Good Food! Best new bites, restaurants, events to put on your radar in Palm Beach County
We may have our favorite go-to restaurants, dishes and dining experiences. They’re like songs we play on repeat. But as tasty as an expected pop of flavor may be, undiscovered bites enjoyed at old-favorite restaurants can be just as delicious.
Case in point: Recently, I tried a couple of new-to-me dishes during a weekend lunch at one of my favorite Italian restaurants, Café Sapori in West Palm Beach.
An addictive arancini starter ($19) brought a batch of crispy orbs stuffed with Milanese-inspired risotto and mozzarella and served with a light red sauce for dipping.
A salad of fennel shavings, orange supremes and fava beans in citrus vinaigrette (finocchi e fave, $17) added bright, refreshing contrast to our crispy starters. Both dishes have become new favorites.
And I loved these new bites.
It’s also fun to try a classic, pub-grub starter — say, chicken wings — at a brand-new restaurant. Some of the tastiest bites I had at the days-old NiMo Coastal Mediterranean restaurant by Miami star chef Niven Patel in Tequesta were the za’atar chicken wings, served with tzatziki dipping sauce ($10 at happy hour, $17 at dinner). These wings were meaty and flavorful with herbaceous, tangy spices.
And it was at NiMo where I found a new obsession in the jalapeño labneh appetizer dip that’s topped with cucumbers and green beans ($15) and served with wood-fired pita. Tear into the oven-fresh, pillowy bread and sweep it through the dip, and you may understand why I’ll soon return for this simple starter. (More on my NiMo favorites coming soon.)
More new bites, experiences to put on your radar
Step aside, Cronut. Welcome, Pizza Danish.
Wellington pastry chef Anna Ross has been baking some eye-catching savory pastries at her Anna Bakes shop at the Candid Coffee café on Forest Hill Boulevard. “Pizza Danish” pastries, she calls them.
She tops layered and laminated croissant dough with homemade marinara, mozzarella, ricotta and Parmesan cheeses and mini pepperonis. The result is a thick, crispy-edged, Danish-sized pizza that’s beautifully golden on top.
Ross first made the pizza treat in late January for a weekend celebration of the shop’s first year in business.
“We originally made it for our 1-year anniversary ‘Birthday Bash’ because, typically, you have pizza at birthday parties,” she told me in an email this week. “It was such a hit with customers, we decided to keep it on the menu for February and March.”
Speaking of pastries, one of Ross’ favorite baking gadgets is one that helps keep her dough-work tight. She told me all about it in this 2022 story.
Anna Bakes is open daily from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 10120 Forest Hill Blvd., Suite 160, Wellington, 561-766-1742, CandidandAnnaBakes.com.
More cheese, please.
Pistache French bistro in downtown West Palm Beach is bringing back Raclette Night on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Granted, there’s nothing new about the rich, melted cheese that’s scraped atop simple vegetables and meats — in the Swiss and French Alpine regions, the tradition has been around for hundreds of years.
But it’s a tradition that’s renewed periodically at Pistache, where the cow’s-milk Raclette cheese is melted, scraped into small skillets and poured over your choice of veggie and/or meat base. You have three base options:
◾ The Savoyarde appetizer option ($20) includes fingerling potatoes, cornichons, pickled pearl onions and watercress.
◾ The Suisse entrée option ($37) includes fingerling potatoes, cornichons, pickled pearl onions, jambon de Paris, garlic sausage, saucisson sec, prosciutto di Parma and watercress.
◾ The Méditerranée vegetarian entrée option ($33) includes zucchini, grilled broccolini, marinated tomatoes and watercress.
Sweet note: Pistache chef Mike Burgio has added freshly baked Madeleines to the dessert menu. You can now order a basket of the cake-like cookies ($12) when they are available.
Dinner reservations are strongly suggested for Raclette Night and can be made on the restaurant’s website.
Pistache is at 101 N. Clematis St., West Palm Beach, 561-833-5090, PistacheWPB.com.
Kapow’s new omakase nights
The omakase wave continues to rise across Palm Beach County. The latest in the multi-course, chef’s choice, sushi-bar experience is happening at Kapow Noodle Bar in Boca Raton, where two dinner options are offered at the eight-seat omakase counter Wednesday through Sunday nights.
◾ There’s an eight-course, $85 option at 6 p.m. that includes a welcome sake.
◾ For those seeking a more extensive omakase experience, there’s a 12-course, $150 option at 8 p.m. that includes three sake pairings.
While the courses are decided by the chef, they can include bites such as A5 Wagyu in brown-butter miso, Japanese scallop with white truffle salt and aged bluefin tuna akami with dehydrated red miso.
Kapow is at 402 Plaza Real in Mizner Park, Boca Raton, 561-567-8828, KapowNoodleBar.com
The Square’s new Bellagio
The newest restaurant at The Square plaza in downtown West Palm Beach is also the oldest. Il Bellagio, an original CityPlace tenant that anchored a prime, fountain-view location for 23 years, reopened this week in a fancy new space just steps away (former Anthropologie space).
Management posted this announcement on the restaurant’s social media pages:
“The space is stunning and brand new, yet everything else, from the timeless Italian cuisine to the familiar staff you’ve grown to appreciate, remains unchanged, just as you remember it.”
Il Bellagio is 700 S. Rosemary Ave., 561-659-6160, IlBellagio.com.
LoLa 41’s new lunch
The Palm Beach bistro and sushi bar that celebrates the foods of the 41st parallel just rolled out a new lunch menu. Midday diners can expect a variety of small and large plates, handheld items, salads, sushi rolls and sides.
Menu highlights include fluffy steamed buns stuffed with a choice of Korean beef, Peking duck and crispy shrimp ($22-$25), wild mushroom fried rice ($24) and a bento box lunch with miso soup, a choice of rice, edamame or kimchi pickles, two pieces of sashimi or nigiri and one-half sushi roll ($30).
Lunch service is offered daily from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
LoLa 41 is at 290 Sunset Ave., Palm Beach, 561-599-5652, LoLa41.com.
Brunch with bottomless beats
Jupiter’s 1000 North waterfront restaurant is hosting a special prix-fixe brunch this Sunday (Feb. 25) starring DJ Adam Lipson.
The menu, which includes one entrée, one side dish, a seafood bar and bottomless drinks, is priced at $150 per person, plus tax and tip. Menu highlights: Nashville hot chicken and waffles, a vegan scramble, steak-and-eggs tartine, plus brunch cocktails that include prosecco, rosé, mimosas, Bellinis and bloody marys.
Sunday brunch reservations are strongly suggested, and a credit card is required to hold your reservation.
1000 North is at 1000 N. U.S. Hwy 1 in Jupiter, 561-570-1000, 1000North.com.
Hungry for more restaurant news?
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Liz Balmaseda is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. She covers the local food and dining beat. Follow her on Instagram and Post on Food Facebook. She can be reached by email at lbalmaseda@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Best restaurants, food, events in Jupiter, West Palm, Wellington, Boca
