We eat lunch at Chow Thai about once a month and we like it. The interior design is pleasant but maybe a touch busy.
The lunch comes with soup and salad. Today’s soup is chicken and rice. Great flavor with a robust broth and strong hints of ginger.
Main courses we ordered today were sweet and sour chicken …
And shrimp red curry …
We both ordered edamame instead of fried wonton for an extra dollar. Both meals were very good. The shrimp could have had more vegetables with it but there was enough shrimp. The rice was also a little dry. But these are minor quibbles about an otherwise nice meal.
Rancheritos de Boca is a Colombian restaurant and bakery in the Somerset Shoppes plaza at the northeast corner of Lyons and Glades (map at bottom). It was recommended by a friend from Colombia and I owe him now. The prices are very reasonable, especially for appetizers. An empanada is only $1, and most others are under $5 or even $3. Entrees are closer to $10. The arepa appetizer, with sweet cornbread and cheese, was not the best thing for a low carb diet but well worth it. Kids will love it. The interior is nothing special but it was clean.
Lemonade was very tart, great for adults but not what kids expect. We also ordered the shrimp ceviche,
The ceviche came with 4 shrimp in a soupy salsa that was a little spicy. The empanada was small, tasty, and came with a wicked spicy salsa on the side. We also ordered a chicken entree that was a special. It came with a relatively plain salad. The chicken was wonderful, thin with mushrooms, onions and what seemed like capers, a touch of paprika, plus a nice side of vegetables.
For dessert we tried cuatro leches and a caramel flan.
The flan was good but the cuatro leches was outstanding. This was a truly excellent meal for a very reasonable price. Also worth noting is excellent reviews on Urban Spoon. Here’s the map:
We stopped today at Sushi Yama in a plaza on the southwest corner of Palmetto and Powerline. We had bento boxes for lunch – #2 sashimi:
and #6 roll combo:
At $10.95, each came with a tasty shumai dumpling with sprouts, and a small piece of cake, plus choice of miso soup or salad. Service was very quick. The sashimi bento had 12 pieces, 3 each of four kinds of fish. It was filling. The roll combo bento had a California roll, salmon roll, and a “hot tuna sandwich” which is really a form of spicy tuna roll. This was a lot of food. The interior is pleasant, though it seemed a little dark after coming inside from a sunny day. we have heard from friends that kids like eating in the tatami rooms. We’ll have to try that sometime. Overall this was a better than average meal and we will be back.
Anthony’s is in the Shops at Boca Grove. The pizza is excellent. There aren’t a lot of other choices but I’m a big fan of their broccoli rabe and sausage. I ask for it with less sausage and more vegetable.
As for the pizza, it’s medium thickness. The standard pie comes with tender pieces of tomato. The cheese has great flavor without being overwhelmed with too much of it. On the other hand, some might order extra cheese because it’s so good. The pizza is served on a rack that holds it about a foot over the table. A small is barely enough for two adults and two young kids. If you’re bigger eaters order a large. We had ricotta and meatball on half and that was also delicious. We eat at Anthony’s about once a month and we will keep coming. The picture below show the interior but the photographer (okay me) did a poor job with lighting.
One final note – during snowbird season it can get very busy. Now that the season is over it’s not so crazy.
Last night we had dinner at Davito’s Italian Restaurant in the Boca Greens plaza. The name is a blend of the first names of the two founders, David and Vito. We’ve been to Davito’s several times now and like it. Sometimes it can be a little crowded but last night was not bad. Perhaps the snowbird season is finally behind us. Why do we like Davito’s so much? There are a number of positives:
The food is very good. We don’t like all the dishes – some think the lasagna should be more layered with pasta for example (but I like it the way it is) – but we have all found things we like.
It has a nice atmosphere even though it’s in a strip mall. The dining area is a rectangular room, nearly square, with a bar and a couple of quiet TVs at one end and an opening to the kitchen at the end of the bar.
The staff are helpful and attentive. Maurice was our waiter last night and he listened well, looked out for the kids, and our drinks were refilled before we had to ask.
They have a kids menu and our kids like it. It might seem like a small thing but West Boca is a family-oriented community. Crayons give the kids something to do and that makes the meal better for everyone. Plus it helps our wallets that we can order something reasonably priced for them.
Location – They chose a good spot, halfway between Glades and Yamato on the west side of 441. The plaza has a lot going on but we’ve never had trouble finding parking. It probably helps that there’s a daycare on one side and a pool supply store on the other, both of which are closed when the dinner rush hits.
So, for dinner last night one dish we had was a solid Fettuccine Alfredo. Maybe not the best Alfredo sauce ever, but it had character. The other dish was Veal Cleopatra, which comes with eggplant, tomatoes, spinach and mozzarella. It was outstanding. The veal was cooked just right, and it all came together well. It came with a choice of pasta or vegetable – I chose vegetables cooked with garlic and oil and the two dishes together were quite colorful. Shortly after we sat down, we were given a bread basket with plain rolls, garlic rolls, and some bruschetta as well. Our meals came with soup or salad. The minestrone not only tasted but felt warm, with a robust broth. The chick peas were an interesting touch you don’t always see. We also had a tomato salad appetizer with red onion and so much basil it seemed like lettuce. The kids had kid pasta dishes and seemed quite happy with them.
