In a slow week in reviews for South Florida, Jodi Mailander Farrell of The Miami Herald lusts over the sweets at Café Bonjour in South Miami:
"Unlike the generic afterthoughts that appear on many Miami restaurant menus, the desserts at Café Bonjour are airy, sugar woven masterpieces that seemingly float above their plates."
The restaurant's decor isn't much to write home about, "from its nondescript 'French bistro' sign out front to the museum posters on its walls, this neat and tidy, wood-floored café-patisserie keeps it humble." While the "savory can't compete with the sweets", highlights included a "bone-in chicken breast, moist and juicy on the inside with a crispy exterior and a grainy mustard sauce" and "grilled lamb chops, singed with an exterior of herbs." Farrel grades Café Bonjour two and a half stars. [MH]
In Ft. Lauderdale, The Miami Herald's Rochelle Koff awards three and a half stars to Mexican joint Casa Frida, owned by Victor and Julieta Bocos. The restaurant is "one of the few destinations for excellent, authentic Mexican cuisine" with "cooks from Mexico City and the Yucatan add(ing) to the Bocos' repertoire of made-from scratch dishes, most tweaked from their mother's or abuelita's kitchen." "At Case Frida, the housemade sauces are subtle and sublime. Savor mole as you would a fine wine, Victor tells patrons." [MH]
The Sun Sentinel gives a run down of some new additions to the South Florida dining scene, including Salt7 in Delray Beach ("serious about its steaks, sushi, and raw bar"), Rebel House in Boca (highlights include pork-belly tator tots, 'OG' fried chicken' and roasted wagyu marrow bones), Soo-Woo in Pembroke Pines, Athena by the Sea in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, and the new Shake Shack in Coral Gables. [SS]
Danny Sanchez of the Sun Sentinel tries to keep the secret of Rendezvous Waterfront Bar and Grill in Ft. Lauderdale, "not particularly a foodie mecca - just an out-of-the-way, relaxed place to stare at the water and grab an always-good bite and a beer." [SS]
THE BLOGS: Food For Thought gives a rundown of the menu at The Bazaar. Gourmandj highlights the best things he ate this past week.
[Photo Courtesy of EWM]