August 2015 – Feast Palm Beach

Venus Williams: Her company designed this cool bar

The bar

Salute Market

The vibe

Salute Market is a place without secrets. It is simply a place to enjoy fresh food and hand-crafted drinks in sleek, open, unpretentious setting designed by tennis star Venus Williams’ firm, V Starr Interiors. It’s part deli and market, where you can buy fresh sandwiches with pastrami and corned beef flow in fresh from the owners’ home in Chicago. It’s part wine cellar, and full beer and liquor store where you can sample all of the items before you buy them. And it’s an indoor and outdoor bar, where cocktails are made with top shelf liquors — and the recipes to all the drinks are printed on cards so you can buy the alcohol and make the drinks at home.

Signature cocktail

The Funky Shandy is among the drinks Salute Market makes and prints the recipe to for patrons to take home. A typical shandy is mix of hefeweizen wheat beer and lemonade. This one does it one better by using Funky Buddha’s Floridian wheat ale, Kettle One Citron citrus vodka and ginger liqueur. It at once is refreshing and packs punch.

Grapefruit Negroni at Salute Market in Palm Beach Gardens (Contributed photo)

Other notable drinks

The drinks are seasonal to take advantage of local, fresh ingredients. Among the drinks Salute prints recipes to are its strawberry rhubarb old fashioned, made with bourbon, fresh muddled strawberries and aged-rhubarb liqueur. The watermelon mojito uses freshly muddled watermelon. There are also a selection of craft beers in cans or bottles, including local offerings from Tequesta Brewing Co. and Due South Brewing.

Bar bites

A full deli means you can have anything from a salumi/charcuterie board or a hot sandwich from kitchen. The Sleghtsteak sandwich uses house-roasted eye of round. The Barry uses specially cured corned beef. And all naan bread is fresh baked.

Deals

From 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., food menu ranges from $2 to $8. Wine starts at $6, champagne at $11.

More info.

5530 PGA Blvd., Suite #101, Palm Beach Gardens. 561-425-5651. www.salute2u.com

The Funky Shandy

1 1/2 ounces Kettle One Citron vodka

1 1/4 ounces Stirrings Ginger Liqueur

4 ounces Funky Buddha Floridian beer

2 lemon wedges

Build in a glass. Add ice, vodka, ginger liquer and squeeze lemons. Finishe with beer. Garnish with lemon.

See which local craft beers now available at renovated Dolphins stadium

Due South's Caramel Cream Ale put the Boyton Beach brewery on the map. (Handout photo) — Due South’s Brewing’s (Boynton Beach) Caramel Cream Ale will be available at the renovated Dolphins Stadium. (Handout photo)

The Miami Dolphins clearly know how to draught.

The renovated Sun Life Stadium will toast the team’s home opener on Sept. 27 with two new taprooms, serving 16cq varieties of Florida craft beer on tap and 15 others in bottles and cans. There will be as many as 52 craft beers available — including national and local breweries, such as four from Palm Beach County.

Miami Dolphins Craft Beer — Courtesy of Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins are emphasizing local beers. All of stadium’s draft craft beer will be from Florida.

“Our fans have told us that they want more variety and more local flavors, not only in the food they eat, but in what they drink,” said Ben Metzger, the Dolphins’ director of concessions. “We wanted great beers from great breweries that represented a wide range of tastes. Our hope is that fans will be able to come and get the beers that they already know and love, but also be able to try and discover new ones that will become new favorites.”

Due South Brewing’s Caramel Cream Ale and Saltwater Brewery’s Screamin’ Reels IPA — a Palm Beach Post Beer of the Week — will be available in cans. Tequesta Brewing Co.’s Der Chancellor golden ale is in bottles. Funky Buddha Brewing’s Floridian wheat ale, Hop Gun IPA and Crusher IPA will be on tap, alongside other South Florida craft breweries such as Miami’s Wynwood Brewing, Doral’s MIA Brewing, the Islamorada Beer Co. and Tampa’s Cigar City Brewing.

Metzger said the stadium wanted to serve beer that paired well with South Florida’s weather.

“Many of the breweries are developing beers that are tweaked to the local palette, or are perfecting beers that just taste great on a hot and humid Florida day,” He said. “This allows us to offer that breadth – so you’ll be able to enjoy a great pilsner, hefeweizen, or blonde ale; but then still be able to carry a couple fantastic IPAs for the people who are craving hops.”

(Hat tip to Palm Beach Post Dolphins beat writer Hal Habib for getting his hands on the beer list.)

GET TAPPED IN!

For all the latest on Palm Beach County craft beer scene, check out our new page, TAPPED.

Hurricane Matthew: stock up on these six fancy foods

Hurricane Matthew update: for all their drama, hurricanes can be drab affairs when it comes to their culinary consequences.

The dismal checklist usually involves the usual suspects: granola bars, canned chicken or tuna salad, Spam, Vienna sausages, generic crackers and peanut butter.

For the latest updates on Hurricane Matthew check our WeatherPlus blog.

In a storm and aftermath, chances are your pantry supplies will dictate what ends up on your plate – particularly if the aftermath involves a power outage.

So in the spirit of thoughtful preparation as Hurricane Matthew approaches — here are some pantry items that promise to lift your post-storm meals and mood, especially when consumed by candlelight.

FANCY TUNA

My new favorite tuna is packed in a 6.7-ounce jar with olive oil. Tonnino’s Tuna Fillets in Olive Oil packs Costa Rican tuna that’s dolphin-safe, wild caught and hand packed.

These are pricey little jars, retailing at just over $5 each. But each serves two to three – even more, if used in a larger salad.

Find them, among other places, at Publix, Publix GreenWise and The Boys’ market in Delray Beach.

CANNED CANNELLINIS

These versatile beans are delicious, even at room temperature. They’re lovely when tossed with olive oil and lemon or vinegar, and a sprinkling of herbs. Fold in some good tuna and thinly sliced onion for a full meal.

Such a salad invites a ton of variations: Add tomatoes, avocado, fresh herbs, even other bean varieties.

Find them at your favorite supermarket.

GOOD OLIVE OIL AND VINEGAR

A drizzle of distinctive olive oil can add instant depth and a luxurious touch to a toss of greens, tuna and/or beans. Add a sprinkling of organic red wine vinegar or aged balsamic for balance and brightness.

I love a good, hearty Spanish olive oil, but in a pinch, a little bottle of Pompeian extra virgin oil fixes the craving for bold.

YUMMY PEANUT BUTTER

Peanut Butter & Co. makes some terrific varieties of peanut butter, from Cinnamon Raisin Swirl (our favorite) to White Chocolate Wonderful. No need for jelly – these are good on their own.

Find them at Publix, Walmart, Winn-Dixie, Target and other local shops.

CRISPY CRACKERS

My new favorite go-to cracker seems custom-made for everything from hummus to pimento cheese. Plus, Blue Diamond’s Pecan Nut-Thins are wheat and gluten-free. They’re made with rice flour and pecans and manage to maintain the lightest, most satisfying crunch.

Find them at Publix and most major markets.

CRUNCHY CHICKPEAS

Saffron Road makes delicious, crunchy chickpeas that are flavored by a variety of spices. (I love the falafel-flavored ones.) These are yummy alone, by the handful, or scattered atop salads and soups. Plus, they’re healthier than potato chips.

Find them at Publix.

Twitter: @LizBalmaseda

What is the best local beer of the week?

Best Local Beer of the Week

Blood orange Belgian wheat ale from Copperpoint Brewery

The blood orange Belgian wit wheat ale from Copperpoint Brewery. (Contributed photo)

What it is

One of the summer favorites at the three-month old Coppperpoint Brewery in Boytnon Beach has been its Belgian wit wheat ale (also known as a witbier), the Witness. But one particular variant of that carefully crafted beer is a blood-orange variety. To the standard Witness, which is brewed with Florida oranges and coriander to give it a citrusy, peppery flavor, brewmaster/owner Matt Cox adds hard-to-source blood oranges (peels, juice, everything). This treatment gives an already flavorful beer a tart bite and a fragrant citrus scent. The beer takes extra long to make, costs more, but as Cox said, “we do it because it’s good. And good things never come easy.” Except drinking this finely crafted beer; that comes very easily. It’s the perfect goodbye to summer.

Where to get it

Copperpoint won’t begin distributing its beer to local bars and restaurants for at least another 30 days. Until then, its beers are available only in its taproom. The blood orange wit is a limited beer, so get it while it’s available. It costs $5.50 for a 13-ounce pour in a snifter. But during happy hour Monday through Friday, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., all beers are $4.

Copperpoint Brewing, 151 Commerce Rd., Boynton Beach. 561-508-7676

GET TAPPED IN!

For all the latest on Palm Beach County craft beer scene, check out our new page, TAPPED

Lake Park’s Dunkin’ Donuts reopens Monday with free mugs, coffee deals

dunkin donuts lake park — The circles of life, some might argue. (File photo/The Palm Beach Post)

Munchkin on this, Palm Beach County: The recently closed Dunkin’ Donuts in Lake Park will reopen Monday.

That marks a quick turnaround for the Federal Highway donut shop, which closed Aug. 2 for renovations.

Franchisee Dan Bowers felt the 53-year-old eatery — which was the last full-service Dunkin’ restaurant in the world — was overdue for a makeover.

The Lake Park restaurant will now have equipment to make sandwiches like the new Tailgater. — The Lake Park restaurant will now have equipment to make breakfast sandwiches like the new Tailgater (egg, cheddar cheese, smoked sausage, fire-roasted peppers, grilled onion and Ancho Chipotle sauce on an oven-toasted French roll).

The grill, the short-order cooks and the veteran waitresses are gone, replaced with the full complement of equipment for making 2015’s specialty sandwiches and small army of hot, cold and slushy beverages (once upon a time, kids, beverages at donut shops were pretty much limited to hot coffee, cold OJ and tiny cartons of milk).

Starting Monday and continuing through Friday, the first 20 customers each morning will receive a free ceramic mug — the kind that was a staple at the original restaurant.

The restaurant also will offer this deal next week: a small hot coffee and donut for 99 cents.

Dunkin’ Donuts is at 301 Federal Highway in Lake Park and can be reached at 561-848-5031.

Goodbye grub: Blondies diner closes in Tequesta

The blondes: Courtney and Meghan Conran, shown here in September 2014. (Bruce R. Bennett/ The Palm Beach Post) — The blondes: Courtney and Meghan Conran, in Sept. 2014. (Bruce R. Bennett/ The Palm Beach Post)

Blondies, the Tequesta diner that fixed many a breakfast-for-dinner craving, has closed.

Sisters Meghan and Courtney Conran, the blondes that inspired the diner’s name, opened the strip-plaza eatery in September 2011. They served a menu of dishes inspired by family recipes, such as the “Beezy Cakes” flapjacks named for their cousin Bridget and their Grandpa Bill’s Monte Cristo.

The sisters posted a note on the diner’s website, saying they were unable to agree to new lease terms on the space.

“We want to thank everyone for supporting us throughout the years and giving us the best customers we could ever ask for,” said their note. “We are actively seeking a new location, so be on the lookout for a new Blondies in the future.”

Twitter: @LizBalmaseda

Which craft beer brewery is right for you? Play our game!

Play TAPPED's brewery-finder game! — Play TAPPED’s brewery-finder game!

The choices can be overwhelming.

Craft beer breweries are the hot, new hangout and you now have seven options in Palm Beach County. But each of these full-production breweries has its own distinct personality, so it can be hard to decide which to visit on your night out.

Let TAPPED help you decide!

Play our online beer game to help you pick which brewery you’d like to visit. Whether you’re headed for happy hour, a first date, or a weekend quiet spot, TAPPED can help you choose.

CLICK HERE TO PLAY!

This Palm Beach County beer was named among the world’s best

RateBeer.com named Funky Buddha's Maple Bacon Coffee Porter among its 20 best beers in the world. (Contributed photo) — RateBeer.com named Funky Buddha’s Maple Bacon Coffee Porter among its 20 best beers in the world. (Contributed photo)

Funky Buddha Brewery officially has one of the best beers in the world.

RateBeer.com named Funky Buddha’s sought-after Maple Bacon Coffee Porter — which, indeed tastes of all those things — as its 12th best beer in the world, on a recent list of its 20 best in the world. MBCP scored a perfect 100 rating from users of the website. (BusinessInsider.com printed the entire list.)

RateBeer.com named Wisconsin Belgian Red from New Glarus as its top beer. Hill Farmstead in North Greensboro, Vermont, had three beers in the top 10. And Russian River’s Pliny the Elder rounded out the top 10.

Earlier this year, People magazine also named MBCP as one of its best. Funky Buddha brewed MBCP for just the second time this year. And when it held a release party on Jan. 10, it sold more than 6,900 tickets and 9,000 bottles of MBCP — in a single day.

DO YOU AGREE?

Have you had MBCP? How about the offerings from Hill Farmstead? Share your thoughts with the hashtag #PBTAPPED.

Palm Beach Post celebrates craft beer with ‘Tapped’

News and features from Palm Beach County's craft beer scene. — News and features from Palm Beach County’s craft beer scene.

It’s too bad killer whales don’t drink craft beer.

Last year alone, independently owned Florida breweries produced enough craft beer to fill Shamu’s tank at SeaWorld six-and-half times — nearly 35 million gallons — and have enough left over for the world’s greatest block party.

That ranks Florida as the country’s fifth-best producer of craft beer, contributing more than $875 million to the state’s economy in 2012.

Twisted Trunk Brewing in Palm Beach Gardens. (Joe Forzano/The Palm Beach Post)

Beer aficionados call rare craft beers “whalez.” How’s that for a whale, Florida?

And nowhere is the Florida craft beer trend more visible than in Palm Beach County, home to seven of Florida’s 111 breweries, four of which opened in the last year alone.

“Florida is finally recognizing … that there is a big difference between good beer and mediocre beer. And people are going to great lengths to get it,” said Dr. Bill McFee, co-founder of Barrel of Monks Brewing in Boca Raton.

Craft beer isn’t just the next big thing — it has arrived.

And starting today, so has The Palm Beach Post’s new craft beer section — TAPPED

TAPPED will plug you into the craft beer scene with:

A Video Craft Beer Tour of Palm Beach County’s breweries

5 Things To Know When Visiting A Brewery

PLUS: Interact with TAPPED by tagging your social media with #PBTAPPED

READ THE REST OF THE STORY FOR FREE: Palm Beach County leads South Florida’s craft beer scene

Rich, creamy and dreamy: ‘The Cuban Table’s’ flan de leche

"The trick to a great Flan de Leche begins and ends with the caramelo," the caramel syrup, writes author Ana Sofia Pelaez in her debut cookbook, "The Cuban Table." (Photo by Ellen Silverman reprinted by permission of St. Martin's Press) — “The trick to a great Flan de Leche begins and ends with the caramelo,” the caramel syrup, writes author Ana Sofia Pelaez in her debut 2014 cookbook, “The Cuban Table.” (Photo by Ellen Silverman reprinted by permission of St. Martin’s Press)

This dessert is silky and velvety at once. It’s a caramelo dream, proof that not all “love” desserts have to be made of chocolate.

FLAN DE LECHE
Milk Flan

This recipe is reprinted from the 2014 cookbook “The Cuban Table” (St. Martin’s Press, $35), by writer Ana Sofia Pelaez and photographer Ellen Silverman.

“The trick to a great Flan de Leche begins and ends with the caramelo – the sugar heated slowly over a steady flame until it reaches just the right amber hue without becoming bitter.” – Ana Sofia Pelaez, author and creator of the Hungry Sofia blog.

Serves 8 to 10

3/4 cup sugar
For the custard
2 1/2 cups whole milk
One 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 whole cinnamon stick
1 whole vanilla bean, split lengthwise, or
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 lemon peel, white pith removed
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
6 large eggs

Special equipment:

7- to 8-inch flanera or round metal cake pan (preferably 3 inches deep)

Make the flan:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pour 3/4 cup of sugar into a flanera or metal mold. Place the mold over medium heat and move constantly, without stirring, until the sugar melts and takes on a deep amber hue, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the mold from the heat and swirl the caramel so that the bottom and sides are lightly covered. The caramel will be very hot and should be handled carefully. Set aside.

Combine the whole milk, evaporated milk, sugar, cinnamon, vanilla bean, lemon peel and salt in a heavy 4-quart saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove the saucepan from the heat and allow the spices to steep until the milk is cooled to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Discard the cinnamon, vanilla bean, and lemon peel.

Combine the cooled milk mixture and eggs in a mixing bowl and whisk until well combined. Carefully pour the custard into the prepared mold. Close the lid of the flanera, if using, or cover the mold with aluminum foil.

Prepare a baño de María: Place the filled mold in a larger roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan so that it comes about halfway up the sides of the mold.

Carefully place both pans in the oven and bake for 60 to 75 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the custard to cool completely then refrigerate, covered, at least 4 hours or overnight.

To unmold, run a thin knife along the side of the mold. Gently shake the mold to loosen the flan.

Place a large plate over the flan and quickly invert the mold in one motion.

The flan will gently drop onto the plate and the caramel will flow out.