BOCA Magazine May/June 2025 by JES Media

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The Boca Roundtable

For our special centennial issue, descendants of Boca’s pioneer families reflect on life in the once sleepy town—from shopping and recreation to education and race relations.

Written by JOHN THOMASON

The Boca Eras Tour

Like a certain pop star, Boca Raton’s evolution has been marked by transformative milestones. We break down 100 years of history, era by era, to explore how acres of pineapple farms sprouted into one of Florida’s most enviable success stories.

Written by TYLER CHILDRESS, CHRISTIANA LILLY and JOHN THOMASON

The Women Who Built Boca

Plenty of ink has been spilled about the men who contributed to Boca’s growth, but what about their female counterparts? We reveal the hidden figures who delivered our mail, fought for suffrage and the arts, expanded our health care and much more.

Written by CHRISTIANA LILLY

The early days of the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce. For more Boca history, turn to page 68.

Photo courtesy of The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum

26 Editor’s Letter

How does one magazine condense 100 years of Boca Raton’s highlights and lowlights, and its impact and legacy, in one issue? The editor breaks it down, while toasting the city we love.

Written

by CHRISTIANA

LILLY

29 The Local

In our super-sized centennial special, meet the teenage change-makers continuing Boca’s tradition of ingenuity and philanthropy, explore our calendar of centenary-related events, delve into residents’ favorite Boca memories, and much more. Plus: In this issue’s “Worth the Trip,” the blazing sunsets over Longboat Key are the cherry on top of this must-visit Gulf Coast island.

Written by ANGELA CARAWAY-CARLTON, TYLER CHILDRESS, CHRISTIANA LILLY and JOHN THOMASON

40 The Look

There’s trends and then there’s timeless looks; we pair styles from today’s boutiques with relics from the Boca Raton Historical Society.

Photography

by AARON

BRISTOL

87 Backstage Pass

Painter Serge Strosberg is on a mission to inject color, whimsy and monkey business into the august traditions of Palm Beach—whether the establishment likes it or not. Plus, glass art at the Boca Museum, world-premiere dance at the HARID, standup comedy from Marlon Wayans, and more A&E highlights.

Written by JOHN THOMASON

105 Florida Table: Eat & Drink

See what our food critic has to say about Embarcadero 41 and La Terraza Tapas. Plus, meet the Palm Beach County entrepreneur making limoncello out of life’s lemons, and celebrate Boca’s one hundredth at the city’s oldest restaurants.

Written by

126

Windy City rock royalty blew into Boca to raise millions for Boca Regional, a buzzy Peruvian eatery hosted a gala opening at Town Center, HomeSafe brought the noise to Hard Rock Hollywood, and other society happenings.

Written by

136 Speed Bumps

After bearing witness to many of its most seismic changes, our former editor salutes her adopted city.

Written by MARIE SPEED

ON THE COVER:

PHOTOGRAPHER: Ian Jacob

FASHION: Costume provided by The Wick Theatre and Costume Museum

MODEL:

HAIR & MAKEUP:

This Calls for a Celebration

With architecturally stunning settings and a golden beach, The Boca Raton resort and private club has hosted Florida’s most magical events for generations. Whether you’re a Club member, a newcomer, or anything in between, our team of world-class planners, designers, and renowned chefs will work with you to create a celebration that exceeds all expectations.

Web Extras

Visit bocamag.com for bonus items you won’t see anywhere else—extended stories, recipes, news and more.

A group of friends enjoy a beach day

BOCA BITS

In honor of Boca Raton’s centennial, we have compiled even more fun tidbits about the city similar to those in our Boca Chatter section (page 30). Visit bocamag.com/may-june-2025.

PEARL CITY MEMORIES

Marie Hester, the Pearl City pioneer featured in this issue’s Boca Roundtable, shares more of her recollections about growing up in the African-American enclave that predates the city itself. Visit bocamag.com/ may-june-2025.

BOCA MAGAZINE WINS BIG!

At this past summer’s Florida Magazine Association Charlie Awards, honoring excellence in magazine writing, design and advertising, Boca magazine collected 17 awards sweeping across 12 categories—including the first-place in eight categories, among them Best Overall Magazine in our subscription bracket. “The Boca magazine staff comes to work every day knowing they are producing the best magazine in Florida,” said Boca magazine Editor Emeritus Marie Speed. “To have the FMA agree with that assessment has always made us proud. … This year was my last awards submission to the Florida Magazine Association, and I am so happy with the recognition our magazines received.”

WELCOME TO PALM PARADISE

We’ve got more stories to tell, so we’re going where other local lifestyle magazines aren’t venturing—jumping off the page and into your ears with a monthly podcast. Palm Paradise is an entertaining, thought-provoking and engaging podcast series serving Boca Raton and beyond. We invite you to join us and travel to Palm Paradise, now available on your favorite podcasting platforms and YouTube. Visit bocamag.com/palm-paradise-podcast for more.

Don’t miss Boca on everything from FACEBOOK (facebook.com/ bocamag) to INSTAGRAM (@bocamag) and TWITTER/X (@ bocamag) for community news, retail trends, foodie updates and much more.

Best Bites

Think our dining guide is long? You haven’t seen anything until you’ve visited our digital version. We’ve got critic-reviewed restaurants from Jupiter to Miami on the web. Visit the Dining Guide tab to view the guide.

City Watch

Boca Raton is anything but sleepy, and Randy Schultz is the go-to for all the city politics, development and business news you need to know. For updates delivered straight to your email every Tuesday and Thursday, visit the City Watch tab on our website.

Marie Hester

GROUP EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Christiana Lilly

MANAGING EDITOR

John Thomason

WEB EDITOR

Tyler Childress

EDITOR EMERITUS

Marie Speed

SENIOR ART DIRECTOR

Lori Pierino

PRODUCTION MANAGER

Rafael Quiñones

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

James Karpinen

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Aaron Bristol, Michael Connor, Ian Jacob, Carina Mask, Jason Nuttle

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Angela Caraway-Carlton, Marie Speed, Margie Kaye (promotional writing)

CUSTOMER SERVICE/VIDEO PRODUCTION

David Shuff

FOOD EDITOR

Christie Galeano-DeMott

DIRECTOR OF ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

Nicole G. Ruth

DIRECTOR OF CIRCULATION AND SALES SUPPORT

Bruce Klein

SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER

Gail Eagle

ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Karen S. Kintner, Jenna Russo, Skyler Ruth

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LETTERS

Touched by Grief

I really enjoyed the February issue of your wonderful Boca magazine for the many interesting items it included. As a published author and avid reader, I was most profoundly touched by Marie Speed’s story,“Love, Actually.”Simply and eloquently told from the heart, it touched my own. Having lost my own younger brother many years ago, I am sadly acquainted with the feelings of grief. Please convey my sincere gratitude to Marie for sharing the special page in her life, and let her know that I wish her well.

With warm regards, Vivianne M. Silver

Boca Memories

Marg, I just finished reading the 45th Anniversary issue [January 2025]. Bravo!! You were able to recount the development of Boca Raton from the ‘80s. [My husband, former Mayor Bill Smith] came to Boca with his family in 1955, and his mother used to have to go to Deerfield Beach for groceries. We have certainly grown as a community. Some of Bill’s fondest memories in politics evolved around the development of Mizner Park. He worked with Jamie, Tom Crocker, Charlie and Wendy from the planning stages through the completion of the mixed-use entity. I remember the opening of Max’s Grille, the movie theater, Liberties and other tenants. I am thrilled you have found a home here, and we are fortunate to have you as a resident. My congratulations to you and Marie and all those who have worked so diligently to make Boca mag the best! John would be very proud of you and your accomplishments.

Bonny Smith

GARDEN SHOPS 7050 W PALMETTO PARK RD (AT POWERLINE) BOCA RATON FL 33433 (561) 447 4117 WILD AND WONDERFUL WOMENSWEAR

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A Retrospective

In putting together this special centennial issue, we realize the growth of a city is not unlike an artist reinventing herself

Written by CHRISTIANA LILLY

rainstorming for Boca magazine’s special centennial issue began last summer— we always work far in advance to put together each issue, but this was going to be a special one. Barring the discovery of the next Fountain of Youth or a major medical breakthrough on aging, we won’t be around for the bicentennial. But how do you tell the story of a city in just a single issue, when its first century was filled with so many moments that are dear to the people of Boca Raton? And most of all, how do we make sure it’s not borrrrrring?

Our editorial team sat around a table brainstorming. We didn’t want to just replicate Boca Raton’s Wikipedia page, after all.

“What about the Eras Tour?”joked our web editor. None of us are particularly big Taylor Swift fans, but as the laughs died down, we realized it was actually perfect. Like a person, Boca Raton has gone through an evolution since its incorporation 100 years ago.

The debut album would cover the days when pioneers arrived to a wilderness filled with palmetto bugs and mosquitos, tilling the land to grow beans, pineapples, tomatoes and whatever else would grow in the rich Florida soil. Then for the sophomore return, an ode to a man named Addison Mizner, who put Boca Raton on the map with The Boca Raton, back then known as the Cloister Inn.

Each era to follow gets more complex, more ambitious, like when Boca Raton transformed itself into a military base of sorts during World War II. After the war, residents were able to put their focus back on growing as a town, developing an arts and culture scene with the seeds of the Boca Raton Museum of Art, as well as opening the doors to Florida Atlantic University and Lynn University.

It became clear a hospital was needed after two children tragically died of arsenic poisoning, and their mother took the lead to break ground for what would become Boca Raton Regional Hospital. A little company called IBM found a home in Boca, building a city within a city with its campus at the modern-day BRiC.

In the artist known as Boca Raton’s latest rendition, we’re surpassing the 100,000 mark in population. Businesses relocate their headquarters here, more schools have opened, Town Center mall and Mizner Park have changed the retail trajectory of the city, and suddenly, a century has passed us by.

We cover the many faces of the city in “The Boca Eras Tour” on page 68, taking you along on a journey to explore the ways that Boca Raton has grown up into the powerhouse it is today. In our Boca Roundtable (page 62), we talk to community elders to hear about the early days of the city from varying perspectives. Looking to the future, this issue’s Hometown Hero is a highlight of seven Boca Raton teens who are making a difference in their communities in their own way (page 36). With this magazine in your hands, we hope we’ve created a keepsake, a time machine to the past with a glimpse of what’s to come.

Happy birthday, Boca Raton. We’re proud to have been along for the ride, and we can’t wait for what’s next.

CARINA MASK

Addison Mizner is ready to party

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Two bathing beauties in the 1950s at the Boca Raton Hotel & Club (now The Boca Raton). See more flashbacks on page 30.

Photo courtesy of The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum

BRAGGING RIGHTS

• Boca Raton is ranked the No. 1 place to raise a family in Palm Beach County by Niche Media.

• Many celebrities are proud to call Boca Raton their hometown, including Ariana Grande and Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional.

• Other celebrities were wowed by what Boca has to offer and purchased homes here, including Chris Evert, Morgan Pressel and Bernhard Langer.

The IBM computer was invented not in Silicon Valley, but in Boca

Raton. The first PC is located in the Boca Raton Historical Society’s museum.

• The Wick Theatre houses a costume museum with wardrobe items from more than 35 Broadway productions, at an estimated value of $21 million. The pieces include Angela Lansbury’s gold pantsuit from “Mame” and Richard Burton’s attire from “Camelot.”

• The longest hallway in America is the 907-foot-long BRiC Hallway at the Boca Raton Innovation Campus. That’s longer than MIT’s “Infinite Corridor,” which is (only) 825 feet long.

Locals sound off on issues affecting our community.

Johnny Mizner

Architect Addison Mizner always made an entrance, whether it was his towering height or his best accessory: Johnny Mizner the monkey, who would sit perched on Mizner’s shoulder for society events. Mizner was known for his eccentric pets—which included macaws, anteaters and racoons—but Johnny held a special place in his heart. The monkey ran for mayor of Palm Beach island, losing the election by just four votes, and he was allegedly invited to attend the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925 (Mizner declined). He was an active member of the Animal Rescue League on Palm Beach island. When Johnny died in 1927, he was buried in Via Mizner on Worth Avenue; his headstone is a must-visit when shopping on the Ave.

This year, the Boca Raton Historical Society found a 1927 article stating that the monkey previously known as Johnnie Brown was actually named Johnny Mizner. Whatever his moniker, the primate’s memory lives on, with hidden monkeys throughout the property at The Boca Raton, including an elevator button, robot butler, and the S.S. Johnnie Brown in the children’s swimming area. There’s also the Delray Beach bar Johnnie Brown’s, and the legendary monkey is the mascot of The Colony hotel.

We asked these Boca natives about their favorite memories from their hometown.

“We belonged to the Boca Beach Club, as it was called. We spent a lot of time there, and we would go to camp in the summer and watch fireworks on the beach. I also remember going to Mizner Park when it was new!”

Amanda Wasserman, COO and director of marketing for High Level Throwing

“As a kid we used to get Mario’s Osteria for our go-to Italian food—they’ve been open since the ‘80s! I’ll never forget eating a garlic roll on the car ride home. Now it’s so fun to bring my daughter, Izzy, who is also obsessed with their garlic rolls. I love introducing her to things I did as a kid.”

Jami Cook, VP at Levy PR

“We lived within a bicycle ride of the Boca Inlet and beaches there. I remember fishing and snorkeling in and around the Boca Inlet before there was a ton of boat traffic. There was an amazing abundance of sea life in the inlet.”

J.D. Dickenson, Cozen O’Connor shareholder and regional manager of Global Insurance Department

Can’t Miss Events

BOOMTIME BOCA: BOCA RATON IN THE 1920S

WHEN: May 14 at Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum

WHAT: Curator Susan Gillis will share insights into life in 1920s Boca Raton, when architect Addison Mizner had dreams of building a resort that would bring the world’s biggest names to the farming town.

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION WEEKEND CONCERT

WHEN: May 24 at Mizner Park Amphitheater

WHAT: For the official 100-year mark for Boca Raton, the city is planning an evening at Mizner Park with a festival featuring a major headlining artist. As of this writing, the performer has not been announced, but we certainly have names on our musical wish list!

WEEKEND DRONE SHOW

WHEN: May 25 at Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC)

WHAT: A swarm of drones will be descending upon the Boca Raton Innovation Campus, the city’s original tech hub when IBM was founded. In honor of the city’s centennial, the drones will tell the story of Boca Raton through a series of imagery lighting up the sky with the deft synchronicity of the drones.

THE CENTENNIAL EXHIBIT

WHEN: Through May 30 at Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum

WHAT: This exhibition spotlights architect Addison Mizner’s creativity via artifacts produced and imported

A PLACE IN HISTORY

by Mizner Industries—Corinthian column capitals, fireplace mantels, floor and roof tiles, and more—as well as videos, photographs, drawings and maps charting his century of influence.

BOCA RATON FIRE ENGINE NO. 1

“OLD BETSY”

WHEN: June 11 at Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum

WHAT: Retired Fire Chief Thomas R. Wood shares the story of Boca Raton’s first fire engine, affectionately called “Old Betsy,” built in 1925 and earning a place on the National Register of Historic Places.

1925!

WHEN: July 2 to Dec. 20 at Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum

WHAT: The museum explores all things 1925, from the rise of the automobile, flapper fashion, the Art Deco movement, and the modern inventions of the Roaring Twenties that would forever change the way we live.

HOLIDAY STREET PARADE

WHEN: Dec. 4 from 7:30 to 9 p.m.; Federal Highway at Southeast Fifth Street north to Mizner Park Amphitheater

BOCA BY THE NUMBERS

The minutes of our commute, shorter than the state average 45 Average age of Boca residents

5 Miles of beaches

6.6 million

Average number of tourists who visit Boca Raton each year

WHAT: One of the longest running traditions in Boca Raton, the Holiday Street Parade will be themed after the city’s centennial to close out a year of celebrations. More than 60 floats take part in the parade, from community groups to companies, schools and more. 30 thousand

There’s plenty of historical spaces throughout Boca Raton, but Pearl City was recognized nationally in December 2023 when it was included on the National Register of Historic Places. The community was founded in 1915—a decade before Boca Raton was incorporated—for Black residents to shorten their trek to the pineapple farms; most of them previously lived in Deerfield Beach and traveled on foot. From there, a vibrant community was formed, including churches, softball games, a school, convenience stores, juke joints, restaurants (hello, Tom’s Place) and trips to the “Black beach.”

The designation was a combined effort between the Boca Raton Historical Society and Developing Interracial Social Change (DISC).

The number of seats at Flagler Credit Union Stadium, home of the FAU Owls

Pickleball courts in Boca Raton

The Tree of Knowledge in Pearl City

MONEY TALKS

We look back at the average cost of living in 1925, when Boca Raton was incorporated.

The Name Game

• “The father of the IBM PC,” Don Estridge headed the development of the PC. Don Estridge High Tech Middle School was fittingly named for him.

$11,600 MONTHLY RENT: $75

FORD MODEL T TOURING: $260

lives on through Butts Road

Source: U.S. News & World Report and Bureau of Labor Statistics

• Some of the first local residents were the Calusa people, hence Calusa Elementary School.

• J.C. Mitchell Elementary School’s namesake is from the property developer who served as mayor from 1939 to 1950.

• In the 1920s, August H. Butts and his family owned a bean farm on Glades Road from I-95 to the turnpike. Their name

• Clint Moore Road is named for the road and paving contractor who owned land in the western part of the county in the mid1920s.

• Sanborn Square was named after dentist William Sanborn, who deeded the plot of land to the city.

• Hughes Park was named in honor of Alex Hughes, who purchased some of the first lots in the community set aside for Black residents.

• Judge Winikoff Road is named after

the late Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey A. Winikoff, the “unofficial mayor of West Boca.”

• Lynn University is named after its major benefactors, the late Eugene M. Lynn and his wife, Christine Lynn.

•Yamato Road is named for Boca Raton’s Japanese pineapple farmers in the Yamato Colony, founded in 1905.

• Military Trail was a route taken by Major William Lauderdale and his troops during the Second Seminole War in the 1830s.

• Between Mizner

What’s in a Name?

There’s a lot of lore surrounding where Boca Raton got its name, with the most popular being that it’s improper Spanish for “rat’s mouth.” It’s a starting point, though—“boca de ratones” is a nautical term in Spanish referring to rocky, jagged inlets. The name was given to an area in present-day Miami Beach near Biscayne Bay in the 18th century. However, sometime around the early 19th century, it was mistakenly placed 50 miles north at Lake Boca. Over time, the name evolved to Boca Raton. We do have one final say on the matter of the city’s name: it’s Boca Ratone, not Boca Ratawn

Elementary, Mizner Park and Mizner Country Club, Boca should have been dubbed Mizner Town, considering how much was named after society architect Addison Mizner.

• Count Adolfe and Countess Henrietta de Hoernle made major donations in Boca Raton. There’s Countess de Hoernle Park, Countess de Hoernle Theatre and the Count de Hoernle Amphitheater

• James A. Rutherford Park is named for Boca Raton’s first recreation director, who became city manager in the ‘80s.

Mayor J.C. MitchellAugust H. Butts Alex Hughes Eugene and Christine Lynn

Compassionate Cancer Care.

“DANGEROUS INSTRUMENTS”

WHEN: May 23June 8

WHERE: Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach COST: $72-$107

CONTACT:

561/514-4042, palmbeachdramaworks.org

Palm Beach Dramaworks concludes its historic 25th-anniversary season with a timely world-premiere drama from a South Florida playwright. Gina Montet’s “Dangerous Instruments” gestated at Dramaworks in 2023, when the West Palm Beach theatre company provided the play with its first public reading, and the relationship continues with its first full production. As with many shows without a production history, information about the show is light on specifics, but the story centers on Laura, a single mother whose brilliant son Daniel finds himself overtaken by darkness. Determined to seek help, Laura finds only roadblocks when navigating the American health care system.

“SHUCKED”

WHEN: June 10-22

WHERE: Broward Center for the Performing Arts, 201 S.W. Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale COST: $45 and up

CONTACT: 954/462-0222, browardcenter.org

A musical that’s up to its ears in corn puns,“Shucked”has at least a kernel of truth. Written by Robert Horn, of“Tootsie”fame, and country musicians Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally,“Shucked”became one of the sleeper hits of the 2022-2023 Broadway season, earning nine Tony nominations, including Best Musical. Its narrative will sit well with fans of“The Music Man:”Set in the fictional Cob County—a place that lives and dies by its corn harvest—spunky protagonist Maizy is set to marry Beau. But as the vows commence, the corn begins to die. Maizy, true to her name, won’t go through with the nuptials until she finds a solution to reverse the blight. To wit, she flies to Tampa to meet a professed corn doctor who turns out to be a con artist in debt to the mob.“Shucked”is a unicorn on Broadway these days, a show completely conceived for the stage, as neither adaptation nor revival. See its regional Broadway tour premiere before it becomes a husk of its former self.

Sleigh Bells

SLEIGH BELLS

WHEN: May 30, 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale

COST: $32.50

CONTACT: 954/564-1074, cultureroom.net

Producing one of the most strikingly original and enduring debut albums of the 21st century, Brooklyn duo Sleigh Bells emerged fully formed on 2010’s Treats, a blast-furnace hybrid of electro-pop, garage punk and vintage AM-radio harmonies that sounded like it was recorded through blown speakers. Later efforts have refined, though seldom matched, the songs on that auspicious introduction, smoothing out some of the lower-fidelity elements on sleeker LPs like 2016’s Jessica Rabbit and 2021’s Texis. Now, though, the duo is looking ahead by looking back, if its latest single “Wanna Start a Band?” is any indication. A song that’s been percolating since 2014, it lands with the same urgent energy as the early material, conjuring the vocal howl of Sleater-Kinney and the arena-rock riffs of Joan Jett in equal measure. Sleigh Bells’ current tour marks its first South Florida appearance in 12 years.

“SIDE BY SIDE: THE ARTIST COUPLE”

WHEN: May 14, 2025-May 10, 2026

WHERE: Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton

COST: $12-$16

CONTACT: 561/392-2500, bocamuseum.org

Like attracts like, and many of our great artists found partners among their inner circles, forging indelible bonds beyond the canvas; think Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Lee Krasner and Jackson Pollock, Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz. To this cohort, we can add Theresa Bernstein and William Meyerowitz. Born three years apart, in Poland and Ukraine respectively, the artists married in 1919, just two years after they met, and remained inseparable in life and art until Meyerowitz’s death in 1981. Affiliated with the Ashcan School of urban realism, they believed in the populist power of art, bringing their paintings and etchings to economically disadvantaged Americans through the People’s Art Guild. Whether capturing cultural, office or maritime life, they often focused their brushes on the working men and women of New York City and Massachusetts, where they summered.“Side by Side”features more than 50 paintings and works on paper.

“Portrait of a Lady” by William Meyerowitz

“Shucked”

DAVID PEREZ

JACEK GANCARZ

Jeff Wilson and Eric Prego, a top-producing team at Douglas Elliman, bring a personalized touch to South Florida’s luxury real estate market. Jeff’s commitment to understanding his clients is key. “Digging deep into finding out what my client’s needs and wants are is vital.” He delivers customer service that has made him a trusted real estate professional in the community while creating many new friendships along the way.

“I truly believe the real estate business is so much more than selling a house made of bricks and mortar; it’s finding that special home for families to enjoy life and create lifelong memories.” Leveraging market insights and negotiation skills, Eric guides clients through complex transactions, anticipating trends and maximizing value for buyers and investors.

“I help clients navigate these trends with data-driven insights, strategic guidance, and tailored solutions— ensuring they buy wisely, sell competitively, and maximize opportunities in a dynamic landscape.”

After raising his family in South Palm Beach and living here for 50 years, Jeff takes pride in his knowledge of the schools, restaurants, marinas and the neighborhoods he sells in. An avid boater and scuba diver, he eats, sleeps and breathes the coastal lifestyle, which shows in his passion for selling coastal and waterfront properties. Outside of real estate, Eric is passionate about fitness, boating and exploring South Florida’s vibrant culture.

Photography: Michael Connor

This page is a tribute to community citizens who have demonstrated exemplary service and leadership to the city of Boca Raton and is in memory of John E.

The Next Generation

Teens making a difference in Boca

Written by CHRISTIANA LILLY

As we enter Boca’s second century, we look to the future of the city— and if these young hometown heroes are any indication, we’re in good hands.

Luke and Jett Justin Ages: 17

High School

For Madison, it hasn’t been one single cause that she’s gotten involved in but helping wherever she can throughout her community. She’s picked up trash in Boynton Beach, Deerfield Beach and Delray Beach; volunteered at the West Boca Branch Library doing crafts with special-needs children; handed out free lunches to those in need; and performed with her school band dance troupe for children with special needs.

When she was selected to join this year’s class of the Frances J. Bright Woman’s Club debutante program, she became a part of a local tradition of community service, education and culture more than 50 years strong. It also helped her expand her community service by collecting more volunteer hours, receiving guidance from empowered women, and strengthening her self-confidence.“I feel like meeting new people, it’s just another experience, it’s a great experience,” she says.“I hope to build a business to give back to my community … for those who need help.” fjbwc.org

School: American Heritage School

Jett and Luke’s philanthropy goes back to their elementary school days, when they volunteered at Boca Helping Hands packing pantry bags for local families. It was here they noticed there wasn’t a lot of breakfast food being donated.“We did some research and learned that breakfast food is one of the least donated items at food banks,” Jett says.“That had a big emotional impact on us, since we were kids who loved cereal.”

The two founded Cereal4All, and since 2016, they’ve partnered with more than 80 schools, 70 food banks and students in 16 states (as well as in Canada and the Bahamas) to provide more than 500,000 bowls of cereal to families. They also guide other youngsters to give back. Luke says,“We focus on the special connection young people have with cereal to help them think about the hunger struggles of others in a more relatable, personal way.”

When they’re not in school or working to solve food insecurity, Luke and Jett run their video game design company, Yamato Studios. cereal4all.org

Rosenthal Age: 18 School: Pine Crest School

Constellations on black denim, a mountain at dusk, the solar system—all hand-painted designs that are helping raise donations.

The seeds of Maddie’s Jackets grew from Maddie Rosenthal wanting to make a birthday present for her mom; she had the idea of taking an old jean jacket and painting a heart design. It was well received, so Rosenthal painted more and ended up launching a website.

The high school senior decided she didn’t need the funds, though, and has been donating proceeds to charity. For two years now, she’s been donating proceeds from her jacket sales to Boca Helping Hands, which she connected with through her temple.

Between schoolwork and extracurricular activities, it takes about a month to complete a jacket. She also completed a two-week entrepreneurial course at the University of Miami, which she hopes will help bolster the business further.

“Hopefully I’m able to grow it into either a bigger jacket business or maybe some other type of business to give back to the community,” she says. maddiesjackets.com

Shuff.

Madison Greene Age: 17 School: Boynton Beach Community

Maddie

Benjamin Friedman Age: 17

School: Florida Atlantic University High School

When Benjamin isn’t in school, ice skating or playing video games, he’s meeting with senior citizens to help them crack the code on their iPhone.

His cousin, Sam Friedman, founded South Florida Tech for Seniors in 2019 in West Palm Beach, a volunteer organization that connects teens with seniors to help with tech issues. Benjamin joined as a volunteer in 2020, teaching elders how to sign up for a COVID vaccine and work Zoom and FaceTime. “[Some] seniors don’t have a grandchild or a child or really anybody that lives close to them and can consistently help them with their technological questions,” Benjamin explained.

The group rebranded as Senior Tech, and Benjamin expanded it to Boca Raton last year. They host events at Broken Sound Country Club and B’nai Torah Congregation; some of their pupils’ most common frustrations involve email.

But Benjamin and the other volunteers get something out of it, too—they get to hear from people with life experience. He says,“That gratification of seeing people so happy when they’re connected or something works for them or when they learn a new thing, that keeps us going.” seniortech.org

Taroon Muthuswamy Age: 15

School: American Heritage School

Taroon remembers learning about microplastics in seventh grade; his father showed him an article, and he was alarmed to read that they’ve been found in everything from our food to inside our bodies and even breastmilk.

He was motivated from then to theme his science fair projects around exploring microplastics, including measuring their presence in our waterways as well as from the tap at his house—a“pretty substantial amount,”he says. In high school, he researched different methods and combined them into a single process, using organic magnetic fluids that would draw out the microplastics from water (or the more technical term, microplastics ferrofluid removal).

The next step for Taroon is to experiment with engineering to see how he can incorporate his findings into water treatment plants, such as vats that are able to attract and remove microplastics.“A lot of people, especially in the recent district fair I went to, were surprised to hear that microplastics were being found so deep inside human bodies, [and] even found in mothers’ milk to feed babies,”he says.“My dream is to eventually have my research be incorporated into one of those central water management systems.”ahschool.com/science-research-institute

Jordyn & Kyle Kelman Ages: 15

School: Saint Andrew’s School

Kids at Saint Andrew’s School are required to complete 40 volunteer hours for graduation; 100 is optimal for college. Long ago, though, Jordyn and Kyle surpassed those numbers, thanks to their weekly visits to the Fuller Center.

The sophomores started volunteering their time at the Fuller Center in 2023, reading and playing with children and helping them with new skills. Kyle says it’s the small victories, like when a child writes their name correctly. He adds,“It started out as a requirement, but it’s become a lot more than that, and [we’ve] created great connections with all the kids and the faculty.”

The two have hosted clothing and shoe drives, as well as a Halloween costume drive. In 2024, they were awarded the Living Our Legacy recognition for being the center’s youngest volunteers. The twins helped the Fuller Center land a $4,000 grant during the Great Charity Challenge; the deadline was just around the corner, and they were able to quickly film a video explaining why they support the center.

“It was such a huge surprise, because our work was being recognized,”Jordyn says.“Not that we needed the recognition, but it’s great to see how our work was really benefiting the Fuller Center.”fullercenterfl.org

Anish says that when he discovered that 173,000 people in Palm Beach County struggle with food insecurity, it was “very unacceptable.”Then he came up with a solution: developing an app that would connect pizza restaurants with food banks. He had basic coding skills, and with the help of his aunt, it took a year and a half to create Pizza for a Purpose. Through the app, restaurants can enter the number of pizzas they want to donate on which days. A charity can accept the offer and pick it up or edit the date or time. After the donation is complete, a tax-deductible receipt is automatically sent to the restaurant.“I’ve always had a deep love for technology, and this expanded this to use it for good,” he says.

So far, the app is in use by 11 restaurants and two charities, the Soup Kitchen and Boca Helping Hands; more than 3,000 slices of pizza have been donated since the initiative launched in August 2024. Anish is hoping to expand his reach by partnering with grocery stores who will donate frozen pizzas. Pizza for a Purpose falls under the umbrella of the Dhanam Foundation—which is Sanskrit for “generosity”—that he founded with his sister, Aashrita. dhanamfoundationinc.org

Anish Kaza Age: 15 School: Pine Crest School

“The Kelly/Strul Scholarship helped me prepare for the future by instilling me with leadership skills, telling me that my passion has a purpose, and that anything that I apply myself to I can get.”

— Victoria Armand, a Kelly/Strul Scholar

First & Proud

Florida Atlantic’s Kelly/Strul scholarships provide first-generation college students with a debt-free education and a lifelong community

Written by TYLER CHILDRESS

As a child growing up in South Africa, Aubrey Strul witnessed firsthand the injustice in denying kids a fair opportunity to succeed.

“I was brought up during the apartheid system, and I couldn’t stand it,” Strul says.“As a young kid I reviled it, I spoke out against it, I just thought it was incredibly bad to hold people back…That experience was one of the drivers for me to ensure that we give access to underserved children who are deserving of an education.”

Strul’s experience taught him to never take education for granted, a lesson that would stay with him as he became the first member of his family to graduate college, and in the years that followed as he forged a wildly successful business career in the sectors of manufacturing, real estate and private equity. His passion for education would ultimately culminate in the creation, alongside former Florida Atlantic President John Kelly, of the Kelly/ Strul Emerging Scholars program.

Established in 2017, the Kelly/ Strul scholarships offer a path to higher education for low-income, first-generation college students that allows them to graduate debtfree by paying for every aspect of their college experience, from books and housing to tuition. The idea for the program began to form over a dinner between Strul and his wife, Sally, and John Kelly and his wife, Carolyn.

“During the night [Carolyn] explained how many deserving students don’t get access to an education, and how many just don’t [attend] a university,” Strul recalls. “This really concerned me, and I started to get really involved.”

Strul and John Kelly then spent more than a year meticulously crafting the scholarship program, with Strul making frequent visits to the Florida Atlantic campus to consult with the faculty on how best to ensure students’ success. While his educational background is in finance and accounting, his first love was manufacturing—putting things together with precise detail and anticipating every stress test it might have to endure.

“I wouldn’t start until everything was there,” Strul says.“I don’t start things that aren’t wellthought-out.”

As Strul’s thoughtfulness in execution served him well in business, it now serves Kelly/Strul scholars. Since its inception, the Kelly/Strul scholarship program has graduated 56 students debt-free, with 73 currently enrolled and on track to get their degrees as of writing. Among the Kelly/Strul scholars there is a 100% graduation rate, with more than 60% finishing their degree in fewer than four years. And while the numbers tell a success story on paper, it’s the change that Strul sees in the students themselves that really drives home the benefits of the program.

“We have all these students out there who are just happy and successful on campus,”Strul says. “They are the best ambassadors we could ever have for what we do.”

A key feature baked into the program is mentorship, where scholars that have graduated or are further into the program avail themselves for one-on-one support with incoming freshmen.

“That was our goal [with the

program],”says John Kelly,“to use it as a magnet to draw ultra-bright kids and have them be able to work together and learn from each other and then surround them with what we call the support system.”

The network of Kelly/Strul scholars has only grown since 2017, in ways that not even Strul could have predicted. In 2018, students formed the First and Proud club, an organization dedicated to fostering support and success among first-generation college students. It’s this social aspect of the program that Strul feels is just as foundational as education.

“With very good social skills, you can always ask and self-learn, and that, to me, is what we try and build up in the Kelly/Strul program,” says Strul, who never ceases to be impressed by the progress of the program’s scholars.

“I’ve seen kids that could barely say a word, they were so nervous,” he says.“When you see them in two years, the confidence in them, that’s when I know we’ve got successful students. Because when you believe in you, truly believe in you, you’ll achieve anything your mind and grit wants you to do.”

Aubrey Strul

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As a member of our Concierge Medicine program, you will have 24/7 access to your Concierge Medicine doctor via phone or email from anywhere in the world. Benefit from same-day or next-day appointments, unrushed visits and convenient locations in Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Miami Beach, Miami and Coral Gables.

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FRANCIS KLEIN frame, $590; from Grove Opticians

EMM KUO Ramatelle beaded bag, $515; feather earrings, $395; both from Michelle Farmer

JIMMY CHOO bag, $2,150; CHANEL Mary Jane shoes, $1,375; VALENTINO pumps, $1,320; all from Saks Boca

SOSPIRI frames, $1,240; monocle, $280; both from Grove Opticians

SERENA UZIYEL fringe bag, $990; SERENA UZIYEL pumps, $650; SERENA UZIYEL clutch, $990; all from Serena Uziyel

Toast, twist and shout your way into the next century

glasses, $25 each; from

Wine

Michelle Farmer

in Financial Advice and Planning

Elizabeth Bennett, Principal and CEO

For Certified Financial Planner ™ Elizabeth Bennett, managing money is more than a career—it’s a passion, and its roots are personal. Bennett’s father died when she was 7, and her widowed mother became so overwhelmed with financial burdens that she had declared bankruptcy by the time Elizabeth turned 18. Bennett went on to earn a B.S. in Accounting from Penn State University so that she would not fall into similar financial hardship.

Now, as head of Intercoastal Wealth Planning in Boca Raton, she shares her insights from nearly 35 years in finance with a wide range of clients, designing custom plans to steer them toward financial freedom and independence. These include widows and divorcees, soonto-be retirees, and others undergoing major life changes.

Bennett is familiar with the mistakes that amateur investors often make without the advice of a professional fiduciary— such as playing the stock market ineffectively. Bennett is an expert at reversing these habits, and excels at providing solutions for her clients during times of market volatility.

“I pride myself on building a client’s portfolio based on what their risk tolerance is,” she says. “We always start with a financial plan. I need to understand who you are and what your goals are, and where you are today, so I can help you get to where you want to go.”

Contact Elizabeth’s office to schedule a private, complimentary consultation on your financial planning and investment needs.

A division of:

Put on your dancing shoes; it's time to party

SERENA UZIYEL

ballet flat, $595; from Serena Uziyel

JIMMY CHOO clutch, $2,795; from Saks Boca

MICHELLE FARMER halter top, $585;

MICHELLE FARMER sequin skirt, $400; both from Michelle Farmer

Dapper, Indeed

Retro accessories take a look from leisure to luxe

SAINT

espadrille,

CARTIER sunglasses, $1,945; from Grove Opticians

LAURENT

$650; from Saks Boca

BUGACTHI blue shirt, $199; ROBERT GRAM shirt, $188; ROBERT GRAM long sleeve shirt, $238; L.E.N. belt, $295; socks, $35 each; all from Raise The Bar Menswear

MORE LEADING DOCTORS IN MORE OF PALM BEACH COUNTY.

Primary Care - Cardiology - Dermatology - Endocrinology

Gastroenterology - Gynecology - Obesity Medicine - Orthopedic Surgery

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation - Physical Therapy

Our newest practice, NYU Langone Medical Associates—West Palm Beach, offers gastroenterology and pain management services. With the vast array of specialties we provide throughout Palm Beach County, streamlining access to care is vital. That’s why we use a single electronic health record for each patient across all of our locations, so they and every medical professional can access their conditions, tests, images, medications, and more. NYU Langone Health is committed to bringing you exceptional care from leading doctors…with much more coming soon.

Better health starts with a better health system.

Coming in Clutch

Timeless statement bags for fashionistas on the go

FRANCIS KLEIN frames, $890; from Grove Opticians

VALENTINO raffia clutch, $3,190; VALENTINO embroidered clutch, $4,100; both from Saks Boca

SERENA UZIYEL mule heels, $670; from Serena Uziyel

EXPERIENCE THE WORLD WITH REID

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Reid Travel is a trusted name in luxury travel, known for its expertise and personalized service. I’m Julia Shore, president of Reid Travel, and together with my team, we specialize in crafting exceptional journeys tailored to your unique desires—be it a private getaway, a multi-generational trip, or an unforgettable event.

Luxury Cruises and Beyond

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Contact me at Julia@reidtravel.com or call 561-271-1774.

Wherever you are, my team and I are ready to help you create the journey of your dreams.

Bridging the Gap

Roots and Wings founder Ted Hoskinson is on a mission to give underprivileged students a hand up and honor the teachers that inspire them

Written by TYLER CHILDRESS

Ted Hoskinson didn’t move to Boca Raton with big plans of launching a nonprofit. When he arrived, he had little on his mind except improving his tennis game and enjoying retirement with his wife, Anne. The couple had long discussed ways to give back—even writing into their wills that all of the money they left behind would go to support children in need—but they hadn’t decided what that support would look like.

“We didn’t know what exactly that meant, because we didn’t think we were ever going to die,” Hoskinson says.“Who plans to die, right?”

him an answer he didn’t expect.“She said, ‘help my kids read,’” Hoskinson says. It was a profound ask, which Hoskinson responded to with a profoundly simple solution: Give the teachers who see these kids every day the funding to provide struggling students extra attention.

Hoskinson soon launched Roots and Wings’ Project UpLift program, the funding of which pays teachers to give students after-school instruction that addresses their difficulties on an individual level.

“That’s part of the sweet sauce that makes the difference,” explains Hoskinson.“Because you have a

“Keeping it simple is the way to success, and the most important thing you can do with children is to show them that you love them.”

— Ted Hoskinson

Ted Hoskinson with local school children

Unfortunately, the couple never got around to making those plans together. Anne passed away in 2016, and the daunting task of fulfilling the couple’s philanthropic ambitions fell to Hoskinson. Luckily, he knew where to start.

Prior to Anne’s passing, Hoskinson, along with two friends, had been visiting public elementary schools and surprising teachers with “Snickers Awards” as a way to show appreciation for their hard work, with $100 in gift cards presented in a bag with a Snickers bar taped to the back. Having been an educator for nearly 20 years, Hoskinson knew what that recognition meant to the teachers.

“You could see it in the teachers’ eyes, how great that was, how they felt that they were appreciated,”Hoskinson says.“To me, that was the real key.”

Hoskinson decided that showing appreciation for extraordinary teachers would form the foundation of a nonprofit he would call Roots and Wings, a name that carried special significance for both he and his wife. “[Anne] found this passage in a book which talked about the roots, which is the foundation that you have before you can spread your wings,” Hoskinson recalls.

In the first year alone, Hoskinson presented the newly dubbed Above and Beyond Awards to 135 teachers across five Title I schools—schools that receive federal funding to assist students from low-income families—in Palm Beach County. At the end of the school year, he asked the principal of a local school what else he could do to help, and she gave

teacher who, during the day, can’t really reach those kids, but if they really want to make a difference in those kids’ lives, now they get that real chance.”

But there’s another, more crucial ingredient to this “sweet sauce.”“The most important thing that you can do for a child is to build their confidence and self-esteem,” Hoskinson says. Since its founding, Roots and Wings has helped more than 4,500 students spread their wings through Project UpLift, and honored more than 1,400 teachers with Above and Beyond Awards. Kids that go through the Project UpLift program, who start at the bottom 25th percentile of their class, are being promoted to the next grade at rates sometimes exceeding that of the rest of the class.

Roots and Wings’ effectiveness in achieving tangible results for students has earned Hoskinson and the organization several awards, including a President’s Lifetime Achievement Award given by former President Joe Biden. And while Hoskinson appreciates the recognition, he sees the awards more as“stepping stones”to addressing the existential issue of childhood illiteracy.

Quoting a study from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, Hoskinson says,“In the fourth grade, if you’re not proficient in reading, there’s a twothird’s chance that you’re going to end up in prison or on welfare.

“The problem is massive, but it is solvable,” he adds.“The good news for us is that I know that we’re changing lives ... by making them feel more important, and by being happy about what they do.”

Clockwise this page: CW Prime, beach saberage, Oshen, and pool aerial view

West Coast Glow

Champagne sabering, butlers who curate special moments, and a rare beachfront location that feels like it’s all yours—the St. Regis Longboat Key will be your new drive-destination obsession

Written by ANGELA CARAWAY-CARLTON

TIF YOU GO

ST. REGIS

LONGBOAT KEY

1601 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key

941/231-1000

marriott.com/en-us/ hotels/srqls-the-stregis-longboat-keyresort

here’s nothing like arriving to a hotel after a four-hour drive and being greeted luxuriously at check-in by a butler pushing a rambling Champagne cart. “If I must,” I tell the butler, as he fills up my dainty coupe glass with bubbly. Champagne and revelry are integrally weaved into the new St. Regis Longboat Key, from the nightly Champagne sabering ritual that’s distinctive to the St. Regis brand, to pool butlers who will wade into the water in their uniforms to personally deliver a glass to guests. And there’s much reason for celebration: The new hotel is the largest development on quiet Longboat Key in 50 years, and—spoiler alert—a stay here is so good you’ll gather every penny or Marriott point you can scrounge up to return again.

Longboat Key is a barrier island that’s located west of Sarasota and Bradenton, and a smidge less than four hours from Boca Raton. It’s one of those special

Florida locales where sunsets are marked nightly, and the private stretch of powdery-soft beach that fronts the 18-acre resort feels like it’s all yours. The hotel makes good use of its U-shaped perch, with guest rooms and glassy social spaces that offer the feeling that you could jump into the Gulf at any time. We stayed in a one-bedroom suite with a stretching waterfront balcony, and it felt more like a glamorous private residence—yet it wasn’t too pretentious, as our dog was welcomed like family.

St. Regis is renowned for its surprise-and-delight butler service, and this property over-delivers with special touches like a bathing suit service where they’ll rinse and dry your bathing suit, and spa attendants will even warm up your spa sandals after a pampering treatment. (It’s a perk you never knew you needed until you slide your feet into what are normally cold sandals.) A standout of the property is

the spa, where once again, water takes center stage. While you’ll want to take advantage of amenities such as a cold plunge, snow shower and heated Finnish sauna, the co-ed outdoor vitality pool with individual hydrotherapy pods steals the spa show. Picture lounging in bubbling, warm water with reach-out-and-touch-it views of the Gulf from the glass-enclosed pool. The spa has a rare partnership with luxury skin care brand La Mer, and your face will thank you after treatments like the Genaissance de la Mer. The 90-minute facial with a steep price tag borders on a stimulating massage workout for your face, yet it’s relaxing enough to lull you to sleep. All of that massaging and manipulating left my skin lifted and glowing.

During the day, you’ll be planted on a lounger or in a private cabana with butler service that flanks a collection of pools fit for families or strictly adults, and a winding lazy river framed by lush plantings. As I don’t have children, I normally won’t deviate from adults-only serenity, but I thoroughly enjoyed taking numerous spins around the winding river on a float. There’s even a hidden grotto with a hot tub, where you can push a button to have someone bring you a glass of Dom Perignon. (A glass is $99, so push at your own risk.)

One of the most unique features of the property is the Under the Sea Lagoon, a man-made lagoon and reef where colorful fish and rays big and small glide by glass windows. You can choose from different interactive sea life experiences, and I had the opportunity to snorkel the lagoon and, under guidance from the resort’s resident marine experts, feed the stingrays. You’ll learn much about the local marine life, and the trainers make you feel comfortable while hand-feeding the rays (with a protective glove on), which race over to gobble up the food.

After attending the evening Champagne sabering, you’ll have numerous dining options to choose from. The elevated CW Prime is the place for steaks cooked in the Josper grill, resulting in the perfect char, and indulgent sides like a potato pave, crispy fine layers of potatoes topped with black truffle. At coastal Italian gem Riva, handmade pastas and fresh fish specials are the way to go. Our most memorable dining experience was at Oshen, an al fresco Nikkei restaurant that hovers above the sand and Gulf waters and mingles Peruvian and Japanese flavors. The trick is to snag a reservation before sunset for a coveted front-row seat to the impressive light show at the golden hour.

While there was zero reason for us to leave the property during the weekend stay, the St. Regis is minutes from the shopping and dining of St. Armands Circle and Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium. I don’t know about you, but I’m staying where the Champagne flows and the butlers cater to every whim.

From top: St. Regis bar and lobby lounge, poolside cabanas, Under the Sea Lagoon experience

In the heart of Boca Raton, Florida, Juliano Scherba stands as a testament to the American Dream—a self-made entrepreneur whose journey from Brazil to the United States embodies resilience, mastery, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.

As a Florida Certified General Contractor, Juliano has built JL Home Projects into a powerhouse of luxury and innovation. With over two decades of experience, he has completed more than 1,000 projects, ranging from new construction luxury homes to design-build commercial projects such as lobby renovations and high-end condo amenities. His expertise also extends to full-scale condo gut renovations, where precision, craftsmanship, and attention to detail transform spaces into architectural masterpieces.

At the core of JL Home Projects is Juliano’s hands-on approach. He leads with a vision that turns ideas into reality, overseeing every stage—from concept to execution. His dedication to excellence ensures that each project exceeds expectations, setting a new benchmark in the industry for bespoke renovations, custom millwork, and elite design solutions.

His recently launched designer showroom, JL Home Interiors, in downtown Boca Raton further cements his commitment to offering the finest in luxury interiors.

A true builder of success, Juliano has expanded his enterprise with a state-of-the-art, 20,000-square-foot millwork and cabinetry factory, guaranteeing superior quality and craftsmanship. His recently launched designer showroom, JL Home Interiors, in downtown Boca Raton further cements his commitment to offering the finest in luxury interiors. Specializing in high-end furniture, lighting, and accessories—many

crafted in Italy—it provides clients with exclusive selections that define elegance and sophistication.

Juliano Scherba’s journey is more than a business success story—it is an inspiration. His relentless drive, skill, and vision prove that through hard work and determination, anything is possible. His legacy of excellence continues to shape the future of luxury design and construction.

Medical SPOTL GHT

Prasanth Gogineni, MD, FACP

Internal Medicine

MDVIP

660 Glades Road, Ste. 140

Boca Raton, FL 33431

561.918.5607

MDVIP.com/PGogineni

Dr. Prasanth Gogineni discovered his passion for helping people as early as elementary school. With an innate ability to talk to his peers about their problems, he also searched for solutions. He volunteered in hospitals as early as the seventh grade. His calling was crystal clear even then, leading him to pursue his medical degree and begin practice as a Hospitalist, treating thousands of sick patients in his 15-year role. Dr. Gogineni had the desire to build stronger, longer-term relationships with far fewer patients, enabling him to impact their lives much earlier in their healthcare journey. In 2023, he shifted his focus to a solo practice in Internal Medicine at MDVIP in Boca Raton, where patients benefit from his warm bedside manner and the practice’s membership model, which has a mission to “provide lifechanging, personalized, preventative care so members can lead healthier and more vibrant lives.”

Patients interested in becoming a patient of Dr. Gogineni are invited to a Meet and Greet to discover the enormous benefits. “An established care visit follows, where I sit down with patients one-on-one for an hour, getting to know them intimately. Then, we hit the ground running,” Dr. Gogineni says with enthusiasm.

“I delve into each patients’ medical history to discover their habits, family history, life stressors, medications, diet, exercise, ailments and mental health. All of these factors guide me in their wellness journey,” he explains.

Included in the annual membership is the MDVIP Wellness Program, a thorough evaluation designed to establish a baseline so that patients can spend as much time as needed, one-on-one with Dr. Gogineni, to focus on a healthy lifestyle to enjoy for a lifetime.

Michael Anderson, MSHRM, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, GPHR

Managing Director

Abstract HR

501 East Las Olas Blvd., Ste 300 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301

954-804-8455

michael@abstracthr.com

HR Consultant Michael Anderson offers the skill and passion to help organizations manage their most valuable asset—their people.

A University of Florida graduate, Anderson quickly developed a deep understanding of behavioral human psychology, learning how to reinforce desired workplace behaviors while eliminating those that hinder success. He applied this expertise throughout his career, gaining more than 20 years of executive leadership experience with large, complex organizations like Miami-Dade County and Broward County Public Schools.

With an HR consultant’s dream resume, Anderson holds the top three HR certifications and has taught HR certification courses at multiple universities. In 2016, he founded Abstract HR, a firm dedicated to value-driven HR consulting.

“At a certain point, I realized the next step was to start my own HR consulting firm—not just to succeed financially but to give back to the profession,” he explains. “Human beings are complex. Whatever exists in an organization is being reinforced there. Many business owners recognize the value of partnering with us to manage their human resources so they can focus on running their business and improving their bottom line.

“Abstract HR delivers comprehensive HR results, including HR consulting, training, and executive recruitment services for businesses and local governments. Our retainer agreement clients appreciate the competitive pricing, favorable recruitment rates, and the simplicity of letting us handle their ‘people problems.’”

Photography: Michael Connor

Liliana Aranguren, D.D.S., M.D.Sc.

André De Souza, DMD

Jeffrey Ganeles, DMD, FACD

Samuel Zfaz, DDS

Frederic J. Norkin, DMD

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Members of the Boca Raton Pioneer Club reflect on growing up in their favorite city

TheWay

We Were

Written by JOHN THOMASON

oca Raton’s 100 years of history are some of the most well documented in Florida. Even a brief visit to the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum can supply visitors with a crash course on the city’s triumphs and tragedies, its legacies and landmarks. But what about everyday life in Boca—the vast spaces between the lines of the history books?

That’s where the Boca Raton Pioneer Club comes in. This social club for families of the city’s earliest residents has been meeting for decades, filling gaps in Boca’s past and creating new connections in its ongoing history. Led by Maureen Workman, a Boca Ratonian for nearly 70

years, the club meets at twice-annual luncheons and is open to anyone whose families lived in Boca before 1970. Between 50 and 80 members turn out for each meeting, sharing lively stories of growing up in the once-burgeoning agricultural town.“Sometimes we’ll have someone from the Historical Society come in and speak to us,” Workman says.“Last time we had a meeting, lunch was delayed quite a bit, so we did a lot of talking and reminiscing. Everyone said, ‘that was the best meeting ever!’”

In the same spirit, we invited Workman and four members of the Pioneer Club—Marie Hester, Linda Loughrey Watson, Mike McCutcheon and Joe Ashe— to revisit decades of memories in this wide-ranging discussion.

From left, Mike McCutcheon, Linda Loughrey Watson, Maureen Workman, Marie Hester and Joe Ashe

MICHAEL CONNOR

The Origin Stories

MAUREEN WORKMAN:

My parents moved here in 1956, but we came from Delray, and prior to that we had lived in West Palm. My parents used to come out for a drive, and they saw a“for sale”sign on this house in Boca, and my mother saw the pink General Electric kitchen inside. She was a very tall lady; she was 6 feet tall. And it was a horizontally mounted refrigerator on the wall, so she could open any one of the four doors, and it was all right there. She didn’t have to bend down or anything. That was it—she wanted that house. And we moved.

JOE ASHE: My family was in the lumber business, and my grandfather bought some property from the Army and put in a lumberyard in Boca. That was 1946. My dad’s dad worked for the road department in Oak Hill, Florida. He got injured on the job. So they offered him a job to come down here and be a bridge tender; he started on the U.S. 1 bridge between Boca and Deerfield. He later transferred over to the inlet on the old wooden bridge. That was truly the center of town.

LINDA LOUGHREY WAT-

SON: My grandfather was the first to come to Boca, and he worked for Henry Flagler when Flagler was putting in the railroad. He did not stay, but that was his first trip to Boca. He used to tell the story that he knew of all the places up and down the coast, and Boca was the best. He made it sound absolutely wonderful. But then it wasn’t until 1944 that my parents moved to Boca. My dad worked at [The Boca Raton]. They thought they were coming just for that season, when the hotel opened under the Schines. But they never left, basically. And I was 3 months old the first time I came to Boca. We’ve been here ever since.

My father was the fire chief; my mother was a nurse. We lived in Town Hall for quite a while. I don’t remember what year we moved in. I was very, very young, and I was 14 when we moved out, which was 1958.

MARIE HESTER: My family arrived here before 1915, living out on Palmetto Park Road. At that time, the pioneers would come here to work in the fields. Any thatched hut they could find, if it was empty, they could stay in. And in 1915, the owners of some property here in Boca decided they no longer wanted it, and they had a special opening for Blacks to buy property. And all you needed was $5. But who has $5 in 1915? ... There were folks who were able to get the money and purchase property here in Pearl City. The thing about it was, they had to immediately move on the property. Could you imagine people having to move on the property, and it was nothing but woods and mosquitoes and snakes?

MIKE MCCUTCHEON: My folks came here in 1953 from a little town called Washington, Pennsylvania. My folks were coming down to see my grandmother in Fort Lauderdale when my dad’s car broke down. He couldn’t afford to get it fixed. He had to get a job to get the car fixed and go back home. He saw the chief of police in Boca Raton, and they talked for a little while. The chief of police of Washington, Pennsylvania knew the chief of police in Boca Raton, because of a joint investigation of a double homicide [from 1947]. The chief asked my father if he had ever thought about being a cop. He said no. The chief opens the desk drawer, pulls out a badge, and pins it on his flannel shirt, and gave him a gun, and said,“you were in the Army, right? You know which end the bullet comes out of. See if you like it.”And that’s how I found Boca Raton. I was just a baby at the time. … [Dad] worked in the sheriff’s department and stayed with them until about ’96.

Marie Hester and Joe Ashe shake hands, and Mike McCutcheon looks on

MICHAEL CONNOR

Growing Up Boca

MCCUTCHEON: There wasn’t a whole lot here when we were growing up. You went to the beach, or you fished. There were no movies to go to, and I wasn’t much into dancing.

ASHE: It was wide-open spaces. You could go anywhere you wanted—ride your bike, park anywhere on the beach. It was truly a paradise.

HESTER: We never had a TV for a long, long time. Every Sunday we used to go over to the neighbor’s house to watch “The Ed Sullivan Show.”

WORKMAN: When I moved to Boca, I came when I was 12 from Delray. The big highlight for kids was to be 13 and be able to go to Teen Town. It was in one of the old Air Force barracks buildings—basically across the street from where city hall is, on Palmetto—just a long, skinny building. Jim Rutherford got that started, or kept it going. It was only for Boca teenagers, and of course, all the teenagers from Deerfield and Delray wanted to come also. Our parents had to volunteer, to chaperone. There was a pool table and pingpong tables, and they played music to dance to, and it was the highlight.

LOUGHREY WATSON: I lived at Town Hall,

so it was a pretty busy lifestyle. There were always people coming and going, and when we first moved, at the end of 1958, into a house that my parents bought, it was so quiet that I was terribly lonesome.

But when I was very young, probably about 6 or 7, there was a house fire. And it happened around 3 in the afternoon. And my dad yelled to me to go stand in front [of town hall] and tell anybody that came, in answer to the siren, where the fire was. My dad and a couple of the other firemen took the truck and went out, and I stood on the sidewalk and answered to the volunteer siren that rang out. That happened maybe five or six times in my growing-up years. People used to think it was so funny that this little kid was out in front telling people where to go. That’s the way it was.

WORKMAN: The beauty of a small community is that most of the parents knew other people’s children, too. So you couldn’t get away with much. And there were only a few air-conditioned buildings that I remember. One was called Quick Check, which became Winn-Dixie. You’d always find Chief Brown, who was lovingly called Brownie, with his white cowboy hat on, and he would be in Quick Check, walking around

and talking to people because it was air-conditioned.

I went to school at Boca Elementary for eighth grade, and it was a converted Air Force barracks building, next to where Teen Town was. We had seventh and eighth grade there. John Hager was one of the teachers, and he was a former military man, and if he had to go to the

school office, he had to walk about a block and a half to the main office to use a phone or for supplies. He would say to us: Don’t even think about moving. He was pretty firm. Nowadays kids go crazy and throw spitballs when a teacher walks out, but we knew we could die if we made a wrong move! We had two buses that took the Boca Raton kids

Top: Pioneer Club members reminisce. Below: Youngsters shoot pool at Teen Town.

QUICK TAKES

THE ROOTS OF BOCA’S PHILANTHROPIC SPIRIT

Workman: I think it was probably when the Drummond children died from the poisoning that was done by a child that lived next door. We donated to our churches, but suddenly everyone realized that this could have been their child. And I just remember that that seemed like such a trauma to learn about.

BEST PLACE FOR A MEAL OR A DRINK

McCutcheon: There was a bar at present-day Flanigan’s—Federal Highway and Royal Palm Road. I think it was called Bob’s. Across the street from that was Zim’s, and at Federal and Palmetto, Brown’s.

Ashe: For fine dining, you’d go to Howard Johnson’s.

WHERE TO SHOP

McCutcheon: Most folks went to Delray.

Workman: I remember Burdines in downtown West Palm.

Loughrey Watson: It was an all-day affair to go to West Palm. You’d get dressed up and stay there all day, have lunch at the automat, and then come home. It was always a big thing, to go to West Palm for school shopping.

THE HEIGHT OF PROGRESS

Ashe: Everybody would be excited: “Did you hear about the new building?” It’s an office building on Federal Highway, and they knew it was going to be big, because it was two stories!

up to Seacrest [High]. One bus went up A1A, and we would stop and pick up Cora Lee Moore. I thought she lived in a castle—that was the Boca Raton Hotel and Club. Her father was the manager of the hotel at the time. I thought she was just the richest child I ever met. She turned out to be pretty nice.

HESTER: At Roadman Elementary, I remember the used books we used to receive, and they were written in, and some of them had the N-word in them. Never, in the entire time I went to school at Roadman, did I remember having a new book. The other thing they practiced at Roadman was chastising you if you didn’t do your homework. They would make you stand across the desk and hit you with a palmetto rod.

Jim Crow in Boca

HESTER: Growing up here, I think about it as a very enclosed place. I did not realize this was a sundown community. There was a law created, and it was directed specifically for this Pearl City area, that at night, we could not be out of this area unless we were going to work with some white people, or there was an emergency. And usually, even if we have a health emergency, the doctor would [have to] come here. When I read the law as an adult, I was very

upset, because I used to ask many times why we can’t go here and there. And even when we went to the grocery, there’d be signs up at the water fountain—“Blacks only” and “whites only.” And I always wanted to drink out of the white fountain. And when no one was looking, I did. I thought I was going to get something great! It was just like the other fountain.

They also had a drugstore on 20th Street and Federal. We might have been in middle school at the time, and we went in and ordered some ice cream. My sister and I decided that we were going to sit down and eat our ice cream, and we actually did. They said that we couldn’t sit there, but we sat there anyway, and no one bothered us. Boca was not as difficult as some other places, but yes, people were beaten, and they were arrested here.

LOUGHREY WATSON:

When I was in school, it was segregated. There was one girl, when I was in Seacrest in Delray; I believe it was my senior year, and a Black girl came to school there, all by herself. She was so brave. It was the South; it was just the way that it was, and by the time integration started, I was out of school.

There was a little grocery store on Boca Raton Road called Morris’ Grocery, and it became owned by the

Pioneers check out an exhibit at the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum

Minnehan family. One day I walked over there with my mom, and there was a Black lady standing outside the store. I was young, and I guess I went outside for something, and the Black lady was not allowed in the store. I said to her,“can I get you something?”And she said she needed a can of tomatoes, and she gave me a dollar. I found the

eye-opening experience for a little kid to see that.

ASHE: When I went to the high school, in ’64, we had Black students from the Pearl City area, and it was great. We all got along, and we’re still lifelong friends. After I graduated, in ’70, the next year is when they started the mandatory busing, and that’s when things didn’t go so well.

Boca was not as difficult as some other places [in the Jim Crow south], but yes, people were beaten, and they were arrested here.”

—Marie Hester

tomatoes and paid for them, and brought it out to her. I just felt so bad that she couldn’t walk in and buy the tomatoes to make her family’s dinner that night. It was an

Tech Talk

MCCUTCHEON: IBM didn’t come around until maybe ’66 or ’67. You’d always see them in the restaurants, and

they all wore the same clothes. They had dark pants, a white shortsleeved shirt and a pocket protector full of pens. They always had badges hanging around their necks; even back then, they had to be pretty sensitive as to who went where. We had no idea they were working on the first personal computer.

WORKMAN: They were sworn to secrecy. We had IBMers on both sides of us when we moved to Old Floresta. They worked at IBM, but they could not tell what they did—they’d give you

“electrical engineer” or something like that. But what project they were working on was top secret.

Then and Now

WORKMAN: When I go downtown and I see all those tall buildings, I just remember when we had a 40,000-population cap that the city came up with, and it was serious. Developers took it to court, and got it thrown out. … But what they were doing was they were downsizing the zoning. They fought it and won.

MCCUTCHEON: I think it’s still a very safe community. It still has a little bit of a small-town feel. It’s not like the old days, but it’s still a good town. Some things change,

and there’s nothing you can do about that. Time marches on.

WORKMAN: I wish the prices weren’t so high for the young people to live in Boca Raton now. The houses are so expensive, and so you don’t have as many of the working-class people. They were all working-class people when we were growing up. Everyone all got along. Your neighbors helped you if you needed help, or you volunteered to help them. If you had a shovel, and your neighbor needed a shovel, you just gave them the shovel. That’s the way it was.

ASHE: Hey, Maureen—give me back my shovel!

Maureen Workman next to the Boca Raton welcome sign, which was recently rebuilt at Sanborn Square

Students hang out in front of the Roadman School

MICHAEL CONNOR

Boca Raton has done a lot of growing up in the last 100 years, from its days as a blinkand-you’ll-miss-it farming town to resort playground, Silicon Beach tech hub, and now to a force to be reckoned with in business, housing and education.

In honor of Boca’s centennial, we present to you

Written by Tyler Childress, Christiana Lilly and John Thomason

From left, Addison Mizner and friends; the IBM team works on the personal computer; 1958 Miss Race Car Queen contestants; construction of The Boca Raton’s Tower.

Photos courtesy of the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum; Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

The Pioneer Era

While you won’t find his name on any local streets or buildings, the city of Boca Raton owes its founding to the pioneering spirit of one Thomas Rickards.

Born in Ohio in 1845, Rickards moved to Florida for the same reason as most of us—to never endure another winter. After spending some time in Gainesville, Rickards found work as a surveyor for Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway (FECR) at a time when the railroad was extending south from West Palm Beach to Miami. Rickards’ work with the FECR brought him to the area that is now Boca Raton, where he surveyed and platted the land for the railroad. By 1896, Rickards had platted out the entire town and began to sell land to fellow pioneers seeking fortune.

1896 – Surveyor

Thomas Moore

Rickards is hired by Henry Flagler to survey and plot the land that today is Boca Raton. Of course, indigenous people— namely the Tequesta—lived in the area for thousands of

years prior to the arrival of colonists and pioneers.

1899 – Boca Raton gets its first post office, and the area is labeled as “Boca Ratone.”

1905 – Joseph Sakai establishes the Yamato Colony with Japanese settlers. The community never grows to more than 50 people at a time.

1908 – George Long’s packing house doubles as a school

By 1904, Rickards was a full-time Boca resident, building a home of driftwood south of what is now the Palmetto Park Bridge. Like most early Boca pioneers, Rickards grew citrus on his land. As an agent of the Florida East Coast Railway, Rickards facilitated the establishment of Boca’s first settlement, the Yamato Colony, named after the Japanese word that translates to “the whole of Japan.”A letter from Yamato Colony founder Joseph Sakai to Rickards reveals the excitement with which early pioneers viewed Boca Raton: “I am still living under dusty air of New York with dreaming (sic) my future house in Fla,” writes Sakai.

Early settlers of the Yamato Colony enjoyed success as farmers growing winter fruits—mostly pineapple—that they shipped to northern markets and back home to Tokyo. Despite many flourishing years, however, the population of the Yamato Colony began to decline during the Florida land boom of the 1920s when farmers sold their plots at a premium and left the state. Those that remained eventually had their land taken by the federal government in the 1940s through eminent domain to build an Army Air Corps training center.

The work of early Boca pioneers

for the area’s local children. He would serve as the first mayor of Boca Raton, and his son was the first white child born in the unincorporated town.

1915 – Pearl City is set aside as land that can be purchased by

Black families; it is named for the Hawaiian Pearl variety of pineapples.

Dixie Highway is built.

1917 – Palmetto Park Road bridge, the first bridge across the Intracoastal, is completed.

1918 – Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church and Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church are organized; they rotate Sundays to worship in the same building.

From top, Thomas Moore Rickards; Rickards family; 1910s workers on Frank Chesebro’s farm

helped develop the infrastructure of agriculture that would eventually attract Black southerners and Bahamians to the area where they would establish the city’s first neighborhood, Pearl City. Founded in 1915, Pearl City was a home to day laborers who worked on the area’s citrus and bean farms. Today, Pearl City remains the city’s oldest community and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2023.

The remnants of Boca’s pioneer days remain with us, such as Yamato Road being named after the first settlement, as well as the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, which was founded by original Yamato settler George Morikami. This era also set the stage for the next chapter of Boca Raton, one that established the city’s reputation for luxury and leisure.

Left to right from top: Roadman School children; Joseph Sakai; Mayor Fred Aiken in the bean farms; Boca Raton Woman’s Club; George Morikami; George McMurrain at the pump house

Frank Chesebro establishes Boca Raton’s first cemetery, on land that is now the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club.

1924 – The town is incorporated as Boca Ratone.

1925 – The town is reincorporated as Boca Raton.

1923 – Boca Raton Woman’s Club is established; its members would open the town’s first library.

Boca Raton Community Church is built; today it is known as First United Methodist Church.

Addison Mizner opens the headquarters for Mizner Development Corporation, known as the

Administration Build ing, which included sales offices, drafting rooms, a restaurant and an apartment for himself. This would later become The Addison.

The Resort Era

As Cynthia Thuma wrote in her book Images of America: Boca Raton, the city “has always been about doers and dreamers, entrepreneurs and philanthropists, movers and shakers.”Architect Addison Mizner, a California gadfly who moved to the city in its centennial year of 1925, at age 53, fulfilled most if not all of these descriptors. Boca Raton named Mizner its first city planner, and he immediately set out to transform a largely agricultural region into the “Venice of the Atlantic.”

Buoyed by the Florida land boom, these were heady times in Boca. Ostentatious ads compared Florida real estate to the California Gold Rush, and lauded “Boca Raton: Where Promises Are as Good as the God-Given Soil.” Mizner’s ambitions involved a 1,000room hotel with two golf courses, a polo field, parks and miles of landscaped streets. In a move worthy of William Randolph Hearst, he intended to build “Castle Mizner” for himself on Lake Boca Raton, complete with a drawbridge and four-story tower.

1926 – The Cloister Inn (now known as The Boca Raton) opens its doors, ushering in a new age of elegance and luxury in the farming town.

1927 – Boca Raton Town Hall is completed; later, it

would serve as the home of The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum.

1928 – The infamous camel gate is built over Dixie Highway, knowing that Shriners would be driving through to

get to their annual convention in Miami. The town forks over $1,000 to build it to get the word out about Boca Raton.

Later, the hump was lopped off and antlers added when the Elks had their own convention; the civic

group paid $450 for the makeover.

1930 – Clarence Geist purchases The Cloister Inn and rebrands it as the Boca Raton Club. He adds two more golf courses and hires New York architects

These blueprints never came to fruition: The land boom, which promised bottomless development and prosperity in the early ‘20s, fizzled by 1927 thanks to a confluence of factors, from the devastating effects of the Miami Hurricane of 1926 to rail embargoes on building supplies to reports from northern visitors perturbed by the region’s sand flies, mosquitoes and humidity.

But the buildings Mizner did complete, mostly in his signature Mediterranean Revival style, would define the burgeoning city’s urbane aesthetic. He built the neighborhoods of Old Floresta and Spanish Village to house his employees. His Administration Building, modeled after artist El Greco’s home in Spain, would house the city’s first restaurant, and stands today as The Addison event venue. And he completed the 100-room Ritz-Carlton Cloister Inn, which opened in 1926 and which would evolve into the Boca Raton Resort & Club and now The Boca Raton.

The Cloister’s elevation toward the grande dame of Boca resorts occurred under the ownership of Clarence H. Geist, a financier with

to triple the size of the hotel.

1936 – The town opens its own airport, paid for with Works Progress Administration funds through the New Deal.

1937 – The town’s first two traffic signals are installed but only used during the winter months.

1938 – Boca Raton’s first school, Boca Raton Elementary School, opens.

an ego to match Mizner’s, and a similar appreciation for European design. After buying out Mizner’s $7 million debt, Geist hired acclaimed architectural firm Schultze & Weaver to extend the Cloister, opening his expanded and renamed Boca Raton Club in 1930. Highlights included a courtyard with Persian-styled water channels, tiled walkways and fountains; and the opulent Cathedral Room, with gold-leafed columns, coffered ceilings and giant Venetian chandeliers. (On a more practical note, Geist also funded the city’s first water plant.) Boca’s first clubs for women, polo and hunting grew out of the resort, propelled by its upper-crust winter visitors.

Outside of this pocket of luxury, Boca remained an agricultural community. In 1933, August H. Butts took advantage of the land bust to buy farmland cheaply, establishing a major bean farm and employing 400 in his fields. Construction contractor Louis Zimmerman and his wife Lola fed the growing population at Palms Café, and in 1934, a year after the repeal of Prohibition, they opened Zim’s Bar, Boca’s first watering hole.

Boca Raton faced the same Depression-era economic uncertainty, racial and class divisions, and wartime anxiety as the rest of the country. Toward the end of the 1930s, Boca Raton’s influential fourth mayor, Jonas Cleveland Mitchell (whose name emblazons one of our elementary schools) traveled to Washington, D.C. to lobby for a military base in Boca Raton—a move that would transform the city once again.

Opposite page: Addison Mizner and the Cathedral Room at The Boca Raton Club. This page, left to right from top: Jackie Hogan at the Cabana Club; August Butts at his bean farm; Shriners camel entrance; 1930s postcard of the Boca Raton Club; the Boca Raton Club; Clarence and Florence Geist

The War/Postwar Era

When the U.S.entered World War II in December 1941, Americans’ lives were changed in an instant. Boca Raton was no different. The Army Air Corps relocated its radar training technical school from Illinois to Boca Raton—the town was ideal since it already had a small airport and two railroad lines—and servicemembers underwent top secret training sessions. They couldn’t take notes during class, were sworn to secrecy, and could even be court-martialed if they said the word “radar.” Black soldiers were at the base but were trained and housed separately due to segregation; about 28 of them would become part of the storied Tuskegee Airmen.

With a population of just 750 people, it seemed overnight that Boca Raton was overrun with servicemen and women; over the course of the war, up to about 100,000 servicemembers were in Boca Raton. Every room and house in town was rented out, and even the Boca Raton Club (now The Boca Raton) gave up its property for military use. Eight bunk beds were put into each hotel suite, and during training, the resort’s golf course was pockmarked with pup tents

University and the Boca Raton Airport. It’s said that visitors can still see markings from the runways in the school parking lots, a small reminder of Boca Raton’s impact on the outcome of the war.

Now that war was in the rearview mirror, Boca Raton could shift its focus to growth. The women of the Boca Raton Christian and Civic Club were astonished to find that 1,000 people attended a small art exhibit they hosted, which led to the founding of the Art Guild of Boca Raton in 1950. Thanks to a $6,000 parcel donation from Ada MacKidd, a museum was built, continually expanded, and eventually became the Boca Raton Museum of Art.

All around Boca, construction was abuzz. Arthur Vining Davis bought the Boca Raton Hotel & Club, and his real estate development company, ARVIDA, upped the ante on Boca’s growth. The Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce was established in 1952, the Royal Palm Yacht and Country Club opened its doors in 1959, and Marymount College was founded by nuns (and later renamed Lynn University) in 1962.

Raton’s airport is transformed into the Boca Raton Army Air Field, training servicemen in the Army Air Corps to prepare for war. Doing their own part, the Boca Raton Club (now The Boca

military to use the property for housing and classrooms.

1948 – After World War II, the United States transfers ownership of the airport to the Town of Boca Raton, officially

Tragedy struck the town in 1967, though, when Randy, 3, and Debbie, 9, Drummond died after drinking milk poisoned with enough arsenic to “wipe out the entire city.” It took an hour to get to the closest hospital, blood tests had to be driven to Miami, and both children died. Their mother, Gloria Drummond, immediately started fundraising to build a Boca Raton hospital and tossed the first shovelful of soil at the ground-breaking in 1965. Today, Boca Raton Regional Hospital is in the midst of a major fundraising campaign, so far netting almost $290 million.

Raton Airport.

1950 – Art Guild of Boca Raton is established by members of the Boca Raton Christian and Civic Club. It would later become the Boca Raton Museum of Art.

– Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce is organized. Today, it is the largest chamber in the county and represents more than 1,700 companies.

1953 – Africa U.S.A. opens as an

attraction and lasts until 1961; remnants of it are still within the Camino Gardens neighborhood.

1955 – The Boca Raton News publishes its first issue. It ceased print publication in 2009.

1956 – Arthur Vining Davis buys the Boca Raton Hotel and Club and founds ARVIDA, a real estate development company that would increase Boca Raton’s growth.

Opposite page: Lt.

City residents have home mail delivery for the first time.

The Boca Raton Negro School is renamed Roadman School for Frank Roadman, a former city councilman and school supporter.

1958 – Boca Raton has its first Fourth of July fireworks display, at Memorial Park.

1959 – Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club opens, an ARVIDA project.

1962 – A group of nuns from the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary arrive in Boca Raton to open a two-year women’s school, Marymount College. The first class of students arrives on campus in September 1963.

1963 – Boca Raton Community High School becomes the city’s first high school.

1964 – Florida Atlantic University opens its doors, and some students live at Marymount due to lack of space.

1967 – Boca Raton Community Hospital opens as a four-story, 104-bed facility.

Temple Beth El, the first synagogue in Boca Raton, hosts its first service at Marymount University (now Lynn University).

1969 – Male students are now admitted to Marymount, but they are not allowed to live on campus.

Col. Charles W. Skeele works from the Boca Raton Club; training at the club swimming pool during World War II

This page, left to right from top: The Art Guild show; nuns at Marymount University; the Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce; servicemen golfing; training at the Boca Raton Club pool

The Tech Era

After World War II, Boca Raton was no longer just a vacation destination for the rich and powerful. The city experienced an—at the time—unprecedented population boom, jumping from 992 in 1950 to 6,961 in 1960. And it wasn’t just new residents that Boca was attracting, either. Florida’s appealing tax policies, low housing costs and tireless lobbying from the newly formed Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce in 1952 made the city an enviable destination for big business. And in 1967, Boca became home to one of the most significant business titans of the time—IBM.

By the 1960s, IBM was the largest manufacturer of computers in the country. The tech giant needed more manufacturing centers to reach the ever-increasing demand, and so purchased 550 acres of land west of I-95 to construct what would become a sprawling campus. Designed by famed architect Marcel Breuer, the campus was as having“the solid, impenetrable aura of the Pentagon.”It was at this campus that IBM would develop a product that would forever revolutionize computing.

In 1981, IBM launched the first-ever personal computer that set a new industry standard.

Demand for the IBM 5150— code-named the“Acorn”— exceeded even the loftiest of expectations, with 500,000 machines sold within 18 months of its release. TIME magazine named it “Machine of the Year,”the first time

Left: IBM’s campus; Top: National Enquirer owner Generoso Pope; Right: Britts at the now-closed Boca Raton Mall

such an honor was given. As demand for the Acorn skyrocketed, IBM added more personnel to its Boca campus, with a staff that grew to more than 10,000. Soon, more tech firms began flocking to Boca, earning the city the nickname of“Silicon Beach.”

The aforementioned PC Magazine article reads,“Before IBM, all that Boca Raton had to brag about was a playboy’s fantasy of the ultimate luxury resort: the Boca Hotel & Club.”

The IBM era of Boca came to an end when the company restructured in the 1990s, moving hardware manufacturing from Boca Raton to Raleigh, North Carolina. Since 1996, the campus has been bought and sold several times over, until eventually being redeveloped into Boca Raton Innovation Campus. And like the former IBM campus, the city itself has changed just as much with the times.

1970 – IBM’s main campus opens, with more than 40 buildings spread over 3.6 million square feet.

1972 – Boca Raton Historical Society is founded.

1973 – Marymount College rebrands to the College of Boca Raton. The school is

struggling, and Donald Ross, president of Wilmington College, helps facilitate the purchase of the college, saving the university. He served as president of the Boca Raton school for more than 30 years.

1975 – The Caldwell Theatre opens at the College of Boca Raton,

with hopes it will turn the university into “the Carnegie-Mellon of the South.”

Residents are treated to their first holiday boat parade. In 2024 the city ends the tradition after a drop in attendance.

1980 – Town Center mall opens

to much fanfare; representatives hand out daisies, candy and balloons, and local marching bands perform.

1981 – IBM Boca Raton presents the world’s first personal computer.

1991 – Mizner Park opens in the old

Boca Raton Mall space. It was a contentious issue for residents, who would vote to spend $50 million on improvements and $68 million in bond financing.

1991 – Marymount College is renamed Lynn University in honor of the school’s

benefactors, Eugene and Christine Lynn.

2000 – Boca Raton Airport builds its first air traffic control tower.

2001 – A week after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, a letter with anthrax is mailed to American Media, the

THE PALM BEACH POST/ZUMA WIRE

The New Boca Era

By the late 1980s, the business, education and residential booms spurred by IBM, FAU and ARVIDA had nonetheless failed to generate an attractive downtown, which contained all of 73 housing units and the lowest office rents in the county. The site of today’s Mizner Park epitomized the struggle. The address’ previous tenant, the conventional indoor shopping center Boca Mall, closed in 1989, having long shed its most esteemed retailers, Britts and Jefferson Ward. By this time, the mall was a husk of its early ‘70s glory, with one resident reducing it to“a big blimp hangar.”Its final holdout, the Dive Bar saloon, may have inspired the colloquialism“dive bar.”

Within just two years, Mizner Park had risen like Lazarus from this undesirable bit of real estate, opening in 1991. As with many a project of its size, scale and cost, the development was not without controversy. Locals voiced their concerns about parking, traffic and the hefty price tag: $68 million in bond money approved by the city council, plus $50 million in infrastructure improvements. Now, of course, Boca Raton is inconceivable without this mixed-use anchor.

Cultural advancements soon followed. The International Museum of Cartoon Art, a $10 million collection advanced by“Beetle Bailey”creator Mort Walker, operated in Mizner Park from 1992 to 2002. The Boca Raton Museum of Art opened its 44,000-squarefoot anchor facility in Mizner Park in 2001. Royal Palm Place broke ground in 2002, and the Boca Raton YMCA followed suit in 2003.

Boca Raton did not always make news for the right reasons in the modern era. In 2001, a week after 9-11, American Media, Inc., which published the National Enquirer out of Boca, was one of five national news organizations to receive an anthrax-laced letter in a series of bioterrorist attacks identified by the FBI as Amerithrax. An AMI photo editor, Bob Stevens, opened the missive and inhaled the toxin, becoming the first known casualty of the attacks. Six years later, three people were murdered, and two more were abducted, in a chain of crimes at Town Center mall that remain unsolved.

From top: Leasing office for the Town Center mall; construction at Mizner Park; Lynn University hosted the final debate between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama.

Mostly, though, progress has continued apace during the twilight of our centenary. Lynn University hosted a presidential debate in 2012, and our downtown has continued to develop. In 2023, Boca shocked the world of NCAA basketball when FAU’s men’s team made it all the way to the Final Four. The Boca Raton resort, the institution that put Boca on the map, will celebrate its own centennial next year. For this property, and the city that sprouted around it, the best may well be yet to come.

publisher of the National Enquirer Employee Bob Stevens dies after inhaling the anthrax, the first person in 25 years to die of anthrax exposure in the U.S.

Florida Atlantic University plays its first football game

against Slippery Rock University; they lost 7-40. FAU ends the season 4-6, but fans are still energized.

2007 – In March, Randi Gorenberg is found shot to death in a park; she had just left Town Center mall. In December, a

mall security guard discovered the bodies of Nancy Bochicchio and her 7-year-old daughter, Joey, in the Sears parking lot. Both cases are still open.

2012 – Lynn University hosts the last presidential debate between

Mitt Romney and Barack Obama before Election Day.

2013 – The Wick Theatre and Costume Museum opens in the former Caldwell Theatre; its opening show is “The Sound of Music.”

2018 – Boca Raton Airport opens a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, allowing international flights to land at the airport.

2020 – COVID hits and the community rallies; the Blue Angels even fly over the hospital.

2021 – Blue Lake Elementary School is opened to alleviate overenrollment at Calusa Elementary School.

2022 – Brightline opens its Boca Raton station,

connecting the city to Miami and, later, Orlando.

2023 – Pearl City is added to the National Register of Historic Places.

2025 – Boca Raton celebrates its centennial with a yearlong schedule of festivities.

Diane Benedetto; turn to read more about this Boca Raton pioneer and Dancing Queen

The Women Who Built Boca

The pioneers who set the stage for today’s trailblazers

Written by CHRISTIANA LILLY

e know all about Mizner, Sakai, Long and Rickards—it’s time we put a spotlight on the women who were working alongside them to create Boca Raton, serving as teachers, activists, religious leaders, politicians and healers. These are the women who built Boca Raton.

The Knitting Postmaster:

MARGARET “PEG” YOUNG (1876-1953)

Affectionately known as “Auntie Peg” around town, she served as the city’s first postmaster of Boca Raton, working there for 15 years. When business was slow at the post office, she would pull out her knitting needles to knit sweaters and socks for the locals. Young was originally from Dundee, Scotland, and when she arrived in New

York City to meet her husband, Bill, he was nowhere to be found, according to writings by early pioneer Floy Mitchell. Young almost went back on the ship to head home when he finally arrived; Bill explained he had overslept because of his bachelor party the night before.“He had quite a time getting that Scots lass calmed down,” Mitchell wrote. The two moved to Miami, where Bill was commissioned to work on Vizcaya. She heard about a land auction going on in Boca Raton, and she bought four lots.

The Trailblazer:

FLORENCE KARPOLOV BROWN (1889-1983)

Florence Brown was born in Russia and moved to the United States when she was 18, never seeing her mother again. She married her husband, Harry Brown (changed from Boguslavsky), and with their

Florence Brown with her granddaughter, Gloria

Margaret "Peg" Young

sons, Herb and George, moved from St. Louis to Boca Raton in 1931. They were the first Jewish family to live in Boca Raton, and the family opened Brown’s Sundries, a soda fountain and grocery store where the current Flanigan’s sits on Federal Highway. When Harry died in 1935, Florence took the helm alongside her two sons, turning the business into a restaurant until the 1990s. Her in-laws, Max and Nettie Hutkin, moved to Boca as well to help run the businesses, and the two families are considered the city’s Jewish pioneers. The Browns’ granddaughter, Gloria Brown Keats, said there was open antisemitism at the time.“There was no way to practice their faith, or observe dietary laws, had they chosen to do so. They worked seven days a week. Holidays were observed with the family, but someone always had to rush back to work.”

The Yamato Pioneers:

SADA KAWASHIMA SAKAI (1887-1980) AND YETSU OISHI KAMIYA (1881-1936)

Having to travel across the globe to start a new life in a new land, the women of Yamato were standout pioneers.“The stereotype of the quiet Japanese woman walking 10 paces behind her husband or staying home while the men enjoyed a social life did not fit the women of the Yamato Colony,” says Carla Stansifer, curator of Japanese art at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. She adds that often the Yamato women were picture brides, meaning they were matched with their husbands after being chosen from a photograph. After getting married in Japan, the newlyweds would disembark from Yokohama for the two-week voyage aboard a

steamship to Seattle or Portland, then two more weeks in trains en route to Florida.

Sada Sakai was born in Japan in 1887, a part of a former samurai household. She married her husband and the founder of the Yamato Colony, Jo Sakai, in 1906. The 19-year-old was the first woman to live in the colony. Sada gave birth to four daughters at Yamato: Chikako, Tomoko, Yoshiko and Itsuko. Her fifth daughter, Shoko, was born during a visit home to Japan, and the couple also had a son who died in infancy. When Jo died of tuberculosis in 1923, Sada took her children back to Japan, where she died in 1980.

Yetsu Kamiya was also born into a samurai household and moved to Boca Raton after marrying her husband Henry Tamemasu Kamiya in Japan in 1909. She gave birth to six children in Yamato—Masa, Mishi, Masuko, Rokuo, Franklin and Kazuo—and tried to teach her daughters Japanese, since she was a teacher. Yetsu didn’t seem to be deterred by the mosquitos, heavy rains and tough farming conditions; she lived in the colony until her death in 1936 at the age of 55.

The Teachers:

ESTHER

CHESEBRO BELL (1887-1981) AND CLEMENTINE PETERSON BROWN (1892-1967)

Armed with a temporary teaching certificate and a high school education, Esther Chesebro was the only female teacher at the city’s first one-room school. She taught 18 children ranging from first to eighth grade from 1912 to 1914. She was the daughter of Frank Chesebro, a well-known local farmer who moved to Boca Raton from Michigan.

Sada Sakai, left, and Yetsu Kamiya, above, with their families in Yamato

Clementine Peterson Brown came along with a degree from Florida Southern College. She taught at the one-room schoolhouse as well as the Yamato School and Boca Raton Elementary School. However, after her husband, John Brown, the first elected mayor of the city, got into an argument with the Boca Raton Club’s owner, Clarence Geist, over a new town charter, Clementine was unable to find work as a teacher in Boca. As the breadwinner of the family, she would wake up at 5 a.m. to travel to Palm Beach to teach, returning late at night. Otherwise she would only be in Boca Raton for the weekends.

The Activist:

HARRIETTE

PARKHURST GATES (1893-1985)

Gates moved to Boca Raton in 1915 with her husband, Harley. She served as the first chairwoman of the Boca Raton chapter of the League of Women Voters in 1920, the year that the 19th Amendment was ratified.“That was their political voice, and they took a really strong political stance. Suffrage was really important to a lot of them but always public service,” says Sue Gillis, the curator at the Boca Raton Historical Society.“They were social and political reformers.” In 1923, the group would establish Boca Raton’s first library. Gates also wrote for the Delray Beach News Journal, Miami Herald, The Pelican and the Boca Raton News. In a photo of her enjoying lunch at The Cloister Inn, now The Boca Raton, she dressed in typical flapper attire of the day. The Gates’ home was one of the last vestiges of Boca Raton’s pioneer days and was razed in 2022 for development.

A MITZVAH

Jews had been living in Boca Raton since the 1930s with the arrival of the Brown and Hutkin families, but it would take several decades before there were enough families to create a congregation. In the Boca Raton News in April 1967, a news brief was published that Harriett Silvers hosted 25 women for a Purim tea at her home; in the same paragraph, Jewish women were then invited to attend a Passover “get together” at the Bernstein home later that month.

That summer, Sister de la Croix at Marymount College (now Lynn University) invited families to host their first service in June 1967, with a rabbi from the Southeast Council in Miami serving as the “meeting” speaker. After hosting services at the university and then the Moravian Church of Boca Raton, the congregation was able to move into their own synagogue, Temple Beth El, in May 1977 under Rabbi Norman Mendel. Mayor Dorothy Wilken, the city’s first woman mayor, spoke at the temple’s Community Day and Open House celebration.

The congregation has only grown, and today, it is one of the largest reform congregations in the southeast United States.

From left, Clementine Brown with her family; Harriette Gates; and Esther Chesebro

The Healers:

ANNIE DOLPHUS SPAIN HUGHES (1888-1974) AND LOUISE DOLPHUS WILLIAMS (1922-2008)

Not only was medical help hard to come by logistically, but the doctors, expensive and white, would not treat Black patients. Annie Hughes stepped in as a healer for the Pearl City neighborhood. “She didn’t have no degree, but she could pretty much do anything for a person. The whole neighborhood came to her. She had all kinds of remedies,” said George Spain, one of her six sons. “She could do a lot of things that you’d go to for a doctor today.” In lieu of a tetanus shot, Hughes said she would “beat the blood” out of the injury and place a penny over the wound. “It will turn the [skin] greenish looking, then pop off the penny, and you live.”

Louise Williams, Hughes’ niece, was born in Pearl City and learned home remedies from her parents to treat ailments of all kinds. Otherwise, hospital visits meant a trip to West Palm Beach. She shared how she would put vinegar on Palm of Christian leaves (castor bean plants) to place on the patient’s head to draw out a fever.“You could take those leaves, and it would be like they were dried,” she said. From her parents, she learned to use Black Draught as a laxative, and Father John’s and Three Sixes for colds.

The Cultural Crusader:

HILDEGARDE FELDMAN SCHINE (1903-1994)

Hildegarde and J. Meyer Schine purchased the Boca Raton Hotel and Club in 1944, and Hildegarde quickly became a big part of Boca Raton’s burgeoning culture scene. She joined the Boca Raton Christian and Civic Club and co-chaired the second-annual Open House Library Festival to raise funds to build a library. One thousand people came out for the exhibit. Soon, the club was using the hotel for exhibitions, and Hildegarde helped create the Art Guild in 1950. This would eventually become the Boca Raton Museum of Art. She was also instrumental in converting the second floor of Town Hall into a library, kickstarting the library system within the city.

The Transporter:

EULA PURDOM RAULERSON (1898-1996)

Raulerson moved to Boca Raton in 1905 when she was just 7 years old; the Purdoms were one of the first five white families in the town. At the age of 15, she married her 27-year-old husband, Charles Raulerson. For the wedding, Yamato Colony founder Jo Sakai decorated the house with palm fronds and Japanese lanterns; she was the only one of her siblings to not be married in a

From left, Annie Hughes with her grandchildren; Hildegarde Schine with her husband Junius; and Eula Raulerson

church. She was a familiar face to the children of Boca Raton, as she was a school bus driver for 30 years, shuttling students each day to and from Seacrest High School in Delray Beach. The first “bus” she drove was a Model T. Before retiring, she also worked in the cafeteria of Boca Raton Elementary School. Raulerson was also a member of the Boca Raton Woman’s Club.

The Deaconess:

IRENE DEMERY CARSWELL (1920?-2011)

Her parents moved to Boca Raton in 1912, where they worked as sharecroppers and founded the Ebenezer Baptist Church. At the time, they shared a building with Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church and rotated on Sundays to worship. Carswell was born “around 1920” and worked on Butts Farm, making 25 to 35 cents per hamper of beans. She met her husband, Archie Carswell, in 1942 when he was stationed at the Boca Raton Army Air Field during World War II. The Carswells would become a respected deacon/deaconess at the church, and Irene was also a Sunday School teacher. When she died in 2011, she was the oldest Black person born in Boca Raton.

CALL TO DUTY

Boca Raton sprung into action to do its part during World War II. This included women, who joined the ranks of the Women’s Army Corps as nurses. They worked 12-hour shifts and were housed in special nursing quarters with a cot and a closet; the women used a communal bathroom. They tended to injuries from training accidents, and women who wanted to take their careers further applied to become flight nurses.

Edith Mize Lewis, who flew more than 50 missions and even tended to prisoners at the Buchenwald concentration camp, said of her role, “I think nurses handle death better than doctors. They’re more realistic about it. Some doctors won’t ever admit a patient is going to die.” There was time for fun, though. Dances were hosted at the BRAAF, and many nurses met their husbands on the base (they could marry at the base chapel).

Civilian women also contributed to the war effort, volunteering for tasks like manning the water tower on the beach for U-boats or growing Victory Gardens. Lillian Race Williams turned her home, Singing Pines, into a boarding house for the wives and girlfriends of servicemembers. She even resorted to using cardboard as partitions to make more “rooms” while she slept on the porch.

Irene Demery Carswell while serving as a nurse in World War II

Women’s Army Corps at Boca Raton Army Air Field

TECH TOWN

Boca Raton became Silicon Beach when IBM built its headquarters in the city, purchasing 550 acres of land and eventually constructing 3.6 million square feet of space over 40 buildings. While it was largely a boys’ club, there were women on campus, too.

Emily Santos moved to Boca Raton with her husband in 1980 to work for IBM as a paralegal. She says IBM fostered job opportunities for women. “It was in such a growing state,” she says. “There were many opportunities and IBM itself made opportunities for females. They had the manufacturing line here already but then they started a program where they trained manufacturing personnel to become secretaries or admins.” As a full-fledged campus, IBM even had its own medical facilities, and women working as nurses were some of the first to study ergonomics and the effects of sitting stagnant at desks.

The Dancing Queen:

DIANE BENEDETTO (1916-2016)

Born Imogene Alice Gates (yes, she’s Harriette’s daughter), she was a self-proclaimed “child of the wilderness,” running barefoot in the woods and caring for her pet raccoon, Pete—in an illustration, she presents her mother with a nest of snakes with the caption “Look mama, Pete and I found little baby snakes!” Benedetto grew up to become a dancer but was most well known for her burlesque numbers as her dance persona, Diane. In an interview with the Coastal Star, she shared that she designed many of her costumes, including her favorite, the Devil and the Virgin, with half red horns and a cape and half white dress and long white gloves. She performed at venues such as the Biltmore Hotel, Miami’s Esquire Club, and Lou Walter’s Latin Quarter on Palm Island. She wrote the book Frontier Child about growing up in Old Florida. She died just short of her 100th birthday, and a memorial service was hosted at the Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum, where she was an active member.

The Groundbreaker:

LOIS DOLPHUS MARTIN (1928-2022)

Martin was born at home in Pearl City in 1928, the youngest of seven children. As a graduate of Florida A&M University in 1950, she became the first Black person in Boca Raton to go to college. She returned to her hometown and taught math for 40 years. In her retirement, she served with organizations such as the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, the Housing Authority,

Women were a part of the IBM campus

Diane Benedetto, “a child of the wilderness,” with her pet raccoons

Pearl City Ribbon Committee, the Martin Luther King Memorial Committee, the Historic Preservation Board and Habitat for Humanity. She was the first Black person to be added to the Walk of Recognition, in 2001. A community center serving underprivileged children in Boca Raton is named in her honor, as was a portion of Glades Road in 2023.

The Health Care Advocate:

GLORIA LAWSON DRUMMOND (1930-2011)

It was a tragedy that spearheaded the opening of Boca Raton Regional Hospital. In 1962, Randy, 3, and Debbie, 9, Drummond and their housekeeper, Romaine Baucom, became violently ill. The children’s parents, Robert and Gloria, took them to Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, a journey that took more than an hour because of a highway accident. Treatment was further delayed when doctors had to send blood samples to Miami, which took almost two hours. Unfortunately, the children died that evening; Baucom survived. After the blood samples were sent to Washington, D.C., it was determined that an 11-year-old neighbor poisoned the milk with enough arsenic to “wipe out the entire city.”

Gloria used her grief for the greater good, asking for donations at her children’s funerals and creating a fundraising committee to build a hospital in Boca Raton. In 1965, she tossed the first shovelful of soil at the groundbreaking, and the hospital opened its doors in July 1967. Today, the Drummond Patient Tower is named for its founder. It’s no wonder the hospital has been dubbed “The Miracle on Meadows Road.”

The Politicians:

DOROTHY WILKEN (1936) AND FLOY COOKE MITCHELL (1899-1989)

In 1976, Dorothy Wilken became the first woman to serve as the mayor of Boca Raton, and she was known for being tough on developers. She lost the next two elections but returned to the political scene in 1982 when she won a spot on the Palm Beach County Commission. In a 1987 interview with the Sun Sentinel, she said she was called “Four-to-1 Dorothy” for often being the odd one out during votes at the dais.“I’m a Dorothy. I’m short and round and they’re not. I’m a brown-eyed person in a blue-eyed world,” she said. In 2020, she published an open letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis to criticize his response to the COVID pandemic, asking him,“Why do you want to kill me?”

While Wilken was the first woman to serve as mayor of Boca Raton, in 1928, Beulah Butler was the first woman elected to the council as commissioner city clerk. Unfortunately, not much is known about her. Floy Cooke Mitchell was appointed to the council to finish out the term of another councilmember—it’s not clear what year. She was born in Alabama and was the first woman to run a bank in the state; she moved to Boca Raton in 1923 and rode out the 1926 hurricane in her apartment. According to her obituary in the Sun Sentinel, she was never given a name but called“Baby”by her family until the age of 12, when she chose her name, Floy. Her husband was J.C. Mitchell, who served as mayor from 1939 to 1950.

We thank the curators from the Boca Raton Historical Society and the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens for their invaluable help.

From left, Gloria Drummond, Lois Martin and Mayor Dorothy Wilken

PERFORMANCE • EVENTS • EXHIBITIONS

THE GREATER BOCA RATON CULTURAL CONSORTIUM, INC.

Boca Ballet Theatre 561-995-0709 mail@bocaballet.org

Boca Raton Museum of Art 561-392-2500 info@bocamuseum.org

Boca Raton Historical Society & The Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum 561-395-6766 office@bocahistory.org

Florida Atlantic University College of Arts & Letters 561-297-3810 theatre@fau.edu

Florida Intergenerational Orchestra of America (561) 922-3134 info@flioa.org

Festival of the Arts Boca 561-571-5270 info@festivalboca.org

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center 561-544-8605 info@gumbolimbo.org

The HARID Conservatory 561-997-2677 info@harid.edu

Lynn University 561-237-9000 tickets@lynn.edu

Mizner Park Amphitheater 561-393-7984 MiznerAmp@myboca.us

National Society of Arts and Letters judiasselta@gmail.com

Sugar Sand Park 561-347-3900 sugarsandpark@myboca.us

The Studio in Mizner Park (561) 203-3742 info@thestudioatmiznerpark.com

The SYMPHONIA 561-376-3848 info@thesymphonia.org

The Wick Theatre & Costume Museum 561-995-2333 boxoffice@theWick.org

Youth Orchestra of Palm Beach County 561-281-8600 yomail@yopbc.org

BACKSTAGE PASS

“Addison Mizner” by Serge Strosberg (turn the page for more)

I enjoy spending time with other human beings, and maybe getting out the most beautiful part of them— what doesn’t transpire on the surface, but what’s beneath the surface.”

—Serge Strosberg

Serge Strosberg

From tycoons at leisure to surfing simians, this Palm Beach artist paints his town with irreverence and whimsy

Written by JOHN THOMASON

Painter and Palm Beach resident Serge Strosberg doesn’t need to look far for inspiration. Hatched during the pandemic, his“Reimagining Palm Beach”series focuses on the dreamers and magnates synonymous with the town’s history. Working from vintage photographs, he has painted Henry Flagler, Marjorie Merriweather Post, Addison Mizner, the Vanderbilts and others in a motley, saturated style—“dressing”these titans in vibrant clothes from Lilly Pulitzer or Maus & Hoffman. Essentially, he transforms black-and-white images into polychromatic fantasias, much the way his subjects transformed swampland into a cultural oasis.

Born in Belgium and educated in art at France’s rigorous Academie Julian, Strosberg has painted since the age of 4, and his old-school medium—a viscous mix of oil and egg tempera—lends his work its distinctive aura. The county has certainly taken notice. Since 2022, Strosberg’s work has been exhibited at the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, the Cornell Art Museum, the Palm Beach County History Museum, The Boca Raton and the Spady Museum. His latest extension of“Reimagining Palm Beach,”“Monkeying Around Palm Beach,”depicts Addison Mizner’s famous primate companion, Johnnie Brown, enjoying the finer things in life.

What compels you about painting the human form?

I think I come from a family of humanists—people interested in other people. It’s the way we were raised—very community-driven, always rooting for minorities, including ours; I’m Jewish. My grandfather saved 400 Jewish children during the Second World War. There’s a picture of him in the history museum in Palm Beach. My father is a famous scientist, and my mother has a Ph.D in chemistry. We are a family of people who care about other people, and for me it’s taken the form of portraiture and art.

Your recent work has focused on the icons of Palm Beach. What has come to inspire you about this island and the people who built it?

ing to reimagine them in a more compelling way. I’m trying to be a bridge between the past and the present, maybe even the future. But of course, the establishment is not really interested. There’s been a lot of support with what I’ve been doing, but there’s been a fringe that’s not been receptive to this, that wants things to stay exactly the way they are. I think it’s important, if they want to get the support and interest from new generations, to adapt, and think of new ways of showing the history of Palm Beach. I thought it needed an upgrade, if you will.

What is your approach to color and technique in the “Reimagining Palm Beach” series?

But there’s also something else. The technique that I use, the oil and tempera, also helps to create more depth in the painting, because the egg white creates a very strong light. So there’s a lot of contrast in the paintings. And of course, it makes them more alive.

In light of Boca’s centennial, you also painted Addison Mizner. What does your portrait hope to convey about the man?

It’s well known that Addison Mizner was the first major gay figure in Palm Beach County. But most of all, he was very eccentric. He was a bon vivant. So I imagined this guy larger than life, wearing pop colors, orange pants. I tried to make Addison Mizner like a modern LGBT Palm Beacher.

You’ve embraced the use of AI in your work. Did you initially feel any hesitation toward integrating it?

Serge Strosberg

I was walking in Palm Beach, and COVID hit, and the whole town came to a standstill. I decided to go to the Flagler Museum, because I like history. And I’m looking at all these photographs of Flagler … and I thought it would be interest-

I think color is one of my assets. I’ve been mixing pigments for 20 years. … When you’re using pigments, it’s really like you’re cooking. When you’re preparing a meal, you know exactly how much salt and saccharine you’re going to add to the mix to make it more tasty. I’m doing the same thing with painting.

It was very experimental in the beginning. I was just using filters to retrieve pixels from old black-andwhite photos. Then I started trying to create monkeys in PhotoShop. And I wasn’t satisfied with what I was getting at all. I would get three tails or four legs. But I discovered something very frightening but interesting: If you start creating something with all of this AI software, eventually the computer finds out what you like, and will curate it so that it will look more personal, and that no one can copy.

Once I have an image I like, I will transform that image, and that’s the beauty of this. I add my own tempera painting, my own colors, and it becomes something completely personal, and far from the flat AI images.

May/June 2025

Now-May 18:

“My Way” at The Wick Theatre, 7901 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; various show times; $119; 561/995-2333, thewick. org. Featuring four actor-singers, a sparkling 1950s nightclub set, and 55 selections from the corpus of Frank Sinatra—a drop in the bucket of the 1,400 recordings on which he performed—this lively musical captures Ol’ Blue Eyes’ essence and influence while eschewing impersonations.

Now-May 30:

“Boca Raton 1925-2025: Addison Mizner’s Legacy” at Schmidt Boca Raton History Museum, 71 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton; $8-$12; 561/395-6766, bocahistory. org. This exhibition spotlights architect Addison Mizner’s creativity via artifacts produced and imported by Mizner Industries—Corinthian column capitals, fireplace mantels, floor and roof tiles, and more—as well as videos, photographs, drawings and maps charting his century of influence.

Now-Oct. 26:

“Glasstress” at Boca Raton Museum of Art, 501 Plaza Real, Boca Raton; $12-$16 museum admission; 561/392-2500, bocamuseum.org. “Glasstress” marks the latest in the museum’s ongoing collaboration with Berengo Studio in Murano, Italy, the international locus of blown-glass art. The 2025 iteration is expected to be another blockbuster show, with slated artists including Magdalena Campos-Pons, Sean Scully, Tony Cragg, Thomas Schutte and Chinese provocateur Ai Weiwei.

May 9:

Killers of “Kill Tony” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 7 p.m.; $38.75 to $78.75; 561/8327469, kravis.org. This tour features the cutting-edge material of Kam Patterson, Ari Matti, David Lucas and Hans Kim, four standup comics who have appeared on “Kill Tony,” the popular live podcast co-hosted by controversial insult comic Tony Hinchcliffe.

Now-June 15:

“ICONS of ART: Italian Mosaic Portraits” at Cornell Art Museum, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach; free, but donations welcomed; 561/243-7022, downtowndelraybeach.com. This colorful exhibition features 30 original mosaic portraits from the esteemed Mosaic School in Friuli, Italy, whose subjects comprise a who’s who of international culture, from Audrey Hepburn and Madonna to Frida Kahlo, Muhammad Ali and David Bowie.

May 9-25:

“The Bridges of Madison County” at Delray Beach Playhouse, 950 N.W. Ninth St., Delray Beach; various show times; $45; 561/272-1281, delraybeachplayhouse.com.

Romantic longing in a small Midwestern town doesn’t scream for stage lights and playbills, but composer Jason Robert Brown transformed James Waller’s mega-selling novel into a splashy big-ticket production on the strength of his score, an eclectic goulash of styles ranging from folk and country to pop and opera.

“ICONS of ART”

Comic Art Matti

Art from “Glasstress”

HOIJE NUUTER

FRANCESCO ALLEGRETTO

Now-June

20:

“Alex Katz: Portraits and Landscapes Through the Seasons” at Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, 253 Barcelona Road, West Palm Beach; $7-$15 gardens admission; 561/832-5328, ansg.org. Silkscreens, pigment prints and linocuts from Alex Katz, a groundbreaking contemporary artist known for his bold colors and compositional rigor, will nestle amid the singular confines of Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, creating a seasonally grounded, nature-centered dialogue.

May 10:

Now-July 20:

“Blur, Obscure, Distort” at Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach; $10-$18 museum admission; 561/832-5196, norton.org. Often dismissed as errors, distortion and disorientation in photography can also be an artistic asset, as explored in this exhibition drawn from the Norton’s collection. Expect subversive images that disrupt the viewer’s sense of time, space, place and scale.

Now-Sept. 28:

“The Art of Peace: Jizai Okimono” at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach; $10-$16 museum admission; 561/495-0233, morikami.org. Translating as “articulated decorative objects,” the sculptures known as jizai okimono flourished in Japan’s peaceful mid-Edo period. These finely detailed creations typically focused on animal and insect life.

“The Art of Peace” gathers 19 examples of the remarkably realistic art form.

Now-Oct. 5:

“Artists’ Jewelry: From Cubism to Pop” at Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach; $10-$18 museum admission; 561/832-5196, norton. org. Diane Venet, one of the world’s foremost authorities on jewelry by major artists, guest-curates this exhibition culled from her collection, with its miniature masterpieces from the likes of Picasso, Koons, Calder, Man Ray and many more, which the Norton will pair with works in its collection from the same artists.

Elan Trotman at Funky Biscuit, 303 S.E. Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton; 6 and 9 p.m.; $44-$55; 561/3952929, funkybiscuit.com. This singer and saxophonist from Barbados blends Caribbean rhythms from his island roots with unpredictable horn colors and new age textures for a sound that has propelled him to a Billboard chart-topping career and collaborations with a who’s who of the smooth jazz world.

May 10:

Sarge at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach; 6 p.m.; $25; 561/586-6410, lakeworthplayhouse.org. As a biracial Jewish man—in his words, “a one-person hate crime waiting to happen”—this peripatetic, piano-playing musician and comic has performed at stadiums and festivals, intimate nightclubs and bustling cruise ships, while touring with the likes of Donna Summer, the Beach Boys, the Four Tops and Burt Bacharach.

May 10-Oct. 19:

Laddie John Dill: “Eastern Standard Time” at Norton Museum of Art, 1450 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach; $10-$18 museum admission; 561/832-5196, norton.org. Elements from the periodic table are part of the palette of this octogenarian artist representing California’s Light and Space Movement. The site-specific installation “Eastern Standard Time” is comprised of sand and glass tubes containing argon and mercury, which bathe the gallery in a blue glow.

May 11:

Delray String Quartet at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 188 S. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach; 3 p.m.; $35; 561/8085084, delraystringquartet. com. In the fifth and final program in its 2025 “Masterworks” series, the quartet will tackle Joseph Haydn’s “String Quartet No. 2, Op. 76” and Claude Debussy’s “String Quartet in G minor, Op. 10.”

Laddie John Dill: “Eastern Standard Time”

Elan Trotman

Alex Katz portrait

Sarge

May/June 2025

May 12-14:

“The Vagina Monologues” at Boca Black Box, 8221 Glades Road, Boca Raton; 7 p.m.; $38-$48; 561/483-9036, bocablackbox.com. Eve Ensler’s enduring, Obie-winning one-woman show is a hilarious and heartbreaking whirlwind through contemporary feminist consciousness, featuring characters as diverse as a 6-yearold girl, a septuagenarian New Yorker, and a Bosnian rape survivor.

May 14:

Breaking Benjamin & Staind at iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre, 601-7 Sansburys Way, West Palm Beach; 5:30 p.m.; $48.15 and up; 561/795-8883, westpalmbeachamphitheatre.com. Two heavy bands that rose to fame around the turn of the 21st century co-headline this bill: Breaking Benjamin, whose angsty lyrics and crunchy guitars have made them alt-metal paragons, and Staind, whose brooding nu-metal aesthetic has spawned a multi-platinum career.

May 30-31:

Tito Puente Jr. at Arts Garage, 94 N.E. Second Ave., Delray Beach; 8 p.m.; $50-$55; 561/450-6357, artsgarage.org. The son of legendary mambo musician Tito Puente—and a South Florida resident—carries on his father’s legacy through his music and repertoire. The Billboard Music Award winner’s latest album, Got Mambo?, features a bevy of guest stars singing alongside Puente’s exuberant and precise Latin percussion rhythms.

May 16:

Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel at Funky Biscuit, 303 S.E. Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton; 9 p.m.; $40; 561/395-2929, funkybiscuit.com. As the son of Allman Brothers Band founder Dickey Betts, Duane Betts was born into Southern rock royalty, first performing with the Allmans at 16, in 1994. He’s now supporting his debut solo LP Wild & Precious Life, an album that nods to his storied musical past while also looking ahead.

June 7:

Pat Travers Band at Boca Black Box, 8221 Glades Road, Boca Raton; 8 p.m.; $48-$68; 561/483-9036, bocablackbox. com. A top purveyor of downand-dirty barroom blues-rock, Canadian guitarist Travers has been a major influence on Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, and is most remembered for his nine-album string of hardedged LPs for Polydor Records from 1976 to 1984. He’ll bring his trio, equally adept at rock, blues and jazz, for this intimate date.

June 14:

Jackiem Joyner at Funky Biscuit, 303 S.E. Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton; 6 and 9 p.m.; $44-$55; 561/395-2929, funkybiscuit.com. Doubling on saxophone and flute, this chart-topping smooth jazz composer from Virginia has released eight albums of mood-setting, down-tempo music, and has collaborated with such luminaries as George Duke, Marcus Miller and Angela Bofill.

Breaking Benjamin

Duane Betts

Tito Puente Jr.

DYLAN JON WADE COX

May 17-18:

Keiko Matsui at Boca Black Box, 8221 Glades Road, Boca Raton; 7 and 9 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday; $68-$88; 561/483-9036, bocablackbox.com. This endlessly prolific jazz and new age keyboardist began studying piano at age 5 in her native Tokyo, and has released more than 35 albums since 1987. Her musical juju has a woo-woo provenance; she has said that her compositions “come to her from another space; another dimension.”

May 22 and June 12:

Sunset Stroll at Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, 4000 Morikami Park Road, Delray Beach; 5:30 p.m.; $5-$10; 561/4950233, morikami.org. Taiko drum musicians will perform their thunderous show three times each night in the second and third Sunset Strolls of the 2025 season. Visitors are also invited to wander this cultural treasure of the Palm Beaches after hours and at a discounted price.

June 20:

Marlon Wayans at Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Drive, Coral Springs; 8 p.m.; $47.27$111.47; 954/344-5990, thecentercs.com. One of the most successful entertainers from the talented Wayans clan, Marlon’s career has included two seasons on the groundbreaking sketch series “In Loving Color” and movies that have grossed nearly $1.8 billion at the global box office. His standup tour comes on the heels of his successful 2024 Amazon Prime comedy special “Good Grief.”

May 23:

Cimafunk at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; 8 p.m.; $34.50-$94.50; 561/8327469, kravis.org. A funk singer and songwriter in the spirit of George Clinton and James Brown, this charismatic Afro-Cuban Grammy nominee made history as the first Cuban-born artist to play Coachella. He brings his nine-piece band The Tribe to the Kravis for a set of genre-blending, body-moving music.

May 23-25:

HARID’s 2025 Spring Performances at Countess de Hoernle Theatre, 5100 Jog Road, Boca Raton; 7:30 p.m. Fri., 3 p.m. Sat.-Sun.; $35$40; 561/998-8038, harid. edu/performances. HARID’s Spring Performances will include a selection of classical and contemporary ballets, including the premiere of a new work by the renowned international choreographer Mark Godden. The school’s 2025 graduating class of nine dancers will be featured throughout the program.

June 24-29:

“Ain’t Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations” at Kravis Center, 701 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach; various show times; $35-$91; 561/8327469, kravis.org. This ecstatic jukebox musical chronicles the magical sonic kismet that brought Otis Williams, Paul Williams, Melvin Franklin, Eddie Kendricks and Elbridge “Al” Bryant together as the archetypal Motown quintet. With more than 30 songs, it charts their journey from the streets of Detroit to rock ‘n’ roll royalty.

June 28:

Alex Bugnon at Funky Biscuit, 303 S.E. Mizner Blvd., Boca Raton; 6 and 9 p.m.; $45-$55; 561/395-2929, funkybiscuit.com. A nephew of pioneering jazz trumpeter Donald Byrd, this Berklee School of Music graduate has continued in the family business as a smooth jazz keyboardist, pooling his wide range of influences—from Thelonious Monk to Earth, Wind & Fire—into 11 albums on the nebulous border of jazz and R&B.

June 28-29:

“At All Cost” at Lake Worth Playhouse, 713 Lake Ave., Lake Worth Beach; 2 and 5 p.m.; $30; 561/586-6410, lakeworthplayhouse.org. Set in post-World War II America amid the racist redlining policies of Jim Crow, this hard-hitting play by Rashida Costa follows an African American soldier’s journey from serving his country to his denial of benefits from the G.I. Bill upon returning home.

HARID dancers

Marlon Wayans Alex Bugnon Cimafunk

DTHOMPSON

We are

Because of your transformational support of Transcend Tomorrow: The Campaign for Florida Atlantic University, we are

•Graduating record numbers of students

•Attaining unprecedented research excellence

•Expanding community programs

•Addressing tomorrow’s challenges today

Your philanthropy continues to build a legacy of achievement and excellence for the next generation.

We remain eternally grateful to our transformational donors:

Eleanor R. Baldwin

Barbara Campbell and the late Bobby Campbell

Avron B. and Wendy Fogelman

Arthur Gutterman

Michelle and Michael Hagerty

The Lappin Family and the Legacy Foundation of Palm Beach County

Let’s Have a Smile Scholarship Fund

Christine E. Lynn and the E.M. Lynn Foundation

The Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. Foundation

The Marcus Foundation

David J.S. and Lynn Nicholson

The Sandler Family and the Harvey and Phyllis Sandler Foundation

Barb Schmidt and Dick Schmidt, and the Schmidt Family Foundation

Susan Smith and the late Phil Smith

Richard Stone

The Taft Foundation

Holli Rockwell Trubinsky and Joseph Trubinsky

Marilyn Wallach and the late Kurt Wallach

Ann Wood and the late John Wood

To learn more, visit transcendtomorrow.fau.edu.

private education camp guide 2025

The following section presents helpful information provided by prominent private schools and camps in Palm Beach County.

All listings include a brief synopsis of the programs’ achievements, curriculum highlights, and many more important details families look for when choosing the best fit for their children.

This comprehensive guide is designed to help you make informed decisions at a glance.

At Levis JCC Zale Early Childhood Learning Center, we believe children are capable of extraordinary things. Our passion and goal is to provide your child with developmentally appropriate learning opportunities, love and support while nurturing their academic growth. Featuring:

• Baby & Me to Pre-K Programs

•Low student to teacher ratios

• Multiple playgrounds, library, movement room, gymnasium, outdoor garden, plus a splash pad

• Secure, gated 100 acre campus

Personalized Learning Plan for Each Student

Flexible Scheduling

Customized Support from Academic Coaches, Teachers, and Tutors

Microschool for Grades 6-12 in Boca Raton

Learn

Accredited, 300+ Course Catalog

Individual Learning Spaces, Small Groups, and 1:1 Instruction Opportunities

A MIDDLE/HIGH TUITION-FREE PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

• Rigorous Academics

• 40+ Sports & Clubs

• Robust Dual Enrollment & Advanced Placement Programs

• Cambridge International School

• Industry Certifications & Individualized Student Progressions

• STEAM Certified

• Project Adam School

SPORTS LEADERSHIP ARTS & MANAGEMENT

Private Education & Summer Camp Guide 2025

TRINITY DELRAY LUTHERAN SCHOOL

FAITH. EXCELLENCE. BELONGING.

Trinity Delray is a Christ-centered Cambridge International School offering programs from early childhood through 8th grade. We nurture students in faith while developing their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, preparing them to face the challenges of tomorrow. Our mission is to inspire confident, responsible, innovative, and engaged leaders ready to shape a better future in a rapidly changing world.

Call to book your private tour today and take the first step toward your child’s bright future.

400 N. Swinton Avenue, Delray Beach, FL 33444 561-276-8458 trinitydelray.org

ADVENT SCHOOL

DONNA KLEIN JEWISH ACADEMY

- Grades: K - 12th - Tuition Range: $29,190 - $33,075 - Student-Teacher Ratio: 7:1

- Students: 758

- Denomination: Jewish

Donna Klein Jewish Academy (DKJA) is proud to be ranked among the top Jewish schools in the nation, offering an education of extraordinary power and purpose. Through a rigorous, individualized curriculum, DKJA meets the needs of a diverse student body while fostering personal growth and academic excellence. Students engage in a wide range of extracurricular activities, from JV and Varsity sports to an extensive fine arts program that includes music, dance, drama, and visual arts. DKJA equips its students with the skills and knowledge needed to excel in college and beyond.

9701 Donna Klein Blvd • Boca Raton

GRANDVIEW PREPARATORY SCHOOL

- Grades: Early Chilhood 3 - 12th - Tuition Range: $17,700 - $29,700

- Students: 400 - Student-Teacher Ratio: 11:1

- Virtual Classes: Yes - Denomination: Non-denominational

Grandview Preparatory School is an independent private school committed to the philosophy that education is a personal endeavor. At Grandview, we are not simply preparing students to be great students - but rather extraordinary individuals who are curious, confident, and have the social and emotional skills to navigate the modern world in a healthy and enriching way. Our students have ample opportunities to engage in real-life experiences on and off campus that prepare them for college and life beyond.

336 Spanish River Blvd. NW

LEVIS JCC BETTY & MARVIN ZALE EARLY CHILDHOOD LEARNING CENTER

- Students: 450

- Grades: Infants - 8th - Tuition Range: $5,000 - $15,000 - Student-Teacher Ratio: Varies by class

- Denomination: Christian

At Advent, your child will become a CONFIDENT, CAPABLE, CHRISTIAN LEADER making a difference in the world! New innovative programs include our Ocean Studies focused STEM curriculum for K-8th grades. Advent combines rigorous academics with leadership development in a safe environment and provides opportunities in spiritual growth, fine arts, and competitive athletics. Aftercare and camp programs offer engaging extra-curricular activities such as martial arts, dance, soccer, and more. Our award winning Early Childhood School, for infants 6 weeks old to PK, will set your child up for success! We accept state scholarships (FTC, FES-EO, and FES-UA) and offer need-based financial assistance for K-8th grade. Call today for a personal tour. You can grow with us!

300 E. Yamato Road • Boca Raton • 561.395.3631 • AdventSchoolBoca.org

COCOPLUM NATURE SCHOOL

- Grades: K-5 - Tuition Range: $11,000 - $17,600

- Students: 54 - Student-Teacher Ratio: 9:1

- Denomination: Non-denominational

Cocoplum Nature School is Palm Beach County’s only nature-based private elementary school. Cocoplum fuses evidence-based curriculum in core academics with play-based and nature-based methods. Located just blocks from downtown Delray Beach, students enjoy weekly immersive learning through experiential trips to community gardens, nature preserves, museums, parks, and more. Cocoplum is known for individualized attention to each child and for balancing holistic wellbeing, academic progress, and stewardship for the community and environment. Additional programs include parenting support, caregiver-and-me classes for 12 months to 5 years, aftercare, and camps. Discover more at an Information Session, held on campus the first Saturday of each month.

324 N. Swinton Ave • Delray Beach • 561.563.4679 • cocoplumnatureschool.org

- Grades: Two – PreK - Tuition Range: $7,510 - $23,505

- Students: 235

- Student-Teacher Ratio: 1:4, 1:5, 1:6

- Denomination: Jewish

At the Levis JCC Betty & Marvin Zale Early Childhood Learning Center we provide an enriching multi-faceted early childhood program designed to foster your child’s imagination, curiosity and intellect. Our fundamental goal is to provide the highest quality preschool education in a warm and nurturing environment. Zale teachers work closely with each child to provide innovative experiences that help build a strong foundation in language, math and early literacy while instilling a love for learning that will truly last a lifetime.

561.710.4340 • levisjcc.org/early

PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY A STANZA EDUCATION SCHOOL

- Grades: 6-12 - Tuition Range: $19,500

- Denomination: Non-denominational

Palm Beach International Academy, a non-profit Stanza Education School (PBIA SES), is an accredited, hybrid, college-prep private school offering personalized, self-paced learning for students in grades 6-12 located in Boca Raton, Florida. As a mission-driven, non-profit institution, we prioritize student success. With a flexible schedule and individualized support from dedicated Academic Coaches, Teachers and Tutors, PBIA SES provides a structured yet adaptable environment where students thrive. Whether through one-on-one instruction, small group learning, independent study, or virtual engagement, students have the freedom to learn anytime, anywhere, while meeting the highest academic potential for each student. 4800 T-Rex Ave., Suite 205 • Boca Raton • 561.735.5773 • PBIAcademy.org

Private Education & Summer Camp Guide

PINE CREST SCHOOL BOCA RATON

- Grades: PreK - 8 - Tuition Range: $37,150 - $43,510

- Students: 875

- Virtual Classes: No

SPANISH RIVER CHRISTIAN SCHOOL

- Student-Teacher Ratio: 9:1

- Denomination: Independent

True to tradition and inspired by innovation, Pine Crest School offers a research-based, challenging curriculum complemented by arts and athletics. We believe that building social and emotional competencies in a safe, secure and inclusive learning environment is fundamental to our students’ success. Pine Crest classrooms foster creativity and innovation, giving students opportunities to practice ethical thought leadership and to become curious, adaptable learners. Our goal is to send our graduates out into the world as leaders who know their strengths and who have the courage to challenge norms, break barriers and move forward with confidence.

2700 St. Andrews Boulevard • Boca Raton • 561.852.2800 • pinecrest.edu

PINE CREST SCHOOL FORT LAUDERDALE

- Grades: PreK - 12th - Tuition Range: $37,150 - $47,305 - Student-Teacher Ratio: 9:1

- Students: 1,842

- Virtual Classes: No

- Denomination: Independent

NE 62nd Street • Fort Lauderdale • 954.492.4100 •

SPACE OF MIND

- Grades: K - 12th - Tuition Range: $0 - $35,000 - Student-Teacher Ratio: 3:1

- Students: 50

- Denomination: Non-denominational

We’re Space of Mind, a personal learning experience for everyone, designed for our modern and social world. We offer a K-12 full-time schoolhouse, afterschool programs, family & adult programs, coaching, college prep & Gap year programs, parent coaching, homeschool curriculum development, and Summer, Winter & Spring Camps. Whether you’re a child, young adult, parent, or educator, our programs are designed to enrich your lifelong learning adventure.

SLAM BOCA RATON

- Grades: 6th-12th - Tuition Range: Free (admission through application and lottery process) - Students: 1,000 - Student-Teacher Ratio: 25:1

SLAM! Boca Raton offers an innovative, sports-infused education for students in grades 6-12. Our school emphasizes sports-related majors like Sports Medicine, Media, Marketing, and more, preparing students for college and beyond. We foster a community where students excel academically and personally, with a focus on empowerment and lifelong learning. SLAM! provides real-world experiences through partnerships, mentorships, internships, and dual enrollment opportunities. Accredited by Cognia, SLAM! is committed to excellence and empowering students to succeed in a global job market. Apply today for the 2025-2026 school year at www.slamboca.com and follow us on Instagram @slambocaofficial.

22500 Hammock Street • Boca Raton • 561-299-6969 • slamboca.com

- Students: 540

- Grades: PreK3 – 8th - Tuition Range: $5,244 - $13,881 - Student-Teacher Ratio: 14:1

- Denomination: Presbyterian

Preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. Academic program K-8th with high quality, challenging academics enhanced by robust technology innovation in the classrooms; leadership skill building; strong fine arts and performing arts programs; critical thinking and project based learning. High school-level honors Algebra 1, Geometry, and Spanish I for middle school students. Accredited by CSF and MSA. Before and after-school programs. Interscholastic Sports program. After school enrichment. State-of-the-art technology, including 3-D printing, video productions, coding. Competitive robotics. Stanford Achievement Test. Lunch program. Clinic with full-time nurse. Uniforms required. Parent-Teacher Fellowship. Summer Camp. New STEM Lab, Art Studio, and Dance/Exercise room opening at the start of the 2025-26 school year.

TRINITY DELRAY LUTHERAN SCHOOL

- Grades: Age 1 – 8th - Tuition Range: $6,800 - $13,450

- Students: 475

- Student-Teacher Ratio: Varies

- Denomination: Lutheran

Trinity Delray, Excellence in Christian education since 1948. For over seventy years, Trinity Delray Lutheran School has been providing academic excellence in a Christ-centered environment. Trinity Delray is committed to providing the best instructional environment for students. Trinity Delray is a Cambridge International School. Cambridge International helps students become confident, responsible, reflective, innovative, engaged, and ready to tackle the demands of tomorrow’s world, capable of shaping a better world for the future. We offer class sizes that give students the opportunity to have curriculum differentiated to their needs. Trinity Delray students develop critical thinking skills that are needed to be successful after elementary and middle school.

400 N Swinton Ave • Delray Beach • 561.276.8458 • Trinitydelray.org

TWISTERS GYMNASTICS BOCA RATON

- Ages: 5 - 10 - Pricing: From $549/Weekly; Daily rates also available

- Dates: Beginning June 2nd

- Denomination: Gymnastics

Whether your child joins us for a day, a week, or the entire summer at Twisters, their time will be packed with fun and excitement! Our professional, safety-certified staff will guide them through gymnastics lessons, games, organized activities, fitness, arts and crafts, and supervised play—all in our clean, safe, and fully air-conditioned facility! Dates may vary at each location.

Twistergymnastics.com

WAVES SURF ACADEMY

- Camp Type: Surf Camp - Camp Rate: $350 Weekly M-F / $100 Daily - Camp Times: 9:00 A.M -2:30 P.M.

- Camp Ages: 5-15

- Camp Dates: Spring Break Mar. 24th - 28th • Summer Break Jun. 2nd - Aug. 22nd

Waves Surf Academy offers exciting surf camps in Delray Beach and Boynton Beach for kids ages 5-15. Activities include surfing, paddleboarding, boogie boarding, swimming, beach games, dodgeball, and more. All staff are lifeguard certified, background checked, and screened for safety. The camp runs daily M-F from 9 AM to 2:30 PM, with indoor shelter and games for weather days. Join the fun and make waves this summer!

CARINA

Crocante Ponderacion from Embarcadero 41

Clockwise from bottom: Pulpo Gallega, ham croquetas, and Tabla Terraza

La Terraza Tapas & Bar

21170 St. Andrews Blvd., Boca Raton; 561/576-3040

Written by CHRISTIE GALEANO-DEMOTT

Despite being next to a small pizza chain in a Publix strip mall, La Terraza Tapas & Bar instantly transports you to Spain. Its brick barrel ceiling, moody lighting, crimson walls and wooden furniture create a charming rustic aesthetic reminiscent of a Spanish taverna. The husbandand-wife duo, Carlos and Lynn, opened this tapas restaurant late last year, gaining a loyal following thanks to chef Carlos’ talent for crafting his homeland’s beloved shareable plates and Lynn’s warm hospitality.

The tortilla is another classic tapa with omelet-like qualities that was the perfect consistency and balance of egg and potatoes.

IF YOU GO

PARKING: Lot parking

HOURS: Monday – Thursday, 4 – 10 p.m.; Friday & Saturday, noon – 11 p.m.; Sunday, noon – 9:30 p.m.

PRICES: $10.95 – $65.95

WEBSITE: laterrazatapas.com

I love family-style meals where I can try several small dishes without being rolled out of the restaurant, so Spanish tapas tops my list of favorite cuisines. The wine menu and draft beers are Spanish-focused, but there’s also a full bar with Spanish-inspired cocktails. We ordered all the tapas at once, and while I appreciated the kitchen’s speed, they all came out at the same time. I’d suggest either ordering in phases or asking your waiter to course them out.

There are my go-to tapas that I always order. One of them is a tabla, a plate of mixed cheese, meat and small appetizers that are perfect for starting a meal. For example, the Tabla Terraza ($18.95) came with the customary Jamón Ibérico and nutty Manchego cheese (aged six months), along with green olives, pan con tomate and tortilla. Ripe grated tomatoes are smeared onto a soft, warm piece of toast, which I appreciated for not cutting the roof of my mouth.

We also ordered the Croquetas de Jamón ($15.95), Camarones Ajillo ($19.95) and Pulpo Gallega ($25.95). I enjoyed the plump ham croquettes with wonderfully crisp exteriors, which I dipped into the tangy caper aioli. The sizable shrimp in their brown ceramic bowl emanated a savory garlic aroma that was just as flavorful. The octopus, prepared in the Galician style, was paper-thin, tender and served with a dusting of paprika. It’s simply prepared but expertly executed. Wanting to try something unusual, we ordered the Berenjena con Queso ($16.95). The eggplant, lightly breaded and rolled around a mixture of goat cheese and Jamón Ibérico, is topped with a tomato paprika sauce. Each bite offers a savory blend of eggplant and ham with hints of creamy sweet cheese.

We ended the meal with a traditional Basque Cheesecake ($12). This airier version of its New York counterpart, with its tawny hue, wasn’t as smooth as others I’ve had; instead, it offered a crumbly blend of cake and cheesecake textures. However, it was moist and not overly sweet, which I appreciated

La Terraza authentically embraces Spanish tapas in a satisfying way. You won’t regret visiting this family-owned restaurant whether you’re looking for a quick, light bite or if you want to linger over a bottle of Spanish wine while a guitarist serenades you.

CARINA MASK

Embarcadero 41

8188 Glades Road, Boca Raton; 561/405-6014

CHRISTIE GALEANO-DEMOTT

IF YOU GO

PARKING: Lot parking

HOURS: Monday – Thursday, 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. (kitchen closes at 9:15); Friday & Saturday, 11:30 a.m. –midnight (kitchen closes at 11:15); Sunday, 11:30 a.m. – 9:30 p.m. (kitchen closes at 8:30)

PRICES: $10 – $50

WEBSITE: embarcadero41.us

ur yearlong warm (OK, sometimes sweltering) weather calls for light, refreshing fare, and nothing fits that bill more than the citrusy and herbaceous flavors of Peruvian cuisine. Pair it with a bright pisco sour, and I’m in heaven. Well, only if it’s executed correctly. Fortunately, Embarcadero 41 delivers standout Peruvian and Nikkei (Japanese and Peruvian fusion) fare. I visited the West Boca outpost, but the family-owned company that launched in 2018 with its first restaurant in Sunrise now has four locations, with two more on the way. The contemporary design has warm wood accents, a sleek bar and an expansive tree-shaded terrace.

Pisco is a typical Peruvian distilled brandy made from must, or freshly crushed wine grape juice. Embarcadero’s pisco sour ($14) is made with handcrafted Pisco 100 Acholado, a blend of quebranta, torontel and Italia grape varietals. It’s mixed with fresh lime juice and simple syrup, then topped with frothy egg white for a balanced

cocktail that tastes fresh and lacks any harsh added flavoring or sugariness.

We ordered the Pulpo Anticuchero ($26) and Causa Nikkei Crocante ($35) for appetizers. Octopus can be hit or miss; this one was a hit. It wasn’t only-usea-fork-to-cut tender, but it was up to scratch—plus, the secret anticuchero sauce elevated the dish. It had wonderful herbaceous chili flavors that complemented the octopus along with its beloved Peruvian large-kernel corn and crispy potatoes. The causa here is a twist on the traditional dish of layered mashed potatoes with a meat filling. Instead, the potato was breaded and lightly fried, resembling a potato pancake topped with fresh tuna tartare, thinly sliced avocado, a petite quail egg and tobiko caviar. Each forkful of juicy tuna and smooth avocado is balanced by the mini crunch of the caviar, crispy potato, and creamy acevichado sauce with just the right hint of spiciness. Plus, the plated presentation is beautiful. I wanted to try a roll, so we

chose the Lomo Saltado Roll ($23). Shrimp and avocado are rolled and then topped with lomo saltado, or beef tenderloin. While well-seasoned, the meat overtook the flavor, so I didn’t taste the filling. I also thought the rice was a little overcooked, but nothing to get too upset over. The Arroz con Mariscos ($24) is a traditional creamy rice with seafood sautéed in wine and topped with Parmesan cheese. Yet despite the rice’s consistency, it lacked depth in its seafood broth. I did enjoy the tangy salsa topping of sliced red onions and peppers.

The Crocante Ponderacion ($15) is a flaky, thin cookie wafer reminiscent of an elevated ice cream cone, topped with Nutella and French vanilla ice cream, then drizzled tableside with manjar blanco sauce (or dulce de leche), which wasn’t overly sweet. The menu’s photo of the dessert doesn’t do it justice, so I’m very happy we heeded our server’s recommendation to end our meal with it.

Embarcadero honors classic dishes while adding its own twist. I can’t wait to return and try more.

CARINA MASK

Build,

FLORIDA TABLE Dining Guide

DINING KEY

$: Under $17

$$: $18–$35

$$$: $36–$50

$$$$: $50 and up

Palm Beach County BOCA RATON

388 Italian Restaurant By Mr. Sal —3360 N. Federal Highway. Italian. This family-owned outpost of its Long Island flagship prides itself on nostalgic, quintessential dishes. Pastas like alla vodka, marinara and spicy rigatoni share the menu with chicken and veal entrees in beloved preparations like masala, Milanese and parmigiana. Choose from half or whole portions to share with the table. It’s also known for its lively ambiance, so come here for an Italian feast but stay for the party. Dinner nightly. 561/794-3888. $$$

Abe & Louie’s —2200 Glades Road. Steakhouse. All Americans are endowed with certain inalienable rights, among them the right to a thick, juicy, perfectly cooked steak. At this posh, comfortable (and expensive) meatery, the USDA Prime steaks are indeed thick, juicy and perfectly cooked, also massively flavorful and served in enormous portions. Don’t miss the New York sirloin or prime rib, paired in classic steakhouse fashion with buttery hash browns and uber-creamy creamed spinach. Chased with an ice-cold martini or glass of red wine from the truly impressive list, it’s happiness pursued and captured. • Lunch Mon.-Fri., dinner nightly. Brunch on Sat. and Sun. 561/447-0024. $$$$

AlleyCat—297 E.Palmetto Park Road. Japanese. Chef Eric Baker’s Japanese izakaya, or a casual spot for drinks and bites, is serving up dishes like sushi, dumplings and fried rice that have an unexpected whimsical element. Here you’ll find king crab tacos and hot fried chicken alongside the hamachi ponzu and spicy scallop roll. And to deliver the freshest sushi in town, he has partnered with celebrated sushi chef David Bouhadana of Sushi by Bou. • Dinner Tues.-Sat. 561/353-5888. $$

Arturo’s Restaurant—6750 N. Federal Highway. Italian. After 40 years of feeding our Boca community, the Gismondi family is still going to great lengths to take care of its patrons, who, over the years, have become honorary family members themselves. Arturo’s brings generations of diners together with its warm ambiance, classic and consistent Italian fare, and its award-winning 1,000+-bottle wine cellar. • Lunch and dinner Tues.-Fri., dinner Sat.-Sun. 561/997-7373. $$$

Basilic Vietnamese Grill —200 S. Federal Highway. Vietnamese. This popular restaurant offers satisfying food and reasonable prices. Plus, there’s bubble tea. Opened in 2014, it has a wide range of Vietnamese favorites, such as cha

gio tom heo, fried shrimp and pork Imperial rolls, all kinds of pho, noodle bowls, chicken curry and more. • Lunch and dinner six days a week; closed Tuesdays. 561/409-4964. $$

Bluefin Sushi and Thai—861 N.W. 51st St., Suite 1. Sushi/Thai. Arrive early for a table at this Asian hot spot—it’s popular with no reservations for parties fewer than six. Don’t skip the tempura lobster bomb, big in both size and taste. The ginger snapper will impress both Instagram and your stomach. Try the chicken satay and pad Thai. Bluefin offers a variety of dishes from multiple cultures, all well done. • Dinner daily. Lunch Mon.-Fri. 561/981-8869. $$

Burtons Grill & Bar —5580 N. Military Trail. New American. Known for its reliable food as well as its non-gluten, Paleo and “B Choosy” kids menu, the first Florida location for this restaurant is deservedly crowded, so make reservations. Don’t miss the General Tso’s cauliflower, the pan-seared salmon (Paleo), the crab cakes or the Key lime pie. Popular half-portions are available, too. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/465-2036. $

The Capital Grille —6000 Glades Road. Steaks. This is one of more than three dozen restaurants in a national chain, but the Boca Grille treats you like a regular at your neighborhood restaurant. Steaks, dry-aged if not Prime, are flavorful and cooked with precision, while starters from the pan-fried calamari to the restaurant’s signature spin on the Cobb salad (lunch only) are nicely done too. Parmesan truffle fries are crispy sticks of potato heaven; chocolate-espresso cake a study in shameless, and luscious, decadence. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner nightly. 561/368-1077. $$$

Casa D’Angelo —171 E. Palmetto Park Road. Italian. Chef Rickie Piper, who has mastered the menu and cuisine of this fine-dining staple for more than a decade, knows when to say when with both plating and ingredients. His dishes, including the sides and accompaniments, are visually appetizing and aromatic. A grilled veal chop easily 3 inches thick proved tender and juicy, and the wild mushrooms served alongside in a marsala added earthiness. • Dinner nightly. 561/996-1234. $$$

Casimir French Bistro—416 Via De Palmas, Suite 81. French. Take a trip overseas without leaving the city and enjoy excellently prepared traditional French dishes, such as duck l’orange or beef bourguignon, or go with Cajun chicken and veal Milanese. The comfortable dining room is a Parisian experience, as is the apple tarte tatin. This is a local favorite, and may we add they have what is as close to real French bread as anyplace in Boca?

• Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat. 561/955-6001. $$$

Corvina’s seafood tower

AARON BRISTOL

Chez Marie French Bistro —5030 Champion Blvd. French. Marie will greet you at the door of this nicely decorated, intimate, classic French restaurant tucked in the corner of a strip shopping area. This feels like an intimate neighborhood bistro and is a welcome discovery. From escargot encased in garlic butter, parsley and breadcrumbs to a tender duck a l’orange to an unforgettable crepe Suzette, you’ll be in Paris all evening. Voila! Also on the menu: pan-seared foie gras, tasty onion soup, coq au vin, rack of lamb, salads and more desserts. French food in an unassuming atmosphere.• Dinner Mon.-Sat. (closed on Mon. in summer) 561/997-0027. $$

Chops Lobster Bar —101 Plaza Real S., Royal Palm Place. Steak, seafood. There is nothing like a classic chophouse every now and then for a special dinner. At this upscale downtown restaurant, steaks are aged USDA Prime— tender, flavorful and perfectly cooked under a 1,700-degree broiler. There’s all manner of fish and shellfish, but you’re here for the lobster, whether giant Nova Scotian tails flash-fried and served with drawn butter or sizable Maine specimens stuffed with lobster. Let’s face it: Trendy menus come and go, but a great steakhouse is a win-win on all occasions. • Dinner nightly. 561/395-2675. $$$$

Corvina Seafood Grill —110 Plaza Real S, Boca Raton. Seafood. The seafood-centric menu incorporates South Florida’s varied Latin and Caribbean culinary influences into it. Peruvian and Honduran ceviches share the menu with Brazilian fish stew. You’ll also find plantain crusted corvina in a Creole curry sauce alongside Jamaican jerk chicken and island spiced pork ribs. With a focus on sourcing local ingredients, the menu spotlights several daily specials so look out for those. Then there’s the indoor/outdoor bar that invites you to come in and stay a while, especially during its daily happy hour. • Dinner & Sunday Brunch. 561/206-0066. $$

Dorsia —5837 N. Federal Highway. Continental. The simple pleasures of the table—good food, personable service, comfortable ambience—are what this modestly stylish restaurant is all about. The menu has a strong Italian bent, evidenced by dishes like a trio of fried zucchini blossoms stuffed with an airy three-cheese mousse, and a cookbook-perfect rendition of veal scaloppine lavished with artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes and a tangy lemon-white wine sauce. • Dinner nightly. 561/961-4156. $$

Eddie V’s Prime Seafood —201 Plaza Real. Steak & Seafood. Eddie V’s is famous for its seafood and premium steaks, but this restaurant has also perfected the art of entertaining with nightly live music and a few tableside surprises. • Dinner nightly. 561/237-0067. $$$$

Farmer’s Table —1901 N. Military Trail. American. In the pantheon of healthy dining, Farmer’s Table is a standout in Boca, one of the first restaurants to elevate natural foods to fine dining. Fresh, natural, sustainable, organic and local is the mantra at this both tasty and health-conscious offering from Mitchell Robbins and Joey Giannuzzi. Menu highlights include flatbreads, slow-braised USDA Choice short rib and the popular Ramen Bowl, with veggies, ramen noodles and shrimp. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 561/417-5836. $$

Gary Rack’s Farmhouse Kitchen —399

S.E. Mizner Blvd. American. Natural, seasonal, sustainable. You’ll enjoy the varied menu, and won’t believe it’s made without butters or creams. Try the too-good-to-be-true buffalo-style cauliflower appetizer, the seared salmon or buffalo burger, and have apple skillet for dessert. Healthy never tasted so good. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/826-2625. $$

Everyday Favorites

For an affordable bite at any time, consider these durable chains and homegrown Boca favorites— where the attire is understated and reservations are rarely necessary.

Biergarten—309 Via De Palmas, #90. German/Pub. Part vaguely German beer garden, part all-American sports bar, this rustic eatery offers menus that channel both, as well as an excellent selection of two-dozen beers on tap and the same number by the bottle. The food is basic and designed to go well with suds, like the giant pretzel with a trio of dipping sauces and the popular “Biergarten burger.” • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/395-7462. $$

Cuban Café —3350 N.W. Boca Raton Blvd., Suite B-30. Cuban. One thing Boca needs more of is coffee windows—and real Cuban restaurants. Part of the charm of South Florida is its melting pot of Latin cultures, and Cuba is the granddaddy of them all. Which is undoubtedly why diners pack this traditional Cuban restaurant for lunch specials that start at $10.95, including slow-roasted pork served with white rice and black beans. Other highlights include the Cuban sandwich, the media noche and (on the dinner menu only) lechón asado. Full bar. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/750-8860. $

Los Olivos Bistro —5030 Champion Blvd. Argentine. The family-owned bistro’s menu honors familial Argentine roots with typical crave-worthy dishes like empanadas and plenty of red meat. Still, it also honors the cuisine’s Spanish and Italian influences with its standout paellas and housemade pasta. • Lunch and dinner Mon.Sat. 561/756-8928. $

Rocco’s Tacos —224 Clematis St. Mexican. Big Time Restaurant Group has crafted a handsome spot that dishes Mexican favorites, as well as upscale variations on the theme and more than 425 tequilas. Tacos feature housemade tortillas and a variety of proteins. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner nightly. 561/650-1001. (Other Palm Beach County locations: 5250 Town Center Circle, Boca Raton, 561/416-2131; 110 E. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach, 561/808-1100; 5090 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens, 561/623-0127) $

The Sandwich Shop at Buccan—350 S. County Road, Palm Beach and 1901 S. Dixie Highway, West Palm Beach. Takeout stop. Like big sister Buccan Italian restaurant, the Sandwich Shop is full of flavor and builds your favorite sandwich with just a touch of delicious creativity you won’t find elsewhere. Owned by celeb chef Clay Conley and partners, the menu has hot or cold sandwiches, salads, sides and drinks (both alcoholic and non). Good-sized portions mean the Italian and prosciutto subs include leftovers if you have some willpower.• Lunch daily. 561/833-6295. $$

Tap 42 —5050 Town Center Circle, Suite 247. Gastropub. This hugely popular nouveau-Industrial gastropub is not for the faint of eardrums when packed, but don’t let that discourage you. The kitchen here executes the hell out of a short, simple all-day menu. Grilled salmon chopped salad with tomatillo ranch dressing is delightful, as is guacamole studded with fat chunks of bacon and charred corn. Same goes for decadent shrimp mac-n-cheese. The wicked-good chocolate bread pudding with salted caramel sauce would be the envy of any Big Easy eatery. • Lunch Mon.-Fri. Brunch Sat.-Sun. Dinner nightly. 561/235-5819. $

Tropical Smokehouse —3815 S. Dixie Highway. Barbecue. When you take the distinct tastes of Florida/Caribbean/Cuban dishes and pair them with barbecue, you end up with a place you visit a lot. Local celeb chef Rick Mace smokes the meats himself, and his recipes include all kinds of citrus in tasty spots (sour orange wings, pineapple carrot cake); you’ll discover new favorite flavors. Don’t miss the BBQ pulled pork, brisket and ribs. Try the hot and sweet hushpuppies or the homemade chorizo queso in this very casual spot that we can happily say is also unique—there’s nothing else like it. • Lunch and dinner Tues.-Sun. 561/323-2573. $$

The French Gazebo —4199 N. Federal Highway. French. Formerly Kathy’s Gazebo, this space has been a staple in our community for 40 years, but its new owners updated the design while keeping the same French classics on the menu

like escargots, crêpes, dover sole and duckling. Its vintage character still reigns but now with an airier, contemporary undertone. Dinner Mon.-Sat. 561/395-6033. • $$$

Gallaghers Steakhouse —2006 N.W. Executive Center Circle. Steakhouse. At this chophouse, the staff is laser-focused on service, the bar pours stiff drinks, and the kitchen dishes out perfectly cooked steaks—a pure embodiment of what you’d expect from a steakhouse. While Gallaghers proved itself a master of its craft, don’t overlook the other items on the menu, like the stuffed shrimp and veal chop. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/559-5800. $$$$

The Grille On Congress —5101 Congress Ave. American. Dishes at this longtime favorite range from tasty chicken entrees and main-plate salads to seafood options like Asian-glazed salmon or pan-seared yellowtail snapper. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/912-9800. $$

Houston’s —1900 N.W. Executive Center Circle. Contemporary American. Convenient location, stylish ambience and impeccable service are hallmarks of this local outpost of the Hillstone restaurant chain. There are plenty of reasons why this is one of the most popular business lunch spots in all of Boca, including menu items like Cajun trout, the mammoth salad offerings and the tasty baby back ribs. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/998-0550. $$$

Il Mulino New York Boca Raton —451 E. Palmetto Park Road. Italian. From the four pre-menu bites to the after-dinner coffee from freshly ground beans, this is a white-tablecloth venue that delivers on its upscale promises. Try the langostino, the red snapper, the risotto, the pasta, or go for the ceviches, caviars and seafood tower. Save room for dessert and complimentary lemoncello. Make a night of it. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/338-8606. $$$

Josephine’s —5751 N. Federal Highway. Italian. Tradition trumps trendy, and comfort outweighs chic at this Boca favorite. The ambience is quiet and stately but not stuffy, and the menu is full of hearty dishes to soothe the savage appetite, like threecheese eggplant rollatini and chicken scarpariello. • Dinner nightly. 561/988-0668. $$

Yes to Dessert

For those who would never end a dinner without a sweet ending, Le Rivage’s dessert menu ranges from orange cheesecake and chocolate fondant to Peach Melba and crème brûlée.

Kapow Noodle Bar —402 Plaza Real. Asian Kapow delivers an effervescent ambiance that makes you want to relax and stay a while. Its varied menu has something for every craving, from crispy rice and tacos to rolls and even Peking duck. Up your dinner game by reserving a seat at the separate omakase bar serving chef-curated bites that aren’t on the regular menu. And if you’re looking for a memorable night out, book one of the three karaoke rooms.• Lunch and dinner daily. 561/567-8828. $

Kasumi —999 E. Camino Real. Japanese. As the Waterstone Resort & Marina’s second waterfront restaurant, this modern Japanese eatery delivers an elevated level of cuisine. Its shareable menu features sushi rolls, nigiri, sashimi and a variety of larger entrées. • Dinner nightly. 561/226-3033. $$$

Ke’e Grill —17940 N. Military Trail, Suite 700. Traditional American. In this busy dining scene for more than 30 years, you will find a lot of seafood (fried calamari, blue crab cakes, yellowtail snapper Francaise and lots more), a few steak, chicken, lamb and pork options, and a quality house-made apple crisp. Your traditional choices are baked, fried, breaded, grilled, broiled, sauteed. With Provencal, Francaise, maple mustard glaze, toasted macadamia nut pesto and piccata twists. A consistent crowd for a consistent menu. • Dinner nightly. 561/995-5044. $$$

Kousine Peruvian Asian—1668 N. Federal Highway. Peruvian/Asian. Chef and owner Danny Kou shares his Peruvian heritage with a curated menu of dishes that accurately represent his country’s famous ceviche while introducing patrons to unique dishes

that are just as tempting. Kousine’s space is bright and modern, with exposed industrial ceilings complemented with warm woods and greenery. Lunch and dinner daily. 561/430-3337. $$

La Condesa —3320 Airport Road. Mexican. Mexico’s bold, colorful and lively culture is reflected in its cuisine, and it’s evident at La Condesa. This family-owned restaurant’s take on Mexican fare offers a sizable menu with a wide selection of popular drinks and dishes like margaritas, nachos, street tacos and burritos. You can also opt for less mainstream dishes like the mole cazuelitas, and you won’t be disappointed. Lunch and dinner daily. 561/931-4008. $

La Nouvelle Maison—55 E. Palmetto Park Road. French. A dining experience at a French restaurant is never just about satiating your hunger. It’s about the entire experience, and La Nouvelle Maison embraces that joie de vivre from the moment you step inside. Whether you delight in the garlic-infused escargots, steak tartare or beef Bourgogne, none of the classic French dishes disappoint here.• Dinner nightly. 561/338-3003. $$$$

La Villetta —4351 N. Federal Highway. Italian. This is a well-edited version of a traditional Italian menu, complete with homemade pastas and other classic dishes. Try the signature whole yellowtail snapper encrusted in sea salt; it’s de-boned right at tableside. Shrimp diavolo is perfectly scrumptious. • Dinner nightly. (closed Mon. during summer). 561/362-8403. $$$

Le Rivage —450 N.E. 20th St., Suite 103. French. Don’t overlook this small, unassuming bastion of traditional French cookery. That would be a mistake, because the dishes that virtually scream “creativity” can’t compare to the quiet pleasures served here—like cool, soothing vichyssoise, delicate fillet of sole with nutty brown butter sauce or perfectly executed crème brûlee. Good food presented without artifice at a fair price never goes out of fashion. • Dinner nightly. 561/620-0033. $$

Loch Bar —346 Plaza Real. Seafood. This sister restaurant to Ouzo Bay includes fried oysters, moules frites and Maryland crab cakes. The bar offers literally hundreds of whiskeys, a noisy happy hour crowd and live music most nights. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/939-6600. $$

Louie Bossi’s —100 E. Palmetto Park Road. Italian. This jumping joint serves terrific Neapolitan pizza (thin crust), but don’t miss the other entrées. Start with a charcuterie/ cheese plate and grab the amazing breadsticks. All breads and pastas are made on the premises. Other faves include the carbonara and the calamari, and save room for house-made gelato. Unusual features: Try the bocce ball court included with the retro Italian décor. • Lunch and dinner daily, weekend brunch. 561/336-6699. $$$

Luff’s Fish House—390 E. Palmetto Park Road. Seafood. A renovated 1920s bungalow houses this shipshape restaurant, in addition to two large, outdoor deck and patio areas. It’s known for familiar dish names with new tweaks: smoked fish-hummus dip, falafel fish fritters, crab guacamole, mussels in coconut curry broth, plus the paella on Sundays only. Don’t leave without the enormous slice of the Key lime pie, topped with meringue on a graham cracker crust. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/609-2660. $$

Maggiano’s —21090 St. Andrews Blvd. Italian. Do as the Italians do, and order family-style: Sit back and watch the endless amounts of gorgeous foods grace your table. In this manner, you receive two appetizers, a salad, two pastas, two entrées and two desserts. The menu also includes lighter takes on staples like chicken parm, fettuccine alfredo and chicken piccata. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/361-8244. $$

Thai donuts at Kapow Noodle Bar

Mario’s Osteria —1400 Glades Road, Suite 210. Italian. This popular spot features rustic Italian fare in a sleek environment. Signature dishes like the garlic rolls, lasagna and eggplant “pancakes” are on the new menu, as are butternut squash ravioli and thick, juicy rib-eye served “arrabiata” style. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/239-7000. $$

Matteo’s —233 S. Federal Highway, Suite 108. Italian. Hearty Italian and Italian-American food, served in giant “family style” portions, needs no reinventing. Though there is no shortage of local restaurants cooking in that genre, it’s the details of preparation and service that make Matteo’s stand out. Baked clams are a good place to start, as is the reliable chopped salad. Linguini frutti di mare is one of the best in town. • Dinner nightly. 561/392-0773. $$$

Max’s Grille —404 Plaza Real. Contemporary American. Since 1991, this modern American bistro in Mizner Park has been a true local classic. The food and decor are both timeless and up to date, and the ambience is that of a smooth-running big-city bistro. Service is personable and proficient. The menu is composed of dishes you really want to eat, from the applewood bacon-wrapped meatloaf to the wickedly indulgent crème brûlèe pie. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Brunch Sat–Sun. Dinner nightly. 561/3680080. $$

Meat Market — 2000 NW 19th St. Steakhouse. Meat Market has infused Midtown Boca Raton with glamour. Its posh interiors and high energy complement its diverse menu that revolves around steak but is also sprinkled with daily specials and sushi that shouldn’t be overlooked. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/245-6777. $$$$

Medi Terra —301 Via de Palmas #99. Mediterranean. Embracing western Mediterranean cuisine, the menu is seasonal and revolves around what the owners can freshly source, so make sure to wait for the specials before making any final decisions. The father-son duo bought Ristorante Sapori in Royal Palm Place and redesigned it to reflect their passion for Mediterranean cuisine. Dinner Mon.-Sat. 561/367-9779. $$

Morton’s The Steakhouse—5050 Town Center Circle, Suite 219. Steakhouse. There’s seemingly no end to diners’ love of huge slabs of high-quality aged beef, nor to the carnivores who pack the clubby-swanky dining room of this meatery. While the star of the beef show is the giant bone-in filet mignon, seasonally featured is the American Wagyu New York strip. Finish off your meal with one of the decadent desserts.• Dinner nightly. 561/392-7724. $$$$

Narbona —5250 Town Center Circle. Uruguayan. This restaurant-market hybrid offers house-made pasta, private-label herbs and honey, fresh fish and meats, grab-and-go prepared items, and countless Narbona Wine Lodge wines. You can also opt for a sit-down lunch or dinner at its central restaurant or at one of its two bars. The menu, with Italian and Spanish influences, features its pasta alongside a selection of meat and fish dishes. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 561/692-3933. $$

New York Prime —2350 N.W. Executive Center Drive. Steakhouse. This wildly popular Boca meatery Monday, Monday packs them in with swift, professional service, classy supper club ambience and an extensive wine list. And, of course, the beef—all USDA Prime, cooked to tender and juicy lusciousness

over ferocious heat. The bone-in rib-eye is especially succulent, but don’t neglect the New York strip or steak-house classics like oysters Rockefeller, garlicky spinach and crusty hash browns. • Dinner nightly. 561/998-3881. $$$$

Patio Tapas & Beer —205 S.E. First Ave. Spanish. Be transported to the Iberian Peninsula with a variety of tapas. Chef Bryant Fajardo, who trained under celebrated chef José Andrés, specializes in one of Spain’s most traditional and iconic cuisines and delivers both classic selections like Manchego cheese and anchovies alongside premium nibbles like seared duck and foie gras. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/419-7239. $

Penelope —431 Plaza Real. Southern. Penelope honors a blend of cuisines and delivers comforting fare in a whimsy atmosphere. Its menu features a variety of New Orleans, southern and French-inspired dishes such as pimento cheese dip, oyster casino, shrimp po’boy and bouillabaisse. It also offers several well-labeled gluten-free dishes (or those with a GF alternative). Lunch and dinner daily. • 561/896-1038. $$

Prezzo —5560 N. Military Trail. Italian. A reincarnation of a popular 1990s Boca venue, this version has updated the dining room, kept the yummy oven-baked focaccia bread slices, and added a 21st-century taste to the menu. Don’t miss the tender bone-in pork chop, thin-crust pizza and seafood specials. Vegetarian and gluten-free choices are on the menu, too. • Lunch Mon.-Fri. Dinner nightly. 561/314-6840. $$

Rafina —6877 S.W. 18th St. Greek. If you find the ambience of most Greek restaurants to be like a frat party with flam-

Boca’s Classic Restaurants

In celebration of the city’s centennial, we’re honoring Boca’s most storied restaurants

Written by CHRISTIE GALEANO-DEMOTT

These dining concepts have hosted countless birthdays, anniversaries and even funeral repasts over the years, and continue to welcome us in with their warm ambiance and comforting fare. It’s time to reacquaint yourself with five restaurants that have made Boca, well, Boca.

THE GRIDDLE (1945)

You’ll travel back in time when you step inside this legendary diner, dubbed the oldest restaurant in Boca. Its walls are adorned with a collection of historic photos, and its menu features time-honored dishes like the hot open-faced turkey sandwich and corned beef on rye alongside various salads and breakfast specials. 275 N.E. Spanish River Blvd., 561/395-4929; meetmeatthegriddle.com

FRENCH GAZEBO (1980)

While it recently changed its name and underwent a welcome redesign, the former Kathy’s Gazebo still delivers standout classic French dishes. Its updated contemporary glamorous design complements the table-side presentations and elevated fare that’s made this restaurant a go-to for special occasions. 4199 N. Federal Highway, 561/395-6033; thefrenchgazebo.com

ARTURO’S RISTORANTE (1983)

The Italian villa continues to be a part of Boca’s landscape after decades of dishing out thoughtful dishes curated by the Gismondi family. Traditional Italian cuisine like chicken marsala and ossobuco, along with a variety of house-made pastas, share the menu with an extensive 1,000-bottle wine collection. 6750 N. Federal Highway; 561/997-7373; arturosrestaurant.com

TOM SAWYER’S (1985)

This country restaurant is laser-focused on serving comfort food in a welcoming environment. Its expansive menu of homestyle breakfast and lunch dishes has been enjoyed by locals and visitors alike for decades, including favorites like breakfast skillets and hearty sandwiches. But also, don’t sleep on its pastries. 1759 N.W. Boca Raton Blvd.; 561/368-4634; tomsawyerrestaurant.com

MAX’S GRILLE (1991)

As one of Mizner Park’s inaugural restaurants, Max’s Grille has seen Boca Raton’s transformation from the front row. It introduced modern American cuisine to the city and consistently has a lively bar and happy hour scene. Named after its founder, Dennis Max, it was co-owned by Burt Rapoport and BBX Capital for six years until last year, when it was sold to Arka Restaurant Group, which also owns the Kaluz concepts. 404 Plaza Real; 561/368-0080; maxsgrille.com

Escargot at The French Gazebo

Scaloppina di vitello piccata at Arturo’s

The Mizner Roll at Max’s Grill

ing cheese and ouzo, this contemporary, casually elegant spot will be welcome relief. Food and decor favor refinement over rusticity, even in such hearty and ubiquitous dishes as pastitsio and spanakopita. Standout dishes include the moussaka, the creamy and mildly citrusy avgolemono soup and the precisely grilled, simply adorned (with olive oil, lemon and capers) branzino. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/409-3673. $$

Red Pine Restaurant & Lounge —1 Town Center Road. Chinese. The menu is designed to be enjoyed family-style, with substantial portions of classic dishes like housemade vegetable eggrolls, fried rice and General Tso’s chicken, to name a few. The space is bright and lively, with floor-to-ceiling windows, an expansive bar, and several dining spaces accentuated with crimson banquettes. • Dinner Tues-Sun. 561/826-7595. $$

Rino’s of Boca —39 S.E. First Ave. Italian. Guests can expect nightly live entertainment that pairs perfectly with its Italian-American dishes like rigatoni vodka, bucatini carbonara, veal parmigiana and chicken marsala.• Dinner nightly. 561/2448282. $$$

Ruth’s Chris—225 N.E. Mizner Blvd., Suite 100. Steakhouse. Not only does this steakhouse favorite emphasize its New Orleans roots, it also distinguishes itself from its competitors by just serving better food. The signature chopped salad has a list of ingredients as long as a hose but they all work together. And how can you not like a salad topped with crispy fried onion strings? Steaks are USDA Prime and immensely flavorful, like a perfectly seared New York strip. The white chocolate bread pudding is simply wicked. • Dinner nightly. 561/392-6746. (Other Palm Beach County locations: 651 Okeechobee Blvd., West Palm Beach, 561/514-3544; 661 U.S. Highway 1, North Palm Beach, 561/863-0660.) $$$$

Seasons 52 —2300 Executive Center Drive. Contemporary American. The food—seasonal ingredients, simply and healthfully prepared, accompanied by interesting wines—is firstrate, from salmon roasted on a cedar plank to desserts served in oversized shot glasses. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/998-9952. (Other Palm Beach County location: 11611 Ellison Wilson Road, Palm Beach Gardens, 561/625-5852.) $$

SeaSpray Inlet Grill—999 E. Camino Real. American. Unobstructed views of Lake Boca Raton, soaring palm trees and coastal décor peppered with fringed umbrellas all set the mood for a relaxing experience that will make you feel as if you’re on vacation. The menu accommodates different dietary preferences with gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options. Don’t sleep on the pear tortellini pasta starter; it’s a star item. Portions are hearty and can be easily shared. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 561/226-3022. $$

Six Tables a Restaurant—112 N.E. Second St., Boca Raton. American. The dimly lit chandeliers, burgundy velvet curtains and smooth Sinatra lyrics set the mood for a memorable evening that’s dedicated to fine dining without pretention. With a seasonal menu that’s ever changing, you can rest assured that whatever husband and wife chef-proprietors Tom and Jenny Finn prepare for you, it will truly be special and made with love. • Dinner Thurs.-Sat. 561/347-6260. $$$$

Taverna Kyma —6298 N. Federal Highway. Greek/ Mediterranean. Hankering for a traditional Greek meal, and a menu that offers just about everything? This is where you want to try the meze plates (cold, hot, seafood, veggie), saganaki, grilled entrees and kebobs. From the taramosalata to the branzino and pastitsio, servings are generous and good. Don’t forget dessert. • Lunch Mon.-Fri. Dinner nightly. 561/994-2828. $$

Trattoria Romana —499 E. Palmetto Park Road. Italian. This local mainstay does Italian classics and its

own lengthy list of ambitious specials with unusual skill and aplomb. The service is at a level not always seen in local restaurants. Pay attention to the daily specials, especially if they include impeccably done langostini oreganata and the restaurant’s signature jumbo shrimp saltimbocca. • Dinner nightly. 561/393-6715. $$$

Twenty Twenty Grille —141 Via Naranjas, Suite 45. Contemporary American. You’ve probably licked postage stamps that are larger than Ron and Rhonda Weisheit’s tiny jewel box of a restaurant, but what it lacks in space it more than makes up for in charm, sophistication and imaginative, expertly crafted food. Virtually everything is made in-house, from the trio of breads that first grace your table to the pasta in a suave dish of tagliatelle with duck and chicken confit. Don’t miss the jerk pork belly and grilled veal strip loin. • Dinner nightly. 561/990-7969. $$$

Villagio Italian Eatery —344 Plaza Real. Italian

The classic Italian comfort food at this Mizner Park establishment is served with flair and great attention to detail. The reasonably priced menu—with generous portions—includes all your favorites (veal Parmesan, Caesar salad) and some outstanding seafood dishes (Maine lobster with shrimp, mussels and clams on linguine). There is a full wine list and ample people-watching given the prime outdoor seating. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/447-2257. $$

Vino —114 N.E. Second St. Wine Bar/Italian. An impressive wine list of some 250 plus bottles (all available by the glass) offers a multitude of choices, especially among Italian and California reds. The menu of “Italian tapas” includes roasted red peppers with Provolone, as well as ricotta gnocchi with San Marzano tomatoes. • Dinner Tues.–Sat. 561/869-0030. $$

Yakitori —271 S.E. Mizner Blvd. Asian. This Japanese restaurant that has sat for nearly a decade in Royal Palm Place is still welcoming devoted diners and delivering consistent, premium dishes. Sip on one of its refreshing cocktails like the lychee martini or green tea mojito before perusing the vast menu that offers everything from sushi and sashimi to fried rice, ramen and entrées from the robata grill. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/544-0087. $$

WEST BOCA

Boon’s Asian Bistro —19605 N. State Road 7. Japanese/Thai. This is one of two Boon’s (the other is in Delray Beach), and it’s where the rush to eat excellent sushi started. The fast-moving staff is choreographed to deliver dishes such as shrimp pad Thai that’s light, delicate and happily filled with shrimp. The Thai fried rice is unusually delicate too, with lots of egg, and is some of the best around. The sushi rolls are as fresh and inventive (try the Daimyo roll) as they are beautifully presented. Go early or call for a reservation. • Lunch Mon.-Fri. Dinner nightly. 561/883-0202. $$

Chloe’s Bistro —6885 S.W. 18th St. Italian. One of the few venues that’s on the water, with food to match the view. Try the seafood linguine, the large snapper filets in Marechiara sauce, and the desserts to end on a sweet note. House-made pasta and a good wine list ensure a pleasant, satisfying meal. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/334-2088. $$

City Fish Market—7940 Glades Road. Seafood. A multimillion-dollar remodel of the old Pete’s has turned it into an elegant seafood house with a lengthy seafood-friendly wine list, impeccably fresh fish and shellfish cooked with care and little artifice. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner nightly. 561/487-1600. $$

Ditmas Kitchen —21077 Powerline Road. Contemporary kosher. This west Boca restaurant is named after a

Buzz Bite I

The Best Local Wine Shops

Regardless of where you are in the tri-county, a stellar wine shop is always nearby. Celebrate National Wine Day on May 25 by visiting one of these.

PALM BEACH: The French Wine Merchant

The quaint shop celebrates French viniculture with an expansive collection of bottles from the hexagonal land of wine and cheese.

139 N. County Rd., Palm Beach; 561/833-7712

BOCA RATON: Gourmetphile

The family-owned store specializes in wines from small producers and rare finds. Oenophiles can enhance their wine appreciation through its weekly sommeli er-led wine tastings. 323 E. Palmetto Park Road; 561/757-6208; gourmetphile.com

FORT LAUDERDALE:

Sidewalk Bottle Shop

This relaxed wine bar and shop attracts loyal patrons with its inclusive atmo sphere and friendly staff who are always eager to educate, guide and introduce both new and seasoned wine lovers to lesser-known grape varietals and winer ies. 901 Progresso Drive, Fort Lauderdale; 954-744-0591; sidewalkbottleshop.com

—Christie Galeano-DeMott

Brooklyn avenue in a district known for its food. Here you’ll find very good casual food, and no dairy products are used. Try the Hibachi salmon, all-kale Caesar salad, the shnitzel sandwich. • Dinner Sun.-Thurs. 561/826-8875. $$$

DVASH —8208 Glades Road. Mediterranean. The menu, a collection of Mediterranean fusion dishes with a variety of daily specials, caters to an array of diets, including vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free. The Cohen family, who previously owned Falafel Bistro & Wine Bar in Coral Springs for more than a decade, now welcomes diners to this West Boca restaurant that’s tucked away in the Publix Greenwise strip mall. • Lunch and dinner Tues.-Sun. 561/826-7784. $$

Jazz & Brunch

Say goodbye to the Sunday Scaries with 800 Palm Trail’s Jazz & Brunch every Sunday from noon to 3 p.m., with live jazz by Mervyn Johnston on the patio.

Oli’s Fashion Cuisine —6897 S.W. 18th St. Modern American. With the unusual name comes a menu sporting lobster risotto to tuna tacos, grilled mahi and more. There are Italian, vegetarian, steak, flatbreads, salads and desserts, all pleasing to the eye and palate. Inside is a bit noisy, so try the outdoor, lakeside patio for a quieter meal. • Lunch and dinner daily, breakfast weekends. 561/571-6920. $$

Oliv Pit Athenian Grille —6006 S.W. 18th St. Modern Greek. The owners’ goal of bringing together the best of Greek cooking under one roof, much like the melting pot that is Athens, is covered here in an extensive menu. The best way to enjoy the food is to share it: the Pikilia trio with tzatziki, spicy feta and eggplant spread is a starting place. Try the mix grill platter and the hearty red Greek wine. End the night with a unique, velvety frappe cappuccino. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/409-2049. $$

Skyfin Asian Bistro —8221 Glades Road. Asian. After nearly a decade of dishing out elevated Beijing cuisine at MR CHOW inside the posh W South Beach, chef Aden Lee left his sous chef position to venture out on his own. Here, you’ll find both playfully named sushi rolls and fresh sashimi alongside protein-rich house specials, fried rice and noodles. Don’t miss the Toro Roll and Tangerine Peel Beef. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/556-1688. $$

Villa Rosano —9858 Clint Moore Road. Italian. You can be forgiven for imagining yourself in some rustic Italian hill town as the smells of garlic and tomato sauce waft through the air. Start by sopping up the house olive oil with slices of crusty bread, then move on to a stellar version of clams Guazzetto and delicate fillets of sole done a la Francese. • Lunch Mon.-Sat. Dinner nightly. 561/470-0112. $$

BOYNTON BEACH

Driftwood —2005 S. Federal Highway. Modern American. Take food combos that sound unusual (popcorn sauce, avocado chocolate ice cream) but that taste wonderful and you’ve got Chef Jimmy Everett’s ideas on the table. They don’t last long, because they taste terrific. Try the smoked swordfish, the lobster with pickled okra, ricotta dumplings, the burger with gouda, the grilled octopus and pastrami’d chicken breast with roasted cabbage. • Brunch Sun. Dinner Tues.-Sun. 561/733-4782. $$

Josie’s Italian Ristorante— 650 E. Woolbright Road. Italian. This cozy, family-owned restaurant is looking better than ever after a renovation that gave its dining room a more modern, elegant atmosphere in which to enjoy chef Mark Militello’s classic Italian fare. It’s easy to fill up on the hearty portions of its pasta and meat entrees, but be sure to save room for dessert to try the absolutely decadent sixteen layer chocolate cake. In the cooler months, opt for patio seating for waterfront views. • Lunch Mon.-Sat. Dinner nightly. 561/364-9601. $$

Prime Catch —700 E. Woolbright Road. Seafood Waterfront restaurants are few and far between in our neck of the woods, and those with good food are even more rare. Prime Catch, at the foot of the Woolbright bridge on the Intracoastal, is a best-kept secret. The simple pleasures here soar—a perfectly grilled piece of mahi or bouillabaisse overflowing with tender fish. Don’t miss one of the best Key lime pies around. • Lunch and dinner daily, Sunday brunch. 561/737-8822. $$

Sushi Simon 1628 S. Federal Highway. Japanese. It’s been called “Nobu North” by some aficionados, and for good reason. Local sushi-philes jam the narrow dining room for such impeccable

nigirizushi as hamachi and uni (Thursdays), as well as more elaborate dishes like snapper Morimoto and tuna tartare. Creative, elaborate rolls are a specialty. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/731-1819. $$

DELRAY BEACH

50 Ocean—50 S. Ocean Blvd. Seafood. The former Upper Deck at Boston’s on the Beach is now the more upscale, seafood-oriented spot. The menu ranges from familiar to slightly more inventive, from a classic lobster bisque and crisp-tender fried clam bellies to rock shrimp pot pie and baked grouper topped with blue crab. The cinnamon-dusted beignets are puffs of amazingly delicate deep-fried air and should not under any circumstances be missed. • Lunch Mon.-Sat. Dinner nightly. Brunch Sun. 561/278-3364. $$

800 Palm Trail Grill—800 Palm Trail. American. This contemporary space is serving up American fare and classic cocktails. The menu has a steak-and-seafood-house feel to it but without any stuffiness. Instead, you’ll find dishes that entice the palate, like the loaded baked potato eggrolls and Wagyu boneless short rib. • Lunch and dinner daily, with patio dining. 561/865-5235. $$$

Akira Back —233 NE Second Ave. Japanese Chef Akira Back’s Seoul restaurant earned a Michelin star a few years ago and now he’s showcasing his talented take on Japanese cuisine at his namesake restaurant inside The Ray hotel. Born in Korea and raised in Colorado, Back blends his heritage with Japanese flavors and techniques he has mastered to deliver dishes that are unique to him. With plates made to be shared, the menu is divided into cold and hot starters followed by rolls, nigiri/sashimi, robata grill, mains and fried rice. Dinner. 561/739-1708. $$$$

Amar Mediterranean Kitchen & Bar —25 S.E. Sixth Ave. Mediterranean. No longer a quaint bistro, this new version is buzzing with energy while still as charming and welcoming as ever. Dishes deliver solid, bright flavors that honor owner Nicolas Kurban’s Lebanese roots, as his family recipes take center stage alongside Mediterranean favorites that have been elevated with slight tweaks. On some evenings, there is belly dancing entertainment. • Dinner nightly. 561/865-5653. $$

Avalon Beach House—110 E. Atlantic Ave. Contemporary American. This steakhouse was transformed into a chic coastal haven for seafood and lively cocktails. Its menu features a variety of casual dishes like ahi tuna poke, fish tacos, double smash burger and short rib ragu. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/593-2500. $$

Bamboo Fire Cafe —149 N.E. Fourth Ave. Caribbean. The Jacobs family joyously shares its Latin and Caribbean culture through food that’s bursting with bright island aromas and flavors. Tostones, plantain fries and jerk meatballs share the menu with curry pork, oxtail and conch. A quintessential Delray gem. • Dinner Wed.-Sun. 561/749-0973. $

Beg

for

Izakaya —19 S.E. Fifth Ave. Japanese Small Plates. The large sake, whisky and beer menu here pairs beautifully with the small plates full of everything except sushi. No sushi. And that’s fine. Try the takoyaki (octopus balls), the crispy salmon tacos and anything with the addictive kimchi, such as the kimchi fried rice. There are pasta, teriyaki and simmered duck with bok choy dishes—or 16 varieties of yakitori (food on skewers). You’ll be back to beg for more. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/563-8849. $$

Brulé Bistro —200 N.E. Second Ave. Contemporary American. This Pineapple Grove favorite always has satisfying dishes. Its specialties include crab tortellini with black truffles, chicken meatballs with coconut broth and cashews, plus signature dessert pistachio crème brùlée. Spirits and

Bamboo Fire Cafe

Culinary Arts

Dada celebrates 25 years in business, with the eclectic restaurant inspired by the Dada/Surrealist movement housed inside the historic 1924 Tarrimore House.

house cocktails steeped in speakeast style are paired with an ever-changing menu. Outside tables offer the best option for conversation. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/274-2046. $$

Burt & Max’s —9089 W. Atlantic Ave. Contemporary American. This bastion of contemporary comfort food in west Delray is approaching local landmark status, forging its own menu while borrowing a few dishes from Max’s Grille, like the hearty chopped salad and bacon-wrapped meatloaf. Other dishes are variations on the comfort food theme, including a stellar truffle-scented wild mushroom pizza. • Dinner nightly. Sunday brunch. 561/638-6380. $$

Caffe Luna Rosa—34 S. Ocean Blvd. Italian. This multiple Delray Beach-award winning restaurant has sparkling service, comfort food taken to a higher level, and a setting just steps from the Atlantic. A success from day one, they dish up big flavors in a tiny space, so call for reservations. Try the calamari fritto misto, then the rigatoni pomodoro and leave room for dessert. Or come back for breakfast. • Open daily from breakfast through dinner. 561/274-9404. $$

Campi Italian —233 N.E. Second Ave. Italian. The Ray Hotel’s Campi Italian exudes a warm, relaxing ambiance. It’s perfect for an aperitivo and excels in pasta. Contemporary glass chandeliers illuminate its swanky bar and cozy rattan booths, while crisp white tablecloths adorn the tables. • Dinner nightly. 561/576-8366. $$$

Casa L’Acqua Ristorante Italiano —9 S.E. Seventh Ave. Italian. Casa L’Acqua is touted as a fine-dining establishment, and correctly so; diners can expect white tablecloths, tuxedoed staff and attentive service. The wine list is Italian-focused but does offer a variety of bottles from around the world, and each dish is expertly prepared with sizable portions. The main dining room, with its vibey bar and wine cellar, is cozy, and so is its fully enclosed patio in the back. • Dinner nightly. 561/563-7492. $$

City Oyster —213 E. Atlantic Ave. Seafood. This stylish mainstay of Big Time Restaurant Group serves up reasonably priced seafood that never disappoints, such as shrimp and grits with a jumbo crab cake. This is the place to see and be seen in Delray, and the food lives up to its profile. • Lunch Mon.–Sun. Dinner nightly. Outdoor dining. 561/272-0220. $$

Coco Sushi Lounge & Bar —25 N.E. Second Ave., Suite 208. Asian. Local hospitality veterans Tina Wang and chef Jason Zheng continue to grow their restaurant empire with this concept. The extensive menu caters to any palate, dietary restriction or craving and features both traditional and creative dishes. Soups and salads lead into sushi selections and appetizers divided into cool and hot. Cooked and raw rolls are followed by rice, noodle, land and sea entrée options. • Dinner Mon.-Sat. Sunday brunch. 561/926-9434. $$

Costa By OK&M —502 E. Atlantic Ave. Contemporary American. Costa takes chef/owner Coton Stine’s dedication to farm-to-table fare to an elevated level with its seasonal menu. Working closely with local farms and vendors, Stine curates deliciously healthy dishes that tempt your palate while fueling your body. For those with dietary restrictions, the dishes are clearly labeled gluten-free or vegan, which adds a sense of ease to the experience. The corner space is comfortable and embraces natural elements with its wicker chairs, lanterns, greenery and expansive sliding doors. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 561/501-6115. • $$

Cut 432—432 E. Atlantic Ave. Steakhouse. Hipper decor, a more casual vibe and an inventive take on steak-house favorites make this sleek restaurant just different enough to be interesting. Starters such as ceviche (prepared Peruvian style)

and ultrarich oysters Rockefeller are first-rate, while the wetaged beef is appropriately tender and tasty. • Dinner nightly. 561/272-9898. $$$

Dada—52 N. Swinton Ave. Contemporary American. The same provocative, whimsical creativity that spawned Dada the art movement infuses Dada the restaurant, giving it a quirky charm all its own. The comfort food with a moustache menu has its quirky charms, too, like shake-n-bake pork chops with sweet-savory butterscotch onions, and a brownie-vanilla ice cream sundae with strips of five-spice powdered bacon. The wittily decorated 1920s-vintage house-turned-restaurant is, as they say, a trip. • Dinner nightly. 561/330-3232. $$

Deck 84—840 E. Atlantic Ave. Contemporary American Burt Rapoport’s ode to laid-back tropical dining is like a day at the beach without getting sand between your toes. Though the restaurant is casual, the kitchen takes its food seriously, whether the stellar flatbreads, the thick and juicy 10-ounce special blend burger or homey seasonal cobbler. And the waterfront location just seems to make everything taste better. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Brunch Sat.–Sun. Dinner nightly. 561/665-8484. $

Drift—10 N. Ocean Blvd. American. Inside the Opal Grand Resort & Spa, the restaurant’s coastal décor is polished with warm woods, textured stone walls, rope detailing and living walls. The bar is spacious, and several nooks overlook the ocean and the buzzy Atlantic Avenue. The all-day menu covers all the bases. You’ll find easy dishes to snack on after the beach, or if you’re craving an extended Happy Hour experience, enjoy the cheese board, hummus, baked oysters and poke alongside casual burgers, flatbreads and salads. The entrées offer something for everyone, including chicken, steak, lamb and fish. Lunch and dinner daily. 561/274-3289. $$

Eathai —1832 S. Federal Highway. Thai. If you’re craving approachable and affordable Thai food, put Eathai at the top of your list. While you can expect to find curries, noodles, soups and fried rice on the menu, the dishes here aren’t the typical ones you’ll find around town. Indulge in the Thai Chicken French Toasted or Crispy Duck Breast with Lychee Curry Sauce or Oxtail Basil Fried Rice to savor the true talent of owner and chef Sopanut Sopochana. • Lunch and dinner daily, except Tuesday. 561/270-3156. $

El Camino —15 N.E. Second Ave. Mexican. This sexy, bustling downtown spot is from the trio behind nearby Cut 432 and Park Tavern. Fresh, quality ingredients go into everything from the tangy tomatillo salsas to the world-class fish tacos clad in delicate fried skin, set off by tart pineapple salsa. Cinnamon and sugar-dusted churros are the perfect dessert. And check out the margaritas, especially the smoky blend of mezcal and blanco tequila. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/865-5350. $$

Elisabetta’s —32 E. Atlantic Ave. Italian. An ornate Italian spot, with classically prepared dishes including spiedini shrimp, burrata de prosciutto bruschetta, costoletta di vitello (veal), a guanciale pizza, cacio e pepe pasta, malfadine Amatriciana and gemelli puttanesca. Portions are large and that, thankfully, goes for the homemade gelati, too. The best seating outdoors is the second-floor balcony overlooking Atlantic Avenue. • Lunch and dinner daily; weekend brunch. 561/560-6699. $$

The Grove —187 N.E. Second Ave. Contemporary American. The Grove, which has been tucked inside the tranquil Pineapple Grove district for nearly a decade, continues to surprise diners with its vibrant dishes. The upscale but casually comfortable nook has an international wine list that spans the globe and a seasonal menu that’s succinct and well thought out.

• Dinner Tues.-Sat. 561/266-3750. $$

Eathai

AARON

BRISTOL

The Hampton Social —40 N.E. Seventh Ave. American. The Hampton Social is known for its “rosé all day” tagline, but it doesn’t just slay its rosé; its food is equally as tempting. It does a standout job of incorporating its casual coastal aesthetic into not just its décor but also its menu, from its seafood-centric dishes to its droll cocktail names like the vodka-forward I Like It a Yacht. • Lunch and dinner daily, weekend brunch. 561/404-1155. $$

Henry’s —16850 Jog Road. American. This casual, unpretentious restaurant in the west part of town never fails to delight diners. Expect attentive service and crisp execution of everything—from meat loaf, burgers and fried chicken to flatbreads and hefty composed salads. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner nightly. 561/638-1949. $$

Il Girasole —2275 S. Federal Highway. Northern Italian. If you want Northern Italian in a low-key atmosphere, and nobody rushing you out the door, this is your spot. Start with something from the very good wine list. Try the yellowtail snapper, the penne Caprese and the capellini Gamberi, and leave room for the desserts. Reservations recommended. • Dinner Tues.–Sun. 561/272-3566. $$

J&J Seafood Bar & Grill —634 E. Atlantic Ave. Seafood. This local favorite on Atlantic Avenue—owned by John Hutchinson (who is also the chef) and wife Tina—serves up everything from burgers and wraps to a menu brimming with seafood options. Don’t forget to inquire about the stunning array of 10 specials—every night. This is is a bona fide local go-to spot that never disappoints. • Lunch and dinner Tues.–Sat. 561/272-3390. $$

Jimmy’s Bistro —9 S. Swinton Ave. International. Jimmy’s Bistro is a casual neighborhood concept serving consistently delightful dishes from a diverse menu that can transport diners to Italy with house-made pasta or Asia with its delicate dumplings and tender duck. • Dinner nightly. 561/865-5774. $$$

Joseph’s Wine Bar —200 N.E. Second Ave. Mediterranean-American. Joseph’s is an elegant, comfortable, intimate nook in Delray’s Pineapple Grove, and an ideal place for a lazy evening. This family affair—owner Joseph Boueri, wife Margaret in the kitchen, and son Elie and daughter Romy working the front of the house—has all tastes covered. Try the special cheese platter, the duck a l’orange or the rack of lamb. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner nightly. 561/272-6100. $$

La Cigale —253 S.E. Fifth Ave. Mediterranean

Popular venue since 2001, with Greek and Italian dishes and more. Highlights are seafood paella, roasted half duck and grilled jumbo artichoke appetizer. Lots of favorites on the menu: calf’s liver, veal osso buco, branzino, seafood crepes. Nice outdoor seating if weather permits. • Dinner Mon.–Sat. 561/265-0600. $$

Latitudes —2809 S. Ocean Blvd. Modern American. You should come for both the sunset and the food. This oceanfront restaurant is a gem tucked inside the Delray Sands resort. From the airy, bubbly interior to the raw bar, the décor is soothing and fun. Try the lobster and crab stuffed shrimp, the miso-glazed Skuna Bay salmon, the branzino or the veal Bolognese. • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 561/278-6241. $$$

Buzz Bite II

Donut Miss This

National Donut Day is June 6, so indulge in the sweet, doughy treats at local shops like Th Dandee Donut Factory (Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach) and Jupiter Donuts (Boynton Beach, Royal Palm Beach, Jupiter). It’s said that donuts trace their history back to 17th- and 18th-century Dutch immi grants who brought the fried dough balls to America. Decades later, we are still enjoying them, and since 1938, they have had an annual day of celebration.

—Christie Galeano-DeMott

NOT YOUR AVERAGE ITALIAN STEAKHOUSE

Mia Rosebud is more than a destination for steak and Italian cuisine—it is where food enthusiasts experience true culinary excellence.Tuck into Dover sole expertly filleted tableside, happy hour favorites like Rosebud’s signature steak burger, or handcrafted Chicago-style Italian pasta. Don’t miss out—reserve your table and treat yourself to warm hospitality and a nonna-approved meal tonight.

Scan QR code to make reservations and learn about news, events, and weekly promotions like Monday’s Endless Aperitivo Hour, Twist Off Tuesday, and Thursday Ladies Night.

Lovely Limoncello

A Jupiter entrepreneur integrates the tart liqueur into more than just drinks

Written by CHRISTIE GALEANO-DEMOTT

The beginning of summer brings scorching weather, and while some might opt for a cool lemonade, others may be more inclined to sip on the always-refreshing limoncello, especially on June 22, National Limoncello Day. While the Italian liqueur’s origin story is still debated, we can agree that it’s mainly produced in the south in towns like Sorrento and Capri. That said, it’s also a popular drink to prepare at home throughout the country, with verbal recipes passed down from one generation to the next. That’s exactly how Lina Marchetti Reisigl ended up with her family’s well-guarded recipe. After years of peeling countless lemons (that gave her endless blisters) to make limoncello for friends and family, she decided to share the Marchetti family’s crème de limoncello with the world and created Lina’s Limoncello.

Reisigl, a New Yorker who has lived in Jupiter for more than three decades, worked in advertising and marketing for the spirits industry, so she

understood the business.

However, she admits that launching Lina’s Limoncello was still a heavy lift. She used her family’s recipe, which had been refined over the years in her mother’s hometown of Luco dei Marsi in the Abruzzo region, and launched Lina’s in 2018.

“When you love what you’re doing, it’s worthwhile,” she says.

The drink, now produced in the Netherlands in the heart of dairy country, allows Reisigl to source the finest cream to give her limoncello that little twist on the original. This creamy, smooth limoncello is easy to drink, delivering a refreshing pop of lemon without the harsh alcoholic bite that some may have experienced with other limoncello sips. While limoncello can be enjoyed as an aperitif before a meal, it can just as easily be a digestif after a meal to aid digestion. However, she admits that her favorite way to enjoy her namesake limoncello is in an afternoon espresso by mixing one ounce of espresso with one ounce of Lina’s or in a happy hour espresso martini (see

ESPRESSO CREMA MARTINI

2 ounces Lina’s Crema di Limoncello

1 ounce chilled espresso

.75 ounces vodka

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and then strain into a martini glass. Garnish with three espresso beans.

recipe below).

But sipping it isn’t the only way to appreciate Lina’s. Reisigl’s grandmother instilled in her a love for cooking, which fueled her passion for creating recipes. This passion allowed her to master the art of incorporating her versatile limoncello into various dishes, from cupcakes and tiramisu to her famous colada cake.

Lina’s Limoncello can be purchased at Total Wine & More, The Fresh Market and Joseph’s Classic Market, as well as local restaurants like Sicilian Oven and online at linaslimoncello.com

Espresso Crema Martini

Lina Marchetti Reisigl

Le Colonial 601 E. Atlantic Ave. Vietnamese French. Le Colonial radiates classic elegance that is as sophisticated as it is comfortable. Created to showcase Vietnamese cuisine and its French influences, Le Colonial has a standout method of curating classic Vietnamese dishes that appeal to various palates, from meat lovers and pescatarians to vegetarians. The space immediately transports you back to Saigon’s tropical paradise of the 1920s. Lush birds of paradise and palms line the halls that lead into intimate dining nooks throughout the 7,000-square-foot restaurant.• Lunch (on weekends) and dinner daily. 561/566-1800. $$$

Lefkes Estiatorio —33 S.E. Third Ave. Greek. This redesigned space, inside the former Delray Beach Market food hall, is home to Greek wines, traditional Greek classics, and a few contemporary takes on the cuisine. Make sure to save room for the baklava. If you’re looking for a lively late-night Mykonos vibe, complete with napkin throwing and pulsating tunes, Lefkes also delivers. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/908-2331. $$$

Lemongrass Bistro—420 E. Atlantic Ave. Pan-Asian

Casually hip ambience, friendly service, moderate prices and a blend of sushi and nouveau pan-Asian fare make this a popular destination. The quality of its seafood and care in its preparation are what gives Lemongrass its edge. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/567-0442. (Other Palm Beach County locations: 101 Plaza Real S., Boca Raton, 561/5448181; 1880 N. Congress Ave., Boynton Beach, 561/733-1344). $

Lulu’s —189 N.E. Second Ave. American. Lulu’s in Pineapple Grove offers a relaxed ambiance with unfussy, approachable food. The quaint café is open every day and serves an all-day menu

Buzz Bite III

Local Restaurants Celebrate Boca’s Centennial

Our local chefs, bars and restaurateurs are thrilled to celebrate the city’s momentous birthday with various specials and unique treats for guests.

SIXTY VINES

Its wine-on-tap system will feature the 50/50 by Joe Wagner blend. “It’s a fun way to celebrate 100. It’s 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Merlot,” says Cyndra Lattimore, director of operations at Sixty Vines Boca Raton.

ALLEYCAT

Chef Eric Baker presents the Centennial Burger: A 10-ounce A5 wagyu strip steak ground in-house and finished with melted Gruyère cheese, black truffle spread, pickled cucumbers and crispy shallots.“A Centennial celebration deserves a dish that is over the top, and this burger certainly delivers,” Baker says.

PROSPERITY BREWERS

The brewery presents 1925, a Kölsch-style ale infused with pineapple in honor of the pineapple farms in the city’s pioneering days. Get your own pour at the brewery, city events, local bars and hotels, as well as Publix, Trader Joe’s, Total Wine and others.

including breakfast until 3 p.m. and a selection of appetizers, sandwiches, salads and entrées that are ideal for an executive lunch, lively tapas happy hour, casual dinner or late night snack (until 2 a.m.). • Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. 561/453-2628. $

MIA Kitchen & Bar —7901 W. Atlantic Ave., Delray Beach. Contemporary American. Owner Joey Lograsso and chef Jason Binder have curated a balanced choreography of fascinating yet approachable dishes. The menu travels the world from Italy to Asia and showcases Binder’s formal training with elevated dishes that are exceptionally executed. It’s vibey with a great playlist, and the design, reminiscent of a cool Wynwood bar, is industrial with exposed ducts, reclaimed wood and sculptural filament chandeliers. It’s a place that amps up all your senses. • Dinner Tues.-Sun. 561/499-2200. $$$

The Office —201 E. Atlantic Ave. Contemporary American. Your office is nothing like this eclectic gastropub, unless your office sports more than two dozen craft beers on tap and a menu that flits from burgers and fries to mussels. Don’t miss the restaurant’s winning take on the thick, juicy Prime beef burger and simply wicked maple-frosted donuts with bacon bits and two dipping sauces. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/278-3796. $$

Papa’s Tapas —259 N.E. Second Ave. Spanish. This family-owned restaurant will make you feel welcomed, and its cuisine will satisfy your craving for Spanish tapas. Start with a few shareable plates and then enjoy a hearty paella that’s bursting with a selection of seafood, chicken or vegetables. Lunch and dinner Mon.-Sat., dinner Sun. 561/266-0599. $

to guide you through a culinary journey unlike anything else.• Dinner nightly, lunch hour Fri.-Sun. 561/759-7362. $$$$

Terra Fiamma —9169 W. Atlantic Ave. Italian. The pleasures of simple, well-prepared Italian-American cuisine are front and center here. Enjoy the delicate, pillow-y veal meatballs in Marsala sauce; lusty chicken Allessandro with mushrooms, spinach and artichoke hearts; and a finely crafted tiramisu that’s as satisfying as it is familiar. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/4955570. $$

Tramonti —119 E. Atlantic Ave. Italian. In a world where restaurants chase trends with the relentlessness of Casanova in full Viagra heat, Tramonti stands out as a classic outpost of authentic Italian cookery. Not trendy hardly means stodgy, however, as evidenced by expertly crafted, robustly flavorful dishes like the signature spiedini di mozzarella Romana, spaghetti al cartoccio and braciole Napoletana. Torta della nonna is a triumph of the highly refined simplicity that lies at the heart of true Italian cuisine. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner nightly. 561/272-1944. $$$

From Scratch

Park Tavern doesn’t cut corners—the restaurant makes all its bread, cured meats and condiments in house.

Park Tavern —32 S.E. Second Ave. Contemporary American. Check out the high-top seating or bar stools during an excellent happy hour menu that includes deviled eggs, pork sliders, chicken wings and a happy crowd. Entrees are generous and well executed. Try the fish and chips, one of six burgers, fish tacos and more. • Dinner nightly. Brunch Sat.-Sun. 561/265-5093. $$

Racks Fish House + Oyster Bar —5 S.E. Second Ave. Seafood. Gary Rack, who also has scored with his spot in Mizner Park, certainly seems to have the restaurant Midas touch, as evidenced by this updated throwback to classic fish houses. Design, ambience and service hit all the right notes. Oysters are terrific any way you get them; grilled fish and daily specials are excellent. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/450-6718. $$$

Rose’s Daughter —169 N.E. Second Ave. Italian. Chef-owner Suzanne Perrotto, who also owns Brulé Bistro, celebrates her family’s Italian roots and its beloved recipes here—especially when it comes to her house-made pizza and pasta. Perrotto’s famous short rib pappardelle was even featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” Dinner Wed.-Sun. • 561/271-9423. $$

Sazio —131 E. Atlantic Ave. Italian. This long-lived venue on crowded Atlantic Avenue is a reason to sit down and take a breath. Then take up a fork and try the linguine with white clam sauce or the ravioli Sazio or grilled skirt steak or pretty much anything on the menu. Prices are reasonable; leftovers are popular. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/272-5540. $$

Taki Omakase —632 E. Atlantic Ave. Japanese. Taki Omakase, a shining example of omakase done right, has opened not one but two locations in our community (the other is at 1658 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton). It is pricy—an experience is more than $100 per person—but it’s worth it, with one caveat: You must enthusiastically love eating raw fish. Every night is different because it prides itself on importing fish, meat and seasonal ingredients from Japan that arrive daily. So, if you do pine for the delicacies of the sea, buckle in and get ready for the talented chefs at Taki Omakase

Vic & Angelo’s —290 E. Atlantic Ave. Italian. People watching is a staple ingredient here, a complement to the Italian fare. The wine menu is robust, mainly grounded in Italy but with choices from around the world. Larger than personal pies, thin-crust pizzas are family-friendly, while you won’t want to share the Quattro Formaggi Tortellini, fluffy purses filled with al dente pear and topped with truffle cream. For a protein, try the traditional chicken parmigiana, a hearty portion of paper-thin breaded chicken breast topped with a subtly sweet San Marzano sauce under a gooey layer of fresh mozzarella, and a substantial side of linguine pomodoro. If you have room for dessert, the classic sweets include cannoli and tiramisu. • Dinner nightly; brunch weekends. 561/278-9570. $$

LAKE WORTH BEACH

Oceano Kitchen —512 Lucerne Ave., Lake Worth Beach. Contemporary American. Chefs and owners Jeremy and Cindy Bearman have a talent for crafting a simple daily menu of ever-changing dishes that explode with flavors and are curated with thoughtfulness and the utmost detail. Genuine hospitality is at the core of their restaurant. For newcomers, it’s cash only and it doesn’t take reservations, so get there early or be prepared to wait. Dinner Tues.-Sat. 561/400-7418. $$$

Paradiso Ristorante —625 Lucerne Ave. Italian. A Tomasz Rut mural dominates the main dining room, and there is also a pasticceria and bar for gelato and espresso. Chef Angelo Romano offers a modern Italian menu. The Mediterranean salt-crusted branzino is definitely a must-try. Plus, the wine list is a veritable tome. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/547-2500. $$$

LANTANA

Ravish Off Ocean —210 E. Ocean Ave. International. Ravish Off Ocean is a delightful dining experience less than a mile from the powdery sands of South Palm Beach. The coastal vibes are evident here with sea-inspired options like local fish ceviche, tuna tartare, fish tacos and a daily catch. • Dinner nightly, Sunday brunch. 561/588-2444. $$

The Station House —233 Lantana Road. Seafood. If you’re hungry for Maine lobster, plucked live out of giant tanks and cooked to order, this modest replica of a 1920s train station is the place to go. Lobsters come in all sizes (up to 6 pounds) and are reasonably priced. • Dinner nightly. 561/801-5000. $$

Racks Fish House fish tacos

PALM BEACH

Acqua Café —2875 S Ocean Blvd. Italian. This quaint neighborhood restaurant serves quality Italian favorites with a coastal twist. It’s part of the Al Fresco Hospitality Group portfolio, which also includes Via Mizner’s legendary Renato’s.• Lunch and dinner daily, weekend brunch. 561/547-0005. $$$

Bice —313 Worth Ave. Italian. Bice continues to hold the title of favorite spot on the island. The venerable restaurant offers a marvelous array of risottos and fresh pastas and classic dishes like veal chop Milanese, pounded chicken breast and roasted rack of lamb. The wine list features great vintages. • Lunch and dinner daily. Outdoor dining. 561/835-1600. $$$

Buccan —350 S. County Road. Contemporary American. Casual elegance of Palm Beach meets modern culinary sensibilities of Miami at the first independent restaurant by chef Clay Conley. The design offers both intimate and energetic dining areas, while the menu is by turn familiar (wood-grilled burgers) and more adventurous (truffled steak tartare with crispy egg yolk, squid ink orrechiette). • Dinner nightly. 561/833-3450. $$$

Café Boulud —The Brazilian Court, 301 Australian Ave. French with American flair. This hotel restaurant gives Palm Beach a taste of Daniel Boulud’s world-class cuisine inspired by his four muses. The chef oversees a menu encompassing classics, simple fare, seasonal offerings and dishes from around the world. Dining is in the courtyard, the

elegant lounge or the sophisticated dining room. • Dinner nightly. 561/655-6060. $$$

Café L’Europe —331 S. County Road. Current International. A Palm Beach standard, the café has long been known for its peerless beauty, the piano player, the chilled martinis and the delicious Champagne and caviar bar. Try one of its sophisticated classics like wiener schnitzel with herbed spaetzle, grilled veal chop and flavorful pastas. • Lunch Tues.–Fri. Dinner nightly (closed Mon. during summer). 561/655-4020. $$$

Echo—230A Sunrise Ave. Asian. The cuisine reverberates with the tastes of China, Thailand, Japan and Vietnam. The Chinese hot and sour soup is unlike any other, and the sake list is tops. This offsite property of The Breakers is managed with the same flawlessness as the resort. • Dinner nightly (during season). 561/802-4222. $$$

Henry’s Palm Beach —229 Royal Poinciana Way. American Bistro. Part of The Breakers’ restaurant properties, this venue opened in 2020 and is an elegant addition to The Island. Try the pigs in a pretzel dough blanket, beer can corn, the lobster roll, butter crumb Dover sole and chicken pot pie. All comfort food with a Palm Beach twist, and it’s all delicious. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/206-1896. $$$

HMF—1 S. County Road. Contemporary American. Beneath the staid, elegant setting of The Breakers, HMF is the Clark Kent of restaurants, dishing an extensive array of exciting, inventive, oh-so-contemporary small plates. Don’t depart without sampling the dreamy warm onion-Parmesan dip with house-

made fingerling potato chips, the sexy wild boar empanaditas, chicken albondigas tacos and Korean-style short ribs. The wine list is encyclopedic. • Dinner nightly. 561/290-0104. $$

Imoto —350 S. County Road. Asian Fusion/Tapas. Clay Conley’s “little sister” (the translation of Imoto from Japanese) is next to his always-bustling Buccan. Imoto turns out Japanese-inspired small plates with big-city sophistication, like witty Peking duck tacos and decadent tuna and foie gras sliders. Sushi selection is limited but immaculately fresh. • Dinner nightly. 561/833-5522. $$

Meat Market—191 Bradley Place. Steakhouse “Meat Market” may be an inelegant name for a very elegant and inventive steakhouse but there’s no dissonance in its food, service or ambience. Multiple cuts of designer beef from multiple sources can be gilded with a surprising array of sauces, butters and upscale add-ons. Whole roasted cauliflower is an intriguing starter, while a meaty Niman Ranch short rib atop lobster risotto takes surf-n-turf to a new level. Cast your diet to the winds and order the dessert sampler. • Dinner nightly. 561/354-9800. $$$$

Renato’s —87 Via Mizner. Italian with continental flair. This most romantic hideaway is buzzing in season and quietly charming all year long with Italian classics and a Floridian twist— like the sautéed black grouper in a fresh tomato and pernod broth with fennel and black olives and the wildflower-honey-glazed salmon fillet with crab and corn flan. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner nightly. 561/655-9752. $$$

Gathering Space

For meetings or special occasions, the completely vegan Planta has options for private events, too.

WEST PALM BEACH

Austin Republic —4801 S. Dixie Highway. Barbecue. The casual backyard atmosphere sets the scene for chef James Strine’s unpretentious barbecue with a unique Mexican flair. The menu isn’t extensive, but all the barbecue greats are there alongside its Mexican counterparts. Brisket, ribs and pulled pork share the space with tacos, burritos and enchiladas. And don’t sleep on the chicken sandwich. Trust us. • Dinner Tues.-Sat. $

Banko Cantina —114 S. Olive Ave., West Palm Beach. Northern Mexican. Start with the Adelita cocktail and don’t look back. The bacon-wrapped shrimp, the Al Carbon steak tacos and the house guacamole add up to a full-flavor dinner. The west-facing rooftop bar is a nice sunset option, and the Pan de Elote (homemade sweet cornbread with vanilla ice cream and berries) is a delightful end to the evening. • Dinner daily. 561/355-1399. $$

The Blue Door —5700 S. Dixie Highway. Mediterranean. The Blue Door’s vibrant hospitality welcomes you the moment you step through the arched, sapphire-hued entrance. Its lush landscaping and casual yet refined menu take you straight to the southern European coastline. • Dinner nightly. 561/360-2064. $$$

Café Centro —2409 N. Dixie Highway. Modern American. A cornerstone in the Northwood neighborhood, this venue draws because of a complete package: food, drinks and great nightlife and music. Take some char-grilled oysters, add shrimp pesto capellini or a marinated pork chop with polenta, plus local singing fave Tessie Porter, and you have a fun and delicious night out. • Lunch Mon.–Sat. Dinner nightly. 561/514-4070. $$

French Corner Bistro & Rotisserie — 4595 Okeechobee Blvd. Classic French. It’s France in a tiny venue, with big-taste dishes that include all the faves: beef bourguignon, rack of lamb, duck à l’orange, frog legs Provencale, veal kidneys, tender branzino and simple desserts to end the meal. Reservations are mandatory for dinner. • Lunch and dinner Mon.Sat. 561/689-1700. $$

Grato —1901 S. Dixie Highway. Italian. “Grato” is Italian for “grateful,” and there is much to be grateful for about Clay Conley’s sophisticated yet unpretentious take on Italian cookery. Anyone would be grateful to find such delicate, crispy and greaseless fritto misto as Grato’s, ditto for lusty beef tartare piled onto a quartet of crostini. Spinach gnocchi in porcini mushroom sauce are a revelation, so light and airy they make other versions taste like green library paste. Don’t miss the porchetta either, or the silken panna cotta with coffee ice cream and crunchy hazelnut tuille. • Dinner nightly. Sunday brunch. 561/404-1334. $$

The House —7301 Georgia Ave. Modern American. Located inside The Park, West Palm Beach’s public golf course, The House has a bright contemporary aesthetic with massive floor-to-ceiling windows that spotlight the course’s natural beauty. The menu is approachable and offers something for everyone. It also features unique and interesting takes on dishes like spiny lobster corn dogs. • Lunch and dinner Wed.-Sun., weekend brunch. 561/530-3791. $$

Leila—120 S. Dixie Highway. Mediterranean. Flowing drapes and industrial lighting complete the exotic decor in this Middle Eastern hit. Sensational hummus is a must-try. Lamb kebab with parsley, onion and spices makes up the delicious Lebanese lamb kefta. • Lunch Mon.–Fri. Dinner Mon.–Sun. 561/659-7373. $$

Marcello’s La Sirena —6316 S. Dixie Highway. Italian . You’re in for a treat if the pasta of the day is prepared with what might be the best Bolognese sauce ever. • Dinner Mon.–Sat. (closed Memorial Day–Labor Day). 561/585-3128. $$

Pink Steak —2777 S. Dixie Highway. Steakhouse. This steakhouse offers plenty of choice cuts and classic chophouse appetizers, such as Caesar salad and shrimp cocktail, but don’t miss the other noteworthy options, like sushi and beef tartare. The pink-hued space is accented with tropical murals, plush avocado-green booths, plume-like chandeliers and plenty of flamingoes. It’s undoubtedly a vibe. • Dinner nightly, Sunday brunch. 561/557-9083. $$$$

Pistache —1010 N. Clematis St., #115. French. Pistache doesn’t just look like a French bistro, it cooks like one. The menu includes such bistro specialties as coq au vin and steak tartare. All that, plus guests dining al fresco have views of the Intracoastal Waterway and Centennial Park. • Brunch Sat.–Sun. Lunch and dinner daily. 561/833-5090. $$

Planta—700 S. Rosemary Ave. Vegan. For those who savor every juicy, tender and flavorful bite of a well-prepared burger, patronizing a vegan establishment may seem like a sacrilegious act. But what if a restaurant served up plant-based dishes that surprised your taste buds with exploding flavors? Here vegans don’t have to worry about ingredients making the cut, and non-vegans can enjoy approachable and appetizing plant-based dishes that won’t make you yearn for a steak. • Lunch and dinner daily. 561/208-5222. $$

Rhythm Café —3800 S. Dixie Highway. Casual American. Once a diner, the interior is eclectic with plenty of kitsch. The crab cakes are famous here, and the tapas are equally delightful. Homemade ice cream and the chocolate chip cookies defy comparison. • Dinner Tues.–Sun. 561/833-3406. $$

Table 26°—1700 S. Dixie Highway. Contemporary American. Take a quarter-cup of Palm Beach, a tablespoon of Nantucket, a pinch of modern American cookery and a couple gallons of the owners’ savoir faire, and you have Eddie Schmidt’s and Ozzie Medeiros’s spot. The menu roams the culinary globe for modest contemporary tweaks on classically oriented dishes. Try the fried calamari “Pad Thai.” • Dinner nightly. 561/855-2660. $$$

Broward County DEERFIELD BEACH

Chanson —45 N.E. 21st Ave. Contemporary American/ French. A little bit of Palm Beach, a little bit of Italy comes to Deerfield Beach in the form of this elegant, sophisticated restaurant in the oceanfront Royal Blues Hotel. Service is as stellar as the views from the cozy, modestly opulent dining room, notable for the 1,500-gallon aquarium embedded in the ceiling. Consistency can be an issue with the food, but when it is good it is very good. • Breakfast and lunch daily, dinner Tues.-Sat., brunch Sun. 954/857-2929. $$$

WEB EXTRA: check out our complete tri-county dining guide only at BOCAMAG.COM

Paccheri Bolognese at Grato

Beth El Mausoleum in Boca Raton welcomes you and your loved ones to a tranquil place, rooted in Jewish tradition and filled with the warmth of community. Serving the needs of our Temple Beth El congregation and the greater Jewish community of South Florida, Beth El Mausoleum is privately owned, operated and on the grounds of Temple Beth El, providing the highest standards of compassion and perpetual care.

For an appointment, call Mausoleum Director, Mike Sirowitz, at

or email

HOMESAFE’S CLASSIC ROCK & ROLL PARTY

WHERE: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hollywood

WHAT: HomeSafe’s annual Rock & Roll Party brought the noise to Hard Rock Hollywood for an evening packed with live performances benefiting the nonprofit’s mission of protecting victims of child abuse and domestic violence. Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain hosted the festivities, which included dinner, a live auction and a performance by Mike DelGuidice, one of the founding members of Billy Joel’s band. Funds raised during the event totaled more than $660,000, which will go toward expanding and enhancing HomeSafe’s lifesaving services for South Florida’s most vulnerable populations. The evening’s program also included a special presentation by co-chairs Steve Bernstein and Abby BernsteinHenderson of the 2025 HomeSafe Hero Award to local supporters Kenny and Maggie Rosenberg for their years of continued support to the organization. Sponsors included Steven E. Bernstein Family Foundation, Stoops Family Foundation, Harcourt M. & Virginia W. Sylvester Foundation, Boca magazine and many more.

1: Ward and Debbie Kellogg

2: Rochelle LeCavalier, Michael Gillen

3: Jeff and Aggie Stoops

4: Bjarne Borg, Rex Kirby

5: Shelby Burg, Susan Roker, Laura Sylvester, Jayne Malfitano

6: Kinny and Azebe Madori

7: Maria and Todd Roberti

8: Lori Keezer, Steve Bernstein

9: John Treiber, Denise Coyle, Maggie and Kenny Rosenberg

10: Mike DelGuidice

11: Doris Gillman, Lulu Oranburg, Abby Bernstein-Henderson

12: Matthew Ladika, Neil Gillman, Nicko McBrain

CVI.CHE 105 GRAND OPENING

WHERE: CVI.CHE 105 at Town Center at Boca Raton

WHAT: Boca’s dining scene welcomed an exciting new addition with the debut of CVI. CHE 105. Founder and chef Juan Chipoco invited the community to the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which marked the official opening of Chipoco’s highly anticipated Peruvian concept. Guests enjoyed live music in CVI.CHE 105’s vibrant atmosphere, as well as delectable samplings of some of the menu’s signature dishes. The Town Center at Boca Raton outpost marks the brand’s sixth South Florida location, and the first to open in Palm Beach County.

3: Luciana de la Fuente and Raul Diez Canseco

4: Teresa Quintana, Roberto Pareja, Ana Lorenzo

5: Sissi Fleitas, Luis Hoyos, Juan Chipoco, Councilmember Marc Wigder, Councilmember Fran Nachlas, Sal Saldaña

6: Gretchen Hammerlein, Norberto Rosenstein

1: Vivían Camejo, Marielena Camejo, Erika Isgut

Joseph Cross, Victor Vianello, Miguel Gutierrez

BENEFITTING

THANK YOU FOR MAKING BOCA BACCHANAL 2025 A SUCCESS!

The Boca Raton Historical Society extends its deepest gratitude to everyone who made Boca Bacchanal 2025 an unforgettable celebration. To our guests, sponsors, wineries, restaurants, chefs, and volunteers—thank you for your support, enthusiasm, and dedication to preserving Boca Raton’s rich history.

We look forward to raising a glass with you again next year! Until then, thank you for being a part of this incredible experience and for supporting our mission.

JONI & AL GOLDBERG

CHEERS TO HISTORY, COMMUNITY, AND GREAT TASTE!

THE HOSPITAL BALL

WHERE: The Boca Raton

WHAT: More than 1,100 supporters of Boca Raton Regional Hospital gathered at The Boca Raton for the 62nd-annual Hospital Ball. Chaired by Dr. Gail Rubin-Kwal, Richard Kwal, Daniele Schachter and Mason Slaine, this year’s gala raised a staggering $3.2 million to benefit the hospital, which will go toward further enhancing Boca Regional’s patient care services. Guests enjoyed a lavish dinner catered by The Boca Raton, and live music from rock ‘n’ roll royalty Chicago. More than just a concert, the evening’s festivities also included special recognition of honorary chairs Rocco and Mary Abessinio, Barbara Gutin and Cheryl Elliott for their extraordinary contributions to the hospital.

1: Sharon Kusuke, Dick Schmidt

2: Christine Lynn, Carrie Rubin

3: Dr. Gail Rubin-Kwal, Richard Kwal

4: Aggie and Jeff Stoops

5: Lincoln Mendez, Cheryl Elliott, Barbara Gutin, Mary Abessinio, Rocco Abessinio, Mark Larkin

6: Lincoln Mendez, America Mendez, Barbara Lawson, Ralph Lawson

7: Jeff and Darcy Hollander

8: Mason Slaine, Daniele Schachter

9: Mike and Amy Kazma, Susan and Peter Brockway, Will and Kelly Fleming, Bill and Mary Donnell

10: Matthew and Hilary Rosenthal, Jillian and Adam Hasner

11: Chicago performing

12: Larry and Diane Feldman, Sidra Gruss, Ted Campbell

OPENING OF “REFLECTIONS OF A CENTURY: CELEBRATING BOCA RATON’S 100 YEARS THROUGH ART” EXHIBIT

WHERE: Cultural Council for Palm Beach County in Lake Worth Beach

WHAT: Boca Raton’s centennial was given the spotlight at the opening of the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County’s “Reflections of a Century: Celebrating Boca Raton’s 100 Years Through Art” exhibit. Featuring the works of 13 Palm Beach County-based artists, the exhibition presented historical photographs of Boca Raton (provided by the Boca Raton Historical Society) alongside contemporary creations that celebrate the city’s unique architecture, residents and culture. “The exhibition provides a journey through a century of history and present-day contemporary work and honors the beauty, the culture and the importance of this slice of paradise in Palm Beach County. It’s an exhibition not to be missed,” said Cultural Council President and CEO Dave Lawrence.

1: Marilyn Wilson, Stephen Jacobs

2: Romily Wotring, Jose Mirabal, Jody Picciolo, Samantha Wilkins

3: Peg Anderson, Marzena Silpe, Margaret Chimienti

4: Bruce Helander, Deborah Pollack

5: Cheryl Crowley, Kelly Starling

6: Denise Alman, Mary Csar, Susan Gillis and Dave Lawrence

7: Veronica Hatch, Councilmember Fran Nachlas, Richard Mahler, Amy DiNorscio

May/June 2025 issue. Vol. 45 No. 5. The following are trademarks in the state of Florida of JES Media, and any use of these trademarks without the express written consent of JES Media is strictly prohibited: Savor the Avenue; Tastemakers of Delray; Tastemakers at Mizner; Florida Style and Design; Delray Beach magazine; Boca Raton, South Florida At Its Best; bocamag.com; Florida Table; Boca Raton magazine. Boca (ISSN0740-2856) is published 8 times a year (September/October, November/December, January, February, March, April, May/June and July/August) by JES Media. Editorial, advertising and administrative offices: 1000 Clint Moore Road, Suite 103, Boca Raton, FL, 33487. Telephone: 561/997-8683. Please address all editorial and advertising correspondence to the above address. Periodicals postage paid at Boca Raton, Fla., and additional mailing offices. Subscriptions: $24.95/8 issues, $34.95/16 issues (shipping fee included for one- and two-year rates). Single copy $6.95. No whole or part of the content may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission of Boca magazine, excepting individually copyrighted articles and photographs. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Boca magazine, P.O. Box 820, Boca Raton, FL 33429-9943.

Boca Raton Insider

WORLD-CLASS CHORAL MUSIC IN BOCA

The Master Chorale of South Florida is the premier symphonic chorus performing across the region, with regular concerts in Boca Raton. With more than 120 auditioned singers, the Chorale partners with top orchestras, local musicians, and composers to deliver powerful performances of classical and contemporary choral music. Whether you're a returning supporter or a first-time guest, each concert offers a meaningful, communitydriven experience through the power of live choral music.

6278 N. Federal Highway, #351 Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33308

954.641.2653 masterchoraleofsouthflorida.org

WOMEN OF IMPACT-CREATING TRANSFORMATIONAL COMMUNITY CHANGE

Impact 100 PBC connects, engages, and inspires women to collectively fund multiple $100,000 grants to local nonprofits. We care deeply, give consistently, and believe strongly that we can create significant and lasting change. Diverse women unite to fund these grants, and simultaneously, form bonds of friendship and pursue a higher purpose. Each woman contributes $1,000; for every 100 women who join, we award a $100,000 grant. Since inception, the Women of Impact have awarded $6.876 million!

Join us at impact100pbc.org/join_or_renew_now.php

261 NW 13th St. • Boca Raton, FL 33432

561.336.4623

FILLY & COLT

After over 25 years in Boca Raton we’ve definitely carved out a niche. Come by and be ready to let one of the “fillies” dress y’all up! Remember “Life can be hard, clothes should be fun!”

Monday through Saturday 10 am to 5 pm.

Garden Shops, 7050 West Palmetto Park Road (at Powerline) Boca Raton FL 33433

561.447.4117

fillyandcoltboca.com @robynesobel

ARE YOU

Where Jewish people find each other. Where the next generation learns about their heritage. Where business professionals network and connect. Where families celebrate the holidays. A safe space where you can be yourself.

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Happy Birthday, Boca

How one man’s “dream city” really turned into one, after all

Written by MARIE SPEED

One hundred years ago, John Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution, Benito Mussolini launched his dictatorship, Paul Newman and Yogi Berra were born, and anthropologist Margaret Mead landed in Samoa. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was published, and in San Luis Obispo, CA, the first motel opened (the Milestone Mo-Tel).

Explorer Percy Fawcett sent his last telegram to his wife before disappearing into the Amazon rainforest, and the Grand Ole Opry, then known as WSN Barn Dance, made its first radio broadcast.

And worlds away, a tiny farming town in South Florida named Boca Raton was incorporated.

It’s hard to square that image with what exists today. An outpost of maybe 100 people fighting storms and mosquitoes and tropical mayhem, raising vegetables and pineapples while eccentric architect Addison Mizner swoops in with plans to create his “dream city,” starting with the grandiose Cloister Inn. All this in a land boom that went bust, the kind of drama for which South Florida would come to be known.

But Boca Raton never wavered; in just decades, IBM and Arvida put the city on the map, FAU arrived, the Cloister Inn morphed into a luxury resort, and Jerry Seinfeld started making jokes about the city on national TV. By the time I arrived in 1991, Boca was in yet another growth surge, having just built Mizner Park and eyeing an innovative plan that would link it to Royal Palm Place. (That never happened, unfortunately.)

At first, I remember I was underwhelmed. Aside from a stunning few miles of pristine beachfront, I could not for the life of me find a “downtown,” there was way too much pink, and the people were wildly conspicuous consumers. (In the South, where I had been living, even very wealthy people would not be caught dead driving a Lamborghini.) I felt like a fish out of water for what seemed like an eternity.

And I still can’t recall when that changed.

It was maybe two years in when things started to shift. I got to interview an idol of mine, Dave Barry, at the Miami Herald. I discovered the Everglades and went on swamp hikes with local Glades folk heroes like Totch Brown and Oscar Thompson. The Bahamas

were 45 minutes away by plane, Miami’s Ocean Drive was a glimmering wash of pastel Art Deco buildings, and Palm Beach was a graceful and immutable bastion of old-guard luxury. In short, Boca Raton was a gateway to a whole string of vibrant, wildly different worlds—and for me it was beginning to hold its own.

I saw Boca Raton shake off the “Seinfeld” image. What may have once been a sleepy retirement community became headquarters for Fortune 500 firms, pioneered a host of progressive “green” environmental initiatives, earned high marks for good governance, and assumed a leadership role for cities in challenging times—navigating the pandemic, spearheading building safety after the Surfside condo collapse. Its Chamber of Commerce issued a statement advocating for gun safety after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting, and its crime rate is low. On top of that, Boca Raton has 42 parks and counting. It has strict zoning laws, so it’s beautiful (no billboards, great landscaping, no car dealerships), and it has the best dining and shopping this side of Miami. Specific reasons to love it include Town Center mall, Joseph’s, Old Town Hall, V&S Deli, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center, valet parking, great pizza and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Facility at our own airport.

Just to name a few.

The last 35-some years feel like my own Boca centennial. I imagine that little group of farmers carving out a living from tropical jungle. And I see now how that community ultimately gave way to a series of visionaries that have managed to sidestep most of the pitfalls common to South Florida. Although not perfect, Boca has managed its growth better than Fort Lauderdale or Miami, while continuing to diversify its economy in the process. Like all of our booming cities, it has new problems it has to overcome, but I have seen it tackle big issues before—and prevail. Boca Raton has come into its own again and again, evolving over the last few decades into what is arguably the best place to live in South Florida.

It’s like we used to say about this magazine: Boca Raton is more than a pretty face. It is 100 years strong—and getting better by the day.

Marie Speed

Authentic Italian Cuisine

Chef Rino Aprea Brings Brooklyn’s Fine Italian Fare to Boca Raton

From Angelo’s of Mulberry Street and Ponte Vecchio in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Rino’s brings fine Italian fare and a lively atmosphere to downtown Boca Raton.

ALL NEW SPECIALS

$55 PRE FIXE MENU - Daily 5pm-7pm - Tuesday & Wednesday All Night! Choose From 9 Starters & 10 Entrees Plus Dessert

HAPPY HOUR - Daily 5pm-7pm at Bar Only

LADIES NIGHT - Ladies Drink Free Thursdays at Bar Only

JUNE SPECIAL WINE WEDNESDAYS - 30% Off Wine by the Bottle MAKE YOUR MOTHER’S DAY RESERVATIONS NOW - Serving 3pm-9pm

• Live Music Daily - (Except Wednesdays) • Private Party Room • Off-Premise Catering • Gift Cards - For Every $100 - Get $20 Free

39 SE 1st Avenue Boca Raton, FL 33432

HOURS: 5pm-10pm Closed Sunday & Monday June - October CALL FOR RESERVATIONS 561-244-8282 www.rinosofboca.com

BOCA Magazine May/June 2025

18-HOLE C HAMPIONS H IP GOLF COURSE | SPORTS & WELLNESS | TEEN & CHILD C ARE

The Boca Roundtable

The Boca Eras Tour

The Women Who Built Boca

26 Editor’s Letter

29 The Local

40 The Look

87 Backstage Pass

105 Florida Table: Eat & Drink

136 Speed Bumps

This Calls for a Celebration

Web Extras

BOCA BITS

PEARL CITY MEMORIES

BOCA MAGAZINE WINS BIG!

WELCOME TO PALM PARADISE

Best Bites

City Watch

LETTERS

First issue

Missing or late issues

Questions about your invoice

Change of address

Back issues

Gift subscriptions

Online subscriptions

DIRECTORY

Subscription, copy purchasing and distribution

Advertising and event resources

Custom publishing

Story queries

Web queries

Letters

Dining guide

People

CONFIDENCE IS ALWAYS IN STYLE

A Retrospective

BRAGGING RIGHTS

Johnny Mizner

Can’t Miss Events

A PLACE IN HISTORY

BOCA RATON FIRE ENGINE NO. 1

1925!

MONEY TALKS

The Name Game

What’s in a Name?

Compassionate Cancer Care.

“DANGEROUS INSTRUMENTS”

“SHUCKED”

SLEIGH BELLS

“SIDE BY SIDE: THE ARTIST COUPLE”

The Next Generation

Teens making a difference in Boca

High School

Taroon Muthuswamy Age: 15

First & Proud

A SOLUTION FOR BUSY LIVES

in Financial Advice and Planning

Elizabeth Bennett, Principal and CEO

Dapper, Indeed

MORE LEADING DOCTORS IN MORE OF PALM BEACH COUNTY.

Coming in Clutch

EXPERIENCE THE WORLD WITH REID

TRAVEL AND JULIA SHORE

Luxury Cruises and Beyond

Personally Escorted Journeys

Bridging the Gap

West Coast Glow

Medical SPOTL GHT

MDVIP

Abstract HR

OUR DOCTORS

TheWay

We Were

The Origin Stories

Growing Up Boca

QUICK TAKES

Jim Crow in Boca

Tech Talk