IL MULINO TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AT A BEST OF WINNER

Side Dish

WHAT’S WITH THAT GUY?

GUY FIERI, host of Food Network’s "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" bought a house in Lake Worth Beach last year and has been covering more restaurants in the area recently.

The show kicked off its new season in March and among the South Florida eateries visited so far are the Italian trattoria, ROSE’S DAUGHTER in Delray Beach, sandwich shop THE BUTCHER AND THE BAR in Boynton Beach, hamburger-and-fries food truck CHEFFREY EATS, the Puerto Rican fare at LA COSINITA LATINA in West Palm Beach, and HELLENIC REPUBLIC in Coral Springs. I don’t think we’ll see him featuring any of the places in Wilton Manors, given the fact that Fieri has repeatedly been called out for his homophobic behavior.

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Il Mulino

1800 E. SUNRISE, FORT LAUDERDALE

954-524-1800

ILMULINOFL.COM

As much as everyone loves being on our “Best Of” list, the sheer numbers mean that we can’t say more than a few sentences about each recipient. So we thought we’d expand our coverage of the winners in the food and dining category. Since its opening in 1989, Il Mulino has been a welcoming favorite of the LGBT community.

With recipes made in-house that date back three generations, Il Mulino is one of Fort Lauderdale’s go-to Italian restaurants. Whether you are looking for a hearty Italian classic, something lighter, or just to relax with an appetizer and a good glass of wine, Il Mulino fits the bill.

In addition to its regular lunch and dinner menus, Il Mulino also offers a kid’s menu, a lite-fare menu, and a listing of plant-based

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offerings. At dinner, pasta and meat-based entrees range from $16 to $30, pizzas run $17-$20, and entrée salads are in the $15$25 range. Shave about $10 off that for the lunch menu. The lite fare and plant-friendly dishes both top out at about $20. The wine list is impressive, both for its variety and its reasonable pricing. No gouging here. There is also a very expansive selection of wines by the glass. Finally, if you can’t get enough, Il Mulino offers catering services.

A few columns back I asked, “What makes a gay restaurant?” and asked readers to submit a list of their favorite gay restaurants. Here’s one from John Caminiti: ROSIE’S, GEORGIE’S ALIBI, TROPICS GRILLE, EMPANADA LOCA, LOTUS KITCHEN, CHRISTINA WAN&’S, MASON JAR, VOO LA VOO CAFÉ, BONA, and LE PATIO. Thanks for the info, John! Send your list to SFGNfeatures@gmail. com.

NEW AND NEW-ISH

THE HAMPTON SOCIAL DELRAY BEACH, debuted March 15 at the new Atlantic Crossing shopping village in Delray. Another outpost is slated for Miami’s Mary Brickell Village later this spring or summer. Its menu touts mostly trendy seafood fare. The owners are Chicago’s Parker Hospitality Group. Pompano Beach’s 5TH ELEMENT INDIAN GRILL will also open an outpost in Delray Beach. There are already locations in Daytona Beach, Palm Coast and Jacksonville.

Speaking of Pompano, THE BITE EATERY, finally opened after a three-year pandemic and supply- chain delay. Nine food vendors and one cocktail bar have finally filled this food hall in Harbor Village Plaza near the Intracoastal Waterway. The 9,000-square-foot space has offerings from DELI SHACK, MAMA MIA PASTA & MORE, ABUELITA’S CUBAN BISTRO, CAPTAIN LOBSTAR, CEVICHE TIME, BEEF BOYZ, MOOP GELATO, TACO VIBEZ, and PAPA’S PIZZERIA.

BARILOCHE GOURMET recently opened just off Fort Lauderdale beach. It specializes in gourmet Argentine fast-food with signature dishes such as sandwiches de miga, empanadas, pizzas, pastries and desserts.

Oakland Park’s BREWLIHAN, a 1,700-squarefoot mead house, decorated with science flasks and honeycomb motif, is a salute to its signature beverage, the honey-sweetened wine, known as mead. Another new-ish place in Oakland Park is MAGGIE’S FAVORITE COFFEE AND BAKESHOP. The menu features crepes, cupcakes, muffins, breakfast sandwiches, and Italian roast coffee. The breakfastlunch cafe soft-opened in January. Other offerings cake by the slice, cinnamon rolls, acai bowls, savory crepes and sandwiches and avocado toast.

WHAT MAKES A RESTAURANT GAY?