandwiches to the eclectic sauces to the variety of terrific sausages. Roasted bone marrow and wagyu duck fat burgers, along with subtly spicy “Hellswine,” are among the standouts. • Dinner Tues.–Sun. Brunch Sun. 561/883-3200. $ tempura house—9858 Clint Moore Road, #C-112. Japanese/Asian. Dark wood, rice paper and tiles fill the space. An appetizer portion of Age Natsu, fried eggplant, is a consummate Japanese delicacy. Don’t miss the ITET roll with shrimp tempura and avocado, topped with spicy mayo, tempura flakes and eel sauce. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/883-6088. $$

villa rosano —9858 Clint Moore Road. Italian. You can be forgiven for imagining yourself in some rustic Italian hill town as the smells of garlic and tomato sauce waft through the air. Start by sopping up the house olive oil with slices of crusty bread, then move on to a stellar version of clams Guazzetto and delicate fillets of sole done a la Francese. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner daily. 561/470-0112. $$

BOYNTON BEACH bar louie—1500 Gateway Blvd., #100. Eclectic. Attempting to split the difference between happening bar and American café, Bar Louie in the sprawling Renaissance Commons complex mostly succeeds, offering burgers, pizzas, fish tacos and a variety of salads, all at moderate prices and in truly daunting portions. In South Florida’s world of trendy and expensive bistros, this is a welcome relief. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/853-0090. $

china dumpling—1899-5 N. Congress Ave., #5. Chinese. Chinese restaurants in South Florida are routinely maligned, but this modest little strip-center gem holds its own, year after year. Everything is well-prepared, but the dim sum basket is an instant classic. Meanwhile, the pork dumplings and shrimp dumplings are not to be missed. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/737-2782. $ prime catch—700 E. Woolbright Road. Seafood. Waterfront restaurants are few and far between in our neck of the woods, and those with good food are even more rare. Prime Catch, at the foot of the Woolbright bridge on the Intracoastal, is a best-kept secret. The simple pleasures here soar—a perfectly grilled piece of mahi or bouillabaisse overflowing with tender fish. Don’t miss one of the best Key lime pies around. • Lunch and dinner daily, Sunday brunch. 561/737-8822. $$

sushi simon—1614 S. Federal Highway. Japanese. It’s been called “Nobu North” by some aficionados, and for good reason. Local sushi-philes jam the narrow dining room for such impeccable nigirizushi as hamachi and uni (Thursdays), as well as more elaborate dishes like snapper Morimoto and tuna tartare. Creative, elaborate rolls are a specialty. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/731-1819. $$

DELRAY BEACH 3rd and 3rd—301 N.E. Third Ave. Gastropub. John Paul Kline’s quirky, individualistic, obscurely located little place is one of the most important restaurants in Delray. The menu changes frequently, but hope the evening’s fare includes plump scallops with caramelized mango sauce, stunning delicious roasted cauliflower with Parmesan mousse and bacon, and wicked-good espresso panna cotta on it at your visit. • Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/303-1939. $$ 32 east —32 E. Atlantic Ave. Contemporary American. At a time when chefs and restaurants seem to be constantly shouting their own praises, Nick Morfogen and 32 East go quietly about their way of serving thoughtfully conceived, finely crafted dishes with a minimum of fuss and artifice. The menu changes daily, but recent examples of Morfogen’s culinary expertise include crispy squash blossoms on eggplant caponata and local black grouper—cooked Greek style with red beet hummus and tzatziki. When the food is this good, you don’t need to shout. • Dinner daily. 561/276-7868. $$$

The Office is a modern American gastropub that serves delicious, gourmet comfort food, in a setting reminiscent of a luxurious home office. Menu favorites include an array of juicy burgers, inventive salads, swell sandwiches, wonderful appetizers, mouthwatering seafood, chicken and beef entrees.

Vic & Angelo’s serves up delectable, rustic Italian cuisine, including soulsatisfying house-made pastas, crispy, thin-crust pizzas, refreshing salads, fresh fish and seafood, and enticing veal and chicken dishes, in a warm and welcoming setting.

• Lunch & Dinner Served Daily • Early & Late Happy Hour at Indoor & Outdoor Bars • Dine Indoors or on the Patio

• Lunch & Dinner Served Daily • Early & Late Happy Hour at Indoor & Outdoor Bars • Brunch Served Saturday & Sunday • Indoor and Outdoor Dining

201 E. Atlantic Ave. • Delray Beach • 561-276-3600 theofficedelray.com

290 E. Atlantic Ave. • Delray Beach • 561-278-9570 4520 PGA Blvd. • Palm Beach Gardens • 561-630-9899 vicandangelos.com

dining guide with dishes like Moroccan-spiced lamb ribs, 14-ounce double-cut pork chops, and fluffy meatballs adorned with tomato sauce, ricotta and pesto. The apple crostata, baked in a wood-burning oven, is one of the best desserts in town. • Dinner daily. 561/501-4443. $$

atlantic grille —1000 E. Atlantic Ave. Seafood/Contemporary American. This posh restaurant in the luxurious Seagate Hotel & Spa is home to a 450-gallon aquarium of tranquil moon jellyfish and a 2,500-gallon shark tank. Savor inventive cuisine that takes the contemporary to the extraordinary. Bold flavors, inspired techniques and the freshest ingredients make every meal a culinary adventure. • Lunch and dinner daily. Brunch Sat.–Sun. 561/6654900. $$

buddha sky bar—217 E. Atlantic Ave. #3. Pan Asian. Don’t miss a meal at this stylish Asia-meets-industrial chic spot with a view of the Delray skyline. Chinese-influenced dim sum is inspired, while rock shrimp tempura and Tokyo beef skewers with twin chimichurri sauces touch the heart and the taste buds. Veggie fried rice is exemplary thanks to the kitchen’s application of wok chi. • Dinner daily. 561/450-7557. $$

burt & max’s —9089 W. Atlantic Ave.

50 ocean—50 S. Ocean Blvd. Seafood. The

Happy Birthday

Dada celebrated its 15th year in Delray Beach this fall with a blowout party.

former Upper Deck at Boston’s on the Beach is now the more upscale, seafood-oriented spot. The menu ranges from familiar to slightly more inventive, from a classic lobster bisque and crisp-tender fried clam bellies to rock shrimp pot pie and baked grouper topped with blue crab. The cinnamon-dusted beignets are puffs of amazingly delicate deep-fried air and should not under any circumstances be missed. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner daily. Brunch Sun. 561/278-3364. $$

angelo elia pizza • bar • tapas —16950 Jog Road. Italian. Nothing on the menu of Angelo Elia’s modern, small plates-oriented osteria disappoints, but particularly notable are the meaty fried baby artichokes stuffed with breadcrumbs and speck, delicate chicken-turkey meatballs in Parmesan-enhanced broth, and Cremona pizza with a sweet-salty-earthy-pungent mélange of pears, pancetta, Gorgonzola, sundried figs and mozzarella. • Lunch Tues.–Sun. Dinner daily. 561/381-0037. $

apeiro kitchen & bar—14917 Lyons Road. Mediterranean. Burt Rapoport has another winner and west Delray diners have another reason to stay in their neighborhood with the debut of this stylish, contemporary Mediterranean eatery. With former Chicago toque David Blonsky as chef and partner, Apeiro’s menu spans the entire Mediterranean,

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Contemporary American. Burt Rapoport and Dennis Max have struck gold with their first collaboration in years, bringing an accessible and affordable brand of contemporary comfort food to west Delray. A few dishes from Max’s other eatery, Max’s Grille, have made the trek, like the hearty chopped salad and bacon-wrapped meatloaf. Other dishes are variations on the comfort food theme, including a stellar truffle-scented wild mushroom pizza. • Dinner daily. Sunday brunch. 561/638-6380. $$$

cabana el rey—105 E. Atlantic Ave. Cuban tropical. Little Havana is alive and well in Delray. The menu is a palette-pleasing travelogue, including starters like mariquitas (fried banana chips) and main courses such as seafood paella (think mussels, shrimp, clams, conch, scallops and octopus). • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/274-9090. $$

casa di pepe —189 N.E. Second Ave. Italian. A welcoming staff, familiar Italian dishes done right and moderate prices define this cozy spot with a spacious outdoor patio. • Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/279-7371. $$

city oyster—213 E. Atlantic Ave. Seafood. This stylish mainstay of Big Time Restaurant Group serves up reasonably priced seafood that never disappoints, such as shrimp and grits with jumbo crab cake and jalapeño cheddar grits. • Lunch Mon.–Sun. Dinner nightly. Outdoor dining. 561/272-0220. $$ cut 432 —432 E. Atlantic Ave. Steak house. Hipper decor, a more casual vibe and an inventive take on steak-house favorites make this sleek restaurant just different enough to be interesting. Starters such as ceviche (prepared Peruvian style) and ultrarich oysters Rockefeller are first-rate, while the wet-aged beef is appropriately tender and tasty. • Dinner daily. 561/272-9898. $$$

dada—52 N. Swinton Ave. Contemporary American. The same provocative, whimsical creativity that spawned Dada the art movement infuses Dada the restaurant, giving it a quirky charm all its own. The comfort food with a moustache menu has its quirky charms too, like shake-n-bake pork chops with sweetsavory butterscotch onions, and a brownie-vanilla ice cream sundae with strips of five-spice powdered bacon. The wittily decorated 1920svintage house-turned-restaurant is, as they say, a trip. • Dinner daily. 561/330-3232 $$ d’angelo trattoria—9 S.E. Seventh Ave. Italian. Don’t go expecting the tired old “Italian” culinary clichés at this wickedly stylish spot. Open your palate to more authentic and exciting Roman-style cuisine, like roasted veal bone marrow with brisk caper-parsley pesto, creamy-dreamy burrata with roasted fava beans and watercress salad, the classic tonnarelli cacio e pepe (“cheese and pepper”) and the best gelato this side of a real Roman trattoria. • Dinner daily. 561/330-1237. $$ deck 84 —840 E. Atlantic Ave. Contemporary

Lyons Road. Mexican. Mexican cuisine often has more personas than Madonna. This highly stylized cantina adds another—that of California’s Chicano culture. All your favorite Mexican dishes are there, as well as enormous margaritas, but also niftier items like the crispy tuna tacos. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/499-0378. $

American. Burt Rapoport’s ode to laid-back tropical dining is like a day at the beach without getting sand between your toes. Though the restaurant is casual, the kitchen takes its food seriously, whether the steallar flatbreads, the thick and juicy 10-ounce special blend burger or homey seasonal cobbler. And the waterfront location just seems to make everything taste better. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Brunch Sat.–Sun. Dinner daily. 561/665-8484. $

caffé luna rosa—34 S. Ocean Blvd. Italian. This favorite is always lively, and alfresco dining is the preferred mode. Entrée choices are enticing, but we went with the housemade pasta with pancetta, tomato and basil. Also delicious was the costoletta di vitello, a center-cut 14-ounce veal chop lightly breaded and served with San Marzano tomato sauce. For dessert, you can’t go wrong with the cheesecake imported from the Carnegie Deli. • Dinner daily. Brunch Sunday. 561/274-9404. $$

el camino—15 N.E. Second Ave. Mexican. This sexy, bustling downtown spot is from the trio behind nearby Cut 432 and Park Tavern. Fresh, quality ingredients go into everything from the tangy tomatillo salsas to the world-class tacos of fish clad in crisp, delicate fried skin and set off by tart pineapple salsa. Cinnamon and sugardusted churros are the perfect dessert. And do check out the margaritas, especially the half-andhalf blend of smoky mezcal and blanco tequila. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/865-5350. $$

cabo flats—Delray Marketplace, 14851

fat rooster—204 E. Atlantic Ave. Southern. Southern cookery is not for the faint of diet, but if you’re willing to splurge a little there’s lots to like at this Gary Rack outpost. Tart, crunchy fried green tomatoes topped with blue crab-studded rémoulade, for one. Crispy fried chicken and lusty shrimp-n-grits for another. You can count calories some other time. • Breakfast and lunch weekdays. Brunch Sat.–Sun. Dinner daily. 561/2663642. $$ fifth avenue grill—821 S. Federal Highway. American. Since 1989, this upscale tavern has been a Delray favorite. The straightforward menu focuses on entrées, especially the famed Allen Brothers beef; choose from numerous cuts and preparations—and add a lobster tail for good measure. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/265-0122. $$

greek bistro—1832 S. Federal Highway. Greek. Flaky, overstuffed spanikopita and light and delicate beef meatballs should be at the top of your appetizer list, and though entrées don’t always reach those heights, both a long-braised lamb shank and grilled whole snapper are certainly satisfying. And the baklava is great. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/266-8976. $

the grove —187 N.E. Second Ave. Contemporary American. Chef-partner Michael Haycook and chef Meghan O’Neal change their menu biweekly, turning out dishes exhilarating in their freshness, creativity and elegant simplicity. An appetizer of octopus with olive oil, crushed potato aioli and lemon is outstanding. • Dinner Tues.–Sat. 561/266-3750. $$ henry’s —16850 Jog Road. American. This casual, unpretentious restaurant from Burt Rapoport in the west part of town never fails to delight diners. Expect attentive service and crisp execution of everything—from meat loaf, burgers and fried chicken to flatbreads and hefty composed salads. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner nightly. 561/638-1949. $$

Hand-carved and stacked with love.

house of siam—25 N.E. Second Ave., #116. Thai. The normally riotous flavors of Thai cuisine are muted at this family-friendly downtown spot, but that seems to suit diners just fine. Dishes, well-prepared and generously portioned, include steamed chicken and shrimp dumplings with sweet soy dipping sauce and crisp-fried duck breast in a very mild red curry sauce. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner daily. 561/3309191. $$

il girasole—1911 S. Federal Highway. Northern Italian. This South Florida classic is not trendy, but it offers a level of comfort and consistency that has been bringing people back for 30 years. The food is fine hearty Italian, with excellent service. Try the veal Kristy or the calves brains. • Dinner Tues.– Sun. 561/272-3566. $$ j&j seafood bar & grill—634 E. Atlantic Ave. Seafood. This local favorite on Atlantic Avenue—owned by John Hutchinson (who is also the chef) and wife Tina—serves up everything from burgers and wraps to a menu brimming with seafood options. Don’t forget to inquire about the stunning array of 10 specials—every night. • Lunch and dinner Tues.–Sat. 561/272-3390. $$ jimmy’s bistro —9 S. Swinton Ave. Eclectic. Best bets are a lovely salad of ripe tomatoes and fresh, milky housemade mozzarella; a rich, elegant version of lusty Cajun etouffee; and caramelized bananas in puff pastry with silken vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. • Dinner daily. 561/865-5774. $$ la cigale —253 S.E. Fifth Ave. Mediterranean. True culi-

Breakfast .

Lunch .

Dinner .

Catering.

Boca’s favorite New York-style deli offers a classic menu packed with all of your comfort food favorites. From bacon and eggs to our hand-carved pastrami on rye and much more, there is something for everyone and every occassion. With three locations in Boca, you’re never more than a few minutes away from what you love.

Boca Raton Polo Shops: (561) 241-5903 Regency Court Plaza: (561) 997-9911 Glades Plaza: (561) 392-4181

Also in Coral Springs, Plantation, Boynton Beach and West Palm Beach

www.toojays.com

nary professionals turn out gently updated and classically oriented dishes notable for the quality of their ingredients TooJays_BocaMag_4.75X9.75-Final.indd 1 Toojays_brm1115.indd 1

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dining guide

lemongrass bistro —420 E. Atlantic Ave. Pan-Asian. Casually hip ambience, friendly service, moderate prices and a blend of sushi and nouveau pan-Asian fare make this a popular destination. The quality of its seafood and care in its preparation are what gives Lemongrass its edge. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/278-5050. (Other Palm Beach County locations: 101 Plaza Real S., Boca Raton, 561/5448181; 1880 N. Congress Ave., Boynton Beach, 561/733-1344). $

mastino —25 N.E. Second Ave. Italian/pizza. While pizza from the restaurant’s oak-fired oven may be the focus, Mastino also dishes an array of small plates, from an achingly rich mac-n-three cheeses to a hearty “Old School” meatball with tomato sauce and ricotta to plump littleneck clams in a garlicky white wine-olive oil broth. • Lunch Fri.–Sun. Dinner daily. 561/921-8687. $

max’s harvest —169 N.E. Second Ave. Contemporary American. Dennis Max, instrumental in bringing the chef and ingredientdriven ethos of California cuisine to South Florida in the 1980s, is again at the forefront of the fresh, local, seasonal culinary movement. Max’s Harvest soars with dishes like savory bourbon-maple glazed pork belly. • Dinner daily. Brunch Sat.–Sun. 561/381-9970. $$

max’s social house —116 N.E. Sixth Ave. Gastropub. Dennis Max has hit on a winning formula at this residence-turned-restaurant that has seen its share of incarnations. Expect inventive farm-to-fork small plates, artisan cocktails and craft beers, and a hip, urban vibe. Highlights include house-made pimento cheese with pickled tomatoes, the Wagyu beef hotdog, thick and juicy all-American burgers, and gum-tender braised short rib with killer mac-n-cheese. Banana cream pie is so ridiculously luscious you’ll wish they served it in a gallon bucket instead of a mason jar. • Dinner daily. 561/501-4332. $$

Rock the Tavern Park Tavern recently started featuring live music on Thursday nights from 9 p.m. until 1 a.m. For latenight munchies, try the thick-cut potato chips with caramelized onion dip.

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the office —201 E. Atlantic Ave. Contemporary American. Your office is nothing like this eclectic gastropub, unless your office sports more than two dozen craft beers on tap and a menu that flits from burgers and fries to mussels. Don’t miss the restaurant’s winning take on the thick, juicy Prime beef burger and simply wicked maple-frosted donuts with bacon bits and two dipping sauces. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/276-3600. $$

park tavern—32 S.E. Second Ave. Contemporary American. The guys from Cut 432 have done it again with this hip, casual modern American tavern. The menu is tightly focused and tightly executed, whether Maryland crab

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

cakes featuring fat chunks of succulent crab or the behemoth slab of tender, juicy prime rib for a near-saintly $29. Don’t miss the decadent soft pretzel bites. • Dinner daily. Brunch Sat.– Sun. 561/265-5093. $$

BUZZ BITES III

the porch—85 S.E. Sixth Ave. Italian. The concept is simple: fresh, honest, inviting food. The husband-wife team of Heinrich Lowenberg and Pamela Lomba delivers with classic and creative dishes, alike. Highlights include house-made capellini and the cocoa-dusted tiramisu. • Dinner daily. 561/303-3647. $$

prime —29 S.E Second Ave. Steak/Seafood. Prime is aptly named for its heart of the action location, classy neo-supper club decor, extensive wine list and roster of designer steaks. Starters and desserts fare better than entrées, especially plump, crabby Maryland-style crab cakes and indecently luscious chocolate bread pudding. Service is a strong suit too, so with a bit of work this good-looking restaurant will fully live up to its name. • Dinner daily. 561/865-5845. $$$

racks fish house & oyster bar—5 S.E. Second Ave. Seafood. Gary Rack, who also has scored with his spot in Mizner Park, certainly seems to have the restaurant Midas touch, as evidenced by this updated throwback to classic fish houses. Design, ambience and service hit all the right notes. Oysters are terrific any way you get them; grilled fish and daily specials are excellent. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/4506718. $$$ smoke —8 E. Atlantic Ave. Barbecue. With famed pit master Bryan Tyrell manning the smoker, this joint smokes every other barbecue spot in South Florida. Pretty much everything that comes out of Tyrell’s three-wood smoker is good, but his competition-style ribs are porkysmoky-spicy heaven, the Sistine Chapel of rib-dom. Crisp-greaseless house-made potato chips, meaty baked beans and plush-textured banana-coconut pudding are also excellent. The ambience is an inviting blend of Southern hospitality, urban chic and sports bar. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/330-4236. $$

sundy house —106 S. Swinton Ave. Contemporary American. It’s fine dining served in arguably the most beautiful restaurant and gardens in Delray. Menus are seasonal and imaginative. Try any of the fresh local fish dishes. • Lunch Tues.–Sat. Brunch Sun. Dinner Tues.–Sun. 561/272-5678. $$

terra fiamma—9169 W. Atlantic Ave. Italian. The pleasures of simple, hearty, wellprepared Italian-American cuisine are front and center at Wendy Rosano’s latest venture. Among the pleasures you should enjoy are delicate, pillow-y veal meatballs in Marsala sauce; lusty chicken Allessandro with mushrooms, spinach and artichoke hearts; and a finely crafted tiramisu that’s as satisfying as it is familiar. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/495-5570. $$

tramonti —119 E. Atlantic Ave. Italian. With its roots in New York’s Angelo’s of

The St. Tropez

MARTINIS AT V&A: It’s never too early to start thinking about the weekend—and the perfect way to start it. Thanks to Vic & Angelo’s, those thoughts can now turn to one of its new “The World in a Martini” inventions. These small vacations in a glass are handcrafted by Dawn Kimball, executive director, and use locally sourced, farm-to-table ingredients. Offerings include: • The Santorini ($10) martini is filled with orange-infused vodka, pineapple-infused vodka, fresh oranges and homemade coconut sorbet. • The St. Barts ($10) martini uses pear-infused vodka, grapefruitinfused vodka, fresh mint and the restaurant’s homemade mango and coconut sorbets. • The St. Tropez ($10) martini has amaretto-infused vodka, espresso-infused vodka, homemade raspberry sorbet and a maraschino cherry, and it’s laced with a rich, decadent chocolate sauce for a sweet ending. • The Capri ($10) martini includes two giant scoops of handmade raspberry and coconut sorbet, and grapefruit-infused vodka. The drinks are available at V&A locations in Delray (290 E. Atlantic Ave., 561/278-9570) or Palm Beach Gardens (4520 PGA Blvd., 561-630-9899). —LYNN KALBER

LIBBYVISION

and careful preparation. Sweetbreads in chanterelle cream sauce are glorious; a barely grilled artichoke with mustardy remoulade is gloriously simple. Watching your server skillfully debone an impeccably fresh Dover sole is almost as satisfying as eating it. • Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/265-0600. $$

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Sundy House Restaurant & Inn, the hidden jewel & historic landmark of Delray Beach, offers a tranquil tropical garden experience for creating those memories that last a lifetime. You can dine with us six nights a week, have brunch on Saturday or Sunday, enjoy a weekend getaway or staycation or host your special event, including weddings, corporate and other social events. Our outdoor garden seating and 3 indoor dining rooms make us ideal for any occasion, rain or shine.

Open for dinner • 5pm to 11pm • Tuesday – Sunday • Open for Brunch • 10am to 3pm • Saturday & Sunday Call for reservations to dine, relax overnight or plan your next event. SundyHouse.com • 561.272.5678 • 106 South Swinton Ave., Delray Beach, FL 33444

dining guide Mulberry Street, this venue is always packed. Homemade stuffed manicotti is aromatic and glorious. Tramonti’s platter for two, containing fillet marsala, veal cutlet with prosciutto, fried zucchini and potato croquettes, is terrific. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner daily. 561/272-1944. $$

tryst —4 E. Atlantic Ave. Eclectic. It’s tough to beat this hotspot with the lovely outdoor patio, well-chosen selection of artisan beers and not-the-usual-suspect wines, and an eclectic “gastropub” menu of small and large plates. Try the fried green tomato caprese. • Dinner nightly. Brunch Sat.– Sun. 561/921-0201. $$

Established 1991

vic & angelo’s —290 E. Atlantic Ave. Italian. God is

7 DAYS

6:00 am to 10:00 pm

BREAKFAST, LUNCH & DINNER

in the details at this upscale trattoria, and he doesn’t miss much. Ingredients like Buffalo mozzarella, house-made pastas and San Marzano tomatoes are first-rate, and execution is spot on. Try “John’s Mom’s Meatball,” which comes with spaghetti. Portions are substantial, so expect leftovers. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/278-9570. (Other Palm Beach County location: 4520 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens, 844/842-2632) $$$

LAKE WORTH

80 S. Federal Highway • Deerfield Beach, FL • (945) 480-8402

www.olympiaflamediner.com OlympiaFlameDiner_brm0715.indd 1

9/16/15 6:56 PM

Established 1981

couco pazzo —915-917 Lake Ave. Italian. Despite the name, there’s nothing crazy about the cooking at this homey eatery. It’s the hearty, soul-satisfying Italian cuisine we’ve all come to know and love. Spaghetti Bolognese is a fine version of a Northern Italian classic. • Dinner nightly. (Tues.–Sun. during summer). 561/585-0320. $$ paradiso ristorante —625 Lucerne Ave. Italian. A Tomasz Rut mural dominates the main dining room, and there is also a pasticceria and bar for gelato and espresso. Chef Angelo Romano offers a modern Italian menu. The Mediterranean salt-crusted branzino is definitely a must-try. Plus, the wine list is a veritable tome. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/547-2500. $$$ safire asian fusion—817 Lake Ave. Pan-Asian. This stylish little restaurant offers food that gently marries East and West, plus a roster of more traditional Thai dishes and inventive sushi rolls. Menu standouts include tempura-fried rock shrimp or calamari cloaked with a lush-fiery “spicy cream sauce.” Expect neighborly service and reasonable prices. • Lunch Tues.–Fri. Dinner Tues.–Sun. 561/588-7768. $

French Continental

LANTANA the station house —233 Lantana Road. Seafood. If you’re hungry for Maine lobster, plucked live out of giant tanks and cooked to order, this modest replica of a 1920s train station is the place to go. Lobsters come in all sizes (up to 6 pounds) and are so reasonably priced that getting a taste of one without reservations is highly unlikely. • Dinner nightly. 561/547-9487. $$$

PALM BEACH bice —313 Worth Ave. Italian. Bice continues to hold the title of favorite spot on the island. The venerable restaurant offers a marvelous array of risottos and fresh pastas and classic dishes like veal chop Milanese, pounded chicken breast and roasted rack of lamb. The wine list features great vintages. • Lunch and dinner daily. Outdoor dining. 561/835-1600. $$$

Rediscover the classic

buccan—350 S. County Road. Contemporary American.

4199 N. FEDERAL HWY. s BOCA RATON s 561.395.6033 s KATHYSGAZEBO.COM AG.COM KathysGazebo-fish_brm1115.indd 1 | Bn oOvCe Am M ber 2015 192

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Casual elegance of Palm Beach meets modern culinary sensibilities of Miami at the first independent restaurant by chef Clay Conley. The design offers both intimate and

HOMEMADE ITALIAN BAKE RY

Cosa Duci

energetic dining areas, while the menu is by turn familiar (wood-grilled burgers) and more adventurous (truffled steak tartare with crispy egg yolk, squid ink orrechiette). Dinner daily. 561/833-3450. $$

café boulud—The Brazilian Court, 301 Australian Ave. French with American flair. This hotel restaurant gives Palm Beach a taste of Daniel Boulud’s world-class cuisine inspired by his four muses. The chef oversees a menu encompassing classics, simple fare, seasonal offerings and dishes from around the world. Dining is in the courtyard (not available during summer), the elegant lounge or the sophisticated dining room. • Dinner daily. 561/655-6060. $$$

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café l’europe —331 S. County Road. Current international. A Palm Beach standard, the café has long been known for its peerless beauty, the piano player, the chilled martinis and the delicious Champagne and caviar bar. Try one of its sophisticated classics like Wiener schnitzel with herbed spaetzle, grilled veal chop and flavorful pastas. • Lunch Tues.–Fri. Dinner nightly (closed Mon. during summer). 561/655-4020. $$$

chez jean-pierre —132 N. County Road. French. Sumptuous cuisine, attentive servers and a see-and-be-seen crowd are hallmarks of one of the island’s premier restaurants. Indulgences include scrambled eggs with caviar and the Dover sole meunière filleted tableside. When your waiter suggests profiterolles au chocolat or hazelnut soufflé, say, mais oui! • Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/833-1171. $$$ cucina dell’ arte —257 Royal Poinciana Way. Italian. The wide range of items on the menu and the great quality of Cucina’s cuisine, combined with its fine service, ensures a fun place for a casual yet delectable meal—not to mention being a vantage point for spotting local celebs. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. Outdoor dining. 561/655-0770. $$ echo —230A Sunrise Ave. Asian. The cuisine reverberates with the tastes of China, Thailand, Japan and Vietnam. The Chinese hot and sour soup is unlike any other, and the sake list is tops. This offsite property of The Breakers is managed with the same flawlessness as the resort. • Dinner nightly (during season). 561/802-4222. $$$ hmf—1 S. County Road. Contemporary American. Beneath the staid, elegant setting of The Breakers, HMF is the Clark Kent of restaurants, dishing an extensive array of exciting, inventive, oh-so-contemporary small plates. Don’t depart without sampling the dreamy warm onion-Parmesan dip with house-made fingerling potato chips, the sexy wild boar empanaditas, chicken albondigas tacos and Korean-style short ribs. The wine list is encyclopedic. Dinner daily. 561/290-0104. $$ imoto —350 S. County Road. Asian Fusion/Tapas. Clay Conley’s “little sister” (the translation of Imoto from Japanese) is next to his always-bustling Buccan. Imoto turns out Japanese-inspired small plates with big-city sophistication, like witty Peking duck tacos and decadent tuna and foie gras sliders. Sushi selection is limited but immaculately fresh. • Dinner daily. 561/833-5522. $$

Come discover a hidden gem filled with pastries, cookies, espresso, gelato, cappuccino, italian imports, daily lunch menu, wine, beer & an authentic Italian family!

We change our menu daily!

Visit our site to see what mamma is cooking today: www.cosaduci.com

jové kitchen & bar—2800 S. Ocean Blvd. Contemporary Italian. Jové is named for the Italian god of the sky, and when the folks at the tony Four Seasons decided to remake their premier restaurant, they reached high to offer the kind of food, service and ambience that would appeal to both their affluent older clientele and a younger, hipper, foodieoriented crowd. Mission accomplished with dishes like the inventive take on octopus marinated and grilled with baby fennel, red pepper sauce, artichoke and olives. Desserts sparkle too. • Dinner daily. 561/533-3750. $$

141 NW 20th Street B-21 Boca Raton • 561.393.1201 Baking for a good cause: A portion of our proceeds will benefit research for Multiple Sclerosis.

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dining guide deconstructing the dish

chicken-n-waffles

Courtesy of Daniel Moore, executive chef, Burt & Max’s

EDUARDO SCHNEIDER

he marriage of chicken and waffle was made in … well, Harlem. Maybe. Or Pennsylvania Dutch country. Or on Thomas Jefferson’s plantation after the well-traveled sophisticate brought a waffle iron home from France. In any event, it doesn’t much matter, as the marriage of crisp, juicy fried chicken and crusty, golden waffle was truly made in culinary heaven. The matrimony of salty-crunchy chicken skin and moist, succulent flesh with crusty-creamy-buttery waffle is something no one who loves good food should dare put asunder. Yielding to no one in our love of good food, we couldn’t help but reach out to Daniel Moore, executive chef at Burt & Max’s (Delray Marketplace, 9089 W. Atlantic Ave., 561/638-6380) for his tips on how to prepare this ever-so-humble but thoroughly divine dish. It’s a taste of heaven on good ol’ terra firma. —BILL CITARA

1. The Bird: The better the chicken, the better the chicken-n-waffles. Moore uses an allnatural, hormonefree bird for the best flavor and texture.

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2. Size Matters: Bigger may be better when it comes to horsepower and offensive linemen, but not when it comes to chicken-nwaffles. The birds at Burt & Max’s average around 3 pounds; the giant 4-poundplus cluckers common at your local supermarket can be difficult to cook all the way through before overbrowning or burning the skin.

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

3. Soak It Up: Take the time to marinate your bird overnight in buttermilk. The marinade adds both moisture and flavor, and the acids in buttermilk help tenderize the meat.

4. Top It Off: Speaking of buttermilk, add some to your waffle mix. Moore does, and it gives the waffles a little of that tang that ties them in with the chicken.

GET THE RECIPE For Moore’s

step-by-step preparation of chicken and waffles, visit Web Extras at bocamag.com.

5. Watch the Heat: The proper temperature of both the oil and the finished chicken is very important, as fried chicken sushi is no one’s idea of a good (or safe) dinner. Use a deep fry or candy thermometer to make sure your oil is heated to 300 degrees. Any hotter and you risk cooking the outside of the chicken while the inside is still raw.

6. What’s Inside Counts: Check the temperature of the finished bird with an instant-read thermometer. You’re looking for an internal temperature of 165 degrees at the thickest part. If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer, cut into a thigh all the way to the bone. The meat should be gray or white and the juices should run clear.

leopard lounge and restaurant —The Chesterfield Palm Beach, 363 Cocoanut Row. American. The restaurant offers excellent food in a glamorous and intimate club-like atmosphere. In fact, it’s advisable to make early reservations if a quiet dinner is the objective; the place becomes a late-night cocktail spot after 9. The menu is equally decadent. • Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner daily. 561/659-5800. $$

Early Bird Special

meat market—191 Bradley Place. Steak house. “Meat Market” may be an inelegant name for a very elegant and inventive steak house but there’s no dissonance in its food, service or ambience. Multiple cuts of designer beef from multiple sources can be gilded with a surprising array of sauces, butters and upscale add-ons. Whole roasted cauliflower is an intriguing starter, while a meaty Niman Ranch short rib atop lobster risotto takes surf-n-turf to a new level. Cast your diet to the winds and order the dessert sampler. • Dinner daily. 561/354-9800. $$$$

5-6:30pm • 3 Course Menu

$21.90

Lunch starts at

just $8

nick & johnnie’s —207 Royal Poinciana Way. Contemporary American. Expect flavorful, moderately priced California-esque cuisine in a casual setting with affordable wines and young, energetic servers. • Lunch and dinner Mon.–Sat. Breakfast Sun. 561/655-3319. $$ renato’s —87 Via Mizner. Italian with continental flair. This most romantic hideaway is buzzing in season and quietly charming all year long with Italian classics and a Floridian twist—like the sautéed black grouper in a fresh tomato and pernod broth with fennel and black olives and the wildflower-honey-glazed salmon fillet with crab and corn flan. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner nightly. 561/655-9752. $$$

ta-boo —2221 Worth Ave. American. This self-described “American bistro” is less typical “American” restaurant or classical French “bistro” than it is posh-casual refuge for the see-and-be-seen crowd in and around Palm Beach. The eclectic menu offers everything from roasted duck with orange blossom honey-ginger sauce to dry-aged steaks and an assortment of pizzas. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/8353500. $$

Polo Club Shoppes 5030 Champion Blvd. #D3, Boca Raton, FL 33496

(561) 997-0027

www.ChezMarieFrenChBistro.CoM

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South Florida’s Top Seaside Italian Restaurant

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trevini ristorante —290 Sunset Ave. Italian. Expect a warm experience, complemented by a stately but comfortable room and excellent food. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner nightly. 561/833-3883. $$$

Readers’ Choice Winners:

PALM BEACH GARDENS café chardonnay—4533 PGA Blvd. Contemporary American. This longtime stalwart never rests on its laurels. Instead, it continues to dish finely crafted American/ Continental fare with enough inventiveness to keep things interesting. The popular herb-and-Dijon-mustard rack of lamb, regular menu items like duck with Grand Marnier sauce, and always superlative specials reveal a kitchen with solid grounding in culinary fundamentals. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner daily. 561/627-2662. $$

2012 BEST ITALIAN BEST SUNDAY BRUNCH BEST WINE LIST 2013 BEST ITALIAN

WEST PALM BEACH café centro —2409 N. Dixie Highway. Italian. There are many things to like about this modest little osteria—the unpretentious ambiance, piano Thursday through Saturday during season, the fine service, the robust portions and relatively modest prices. And, of course, the simple, satisfying Italian cuisine. The kitchen breathes new life into hoary old fried calamari, gives fettucine con pollo a surprisingly delicate herbed cream sauce, gilds snowy fillets of grouper with a soulful Livornese. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner daily. 561/514-4070. $$

34 S. Ocean Blvd, Delray Beach • 561-274-9404 caffelunarosa.com • facebook.com/caffelunarosa Serving Our Brunch & Dinner Menu 7 Days Live Entertainment • Valet Parking Available

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dining guide leila—120 S. Dixie Highway. Mediterranean. Flowing drapes and industrial lighting complete the exotic decor in this Middle Eastern hit. Sensational hummus is a must-try. Lamb kebab with parsley, onion and spices makes up the delicious Lebanese lamb kefta. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner Mon.–Sun. 561/659-7373. $$

marcello’s la sirena—6316 S. Dixie Highway. Italian. You’re in for a treat if the pasta of the day is prepared with what might be the best Bolognese sauce ever. • Dinner Mon.–Sat. (closed Memorial Day–Labor Day). 561/585-3128. $$

pistache —1010 N. Clematis St., #115.

Welcome to Atlantic

Check out the latest Rocco’s Tacos restaurant on Atlantic Avenue in downtown Delray.

—949 S. Federal Highway. Asian. Quiet and soothing, this multicultural venue serves sushi, sashimi, yakitori and wide-ranging Japanese appetizers. • Lunch and dinner daily. 954/4288009. $$

FORT LAUDERDALE

rhythm café —3800 S. Dixie Highway.

3030 Holiday Drive. American. The menu is heavy on seafood and changes several times a week. We recommend the sautéed Florida red snapper or the indulgent butter-roasted Maine lobster. For dessert, try the popular roasted banana crème brûlée. • Dinner nightly. 954/765-3030. $$$

rocco’s tacos—224 Clematis St. Mexican. Big Time Restaurant Group has crafted a handsome spot that dishes Mexican favorites, as well as upscale variations on the theme and more than 200 tequilas. Tacos feature house-made tortillas and a variety of proteins. Made-to-order guacamole is a good place to start. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner nightly. 561/650-1001. (Other Palm Beach County locations: 5250 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton, 561/416-2131; 110 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, 561/808-1100; 5090 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens, 561/623-0127) $

porary American. Take a quarter-cup of Palm Beach, a tablespoon of Nantucket, a pinch of modern American cookery and a couple gallons of the owners’ savoir faire, and you have Eddie Schmidt’s and Ozzie Medeiros’s spot. The menu roams the culinary globe for modest contemporary tweaks on classically oriented dishes. Try the fried calamari “Pad Thai.” • Dinner daily. 561/855-2660. $$$

BROWARD COUNTY COCONUT CREEK nyy steak—Seminole Casino Coconut Creek, 5550 N.W. 40th St. Steak house. The second incarnation of this New York Yankeesthemed restaurant swings for the fences—and connects—with monstrous portions, chic decor and decadent desserts. The signature steaks, dry-aged for 21 days, are a meat lover’s dream; seafood specialties include Maine lob-

tamarind asian grill & sushi bar

15th street fisheries —1900 S.E. 15th

Casual American. Once a diner, the interior is eclectic with plenty of kitsch. The crab cakes are famous here, and the tapas are equally delightful. Homemade ice cream and the chocolate chip cookies defy comparison. • Dinner Tues.–Sun. 561/833-3406. $$

BOCAMAG.COM november 2015

BUZZ BITES IV

DEERFIELD BEACH

French. Pistache doesn’t just look like a French bistro, it cooks like one. The menu includes such bistro specialties as coq au vin and steak tartare. All that, plus guests dining al fresco have views of the Intracoastal Waterway and Centennial Park. • Brunch Sat.–Sun. Lunch and dinner daily. 561/833-5090. $$

table 26°—1700 S. Dixie Highway. Contem-

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ster and Alaskan king crab. Don’t miss the NYY Steak 151 volcano for dessert. • Dinner daily. Brunch Sun. 954/977-6700. $$$$

St. Seafood. Surrounded by views of the Intracoastal, this Old Florida-style restaurant features seafood and selections for land lovers. We love the prime rib. • Lunch and dinner daily. 954/763-2777. $$

3030 ocean—Harbor Beach Marriott Resort,

bistro 17—Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Hotel, 1617 S.E. 17th St. Contemporary American. This small, sophisticated restaurant continues to impress with competently presented food. The menu is surprisingly diverse. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 954/626-1748. $$

bistro mezzaluna—1821 S.E. 10th Ave. Italian. The bistro is all Euro-chic decor—mod lighting, abstract paintings. It also has good food, from pastas to steaks and chops and a wide range of fresh seasonal fish and seafood. Don’t forget the phenomenal wine list. • Lunch and dinner daily. 954/522-9191. $$

bongusto ristorante—5640 N. Federal Highway. Italian. This is a well-kept secret, featuring dishes that will meet the standards of those who savor authentic Italian. Involtini capricciosi—tender-rolled veal stuffed with spinach, prosciutto and fontina cheese—is satiating, while the whole yellowtail snapper is an equal delight. • Dinner daily. 954/771-9635. $$ café emunah—3558 N. Ocean Blvd. Kosher, organic. Don’t let the New Age “spirituality” throw you off. Focus on the fresh, organic ingredients that are incorporated into inventive sushi, soups and salads and (mostly) Asian-influenced entrées. • Lunch and dinner Sun.–Thurs. Lunch Fri. 954/561-6411. $

café martorano—3343 E. Oakland Park Blvd. Italian. Standouts include crispy calamari in marinara sauce and flavorful veal osso buco. Our conclusion: explosive flavor, attention to all the details and fresh, high-quality ingredients. Waiters whisper the night’s specials as if they’re family secrets. • Dinner daily. 954/561-2554. $$

canyon—1818 E. Sunrise Blvd. Southwestern. Billed as a Southwestern café, this twist on

NEW TO BOYNTON, & PALM BEACH: High season brings some new restaurant talent to Palm Beach County. In Boynton, one-time Orlando restaurateurs Ramiro and Joanne Calomarde introduce Don Che Bistro (324 N. Federal Highway, 561/572-9639), an Argentine/Italian spot. The couple has joined up with Argentine chef Omar Galvan, a 30-year kitchen vet, to serve up everything from empanadas, blood sausage and the classic Argentine rolled veal dish called matambre to fettuccine Alfredo and chicken Marsala. Of course, no Argentine restaurant would be complete without a roster of grilled steaks and other meats, and Don Che is no exception, offering steaks from skirt to strip and Argentine grills with abundant meaty options that should bring a smile to any carnivore’s face. Coming to Worth Avenue in Palm Beach is a restaurant channeling one of New York’s most furiously trendy neighborhoods. Dubbed Cooklyn, the eatery will be the sister of the original Cooklyn in … well, you know. Chef and owner is Anthony “Theo” Theocaropoulos, who got his start at Café Boulud in the Brazilian Court Hotel. He later went to work with such culinary megastars as Mario Batali, Todd English and Masaharu Morimoto. If the New York menu is any indication, look for dishes like fried artichoke salad with pickled shallots, duck spaghetti with pancetta and fillet of beef with oyster mushrooms and bone marrow. —BILL CITARA

regional American cuisine offers great meat, poultry and fish dishes with distinctive mixes of lime, cactus and chili peppers in a subtle blend of spices. The adobe ambience is warm and welcoming, with a candlelit glow. • Dinner nightly. 954/765-1950. $$

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10/5/15 4:04 PM

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dining guide casablanca café—3049 Alhambra St. American,

CHEAP EATS

Mediterranean. The restaurant has an “Arabian Nights” feel, with strong Mediterranean influences. Try the peppercorn-dusted filet mignon with potato croquette, Gorgonzola sauce and roasted pepper and Granny Smith relish. • Lunch and dinner daily. 954/764-3500. $$

GREASE BURGER

casa d’angelo —1210 N. Federal Highway, #5A. Italian. Many dishes are specials—gnocchi, risotto and scaloppine. The marinated grilled veal chop is sautéed with wild mushrooms in a fresh rosemary sauce. A delightful pasta entrée is the pappardelle con porcini: thick strips of fresh pasta coated in a light red sauce and bursting with slices of porcini mushrooms. • Dinner nightly. 954/564-1234. $$

213 Clematis St., West Palm Beach, 561/651-1075

ny restaurant that names a signature menu item after the fictional star of “Anchorman” piques our interest, regardless of whether or not it smells of rich mahogany or serves three fingers of Glenlivet with a little bit of pepper and cheese. But, as it turns out, Grease Burger is kind of a big deal for reasons beyond its “Ron Burgundy” (which features spring onions, Swiss and Boursin cheeses, and mushrooms with, naturally, a Burgundy reduction). Along with whatever metal and brawn went into its construction, Grease Burger stays classy with Y-chromosome touches like its mile-long oak bar, 120 craft beer selections, dozenplus flat-screen TVs that broadcast whatever sports are on at that moment, and steel meat hooks that hang from the ceiling. Speaking of which, meat lovers will want to come get a taste of the restaurant’s renowned 10-ounce patties, which can be dolled up DIY-style with more than 20 “burger bling” offerings—from fried egg and applewood bacon to truffle ketchup and garlic aioli. Grease Burger’s own inventive creations are dressed so fine they make Sinatra look like a hobo. The “Burger From Hell” may

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chima—2400 E. Las Olas Blvd. Steaks. The Latin American rodizio-churrascaria concept—all the meat you can eat, brought to your table—is done with high style, fine wines and excellent service. The sausages, filet mignon, pork ribs and lamb chops are very good. • Dinner daily. 954/712-0580. $$$ sound a bit daunting on paper, but the combination of fresh sautéed jalapeños, Habanero Hell sauce, queso blanco cheese, lettuce, tomato and grilled onions will have you shouting “By the beard of Zeus!” for all the right reasons. For those who want to skip the formalities and move right to the heart attack, there’s always the “Grease Beast”—basically a cheeseburger perched between two bacon-andgrilled cheese sandwiches and loaded with fries and onion rings. But it’s not all about two tickets to the gun show at Grease Burger. The menu also includes lighter fare, including a good dozen salads. “Todd’s Veggie Nuttie” salad was a highlight at our table, brimming with shaved carrots, broccoli, walnuts, raisins, some roasted chicken and a sweet-and-tangy honey mustard vinaigrette. The menu also scores with variations on the standard sandwich. The “House Roasted Turkey Club” on a multigrain bun comes with

a little blackberry smash; the “Gringo Tacos,” thick with blackened mahi, spice things up with pickled jalapeños; even the quarterpound hot dog goes “rockin’ through the garden” with onion, tomato, hot pickle relish and cucumber. For those stuck in a glass case of emotion, Grease Burger’s wildly impressive roster of bourbons, whiskeys and—Sweet Lincoln’s mullet!—moonshine (we count more than 100 brands) are certain to take the edge off. If that doesn’t do the trick, try one of the signature spiked milkshakes, like Grandma’s Treat (Grease Burger leaves the mothers out of it), which combines Maker’s Mark with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. Best of all, Grease Burger keeps it all reasonable. Specialty burgers range from $10.95 to $15.95; bratwurst is $9.95; salads are $6.25 to $15.50. If that doesn’t prompt at least one “Great Odin’s raven,” then you may be better off at a restaurant that works 60 percent of the time, every time. —KEVIN KAMINSKI

eduardo de san angel—2822 E. Commercial Blvd. Mexican. Try master chef Eduardo Pria’s pansautéed Florida blue crab and yellow corn cakes. As far as soups go, there’s the pasilla-chile-flavored chicken broth with fresh “epazote” (fried corn tortilla strips, sliced avocado, sour cream and homemade cheese). The pan-seared beef tenderloin filet mignon is sublime. • Dinner Mon.–Sat. 954/772-4731. $$$ il mulino—1800 E. Sunrise Blvd. Italian. This modest, unpretentious Italian restaurant doesn’t attempt to reinvent the culinary wheel. Instead, it dishes up big portions of simple, hearty, flavorful food at extremely reasonable prices. Zuppa de pesce is a wealth of perfectly cooked seafood over linguini in a light tomato-based sauce. • Lunch and dinner daily. 954/524-1800. $

indigo —Riverside Hotel, 620 E. Las Olas Blvd. Seafood. Enjoy delightful al fresco dining while sampling fresh seafood and exotic specialties. Dependable choices like ahi tuna are joined by more intriguing seafood dishes; landlubbers will enjoy a selection of steaks and chops. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 954/467-0671. $$

Casa D’Angelo

johnny v—625 E. Las Olas Blvd. American. Johnny Vinczencz made his mark at Boca’s Maxaluna and Max’s Grille and (the former) De La Tierra at Delray’s Sundy House. Now in his own restaurant on Las Olas Boulevard, Vinczencz has evolved. As for the impressive wine list, Johnny V has more than 600 selections. • Lunch and dinner daily. Outdoor dining. 954/761-7920. $$ sea watch—6002 N. Ocean Blvd. Seafood. For a right-on-the-beach, welcome-to-Florida dining experience, there’s Sea Watch. Decked out in a pervasive nautical theme, this is definitely tourist country, but it’s pretty and on the beach. The perfect entrée for the indecisive: The broiled seafood medley brochette, with lobster tail, jumbo shrimp and scallops, yellow squash, zucchini, mushrooms and pineapple. • Lunch and dinner daily. 954/781-2200. $$

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sublime—1431 N. Federal Highway. Vegetarian. Not only does the menu offer an alternative to animal agriculture, the company’s profits support animal welfare. The haute vegetarian cuisine delivers with dishes like mushroom ravioli. • Dinner Tues.–Sun. 954/615-1431. $

sunfish grill—2775 E. Oakland Park Blvd. Seafood. Think inventive, sophisticated food, the kind that made the original Pompano Beach restaurant a major destination. Its take on tuna tartare is still the gold standard, and you can’t go wrong with entrées like onion-crusted salmon or the grilled Atlantic swordfish. • Dinner Tues.– Sat. 954/561-2004. $$

BEFORE

AFTER

timpano italian chophouse —450 E. Las Olas Blvd., #110. Italian. Sink yourself into oversized booths with elegant white tablecloths and prepare to dive into excellent signature bone-in steaks. The menu includes chops and a diverse array of fresh fish and pasta dishes. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner daily. 954/462-9119. $$

HOLLYWOOD lola’s on harrison —2032 Harrison St. New American. Chef-owner Michael Wagner reinvigorates quintessentially American dishes with exacting technique and inventive flavor combos. Short ribs braised in Coca-Cola come with indecently rich, tarragon-laced creamed corn. • Dinner Tues.–Sun. 954/927-9851. $$ taverna opa—410 N. Ocean Drive. Greek. Bring all your friends here and order a million mezes (Greek appetizers). Try the keftedes, Greek meatballs, and the lamb chops or snapper, which is filleted at the table. Don’t be surprised when your waiter pulls you up on the table to dance. • Dinner nightly. 954/929-4010. (Also: 270 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, 561/303-3602). $$

LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA blue moon fish company—4405 W. Tradewinds Ave. Seafood. This is one of the best spots in Broward County for waterside dining. Choose from a raw bar and fish nearly every which way, as well as daily, seasonal fish specials. • Lunch and dinner daily. Brunch Sun. 954/267-9888. $$$

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LIGHTHOUSE POINT le bistro —4626 N. Federal Highway. Modern French. The menu modern and healthy—98-percent glutin-free, according to chef/owner Andy Trousdale. Check out the prix-fixe menu, which includes pan-roasted duck to beef Wellington. • Dinner Tues.–Sun. 954/946-9240. $$$

954.917.2715 1254 N.W. 21st Street | Pompano Beach, Fl 33069 | www.absolutepowdercoat.com

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mixology

dining guide

A Boca Magazine Event

seafood world—4602 N. Federal Highway. Seafood. This seafood market and restaurant, more suited to a pier, offers some of the freshest seafood in the county. Its unpretentious atmosphere is the perfect setting for the superb king crab, Maine lobster, Florida lobster tails and much more. Tangy Key lime pie is a classic finish. • Lunch and dinner daily. 954/942-0740. $$$

THE CRAFT SPIRITS EVENT

GOOD SPIRITS. GOOD MUSIC. GOOD FOOD. GOOD TIME.

POMPANO BEACH calypso restaurant —460 S. Cypress Road. Caribbean. This bright little dining room and bar (beer and wine only) has a Caribbean menu that is flavorful, imaginative— and much more. Calypso offers a spin on island food that includes sumptuous conch dishes, Stamp & Go Jamaican fish cakes and tasty rotis stuffed with curried chicken, lamb or seafood. • Lunch and dinner Mon.–Fri. 954/942-1633. $ darrel & oliver’s café maxx—2601 E. Atlantic Blvd. American. The longstanding institution from chef Oliver Saucy is as good now as when it opened in the mid-1980s. The peppered sea scallops appetizer is a must, as is Café Maxx’s beloved cheese plate. Main courses offer complex flavor profiles, such as the sweet-onion-crusted yellowtail snapper on Madeira sauce over mashed potatoes. Parts of the menu change daily. • Dinner nightly. Brunch Sunday. 954/782-0606. $$$

OV E R 2 0 TO P B R A N D CRAFT SPIRITS A N D L O CA L R E S T AU R A N T FA R E .

WESTON cheese course —1679 Market St. Bistro. Locals love the made-to-order bistro sandwiches on fresh baguettes, daily quiche selections and cheese plates. Favorites include the applewood-smoked bacon with goat cheese brie sandwich. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 954/384-8183. (Other location: Mizner Park, 305 Plaza Real, #1305, Boca Raton, 561/395-4354.) $

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AVENTURA bourbon steak—19999 W. Country Club Drive. Steaks. Michael Mina’s elegant steak house in tony Turnberry Isle features impeccable service, an encyclopedic wine list and a roster of USDA Prime Angus, Wagyu and Kobe steaks. Try the feather-light beignets accompanied by cookbook-perfect crème brûlée and chocolate pot du crème. • Dinner nightly. 786/279-6600. $$$$

Save the Date

BAL HARBOUR the palm— 9650 E. Bay Harbor Drive. Steaks.

SATUR DAY, FE BR UARY 13 | 4-8 PM

The portions are giant, but you’ll surely clear your plate of 3- to 7-pound jumbo Nova Scotia lobster or a tender filet mignon. S&S cheesecake shipped from the Bronx is pure heaven. • Dinner nightly. 305/868-7256. $$$

MI ZNE R PARK AM PITHE ATE R | BOC A RATON TICKE TS: $75 | VIP: $150

COCONUT GROVE