The Pelican Restaurant in Lake Worth serves breakfast and has an Indian menu. (J. Gwendolynne Berry / Palm Beach Post)

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The Pelican Restaurant is not your ordinary diner. Behind the Florida kitsch facade of this quaint Lake Worth breakfast nook lies the fire of the spiciest Indian cuisine this side of the Atlantic. These curries can reduce even the mightiest of men to babies crying for water. Even the strongest tongues should tread carefully.

The Pelican is open for breakfast daily and serves a variety of traditional diner foods with a few Indian specialties. In the high season, they also serve lunch until 2 p.m.

But Friday nights are when things really heat up.

My husband and I have stopped in for the Friday Indian dinner menu many times in the past year, and the food has always been delicious. What sets it apart from other Indian restaurants is its authenticity. This is not the Americanized version of the cuisine.

On Fridays, co-owners Mohammad and Tahira Sami offer a variety of traditional vegetarian and meat dishes served with basmati rice, yogurt and naan (Indian flatbread). There are also a few appetizer selections and weekly specials.

We started out sharing an order of Indian spring rolls ($4.95) with mango, cilantro and chicken marinated in Indian spices. The juicy mango was a great balance to the spice of the chicken and refreshing on the tongue. Next, we tried some lentil fritters ($7.95). The tasty bite-sized treats were fried and served with a cilantro and jalapeno dipping sauce that lit that fire right up again.

For dinner, my husband ordered the Nihari beef shank ($16.95). The slow-roasted beef was marinated in cilantro and ginger and cooked on the bone in a spicy and savory curry. Just one bite was enough to make steam come out of my ears, but the dish was so tasty, I couldn’t help coming back for more punishment. My husband, who has a higher spice threshold, gobbled down the whole meal without even looking at his water.

My Tandoori mahi mahi ($16.95) was not the best dish I’ve had at the Pelican. Maybe they took my request for “mild” a bit too seriously. The fish was a bit bland compared to the more flavorful curries I’ve enjoyed before. The meal was good, but it didn’t do justice to the greatness of past visits.

The check came with a complimentary scoop of mango ice cream to soothe our scorched taste buds.

We decided to return for breakfast over the weekend to try out the regular menu. My husband ordered a very American steak and eggs with toast and roasted potatoes ($12.95). The eggs were a perfect sunny side up and the steak was juicy and tender.

I couldn’t help but try another Indian-inspired dish on the daily specials board. The eggs Nissa ($12.95) were scrambled in a green curry and served with fresh ginger, cilantro, tomatoes, jalapenos, black olives and feta cheese, alongside roasted potatoes, naan and yogurt. Even ordered mild, this dish was fiery but flavorful. The ginger in the dish was especially good and the cheese and Indian yogurt helped cut the spice. Washed down with a large glass of fresh orange juice ($3.50), it was a lovely start to the weekend.

R E V I E W

The Pelican Restaurant

FOOD: A-

SERVICE: A

ADDRESS: 610 Lake Ave., Lake Worth

TELEPHONE: (561) 582-4992

PRICE RANGE: Moderate

HOURS: Summertime hours M-F 6:30 a.m.–noon, Sat-Sun 6:30 a.m.–2 p.m. Special Indian dinner Fridays, 6-10 p.m. During season: Daily 6:30 a.m.–2 p.m. plus Friday night Indian dinners

CREDIT CARDS: Visa, MC, Discover

RESERVATIONS: No

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes, including restrooms

WHAT THE GRADES MEAN:

A — Excellent

B — Good

C — Average

D — Poor

F — Don’t bother

By AMANDA FARINOS

A friend of mine recently took a trip to Ireland. Enamored with the food, upon her return she began trying out Irish recipes and ended up making beef and Guinness stew for a dinner party in June.

We shared a laugh over this, but when I planned to visit the Town Crier Pub, I had a feeling I, too, was about to eat some unseasonably hearty food. Not so. Most old pub standards like shepherd’s pie weren’t even on the menu.

Town Crier can be classified as a gastropub, a term more recently used to describe not just a pub that includes a restaurant — but one that serves up dishes a foodie really can get excited about. Even the waitstaff was enthusiastic about the menu and beers on tap.

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Joseph’s Restaurant is at 8418 20th St. in Vero Beach. Photo by Hayley Foote.

VERO BEACH — About a decade ago, we were driving from Rome to Ravello. On the Autostrada, the Italian version of I-95, my husband stopped for gas. I went into the station to get a snack. The aroma of slow-cooked meats and tomato sauce almost knocked me out.

Chefs with white toques in a gas station! We wolfed down “arista al latte” — pork simmered in milk then roasted on a spit and crackling.

Amazing!

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A duck confit 'pot pie' is among the 'small tastes' on Taste's interesting menu. (Courtesy Taste Gastropub)

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The gastropub trend of upscale tavern cuisine finds a somewhat unusual playground in Delray Beach – Taste Gastropub, a place that feels nothing like a tavern. (Well, it would if this were a tavern on The Jetsons.)

A stark white space of hard edges and minimalist chairs designed without regard to our more maximized assets, the place feels jarringly different from the concept described on its website: "An unpretentious, affordable, 125-seat, indoor-outdoor dining destination, geared to locals, offering soulful retro dishes."

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By JOHN TANASYCHUK

First impression: Back in January, the space once occupied by Matteo’s became Capri Ristorante Italiano, a friendly, family-run restaurant with servings as big as the city from which its owners hail: That would be Chicago. If you love exquisite pasta, head to Capri.

Background: Joey Capri and his family have operated Italian restaurants in the Chicago suburbs for 30 years. After a nine-month renovation, Joey and wife Giavanna, with partner Joseph Falso, found the perfect spot for their first South Florida venture.

Ambience: Not so big to feel like a chain, but not so small to feel like you’re in someone’s house. There’s a big piano in the center of the dining room, but until they resolve an acoustic problem, diners will love the Sinatra heard throughout the restaurant. A nice big bar that divides the main dining room from a private party room can accommodate up to 50.
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The Check Please critics were full-on supportive of Ben’s Delicatessen in Boca Raton, a kosher deli which has won several awards:

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If you’re in South County, or North Broward, and you’re by the beach, Check Please has a place for you. Amante’s Italian, which is also known as Bob’s Pizza, has a wonderful, dressed-up interior, as well as outdoor seating for those who like the fresh air. It’s the kind of place where you can get a slice, or a real Italian meal:

Pub chips are complimentary, while the dipping sauces are $6. (Libby Volgyes / Palm Beach Post)

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With its brisk foot traffic, outdoor events and energetic dining scene, West Palm Beach’s Clematis district seems a welcome shore for the nation’s "gastro pub" wave. The gastro pub concept, popular in England for more than a decade, showcases good, brasserie-style dishes in a casual tavern setting. At its best, it’s epicurean fare with a bluejeans aesthetic.

Of course, achieving this is no laid-back feat – it requires juggling seemingly contradictory elements of style and substance. Imagine a comfy booze joint with menu references to truffle oil and micro greens and fleur de sel.

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Check Please comes to West Palm Beach’s quaint, welcoming Belle & Maxwell’s along Antique Row:

PGA National's Ironwood Grille retains a steakhouse feel. (Richard Graulich / Post file photo)

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Just steps from the lively lobby of the PGA National Resort & Spa, dinner is served in a relaxed, urbane atmosphere. The resort’s centerpiece restaurant, the Ironwood Grille, with deep-red leather booths set against exposed brick walls and metropolitan lines, transports you out of the traditional hotel eatery mind-set.

If Ironwood has something of a warm steakhouse feel to it, it’s only appropriate. The steaks are stellar. Perhaps it’s the friendly ghost of its predecessor, Shula’s Steakhouse, which shuttered more than three years ago. But I doubt it. Ironwood departs from the standard steakhouse fare, offering a nicely varied, contemporary American menu.

Appetizers and small plates range from the obligatory favorites — fried calamari ($12), baby back ribs ($12), shrimp cocktail ($15) — to the unexpected, such as the outstanding fennel-seared ahi tuna ($13) with an oven-dried tomato, kalamata and caper panzanella. The fragrance of fennel offers a light, surprising layer of flavor to the sushi-grade tuna slices. Also a nice surprise: the shrimp and cheddar grits ($12), served with a maple demi-glace. Maple and grits may sound like breakfast, but this is a dish I thoroughly enjoyed with a nice red zin.
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