By CHARLES PASSY

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

We've all known that downtown Delray Beach boasts a great dining scene. But a world-famous one?

Well, if a group of Delray boosters has their way, that may happen. Thanks to a partnership between Florida Table magazine and the Delray Downtown Marketing Cooperative, the city's main strip – Atlantic Avenue – will be turned into one gigantic dining table on Thursday night.

The event is called Savor the Avenue and it will feature 13 restaurants from the avenue or the area: Each will offer a four-course prix fixe menu that evening, serving diners in a long row of tables running down the middle of the avenue (don't worry – the street will be closed to traffic). Connect each long row and what have you got?

"One loooooooong table," explains event coordinator Lou Ann Hitchens of Florida Table magazine.

Hitchens got the idea for the event, which will stretch five blocks, from a similar one in Park City, Utah. She's not sure if the Delray one, which is expected to draw up to 1,200 diners, will set a world record, but that's mainly because there's not been a lot tracked when it comes to such events.

"We know there was one in China that was miles long," Hitchens says.

If you want to attend, you need only make a reservation at one of the participating restaurants: Boston's on the Beach, Cabana El Rey, Caffe Luna Rosa, City Oyster, GOL! The Taste of Brazil, House of Siam, La Cigale, Lemongrass Asian Bistro, Seacrest Grill, Sundy House, The Blue Fish, Tryst and Vic Angelo's. Prices vary depending on the establishment, with a range of $36 to $95. Wine is included with the dinner and so is a pre-meal cocktail party at 5:30 p.m. at Worthing Park. The actual feast will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a grand toast.

Oh, and there's a contest aspect to Savor the Avenue as well: All patrons will receive a $5 Downtown Delray Beach Gift Card, but five lucky ones will get a $100 card.

For more info (including menus and restaurant reservation numbers), go to delraybeach.com or floridatable.com and click on Savor the Avenue.

Savoring SunFest

SunFest may be about a month away, but you can get a culinary jump on the area's big musical bash by attending Sip & Savor. It's an event, set for Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Total Wine in Palm Beach Gardens' Legacy Place, that will feature samplings of more than 20 wines, plus appetizers. There will also be a raffle featuring prizes from Total Wine and SunFest.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door. Attendees also receive at 15 percent discount on SunFest tickets and a free flight of three wines at SunFest's Wine Garden. To purchase, go to Total Wine or call SunFest at (561) 837-8066.

The Weekly Dish: Greek night at the Palm Beach Steakhouse

If I was pressed to name the best Greek restaurant in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, it wouldn't be a Greek restaurant in the traditional sense. Instead, it would be the Palm Beach Steakhouse (191 Bradley Place, Palm Beach, 561-671-4333, thepalmbeachsteakhouse.com). That's because the restaurant has a Greek proprietor, chef Andreas Kotsifos, who features refined versions of such Greek mainstays as pasticcio and grilled lamb on his regular menu.

But once a week – Thursday night, to be exact – Kotsifos goes all out and hosts a Greek night. For $35 (reservations required), diners get treated to an extraordinary spread, from homemade stuffed grape leaves to homemade baklava. The chef also serves the most mild and delicate feta cheese I've ever had, a hard-to-find variety he orders through a specialty importer. And there's ouzo – the Greek spirit – to conclude the meal.

But that's not all: The evening is a true party, with a Greek band and singer – Kotsifos himself! He's quite good vocally, even if he says he's no more than an amateur. The belly dancers are also remarkably dexterous.

As I said, it's the best Greek restaurant locally – one night a week. But that makes it a perfect choice for my Weekly Dish.

- Charles Passy