Austin Mahone Meets and Greets West Boca

Update: We have a new video with both Austin Mahone and interviews with local fans from West Boca High, Spanish River High, and Olympic Heights High as well.

Lexi Segal from West Boca High sent us this picture of her with Mahone:
segal-mahone


Copyright Warren Redlich  © 2015. Media welcome to use all images and video. Please credit @WestBocaNews or WestBocaNews.com
Copyright Warren Redlich © 2015. Media welcome to use all images and video. Please credit @WestBocaNews or WestBocaNews.com

Thanks to readers we were tipped off that pop superstar Austin Mahone would be appearing at the Mobil and 7/11 gas station and convenience store on the corner of Glades and Boca Rio. He showed up and we caught just a bit of him on video.

There were well over 100 fans waiting to see him, mostly teenage girls. We talked to a few from local high schools including West Boca, Spanish River and Olympic Heights and we will post a video with that later on.
It appears that Mahone has done some kind of endorsement deal with 7/11 related to Slurpees, which were handed out to the fans who were waiting and you can see them in the photo at the top of the article.
When Mahone arrived the crowd did cheer loudly for him. We caught his arrival in a series of photos:
Copyright Warren Redlich 2015.
Copyright Warren Redlich 2015.

Copyright Warren Redlich 2015
Copyright Warren Redlich 2015

Copyright Warren Redlich 2015
Copyright Warren Redlich 2015

Copyright Warren Redlich 2015
Copyright Warren Redlich 2015

As we understand it, Mahone’s fan club member received a tweet announcing this event, along with the following image:
mahone-slurpee-flyer
We will post a follow-up story with those interviews and more video later this evening or tomorrow.

West Boca Man Killed in Flaming Car Accident

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Hernando “Joe” Nieto (46) has been identified as the man who was killed in an early-morning pickup truck fire. The accident occurred on Powerline Road just south of the county line in Deerfield Beach.
Mr. Nieto’s reported address is in the Banyan Lake community off Boca Rio, only a couple miles from the accident location. The accident led police to block southbound travel on Powerline from SW 18th for several hours.

Image from Google
Image from Google

From Broward Sheriff’s Office:

An early morning crash in Deerfield Beach left one man dead after his car jumped the curb and struck a tree in the median, bursting into flames.
Broward Sheriff’s Office Communications received the call around 3 a.m. Hernando Nieto was heading north in the 600 block of Powerline Road when he somehow lost control of the vehicle causing the accident. A visual inspection of Nieto’s black pickup and the scene revealed no signs that any other vehicles were involved in the crash. Nieto was unable to escape the burning vehicle.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue extinguished the fire and pronounced him dead at the scene.
BSO Traffic Homicide detectives are investigating.

Photo from BSO
Photo from BSO

We see no meaningful criminal history for Mr. Nieto in the three counties.

Review: Four Seasons in Lakeside Centre

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Maybe it’s a bad idea to review a lesser restaurant after going to a great one the night before.
Sunday four of us went to the new Four Seasons in Lakeside Centre, on the south side of Glades Road just west of Boca Rio and the Turnpike. The menu focuses on a prix fixe three course meal for about $25. There’s an early bird option at $22 if you order before 6 pm and pay cash. We arrived at 6 and the place was more than half-full with an older crowd.
It feels small inside but not crowded overall. When you walk in the front door you’re practically on top of the first table. It also seemed a bit noisy due to the acoustics.
4-seasons-interior
For the first course we had the split pea soup (not pictured) and the Caesar Salad.
4-seasons-caesar
For entrees the author had a seafood linguine dish with white sauce (oil and garlic). It was a lot of food.
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One companion had the Chicken Parmesan.
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Another had the Tilapia.
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For desserts we had chocolate cake and cheesecake.
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4-seasons-chocolate-cake
The food mostly photographed well. It’s a pretty good deal considering the amount of food you get for the price. However it’s not for foodies or anyone who just ate at a place that costs twice as much.

Armadillo Café now open in Piccadilly Square

Update: Armadillo Café closed and was replaced (in May of 2016) by Boca Italiana.
armadillo-jewelers
Armadillo Café is now open for business, in the Piccadilly Square plaza on the north side of Glades Road near Boca Rio and the Turnpike. It’s on the right in the photo above. We went there Saturday night and enjoyed a wonderful meal.
The interior is pleasant with good spacing between the tables and nice artwork on the walls. As usual you can click on any photo for a larger image.
armadillo-interior1
Chef Kevin McCarthy has a long history with his Armadillo line of restaurants dating back over 15 years to the original location in Davie. When we first wrote that it was coming we heard from quite a few of his old fans.

Chef Kevin McCarthy
Chef Kevin McCarthy

We started with a Tequila Shrimp appetizer. It comes with three shrimp served on corncakes with pico de gallo. There was only one left for the photo by the time the camera was ready.
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Next up we had the outstanding Gorgonzola Salad. We liked everything but this was great, with fresh greens, a perfect dressing, and crunchy onion straws.
gorgonzola-salad
For entrees this author had the Pan Seared Yellowtail Snapper. The fish was mild and served as a great base for the flavorful accompaniments including mushrooms, roasted peppers and more.
snapper
My companion had the Skirt Steak which was served with asparagus and mashed potatoes. This was a great piece of meat, and it was also a lot of food. We had to take some home and the leftovers were great the next day as well.
steak-asparagus
The owner sent us a better picture of the steak with different accompaniments, as my shot didn’t come out that well. [Note: On reading the review my companion made a point of saying how delicious the steak was.]
armadillo-steak2
We went crazy with dessert and had Crème brûlée (not pictured), Pecan Pie, and Mango Sorbet. Crème brûlée is one of my favorite desserts and this was really well done, both in taste and texture. The Pecan Pie was good, though we’d like to see them try it served warm with ice cream (or vanilla bean sorbet).
pecan-pie
The Mango Sorbet was also delicious, allowing the flavor of the fruit to come through.
mango-sorbet
The owner sent us pictures of a few other dishes we hope to try next time, including Smoked Duck Quesadillas and the Black and White Soup (black bean and jalapeno cheese).
armadillo-quesadillas
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We’re happy to have this new addition to the West Boca restaurant scene. Considering the quality, the pricing is quite reasonable with entrees mostly in the mid-$20 range.

Armadillo Cafe Coming to West Boca

arrmadillo-front1
The former Red Lantern Chinese restaurant closed quietly several months ago. In its place we’ve learned Armadillo Cafe is coming soon to Piccadilly Square.
Piccadilly Square is on the north side of Glades Road just west of the Turnpike and the north end of Boca Rio Road.

We met with chef Kevin McCarthy and the plaza owners. They’re very excited. McCarthy previously ran the Armadillo Cafe in Davie, as well as Armadillo Beach in Dania Beach. They’re already hearing from past customers eager to visit the new place.
We saw a copy of the old menu from Armadillo Beach. Judging by that and our conversation we expect entree prices to start near or over $20 and possibly reach into $40 territory. Look for a southwest style with premium ingredients.
The plaza is also home to our long-time sponsor, International Jeweler’s Exchange.
armadillo-jewelers
We don’t have a definite date yet but it may open in as little as two weeks. Get your taste buds ready!
More news will come soon from Piccadilly Square, but they weren’t ready to go into great detail on that yet.