The blood orange margarita at Rocco's Tacos in Palm Beach Gardens. (Taylor Jones / Palm Beach Post)

This week’s bar: Rocco’s Tacos and Tequila Bar

The scene: It’s bigger, its walls are brighter, and it boasts a fire pit and outdoors bar. It’s Rocco’s Tacos, now in north county. The recently opened Palm Beach Gardens restaurant is owner Rocco Mangel’s fourth South Florida location, and has already found a crowd hungry for Mexican food in a lively atmosphere.

The signature cocktail: As a tequila bar, Rocco’s naturally specializes in margaritas. The Blood Orange Margarita ($12.50) is a particularly tart rendering that would stand up to the eatery’s perfectly spiced chips.

Other drinks: The Tequila Mojito ($9.50), in which tequila is substituted for the traditional rum, is surprisingly sweet. Those without a sweet tooth might want to try the Ranch Water ($11) – tequila, soda water and fresh lime juice. A Skinny Señorita ($9.50) – El Mayor Blanco, fresh squeezed lime and a splash of Cointreau – is also available.

Bar bites: The aforementioned chips, plus guacamole made table side, are a must when you visit Rocco’s. The mini crudo tacos (three for $13) are super-yum, and the Queso Fundido con Chorizo ($10) is Mexican comfort food: cheddar cheese, chorizo and peppers melted in a tiny skillet and served with corn tortillas.

Deals: Get $1 off drinks during happy hour, from 4 to 7 p.m. seven days a week. On Taco & Tequila Tuesdays, enjoy all-you-can-eat tacos for $14.99 all day and $5 margaritas and $15 pitchers after 7 p.m.

Info: PGA Commons, 5090 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens, (561) 623-0127

Blood Orange Margarita

2 ounces Milagro Barrel Select Reserve Blanco tequila

1/2 ounce Salerno Blood Orange Liqueur

1 ounce fresh lime juice

1 ounce grapefruit juice

Splash of blood orange puree

Mix all ingredients together and serve either frozen or on the rocks, with salt or sugar on the rim.

Ancient Love Potion from Buddha Sky Bar in Delray; Adult milkshakes from Burger Bar in Palm Beach Gardens.

Mixologists across the county will be shaking, stirring and pouring the romance for Valentine’s Day devotees. Here are some of the flirty drinks they’ll be offering:

III FORKS steak house is serving a a Black Raspberry Passion cocktail. What’s in a a Black Raspberry Passion cocktail, you ask? That would be Ketel One vodka, black raspberry liqueur, passion fruit syrup and apricot nectar. Shake with ice until chilled, then strain into a martini glass, and you’ve got a passionate sip.
III Forks: 4645 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens; (561) 630-3660. | Directions, invite a friend

BURGER BAR BY CHEF ALLEN is whipping up decadent milkshakes for grown-ups, shakes like the Nutella Bourbon Adult Shake (Wild Turkey Bourbon, Nutella and Vanilla Ice Cream). For the pairing, the Palm Beach Gardens eatery is offering a $14 Truffle Burger, topped with a red wine demi-glace.
Burger Bar: 4650 Donald Ross Rd., Palm Beach Gardens; (561) 630-4545. | Directions, invite a friend

BUDDHA SKY BAR is concocting an “Ancient Love Potion.” The spell comes from one part chocolate vodka, one part white chocolate Godiva liqueur and three whole crushed strawberries, all shaken with ice and sieved into a martini glass.
Buddha Sky: 217 East Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; (561) 450-7557. | Directions, invite a friend

BENIHANA STUART is pouring a drink called the Red Flower Punch Bowl that, quite lavishly, is served in a punch bowl with two straws. The shareable punch bowl swims with strawberry liqueur, triple sec, raspberry puree, lemonade, cranberry juice and two kinds of vodka.

The hibachi house is also offering a Cherry Pomegranate Mojito, an amorous take on the classic, infused with Bacardi Torched Cherry rum, pomegranate liqueur and juice, grenadine syrup, mint leaves and lime wedges.
Benihana: 3602 S.E. Ocean Blvd., Stuart; (772) 286-0740. | Directions, invite a friend

The White Sangria at The Breakers' Italian Restaurant is called a 'no-guilt cocktail' by Nick Velardo, the hotel's director of food and beverage. (Brandon Kruse / Palm Beach Post)

This week’s bar: The Italian Restaurant at The Breakers

The scene: The Circle Dining Room and the Seafood Bar get all the press, so if you’re unfamiliar with the Italian Restaurant at The Breakers, you’re not alone. "It doesn’t get a lot of attention, and it really should," says Nick Velardo, the Breakers’ director of food and beverage.

Located on the southern end of the historic resort, the Italian Restaurant is part of The Breakers’ Family Entertainment Center, a secure, fully supervised space that’s home to a playroom for toddlers, a big-screen movie room, an arcade, a small basketball court and an arts-and-crafts area.

But the real artistry takes place in the kitchen, where chefs produce brick-oven pizzas, pasta dishes and parmigianas of every stripe. The atmosphere in the main dining room, and in a smaller bar area, is warm and inviting, and guests also can dine outside in a lushly landscaped area.

The signature cocktail: The White Sangria, made with The Breakers’ private-label wine and vodka rather than brandy. "It’s like a no-guilt cocktail," Velardo says. "You almost feel like you’re drinking a really fruity wine."

Other drinks: The Basil Martini, made with mint and purple basil grown in The Breakers’ garden, is a delicious way to ease into the evening. To complete your meal, nothing compares with the Affagato, a scoop of vanilla gelato surrounded by espresso and Amaretto. (And wine lovers, take note: Almost all of the restaurant’s wine offerings are Italian.)

Bar bites: Italian food is comfort food, says Anthony Sicignano, The Breakers’ executive chef of restaurants.

"We just try to maintain that comfort but at a higher level, and let the flavors speak for themselves." Antipasti include the Mozzarella in Carrozza, oven-baked fresh mozzarella in a lemony tomato sauce; a heavenly Burrata cheese plate dressed with heirloom tomatoes and kalamata olives; and tuna crudo dressed up with shaved fennel and Florida oranges.

"It’s not typically Italian," Velardo says, "but people are blown away by the quality of that tuna."

Hours: Open from 5:30 to 9 p.m. daily

info: The Breakers, 1 S. County Road, Palm Beach; (561) 659-8488; TheBreakers.com

T H E C O C K T A I L

White Sangria

1 bottle sauvignon blanc

6 ounces X-Rated Liqueur (passion fruit and blood orange liqueur)

2 ounces Grey Goose L’Orange Vodka

1 ounce Cointreau

Juice of 1 orange

Diced pears, grapes and orange slices

Sprite

Combine the wine, spirits and orange juice, and marinate the fruit in the mixture for 24 to 48 hours. Pour over ice and top each glass with a splash of Sprite.

Pete Correale performs this weekend at the Improv at CityPlace, while Derek Richards and the Irish Comedy Tour head to Jupiter's Atlantic Theatre.

Pete Correale brings his perspective on the quirks of everyday life back to the Palm Beach Improv this weekend. He first stepped on stage in 1994 after graduating from Fredonia State College in New York. Since then he has showcased his material on television on Premium Blend, Shorties Watchin’ Shorties, Tough Crowd, Last Call with Carson Daly and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. In addition to working the stand-up circuit, he is a writer and radio personality. For four years he, along with former Saturday Night Live actor Jim Breuer, co-hosted Breuer Unleashed on Sirius satellite radio.

Directions, invite a friend: Pete Correale | Irish Comedy Tour

The laughs continue in Jupiter this weekend at the Atlantic Theater where it’s never too early to start celebrating St. Patrick’s Day! Get in the spirit with the Irish Comedy Tour, complete with a guitarist (Derrick Keane) from Dublin, on Saturday. Detroit native Derek Richards, who has appeared on the Bob & Tom Show, will entertain with tales about his pale Irish skin, the holidays and dating a stripper. Boston-born Mike McCarthy will showcase the no-holds-barred humor that has landed him on Comedy Central and Showtime. The boisterous, belly-laugh trio will perform two shows, one at 7:30 and one at 9:30 p.m on Saturday.

What: Pete Correale, Irish Comedy Tour

When: Correale performs 8 p.m. Thursday, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, and 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday. The Irish Comedy Tour shows begin 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday .

Where: The Palm Beach Improv, 550 S. Rosemary Ave. Suite 250, West Palm Beach; The Atlantic Theater, 6743 W. Indiantown Road, Jupiter

Tickets: $18.40 (Correale); $27 advance, $30 at the door (Irish Comedy Tour)

Phone: (561) 833-1812 (Improv); (561) 575-4942 (Atlantic Theater)

Harland Williams, whose film career took off after he starred in Half Baked with Dave Chappelle, will return to the Palm Beach Improv this weekend. Williams has also appeared in Dumb & Dumber, Superstar, There’s Something About Mary, The Whole Nine Yards and Employee of the Month. Despite his busy film schedule, he still devotes time to his first true love: live stand-up comedy.

What: Harland Williams

When: 8 and 10:30 p.m. today, 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, and 7 p.m. Sunday.

Where: The Palm Beach Improv, 550 S. Rosemary Ave. Suite 250, West Palm Beach | Directions, nearby dining

Tickets: $25.82

Phone: (561) 833-1812

Jumping the Broom‘s Mike Epps will return to the Palm Beach Improv stage this weekend. Also known for his roles as Black Doug in The Hangover and Day-Day in the Friday trilogy, Epps has been showcasing his comedic abilities since he was a teenager. His projects on the horizon include the thriller Vipaka, slated for release later this year, in which he stars alongside Forest Whitaker.

The multitalented comedian, actor and rapper will perform two shows tonight, two Saturday and one on Sunday.

What: Mike Epps

When: 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20; 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21; and 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22.

Where: The Palm Beach Improv, CityPlace, 550 S. Rosemary Ave., Suite 250, West Palm Beach | Directions, invite a friend

Tickets: $39.60

Phone: (561) 833-1812

Figs' sangria is a cool concoction of cranberry and citrus with Petite Syrah. (Gary Coronado / Palm Beach Post)

The bar: Figs by Todd English

The vibe: Ducking through the shiny racks and displays of the bright Macy’s store at The Gardens Mall and finding a sophisticatedly low-lit, low-key, neutrally colored restaurant is like opening a wardrobe and finding a culinary Narnia. It packs a lot of class into a small space, with a cozy bar in the center, as well as the Farm Table, a large space meant for communal dining and drinking.

The drink: Figs usually boasts a strong wine list, but for season, it’s featuring Figs Sangria ($7), a cool concoction of cranberry and citrus flavor with Petite Syrah. It’s just the perfect drink to sip slowly and consider your next shoe purchase.

Other noteworthy libations: That aforementioned wine list offers an impressive number of wines by the glass, starting at $6, as well as three choices of the sparkling bubbly stuff. (In case you’re toasting that last shoe purchase.)

Bar bites: The premiere appetizer is the asparagus frites ($8), which are healthy rods of asparagus lightly battered and served with a honey mustard aioli and arugula, if you require green things with your fried treats. Also try the eggplant stack ($7.50), served with mozzarella and tomato.

Deals: Figs offers its Great Gatherings, featuring one appetizer, two entrees (excluding the New York Strip) and one dessert, for $29, at the bar and the Farm Table.

Info: Figs by Todd English, outside of the Macy’s store at the Gardens Mall; (561) 775 -2384. | Directions, invite a friend

Figs’ Sangria

2 ounces Parducci Petite Syrah

2 ounces cranberry juice

Juice of 1/2 lime

Juice of 1/2 orange

1 tablespoon simple syrup

Splash Sprite

Stir together all ingredients. Serve chilled.

Natasha Daniels handles all things citrus for the Ritz-Carlton in Manalapan. (Photo by Jason Nuttle)

All the luxe Palm Beach spots have sommeliers, those wine wizards who can riff on things like “terroir” and “mouthfeel.” The Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach has those, of course — and now they also have a Citrus Sommelier.

Natasha Daniels is the “sommelier” entrusted with all things (fresh-squeezed) citrus, from fresh juice to smoothies to juice cocktails at the resort’s Temple Orange restaurant during Sunday brunch.

The restaurant’s namesake fruit, a sweet orange and tangerine hybrid, inspired one of the sommelier’s signature cocktails.

Here’s a sip:

Temple Orange Screw Driver
• 1 1/2 ounces 4 Orange brand vodka
• Juice of 1/2 a fresh-squeezed Florida orange
• San Pellegrino Aranciata Grand Marnier marinated orange wedges
In high ball glass, add shaved ice, 4 Orange vodka then fresh-squeezed orange juice. Top with Pellegrino and garnish with marinated orange wedge.

The Ritz’s Sunday brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For reservations, call (561) 540-4924.
Ritz-Carlton Palm Beach: 100 S. Ocean Blvd., Manalapan. Website: ritzcarlton.com/resorts/palm_beach. | Directions, invite a friend

Skinny cocktails at RA Sushi are all under 200 calories and cost $8 each.

If your best skinny intentions of the new year inevitably detour through happy hour, here’s a lineup of cocktails that won’t derail your resolution: RA Sushi’s Skinny Cocktails, all under 200 calories each.

The Palm Beach Gardens sushi bar is running the skinny campaign through Feb. 29. Till then, they’re pouring Lychee-teenies (Asian lychee fruit, vodka and agave nectar), Skinny Ninjas (light vodka with yuzu, pink grapefruit, agave nectar and shiso, a minty Japanese herb), and Thin Gingers (fresh strawberry and ginger muddled with lemon vodka, fresh citrus and agave).

RA Sushi: 11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Ave., Palm Beach Gardens; (561) 340-2112; rasushi.com | Directions, invite a friend

The caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, and in Cabana's care, it walks the line between sweet and sour. (Richard Graulich / Palm beach Post)

This week’s bar: Cabana Nuevo Latino

The scene: Helping anchor the 500 block of Clematis Street after many years on the east end of the downtown West Palm Beach strip, Cabana is a tastefully decorated, 150-seat restaurant with a larger, bona-fide bar area. "We couldn’t really cultivate a bar crowd" in the old location, says manager Mario Amaya.

Now, Cabana lures the happy-hour crowd with a menu of classic Latin cocktails, most notably its mojitos, made with the jugs of fruit-infused rum (think berries in one jug, and pineapple, mango and watermelon in others) that sit on the blue-lit bar top. "You can always have the classic mojito, but we had to take it to another level," Amaya says.

The signature cocktail: The Caipirinha ($8.50), the Brazilian national cocktail, made with cachaça (Brazil’s fermented sugarcane-based liquor), simple syrup and lime. Cabana’s delicious version deftly walks the line between sweet and sour.

Other drinks: If you’re crazy for the taste of coconut, you’ll go positively loco for the coconut mojito ($8) – after a single sip, I was already planning a return trip to enjoy this cocktail at a more leisurely pace on a future date. In addition to the fresh coconut flavor, it features a small salad’s worth of mint and lime, like all of the bar’s mojitos. Not a rum drinker? Cabana also mixes traditional and white sangria.

Bar bites: During happy hour, bar patrons enjoy complimentary baskets of homemade fried plantains and guacamole.

Deals: Happy hour runs from 4 p.m. to close seven days a week and features two-for-one mojitos and sangria.

Info: Cabana Nuevo Latino, 533 Clematis St., West Palm Beach, (561) 833-4773, CabanaRestaurant.com | Directions, invite a friend

T H E C O C K T A I L

Caipirinha

1 ounce simple syrup

1/2 lime, cut into wedges

2 ounces Leblon Brazilian cachaça

Muddle the simple syrup with the lime wedges. Add the cachaça and ice, shake and serve.

Arnez J returns to CityPlace this weekend to entertain audiences at The Palm Beach Improv Friday through Sunday. After leaving his job as a flight attendant, the Atlanta native began working the comedy circuit in Georgia and quickly made a name for himself in the entertainment industry.

A finalist in the 1992 "Bay Area Black Comedy Competition," he was asked to make his first television appearance on Showtime’s Comedy Club Network.

Numerous television appearances soon followed including appearances on The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show, Louie Anderson’s Comedy Showcase, Comedy Central’s Make Me Laugh, NBC’s Friday Night Videos, Russell Simmons’ Def Comedy Jam, and his own BET Comic View Grandstand Hour Special.

What: Arnez J

When: 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, and 7 p.m. Sunday.

Where: The Palm Beach Improv, 550 S. Rosemary Ave. Suite 250, West Palm Beach | Directions, invite a friend

Tickets: $25.82

Phone: (561) 833-1812

The S'morestini even includes a flaming marshmallow. (Damon Higgins / Palm Beach Post)

The bar: 51 Supper Club and Lounge, Palm Beach Gardens

The vibe: Is this 2012, or some fabled, cocktail-colored piece of the elegant past of someplace like Manhattan or Chicago? The servers are either clad in suits or tastefully sexy outfits, the decor is accented by drapery, beautiful chandeliers, plush seating and a piano. The effect is exclusive but welcoming – no membership card or secret word needed.

The drink: The 51 S’morestini ($11) – is it dessert? Is it a cocktail? Is it sent from some magical land where drinking and camping is advisable, and all the seats around the campfire are velvet-covered? Whatever it is, it’s chocolaty, graham cracker-y and too good to risk spilling in the woods.

Other noteworthy libations: A place as “swellegant” – to poach a phrase from Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby in High Society – is almost legally required to have an impressive martini list. And it does – the Elite Martini, with its blue cheese-stuffed olives, the Pear Martini, and the Skinny O’Tinny, with club soda and Grey Goose L’Orange doing the heavy lifting (all $11). Also, there’s a long wine list, and cocktails like the Grape Cosmo ($10)

Bar bites: See the long list of specials below. Come hungry.

Deals: 51 gives you two times during the day to suck up all that elegance at friendlier prices. Happy Hour, from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday, offers delicious flat breads (the $12 Tuscan is decadently delicious), $5 appetizers including pierogies and a Dutch meatball called a Bitterballen, and $5 wines. And then from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., the Bitterballen, flat breads, pierogies and more are available on the After Dark menu.

51 Supper Club: 11701 Lake Victoria Gardens Ave., No. 3102, Downtown at the Gardens, Palm Beach Gardens; (561) 622-3500; 51supperclub.com.

T H E C O C K T A I L

The 51 S’morestini

1 ounce Godiva White

1 ounce Godiva Dark

1 ounce Sobieski Vanilla Vodka

Graham cracker crumbs, for rim

Chocolate syrup, for rim

Marshmallow, for garnish

Shake ingredients in a mixing tin. Coat lip of martini glass w/graham cracker crumbs and chocolate syrup garnish with a lit marshmallow.

The revamped Leopard Lounge at the Chesterfield Hotel on Palm Beach. (Chris Salata / Palm Beach Daily News)

The Chesterfield Palm Beach’s delightfully over-the-top Leopard Lounge has always been a pleasant throwback to some other time, albeit a time outfitted in bright reds and leopard print. The feeling used to be elegant kitsch and decidedly older. Which was nice, but which didn’t, if we’re being honest, attract a younger crowd for anything but people-watching purposes.

The folks at the Chesterfield took note, and recently revealed the new Leopard Lounge. Gone is the overwhelming red and leopard print, replaced by tasteful black, on the walls and on the shiny new leather banquettes. They’ve kept some of the leopard and animal-related paintings, including an awesome one depicting some sort of bizarre garden party featuring a gentleman in a top hat and a giraffe. Maybe it was an early rave. I don’t know. But the place looks great, still with a lot of character but less kitschy.

Management is hoping that the new decor, as well as a younger entertainment lineup, will attract a younger, hipper crowd, and once they get a look at the place, I bet it will.

The Leopard Lounge: Chesterfield Palm Beach, 363 Cocoanut Row, Palm Beach. Information: (561) 659-5800. | Directions, invite a friend

The Skinny: This beer was “born by accident.” Originally used to give ale flavor to oak whisky barrels, workers discovered the beer they were dumping out was “absolutely delicious.” I agree. Notes of vanilla, toffee and oak give Innis & Gunn a unique and elegant flavor, perfect for the chilly weather coming our way.

The Score: 9 out of 10 mugs!

The Sellers: AJ’s Beer City, Jupiter. BX Beer Depot, Lake Worth. Total Wine, all locations. ABC Liquors, all locations. Whole Foods, all locations.

(Rum Cask and Highland 18 Cask aged brothers are available as well.)

The provocatively named Whip Me from the English Tap & Beer Garden. (Alyssa Orr / Palm Beach Post)

The bar: English Tap & Beer Garden

The vibe: Nestled between tony shops and fancier destinations like Morton’s is a comfy, British pub-inspired enclave of chill and good cheer. You’ll notice immediately the eclectic array of patrons raising a pint at the comfortably lit outside bar – well-heeled Boca matrons, the after-work crowd, 20-something football hooligan-looking dudes and all others hungry and thirsty for reasonably priced, tasty morsels. They’ve come to the right place!

Directions, invite a friend, leave your own review

The drink: The provocatively named Whip Me ($7), a naughty, frothy but very grown-up mixture of orange juice and whipped-cream vodka. Simple. Simply delicious.

Other notable libations: Boy, do they ever have a way with fun cocktails at English Tap! There’s the fruity Pomegranate Sour ($9), the Mint Patty ($7) which is NOT Girl Scout related, and the Cookie Dough ($7)

Deals: Happy Hour? Ecstatic Hour! From 7 to 9 p.m., you get $4.95 appetizers including the cheese sauce-accompanied Toasted Soft Pretzel, the Crispy Calamari, the notably different spicy chipotle, and the braised mussels, my absolute favorite, and then $6.95 appetizers like the margarita flatbread. Yum. Also? 50 percent off draft beers, wine and select liquors.

Info: English Tap & Beer Garden is in the Shops at Boca Center, 5050 Town Center Circle; (561) 544-8000.

T H E C O C K T A I L

Whip Me

8 ounces Pinnacle whipped-cream vodka

2 ounces fresh orange juice

Orange slice, for garnish

Combine ingredients in shaker. Shake. Pour and garnish with orange slice.

Ring in the New Year with Ralphie May at the Palm Beach Improv!

May will bring the funny this weekend with shows Thursday, Friday and Saturday only. The Last Comic Standing star will perform two special shows on New Year’s Eve that both feature a special dinner menu. Price of the 7 p.m. show includes admission, dinner, dessert, tax and gratuity. For the 10 p.m. show, the Improv offers special New Year’s Eve menu items.

Also bringing the laughs in on New Year’s Eve is the Jove Comedy Experience.

Returning to the Atlantic Theater in Jupiter for a fourth consecutive year, The Jove Comedy Experience will perform its New Year’s Eve Extravaganza, a comedy theater production consisting of improvised, sketch and musical comedy in a multimedia presentation with audience participation.

Audience members are invited to stay after the show for finger food, music, dancing and a live viewing of the ball drop from New York City on the theater’s big screen at midnight.

What: Ralphie May; The Jove’s New Year’s Eve Extravaganza

When: May performs 8 p.m. Thursday, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday. (Click here for directions, nearby dining.) The Jove Comedy Experience show starts at 8 p.m. on Saturday. (Click here for directions, nearby dining.)

Where: The Palm Beach Improv, 550 S. Rosemary Ave. Suite 250, West Palm Beach; The Atlantic Theater, 6743 W. Indiantown Road, Jupiter.

Tickets: $29 (Friday shows at the Improv); $65 (New Year’s Eve early show); $34.30 (New Year’s Eve late show); $40 (Jove’s New Year’s Eve Extravaganza)

Phone: (561) 833-1812 for the Improv; (561) 575-4942 for the Atlantic.

Homegrown comedian Eric Andre is slated to headline the Palm Beach Improv this weekend with one show Thursday, two shows Friday and one on Christmas. Originally from Boca Raton, Andre is now based in Los Angeles and regularly tours the country performing stand-up. His television appearances include Live at Gotham and The Awkward Kings on Comedy Central and Lopez Tonight on TBS. Andre is currently prepping for his own pilot, The Eric Andre Show which will shoot in early May for Adult Swim.

What: Eric Andre

When: 8 p.m. Thursday, 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, and 7 p.m. Sunday .

Where: The Palm Beach Improv, 550 S. Rosemary Ave. Suite 250, West Palm Beach

Tickets: $18.40

Phone: (561) 833-1812

Cut 432's fig margarita. (Alyssa Orr / Palm Beach Post)

This week’s bar: Cut 432

The scene: A sleek, sexy take on steakhouses, Cut 432 puts as much emphasis on a well-mixed drink as it does on a perfectly grilled ribeye. "The whole beverage program, to me, only enhances the dining experience," says owner Brian Albe, a former bartender.

Albe and business partners Brandon Belluscio and chef Tony Pizzo will put that philosophy into play at their second restaurant next month, when they open Park Tavern – inspired by New York’s Gramercy Tavern – at 32 S.E. Second Ave. "Delray is starting to become sort of a foodie town," Albe says. "Happy to see that."

The signature cocktail: The Fig Margarita ($12), in which the restaurant’s homemade fig jam adds a touch of sweetness and texture to the traditional tequila and lime.

Other noteworthy drinks: The new cocktails unveiled this week at Cut 432 includes the Vesper (Hendrick’s gin, Stoli vodka and Lillet Blonde with an orange twist); the Sazerac (Buffalo Trace bourbon, black walnut bitters and ginger syrup in a glass rinsed with absinthe); and the Pain Killer (Appleton Reserve rum, coconut milk and fresh orange juice).

The food: Starters include crab bisque and jumbo lump crab cake, tuna tartare and steak tartare, and oysters Rockefeller and seared foie gras.

Deals: During Cut 432′s Social Hour (5 to 7 p.m. daily), a few handcrafted cocktails are $5, craft beer and house spirits are $4, and house wine is $3. The lineup of $5 snacks includes truffle cheese fries, giant onion rings, deviled eggs and mini burgers.

Info: Cut 432, 432 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; (561) 272-9898; Cut432.com | Directions, invite a friend

T H E C O C K T A I L

Fig Margarita

2 ounces Corazon Reposado tequila

1 tablespoon fig jam

1 ounce agave nectar

1 ounce lime juice

1 whole fig

Shake all liquid ingredients and strain over fresh ice. Garnish with fig.

Callen made his television debut as one of the eight original cast members of the sketch program MADtv.

Since then, he has transitioned to film, including roles in both installments of the Hangover series.

He currently stars in the MTV comedy series Death Valley and appears as a recurring character on the hit CBS show How I Met Your Mother.

What: Bryan Callen

When: 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, and 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18

Where: The Palm Beach Improv, 550 S. Rosemary Ave., Suite 250, West Palm Beach

Tickets: $18.40

Phone: (561) 833-1812

(Brandon Kruse/The Palm Beach Post)

THE BAR: Kirby’s Sports Grille

THE VIBE: Just a couple of blocks away from the sands of Juno Beach is a proudly Maryland-born sports bar full of shore-inspired fun, down-to-earth chumminess and all things Baltimore Ravens (the Florida Flock fan club meets there). If you’d prefer a quiet bar for intense reflection well, it ain’t here.

THE DRINK: Kirby’s Bloody Mary ($6), whose most important ingredient, as with most things from Maryland, is Old Bay Seasoning. (An aside: A relative once tried to smuggle a giant can of the pungent seasoning into Saudi Arabia wrapped in a gym sock, because you couldn’t get it there.) It adds a spicy kick to the traditional tomato-y brunch favorite. It’s like a spunky little punch in the mouth – in a good way.

OTHER NOTEWORTHY LIBATIONS: The chocolate martini ($8.50)

BAR BITES: Besides its jumbo lump crab cake sandwich ($14), which represents the homeland of owner Sean Kirby proudly (the original Kirby’s is in Ocean City, Md.), the premiere bar munchies are undoubtedly the "Soon-To-Be-Famous Potato Thingees." These are fresh-made chips that are swoon-chewy in the middle. Get ‘em for $2.95 naked, with cheese for $4.25, or with gravy (another weird awesome Maryland thing) for another $2.

DEALS: Happy Hour is 2 to 7 p.m. daily, and 2 to closing time on Fridays. There’s a special menu, including a half-order of the crab cakes, for $7.

INFO: Kirby’s Sports Grille is at 841 Donald Ross Road, Juno Beach; (561) 627-8000.

Kirby’s Bloody Mary

1.5 ounces Absolut

Pepper vodka

12 ounces Bloody Mary mix

Dash horseradish

Old Bay Seasoning, for the rim

Lime, for garnish

Shake first three ingredients and pour over ice into a glass rimmed with Old Bay Seasoning, and garnish with a lime.

Nancy Sharigan and Franklyn DeMarco (Taylor Jones/The Palm Beach Post)

If Ta-boó’s walls could talk, what stories they could tell – 70 years’ worth, this week.

Stories about Joseph P. Kennedy and Gloria Swanson in the ladies’ room of the Worth Avenue bistro. Or John F. Kennedy sneaking out the back door – and away from the Secret Service.

Tales tinged with what author and lunchtime regular James Patterson recently described as “a delicious hint of rumor and scandal.”

“It has so much history to it,” says Nancy Sharigan, who’s owned the restaurant since 1990 with business partner Franklyn deMarco. “You run into people all over the country and they’ll say, ‘I went there with my grandmother’ or ‘I met my husband there.’ “

Says deMarco: “And they said it wouldn’t last.”

Ta-boó will toast its 70th anniversary all day Friday with dining discounts, drink specials and late-night dancing - a celebration of a Palm Beach landmark that opened less than two weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Just in time for a German U-boat commander to come ashore to down a few drinks at the Ta-boó bar.

Or so the story goes.

Ta-boó was the brainchild of Ted Stone, a former New York nightclub owner looking to bring a year-round restaurant to a decidedly seasonal town. Stone chose the name “Ta-boó” because every other idea he had was deemed too taboo. (Why the hyphen? “That’s a very good question,” says deMarco. “Because there’s always been a hyphen, and an accent over the last ‘o.’ That was the original name.”)

In 1955, Stone sold the restaurant to former professional baseball player Jim Peterson, who owned it until 1975. After Peterson’s tenure, Ta-boó changed hands several times and even briefly moved to Palm Beach Gardens.

Jim Peterson and Marshall Grant in front of Ta-boo in Palm Beach, 1966.

“But the bad stuff became lore,” deMarco says.

That lore is rich with famous names, from the Duke and Duchess of Windsor to Deepak Chopra. Gary Cooper, Bob Hope and Jackie Gleason stopped by back in the day.

It’s said that when Frank Sinatra dined there, he was less than pleased when the house pianist began playing the theme from The Godfather. A member of Sinatra’s entourage approached the piano and pressed the key cover onto the musician’s fingers. Point taken.

No celebrity photo walls

More recently, Ta-boó has served Rush Limbaugh, Rush lead singer Geddy Lee, Regis Philbin and Rod Stewart.

“One day, it’s Karl Rove, and the next day you look over, and it’s Chris Rock,” says manager Richard Whitaker .

They like the fact that Ta-boó, decorated with live plants, lazy ceiling fans and jungle murals, isn’t the kind of place that hangs celebrity photos on the wall.

“They float in and they float out,” says deMarco. “We don’t get their autographs except on their credit card check.”

Despite Ta-boó’s storied history, it’s one of the most welcoming addresses on Worth Avenue, where more than a few storefronts don’t exactly throw out a welcome mat to the ordinary Joe.

That’s intentional, says Sharigan. “I have made it a point from day one that this restaurant belongs to everyone.”

And while the $45 Prime New York Strip on the dinner menu isn’t exactly recession-friendly, Ta-boó’s daily happy hour (think grilled brie and pear pizza for $6.25, and half-price wines by the glass) makes it accessible to those outside the 33480. And you can’t put a price tag on the people-watching.

Stefan Richter, owner of Richters of Palm Beach jewelers across Worth Avenue from Ta-boó, moved to the island with his family in 1970, and often visited Palm Beach before that.

“I’ve been going to Ta-boó my whole life,” says Richter, who almost fondly recalls the days when the restaurant was decorated with plastic fruit. Eating there now “reminds me of when I was a kid and used to go, in its first iteration, when it looked different. And even though that’s not there anymore, it feels like Palm Beach.”

Dress code cast off

That’s why Richter automatically points visitors across the street when they ask for a restaurant recommendation. “I know that they’ll get a Palm Beach experience.”

Another sign that Ta-boó wants to entice casually dressed tourists and locals inside: Several years ago, the restaurant consigned its long-standing dress code to the dust bin.

“The world changed, and we had to change with it,” says deMarco, who’s long joked that when he dies, the Ta-boó staff will store his ashes next to the Crown Royal.

Does Sharigan have similar plans? “No,” she says with a laugh.

“We’ll end our partnership at that time.”

But an urn behind the bar? Now that would make a really good story.

Ta-boó’s 70th Anniversary Celebration

On Friday, diners will receive 15 percent off the food portion of their lunch or dinner check (reservations are suggested). Also on the schedule: Deejay and dancing at 9:30 p.m., happy hour drink specials from 10 p.m. to close, and complimentary small bites at 11 p.m.

More: Ta-boó, 221 Worth Ave., Palm Beach, (561) 835-3500, invite friends, more.

Comedian Bryan Callen didn’t have what most would consider a “normal” childhood, raised around the world with frequent moves dictated by the career of his father, who worked for an international bank – “They’d be like ‘Hey! We’re moving to Greece! Now we’re moving to Saudi Arabia!’ After two years of making friends, we’d move all over again,” he remembers.

But don’t feel sorry for him. Turns out all that moving and constant instability was career preparation.

“It’s great for a comedian,” says Callen, known for everything from “The Hangover” to HBO’s “Entourage” to “MadTV,” and soon to be known from his stint this weekend at the Palm Beach Improv. “For a boy, you either channel that through sports or through being a jackass. I was better at being a jackass. I wanted people to like me… What’s great I that the dysfunction of your childhood turns out to being your best friend. Normal ain’t funny.”

Directions, invite a friend

Callen’s stand-up is mainly observational, about the various indignities of life, and his characters in movies and on TV tend to be comically flawed. While those in other genres of acting might play up their attractiveness, Callen says that in comedy, the opposite might work better.

“I had a young comedian come up and ask for advice, and he was very muscular. And I told him ‘I don’t think you should work out so much,’” Callen says. “You have to feel a little bad about yourself … If you tend to be a sexy brooding cool actor, maybe comedy is not in your future.”

Although he doesn’t always do comic parts – he played a sexually abusive parent on “Secret Life Of The American Teenager” – but Callen says that the diversity of his roles makes him known in specific audience segments who might not be aware of the other stuff he’s done. Guys, for instance, know his work on “Entourage” or “The Hangover.”

And some women might recognize a one-episode appearance on HBO’s “Sex and The City,” where he played a devastated one-night stand of heroine Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) who expresses his drunken frustration during an inappropriately bitter best man’s speech at the wedding of mutual friends. It’s an embarrassingly funny, brave bit, because many of us have either been that guy, or feared being him.

“After I shot that, I was Elvis in New York,” Callen remembers. “Every girl was walking up to me. Everyone stared when I was walking into bars. I thought ‘This is never gonna happen for me again. I wanna bask in it.’ But they weren’t attracted to me. For them I was a prop.”

But he shrugs that off – “I’ve been doing this so long that I usually get ‘Hey man, do you work at Starbucks,’” he says. “And I go ‘No’ and they say ‘So where else do you hang out?’ And I say ‘Maybe you’ve seen me on TV’ and they say ‘No, I haven’t seen you ever.’ It’s kinda weird. But I will take it.”

IF YOU GO:
THE PALM BEACH IMPROV | 8 and 10:30 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:45 p.m. Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday.

The folks at the Chesterfield took note, and yesterday revealed the new Leopard Lounge. Gone is the overwhelming red and leopard print, replaced by tasteful black, on the walls and on the shiny new leather banquettes. They’ve kept some of the leopard and animal-related paintings, including an awesome one depicting some sort of bizarre garden party featuring a gentleman in a top hat and a giraffe. Maybe it was an early rave. I don’t know. But the place looks great, still with a lot of character but less kitschy.

Management is hoping that the new decor, as well as a younger entertainment lineup, will attract a younger, hipper crowd, and once they get a look at the place, I bet it will. You gotta see it. And the giraffe painting will blow your mind.

The Positano Limoncello Drop Martini from Franco's restaurant. (Alyssa Orr/The Palm Beach Post)

The bar: Franco Italian Bistro, Wellington

The scene: Elegance just steps away from the mall? Si! Tucked across from The Mall at Wellington Green, Franco is simply beautiful – dark woods and gleaming metal, with the Italian liquors on full display behind the bar.

The crowd includes ladies who lunch, shoppers who enjoy a classy respite from their purchases and people who like hearty, delicious food.

The cocktail: Following Franco’s theme of highlighting Italian ingredients and flavors, the Positano Limoncello Drop ($12) name-checks Italy’s deliciously citrus-y libation and its picturesque seaside village. It’s pretty and smartly, sweetly tart.

Other noteworthy libations: Alice’s Key Lime Pie, a winsome concoction of rum, lime juice, cream and other good stuff, topped off with a graham cracker rim. The raspberry-tinged Amalfi Kiss Pomegranate Martini, the dryly delicious Capri Kiss Pear-Lychee Martini and the Raspiello Drop with Chambord. All are $12, all have an Italian or Palm Beach twist, and all are delicious.

Bar bites: Co-owner Vittorio Divivo, formerly of Palm Beach and Baltimore’s Victor’s Cafe, knows his stuff, and the item we’ve had the most fun getting to know is the Medaglioni di Granchio ($16) better known as crazy-good, meat-filled Maryland jumbo lump crab cakes. Cocktail Culture has been known to be choosy about crab, so we mean it when we say "yum." And the Clams Oreganate ($12) are nothing to sneeze at.

Deals: Happy Hour is 4-7 p.m., seven days a week, with half off every drink with the exception of Veuve Clicquot.

Info: Franco Italian Bistro, 10160 Forest Hill Blvd., Wellington; (561) 615-1551.

T H E C O C K T A I L

Positano Limoncello Drop

1 1/2 ounces Grey Goose Le Citron vodka

1 ounce Limoncello

Fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Combined ingredients, shake and pour into glass with sugared rum.

’Tis the season of scents that evoke memories of childhood — think cinnamon and cloves.

Of sweets that we share with family and friends — see Mom’s apple pie.
And of beverages that are strictly for adults: Rum-spiked eggnog, we’re looking at you.

Using these departure points, local mixologists crafted seasonal cocktail recipes to help us toast the holidays.

(Alyssa Orr/The Palm Beach Post)

PALM BEACH HOLIDAY

“Apples, cloves, cinnamon all bring me back to my childhood,” says Omphoy Ocean Resort bartender and sommelier Josh Lieberman, who used Calvados, an apple brandy, to add “great texture and acidity” to this sparkling, cidery sipper.

1 ounce organic apple cider
1 ounce honey simple syrup (see MIX TIP)
1/2 ounce Calvados apple brandy
Dash of allspice
Dash of ground cloves
Dash of cinnamon
3 ounces Moët & Chandon Brut Imperial champagne
Apple twist

Combine the cider, simple syrup, Calvados, allspice, cinnamon and cloves in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, and strain into a champagne flute. Top with champagne, and garnish with apple twist.

MIX TIP: To make honey simple syrup, heat 1 cup of honey and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium heat, until both ingredients are well combined. (Do not boil the mixture.) Allow syrup to cool completely before using.

The Omphoy Ocean Resort, 2842 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach; (561) 540-6444

(Bruce R. Bennett/The Palm Beach Post)

PEPPERMINT PATTY
Sugar, for rim
1 1/2 ounces Godiva white chocolate liqueur
1 1/2 ounces white crème de menthe
1/2 ounce green crème de menthe
Chocolate syrup, to drizzle

Rim a martini glass with sugar. Combine the Godiva liqueur and white crème de menthe in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into the martini glass. Float the green crème de menthe atop mixture. Drizzle chocolate syrup.

Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, 2800 S. Ocean Blvd., Palm Beach; (561) 582-2800

(Bruce R. Bennett/The Palm Beach Post)

TRES LECHES MARTINI
Graham cracker crumbs
1 ounce vanilla vodka
3/4 ounce Whipped brand whipped-cream vodka
1/4 ounce Frangelico hazelnut liqueur
2 ounces pineapple juice
Whipped cream, for topping
1 maraschino cherry

Rim a martini glass with graham cracker crumbs. Combine vodkas, Frangelico and pineapple juice in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into the glass. Top with whipped cream and a cherry.

Carlos ’n Charlie’s, CityPlace, upper level across from the movie theater, West Palm Beach; (561) 837-2200

(J. Gwendolynne Berry/The Palm Beach Post)

EGGNOG COCKTAIL

Brian Albe, co-owner of Cut 432, aimed to shake up what he calls the “lost tradition of eggnog” by using a rum with vanilla notes and adding a little almond extract.

1 1/2 ounces Mount Gay Eclipse rum
5 ounces of eggnog
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Shaved nutmeg
Shake rum, eggnog and almond extract in a mixing tin with ice, and strain into a glass. Top with nutmeg.

Cut 432, 432 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; (561) 272-9898

(Taylor Jones/The Palm Beach Post)

HOLIDAY APPLE PIE MARTINI

“Tastes like the pie Mom makes every holiday, but with a little kick to deal with the relatives,” says Dirty Martini’s general manager, Garett Hagan.

1 ounce vanilla vodka
1 ounce Sour Apple Pucker schnapps
1 ounce half and half
1/2 ounce cinnamon schnapps
Cinnamon, for sprinkling

Combine first four ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an oversized martini glass. Garnish with a dash of cinnamon.

Dirty Martini, Downtown at the Gardens, 11701 Lake Victoria Gardens, Palm Beach Gardens; (561) 799-1115