Best Restaurants in Boca Raton

Abe & Louie's

Zagat called it one of the eight “must-try restaurants in Boca Raton” in 2017. It earned Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence for the years 2015–2018. The ambience is classic steakhouse: dark wood walls, white tablecloths, and plush carpeting. Of course the menu is as well, with aged chops and generous sides, notably the impossibly rich and immensely popular creamed corn with applewood smoked bacon.

Kapow Noodle Bar

With a pan-Asian menu centered around French-Vietnamese dishes, diners choose from plates such as fragrant beef pho and char sui pork belly bao. These inventive, reimagined dishes pair well with similarly creative cocktails such as the lychee martinis and blueberry lavender mojitos.

Six Pasta Shapes You Might Find in an Italian Restaurant

You might be familiar with the usual pasta shapes, such as spaghetti, penne, and linguini—but did you know that there are more than 350 different types of pasta? Here are six of the more unusual styles you’re likely to find on the menu at an Italian restaurant.

Bucatini

Also known as perciatelli, these are noodles that look like spaghetti, but thicker and hollow—appropriately so, since “buco” in Italian means “hole.”

Cavatappi

You might find this on the menu as its other names, which include cellentani, double elbows, and amori. It’s a spiral-shaped macaroni—meaning a hollow, twisted tube.

Farfalle

Also called bow-tie pasta and strichetti, the name itself means “butterflies,” which reflects its appearance: a scalloped-edged bow.

Orecchiette

Translated literally as “tiny ear,” orecchiette is shaped like a little disc that’s curved with a hollow in the center. It also goes by recchietelle and stacchiodde.

Tagliatelle

Like fettuccine, this ribbon-shaped pasta is slightly thinner, but still long and flat. It’s also called pizzoccheri or tagliolini.

For drawings of these and more pasta shapes, click here.

Best Mexican Restaurants in Boca Raton

Senor Burrito

Diners flock here for dependable Mexican dishes: melty chorizo quesadillas, generous burritos, and hearty plates of fajitas.

Baja Cantina

This festive eatery serves bold Southern California–style Mexican dishes and stocks more than 100 kinds of tequila—which find their way into not just margaritas, but also the tomatillo salsa.

A Guide to the Food at a Brazilian Steakhouse

If you’ve never been to a Brazilian steakhouse, what are you waiting for? Typically, they’re all-you-can-eat, from the meat to the apps to the salads. So what kind of dishes will you find there? Let us help!

The Meats

The meat, of course, is the main event. Cooked churrasco-style, meaning grilled on a skewer, the meat will come in 10–15 different varieties and can include various steaks, lamb, and sausage. As if that weren’t enough, restaurants also have other options such as chicken, ribs, pork, and seafood. The most uniquely Brazilian cuts include the following:

• Picanha (beef-sirloin cap): top sirloin cut in a crescent shape topped with a cap of rich fat
• Fraldinha (flank steak): the familiar marbled bottom sirloin that’s also often used in tacos and steak salads
• Maminha (tri-tip steak): lean, bottom-sirloin cut
• Linguiça (pork sausage): smoked and cured sausage with mild spices, including paprika and garlic

The Sides

To pair with the meat, you’ll be able to choose from a wide array of salads and sides. Some more familiar dishes include polenta and fried bananas. Here are a few vegetarian options to look out for:

• Feijoada: a classic Brazilian stew made with black beans
• Farofa: toasted or sauteed yucca flour usually served as part of another dish, such as feijoada
• Pão de queijo: Brazilian bread rolls made with cheese

For more on what to expect, click here.

Best Kosher Restaurants in Boca Raton

Mozart Cafe

On this kosher dairy menu, the dishes are all scratch-made and promise to be filling. Options include pasta and fish dishes, as well as the house specialty puff pastry stuffed with cheese and olives.

Asia Restaurant

This pan-asian restaurant crafts kosher dishes, such as house-smoked egg rolls and savory dim sum selections, served alongside sushi rolls and wok-fried entrees.

Butcher Block Grill

This “all-kosher” steakhouse selects each chop for its color, texture, and flavor, as the centerpiece of a menu that draws together Mediterranean and American classic dishes.

Types of Fish by Flavor Profile

We spoke with Dirk Fucik of Dirk's Fish and Gourmet Shop in Chicago for a rundown of the types of fish we’d find at any respectable seafood restaurant—and what to expect they’ll taste like.

Mild-Flavored Fish

Decidedly not fishy tasting, these white-fleshed fish are easy on the palate and very versatile. They can withstand—some say require—full-flavored marinades and sauces. These include:

• Branzino
• Tilapia
• Halibut
• Cod
• Perch

Medium-Flavored Fish

The jacks-of-all-trade in the fish world, they can stand alone or be dressed in a potent sauce. Their flavor “won’t scare people away.” For a medium-flavored fish, try these:

• Yellowtail (kampachi)
• Snapper
• Swordfish
• Grouper
• Trout

Full-Flavored Fish

Also known as oily fish, they have dark flesh and a strong, sometimes briny flavor. They’re also some of the healthiest fish to eat.

• Salmon
• Tuna
• Bluefish
• Mackerel
• Sardines

For more types of fish, click here.