#5 Mariposa (American Vintage)
Remember department store lunchrooms — Lord & Taylor’s Bird Cage (New York), Wanamaker’s Crystal Tea Room (Philadelphia); Macy’s Walnut Room (Chicago); The Hibiscus Tea Room in Burdines (Miami) ?? You can still experience that vibe at Mariposa, legacy of the Zodiac Room at Neiman’s Dallas flagship. Tucked away on the second floor of Boca’s Neiman Marcus, it has the sleek look of a museum restaurant – simple, contemporary, to the point. But salads and sandwiches like Tuna Melts are elegant throwbacks. Families (drawn by a great kids’ menu) and shoppers fill tables, munching on truffle fries and finger sandwiches. After placing your order, you’ll be served complimentary giant hot popover with strawberry butter! Salads include Seafood Louie, a worthwhile investment, with an overload of jumbo lump crabmeat and shrimp atop romaine, avocado, hard-cooked egg, radish, cucumber, tomato and mayonnaise-chili sauce-Worcestershire “Louis” dressing. The meaty NM Chicken Salad combines chicken chunks, mayo, fresh and sun-dried fruit, toasted almonds and shaved celery, set on mixed greens with lemon vinaigrette.
#4 Lynora’s Uptown Boca (Italian)
A daily Happy Hour surprise from 3-6 awaits you daily at Lynora’s Uptown, (Glades and 95th Ave. S) in “Uptown” Boca. The fabulous cocktails and numerous wine selections are 50% off. Save on evening dinner menu items such as: Caesar Salad with house-made dressing, and sea salt-rosemary Focaccia with house-made ricotta sea (add prosciutto for $5, so good!); Risotto Funghi with porcini and shitake mushrooms; Rustica spinach salad with gorgonzola, walnuts and blood orange glaze; Eggplant parm, drizzled with pesto; Italian Chop salad; Calamari Fritti; White Pepperoni pizza with fontina and mozz; and Piccante pie with pepperoni, salami, hot cherry peppers and mozz. Heartier entrees include P.E.I. Mussels in garlic oil or marinara, roasted under a glorious pillow of pizza dough; Linguine Carbonara with egg, prosciutto and parmigiana Reggiano; and delicious Cannelloni Al Forno, baked crepes filled with pork, beef, and spinach, broiled in rich béchamel sauce, surrounded by a ring of hearty Bolognese. (Dog-friendly patio)
Le Pistache, a French bistro with red banquettes and vintage tiled-floors is a West Palm fixture that has earned its large, loyal following. Executive chef Mike Burgio brought skills honed at Café Boulud. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding: Flavors here are complex and developed. Fresh-baked baguettes with sweet butter start dinner. Roasted Beet Salad of golden beets, baby carrots, herbed goat cheese, slivers of Honeycrisp apple, pistachios and watercress, are tossed with perfect tarragon vinaigrette. Classic French Onion Soup is gratinéed with Gruyer. Escargot are in a Burgundy butter sauce.; Steak Tartare is hand cut, served with a quail egg. Hand-chopped Salmon Tartare is folded with charred pineapple, avocado and jalapeño. An excellent Beef Bourguignon, a traditional beef and Burgundy wine stew of braised short rib with pearl onions, roasted button mushrooms and lardons (bacon chunks), is a popular favorite. Duck Lyonnaise is a crispy duck confit served with chicken liver, lardons, a poached egg, and Frisée salad dressed in sherry vinaigrette. Paris déjà vu! Perfectly-char-grilled center Strip Steak Frites with herb butter, comes with authentic, hand-cut, double-fried fries. And from Alsace province, a Pork Schnitzel a la Holstein, is a 10-oz. bone-in chop topped with capers, anchovy and fried egg. Finish with Pistache Profiteroles — vanilla ice cream-filled puffs generously topped with warm dark chocolate and toasted almonds!
(American Fusion) Don’t scratch your head and try to remember when you read about Oceano in these pages. You didn’t. After hearing about this curated, James Beard-nominated, tiny Lantana-based bastion of eclectic farm-to-table cuisine, we had to go. And when we did, we learned that a week later, the restaurant was closing to move to Lake Worth Beach’s Lucerne Avenue. A few weeks later, Oceano Kitchen was up and running (we’ll provide an in-depth look at OK 2.0 this year.) The precision of Oceano Kitchen’s simplistic execution and its commitment to quality and flavor convinced us it had to be in the Top Ten. The menu changes every day, so we can’t tell you what will be on it. Typically, it offers a raw fish crudo or ceviche; a soup and/or salad; a pasta; and several entrees. Forget everything you know about the structure of a meal; each dish (meant for sharing) comes out whenever it’s ready, typically the cold before the hot. It’s cash only, doesn’t alter preparation, and is an adventure. Recent menu: French Onion Soup with sherry and Gruyere cheese; marinated mussels with garlic mayonnaise and Sullivan St. bread; Salad of roasted pear, burrata, arugula, speck (bacon), pistachio; Pork Belly “porchetta” with polenta, salsa verde and tomato; Mafaldine (wide ribbon pasta) with Korean-seasoned Bolognese and bok choy; blue crab cake with pickled fennel, blood orange and clam butter; and prime ribeye, frites and charred onion agrodolce (sweet and sour). Two desserts nightly might be Banana Cake with passionfruit ganache and fudge sauce; and Raspberry-Apple & Almond Tart with strawberry sorbet.
Red Pine on the ground floor of One Town Center was created by Mitchell Robbins, owner of The Farmers Table and the Wyndham hotel. Red Pine brings us authentic Chinese recipes using quality ingredients, thanks to a stand-out Chinese menu developed with Kings County Imperial of Brooklyn and the Lower East Side. The Red Pine Pork Soup Dumplings are outstanding, but don’t put Shanghai specialty into your soup. It’s a fat, round dumpling filled with soup surrounding a meat center. Be prepared to lean forward and slurp out some soup with every bite. Scallion Pancakes are light, tasty and not oily; dip them in the cinnamon chili oil. Shrimp Toast with a ginger soy dip and Sticky Spare Ribs with hoisin soy glaze never disappoint. Crispy Hong Kong Style Noodles; Dan Dan Noodles with chili peanut sauce; Lobster Fried rice; and especially Dry Wok Green Beans (wok-charred long beans with sautéed ground Duroc pork, chili pepper, garlic and a sweet soy-based sauce) never disappoint. “Big Wok” standouts: Crispy Garlic Chicken (organic half- chicken roasted with garlic and onion crunchies, with broccoli and honey soy sauce); delicious Mu Shu with roasted pork or Peking duck confit; and crispy Shrimp & Walnuts in a lemon ginger sauce. Most dramatic entrée: Spice-Braised Short Rib, 18 oz. double-boneless rib (serves 2-3) with crispy Szechuan onions and Chinese greens. Peking Duck is authentically served with mu shu pancakes, lettuce cups, hoisin sauce, house-made plum sauce, scallions, cucumbers and pickled daikon radish. Finish with subtle house-made ice cream: black sesame, green matcha, or brown sugar milk tea, a calm finish to savory feast.
