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YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER | AUGUST 2019
Restaurant Roundup
“Our goal was to update the vibe while maintaining a timeless aesthetic,” said Pam Manhas of Manhas Designs, one of the region’s leading restaurant & hospitality design firms. “Max’s Grille guests have enjoyed dining there for nearly three decades. We wanted to maintain the comfort and familiarity of the space while giving the design a fresh approach.” [FROM PG 41]
The focal point of the new design for the “Great Room” will be the addition of a new 16-foot-tall service bar. Boasting an illuminated liquor display wall with a custom sliding ladder, the new bar energizes the room while providing speedy bar service for the dining room and patio tables.
Burt Rapoport, president of Rapoport’s Restaurant Group. “In addition to that, the structural changes will help make the dining room service much more efficient than before.” Additionally, all tables, chairs and bar stools will be replaced with new ones throughout the entire restaurant. An oversized, half-moon booth will take the place of the old service bar and every wall will receive a fresh coat of paint and new lighting fixtures throughout. Phase two of the renovations will focus on the outdoor patio and bar area, scheduled for the summer of 2020.
say the menu update was a significant one. When it comes to wings, Duffy’s now offers over a dozen sauce options. A new sauce, Florida Heat Wave, created in house offers a burst of flavor that packs a punch of heat with a blend of dry and wet rubs. A new lemon pepper is an option that is not a standard dry rub, but a blend as well. A new menu item that is performing surprisingly well is the Impossible Burger. Duffy’s added the burger and it has quickly become the No. 2 selling burger on the menu.
A return to the menu is the lobster mac and cheese, which is a popular patron choice. The No. 1 selling sandwich is the French dip. And the new Mahi rueben gives a South Florida spin to a staple sandwich.
Duffy’s debuts new menu, options for game day bites, vegans, more
And of course, you can’t go wrong with
Plus, a new custom abstract mural by local renowned artist, Ruben Ubiera, and pendant lighting will add a dramatic element to the room. The old service bar structure, the large white drapes and wooden shutters covering the interior windows will all be removed.
Just in time for football season, Duffy’s Sports Grill has made some menu updates that will hit the stomach on game day.
dipping sauce to start off your meal.
“With the Grille’s 30-year anniversary approaching in 2021, we wanted to really modernize the space and add some ‘wow’ elements,” says managing partner,
About twice a year, the restaurant adds new dishes, brings back old favorites and switches it up. This summer, local Duffy’s representatives from the Delray location
But some of the changes are not the obvious tailgate choices, like the new signature fajitas or the lobster mac and cheese.
ordering an oversized pretzel with cheese
Duffy’s has 34 locations including restaurants in Delray and Boca.
The most popular entree currently? Sizzling fajitas that come with chicken, steak, shrimp or a combination. Alongside the protein, the peppers are grown locally as is the micro-cilantro.
Sample a taste of Hawaii in West Boca By: Shaina Wizov Contributing Writer In Hawaiian, the name Kekoa means “brave warrior.” At Kekoa, the newly opened fast-casual restaurant in West Boca Raton, its inspiration stems from the origin of its name. The creators of the health-driven, fresh concept behind Kekoa believe that, “There’s nothing in your day that you can’t brave with the strength and heart of a warrior when you’re fed well.”
If you opt to create your own bowl, the process is simple. Choose the small bowl with two bases and one protein, or the large with four bases and two proteins. Bases include sauteed Asian greens, brown or white rice, stir-fried noodles, Asian slaw, house salad or pasta salad. Proteins include Ahi tuna or shrimp poke, Teriyaki beef tenderloin, Kalua pig, fried pork adobo, lomi lomi salmon, chicken katsu and chicken waikiki. When it comes to mix-ins, the choices are unlimited — avocado puree, carrots, edamame, cucumber, tomatoes, green onion, krab salad, hijiki seaweed, mago, masago, sweet onion and seaweed salad. Choose as many as your heart desires!
Eat well. Feel well. Live well. That’s the motto at Kekoa, and it shows within the food offered. The ingredients at this build-your-own bowl spot are freshly caught or harvested, and served in an authentic Hawaiian style. The restaurant is committed to serving clean meat, fruit and vegetables, and everything is gluten-free. Many of the items are also dairy-free as well. The staff is able to accommodate additional allergies with a few simple tweaks as well if you let them know.
in Hawaii, but not all poke restaurants brand themselves as being authentically Hawaiian. Kekoa does. There is even Kalua pork available that is actually flown in from Hawaii.
So what sets Kekoa apart from other build-your-own-bowl and poke restaurants? The ingredient options are a bit different. The poke concept originates
One of the prepared bowls offered is a staple in Hawaiian cuisine, the Loco Moco. Although the dish can vary, its traditional preparation consists of white rice, topped
with a hamburger patty, a fried egg, and brown gravy. At Kekoa, the Loco Moco features a house-made hamburger patty, served over white rice and smothered in house-made brown shiitake mushroom gravy, macaroni salad and topped with a fried egg. Non-meaters can enjoy the Loco Moco just as well — there is a vegetarian version of the patty available as well.
You can top everything off with one of nine sauces, including choices like coconut curry and Sriracha aioli. Just when you think you’ve added enough ingredients to your bowl, there’s still one more left. The last and final step is choosing your “topper” — crispy garlic or quinoa, furikake (Japaese seasoning), red chili flakes or sesame seeds. Visit Kekoa at 8177 Glades Road, Bay 20, Boca Raton, FL 33434. The restaurant is open Monday through Saturday from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., and is closed on Sunday.