People expect a restaurant reviewer to be picky when they’re dining out.
I don’t consider myself to be that way, but I do think of myself as discerning. I judge a restaurant on many levels: service, presentation, value, and of course, the product. Those standards vary from place to place. I don’t expect the same level of service from a neighborhood diner that I do from a Michelelin-starred restaurant. But I do expect the server to be polite (if not friendly) and the food to be well prepared, whether it is Hamachi crudo or a tuna salad sandwich (both of which I enjoy).
Here were my favorite dining experiences of 2024, the recipients of my Golden Spoon Awards. They run the gamut from a food court to high-end dining and for the first time includes a retailer and a food festival. Since the recipients are so diverse, I am not naming the “Best Asian Restaurant,” “Best New Restaurant in Wilton Manors,” etc. Instead, they just are being given a Golden Spoon and since I’m feeling so upbeat, I will not be giving out any Flying Fork Awards, although a few places deserve them. Here are the winners.
Baoshi Food Hall
8525 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines
786-898-8868
baoshifoodhall.com
Baoshi Food Hall is the epitome of destination dining. Located in a nondescript mall at the intersection of Pines Blvd. and University Dr., it is well worth the trek. When the founders of Marquess, the Asian fine dining restaurant previously at this location, retired, their son, Filbert “Fil” Ip, kept the building but reimagined it for today’s generation. It is something you might expect to see in a trendier neighborhood such as Wynwood or the MASS District. There are five restaurants in Baoshi, each offering a distinct style of Asian cuisine. Those five establishments are:
Gold Marquess, the original restaurant at this location is still evident serving up a select menu of authentic Chinese cuisine and dim sum.
Gangnam Chikn serves up crispy and savory Korean fried chicken and wings, as well as several interesting side dishes such as sweet potato bean thread noodle salad.
Poke OG is a chef-driven concept using local ingredients to create tasty poke and sushi.
Temple Street Eatery, like the Fort Lauderdale location, offers Asian comfort food fused with other cultures, such as edamame falafel.
Boba Street Café offers the drinks you’d expect but also dishes up waffles infused with boba pearls, ice cream treats, and western cakes and pastries.
Most food halls are pure mayhem, but at Baoshi, everything works well. If you don’t want to order using the QR codes, just step up to the window and place your order. Then choose your seating; inside, surrounded by all the restaurants and the action (and a live DJ who plays at a reasonable level), or go for quieter seating outside in the Zen Den, front patio, or bar patio (where smoking is allowed). The bar and lounge areas are for kicking back with craft cocktails, beer, wine, or sake while watching sports on one of the bar’s flat screens.
We’ve made numerous visits and each time, each dish was outstanding. You can expect to pay about $25 a person, without cocktails, not a bad deal for such an outstanding dining experience.
R House
2727 NW 2nd Ave., Miami
305-576-0201
rhousewynwood.com
The food at R House does not have to be as good as it is, it could survive on the publicity it got from a mention on The View alone for years, so kudos to them for delivering top-notch meals and friendly, if not the most efficient, service. We were early enough that cocktail hour was still in effect, so we ordered a bowl of guacamole (only $5 at happy hour). Described simply as cilantro and lime, but it is so much more. It is studded with corn and sprinkled with bacon, which I loved, but made it problematic for my vegetarian hubby. A dish that is usually vegetarian should list meat additions on the menu, or, at a minimum, the waiter should notify diners. I pointed this out to our waiter, and he brought out a small side portion, sans bacon. I also enjoyed a nice $7 glass of Rose Kennedy with well vodka from the happy hour menu. Other happy hour treats are short rib or spinach and kale empanadas, house-cut chips, and charcuterie bites all well under $10. There are also $1 sweet chili wings and, on Fridays, oysters for a buck each.
You must try the Cuban sandwich with bread from Michelin Award-winner Zak The Baker. Brazilian moqueca, a stew of local fish, shrimp, and scallops, with bell peppers and tomato in a coconut milk base with just a hint of spice is perfection, as is the veggie paella bowl. A must-try is the R House fried chicken, white and dark meat, all boneless, in a crispy, spicy batter sitting atop a pool of spicy cilantro sauce. It’s about $40 a person, and as with many Miami places, an 18% service charge is included in the bill. Drag brunch on Saturday and Sunday is $60 with two seatings, 11:30/11:45 and 2:30/2:45, is quite popular and reservations are required.
Livia Bar & Grill
500 N. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale
954-306-3407
liviabarandgrill.com
The view’s not much now (they’re building a new apartment complex across the street) but the mostly outdoor dining at Livia is wonderful and our server Phoebe was a delight from the moment we were seated. She got us water, ice, and soft drinks and then served the very good house white wines. We began by splitting a couple of appetizers and due to the dietary restrictions of our group, there were a lot of requests for things “on the side,” which Phoebe (and the kitchen accommodated). The chicken wings came with hot honey sauce on the side as requested, and were moist, delicious, and plentiful. The burrata and English pea-stuffed arancini were light and fluffy. The red pepper emulsion added a nice piquant zip to the creamy filling.
Three of our group ordered pizzas and they were overwhelmed by the size. No dainty little Neapolitan discs, these oblong, hand-tossed gems had a nice crispy crust and were overflowing with toppings. All provided meals the next day. Truffle potato gnocchi combined porcini and shaved truffles in a rosemary cream/roasted tomato sauce that was heavenly. The gnocchi were as pillowy and as light as possible without them floating off the plate. Mafaldine, sort of a cross between fettuccine and lasagna noodles, with a rich Bolognese, was perfectly prepared with al dente pasta and the rich thick sauce. It was about $40 a person, tax and tip included. Very reasonable considering that we all had drinks and split two appetizers.
Corvina Seafood Grill
110 Plaza Real S., Boca Raton
561-206-0066
corvinabocaraton.com
Although I reviewed this place in 2022, I’ve been back twice this year, and my husband and his siblings took their mother there for her 85th birthday. It’s become one of our family’s favorite places and has earned a Golden Spoon this year. The seafood-focused menu leans into a mix of Latin American and Caribbean flavors and the restaurant offers both indoor and open-air seating for 235 guests. We are especially fond of the $9 happy hour menu (shrimp nachos, patatas brava, sushi rolls, oysters, and shrimp cocktail) and $6 cocktails, available at the bar from 4-6:30 p.m. We usually sit on the comfy patio (as it appears most diners prefer), with attentive service and great drinks. If we lived in Boca, we’d be stopping by for happy hour weekly.
Serious Dumplings
9845 Glades Rd., Boca Raton
561-931-2399
serious-dumplings.restaurants-world.com
I admit that we first checked out serious dumplings because of the robot servers. However, they’re just these little motorized serving stations that deliver your food to your table. If you were picturing Rosey the Robot from The Jetsons with a pencil stuck behind her ear (did she even have ears?) you’d be disappointed. What you won’t be is disenchanted by the food. It’s terrific and doesn’t need the gimmick of robot servers to bring you back for more. OMG, they named this place right! They are serious about dumplings, with about three dozen varieties available. Steamed, deep-fried, pan-fried, filled with soup, sitting in steaming soup, sweet or savory. Each one we tried was sheer perfection. For those who don’t care for dumplings (what’s wrong with you?), there are stir-fry dishes, chicken skewers, and big bowls of steaming hot soup sure to satisfy. My hubby said the vegetable fried rice was among the best he’s ever had. The Japanese eggplant, prepared with crunchy panko strips, gives great texture to this usually soft, bordering on slimy, dish.
There is also a large menu of specialty drinks (non-alcohol) including grapefruit or orange fizz, cheese-foam with strawberry or black tea, brown sugar milk, milk tea with the option of adding herbal jelly, and taro milk tea, and, of course, Thai iced tea. All are available with or without boba pearls. They range in price from $5 to $7, and, of course, standard soft drinks are an option. For those who like something sweet at the end of the meal, the pickings are slim. The sesame balls stuffed with sweet red bean paste are my favorite. There is also a similar version filled with “coconut lava,” brown sugar rice cakes, or fried buns glazed in sugar syrup (sort of a doughnut). A Fort Lauderdale location is supposed to open soon.
Jarana
19505 Biscayne Blvd., Esplanade at Aventura
786-840-8840
jaranarestaurant.com
When Jarana (HA-rahn-ah) opened I was invited to a tasting dinner. I don’t review a restaurant based on these visits, because it’s not what a customer will experience. I was especially interested in attending because I didn’t know much about Peruvian cuisine. I learned a lot that night. Peruvian cuisine is an exemplar of fusion cuisine, due to its long multicultural history. Which is a subtle way to refer to colonialism and slavery. The Spanish conquered the Inca and then brought over Asian, Caribbean, and African slaves. Although it has a horrible backstory, the result is a cuisine that is rich in the flavors of the Indigenous people, Spanish settlers, and slaves. It serves to remind us that we are all the result of all that has happened to us, good and bad, and the resulting food is a fabulous blend of cultural influences.
Golden Girls/Barbie Pop-Up Kitchen
350 NW 24th St., Miami
BucketListers.com
Picture it, Miami, 2024! The Golden Girls Kitchen, a dining experience based on the popular television series, opens as a pop-up restaurant in Miami’s Wynwood neighborhood. The Golden Girls Kitchen greets guests the moment they walk through the doors into the world of this endearing fan favorite. The experience jet sets fans back to the 1980s, transporting them into the world of their favorite golden girls. There are parts of the restaurant that look like Blanche’s boudoir, the lanai, and their kitchen. There’s even a section designed as Shady Pines. The food is forgettable, even the cheesecake. But the drag queens make the place.
Then they closed the place for a few months and reopened it as Malibu Barbie’s Café. It was all pink and orange and aqua, with plenty of Barbie memorabilia on display and there was even an ice skating rink. It didn’t grab me the way The Golden Girls did, but the food was better. Both were the brainchild of BucketListers.com. This Golden Spoon is a tease, let’s see them come up with something really fun… and gay.
Taste of Recovery
Taste of Recovery is one of those foodie events, where you buy a ticket and roam from vendor to vendor sampling the wares. What made this event special were two things. The location: the American German Club in Lake Worth is uniquely set up for an event like this, no matter the weather. The entire area was covered by permanent tenting, there was adequate ventilation and there was enough room to move around and plenty of room for seating. Too often at these events, you must juggle your drink and your food. Picnic tables, what a concept! The second thing that made this event so spectacular was the quality of the food. I tasted a few things I didn’t care for, but everything was well prepared. Participating restaurants and beverage companies included Louie Bossi's Ristorante, Bar & Pizzeria; City Cellar Wine Bar & Grill; Elisabetta's Ristorante, Bar & Pizzeria; City Oyster & Sushi Bar; Rocco's Tacos & Tequila Bar; Grease Burger, Beer and Whiskey Bar; Little Moir’s Catering; Coca-Cola; The London Essence Co.; J & J Seafood Bar and Grill and AJ’s All-American Grill. The fact that there was no alcohol served (it was Taste of Recovery, after all) also meant that folks were well-behaved and thoughtful. It was a most enjoyable afternoon.
Papageno’s Wine & Provisions
1201 N. Federal, Fort Lauderdale
561-862-9093
papagenoswap.com
For the first time, an LGBTQ retail store is being awarded a Golden Spoon. Papageno’s Wine & Provisions prominently features LGBT-owned and friendly businesses. These include Kylie Minogue wines, Fruition “Big Gay” chocolate bar, Wooden Table Baking Company cookies, Shaquanda’s hot sauces, Rancho Gordo heirloom beans, OmNom caramel pride chocolate bar, Rupen’s cooking sauces, Early Bird granola, Lindera Farms’ vinegars, Wackym’s Kitchen cookies, and many other great LGBTQ+ business owners who are trying to make a difference. Papageno’s Wine & Provisions is all about celebrating the producers of amazing food and wine. Marco Gomez and Douglas Haines, the couple who own and operate the business are quick to say, “We are a small business that celebrates small businesses.”
If you’ve not been to Papageno’s, you owe yourself a visit. It is a foodie’s paradise! With 2,400 square feet of tables and shelves brimming with gourmet products and samples to try.
