Broward Palm Beach Food Blog

John Linn

​Unrepentant beer drinkers, rejoice! Each week, Clean Plate Charlie will select one craft or import beer and give you the lowdown on it: How does it taste? What should you drink it with? Where can you find it? But mostly, it's all about the love of the brew. If you have a beer you'd like featured in Beer of the Week, let us know via a comment.

I met Larry Bell at the Jupiter Craft Brewers Festival this past January. He was in the Bell's Brewery tent with two of his employees wearing a safari hat and thin, dark sunglasses, like he was about to embark on an expedition.

Bell started his Brewery in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1985, long before the craft beer revolution had moved east. I imagine he might have taken to wearing the safari hat back then -- an explorer in a World of Beer largely yet to be discovered. Today, Bell's is the largest craft brewery in Michigan and one of the most significant in the northern U.S.

​When Piero Antinori produced the first Tignanello in the 1971, it was a real kick in the ass to rule- and tradition-bound Tuscan winemakers, most of whom had long been make Chianti in accordance with government regulation. At first 100 percent Sangiovese, later blended with varying amounts of Cabernet Sauvignon, this debut "Super Tuscan" (so named by wine writer Robert Parker) created a whole new style (and profit center) of Italian wine. 

Tignanello is an extraordinary wine that manifestly does not suck, but at around $100 a bottle it's not exactly cheap. On the other hand, Antinori's latest venture in unconventional varietal blending in a once-unlikely region is a very good wine indeed. And it sells for 10 bucks or less. 

It's Tormaresca Neprica (NEgroamaro, PRImitivo, CAbernet Sauvignon) from Puglia, a region whose wines historically have made up in quantity what they lacked in quality. The 2008 Neprica, though, is a damn fine quaff, showing off the complexity of aromas and flavors of its blend of grapes. Cherry and strawberry fruit is in there, with earthy, dusky edge that suggests grapes growing in dirt. There's sweet spice and black pepper and hints of fennel too, all ending in a tart, berry-ish finish.  

As with most Italian wines, it tastes even better with food, like spaghetti Bolognese or bistecca Fiorentina or just a simple roasted chicken. No matter what you call it, you'll have a hard time finding a wine that delivers more character and satisfaction for the money.

Source: Brewers Association

​At least not according to the Brewers Association, the organization that advocates for the craft brewing industry. Out of the top 50 craft brewers in the country, Florida isn't represented by one. In fact, Florida is among the states with the fewest number of breweries per capita with one per 470,000 people.

Which isn't to say Floridians don't like their craft beer. According to Adam Fine, President of Fort Lauderdale-based craft beer distributor Fresh Beer, Inc., the lack of breweries in the state is symptomatic of its long history of strict beer laws. "Florida was the last state to change its packaging laws, which created a really big problem with selling beer here," says Fine.

Up until 2001, Florida law prohibited any beer that wasn't of a set size (8, 12, 16, or 32 ounces) from being sold in stores. The restriction meant odd size import bottles as well as "bomber" bottles typically used by craft micro brewers were unfit for shelves. "[The law] limited what kinds of beers were available, and as a result consumer interest just wasn't there," says Fine. "After it was changed the people that tried to come into the state to take advantage of the market didn't really know how to handle the product."

John Linn

Drinketh of my cup, child, and be saved.

​Unrepentant beer drinkers, rejoice! Each week, Clean Plate Charlie will select one craft or import beer and give you the lowdown on it: How does it taste? What should you drink it with? Where can you find it? But mostly, it's all about the love of the brew. If you have a beer you'd like featured in Beer of the Week, let us know via a comment.

As a kid, I was forced by my parents into the most torturous of tortures: church on Sunday. While my other friends were out doing whatever it is heathens are wont to do on a weekend morning, I was reciting Psalm and struggling to stay conscious through sermon. The church we went to had a tenuously long service -- sometimes it lasted two hours or more. To pass the time faster, I would fidget and groan, make unnecessary trips to the bathroom, and linger outside the chapel doors as long as I could without prompting my parents to issue a search party. As service began to wind down I felt like an inmate about to be granted parole.

By the time I was 15 or so, my parents reluctantly decided that if I was to be damned for all eternity it was my own choice, and so they stopped forcing me along. Forever after, my Sunday mornings felt like a blessing. But I did miss communion. Communion was the only part of service that I didn't loath -- not only because it took up a sweet 20 minutes or so as the congregation filed up to receive it, but also because it culminated with a thimble-full of wine. To me, that sweet and acrid cup (and the fact that they'd give it to a teenager) was proof that Catholicism wasn't so bad after all.

The (alleged) great cupcake craze -- the Anna Nicole Smith of food fads -- has seen its 15 minutes come, go, and be forgotten in less time that it takes to eat one of the goddamned things. 

Cupcake wines, on the other hand, just might have some staying power, at least judging by Cupcake Vineyards' 2008 Yakima Valley Riesling.

For around ten bucks a bottle, you get a Riesling that's not the usual vaguely sweet, vaguely citrusy, vaguely boring domestic plonk but rather a clean, refreshing wine that nimbly walks the high wire between lush melon and pear fruit and tangy Meyor lemon acidity. 

Chill it down and sip it out on the patio during our ravishingly clement early fall weather, or pair it with all things spicy and chicken, from kung pao to jerk to curried.

But cupcakes? Nah...

Chef Oliver cooks at Ikea tonight.

​• There's more to IKEA than cheap furniture for suddenly impoverished yuppies. Today from 6 to 8 p.m. Café Maxx chef-owner Oliver Saucy will be at the Sunrise store doing a free presentation under the auspices of Family Circle's Food University to help you cook something you might actually want to eat. Ingredients, spices, appetizers, and easy and healthful recipes are on the menu. Why not learn from the best?

• One of Clematis Street's staple eateries, Cabana Las Palmas, is moving a few blocks up the road to expand its space and leave room for owner Glenn Frechter's new Italian restaurant. The new, improved Cabana, at 533 Clematis, will debut "soon," according to its website, while sometime early next year should see the opening of Mangia Bevi in the old Cabana space at 118 Clematis. Look for a New York-style Italian eatery with pizzas from a wood-burning oven and nothing over $20.

• If you just can't face the wreckage of Saturday night without the hair of the dog on Sunday morning, Delray Beach is the place to be. Last week, the City Commission voted to allow restaurants and bars to begin selling happy juice at 7 a.m. on the Sabbath, so now -- you lush -- you don't have to wait until noon to keep your buzz on. Don't get too giddy, though. If you want to crawl into your neighborhood Publix or 7-Eleven and get a six-pack of Bud for breakfast, you're still SOL. 

Bill Citara

​It's always more fun to root against the Big Guys, especially when it comes to wine. That sweet little boutique winery tucked away on some back-country road in Napa or Sonoma has a lot more cachet than a megagiant wine processing plant that looks like an oil refinery and is owned by an even more megagiant corporation whose CEO has probably never, ever gotten shit on his shoes by walking the rows through his vineyard. 

On the other hand, you can't argue with what's in the glass, and though Beringer Vineyards is about as megagiant as you can get (one of more than 60 wineries owned by Australia's Foster's Group), the 2007 Beringer California Cabernet Sauvignon delivers a respectable taste of California Cab for around $11. 

John Linn

They say it's your birthday...

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​Three of the iconic white wine grapes in France's Goats Do Roam region are Viognier, Grenache Blanc, and Roussanne. Uh, actually, that would be Cotes du Rhone, but to a South African vintner with a sense of humor (and an apparent affection for mondegreens), it would be a cool thing to tweak the stuffy French wine world and give wine drinkers a giggle by naming his line of Rhone-style wines after the goats that do, in fact, roam on his Western Cape estate. 

So Charles Back created Goats Do Roam red, white, and rosé, remarkably good and inexpensive wines, all blends of as many as half a dozen different varietals. The 2009 Goats white is a virtual steal at around eight bucks a bottle. It's got that smoky/minerally French thing going on in the nose, along with some tropical fruit, ripe pear, and melon. Get it in your mouth and it's rich and lush, with plenty of ripe fruit that's balanced by pronounced acidity and a finish that tastes like a mixed squeeze of lemon and lime. 

Not only do these goats roam, they rock.

​• Remember the pie-eating contest scene from the '80s classic Stand By Me? Now picture that, but with raw fish. (I'll give you a moment to compose yourself.)

All better? Good. Because you'll need your strength for Sushi Jo's second annual sushi-eating contest, going down on Saturday at 5080 PGA Blvd., Ste. 105, in Palm Beach Gardens. I can't imagine a worse thing to do to yourself than stuff your guts full of raw fish and sticky rice. But watching someone else do it for the promise of $300... well that's pure win. The contest starts at 6 p.m. Call 561-868-7893.

• Here's one bracket tournament the Yankees aren't likely to win this October: Whole Foods in Coral Springs is hosting its second annual World Series of Beer, a single elimination challenge that pits brews from around the world in a battle for the sudsy pennant. The field of play: your taste buds. 10 bucks gets you a spot in the lineup where you can judge eight beers -- past winners include Rogue's Dead Guy Ale and Dogfish Pumpkin Ale. Though the Marlins have long been out of the baseball race, mascot Billy the Marlin will be repping for the home crowd, and so will Marlins' broadcaster Rich Waltz. First pour starts Sunday at 3 p.m. To register, call Johnny Rose at 954-753-8000, ext. 241.

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​Familiarity, sometimes, breeds content. Take Castello di Gabbiano. The wines of this 900-year-old Tuscan winery are as ubiquitous as bad drivers on I-95, stocking the shelves of just about every place from mass-market grocers to tiny neighborhood wine shops. So it's easy to look down our long, snooty wine noses and sniff something about grape juice for peasants. 

Most sniffable of all are two of Gabbiano's wines most recognizable in the U.S. -- Chianti and Pinot Grigio. I haven't always been a fan of Gabbiano's lower-end Chiantis, which seem to range from passably drinkable to thin and weedy, though at around twice the price ($23, more or less), the black label Chianti Classico Riserva is not only a good value but a usually excellent wine to boot.  

I've been even less of a fan of inexpensive Pinot Grigio, which typically translates from Italian as "not quite as tasty as tap water but acceptable to people who don't really like wine." But here's the familiarity = content part: I just tasted Gabbiano's 2008 Pinot Grigio and -- kazoot! -- it's a really lovely wine. 

In other words, it's got some gonads. Take a whiff and you get nice lemon, green apple, and mineral aromas; take a sip and it really opens up in your mouth, with the expected lemon-lime crispness and smoky/mineraly nuances but also with floral notes and hints of melon and pear that give your taste buds something to hang onto. At $10 and available just about everywhere, that's some contentment.

​Unrepentant beer drinkers, rejoice! Each week, Clean Plate Charlie will select one craft or import beer and give you the lowdown on it: How does it taste? What should you drink it with? Where can you find it? But mostly, it's all about the love of the brew. If you have a beer you'd like featured in Beer of the Week, let us know via a comment.

Look out, folks: Red is the new pale.

For years, pale ales and IPAs have dominated the craft beer market with their huge hop flavors and big bodies. Meanwhile, less-stylish red ales have seemed to dwindle in number. I remember that in college, Killian's Irish Red was huge -- you'd find it everywhere. Granted, Killian's is a crap beer, but its disappearance from most pubs and bars may have as much to do with the style as make (after all, it's a Coors beer, and Coors has enough retail clout to push it if it wanted to). Basically, reds haven't been too popular.

Enter St. Rogue Dry Hopped Red Ale, a big, bold, gloriously hoppy brew from Rogue that's gobbled up acclaim as of late. And... this just in, St. Rogue was today named the World's Best Pale Ale at the Third Annual World Beer Awards in London, England. Take that, Mr. IPA.
     

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The second annual Rocktoberfest is a day-long celebration of the twin pillars of American civilization - as in, beer and rock 'n' roll.

It takes place Friday, October 16, from 5:30 to 11 p.m. at the Las Olas Riverfront. More than two dozen breweries will pour suds, along with nibbles from local eateries including America's Backyard and Riverfront Pizza.

The Pretty Faces, Hep Cat Boo Daddies, Stonefox and others will provide the 

​ No wine gets a blanc stare faster than Chenin Blanc. It may be the white wine grape of France's Loire Valley, but in these parts, you see it about as often as snow drifts on Ocean Drive. It had a few minutes of fame in the 1960s and 1970s and showed up in more than its share of cheap white wine blends, but unless you go to South Africa or France, your chances of finding Chenin Blanc as a standalone varietal are pretty small. 

This is really quite the pisser, as Chenin Blanc can be made in a variety of styles, from wickedly sweet to dry as a desert sandstorm, and is eminently drinkable in all of them. Delightfully in the middle of those two extremes is the 2008 Chenin Blanc, from Sonoma's Dry Creek Vineyards, one of the few domestic wineries to bottle it on its own. It sells for around $12 most places -- $9.99 at Total Wine & More -- but drinks like it costs a lot more. 

Splash some in a glass and you'll get a good whiff of classic Chenin Blanc -- a bit floral, some ripe peaches and apricots, soft lemon-lime acidity, plus subtle earthy, minerally components. Take a sip and all those flavors roll around and around in your mouth -- "mouth filling," as cork dorks put it -- leaving your taste buds to savor a long, cleansing, lemon-lime finish.  

I served it with quick-fried chow mein with chicken, veggies, and Chinese Lap Xuong sausage, but it would play well with just about any Asian cuisine, as well spicy Mexican dishes or something as simple as roasted chicken. Really, when it comes to pairing this Dry Creek chenin with food, all you have to do is fill in the blanc.

Bill Citara

Cut 432's Brian Albe mixes poetic.

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They're doing it in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami. . . in Delray Beach, not so much. A new generation of--don't call them "bartenders," call them "mixologists"--is flavoring their own spirits, making their own infusions and syrups and garnishes, creating cocktails that go far beyond the usual "vodka-rocks" and assorted abominations that have defiled the holy martini.  

Just as Brian Albe and Brandon Belluscio gave the old-fashioned steakhouse a kick in the ass with their chic Cut 432 on Delray's Atlantic Avenue, now they're applying swift, creative foot to dull, boring cocktail posterior with a whole new roster of hand-made spirits and mixers assembled into a slate of inventive new drinks. 

I hung out with Brian at the bar awhile back and tasted my way through his handiwork, and I gotta tell ya, if anything can make serial drunkenness a spiritually uplifting activity, it's the cool stuff he's pouring.  

​As part of his continuing campaign to free wine drinkers from the shackles of chardonnay, Clean Plate Charlie presents. . . torrontes.  

WTF?  

TF, not to put too fine a point on it, is the biggest white wine grape in (and the only indigenous grape to) Argentina. If you've never heard of it, well, that's pretty F'd up, because when done right torrontes makes a lovely wine--crisp without the puckery tartness of sauvignon blanc, floral without the sweetness of many rieslings, light-bodied and refreshing without the bland nothingness of virtually every pinot grigio on the market. 

The 2008 Andeluna Torrontes is an excellent example. For around 10 bucks a bottle you actually get two wines. One is the wine whose aromas waft out of the glass in shades of honeysuckle, orange and ripe peaches. The other is the wine in your mouth--dry but fruity, with hints of orange flower water and a soft, Meyer lemon acidity. It's a really great wine to sip on a hot summer day and would play well with anything from roasted chicken to cream-sauced pastas to subtle Mandarin and Cantonese dishes. 

So now if anyone asks W, you know TF.

John Linn

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​You gotta love a winemaker like Randall Grahm. He named one of his finest wines Le Cigare Volante ("The Flying Cigar") to commemorate Rhone Valley vintners who in 1954 had a law passed that would prohibit flying saucers from cruising over or landing near their vineyards.

One of his best-selling wines is Cardinal Zin, with a Ralph Steadman-like illustration of a particularly depraved-looking Catholic cardinal on the label. Another hot seller is the Big House series--red, white and pink--named for the winery's down-street neighbor, Soledad State Prison.

But what you really gotta love about Randall Grahm is his willingness to swim against the tide, to call a spade a goddamn shovel. When most California winemakers were planting chardonnay practically in freeway medians to fulfill exploding demand, Grahm was preaching planting lesser-known varietals like charbono, grenache and tempranillo in out-of-the-way appellations that suited them best.  

When 14 and 15-percent alcohol wines with more oak than Sherwood Forest became the norm, Grahm was producing lower-alcohol wines that actually tasted of their grapes and "terroir," the semi-mystical French word that means wines that taste of where they were born. Grahm sold off the Cardinal Zin and Big House labels a couple years back, but they're still being made according to his philosophy.

Take the 2008 Big House Pink. It's a blend of eight grapes--charbono, tenet, barbera and sangiovese among them--that tastes as if you stuffed all of them in your mouth with a squeeze of orange and lemon juices to balance all that fruit. It's a big sucker for a rose, which means it can hang with habaneros, chill with chilies, go for it with garlic and big, bold flavors. It will cost you about $10 and you don't even need a corkscrew. Just unscrew the cap and pour.

Randall Grahm wasn't much for ceremony either.

John Linn

​A writeup on the back of this bottle of Chainsaw Double Sawtooth Ale confronts the old adage that less is more. It's claim: sometimes, more is more. Chainsaw Ale is definitely more. More hops, more malt, more big, badass flavor than it's little sister brew, Sawtooth Ale. But is that a good thing? Sawtooth is one of the most balanced, easy drinking session beers around. Just how does that translate to this limited availability, Imperial version?

​Pinot noir that actually tastes like pinot noir is becoming about as rare as brain cells at a birthers' convention, as winemakers pimp out this most perfect of all varietals with gobs of fruit and cords of oak and enough alcohol to stir into a martini. 

Cheap pinot noir that actually tastes like pinot noir is ever rarer than that, as it's a finicky, difficult, high-maintenance grape, the enological equivalent of Lindsay Lohan.  

So when you run across a pinot noir with the smoky, earthy, tart raspberry fruit nuances of... you know, pinot noir, and it costs a rather amazing $6.99, well, you gotta give a big shoutout to the 2008 Maurel Vedeau Saveurs Veritables. Given its vintage, it's a pretty young wine, certainly drinkable now but worth laying down for a year or so to give it time to mellow. 

If I were grilling a couple of fillets of salmon, roasting a chicken, sautéeing some veal medallions, or whipping up a bowl of fettucine al pesto, I'd pop a bottle of this and be pretty damned happy.

John Linn

​You know those little hexagonally packaged Tortuga rum cakes that people who get off cruise ships and airplanes tend to hand out the way fruitcakes go around at Christmastime? They're sweet and dry and taste like a distant relative to what someone's Bahamian grandmother might actually make and hand out to friends and neighbors. Well, I'm assaulted by that smell when I lift a rocks glass with a tiny pour of Cruzan Single Barrel Rum to my nose. It took me a while to place it -- I thought it had to be just coconut at first. But no, this syrupy, almond-colored aged rum smells just like Tortuga rum cake.

Not that that's a bad thing. Dark rum is a weakness of mine, and this one is especially potent. You might know Cruzan best as the name in front of the West Palm Beach amphitheater -- at least for the moment. Or as makers of those sickly sweet flavored rums infused with vanilla and banana and black cherry. But Cruzan is interested in changing its image from a partygoers drink to a fine product of some pedigree. This rum, a blend of rums aged four to 12 years in oak bourbon barrels, then another year in new American oak, is the maker's flagship in that effort.

via flickr user obeck

​You've got to love the Irish. The patron saint of the Emerald Isle, Saint Patrick, is said to have permanently driven the snakes off the island. This is probably the best-known assumption of St. Patrick to this day, despite scientific theories that there never were snakes in post-glacial Ireland.

Never ones to be sticklers for details, Irish folks and the Irish at heart love celebrating his life on March 17 (the estimated day of his death) by drinking to excess. But who wants to wait until March for a spot of binge drinking? Slainte Irish Pub is celebrating "Halfway to St. Patty's Day" tonight, and Mickey Byrne's is throwing a "Halfway to St. Paddie's Day" on Saturday. Both celebrations will feature live music, food, and plenty of drinks. How can two different dates be halfway to the same holiday? Remember: Don't get caught up in the details. Just head out to both parties and drink until you're Irish.

​The story of Robert Mondavi is as depressing as it is inspirational. Probably no single person did more to put California on the world wine map, not only as a vintner who produced wines that rivaled some of the best of Europe but as an evangelist of New World wines, an industry power who used his influence to help it grow and improve, a benefactor of numerous causes, and a spokesman for a more civilized lifestyle of which food and wine were integral parts. 

Eventually it all went to hell. Family squabbles between Robert and his kids, bad decisions (like putting the Mondavi name on wines not fit to hose down your driveway), and various economic pressures (like giving away inordinate amounts of money and having to replant vineyards attacked by phylloxera) all combined to force the sale of the winery to mega-giant Constellation Brands in 2004.

via Flickr user floodkoff

​Walking into SAS Martini Lounge (formerly known as Sauer Apple Saloon), I thought asking a bartender to make their favorite drink would result in an exotic martini. I sat at the end of the bar and asked the bartender what her favorite drink to make was. Celiana (probably grossly misspelled) replied "Gin and tonic." I should have figured so much. At a neighborhood pub or sports bar, bartenders probably tire of making the same one-liquor-and-a-mixer drink quickly and relish the chance to dream up a new intoxicating brew. At a bar like SAS, however, the exotic mixing of spirits is the norm, and Celiana loves when customers just want something simple.

In the spirit of this blog (combined with a mild masochistic streak), I asked her what her least favorite drink to make was. "Mojitos," she replied with no hesitation. "I can't stand muddling all those limes." With a wry smile on my face, I asked her to make me a mojito. I half expected her to scowl or accidentally dump the nearest drink into my lap, but she smiled and walked to the opposite end of the bar.

John Linn

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​There are many reasons to hate white Zinfandel.  

For one, it almost always sucked. Not just sucked but inhaled through a screaming vortex hell-nozzle thousands of years of winemaking artistry only to spit them out as a sweet, insipid, pinkish turd, available cheap at your local giant-mega-super-dupermarket.  

For another, it stole grapes that could have been used in the production of real Zinfandel, stuff that can sometimes strip the enamel from your teeth but actually tastes like wine. And for a third, it gave all pink wines -- that's rosé to you, bub -- a really shitty name, sort of like elevating a scheming, Bible-thumping moron from Alaska... ah, that's too depressing to even think about. 

So this is as good a time as any to reclaim rosés from the cold, dead clutches of white Zinfandel. And there's no better (and better value) wine to begin that process with than the 2008 Jaboulet Parallele 45 Rosé. It's a pretty, pale-salmon color -- pink with a hint of gold -- with crisp, citrusy aromas, a bit of steely minerality, and faint strawberry-raspberry fruit. The aromas segue into flavors -- ripe berries with a stiff lemony backbone, not at all sweet, light and refreshing on the palate.  

It's a perfect summer wine; plays well with grilled fish, spicy seafood stews, roasted chicken or composed salad; and best of all, it's not white Zinfandel.

​The looks like as good a weekend as any to enjoy a little bit of booze. Check out these alcohol, er... enhanced events.

• The fall season is fast approaching, which means Halloween, Thanksgiving, and, more importantly, pumpkins. And the folks over at Shipyard are keen on that -- they're tossing out cases of their Shipyard Pumpkin like it was Devil's Night. On Saturday, August 29, you can head over to BX Beer Depot for a free tasting with Amy starting at 4:30 p.m. 

While you're there, you can sign up for the upcoming South Florida Pub Crawl taking place on October 17 from 1 to 9 p.m. The crawl will start at the Palm Beach Airport Hilton, where drinkers will travel safely by bus from joint to joint. Tickets cost $25, and the event is sponsored by the Lagerhead Brewers and the Palm Beach Draughtsmen.

John Linn

Wit beer understands you -- it also sweats in the sun.

​ Unrepentant beer drinkers, rejoice! Each week, Clean Plate Charlie will select one craft or import beer and give you the lowdown on it: How does it taste? What should you drink it with? Where can you find it? But mostly, it's all about the love of the brew. If you have a beer you'd like featured in Beer of the Week, let us know via a comment.

I don't know if you all have noticed, but it's hot out. Really, really hot. And hot-weather drinking demands a hot-weather beer -- something cooling, light, and crisp that also quenches the thirst. Now before you go grabbing a bottle of Miller Light, remember that you can satisfy all of the above requirements while simultaneously imbibing something that has actual flavor. And for that, you'll want to check out Big Bear Brewing Co.'s current beer du jour, Witness.

(Also check out the next post for pics of Big Bear's bistro burger, which we named Best Burger in South Florida this year. It's a perfect accompaniment to the beer.) 

​Between Miami Spice and the endless end-of-summer happy hours, August is heaven for South Florida foodies. But with the vast array of choices within this paradise for gluttons, a task as simple as choosing where to go on any night can become overwhelming. So, how do you choose?

Well, I'll make it easy on you. From 6 to 8 p.m. this Thursday, August 27, Dine Magazine is hosting a happy hour at Coco Asian Bistro & Bar, located in the Harbor Shops at 1841 Cordova Road in Fort Lauderdale.

Coco's upscale cuisine has been featured on both WSVN 7 and WPBT Channel 2, and it's not only because of the bistro's cute name. Chef Mike Ponluang takes an innovative approach to Asian dining by serving traditional dishes with a twist, like the "Three Buddies" entree, which is jumbo shrimp, driver scallop, and seared black cod in three sauces.

If that didn't convince you, this will -- to attend Thursday night's happy hour, you need only pay a recession-friendly $10, which includes one glass of Brutocao wine, with a choice between Sauvignon Blanc or Zinfandel, along with hors d'oeuves like egg rolls, dumplings, edamame, and an assortment of sushi.

R.S.V.P to the event here.