Gourmet & Healthy in West Palm Beach

Nutrition World owner Joanne Augusto has immersed herself in the natural-health industry for more than 25 years, and has even hosted a radio program called Joanne's World of Nutrition. Informed by macrobiotics and homeopathy, Augusto seeks to share with her customers the powerful link between diet and health. To achieve that goal, she stocks the aisles at Nutrition World with an array of holistic goods, from vegan and gluten-free fare to vitamins, herbs, and Herb Alpert records.

The bartenders at Off the Hookah play with fire. The eatery’s world-ranked flair bartenders often incorporate pyrotechnics into the mixing of their cocktails. Even still, they’re competing for attention, working against a backdrop of gogo dancers, belly dancers, and other nightly entertainment. Meanwhile, in each location’s 14,000-square-foot lounge, patrons sit back and enjoy the venue-wide show while taking puffs from flavored hookah.

Of course, the eatery is not all atmosphere—at its core is a menu of international delicacies, which draw inspiration from far-flung locales such as the Mediterranean and Japan. Family-style feasts of kabobs, seafood, and falafel complement a la carte options, such as hearty pastas and sushi rolls stuffed with tuna, eel, and soft shell crab.

Leah Gizzi builds fresh pastas and sauces using imported ingredients chosen for their quality, such as Fiorucci genoa salami and Strianese DOP tomatoes. A stash of local veggies and herbs grown in her personal garden help her form her selection of crowd favorites that include her roasted-red-pepper noodles, meatballs, red gravy, and shells stuffed with spinach and ricotta. Leah also mixes fine ingredients into her cannolis and in her cakes, including one that comes in the shape of a three-dimensional teddy bear. On Sunday, she heads over to The Buttonwood Plaza Artisan’s Market, where she sells her handcrafted foods and easy-to-assemble Italian-dinner kits.