The Downtown Dream Team
Mitch’s Downtown Bagel Café, 540 N Andrews Ave., 754.779.7599, mitchsdowntown.com
Father and son duo Mitch and Adam Shidlofsky recently opened the hip restaurant specializing in bagel and deli items. Mitch has been in the bagel business for 30 years and has developed a relationship with New York’s iconic Carnegie Deli; diners can enjoy their pastrami, corned beef and hot dogs. In addition, the menu includes unique items such as the S’mores French Toast (stuffed with marshmallow and chocolate drizzle, topped with cinnamon toast crunch and cinnamon) and the Big Papa Sandwich (Carnegie Deli corned beef and pastrami topped with Thousand Island dressing and coleslaw served with a choice of potato salad, macaroni salad, cucumber salad or coleslaw, available via wrap, bread or bagel).
Top Tapas
American Tapas Bar, 2724 E Commercial Blvd., 954.765.6352, americantapasbar.com
They’ve got live music every night and American-style tapas – a great combination for a social night out. Red, white and blue sharing plates include shrimp n’ grits, goat cheese croquettes topped with guava, filet mignon sliders, lobster and truffle mac n’ cheese, and peel-and-eat Old Bay shrimp. Not into sharing? They also have main courses like filet mignon, snapper filet and seafood boil (snow crab clusters, shrimp, clams, andouille sausage, red potatoes and corn-on-the-cob).
A Bronx Tale
Patrizia’s of NYC, 3300 NE 32nd St., 954.777.6880, patrizias.com
It’s been featured in the New York Post and on the Food Network, and Patrizia’s of NYC lives up to the hype. The family-owned restaurant was founded in the Bronx in the early ’90s; this location is one of the few to open outside the Big Apple. Menu items include Shrimp Oreganata (seasoned breadcrumbs in a white wine garlic sauce) and Chicken Scarpariello (boneless breaded chicken, mushrooms, hot and sweet peppers and garlic).
