Featured Restaurants

The idea hatched by Adam August and Nick Hicks—to open a cookie shop—was missing one significant ingredient: a baker. But August sent emails to a handful of candidates, and he got a hit he never expected: Max Santiago, the award-winning executive pastry chef of several notable five-star hotels. Flash-forward and Batch, The Cookie Company is

Where: Shoppes at Village Pointe, 5970 SW 18th St., Boca Raton Phone: 561.393.5888 Website: saikoboca.com   [image_with_text image=”24251″] Time to expand: The Boca market had been good to New York City transplants Jason Zheng and Tina Wang. The husband-and-wife restaurateurs found success with Yakitori Sake House, a mainstay in east Boca since 2010. But expansion

Don’t ask Niven Patel to categorize the food he cooks. Whether it’s Indian or Italian, he’ll offer the same response every time. “There’s no fancy category to put us in,” he says. “What we do is make really good food that we like to eat. It’s that simple. It’s about producing quality and approachable food.”

Toss the turkey and ban the ham. The South Florida culinary landscape is too broad to stick to the staples during the holidays. With the wide variety of restaurants and renowned chefs in South Florida, you have plenty of opportunities to indulge in out-of-the-box dishes and take a break from the parade of standard holiday

Where: 250 N. Pompano Beach Blvd., Pompano Beach Phone: 954.366.3768 Website: oceanicpompano.com     Back to the Future: The late-summer opening of Oceanic—a 20,000-square-foot architectural marvel overlooking the Atlantic—not only delivered destination dining to revitalized Pompano Beach Fishing Village but also brought the culinary journey for owners Lou and Joy Moshakos full circle.   Opportunity

By his own admission, the sentiment never was at the forefront of his mind. But nearly two years after an accident sent him to a trauma center in Miami for more than 50 days, Ralph Pagano understands as well as anyone that life can change in a flash. The chef/restaurateur whose “Naked” titles made him

Where: 817 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale; 15 NE Second Ave., Delray Beach Phone: 954.530.1188 (Lauderdale); 561.865.5350 (Delray) Website: elcaminoftlauderdale.com; elcaminodelray.com   Let’s play two: The consistent buzz around El Camino in Delray Beach prompted Modern Restaurant Group—led by Brian Albe, Brandon Belluscio and Anthony Pizzo—to double up on its Mexican soul food concept.

Michael Schwartz might be one of Miami’s busiest chefs. The James Beard Award-winner runs six restaurant concepts across the country, some of which include multiple locations. There’s his namesake neighborhood bistro, Michael’s Genuine Food & Drink, in the Miami Design District, which recently expanded to Cleveland. He also serves eclectic pizzas at Harry’s Pizzeria in

Preparing paella for hundreds on a Friday night certainly sounds more daunting than helping his mother and grandmother stage the same meal for family in Ponce, Puerto Rico. But some aspects of Roberto Santiago’s childhood paella experience continue to resonate—namely, the passion that the executive chef at Shooters Waterfront has for this enduring dish. It’s

Where: 2568 E. Sunrise Blvd., The Galleria at Fort Lauderdale Phone: 754.755.9463 Website: chwinery.com [image_with_text image=”22935″ title=”Bigger and Better”] The 10th Florida location for the ever-expanding food and wine franchise is the largest Cooper’s Hawk yet, a 17,000-square-foot space at The Galleria that can accommodate up to 530 people. A sprawling Napa-inspired tasting room sets

It started with one of the random conversations that partner/corporate culinary director Lisabet Summa has enjoyed countless times with Big Time Restaurant Group partner/co-founder Todd Herbst. Summa was sharing the story behind a first name that’s been butchered much of her life, often as “Lisa Beth” or “Eliza Bet.” Summa’s half-Italian father had a different

When the tropical temperatures and humidity become too much, there’s a place in Coconut Creek to cool off with some cold treats. Jadyn’s Ice Cream Emporium, which opened in July, transports patrons to Artic climates with wall art featuring a vast snowscape with penguins. At the family business run by Lenore Green with her daughter,