441 – Page 2 – West Boca News

Benihana Coming to Westwinds of Boca

We’ve heard rumors for years now and it’s finally true. Benihana is coming to Westwinds of Boca (aka the Home Depot plaza) on the southeast corner of 441 and Glades. Originally we heard this what was going into the new building that now has Pei Wei and a few other stores.

The old Denny’s; photo by Warren Redlich

While we heard all those rumors, people also kept asking us “what’s going on with the Denny’s building.” Now we have the answer. There is a proposal pending before the county, titled “Benihana at Festival Shoppes of Boca Raton” (the old name of Westwinds). The essence of the plan:

The Applicant is requesting to reconfigure the Site Plan and add square footage. The Preliminary Site Plan indicates the existing Type II Restaurant (3,154 sq. ft.) to be demolished and a new (8,060 sq. ft.) restaurant to be constructed.

The zoning commission has scheduled a hearing for December 4th, and then it will go in front of the County Commissioners on January 7th. Sometimes these dates get pushed back, but it appears to be coming soon. One reader even tells us she saw workers at the building.
There are already a couple of Japanese steak houses in West Boca, with Tempura House at Clint Moore & 441, and Saito’s at Lyons and Glades. Benihana is may be a step up in quality, but we’ll see if and when they open.

Benihana to replace Denny’s in Westwinds of Boca, southeast corner of Glades and 441; image and map data by Google.

Overall the parking in that plaza can be a nightmare, though the worst of it is closer to Home Depot and Publix. Doubling the size of this building will bring in a lot more cars, but we think there’s room for it. Plus we’re excited to try it.
It’s always a good sign for the local economy when businesses want to open and expand.
The full zoning application is below:
[gview file=”https://westbocanews.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1990-00024DOA-2015-01723_Benihana-at-Festival-Shoppes-of-Boca-Raton.pdf”]

Review: Mozzarita Bar on Clint Moore

Mozzarita Bar is a small new restaurant and shop in The Reserve plaza at Clint Moore and 441. It’s in the building along Clint Moore between Starbucks and It’s All Greek on one side and Fit Foodz Cafe on the other.
We met Donato on our visit. We didn’t meet Vito but we found this picture of the two of them on their Facebook page:

Vito has been making cheese for decades. About 20 years ago he started making it in Pompano Beach and now they’re trying out a restaurant model for his creations. It’s small inside with maybe six tables inside and a few more outside.

The focus is cheese, especially variations of mozzarella. Americans usually think of mozzarella on pizza but here it’s fresh and mostly served on sandwiches and in salads. There are three main varieties served at Mozzarita Bar. The main one seems to be “Fiordilatte Mozzarella” aka Fior di Latte, which is made from cow’s milk and is the closest to what you get on pizza. We had this on a Panino Caprese (sandwich):

The next most common is Bufala, made from the milk of Water Buffalo. We did not try that but we did try the Straciatella Salad which uses Straciatella di bufala, also made from buffalo milk.

Straciatella salad with beets and greens

Everything we ate was delicious. While not outrageously expensive it’s certainly not cheap. You’re paying for high quality fresh gourmet cheeses and appropriate accompaniments. We would love to see them add some olives to the menu.
The menu is below. The Speciali Di Vito section appears to be a menu mistake – only one of the specials was available the day we visited – the Mozzarella Burger (no beef – the burger is made from cheese). They do not intend to have all three of those items available daily and the menu was not clear about that.

Now Open: Lime Fresh in Shadowood.

There are two new restaurants up and running in West Boca. First up, as we reported last year the new Lime Fresh Mexican Grill has finally opened in Shadowood, next to Sybarite Pig. Back in 2012 we reviewed the Lime Fresh in Promenade and we liked it.
We like the new one too. We’ll start with the interior and more importantly, the exterior. They have a large outdoor seating area that is covered and should be particularly nice once the heat of summer has passed.

Inside it has a similar color scheme and seating as the one in Promenade.

A bit like Tijuana Flats in Mission Bay, there is a sauce bar but it’s noticeably different. There are fewer choices but it’s not just sauces. We especially like the bean thing, and the fresh cilantro is another nice option. Warning: The habanero sauce is very hot.

We only tried a couple dishes. First up was the steak and cheese taco.

Next we tried the steak “Nudie Burrito”, which is basically the inside of a burrito without the tortilla, similar to the Norrito Bowl at Tijuana Flats.

Overall we like Lime Fresh. You might get more food for your money at Tijuana Flats. But you get enough at Lime Fresh. Quantity isn’t everything and we like the quality of the meat at Lime Fresh just a little better. That could be a matter of taste. Chipotle is also nearby and has its fans as well.
Lime Fresh prides themselves on getting the food out fast and they delivered on that. The service is very quick. Overall West Boca is lucky to have three good Mexican options at Glades and 441.

New Habitat Store Opening on Yamato

Former CVS building on northwest corner of 441 and Yamato; image by Google.

The Sun-Sentinel‘s Marci Shatzman reports that a new store from Habitat for Humanity will be opening in the small plaza on the north side of Yamato just west of 441.

The plaza currently has a Sherwin-Williams paint store along with a pre-school that is also one of the locations for the Quality Swimming school.

Habitat for Humanity ReStores are nonprofit home improvement stores and donation centers that sell new and gently used furniture, home accessories, building materials, and appliances to the public at a fraction of the retail price.

ReStores are already in our area, with one on Dixie Highway in East Boca and another on Federal Highway in Delray. The new store on Yamato will be, like those two, owned and operated by the Habitat affiliate for South Palm Beach County.
The store is expected to open August 22nd though it may not yet be fully stocked. Hours will be from 10 to 6, 6 days a week (closed on Monday).

Car vs. Pole on US-441: Video and Photos

All photos and video copyright Warren Redlich, West Boca News. Media may use if credit given to WestBocaNews.com or @WestBocaNews.

This afternoon we were alerted to an accident on 441 south of Kimberly Blvd, with indications that a car had hit a pole and the pole was on the roof of the car.
We were able to get to the scene for photos and video. At top is a wide angle view of the scene looking toward the south at northbound traffic. The car apparently hit one of the light poles on the northbound side of the road, well off the roadway. Below is a somewhat closer look at the area.
The Palm Beach Sheriff and FPL were both on scene. Fire Rescue had already left.

There was substantial damage to the car, including both the front end and the roof.

The pole was dislodged from its base and you can see it laying on the ground below.

Our video from the scene is below. We did not hear any report of injuries one way or another.