Warren Redlich – Page 445

A Problem With ZocDoc

Recently I found a pretty cool website, ZocDoc.com. You put in a little information and the site helps you find doctors near you who take your insurance.
The site also appears to allow you to schedule an appointment online. And there’s the fly in the ointment. Too good to be true? Maybe. Despite the imperfect experience I’m about to describe, I like ZocDoc’s website very much and intend to continue using it myself.

The above image shows what are supposed to be the available appointments this week for a highly regarded hand surgeon. Who apparently has lots of free time on his hands (excuse the pun).
After an attack by a particularly aggressive penguin (okay maybe it was just a careless car door incident), I made an appointment this weekend for Wednesday at 4:15 pm. I was not surprised when I got a call from the doctor’s office this (Monday) morning that the appointment time was “invalid.” Credit to Boca Raton Orthopedic Group that they actually got me a better time.
Knowing something about creating websites, I understand that it ain’t easy to get something like this working. But ZocDoc has ample funding, so they should get it fixed quickly and in the meantime warn users that the appointment they make may not be valid. -Update- ZocDoc actually called me this morning and assured me they’d look into this and get it fixed. Credit to them for being on top of things and for monitoring what’s being said on the web about them.
For other criticism of ZocDoc, see for example:
BetaBeat: ZocDoc Customer Support Problems
And from a competitor (grain of salt?): DxTopDoc – ZocDoc problems
ZocDoc is still worth a look if you need to find a doctor. I will certainly use it again.

Picanha Brazil on 441

Today for an early lunch I tried Picanha Brazil, a buffet restaurant on the west side of 441 between Sandalfoot and Judge Winikoff.

There’s plenty of room inside, seating maybe 100 or more.

The buffet has variety, including not just Brazilian but also Greek (grape leaves, tabouleh) and other hints.

The name Picanha translates to “top sirloin”, though it might be a more general reference to meat. Fitting with that there are several meat options from beef to pork.

I loaded my plate with as much as I could.

It was an excellent meal. Great choices and flavors. My favorite was a chicken dish that almost seemed Indian. One of the salads had fresh strawberries in it.
One caution for gringos – the place seems geared to Brazilians. There are TVs playing Brazilian shows. I heard a lot of conversation that I’m guessing was in Portuguese. I speak Spanish and it wasn’t Spanish.
Not all dishes are clearly marked, but the ones that are have signs in English.
There’s a window behind the meats labeled Churrasco. You might be able to get meat hot off the grill there but I couldn’t tell and my plate was full enough. -Update- On a return visit for dinner they had about six different kinds of grilled meat that they slice for you. Choices include strip steak, rib meat (delicious), sausage and more.
It’s priced by the pound. My plate weighed 1.44 pounds. Tip was added on automatically and my total was just over $12. On a normal day I’d probably eat less and it would come in less than $10.
On return visit I see that the prices range from $6.90 to $10.90 per pound. Most things are $8.90/pound or less. The $10.90 is for Picanha Grill to go which might mean fresh grilled items.

Election Results – Primaries and Other Races

The election results for August 14, 2012 are almost completely in. For West Boca, perhaps the biggest race – and maybe the closest – was the GOP primary for State Senate district 25. With 99% of precincts reporting it looks like Melanie Peterson won with just short of 51% (8270 votes) over Geoff Sommers with just over 49% (8018). Credit to Ms. Peterson, who showed more substance in the face of heavy spending by Sommers and a barrage of attack mail. She moves on to the November election against Democrat Joseph Abruzzo.
In another State Senate GOP primary on the edge of West Boca, establishment figure Ellyn Bogdanoff handily defeated Tea Party favorite Mike Lameyer.
On the Democratic side, Kevin Rader defeated Steve Perman for the State Representative seat for district 81, which includes West Boca. He faces Republican James Ryan O’Hara in the November election.
For our County Commission race (Seat number 5), Mary Lou Berger firmly won a 3-way primary, getting over 60% of the vote. She will be on the ballot against Republican Paul Tocker in a few months.
–For Full County results see: Palm Beach County August 2012 election results.
In the US Senate primaries, Connie Mack won the GOP nomination and Bill Nelson won on the Democratic side. Voters can choose between them in the general election.
In the non-partisan judge races, Circuit Judge Timothy McCarthy won with over 60% of the vote against Jody Lane. Ron Alvarez appears to have held his judgeship against Jaimie Goodman, but it’s a close one and not all the votes have been counted. James Martz defeated Margherita Downey and County Judges Peter Evans held his position and Edward Garrison becomes a judge again at the County Court level in a contest for an open seat.
Sheriff Ric Bradshaw and Appraiser Gary Nikolits won overwhelmingly with nearly 80% and just over 70%, respectively, of the vote.
Sharon Bock easily held onto her position as Circuit Clerk and Susan Bucher did the same as Supervisor of Elections.

Primary Voting Tuesday August 14th

There are a number of party primary and non-partisan elections tomorrow. Please make sure you vote. Even if you are not registered in a party, you can vote in the non-partisan elections.
Here are some helpful links:
Polling Places
West Boca Precincts start around precinct 5108 and a big group starts at 5128.
Sample Ballot
Key races for everyone include several judgeships. Both Timothy McCarthy (Circuit Court Group 2) and Peter Evans (County Court Group 4) had some fairly negative ratings from the Palm Beach County Bar Association. Some would say that’s a good reason for voting someone else in.
We’ve discussed the Property Appraiser race in the last few weeks.
For Republicans, the most prominent primary is the US Senate race. Connie Mack has shown himself to be a real reformer in his stint in the House. One big concern is auditing the Federal Reserve and Mack is on board. His main opponent, Dave Weldon, talks about entitlement reform but in his time in the House he voted for many of the programs that are devastating the federal budget now. We’ve seen a lot of nasty negative advertising against Mack and it looks like dirty politics. I met Weldon recently and he seems like a good guy but it’s not clear if there’s any substance.
Also for the GOP, Melanie Peterson and Geoff Sommers square off in a primary. Two good people. Sommers appears to have better fundraising. Peterson is stronger on substance. Peterson has also been targeted for nasty negative mailings which are formatted an awful lot like the mailings coming from Sommers. One has to wonder if Sommers is playing games, but he is a personable guy. Peterson also responded to our West Boca questions. Sommers did not.
On the Democrat side, incumbent Steve Perman faces a primary from Kevin Rader. Perman is a pleasant guy we see a lot in West Boca. He did respond to one of our West Boca questions. Rader has not responded to us, and we have yet to see him anywhere. The winner will face James Ryan O’Hara in the general election in November.

Le Macaron at Boca Grove

Update: Le Macaron has closed, expected to reopen as Tulipe Cafe, a French bakery.
Le Macaron is very new in the Boca Grove plaza, between Bonefish Grill and Kyojin Buffet.

The main attraction is a diverse assortment of “Macaron”, a pastry that is vaguely like an Oreo, but the cookie part is softer and lighter, with very rich fillings.

There are about 20 varieties of Macaron, if not more.
in addition there are chocolates, croissants, and gelato.

Four of us had 6 of the Macaron, 3 chocolates and some gelato – all delicious. Next time we have to try the croissants.
I spoke briefly with the owner and his family. They moved here from Marseilles a few months ago, a big life change. We hope they do well.
One last look at the Macaron: