One of the main attractions of Water Bar at PGA Commons -- the outdoor seating on the restaurant's patio. (Richard Graulich / Palm Beach Post)

One of the best things about dining at the PGA Commons is you’ve got an abundance of alfresco options. Each restaurant along the string of blocks that comprise Palm Beach Gardens’ popular dining row offers ample space and ambiance.

And one of the best places for this kind of breezy dining experience is the new-ish Water Bar & Grill, sister restaurant to the popular Spoto’s Oyster Bar, just a few doors away.

Water Bar is the more sedate, upscale sister, but like the Oyster Bar, it’s a seafood-driven eatery where the food is fresh and efficiently served. It inhabits the space where owner John Spoto’s Oakwood Grill once stood. Spoto closed the steak house and American grill nearly a year ago, gave the space a dramatic makeover and new seafood-centric identity, and launched the concept five months ago.

The space, done up in a palette of ocean hues, feels like a natural fit for Water Bar, a welcoming restaurant that’s just as suitable for drinks and appetizers as it is for a nice family dinner.

This is where I had one of the freshest, most delicious salads I’ve had in a while. Water Bar’s Heirloom Tomato Salad ($9) is blooming with gorgeous heirlooms (just picked from the Community Church garden across the street), peppery arugula, radicchio and red onion. The salad is so good it renders the squiggle of balsamic glaze unnecessary.

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A little vodka and rum help create a birthday cake in a glass at Buddha Sky Bar. (Courtesy Buddha Sky Bar)

Delray’s popular Buddha Sky Bar is turning 1 year old this month, and it’s toasting to the occasion with a new signature cocktail that looks like a big birthday cake in a highball glass.

Buddha’s Birthday Cake is available throughout April for $10. There’s also a big, invitation-only party Thursday night. And, while, we have no invitation to offer on our end, we do have the cocktail recipe:

BUDDHA’S BIRTHDAY CAKE
• 2 ounces cake-flavored vodka
• 1 ounce Malibu Coconut Rum
• 1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice

Combine ingredients and garnish with coconut cream, toasted coconuts, sprinkles and a cherry.

Buddha Sky Bar: 217 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach; (561) 266-9898; BuddhaSkyBar.com

Oriental Seafood Salad at The Boys Farmers Market is $10.99 a pound. (Brandon Kruse / Palm Beach Post

While The Boys Farmers Market may have built a reputation around fresh produce, its deli counters are similarly crowded with eager and hungry visitors most afternoons. The oriental seafood salad is a great example of The Boys diverse, flavorful, and well-priced take-out options.

Large pieces of tender squid are the primary ingredient and have a tangy sweet flavor derived from rice vinegar, ginger and sesame seed oil. Like many Asian dishes, this salad features Japanese kikurage mushroom, or wood ear fungus, which has a texture similar to tofu and absorbs much of the flavor present in the squid.

Bamboo shoots and lettuce stems complete this appetizing blend, and small bits of red chili pepper give it a mild and brief heat. Half of a pound is enough for a filling lunch entrée.

THE INFO: Boys Farmers Market, at 14378 S. Military Trail in Delray Beach, is open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Phone: (561) 496-0810.

Coolinary Cafe's Boneless Southern Fried Chicken with grilled lemon, coleslaw and jalapeno cheddar waffle is $13 for lunch, $18 for dinner. (J. Gwendolynne Berry / Palm Beach Post)

It’s good, old-fashioned Southern cooking with a flare. Free-range chicken in a buttermilk marinade fried crisp on the exterior but soft within, served with a cabbage and jicama slaw over a soft Belgian waffle with a kick of roasted jalapeño spice, finished with a sweet and tangy maple and mustard glaze. The combination of flavors and textures make for one extremely tasty dish at the newly opened Coolinary Café in Donald Ross Village.

“People asked when we opened what our signature dish is,” says chef/owner Tim Lipman, formerly of Little Moir’s Food Shack and Leftovers Café, who opened Coolinary Café in early March with his wife, Jenny. “I always felt that the customers create the signature. Chicken and waffles have been around for a long time. It’s something that my wife and I were really familiar with growing up in Central Florida. It’s truly a Southern dish and we decided to spruce it up a bit. It’s slowly becoming our signature dish and people just love it.”

THE INFO: Coolinary Café, at 4650 Donald Ross Road. (Donald Ross Village) in Palm Beach Gardens, serves lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday; closed Sunday. Phone: (561) 249-6760. | Directions, invite a friend

The seating area behind Malakor Thai includes a fountain and only adds to the experience. (Bruce R. Bennett / Palm Beach Post)

If I had to guess what the lone, strangely melodic frog was singing to us from the edge of the koi pond on the back terrace of Malakor Thai Café, it would have to be this:

"The green papaya salad! Have it! Now!"

If that’s what he said, the little frog was onto something. That shredded green papaya salad (Malakor salad, $8) is a symphony of fresh flavors and textures and contrasts ­- crunchy, nutty, spicy, citrusy and, thanks to a little palm sugar, sweet. Its final touch: a couple of tempura shrimp.

This salad stands in stellar company on Malakor’s extensive menu of Thai specialties, many of them from Thailand’s northeastern region. That’s where head chef Nopporn "Noopy" Areerak was born and raised amid the scents and spices of Yasothon Province.

Before getting his formal culinary training in Bangkok, he learned to cook from his mother. And his beautifully executed dishes reflect this duality of experience in their precision as well as their soul power.

It’s soul power that lends depth to the tom kha soups ($5), rich with coconut milk and scented with lemongrass, scallions, galangal and cilantro, and balanced by lime and tamarind juice. And it’s soul power that builds generously portioned salads, delicately complex curries, and the fragrant sauces that top Malakor’s stir-fried dishes, crispy duck and fresh seafood.

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Maison Carlos' truffled lobster 'Mac and Cheese' is $28. (J. Gwendolynne Berry / Palm Beach Post)

This dish is a guilty pleasure, an utterly rich and luxurious meal. Fresh, sweet pieces of Maine lobster are tossed in a decadent, creamy sauce with truffle oil and Gruyere cheese, served over thick twists of Ligurian-style trofie pasta and finished with shaved black truffles.

“It’s not like a regular macaroni and cheese dish because it’s not baked,” says owner Carlos Farias. “The sauce is a twist on Alfredo sauce. It’s one of our most popular dishes. Everybody has to have it and sometimes groups will get two for a table to share as an appetizer. I see empty bowls all the time!”

THE INFO: Maison Carlos serves dinner Monday to Saturday from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at 3010 South Dixie Highway in West Palm Beach. The restaurant is closed Sundays. Phone: (561) 659-6524. | Directions, invite a friend

Oscar De La Cruz, chef/owner, with wife Consuelo De La Cruz, and Andres Rivas (right), manager/owner, with wife Alicia Rivas, at Portobello Cucina Italiana in Jupiter. (Gary Coronado / Palm Beach Post)

The gentleman seated at the next table seems quite at home on the breeze-swept patio of Portobello Cucina Italiana. In golf shorts, no socks, fine watch, and sipping a nice, expensive Amarone, he exemplifies the spirit of the place: relaxed but refined.

This welcoming Jupiter restaurant is aglow with the sounds and spirit of a neighborhood favorite, filled with that effortless interplay of table chatter and clinking cutlery.

Set back a bit from the rush of traffic, it’s the kind of place you’d miss quite easily as you travel along U.S. 1 just south of Indiantown Road. But on this recent Saturday night, it’s absolutely packed, as cars continue to pull up to the valet stand and deposit new hungry guests. Regulars, I dare say. People in the know.

They know the food here is beyond good. I’ll know that, too, by the time I leave the Portobello patio. In fact, I’ll be plotting my next visit on the drive back home. That good.

It’s a place where you can have a variety of dining experiences – you can dine al fresco, at the busy and well-attended bar, or in the large dining room.

Directions, invite a friend

Our first dining experience at Portobello begins with a glass of sangiovese and an order of fried calamari and zucchini ($10.95), fresh, crisp and addictive. On a later visit, we’d sample the Calamari Luciano ($10.95), a sautéed rendition tossed with capers, fresh chopped tomatoes, garlic, black olives and a little white wine. On both occasions, the calamari arrived tender and beautifully cooked. The crusty Italian bread that’s served upon arrival (with fruity olive oil on the side) is perfect for dipping into the garlicky broth that comes with the Calamari Luciano.

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There’s mall food, and then there’s mall dining. You make this distinction in local mall spots like Figs by Todd English at The Gardens Mall in Palm Beach Gardens, where they make a challah bread pudding that, pretty much, rocks you in its arms.

You also make this distinction at Joe’s American Bar & Grill, the inviting eatery that anchors an entranceway at the Mall at Wellington Green in Wellington.

With warm woods and New England tavern-style décor, Joe’s serves rib-sticking fare and unpretentious, but well-prepared bar bites. If there’s a chain-vibe to the menu (potato skins, wood-fired flatbreads and the like), it’s because it is one in a national chain of 15 Joe’s restaurants, most of them in New England.

But in this case, as in the case of good chain restaurants, chain does not mean impersonal, nor does it mean bland or stale. Behold the crispy calamari ($8.75), nicely breaded and crunchy ringlets and bits of squid tossed with crisp-fried cherry peppers. The spicy-sweet peppers rev up the fried squid, adding an unexpected flavor contrast.

Or, for a warm, comforting starter, try Joe’s New England Clam Chowder ($4.50 a cup, $5.99 in a bread bowl). It’s thick, rich and flavorful.

Of course, "starter" implies that you’re having a larger meal, something you don’t always want in a mall restaurant. And perhaps that’s why the place isn’t as crowded as it could be if it were not sitting across the mall’s food court. As a mall-goer, I admit passing the place by en route to a quick bite. But after having visited Joe’s on a couple of occasions, I can tell you it’s a very do-able stop.

Service is efficient, friendly and surprisingly quick. On my most recent visit, for dinner, our server knew the menu, up and down. (He also knew the wines and was able to make spot-on suggestions, when asked.)

Lunch and dinner menus offer simple, tempting choices, but they don’t oversell the dishes. (Simple as in "Rotisserie chicken with natural jus, mashed potato and fresh vegetable.") Here, simple is good.

During my first visit, I lunched on a delicious tuna salad sandwich ($10.50) and shared a batch of crispy potato skins ($7.99), topped with crumbled bacon, melted Monterey Jack and a scattering of green onions.

On the later visit, I dug into a respectable prime skirt steak ($17.99) that was seared to a medium-rare finish and served sliced with dabs of chimichurri (garlic, parsley and spices) paste. It arrived with a side of flash-seared spinach and a small mound of mashed potatoes.

We also sampled the Blackened Chicken Alfredo ($12.99), one of Joe’s more popular dishes, and found the only mildly blackened chicken strips disappointing and the fusilli pasta, sauced in creamy Parmesan, under-seasoned.

We did enjoy the homemade key lime pie ($5.99) that was creamy and not too tart.

Overall, Joe’s makes for a welcome stop. There’s a choice of seating on the patio, in the main dining room and in the bar area (my favorite of the three). There’s terrific service and good, satisfying food.

Joe’s American Bar & Grill

FOOD: B

SERVICE: B+

ADDRESS: 10300 W. Forest Hill Blvd. (at The Mall at Wellington Green), Wellington

TELEPHONE: (561) 798-7433

WEBSITE: joesamerican.com

PRICE RANGE: Moderate

HOURS: Open daily for lunch, dinner and bar bites

CREDIT CARDS: All major

RESERVATIONS: Walk-ins welcome

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes, including restrooms

WHAT THE GRADES

MEAN:

A – Excellent

B – Good

C – Average

D – Poor

F – Don’t bother

Sala Thai's Bangkok Platter is $15.95. (Brandon Kruse / Palm Beach Post)

Sala Thai’s Bangkok Platter is a stir-fry comprised of broccoli, snow peas, baby corn, bell pepper, cashews, and a protein (we chose shrimp). Before sautéing, the shrimp are marinated in a yellow curry for several minutes, which adds a warm sweetness to the dish. The shrimp, veggies and cashews are stir-fried in the restaurant’s peanut sauce, which amplifies the nutty flavor of the cashews. This is delicious sauce, rich with coconut milk, peanuts, tamarind paste, onion and spices, and when cooked with the fresh ingredients, it creates a sweet and herbal zest with a very mild spice.

“The flavor from the fresh vegetables gives it that great combination of flavor,” said Amy Pitak, whose family has owned the Jupiter restaurant for the past 11 years. Like this dish, which is served with a side of rice, all the food at Sala Thai is cooked and spiced to order. For the beef or shrimp protein option (rather than chicken or tofu), add $3.

THE INFO: Sala Thai, at 103 S. U.S. Highway 1 in Jupiter, serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday, and dinner every night from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Phone: (561) 747-6944. | Directions, invite a friend

Duck tacos at Imoto are $17.50 (J. Gwendolynne Berry / Palm Beach Post)

Clay Conley has done it again. Certainly one of Palm Beach County’s most talented chefs, Conley was recently named a semi-finalist for the James Beard Award for Best Chef South.

His Palm Beach restaurant Buccan has kept the buzz going since opening last year, serving small plate after small plate of pure deliciousness.

And just last month, Conley opened a sister restaurant right next door with an Asian twist, Imoto.

And in case there was any doubt at all, the man makes a mean duck taco.

One of the most popular items on Imoto’s new menu, this dish is a soft and savory mix of slow-cooked confit of duck leg topped with crisp duck skin glazed in a sweet and tangy hoisin sauce, served with a crisp carrot, bell pepper and red onion slaw with a spicy kick of Chinese mustard, all wrapped in four soft flour tortillas.
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